134 FISH CULTUBE 



and perhaps kill her. They also claim that de- 

 spite all care an occasional male will be thrown 

 into the tub containing the stripped females, 

 and after being placed in the ponds there will 

 inevitably be a fight with possible fatalities. 

 I am inclined to think that the weight of the 

 argument is in favour of clean stripping. 



As soon as the eggs have been taken from 

 the female the milt is expressed from the male 

 in the same manner as the eggs from the female. 

 The eggs and milt are then thoroughly mixed. 

 Some fish-culturists stir the two together with 

 a feather, but my experience is that no imple- 

 ment for this purpose excels the tail of the male, 

 the operator still holding the fish and stirring 

 with it. 



The eggs, when first extracted, are about one- 

 third smaller than they become after they have 

 been fertilised. A fish's egg, like an orange, is 

 slightly flattened, and in the top there is a 

 minute hole called a micropyle, surrounded by 

 a glutinous substance. Fertilisation is accom- 

 plished by an atom of milt (a spermatozoon) 

 passing through the hole into the interior. It 

 is a marvellous provision of nature that the 



