1 1 6 Salmon at the Antipodes. 



visible, only a few days will elapse before 

 some of the ova will be hatched out. If the 

 egg be examined at this stage against a 

 strong light, by looking through it the move- 

 ments of the embryo can be plainly seen 

 inside the semi-transparent shell. At last the 

 interesting process of the development of a 

 living fish from a minute germinal spot 

 floating in albumen, is completed ; the young 

 fish becomes too large for its prison, and the 

 shell bursts open, liberating the captive. 

 Where there are many ova hatching out, 

 the observer may be fortunate enough to 

 see this very interesting phenomenon take 

 place before his eyes. Sometimes the head 

 comes out first, and the shell adheres to the 

 sac for a time, till a last grand effort frees 

 the young alevin, which lies panting with the 

 exertion and the novelty of its position, 

 vigorously exercising its lungs, or, rather, the 

 breathing apparatus in its gills, which performs 

 the same office. 



At first a few fish will hatch during two or 

 three days, and then the great bulk of them 

 will come, the whole being hatched in about 

 10 or 12 days ; and some unimpregnated ova, 



