Of the kinds of fishes with which a pond should be stocked, carp are, perhaps, generally speaking, the best. They breed rapidly, are very hardy, and grow very fast. Tench resemble carp in all these qualities, and both are quiet fish, which would live together without fighting or destroying each other. Perch, on the contrary, are said to be so ravenous that they will devour their own spawn, and that of other fishes. They breed freely and are quite hardy, but do not grow rapidly. Trout, when kept in ponds, are rather ravenous; but pike far exceed all other fish in this respect. A large pike will destroy nearly all the small weak fishes in a pond; and, indeed, he has been known to seize young ducks, and devour them. These and similar acts have obtained for the pike the name of the fresh-water shark. Amongst the other enemies to young fish are counted the little creatures called sticklebacks, which are so small, and apparently so insignificant, that no one would suppose it possible that they could prevent the stocking of a pond. They do so, however, by devouring the spawn, and thus preventing the number of fishes from increasing. When a pond is once stocked very little care is necessary; the principal thing which needs to be attended to being to break the ice in severe frosts to supply the fish with air, if the pond should not be deep enough to render this unnecessary. When fish appear to want feeding, earthworms, steeped grain, and ground malt, should be thrown into the water. Besides the regular fish-ponds, it is very convenient in the country to have small ponds or stews adjoining the kitchen-garden, or somewhere contiguous to the house, where fish can be kept and fed, and yet caught at any moment when they may be required. Carp and tench are the best fish for keeping in stews, as they are the quietest; but, as stews are so contrived that the different kinds of fish may be kept in them separate from each other, perch may be kept in one of the divisions, and fed with garbage or any refuse animal food from the kitchen, till they have attained a large size. Pike might be kept in another stew in the same manner, but a pike should never be put into a stew with any other fish. Every pond in a pleasure-ground should have some ornamental aquatic fowls upon it to make it look complete; as without some kind of living creature, the finest piece of water in the world would have a look of coldness and desolation.