PAGE 6 
Construction, Chicago Man Writes 
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THE FISH-CULTURIST NEWS 
lowa Man Passes 
Along aGood Idea 
Here’s a helpful idea that will 
be happily received by many clubs 
and others who have been bothered 
with an overgrowth of moss in 
their fishing lakes and ponds. Our 
fellow-sportsman W. H. Robinson 
of Des Moines, Iowa, and a mem- 
ber of the Clearwater Lake club, 
Sent it in. He writes: 
“I have just finished reading 
your publication, FCN, and found 
it very interesting. 
“We have an 18-acre lake stock- 
ed with black bass, crappie, and a 
few perch, and an abundance of 
small blue gill. Our fish problem 
is the bluegill, which seem to be a 
very small or stunted variety. 
“Up until the past year we 
had a moss problem, also, which 
nearly took our lake; but this 
has been overcome by using! a 
75 h.p. inboard motor speed 
boat and about 100 feet of barb- 
ed wire. The method used was 
dragging the wire and encircl- 
ing the moss; thereby uprooting 
it, then floating it to the shore 
and taking it out with pitch- 
forks.” 

























































There's More Than Meets the Eye in Dam Do We Need a Lake 


One of these little characters 
j ps aN is what you turn into imme- 
Engineer Is Necessary For Preliminary diately when your name is 
Stages Of Construction 
The Fish-Culturist News is in receipt of a very instruc- 
tive and timely article from Mr. Chas. B, Boone of Chicago, 
relative to building lakes for use as fish ponds and irrigation 
projects, particularly if the impounded bodies of water are to 
be of any consequence. One point he mentions that we find 
to be of much importance is the failure of many to take into 
consideration the surplus flow of water. It is, indeed, very 
easy to underestimate the flow of water which rushes down 
a valley or ravine. In this connection, it might be well to 
emphasize, and re-emphasize, that a spillway should be made 
of such size as to take care of not only a good rain, but 
also A FLOOD. — 
Mr. Boone’s article comes to | !ife—and enough water for irrigat- 
aay j ing to insure full crops of berries, 
us in two parts: one in the 
: vegetables and flowers, however 
form of a letter after reading|hot ana dry the seasons may be; 
a copy of ‘the first issue of|for an abundance of everything is 
‘FON ana another after he hag re- | 2t ur fingertips waiting for a lit- 
Asks tion |tle intelligent effort to conserve 
ceived a copy of the second edition. just a small fractional part of our 
Along with his subscription also \ 
srders£ THE FISH God-given rainfall. (Yours truly, 
came an order for CHAE ooke Chios il 
POND, which he mentions in the 80.) That one little paragraph should 
second letter of his article. We do| Second letter from Mr Boone: |help many a club out a BASE, 
not hesitate to state that this is| I have your letier of recent date ok ot Ree ania i Fae aed 
one of the best articles yet re- | 4nd have received my copy of THE eee cehe ee WA Bitics ie it 
“ceived by/FCN, because it is very | FISH POND, which I consider a Hie a Won tansie ae tvs 
easy to discern that Mr. Boone is | Worth many times over the dollar tres ME? ndaileag votes Mtn the 
an experienced man and knows |'t cost, for it is brimfull of ee ground as possible in order to al- 
whereof he writes. i mation that is interesting and logi- low for gathering up the moss 
The article: cal, but in addition. to the instruc- | iin tne wire idea in later years. 
{ have before me a copy of the | ‘ion and knowledge to be gained] ‘; | you already have stumps 
first edition of The ¥ish-Culturist | bY @ thorough study of THE FISH} 0 
hich was passed on to me POND, i would recommend—with sistance is least. } 
eho he P B ilie, | °™phasis—that a well-trained en- I have seen such breaches ap- 
by see Not [Saree Aa ’ | gnieer be employed, on the ground, | pear first as much as a hundred 
vrata’ aia ete ie Sk On ek if possible, for at least the first | yards or more on the downstream 
a DRA GeT as Ne ee Aa bh ae a rudimentary steps of constructing | side of the foot of the dam wher- 
Syucene, eaten: vont g Nia ths | any lake or reservoir of any conse-| ever the upper crust is most weak- 
Asc ean er Aig oe eam copay n ta t | quence, for the total cost of work | ened by the creek bed or other- 
country / Over Js spy, far, the mos that has already gone to waste for | wise, but in any alluvial formation, 
“commendable I have come aa jack of engineering skill in the ea Se rapid and complete 
Ue AeY, e day; meee aient & t "| start, would, I expect, amount to] if a trickle \of water under pres- 
that I hope your publication sae : enough to pay every engineer in | sure is allowed to start. > 
With the success it so: riehtly ©! the! United States a fair salary for! I am not making an effort to 
ye Aaah CE ranch eS oe] Siac at SY Se ts promote business for the © engi- 
_ This is not a reflection on the | neers, as a fave-ie- em, particu- 
judgment or honest efforts of any- | larly, for they have given me so 
one, but is mainly due to the fact | much inconvenience on my own 
that formations and general condi- | jobs and jobs I have supervised for 
tions differ so widely in different | Other contractors that I do not 
localities that methods employed} €ven wish to be. an engineer my- 
successfully in one section will not | Self} but, like dentists or bankers, 
apply in another; and, that is eh Bee them ie ere i 
mgd ; ‘ able en-| do for us, and even i ey .do 
Ac gaigli tian Wooten aon eatin dont, fs for te is | Charge like specialists, the smart- 
fy ack Cee reo ures hae Bele thoroughly schooled in estimating | ¢St money that can be spent is to 
- borhood is enough to discourage a construction commensurate in| employ them wherever their serv- 
; ; ices are needed, for whatever the 
making sy foro thes owm [frees wit purzel wight aod | sar neil. winter ine 
Becta gad Stat An sa ae 1|¢ver conditions of soil formations | C°St, it is in effect the proverbial 
pete ps eto RUBE PSL a a or the lay of the land may be. The | Stitch in time, for their strongest 
Bee ramos bers tine: ea, for cost of his services and advice |Pnt is to guard against contin- 
would be negligible as compared | 8@ncies that may appear trivial, 
with the probability that a lot of | Yet result in the disaster of total 
: loss.—Chas. B. Boone. 
time and hard work may be lost j 
: ; Oe (Well, Mr. Boone, we wish to 
through inadequate or disjointed gan heartily. ¢ a 
construction. : a “aesiiea Very ae tip ae eagees 
j ing in such a fine article. Maybe 
Then where a lake is to be con- 
; ; : someone who is reading this issue 
structed by impounding water in a and who has been intendin g to 
natural valley or a small branch ; 
: build a dam which would impound 
bottom between hills on either side, a sizeable body of water will read 
uete 14 elwave. the. probability teunJatory did tmmatibed “GP ite 
that the floor of the valley is un- contents and not be disappointed 
der-laid with various strata of sand later by a washed‘out dam. 
would not ruin the whole project. | 4nd gravel which may/OCCUr at any, (Right here let us mention an 
_A lot of expensive lost motion and|Point between the hills on either! incigent which came to us a few 
heart-breaking disappointments] Side as the water course has doubt- years ago about a fellow in Texas 
“would be eliminated if the services |/ess changed many times during who had spent near $25,000 to 
ofan engineer are secured in the |the ages, leaving sandbars which | puijg a lake in which to raise min- 
start of any artificial lake of what- | ™ay be large or small and may be | nows to sell for bait. About two 
ever size or wherever located. anywhere from a few inches to years after the lake had been built 
There are few people, unfortu- | Several feet below the surface of and the minnows were about ready 
nately, who realize that it is impor- to be taken, along came an almost 
tant to take probings at the foun- unprecedented rain .... and the 
dations of dams to be certain leaks | 

placed upon the subscription 
list of this little paper. The 
other, which is a symbol of 
some political party—and not 
the well known phrase—is 
send in that subscription $1. 
you'd better send in that $1. 
(If that little fellow with 
the long ears doesn’t suit you, 
we'll just change him to an 
elephant. 
in your lake, though, you'll have 
to work between them, and you 
will find this very difficult. — 
If you know how to apply so- 
dium arsenite, or bluestone, you 
can kill moss and some undesir- 
able vegetation,—but you’d better 
be sure you know how to use it 
before you try it. 
To Our Subscribers, 
We Say ‘Thanks’ 
Ei, want you to take this as a 
personal expression of ap- 
preciation for the dollars you sent 
proud of the number who sub- 
derstand that gathering names 
and addresses 
_ aged largely by faulty construc- 
tion of dams which did not stand 
the gaff, or by improper methods 
of by-passing the surplus water, or tore often than quarterly’ until 
through at or below the waterline, 
_ lot of well meaning people from 
money out of the paper (what 
you to have the cooperation of a provide good hunting and fishing 
capable engineer to answer gen- 
eral inquiriies of farmers and oth- 
ers who are interested, with re- 
gard to the sizes, shapes, heights 
and slopes of dams to be built in 
relation to the area and depth of 
water to be impounded, and cor- 
rect jways of constructing spill- 
ways and by-passes according to 
individual requirements that would 
let the surplus water back to its 
original course by easy stages that 
others. 
The subscription price for a 
too much. 
sometime in the future. 
Lend us a hand now, and we 
and addresses!—The Publisher. 
The Fish Pond’ 

several thousand interested per- under ;the plan Weuldnts 
sons are found. Your dollars have ‘K ae cerathane 7 with She abs 
more than paid for the cost of | “0m by the oe OREO. Citas 
printing and mailing, and in a way peice Cha haree, iat ey 
you can feel that your dollars club would have the option to dis- 
have been spent on conservation. continue the services of the plane 
We don’t want to make a lot of at the end of the three-year period. 
" FEBRUARY, 1944 

Service Company 
(Printed by Request) 
A man who has had 20 years or 
more experience in building lakes; 
raising fish and in creating good 
fishing in general, has written to 
FCN asking that a story be pub- 
lished for the purpose of gather- 
ing information relative to setting 
up a special service staff to oper- 
ate club- and private lakes, with 
a view of creating good fishing. 
Most clubs operate their lakes 
in a hap-hazard manner, and con- 
sequently fishing is poor, and fur- 
thermore, club members are slow 
in paying their dues—and in lots 
of cases drop out entirely, leaving 
the financial burdens to the di- 
rectors with no money in the treas- 
ury; whereas, if fishing were good, 
no doubt club members would keep 
their membership dues paid up, 
and as a result the clubs would 
be kept in good financial standing. 
The plan the writer requested 
how you feel when you don’t | be outlined in FCN is simple and 
should by all means work very 
If you want to go to heaven, successfully, although such a pl 
may not be inducted until after the 
war, due to the many shortages 
and inconveniences brought on by 
the war effort. 
But, here it is: 
‘There would\be a crew of ex- 
perts qualified in every way to 
take over a lake and supervise it 
in a manner which would insure 
good fishing. That would entail, of 
course, considerable work. 
First, the fish population of the 
lake must be determined; the con- 
dition of the fish considered; if 
there is too much moss or other 
useless plantlife, that must be 
eliminated and controlled. 
The plankton and flora of the 
lake must be taken into account 
and studied; the soil surrounding 
the lake would likewise be anal- 
yzed. This would require the serv- 
ces of a biologist and soils techni- © 
cian. 
After the population of the fish 
in for your subscription to The |i @ siven lake is determined, the 
Fish-Culturst News, We're mighty [DIANE @f sich population must 
scribed, and we feel that you un- properly fed. : 
The cost of such service would 
on a nation-wide |Tange in the neighborhood of $15 
scale of people interested in, really se Bote fail an aoe id) youll 
doing something for our fish and Alen st ee fertilizer used in 
wildlife, takes time. There really Pete! Nanas Memnichn CP 
is no need to publish the paper $10 per acre. . 
contract ‘to service a lake 
signed 
A 
The Service Staff would receive 
good would it do'us?), but we do |22 initial fee, with either monthly 
want to do everything possible to |O% Quarterly payments thereafter. 
This arrangement of payment 
A ld back up the uarantee of 
for the boys who are away fight- PARE ; & 
ing for this very thing—among | the Service Staff that 
good fishing 
would be created. 
In order to put the Service Staff 
whole year is no more than the |/@to operation, it will be necessary 
cost of one high-power rifle shell— ec nee clubs and lake-owners 
or four shotgun shells. That’s not | “© ''y the plan. 
This is, of course, only a tenta- 
All we want to say right here is a ae ep still is in the formu- 
this: If the people continue their Paes ie age, and for that reason 
cooperation in the future as they ay ory 18 printed in an effort 
have in the past, you may look to learn what clubs and lake- 
for a national outdoors newspaper | °W"ers think of the idea. A few 
published on a bi-weekly schedule | °!UPS have already signified their 
approval, but it will be necessary 
to have a large number of clubs 
assure you that we will give you , Wiling to try the plan in order to 
your money’s worth and more in | Put it into operation, owing to the 
the future. Send in those names | S¢rvice Staff's large expenses. 
We honestly believe that such a 
plan would do our fishing clubs) 
and lake-owners a lot of good, and 
that the clubs would get value re- 
ceived for their money. 
Now, unless probings are taken | dam went out. There went not only 
can be avoided; then there are |at very frequent intervals, the en- 
tire length of the location, the dam 
_ problems of estimating falls, ca- 
pacities, proportions, ratios, and a 
variety of things that engineers 
know about because it is their 
business to know, and the lack of 
that knowledge more often than 

not results in construction that 
does not stand up,—and discour- 
agement that is contageous. 
~ In closing, I want to bid you god- 
_ speed in your undertaking and I 
hope your efforts strike a chord of 
_ response that will reward you with 
the satisfaction of seeing the 
_ length and breadth of our country 
_ dotted with tens of thousands of 
his investment, but many times 
more, probably, 
may be built right across some | nows, 
subsurface structure of loose sand 
and gravel’and no one know the] pened not f 
difference until an ooze or seepage | also be well 
side of | hunting and 
dam. This condition is, of | formed. 
course, brought about by unearth-| structed, and 18 months or two 
ing the gravelbed on the inside of years time given the fish placed in 
the reservoir for dam material and| the lake to reach legal size. What 
admitting the direct pressure of| do you think happened? Another 
some hundreds or thousands of big rain... 
tons of water which, in seeking its] dam . . . 
level, is almost sure to create what| with consi 
occurs on the downstream 
i 
the 
(Another 
worth 
fish: 
engineers call sandboils, and which| the members. 
may occur at, or some distance 
lakes, full of fish—and other wild- below the dam, wherever the-re- 
\ 
Brother, you know whereof you 
in the crop of min- 
incident which hap- 
ar from here, might 
mentioning. A 
ing 
. another washed-out 
. another disbanded club, 
derable financial loss to 
speak.—The editor.) 
club was 
A makeshift dam con- 
: 5 Everyone wants to see better 
Complimented fishing, but in order to create 
good fishing men of experience 
Those of you who received a |™ust be paid sufficiently to under- 
copy of the December edition per- | t@ke such projects. 
haps read the story about THE} The monetary incentive should 
FISH POND, a book on pond con- |W°rk with bettering fishing as 
struction and stocking. Several} W¢ll as anything else. ‘ 
copies were sold, and those who| Write the Editor of the Fish- 
received the book wrote to FCN, Culturist News what you think, 
that it is worth many times the and such information will be filed 
dollar it cost each of them. If you| °F Teference. 
want a copy of this informative PEO Sins le EST AS 
little book, send a dollar to FCN, 
and your copy will be mailed out | THE FISH-CULTURIST NEWS 
promptly. Box 455 — Durant, Oka. 
eS : 
THE FISH-CULTURIST NEWS THE FISH-CULTURIST NEWS 
Box 455 — Durant, Okla. Box 455 — Durant, Okla. 
ee 

ae. 
