TAKING THE EGGS. 113 



leave till t"he eggs separate, which will be from fifteen 

 to forty- five minutes, according to the temperature of 

 the water, the eggs remaining set longest in cold 

 water. When separated, rinse the eggs till they are 

 perfectly clean. They are then ready to be placed in 

 the hatching troughs. 



How to tell Ripe Fish. 



It is usually a very anxious question with beginners, 

 how they will know when a spawning trout is ripe. I 

 would advise those who feel this anxiety not to worry 

 about it at all. 



You cannot tell, the first time you try your hand at 

 it ; but follow the directions about trying them, and 

 whenever the spawn does not flow easily, let the fish 

 go, and try another. Do not urge the spawn too for- 

 cibly. This is the great fault of beginners. They are 

 so afraid that the fish is ripe, and that they will not 

 find it out, that they often kill it, if unripe, by using ex- 

 cessive force. Let me say that your danger, if you are 

 inexperienced, is not half so much of losing the spawn 

 as of killing the fish. I knew of a man who had thirty 

 trout, and who killed them all before the spawning sea- 

 son began, without getting an egg, by trying to force 

 the eggs. When the fish is ripe, the eggs will come : 

 that you may depend on, in nineteen cases out of 

 twenty. If they do not come and come easily in any 

 instance, do not trouble yourself about that fish ; let 

 her go. You will get her the next day again, if she is 

 not quite but nearly ripe. If you have any doubt at 

 all whether the fish is ripe, give the fish the benefit of 

 the doubt. In time you will learn to tell at a glance, 



