52 FISH CULTURE. 



partially so ; but this hypothesis is not probable, or 

 how could the few that did hatch come forth ? while, 

 if partial fecundation were supposed to be the cause, 

 the operation must have been more carelessly carried 

 out than is at all probable for so very small a pro- 

 portion to have come in contact with the milt. It is 

 more probable that they were either too much shaken 

 or too closely confined from the air during their 

 journey, as the bottles were tightly corked. 



The eyes are shown by one or two little black 

 specks, which become visible in one part of the egg, 

 in ordinary temperatures, about the fortieth to the 

 forty-fifth day ; according to the state of the water, so 

 they may be looked for. 



When ova is too roughly used, it dies off in a very 

 singular way ; a small white speck instantly makes 

 its appearance on the egg. When you see this, you 

 may throw it away, nothing can save it. This speck, 

 in a very few minutes, spreads round the egg in a 

 white cloudy ring, and speedily envelops it ; and, 

 in a very short time longer, the whole egg is of a 

 dirty opaque white. If left, it putrifies, and throws 

 out a kind of fungus, as before described. 



The ova will often remain for weeks clear and 

 well coloured, even after the period when it ought to 

 have hatched. When this is the case, it has not been 



