304 
On December 26th the eggs required another good washing, 
and the leech glass, used as an egg extractor, sucked up 
two good eggs at one time, and with such force that they 
became jammed together at its orifice, and had to be pushed 
out with a feather. Anticipating that this might possibly 
injure the embryo, they were placed by themselves, but eventu- 
ally hatched out satisfactorily. January 26th, the water from 
the pump was coming up very clouded, and on the 28th the 
eggs had again to be washed. On the 3lst the pump finally 
struck work, the sucker being choked with sand, so I determined 
to have the well cleared out. On February 4th had to move 
the entire apparatus, as it stood in the way of digging down to 
the well, the cleansing of which was completed during the day, 
and on the 5th everything was reinstated as before. Feb. 6th, 
had again to wash the eggs. On the 15th some of the ova had 
become of the clear-muddy colour, seen shortly prior to hatch- 
ing. On the 16th two came out, and eleven more the next day. 
On the 20th only one more egg hatched, and on the 21st, on 
looking closely at the trays, most of the young fish were dead ; 
some deleterious effects might have been due to a fall in the 
temperature, which commenced on the 19th, but it seemed to 
me to be more probably caused by some paraffin from one of the 
tubs having poisoned the young fish. For when the pump gave 
out an extra tub had been procured for spring water and 
allowing the sand to settle, consequently as only one tub full 
was used every twenty-four hours, the water remained forty- 
eight hours in each settling tub before being used. It seemed 
to me as if the water smelt slightly of paraffin, so every drop 
was got rid of, and the reservoir and trays filled up with fresh 
from the pump, which, if dirty, was not chemically dele- 
terious. 
On the morning of February 22nd, or the eighty-sixth 
day after the eggs had been taken from the fish, I found 
the great majority had hatched, and the question suggested 
itself whether hatching can be retarded should the condition 
of the water they are in be unfavourable? is it possible that 
the embryo have now burst their shells consequent upon the 
