American Fisheries Society 97 



of swamp soil does not suit them, and in a moist climate like 

 that where this experiment was tried it even seems unnecessary 

 to water the compost heaps, although this would doubtless be 

 useful in dry regions. But the coyering of leaves is indispens- 

 able, as above described, for a protection from the sun. It may 

 be added that watering with manure-water or urine seems to be 

 favorable to the production of worms. 



For nutritive qualities the worms thus obtained seemed supe- 

 rior to horseflesh, butcher's waste, offals, dried blood, etc., com- 

 monly used by fishculturists as food for trout, and they seem 

 equal to the coarse fish now used in England for this purpose in 

 many fishcultural establishments. 



The collection of the worms requires the alternate demolition 

 of the compost heaps, which means considerable work. Ther<:>- 

 fore where wages are high, as is the case in upper Bavaria, the 

 production of angleworms although practicable is found to in- 

 volve an expense relatively worth considering, especially when 

 it is admitted that the return could never be very great. In an 

 establishment of the importance of that at Karlstein, for in- 

 stance, when the annual consumption of food exceeds 20,000 

 kilos, earthworms could provide only a relatively small part. 



Therefore, even though the result of the trial has not been as 

 complete as it might be, it has not seemed worth while to fol- 

 low up the production of wonus, especially since, thanks to a 

 reduction in railroad rates, the Karlstein establishment can ac- 

 tually procure as trout food coarse fish at a very low price (or 

 about 20 to 25 centimes per kilo) and in quantity Avliieh may be 

 called imlimited. 



Mr. Malsen nevertheless considers the artificial production 

 of earthworms as food for meat-eating fish worth recommending 

 to a fishculturist who is running a small establishment himself 

 without helpers or laborers, and in a country where course fish 

 cannot be obtained at so low cost as in the region of Bad-Eeich- 

 enhall. He thinks that gardeners, under-proprietors, farmers, 

 etc., Avho attempt trout growing on a small scale and aside from 

 their chief occupation, could not find a simpler or more prac- 

 tical means of procuring food cheaply for their fish, than the pro- 

 duction of angleworms by the method above described. 



The curious fact may be mentioned that Mr. Malsen states 



7 



