On S toe king. 39 



YEARLINGS. 



Their Production, Appropriate Employment, 

 and Cost. 



THE PRODUCTION OF YEARLINGS from fry is 

 a very simple matter. The fry are merely placed 

 in suitable ponds and fed sparingly but continu- 

 ously for all daylight hours from May until 

 August. The food is cheap, consisting at first 

 of raw liver, and afterwards of finely chopped 

 horseflesh. The ponds must be suitably con- 

 structed (see page 62) and the earth renewed 

 each season. Gulls and herons require shooting 

 and trapping, or a dog may be trained to herd the 

 ponds and scare off the water-fowl. One collie at 

 Howietoun is unceasing in this watch, but in spite 

 of dogs, traps, and guns, the gulls do take a very 

 serious toll of the fry when first placed in the 

 yearling ponds. One hundred thousand (nominal) 

 three-rnonth-old fry require four ponds, each 100 

 feet long by 22 wide at top by 5 feet 6 in depth, 

 and should make from 30,000 to 40,000 good 

 saleable yearlings and a few thousand undersized 

 fish. The ponds must be dried for one month, 

 and must stand full of water for at least three 

 weeks before stocking, five weeks is better, so that 

 the water becomes charged with animal life. The 

 most difficult time for the fish-culturist is the 



