Part 5

But considering that a gentleman is supposed to intend this business, not only as a care, but an entertainment, he will not suffer his own servants and horses to be without a share of it; and then I cannot imagine which way he can expend above sixty pounds, supposing labourers work for twelve pence per day, which I cannot say they will do in all countries.

The third pond may be a work of another year; and if the ground lies fair for it, that is, much upon a level, I would not be without it; for it will add much to the ornament of your estate, because it will fill up a range or string of waters, which two do not; and besides contribute vastly to the increase of fish, as I shall shew; and I press this thing the rather, because without it, in the method I propose, you will have the use of but one pond as to water every year. Nay, were not œconomy, and saving charge, one great branch of my design, I should recommend more of these waters, if the place will receive them.

And to demonstrate the charge is not so very great, compared with the other expences gentlemen are at for their diversion, without any return of profit, as to deter any from undertaking this particular work; I must remember, that once, at the command of my Lord North, I did, as I have directed, proceed to the making one great pond, and one stew, at Catledge, which are still to be seen, but neglected; and besides, the regard to profit by the fish they would maintain and supply, the very ornament of them was worth the charge. I was limited to ten pounds, besides the work of his lordship’s horses, which I compute to be four pounds more; so the whole did not cost fifteen pounds, and yet a full acre of ground lay under water, and all was completed in twelve days. His lordship would not allow the laying down a sluice, else that water was a specimen of my proposition, as well for the conduct, as the charge of the work.

Of Auxiliary Waters.

As a great garrison must have many subservient forts and redoubts dispersed about the place, for securing the country, and collecting the contributions, which are to maintain the head-quarters; so the great ponds, which are the head-quarters of the fish, must be accommodated with many other subservient waters, which I call auxiliary, because they serve to relieve the greater when over stocked, to supply them when under stocked, and to rear up and maintain fry and young stores, as well as to render the fish easy to be taken; without which conveniences, you will have but a sorry account of the fish.

There are stews, moats, and ordinary ponds dispersed about in your estate and neighbourhood; the employment of which being very considerable in the well ordering of fish, I will consider each apart; and first, of stews.

Of Stews.

The peculiar use of these, is, to maintain fish for the daily use of your house and friends, whereby you may with little trouble, and at any time, take out all or any fish they contain; therefore it is good to place them in some inclosed grounds near the chief mansion-house. Some recess in a garden is very proper, because the fish are fenced from robbers, and your journey to them is short and easy, and your eye will be often upon them, which will conduce to their being well kept, and they will be an ornament to the walks.

If you have two great waters of three or four acres apiece, I do advise, that you be not without four stews, of two rods wide and three rods long apiece. The way of making these, is, by cutting the sides down somewhat sloping, and carrying the bottom in a perpetual decline from end to end, so as you may have a convenient mouth, such as horse-ponds usually have, for taking out your nets when you draw for fish.

If you have ground enough, it is better to make a mouth at both ends, and the deepest part in the middle; for so you may draw your nets backwards and forwards, losing less time, and the fish will not have such shelter, as the depth under a head will be. Besides this, you will find the fish will delight themselves in coming upon the shoals, and it may be, thrive better. But for this manner you must allow at least a rod of ground in length more than for the other.

These I intend for carps chiefly, though not absolutely; and if you find the tench and perch increase and prosper, you may make other lesser stews to accommodate them apart, if you please; and so you will have them at command, without disturbing the other fish; only observe this by the way, that perch will scarce live in stews and small waters, if the weather be hot, but will pine, grow lean and thin, if not die; therefore the stews are to be their winter-quarters; from whence you take them for the use of your table, but in summer translate them to the greater ponds.

These stews being designed at the same time you raise the pond-heads, will be done almost under the same charge, as is hinted elsewhere: and once made, you have the fish at a minute’s warning ready for the kettle, or any other use; which convenience is the great end of all the charge and pains, and without it, you are not a master of fish.

Of Moats.

These were made ordinarily for securing of dwelling houses, rather than for fish; and since wars have been less frequent, or rather, grown so much an art, that the ancient way of fortifying is not useful, are almost disused. For being laid so near the dwelling, as we observe commonly they are, for want of sun, and air to purge them, the water grows putrid and slimy, yielding no pleasant scent to the house; besides, when laid dry, as is necessary sometimes, the stench and filth of them are insupportable; and therefore many gentlemen have either slighted them wholly, or presented the form only, as a walk or low garden, planting the side-walls with fruit, but without water: and so is the moat at Althrop in Northamptonshire, a seat of the Earl of Sunderland’s, much of late beautified, put in order, and from a defect, turned to a great perfection.

But I am an advocate for moats, ordered as they might be, and do esteem them a very great accomplishment to a seat in many respects. 1. Though they are not a fortification for resistance in time of war, yet against pilferers and tumults, they are sufficient and better than any walls you shall make. 2. They shall nourish a world of fish, which, though not so well at command as in other waters, yet for angling, and the sporting part of net-fishing, are better than the others are, because nearer, and fished with smaller nets. 3. They are an ornament and delight to a seat beyond imagination, as will appear when I have shewed how I would have them made; and of that next.

They should encompass not only the house, but all the out houses, yards, orchards, and it may be a pightle or two, such as are neat for ordinary convenience of horses, or a cow or two: I say, all that is called the home-stall, should be environed by the moat. It should be no less than forty yards, or one hundred feet over, cut down with a slope on each side, as your pond-heads were, without walls; which are too great charge to keep in repair. And towards the pastures, you may make a mouth; if it runs the whole length of one side of your moat, it is the better, and fish will increase and thrive from it. Let there be but two avenues with bridges: And to prevent the charge of crossing so great a length with bridge-work, you may leave the earth on each side broad enough for carriages, but not to meet by ten or twelve feet, which may be covered by a bridge, and underneath, the water to communicate; so the pass shall be, as upon a causeway, with a draw-bridge; for so it may be made, if you please.

I know all situations and soils will not admit of this; for some are low and marshy, and so have naturally too much water; others are upon hanging ground, which for want of a level, cannot be moated in this manner; others are sandy, and will not hold water: But the happiest of all, is, such a situation as either hath springs, or will take a current, and discharge it again by a sluice or gates, so that the moat shall be perpetually fed with a fresh water, and may at any time be laid dry; therefore in these affairs there must be a previous judgment of the place, else undertakings will not succeed, and that is a great disgrace.

Now, such a moat as this hath all the convenience I spoke of, besides serves the house with water; which from the wind and the sun’s free access to it in a great body, will certainly preserve it sweet and wholesome. The sinks of the house will not foul it, as it doth in lesser quantities, even to kill the fish, as well as make the water unfit for use. The view of it is a delicacy the greatest epicures in gardening court, and we hear of it by the name of canal. Then the moving upon it in boats, either in calm weather, or with some wind that stirs the water, and gives a power of employing somewhat of sail, after a romantick way; and thus circling an house, taking the variety of walks and gardens here and there, visiting stables and offices, seeing the horses air upon the banks, &c. are pleasures not given to be understood by any but statesmen, laid aside for their honesty, who by experience are taught the variety of greatness, and have an understanding to distinguish the true felicities of life.

I know the objection of charge, which must be very great in such a work, as this; but I consider the great profusion of money that is allowed to transitory vanities; such as habits, treats, equipages, not to mention vices too well known; such as are tellers of money and depauperate families, leaving nothing but diseases to shew for them. If so much, or a much less proportion being disposed to employ mankind, the poor especially, in making holes, and filling them again, were much more commendable. What is it then to produce advantage to yourself and family, to improve your habitation and estate, preserve health and reputation?

But even the charge might be alleviated, if not in great part saved, by good management. For such gross works as this may be put out to undertakers, and you may compute by the solid foot or yard, what the charge will be; and the masters will see the men work, which you cannot do if you are master, and do all by the day. Then, every one delights to have raised walks and terraces about an house and garden; so that the earth being employed in such, and raising mounts in proper places, will produce a real equivalent for the charge: but this is a digression which here I conclude, and return to the affair of fish.

Then considering moats, as commonly they are, it is not expected that the fish should be much at command, because it is difficult, and perhaps not convenient to lay them dry. However, they should be kept full stocked, and will maintain a great many. This will mend your angling, and the fishing with nets will seldom be labour in vain, as certainly it will prove if under stocked. These waters will receive a great share of your fry and stores that are superfluous, and so preserve them.

If a moat come to be laid dry, as will be necessary sometimes to keep it from turning all to mud, after you have by a sluice or cut, drained the water as low as you can, make dams with boards and clay, and ram them to be water-tight; so you may toss the water out of one division to another, and take out the fish in good order; but if you dry all together, you will not be able to secure all; besides, having one division full of water, you can relieve the fry and eels by letting it upon them; which else, for want of a fresh to let in upon them, will be lost. So when one division is fished, that is relieved by tossing the water out of the next. And this course is not amiss, though you intend to throw out the mud; for the saving the fish while you are taking them out, quits the charge of making the stanks.

Of other auxiliary Waters.

You must have other waters besides stews, to assist in the disposition of the fish; for laying a pond in that great order dry, as I propose, once in every year, there will be a great quantity of fish to be disposed; so that you must have a sufficient quantity of waters to receive when you abound, and to recruit when you want. The stews will carry sixty, seventy, or eighty carps apiece, supposing you spend continually out of them; so other waters will receive their proportion, by sending this way and that the stock of fish, you will preserve all, and know where to find them again.

These bye-ponds will be dispersed about your estate, where perhaps your predecessors thought fit to make them, for the convenience of their pastures, or you may make them as you can best, with respect to charge and other advantages, observing always in a ground to take that part for your pond, to which the waters are most apt to settle. In some places, but very few, the waters stand best upon the hills, and the valleys, when sandy, will not hold well. The nature of the ground is to be regarded.

Some ponds of good depth, of about five or six rods square, should be assigned to maintain pikes, which, when great, ought to be kept by themselves; for in a few years they will devour other fish, and greatly surprise you in the destruction they will make. But I shall speak more of this when I come to the stocking of waters.

I do much approve of cleansing and carting out the mud of small standing waters once in seven or eight years, and so letting them lie dry one summer, if you can spare the water; which, from moats, and pasture-waters, can scarce be done, without great inconvenience. These matters exercise the invention of a good œconomist, who will endeavour to prevent damage, as well as save time, and turn even his pleasures to profit.

One thing I advertise here, which is, not to let carps continue in a small standing water above two summers and one winter; for so you run a much less hazard from frost, than otherwise you will do; besides, the fish will grow much more upon transplanting, than by continuing in the same water, and more in the great, than in the small waters: but of these things more afterwards.