[IS 9] POND CULTURE. (^O- 



is provided. This shed, ^yhicb has a Ila^ro^Y door iu iVont and in the 



center of^vhich an open fire is lighted, can accommodate about ''0 men 



Below the dike, next to the fish-pit, a shed had been erected for tlu" 



officials and the buyers of fish. It was a simple frame buildin- with 



windows, in one corner a small iron stove, and in tlie center a table and 



some chairs. A shed like this one, which can easily be put up and taken 



down, is erected oidy near the stock ponds, while \here is a fisherman's 



shed near every pond which has to bo watched continuously for one or 



several days ; tiie size of this shed will depend on the size of the pond, 



and the number of people which it requires to watch it. At the small 



ponds where no fishermen's sheds are needed, an immense lunbrella is 



used, which protects the ofiicial who keeps the books against wind and 



rain, a small table and chair being placed underneath. This simple 



apparatus, which proves an admirable shelter, cannot be too strongly 



recommended. After this digression we will return to our pond. The 



! entire ground bordering the fish-pit as far as the edge of the sole of the 



dike, and thence along the scarp up to the crest, is covered thickly with 



! reeds, so that there is a dry walk to the fish-pit, and that the fisli wliieh 



accidentally fall to the ground may not be injured. Along tlic (ish-pit, 



' close to the water, there are placed twenty 



j tubs of the kind described above, filled 



I with pure water. On the tubs in the center, 



( a a a, some sorting- vans are placed, &&, on 



i' the edges of two adjoining tubs. On the 



I dike there are from sixty to seventy carts, 



( each loaded with two kegs filled with water. 



j About fifty fishermen, clad almost entirely in leather, stand ready to 



j engage in the fisheries, commanded by a fishing master and an assist- 



, ant. The water has been let off so that in the fish-pit it has a depth of 



I about 1 meter. 



I The fisheries commence by some of the fishermen (about twenty) 

 I entering the pond, carrying a net about 1 meter broad, and each i)ro- 

 1 vided with sticks about 1^ meters long, and ending in a natural two- 

 I pronged fork. Every 1 meters a num holds the upper part of tlie net, 

 i the lower part weighte<l with lead balls resting on the ground. 

 J While the fishermen hold the net in a vertical position they proceed 

 (towards the fish-pit, and by beating the water with their sticks drive 

 j the fish towards the pit. As soon as this has been readied the sticks 

 I are driven into the ground and the top of the net fastened to the prongs, 

 j so that the fish-pit is entirely inclosed, and no fish can esca])e; The 

 'length of the net must, of course, correspond to the water area; in the 

 I present case it was probably 80 to 100 meters. This driving of the fish 

 I is a difficult matter, as the men have to wade in deep mud, and is, espe- 

 cially in large ponds, done in the early morning hours of the day pre- 

 I ceding the fisheries. It offers the advantage of fishing within a small 

 ar(>a and in deep water. After the fish have been driven into the fish- 

 H. Mis. fiS 40 



