1882. ] FISH COMMISSIONERS’ REPORT. 19 
opaque almost instantly. HZxamined the whole pen for a ripe male 
and could not find one. Things here begun to look blue, for up to 
date we had not found one prime male. We examined the roe of 
one, and found it to be very small and of the following dimen- 
sions: 24 inches long, # of an inch deep and as thin as a case- 
knife blade. At 11 A.M. stripped one female in a pan of salt 
water and one pan of fresh water. which I sent for to Deep River 
(on the Connecticut River) yesterday. In both pans the eggs 
looked opaque and mushy. I noticed, as some of them dropped 
in a pan, without any water in it, that a portion of them flattened 
out. I then stripped some from a shad into a pan without any 
water and found fully 50 per cent. of them to flatten. The eggs 
looked shrunken—a cause for their flattening. Hauled the pound 
at 2 p. M. and caught 22 shad, equal numbers of males and females, 
and none ripe. I put them in one of the pens. We then exam- 
ined the shad in the other pen and thought, as we had found plenty 
of ripe females, we would try first for a ripe male. We found one 
at last that colored the water all right. This shad was penned up 
in May, so we found that the male will ripen when penned up in 
salt water. We then found a ripe female and put the pen to place, 
but, when ready to strip the fish, found to our sorrow that her eggs 
were diseased. The tide was then running so strong that we could 
not do any more. On looking over the shad in this pen we found 
several ripe females from which the eggs would flow. So to-day’s 
labors demonstrated that shad will mature in the day-time, but 
whether in perfect normal condition further developments will de- 
termine, as you are well aware that shad in fresh water cannot be 
stripped until after dusk. Then we looked at box 3, eggs taken 
on the 8th, and found them to grow less in number every day, 
and I think they break in the box, but Messrs. Chalker and Ran- 
kin think they are lost through some hole. 
Tuesday, July 12..-Temperature of .the water 65°. At 10 a. M, 
examined shad in one pen, and found ripe males and females, but 
the eggs were in the same mushy condition as before, and in five 
minutes after stripping were all opaque. We then examined the 
other pen and found ripe males and females in good condition, 
eggs fully developed and good color. This was the pen where we 
put the shad caught the 9th and 11th. Used salt water in some 
_ pans and fresh water in some for impregnating, and the results 
were the same. After stripping the shad, the eggs adhered to the 
pans and in due time came to the surface. We let some pans re- 
