ffow to obtain it. 263 
their work, and at a given signal the two heavy end weights 
should be hauled up quickly, and the whole of the lead line got 
above water as speedily as possible. The cork line is then thrown 
well back so as to give the fish room, and they are in a huge bag 
from which there is no escape. They may be lifted out by means 
of a large landing net and placed in tubs or tanks, a net-full at a 
time, the remainder being left in the large net until the lot in the 
tub has been dealt with. When all are sorted and disposed of, the 
big net should be run through the pond again, and the process 
repeated. It may be desirable to draw it a third time; it does 
not take long, and is the best way of clearing the fish. A few will 
manage to elude it after all, but they should be very few. There 
will be room for a fish to get round the end probably whilst being 
dragged through the pond. There need not be, if properly 
worked. It is a good plan for a boy to walk on each bank just 
behind the net, and to splash the water with a stick to deter any 
fish from running back. A few will probably get under the net 
when the lead line is being lifted. This makes it imperative that 
the bottom rope be raised as quickly as possible. When all is 
done properly there will be very few fish left in the pond.. 
The water may now be let off by drawing the outlet plug, 
and when it has run down to about:a foot or less, the few 
remaining fish can be easily removed by hand nets, and the pond 
may be cleaned out and refilled. The cleaning out is a very 
trifling business, and is usually done by one man in about two 
hours. There should really be very little to clean out. A little 
soil must get blown in during the year, and a mischievous rat or 
mole may be guilty of turning some in, and there is the excrement 
from the fish, but otherwise there should be nothing. When 
the pond is to be re-stocked with yearlings great care should be 
taken that every fish has been got out. Should one be left 
lurking in a corner, or in a hole in the bank, I need hardly point 
out what is likely to happen before the next season’s sorting time 
comes round. 
It is hardly necessary to point out that a small pond used 
for business purposes, and stocked with as many yearlings as-the 
water will maintain, differs widely from a lake or river. In: the’ 
latter the fish are free to roam where they like, and soon take up 
