88 PRACTICAL TROUT CULTURE. 



found that large females, as a rule, become "barren 

 from a change of locality ; and in all cases the 

 operator is most successful with those raised in 

 his own waters, in fact "to the manor born." A 

 careful daily inspection of the entire crop on hand 

 must be made ; every egg should be examined 

 and the dead ones removed. As no sunlight 

 should be allowed to enter the hatching-house, a 

 small bull's-eye lantern, or one furnished with a 

 parabolic reflector, will greatly facilitate opera- 

 tions. In this stage the benefits of the hatching- 

 tray are plainly recognized. All dead spawn must 

 at once be removed ; they may readily be recog- 

 nized in the trays, as their dead alabaster white 

 color contrasts strongly with the black of the box 

 seen through the transparent tubes, or the pearly 

 translucent hue of the healthy spawn-; but in the 

 gravel troughs the case is different the gravel 

 itself is of the color of deceased eggs, and by form 

 alone can they be distinguished. Again, some 

 may be buried beneath the gravel, and thus escape 

 observation until serious harm may occur. But 

 wherever they may be situated, the dead eggs 

 must be removed daily. The shell of the egg is 

 very slippery, so much BO that it is almost impos- 

 sible to remove them with the fingers, and as dead 

 spawn are unfortunately of frequent occurrence, 

 numerous instruments have been devised for their 



