148' Rai^BT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



little more tlian 20 minutes from the time the milt is applied they feel 

 like shot against the fingers, and to an experienced eye are observed 

 to increase slightly in size 5 when a day old, they will not break if 

 droi)i)ed to the floor. In transferring to other vessels, the rim of the 

 smaller pan should be gently immersed beneath the water surface in the 

 larger one, and the pouring take place gradually. To prevent splashing, 

 in boats, a small pan should be put on the water surface of the larger 

 pan. Sudden jars must be avoided, all foreign substances excluded, and 

 the pans be free from grease and salt. After the application of milt 

 they expand to full size in 20 to 60 minutes, depending partly on tem- 

 perature, and at this stage they may be doubled up in the larger pans, the 

 question of safety in moving them being determined by their hardness. 



Paus used iu cleauing eggs. 



When eggs are received at the station, in order to thoroughly remove 

 all impurities they are passed through netting, and for this puri)ose, 

 two 18-inch flared tin pans with handles, one pan fitting within the 

 other, are employed; 2 inches of tiie bottom part of the inner pan are 

 evenly cut off and replaced with quarter-inch (bar) twine netting. The 

 lower i^an is filled with water to a point just above the netting, and 

 then several quarts of eggs are gently poured in,^ when they drop through 

 the meshes, leaving the fish scales, etc., behind. Thus they are also 

 given a change of water, which should be clean and fresh and of about 

 the same temperature as that in the hatchery and river. 



If the eggs have absorbed sufficient water in the spawn-pan, they 

 swell and adhere to each other, forming a comf)act mass, and are ready 

 to be transferred to the hatching-jars, but if they are not sufficiently 

 expanded or '^water-hardened," they must remain in the pans, from 30 

 to 60 minutes being required for their full expansion. 



