[145] POND CULTURE. (l\{ 



Kiicli flitches. If these ditches are outside of the pond, on the other 

 f id" of the dike, they can be secured against beino- filled with watei-, but 

 in that case they will have the disadvantage that the labor of fishing is 

 retarded, as the fish cannot be taken direct from the pond to the kegs, 

 but have to be carried over the dike to these ditches — which, if not in 

 clayey or loamy soil, must be lined with wood-M'ork — have to be sorted 

 in them, and finally carried to the kegs whicli are on the carts or w^agons, 

 which as a rule must drive on. the dike. Such delays may be avoided by 

 placing near the fish-pit a sufiicient number of tubs, which make it ])os- 

 sible to carry on the fisheries with the utmost regularity. 



On some farms, tubs or ditches are dispensed with, and in the near- 

 est pond a scaffolding of poles is erected near the shore, on which are 



placed a number of nets wliich hang down into the water. From the 

 baskets or nets the fish are thrown on the ground, and are thenc(» put 

 in the nets, assigning a separate net for each kind. This arrangement 

 offers the advantage that the fish remain in pure, fresli water up to tlie 

 moment when they are placed in the kegs, but on the other hand it \vill 

 often be found diificult to get close enough to these nets, some of the fish 

 in being thrown will strike the poles and will be injured or killed, while 

 others will fall beyond the nets in the open w'ater and thus es(;ape. 

 As some of these nets have wide and others narrow meshes, to suit 

 the different kinds of fish, it will often happen that mistakes are made 

 in throwing the fish, small ones sometimes getting into nets with wide 

 meshes which favor their escape. If among these escaped fish there 

 should be some small pike, they will, during the following year make 

 great havoc among the fry. Frequently flie number or size of these nets 

 is not suflicient for the different kinds of fish ; the nets become crowded ; 

 the lower fish seek to rid themselves of the fish which are on top of them, 

 and in the general commotion caused thereby, many fish escape into 

 the pond. The whole arrangement, moreover, consumes considerable 

 time in its construction. 



Much time is also wasted in employing a method, mentioned by 

 Delius, according to which the fish are not sorted until they arrive at 

 the tanks or winter ponds. Delius says, regarding this metliod : "The 

 fish which have been caught in the pond are put on wagons, either 

 loose or in baskets, and driven to the tanks. Care should be taken that 



