182 ' Fish and Game Warden. [Bull. No. 1. 



time, the idea being to keep the pond supplied with water, but 

 not to have any overflow or waste. There are many ponds in 

 the country that are fed from windmill pumps or from springs 

 or small streams. Under such conditions there is little or no 

 water to spare. When there is an extra supply it is usually 

 needed either for stock or for small garden irrigation, or for 

 both purposes. 



VEGETATION IN AND AROUND THE POND. 



This acre pond had in previous years been thoroughly 

 stocked with water plants, including various kinds of "mosses," 

 principally Chara and one kind of water lily (Castalia odorata) . 

 There are several patches of these lilies, and we estimated that 

 about one-fifteenth of the surface of the lake was covered with 

 lily pads. The north and east banks above the water line are 

 covered with swamp grass, with a few rushes along the water 

 line. Higher up the bank small willows are growing, and some 

 of them hang over the water. A number of large cottonwood 

 trees stand on the southwest and west shores of the pond. 

 They furnish some shade, but we do not consider them of any 

 particular value in connection with fish production. There 

 are other ponds that do quite as well, and even better, in pro- 

 ducing fish, that have no trees around them. We do not advise 

 having trees right up against a pond. A grove of trees should 

 be a little distance from a pond, so as to reduce the number of 

 leaves that would fall and blow into the water. The leaves are 

 of no value to the fish and frequently color the water, and in 

 some instances have been known to damage the water, when 

 the pond was low, to the extent that it was rendered unfit for 

 fish to live in. 



STOCKING THE POND. 



Three years ago, in the spring of 1910, this pond was stocked 

 with about 10,000 yearling fish that had been raised in it. All 

 the larger fish were removed, together with 20,000 yearlings. 

 The fish that were allowed to remain were Black bass, crappie. 

 Blue-gill sunfish, common Green sunfish. Bullhead catfish, a 

 few Hickory shad, German carp, and about 300 goldfish. 

 Many of them were small and only fit for food for the larger 

 bass. In the fall of 1910, a few months after the above stock- 

 ing, about a thousand more small fish of various kinds were 

 added to this stock, including 200 Black bass that were from 

 four to six inches long. These bass had been hatched in the 

 spring and were unusually large and fine for their age. They 

 were cannibals, and we put them in this pond because we 

 had no other convenient place for them. We usually distribute 

 such fish, as soon as possible after getting hold of them, in the 

 larger creeks and rivers. 



