ALASKA FISHERIES AND PUR INDUSTRIES, 19U. 83 



HANDLING EGGS IN HATCHERY. 



At some of the Bureau's stations where salmon eggs are handled 

 it was the custom until a few years ago to ''bury" the eggs or leave 

 them undisturbed (aside from picking once the day after spawning) 

 for two or three weeks after putting them in the baskets. The result 

 was that they were m some instances literally buried under and in 

 such a mass of mud and sediment that many eggs were killed. Dis- 

 continuance of the practice resulted in a very appreciable improve- 

 ment. 



When the water is so turbid as to cause a heavy deposit of sedimen t 

 it is better to go over the eggs occasionally, even through the critical 

 stages of development, or until the Ime of the fish is well formed. 

 Of course the eggs must be handled with utmost caution at aU times, 

 but OAving to their extreme sensitiveness durmg the two or three days 

 follomng the closing of the blastopore and until a perceptible curve 

 shows in the tail, they should be left entirely untouched. It soon 

 becomes easy to determine the stage of an egg's development by hold- 

 ing it up to the light between the thimib and forefinger. In the 

 absence of cautious and skilled operatives and unless the water is 

 roily for an extended period, it is undoubtedly better to let the eggs 

 remain undisturbed until the curvature of the tail is visible to the 

 unaided eye. The accumulation of a moderate coating of sediment 

 which readUy washes off is not injurious. In a few instances it has 

 become necessary to handle the eggs during the tender stage to arrest 

 the spread of fungus, but where the water supply is reasonably 

 well adapted to fish-cultural purposes such a course is rarely if ever 

 necessary. 



REMOVAL OF DEAD EGGS BY THE USE OF SALT SOLUTION. 



Among the most noteworthy advances in fish-cultural methods 

 during the last few jea,TS has been the use of salt as an aid in the re- 

 moval of dead eggs. The development of this process has extended 

 over a period of several years, but it is more during the last year or so 

 through the efforts of Mr. L. E. Baldridge, of the Yes Bay station, 

 that it has reached a high degree of efficiency. 



Compared with the time-honored process of picking by hand there 

 are marked advantages in using the salt solution, and chief among 

 these is the great saving of labor. It is estunated that if the eggs 

 liappen to be of not more than mediocre quality it would take at least 

 20 pickers to remove as many dead eggs as could 2 men using the 

 salt solution. Moreover, the operation is much more thoroughly per- 

 formed in the latter process tlian is possible in picking by hand. 



Another advantage of using the solution is that it is possible thor- 

 oughly to clean the eggs. This greatly reduces any loss through 



