Buck. — Increasing the Output 99 



water eel-grass, and Potamogeton, or pond weeds; not forms with- 

 out roots, such as Ceratophyllum, or those less dependent upon 

 the soil." (See Dr. Pond's "Relation of Aquatic Plants to 

 Substratum," published in U. S. Fish Com. Bulletin for 1903.) 



Realizing the need of plants in our ponds, most of us put in 

 anything and everything which we can get to grow, and this is 

 no doubt better than to plant nothing, but we may do still better 

 by learning to know our friends from our enemies. As a guide to 

 this, Titcomb's "Aquatic Plants in Pond Culture," published as 

 Bureau of Fisheries Document No. 643 and included in the 

 volume of bulletins for 1907 is invaluable. Bulletin No. 815, 

 Moore's " Potamogetons in Relation to Pond Culture," with its 

 full references to bibliography of allied subjects, also lets in the 

 light for those who will use it. 



Not all of us have access to these papers so the following 

 suggestions are offered: 



Keep plants out of trout ponds, but fill bass ponds with 

 Chara, the Potamogetons, Ranunculus, Philotria (Elodea) and 

 Naias in the main part of the pond and Sagittaria and rushes to 

 bind earth banks. 



Avoid cattail, water-lilies and parrotfeather.* 



Handle your ponds so as to avoid injury to the plants and 

 when a pond is drawn transfer the plants before they wilt to some 

 other pond, unless all are abundantly supplied. 



But all this deals only with the fishculturist's part of the 

 problem — that of increasing the output of fish to be planted. 

 The really important part is that of increasing the output of 

 matured fish from our ponds and streams, public and private, and 

 to solve this we must consider not only all that has gone before, 

 but also the questions of what fish to plant and where and when 

 and how. 



Professor Needham, in his article on "Fish-culture" reprinted 

 in his recent book, " Life of Inland Waters," emphasizes the import- 

 ance of this part of the fishcultural problem, suggesting that 

 "The hatcheries are raising fry and not fishes." "The planting of 

 fry and fingerlings is effective where conditions permit of their 

 growth." "The conditions in the wild are not such as yield much 



* Dried specimens of some of the common pond plants mentioned 

 were exhibited by the author. 



