FEETILISING TBOTJT EGGS 127 



way, are fatally hurt. There are also other 

 signs of the approaching spawning. Here and 

 there fish will be seen clearing nests in the 

 gravel, and females with swelling sides move 

 more slowly and heavily through the water. 



Spawning Habits of Trout. From this pe- 

 riod on the days of the fish-culturist are full of 

 watchfulness and anxiety. He must use his 

 nets frequently to make tests to discover ripe- 

 ness. This is done by taking the fish as though 

 for stripping, and gently pressing the finger 

 along the abdomen. If the eggs flow freely 

 from the vent, the fish are ripe. 



When ponds are provided with a raceway the 

 work is simpler, because few excepting the 

 nearly ripe males and females enter it, and it is 

 then only necessary to close the entrance and 

 examine the fish which may be there. Eace- 

 ways attached to ponds should be covered 

 with boards a couple of weeks before the spawn- 

 ing time, as darkness has a great attraction for 

 gravid fish. 



Eipeness is usually found first among fish of 

 three years and older; the younger, or first 

 spawners, not " coming in" until later in the 



