PROPAGATION OF STURGEON IN GERMANY. 
89 
July 22, Mr. Lau reported that some eggs had been hatched. On the evening of 
July 23, Mr. Eisner returned to Gliickstadt, and on the morning of the 24th, went to 
Kollmar, where he found young sturgeon in only two of the boxes. Mould had also 
formed in the apparatus to such an extent that the young fish had been afiected by it, 
and large numbers of them died. Mr. Lau, therefore, considered it expedient to lib- 
erate the young fish on the 23d. He said that he examined the apparatus on the 22d, 
about 3 p. m., and found a great many free embryos in the three boxes which had first 
been filled, fewer in the second and none in the third. On the morning of the 23d, 
about 6 a. m., he also noticed young fish in the box containing eggs from the second 
lot; but as all the boxes contained a great amount of mould, he was obliged to plant 
the young fish in the river, reserving a few, however, as tangible evidence of his suc- 
cess. 
Mr. Lau estimated that from 20,000 to 30,000 young sturgeon had been liberated 
in the open Elbe. He also supposes that young fish were hatched from the eggs placed 
in the Wetteree ; but of this he is not absolutely certain. He received a reward of 
100 marks. 
In the afternoon of July 25, and the eveniugof the 26th, some more sturgeon eggs 
were impregnated at Gliickstadt. The young fish obtained from these eggs were 
planted in the Elbe on July 31. Their number was estimated at 400,000. 
Late at night on July 31 still another lot of eggs was impregnated at Gliickstadt, 
and this was the sixth and last trial made for the season. During a part of this time, 
however, a very strong northwest wind prevailed, producing rough water, so that only 
a few thousand young sturgeon were hatched in one box (although three had been 
filled with eggs) and placed in the open Elbe on August 4. 
The work of fertilizing the eggs at Gliickstadt was conducted chiefly under the 
direction of Mr. Mohr, and the management of the hatching apparatus was likewise 
under his supervision. Several other persons also participated in the work and mani- 
fested a lively interest in the same. Mr. Mohr, however, deserves the principal credit 
for the advancement that has been made. Everybody, in fact, was interested in the 
matter, and both the fishermen and assistants exerted themselves, not on account of 
the awards which Mr. Mohr distributed among them, but from genuine, zeal in the 
cause of sturgeon-culture. 
Much experience has been gained from the experiments of this year. In the first 
place it became evident that the hatching apparatus would have to be constructed in 
such a manner that it could be used when the water is rough, and will also serve in 
places where the currents are sluggish. The changes suggested thereby will be made 
during the coming winter. 
In the second place the removal of the milt from a mature male by cutting and its 
utilization for the impregnation of the eggs was successfully accomjilished. The em- 
bryos developed as well as if the eggs had been fertilized with milt emitted in a 
natural manner, only it took a little longer to hatch them. 
A successful attempt was also made to convey freshly impregnated sturgeon eggs 
in a tin can containing water from the river Elbe, a distance of about one hour across 
the country, and to transfer them again to hatching-apparatus. These eggs were sub- 
sequently hatched in good condition. 
It remains to be seen whether the supposition of the board of directors of the 
Schleswig-Holstein Fishery Association, that more mature spawning sturgeon are 
caught than is generally known, is correct. If such is the case, it is simply necessary 
