n' 



May '28tli. — -Oanglit tliirty-six, luosily i'fmalf.s^ stripped 

 eiglit, but riKire tliau lialf tlie eg'p:s failed to impregnate, ob- 

 tained one from a giller, just as lie tool^ it from tlie net; 

 stripjied it very carefully, and milted immediately, using 

 very little water, stirring gently until tbe tlie m.ilt was tlioi-- 

 oughly diffused through tlie niass. The milt flowed freely, 

 and was taken from a fish not quite dead. Tlie eggs were 

 transparent but slightly pale. Xot more than ibrty per cent, 

 of these, however, show^ed impregnation. As this failure to 

 impregnate lias been experienced only since the liot weather, 

 I am disposed to attribute it partly, at least, to t;ic high 

 tem])eratnre t)f tlie water in ilie sbalhiw parts of tlie river 

 through which the Sliad are obliged to ])ass. ~\Vv liave re- 

 corded a temperature of <S2°, and have no doubt that farther 

 down the river, on the large ilats it lias been irer|nently 

 higher. 



Mar 2!)th.-— Morning catch 22. some ripe males, no ripe 

 females ; preserved vial of milt fur night catcli : at night 

 caught 24 ; stripped ten females, found only dead s])awn, 

 every egg failing to impregnate. 



May oOth. — Sunday morning irom one seine luiul eighty- 

 nine, saw them cut, their roe was firm in many, apparently 

 Aveeks from maturity, in others nearly ripe and dead. Even- 

 ing haul ten ripe females in good condition, and milt suffici- 

 ent to impregnate : Aveather cooler all day, nearly all im- 

 pregnated ; the 8luul were not worried nor delayed during 

 their run by gill nets, whicli fact probably explains their 

 good (X)ndition. 



May ;>lst. — Morning haul .seventy-four ; six ripe females ; 

 not a living egg ; bottled what milt Ave could and preserved 

 it in spring water until returning to camp, tlien hung it in 

 Avell until evening. While Avaiting to make haul in the 

 evening, procured ripe females from a giller, also tAvo males 

 from Avhich obtained very little milt, used this on one lot, 

 and bottled milt on the other; a good percentage in both lots 

 impregnated. The defect of those that failed, may have 

 been in eggs or milt, or both. The experiment, hoAvever, 

 proved the possibility of preserving milt of Shad, or any 

 other tish, alive. In botli cases eggs Avere taken from dead 

 fish, though caught Avithin the hour. In one case the milt 



