THE NEW AKT OF BEEEDING FISH. 141 



in number. We consider there were 40,000 depo- 

 sited, and, assuming that one third may not come 

 to maturity, we may conclude that we have up- 

 wards of 20,000 young salmon living in those ponds, 

 beyond the reach of their natural enemies. From 

 the lateness of the season, although the numbers of 

 spawn fish hfted were very considerable, the above 

 quantity of ova might be readily obtained out of 

 five pairs of full, good brood fish, and that a million 

 of ova [more correct to say 800,000] might, by a 

 similar process, be deposited from one hundred pairs 

 of salmon. A very curious fact was also ascertained 

 in the course of this experiment. In taking up the 

 spawning salmon we also caught a quantity of 

 trout ; those we examined, and, in every instance 

 save one, they contained salmon ova, on which they 

 were preying. From the gullet of one large trout 

 we estimated that 600 were by pressure ejected, 

 and I retained them along with a further quantity 

 from other trout, and deposited all in boxes, isolated 

 from the others, a considerable portion of which 

 came to life, and are with the other fry in the 

 ponds at Outerard, where thousands of young sal- 

 mon may now be seen. And this experiment again 

 shows that the year of their deposit as ova is not 

 that of their migration to the ocean ; until that 

 period, it is of great importance to retain the young 

 fry in these ponds, where they are protected from 

 their numerous natural enemies ; hereafter they 

 must necessarily be left to protect themselves, and 



