Kendall. — New England CJiars 105 



make, although it would support my views and emphasize 

 those particular points if they were shown to be so. 



In respect to the salmon and trout in fish culture, it 

 has been, consciously or unconsciously, assumed that 

 Rathke, Huxley and other anatomists following them were 

 correct and that as the eggs were deposited free in the 

 abdominal cavity all that was necessary to do was to get 

 them out and use them and that no harm would be done 

 to the fish. The abdominal cavity was regarded as a sort 

 of bag filled with eggs and in order to get them all that 

 was necessary was to use pressure and the eggs would 

 run out. 



In stripping trout (Salvelini) it is well known that it 

 is necessary to press several times to get all of the eggs, 

 and it is customary for the stripper to try the fish to 

 ascertain if the eggs will flow. He presses along the 

 ventral surface from forward toward the tail and if he 

 gets no eggs the fish is returned to the car or pen for it 

 to ripen. When eggs are obtained by a light preliminary 

 pressure, he repeats the pressing or stripping movement, 

 a little harder each time, until all that can be expressed 

 are forced out and the process usually, I may say almost 

 invariably, results in some blood, faecal matter and mu- 

 cous coming with the last eggs, indicating that consider- 

 able force is used. If the eggs were all ripe, it should 

 not be necessary to exert much force. When naturally 

 depositing her eggs, the fish does not lose any blood, and 

 they are extruded, so far as we know, in an easy flow. 

 All of the ripe eggs are emitted but it takes time for the 

 process as the eggs do not all ripen at the same time. 



The point that I want to make is this : That when such 

 undue force is used in stripping the fish, this very deli- 

 cate membrane may be ruptured or the ovary injured, 

 especially if the membrane completely covers the ovary as 

 has been suggested. 



I ought to mention that at the thirteenth annual meet- 

 ing of this society, Mr. Charles G. Atkins presented some 

 notes on the landlocked salmon, regarding which, among 

 jther things, he said : "Among the migratory salmon of 



