TJic Country Gcntlcnimis Magazine 



trout, carp, or tench, and the return will be 

 in proportion to the amount and suitability of 

 the food given to them. Dog biscuits, soaked 

 in water or skim milk, and mixed mth coarse 

 flour, grains, dropped garden refuse, cold 

 boiled potatoes, bran, and such like, worked 

 together into a sort of paste, and then sub- 

 divided into small pellets, will answer admir- 

 ably for the purpose, and would not occupy 

 the gamekeeper or gardener one hour a-day 

 in their preparation and distribution. If 

 these ponds have been stocked with fish 

 artificially hatched, in the course of 

 four or five years the return may be 

 looked for; and as each of the ponds 

 will contain conveniently looo fish, such 

 harvest would, at a moderate calculation, 

 yield 250, averaging 4 lb. each. This quantity, 

 at 6d. per lb., would give the proprietor ^^25 

 for a single pond; and if we suppose the 

 chain to consist of six, they will collectively 

 produce an income of ;^i5o per annum, an 

 amount immeasurably greater than a similar 

 surface of poor land could, by any possibility, 

 be made to yield if employed agriculturally. 

 This large return may also be obtained 

 much sooner, if the ponds were to be stocked 

 with half grown fish, which can easily be ob- 

 tained from our rivers and lochs. 



With reference to this subject, and the 

 value of trout fishing in one of the Scottish 

 lochs, the average weight of trout captured 

 with the net at Loch Leven, is estimated at 

 from 15,000 to 20,000 lb. annually, and gives 

 a money value of from ;^75o to ^1000; and 

 this large sum is independent of the revenue 

 derived from anglers, to whom the right of 

 fishing is granted at the rate of 2s. 6d. per 

 hour, for the use of a boat and two rowers. 



Dr Peard the latest of the wTiters on pis- 

 ciculture, very properly goes a step further, 

 and argues that if so much can be gained by 

 attention to our lakes and fish-ponds, equally 

 satisfactory results will follow from the con- 

 version of our numerous streamlets into 

 profitable little water-farms. He says — 



" The first step to be taken in the way of im- 

 provement is to enlarge and secure the 

 safety of the pools, which will hereafter form 

 pastures for the new stock we intend 



to introduce. This must be done from 

 one end of the rivulet to the other, so that, 

 if possible, no part shall be unproductive 

 or unprotected. As one pool will resemble 

 another, we need only describe the 

 mode of constructing the first, premising 

 that, as we descend the stream, each 

 will be somewhat larger than the one 

 above ; that is to say, in the ratio of the in- 

 creasing volume of water. Commencing at 

 the head of the brook, we will erect the first 

 dam and enlarge the first pool at a point where 

 the natural channel is about i o feet in width ; 

 the alders and hazels which fringe the stream 

 furnish ample materials for our work. The 

 reader must suppose that we are accompanied 

 by a couple of ordinary agricultural labourers, 

 armed with hook, mallet, and spade, and these 

 form for our purpose an ample corps of sappers 

 and miners. Ten minutes will suffice to cut 

 down and tie up two faggots of the required 

 length, say about 5 feet. This will allow 1 2 

 inches at each end tobe inserted into correspon d- 

 ing niches on either bank. A short stake driven 

 through the extremities will prevent the possi- 

 bility of their removal by floods or other acci- 

 dents, and a few shovelsful of stone and gravel, 

 together with a layer of sods, complete the 

 work and make a dam so effectual that it will 

 last for ever ; in fact, the winter freshets by 

 adding sand, dead leaves, twigs, and such 

 like, tend to keep it in continual repair. We 

 have now erected our first weir, and by taking 

 an acute triangular strip of turf 12 inches 

 broad at the base, from each side above the 

 barrier, have doubled the width of that portion 

 of the stream, converting the original channel 

 of 2 feet into 4. The next point is to con- 

 struct a pond belo7u, which we make about 

 5 feet wide and 10 feet long, and 3 feet in 

 depth, gradually, however, becoming shallower 

 as it approaches the nm below. Having thus 

 enclosed what may be called the first pasture 

 in our small farm, the next thing to be done 

 is to ensure the security of the stock we pro- 

 pose placing therein. To effect this, two 

 stones of about a hundredweight each should 

 be set in the centre of the pool, at a distance 

 of 3 feet from each other, and over them a flat 

 slab must be laid. This structure, resembling a 

 subaqueous bridge, possesses two advantages 

 ■ — namely, affording shelter to the fish in hot 

 weather, and i)rotecting them almost absolutely 

 from the assaults of night poachers. Descend- 

 ing the stream, we repeat the process about 

 50 yards below, and continue to do so at 

 similar intervals till we reach the main river. 

 This work might easily be effected by two 



