024 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [158] 



is a sort of a mill-wheel, wbich is set in motion by clock-work which is 

 wound np. In this mann(u- the water is brought in constant contact 

 witli fresh air, and the trout travel by rail under the same conditions 

 as in the incnintain streams of their homes.* 



VI r. — Pond fisiifriks at Wrn"iN(fAiT. 



To give an idea of the manner in which pond fisheries are conducted, 

 and of the work connected therewith, I shall describe the fisheries in 

 one of the Wittingau ponds in Bohemia, having an areaof 320 hectares, 

 which I witnessed in October, 1877; the practical manner in which these 

 fisheries were conducted impressed me so strongly, that I immediately fol- 

 lowed this example and procured all the necessary apparatus for my 

 own fisheries. I have never regretted the expense, for fishing with this 

 apparatus proved exceedingly practical even in small ponds. The fish- 

 eries were brought to a close much sooner than formerly, and the fish 

 were treated in a much more humane manner. T prefer to give a de- 

 scription of the fisheries in one of the Wittingau ponds, instead of one 

 of my own ])()nds, because my largest pond only measured about 50 hec- 

 tares, while many of my readers doubtless own ponds of much larger 

 extent, and will i)robably be more interested in the description of the 

 fisheries in a large pond. It is, moreover, easier to adapt the methods 

 ibllowed in a large pond to a small one than to reverse this. 



The pond in question, owing to its great size, took a long time to 

 drain, and towards the end of this process it had to be watched b\' day 

 and night. For sheltering the necessary number of fishermen an ex- 

 (;eedingly i)ractical and simple shed had been built on the enormous 

 stone dike. A square is marked off, and at each corner strong posts 



are driven in the ground. These 

 posts are about 2 meters high, and 

 are at the top connected by strong 

 cross-beams. Along the four sides 

 of this scaffolding long poles (stout 

 y; ^;y.'^.'^ lioi)-i)oles) are placed close to each 



£i^-ii^w^-^ . other, leaving an opening at the top 



• ■■' i^'riii'^vn j ' to let the smoke out. The spaces 



' between the poles are so closelv 



!.' stop])ed up with reeds that neither 



/-- -\ wind nor rain can enter. On the in- 



ner side of the shed bunks are con- 

 ^ _^:^1 ;-____..___ ^ ^^ structed, by driving a number of 



short jiosts into the ground close to 

 each other, which are connected at the top by beams, and on which 

 boards are placed, Avhich are covered with a thick layer of reeds; a 

 blanket serves as a cover, and in this manner a very comfortable bed 



* Mittheilungen ueher Fischerei- WeKen (organ of the Bavarian Fishery Association), 

 1876, No. 5. 



