242 PROPAGATION OF FISH. 



the fish will come under the cover better and are not so 

 likely to be frightened by any one passing. If there are 

 fifteen hundred or two thousand fish in the pond, the net 

 may be used every day in the height of the season, and 

 when the fish become scarce, once in two or three days. 



Indications of spawning having been observed, the 

 covers are put on the races, and as soon as there are fish 

 in the raceway, the net is gathered up in one hand and 

 the frame held in the other, in such a position as to be 

 put in the grooves as quickly as possible, so as to let none 

 of the fish escape from the race. Go quietly to the 

 spot, and do not walk down the raceway to get to it, but 

 approach from one side and put the net in the grooves as 

 quickly as you can. The water running down will swell 

 the net out to its full length. The covers may be then 

 removed, and with a stick you may frighten the fish 

 down from the head of the raceway into the net. As 

 soon as they are all in, the frame may be lifted out of 

 the water, and the fish are then enclosed in the bag. A 

 tub of water should be previously brought near the spot, 

 and the end of the net can be lifted into the tub and un- 

 tied, when the fish will all fall into the tub without 

 trouble. Coarse cloth is better for the purpose than net- 

 ting, as it can be more easily tacked to the frame, does 

 not hurt the fish so much, and lasts longer ; besides, the 

 water swells it out and holds it open for the fish to run 

 in better than it would a net, and the fish not seeing you 

 through the cloth as they would through an open mesh, 

 are not scared, and do not try to run back up the race. 



The fish being now in the tub, must be taken to the 

 hatching house without any delay. There are proba- 

 bly in the tub some fifteen or twenty fish, and all the 



