XVI—THE ARTIFICIAL PROPAGATION OF FISH. 
By J.%Psgd.. KOLrz.* 
CHAPTER I. 
§ 1.—The artificial fecundation of fish-eggs. 
Whoever desires to engage in the artificial propagation of fish should 
endeavor to take nature for his guide in his manipulations. In the 
present work we shall do everything in our power to explain every 
principle by an example froi nature, and shall refer to the results of 
experiments made in other places, without, however, entering into a use- 
less and detailed examination of the different methods which so far haye 
been recommended. We shall above everything else limit ourselves to 
indicating those methods which, after repeated experiments, promise cer- 
tain success, directing attention at the same time to those points which 
are still somewhat dark and on which positive observations must throw 
further light. 
When the spawning season has commenced one procures some males 
and females of that kind of fish which he desires to propagate artifi- 
cially or to cross with other breeds. These fish are placed in tanks of 
sufficient size, keeping if possible each kind of fish separate, and taking 
care to give to all kinds those conditions of life which their nature de- 
mands. Thus trout, salmon, 
barbel, &c., which live in run- © 
ning or cold water, and prop- 
agate in it, should be placed 
in basins or tanks fed from 
springs, or by clear water re? 4. 
which is renewed from time to time; whilst the carp, tench, &e., which 
spawn in stagnant waters, should be placed in such water. These tanks 
have a double bottom, the upper one being of open wicker-work, whilst 
the lower one is amovable hair sieve. The young fish can then be taken 
out by means of a fine net shaped like a dipper and furnished with a 
long handle (Fig.1). If itis impossible to obtain tanks like those above 
described, the female fish are placed either in a fish-box (a kind of per- 
* Traité de la multiplication artificielle des poissons. Brussels, 1858.—Translated from 
the French by HERMAN JACOBSON. 
