THE HATCHING OF OVA. gl 



the other ova. The best plan, by very far, is the 

 one which I have introduced. Twist up a piece o£ 

 fine brass wire into an eye just big enough to take 

 the ova, tie it to a fine-pointed handle, bend it to 

 the most convenient angle for lifting, softly introduce 

 it between the ova and under the one you wish to 

 withdraw, and fetch it out swiftly but steadily; no 

 disturbance is created, and the method is almost 

 infallible if quickly and . neatly done, while the' 

 rapidity which can be exercised after a little practice' 

 is astonishing — a dexterous operator can pick the' 

 ova up almost as quickly as a fowl can pick up 

 barley. I first hit upon the plan by necessity, who' 

 is, as we have been taught, the mother of inveiition.' 

 I had a quantity of ova sent with many bad ones, 

 and I had no implement to remove them with. 

 In this strait an old barbel float caught my atten- 

 tion, and the eye appeared likely to answer. I 

 tried it and it did answer, et voilcb. This may seem 

 a trumpery thing to dilate on, but if the reader has 

 under his charge forty or fifty traysfuU of ova, with ' 

 the thermometer at 50° in the water, byssus forming 

 rapidly, and a hundred or so of eggs dead in each 

 tray, he will be uncommonly glad to know the 

 speediest possible method of removing the dead 

 ones before worse come of it. 



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