American Fisheries Society. 55 
judging from what I had to do with the experiments at Battle 
Creek station, California. 1 think it is of much greater import- 
ance to get better eggs so that there will be but few bad eggs to 
to be disposed of. A salt solution has to be absolutely correct, 
one to nine, or it will not work. I tried it several different days, 
and the first time happened to get it exactly right. The next 
two days it would not work with a solution supposed to be one 
to nine, but which upon investigation I found to be about one 
to nine and a quarter, and with even this would not work. The 
eggs should be at least 350 temperature units in development 
in order to make the plan of use; because they will not stand the 
handling much earlier. The loss would be great if they were 
handled at only 200 to 500 temperature units of development. 
Mr. Clark: Have you tried earlier stages of the eges; for 
instance, have you tried from 375 down to 300 temperature 
units ? 
Mr. Ward Bower: No sir, it was not tried with anything 
under 350 I think, to be exact. 
Mr. Clark: And did the eye spot show then? 
PNGee NCEE 
(). Had there been any eggs picked out previous to that? 
A. They had been picked every day, with the exception of 
two or three days during the real critical stage of development 
and I consider it essential that they should be handled every 
day. By this course we have reduced the percentage of loss 
from twenty to two and one-half per cent. 
Mr Titcomb: Could not you apply the salt solution right 
in the box, by shutting off one compartment ? 
Mr. Ward Bower: I do not think there would be room. 
Of course the hatching troughs in use there are just the plain 
troughs. There are no compartments in them, just plates that 
spring in. 
Q. Sheet iron ? 
A. They are sheet iron. Those at the Baird station are 
made of steel about one-twelfth of an inch thick, but they 
