638 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [172] 



intending them, and in taking fish out of them. The superintendent 

 should be a particularly faithful and reliable man, who should, at least 

 for the work of stockiug the tanks and taking out of the fish, have some 

 assistants. The fish ought not to be thrown from the keg directly into 

 the water, but should be allowed to slide slowly into a van held close 

 to the opening of the keg. From this van the fish are carefully put into 

 the water one by one and counted, the person who attends to this work 

 standing on the steps leadiug down to the water. On large i)ond farms, 

 like that of Wittingau, the fish are first put in tubs, and from these 

 they slide down into the tank on a trough, which is well lined with 

 straw. If any of the fish arc injured or languid they must be placed in 

 separate tanks, where they are carefully watched, and should be sold 

 as soon as possible. As soon as a wagon-load of fish has been put in 

 the tanks, the superintendent gives the driver a receipt and gets one 

 from him. Orders for taking fish from the tanks are given the super- 

 intendent a day beforehand by the manager of the farm, who receives 

 the orders from the fish-dealers. 



When fish are to be taken from the tanks the water is let off, as much 

 as is necessary to take the desired number of fish with a purse-net. In 

 spring, sunnner, and autumn, this work is not very difficult; but in 

 winter, when the tanks are frozen, it is much harder. Before the water 

 is let off, the ice over the deepest place, where the fish generally congre- 

 gate, should be broken, or, better still, sawed and removed. The fish 

 are then taken out and put in a tub which holds about 200 i)ounds of 

 carp. From this tub they are counted into large pieces of cloth (as de- 

 scribed in a previous chapter) and put in the kegs. The superintend- 

 ent meanwhile puts down the name of the driver and the number of 

 fish; and after these have been delivered to the fish-dealer, he receives 

 from tlie driver a receipt signed by the dealer. At the tanks a portable 

 scale should be kept, which is specially needed if the fish have not al- 

 ready been sold at the autumn fisheries and are kept in the tanks at 

 the risk of the buyers, but are sold in the course of the year, whenever 

 it can be done with some profit. 



In small Jish-tanls. — In order not to disturb large tanks on account 

 of a few fish which the pond owner may want for his table, every pond 

 farm should have a number of small fish-tanks for keeping a limited 

 number of fish for the purpose indicated above. Such tanks are gen- 

 erally constructed in brooks and rivers which never freeze entirely, 

 or in ponds. They may be like the tanks in the fish-houses, only on a 

 smaller scale ; frequentl}', however, a perforated box will answer the 

 IKirpose. This box, which should be kept locked, is attached to two 

 posts by ropes or chains, so that it can be let down to the bottom and 

 drawn up again. Wherever the opportunity offers, such small fish- 

 tanks should be constructed in springs. I had a small tank in a spring 

 in which the fish were kept all the year round. It was constructed close 

 by the outflow of a strong spring, and consisted of three jnts let into 



