THE HATCHING AND PROPAGATION OF FISH 15 



pudding, and passed through a fine sieve. A little 

 of it is dipped out at a time on a feather and floated 

 in the troughs, the process being repeated six or 

 eight times a day. The fish eagerly take it. As 

 they grow in size the liver is fed in larger quantities, 

 much coarser, but less frequently. It is necessary 

 also, as they become larger, to reduce the number of 

 fish in each trough, to avoid overcrowding and suffo- 

 cation. Fish hatched in the winter or early spring 

 will grow from three to six inches in length (finger- 

 lings) by November, but previous to this they have 

 been taken from the troughs and placed in ponds or 

 large tanks. During the summer of the following 

 year they have become yearlings from 6 to 8 inches 

 long, and are ready to spawn in the fall. 



It is well to state in connection with hatching 

 that the black bass has been found to be one of the 

 most difficult of fish to propagate artificially, and 

 only within a few years has success been attained. 

 It was with great difficulty that the female could be 

 stripped of her eggs, and it was found necessary to 

 kill and open the male to secure the milt. On this 

 account the fish are now placed in specially built 

 ponds, properly prepared, the hatching out of the fry 

 thus progressing naturally without any artificial aid 

 whatever. As soon as possible the young fish are 

 separated from the older ones, which prevents the 



