THE ADVANTAGES OF FISH CULTURE. I/ 



CHAPTER III. 



THE ADVANTAGES OF FISH CULTURE. 



IN the foregoing chapter I attempted to explain 

 the dangers and the liability to destruction to which 

 the eggs and young fry are exposed when left to 

 develop by the natural course provided for them. 

 I will now try to explain how the artificial propaga- 

 tion offish overcomes the dangers which beset them, 

 and protects and cares for the young fry, until they 

 are, in a measure, capable of looking out for them- 

 selves, and how it increases the product over the 

 natural method. 



The fish culturist selects the ripe fish which are 

 about to cast their spawn, and by handling them 

 very carefully, extracts the spawn from the female, 

 and vivifies it by placing it in contact with the liv- 

 ing germs from the male fish. This, if done cor- 

 rectly, and if the parent fish are in the proper con- 

 dition, should vitalize from ninety to one hundred 

 per cent of the eggs taken. When I first began my 

 labors in pisciculture, the best impregnation by arti- 

 ficial means then known, was twenty-five per cent. 

 The practice then in vogue was, in taking the spawn 

 by hand, to strip it into a pan about half full of water; 

 but by a series of experiments and gradually reduc- 

 ing the quantity of water, I found that the highest 

 results were attained by using very little water, or 

 even none at all, This then was a great advance, 



