, 1901-12-30

strokes with her tail, deposits a part
of the eggs The strokes with the tail
are made for the purpose of loosenih.
the gravel so that when the eggs react
the bottom the greater part of thea
may be covered up with the mo:iLg
gravel. When the female has perform
ed this operation, the male, if he is not
chasing other trout away, simultane.
ously elects the milt, which coming in
contact with the eggs fertilizes them.
n operation is repeated at intervals
until the female has deposited all her
eggs.
1t is estimated by fish culturists tina:
less than five per cen of the eggs thus
deposited are fertilized. The former
hsh culturist of New York, Hon. A. Mel
son Cheney, said that only one per
cent OF eggs deposited in the natural
way are fortified and only one out of
500 ever live to be caught by the ang.
Ter. A trout does well to replace him
self under natural conditions of repro
duction, for the waters are a scene Of
warfare SO savage and pitiless that no
quarter is given. When exposed in this
fierce struggle for a period of several
months, the helpless germs of repr,,-
ductfon reproduce merely by accident
or chance, a chance so small that com.
paratively few escape destruction and
survive to the point of entering upon a
second stage of fish life.
BY the Artificial Process.
There are two methods of taking
and impregnating the spawn of fishes,
the wet" and the dry method. By
the wet" method the eggs are taken
In a a containing sufficient water to
l nnunr fhn-, nd DI~r, 49,. - -
freely with the milt, which Is imme.
diately added. After the contents OF
the pan have been stirred for a few
seconds with a feather, the eggs are
set aside and left undisturbed during
fertilization. AT the state hatchery
we use the dry" or Russian" meth.
cd; 1t is now in general use. The eggs
and milt are taken in a moist pan and
it makes little difference which is tax
en- first, but one should Immediately
follow the other, and the contents OF
the pan be thoroughly mixed; before
the eggs begin to adhere to the bottom
of h pan, water is added, in which
the eggs are allowed to remain until
they separate. which will be from TWEEN
ty to sixty minutes, according to t.
temperature of the water. They are
then thoroughly washed in as many
changes Of water as Is necessary tc
cleanse them from surplus milt and
placed on perforated trays in a trough
of running water. After the eggs are
placed on the trays the only attention
necessary until Matching begins is tc
keep them clean; the dead eggs, which
may be known by their turning white
must be picked out once each day. The
time required for Matching depends
mainly upon the temperature Of the
water. At the state fish hatchery neal
Laramie It is AZ degrees and the rain
bow trout eggs will hatch in from for
ty-1ve to forty-seven days; the length
ft,of time Of Matching increases as the
Itemperature falls and diminishes as II
rises.
The manipulation of the fish in thif
process might be interesting. To han
die a trout without any injury is q very
ldelicate and exacting task, as 1t is din
cult to squeeze the spawn from the
fish without injuring or even killing 1t
In taking hold of the fish the operator
catches 1t by the head with the right
hand and at the same time slips the
left hand under the fish and grasps II
near the tail, between the anal and
caudal fms. 1t can easily be turned
IOtSI a6 ~ 10 DlOu6AL OuI VI LuC Whlcl
and in proper position for spawning by
the time the spawning pan is reached
It must be held firmly, but gently, until
1t becomes quiet. The right hand II
then passed down the abdomen of the
fish until a point midway between the
pectoral and ventral fin Is reached
fthen with the thumb and index finger
the abdomen is pressed gently, and al
the same time the hand Is slipped to
ward the vent. If the eggs come freely
from the first pressure the operation IL
repeated, beginning at or e a the q
trail fin. By holding the head of the
fish higher than the tail, all the eggs
will fall from the ovaries into the alb
domen, near the vent, 10 1t Is not ne
cessary to press the fish the second
time over it's vital parts, the eggs hav
ing left that part of the body. The
eggs that have fallen into the aldo
men below the ventral fin "a be easily
elected without danger of injury to the
fish. The male fish is to be treated In
about the same manner as the female
except the milt must not be forced out
only that which comes freely being
taken. The males are very p%ugnacious
at this season, and sometimes fight un
It'll they r entirely exhausted; they
run at each other with open mouths
lock their jaws together and in that
position sink to the bottom of the
ponds, where they lie for a short time
until rested, when they rise and re
sumo the combat. As their teeth are
long they often scar each other and
even bite pieces of skin and flesh from
the sides Of their antagonists.
When we take into consideration the
results that have been accomplished in
the period of sixteen years that has
elapsed since the establishment here
lof the state fish hatchery, and since
the stocking Of the streams Of the
state was begun, 1t must be conceded
that it has been q magnificent invest
ment. The ardent disciple of Izaah
Walton will travel far to crafty mis-
love of sport and 1t Is now becoming
widely known that Wyoming offers hin
q fruitful field. Accustomed perhaps
to the broader creeks and rivers of the
east, he Is astonished to find here the
smallest mountain stream densely pop
ulated with the flnny tribe 10 that he
never need fail to make Q good haul
In addition to this he has the advanta
ges Of scenery unsurpassed in the
Rocky mountains and Of q climate that
is perfection itself. It Is small wonder
that In a single month during the last
summer the number Of arrivals regis
tered at one hotel in Laramie, of those
composing fishing parties from Ill
parts OF the country, exceeded I'VE
hundred. The amount of money that
would be left by such q number In ev
cry department Of trade engaged in
outfitting pleasure parties would be