648 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [182] 



boring meadows. If this eaiinot bo done at once some trnstwortJiy men 

 slionld keep watch during tlie niglit to prevent thieving. An inunda- 

 tion will, of course, even under the most favorable circumstances, occa- 

 sion some losses. 



If a thunder-storm is approaching, all necessary precautions should 

 be taken. The necessary boats, piles, poles, boards, ropes, sod, earth, 

 clay, carts or wagons, cari)enters' tools, shovels, pickaxes, rakes, &c., 

 should be kept in readiness so as to be able innnediately to erect protect- 

 ive works at threatened points of the dike and to remove grass, mud, 

 &c., from the grates. If this becomes impossible, the grates must be 

 removed altogether. If during a thunder-storm the lightning strikes 

 a small pond, the water should be let off as soon as possible and be re- 

 placed by other water, as the sulphuric vajiors with which the water 

 has become saturated will generally kill the fish. 



During .July and August care should be taken to prevent the exceed- 

 ingly injurious and even fatal retting of flax in the pond or its tributaries. 

 Summer, particularly July, is the time when the growth of reeds is 

 most luxuriant, and whenever thej" grow too rank they should be thinned 

 out a little by cutting them below the surface of the water not far 

 above the root. All the above-mentioned work is continued during Au- 

 gust. In i)laces where eagles pass oji their way to the south, one should 

 be on the lookout for them, and traps should be set in time. During 

 this month (August) the preliminary work of the autumn fisheries com- 

 mences. The fishing apparatus is overhauled and repaired; the fish- 

 tanks are cleaned with a broom and washed. These labors are con- 

 tinued during September. During this month the winter ponds are 

 filled. The fisheries commence in the spawning ponds which are not to 

 remain fdled during winter, and the young fry are put in the winter 

 ponds. Those spawning ponds which are to remain filled during winter 

 should be drained, as far as is necessary to ascertain the quantity and 

 quality oC the fry, and also to see whether any fish of prey have entered 

 them, which should be removed at once. After this has been done, the 

 ponds should be filled again immediately. The fisheries are continued 

 in the raising and stock ponds, and the winter jionds should be stocked. 

 Those fish which have reached a marketable weight are either sold nt 

 the dike or placed iu tanks to be sold, whenever there is an opportunity. 

 Tlie stock ponds receive their quota of carp, young pike, perch-pike, or 

 tench. The spawning carj) are incked out and kept during winter iu 

 special tanks. Wherever trout culture is carried on, the time after the 

 autumn fisheries is the proper season for stocking the spawning ponds, 

 and making the spawning ditches accessible for the spawning trout. 

 The fishing-apparatus is cleaned, the nets are dried and put in a safe 

 place. During winter they should be repaired as much as possible. 



The proper time has now also arrived to plant willows, which, if the 

 weather is favorable, may be continued till si)ring. The branches of old 

 willow i)lantations are cut and this is continued until the work is fin. 



