646 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [180] 



dangerous. To watch human beings who have hix ideas as to the right 

 of property requires not only great vigilance and perseverance, but in this 

 case also a thorough knowledge of the various methods by which fish 

 can be caught. It is, therefore, necessary to appoint as watcbman a 

 person who is conversant with the methods of fish thieves. The prin- 

 cipal apparatus employed by thieves are hooks and nets. To secure 

 fish at night-time by means of spears mMII rarely be successful, as the 

 light which is necessary will betray the thieves. Fishing with hooks 

 and artificial bait will in most cases prove more successful. The vari- 

 ous ncits emi>loyed by thieves, in the hands of experienced persons, and 

 especially if the i)onds are not carefully watched, become exceedingly 

 dangerous. The i)ond cultivator will ])robably know the localities where 

 thieving is likely to occur, and should endeavor to make them as inaccess- 

 ible as i)0ssible. In i)uddles below the grates, juniper and thorn brush- 

 wood should be laid and weighted with stones, so as to render a pro- 

 longed stay in them disagreeable and make it difficult to use the hook 

 and line. If duriug liigh water the fisli should nevertheless get into 

 these puddles, thick pine branches should be thrown into them and be 

 weighted with stones. Piles may also be driven into the ground so that 

 the nets cannot touch the bottom. 



As such depredations generally occur late at night, when the grass is 

 wet from the dew, the tracks of the thief can easily be discovered in the 

 morning. This makes it necessary to stop watering by night time, 

 and to do it not only by day, but also in ])laces which are n(Tt too re- 

 mote and lonely. Thieving becomes most dangerous prior to or during 

 the fisheries, when the water is low and the fish congregate in a few 

 ])laces, and is then generally done by nets or with the hand. To pre- 

 l)are the ponds for the fisheries should invariably be done by jjersons 

 specially selected for the purpose; and large or very remote ponds 

 should be guarded by reliable men. To enal>l(» the watchmen to dis- 

 cover the track of a thief, the mud-covered bottom of the pond should 

 not be trodden by any one, unless this is absolutely necessary. The 

 supervision of large ponds with an extensive growth of reeds becomes 

 exceedingly difficult. Experienced watchmen have many signs which 

 betray the thief. Thus, wading in mud or water is heard at a consider- 

 able distance during the silence of the night. Aquatic birds, esiiecially 

 gulls, are watched to see whether they remain quiet in the middle of the 

 pond. As soon as any one enters the ponds these birds rise with a 

 great noise and thus betray the intruders. An experien<;ed ])ond culti- 

 vator will at once perceive whether any thieving has been going on with 

 hooks and lines, or nets; and, especially during high water, when the 

 fish are frequently carried far away, he will take every precaution to 

 prevent thieving, and if necessary call in the aid of the authorities. 

 For injurious animals traps shoidd be set. In smnll ponds wild ducks, 

 gulls, &c., can be kejit away by scarecrows, made as much as possible 

 to resemble a liuman figure, whose location should be changed from 

 time to time. 



