128 PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. 



times the feed wheel revolves once and the feed drops on a block hung 

 under the wheel and scatters itself over the water and sinks down on the 

 floor. I use about an ounce hammer in the clock, on a thirty-pound bell. 

 The fish come at the ringing of the bell and the regular time of feeding in 

 great numbers. HARVEY BOWEN. 



AN JEASY WAY OF KEEPING AN OPEN SPACE IN A POND IN WINTER. 



ONOVILLE, N. Y., March 11, 1888. 



My fish are wintering well; I don't think I have lost more than a 

 dozen or so, as yet, out of nearly 300 small ones put in the winter pond last 

 fall. I intend building two more small ponds this spring. Near the head 

 of my winter pond I built a plank dam across from one bank to the other, 

 and made a hole through it near the bottom, a foot or more under water 

 so the water has to pass through that hole and boils up below the dam 

 and keeps the water in commotion, so it will never freeze over at that 

 point. At the outlet where the screen is, I placed two boards about three 

 feet long with the out ends nailed together in the form of a letter V, as a 

 boom, in front of the screen, catching all the leaves and trash; or nearly 

 all that would otherwise come against the screen. It also acts as a boiler, 

 the same as the dam at the head of pond; the water passes under the 

 boards, which should be nearly a foot wide, and edgeways up and down ; 

 the water boils up on the inside next to the screen, so it don't freeze over. 

 I learned this by accident, and it works well. E. L. VOLENTINE. 



NOTES FROM A CARP DIARY. 



NATCHITOCHES, LA., January 26, 1888. 



I dammed a G^-acre pond in the latter part of December, 1882, and on 

 January 15, 1882, I placed therein 81 young carp received same day from 

 the U. S. Fish Commission. They were from \}/ to 4 inches long. On 

 March 15, 1882, I caught three in a net, the largest one measuring 7% 

 inches. That night a heavy rain flooded the pond and thousands of other 

 fish entered it. On October 15, 1882, I caught one carp 18 inches long. On 

 January 9, 1883, I received 140 more carp from same source and put them 

 in same pond. On February 15, 1883, I caught one carp, measuring 24)^ 

 inches, and weighing 7 pounds dressed. I saw no more of them until I 

 drained the pond in January, 1886, when I opened it and found but 13 

 German carp in the pond, but I had tons of perch, trout, catfish, and in 

 fact, of nearly every native variety. I placed my carp in wire trellis 

 boxes in another pond and had mine thoroughly cleaned out, leaving only 

 young cypress trees. On February 16, 1886, work being over and dam in 

 order and sufficient water, I put my 13 carp (of which only one had scales) 

 back into my pond. 



Following is the measurement and weight of the 13 carp respectively, 

 after having been in the boxes 56 days without a particle of food : 



No. 1 24 inches 10 pounds 



No. 2.. ..20 " 5 " 



