[103] POND CULTURE. 5G9 



That the poud cultivators of bj'gonc times have employed artificial 

 feeding is proved by their own statements on the subject; and that 

 they found it advantageous appears from tlie fa(;t that they often em- 

 ployed expensive articles of food. Even if such food was not as ex- 

 pensive in those days as it is now, it should be remembered that the 

 price of carp was much lower. Von Eeider, for instance, recommends 

 the following method of feeding carp in tish tanks: "Perforate both 

 the bottom and sides of light kegs, fill them with ground malt, and 

 throw them into the fish-tanks. Others take good, fat clay, broken 

 into small pieces, mix it with the malt, and put this mixture in a keg, 

 which is closed firmly. By pushing the keg about, the carp cause the 

 malt and clay to ooze out through the holes, and thereby the water is 

 rendered sweet and nourishing. Others mix malt and wheat flour, 

 make this mixture into loaves, which are baked in an oven. Others 

 again bake loaves of ground malt and clay, vAiW kneaded together, and 

 throw the broken loaves into the fish-tank. Others take fat clay, the 

 solid excrements of sheep, malt, and a little salt, kneed all this into a 

 dough, which is rolled out thin and scattered along the banks. Others 

 take fat clay, mix it with honey and barley flour, kneed it well, and 

 form it into balls, which are thrown to the fish. The clay should be 

 mixed with sand, to aid the fish in digesting it." 



Jokisch recommends the following fish-food: "The so called fish-bread, 

 which is baked in an oven or dried in the sun, should be made of such 

 ingredients that if baked in summer it will keep in a dry place till win- 

 ter. Potatoes, peas, lentils, beans, &c., are cooked until they are toler- 

 ably soft, and thereto are added bran, a little refuse from breweries or 

 spoiled malt, and dark flour, which serves to give consistency to the 

 whole. With this mixture some brewer's yeast, poor milk, or Avater is 

 incorporated, and allowed to work it thoroughly, when it is formed into 

 loaves. If these loaves are baked in an oven, thej' should be made tol- 

 I erably large, while they must be small if they are to be dried in the sun, 

 I so as to prevent their molding or rotting, of which there is danger in 

 j water which is not running at all times. Such loaves are broken and 

 I thrown into the ponds in quantities to suit the nnmber of fish, and after 

 I a few days they are devoured by the fish. In ponds which do not receive 

 ; much natural food from the outside, artificial food will be very useful, 

 j Husks of beans and various kinds of grain, and particularly the car- 

 casses of horses, will here render excellent service. It will always be 

 found that wherever the refuse from breweries, distilleries, starch fac- 

 tories, &c., is emptied into ponds, the fish will be particularly fat and of 

 t excellent quality. Potatoes boiled and cut np also form an excellent 

 I article of food ibr carp." 



I Tscheiner says: '-The fish will get fat if fed on a mixture of hemp, 



J beans, peas, and the solid excrements of sheep. Kest also favors the 



\ fattening of carp, and they are, therefore, fattened outside the water 



in the following manner: They are wrapped in moss, which is constantly 



