CHAPTER II. 



FISH PONDS CULTIVATION. 



Plants Balance of life Flora and fauna Old ponds require cleaning Pond 

 life Its bearing on fish life Cultivation Conditions of soil Planting New 

 ponds Virgin waters Whitley reservoir Importance ofmollusca and crustaceans 

 Aquatic plants Dalbeattie reservoir Loch Fern Plants to avoid Weeding 

 Anacharis Marginal plants. 



|W[ ANY people seem to think that all that fish require is plenty 

 of water, but they must have a good supply of suitable food, | 

 or they will starve or become stunted in growth, like any other 

 members of the animal kingdom. Food, be it remembered, is a 

 necessity, and without a reasonable quantity of it, it is impossible 

 to maintain a good head of trout. Fortunately we have the means 

 within our reach of producing it in large quantities. The creatures 

 on which trout chiefly feed are, directly or indirectly, dependent 

 for their existence on vegetation, therefore it becomes absolutely 

 necessary to have a proper selection of water plants present. 

 There is undoubtedly a great future for some at least of our 

 fisheries, but that future, need not .be looked for so long as such 

 matters of importance are ignored. A farmer might just as well 

 expect his land to provide handsomely without being cultivated or 

 fertilized. Some natural waters on being stocked for the first time 

 give results beyond expectation for awhile, but then follows a 

 great falling off in their yield like the virgin soil of the Western 

 prairies, these waters soon become used up, so to speak. 



It has been observed that where artificial ponds have been 

 made by embanking, and the sod has not been removed, or only 

 to a limited extent, that many of the grasses and other plants have 

 not been immediately killed, but have survived for a period, and 

 even for awhile become more luxurious in growth. While this 



