THE STEW. 169 



■was therefore deemed to have been some injury 

 to the affected yearlings, and the next point 

 to consider was, how and when such injury 

 occurred. 



There were clearly four, possible ways in which Origin of the 



.... . disease. 



this might have happened, viz.: I. While catch- 

 ing the yearlings out of the small streams, and 

 turning them into the cans. II. During con- 

 veyance by rail or cart from the hatchery to the 

 :stew. III. While turning them into the stew. 

 IV. After they were in the stew. The possi- 

 bility of injury during the first two of these 

 •operations is ever present ; the third is hardly 

 likely. In the fourth case, with comparatively 

 wild fish used to roam about in some length of 

 stream, when first penned up in a stew it is only 

 too likely to occur. Which of these was the 

 cause of the disaster, or whether it might after 

 .all not be partly due to each, remains a matter 

 of conjecture. The teaching is the humiliating 

 one that, with all our study of the question, and 

 with all the experience of numerous pisci- 

 culturists, there is no treatment known which is 

 •certain to succeed ; and that, unfortunately, in 

 such a case the probability is that, sooner or 

 later, every affected fish will fall a victim to the 

 •disease. The lesson, however, should serve to 

 iurther impress upon trout breeders, as well as 

 lessees of a fishery, the importance of taking 



