136 FISH CULTURE 



necessary that the eggs be now left absolutely 

 quiet, as any disturbance during the process 

 of water-soaking, sufficient to cause them to 

 break apart, would almost inevitably cause the 

 loss of nearly if not all the eggs in the pan. 

 Little by little the eggs swell until the micropyle 

 becomes closed and is hermetically sealed by the 

 glutinous substance which surrounded it, and it 

 remains so sealed throughout the entire period 

 of incubation. At the end of from 15 to 30 

 minutes adhesion ceases, the enlarged eggs sep- 

 arate and are now ready to be placed on trays 

 for hatching. 



The ordinary method is to pour the eggs from 

 several spawning-pans into a dish-pan, pre- 

 viously filled with clean cold water, until a suf- 

 ficient quantity has been taken to fill one or 

 more trays. From the dish-pan the eggs are 

 poured into a graduated glass so that the exact 

 number of eggs may be ascertained, and then 

 are poured gently on to trays until the latter, 

 according to size, contain from 10,000 to 25,000 

 eggs. The eggs are then carefully spread two 

 deep, by means of a feather, although there are 

 circumstances in which they may be placed, 



