MANUAL OV Fisa-CtJLTURE. 169 



The same general care and cleaning usually given to troughs cou- 

 taiiiing trout fry is necessary in cultivating bass. The trough is swept 

 down twice a day and occasionally washed inside with a cloth, and the 

 water supply, conduits, and outlets frequently examined and kept'clear 

 and clean. 



The 3'oung bass is able to stand any temperature to which the sun 

 raises the water of the nursery ; those hatched in water at 5G° F. will 

 thrive two months later with the temperature at 86°. However, bass 

 grown in very high temperature are exceedingly tender, and can not 

 be handled and transported until the approach of fall and winter has 

 gradually reduced the temperature and so hardened them. Moreover, 

 under such conditions they are more liable to attacks of parasites, both 

 external and internal. While bass can live in water ranging from 33'^ 

 to 98°, more moderate limits are desirable. The Cyclops and some 

 other of the natural forms of food for young bass reproduce best at a 

 temperature between 08° and 70°, and can not resist higher than 95°. 



CARE OF PONDS. 



It is desirable that the ponds should be " wintered " each year — that 

 is, entirely drawn off in the autumn, thus leaving the beds exi)osed to 

 the combined action of sun, winds, and frost. This tends to kill out 

 the larvjie of the larger aquatic insects (dragon-flies, beetles, etc.), and 

 to increase the following season's supply of small Crustacea, which fur- 

 nish an important element of food to the young bass. This purifying 

 process can be assisted by the free use of quicklime dropped into the 

 crayfish holes. There is no danger of the lime injuring the fish the 

 following year, as lime-water is more beneficial than harmful, and the 

 process purifies the pond-bed, besides killing the crayfish and the like. 



In addition to the yearly wintering, the accumulated decayed matter 

 ought to be occasionally removed, the frequency for this depending on 

 the character of the water supply, the amount of silt it brings into the 

 pond, the character of the soil, and on the thoroughness of the yearly 

 removal of the surplus mosses. Scraping large ponds and hauling the 

 accumulated muck involve considerable labor and expense, possibly 

 more than the yield of the i)ond warrants, and in some cases it is advis- 

 able, once in four or five years, to lay the pond bare for an entire year 

 and cultivate it in peas or some other deep-rooted vegetable. 



While abundant pond vegetation is favorable to a large production of 

 fry, it is sometimes so luxuriant that it settles down in a blanket-like 

 mass and smothers many of the young fish. Under such circumstances 

 it should be removed some time in advance of lowering the pond 

 level, and during the process should be carefully picked over, as some 

 of the fry will be found among it. Wading into the i^ond leaves the 

 bottom tracked with deep footprints, which, as the water recedes, 

 catch and retain many of the young fishes, most of which die in a short 

 time. To avoid this a strong but lightly built flatboat is used, which 

 can easily be moved from pond to i)ond as needed. At either end of 



