§8 , FISH CULTURE.- 



about to" coine out into. The embryo wriggles, and 

 shaken the egg ; gradually the shell splits across- the 

 back, and the back is thrust out;^ wriggle after 

 Wriggle ensues, and the work of parturition goeS on 

 ■with tolerable rapidity. A few more convulsions, 

 .and the little fish springs forth from its shell, leaving 

 its empty case behind, and darts up to the surface of 

 the water in its glad joy at being released from its 

 prison, and then sinks slowly down again on the 

 gravel prone upon its side. Helpless innocent, what 

 A nice morsel now for a hungry trout ! and what 

 -havoc a monster of six ounces would make among a 

 -hundred or two of them ! Perhaps, after getting its 

 head out, it finds a dif&culty in releasing the tail, 

 which is curled round the umbilical bladder within ; 

 again and again it tries fruitlessly, resting between 

 «ach convulsion to concentrate its force for the next 

 teffort. Take pity upon it; place your camel-hair 

 .brush softly and caressingly upon it. See ; there — 

 it is out. May you catch it, in return for your kind 

 <)f&ces, when it is a twenty-pounder ! 



At first the work of hatching goes slowly on ; and 

 .these early-hatched fish are seldom strong specimens, 



' Sometimes the tail protrudes first, and sometimes the shell 

 Splits across the belly, and the bag shows firs't. In these instances 

 the struggles of the fish last much longer. 



