142 American Fisheries Society 



an attempt to provide a satisfactory embankment protection, not 

 counting the cost of upkeep in the meantime. He now states that 

 he has to frequently fill in back of the fence with dirt to replace 

 that washed out between the abutment and the planks. Thus, 

 after the outlay of much labor and expense, he is anxious to 

 procure a satisfactory preventive against destructive wave action 

 and intends visiting the station at Fairport, Iowa, to learn our 

 method first-hand, with a view to using it on the embankment 

 of his pond. 



The problem of prevention of wave action against pond 

 embankments in relation to fish culture is primarily to provide 

 something that will bind the soil ; serve as a breaker against wave 

 action; be easily controlled; inexpensive to introduce, and gen- 

 erally favorable to fish life. All of these requirements are met 

 and additional benefits to be had by establishing at the water line 

 of pond embankments a sedge, common in middle west lowlands, 

 where it is known as wire-grass, sour-grass, etc., the scientific name 

 of which is Carex stricta. 



Car ex stricta is a tough, fibrous sedge with numerous lengthy 

 fibrous roots and stolons which grow in abundance and serve to 

 securely tie embankments. It grows to a height of four and one- 

 half to five feet and continues through the summer until late in 

 the fall. By reason of its tough, fibrous texture and abundant 

 growth, a protective "mat" is then formed, which is effective 

 against wave action throughout the winter and early spring. 

 The sedge does not "winter kill, " whether the ponds are filled or 

 empty, and the young shoots break through the ground early in the 

 spring. It has a tendency to grow up the embankment rather 

 than around the pond, and only penetrates into the water in very 

 shallow places. There are over 1000 sedges of various types, 

 several of which are useful for protection of pond embankments, 

 but Carex stricta is found to be especially desirable for the purpose. 

 To emphasize the tough fibrous nature of this sedge, it may be 

 mentioned that this variety and several other sedges are consumed 

 in large quantities in the manufacture of the so-called "Crex, " or 

 grass, rugs, and also in the manufacture of binder twine. 



Carex stricta has been successfully used as a preventive of wave 

 action against fish pond embankments for the past six years under 

 trying conditions and this test, coupled with a series of experiments 



