^6 HOME FISHING AND HOME WATERS. 



water run off. A six quart pan is filled with water 

 deep enough to barely immerse the box in which 

 the eggs are to be packed. The bottom of the box 

 is then covered with moss, and it is placed in the 

 pan. The moss used is such as grows in swamps or 

 in wet places, as on the stones in a brook or the 

 timbers of an old dam. It may be ' collected and 

 kept all winter in a damp place in a hatching house. 

 The moss must be well washed to free it from dirt 

 and insects, and the green fibres must be cut from 

 the roots with scissors. Only the green, soft and 

 living fibres are used and the rest are thrown away. 

 This fine moss is once more washed thoroughly. 

 A very convenient way is to nail wire netting over 

 the bottom of an old soap box, cut the moss into 

 this, and dipping it into water, wash thoroughly. 

 By lifting the box out of the water the moss is 

 drained and is ready for use. 



The eggs are then taken out of the trough and 

 counted by means of a graduated glass marked 

 with a file, so as to indicate five hundred or a thou- 

 sand, having previously counted the eggs carefully so 

 as to ascertain where the marks should be made. 

 When the eggs are measured, pour them into a 

 ladle small enough for the purpose. Then sink the 

 ladle beneath the water in the packing box, and by 

 gentle tipping it, the eggs will fall to the bottom of 

 the box on the moss, where they may be spread 

 evenly with a feather. A layer of prepared moss 

 must then be lightly laid over the eggs, without tak- 

 ing the box entirely out of the water. Then another 

 layer of eggs is placed on top, and so on until the 

 box is filled. It is then taken out of water and 



