THE NEW AET OF BREEDING FISH. 101 



all their native powers of conception, but that by- 

 means of machinery, extremely simple, they can be 

 hatched much more CLuickly and certainly than as 

 the female ordinarily lays them ; so that two sets 

 are obtained in the. ordinary time of one. 



This double result, that of carrying without in- 

 jury, eggs to a great distance, and their rapid fecun- 

 dation, leads to the possibility of restocking all the 

 streams of France, in a single season ; so that it will 

 cost nothing to the state but the necessary advances 

 to organize an establishment, wherein the spawn ac- 

 cumulated from all points where they are easily se- 

 cured, should be confided to the care of the canal 

 keepers. I say it will cost the state nothing, be- 

 cause the advances can be readily more than repaid by 

 a contribution, voluntarily self-imposed by the pro- 

 prietors in exchange for the precious gifts made them, 

 whether in the form of eggs or young fish. 



The more I reflect on the means of realizing this 

 useful enterprise, the more I consider it our duty to 

 insist that France shall take the lead in giving a 

 practical exainple of this great scientific discovery, 

 which can so increase public wealth by creating an 

 inexhaustible means of production. It is a wish I 

 express with all confidence, because I have visited the 

 spots where the project has already received an im- 

 petus under the auspices of two engineers, who, not- 

 withstanding their limited resources, have raised, this 

 year, a million trout, salmon, and mongrels ; the 

 greater portion of which they showed me scattered 



