14. FISH PONDS ON FARMS. 
age to the deepest point, where a waste pipe controlled by gates or 
slash boards should lead to outside natural channels. 
It will be found a great convenience when draining ponds to 
have shallow channels 6 inches deep and 15 inches wide, at the head 
of the drainpipe, radiating to all parts of the pond bottom from a 
kettle or pit, which may be of wood or concrete. A large percentage 
of the fish will follow such channels as the water recedes, and may 
be removed from the kettle with less danger of injury than if picked 
up promiscuously about the pond. 
Remove all projections from the pond bottom which might inter- 
fere with the operations of seines, plow the entire bed and level it 
with harrows before turning in the water or treating further for 
water-tightness. 
As stated above, ponds located on swamp bottoms or in clay soils 
are practically impervious to seepage, and there should be no diffi- 
culty in maintaining their surface levels. Sandy loams are more 
uncertain; they require time to become thoroughly saturated, but 
will improve in this respect from year to year, through the accumu- 
lating deposits of decaying vegetation. It is an excellent practice 
when first filling newly-constructed ponds with water, whatever the 
nature of the soil, to follow the advancing water line with a drag or 
harrow, driving the team knee-deep into the water. The constant 
roiling and puddling of the ground in this manner is very effective 
in cementing open cracks and crevices. Very porous soils may require 
the addition of a layer of clay before they will hold water. From 2 to 
6 inches of stiff brick clay over the entire bottom and up the sides, 
well above the water line, the bottom harrowed down as explained 
above, will hold water over the most open ground likely to be used. 
The only objection to the presence of clay is its general sterility, but 
this may be corrected by another layer of rich loam, after the clay 
has been worked down and proved efficacious. Where this process is 
to be employed, allowance must be made at the time of excavation 
for the refill of 12 or more inches. Coarse stable manure, and even 
clean straw, well trampled into the pond bottom, has been reported 
as a successful remedy for seepage. 
A good set of native sod or sedge grass around the entire pond at 
the water line is the best preventive of wave washing and encroach- 
ments upon new fills. If the location is such that strong currents or 
eddies are present, piling, rock riprap, or other reinforcement, will 
be necessary at the points of greatest exposure. 
Landowners desiring to undertake fish propagation may feel that 
the expenditure necessary to secure completed ponds, as described 
above, is prohibitive; or they may have waters available for fish 
culture which it would not be expedient to remodel along the lines - 
mdicated. The plans outlined are in accordance with the present- 
