A PLAN FOR BASS PONDS. 
BY E. M. LAMBERT. 
I beg to submit herewith a plan for bass ponds which com- 
bines the advantage of a large pond for breeding and small 
ponds to facilitate drawing and cleaning, together with a greater 
depth of water over the entire pond than is possible in a large 
pond built on the plan at present followed in this Bureau. The 
material used in the construction of the subdivisions and out- 
side walls, shown in the accompanying drawing, is wood—con- 
erete, brick or stone can be used instead. The outside walls are 
built eighteen inches to twenty-four inches higher than the sub- 
divisions, so that when it is desired to convert the four small 
ponds into one large one, eighteen inches to twenty-four inches 
of dam boards are inserted in the four outlets and the water 
rises over the sub-divisions. 
Each pond is supplied with a separate inlet and outlet, so 
that when the water is dropped to the low level a circulation 
can be maintained as desired. By this arrangement the pond 
can be drawn down in installments, a great advantage when 
distribution time arrives. Frequently at the Wytheville station 
we have found it necessary to draw our largest pond, over two 
acres, in order to procure 500 or 600 bass to make up a car load. 
This requires several days, when the pond is full of plant, and 
a consequent loss of fish, especially in the months of August 
and September when the water is warm, on account of the fact 
that in drawing a large pond a long stretch of water line is con- 
stantly receding and leaving the fish high and dry, necessitating 
a large number of men to keep them picked up. Your troubles 
are not over then, as storage room must be provided for the sur- 
plus fish, where they will have food and the required tempera- 
ture of water until needed for future shipments. 
With the subdivided pond the water can be brought to the 
low level in the series and each sub-division drawn as needed. 
Removing plants from a large pond is a very slow undertak- 
ing, it cannot be wheeled out on barrows, or hauled on wagon, on 
account of the soft bottom. This labor is considerably eliminated 
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