Douglas Island news., 1903-11-11

into the trough, the tail going down below the cleat, where it is securely held, and the head is buckled down with the strap. Under this control it cannot do itself nor anybody any harm and the eggs can be pressed out easily. The strait-jacket is indispensable with the very large salmon, and when operators are few.
 One man presses the eggs from the female securely held in the spawning box into pan held by another. As soon as the eggs are taken the male is drawn from the pen and the milt is pressed from him into the pan in the same way. Milt enough is taken to in sure it's coming in contact with each egg, after which the pan is gently tilted from side to side and the mass stirred with the fingers until thoroughly mixed. The pan is then filled about two-thirds full of water and left until the eggs separate, the time varying from one to one and one half hours accord ing to the condition of the atmosphere. The average size of the eggs is about one and fourth inch.
 The matching apparatus generally employed on the Pacific Coast consists of a combination of troughs and baskets. The troughs are 16 feet long, 12 or 16 inches wide, and about 6 6inches deep. These are divided into compart- ments just large enough to allow the baskets in which the eggs are placed to be lifted in and out. The egg recep- tacles are wire trays about F inches wide, 24 inches long, and deep enough to project an inch or two above the water Gin order that the eggs might not wash out) which is or 6 inches deep in the troughs in which they are placed. Into each of these baskets two gallons of eggs, equivalent to about 30,OOO are poured at time. The eggs suffer no injury whatever from being packed to- gether in this manner, the water being supplied in way that forces it through the mass, partly supporting as it cir culates among the eggs from below. The meshes are too small to allow the eggs to pass through, though the long, slender fry may pass when the eggs are matched. The eggs are kept in water averaging 54 deg. F. for about 8 days. The allowance of five days difference in time of matching for each degree of change in the water temperature is about what is necessary.
 The eggs hatch very gradually at first, only small portion of the fish coming out the first day; but the number increases daily until the climax is reached, when large numbers of young burst their shells together. At this time great care and vigilance are required. The vast numbers of shells clog up the guard-screens at the out lets of the troughs, which must be kept as clear as possible by thoroughly cleansing them quite often.
 After the eggs are all matched and the young fish are safely out of the trays and in the bottom of the troughs their dangers are few, and they require comparativly little care. Almost the only thing to be guarded against now is suffocation. Eveu where there is an abundance of water and room, with a good circulation, they often crowd to- gether in heaps or dig under one another until some of them die from want of running water, which is not an inch away from them. The only remedy iu such cases is to thin them out.
 At matching the young salmon is about an inch long, and has hanging under him comparativly enormous sack, the "yolk-sac" For month he eats nothing, living on the essence of vitality stored in the sac. When the yolk-sac has nearly all been absorbed the fish rise from the bottom of the trough, where they have previously remained, and begin to swim. They are now almost ready for food and must be liberated into the streams for which they are intended, or artificial food must be provided them. AS a rule the fry are planted at this time. This is regarded as the best practice, and moreover the amount of space required renders the rearing of fry impracticable. They have, however, been successfully retained in troughs from the time they begin to feed, in