PEOPAGATION OF FISH. 241 



The proportion of males to females in a pond should 

 be about one-half. Not so many are necessary to fecun- 

 date the eggs, and it would be an advantage in one way 

 to have fewer, since then there would not be so much 

 fighting in choosing partners, and as all the females do 

 not spawn at once, one male would be enough to serve 

 several females ; but, on the other hand, the males seem 

 to run out of milt before the females get through laying 

 their eggs, and towards the close of the season it is often 

 difficult to obtain males with milt enough to fecundate 

 the eggs ; so that it seems better to have in the pond an 

 equal number of males and females, thereby giving more 

 chance of saying some of the milt till the last of the 

 season. The males are very amorous, and will pair again 

 and again. It very often happens, that some of them 

 die from the exhausting effects of the season. 



The trout will not spawn in the ponds where the bot- 

 tom consists of large stones or weeds; but if there is 

 sand or gravel anywhere on the bottom of the ponds, 

 they will spawn on it. Therefore be careful to have 

 only the raceway, where the water enters, covered Avith 

 gravel. In October this may be washed and cleaned 

 from the weeds which will have grown in it during the 

 year. As soon as the fish are ready to spawn, they will 

 ascend from the ponds into the raceway, seeking a place 

 to nest. Then they are ready to be taken out and the 

 spawn expressed. At the entrance of the raceway, there 

 should be grooves to receive a frame, on which is tacked 

 a net of coarse bagging about eight or ten feet long. 

 One corner of this bag should be narrowed, left unsewn, 

 and tied with a string, like the mouth of a meal sack. 

 The race should be covered over in spawning time, as 



