TAKING THE EGGS. 85 



into another, so that you can always lay your hand 

 instantly on the sex you want. Having got everything 

 ready and the fish into the tub, the next thing is to 

 take the fish out and strip them. 



The first point to learn about this is how to handle 

 the fish. There are almost as many ways of handling 

 them as there are persons who practise it. Almost 

 every one has a way, or at least a peculiarity, of his 

 own. 



My own way is to close the left hand very gently 

 over the face of the fish, and with the right grasp it 

 just above the tail. It is now not necessary to 

 squeeze the fish hard at all. She cannot get through 

 either hand, because the body is larger in the middle 

 than at either extremity. I then take the fish quickly 

 out of the water, throw it over partly on its side, and 

 holding it at an angle of about 45, with the orifice 

 near the bottom of the pan, press gently but firmly with 

 the thumb of the left hand, on the upper part of the 

 abdomen. If the fish is ripe, the eggs will flow at 

 once, and then, by a peculiar bending of the body of 

 the fish, together with a slight downward movement 

 of the thumb, the eggs will come almost of their own 

 accord. I use very little force indeed in pressing the 

 eggs out. If they do not come almost spontaneously, 

 with this method of handling, I let the fish go and try 

 another. If any eggs seem to be left in the fish after 

 the stripping just mentioned, I quickly change hands, 

 and, grasping it firmly with the right hand, remove the 

 remaining eggs by a gentle pass of the left thumb 

 along the length of the abdomen. 



