Aiiicrican Fisheries Society 131 



(juautitT annually st'iit to Jiiarkot exceeds twenty-eight million 

 pounds. Nearly all of tliwn are known to attain weig'hts exceed- 

 ing two pounds. 



Ponds Mnde hi/ Danniiing Streams. — Ponds created in this 

 way should on no account he completed without the placing of 

 drain pipes and penstocks, so that the water can l)e lowered and 

 tlie fish life controlled. There are marketahle fishes going to 

 waste in ponds everywhere for lack of simple facilities for get- 

 ting at them. The deciicst jiortion of the pond-should be at the 

 lower end. where the fish will gather when the water is drained 

 down. Ditches dug in the bottom of the pond, leading to the 

 dee]) hole, or ''kettle/' will greatly facilitate the concentration 

 of the fishes at that time. 



Two or three jionds will be found to be much more satis- 

 factory than out', since they will permit of the sorting of fishes 

 according to size. Angling or other fish catching w^onld then 

 naturally be confined to the pond containing the large fishes. 

 If properly managed, a series of fish-ponds will naturally yield 

 a surplus for the market. It is dangerous to construct a fish- 

 pond in a narrow ravine as the dam is liable to be broken during 

 spring freshets or exceptionally heavy rains, and the pond will 

 gradually fill up with silt. Even if the embankment is not 

 broken during high water it is difficult to screen it so that the 

 fishes will not escape. A safe plan is to make the ])0]id at one 

 .side of the stream, by excavation and embankments, leading the 

 water to it through a ditch, and damming the stream sufficiently 

 at the ditch-head to divert a portion of its flow, in ca-e of 

 freshets, the deep pool formed in the stream by the dam at th'' 

 ditch-head, naturally receives the silt brought down stream; 

 thus guarding against the filling up of the fish-pond. The ditch 

 itself should be screened at both ends to prevent the ascent of 

 lishes to the stream, and kt'cp floating drift out of the ditch. 



If the pond can be excavated in marshy ground, so much 

 the better. A layer of clay on the l)ottom will render it mor<' 

 watertight than it would l)e otherwise. The emiiankment should 

 be broad, and before it is thrown up, all sod should be removed 

 so that there will be no suljsoquent seepage caused by the decay 

 of vegetable matter. The earth used for the embankment should 

 also be free from sods or other matter liable to decay. Tho 



