REARING 173 



movement. But the germ of the embryo having risen 

 and ' furrowing ' begun, the ova become extremely 

 sensitive to the effect of vibration or concussion, 

 until a later stage (to be treated of in the next chapter) 

 when they again become tough. 



The hardy character of the eggs in their earliest 

 stage enables them to endure a journey of consider- 

 able length, immediately after being taken ; they then 

 travel well in still water, which would prove fatal to 

 ova in a later stage of development. 



But hardy as the eggs are at first, any violent 

 shaking or concussion is even at that stage calculated 

 to produce numerous dead ova, or an undue propor- 

 tion of weakly and deformed fry. 



HATCHING 



With as little delay as possible you will take the 

 eggs to the hatching-box and carefully empty them 

 out into the water in the trays. Do not remove the 

 trays from the boxes for this purpose. By gently agi- 

 tating the trays under water the eggs will distribute 

 themselves evenly. If necessary a feather can be 

 used to move the eggs under water, but the less they 

 are touched the better. 



Having adjusted the calico covers on the hatching- 

 trays, draw the window blinds, lock the door of the 



