THE EGG HARVEST. 27 



appear as if mesmerised. When about 10,000 eggs have been 

 stripped into the pan, two or three males are laid by the second 

 attendant on the towel, one of which is selected, and held with 

 the abdomen in contact with the ova. How this affects the fish I do 

 not know, but the result is that a large flow of milt is more easily 

 obtained than by the old method, where the milter was treated 

 almost precisely the same as the spawner. The head of the milt- 

 sacs lie above, and almost immediately behind, the pectoral fins, 

 and a slight pressure of the thumb and fore-finger must be used 

 over these parts. 



The operator should remember that the hand must never be 

 passed downwards towards the vent, or some of the small vessels 

 will be ruptured, and a flow of blood instead of milt will result. 

 Males are frequently very sulky, and require very delicate mani- 

 pulation. If the male does not give sufficient milt, the milk- 

 plate should be turned round and a second fish used. They are 

 then replaced in the net, and returned to the pond from which 

 they came ; if any on the towel are not required, they are re- 

 turned to the tub. The use of the towel is to facilitate handling, 

 as, if the fish get covered with mud and dirt, they become exces 

 sively slippery. Time, in this operation, is of great importance ; 

 absolute impregnation can only be secured when the males are 

 stripped in the least possible time. 



Immediately the ova is milted, a small tumbler of water is 

 added to facilitate the distribution of the milt, the whole 

 thoroughly stirred, and the plate removed, and an empty one 

 substituted by a third attendant, whose duty it is to look after 

 the plates and fill them up with water a few minutes after im- 

 pregnation. The second plate then receives its 10,000 eggs, the 

 spawned fish being thrown over the top of the net into the pond : 

 and the same processes are repeated until all the plates are filled. 

 By this time, if over two dozen plates have been used, the eggs in 

 the first plates will have separated. Livingston Stone says : 

 "Allow the eggs ample time to separate. It will do the eggs no 

 harm if you leave them an hour in the pan with the milt, but it 

 will do them harm to move them too soon. Some authorities say 



