Townsend. — Private Pond — A Neglected Resource 89 



paratively few have realized the necessity of proper 

 equipment and actual cultivation, which involve the com- 

 plete control of the waters and of the fishes contained 

 therein. Very little can be accomplished with a single 

 natural pond; it is necessary to have several artificial 

 ponds which can be readily controlled, while the various 

 operations of pond culture require frequent attention and 

 considerable actual labor. 



The requirements for the successful management of 

 several kinds of pond fishes have already been worked 

 out at public fish hatcheries and there is more or less 

 oflficial information on the subject. It is not necessary 

 at present to give instances where success has been 

 achieved; my object, as already stated, is to keep before 

 the public the fact that success in private fish culture is 

 possible and that considerable fish food may be produced 

 with the same amount of labor and intelligent effort that 

 is necessary for the raising of fowls. There has been 

 much agitation over the high cost of living, and it is time 

 to consider what the individual citizen can do in the way 

 of assisting in the production of fish food. 



In some of the countries of central Europe the cultiva- 

 tion of fishes in private waters has been going on for cen- 

 turies. In Austria and Germany fish farming, as it is 

 often called, is a common industry. While it is much 

 practiced by small land owners, there are many large 

 estates which maintain hundreds of ponds in active culti- 

 vation. Much of this private fish culture is based on the 

 various forms of the carp, but other European fishes are 

 also cultivated for sale, such as the tench, ide, rudd, 

 bream, perch and pike. Some European fish culturists 

 are now raising American basses and perches. There 

 are many villages in Austria where fish ponds are main- 

 tained at the expense of the community. In view of these 

 facts, it is remarkable that immigrants from Europe 

 have neglected to practice their ancient art of pond cul- 

 ture in this country. 



Aside from commercial trout raising, which is prac- 

 ticed to a limited extent, we have nothing of such pond 



