Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1897-08-06

Our fish pond is situated five and
one-half miles northeast of Aida, Hall
county, Nebraska, in the Platte valley
between the Platte river aud the bluff,
says correspondent to Colman's
Rural World 1t is 1876 feet long and
80 feet wide. 1t has at present about
four aud oue-half feet of water, al
though this can be increased to six
feet. 1t is supplied by common
wind mill which stands about 125 feet
from it. The pond and mill are con-
nected by an underground inch aud a
half pipe, which comes mp out of the
ground just outside of the pond. This
pipe has waste joint where it is con-
nected with the pump to keep it from
freezing in the winter.
We stocked our pond with German
carp, which we received from the state
fish commission at North Bend, Neb.
Besides these, we have a few catfish
and some suckers. There are count
less small fish which were Matched
last summer. We feed our fish bran,
bread and corn.
We have used our pond as a reser-
voir as well as fish pond, irrigating
garden and a small truck patch, by
means of a rubber hose, two seasons.
Although it was not necessary to
irrigate, we have had better success
with our garden by irrigating some
through dry weather than before we
made the pond. Our pond also makes
a nice skating rink in winter as well
as a good place to get ice to put up for
the summer.
Our pond was made with common
road scraper. 1t took two men six
days to make it. One man can use a
scraper by himself, although it is bet
ter to have one man extra to load.
In making our pond we first COM
menced at one corner and made a
bank all round the embryo pond as
high as the dirt from the first scraping
would make it. The first scraping
does not need to be plowed. We then
plowed it as deep as we could with a
common pillow.
We then took the second scraping
out, putting it entirely around the
pond the same as before, and keeping
the bank as nearly level as possible,
each scraping raising the bank about
six inches, although this depends up
ON the size of the pond. Each sue
ceeding scraping is disposed of the
same as the second, although the
deeper you get the harder it is to
pillow and scrape, as the soil here is a
kind of clay, after the black soil is
taken off the Top, which bakes in the
sun and gets sticky and hard.
The clay, although hard to handle,
is very good for pond, for it will
hold water until it evaporates, after it
gets packed solid When starting, the
bank should be fifteen or twenty feet
wide. This will, by constant tramp
ing and rolling down of dirt, spread
out to twenty or thirty feet, and if the
bank is to be more than four or five
feet above the surface will need to be
wider.
Our pond is three feet below the
surface, while the dirt taken out
makes a bank about three and one
half feet high, making the pond about
six and one-half feet deep from the
top of the bank. The more driving
over the bank the better, as this
tramps it and keeps it packed as it is
added to. After the pond is done it
will have to be puddled, which is
done by letting five or six iuches of
water into it and then tramping with
horses or narrowing and tramping it
to make it solid in the bottom
Our pond cost us six days work
with team and two men to make the
pond. Three men one day to lay the
pipe and II IL cents foot for 1876
feet of one and one-half inch pipe.
OF course, besides the wind mill is to
be considered, although we had the
wind mill before we thought of the
pond, and it has done all the pump
ing for the stock as well as standing
idle part of the time Although we
have not had our pond long enough to
have fish large enough to use, yet |
think it will pay anyone to make a
small pond to irrigate, if for no other
purpose, for then they are sure of q
good garden every year.