Part L] Fish Ponds. 21 



made dam, especially on the side where the wind causes the 

 waves to dash against it. 



One very good and economical way of doing this is to build 

 a fence that would stand in the water from five to ten feet 

 from the high-water line and parallel to the embankment. 

 (See p. 22.) The posts of this fence should be well set. Drive 

 them when possible. To make the fence strong, the posts 

 should be heavy and of good wood and set not more than six 

 feet apart. Some of the posts, those used along the central 

 part of the fill, may need to be extra long, but none need to 

 stand more than from twelve to twenty inches above the water 

 at its highest stage in the pond. On the side of these posts 

 next to the bank, a strong hog wire or some smaller meshed 

 wire fence should be nailed. Between the bank and the fence 

 brush should be thrown in and weighted down with chunks of 

 sod, rocks, or logs. In a country where rocks or brush cannot 

 be had, it would be wise to put an inch-mesh wire on the posts 

 over the hog wire, and substitute hay, weeds, or some kind 

 of trash for the brush, and then throw in sod and dirt on the 

 trash material to hold it in place. Willows planted on this 

 ground between the fence and the embankment would soon 

 make such a growth that their roots would hold the banks 

 though the fence should rust and rot away. This means some 

 work, but it may prevent great damage to the dam or even 

 save it from going out some night when a big storm is raging. 



Neiv Dams Should he Watched. 



All new dams should be watched closely, as a small hole 

 made by some burrowing animal, such as a ground squirrel or 

 gopher, might in a short time cause serious trouble. Muskrats, 

 gophers, and all other animals that are likely to dig and burrow 

 in the dam embankments, should be shot or trapped as soon 

 as possible after they enter upon the pond premises. Cray- 

 fish sometimes make small holes through dams, particularly 

 when the embankments are narrow. In some localities, where 

 dikes separate ponds from creeks and rivers in which the cray- 

 fish naturally live, they have been reported as causing trouble 

 and doing considerable damage. Where game fishes, such as 

 crappies, basses or the catfishes, are kept in ponds, "crawdads" 

 do not have much of a chance to do mischief. They some- 

 times burrow in certain special places in dikes or dams. If 

 the infested area is not too large their work can be stopped by 

 embedding one-half or three-fourths inch mesh wire fencing 

 or screening in the embankments. 



Leaks in Dikes and Dams. 



Should a leak appear in the dike or dam due to a crack in the 

 ground or to the burrowing of some animal, or from any other 

 cause, it can usually be temporarily stopped, if it is under 

 the water where it cannot be easily reached, by throwing in 



