THE CALIFORNIAN SALMON. 
71 
like shot from a shot-belt. The same operation is repeated 
with the male fish, and the milt is well stirred up with the 
ova, which at first are covered with a glutinous matter, 
which makes them adhere to each other. After standing 
for a little while they will separate easily, and are then 
ready to be placed in the hatching apparatus. The opera- 
tion of taking the eggs, requires to be done with great 
care, so as not to injure the fish by rough usage. They 
are very difficult to hold, and if the gills be injured or the 
skin broken, it is almost certain to result in the death of 
the fish. 
An apparatus has been described to me, invented, I 
think, by Mr. Howard, the curator of the Hew Zealand 
hatching establishment, which obviates to some extent the 
danger of hurting the fish in taking the ova. A sort of 
sloping stool is used, the top of which is about two feet 
six inches long and nine inches wide. To the lower side of 
this a small net is tacked. The fish is laid upon the stool, 
which is padded, and the net is brought over it, and 
fastened by hooks so that the fish cannot struggle much, 
or hurt itself. A shelf is fixed below, to support a pan 
so placed as to catch the ova, and by passing the fingers 
with a gentle pressure along the belly towards the vent, 
if the fish be ripe, the operation can be successfully accom- 
plished in a few seconds, and the fish may then be returned 
to the water without injury. Where trout are kept in 
ponds, this method may be adopted successfully, and it is 
highly recommended by Mr. Howard, who has used it with 
success in New Zealand. 
A plan has been invented in America, by which the 
ova of trout kept in artificial ponds, can be taken with- 
out catching or handling the fish, and thereby avoiding 
the losses which are unavoidable in manipulating them. 
The invention is called Ainsworth’s Spawning Eace, and it 
