How to obtain it. 241 



the latter case the fish should not be returned to their pond, but 

 be placed in another small one by themselves, so that the dose 

 can be repeated where the first is not efficacious. It should be 

 borne in mind, in putting salt through the ponds, that it is i^x- 

 destructive to some forms of life, and there is a danger of its dis- 

 arranging the equilibrium of life in the water, which has an 

 important bearing on the welfare of the little fish. The salt bath 

 after removal from the ponds, is the best remedy. The solution 

 may vary in strength. The weaker it is the longer the fish can 

 remain in it, and the stronger it is the sooner they require removal. 

 I prefer a moderately strong dose of salt, though by no means in 

 excess, but different practitioners have such varied opinions as to 

 the strength of the liquid required, that I would advise the 

 beginner to try a few experiments with a small number of fish at 

 first, and then decide as to the best course. A very strong dose 

 destroys the fungus, but time is required, and if the fish turn 

 sickly at once and have to be taken out, the liquid may not have 

 had time to saturate the fungoid coating, and so the desired 

 object will not be attained. A milder dose is often more efficacious, 

 the fish remaining longer in it. The signal for taking them 

 out is their coming to the surface or going over on their sides, 

 when they should be at once removed to a current of good water, 

 which will soon revive most or all of them. Of course a few 

 will die, as may be reasonably expected in the case of such delicate 

 little creatures, but in skilful hands the death-rate should be com- 

 paratively small, and sometimes it is almost nil. Sea water is 

 better than salt and water where it can be readily obtained. 



As the season advances, and the little fish grow, the quantity 

 of food will require increasing, and when the death-rate is low 

 they will soon require thinning out. For this purpose it is 

 necessary to have some extra ponds, and they may be a good 

 deal larger than the nurseries. A pond about sixty feet long and 

 sixteen or twenty feet wide, with water four feet deep, will do very 

 well, and if in autumn the level can be raised to six feet so much 

 the better. If the fish are not thinned out they are very liable 

 to contract disease and die. Some of them that have grown 

 faster than the rest will also become cannibals and devour their 

 fellows. The pollution of the water by being breathed over by so | 

 R 



