[161] POND CULTURE. 627 



the keg it is leturued to the scales the same way it came, so as to have 

 a constant supply of these cloths on hand and not to interrupt the 

 weighing and counting. After the two kegs contained in a wagon have 

 each received 200 to 300 pounds of carp (iu cool weather 400 pounds 

 may safely be put in one keg) the wagon drives away and another 

 takes its place, and thus it goes ou until the end is reached. The 

 weighing is conducted by the assistant fishing master, who, with a loud 

 voice, calls out every hundred-weight. (Buyers get from 2 to 5 per 

 cent additional fish, to make up for the water remaining in the tub.) 

 The counting into the cloths is likewise done in a loud voice, and the 

 number contained in each cloth is called out very distinctly. Near the 

 fisli-pit stands the comptroller, who puts down every hundredweight 

 and the quantity contained in each cloth. Near the wagons stands 

 another comptroller, who notes down the number of fish emptied into 

 the kegs from each cloth, tlie number of hundred-weights called out, 

 the name of the driver, and the fish-dealer, or the name of the pond to 

 which the fish are taken. In this manner it becomes almost impossible 

 to make a mistake, which at any rate would soon be discovered. 



While this work is going on, another squad of the fishermen make 

 another large haul — the first one in this case yielded 50,000 pounds — and 

 the fish which, after the seine fisheries liave been brought to a close, 

 still remain in the pond, are gathered with purse-nets and dip-nets. 



The meshes of the seines and of the purse-nets are 3 centimeters wide 

 from knot to knot, but are preferable to narrower meshes, because these 

 bring up too much mud, while in the nets w^th large meshes the fish 

 come out of the pond much cleaner. The only disadvantage is that many 

 small pike stick in the meshes with their gills and perish, but as a general 

 rule their number is such that the loss is amply comijensated by the ad- 

 vantages which these nets ofler to the carp and other fish. 



The small pike are immediately transferred to the carp stock i)onds. 

 The perch-pike, which is a very tender fish, should be handled as care- 

 fully as ijossible; they are carried in tubs to the kegs, iu which they 

 are put one by one, a limited number only being assigned to each keg. 

 The large pike which have not been sold on the spot are temporarily 

 placed in fish -tanks. The same aijplies to the tench, some of which, 

 however, are immediately transferred to the carp ponds. Large fish of 

 other less valuable kinds, as well as carp which have sufiered injuries, 

 are gathered in a separate tub, and are given to the day laboirers assist- 

 ing in the fisheries, instead of paying them money, most of them prefer- 

 ring this way of being paid. Small fish of inferior kinds are transferred 

 to special tanks and serve as pike food. 



The fisheries in the Zablat pond, belonging to the Wittingau farm, 

 began at o'clock in the morning and were finished at noon, the total 

 yield amounting to 09,000 pounds of carp, 1,800 pounds pike, 800 pounds 

 perch piko, ;>,(I00 small pike, 840 perch, and 540 tench (the latter weigh- 

 ing about 400 pounds). 



