226 DOMESTICATED TROUT. 



feed which falls to the bottom of the pond and the 

 effete matter coming from the fish. If these accumu- 

 late in any great quantity, danger is imminent. The 

 fish are, so to speak, on the edge of a precipice, and 

 the first warm day may bring great loss. 



There is but one remedy for a foul pond, except re- 

 moving the fish and digging it out anew, and that is 

 the use of earth. This remedy, though the only one, 

 is a sure one. Earth, as is now well known, is a won- 

 derful absorbent of foul gases. Therefore, when the 

 bed of your pond gets foul, and it is not convenient to 

 clean it out, throw in a layer of three inches, or, if very 

 foul, of six inches of common earth. This will make 

 the pond as sweet and clean as it ever was, and the 

 fish, too, will be better for it. Do not be afraid of 

 muddying the water. Muddy water never killed a 

 trout yet, though thousands have died for the want 

 of it. 



Beginners are here cautioned against drawing down 

 the pond, when it gets foul, in order to remove the 

 fish, for this is the very surest' thing to make matters 

 worse. The water becomes thick with the offending 

 matter, when the pond is drawn off, and it will cer- 

 tainly sicken the fish and check their growth, if it does 

 not kill them outright. It is not so dangerous with 

 large trout as with young fry, thousands of which have 

 been killed by this practice ; but it is bad enough with 

 fish of any size, and never ought to be resorted to. 



It is a good plan to keep a few moderate-sized 

 suckers or mullets (Catostomi) mullets are the hand- 

 somer fish in your ponds for scavengers. They do 



