454 SALMON AND TROUT. 
head waters of the River Wey, at Alton. These fish run up 
to eight and ten pounds and occasionally even larger, and are 
perhaps amongst the finest class of trout to be found in the 
country. With the refrigerator plan now general in steamships, 
there is no necessity for carrying ice, as it is manufactured 
on the voyage; but I am not so sanguine of success if the 
packages are placed in the refrigerating-room, as should the 
temperature remain too low for any length of time the eggs 
would perish. If the packages are placed in a cool chamber, 
and covered with ice sufficient to last the whole voyage, the pro- 
cess of incubation can be sufficiently retarded to prevent the 
ova hatching out. The ‘snow’ which accumulates in the shafts 
of the machinery during the voyage might be utilised by 
arrangement with the person in charge of the refrigerator : 
there should be an arrangement for carrying off the melted 
ice or snow, or probably it would become a source of danger 
by flooding the packages.! 
In about forty days from the time the eggs were taken, the 
embryo is distinctly visible through the outer shell, and the ova 
can be handled almost with impunity. This is the time tosend 
them any distance not exceeding fifteen or twenty days’ journey. 
It is also the best time for the fish-breeder to ascertain what is 
his percentage of fertilised eggs, as disturbance is no longer 
injurious. The whole tray full may be removed to a pan, and 
thoroughly washed, with the effect of setting any unimpregnated 
eggs turning opaque white in a few minutes, and leaving the 
good eggs perfectly clean and free from sediment. 
Unimpregnated ova will sometimes remain unchanged in 
colour for many weeks, but a disturbance such as that just 
suggested will usually find out the worthless ones ; at all events, 
the smallest examination will show that in the good ova the eyes 
are strongly developed, and the bad ones have but a small 
1 This, and the small number of imp:egnated eggs, appear to have been 
the cause of failure in the last attempt in January 1884. The writer is on the 
point of packing some ova for Australia, and will endeavour to profit by past 
experience, Whether there is any water suitable in Australia, is another matter 
altugether, 
