606. REPORT OF COMMTRRTONER OF FI.SII AND FISHERIES. [140] 



generally commeuce about the begiuuiug of October; on large i)Oud 

 farms, however, tliey should commence sooner, so they may be brought 

 to a close before frost sets In. 



For fishing, cool days should always be selected ; and fishing should 

 commence very early in the morning, so that one or more ponds may 

 be finished before the sun stands liigh in the heavens, as heat makes 

 the fish languid and renders them unfit for transportation. Xo more 

 ponds should be drained during one day than can be fished that day. 



As regards the order of the autumn fisheries iu the various pouds, it 

 will be best to make the beginning with those spawning jjonds in which 

 no fish are to be wintered, so that the fisheries in these ponds may be 

 brought to a close before frosts, or even hoar-frosts, whi(;h are injurious 

 to the fry, set in. Next in order come the stock ponds, and among them 

 first those which are to be filled with water immediately after the close 

 of the fisheries, so that they can be stocked that same autumn ; next 

 come the raising ponds, which are to supply the fish for the winter 

 pouds; and lastly those raisiug ponds whose fish are during that same 

 autumn to be transferred to the stock ponds. As regards the fisheries 

 in the raising ponds, it will be advisable to take those ponds in close 

 succession whose fish are to form the stock of one and the same winter 

 pond. Before the fisheries commence it will, especially on a large pond 

 larm, be necessary to i)repare a well arranged plan, taking special re- 

 gard to the length of time which each ])ond will need for draining. 



At the beginning of the fisheries the necessary apparatus, which 

 should have been looked over some time ])revious in order to make any 

 needed rej^airs, should all be ready ; and the required laborers and carts 

 should be on the spot, so that the fishing, sorting, weighing, and trans- 

 porting of the tish may pjoceed as rapidly as possible, to ])revent the 

 fish from reaching tlieir winter ])onds and other ponds and tanks in a 

 languid condition. The api)aratus used i"or fishing and for the sorting 

 and transporting offish will be described in another chapter. 



Letting off the water. — Before fishing commeiu'-es in a, pond, the water 

 should be let oft*. This matter is intrusted to a reliable person, who has 

 <;harge of and supervises all the jireparatory labors, and whose duty 

 it is to have the pond completely ready for the fisheries. Before the 

 water is let oft', it is necessary to carefully examine the tap-houses and 

 fish-pits, and if needed, to clean them, to substitute new stocks for 

 broken ones in the grates, and to clean the ditches through which the 

 water flowsofi", so that it flows out evenly, without causing an inundation. 

 If, however, there are meadows below the ponds inundations will ac- 

 tually prove beneficial, while if the ground below the pond is occupied 

 by other ponds, they will be injurious. In this latter case measures 

 should be taken to prevent any damage to dikes and dwellings, and to 

 hinder the fish from floating away. The pond should therefore be 

 drained slowly. At the places where the water flows out, nets should 

 be securely fastened in front of the grates, so that no fish can get through 



