184 COMMON CARP. 



cannot be altered : it is therefore a chief qualifi- 

 cation of a pond to be contrived in a good soil. 

 The sun is a less material article ; provided there- 

 fore a pond can enjoy the morning and noon-tide 

 sun, it matters not much if the wood be on one or 

 two of its sides. The water is a material point ; 

 but in case the springs that supply the ponds are 

 very cold and hard, it may be softened and tempered 

 by exposing it to the sun and air in a large reser- 

 voir above the pond, or by leading it for a long 

 way in an open exposure, before it enters the pond. 

 The quantity of water to supply the pond with, is 

 another requisite : too much water makes too great 

 a canal necessary, for carrying its superfluity off; 

 and this is very expensive : too little water has an- 

 other inconvenience, viz. that of keeping the water 

 too long in the pond, and to cause a stagnation 

 without any fresh supplies; and often, in a dry 

 season, the scantiness of fresh water distresses the 

 fish, and causes diseases and mortality among them. 

 These remarks are general, and must be applied to 

 all ponds : I shall now enter into a more minute 

 detail : it is found by experience most convenient 

 to have three kinds of ponds for carp : the first is 

 called the spawning-pond, the second the nursery, 

 and third or largest the main-pond. There are two 

 methods for stocking the ponds with carp; either 

 to buy a few old fish, and to put them into the 

 spawning-pond, or to purchase a good quantity of 

 one year's old fry, for the nursery. I shall treat of 

 both these methods, and shall add something rela- 

 tive to the management of carp in the main-pond. 



