PROPAGATION OF FISH. 243 



operations must be conducted as quickly as possible, so 

 that they will not die in the small quantity of water to 

 which they are confined. So long as the fish lie quiet in 

 the bottom of the tub, there is sufficient air in the water 

 to sustain them, but as soon as they come to the surface 

 and try to leap out, it is a sign that the air is nearly ex- 

 hausted and the water should be renewed. ♦ They will 

 also open their mouths wide, just as a person would when 

 gasping for air. Trout will die in a tub out of which 

 the oxygen has been exhausted by their breathing, more 

 quickly than they would die in a cloudy day if out of 

 the water entirely. 



A fire may be made in the hatching-house to warm 

 your fingers, which will probably get cool while engaged 

 in this operation. A six-quart milk-pan is to be pro- 

 vided, if you have many fish, and also another tub of 

 water, into which to put the fish after they are deprived 

 of their spawn. Select a fish, and holding it over the 

 milk-pan, which has been dipped in water to wet it, rub 

 it gently with the fore finger and thumb, from the pec- 

 toral fins to the vent. A little experience will show how 

 this is to be done. If the fish is ripe, a few drops of 

 pearly-colored milt, or orange-hued eggs, will be forcibly 

 expressed in the pan. If the milt is not of this color, it 

 shows that the milt is not good, and another male must 

 be taken, and treated in a similar manner. The female 

 must be pressed more slowly and oftener than the male. 

 If the eggs are not ripe, by passing the hand lightly 

 over the belly, you will feel them beneath, hard, like 

 shot. In that case put the fish back into the pond, for 

 the eggs to ripen. When the eggs are ripe, the belly 

 will be soft and flabby, and the eggs beneath the 



