The Hatching Apparatus. 3 1 



quirements of the owner may direct. They 

 should have lids of open skeleton framework, 

 carefully covered with fine wire netting to 

 keep out the kingfishers, for these pests 

 clear out boxes at a marvellous rate if once 

 they get to know their way into them. The 

 writer speaks from bitter experience on this 

 point, and can personally vouch for the in- 

 sidious character of this the most beautiful 

 of British birds. The ends of the boxes 

 should have frames sliding in grooves, on 

 which perforated zinc can be fastened ; the 

 size of the perforations in this will vary, of 

 course, with that of the fish : fry, at first, one- 

 sixteenth of an inch ; after they have grown 

 somewhat, one-eighth ; and for spawning fish, 

 three-sixteenths or one-fourth of an inch. In 

 some waters zinc, especially if perforated, is so 

 powerfully acted upon that in six months it 

 crumbles away. In these iron may be used, as 

 water that corrodes zinc has no action on iron. 



