TAKING THE EGGS. 97 



tionize the present method of impregnating eggs ;' but 

 no one with whom we corresponded seemed to realize 

 its importance, except Mr. Clift, President of- the 

 American Fish Culturists' Association, who wrote to 

 us in very much the same terms that we used to Mr. 

 Page. It was also by his recommendation, we pre- 

 sume, that Mr. Atkins adopted this method in taking 

 his salmon eggs last fall. We are satisfied, however, 

 that the results of the investigations of M. Vrasski 

 are of the utmost importance, and that the facts 

 cannot make too deep an impression on fish breeders. 

 We would advise them never to try the old plan again." 



There are several interesting consequences result- 

 ing from the Russian discovery which seem to be 

 worth mentioning. 



One is that since the spermatozoa of the milt remain 

 alive several days when kept from the air and water, 

 a cross can be effected between fish living at long dis- 

 tances apart, without transporting the fish. For in- 

 stance, a trout breeder in Kansas can bottle up some 

 milt from his fish in a homoeopathic phial, and send it 

 by mail or express to a Massachusetts breeder, who 

 can take a ripe spawner from his ponds and mix the 

 Kansas milt and Massachusetts eggs in the impreg- 

 nating pan, and so generate a cross between the two 

 fish, as well as if the Kansas breeder had sent him, at 

 a great risk, some male trout. The great ease with 

 which this crossing can be accomplished may some 

 day lead to valuable results. 



Another consequence is that the old theory that a 

 large proportion of the eggs ordinarily taken from the 

 5 G 



