432 THE KEEPER'S BOOK 



The hatching box has now become a small rearing pond 

 in which the alevins live comfortably until they are 

 perfect little fry of an inch or an inch and a quarter in 

 length, capable of fending for themselves in the great 

 world of water out of doors. Before they have left the 

 hatching box, even before the sac is wholly absorbed, 

 they may be seen all lying head upstream to the in- 

 flowing water, and " rising " now and then inquisitively 

 to some tiny floating speck. 



As in the grille boxes so with the baskets. When all 

 the eggs are hatched, the baskets and supporting ledges 

 are taken out, cleaned, and put carefully away. It is 

 convenient to keep all the alevins of one mass of ova 

 in their own basket till the whole box has hatched 

 out. 



Not much need be said by way of hint or warning 

 now. Care and cleanliness are still essential. Risks 

 of spate water must still be run and guarded against. 

 But the main thing is to see that the alevins do not 

 find out some new and original method of committing 

 suicide. Hence every joint and junction must be ex- 

 amined in the boxes, and no flaw in the intake or out- 

 flow perforated zinc screens must be permitted. So, 

 too, any dead or injured alevins should be removed at 

 once, as should also all " deformities," of which there 

 are always a few. Double-headed and double-tailed 

 fish are perhaps most common, but often two are found 

 joined together at the belly, or actually crossed through 

 each other like the sign of multiplication. 



