Hatching. 5 1 



no anxiety about that, as a dead egg can be 

 told in a second, even by an inexperienced eye. 

 A good living egg is translucent, and has a 

 beautiful bloom on it like that of a ripe Muscat 

 grape ; a dead egg is opaque and white, and 

 when once seen can never be mistaken. 



These dead eggs should be picked out care- 

 fully every day, as, if left in the water, a species 

 of alga grows upon .them, and spreads over the 

 living eggs in their vicinity, and by killing them 

 would, if left alone, in time do incalculable 

 mischief. 



Every care, therefore, should be taken to 

 secure a perfect impregnation, as the more 

 successful it is, the less labour will there be in 

 removing blind eggs ; and this labour is of no 

 pleasant kind, as the work has to be done with 

 the hands, dabbling in the water very often 

 with the air below the freezing point, and the 

 running water very little above it. 



If, however, ripe milt and eggs have been 



E 2 



