St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1910-04-06

with white meat have eggs of az ligh
color, while the Salmon-colored egg
/ come from fish having rich, salmon
| colored flesh This variation in tn.
color of the flesh and eggs is attributed
to the nature of the food upon which thu
| fish live.
At the close of the mornings opera
lions the fish man can estimate very
closely the number of eggs he has taker
| he had taken the trouble to weigh al
the females, perhaps a more accurate
estimate could be given. for it is known
that wild trout weighing two pounds
produces about 1000 eggs; that a one
pound trout lays about 1000 eggs, and
smaller trout lay lesser number, pro.
portionate to their weight.
But the eggs must be taken to the
Matching troughs without unnecessary
delay, and the fish man knows that as
soon as the eye spots show, the eggs
can without injury be measured in a
glass graduate or even in a quart meas
ure. just as if they were blueberries. Oh
course, he must count one measure full
before he can calculate the total number
he has in all.
Fish culturists, as rule, are not SEN
tirnental, but this one has taken a special
interest in the orphan, and remembers
that he came of wild parents living in
the stream where his trap has done such
effective work. Perhaps one of the very
large females caught in the trap is his
mother; who knows? At any rate, the
fish man has some of these beautiful
trout placed in tubs of water, and has
them hauled to the hatchery before they
are stripped.
At the proper time the orphan contri-
butes his share of nilt to fertilize some
of the eggs of these wild fish, and then
all. including the orphan. are liberated
in one of the largest breeding ponds for
the winter.
The hatchery is overcrowded with
eggs this year, for in addition to those
taken from the brood stock, the wild
trout have contributed many more.
Winter comes again and the eggs have
been developing in the Matching troughs
until the eye-spots of the little fish can
be seen in them. Now the fish man has
orders to ship some of the eggs to other
hatcheries in this country and also to
foreign countries. Those for Argentina
and New Zealand have long journeys to
take. He has already prepared the cases
with nests of trays in them, and has
been ready to FILL the orders the minute
the eye-spots show. Those intended for
ocean voyages receive the first attention.
for they must travel thirty to fifty days
before they arrive at the fisheries where
they are to be Matched.
The eggs are spread one or two layers
deep on trays of canton flannel which
have been soaked in cold water; then
they are covered with mosquito netting,
and on top of this are placed thin layers
of soft moss. The trays are stacked one
upon another. fastened together, placed
in boxes, surrounded on the sides by
moss, with box of ice on top. The ice
keeps the eggs moist and so cold that
they cannot develop and hatch while on
are surrounded by ice on all sides except
the bottom.
Another spring has come and gone,
and it is now two years since the orphan
made his debut by way of the city water
main. He and his wild mates are Jump
ing about in the pond and swapping at
flies and other insects, or even at float
ing leaves. They appear to have the
mood for jumping, which occasionally
comes to all trout, whether there is any
thing to jump at or not. They are too
happy and busy to notice that the water
is gradually becoming shallow, until sud-
denly some of the earth of the pond en-
bankment falls with splash; there is a
sudden rush of water towards the break,
and the fish instinctively follow the cur
rent. The fish man, sauntering by, sees
the break and quickly throws net over
it, but not until number of fish have
escaped to the river, while the rest,
frightened and Hopping, rush into the
deepest place they can find. The break
is quickly repaired and the pond slowly
reflls, but the exposed entertainments
have disclosed number of holes. The
fish man also notices punches of grass
floating about the pond, and he knows
from it and the holes that muskrats have
been visiting the pond.
Now, the muskrat does not often kill
fish, but he and the mink and sometimes
field mice, dig holes in the banks of
ponds, thus causing serious washouts, as
in the present instance. So the fish man
sets steel trap under water at the en-
trance of each hole. The next morning
he finds three large male muskrats in the
traps, more holes started and more float
ing grass. He sets more traps and
again the next morning he finds still
more muskrats. The trapping is con-
tinued for ten days, and as a result thir-
teen muskrats have been caught from as
many holes, all of them being males.
The traps are kept set for some days
longer, but as no more n1uskrats are
caught, all the holes are tamped full of
clay.
There were no muskrat signs in any
of the other ponds, and the fish man is
still bordering as to whether these thir-
teen muskrats intended to build as many
homes and then go seek their mates, or
whether they were intending to establish
a bachelors club?
The fish man now takes account of
stock. He has lost some very handsome
trout, and, sad to relate, the orphan is
one of them. Or shall we not rejoice
that this city waif is now free to roam
at large in the beautiful, deep pools of
the meadow, to taste of the insects and
other good things which wild trout en-
joy, and, when the autumn leaves have
turned, to choose mate and partake
of the joys and sorrows of family life.
even though it be for brief period?