194 



GLEANINGS IN JiEE CULTURE. 



Mau. 



PUHE GERMAN CARP. 



Diir.-.r- 



)NS a: 



IXSTUrCTIO.NS. 



FUlF.XnS, little (lid 1 tliiii;<, ^^lic■^c I sent lluit 

 l>iici' to li<j inil)li^lu->l in Gli;.\nixos, that it 

 would rc'(jiiiic' lialf iii.\ lime (would 1 do it) to 

 aiifuci- ill hnjiili iill lottos of iiifiviiry. 

 llici(.-loru J liavi- coiicliidcd to have them iu- 

 scrted in CJi-kamncs. IJy the way, I will say, Irom 

 the UMioiiiitof letters received from all parts of the 

 t<,iintiy, lliat Gi.kanincs must be one among the 

 best iiapers to ad\crtise in now prinled. 

 wiiKKK TO i;l:ii-d i'onds. am> mho can have 



Tllli.M. 



The best site f( i- a pond is where it can be led by 

 ]ivii<r FprirjiS, either hard or soft water, which 

 iiiaUrs vcrj- little difieienci-. If you have not this, 

 a pond built in a hollow, or on a running- stream, by 

 ihrowin^' ii|> le\ees, <;r dams, in order to raise the 

 water at the mouth of tile ditch. 



If yon have a lonjr dilcb. or one running: from a 

 sjuirg- oi- .= pi-injrs, it will make a good pond by dig- 

 ging; out at the mouth of said ditch, sinkinj;- it lower 

 U.an llie ditch. Jf ycu have nor.e of ihrse, sink 

 it iKile in tin; ground, and cement it, and it will do. 



now TO nLItil) A I'OSD. 



\Vl;ei-e you have a good spring-, select your place 

 below the spring; and should you wish to lead 

 water by pipe, use nothing smaller than 2-inch. 

 Stake off the size of the pond; no difference if you 

 have one, two, or three banks. Where you want to 

 throw up the levee in order to make the pond, you 

 want to cut what is called a muck ditch. Tiiis is 

 done by cutting a ditch IS inches wide, then throw it 

 out as deep as the soil or gravel extends, then plow 

 the best clay you hitve about the place, and scrape 

 it into the ditch. We will suppose your place has a 

 bank on the we§t and one ou the north, then you 

 will have to make levees on the east and south, 

 having your muck ditch cut coming up the bank as 

 far as the levee is to be made, but cut same depth 

 as at the other part. Say it is two feet deep in the 

 main, bring it the same depth up the slope. You 

 say, "Why the ditchV" Well, it is impossible to 

 make a joint that will not leak without it. Now 

 you commence scraping, drawing the clay to fill the 

 ditch, say at the west end, driving your team over 

 the ditch every time; this packs it down, and makes 

 it water-tight. After you have the levee two or 

 three feet high, then you can use any kind of dirt to 

 complete it. If you make the levee seven or eight 

 feet high, it ought to be 10 or 13 feet at base. 

 Should the bottom of pond be loam, sand, or gravel, 

 put in three or four inches of good clay, then feed 

 hogs in it a week or two; this will make it water- 

 tight. 



In case you build a pond fed by a stream, let in 

 the water by tile or pipe, throwing up levee or dam 

 above as well as below, then cut a ditch around the 

 pond to carry off' all surface water. If your pond 

 were in a hollow, and a long slope from both sides, 

 it will be necessary to cut a ditch on both sides, two 

 or three feet above the water, in order to carry off 

 all surface water, and also the overflow of stream. 



Should you wish to construct a pond at the mouth 

 of tile ditch, you will i)roceed as above, except you 

 will have to throw out the dirt in order to make 

 depth, as it will not do to raise the water above the 

 mouth of tile. In case you want to make a pond or 

 tank on a small scale, select the place; and if you 

 have running waiter to Jill it, use pipe or tile to lead 



jit. If you have no running water, and have a nevei-- 



failing well, use a wind-pump, which will furnish 



all water needed. I know of one tank, size 16 feet 



I long, 8 feet wide, and (! feet deep, dug sijuare, and 



I cemented, fed by a wind-pump, w hich has proved 



i a success on eaj-p-growing, but not on hatching; 



I but it pays to buy small carp, and stock the tank, 



feeding them the refuse of the table. 1 find, since 



mj- first introduction to the business, that there are 



a great many natural ponds in the country, which 



it is not necessary to speak of, only to say that carp 



will do well in them, if directions are complied with. 



OUTLETS. 



These are made according to the anu>unt of water 



flowing in and out of the pond. If it is fed by a 



spring or ditch, and no surface wiiter in time of 



rain, a small i>ipe or bo.\ put in at high-water mark 



will do; but if led by stream, or a good deal of sur- 



! face water, an apron will be required, which is 



] made by taking matched planlcs, sawing them from 



I 4 to (J feet long, setting them perpendicularl3-, niak- 



i ing them lit tight together. This must be iu the 



j center of levee, lengthwise, letting the top come up 



I to high-water mark, then fill and ram solid, making 



I the clay even with top of plank. Now make your 



i apron the same width of upright, taking care to 



extend it ovel the levee to prevent wash. Nail it 



down; put sideboard on, and fill around Avith clay. 



Use a wire screen, put ou a frame for all outlets, 



then you can remove and clean when it becomes 



clogged up. 



TO DR.UN A rOND. 



To do this successfully is something that I have 

 failed to accomplish to my entire satisfaction. In 

 building a pond you i)ut iu a box or pipe at the bot- 

 tom ; and if you have water to bother you, you will 

 cut what is called a drain ditch to carry off all the 

 water that accumulates while working. This pipe 

 or box should extend above and below the base of 

 levee. This is the best plan for draining that I 

 have ever found; but the trouble comes in when 

 you wish to use a screen to prevent the fish from 

 passing out. My plan is this: Make a screen of 

 wire, balloon-shaped, as large as a half-bushel, the 

 neck small, so as to fit the pipe in the pond. Use a 

 plug at the outer end of pipe or box, so that you 

 can control the water. 



CAPACITY OF I'OXD. 



Tills will depend altogether upon the amount of 

 water passing in and out of the pond, the depth, 

 and the amount of feed given them. Friend I{. 

 said he had been informed that 100 five-pound fish 

 would overstock his pond. They would in a few 

 years, but would not themselves. My pond is about 

 TO feet wide, 140 feet long, and about 7 feet water, 

 when full, and I think it will hold a thousand five- 

 pound fish, and many more. My friends, do not be 

 afraid of overstocking your ponds. If you find you 

 are getting too many, catch them out and eat them. 



Andersonville, Ind. W. S. K.\ler. 



For lack of space we shall have to defer 

 the lemaiiider of this vahialile commuiiica- 

 lioii until the next issue. AVliile someof tlie 

 directions t,nven are not quite in harmony 

 with our foithconiini,' book, of which we 

 have already corrected a i)art of the proof- 

 sheets, friend K. has some original and val- 

 uable hints. The one item of puttins clay 

 iu the Itottoin of a pond having a gravelly 

 base, and then feeding liogs on it to get them 

 to stamp it down well, is an exceedingly 

 bright thought. I know fnmi experience 

 that it would do the business to a dot. 



