86 DOMESTICATED TROUT. 



This strips the fish completely, and it is ready to 

 be returned to the water. I proceed in a -similar 

 way with the male, except that I exert the pressure 

 lower down the abdomen than with the female. This 

 method of handling does not hurt the fish ; it seems 

 to make the eggs flow spontaneously, the struggling 

 of the fish only accelerates the flow of the eggs, it 

 makes quick work and takes all the eggs. I do not 

 claim anything for it, however, over other good 

 methods of handling, and would advise beginners to 

 try different ways, till they find the particular way 

 most convenient for them, and adopt that. 



Holding the fish is at first an awkward affair. It 

 will seem to you, if you are a beginner, as if fish were 

 never so slippery nor so uneasy, and never so liable 

 to be squeezed to death before ; but practice will make 

 perfect in this as in other things, and you will at 

 length feel as much at home with a pound trout in 

 your hands as if it were a pet kitten. 



I would, however, by all means kill and open a 

 trout first, and see just how the vitals lie packed 

 within, so as to know just where you can press without 

 hurting it, and just where you cannot. This will give 

 you confidence, and save the lives of many fish. 



You can press quite hard on the face and head, and 

 on the solid parts of the body, but be very careful of 

 the gills and vitals. Do not ever press the abdomen 

 very hard. If the eggs do not come with a light pressure, 

 let them go till next time. You might not impregnate 

 them all, if you took them. Do not press the female 

 fish at all near the organ of exit, or lower part of the 



