20 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



At Baircl eggs kept in water averaging about 54° F. hatch in 35 days. 

 The allowance of 5 days' difiference in the time of hatching for each 

 degree of change in the temperature of the water is approximately 

 correct. 



For the first few days the eggs of thequinnat salmon are very hardy, 

 and at this time they should be thoroughly picked over and the dead 

 ones removed as far as possible before the delicate stage during the 

 formation of the spinal column comes on, so that during that critical 

 period they may be left in i:»erfect quiet. As soon as the spinal column 

 and the head show plainly, the eggs are hardy enough to ship, but when 

 there is time enough it is better to wait a day or two until the eye-spot 

 is distinctly visible, after which time the eggs will stand handling. 



PACKING EGGS FOE SHIPMENT. 



The packing-box used in shipping salmon eggs is made of ^-inch 

 pine, 2 feet square and 1 foot deep. At the bottom is placed a thick 

 layer of moss, then a layer of mosquito netting, then a layer of eggs, 

 then mosquito netting again, then successive layers of moss, netting, 

 eggs, netting, and so on to the middle of the box. Here a firm wooden 

 partition is fastened in and the packing renewed above in the same 

 manner as below. The cover is then laid on the top, and when two 

 boxes are ready they are placed in a wooden cr^te, made large enough 

 to allow a space of 3 inches on all sides of the boxes. This space is 

 filled with hay to protect the eggs against changes of temperature, and 

 when the cover is put on the eggs are ready to ship. 



In the middle of the crate an open space about 4 inches in depth is 

 left, between the two boxes of eggs, for ice. As soon as the crates 

 arrive at the railway station this space, as well as the top of the crate, 

 is filled in with ice. Recent exj^eriments show that salmon eggs can be 

 packed and safely transported to considerable distances when they are 

 first taken. 



CARE OF THE FEY. 



The eggs of quinnat salmon, like those of other iSalmotiidw, hatch 

 very gradually at first, only a small proportion of fish coming out the 

 first day. The number increases daily, however, until the climax of 

 the hatching is reached, when large numbers of the young burst their 

 shells in a single day. At this time great care and vigilance are 

 required. The vast number of shells rapidly clog up the guard-screens 

 at the outlet of the troughs, which should be kept as free as possible 

 by thoroughly cleansing them from time to time. 



In the deep trays the newly hatched fish are mixed with unhatched 

 eggs, and the advantage of the oblong mesh in the bottom of the trays 

 becomes apparent. This mesh is too narrow to allow the eggs to fall 

 through, bujfc the hatched fish, being comparatively long and narrow, 

 easily slip down through the long meshes into the space below. They 

 should be assisted m accomplishing this by gently raising and lowering 



