l62 DOMESTICATED TROUT. 



Here the triumphant skill which hatched the eggs 

 successfully was baffled; and it seemed for a time 

 as if the wonderful art which had promised so much 

 was to come to a stand-still at this gulf between the 

 eggs and the yearling trout, a gulf which seemed as if 

 it could not be bridged. 



Those who made the earliest practical experiments 

 in this country will undoubtedly recall, with me, the 

 anxiety which was at one time felt lest the difficulties 

 of bridging this chasm would prove insurmountable. 

 This task has, happily, now been performed. Rearing 

 young trout is no longer a problematical thing, it is a 

 fait accompli. 



The question is not now, Can young trout be raised ? 

 but How many can do it, and under what circum- 

 stances can it be done successfully? 



As the yolk sac wears off, the dense masses of little 

 alevins begin to separate, and assume a more indi- 

 vidual existence. They seek to avoid, rather than 

 to crowd, one another, and their fins being developed 

 sufficiently, they can now rise and balance them- 

 selves in the water. The awkward, unwieldy body 

 has acquired the graceful, symmetrical form of a fish, 

 and each individual, taking a place for himself, heads 

 vigorously up stream, and soon shows by his move- 

 ments that he is on the lookout for food. 



I have noticed that it is almost always a matter of 

 anxiety to beginners how they will know when it is 

 time to begin to feed the young fry. This anxiety is 

 wholly unnecessary, because when the trout are ready 

 to feed, they will let you know it plainly enough by 

 taking the food which you offer them. 



