[141] POND CULTURE. (]07 



aud reacli tlio outer lisii-pir. As iish generally get hurl in i)assing 

 throLigli the pipes, no fish should, if possible, be allowed to enter tiieni. 

 The outflow of the water is regulated by stand-pipes and taps, by open- 

 ing them gradually and letting the water pass through by slow degrees. 



After these preliminaries have been finished, the weirs, wherever 

 there are such, are opened ; and where there are stand-pipes the small 

 boards are taken out one by one. Even if they are fastened with screws 

 or nails, this can soon be accomplished with a screw-driver or a pair of 

 pincers ; and it will, therefore, be well to have these tools near at h;md. 



Where there are tap-houses, the drawing of the taps will occasion a 

 little trouble, and will always require the combined efforts of several 

 laborers. Short taps can, as a rule, be drawn by one strong man. For 

 the drawing of long taps special contrivances are needed, and two, aud 

 often more, men. If the tap is not too long and heavy, it may be grad- 

 ually lifted by means of a pole stuck through a ring at the top, or a 

 hole in the tap itself. Very large taps can be drawn only by menus of 

 a very stout and long pole with holes, and shaped like a roller, of such 

 a length that it can easily be placed on the tap-house from the dike, so 

 as to project beyond. This pole is placed close to the taj), and round it 

 is wound a chain fastened to the tap from below (a stout ro])e may also 

 be used), whereby the tap is gradually drawn from its hole. If earth 

 has been rammed down round about the tap, it is rocked u^) and down 

 until the earth becomes loose. In thus rocking the taj) u]) and down, 

 it will be easy to hold it suspended for a while, and thus to regulate the 

 outflow of the water. In the beginning the tap shouhl be drawni grad- 

 ually so that the water can flow off slowly, and the fish may gradually 

 be drawn from the edges of the pond towards the deep places. Great 

 care should be taken in ponds having many reeds, because the fish are 

 apt to remain among these, and either perish or become the pi-ey of 

 birds aud other animals. While the water flows off, some men should 

 be engaged in driving the fish from the reeds into the deep places. 



One man should always be stationed at the place where the water 

 flows out; the outer fish-pit should also be under constant surveillance, 

 so that the fish which may get into it accidentally can immediately be 

 removed. If, as is frequently the case in small j)onds, there is no outer 

 fish-i)it, baskets should be jdaced where the pipes open on the outside 

 of the dike, in such a manner that the water flow^s through them, aud 

 that any fish which may accideutally have got into the pipes are caught 

 in these baskets. The water should not be brought to its lowest level 

 until everything is ready for the fisheries. At the moment when the 

 tap is lifted entirely out of its hole the tap-basket is placed iu the open- 

 ing by which fish are iireveuted from escai)ing, but which lets the water 

 flow through. In spite of this precaution fish will sometimes reach the 

 outer pit, owing to the fact that the water occasionally lifts the tap- 

 basket from its position. 



The degree to which a pond is to be drained depends on its size, aiul 



