Evening star., 1923-10-28

Following summers. Generally, this
practice is Improbable.
y = 4 i:
THE vicissitudes Of gold fish farm
ing are many and feature de-
struction and despoiiation by snakes,
turtles. cranes. chicken hawks, spe-
cies Of owl, kingfishers and other de-
vouring birds and reptiles. Ground
hogs. muskrats and crayfish tunne!
and undermine the banks of the ponds
and effect small breaks. which in time
become so large that the water may
all drain away. To control such dep
relations, many operators locate their
ponds close to their dwellings and
farm buildings so that those about
the house may watch the artificial
pools and protect the fish. Where CON
ditions demand the remote location OF
pools, watchmen armed with shot
guns patrol the banks daily. They
repair or plug up all holes that ap-
pear in the walls of the ponds and
shoot all bird enemies of the fish
and destroy snakes.
Bullrushes are obnoxious in fisu
ponds as they harbor snakes and also
obstruct the efficient harvest Of the
gold fish. When the water is drained
away. the fish often get caught in
the dense growth of "cat tails" and
die. All other tall and matted growth
Of vegetation or weeds has to be
removed from the fish ponds. There are
certain varieties of moss that cause
trouble in harvesting the fish and
these have to be plowed under or
otherwise destroyed when the ponds
are dry.
The brood fish spawn for from four
to eight weeks after they are set out
in the spring of the year. The young
fish as they hatch and begin to de-
velop are very dark colored and 1t is
only as they grow under the most
favorable conditions that their coats
change to the desirable golden shades
Four months after incubation, the
new hatch Of gold fish Is ready for
market. There are three trade clas-
sifications for these fish. The small
class includes specimens that range
from one to two inches in size, the
mediums measure two to three inches.
while the large range from three to
four inches in length. All the fish
over four inches are retained as
brood fish if they are satisfactory
for that purpose.
In the rough and mountainous sec
tions of Frederick county gold fish
farming is jeopardized by another
serious hazard -freshets and foods
may surge from the crag tops wash
out the artificial ponds and carry
away the valuable fish. In very
muddy flood water gold fish become
sluggish. This disposition prevents
them from yolitionally venturing far
from their home pools unless they are
swept away by strong currents.
These fish will not thrive in water
that is very cold or where they are
exposed to swift currents. They color
moving waters Of the artificial ponds
which range from three to three and
one-half feet in depth.
y X Ss<
i Frederick county in express cars
Usually 140 to $50 carloads of these
curious aquatic treasures are shipped
annually to New York, Boston, Phila-
delphia, Baltimore, Toledo, Cincin-
natl and Burlington, Iowa. which are
the most important marketing CEN
ters OF the industry. Usually the pro
ducers sell the fish for sis to S45
thousand, dependent on their size and
coloring. The retail dealers receive
from 10 cents to 81 apiece. Brood
fishes commonly are sold for 10 to %
cents a head. Aside from the gold
fish enterprise of Frederick county,
there are but half dozen OF these
unusual farms in the United States,
one each in the states of Iowa and
Ohio and several in the neighborhood
Of Grassy Forks. Ind.
The ponds are easily drained and
A small exit, about eight inches
square, leads from each pond to a
special draw box, whence the captive
waters when freed surge to the draw
doat, a contraption with a wooden
bottom and wire mesh top and sides
The water flows through this box,
while the fish stick. They are re-
moved to special fish cans and car
ried to the fish house. The fish house
Is equipped with q large sorting table
covered with checked oilcloth, each
of the checks being exactly one inch
square. First, the fish are dumped
on the sorting table, so that all the
tadpoles, lizards and dark-colored
specimens might be removed. Then
the gold fish are sorted and graded
as to size and counted. the brood
fishes BEING removed. The fishes of
the different sizes are placed in spe-
cial ten gallon fish cans partly full
of water. About 200 OF these cans
constitute a carload. Dependent on
the size of the gold fish, as rule
there are anywhere from 125,0O0 to
zoo, 900 or more fish in the carload
lot
About five acres Of fish ponds III
Frederick county are devoted to the
commercial production Of fantails and
Japanese flshes-ornamental varieties
that are raised and marketed In the
same manner as the gold fish. These
are not SO healthy as the gold fish
and as a result the profits from their
production are much lower.
Calling It Square,