How to obtain it. 263 



their work, and at a given signal the two heavy end weights 

 should be hauled up quickly, and the whole of the lead line got 

 above water as speedily as possible. The cork line is then thrown 

 well back so as to give the fish room, and they are in a huge bag 

 from which there is no escape. They may be lifted out by means 

 of a large landing net and placed in tubs or tanks, a net-full at a 

 time, the remainder being left in the large net until the lot in the 

 tub has been dealt with. When all are sorted and disposed of, the 

 big net should be run through the pond again, and the process 

 repeated. It may be desirable to draw it a third time ; it does 

 not take long, 'and is the best way of clearing the fish. A few will 

 manage to elude it after all, but they should be very few. There 

 will be room for a fish to get round the end probably whilst being 

 dragged through the pond. There need not be, if properly 

 worked. It is a good plan for a boy to walk on each bank just 

 behind the net, and to splash the water with a stick, to deter any 

 fish from running back. A few will probably get under the net 

 when the lead line is being lifted. This makes it imperative that 

 the bottom rope be raised as quickly as possible. When all is 

 done properly there will be very few fish left in the pond. 



The water may now be let off by drawing the outlet plug, 

 and when it has run down to about a foot or less, the few 

 remaining fish can easily be removed by hand nets, and the pond 

 may be cleaned out and refilled. The cleaning out is a very 

 trifling business, and is usually done by one man in about two 

 hours. There should really be very little to clean out. A little 

 soil must get blown in during the year, and a mischievous rat or 

 mole may be guilty of turning some in, and there is the excrement 

 from the fish, but otherwise there should be nothing. When 

 the pond is to be re-stocked with yearlings great care should be 

 taken that every fish has been got out. Should one be left 

 lurking in a corner, or in a hole in the bank, I need hardly point 

 out what is likely to happen before the next season's sorting time 

 comes round. 



It is hardly necessary to point out that a small pond used 

 for business purposes, and stocked with as many yearlings as the 

 water will maintain, differs widely from a lake or river. In the 

 latter the fish are free to roam where they like, and soon take up 



