1026 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FiStttimES. [18] 



saved, because, if properly aided, the power of growth is greatest 

 during the year of birth. If, however, the desired weight has already 

 been reached during the year of birth, one will also need less food 

 during the second year, because the advance from 2G0 to 035 grams cai) 

 be made, in most cases, in tolerably good ponds, without having tecoUl'sG 

 to artificial feeding. As the case is siuiihir in the sale-ponds, it will be 

 most profitable, if there is a sufBcietit at^a of growing-ponds to justify 

 the taking of the young fry from the hatching-ponds during the year of 

 birth, and placing them in the feeding-ponds, to place in the feeding- 

 ponds during the year of birth. If there are not enough feediug-ptJUds, 

 nothing can be d^one, of course, but to place the young fry in the feeding- 

 3)onds during the second summer, and endeavor to raise some of them 

 to the necessary weight for the last pond (510 grams of a final weight 

 of 1,260 grams is to be reached); in this case, however, the expense of 

 feeding will be greater than in following the first-mentioned method. 



A similar method of feeding has to be followed, if, with an equal 

 number of fish, a greater weight is aimed at than the productiveness of 

 the pond can produce. In this case only one way remains — artificial 

 feeding; in all ponds, if the difference between productiveness and the 

 demand is very great ; if this difference is not very great, it will be suf- 

 ficient to introduce artificial feeding in some of the ponds. The quantity 

 of food should, in that case, be in proportion to the difference between 

 the productiveness of the ponds and the weight to be reached. 



V. To stock a pond with a larger number of fish than its productiveness 

 and the object aimed at allow. 



There will be nothing irrational in stocking one or more ponds with 

 a larger number of fish than their productiveness will allow, if the ponds 

 belonging to an estate are so large that the natural distribution of fish 

 in different ponds, according to their age, cannot be properly kept up, 

 and if, therefore, it becomes impossible to keep only fish of the same 

 age in one and the same pond. 



The extent of the different ponds may necessitate a larger area for 

 the growing-ponds than properly belongs to them ; or, on the contrary, 

 it may happen that the sale-ponds are too large in proportion to tho 

 growing-ponds. 



In the first case it would seem best to stock the growing-ponds ac- 

 cording to their productiveness, in such a way that the fish in these 

 ponds, at the end of their second year of growth— for the sake of clear- 

 ness we will give an illustration by figures— reach the weight of (>3a 

 grams (which would correspond to a final weight of 1,260 grams). This 

 latter weight, however, cannot be reached in the sale-ponds by the fish 

 from the growing-ponds, because their area and productiveness are not 

 sufficiently large for this purpose. This difficulty can only be overcome 

 by giving so much food to the extra number offish in the sale-ponds as 

 to increase the weight to 1,260 grams. If, however, the sale-ponds are 

 too large in proportion to the growing-ponds, it will be best, for the 



