(;00 icEPOKT OF COMMISSIONEK OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [134] 



ospecially if the bottom of the i)Oiul has a very light color, ami iftheio 

 is ail absolute lack of shade; under these circumstances the fish become 

 blind or die. To nmke gohlfish less tender, so that they can easily be 

 handled, they are placed in the ponds for hardening the skin. The 

 water of these jxnids contains a great deal of iron, and by adding some 

 lime it has the <'ftectof rendering the skin of the fish very hard. In 

 si)ite of lliis Imrdening ])rocess, it is not immaterial in what kind of 

 watei' the grown goldfish are ke])t. Mr. Wagner recommends, above 

 cverylhing else, s[ning or i)umi> water, and M'here this cannot be ob- 

 tiiined, river water. In his opinion meat, either cooked or raw, and 

 .scraped line, woiins, insects, larvie, ant-eggs, &c., are the best food for 

 goldfish in glolx's or small a<puiiia. These recei)tacles ibr goldfish 

 sliouhl alwa.Ns contain a few aipiatic plants, as Lemnaeeoi ov Potamogcton. 

 Too much food Itecoines injurious, and it is better not to feed the fish 

 at all for a whole month, than to give them too much food. Under no 

 ciicumstanct's should more food be given than can be eaten atone time. 

 l*iior to sending the lish any distance ^Ir. Wagner lets them fast for a 

 week, and thus i)rev«'nts them from ])olluting the "water during trans- 

 jjortalion. I'he xcssel in which the tisli aie transported is an oval keg 

 with a ])erforated bung on the ui)i)cr side. To keep the water in motion, 

 and intro<luce fresh air, the keg is never fille<l entirely. The number 

 of goldfish laised annually in Mr. Wagner's establishment is about 

 300,(H)(). Mr. AN'agner emphns a book-keeper, a night-watchman and 

 fifteen laborers, all of wlunn he pays good wages, and the net annual 

 profit accruing to him is \ery considerable. The same area used for 

 agricultural ])urposes would hardly supjjorl one family. 



lU. THE I'.lJoOK TKOIT {Ti-HiUi fario). 



As brook trout always command a good i)rice, their culture will \m\\ 

 three and four times better than that of carp, provided cheap food can 

 easily be obtained. To laise trout systematically on a i)ond larm, ponds 

 are re(iuired which aie fed either by si)rings or a small gravelly brook, 

 and on whose banks are found aquatic plants and shade-trees, like the 

 alder. W there are no such trees, they should be planted. For trout 

 culture, lis for earpculture, there are needed si)awning places, raising 

 ponds, and stock jxunls. As trout differ greatly in their growth, there 

 should be em)ugh ])on(ls to ])lace all fish of one and the same size to- 

 gether, because otherwise the large fish will devour the smaller ones. 

 Care should be taken that no mud accumulates on the bottom of tlie 

 ponds where there should always be found some large stones under 

 which the trout may hide. The bottom of the ])onds must not be grav- 

 elly, as this nniy imluce the trout to spawn in them. In ])lace of spawn 

 ing ponds one should either have suitable sj»a\\ning ditclies, or the fish 

 may be allowed to spawn in the springs or brooks which feed the ponds. 

 13itches Avill be necessary if the spring or brook has no gravelly or sandy 

 bottom, if it does iiot otter sufiicient room, or if the Avater hfis too little 



