Part I.] Fish Ponds. 23 



dirt, or dirt mixed with half-rotted stable manure. It will be 

 necessary, in order to make permanent repairs, to make a cut 

 in the dam, parallel to its edges, long enough, deep enough and 

 wide enough to reach the water that is making its way through 

 or under the dam. To stop a leak in an embankment here at 

 the State Hatchery, it was necessary recently to dig holes from 

 6 to 10 feet deep, 4 to 6 feet wide and from 10 to 20 feet long, 

 in order to reach a seepage that was going under a dike. 

 After the leaky place has been found by digging into the em- 

 bankment, it is frequently necessary to make a cut or to dig 

 through the bank on the side away from the pond, to allow the 

 water to drain out before permanent repairs can be made. 

 The crack or hole where the water finds its way into the cut 

 can sometimes be corked, temporarily at least, while the cut 

 is being refilled by stuffing and driving rags or pieces of burlap 

 or tow with a stick (we used a piece of 2 x 4 scantling) into 

 the leaky places. By using a sledge hammer the packing ma- 

 terial can be driven long distances and packed tightly. 



If the ground is rather solid, wooden plugs from five to eight 

 inches in diameter at the large end, and a foot or two. in length, 

 can sometimes be inserted and driven in so as to stop tem- 

 porarily the flow of water. 



A good supply of rather dry dirt, especially for the bottom of 

 the fill, should be on hand, and as the excavation is refilled it 

 should be thoroughly tamped and packed, a tamper being used 

 in the region where the leak was found. 



Ponds on Level Ground. 



Ponds that receive their water supply from pipes or open 

 ditches may be constructed on almost any piece of com- 

 paratively level ground where it is possible to lead water to 

 them from rivers, creeks, lakes or other sources of supply. The 

 instructions already given for building dikes and dams would 

 apply for the embankments to be constructed for retaining 

 water in these ponds. As the amount of water carried to the 

 ponds can be controlled through the ditches and intake pipes, 

 such ponds do not need overflows and spillways. Should there 

 be superfluous water it can be easily handled and carried where 

 needed through pipes. When the water supply is suflftcient 

 these are among the most satisfactory ponds that can be built. 

 This class of pond includes many ponds or small lakes that are 

 fed by springs. The dikes thrown around such bodies of 

 water, once well built, as a rule cause very little trouble. There 

 ^'s no great water pressure on them such as sometimes comes 

 to the banks of ponds that are quickly filled, even to overflow- 

 ing at times, by the sudden influx of flood waters. Not much 

 sediment is carried into such ponds as compared to sky ponds, 

 and their bottoms are more nearly free from objectionable 

 debris and mud. The stage of water in such ponds can easily 

 be regulated. 



