30 liEV. MOSES HAEVEY ON 



and at intervals are taken out and " stripped " ; then returned to the tank. The milt of 

 the male is poured over the eggs which are placed in a proper receptacle with a small 

 quantity of water, and the fecundated ova are then placed in the hatchery jars in which, 

 by an ingenious contrivance, the water pumped into a cistern from a depth of thirty feet, 

 is constantly kept in gentle motion, the eggs floating near the surface. In a temperature 

 of 40 Fahr. the embryo cod hatches, or breaks through the egg, in twenty or twenty- 

 one days. A lower temperature will prolong the period of development and one which 

 is higher will hasten it. When the young cod escapes from the enveloping membrane, 

 the mouth, tongue and digestive organs are not fully developed ; but the young fish is 

 provided with a yolk-sack containing nutriment on which it subsists for ten or twelve days. 

 The mouth and digestive organs are now fully formed so that the young fry can seek food 

 for themselves and are liberated in the sea. From iifty to sixty per cent of the eggs treated 

 in the hatchery are hatched. By the construction of a pond in which the fish will be 

 allowed to spawn in the natural way, Mr. Nielsen expects to hatch from seventy to 

 ninety per cent of the ova, so that his output for the season will be greatly increased. 



The first season for hatching (1890) proved to be very unfavourable, owing to the presence 

 of unusual quantities of ice around the coast, in consequence of which the cod were late in 

 approaching the shores. Seventeen millions of cod were hatched and " planted " in the 

 waters. During the second season forty millions were hatched successfully. A much 

 larger output is anticipated in 1892. The fishermen reported in 1891 seeing immense 

 numbers of young cod in the waters where formerly none were found. That these were 

 the products of the hatchery can hardly be doubted. Two years more will be required to 

 determine whether the grand object aimed at can be fully attained, as a codBsh requires 

 four years to reach maturity. 



Lobster hatching is a totally different process. The eggs of the lobster are fecundated 

 within the body of the female, and when extruded are fastened to the fibrils under the 

 tail by a glutinous substance. She carries them with her till they are hatched. At the 

 lobster factories, arrangements are made for collecting these eggs from the captured 

 lobsters, placing them in floating incubators in which they are hatched and afterwards 

 set free in the sea. During 1890, the immense number of 406,005,300 young lobsters were 

 hatched and planted in the waters. In 1891, the number hatched was 551,469,880. It 

 should be noted that but for this artificial process all these life-germs would have perished, 

 as the lobsters are boiled before being packed. The effect of preserving and bringing 

 them to life cannot fail to have a most beneficial effect in sustaining the stock of lobsters 

 and averting the deterioration or destruction of a valuable fishery. The commission are 

 satisfied that by combining it with a close season and a proper regulation of the openings 

 in the lobster traps, so as to permit immature lobsters to escape, the future of the lobster 

 fishery is assured. Canada is likely to adopt Mr. Nielsen's floating incubators, and in 

 Scotland they are also introduced. Lieutenant Grordou, R.N., who is well acquainted 

 with the lobster fishery, says in his report for 1890, in reference to the value of Mr. 

 Nielsen's floating incubators : — " Suppose the case of a cannery putting up 2,000 cases of 

 lobsters, or 96,000 lbs., these require, say, a million lobsters to put up, and my inquiries 

 show that probably one in five are 'berried' lobsters— say 100,000. Now take one-half 

 of this and say that 50,000 ' berried ' lobsters, each carrying about 20,000 exuded eggs 

 were destroyed in putting up the 2,000 cases; we have no less than 1,000,000,000 ova 



