The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1889-07-06

Fish culture is an industry that should
engage the careful thought Of every farmer
who owns piece of land through which a
stream Of water flows; as it, at this tine, offers
better retarns for money. labor and time in
vested, than any other individual effort now
engaging the attention of the grea. majority
Of the owners Of homesteads. The day for
the profitable culture Of the cereals has, for
the Pennsylvania farmer, gone BY; and the
era Of large farms is gradually slipping away
into the past The forty-acre farm is taking
the place Of the large one, and our children
may see the day when farm Of one hundred
acres, IN this part Of our State, win be as rare
as is the Conestoga wagon to-day.
The time has come when We must engage
in new industries, and invest our time and
money in other crops than grain, il We hope
for profitable returns
We are told that in the raising Of cabbage,
potatoes and tobacco, in connection with the
cultivation Of small fruits, the profits are
manifold greater than those acquired BY the
old routine crops Of wheat. rye, corn and
oats. This is true, bat when We add to our
sources OF revenue the culture Of poultry and
fish, our profits can be made much greater.
The farmer who has a stream Of water
passing through his lands, one that, previous
to entering his acres, has passed through
woods and cultivated fields for the distance Of
a mile Of more, has at hand the wherewithal
to engage in fish culture. If he jndicionsly
uses this stream, even though in dry seasons
it becomes so small as to all pass through a
two-inch pipe, he can fill and Keep ful! pond
that will cover an acre, and this can be made
to yield better annual profits, in ready cash,
than can ordinarily be made from twenty or
more acres Of the best farm land, and after
his pond is built and stocked with carp, he
reaps this profit without labor. We must not,
however, forget that earpieultare, in this
country, is yet in its infancy, aud it behooves
us to enter into this business slowly, carefully
and systematically; first learning all we can
from the practical experience Of others, and,
as we proceed, note our own failures and profit
by thesn. We must build orr dykes substan-
tally, and in accordance with the most APP
proved plans, without undertaking TO improve
on methods which, with our inexperience, we
do not understand.
We must carefully study the habits Of the
carpas we proceed, and learn how, when, and
how much to feed them, as well as the proper
way to avoid the losses so often incurred in
the beginning, through the unlocked for de-
Il 6 Il.
Do poachers visit the pond? Meet them
with the strong arm of the law, or an old army
musket, that kicks at both ends. Do musk
rats cut holes in our dykes? Entrap them
and Gil in, on the water face of the embank-
ment, finely broken stone and gravel.
Swapping turtles can be kept out by setting
up boards, foot in width, fastened to posts
and fitted closely to the ground; galvanized
wire netting Of the same width is more dura-
BILE and will answer the purpose as well as
boards
Kingfshers can be caught with steel traps
fastened on the tops of poles placed about the
pond, and snakes, frogs and ish-hawks must
be shot Ducks and geese should be denied
the privilege Of the pond.
None Of our native fish are so well adapted
TO pond-culture as these foreigners, and why?
Because the German carp otto day have come
down to US through thousand years of such
careful culture that their very existence, as a
distinct variety of fish, is dependent on mans
constant care. 1t is true that our native
brook trout can be successfully reared in
artificial ponds, but we must carefully guard
the spawn and young fish against the attacks