244 DOMESTICATED TROUT. 



mishap short of an earthquake, for the possible conse- 

 quences cannot be exaggerated ; and what makes it all 

 the worse is that, should a large trout get among the 

 small ones, and adopt cannibal habits, he would keep 

 himself completely hidden, — such is the habit of can- 

 nibal fish, — and you might not discover him till his 

 ravages had been very disastrous. Fix your ponds, 

 therefore, so that no freshet, or clogging up of the 

 screens, or other contingency, can make it possible for 

 the large ones to jump over, creep under, or in any 

 other way get into the pond of small ones. 



6. Never let the water get foul. The source of foul- 

 ness in the water, whenever it occurs, is, of course, the 

 feed which falls to the bottom of the pond and the 

 effete matter coming from the fish. If these accumu- 

 late in any great quantity, danger is imminent. The 

 fish are, so to speak, on the edge of a precipice, and 

 the first warm day may bring great loss. 



There is but one remedy for a foul pond, except re- 

 moving the fish and digging it out anew, and that is 

 the use of earth. This remedy, though the only one, 

 is a sure one. Earth, as is now well known, is a won- 

 derful absorbent of foul gases. Therefore, when the 

 bed of your pond gets foul, and it is not convenient to 

 clean it out, throw in a layer of three inches, or, if very 

 foul, of six inches of common earth. This will make 

 the pond as sweet and clean as it ever was, and the 

 fish, too, will be better for it. Do not be afraid of 

 muddying the water. Muddy water never killed a 

 trout yet, though thousands have died for the want 

 of it. 



