﻿MANUAL 
  OF 
  FISH-CULTURE. 
  175 
  

  

  fed 
  almost 
  every 
  hour 
  in 
  the 
  day, 
  though 
  but 
  little 
  food 
  is 
  given 
  at 
  

   one 
  time 
  and 
  that 
  well 
  scattered 
  through 
  the 
  trough. 
  The 
  attendant 
  

   should 
  be 
  about 
  the 
  trough 
  constantly 
  to 
  accustom 
  them 
  to 
  his 
  pres- 
  

   ence, 
  care 
  being 
  taken 
  not 
  to 
  alarm 
  them. 
  Instead 
  of 
  being 
  frightened 
  

   and 
  darting 
  to 
  the 
  dark 
  corners 
  of 
  the 
  trough 
  at 
  his 
  ai:)proach, 
  they 
  

   soon 
  learn 
  to 
  come 
  to 
  meet 
  him, 
  not 
  a 
  few 
  at 
  a 
  time, 
  but 
  all 
  together. 
  

  

  For 
  several 
  days 
  their 
  food 
  will 
  have 
  to 
  consist 
  of 
  such 
  minute 
  ani- 
  

   mals 
  as 
  can 
  be 
  conveniently 
  collected 
  from 
  the 
  ponds 
  with 
  a 
  dip 
  net 
  of 
  

   cheese-cloth. 
  After 
  four 
  or 
  five 
  days 
  they 
  will 
  accept 
  prepared 
  food, 
  

   as 
  fish 
  of 
  some 
  kind, 
  ground 
  to 
  a 
  fine 
  paste. 
  ' 
  In 
  general, 
  bass 
  fry 
  under 
  

   1^ 
  or 
  IJ 
  inches 
  in 
  length 
  are 
  too 
  small 
  to 
  take 
  artificial 
  food, 
  and 
  some 
  

   die 
  before 
  they 
  can 
  be 
  accustomed 
  to 
  take 
  it. 
  

  

  The 
  number 
  of 
  young 
  bass 
  to 
  be 
  put 
  into 
  a 
  pond 
  depends 
  upon 
  its 
  

   size 
  and 
  its 
  capacity 
  to 
  produce 
  food. 
  If 
  the 
  nursery 
  has 
  been 
  prepared 
  

   in 
  advance 
  with 
  aquatic 
  plants 
  some 
  Crustacea 
  will 
  be 
  found 
  there, 
  and 
  

   the 
  deficiency 
  is 
  supplied 
  by 
  the 
  introduction 
  of 
  snails, 
  Ganimarus, 
  

   Corixa, 
  etc. 
  The 
  use 
  of 
  beef 
  liver 
  as 
  food 
  is 
  not 
  advised. 
  To 
  a 
  nursery 
  in 
  

   fair 
  condition 
  from 
  3,000 
  to 
  5,000 
  young 
  bass 
  may 
  be 
  allotted. 
  The 
  death 
  

   of 
  a 
  part 
  of 
  these 
  must 
  be 
  expected, 
  and 
  if 
  even 
  a 
  fair 
  percentage 
  are 
  

   to 
  survive 
  they 
  must 
  have 
  more 
  food 
  than 
  the 
  pond 
  can 
  grow. 
  Should 
  

   a 
  large 
  part 
  of 
  them 
  survive 
  the 
  first 
  few 
  weeks 
  they 
  can 
  be 
  distributed 
  

   into 
  other 
  nurseries. 
  

  

  At 
  Neosho 
  crayfish 
  have 
  been 
  used 
  for 
  food 
  with 
  good 
  results, 
  not 
  

   that 
  they 
  have 
  any 
  value 
  over 
  other 
  forms 
  of 
  aquatic 
  life, 
  but 
  because 
  

   they 
  are 
  abundant, 
  cost 
  nothing, 
  and 
  are 
  acceptable 
  to 
  the 
  fish. 
  Young 
  

   bass 
  can 
  easily 
  be 
  fed 
  on 
  any 
  kind 
  of 
  fish, 
  and 
  all 
  that 
  is 
  necessary 
  is 
  

   to 
  reduce 
  the 
  fish 
  to 
  a 
  paste 
  by 
  passing 
  it 
  through 
  a 
  meat-cutting 
  

   machine. 
  Carp 
  may 
  be 
  cultivated 
  for 
  the 
  purpose. 
  At 
  the 
  Forest 
  

   ponds 
  of 
  the 
  Missouri 
  Fish 
  Commission 
  little 
  branch 
  chub 
  are 
  caught 
  

   and 
  placed 
  in 
  the 
  pond 
  several 
  weeks 
  before 
  the 
  bass 
  spawn. 
  As 
  the 
  

   chub 
  spawn 
  and 
  hatch 
  out 
  before 
  the 
  bass, 
  when 
  the 
  young 
  bass 
  are 
  

   transferred 
  to 
  the 
  nursery 
  they 
  find 
  a 
  lot 
  of 
  young 
  chub 
  ready 
  to 
  be 
  

   eaten. 
  An 
  objection 
  is 
  that 
  the 
  old 
  chubs 
  destroy 
  the 
  young 
  bass, 
  

   though 
  this 
  could 
  be 
  obviated 
  by 
  hatching 
  the 
  chub 
  artificially 
  (as 
  can 
  

   be 
  easily 
  done) 
  and 
  turning 
  only 
  the 
  young 
  chub 
  into 
  the 
  pond. 
  How- 
  

   ever, 
  the 
  propensity 
  to 
  cannibalism 
  in 
  the 
  bass 
  should 
  not 
  be 
  fostered, 
  

   and 
  it 
  is 
  better 
  not 
  to 
  feed 
  bass, 
  old 
  or 
  j'^oung, 
  on 
  any 
  kind 
  of 
  live 
  fish. 
  

   They 
  are 
  thus 
  trained, 
  while 
  under 
  domestication, 
  to 
  forego 
  their 
  natural 
  

   inclination 
  for 
  fish 
  diet. 
  

  

  Sometimes, 
  even 
  with 
  abundance 
  of 
  natural 
  food, 
  the 
  young 
  prey 
  upon 
  

   each 
  other, 
  and 
  they 
  should 
  then 
  be 
  thinned 
  out 
  by 
  transferring 
  a 
  i)art 
  

   to 
  nursery-ponds, 
  or 
  the 
  entire 
  lot 
  removed 
  to 
  troughs 
  or 
  vats 
  in 
  the 
  

   hope 
  of 
  inducing 
  them 
  to 
  take 
  the 
  prepared 
  or 
  natural 
  food. 
  As 
  the 
  

   summer 
  advances 
  the 
  strongest 
  fish 
  may 
  be 
  observed 
  to 
  grow 
  rapidly, 
  

   and 
  at 
  the 
  first 
  evidence 
  of 
  unusual 
  growth 
  the 
  fish 
  must 
  be 
  sorted 
  out 
  

   and 
  those 
  of 
  a 
  certain 
  size 
  placed 
  in 
  separate 
  ponds. 
  The 
  successful 
  

  

  