CONSTRUCTION OF PONDS. 39 



stated, should be planted as soon after the com- 

 pletion of the banks as possible ; but while they 

 are growing, a few boards nailed together, forming 

 a float, should be anchored in each pond. A few 

 rustic bridges will also afford hiding-places to 

 the fish, as well as adding to the beauty of the 

 grounds. 



The bottom of the first pond, or that intended 

 for the fishes during the first year of their exist- 

 ence, may be covered with gravel, but none should 

 be allowed in the other ponds. During the spawn- 

 ing season the adult fishes will seek gravel for the 

 purpose of depositing their ova, and should it be 

 found by them in the ponds, they will not resort 

 to the race-ways, and the eggs will be lost. The 

 growth of aquatic plants should be encouraged, 

 especially in the first pond, as they perform a 

 triple service : first, they assist in oxygenating the 

 water ; secondly, they give ample shade to the lit- 

 tle fishes ; and thirdly, they afford refuge for myr- 

 iads of minute insects, the natural food of the young 

 trout. There is but one objection to plants : they 

 are the favorite food of the muskrat ; and, during 

 the winter, when green vegetable food is not every- 

 where to be met with, these pests of the fish-farmer 

 will be attracted by it, and, as they cut off much 

 more than they eat or carry away, serious diffi- 

 culty may occur from the clogging of the screens. 



