SALMON AND TROUT CULTURE. 451 
impregnated by coming in contact with ripe milt, the fish, both 
male and female, being taken at random, we are compelled 
to admit, however unwillingly, that the origin of fish life, 
in artificial impregnation at least, is wholly a-mechanical 
affair.’ 
Unless, however, a very large percentage of fertilised ova 
is shown, and unless these are taken from strong, healthy 
parent fish, the pisciculturist’s labours are incessant and irksome, 
as he will have to be constantly removing ‘blind’ or unimpreg- 
nated eggs, and weakly ‘fry ;’ whereas, if his breeders are 
healthy, and his eggs properly taken, he may reasonably reckon 
on a large proportion of strong, healthy fry, which will in due 
course, and with proper treatment, develope into valuable 
yearling fish. : 
The discovery of the ‘dry method’ of impregnation, by 
M. Vrasski, a Russian, about the year 1856, is of the greatest 
practical importance. It was not, however, until some years 
after, that it became generally known in America, and still later 
in this country. 
Stone (p. 105) says: ‘No one hereafter, who has heard of 
the new method, will ever take the eggs of any cold water fish 
by the old method. Seth Green reached the same results 
nearly ten years before, by using a very small amount of water 
in the impregnating pan ;’ and Frank Buckland (‘Familiar 
History of British Fishes,’ p. 303) found that by placing 
milt in water first, and then adding the eggs, he obtained 
better results.. In this case, I presume that the eggs were 
added within a few seconds after the milt had been placed in 
water, 
By the ‘dry method,’ nearly one hundred per cent. of the 
ova taken can be fertilised ; whilst by the old plan of placing 
both the ova and milt in water, the average scarcely ever 
reached higher than fifty or sixty per cent. There was always 
risk, by the old method, that the absorbing power of the egg 
had ceased before the milt was added, or that the vitality of 
ne milt had disappeared when several minutes elapsed before 
GG2 
