102 Thirty-fifth Annual Meeting 
some time before can be removed in this way. The eggs are 
picked during the tender stage as it is believed much stronger 
fish and smaller losses result than where they are covered until 
after they pass the tender stage, and if the salt solution were 
depended upon this could not be done. Even when the eggs are 
covered during the tender period it is customary to give them a 
very thorough picking during the first three days they are in 
the hatchery and where this is done there is no benefit to be 
gained from the salt as the death rate is very small; if the eggs 
are covered without this picking they must remain in the basket 
with all the dead and unfertile eggs for twelve to twenty days, 
which would certainly cause a very heavy loss. The solution is 
considered very valuable in removing dead eggs in special cases, 
such as noted in experiment No. 3 at Rattle Creek. Here the 
eges were all killed in a given period, and were in such numbers 
that it would not pay to pick them by hand. By the salt solu- 
tion they were removed and the remaining good eggs saved. 
Accidents will happen at hatcheries, killing eggs in large num- 
bers, and in such cases by waiting until the good eggs have 
grown old enough to handle, they may be readily separated from 
the bad ones with the salt solution. 
To further test in ascertaining the value of this discovery 
laboratory tests were made by Mr. M. C. Marsh, scientific assist- 
ant, with eggs of four species of salmonoids. His results are 
reported as follows: 
LAKE TROUT FROGS. 
“Living eyed eggs float in a solution whose specific gravity 
is 1.076, and sink immediately in 1.058. The correct solution 
hes between 1.067 and 1.070. The latter is nearly always too 
strong. 1.068 effected an excellent separation with eggs killed 
by hydrochloric acid the previous day. Such eggs are uniform, 
all have the same specific gravity, and all float for one minute 
or more in the above solution. Eggs which have died naturally 
on different days and lain in the troughs for different periods 
are not so uniform, and the separation is not so complete. Some 
will sink immediately in the above solution. With those tried 
50 per cent. to 75 per cent. were separated. Eggs killed at one 
time by smothering are also uniform and may be separated almost 
completely. 
