MANUAL OP FISH-CULTURE. 123 



three minutes, the water is poured off and fresh water added, and this 

 is repeated until the water comes away clear, when the eggs are poured 

 into the keg or can previously filled with water, and the work of taking 

 spawn is continued. Before adding another lot those previously put into 

 the keg are gently stirred. It is necessary to change the water on the 

 eggs at least once an hour, and oftener if the weather is warm, and the 

 eggs should be gently stirred to the bottom of the keg every 30 minutes 

 until thej^ are placed in running water in the hatchery. 



When the spawn-taker has finished he turns over the eggs to a man 

 in charge of the field work, who cares for them until the collecting 

 steamer comes, when they are taken aboard and transported to the sta- 

 tion, some 2 to 5 hours having elapsed since they were taken. At the 

 station the eggs are kept in the kegs in which they were placed by the 

 spawn-taker and a stream of water of about 2 gallons per minute to 

 each keg is kept running on them until the next morning, and they are 

 stirred to the very bottom once an hour in the meantime. In this way 

 tlie eggs are given time to harden with less injury than if they were 

 immediately placed in the jars. 



Formerly in shi^jping eggs long distances they were kept in running 

 water in kegs, under the care of a watchman, but it has been found 

 much better to ship them in cases on trays. After having been in water 

 8 or 10 hours, whitefish ova may be safely placed two or three layers 

 deep on trays and shipped indefinite distances. If the weather is warm 

 (55° or 60° F.) the cases must be surrounded with ice, or sawdust and ice. 



In placing the eggs on the trays a perforated dipper is used and a 

 little practice soon shows about how many to dip out for each tray, and 

 if just enough water is left with the eggs a slight tilting of the tray 

 will distribute them evenly over its surface. Then by setting the tray 

 with one corner on the floor and the diagonally opposite corner raised 

 3 or 4 inches, the surplus water will soon dram off'. This may be facili- 

 tated by slipping a thin wooden wedge between the cloth and wood at 

 the lower corner of the tray. 



In shipping a distance of 40 or 50 miles, the trays may be placed in 

 the cases with no other protection from change of temperature than 

 the wood of which they are constructed — an inch thickness of tray and 

 an inch of case with an inch of air-sjiace between — which is found to 

 be safe in a cool car or room in a boat, but for longer distances about 

 20 trays are fastened together with thin strips of wood tacked to either 

 side and placed in a large case with from 4 to 6 inches of pine sawdust 

 well packed on every side. 



After the eggs are placed on trays and drained, they are covered 

 with a thickness of mosquito netting, well washed and left damp, and 

 over this is packed enough damp moss to till the tray even with the 

 surface. If eggs are to go by express, unaccompanied by a messenger, 

 directions are fastened to the case stating that they must be kept cool 

 but not permitted to freeze. Whitefish eggs have been safely shipped 

 in this way fi-om Nortliville, Michigan, to Australia. If the eggs are 



