o» ARTIFICIAL REPRODUCTION OF FISHES. 



being provided with an earthen vessel, I made my first 

 attempt at artificially spawning and impregnating the eggs. 

 This was accomplished as follows : 



I partially filled the earthen vessel with water, and 

 taking the female in my left hand, and making gentle 

 pressure on her abdomen with my right, the eggs were 

 forced into the earthen vessel containing the water. The 

 male was treated in precisely the same manner, forcing the 

 spermatic fluid into the same vessel. The appearance of 

 the eggs was almost immediately changed from their bright 

 golden orange color to a pale transparent yellow. They 

 were then placed in running water with the vessel con- 

 taining them. 



On the 9th of January one of the eggs was placed under 

 one of Dr. Goadby's microscopes. (The Doctor was at that 

 time giving a course of lectures in this city.) Its appear- 

 ance delighted the company of scientific gentlemen present, 

 as well as myself. The egg, which at first had been a 

 simple cell, was now multiplied into a countless number 

 of cells, of diflferent sizes, with traces of blood vessels, the 

 eyes also being i^erceptible. 



On the 22d of January we examined them again, and to 

 our joy we found a young fish which had just left its nar- 

 row place of confinement, to try its new mode of existence. 

 It was very lively in its motions, but could not be consid- 

 ered an expert swimmer, owing to an appendage to its 

 abdomen of nearly the size of the egg, which in fact it was, 

 and contained the material for the further development of 

 the yet very imperfect fish. This sack was filled with a 

 multitude of minute cells, whose absorption keeps pace 

 with the development of the fish. When the young fish 

 leaves its egg, it measures about half an inch in length, 

 neither the mouth, gills, nor any of the abdominal viscera 

 are visible, all of which would be plainly discerned with 

 the microscope, if they existed, owing to its almost perfect 

 transparency. The heart, with the principal blood vessels, 

 and even the corpuscles of blood, are beautifully shown 



