THE CARP AND ITS CULTURE 



893 



10 feet deep, for the larger fish. If such Ji pond is to .yield some profit, 

 it must also be particularly rich in food. A natural pond may be used, 

 or, if such a one is not found, it may be artificially constructed. It is 

 indispensable, however, that such a pond should have the same depth 

 of water all the year round, and it should be so arranged that even the 

 last drop of water can be let off, as occasionally even the smallest fish, 

 measuring only 2 to 3 inches iu length, must be taken out. Such " mixed 

 ponds" must likewise have "collectors" and "collector-ditches." It will 

 also be found very useful to construct a sort of hatching-place, on some 

 flat and sunny place, near the bank, i. e., a so-called cut in the bank, 

 measuring 40 to 100 feet in length and 30 to oO feet in breadth, and having 

 a depth of 5 inches to li feet. This cut should be thickly planted with 

 the above-mentioned aquatic plants, and ought, so to speak, to be the 

 only place in the pond where carp can ascend from the depth in order 

 to deposit their eggs conveniently and engage in the spawning process. 

 As soon as this has taken place, the entrance to this cut is closed with 

 a net, so the eggs cannot be eaten by the fish. This net may be removed 

 when the young fish have come out of the eggs, but it is preferable to 

 leave it in its place for some days, that the young fish may be able to 

 feed for some time undisturbedly. 



Fig. 1 





Explanation of diagram. — A is the pond, B the cut, which, though 

 ■directly connected with the pond, is in reality nothing but a hatching- 

 pond, such as has been described above. In order to have a complete 

 system of ponds, nothing would be requifed but a " breeding-pond." 



In Europe this method was generally adopted by beginners in carp- 

 culture, commencing with a mixed pond, and gradually proceeding to 

 the small '' hatching-pond," and finally to the " breeding-pond," as the 

 great advantage of separate ponds for the different ages of fish over the 

 •• mixed-pond" system soon became evident. 



In such a " mixed pond " no pike must be kept for regulating the 

 stock, as may be done in a class-pond, for all the small fish would then 

 soon be devoured. It must be made a strict rule that, with the excep- 



