CORSTRUCTION OF PONDS AND POND CULTU- 
RAL METHODS. 
BY J. L. LEARY. 
There has been so much said relative to the construction of 
ponds and pond cultural methods that it seems but very little 
additional can be written or suggested along this line that will 
prove of value to the practical fish culturist, yet those of us who 
have built ponds have discovered mistakes made in construction 
as well as experience has shown errors in cultural methods and 
the room for improvement therein. 
The first great essential to successful pond building is abund- 
ance of water. I am safe in making the assertion that few pond 
building ventures have been made that were entirely satisfactory 
in this respect. We felt confident the supply of water was 
ample for all needs only to find after our ponds were con- 
structed, nine times out of ten, that this necessary element of 
success was inadequate to supply the demand. 
The course of supply in most cases does not matter so that 
it is abundant. It may be spring, artesian, taken from some 
stream, or stored from rain and snow fall. All will answer 
though of course the purer and clearer the water the better as it 
adds materially to pleasure and success with the work, but bear 
in mind it is water—water 
you need. 

just twice as much as you think 
As to pond site it is necessarily secondary to water and must 
be located as near the supply as possible to avoid the expense 
of long conduits, ditches, or flumes. Where artesian wells are 
the source of supply and so located that heavy rain storms do not 
affect them it does away with long flumes or conduits that other- 
wise must be used to prevent disaster by flooding the ponds and 
consequent loss of fish. Most of the eligible pond sites are 
subjected to this danger of overflow and every precaution should 
be taken to guard against danger from this source. The most 
secure place is the center of some low flat, or swamp is not ob- 
jectionable, with the supply of water from spring or spring 
branch. |! would build my pond or ponds in the center of flat 
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