Part III.] Pond Fish Culture. 133 



nows here at the Hatchery dart out from points of vantage, 

 where they had apparently been hiding among the aquatic 

 plants, and make quick onslaughts on bunches of baby bass 

 or crappie that might be passing near by. In this way the 

 minnows sometimes destroy a good many of the fry of other 

 fish. As soon, however, as the other fish, especially those 

 designated as game fish, such as the bass, crappie and catfishes, 

 exceed the minnows in size, the tables are turned and the poor 

 minnows are chased as proper delicate morsels of food for the 

 rest of their natural lifetime. 



A good many people, including some of our correspondents, 

 call all small fish minnows. Minnows belong to a pretty well 

 defined family (the Cyprinidse), and while all the species are 

 not small, yet they should not be confused with the young of 

 other fish. A great majority of the minnows are small, rang- 

 ing in length from two to six inches. The young of other 

 kinds of fish should not be called minnows just because they 

 are small. Young fish are called "fry"* by fish culturists 

 when they are first hatched. When they become larger and 

 attain an inch or so in length they are usually called "large 

 fry." From the time they are an inch and a half in length, and 

 until they reach four or four and a half inches, they are usu- 

 ally called fingerlings.f In a general way the average length of 

 these young fish is about the same as the fingers of one's hand. 

 The terms "fry" and "fingerling" to designate the size of 

 young fish are in common use by fish culturists and in books 

 and articles on fish culture. 



VEGETATION. 



The animal kingdom lives on the vegetable kingdom. In 

 other words, vegetable matter constitutes and forms the basis 

 of all animal life. A great number of forms of life, both 

 animal and vegetable, are dependent one upon the other, but 

 animal life is essentially dependent upon vegetable life. Many 

 forms of animal life live entirely upon other forms of animal 

 life, but somewhere along the line of growth and development 

 it will be found that vegetable life forms the basis, either 

 directly or indirectly, of all animal life. 



* Fry. — When fish are first hatched they are called small, young or 

 baby fry. When they are from about one-half to one inch in length they 

 are simply called fry or medium fry. When from one inch to one and 

 one-half inches in length they are called large fry. 



t FiNGERLiNGS. — When the young fish are from one and one-half to two 

 and one-half inches in length they are called small fingerlings or No. 1 

 fingerlings. When from two and a half to three and a half inches in 

 length they are called fingerlings, medium sized fingerlings, or No. 2 

 fingerlings. When from three and a half to four and a half inches in 

 length they are called large fingerlings or No. 3 fingerlings. 



