1138 EEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [6] 



ing pond of 0.1 hectare [one-fourth acre] will certainly produce 100,000 

 to 200,000 fry of carj) and similar fish, but it cannot feed so large 

 a number of young fish even for a few days. The fry should, there- 

 fore, soon after they have been hatched and have lost the umbilical 

 sac, say, in about five days, be placed in the lake or river which is 

 to be stocked. Wherever it can be done the contents of the pond 

 should be allowed to flow slowly into the lake or river, and if pos- 

 sible at night, so the tender fish may escape the attention of their 

 enemies. 1 do not consider it probable that these small fish will all be 

 eaten by fish of prey, for all the large fish have once been small and 

 been in danger of being devoured by larger fish. The fry may also 

 be assigned to a larger pond and raised there. As has already been 

 observed, 100,000 carp fry will in a raising-i)ond of 3 hectares [7^ acres] 

 and in one month reach the length of several centimeters, and are 

 much better able to defend themselves against their enemies. It should 

 not be forgotten, however, that this requires thirty times more pond 

 area, which used as a raising-pond could produce thirty times as large 

 a quantity of fry. If, according to the old method, the spawning pond 

 is not fished until autumn, 50,000 carp may be obtained from 1 hectare 

 [2J acres], but these fish will only measure 4 or 5 centimeters [1^ to 2 

 inches] in length. From my own experience I have gained the convic- 

 tion that 250 such carp are amply sufiBcient to supply 1 hectare [2 J acres] 

 of water area, even if it contains many fish of prey. In this manner 

 I have in my own lakes created A^ery x^roductive carp fisheries. In 

 planting the fry they- should be distributed as much as possible over 

 the entire water area; the water should be shallow and contain a good 

 many aquatic plants, as this will insure a supi)ly of food and protection 

 against fish of prey. 



The larger the carp the smaller should be the number placed in a 

 j)ond. It may also pay to place l^rge carp in open waters, even if the 

 fish have to be bought. A very intelligent pond farmer in Schleswig- 

 Holstein has for a long time been in the habit of buying a large number 

 of carp measuring 20 centimeters [8 inches] and more in length. With 

 these fish he stocks several lakes where fishing is easy, and in this man- 

 ner he has become a wealthy man. A few years ago he placed in his 

 lakes carp weighing 1^ pounds, and in the following winter he caught 

 fish weighing 2^ xDOunds. 



I am happy to say that at present a great interest is taken in the cul- 

 tivation of our waters throughout all Germany, and that people begin 

 to feel that we have some duties as regards our many and beautiful 

 sheets of water. Would it be too much to hope that some liberal-minded 

 landowners, and especially the largest landowner^ the Government, 

 will here and there on their fields and in their forests, along their rivers 

 and lakes, establish a normal spawning pond of about one-tenth hectare 

 [one-fourth acre], x)lace in it three spawning carp, or other spawning- 

 fish, and annually place in our open waters 100,000 or more young' fish? 



