FEEDING THE FRY. 61 



picked out, and to see generally that all is right. When the 

 alevins are hatched, he has to attend to the depth of water in each 

 box, which is increased by raising the flannel on the outlet screen, 

 and to the weekly increase of the supply when the water is raised. 

 He has also to see that a sufficient number of ova packing-boxes 

 are prepared, with sawdust carefully filled between the inner and 

 outer cases. In practice, it is found necessary to have at least 

 twelve ordinary egg-packing-boxes and six foreign always ready 

 in the box-room. He also requires to take stock of the quantity 

 of swan's-down squares, and to check the amount of sphagnum moss 

 in the cellar, where it keeps best. 



It must always be remembered that, in the case of a heavy 

 snow, it is impossible to get good moss sometimes for weeks 

 together. If the stock runs short at these times, marshy places 

 below springs are generally open, but the sphagnum is rank, soft, 

 and the lower portion frequently bleached, and neither suitable for 

 felting nor capable of living over a long sea voyage. 



The Manager inspects the grilles removed the day previous, to 

 see if they are in good condition and have been properly cleansed, 

 after which he superintends their being placed on the rafters of a 

 shed, where they remain dry and safe all summer. 



When the fry begin to feed, the hatchery demands much more 

 of the Manager's time. He requires to check the food left by the 

 butcher, test the paste prepared for feeding the fry, and to specify 

 the exact quantity of food each box requires. 



FEEDING THE FRY. 



The best and most economical food for trout fry costs about Is. 

 4d. per lb., and, strange though it may appear, it is much cheaper 

 than liver at id. per lb., that is to say, one pound of this paste 

 goes far further, and produces much better results, than sixteen 

 pounds of liver, because it is more nourishing, and there is no 

 waste. The food is prepared by weighing several pounds of fillet 

 of beef, not beef-steak, which is too stringy, nor a piece off the 

 surloin, which is generally too fat. Fillet of horse is equally suit- 

 able with fillet of beef, and surloin of horse, being generally very 



