24 THE EGG HARVEST. 



say the young fish themselves dislike saline water, but vegetable 

 and infusorial life are apt to resent the intrusion ; and if they have 

 been introduced so as to obtain the best results in the ponds, the 

 balance is overset in a manner more costly than pleasant. 



A pond specially designed, and whose overflow is led directly 

 out of the works as waste water, is therefore advisable for condi- 

 tioning early spawners. At Howietoun, pond No. 9 was built for 

 this purpose, and it is so deep in the centre that a stratum of 

 saline water of a high density can be maintained for many weeks 

 at a small expenditure of bay salt. As a general rule, it is best to 

 arrange for the oldest fish to spawn earliest, as their produce is 

 used for stocking the warmest localities, and for the youngest fish 

 to spawn latest, the fry from their eggs being most suitable for 

 high and cold situations, 



Before spawning, two ponds are netted, one for males and the 

 other for spawners, these latter thriving much better when segre- 

 gated. The nets used are of 1-inch mesh from knot to knot, 

 the small mesh being found in practice to injure fish less than a 

 large one. The net with which the pond containing the spawners 

 is drawn is in the form of a bag 20 feet long, the mouth of which 

 exactly fits the cross-section of the pond at its deepest part. The 

 bottom rope is lightly leaded, and the two lower guys are attached 

 by short chains placed at the distance of the narrowest part of the 

 bottom apart. The upper guys are attached so that the top rope 

 of the net is pulled tight above the surface of the water. The end 

 of the bag is floated open by means of bladders ; a large float made 

 of several pieces of cork is placed on the centre of the top rope, 

 and serves as a mark to guide the men in drawing the net evenly, 

 or, when the pond is covered with ice, a float to keep up the centre 

 of the top rope. 



The sides of the ponds at Howietoun being symmetrical, this 

 net encloses every fish, and, when drawn, the lower part of the bag 

 is taken on shore, and the top rope held back across the corner of 

 the pond or the inlet to give the fish plenty of space. A large tul > 

 is placed near the net, into which a few selected males are placed. 

 Between two and three dozen large milk-plates are arranged in 



