254 How to obtain it. 



and should be carefully separated from them in sorting. Of 

 course, some judgment is required, as in all probability some of 

 the best fish will have scattered during the netting, and so will 

 turn up at the wrong end of the pond. The other class of fish, if 

 put into a pond by themselves and given plenty of good water 

 and food, will pull up their, condition and improve beyond 

 expectation with proper care. 



August is a good month for dealing with yearlings, which are 



now for the first time called by that name, and by the end of the 



month or in September some may be transplanted, provided the 



water for which they are intended is not too far away. It is true 



they are not a year old, but they have reached a very important 



stage in their development. They have already passed through 



three phases or stages of their existence, viz. : the ovum or egg 



stage, the alevin or yolk sac stage, and the fry stage, during which 



latter they commenced to take food by means of their mouths. 



| The last of these stages is passed in spring, and it is one during 



R which they will travel long distances with perfect safety. After 



|j this, however, comes a period when they will not bear removal, 



i chiefly owing to the season of the year, and this is during the 

 months of June and July, and part of August Not only so, but 

 unless they have been treated with skill, a large portion of them 

 may die during the months of May and June. To bring the fish 

 over this stage of their existence is one great anxiety of the trout 

 grower, and by July the survivors are safe, the dangerous time has 

 been passed, and the fish are ready for transit again as soon as the 

 weather will permit. 



To places that are within easy distance they may be sent in 

 September, and often even during the last days of August, and 

 the advantage of the early planting has been already alluded to. 

 The fish have indeed reached another stage and are yearlings, by 

 which name they continue to be known until the weather becomes 

 too warm for moving them in the following spring. During the 

 same period the fish that were known as yearlings last season now 

 become two-year-olds. 



Yearlings are decidedly the best fish to use for stocking 

 purposes, taking all into account. The objections to fry have 

 already been stated. They do not hold good as regards yearlings, 



