TEANSPOET OF OVA AND FEY. 79 



course, mean to say that they are not still highly 

 disadvantageous; but, comparatively speaking, they 

 would do little harm. To show what an egg in this 

 state can endure, I cite one instance mentioned by 

 Carl Voght in his work. 1 He was once examining 

 such an egg, when a sudden interruption caused 

 him to drop it. It fell fully a yard on to the stone 

 floor he was standing on, and rolled into a crack. 

 He could not find it at the time, and there it lay 

 out of water for two hours, after which he found it. 

 Of course he did not expect to find it alive ; never- 

 theless, on examining it, he found that the embryo 

 was actually alive, and apparently uninjured. He 

 replaced it in the trough, and in due time it yielded 

 a healthy and active fish. I merely cite this instance 

 to show what ova in this state can undergo. Now, 

 instead of fine gravel, I would employ coarse irre- 

 gular gravel, so that it might afford plenty of inter- 

 stices. I would have the ova so far vitalized that 

 the eyes might be seen. I would place it at a good 

 depth in the gravel, cover it up carefully, and stretch 

 tightly down over the whole a zinc wire netting, 

 strengthened occasionally with transverse bars of 



1 <c 



; Kiinstliche Fischzucht," a very interesting little work on 

 German fish, containing a chapter or two devoted to artificial 

 incubation. 



