306 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
the largest number of breeders except j. f is a nursery pond; an inclined fence of 
brush surmounts the dam and partly shades the pool, which is believed to benefit the 
fry. g is the outlet for the overflow from the hatchery reservoir pool; it has several 
small pools, formed by widen ings in the stream, where fry were one year planted but did 
not do very well. The lower of these pools, shown on the sketch, was also used as a 
nursery, I mtwas unsatisfactory, h is the overflow from the auxiliary pool for hatchery 
supply, and receives the hatching-house waste; at times a few fish are permitted to 
enter and are spawned as needed to till up baskets, j is the chief feeder entering the 
lake, and is about 100 yards east from the hatchery; the mouth is fenced with the usual 
trap opening, and from this point for about 70 feet upstream the banks are Availed up 
with vertical slabs. At j' the stream has been dammed to make an upper pool in which, 
and in the upper reaches, fry are released. The ripe fish are stripped on the west 
bank of the lower reach. 
Spawning . — The ripe fish enter the pens through the traps and are taken by dip 
nets; they average about 7 pounds in weight. Spawning begins about September l, 
and continues actively for about six weeks; a few ripe fish keep running until late in 
the winter, the latest arrivals having the most perfect eggs. 
In spawning the Avet process is used; a pan is half filled with water, into which 
the ova are stripped and the milt added; these are mixed with the fingers, and then 
set aside for or.e hour, after Avhich the eggs are thoroughly washed, transferred to 
buckets, and carried to the hatchery where they are placed in the baskets. 
It is found that impregnation will take place up to 3 minutes after the ova have 
been ejected, and that the best results are obtained by adding the milt between i and 
11 minutes after ejection. 
Size of eggs . — The number of eggs of both redfish and cohoes has been frequently 
counted, and it has been found that a full healthy female of each species contains 
3,500 eggs, but it is rare that the full number is obtained. As frequently some are 
left in the fish, and others are not in good condition, the count is made on 3,000 eggs 
to the full fish, or 20 redfish, or 10 to 12 cohoes, to the basket, the eggs of the latter 
being about twice the size of the former. When a large number of fish mature at 
the same time it is frequently found that some eggs have been voided, and in such 
cases it Avill take two and sometimes three fish to make one “count” fish. 
In counting the eggs a condensed-milk can is used as a measure. This measure, 
by repeated counting, has been found to contain 1,904 redfish or 848 coho eggs. 
A quantity of eggs from a healthy, normal, ripe female redfish was secured and 
measured Avith the following results: Forty covered 2 square inches and 20 in a line 
against a straight edge occupied a length of exactly 4£ inches, giving a single egg a 
diameter of 0.225 inch. It has been observed that brilliantly colored or unusually 
large or small eggs are apt to prove failures. 
Several hundred cohoes are usually stripped each year and the eggs hatched. 
They run about six Aveeks later than the redfish. 
The picking of eggs is done Avith ordinary tin forceps and is commenced six to 
eight Aveeks after the eggs are placed in the baskets. It is claimed that the per- 
centage of bad eggs is very small, and that very little, if any, fungus appears. The 
delicate period is unknown here. It is probably covered during the time the eggs 
remain undisturbed. 
