256 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



time become defaced at the water-line. This may be remedied by a 

 facing of board along the surface-line. We have lately constructed 

 very good and cheap ponds of rough hemlock boards, (our cheapest 

 luniber,) and find that they answer exceedingly well. Thirty feet long, 

 four feet wide, and six inches of water will do very well for race-ways to 

 small ponds. 



The supply of water necessary to raise trout for market purposes 

 (making it a business) should not be less than thirty or forty inches, and 

 would be better if larger. Adults should be fed regularly once each 

 day. The only rule to be given as to quantity is to feed them till they 

 will eat no more. It is economy to cut the feed finely and feed slowly, 

 as most of that which is not eaten at once will be wasted. A little 

 water should be mixed with the meat, and wetting the knife or cleaver 

 often makes easier chopping, and causes the food to spread evenly when 

 thrown into the i)oud. Cut the toughest food for the largest fish. 

 Keep your i)ans, chopping-block, and meat-house clean, and feed your 

 meat before it spoils. It is good economy, before commencing to build 

 ponds, to take the advice of some experienced man, and also to read 

 all obtainable works on the subject. On the main i)oints there will be 

 found very little difference of opinion, and on those comparatively un- 

 important everybody's experience will help you to form a sound judg- 

 ment. 



A few hints to those raising trout on a small scale ; that is, not making 

 it an exclusive business. There are many persons who have trout- 

 streams, either wholly or in part on their farms, which streams bring 

 them in no revenue, excei^t an occasional day's amusement. Let us 

 suppose such a stream to be stocked annually with five thousand trout- 

 fry, at an expense of $100. In about three years the stream will 

 be in full bearing. Let us look at the returns. At the lowest estimate 

 three hundred pounds of trout, worth $1 per pound at present prices, 

 may be taken from the stream annually. Then, too, there is always 

 a demand for fishing j)rivileges, and in most places such a stream could 

 be let to sportsmen at a profitable advance on the cost of stocking. 

 Besides, if a i)lace is to be sold, a well-stocked trout-stream on the 

 premises will add several dollars per acre to the value of the ground. 

 Even a little spring rill, across which a man can step, if stocked yearly 

 with a thousand fry, costing $20, will yield a profitable interest on the 

 money expended. The labor of catching them is, of course, to be con- 

 sidered. But in most cases their capture is thought to be a pleasure, 

 and if there should be a proprietor who finds no enjoyment in trout- 

 fishing, he will find enough to do that work for him without wages. It 

 must be obvious that stocking streams, though limited as to results, is 

 yet in its degree more profitable than the other method of fish-raising, 

 inasmuch as there is no outlay for feed, and the trout require no care. 



The two methods may often be combined with advantage. I once 

 met an old farmer who was taking a trout to the village hotel for sale. 

 The fish weighed plump four pounds and was a beauty. I learned that 

 he was in the habit of bringing such fish occasionally, and on question- 

 ing him, found that he had a little spring stream of water running 

 through his land, and that in its course he had dug out a deep hole — 

 simply a hole in the ground, without screens or apparatus of any kind. 

 The larger trout from the stream collected in this hole, and he would 

 feed them with scraps from his table, refuse meat from his butchering, 

 &c. With the outlay of very little trouble, and no cash, the old gentleman 

 must have gathered a good many dollars per year from his hole-in-the- 



