THE SALMON FAMILY 77 



emptied into the retaining box. In this way from ten 

 to twenty fish may be caught in a few minutes. 



When the drive is over the fish are again placed in 

 the buckets and hastily transferred to the main retain- 

 ing tank, which is a structure of considerable dimen- 

 sions sunk in a suitable place safe from floods and, if 

 possible, under cover. 



The salmon are then sorted into males and females 

 and placed in separate tanks. The fishing is then con- 

 tinued until a sufficient stock has been accumulated to 

 justify taking the eggs. The eggs of the female fish are 

 then expressed into spawning dishes, and fertilised by 

 shedding over them the milt, or soft roe, from the male 

 fish. As soon as the eggs have separated and hardened 

 they are packed in cases or jars. The jars are packed 

 in boxes, which contain a non-conducting material such 

 as sawdust, chaff or straw. 



There is now less than twenty-four hours left in 

 which to transmit the fertilised eggs to the hatchery, 

 which may be situated some hundreds of miles away. 



The spawning is undertaken at a time chosen with 

 reference to the train service, and it may be necessary 

 to begin at midnight in order to leave by an early morn- 

 ing train. The first part of the journey is probably in 

 a cart over hilly roads. In the train the boxes are placed 

 in charge of an attendant. If the journey is at all com- 

 plicated, all station-masters along the line are advised, 

 and every effort made to secure punctual transmission. 



On their arrival at the hatchery, the jars containing 



