The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-05-12

the ponds were only half full of water
was Que to the exceedingly poor ar
rangement, worked out under the ad-
nnihlstrat1on of. Mr.. Travis, of the wa
ter pipe line system on the hatchery
grounds. To drain pond "A for in
stance, 1t is necessary to lower the wa
ter IN pond b and close the pipe lead
ing to pond c. as these two ponds
are connected with each other and are
dependent on "A for their water sup
ply except in times of dangerously
nlgh water. when water could be let
IN from three-inch pipe from an
other pond, D. When pond "A is
drained for the purpose Of taking the
fish out or cleansing it. of course,
tnere IS no chance TO turn water
through it into ponds b and C.
Poorer and more unsatisfactory and
unbuslnesslike arrangern ent could
the pipes are three-inch and they are
absolutely insufficient as intake and
outlet pipes. Just think of feeding or
dralnlng two-acre pond with water
from four to six feet deep with
three-inch pipe. In one instance it
took two whole weeks to drain a pond.
The time will soon come when the
entire pipe system of the state hatch
cry will have to be changed. An ar
rangement must be effected so that
any pond can be filled or emptied
without interfering with any other
pond. One more thing about these
ponds-they are fed by two-inch pipes
that lead from the blind e.Id of an old
mill race that formerly belonged to
Mr.. Travis. This mill race extends
for nearly two miles to the west of
the hatchery, where water is taken
from the Ninescah river This Mines
cab Is fine stream fed by several fine
springs few miles of Pratt. 1t has
bright. clear. cool sparkling water.
However, the water that is received by
The state q To mr. fro n O
Nlnescah, but from the east end of
this old. muddy-bottomed mill race.
Before the water in the slow flowing
mill race reaches the hatchery it
passes by the end of ten or twelve
acre pond on Mr.. Travis ground. Most
of this pond is made up of shallow
water and when the winds blow the
water is lashed against the shores and
over the shallow bottoms until it is
muddy, and when the win blows hard
it is very muddy. AS the waves roll
from the pond into the old mill race
the water in the mill race. which is
carried to the hatchery, a few rods
farther on, is just as bad as that in the
pond. For two months past the water
that the state hatchery has been re-
ceiving has been utterly unfit for fish
hatchery ponds. 1t has been muddy.
stagnant and foul, made fouler than
usual because hundreds of fish died in
, Mr.. Travis pond and f1oated into the
old mill race to rot. I counted 157
rotten fish at one time in the mill race
between the place where the hatchery
gets it's water and Mr.. Travis pond.
This statement I can prove by men
who saw hundreds and even thousands
as they put it of dead and dying fish
in the mill race and around Mr.. Travis
pond.
LAS a result of this foul, muddy
water flowing into the hatchery pond,
there is a deposit of from four to
twelve inches of soft mud, rank with
foul odors, in the bottom of each pond,
absolutely unfit places for bass and
other fish of the bass family to spawn
in, as these fish desire hard ground
with clean sand and gravel for spawn
ing beds. 1t will cost a pile of money
to clean these ponds. In certain in
stances the water has been lowered in
the ponds SO as to give opportunity to
clean them a distance of from ten to
twenty feet from the shore lines, and
thus give the fish a little show for
spawning grounds this season.
Good for Travis; Bad for State.
II want to say to the people of Kan
sas that it may be a mighty good thing
for Mr.. Travis to have his various pri-
vate ponds connected with the state
mighty bad thing for the state hatch
cry. The hatchery has been taking
just as little water as possible of late
from the old mill race, fearing that
the Stagnant 1Oul water made fOuler
by fungus disease that has been kill
ing hundreds of Mr.. Travis's fish would
ruin the state hatchery ponds.
"Mr. Travis further charged at this
meeting of the Sportsmen's associa-
ton, that Prof. Dyche, the present fish
and game warden, by persisting in a
policy of introducing the German carp
in the streams of the state is threaten
ing great injury
This charge like the others has not
one grain of truth to substantiate it. 1
have not introduced a single German
carp into a single stream or pond in
the state of Kansas. What say you to
that? A number of gentlemen at the
association meeting. judging from the
report in the papers, Joined enthusi-
astically against the supposed policy of
the game warden of introducing Ger