OF THE SALMON. 33 



pares it for the reception of the milt of the male fish, 

 that being the only connection necessary between the 

 sexes. The yolk of the egg at that time fills the shell 

 to outward appearance ; so that the egg then appears 

 all of the same colour and the white shell is scarcely 

 seen. But after the eggs lie twenty days among the 

 gravel in the spawning bed, the yolk approaches more 

 to white, which gives the egg a lighter appearance. 

 And at this time a very small brilliant spot is discerni- 

 ble on one side of the yolk, which spot increases in 

 size, so that by the time the eggs have laid thirty-three 

 days among the gravel, the brilliant spot covers nearly 

 a third part of the yolk. The remaining part ap- 

 proaches more to white, and exhibits the shell more 

 clearly, so that the observer is very much interested 

 in noting the visible alteration. The red spot grows 

 larger daily, and when the eggs have lain forty-eight 

 days among the gravel, the red spot has covered fully 

 one-half of the yolk, and continues daily to spread 

 more and more, and at forty-eight days the young fish 

 make their first appearance within the shell, the 

 appearance being an elongated formation of a blueish 

 white in the yolk of the egg, and about the size of a 

 small thread ; and from the yolk being of a different 

 colour we can see the formation more clearly daily 

 increasing in size, and drawing more towards perfec- 

 tion. By the time the ova has lain in the spawning 

 bed sixty-three days, the formation is at one end 

 supplied with two very small but discernible black 

 spots, which we afterwards find turn out to be the 

 eyes of the fish. We have now a decided daily 

 change ; the young fish are getting larger ; the black 

 spots becoming more visible, and the brilliant red, 

 which at one time nearly covered the yolk, drawing 

 closer towards the fish, and leaving the other parts of 

 the egg of a paler appearance, and the fish fully 



D 



