398 MANAGEMENT OF FISH JUST HATCHED. 



the fish does not suck milk Hke a warm-blooded animal^ 

 so its lower jaw is not quite so soon ossified. 



What is, then, the most important organ to the young- 

 fish ? He has lots of enemies, and it is his first object 

 to get out of their way. The eyes therefore are the 

 organs which first arrive at perfection ; and they are 

 indeed perfection in this minute jelly-like creature. 



The eye is in perfect working order at the moment of 

 birth, though the rest of the body is far from perfection. 

 The lens of the eye is amply developed, as can be proved 

 by placing a dead fish in spirits of wine and observing 

 that the lens turned white instantly it touched the 

 spirit. Thus I was enabled to see, and accurately to 

 judge of its size and shape. 



The lining coats of the eye, moreover, are already at 

 birth painted with a beautiful silver-and-gold lining 

 which the angler will see if he cuts open the eye of the 

 next fish he kills. It is especially well seen in the eye 

 of the cod ; and the reader may easily get one of these 

 and examine for himself. 



THE MANAGEMENT OF THE FISH JUST 



HATCHED. 



When first hatched out the young fish remain quite 

 quiescent at the bottom of their troughs, looking like 

 barley-sugar drops. When the light is admitted on to 

 them, they simultaneously wriggle about like tadpoles. 



Leave them alone. They do not require feeding. 

 They live by absorption of the contents of their um- 

 bilical sac. After a while the little fellows begin " to 

 scale" — i.^., scales to grow — giving their bodies a darkened 

 appearance, and to move about more actively. 



The moment the fish begin to hatch out, you must 

 increase the flow of water. 



