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| Building and Stocking the Farm Pond |
A farm pond is comparatively simple and inexpensive to develop, but
it is hardly in the do-it-yourself field. It requires professional help, and,
in some instances, governmental sanction. You can satisfy yourself as
to whether you have a good natural site, but you should not start building before consulting someone who has at least the rudiments of
topographic engineering.
Building the Pond
Ordinarily, ten to thirty acres of watershed are considered a sufficient
source of water for a small farm pond. So is a stream or spring capable
of filling the proposed pond basin in a year's time or less. But too much
water can be as much of a problem as too little, and such a problem may
entail special provisions. These are best worked out by a professional.
The type and formation of the soil in which the basin of the pond
will be made are other basic considerations dependent on borings and
soil tests. There are also legal aspects, for government permission is frequently involved when the course of a stream is to be dammed or
diverted.
You may be able to work out the design of your dam and spillways
yourself, if you are a fair amateur engineer, but free consultation and
other help are available to you, and you will do well to take advantage
of it. Help will also be available to you in the stocking of your pond
with game fish.
The government offers two excellent publications which will give you
a wealth of general information on farm ponds. You can order "How
to Build a Farm Pond," Department of Agriculture Leaflet No. 259,
five cents, and "Managing Farm Fishponds for Bass and Bluegills,"
Farmers' Bulletin No. 2094, fifteen cents (with the money enclosed)
from the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government Printing
Office, Washington 25, D.C.
For specific consultation on building and stocking a farm pond, get
in touch with your nearest representatives of Soil Conservation and
Fish and Wildlife. Your county agent will tell you where to find them.
Proper Planting
Farm ponds are built to provide water for livestock when other
sources dry up during drought, for fire protection, to provide swimming,
boating, and year-round fishing, to attract waterfowl, and for numerous
other reasons. The use for which a pond is intended will influence, of
course, the size, shape, and design. There is no type of farm pond, regardless of its utilitarian service, which hasn't magnificent possibilities
for water-Mies and shore-line plants.
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