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THE CALIFORNIAN SALMON. 
territory, where the fisheries had been found to be getting 
less productive. 
When a white speck, however small, appears in an egg, 
it is a sign that the embryo within will die, and speedily 
the whole egg becomes white and opaque. Dead eggs 
must be removed as soon as possible, as, if this be not 
done, the fatal byssus soon appears, and if not removed it 
spreads from egg to egg, destroying all it touches. 
The healthy impregnated ovum of the salmon is of a 
deep pink colour, and consists of a horny outer shell, 
which is filled principally with a semi-transparent viscous 
fluid, resembling the albumen of a hen’s egg, in which may 
be seen floating the yolk, of a pink colour, and some oil 
globules of a deeper pink. On closely examining the egg 
against the light a spot is visible, resembling a light seen 
through a fog, and this is the embryo of the fish within. 
After a time a white line appears dimly, curved round 
inside of the shell, which is the outline of the fish ; the 
bright spot soon becomes more definite in outline, and a faint 
dot appears, which is the eye of the fish. After a few 
days the head and both eyes may be seen dimly, and the 
egg may be seen to roll about in the current, without 
apparent cause. At this stage the ova will bear transport 
better than at any other time, but it is most difficult to 
do so with safety during the earlier stages of the incubatory 
process. The knowledge of this fact is of great importance 
to those engaged in pisciculture. 
After the eyes of the young fish are plainly visible, only 
a few days will elapse before some of the ova will be 
hatched out. If the egg be examined at this stage against 
a strong light, by looking through it the movements of the 
embryo, can be plainly seen inside the semi-transparent 
shell. At last the interesting process, of the development 
of a living fish, from a minute germinal spot floating in 
