itjo THE SEA-TROUT 



the bank for inspection, and the fish may be shaken out on the grass 

 till handled, if that is to be done immediately, or left swinging in the 

 current meantime till the operator is ready for them. If he is so, a 

 female is taken from the net and handed to him. 



The operator then takes the fish, wraps one of the towels round her 

 to prevent her slipping, leaving the vent clear. Then sitting down, 

 with the clean dry tin basin between his feet, he holds the fish, head 

 towards him (and I may say it is better to have an assistant to hold the 

 tail in case of accidents to fish or ova), when with a slight pressure above 

 the vent the eggs will flow into the basin in practically a continuous 

 stream if the fish is perfectly " ripe." If not, a repeated pressure from 

 the throat towards the vent will bring it away. But no violence should 

 on any account be used. If the eggs on repeated gentle pressure do 

 not flow the fish is not ripe and must be discarded. When all the ova 

 are extracted, the fish, if it has been carefully handled, will swim ofi'. 

 But often they lie close to the bank for a time ; and always, on returning 

 the fish to the river, they must be gently put into the water, head 

 upstream, and not violently or carelessly thrown in anyhow. If a ripe 

 male is known to be in the bag-net, the ova of half-a-dozcn females may 

 be extracted before his milt is used. 



The male is then taken and is handled in the same way. His milt, 

 which also responds to pressure, is allowed to flow over the eggs in the 

 basin. If they are numerous, or the male seems a poor fish, the milt 

 of another male may be utilised also. When females preponderate, 

 one should make certain that a male will be at hand when necessary; 

 hence it is useful to retain one or two in one of the small bag-nets. But 

 before returning the male, which we have just used, to the water the 

 operator gently stirs the eggs and milt in the basin with the tail of the 

 fish. 



The eggs, which hitherto are all separate pellets, are now covered 

 with water an inch deep, when the milky-looking fluid will practically 



