[163] POND CULTURE. 629 



VlII. — The Sale of Fish. 



Kegardiiig- the methods pursued at the carp exchange at Cottbus. 

 l)rovince of Brandenburg, Prussia, I quote from a report by Mr. von 

 Treskow- Weissagk :* "As a general rule the fish which are sold are de- 

 livered at the nearest railroad station at the expense of the seller. As 

 soon as the fish are weighed they belong to the buyer, who has to bear 

 all further risk. Many pond owners have tanks to which the carp aic 

 transferred from the pond^, and whence they are taken by the fish- 

 dealers as they need them. In some places the fish are weighed at the 

 pond, and the buyer places them in the tanks, taking all the risk of loss 

 of weight, while in other places the fish are not weighed until they leave 

 the tank. As this is not done till Jiear Christmas, fish sold on this 

 condition fetch a higher price than those delivered from the ponds in 

 autumn. The fish are conveyed to the cities in fish-tanks resembling 

 boats, and of late years by railroad." 



On the pond farm which I formerly managed, the fish were only sold 

 wholesale for cash^ and delivered to the buyer at the pond, he furnisb- 

 ing the wagons to take them away. Immediately after the fish had 

 been weighed they became the property of the buyer, he taking all the 

 risks. On the largest pond farm in Bohemia — probably the largest in 

 the world — the fish are (according to Mr. Horak's report) sold only for 

 cash, and delivered to the buyers at the dike ; and only in rare cases 

 buyers are allowed to take the fish aAvay by simply paying a portion ot 

 the money. The minute the fish leave the scales they become the prop- 

 erty of the buyer. If the buyers desire it, wagons are furnished them 

 by the authorities of the pond farm ; the expenses, however, are bornc^ 

 by the buyers, who are also held responsible for any expenses incurred 

 in supervising the transportation of the fish. Those fish-dealers who do 

 not immediately carry away the fish which they have bought, but tempo- 

 rarily place them in tanks on the pond farm, must also, as a general 

 rule, pay cash, or at least part in cash. The transportation from the 

 pond to the tanks, and the keeping of the fish in the tanks, is at their 

 risk. From these tanks, which st^e kept under special supervision, the 

 fish-dealers can take fish at any time and in any desired quantity by 

 simply giving a written order. Dead fish discovered by the persons 

 intrusted with the supervision of these tanks must be shown to the au- 

 thorities of the pond farm ; whereupon they are dried and kei)t for the 

 purpose of showing them to the fish-dealer whenever a suitable oppoi' 

 tunity ofi'ers. As soon as this has been done their heads are cut off, to 

 prevent any possible abuse. 



IX. — The Transportation of Fish. 



Fish are either transported from one pond to the other, or to winter 

 ponds and tanks, or to some distance, if they have been sold. In the 



* Deutsche Fischerei-Zeifung, 1878, p. 195. 



