TEAHSPOET OP OVA AND FRY. 81 



Stand their chance of being washed about ; most of 

 them, however^ would soon wriggle back again, par- 

 ticularly if a strong light were thrown on them. 

 "Warm weather does not so much affect the fry as 

 it would the ova; so passing the Line and Tropics 

 would be robbed of much of its terrors. Moreover, 

 it would not, as in the ova state, accelerate the 

 development of the little fish ; and for six weeks 

 they would lie perdue, quietly absorbing the bladder, 

 requiring neither feeding nor any great amount of 

 attention ; and if the water could be kept moderately 

 sweet and cool, very little danger need be appre- 

 hended to the larger portion of the fry. By this time 

 the vessel will have progressed nine weeks on her 

 journey, and the fry would begin to appear; liver 

 can always be provided if the voyage should last 

 so long as for it to be necessary to feed the fish, and 

 proper receptacles could be provided for them. A 

 good many of the fish would of course be killed. 

 This we must always calculate on, but a large 

 remainder of them might, I think, be saved. Of 

 course the best means would have to be adopted to 

 prevent the undue wash of the water, from the rolling 

 of the ship, but the thumping would be of compara- 

 tively little consequence. In the system at present 

 adopted the ova would hatch long before the voyage 



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