740 
Supplement to tht " Tropical Agriculturisl." [April 1,1899. 
dihections foe packing ova. 
Have at hand a clean basin or bucket about 
t wo- 1 birds full of water from the stream, to iilace 
the ova in. Cirefnlly open the box cotitaining 
the ova, take off (lie packing on toj), lift out the 
cloth containing the e'jgs and gently place it in 
the basin of water, let go two side* of the cloth 
and pull it gently awny ; the e^gs will then lloat oft 
and sink to the bottom. 
HATCHING THE EGOS. 
Almost any place may be used for the purpose 
of hatcliing eyed ova, as long as a suitable supply 
of good water is obtainable and proper raeaii'' 
taktMi to guai'il against its l)i'iiig tiirni-d off at any 
time, or the hatching beds 11 joded by he ivy rains. 
In the latter case it is best to h ive the hatchery 
placed some way from the stream and the water 
led on in pipes, or oven through an open furrow, 
and so arranged by having a ])roi)Hrly made sluice 
to regulate the su;)ply that only a certain amount 
of water cpu pass. 
When tlie ova arc laid do .vn in the stream itself, 
a small stream with a low temi)oratnre should bo 
selected; the smaller the stioun the better as long 
as it does not run dry in summer. Select a place 
in this stream having a nice bed of coarse gravel 
with a run of water tliree or four inches deep. 
The gravel must not be too fine — say from the size 
of a pea upwards — and may be stirred over and 
levelled with a garden rake before putting the ova 
down. The eggs should be gently poured out of 
the basin, adding water until all have p issed out. 
No further attention is needed beyond keeping off 
birds, crabs, frogs, &c., as mucii as possible. 
When it is not found expedient to hatch the ova 
in the stream itself very good remits can be ob- 
tained without the expense of building a hatchery, 
by leading out the water as stated and simply 
erecting hatching beds at a suitable spot. The 
beds may be dug out or wooden hatching boxes 
may be used ; the boxes are the best as they are 
better under control and easier kept clean. Eyed 
ova could then be laid down in tliein and the boxes 
covered with lids made to lit, to keep out all crabs, 
birds, &c., and also to keep it dark inside, which is 
better for the young fry. 
The boxes might be made say fourteen or fifteon 
feet long, two feet broad and nine inches deep, 
the outlets so made as to allow raising or lowering 
the depth of the water in the box at will. A box 
of that size will be quite capable of hatching say 
15,000 fry. The sides of the boxes should be made 
of inch and a half plank, the bottoms of inch and 
eighth flooring, tongued and grooved. All wood- 
work inside the boxes would require to be Wi?U 
charred wi^.h a red hot iron before using, and tlie 
outside painted, or if buried in the ground may be 
given a coat of tav and pitch. 
TREATMENT OF FUY ON AND AFTlfiH HATCHING. 
As soon as the fry hatch out in the l)i\e;^ll the 
bad eggs must be picked up, also all the shells 
from which the little fish have escaped, or tlu'y 
■will tend to foul the water. The be-t method is 
to take out the plug so as to cause a stro.'i,'.;r 
current through the box, when all Ihe shells, etc. , 
will float against the screen, the plug must be 
replaced before too much water is run (>if and alio 
^yithout disturbing the young fry. 
The shells, etc., may then lie taken out (rith a 
syphon inti a ba>in or bucket ; uliould n few fry 
escape through (he tul)s into the basin tli-ii tlio 
shell'', etc.. mu-t be poured steadily out and caie 
taken that none of llio fry e.'cape. Wat*r must 
be added until all is out, when the fry left in tho 
basin may be put back into the hatching box, 
putting them in near the head of the box where 
the water enter.s, as it id btibt to keep them awoy 
f rom ttie screen as much us possible. 
As soon as the fry hatch out it will be found 
that they will pack near the lie.id of the box, there 
they must not be disturbed other thun by mi 
occa-sional look to «ee that they are nil right, and 
the lid must be kept clo.so to keej) thein dark. 
The top half of the box only requires to be covered 
(the lid may be removed at room as they are about 
to commence to feed.) An long as they keep packed 
together they <lo not require to be fed, us they Imve 
their food for ihe time being in the sack attached 
to their body, but o-s soon as it is all absorbed they 
will begin to feed ond lof>k out for food. That 
will be about three week-i after hatching. They 
wilt then scatter and head up the i^tream on the 
look out for what they can get. They may tbea 
be given a little food unless they be turned out 
into the stream, which may be the most satisfac- 
tory as they require a lot of care and attention 
in feeding. 
In turning them out a good plan is to take out 
the scieen and let them e.scape of their own free 
will, that i.s to say, if they are intended for the 
stream on which tliey have been hatched and into 
which the water from the hatching boxes is 
flowing; but if they are to be divided auMiig a 
number of places then they may be caught with a 
fine net made of muslin or some other suitable 
material, put into carriers, and taken to their 
destination. 
HATCHBBY- 
Should it be thought that a Imtchery will 
answer best, then a house for'the purpose maj* be 
put up. It may be made of wood, iron or stone, 
but the floor is best made of concrete. In size it 
may be made to suit circumstances; a plice say 
sixteen feet by twelve broad inside will be capable 
of hatching at least sixty thousand fry. 
The hatching boxes may be made any size to 
suit the building or the maker's fancy ; for a 
building 16 feet by 12 feet, boxes 12 fpet long, 
18 inches broad ojid si.x or seven inches deep 
would suit very well, for they could be placed as 
shown in the drawing attached aud leave about 
three feet space at the end to get round them. 
The hatching boxes may be raised on tressles about 
two feet higli or to suit the operator, it is then 
easier to work them. The bsxes will require to be 
fitted with a screen to keep the fish from escaping, 
also a plug-hole aud plug for running the water 
off when cleaning the boxes out, aud must be 
placed between the screen and the end of the box. 
The water may be led into the hatchery through 
earthenware pipes, or even a charred wooded 
spout, but iron pipes must not be used as they 
are liable to rust and thereby harm the fish. 
[A plan of filter frame and section of filter box 
are here given.] 
FILTER. 
Tlie water will first require to be filtered before 
