550 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



ditch outside. By this means the young carp can gather in the inner 

 ditches of the pond, from which they are taken. It is necessary to do 

 this as quietly and quickly as possible, as the young fish are very tender, 

 and speedily perish. 



The pond for young carp should have flat and even banks, so that 

 the sun may readily warm the water and thus quickly hatch the eggs 

 which are pasted to plants and roots. Hence it is not necessary to in- 

 troduce much fresh water during the spawning season, as the water in 

 the pond would thus become too cold, and so retard, and even completely 

 frustrate, the spawning and hatching process. During the spawning 

 season (from the end of May till some time in July) the plants which 

 grow in the shallow places should not be removed, and care should be 

 taken that neither cattle, ducks, nor crows, as well as other birds, ap- 

 proach the pond. Nor should perch, tench, or other fish be allowed to 

 enter it. 



In those countries where carp are reared on a large scale, any piece 

 of ground which seems suitable is taken as a site for a pond for the 

 young fish, on the principle that the risk in raising any sort of grain is 

 much greater than that of rearing carp. In consequence of the high 

 price of fish, carp-ponds are now generally used year after year contin- 

 uously, while formerly the piece of ground was used one year as a fish- 

 pond and the next as a corn-field. It seems now to be the general opin- 

 ion that the keeping of fish year after year continuously in the same 

 pond has no deteriorating influence on their growth. When, however, 

 the grass at the bottom of the pond begins to disappear and gives way 

 to reeds, - the pond ought to be drained, and then plowed and sowed with 

 some grain. It is an easy matter, however, to arrange the ponds in such 

 a manner as to be proof against such contingencies. It is of course 

 necessary that the pond should be secure from inundations, and it is 

 always an advantage if no spring flows into it or issues from the bottom. 

 It is likewise important that the embankments should be made so strong 

 as not to be easily broken. A clayey or pulverulent bottom is prefera- 

 ble to any other. 



It is best to stock the pond for young fish in the spring, when there 

 is no longer any danger of severe cold or snow. Two male carp, which 

 ought not to be less than four nor more than seven years of age, are 

 taken from the winter pond and placed in the pond for young fish, the 

 number of fish taken, however, being in proportion to the size of the 

 pond. Besides these fish, there are put into the pond about ten strong 

 carp, three years old ; from forty to fifty two years old ; and about six 

 hundred one year old. Care should be taken that all these fish be placed 

 in the pond in as perfect a condition as possible, and that they be put 

 down carefully in shallow places, so that it may be readily seen whether 

 the fish continue strong and healthy. Fish which have lost some of their 

 scales, or which have been injured in any other manner, grow slowly. 

 The experience of many years has proved that carp which are ready to 



