XXXI.-NOTES ON EXPERIMENTS IN PENNING SHAD AND 

 TAKING EGGS AT BATTERY STATION, HAVRE DE GRACE, MD.. 

 IN 1883. 



By Frank N. Claek. 



May 12, arrived at station at 12 noon. Found about 1,000,000 eggsi. 

 and some fish in jars. Lieutenant Low had just sent seine out ; it cam& 

 in about 1 o'clock. The fish were transferred to the penning basin as 

 usual and handled as carefully as the circumstances would permit. At 

 7 o'clock in the evening the fish in the basin were hauled in and exam- 

 ined. On opening some of the females most advanced and those that 

 had been confined in the basin for several days, I found nothing but 

 " slough " and blighted eggs, showing that the treatment of the fish 

 had been unfavorable to a normal development of the eggs. Whether 

 the trouble was caused by the fish being injured by handling or on ac- 

 count of being penned, I was unable to determine. 



May 13, outside seine hauled at 6 p. m. All the fish in basin were 

 handled again to-day. Found one good, ripe fish ; the eggs came up 

 well and were a prime lot. Think this fish was placed in basin yester- 

 day. Eggs from another fish that was apparently ripe, looked clear,, 

 but on taking them and adding milt they did not come up, and were 

 afterwards thrown away. 



May 14, eggs taken from basin last evening look well. Net was laid 

 out at 11 a. m. and landed at 2 p. m. Only 6 shad taken ; not bein^ 

 such as I wanted to experiment with, I turned them over to the men's 

 mess. 



May 15, eggs in jar taken from fish in basin on the 13th are in good 

 condition ; are better eggs than those taken same night from gillers'' 

 boat. Noticed that some fish hatched from eggs taken previous to my 

 arrival are not doing well in glass aquarium ; seemed to be very feeble;: 

 think the eggs were not allowed sufficient volume and.current of water 

 to give normal development to the embryos. Seine put out at noon and 

 taken in at 3 p. m. Put 8 females, nearly ripe, and 7 males in crate 

 just outside of basin. Crate made of strips nailed to frame-work 5 

 strips placed IJ inches apart, to allow water to flow freely through it ^ 

 size, 16 feet long by 6 wide and 4 deep. Placed in the basin 8 females- 

 and 7 males from same catch and in apparently same condition as those 

 in crate. With a view to giving fish in crate a better current of water 

 the crate was towed 5 ro<is out and anchored. 



[11 1045 



