Other Fresh-Water Fishes With Free Eggs. 195 



vails. This causes the spawning season to vary, because 

 the shad will not enter the rivers while there is much 

 snow water in them. 



Because shad eggs hatch in four or five days the 

 hatching is done at, or near, the fisheries. Shad spawn 

 at night, usually before midnight. They seek eddies 

 where their very light eggs may be kept from sinking 

 by slight currents. They spawn at the surface of the 

 water, a pair coming up and placing themselves on their 

 sides, making a great fluttering as they discharge eggs 

 and milt at the same time. The eggs are not adhesive. 



At South Hadley Falls, on the Connecticut, we re- 

 mained on shore, and had the fishermen bring us the 

 fish, because the water was deep and the fish close at 

 hand. On the Hudson the spawn taker, in a suit of oil- 

 skins, sat in a boat at the bag of the net, and after wet- 

 ting a pan to free it from dust, would put the head of 

 the fish under his left arm, holding its tail in the left 

 hand, and strip toward the vent with his right, taking 

 great care to leave plenty of space between the sharp 

 saw-belly and his hand. Even with the care which expe- 

 rience teaches, I have had the skin between thumb and 

 forefinger cut many times. 



The pans would be taken on shore, where an expert 

 would leave them in the milt and water, occasionally 

 adding a little water and moving his hand gently 

 through the mass until he announced that they had 

 "come .up," i. e. had absorbed all the water, and conse- 

 quently milt, that they would take, and were ready to 

 be put in the hatchers. This he determined by feeling — 

 the eggs at first being flabby and not to be felt, but when 

 full feel hard as they lightly strike the hand. 



In the early day we used Green's floating box. This 

 was a box with no cover and a bottom of fine wire-cloth 



