[^^] POND CULTURE. 4g5 



work (loose sand), tolerably easy (garden soil), and difficult (clayey or 

 stony sod). In ord^r to work conveniently with a shovel a mau'needs 

 at least a space of 120 centimeters along the proposed site of the ditch 

 and thus it will be easy to determine the number of shovelers needed 

 for a certain length of ditch. The above-mentioned space, of course 

 only applies to large ditches, such as those intended to let the water in 

 and out, and in very large ponds also to the side ditches ; but for small 

 side ditches this space will have to be considerably enlarged, thus 

 diminishing the number of shovelers, as the men would be in each 

 other's way if placed so close together, owing to the more rapid prog- 

 ress of the work. A laborer can easily throw the earth with his shovel 

 3.6 meters in a horizontal and 2.3 meters in a vertical direction, which 

 proves that for horizontal distance exceeding 3.6 meters and a vertical 

 one exceeding 2.3 meters two rows of shovelers will be required. This 

 will, however, hardly be necessary except in the construction of very 

 large ponds, which need a very broad and detip main ditch for carrying 

 a stream through them. In dividing the entire length of the iwoposed 

 ditch in spaces of 120 centimeters, besides the shovelers other laborers 

 will be needed to break the soil, to remove it to some distance, and to 

 level and spread ic on the place where the dike is to be constructed. 

 All these men constitute a laboring squad. The distance of these 

 squads from each other depends on the number of laborers at one's dis- 

 posal, on the time in which it is intended to complete the dike, and on 

 the size of the ditches. The greater these distances the fewer laborers 

 will be needed, and the fewer laborers, all the slower will the work pro- 

 gress. 



The above has been said, presuming that one has a sufficient number 

 of laborers, that the pond and dike are to be constructed in the shortest 

 possible time and with the greatest possible saving of labor and money, 

 and that the earth from the main ditch is sufficient for the entire dike' 

 because, although these conditions will in many cases be wanting, tlie 

 greater portion of the dike should be constructed from the earth of the 

 main ditch, unless this earth is from some cause not adapted to the i)ur- 

 pose. If one knows the rules according to which the work should be 

 carried on under these conditions, it will be easy to adapt these rules 

 also to different conditions, and we shall, in the proper place, give some 

 hints regarding this. 



To return to the laboring squad, we know from experience that a 

 loose sandy soil, not covered with turf, does not need to be broken, but 

 as the soil down to the bottom or sole of the proposed ditcli will often 

 vary in its character, it will be advisable to count on employing some 

 laborers for breaking the soil. For a tolerably easy soil (see above), as 

 well as for sandy soil, one should count one man with a pickax to every 

 two squads, and for difficult soil one such man to every squad, and iii 

 both cases one man per squad for leveling and pounding the soil. 



Supposing that every shoveler could throw the earth to the phw.o, of 



