Belding. — Stocking State Waters 143 



inventory of the state ponds, and an available working 

 knowledge of the various bodies of water. 



The field equipment of the surveyors consisted of a 

 rucksack, a net of silk bolting cloth for towings, hand 

 lens, bottles, vials, formaldehyde, maximum and mini- 

 mum thermometer, sounding lines and lead, and record 

 blanks. Reports were written at approximately two- 

 week intervals, while the towings and other material 

 were sent to a central laboratory for microscopical ex- 

 amination. As light an equipment as possible was given 

 the field worker, since in many cases he had to traverse 

 the ground between one pond and the next by walking. 

 Numerous difficulties, such as lack of boats, inability to 

 find the ponds, changes in the maps, and lack of transpor- 

 tation facilities retarded the work. 



Certain ponds in various parts of the state, from 

 Berkshire to Barnstable Counties, were selected for type 

 study. The other ponds of the state were placed in these 

 representative classes, each pond falling into the group 

 for which its environment was best adapted. The types 

 under observation were large and small ponds, both deep 

 and shallow, in which the conditions, as regards the 

 species, growth and abundance of fish were quite differ- 

 ent. From the study of the type ponds, and from classi- 

 fication of the surveyed ponds, practical deduction as to 

 the species and amount of fish for the individual ponds 

 of the state could be made. 



In the survey work the following information concern- 

 ing the physical characteristics of each pond was ob- 

 tained in order to insure the proper classification for 

 each type : 



Name. The name of the pond is a variable and con- 

 fusing factor. Usually a pond has several names, accord- 

 ing to the various maps upon which it is recorded, and 

 often these listed names are unknown in the immediate 

 vicinity where local titles are in vogue. To facilitate 

 the identification of any body of water for public infor- 

 mation or for stocking, the primary essential is the re- 

 cording of all the names by which the pond is known. 



