106 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



uiontli earlier thau the lake trout, on a cobble, bowlder, or gravel 

 bottom, and in from 2 to 8 feet of water. 



OBTAINING THE EGGS. 



During the spawning season men are employed by the different 

 lake-trout hatcheries to accompany the tugs to their fishing-grounds 

 and strip the ripe fish as they are taken from the nets. These " spawn- 

 takers," or "strippers," must possess strong constitutions to withstand 

 the many hardships to which they are subjected. Where very exten- 

 sive nets are operated by a boat and fishing is exceptionally good, two 

 men are detailed to the same ground, one as spawn-taker, the other as 

 helper. Pans, pails, and dippers are taken on board and made ready 

 by the time the nets are reached. As the net is lifted the men disen- 

 tangle the trout and throw them on deck, where the spawn-takers sort 

 them over, taking the eggs from ripe females and impregnating them 

 with milt from the males. During very severe weather the fish are 

 thrown into the hold instead of on deck and the work is done there. 



The manner of taking the eggs is similar to that used in taking 

 spawn from other trouts and salmon. First, the female is taken and 

 the eggs, if mature, are gently stripjDed into an ordinary milk-pan and 

 then imi)regnated with milt from the male. This operation is repeated 

 untd the pan is about half filled, when the eggs are "washed up" and 

 poured into a 5-gallon jjail. The "washing-up" process is performed 

 by filling the pans with water and then allowing it to run off, repeating 

 the same until the water which is poured off no longer appears milky; 

 as the specific gravity of the eggs prevents their rising to the surface 

 this can be done without loss if ordinary care is exercised. The pans 

 are refilled and emptied in the same manner until the pail is half or 

 three-fourths full, when it will contain about 75,000 eggs; other pails 

 or buckets are brought into use as often as necessary. To keep the 

 eggs from dying, the water is changed in the large pails every hour 

 until the eggs are taken from the boat and transferred to flannel trays or 

 floating-boxes. All pans, i)ails, and other metallic apparatus are coated 

 with asphaltum paint to prevent rusting, as rust is fatal to the eggs. 



When the jveather is so cold that there is any chance of eggs 

 freezing to the pan, two pans are sometimes used. The outside one is 

 partly filled with water, upon which floats the pan that is to receive 

 the eggs as they are stripped. The pan of water protects that part of 

 the inside pan where the eggs rest and in that way their temperature 

 is kept above the freezing-point. 



SHIPPING EGGS TO THE HATCHERY. 



When spawn-takers are operating at a distance the eggs are held at 

 field stations located at convenient points, whence they are sent to the 

 hatching-house as soon as possible, but if the stations are at isolated 

 points on the lakes it is often necessary to hold the eggs for several 

 days, and occasionally weeks, before means of transportation can be 

 obtained. In such a case the eggs are held in floating-boxes, which 

 are made Ui feet by 1^ feet by 1 foot, with the ends rounded up about 6 



