REARING 175 



Byssus must not be confounded with safrolegnia, 

 another and a more dangerous fungoid growth which 

 attacks fish as well as eggs. It is to this more formid- 

 able growth that the fish-culturist is always understood 

 to refer when he speaks of ' fungus.' The grand pre- 

 ventives of saprolegnia are charred wood, cleanliness 

 and darkness. 



To enable you to remove the dead eggs without 

 disturbing or even touching the others you must use 

 an egg-extractor. The instrument I recommend is a 

 modification of the pattern recommended to me some 

 years ago by Mr. Silk, the then manager of the 

 Marquess of Exeter's fishery. 



It consists of a tube furnished with an india-rubber 

 suction-bulb at one end (fig. 10). The tube in the 



FIG. ic 



original pattern was of wood ; but it is an improve- 

 ment to have it made of glass. 



To use this instrument you squeeze the bulb and 

 having placed the no//le of the tube against the egg, 

 immediately relax your grasp slightly. The egg is 

 then withdrawn adhering by suction to the end of the 



