REARING 175 



Byssus must not be confounded with saprokgnia^ 

 another and a more dangerous fungoid growth which 

 attacks fish as well as eggs. It is to this more formid- 

 able growth that the fish-culturist is always understood 

 to refer when he speaks of ' fungus.' The grand pre- 

 ventives of saprolegnia are charred wood, cleanliness 

 and darkness. 



To enable you to remove the dead eggs without 

 disturbing or even touching the others you must use 

 an egg-extractor. The instrument I recommend is a 

 modification of the pattern recommended to me some 

 years ago by Mr. Silk, the then manager of the 

 Marquess of Exeter's fishery. 



It consists of a tube furnished with an india-rubber 

 suction-bulb at one end (fig. 10). The tube in the 



FIG. 10. 



original pattern was of wood ; but it is an improve- 

 ment to have it made of glass. 



To use this instrument you squeeze the bulb and 

 having placed the nozzle of the tube against the egg, 

 immediately relax your grasp slightly. The egg is 

 then withdrawn adhering by suction to the end of the 



