74 
THE CALIFORNIAN SALMON. 
were numbed with cold, worn and bleeding by contact 
with the sharp masses of ice, until his task was accom- 
plished. Each new attempt finds these two brothers in 
unity of purpose, par nobile fratrce, again with renewed 
enthusiasm — often under very discouraging circumstances 
— repeating their toilsome task. 
EISH HATCHING. 
W e will suppose that the ova have been obtained, and 
properly impregnated ; the hatching process next claims our 
attention. The eggs must not be exposed to a dry 
atmosphere, under penalty of their destruction. In still 
water they will perish for want of the necessary supply of 
oxygen, which all living things require to sustain the vital 
principle. In moist air, or in a current of well aerated 
water, the process of incubation will go on favourably. 
Although salmon and trout eggs are usually hatched out 
in a stream of water, this object can be attained equally 
well in moist air, and if kept in moss, with a slight drip of 
water to keep up the supply of moisture, and the tempera- 
ture be not too high, they will hatch out equally well 
without being put in water at all. It must be remembered, 
however, that the moment they are hatched they become 
fish, and like most other fish out of water, will die imme- 
diately if not restored to their natural element. As an 
illustration of this fact, when the shipment of Californian 
salmon ova which I received in 1877 was opened, it was 
found that some of the eggs had hatched out some time 
before, and that the fish had perished. Some had just 
hatched and others were on the point of hatching, and 
these were placed in a stream of water in the hatching 
