1 66 THE TROUT 



The ova having been collected in the spawning-pan, 

 should be at once fertilised. In order that there may 

 be no unnecessary delay, you should not begin to take 

 the eggs unless you have ready at hand a sufficient 

 number of males. 



The fertilisation of the ova is accomplished by 

 what is known as the Russian or dry method. 1 With- 

 out adding any water to the eggs, take a ripe male, 

 and dealing with it in very much the same way as 

 you treated the female, allow the milt to flow over 

 the eggs. Stir both milt and ova together gently 

 with the fingers, taking care to keep the finger tips 

 on the bottom of the pan so as not to squeeze the 

 eggs, which at this stage are soft and adhesive. Then 

 add one or two handfuls of water, about a wineglass- 

 ful in all, and just enough to immerse the eggs. 



1 So called from having been first discovered by M. Vrasski, 

 a Russian. The discovery was the result of a series of ex- 

 periments made in 1856. But it was not until 1871, when the 

 discovery became known to American fish-culturists, that the 

 old method of taking the eggs in water and then adding milt 

 to the water began to be discontinued. The experiment of 

 comparing the results obtained from both methods would be 

 very startling to one who did not know what to expect. Sixty 

 or seventy per cent, was a good average percentage of impreg- 

 nations under the old method. But under the new system only 

 one or two eggs in every hundred are likely to escape being 

 vitalised. The reader will not, therefore, be surprised to learn 

 that the older or ' more natural ' method has now become 

 obsolete. 



