146 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



arm and there retained by the arm, the tail being bent slightly upward 

 with the left hand. When the fish is proi)erly adjusted its head is 

 nearly concealed. The fish is held firmly over a moist pan, and with 

 a moderate downward pressure of the right hand the eggs will flow 

 freely if mature. The strokes are continued until there are signs of 

 blood, which usually accompany the last eggs. The fingers should not 

 touch the gills of the fish, as laceration of these organs causes a flow of 

 blood injurious to the eggs. Two fish may be stripped into each i^an. 



As soon as the spawn is all obtained, the shad is discarded, it being 

 impossible to preserve the life of svich a delicate fish, even with the 

 utmost care. But though it has slight tenacity of life when taken from 

 the water, the shad is a very muscular fish, and if not firmly held it will 

 flounder and splash in the pan of eggs and jDrobably throw a large 

 proportion out and damage some of those that remain. 



The first half teaspoonfu> of eggs should be pressed out into the 

 palm of the left hand and inspected. Skilled operatives can usually 

 discern ripeness by general outward appearance. A slow and yet 

 almost positive test consists in running some of the eggs into water, 

 when, if dead, they will have the appearance of boiled rice. But bad 

 eggs are .sometimes beyond the detection of the most skilled fish- 

 culturists. If the eggs are white, opaque, or of milky appearance, the 

 fish is put aside. Immature eggs are white, small, and adhering in 

 clots; or they may be transparent and yet unyielding to pressure. 

 The former are valueless, while the latter can sometimes be utilized by 

 putting the fish aside to soften. Both ripe and green eggs sometimes 

 occur in the same fish, but only exi^ert operatives can hope to take the 

 one and leave the other. If eggs are mature, but little pressure is 

 necessary to start them, and if not, they are only injured by squeezing, 

 and will either not flow at all, or will come away with difficulty in clotted 

 masses and generally with a little blood. After the spawn is taken 

 away, the fish has a soft and flaccid appearance about the abdomen, 

 which after natural spawning becomes contracted and drawn up, taper- 

 ing slenderly toward the tail. 



Eggs of the best grade may be impaired by intermixture of overripe 

 or green ones, lumps of milt, tissues of the sperm sac, or fish scales. The 

 overripe and unfertilized ones can be discarded, and a tiny net, an inch 

 square, or a straw or twig, maybe used in removing foreign substances. 

 The spawn-taker should clean the eggs before delivering them at the 

 hatchery, and no subsequent care can compensate for his neglect. 

 Experienced men rarely bring in bad eggs, unless as a result of vari- 

 able and unfavorable weather conditions. 



To obtain the milt the spawn-taker catches the fish by the back, 

 taking hold of the under side with the right hand. Without relaxing 

 pressure at any point the milt is forced out with the thumb and fore- 

 finger. Good milt is so thin that it flows in a steady stream, and from 

 some fish it can be ejected widely over the surface of the eggs, but in 



