12 Report of the American 



This is as far as the record goes this year, but they will probably 

 extend the spawning season into March, as they did last year. 



It will be seen that on the 28tli of December, after an interval of 

 eight days, there were only 1,500 spawn deposited, probably two fish 

 in the whole week, and this right in the height of the season. 



The beginner also kills more or less fish, generally more, as there 

 is some loss from handling, even by an experienced operator, there- 

 fore he should always use the screens, for a while at least. 



The only complaint 1 hear against the screens is, that the per 

 centage of impregnation is not so great as by the hand system; this 

 comes mostly from those who are engaged in supplying the spawn to 

 those just starting in business. 



This objection is of small value to persons who wish to take it for 

 their own use, as the comfort and convenience of the screens will 

 far outweigh any consideration of that character. 



I have received letters of inquiry by the score, concerning the 

 details of the management of the screens, in the past two years ; two 

 of them were from experienced hand operators, saying that the per 

 centage of impregnation was very low on their screens, and asking 

 advice ; and my answer has been, that at my ponds at Iloneoye Falls, 

 ]Sr. y., I use large gravel, from the size of a black walnut to a hen's 

 e^^, and but little of it j hardly a water pail full to a box three feet 

 long by two feet wide. 



I often find all the gravel swept into one end of the box, and have 

 known the fish to spawn on the bare painted wire and sweep the 

 gravel over it, leaving the other end bare. Of course, the only rea- 

 son that more eggs are not impregnated is because the milt fails to 

 reach them, through becoming too much diluted; and to lessen the 

 chance of this, I have the distance between the upper and lower 

 screen as small as possible; in some cases they have actuallj'^ touched, 

 from the sagging of the upper screen with its weight of gravel. 

 These are the main points, and by observing them more closely my 

 per centage of fertilized eggs has increased two and a half per cent 

 this season over the average of last year. 



This per centage has varied from eighty and a fourth to ninety- 

 two, the average for the part of the season ending at the present 

 writing (January 28th, 1873) being eighty-seven and a half. 



By the dry method nearly 100 per cent of all eggs taken can be 

 fecundated, which is considered a great saving; but are all the eggs 

 taken \ Experience has shown that trout often disturbed on the beds 



