STOCKING 401 



in transit. It can then be used to fertilize ova talcen 

 from ripe spawning fish. I cannot say positively that 

 this experiment has been made with trout, but I have 

 before me some notes of experiments made on fertili- 

 zation of salmon ova as far back as 1893. Ova from 

 Salmo salar were successfully fertilized with milt which 

 had been bottled for twenty-four hours, forty-eight 

 hours, and ninety-six hours. Those which were treated 

 with milt kept in the dry tubes for twenty-four and 

 forty-eight hours were quite successfully fertilized, and 

 the alevins hatched out in due course. The following 

 is the note in reference to the ova fertilized with milt 

 which had been bottled for ninety-six hours : " Milt 

 from male salmon, 20 lb., taken at 1.15 p.m., on 

 Monday, 19th December, 1893, in a dry bottle. 

 Bottle kept in hatching tray so as to keep the temper- 

 ature uniform. On the following Friday, 96 hours 

 later, about 6000 eggs from a i6-lb. female were 

 fertilized with this milt. These hatched out fairly 

 well, and were healthy until they were turned into the 

 Yorkshire Esk. The loss by dead ova was greater 

 than in either of the previous experiments." This 

 note was sent to me by Mr. J. W. Wheldon, who at 

 that time resided at Burgate, Pickering, and was, I 

 believe, keeper to the Costa Club, at Pickering, York- 

 shire, and he was considered a very reliable and 

 truthful observer. 



I have thought it well to give this note in exienso, 

 because if salmon milt can be kept dry in a properly 

 corked bottle, and used forty-eight or ninety-six hours 

 2 D 



