12 TROUT CULTURE. 



CHAPTER III. 



THE HATCHING APPARATUS. 



T N this country troughs of wood, slate or terra-cotta 

 * are almost universally in use for this purpose, and 

 it must be confessed that for the amateur, at any rate, 

 they are unquestionably the best and handiest form of 

 apparatus. It may be very different in large estab- 

 lishments, where many hundreds of thousands of eggs 

 are annually received. 



Having thus determined on the employment of 

 troughs, the next question is the material best fitted to 

 our purpose. Terra-cotta, slate, and wood have been 

 mentioned, but we feel disposed to select slate for the 

 use of the amateur as being very clean, not so liable 

 to break, chip, or crack as terra-cotta or earthenware, 

 and not so likely to leak as wood. 



In the colder countries, where severe frosts prevail, 

 however, wood will be found the best material, as, if 

 well charred with a hot iron, and made of sufficient 

 substance, it resists the action of frost far better than 

 any other material. It must be of some thickness, or 

 the intense cold may take effect on it. Where a man 

 who can use tools is at hand, there will be no difficulty 

 in the matter. About two-and-a-half to three inches 

 of water is all that will be needed. 



All hatching apparatus and accessories can be 

 obtained from the Cray Fishery at moderate prices. 



