B. LOGAN, , OHIO, SbhM ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY New York State Colleges of Agriculture and Home Economics at Cornell University Cornell University Library SH 167.C3L83 Practical carp culture 3 1924 003 225 491 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924003225491 THE LATE Pxo\essox S^aucei: 5. Bavcd,, United States Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, an unsalaried office, from 1871 to the date of his death, August 19, 1887. Hon. S. Feb, Fish Commissioner of Kansas. PRlOTIdfik (?!RP (?IMIR'E, - r a--9a«^& 1 - ^HE Chrystalization of ten years experience in the United States. Gathered from more tham 10,000 Successful Carp Culturists, in all parts of the country, and combined with the best teachings of the centuries of ex- perience in Europe. By L. B. LOGAN, YotnsrGSTowsr, Ohio. Price, in Paper Cover, - 65c. Price, in Cloth Cover, - - - - $1.00 CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Introduction of Carp Into the United States, and a Brief Re- view of Their History Prior to That Date. — Inland Fisheries. — 20,000 Acres of Ponds and Their Product.— Capt. Robinson's Importation. — Importation of J. A. Poppe.— Importation of the U. 8. Commission. — Gratuitous Distribution of Fry.— Sale of Fry 9-11 CHAPTER II. Description of the Carp.— The Varieties.— Gauckler, Hessel, Mulertt. — Scale Carp. — Mirror Carp. — Leather Carp. — Golden Carp. — Blue Carp. — Their Characteristics and Differences.--The Best Variety 12-16 CHAPTER III. The Economic, Philosohpic, Patriotic and Sanitary Reasons for Cakp Culture. — Water Farming. — "Water Resources — Drouths. — Over-Draining Land. — Freshets. — Husbanding the Waterfall. — Fish Har- vests. — Increased Value of Farms. — Fishing Fever. — Panacea. — Ice Har- vest 17-19 CHAPTER IV. Character, Location and Construction of Ponds. — Prime Fac- tor. — Favorable Conditions. — Ravines and Gulches. — Control of Water. — Sky Ponds. — Spring Ponds — Dams and Embankments. — Plan of Carp Pond. — Shallow and Deep Water. — Section of a Pond. — Artificial Ponds. — Draining Ponds. — The Monk. — Objections. — Flumes of Stone or Brick.-- Monk Improved. — Bottom Overflow and Drain.— Defects. — Remedies. — Screen Box. — Modified Bottom Overflow and Drain. — Placing the Flumes in the Dam. — Overflows, Freshets and Storms. — Bottom Draft Overflow. 20-31 CONTENT*. CHAPTER V. Classes of Carp Ponds and Their Purposes.— Live Fish Markets. — System atic Ponds. — The Hatching Pond. — Depth of Water. — Water Level. — PT ttnto F or. — Size of Pond. — Waves, Their Effect. — Selection of Spawners. — Number of Males to Females. — Feeding the Spawners. — Size of Fry in the Fall.— Removal of Fry.— Difference of Ponds in Different Latitudes.— Effec^oXjCeH.— The Stock Pond.— Its Depth.— When Stocked. — How Manyttrthe-rAcrC— Increase of 'Weight. — Marketable Size. — When to Sell. — Spawn in the 8tock and Market Ponds. — Pike in these Ponds. — Proportionate Size of Market, Stock and Hatching Pond. — Sale Pond. — - — Winter Pond. — Market Pond. — Stock Pond. — Hatching Pond. — Mixed Carp Culture. — Spawning Bed. — One Variety. — Objections. — Removal of Eggs.— Use of Boughs 32-40 CHAPTER VI. Taking the Fish From the Ponds.— Implements for Handling Them. — The Shipment of Young Fry. — Drawing the water. — Remedy- ing a Panic— When to Begin Taking Out.— Weights and Records. — General . Purpose Seine.— Bag Net. — Sinker Net.— Canvas Stretcher. — Taking Carp Alive to Market. — How to Make the Boxes. — Importance of Selling Aliye. — Educate the People to It. — Shipping Carp. — Cans. — Their Size. — Treat- ment Before Shipment. — Best Temperature. — Proportion of Water and Fish. — Working Express Companies and Agents. — Wooden Jacket Cans. — Cans With Flaring Sides. — How to Fill. — Shipping Season. — Spring and Well Water 41-47 CHAPTER VII. Enemies of the Carp. — How to Destroy Them. — Carp Are Canni- bals.— Domestic Fowls.— Water Snakes, Etc.— Shot Gun Policy.— Craw- fish Traps.— Protecting Dams.— Muskrats.— Protection of Dams.— Traps. — Brimstone and Salt Petre.— Mink.— Turtles.— Birds.— Other Fish.— Black Headed Minnow. Insects, Larvre and Bugs.— The Water Asell.— The Water Flea.— The Snail.— The Boat Fly. Its Destrucliveness— Yellow Banded Water Beetle.— Its Larva.— The Black Water Beetle.— Its Cocoon. —Its Grub.— How to Destroy Them.— The Dragon Flies.— Libellula, Aeshma, Agrion.— Their Copulation.— Mode of Depositing Their Eggs. — Their Grubs.— Their Destructiveness.— Their Enemies.— An Interesting Enemy.— Piscivorous Plants.— A Fish Eating Plant.— How to Get Rid of the Enemies.— Erratum. 48-66 CONTENTS. •» CHAPTER VIII. The Diseases of the Carp and Allied Difficulties in Pond Culture.— Indications of Disease.— Fungus Growth.— Remedies.— Polyp Asphyxia.— Dropsy.— Injuries.— Hospital.— Pond Difficulties in Sum- mer.— Lack of Water Supply.— Lack of Oxygen.— Heat.— What to Do — Absorption and Evaporation.— Winter Difficulties.— Depth of Water.— Poisonous Gasses.— Holes in the Ice.— The Help of Age.— Cornstalks or Rye Straw.— Fallacy of Bank Chimneys 67-71 CHAPTER IX. The Artificial Feeding of Carp.— Natural Food.— Not Vegetarians. —A Floating Island. — Digestive Organs of Plant and Flesh Eating Ani- mals. — Natural Food of Carp. — Nutritious Matter. Albumenoids.— Car- bohydrates. — Their Uses in the Body. — The Nicklas Rule. — Difficulty of Ex- ecution. — Material at hand. — Desideratum. — Combination of Food.— First. — Second. — Third. — Preservation of Food. — Fourth, — Food for Young Fry. — Increasing the Home Supply. — Production of Natural Food. — Cheap Food. — Waste of Slaughter Houses, Breweries, Distilleries, Starch Fac- tories. — Suspending Flesh Over the Water. — Whole Wheat. — Bread of Coarse Shorts. — Blood as a Moistener. — Platform Feeding.— Calling the Fish to Meals. — Do They Hear ? 72-77 CHAPTER X. On the Hearing of Fish. — The Controversy.— Methods of Working the Problem. — The Organs Indicate the Faculty.— Rank Estimated by Structure. — The Human Ear. — Sound Waves. — The Drum Head. — The Eustachian Tube. — Movement of the Membrane.— The Labrynth or Inner Ear. — Nerve Motion. — Ear Stones. — Rudimentary Ear. — Ear of the Fish. — The Ear Bones. — Auditory Nerve. — Vestibule. — The Three Semicircular Canals. — The Bulbs. — The Fish Ear a True Ear. — Head Bones a Medium. — Fitted for the Water Not the Air. — Not Applicable to All Fishes.— Pecu- liarities of the Carp Ear. — The Air Bladder. — Illustrated. 78-87 CHAPTER XI. Water Plants for Carp Ponds.— Remedial Agents— Beautiful and Essential Accessories. — Gravel arid Stone Bottoms. — Measure of Life. — The Ornamental and the Useful. — Crowfoot Family. — Water Lilly Fam- ily. — Water Milfoil Family. — Evening Primrose Family. — Parsley Fam- ily. — Primrose Family. — Buckwheat Family. — Hornwort Family. — Arum Family. — Duckweed Family. — Cat-tail Family. — Pond-weed Family. — Water-Plantain Family. — Frog's-bit Family. — Iris Family. — Rush Fam- ily. — Sedge Family. — Grass Family. — Cryptogamia 88-90 4 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XII. Fish as Food.— Fish Flesh Compared with Animal Flesh.— The Needs of the Stomach. — Analysis of Beef" and Fish Tea.— Mixed Diet. — Fish Pie.— Chowder. — Improved Health— St. Paul's Idea. — The Carp as a Food Fish.— Compared with Our Best Native Fishes. — Not Fit for Food in the Spawning Season. — Proper Weight for the Table. — Preparation for the Cook.— Cooked Like Other Fish 91-94 CHAPTER XIII. Pot Pouri. — Untouched Viands. — German Carp. — Hybridization. — How to Distinguish the Sex of Carp. — The Milter. — The Spawner. — Spawning. — Effect of Change of Temperature. — How to Tell When They Are Spawning. — Size and Character of Eggs. — Time to Hatch. — How to Catch Carp. — A Gamey Fish.— Bait to Use.— Difficult to Seine. — Feeding Time.— Concussion.— Its Effect.— What to Avoid.— Cutting Ice no Injury. —Waves on Ponds.— Protection Against Them 95-99 MISCELLANEOUS APPENDIX. Increase of Carp.— Prices. — Hardihood, Etc.— From Letters of J. W. Long, J. C. Alexander, Ira H. Ewart, W. A. Day, B. F. Biggs, E. C. Wells, J. W. Thorp, L. C. Ezell, E. L. Valentine, L. J. Blankenship, J. J. Thomas, R. E. Parcher, Joseph Brunot 103-106 Sale of Carp for Table Use.— From Letters of V. Stillabower,W . Bunker, W. B. Lee 106-107 Catching Carp. — From Letters of E. B. Brouster, Cbas. F. Johnson, James Gay, Peter James 107-108 Carp in Mineral, Sulphur and Salt Water. — From Letters of Jacob Gierisch, C. M. Clay, A. Combs 108-109 Great Vitality of Carp.— From Letters of R. T. W. Duke, V. Stillabower, Bull. U. S. Fish Com., E. S. Jenks 109-111 Do Not Hibernate. — Catching Carp Through the Ice. — From Letters of C. C. Loser, Jac Knopp, S. W. Colten, W. A. Pursel 111-112 Growth of Carp. — From Letters of Elias Cattrill, J. C. Murdock, S. D. Comfort, W. A.Day.C. C.Stanfleld, S. E. Williamson, A. J. Dennis, E. H. Lemen, D. M. Darby, J. V. Hoakison, R. H. Hudson, D. N. Kern, Bull. U. S. Fish Com 112-116 contents^ 5 Season of Spawninng.— Temperature of Water and Length of Time Required for Eggs to Hatch in Different Temperatures, Etc. — From Letters of W. H. Westhafer, J. H. Bournes, Jas. T. Hawkins, E. P. Underwood, D. N. Kern, B. F.Carroll, W. C. Rose, John W.White, Jas. W. Waldo, L. J. Blankenship, C. G. Bestle, John Goodwine, Jr. .116-120 Some General Phases of Carp Cui/ture.— A Fine Table Fish.— J. J. Strannahan. — One Way of Cooking Carp. — Turning Out the Hogs to Make Room for Carp. — Water Supplied by Wind Mill. — Bottom Puddled by Hogs. — Carp Are Cannibals.— An Easy Way to Multiply Ponds. — Fish Kept in the Cellar. — Native Fish Delay Success.— 50,000 Carp Sold in 15 Days. — Trap and Automatic Feeder. — Keeping an Open Space in a Pond in Winter. — Notes From a Carp Diary 120-129 Advertisements 130-136 EHHATA. Page 31, under illustration should have been the name, "Anti-choke Overflow." Page 77, fourth line from top, c-o-u-r-s-e should have been e-o-a-r-s-e. Page 109, letter should have been signed C. M. Clay. Page 111, letter should have been signed E. S. Jenks. ILLUSTRATIONS. The late Prof. Spencer F. Baird, United States Fish Com'r. . Fronteapiece The Hon. S. Fee, Fish Com'r of Kansas Frontespiece The Scale Carp 14 The Mirror Carp 15 The Leather Carp 16 Plan of Carp Ponds 23 Longitudinal Section of Pond 24 A German Monk ; 25 The Monk with Clamps ; 27 Bottom Overflow and Drain 28 gliding Center Board 29 Anti-Choke Overflow 31 Carp Pond with Spawning Annex 39 Bag Net :, '. ,... 42 Sinker Net ' 42 Canvas Stretcher for Handling Carp 43 Wooden Jacket Shipping Can. . 45 |iluskrat Trap 50 The Water Flea 54-66 The Water Asel 54-66 The Boat Fly 55 Larva of Dragon Fly 55 The Yellow Banded Water Beetle 55 The Larva of Same - 55 The Black Water Beetle 56 The Dragon Fly ". 57 Fish Eating Plant, Utricularia Vulgaris (Bladderwort) 60 Its Mode of Capturing Fish '. 62 Hind View of the Head of Carp— A ' 82 Left Ear, Seen From Outside— B 82 Otolith of Right Ear, Seen From Outside— C ' 82 Middle Ear of Man Viewed From the Front— G 83 Air Bladder of Carp with Second and Third Vertebrae— D 83 Inner Left Ear of Man Seen From Outside — E 83 Section of the Same— F 83 Sweet Scented Water Lilly 100 INTRODUCTORY. In the infancy of any industry, there is always much mis-direction of thought, effort and means. This is necessarily so, for those who teach must think, and the best of thought grows only on the tree of experience, and to gain experience requires time to grow the tree. Systems do not develop in a single season, and infallibility among systems is as rare as it is among men. In all methods judgment must be exercised as to time, place and circumstances, and upon this judgment must depend individual success or failure. American carp culturists owe much to the pioneers of public thought on this question, through the courtesy of the public prints. This debt of gratitude is greatest to those whose thought took the form of pamphlets and books, in which list I am glad to include my warm personal friends, Hugo Mulertt, of Cincinnati, O., Hon. I. B. W. Steedman, of St. Louis, Mo., George Finley, of Pittsburg, Pa., and Valentine Stillabower, of Edin- burg, Indiana. The United States Fish Commission, under whose aus- pices carp were introduced into this country, has through the Bulletin of the Commission, under the direction of C. W. Smiley, of "Washington, D. C, contributed largely to the correct literature on the subject. Could this printed matter have reached the hands of the numbers now engaged in carp culture, it would probably have been sufficient. But with the rapid growth of interest in carp culture, and the constantly multiplying ponds and owners thereof, added to the fact that the editions of all these other works but one are exhausted, there has arisen a demand for a work that is abreast of the growing industry. This demand joined with the Syren voices of friends who were acquainted with the valuable sources from which I have been drawing information during the past five years, has lured me on to the publication of this work. In addition to the writings of those persons already named, cheerful recognition is given to the aid derived from the writings of Hessel, Horak and Nicklas. Where the exact language of any other writer is used, due credit is given. But where their thoughts are interwoven each with the 8 other or all with our own thought, justice demanded that we bear the responsibility. Mrs. Logan who has held my hobby during the weeks of my labor on this book has just returned it to me, saying, put it in the introductory. You owe her much, I owe her more. Together we stand, she and I, and launch our book on the carp ponds of America. May the pennies it costs you return to you in hundreds of dollars saved, and made by and through its instruction. THE AUTHOR. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION OF CABP INTO THE UNITED STATES, AND A BBIEF BEVIEW OF THEIR HISTORY PRIOR TO THAT DATE. Carp, are here, and here to stay. Whence and how they came are matters only interesting as a part of their history, which is classical and ancient. In the earlier days of their culture in America, this history was of much more importance than it is now. Then, jt gave them a prestige that commended them to our good-will ; now, from, more than a quarter of a million of carp ponds in this country, they bring their own unim- peachable credentials. They have made for themselves, in the United States, a record even more satisfactory than that which is registered of them in Germany, and this latter excels all their other European history. Were this work intended for those, only, who now have carp, and who are more or less familiar with what has been published on the subject, it would matter little whether, or not, anything was said on the part of ' the carp; but in educating those persons uninformed on the subject, history becomes fundamental. There is no authentic account of the introduction of carp into Europe. It is only certain that it occurred many centuries ago, and that the stock was brought from Central Asia or Persia. In Bohemia, Austria and Southern, Central and Northern Germany they have long been domesticated, and are plentiful in the large rivers of Europe, from which many of fabulous size, as reported, have been taken. They are mentioned by Aristotle 350 years before Christ, and by Pliny 50 years after Christ. The largest inland fisheries of Europe are the carp fisheries, simply because the carp, of all fish, is the most excellent pond fish known to the world. Of all Europe, Austria is credited with the earliest efforts at the production of carp, and has the renown of the largest artificial ponds on the globe. Here the culture of carp is traced back to the year 1227. In England their culture is traced to the year 1500, in France to the year 1525, and in Denmark to the year 1660. The character of the ponds established in Europe will be best appreci- ated when it is understood that ponds built at Bohemia, in Austria, in the latter part of the fourteenth century, are not only still in existence, but, their banks improved with the solidification and vegetation of the cen- turies, they are to-day the admiration of all comers. The ponds of the - Princes of Schwarzenburg, altogether, cover an area of at least 20,000 acres of ground. This would be one fifth larger than an ordinary town- ship in the United States. All of these ponds can be drained at the pleasure of their owners, and are beyond doubt the most extensive of : the kind in the world. Their product amounts to about 500,000 pounds of carp a year. Other very large ponds exist in the Provinces of Silesia and 10 PBACTICAL CAKP CULTURE. Bradenburg, while hundreds of ponds covering a few acres each, are scat-' tered over the entire country, and one, at least, is found on nearly every large farm. The carp produced in these ponds form the chief fish diet of the people. They are taken alive to market, are assorted according to weight and kept alive in tanks, those of about the same weight being kept in the same tank. They are sold alive; then, if th« purchaser desires it, the marketman kills and dresses the fish to his order. . At fairs and public gatherings, carp are sold alive, killed and cooked to order and eaten then and there by the purchasers— a luxury with which the American railroad and fair sandwich cannot compare. • This outline gives the carp a classical and au historical standing that must command for it great respect. The history of the introduction of carp into the United States has never yet been, so far as*we have seen, collectively and succinctly placed 'before the people; nor is it the purpose here to occupy space with details. The earliest importation was made by Captain Henry Robinson. About the year 1830 he brought carp from Holland and placed them in his ponds at Newburg, New York. From these ponds they escaped into the Hudson river, destroying every chance of practical results from his effort. In 1872, Mr. J. A. Poppe, of Sonoma, California, made a trip to Europe, and returning to the United States from Germany, as a matter of private enterprise and speculation, brought carp home with him. He made special arrangements, and every provision for their safe and success- ful transportation, traveled with them and gave them his personal atten- tion, and yet lost nearly all of them. He started with 83 carp, of all sizes, from three feet long to the size of a steel pen, and, notwithstanding his great care, but five of them arrived alive at his ponds in California. The largest died first, and the very smallest only survived. On the 5th day of August, 1872, these five tiny carp were, with much solemnity and many misgivings, planted in his pond. In the following May, the original five measured 16 inches each, and there were about three thousand of their progeny. From these, California and the adjacent states and territories received their first stock of carp. Though it looked like a speculative funeral on the day that Mr. Poppe planted his five fingerling carp, yet it was the birth of a bonanza of which the farmers of this country are now reaping the benefit. It paid Mr. Poppe handsomely, and demonstrated that carp could be successfully imported to and would thrive in America. The success of this venture probably had its effect on the national fish commission, and contributed to the formation of their purpose to bring oarp to this country. ; tub commission's importation. Mr. Rudolph Hessel, a German of much experience in carp culture,, and now in charge of the Government ponds at Washington, D. C, was employed by the national fish commission to bring the carp to this country and to oare for them when here. He arrived from. Bremen with PKACTICAL CARP CULTURE. 11 345 carp of different varieties and sizes, namely, 227 mirror and leather carp and 118 scale carp. On the 2'Jfch day of May, 1877, these were planted in the Druid Hill Park ponds at Baltimore, Md., and remained there while the ponds at Washington were being prepared for them. They did not do well the first season, and the distribution of young fry did not begin until the fall of 1879. Then-6,203 were sent out to 273 applicants from 24 States. In 1880, 31,413 were distributed to 1,374 applicants from 34 States and Terri- tories. In 1881, 113,605 were distributed in lots of 15 to 20 to each appli- cant. By this time many of the fish commissions of the different States and Territories that were supplied early by the national commission, had young carp of their own raising and begun to distribute them. Prominent among the States early and largely distributing young carp may be named Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Texas, South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Iowa; New York, Pennsylvania and other States and Territories falling quickly into line. Each year since then the commissions of the several States and Territories, as well as the national commission, have had a constantly increasing number of fish to dispose of, and the appli- cants for them have been without number. It is very safe to estimate that these several commissions have supplied not less than 500,000 different persons with carp. Many persons applied and were supplied more than once. The second season after the first distribution by the national com- mission many enterprising citizens had young carp to sell, and with Yankee ingenuity and energy, pushed their interests, sold all they had at from $5.00 to $10.00 a hundred and had orders booked for the next hatch. The number of those persons having young carp to sell increased many fold each year, until now they are very numerous. Add to those supplied by the Government, those who supplied themselves by purchase, and the whole number will not fall short of 1,000,000 persons that have tried carp raising. Some failed in the first year's experience and some have failed since, but the number of failures is constantly decreasing, while the num- ber of successes is as constantly increasing. This is brought about by the lessons of experience bought dearly, or obtained cheaply from others. It is quite certain that as great a per centum of the wh»le number have succeeded in the growing of carp as would have succeeded in the raising of poultry. The account of their success, the method of attaining it, the table qualities of the fish, etc., must form the subjects of other chapters. Suffice it to say that there is nota State or Territory in the Union without its carp ponds; that many of our rivers and streams have carp in them, that have escaped from ponds through freshets, overflows, broken dams, etc., while in an occasional emergency they have been dumped in the streams by the Government's agents, to save them from loss, while some streams in Missouri have been stocked with them by the commission. Carp weigh- ing from 8 to 12 pounds have been taken from the Ohio, the Illinois, the Missuuri and other rivers. Many of these catches have been eaten, by epicures,- and their flesh pronounced excellent. CHAPTER II. DESCRIPTION OF THE OABP.— THE VARIETIES. Among the many descriptions of the carp family, we consider the following the best, and fully sufficient for their general identification. Gauckler, a German authority, says: "The carp is high on the back, compressed laterally and covered with scales. The back is more or less arched. The head is pyramidal, the mouth is very small, having two pairs of barbels, of which one pair is attached to the upper lip, and the others, which are longer, are at the corners of the mouth. The general color of the carp is golden brown, rather bright in the case of those which live in running water, and darker with those which have lived always in ponds. Often blueish reflections manifest themselves in the dorsal region, and an orange tint colors its sides. The belly is a yellowish white." Dr. Rudolph Hessel, Superintendent of the Department of Carp Culture in the United States Fish Commission, at Washington, District of Columbia, says : "The carp Cyprinus Carpio of the family Cyprinidse, has a toothless mouth, thick lips, and four barbels on the upper jaw. In place of the usual teeth of the mouth, there are a number of stout teeth on the pharyngeal bones, which are arranged in three rows! It has one single dorsal which is longer than the anal. Both of these fins have at their origin, on the anterior edge, a strong ray which is serrated in a downward direction. The caudal is a semi-circular shape, and the ^natatory bladder is divided into two sections with connecting air passages. The scales have an entire edge, and the body is compressed on the sides. The general color of the back and sides is a dark olive brown, the abdo- men often of a whitish or orange tint. The coloring depends, as with all fishes, partly upon the age and season, partly upon the water." Hugo Mulertt, of Cincinnati, O., writing for American Carp Cul- ture, says: The Scale or Noble Carp. Oyprinus carpio, Edelkarpfen, Le Carpe. The body is stout and elongated, sides compressed, head naked, small and supplied with well developed lips, the upper of which carries two pairs of barbels, one larger than the other. The mouth is toothless, though the fish is provided with masticating organs which are situated far back in the throat. The color of the fish is generally dark olive brown on the back and sides, though it will vary, according to circumstances; the abdomen may be either yellowish, white or orange tinted. The entire body is covered with silver}/ scales of a uniform size. The dorsal fin is situated on the middle of the back, extending nearly to the tail and consists of three spinous, the third one of which is serrated, and fifteen to eighteen soft rays. These characteristics as far as the small PBACTIOAl. CARP ODLTTTRE. IS naked head, the barbels, and the dorsal fin are concerned, are leading lor all the varieties. The Mirror or Kino Cabp'. C. rex cyprinorum, Spiegelkarpfen, Carpe a cuir. This variety has a higher body than the preceding and is but partly covered with scales, which are of different size and shape, some of them three or four times the size of the scales on the noble carp. This variation has given rise to the false impression, that carp shed their scales, the fact apparently seeming to prove the idea. The color of the scales ia deep black in the center, and edged with silvery white, giving each scale the appearance of a miniature mirror, hence the name. The skin, where it is not protected with scales, is of a creamy yellow on the back inclining to olive brown, and yellowish on the belly. The Naked or Leather Carp. C. nudus, Lederkarpfen. As the name indicates, this variety is very nearly or entirely naked, its skin as soft as that of a catfish. Its shape is the same as the mirror carp, differing only in color, which is brownish gray and the belly white. The Golden Carp. C. aureus, Ooldkarpfen, Carp d'or. This variety is very popular in France and cultivated to a considerable extent. It must not be confounded with our common gold fish, as it is no wise identical^ Its flesh is salmon colored, (that of other varieties being white) and of aa exceedingly fine flavor, which together with the rich golden color of its scales is due to the locality and the food upon which it subsists. In all other respects, this variety resembles the noble carp, as does The Blue Carp. C. eoeruleus, Blauerkarpfen, Carpe bleu, which is highly esteemed, especially bo in and around the city of Leipzic, Saxony. When cooked it still retains the blue color of its scales, though this is ingeniously imitated by placing some other variety in vinegar for a while, the scales thus turning blue. In such cases the fish is known as " Karp- fen blau" instead of u Blauer Karpfen," the name of the genuine fish. The large pond situated in the city park of Leipzic, in the rear of the opera house, and known as the "Swan Pond" (Schwanen Teich), is stocked exclusively with blue carp. To these descriptions we wish to add that the mouth is of moderate size and is formed for bottom feeding, with the upper jaw covering the lower one. That the lateral line is continuous ; that the dorsal fin is very long, and the anal fin is very short, the body as a whole resembling that of the buffalo fish. The varieties of carp are no doubt the result of domestication, cultiva- tion and hybredization. Whether the original stock introduced from the fresh waters of Central Asia were of the mirror, leather or scale variety, or all of these varieties, is not known. These are now the three principal 14 PRACTICAL CAEP CTTLTOKE. varieties where ever the carp are cultivated, and as this is to be a practical book it is with these only that we will deal. In the scale variety the entire body is clad with scales, which are about the same size as the scales of our ordinary native fish. It is considered by many to be the best of the varieties. It is slimmer, longer and more graceful than either of the other varieties, and very much more prolific; while it is generally conceded that it does not grow as fast as either of the other varieties, yet it certainly grows fast enough to satisfy most people. Hon. I. B. W. Steedman, in 1884, then Chairman of the Missouri Fish Commission, in his work on carp culture in that State, says that the scale carp in the State^ponds at St. Louis reached a weight of eight pounds in two years. Those who want more growth than that will be hard to satisfy. ■-Ifl uLertt.Del-.- The second year after the distribution of carp by the Government, some individuals, who were breeding carp for stocking purposes,, were so unfortunate as to have gold fish in the pond with their scale carp, and as the gold fish is of the carp family, a hybridization took place, producing an inferior progeny, which were placed on the market and sold. This misfortune gave other individuals, with an egotistical turn of mind, an opportunity to grind their axes, which they forthwith proceeded to do, at the cost of the scale variety of carp. They did hot have the courage to attack the individuals and hold them responsible for their misdeeds, but assailed the fish, on the principle that the case would then be all their own as the fish could not answer back. Their purpose was to exterminate the scale carp, destroy the business of those who had, pure-blooded carp, and boom an accident of their own — a so-called scaleless carp, which, like hairless dogs and wooden legs, will not produce their like. How far short of the mark they have fallen is demonstrated by the constant favor given to this variety, as much certainly as to either of the others in every State and Territory of the Union. Rudolph Hessel supposes the scale carp to PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. 15 be the original species improved. We give this variety this much atten- tion, not because of its superiority to the other varieties, but to help right an attempted injustice. The mirror carp, as the cut shows, is but partly covered with scales, which are sheeny and bright and beautiful, reflecting the light in gorgeous tints and colors, and from this peculiarity of the scales it obtained its fan- ciful and thoroughly descriptive name. These scales are irregular both in size and shape, and are scattered along the back and the sides of the belly from gills to tail, and along either side on the lateral line from gills to tail is a broken row of irregular sized scales, while about the gills and tail a few scales are also scattered. The rest of the body is naked of scales. The row of irregular scales on the lateral line from gills to tail is the practical matter of difference between the mirror and the leather variety. The difference in appearance between the mirror and leather carp, aa before observed, is in the absence of rows of the scales on the lateral line on the sides, otherwise they are much the same in form, in shape and in covering. The scales on the leather carp frequently vary in number and in location, like the spots on a pig, they may be found anywhere on the body. Sometimes more of them, and sometimes less of them; some- times in one place, sometimes in an other, but usually along the back and about the tail and fins. These last two varieties, the mirror and leather carp, grow more rapidly, but do not multiply so fast as the scale variety ; but none the less are probably more plentiful and numerous than the scale variety. The cause of this lies in two facts : First, because of the greater number of these imported by the U. 8. Commission. The natural consequence being that the Fish Commissions of the several States sent out more of these IB PRACTICAL OARP CULTURE. varieties than of the scale variety. Second, because even the scale variety in its progeny tends toward the leather and mirror varieties, and adds largely to their ranks. It is also true that the mirror and leather varieties in their progeny frequently contribute to the scale-clad tribe, but not in as great proportion as the scale variety contributes to them. The cuts used here were made expressly for use in this work, by Hugo Mulertt, of Cincinnati, O., who made the drawings from live carp raised in Ohio, and persons at all familiar with carp will recognize how perfectly true they are to life. The question most frequently asked by persons about to stock a pond is "which variety is best?" This is a question that no culturist in this country, unless governed by prejudice or a selfish motive, is prepared to decide. No German authority that we know of has ever attempted to decide it. The varieties stand out like the favorite breeds of poultry. Men are partial to old friends (the kind they have) because unfamiliar with the varieties of those he knows only by reputation. We have thousands of letters coming from every State and Territory in the Union, from honest men, and true, and men of fine discernment, and each is perfectly satisfied with that variety which he produces, and has no criticism for the varieties that others produce. Our own conviction is, that all pure- blooded varieties are excellent, and that even with the eye of your judg- ment closed, you can not make a mistake in your selection. The golden carp and -blue carp are two varieties but little known in this country. We are not aware that any golden carp were ever brought to America. The United States Fish Commission did, however, in January, 1883, import some blue carp, only four, however, were alive on the 9th of February of the sstme year, and they were badly diseased ; hearing noth- ing further of them, it is quite probable that they died. OHAPTEB III. THE ECONOMIC, PHILOSOPHIC, PATRIOTIC AND SANITARY REASONS FOB CARP CULTURE. i For years our American farmers in the pursuit of systematic economic farming have vied with each other in applying labor, experience, intelli- gence and capital to make their lands most productive with the least out- lay. Their attractive homes and the comforts that surround them bespeak their successful efforts. Still there is a branch of economic and success- ful farming to which they have not applied themselves. One which is of more importance in its relation to the value of farms and the other branches of agriculture than appears possible on a superficial view. And .this branch is • "WATER FARMING." There are not many farms without either sheets of water, natural ponds or pond sites, of which we will treat in due time. Money has been spent freely in ditching, tiling and underdraining to make such spots blos- som as the rose. Where these efforts have succeeded, unaccompanied by ague and malaria, the ground has been dearly purchased, the remainder of the farm has been injured and the beauty of the landscape has been marred. The' cost of ditching, tiling, underdraining and redeeming will be a big price for the land. The farm has been injured by being robbed of its water reservoir, and the face of the landscape has a black eye instead of the. silver sheen of water. How much better to mold the swail, morass, or bog into a thing of beauty, give it banks and limits, if so it will con- tribute equally well to our revenues while adding greatly to our comforts and pleasures. The water resources of every farm should be taken under as complete and perfect control as it is possible to get them, aside from the purpose of water farming. The following editorial article, taken from the October number of the National Journal of Carp Culture, 1887, covers the thought we wish to present : "The present long, continued and very widespread drouth, accounts of which have come to us from several States relating the exhausted con- dition of small streams, springs, ponds, and even wells that never went dry before and that now are as dry as the middle of the highway, has at length reached Ohio, Beginning in the southwestern part of the State and traveling north and east drying up ponds and streams and exhausting wells until in many places water for household purposes is being hauled several miles. Those who had ponds, whether natural or artificial, 18 PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. whether used for fish culture or not', have realized what a blessing an extra supply of water is and how well even unfarmed water pays for the space it occupies. . The attention of agriculturalists and agricultural jour- nals in this country has been so long directed to the cutting of water courses, the underdraining of land, and the precipitating of the rainfall into the streams and rivers that they have finally succeeded in overdoing what they set out to accomplish, until, as our friend, Hugo Mulertt, in accounting for the great floods in the Ohio river that did-so much damage at Cincinnati and other points within the past three years, describes the rainfall as being received in tile drains, rushed into the valleys or depres- sions of the earth, then off through larger sewers or open water courses to the creeks and streams and thus to the river almost within the hour that it fell, robbing the soil, flooding the river lands, carrying destruction on its breast, and leaving a drouth and its dread consequence to follow in its wake. We do not underestimate the value and advantage of a proper system of underdrainage. But we would place our agricultural friends upon their guard against rushing the rainfalls beyond their reach in time- of need. Husband the waterfalls in ponds, making them as deep as the ■character of the land will permit. One-third of the area covered by the water should be from two to eight feet deep, the remainder of the area - spreading out to a few inches at the margin. Then with a good* well and a windmill supply your cattle trough and with an overflow conduct the waste water to your pond. Your well will be the better for the drain upon it and your pond will just about maintain its level during ordinary sea- sons, and its full body of water will be preserved as a resource against time of drouth. Farm this body of water by cultivating fish in it and you will have the regular harvest of fish besides the harvest of water in the time of drouth. If you have ponds that have dried out make them deeper and turn the water of your well into them. If you have no ponds build them at once and your labors and expenditures will be a continual source of joy and profit to you." In the waters planted with carp, the fish harvest comes twice a year. When the birds begin their sougs and all nature arouses from the leth- argy of winter ; when the barns and cellars are well nigh empty, and the exchequer running low, the two atd three-year-old carp become a source of revenue. Again in the fall when the freshets of spring, the drouths of summer, the north winds, and the sun's scorching rays have made their impression felt on the resources of the farm, and the farmer is depressed with care, and weighed down with anxieties ; the carp, unaffected by these extremes, will come to the rescue and balance the accounts. Then, whilst the farmer, with a vast amount of care and tireless effort, pro- vides six, and even seven months food for the warm-blood animals, and doles it out to them day by day ; the carp, very accommodatingly, fasts, and yet comes out in spring ready for the market. We feel justified then, in claiming for the carp a very high position among the best of domestic animals. We believe that with general water farming, in this country, the utilization of springs and husbanding of rainfalls in ponds and reservoirs, PRACTICAL CAEP CULTURE. 19 that the rainfall will be more evenly distributed; that the evaporation from the ponds in the heated season will moisten and purify the air, destroy disease germs and contribute to better health; that the .immense and devastating freshets of our great rivers will be things of the past; that the nearness of water and the evaporations from it will affect beneficially all crops, and that our farmers in their provisions against drouth, like vacci- nation for smallpox, if overtaken by drouth, will suffer less from it. A good pond of water, under proper control, adds to the beauty and commercial value of any farm, in other ways than those already men- tioned. No article of diet is more healthful than that of fish, with a pond well stocked with fish on a farm, it is no trick to have fish any day, and every day for that matter at any of the meals of the day. A luxury provided by Providence in exchange for salt pork which is the staple meat of the -farmer ; not of choice but from necessity ; fresh meat not being available, and if available, greatly adding to the cost of living. A fish pond adds to the home attractions of the farm and makes it a pleasanter place for the sons and daughters of the home, a place to bathe, to boat, to skate, and above all, a place to fish. Where is the boy or man that does not like to angle for the finny tribe? If you have him, send him to Barnum, he has a place among his world's curiosities for all such. How many farmers hitch up their teams and take their families, or their boys and drive half the night to reach a fishing ground by daylight, then labor all day, rain or shine, and come home in the middle of the next night with a string of small suckers, or other valueless fish; the team is used , up, the whole party is exhausted and can't half work for the next three days. Disgust prevails for the time and a general swearing off follows; but Lord bless you it's only until the next fishing fever is on. Like all other fevers to which the human family is subject, it has it periodicity of attack, and is recurring as the ebb and flow of the tide. The panacea for all these ills is the carp pond on the farm. You know where the fishing ground is ; you have not to hunt for it, and when found, ascertain that others have been there before you and taken all that were worthy of capture. The ice harvest of many ponds will pay better than any crop that could be grown on the ground occupied by the pond. This is in localities where the ice can be disposed of ;■ where it cannot be disposed of, if har- vested and used in the dairy department of the farm it will pay a good dividend, and in the heated season it is always a luxury in the house. Other reasons might be assigned, but these are sufficient to demon- strate the importance of water farming, and the pleasure and profit to be derived from it. CHAPTER IV. CHARACTER, LOCATION AND CONSTRUCTION OF PONDS. In the construction of ponds water is the prime factor, because neces- sarily the first consideration of the builder. The water supply determined upon, the soil, its water-holding and vegetation-producing capacity, the size and location of the pond or ponds to be constructed, must next be considered. These are the forethoughts of pond making; the after thoughts are plentiful enough, as every pond builder knows. If the conditions of soil and water are favorable the labor is greatly simplified. If unfavorable then skill and patience and perseverance will be required to overcome the unfavorable conditions. But these latter are matter of special thought, and since no general provision would apply to them, they must simply be laid aside until each condition and situation is known and can be studied and provided for by itself. In a dry time it looks a simple thing to build a dam across a dry stream, or at the open end of a gulch or ravine, and so form a pond. If the gulch, ravine or stream is of any length, or drains any considerable territory of the rainfalls, an ordinary dam and overflow will be of no con- sequence. We know of some beautiful ponds constructed in just such places. It requires skill, money and labor. A very correct idea of the dam necessary in such a location will be obtained by viewing some of the mill dams built in rivers and streams. The requirements are excavations on sides and bottom down to a firm, waterproof base, then heavy, sub. stantial, symmetrical structures from base to summit. The latter being level from side to side the entire length of the dam, spreading the over- flowing water into as thin a sheet as possible. The carp pond dam on other and smaller streams should differ from the mill dam in being wider on the top, and a few inches above the desired water level a six-inch stratum of coarse gravel, extending from side to side and end to end of the dam, should be placed. This will act as a strainer for any ordinary freshet, and prevent the escape of the fish. The advantage of such a pond is that more otherwise useless and unsightly ground can generally be cov- ered, frequently to the extent of making a pleasure resort and a place for picnicing and boating. For general pond purposes, the water, both in supply and escape should be under the more perfect control of the culturist than is possible in> the ponds mentioned. The way to secure such control is to dam the gulch or stream higher up in its course, and from the backwater, by means of open ditches or pipes, conduct the water in just the quantities wanted to the ponds, which may then be located at your pleasure on either side PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. 21 the bed of the water course, and beyond the reach of its overflow. It is usually practical, then, to build a series of ponds either on the same or different levels. If on different levels, the ponds both overflow and drain into each other to the lowest one ; in time of need thif will be found a great economizing of water. If on the same level, or nearly so, each pond must have its own supply pipe and drain directly into the bed of the water course. Supply and drain pipes to each pond, whether on the same or different levels, are both desirable and advantageous to the culturist. It gives him absolute control ef each pond independent of any of the others. SKY PONDS. These ponds form quite a class of the successful carp ponds of America. They are dependent nearly, or entirely on the rainfall and the water shed from adjacent landj. Here husbanding of the water is every- thing. It is accomplished chiefly by making the pond bottom and em- bankments of soil impermeable to water, so that the only loss is by evap- oration. Without such bottoms and banks this class of ponds must fail. They fill slowly, unless in very wet weather. Where they receive the water shed of considerable territory they should be protected against sud- den inundation in heavy rainfalls by side ditches with sluice-gates lead- ing to the pond, so that when these gates are closed the shed-water is carried off beyond the dam and made powerless for evil to the pond and its inhabitants. The water supply of these ponds may be greatly rein- forced by a windmill supplying a cattle trough from the well, and the overflow of the trough conducted to the pond. Below or to one side of the main pond of such an establishment should always be a pond or two of considerable depth, but the surface need not be great. Then in the drawing and fishing of the main pond you will not be caught with dry weather or a freeze-up in winter, with your stock on hand anu no place to safely quarter them. The lower or side ponds need be but little below the level of the main pond. If empty at the drawing off of the main pond they can be filled with the first water taken from the high-water level by means of pipes or sluices constructed for that. purpose. These smaller ponds will be of great advantage, too, as breeding and hatching ponds, or as reservoirs for stock and market fish. SPRING PONDS. The size of these ponds should be in proportion to the amount of water flowing from the springs, beating in mind that the evaporation and absorption every hour is equal to about 250 gallons to the acre. The rain- fall and watershed off the immediate vicinity will contribute to the water supply. If the height of the springs will permit it, the water com- ing lrom them during the warm months should be broken, aerated and warmed by falling on wire netting and passing over rocks before reaching the pond. In cold months remove the obstructions and let the inflow be 22 PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. direct. The advantages of these ponds are constancy of water supply summer and wiuter and Jiigh temperature of water in winter, usually keeping some surface of the pond in the immediate vicinity of the springs clear of ice, affording oxygen to the fish and permitting the escape of any poisonous gases generated by decomposing vegetable matter in the bot- tom of the pond, The disadvantages are lower temperature of water in summer time and very small supply of food carried by the water to the pond. The best water for carp ponds is that furnished by running streams. It is aerated, heated, and carries food for the fish. The best sites for ponds are along the courses of such streams or by the feeders of mi'Is, below the basins of canals, etc. The sites for ponds will naturally sug- gest themselves whenever they meet the eye. Nor is it within the prov- ince of this chapter either to indicate them all or to furnish plans for the construction of the various embankments and dams necessary to the varied character of the sites. Some locations need but a dam, others need banks on two or even three sides. The principle of construction, however, is th3 same. . DAMS AND EMBANKMENTS. The difficulty of repairing a dam makes it necessary to build it well in the start-out. Stake out the line of the embankments, determine their height and allow ten per cent for shrinkage; make the base three times the height. Then, in the center of the base, cut a ditch three to five feet wide down through the surface-soil to a sub-stratum of the earth that will hold water ; extend this ditch out under the shoulders of the dam. Throw the material taken from the ditch to the outer side. This ditch must then be filled with loam (a small per cent, of sand, a large per cent, of clay) or good plastic clay. The filling should be done in layers of six to twelve inches each, each layer carefully spread and thoroughly tamped. It will pack better if wet, even to the point of puddling. When the ditch is fulli the dam spreads out to its limits, and is continued on up in layers just as in the ditch. If the banks are to be built from material taken from the bottom of the pond, which is the most economical plan, and if the material is fit, put the surface soil on ths outer side of the dam, and the next inferior soil on the inside, placing the very best of your dam-making material in the center of the embankment, continuing it on up over the lines of the ditch to the top of the dam, carefully tamping and packing ever? stratum as it is laid on; removing all stones, sticks, sods and other debris. The dam should be as wide on the top as its height above the ditch. The slope of the sides will then be at an angle of 45 degrees. The rich surface soil on the outer side leaves it in good shape to sod or seed with blue grass. This will add to its beauty, and prevent furrowing or washing with the rains. Dams improve with age. To protect them against depredations by muskrats, build them only about 12 or 15 inches PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. 23 above what you design for high-water mark. There is then no room for the dwelling of the rodent above the water level. PLAN OF A CARP POND. The diagram shows a small valley surrounded by little hills. A creek runs across this valley, and the farmer concludes to make a carp pond on this spot. The first step in the doing of this is to alter or correct the bed of the creek. It is led to the right along the foot of the hill (cr). Next the dam (d) is located and built, at the same time the ditches (c d), the collector (c) and the outer collector (o e) are formed, the material thus obtained being U9ed on the dam. The dam (d) runs first across the valley, then forming a right angle it runs alongside of the creek to protect the pond against the wild water of the latter. L is a lock in the creek which can be opened or closed at will. From here the pond is supplied with water. A second lock in the supply channel, which leads to J, is supplied with some arrangement, a wooden box with slatted sides, a box of gravel, or a wire netting, to keep out wild fish. The form of the bottom of a pond must depend on its size and shape and the purpose for which it is to be used. If there is but one pond j which is to be the home of the carp winter and summer, the pond must be arranged to that end, and must have both shallow and deep water. The carp thrive best in warm water; the reason is twofold. They are adapted to the higher temperature, and the higher temperature produces more food for them in the form of insects, larva? and worms. They will stand a temperature of ninety degrees before dying. In long-continued hot spells, in shallow water subject to the direct rays of the sun, it is not uncommon for the temperature to range from eighty five to ninety de- grees. The carp then need a cooler, deeper place to retreat to. In winter the shallow water is too cold, and they seek the deeper water for warmth. Many carp eulturists have lost their fish during the winter season, and 24 PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. while, no doubt, poisonous gases had much to do with it, it is just as cer- tain that lack of deep water also had much to do with it. To obtain both shallow and deep water, on about one-half of the area of the pond around its edges the water should be from nothing to eighteen inches deep; on about one-fourth of the area of the pond, from eighteen inches to three feet deep, and on the other one-fourth, from three, feet to eight or ten, or even twelve feet deep, the greatest depth being at the point wnere the drain-pipe and collector are situated, as shown in the accompanying illustration: LONGITUDINAL SECTION OF A POND. J is the inlet or point where the water enters the pond ; B is the spawn- ing ground for the fish, and is shallow and full of water plants; S is the surface of the water; £ is pond liJlies to give shade to the fish in hot weather; C is the collector, or deepest point in the pond, and is situated at the entrance of the drain-pipe. OL is the outlet passing under the dam from the lowest point in the pond bottom; iTis a collector situated outside of the dam to trap any fish that may possibly escape through OL; D is a cross section of the dam. The bottom should be of a uniform grade, sloping from all points to the collector. A ditch, four feet wide and two feet deep, leading half the length of the pond and down to the col- lector, will, when drawing off the pond, greatly facilitate the bringing of the fish to the collector Side ditches, tapping any low spots in the bot- tom, should be run into this leader. It serves a further purpose in getting below the gas-producing stratum of the bottom, and in just that degree preserves the fish in winter from its influence, as the gas rises to the ice and saturates the water from the ice downward. All artificial ponds should be so constructed that they can be drained. It is quite indispensable to successful pond culture. In Germany, with the experience of centuries in carp culture, their system of draining ponds is so complete that they rotate carp culture and agriculture as we do crops, and one helps the other. The bottoms of ponds, in which fish have been raised a few years, make rich fields, and cultivating the ground a few years again makes it produce more food for tae fish. Whatever the advantage arising from the power to drain ponds for this purpose, it is certainly much more essential in enabling you to gather your harvest of fish. Of all. the plans, systems and methods of draining ponds in vogue, both in Germany and America, the most popular and the simplest method PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. 25 is that of the "Monk," mentioned first in this country by Hugo Mulertt, of Cincinnati, Ohio, afterwards by Rudolph Hessel, Superintendent of Government ponds at Washington, D. C, and put into practical operation by Dr. H. H. Cary, Superintendent of the Fisheries of Georgia, through whose kindness I have the pleasure of presenting the illustration. A GERMAN MONK. The wood-cut above represents this simple apparatus that has become so popular ; a is a wooden box running crosswise through the dam, six inches below the lowest point in the collector, so that it will insure the complete emptying of the pond, made of heart-pine plank, being twelve inches wide and two thick, securely nailed together. The upright part, 6, is of the same material and size, and joins it at right angles, and of sufficient length to extend some distance above the water line. This is made secure to the horizontal portion, and it will be of great advantage to give the whole a dressing of coal tar. The side of the upright next to the pond is left open, and narrow strips are nailed to the uprights on the inside to constitute grooves for the gate pieces, c c c c. ; d is a strainer of Wire, secured in a frame of the same size as the gate pieces, c. When it is desired to empty the pond, remove the highest gate piece, e, and substitute the strainer, d. When the water line is lowered to the next gate piece, remove it and substitute the strainer for it, as in the first instance, and s*> on until the water is drawn down nearly to the collector, then the mud can be removed from the collector, the fish dispersing while this is being done. The water can then be drawn off until the fish are drawn into the collector, when they can be readily removed with the dip-net, when the last gate piece can be taken out and the collector completely emptied. The only defect is in making the gates tight. If the water supply is abundant, this is of no consequence, as the leakage would not allow the small fish to pass out, and still might constitute a part of the overflow. 26 PRACTICAL OABP CULTURE. but, if the water supply is limited, this might lower the pond at a time, when you could not afford to lose any water. Fortunately, this defect can be easily remedied. Prepare a plank of the size of the opening of the box, a, (let it be green lumber, so that it will not swell, to prevent its being withdrawn), pass this down along the side of the upright, 6, so it will include the opening in a, then 6 can be filled with sawdust tor a foot or two, and a little dirt, if necessary, which will entirely stop the ' leakage. The objections to this method are: First, the wood will decay. Sec- ond, for very large ponds the drawing would require too much time. Both these objections together with all possibility of leakage, may be overcome by building the flumes, a and 6 both of brick, covering the top of a with, flagging 9tones, or aDy others long enough to reach from wall to wall" and leaving b entirely open in front. 6 should -then be built closer in to the dam than shown in the cut ; far enough in so that the open front at the bottom is a little within the line of the dam. Against the open face of b lay two-inch plank, sawed of a length to just cover the out- side edges. In front of 6, and two feet away, sink two posts ; fill in the space between the posts and 6, with good clay or loam, tamping it well as it is put in. Make a sufficient detour in your dam to include these posts and it will protect the sides of b and give you an absolute water-proof draw- off that will last without repairs for ages. The draw-off can be built any size to suit. The top of b can be covered with a lid, or, if the top is below the level of the dam, it can be covered with boards and a little earth thrown on them will conceal it entirely. A door should be fitted to the outer end of a and kept locked when not in use. In drawing off the pond take the earth from between the posts and 6, remove one plank at a time, and as the water runs down remove more earth an other plank, and so on to the last. A frame the size of your pieces of plank made of two-by-two- inch stuff and covered with a wire run the short way of the frame between six-penny nails driven so closely together as to only permit the wire to pass between them. The heads of the nails on either side should be covered with sheet iron which comes even with the surface of the inside of the frame. This frame slipped into the place of each piece of plank as it is removed, will prevent the escape of the fish and will not clog as will a mesh or screen. An improvement on this method where lumber is used in its construc- tion was published in the National Journal of Carp Culture, Oc- tober, 1886, by 8. F. Ulery, of Garrison, Iowa, which consists of clamps as shown in the illustration (next page) herewith. These clamps are made in four pieces out of %x.% inch iron. To make a olamp for a box 12 inches across from outside to outside, cut a piece of iron 10 inches long as described by letter A in cut, flatten one end and punch a hole to receive a % inch bolt so that the % inch edge of the iron can be bolted against the box which will give it sufficient strength ; B is made the same as A except that a % i n °h hole is made In the opposite end the flat way of the iron ; C is made 27% inches long, with a )4. inch hole in each end the flat way of the iron. Bend the iron in the center, and bolt the two ends on to the end PRACTICAL CABP CULTURE. 27 of B in the shape of a hinge, now close C to within % of an inch, so it will pass over the end of A. D is a key in the shape of a wedge to tighten the clamp. Bolt A on the outside of the box so that it will project 1% inches in front of outlet, drive a staple, over it in the center. Bolt B directly opposite to A on the outside of box and staple same as A, place the clamp C over the end of A and drive in the key. Fasten the key to the box with a chain. This clamp' will not rust so but what it can be easily adjusted above or in the water. Use three clamps on a ten foot box. THE MONK WITH CLAMPS. It is necessary only to use slats on the inside of the box as the clamps keep the sections firmly to their places from the outside and the sections can be put in or taken out anywhere up or down the box. A BOTTOM OVERFLOW AND DRAIN. In ponds where the water is cold and the supply constant, and a con- sequent continual overflow, it is very desirable that the water passing out of the pond should be the coldest water it contains. This is always found at the bottom of the deepest part of the pond. A very practical and pop- ular method of accomplishing this is presented in the accompanying il- lustration. It was introduced into this country by George Eckardt, for- merly Superintendent of the Missouri Fish Commission. We take the description given of it by I. G. "W. Steedman, A. M., M. D., ex-Chairman of the Commission of that State, in his work on "Carp and Carp Culture in Missouri." "The illustration represents a combined overflow and draining appara- tus, the sketch having been drawn from those now in use in three of our Forest Park spawning ponds. A B is a wooden box running crosswise to (at right angles with) the dam, the box G H, where the water enters, being placed in the lowest 28 PRACTICAL OARP CULTURE. point in the kettle, so as to insure thorough emptying of the pond. The perforations in this box G H should not exceed a half inch in diameter, and should be numerous in proportion to the volume of the water entering the pond and passing the overflow; if necessary, perforations may be made in the side as well as in the front. The total capacity of these per- forations should be considerably greater than the capacity of the hori- zontal box, as in emptying the pond, the holes necessarily become more or less choked by mud, fish, water-plants, etc. BOTTOM OVERFLOW AND DRAIN. In the upright box C D K I, is framed a perpendicular slide or gate, E. F, which fits tightly on the bottom of the horizontal box A B, the end of gate being held in position by strips , nailed on the bottom; similar strips, N N, are nailed on the vertical sides of upright box; between which the gate is lifted up or forced down by means of an iron hook or ring in top of gate at the point where the curved arrow shows water pass- iug over. The course of the water when overflowing is shown by the arrows. The pond is emptied by simply lifting the gate E F, when the water passes directly through the horizontal box A B. On the [top of the upright box at I K is shown a lid which may be locked down, to keep idlers and thieves from raising the gatfe and empty- ing the pond. The water level in the pond can be changed at will by simply placing PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. 29 strips of board on top the gate, at the curved arrow, as desired. The most serious defect in the whole apparatus consists in making the gate E F water-tight. If the water supply is scant, a small leak may lower your pond at a season when additional water can not be obtained. A liberal supply of saw-dust thrown into the box may materially assist in closing the leaks. It is best to make this oombined overflow and draining apparatus of two inch boards, and in addition to what is shown in the drawing, drive upright boards deep into the clay beside the horizontal box A B, and nail them fast to the box, so that no amount of heavy strain in lifting and lowering the gate can displace the apparatus and cause a leak. We recommend that all this wood work be thoroughly painted with coal tar before it is placed in the dam. For that portion above the water level it is indispensable." It will be found much more satisfactory to extend A far enough into the pond to build a box-frame 4x4feet wide and 2 feet high over theend OH. The sides, ends and top of this box should be made of slats one inch thick and one inch wide on one side by three-fourth of an inch on the other side. These sbould be nailed on the frame with the narrow side in and the wide side out, and one-fourth of an inch apart. These openings will then be one-fourth inch on the outside of the box and one-half inch on the inside of the box. Any debris starting through the crack will go clear through and the strainer will not clog up as will augur holes. Being a level surface it is easily cleaned. The slats may be made from a plained inch board. This box strainer should be anchored to well-sunk stakes at its corners. This plan of straining is the result of many years experience in pond culture, by George Finley, an eminent pisciculturist, of Pitts- burg, Pa., who commends it most highly, as do all others who have used it. BSfcS fy> WATEB...- IT F Mb 1 -LEVEL Ups aw ft jj^ H __ — — : =~ ■ ■ % ' ■MlP m^ SLIDING CENTER BOARD. G.— Water Level. H. — Embankment or dam. D. D.— A tube passing under the dam. A — Strainer box over inlet E. of tube, to prevent the escape of fish. B. C— Perpendicular tube at right angles to D. D., with F., a partition dividing it across in the center. The water entering at A. follows the arrows and passes through D. D. to outside of dam. F. is a sliding center board, to be raised or lowered at will. A modification of the method in use in the Forest Park ponds and 30 PRACTICAL CABP CULTURE. showing a strainer box, such as described above, was suggested to us by E. C. Griffiths, of Honey Brook, Pa. We had it engraved for the benefit of the readers of "American Carp Culture," and because of the strainer box and sliding center-board reproduce it here. In suggesting it Mr. Griffith said: "The greatest trouble in ponds is to make an outlet that will not choke with drift and at the same time prevent the fish from escaping. Frost also tries the best constructed appliances. In the plan of drawing I send you, all these obstacles are overcome. Three years ago I designed and introduced it into my pond and it has worked in the most satisfactory manner. Other parties have also made their outlets after this plan and say it works better than anything of the kind they ever tried. Drawing the water from the bottom, the temperature is several degrees cooler than the surface in the summer, and in the winter it main- tains a temperature of spring water, therefore seldom forms ice inside the pipes. Another advantage I claim is if at any time the water is wanted to be partly lowered, it can be done without disturbing the under drain. The water level can also be changed at will, simply by raising the sliding center partition." In placing of overflows and under drains in dams and embankments, we cannot insist too strenuously upon the necessity of great care in the work to prevent leakage and to insure the complete emptying of the pond. They must of course be put in place as the dam is being built, and immediately after the ditch underlying the dam is filled. This will be before much material has been taken from the pond bottom. If the material to fill the ditch is taken from the pond bottom it should be taken from the point where your collector is to be situated, (if the material there is good for the purpose). This will lower that point so that you can better judge the right level for your underdrain, which should be about four inches below the bottom of the collector. When ready to lay your tubing, prepare a very level, thoroughly tamped bed for it. When in its place drive stakes with a flat surface next the tube, two feet apart. Nail these to both the' bottom and top piece of tube. Good stakes should also be driven at the collector end of the tube and .nailed in the same way. Brace the upright end of the drain pipe, then begin filling around the tube, using pulverised earth, well wet, tamped from end to end on each side, carefully working every particle of earth that you can in under the tube ; the stakes will prevent its lifting, and you can pack it very thoroughly. Continue the filling and tamping on up the sides and over the top in the same way. The soil, if wet to the point of puddling, will pack so much the better. In large ponds it may be found necessary to place more tnan one of these outlets to facilitate the emptying of the pond. But this is a matter which every culturist will be able to pass the best judgment on himself and we leave it with him. OVERFLOWS. In ponds subject to freshets or sudden inundations of water, a provision should be made, if possible, to have an overflow at the upper end of the PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. 31 pond, or as far away from the dam and embankment as possible. This should consist of a space wide in proportion to the size of the pond, amount of water passing and frequency of inundation. This space should be covered with grass or a stratum of coarse gravel, so that it will not wash or cut out. The overflowing water should be conducted in a chan- nel at a safe distance from the embankments of the pond to below the dam, where it will take care of itself. Where the water passes out of the pond, a strainer made of slats, as described for the drain box, should extend clear across the space ; the slats being placed a half an inch apart. Where for any reason the overflow of the pond cannot be regulated from the upper end, or where such an arrangement is designed only for special protection against freshets, and the desire is to keep the water or- dinarily below that level, the following device introduced by Mr. George Eckardt into the Forest Park ponds, of Missouri, will be found service- able. I. G. W. Steedman, explaining it in his work before quoted, says : "No pond is safe against storms and floods, unless it has a properly constructed overflow of sufficient capacity to carry off all surplus water, and at the same time not permit the escape of the fish. Overflows which receive the water from the surface of the pond will clog and choke from the drift leaves and other trash always brought down by heavy rains. The illustration shows a wooden overflow, so constructed as to prevent surface drift from choking the perforations in the box C D. The arrows show the water entering the box C D below the water level and near the bottom of the pond, passing over the dam at B E ; at the end of this chute a sheeting of boards or stone should be constructed to prevent a wash and undermining of the dam by the overflow. Of course the size of the box C D, A B, I K, and the number of per- forations at C D mu«f properly be proportioned to the volume of water to be expected in extreme floods, always allowing for more or less choking at C D. This overflow should be built of two-inch stuff, and thoroughly coated with coal tar before being put down. If properly constructed it is automatic and needs no watching. We have one in Forest Park that works admirably. This sketch is made from it. Before the introduction of this simple overflow, it was necessary to have men stationed with brooms day and night during heavy rains to keep the wire gratings swept clean of drift, to prevent disastrous over- flows. Now, we have no trouble in ponds thus equipped. It is all important that the size and capacity of the overflow be prop- erly proportioned to the maximum floods which may occur." We advise that C D be made of slats, as described for the mouth of the drain flume. CHAPTER V. CLASSES OF CAEP PONDS AND THJSIB PURPOSES. » There are but few persons that engage in carp culture as a mere mat- ter of pastime or pleasure, and to whom the ulterior motive of profit does not present itself. The culture, happily, combines in an eminent degree these much desired ends, pleasure and profit. Even while we write, the incentive to systematic and extensive culture grows stronger day by day. Following the lead of Germany, arrangements are now being made to place live carp for table use on the market in this country. A stock com- pany has been chartered in Illinois to so supply the Chicago market. This is a matter of no surprise to us, because we expected just such things. The young industry is moving rapidly forward, and in a few more years will occupy its legitimate place as one of the leading and most profitable branches of agriculture. Chicago has but taken the lead. Whenever the stock on hand warrants it, other cities will follow with live fish markets. The people once educated to the difference between a fish that dies of suffocation, as do all the dead fish offered for sale in our markets, and the flesh of which is therefore not fit to eat, and a fish taken alive from the water and killed immediately and dressed for the table; then carp, as the one fish, 'that can be supplied alive in sufficient quantities for the market, will command a price that will make their culture exceedingly profitable. The political complexion of our national legislature will not affect this industry. The difficulty of importing live fish places it beyond the need of a tariff protection. The line between extensive and systematic carp culture and simple carp culture will lie between those who push it as a business enterprise and those who engage in it as a home pleasure that will add a luxury to their table. For the former a number of ponds are necessary, a single pond will answer for the latter. The conditions not being the same the ponds must be differently constructed. In describing those suited to each purpose we will begin with a series of ponds intended for the systematic pursuit of carp culture. SYSTEMATIC CARP PONDS. In France, England and Germany they have different classifications and names for these ponds. In this country they should be styled ac- cording to the ends they serve. 1. The hatching pond. 2. The stock pond. 3. The market pond. The size of these ponds should be in keeping one with the other ; the PBACTIOAL CABP CULTUBE. 33 hatching pond much the smallest, the stock pond next in size and the market pond largest of all. The hatching pond. Its average depth should not exceed eighteen inches, less will do. Considerable of its area, about the margin, the water should be from nothing to six inches deep, and over this area the flat, long, soft leaved manna grass, known to botanists as Glyceria fluitans, which grows readily and rapidly and is common in the United States, should be planted. German authors credit the carp with a weakness for depositing their eggs on this particular plant. If these authors have as- signed any reason for the preference of this plant by the carp, we have not yet seen it. There is a cause for everything, and we believe the cause for this is that these plants grow close together, almost covering the bot- tom of the pond their strap like leaves coming straight up to the top of the water and then floating.. At the time of spawning the female pursued by the male rushes through the thick mass of leaves, the resistance to her passage compresses her body and requires greater exertion on her part to force the passage, both of which give her aid in ejecting the eggs, which are caught by the leaves as she passes, and as the male follows the same causes contribute to the more liberal ejectment of the milt. A greater per cent, of eggs are thus kept from sinking, and are fertilized by the male than would be possible with almost any other water plant. The bottom of the hatching pond must be constructed od the same general plan laid down in chapter IV. ; that is, it must .have collector, collector ditches, etc., the main ditch being wide, long and deep enough to afford a resting place for the fish in either exceeding hot or cold weather, as the young fry pass their first summer and winter in this pond. The collectors in all ponds jshould be cleaned every year In hatching ponds, owing to the small size of the fish when ' they are taken from the pond, that the collector should be clean is indispensable. A bed of gravel in the collector, or a rough board floor nailed to mudsills thor- oughly anchored to stakes driven deep and firm, will greatly facilitate the cleaning, as well as the taking out of the fish. The pond must be pro- vided with outlet drains and overflows, and must be protected with side ditches from freshets or inundations. A fundamental requirement of successful carp culture is an unchanging water level. If this is spe- cifically true anywhere in the domain of carp culture it is in the hatch- ing pond, and particularly during the period of spawning and hatching. A change in the water level after the eggs are deposited and before they are hatched is sure to do damage. If the water level is raised it either washes the eggs from their hold on the vegetation of the pond, in which case they sink and are lost, or it covers them with such a depth of water as to change the temperature and chill them, which will delay if it does not prevent their hatching. To lower the water level is still more disas- trous, as it leaves the best lodged eggs, those nearest the surface of the water, high and dry and subject to the direct action" of the sun's rays, which speedily dries out and spoils them. For weeke after hatching a change of the water level would be disastrous to. the young fish, in its effect on their feeding ground and on the vegetation of the pond. The 34 PRACTICAL CABP CULTURE . hatching pond is a paradise quite for the enemies of the carp, (see chapter on enemies of carp) and must be jealously guarded against them. In this connection we desire to say that it is hot wise to have hatching ponds cover much more than an acre of territory each. If greater space is nec- essary it will be wiser and better to build other hatching ponds. First, because the larger the body of water the more attractions it presents for the large army of water fowls that prey on the young carp. Again, the larger the body of water the greater the opportunity for damage by waves formed on the pond by wind, that frequently wash the eggs from their lodgment, carry them on to the shore and on retiring leave them there to dry up. The newly hatched fry will even be carried out in this way by the waves. In the selection of spawners great care must be exercised to secure the healthiest and largest of their age, and truest to their variety, fish affected by fungus growth, polyp or any other disease should never be used for spawners, and the best thing to do with them is to kill them, or put them in a small pond by themselves. The general rule in Europe for the stocking of hatching ponds is two males to three females to each acre contained in the pond. This number is, however, frequently doubled. Some of the culturists of Germany and a great many of the culturists in America make quite a change in the proportion of the sexes, and put two males to each female and with very satisfactory results. We are not well enough established in carp culture in America to talk experimentally of it by the acre, and acre hatching ponds in America are yet scarce, as are also the men who make a special business of carp raising. Either rule will operate satisfactorily. With one more female than male it is certain that some eggs will either not be deposited or go unfertilized. With, two males to one female there is greater activity and better possibilities of fertilizing the eggs. The fe- males are very prolific, and will deposit about 100,000 eggs for every pound of weight. Those that are not fertilized, and many of those that are fertilized never come to life, and many of those that come to life die very young or are destroyed by enemies. So that at the drawing of the pond in the fall or spring the average to each spawner will not exceed from 1000 to 1500. It requires water rich in natural fish food to supply the wants of 5000 young fry the first summer to each acre. If, however, artificial feeding is resorted too when the spawners first begin their work of repro- duction and continued carefully until they are through spawning and the spawners are then removed, and the young fish are carefully and regu- larly fed, and the water supply is good, then much better results will be attained, and the number of spawners to each acre even may be greatly increased and the number of young correspondingly increased. The one difficulty to be guarded against is too much stock for the water and food ; when the former occurs the fish come to the surface with open mouths in search of oxygen; when they have not food enough they stop growing and the bones begin to harden, and if left long in this way they never overcome it and are always very small for their age. With plenty of food and water the young fry of April and May hatch should measure in November from five to nine inches long. If the water is overstocked PRACTICAL CARP CUI/TTJRE. 35 and they are not fed they will only measure from two to three inches. In smaller hatching ponds all the relations above hold good. The bottom must be constructed on the same plan, plenty of shallow water about the ■ margins with deeper water to retreat too. The question of how many good, healthful, growing fish can be raised in a limited area of water if the margins are in good shape for spawning grounds and the temperature is all right, resolves itself into a question of oxygen and food. The removal of the fry from the hatching pond, either for shipping purposes or for transfer to the stock pond, must be done with the utmost care. The water must be drawn off through the slatted or grated outlet very slowly, that no fish may remain in the mud, for if the pond is to be again used for spawning purposes the larger fish remaining will consume the food intended for the new hatch. The slightest injury to the young fish in the breaking of the skin or knocking off of scales may result in disease and death. In our Northern, Northeastern and Northwestern States the hatching ponds should be shallower, with the greatest depth of water not to exceed two feet and be used for the purpose only of hatching and rearing the young the first summer. The pond should be drawn off in the fall and the fry transfered to the stock pond. The reason for this is that with water enough to successfully winter the fry in the hatching ponds in these latitudes it would be difficult to get the water warm enough for the carp to spawn. It would at least delay the time of spawning until late in June or July, and the young would have but a short season for growth. The earlier the spawning is done the better the opportunity for the fry to get a good growth the first summer, which is a very important factor in their development the second summer. . With the exception of these colder sections of our country, the general rule will obtain for hatching ponds ; that is a large proportion of the area of the pond the water is to be shal- low, from one foot deep to nothing, and plenty of vegetation in this part of the pond, which should equal about three-fifths of the whole area, one- half of the remainder should be from one to two feet deep and the other one-fifth from two to four feet deep, and it will be safest and best to win- ter the young fish in these ponds. The Stock Pond. — Its construction is the same in every particular as that of the hatching pond, only that it is deeper and larger. The average depth of the hatching pond is about fifteen inches. The average depth of the stock pond shonld be from twenty to twenty-four inches. The shal- low and deep water may be divided in the same proportions as in the hatching ponds, three-fifths of the whole area being from four to eighteen inches deep, one-fifth from eighteen to thirty-six inches and the remain- ing one-fifth from thirty-six to sixty inches, which will give an average depth of about twenty-three inches. The stocking of these ponds generally takes place in the spring as soon as the ice is gone and the fish begin their search for food. Owing to the great climatic differences in portions of the United States it is dif- ficult to set a definite time for this operation. Between Texas and Wis- consin or Minnesota there could readily be a difference of six weeks or 36 PRACTICAL CABP CULTUBE. more. But usually it is done in the latter part of March and first part of April. The number of fish to be planted to the acre in these ponds, if not artificially fed, will depend largely upon the size of the fish. The plant can better be determined by weight than by numbers. The rule that has obtained in Europe is to plant from 800 to 1000 fish that would weigh less than one-half pound each, to the acre'. It must be remembered, however j that in Europe the fry the first summer could have only about four months growth, while in many of our Southern States the carp gets seven or eight months growth the first season, and in some of those States even more. In Texas, for instance, they grow nearly if not quite the entire year through. While these favored sections produce larger fish, nature maintains the balance by supplying a greater abundance of food. Owing to these climatic differences of our country, and the contrast in growth of carp in these extremes as evidenced in the reports of our correspondents for the past four years, we conclude it much safer to establish a rule of weight to the acre in planting both stock and market ponds. The rule then would be to plant your stock ponds with about 600 pounds of carp to the acre. The fish remain in the pond until tbe following spring unless large enough to market in the fall. The market pond is the main or largest pond of the culturist, and is constructed as described in chapter IV, and will require about 700 pounds of carp to the acre to stock it. The size these fish will attain by fall will depend on their size when planted. They usually increase about one hundred and fifty per centum the third season. In a large portion of the United States it will not be good economy to keep carp the third year, and it will be found profitable to use the market pond in connection with the stock pond for second summer carp. In a large section of our country the carp have conditions exactly suited to rapid growth, and grow from seven to ten and even eleven months in the year, and attain a size at eighteen months old much greater than that at- tained in Europe at thirty months of age. It is the size and not the age of the carp that makes it marketable. When carp weigh three pounds and upwards each they are fit for market. Much time and thought and labor has been and is now given to reach market one year earlier with warm blooded stock, the sole purpose being to realize their money value earlier ; the same philosophy is applicable to carp. When they are ready for market do not keep them another year, but realize on them. In at- taining this the second year the market pond will accomplish a good purpose ; in transferring the one summer carp from the hatching pond select the largest ones and place them in the market pond, and the smaller ones in the stock pond. If you have the full quota per acre for the market pond a little food supplied regularly will greatly add to the prospects of a marketable crop in the fall. In this system of ponds the hatching pond is the only one in which it is designed to raise any young carp, the others are feeding, growing and fattening ponds. But in this country carp frequently spawn the second summer, and if the quota of the pond is already full, and the spawn is allowed PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. 37 to live, with the great number of spawners in the pond, they will be very numerous and will consume largely the food intended for the larger fish, greatly retarding their growth. To overcome this it will be found advan- tageous to adopt the European rule of introducing male pike into the pond ; a bout 6 pike for every 100 carp. The pike should be much smaller than the carp as it grows very much faster than the carp ; about 300 per cent, a year. The pike will serve a threefold purpose : 1. The carp fear the pike and will keep a safe distance from them ; this will cause the carp to move about the pond and prevent them feeding at one place. 2. It will in a measure prevent the carp from spawning, and when spawning does occur the pike will devour the young fry ; besides the pike become gener- all scavingers of the pond and will destroy other fish and their spawn that by some means, and despite the care of the culturiat, are constantly getting into ponds. They will also devour watersnakes, tritons, etc. For all these reasons they are very worthy a place in the ponds, and are a necessity in market ponds that are fully stocked. In ponds not adapted to pike, bass or other game fish of small size may be introduced in their stead. In this system of ponds, where artificial feeding is not resorted too, the stock pond should be four times as large as the hatching pond, and the market pond twice as large as the stock pond. SALE POND. Those three ponds will be found all that is neccessary in a system where artificial feeding is not resorted too. Where such feeding is prac- ticed, two other ponds may be found of advantage, as the purpose of feeding is to keep great numbers of carp where the natural food would supply but comparatively a few. These great numbers, on a small area> keep the bottom constantly plowed up with their snouts, in search of food, so that the entire body of water in the pond is continually clouded with muddy discolorations, and this bottom character of the water will neccessarily affect unpleasantly the flesh of the fish ; this is of conse- quence only in thft market pond. To overcome this a small pond, with bot- tom and sides paved with brick or stone, the waste stones carted from the fields of the farm will do, making the slope of the sides and the surface of the sides and bottom as uniform and smooth as practical, that a seine will operate to the very best advantage. This pond should be oblong in shape, and the width so that in dragging the seine, parties can walk on either side of the pond, and the seine should reach from bank to bank. Its size must be governed by the number of fish to be kept in it and the flow of fresh water that reaches it. Water from the other ponds should not be used in this pond, though the water passing from this pond may be used in the others. Its depth may be from 6 to 10 feet. The depth will not interfere with successful seining, as the pond is small, only large fish in it, and the character of sides and bottom permits the water to be lowered very rapidly to facilitate seining. While in this pond the fish should be regularly fed. A few weeks here will put them in excellent trim for the table. WINTER POND. Where the hatching pond is small, used for the purpose of hatchin g 38 PBAOTIOAL CABP OULTTXBE. only, and too shallow to successfully winter the young fry, that, owing to care and artificial feeding are in great numbers, the stock pond not being ready for them until spring, a place to winter them in is heces- , sary. The winter pond is used for this sole purpose. It should be clear of mud, and from 8 to 10 feet deep, and plentifully supplied with running water, if possible. The hatching pond is drawn and the young placed in the winter pond in November, and as they do not eat during the winter, no feeding is necessary. Such a pond plentifully supplied with water may be stocked at the proportion of about 50,000 fry to the acre. THE MABKET POND. The market pond should be drawn in the fall and the carp converted into money. They will loose from 2 to 5 per centum of weight during the winter. In many places in the United States they have been held over until the lenten season and then sold at advance prices, which more than made up for the loss in weight. Where the carp cannot all be disposed of at once, the sale pond will be found an invaluable annex. THE STOCK POND. The stock pond should be drawn in the spring, the spawners selected for the spawning pond and the remainder placed in the market pond. THE HATCHING POND. The hatching pond, or if the young were transfered to a winter pond in the fall, then the winter pond is drawn as soon after the stock pond has been emptied and filled again as possible. The hatching pond is then again filled and the spawners placed in it. MIXED CABP CrjXTUBE. A method of systematic carp culture in a series of proportioned ponds as detailed in the nreceeding pages would be entirely to extensive and costly a luxury for beginners as most farmers must be, and who utilize some waste spot to raise carp for a home lu*xury, any profit arising from the sale of fish, for any purpose, being only incidental. In these instances a single pond must answer all the purposes, and must therefore have the requirements of all of the other ponds. If a natural pond is used for this purpose it should be drained first, and the inhabi- tants of it destroyed. The bottom should then be arranged as described in Chapter IV. Ditches, collectors, drains, etc., that the water of the pond may at all times be under control, and its level maintained. In such ponds the water is frequently too deep for successful spawning and hatching. It will then be necessary to construct a hatching place. To do this, select some flat spot at, or near the edge of the pond of such dimensions as the opportunity affords, say 30 feet wide by 80 feet long. Excavate it so that when filled from the pond the water will run from nothing at the margin t© 18 in6hes deep in the center. Make a cut then in the bank from 6 to 10 feet wide, and deep enough so that in the draw- ing off of the pond the hatching annex will be completely emptied. This annex should be thickly planted with water vegetation ; manna grass, PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. 89 t before mentioned, water plantain, water cress, etc., taking the best water plants of the section in which the pond is located. The plants best adapted for spawning purposes being those of upright close growth beneath the surface, and whose leaves float on the surface of the water. The spawning carp will find this hatching bed and when they have deposited their eggs close the neck with a seine or slatted grating, shutting the large fish out from the bed for a few weeks, allowing the eggs a chance to hatch unmolested and the young an opportunity to develop somewhat and learn to hunt their own food. The diagram designed by Rudolph Hessel represents such an annex or hatching bed, 'A is the pond, B the annex or hatching pond, leaving nothing wanted to complete a system of ponds but the stock pond. In artificially constructed ponds for mixed carp culture, though to be commended, such an annex is not a necessity. Shallow water about the margins with the proper vegetable growth will afford spawning beds for the carp. If, however, there is not plenty of food for the larger carp many of the eggs and young fry will be devoured by them. Usually, however, enoagh will escape, owing to the number of spawners and the great number of eggs and young to satisfy the culturist. By mixed carp culture is meant the raising of carp of all ages and sizes in the same pond; not the raising of all varieties in the same pond. We cannot impress too deeply on the minds of carp culturists the neces- sity of keeping the varieties separated. In the start out do not plant a mixed variety of carp in the same pond, and if in their progeny they run to other varieties than themselves, weed out such strangers, if large en- ough eat them, if not turn them loose in some stream. If you have or want more than one of the varieties, prepare separate ponds for them. The closer they are kept to themselves, not allowed to mingle even when small , the better and sharper defined will the characteristics of the varieties show. The objections to mixed carp culture are that you can never tell how many carp there are in a pond until you draw it off, and that ail do not get their proportion of food owing to difference in size and age. But with many it is the starting point in the culture, and soon becoming interested they get into it more largely and have a system of ponds adapted to their 40 PRACTICAL CABP CTJLTUBE. opportunities and necessities. No pike or game fish should be allowed either in a hatching or mixed culture pond. Another method of securing a crop of young fish practiced by small culturists in Europe and America, and finding favor and being practiced by some of the fish commissions of the States, is to place along the margin of the pond boughs of trees at the spawning season. The carp spawn among the boughs, the eggs are adhesive and attach themselves to the leaves. These boughs are examined every day, at a time when the carp are not engaged in spawning, and those that have a fair proportion of eggs on are removed to a small shallow pond of 12 feet square or upwards, and placed in the water. This is continued until the carp are through spawning. The. eggs hatch in the small improvised pond, and the young carp are fed there until they attain the size of 1 1-2 to 2 inches long, or as long as they give «vidence of doing well and growing rapidly. When for any reason they do not seem to be doing well they should be removed to the larger pond. They require but little water and food for the first two months of their life, though in so small a pond they should be fed regu- larly (see chapter on artificial feeding) . At the end of the two months they can be transfered to the larger pond as they will have passed beyond the reach of the greater part of their enemies. In a new pond used for mixed culture there is generally little or no vegetation about the margins. The boughs will serve a good purpose here by being placed about the margins, eveji if there is no small pond to re- move them to. The leaves will catch the eggs and hold them until they hatch. In fact in such ponds any floating material such as grass, hay, leaves of water plants, fine chips from the wood yard, anything except wide or heavy boards, will be found better than nothing. We recommend these only in an emergency. The natural water plants are, of course, the very best material for catching and holding the eggs. And there is no excuse for a pond being without this vegetation the second year. CHAPTER VI. TAKING THE FISH FROM THE PONDS — IMPLEMENTS FOB HANDLING THEM — THE SHIPMENT OF YOUNG FRY. The gathering of the harvest and the examination of the crop is one of the pleasantest features of carp culture. The preparatory, step to the taking of the fish is the emptying out of the ponds, and this operation de- mands both caution and the closest of attention. This is particularly so in the stock and market ponds, though the principle holds good in the hatching pond as well, but because of the smallness of the fish in this pond, a panic is not so likely to occur among them. Shut off the water supply, open the outlet, if the pond is large and supplied with more than one outlet, open them all and let the water flow slowly and gradually off. As it settles, in large ponds, boats are used around the edges to drive the fish into the center. This is done very quietly until the last day of the draw- ing off, or until the water has reached the ditches, for if the fish get badly scared they sometimes settle into the mud in large numbers. The only way to remedy such a catastrophe is to shut off the outlets and turn on as large a supply of water as possible until the fish have recovered themselves, when th6 drawing off is resumed. When the level of the water has reached the ditches some noise is made to drive them down to the collec- tor. Where there are a great many large fish do not draw the water down too close before beginning to take them out. When crowded into too small a compass they get greatly excited and rush about seeking escape, which results in injury and frequent loss of fish. The safest method then is to begin taking the fish as soon as they gather in sufficient numbers at the collector. This may be done in market and stock ponds with a course meshed seine handled by two men. The fish should be weighed as they are taken out in lots of 100 pounds or thereabouts, a record kept of the weight and the fish either sent direct to the market or placed in the sale pond. With this record of weights, and a corresponding record of weights sold, you will know how much fish your pond has yielded, how much you have sold, and what weight you have on hand to supply orders. To return to the fishing out. When the collector is relieved of fish the water is drawn down still further and the operation repeated until the pond is completely dry and every fish is out. When the water gets too low for seining dip nets are used, to lift out the remaining fish. The best general purpose seine where but one is to be used in tne es- tablishment for both large and small fish, is one whose meshes measure one-half of an inch. It should be of strong twine, well knotted, and not to exceed 50 feet in length. One longer than thjs of that mesh will be hard dragging over the mud. It must be provided with floats and sinkers. 42 PRACTICAL CABP GUI/TUBE, Foi* clear water seining two or more seines of this length may be fastened end to end. In smaller ponds various kinds of home made dip nets, bag nets, and lift nets are used to take out the fish. BAG NET. The illustration represents a bag net that may be made by any farmer. The handle is 7 or 8 feet long and made of hickory wood ; the ring is made of % inch iron with ends welded together and 18 to 21 inches in diameter. At 8 a screw is placed to keep the net and ring from slip- ping off the handle; the material used to form the bag is bobby netting. SINKEB NET. This net may be made almost any size to suit. The ring and cross bows are made of an iron thick in proportion to its size, and constitute the only sinker necessary. The material attached to the ring is minnow PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. 43 netting and is sold by the yard. A little flower paste daubed on the in- side of the bottom occasionally will quickly accustom the fish to visiting it. The illustration is so simple as to need no further explanation. CANVASS STRETCHER FOR HANDLING CARP. In transfering carp from one pond to another, buckets, tubs, casks, etc., are brought into use. Where the ponds are not so far apart but that the transfer is made by hand instead of by vehicle, a stretcher such as presented in the cut, will be much better than buckets, casks, or cans. Contact with sides or bottom will not injure the fish and the carriers can use both hands to the load. If the canvass is heavy it will hold water. By placing uprights under the handles it can be used in a wagon instead of casks. In large ponds a boat is a necessity, in small ones it is desirable. The best for use is a flat bottomed skiff. At the fishing out rubber boots are indispensable to every boy and man engaged. HOW TO TAKE CARP ALIVE TO MARKET. Thus far in the history of carp in America, few, if any have been placed on the market alive for table use. Many have been sold alive at the ponds and a great many have been carted to market and sold in the ordinary way — dead — and at prices ranging from 10 to 20 cents a pound, and those persons once eating them clamored for more. But we believe we are on fche eve of the transition period. The chartering of a stock company in Illinois refered to (page 32) is evidence of it. That time will come when the supply is ready to kee,p market tanks stocked. The method of getting them alive to such depots will have to rest largely with each individual culturist. In Germany the plan is to place them in tanks on wagons and rush the wagons to the nearest navigated water" course, empty the tanks into boats with perforated bottoms, and in these boats transfer them to the market towns, where they are placed in the tanks of the dealer. In this country railroad cars will have to take the place of boats. But when the supply is ready and the demand created, railroad companies, ever ready for fast freights, -will afford facilities in the shape of tanked cars'. The one question then is their transportation alive to the railroad stations, at that time, and to the local markets in the meantime. This may be done in barrels and casks, or better in water tight boxes from 2 to 2J^ feet wide, and long enough to slip comfortably into a wagon box crossways, and of any height to suit. The advantage of such boxes are that they fit close together and no space is wasted, and in 44 PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. going up or down hill the water level is formed on a narrow bed, and does not change the weight and stress from one end of the wagon to the other, as in the case of a wagon length tank, neither are the fish so liable to in- jury by crowding. These boxes may be made either of tin or wood with close-fitting, lifting covers, each cover to have in its center an aperture six inches in diameter; this aperture to have a rim projecting below the cover about two inches ; this rim at the bottom to be covered with meshed wire. If the boxes are made of tin, the material should be the very best XXXX quality, with the sides and ends projecting below the tin bottom at least % of an inch, then in this space below the tin bottom fit in a false bottom of one inch lumber and tack it to the piojecting sides and ends; this false bottom theii projects }£ of an inch beyond the tin sides and ends and protects it from grating and wearing out. A wagon loaded with such boxes and driven rapidly will convey a great many fish without injury, and with comparatively little or no slopping. If the journey is a long one the water can be changed by the way as necessary. The sale of carp alive for table use is of great importance to the young- industry, and we cannot insist too strenuously upon the necessity of cul- turists everywhere encouraging market men to engage in so handling them. Where necessary in the introduction of it culturists will find it a good investment to go to the extent even of helping the market men provide tanks for the keeping of them alive, and advertising the fact broadly, that they are on sale alive, and in educating the people of a com- munity, through circulars and public prints, to the difference between a fish that dies of suffocation and has been shipped dying and dead from one end of the country to the other, and a fish that has been" taken from pure fresh water and immediately killed. All fish used for food should be killed, not allowed to die or smother to death, out of their element. Mercy and humanity should lead us to shorten their sufferings. Hygienic considerations should cause us to draw their blood, which cannot be done in death. The blade of a common pocket knife pressed in at the juncture of the head and body; severing the spinal column, and pressed downward to the lower edge of the gill, will both kill suddenly and draw the blood. The thought of eating a drowned! chicken, hog, or beef critter would be sufficient to turn the stomachs of most people. To offer the same for sale would be an offense punishable by law. And yet are not the cases of the drowned chicken and smoth- ered fish parallels ? Both die of suffocation. Custom and habit are all that render the eating of the one less repulsive than the eating of the other. The culture of carp, if it does not revolutionize this custom of eat- ing fish'that have died, will at least afford opportunity to those who desire it, to have their fish taken from the water, killed, dressed, and prepared for cooking before their eyes, for carp will be brought to market in tanks, and fish markets will no longer be places of stale odors that you want to get out of as soon as you can, but places where you will delight to linger, and watch the sporting of the carp in their glass-faced tanks, where you can select the one you want, and. take it home with you, ready for the pot, the pan, or the oven. PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. 45 Ideas aa pertinent to common sense, taste and judgment as are these, quickly take hold of the public mind, and with the increasing demand for live fish up will go the price of carp, as it is practically the only fish that can be so furnished. Thus in encouraging and aiding the market man in the construction of tanks, etc., you are but making a sale for your fist at advanced prices. In a short time after the placing of live carp on the market, dealers will compete with each other to get the handling of them. SHIPPING CARP. The shipment of Carp for stocking purposes has in the past been the leading.source of revenue to the culturists in this country. In the future it will continue a source of revenue and a prominent feature of the busi- ness. So few losses have occurred by death in the shipment of carp, as to make it quite remarkable, when we consider the newness of the business and the inexperience of those engaged in it. This is owing in part to the care exercised by the shippers and in part to the great vitality of the carp. Borne special cases demonstrating this wonderful vitality you will find related in the "Miscellaneous Appendix." A WOODEN JACKET SHIPPING CAN. The wooden jacket A protects the tin from injury. The neck C and the strainer B prevent the water from splashing out during the transit. The can should only be filled to within one inch of the shoulder. At D the strainer B is fastened by a wire and sealed if necessary to prevent promiscuous handling of the fish. If necessary in warm weather a small lump of ice can be kept in the strainer. As the strainer is perforated at the bottom, the water in the can can be changed at will. Under no cir- cumstances place a close cover on the can as it shuts. off the air from the water, and the fish will quickly exhaust the oxygen in the can and then die. The size of can to be used in the shipment of fish for stocking pur- 46 PBACTIC CALARP CULTURE. poses depends on the size and number of fish to be shipped, the distance Jhey are to travel and the length of time it will take them to reach their destination. Carp kept in clear running water a few days previous to shipment, without food, will travel much farther, and in better condition, than when taken directly from their food and from dirty water. In the latter case they pollute the water. The temperature of the water has much to do with the distance they can be shipped. The best, temperature is from 40° to 50° F. Max Von Demborne, a German authority, gives the following table, which will furnish an excellent base of calculation: Excess of weight of water over the weight of the carp during a jour- ney of 10 to 40 hours. Length of time of journey. Water should weigh. 10 hours 9 times the weight of carp. 20 " 12 " 30 " 15 " ' 40 •' 18 " " " " A little judicious work with the express agent at the shipping point will materially aid in the successful transportation of the carp. This is particularly true where more than one express company is represented at the place of shipment, as each will desire to secure the patronage. A way bill accompanies every package they send out. This way bill, as a rule, passes through the hands of the several agents on the different lines of railroad over which the package passes. Such a bill will accom- pany every can of carp. Require the agent, then, at the shipping point, to insert in the way bill a statement that the water on the fish is to be changed every 24 hours, for any other water that is fit to drink. A printed statement pasted on the can and addressed to the express mes- sengers on the trains, calling attention to the statement in the way bill, and explaining how the water may be shired off through the wire grating of the top, and if other good water is not convenient, the same water can be poured back again, it being aerated by the process, will generally secure the attention desired, and will enable the culturist to ship a greater weight of carp in a lesser weight of water than would otherwise be possi- ble. Wooden jacket cans are advantageous in that they receive little dam- age in transportation. They are, however, more expensive than 1 other cans, and besides are not always available, while any tinsmith can make an ordinary shipping can. Many styles of can have been tried, and there is a field for thought in the construction of a can that will be self -operat- ing and keep the water within it aerated. There is a natural principle, however, that the greater the surface of water exposed to the air, in a given body of water, the more oxyen will it absorb from the atmosphere. In harmony with this principle, cans should be built low and broad, nar- rower on the bottom and flaring up to the shoulders. A can 14 inches high to the shoulder should be from 5 to 7 inches greater in diameter at the shoulder than at the bottom. The bottom should be broad enough to pre- vent all possibility of upsetting. This gives a shallower body of water with a larger surface area. These cans should be constructed of XXXX PBACTIOAL CABP CUI/TUBE. 47 tin, with the sides projecting % of an inch below the bottom, and a false bottom made of 1-inch lumber fitted into tbis rim ; this will let the wood project ^4 of an inch and be the best possible protection to the bottom of the can. The flaring sides keep all other packages from coming in con- tact with it except at the shoulders, where resistence is the greatest, and where if by any accident a hole' should be punched, it will not be fatal to the fish. The aperture or neck of the can should not be less than 6 inches in diameter, as in the shipment of spawners or large fish it is quite diffi- cult to get them out of a hole that you easily get them in at. The reason is that you present them head first to the hole, the scales and fin projec- tions then are favorable to the easy passage of the body. You shire the water out of a can and the fish presents itself tail first ; the scales and fins are then unfavorable to the passage of the body, and the hole is too small to facilitate the turning of the fish, and there is a chance of damage in taking out tail first, unless the aperture in the neck is amply large. In filling a can for shipment never fill quite up to the shoulder. When the water is above the shoulder the area upon which the atmosphere acts narrows very rapidly, and in the jolting of the car there is very little breaking up of the water. On the other hand, with the water below the shoulder, you get the greatest possible surface and with every movement of the car the water pitching up the side of the can comes in contact with the shoulders is broken up, aerated and falls back in better condition for the fish than before leaving the body. So far very few carp have been successfully shipped during hot weather. The practical shipping season may be said to extend from the first of October to the first of the following June. Spring or well water may be used to ship carp in, but before using it should be very thoroughly broken up and aerated. This may be accom- plished by whipping the water with a wire ; dip net or by passing it through a sieve, letting it drop some distance through the air to a tub or other vessel. CHAPTER VII. ENEMIES OF THE CARP— HOW TO DESTROY THEM. One of the great essentials to successful carp cultu re is their protection against their enemies, which are legion. It is not within the province of this work to enter into a detailed description of each of these enemies, but simply to point out the most destructive of them, and provide the remedy for their extinction. Giving an outline of the natural history with illus- trations of those, with which the general reader would be least familiar. It is only through a Knowledge of these enemies that we can successfully combat them. Many of these enemies are dangerous only to the eggs and young fish, while others attack even the largest of carp. But it is among the young that danger and loss are greatest. The eggs and young fry being much sought after by other fish, bugs, larvae, etc. The first in the list of destroyers we must place the carp itself. That the spawners will prey on their own eggs and young is not disputed. It is also true that in mixed culture, where the spawners are not by them- selves, that those not spawing will join in the work of eating the eggs and young. This may be largely overcome by furnishing them plenty of other food; but the better plan is to catch the eggs on evergreen or willow branches and remove them to a small improvised pond, where they re- main until large enough to get out of the way or protect themselves. If in a regular hatching pond remove the spawners when their work of spawning is done. Amon? the domesticated fowls geese and ducks allowed access to the pond become the most persevering and inveterate of fishers, and it is really surprising how large a fish they will catch. If too large to swallow whole they will none the less hang on until they take a piece of the body or tail with them. The maimed fish, if it lives, is subject to disease and liable to spread it among the other fish. Carp and these fowls cannot be all successfully raised in and on the same water". In ponds of shallow water the hog quickly learns to fish successfully, and must be debarred the water privileges of the fish pond. The access of cattle and horses to the pond is not injurious. WATER SNAKES Are very hard on young carp, and each snake will require from 25 to 40 young fish a day to satisfy his appetite. During the summer of 1883 Dr. Rud. Hessel killed at the Government carp • ponds at Washington, D. C, 1,050 snakes, almost every one had young carp in their stomach. -Similar reports come from many culturists. The remedy is an active shot-gun policy: use fine bird shot. In the list of active reptile, and animal enemie's of the carp may be included roaches, crawfish PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. 49 tadpoles, frogs, terrapins, turtles, muskrats, water-rats, coons and mink. The shot-gun policy will lessen the number of these, but ingenius devices and traps will also be required. * Bake the frog spawn out on the bank and let it dry in the sun, and a boy with a light shot-gun will have great sport in getting rid of the old frogs, whose chief depredation is on the eggs of the fish. Though they will swallow fish so large that the tail will stick out of their mouths. CRAWFISH. Dr. E. Sterling, of Cleveland, Ohio, gives the following method of capturing crawfish : Take 30 to 50 osier twigs, or split white ash sticks, according to the size used, and three feet in length, form a bundle of the whole and bind at each end with strong cord or wire, separate the twigs or splints in the center of the bundle by means of sticks 10, 15 and 20 inches long and forked at each end, so that when in place the trap will be spindle-like in shape, with the twigs evenly distributed about its circum- ference and centre, and far enough apart to allow easy entrance for the fish, but from which they will not readily escape. Bait the inside with fresh meat of any kind, only see that it is fresh and bleody if possible ; set the same with the current in running water ; if blood can be procured, pour a pint or so on the bait ; it will taint the stream for a long distance. I have watched crawfish in great numbers follow up the track or scent thus made from 30 rods below the trap, and have known six and eight quarts taken at a single lift. Should one desire a more substantial and comely rig, it can be made by driving a smooth, stout stick lengthwise through the center of the bundle, slide the tied ends down on the stick until the whole bulges to a diameter of 20 inches or more in the centre, fasten the tied ends of the twigs to the centre stick, put three hoops of proper size-over the whole and fasten with fine copper wire. In order to make hiding places for the crawfish and so retain them in the trap, num- bers of the twigs should also traverse in various directions. Another and simpler method of dealing with th T YMPHi!ACB*. — WATER LILLY FAMILY. Cabomba earoliniana, Gray. — Florida to North Carolina and west- ward. Nymphcea odorata, Ait. — Sweet-scented white Water Lilly. — Pound at Great Falls and below Long Bridge. Common in the Northern States. Nymplvea tuberosa, Paine. — Tube-bearing Water Lilly. — West- ern New York to Michigan, Illinois, and probably in the Southern States. Nuphar luteutn, Smith.— Smaller yellow Pond Lily. — Chiefly European ; the var. pumilum, Gray (JV. pumilum, Smith), is not rare northward ia the United States. HALORAQEiE — WATER MILFOIL FAMILY. Myriophyllum. — Water Milfoil.— Six species are found in the Northern United States, of which M. spicatum is the most common, and occurs sparingly near Washington. Hippuris Vulgaris, L. — Mare's Tail. — New York to Kentucky and northward; rare in the United States; more com- mon in Europe. ONAGRACEiE— EVENING PRIMROSE FAMILY. Tropa natans, L. — Europe, Siberia. UMBELLIFERjE — PARSLEY FAMILY. Oenanthe sarmentosa, Presl. {Phellandrium aqualicum, L.) — Oregon and Washington Territory. PRIMULACEJE — PRIMROSE FAMILY. HottcDiia inflata, Ell. (II. palustrus, Pursh.) — Featherfoil. — Massa- chusetts to Louisiana. POLYGONACEiE— BUCKWHEAT FAMILY Polygonum (amphibium, L. ?) — Water Persicaria. — Common. Has been sparingly found near Georgetown, D. 0. CERATOPHYLLACE^E — HORNWORT FAMILY. Ccralophyllum demersum, L. — Horn wort. — Abundant. 90 PRACTICAL CABP CULTURE. ABAOEjE-ABUM family. Acorus calamus, L. — Sweet Flag, Calamus. — Common. LEMNACEiE! — DUCKWEED FAMILY. Lemna trisuloa, L. — Duckweed, Duck's meat. — Widely diffused. Lemna minor, L. — America and Europe. Lemna gibba, L. — Chiefly in Europe, but has been found in Arizona. TYPHACEjE — CAT-TAIL FAMILY Typha latifolia, L. — Cat-Tail Flag. — Very Common. Typha angusti- folia, L. — Narrow-leaved Cat-Tail. — Less common, but found in this dis. trict and notably in a pond near the foot of Eighteenth street. NAIADACE.E — POND-WEED FAMILY. Potamogeton natans, L. — Pond-weed. — Common. ALISMACE.E — WATER-PLANTAIN FAMILY. Alisma natans, L. — Water-plantain. — Europe, Siberia, Sagittaria variabilis, var. latifolia, Eng. (Sagittaria latifolia, Willd.) — Arrowhead. — Common. Butomus umbellatus, L. — Europe, Northern Asia. HYDROCHARIDACE^E — FROG'S BIT FAMILY. Anacharis canadensis, Planchon. {Elodea canadensis. Michx.) — Water- weed. — Common. Valisneria spiralis, L. — Tape-grass, Eel-grass. — Com- mon. IRIDACE.B — IRIS FAMILY. Iris pseudacorus, L. — Europe; Siberia. JUNCACE.2E — RUSH FAMILY. Juncus effusus, L.- (=J. conglomerate, L.) — Common Bush. CYPERAOE^; — SEDGE FAMILY. Scirpus lueustriSjIj. — Bulrush, Tu]e. — Common. GRAMINEiE — GRASS FAMILY. Zizania aquatica, L. — Indian Bice, Water Oats. — Potomac Flats, etc. Olyceria aquatica, Smith — Beed Meadow Grass. — Common northward. Olyceria fluitans, B. Br. — Common, but has not been found nearer Wash- ington than Great Falls. Festuca fluitans, Leeds- -Europe. Phragtniies communis, Trin. (Arunda phragmites, L.) — Beed, Cane. CRYPTOGAMIA. Azoila caroliniana, Willd. — New Yord to Illinois and southward. We omitted from this list the Utricularia vulgaris, or Bladderwort, be- cause of its fish-eating character, as shown in a former chapter. Culturists wishing any of these plants ci.n be supplied by addressing Hugo Mulertt, 64 Calhoun street, Cincinnati, Ohio, or W. S. Bitchie, Hudson, Ohio. CHAPTEE XII. FISH AS FOOD. The following valuable article on this subject was published in the Farm & Fireside in 1884, signed E. T. N. : "The International Fisheries' Exhibition at London, has just closed, alter a session of several months. It brought together a large number of persons engaged in this industry, and perhaps a still larger number of those who are studying the questions which the industry involves. It must follow that the papers read in the conferences are of great and per- manent value. Sir Henry. Thompson, who was introduced as "one of the most eminent surgeons in the world," spoke on the topic which stands at the head of this^ article. The United States commisioner, who rose to move a vote of thanks to Sir Henry, pronounced the paper the most im- portant which had been read, and added the hope that it might be trans- lated into many languages and be widely distributed. It is our purpose to review "the paper in order to make public its wealth of facts. With these statements we shall feel free to use the exact language of the report when it best suits our purpose, and that without marks of quotation. The author first attempts to show the value of fish by comparing it with other well-known forms of food. In every hundred pounds' weight of healthy flesh not artificially fattened, whether beef, mutton or poultry, and from which the bone has been removed, about seventy-five to seventy-eight pounds of water are present, and are separated as such from the solid matter in the processes of cooking and digestion. Perhaps twenty-five pounds are solid matter and alone contains the nutritive material. Of this nutritive material about sixteen or seventeen pounds consist of the essential elements of flesh, and of the solid parts of the blood. These are variously named by authors — the flesh-forming, the nitrogenous, or the albuminoid elements. Of gelatine, with some allied compounds, about one to two pounds are present. These are also nitro- genous, but are quite distinct from the former class, and possess less nutritive value. The fat is very variable in quantity, but may be estim- ated at from two to four pounds per hundred. The remainder of the twenty-five pounds of (-olid matter consists of salts, mineral, and even metalic substances, all of which are essential parts of the body. In one hundred pounds of fish without bone, from seventy-five to eighty-five are water, leaving as an average about twenty pounds of the solid or nutritive. (The carp has 20.2 per cent.) The nitrogenous may amount to eighteen poinds, but it is more frequently from twelve to four- teen. The gelatine-fo'ming portion is in excess as compared with the flesh of land animals. The fat varies with the season and with the species 'J'2 PRACTICAL CAKP CUI/TUIIE. — is less than one pound per hundred in most of the common fish, but rises to seven pounds in the herring, to twelve in the salmon, and to thirty in the eel. In the land animals, as well as fish, a portion of the fat ac- cumulates at the expense of the nitrogenous elements, but much the greater portion simply replaces the water. Since fat is a true food, it is evident that, pound per pound, the flesh from well-fattened animals has a greater nutritive value than that from poorly-fattened animals. With these data before us, which have been worked out by Sir Henry Thompson, we are able to judge of fish as an article of food. The human stomach is often like a balky horse — it needs a new sensation to make it go. The relish with which we greet the various productions of the farm and the garden, in their season, proves that the law is almost universal. Leaving out the question of variety upon our tables, the flesh of fish ranks next to that of the domesticated animals in its nutritive elements, and surpasses all the productions of the farm in this respect,- as well as also in the ease by which it is digested. The solid elements of the flesh of fish are rather more soluble than are those of the flesh of the domesticated animals, as the following experiments clearly show : A pound of rump-steak, one pound of fish, each without skin and bone, were thus separately treated. The flesh was passed twice through a sausage machine, and one pint of cold water added to each. After stand- ing one hour, the mass was heated to boiling point, and allowed to sim- mer ten minutes, then strained through muslin cloth. A very careful analysis proved that the solid or nutritive portion of the beef-tea weighed 276 grains, while that of the fish-tea weighed 396 grains. After making full allowance for the gelatine which is in excess in the fish product, it appears that fish-broth contains twenty per cent, more nutritive material than beef-broth. But we must not overlook the fact, as the author shows, that there is an indescribable something in beef-tea which gives it great value as a nutritive agent. The complaint is sometimes urged that a fish diet does not satisfy the cravings of the system, and that the desire for food soon returns. The reason for this is obvious. No one article of food is perfect in containing all the elements required by the human body. Some are rich in nitrogen, but poor in starch and fat ; others may contain the latter elements and lack the former. Hence the absolute necessity for a mixed diet. Fish, as a rule, contain but little fat — much less than beef, and far less than pork. It should accompany, rather than take the place entirely of these other meats. The author, while engaged in his investigations, observed that the hard-laboring fishermen on the coasts of Cornwall have a very appropri- ate diet. Portions of any fresh fish are cut up and placed in a large pie- dish, and among them some thick morsels of fat pork ; the whole is cov- ered with a substantial crust, and baked. Those of our readers who live in New England know that one cannot make a good "chowder" without using at least a few slices of fat, salt pork. There are many persons to whom fish, cooked in an appetizing manner would be a thankful relief PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. !>.'! front the salted meats which are so universally found upon the tallies of the farmer, especially during the summer months. The young, the in- firm and the aged would find their digestion improved and their sleep more refreshing if they were to substitute an occasional dish of fish in the place of the ham and the corned beef. St. Paul tells us that strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to dis- cern both good and evil. Taken in a physiological sense, that seems to teach clearly that only those who have reached their full strength, and are doing manual labor of the severest kind, can with safety load their stomachs as so many of us are constantly doing. We no longer wonder that farmers grow old prematurely, and that so many of them are dys- peptic, and that so frequently they. are compelled to end their lives within the walls of an asylum for the insane, when we learn how they live what they eat, and the lack of true business principles in their daily work. Let them, therefore, eat fish, and avoid all these ills." THE CARP AS A FOOD FISH. It is no longer necessary to speed over to Europe for testimony upon the table qualities of the carp. There are a half a million people in the United States who will testify to the excellent flavor and character of their flesh. Seeking the very best of our native fishes with which to compare them. In fact the criticisms and complaints are so few as to deserve no attention. All men do not like roast pork, roast beef, nor even roast turkey with cranberry sauce, while there are others who decline the delicious bivalve, in -any form it may be prepared, and there are thou- sands who turn away from frogs quarters. It is true that tastes differ, and that prejudice often governs taste, and that excellent people will differ in their opinions and judgment. It is not saying too much to claim that there is less difference of opinion on the good eating qualities of carp by those who have partaken of their flesh, than there is in the same num- ber of persons on the edible qualities of a goose or a hog. The testimony on this point is all on one side. Out of nearly 1,000 letters relating to this one subject, only 13 or about 1> 2 per centum have any criticisms to make. The other 98^' per centum speak in their praise. Space will not permit the publication of these opinions, nor does it seem necessary. Those seeking such information are referred to the back numbers of "American Carp Culture." Every farmer can raise his own fish food, as well and more easily than he can raise poultry or pork, and contribute greatly to his own and his family's health, prosperity and happiness. The flesh of animals used for stock-getting purposes is not fit for the table during the season of service and breeding. The same is true of poultry, and applies with equal force to fish, especially the summer spawning classes, to which the carp belong. At such seasons the flesh of all animals is unpalatable. In the females it is soft and flabby and in the males strong. In this fact lies the secret of most of the criticisms made on the edible qualities of the carp. They have been eaten during the 94' PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. spawning season, or perchance taken from some mudbole, where the wonder is they continued to live, and from whi^h nothing healthy or toothsome could come. Then it is to be remembered that cooking has much to do with the taste of any food, and that poor cooking will spoil the best of food. Those critics whose judgment was not affected by any of these causes, simply differ in their taste from the great majority of mankind. The larger the fish the firmer the flesh, is a principle that holds good •with all kinds of fish. Carp from a weight of two pounds and upward are best for table use. Many, however, weighing from one-half pound upwards have been fried, and pronounced excellent. The larger the pond, and the more vegetation there is in it, the clearer will be the water, and the better the fish. Large fish are best adapted to baking and boiling, smaller ones to frying. Upon taking the carp from the water kill it immediately, and let it bleed freely ; scale it and remove the intestines. It is then READY FOR THE COOK, with whom the responsibility of a savory dish will rest. Many elaborate methods of boiling, baking, frying and pickling and otherwise preparing the carp for the table, have come to us from the centuries of experience with this fish in Europe. While experience is not to be discarded, we do not feel like setting forth those methods here. In some receipes the many condiments, pickles, jellies, etc., used seem designed to cover up the very excellent taste of the carp. Cook a carp the same as you would any other fish of the same size, and if you like the other fish thus prepared, you will be more than satis- fied with the carp. CHAPTER XIII. POT POTJRI. In spreading the table for our guests some of the bounties prepared were untouched, overlooked — so we gather them up for an after fea9t, where they will stand out more promineatly, because isolated. GERMAN CARP In this country are few and far between. The only real German carp in America are those that were imported, either by Capt. Robinson about 1830, and which escaped into the Hudson river, and so are not available, and the five tiny ones that reached alive, the ponds of Mr. Poppe at Sanoma, California, in August, 1872, and the 345 imported by the United States Fish Commission, in 1877. Allowing that all of these are now alive, there are only 350 German carp in America. The millions of other carp in this country, are just as good, and many of them much better than the original stock, but they are not German carp, and to call them so is a misnomer, and an injustice, that has in it no advantage for the culturists. They are the offspring, the progeny of the German carp, raised in American water, on American food from birth and are Ameri- can carp, just as much as a child of German parentage, born in this country is at manhood an American citizen. We have no other carp in this country than those mentioned. In buying carp then do not be misled by the name given them. De- termine which variety you want, then buy the largest growth, for the age, that you can get. The large growth being evidence that they are not stunted, and buy of a responsible culturist, who either raises but the one variety, or keeps the varieties strictly separate, in different ponds. You will then have good stock to start with, and can produce the best type of the variety selected. HYBRIDIZATION. The varieties if grown together will cross, and lose their characteris- tics. If raised for home consumption, this will not be so serious a matter. If raised to sell for stocking purposes, it will be more serious, as beginners should start out with a pure blood of either of the varieties, and by care breed that variety to the highest possible type. The crossing of the varieties is to be deprecated, but cannot be com- pared in seriousness with the crossing with other summer spawning fish, which are comparatively worthless as food. These latter crossings deteriorate from the high standard of the carp, and give it an inferior place among food fishes. The wonderful crossings, and hybridization we 9Q PRACTICAL CABP CULTUKE. find in the native fishes, warn us to fix no limit to the hybridization of the carp. We simpiy raise our voice to urge the keeping of the carp by themselves. HOW TO DISTINGUISH THE SEX OF CARP, This is a very important matter, either in the selection of breeders for sale, or for stocking the spawning or hatching pond. One of our early American writers on carp culture, declared that the sexes could not be distinguished, unless at the spawning season when the female was very large. But then it was the same author that linked the hearing of fish and marines in the same breath, and taught that carp were vegetarians and slept in the mud all winter. His next volume should be entitled, " What I don't Know Abont Carp Culture," then if he gets somebody else to write it, the book with his egotism left out will be readable. The following article, written for American Carp Culture, Nov., 1886, by Chas. W. Smiley, Washington, D. C, Ed. Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission, covers the subject completely. From many experiments under it we know it to be correct : "When the adult is nearing the spawning time, the ripening of the ova produces a broadened appearance in the female, which is sufficient to enable most any one to distinguish the sex. It is necessary, however, to be able to distinguish them at a much earlier age, and this, although not generally understood, is declared by experienced fish culturists to present but little difficulty. Dr. Hessel, superintendent of the United States Government ponds, scarcely ever fails to identify the sexes, although he declares his inability to describe in words, the manner in which he does it. The German carp culturists, however, have distinctly stated their method. Horak, in a work published 1869, and entitled Die Teiohwirthschaft mit besonderer Ruecksicht auf das suedliche Boehmen. Fin populares Handbuch fuer Teichwirthe, Fischereibedienstete und Freunde der Fisch- zucht, by Wenzel Horak, says: "Fishermen who are not able to deter- mine the sexes of the fish at once, are in* the habit of squeezing the geni- tal parts until they yield either milt or roe. This method ia very injuri- ous to the production of young fish. An experienced pond culturist will, at the first glance, distinguish a male from a female carp, even when they are only one year old. The milter or male fish, has a depression or eon- cave place in its genital parts, while the spawner, or female fish, has a protuberance or convex place." Carl Nicklas, perhaps the most skilled carp culturist at present living in Germany, indorses the above quotation from Horak, and adds: "The aperture of the genital orifice also seems to be somewhat larger and red- der in the female than in the male. It is not very difficult to distinguish the male from the female carp; still it may require a little practice." Prof. B. Benecke, of Konigsberg, says : "As a general rule the belly ®f the spawner is broader and rounder; the genital aperture is larger and PRACTICAI, CARP CULTURE. 9i reddish, and has thick lips, while in the male it forms a narrow slit. Apparently without any knowledge of these German authorities, Geo. M. Ramsey, M. D., of Clockey, Pa., writing under date of November 22, 1883, says: "I have discovered how to distinguish the sex of German carp at all seasons of the year. By the inspection of the female carp a small fleshy protuberance, that pouts a very little, will be seen in front of the vent, whereas, in the male carp the same is slightly depressed or sunken ralher than protuberant. On examination each fish should be held up to the light in the same position, back downward." Evidently Dr. Ramsey has made an independent discovery of what was already known in Germany." SPAWNING. Some culturists state that their carp have spawned twice in one sea- son. The time between these spawnings being from three weeks to four months. We do not doubt the truthfulness of the persons making these statements, but we do doubt that the same female carp develops- and ripens two sets of eggs the same season. In our opinion the facts are these: The deposition of the eggs when once begun may be delayed, by a change of weather, or a change of temperature in the water, even after the carp have been thus engaged for a part of several days, they usually begin early in the morning and continue until about noon, but when thus interrupted they very rarely run over three weeks, until their work is finished. Thus the same carp might be observed at their work a half a dozen of times in that time, but it is all one set o? ova. The longer time of four months may be explained by the fact that it was a different set of carp that engaged in the work. The different ages of the carp, and the opportunities of growth and development the former season, would reconcile the difference of time in the ripening of the ova, and explain the statement that carp spawn twice. The fact being that different sets of carp in the same pond spawned in parts of the season widely separated. We have often been asked, how to tell when carp are spawning? You can't make any mistake about it, as you will know when you have once seen it. The female, closely pursued by the male or males, rushes up among the grass and water-plants at the edge of the pond, their backs well out of water, and tails and fins a flashing, and the water boiling around about them, turning and doubling, twisting and retreating, only to come back again to the edge with another rush. If everything is favora- ble this is continued for hours, more or less eggs being deposited with every rush among the vegetation. As the eggs are dropped by the female the following male rushing in the same course milts them. The eggs are whitish and abeut the size of a No. 6 shot, are adhesive and stick to float- ing objects, such as the leaves of water plants, etc., until they are hatched, which takes from three to ten days, according to temperature. HOW TO CATCH CARP. They are good biters at a hook and are very gamey when hooked. We have lived within two miles of Lake Erie for 20 year's, and have taken 98 PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. nearly all kinds of fish from its water, as well as from the waters of Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior, and we have had as much real genuine sport in taking carp with a hook, as in taking any other fish. We have had them straighten a hook and break a line many a time. It requires good equipment and skill to land carp that weighs six pounds and upward. For bait we have- used worms, grubs, minnows, crusts of bread, etc. Where bread is used it must be kneaded into a pasty mass about the hook. A small piece of bloody meat makes a good bait. One of the correspond- ents in American Carp Culture says : "To catch large carp take grains of corn and place on the hook." We have never tried this, and cannot speak from experience. Where larger numbers are wanted than could be conveniently taken by the hook, many traps and devices have been resorted to, but the seine is the standby. DIFFICULT TO SEINE. They are, however, very cunning and difficult to seine. This is par- ticularly true of the larger sized fish. Never be discouraged with the first haul, for while the water is clear enough for them to see the seine, great numbers will avoid it. If they don't succeed in passing around it or jumping over it, they will stick their heads in the mud until it drags over them. When the water is once roiled, however, the hauls of the seine will be more successful. FEEDING TIME. The part of the day when carp feed naturally is at night and early morning. It is therefore the best time to take them with a hook, and the evening is the best time to give them food. CONCUSSION. Giant powder and dynamite have been frequently used by the lawless in our public streams and fishing places to secure in phort order a big haul of fish. Its use for such purposes in many of the states has been made a misdemeanor and crime. The effect of the concussion of the dis- charge of such a missle under the water kills the fish, and many of them float on the surface of the water, and are then gathered up by the mis- creants. This -has even happened to the carp pond of one of our corre- spondents. We make mention of this simply to get at the deadly effect of concus- sion. In cutting an air hole in the ice, another correspondent killed two fine carp with the blows of his ax on the ice. It is an old trick of hunters to strike the ice above water animals and so kill them. Concussion then, in our opinion, will explain some of the losses of carp in winter time, that are otherwise unexplainable. The raising or lowering of the water in a pond that is ice-bound will frequently cause a heaving or settling of the ice, either of which will result in a concussion of greater or less force, which cannot but affect the fish. The falling of trees on the ice, the throwing of heavy bodies on it, is to be avoided. The PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. 99 cutting of holes in the ice should be done carefully. The taking of ice from the pond is not necessarily injurious, after the first hole is cut, as in sawing the ice, there is little or no jar and little or no concussion as a con- sequence, and this looses its force where there is open water. WAVES ON PONDS. Where ponds lie exposed to the action of the wind, waves of consider- able size and force are frequently formed, even on ponds containing only two or three acres, and on larger sheets of water the waves are propor- tionately large. If left to work their own way they wash the banks, and unless the banks are exceptionally strong there is a possibility of a leak being sprung, when you are not thinking of it. A simple and inexpensive protection against the action of the waves is made of poles, from 4 to 7 inches in diameter at the butt. These poles are trimmed of the branches and laid on the water next the embankments, the top of one pole being withed or bolted to the butt of another, until the poles extend along the entire line of embankments, then stakes are driven just beyond the poles to prevent their being carried out in the pond. The action of the waves is then on the poles instead of on the embankments. NYMPHjEA ODOBATA — SWEET SCENTED WHITE WATER LILLY. MISCELLANEOUS APPENDIX. MISCELLANEOUS APPENDIX. The purpose of this appendix is to place the reader in direct com- munion with some of the persons who have succeeded in carp' culture, and many of them beyond their highest expectations. Their inexpensive ponds, and the simple methods by which they attained success, cannot but be interesting, instructive, and encouraging to others. Our difficulty in compiling this portion of our work arose from the superabundance of material. In selecting from it our sole desire has been to serve the very best interests of our readers. From many letters then we have taken only a brief extract, touching some particular phase of the subject, while others we present in almost their entirety. Because of several subjects touched in the same letter, it was very hard to classify them. But each one will speak for itself and all are worthy of reading. It is but just to say that the writers of these letters are all of them subscribers to our monthly publication, "American Carp Culture," and all of them acknowledge the great aid they have received from it. Where not otherwise specially stated each of the following communications was addressed to us : INCREASE OF CAEP — PRICES — HARDIHOOD, ETC. Mi. Morris, Pa., May 27, 1885. My fish are doing fine. Drained Nos. 2 and 3 ; No. 2 contained eighteen three years old. No. 3 had twenty-four two years old in it. We took from these two ponds of last year's spawn 3,634 fish by actual count. I did not drain my large pond, No. 1; in this pond I have my four and five years old fish. We are cooking them pretty freely now. Some say that carp is unfit to eat ; (sour grapes) ; they are too lazy to build a pond. I am well pleased with the taste of my fish and all that eat them are delighted. J. W. Long. Bedford, Ohio, June 13. 1885. Nearly every one in constructing ponds finds he lacks something or has made some mistake; I have three ponds and have sold 2,000 fish this spring. J. C. Alexander. Martinsbukg, O., October 20, 1885. I drained one of my ponds the 16th, and had, actual count, 4,323 young fish, besides several hundred that got through strainer box. We had for 104 I'BACTICAL CARP CULTUKE. dinner three two-pound fish, and all said they never ate better fish. They have all grown beyond expectation. Young fish were from three to eight inches long. Ira H. Ewart. Blakesbukg, Iowa, March 25, 1886. Complaint has been made of carp not living through our long, cold winters, and that they are a tender fish, difficult to winter, but I know them to be as hardy as we have in this part of Iowa. I have two ponds stocked with carp, and last fall I planted 450 young carp in those ponds, that had been shipped 500 miles in November, and they wintered all right. I have the same old spawnersthat came safe through the winter, while the native fish, grown by farmers in ponds along the creek, are dead — such as. bull- heads, sunfish, suckers, red horse, chubs — all our native kinds of fish. Further, I have not heard of a single carp dying this winter that was not hurt in handling in the fall. The carp is just the fish for the farmers to grow. W. A. Day. Utopia, Texas, May 24, 1886. I built me a pond in February which covers two acres. I cleaned the small brush off and broke the laud with turn plow, then harrowed it and leveled the dam. Not a living thing in pond except a few trees. On the 9th day of April I put three German carp in. I saw no more of them till lately. There were hogs, cattle, 34 ducks, 23 geese, and turtles, snakes, crawfish, and frogs; all went in all the time. On the 22d day of May, by accident we found a young carp in a little neck of the main pond ; we then began taking out, as I intended turning the water off, to stop some holes that leaked water; we picked with our hands 324 carp three inches long ; don't know what is in the main pond; will drain pond to-morrow. Those fish had been laid, hatched and raised to that size in forty-three days. I am 600 miles west from mouth of Mississippi river, 1,500 feet above sea level, in the mountains. B. F. Biggs. Pulaski, Tenn., April, 1887. I have four fish ponds with 2,800 carp that will spawn next season. Started eighteen months ago with five carp — three male and two female ; have from them handled and counted 4,000. Thomas S. Pitta rd. McPherson, Kans., April, 1887. Got twenty car}) from Washington in November, 18K2 ; they have never been fed; have multiplied wonderfully. There are many six-pounders among them, and small fry too numerous to mention. E. C. Wells. West Richfield, O., Septejnber 20, 1887. in December, 1882, I received my first carp; lost all but eight. In Oc- PB ACTIO AL CABP CULTUBE. .105 tober, 1884, I drew off my pond ; found four of the original stock and thirty . about six inches long. In October, 1885, drew the pond again ; found four of the original plant, one of which weighed eight pounds, and twenty-six others eighteen inches long and bushels of small fry from two to three inches long. My four-year-olds spawned in May this year, my three-years in June. They come and eat like a lot of hogs when fed. J. W. Thorp. Woodbuff, S. C, October 29, 1887. I this year raised 1,100 fry in a pond about 35x40 feet. I also lost by a breaking dam 137 yearlings and I suppose 1,000 fry. My experience in- clines me to the opinion that one should have ponds enough to alternate winter and summer, leaving each pond exposed to sun and air and to take on vegetation half the season. Fish raising is a success if given the atten- tion that pigs and chickens are given. L. C. Ezell. Onoville, N. Y., November, 1887. This is my first season in carp culture. The muskrats let the water out of my pond and cost me 2,000 or 3,000 fish. 1 lost 2,000 in transportation, sold 2,500 more, and have about 3,000 stored in winter quarters. The King- fishers fished my pond all summer. From twelve two-year old breeders I have raised between 10,000 and 12,000 fish. E. L. Valentine. Cobsicana, Mo., November 23, 1887. I have just drained out one of my ponds, (I have five of them) and taken out fish 23 inches in length, that weigh 3% pounds; they are only one year old. I have about ten acres in ponds. I have an hydraulic ram that furnishes one of my ponds ; under a twelve-foot head it will throw water fifty feet high ; it runs fifteen gallons per minute ; I think the German carp is the best fish yet. L. J. Blankenship. Pueblo, Col., Dec. 21,1887. I drew down my pond October 16, got everything ready, made a haul with the seine and caught about 3,000 fish; would have weighed about l,500pounds. They then had two years' growth. I took out about 300 pounds, turned the seine over and let them go. I peddled out what I had. They sold very readily and people called for more. I could have sold every fish in my pond. The fish should have been larger, but they were stunted the , first year, The party of whom I bought the yearlings, told me they were stunted as he raised over 50,000 in a pond 100 feet square. I expect to turn out a fine lot of fish next fall. My last spring spawn are nearly as large as the two-summer fish. I cannot tell how many I have of them but have plenty. I am raising carp for money and intend to make a business of it and am well pleased and feel sure of success. I have now about 20 acres of water surface and eight acres will be from three to 12 inches deep and 106 PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. will make great feeding ground. I do not think the Kingfisher does any harm. He thins out the top minnows which are always on top of the water. My carp do not come to the top of the water unless the sun shines bright and no wind. J. J. Thomas. Wausan, Wis., Feb. 11, 1888. I certainly should think many claims made for the carp "fishey," had I not had some experience with them, and will candidly say that the most extravagant claims made for them comes fairly within the limits of possibilities and truth. Last year I raised 1,250 young fry, from 2 to 4 inches, from 11 breeders in a ditch 4 feet wide and about 20 rods long with water from 1 inch to 18 inches deep, and cattle and hogs occupying fully one-third this length in common with the carp, which made the water so muddy that no fish could be seen. Don't think this is the home I intend- ed for my carp ; no, I was going to have a nice little pond of about an acre, but the dry season prevented anything but the ditch from filling. And now after drawing my pond ( or rather my ditch ) and finding all my old fish (more than double the size,) and the 1,250 young ones; I can take any carp yarn you can spin. One thing more that I have not seen in your paper. It was late in the fall when I drew off the water and it froze quite hard that night, and the next morning I found several fry frozen in the ice in a small hole back some distance from the collector. These I thought, of course, were dead, but I put them in a pail with water, and to my surprise, when the ice was thawed enough to release them they swam around as if nothing unusual had happened. A few were kept in water to see if they had received any injury by freezing; they are well and lively to-day, fully proving that carp can be frozen hi solid ice without any injury. R. E. Paechee. Fbenohtown, Pa., Feb. 27, 1888. 1 have a carp pond of 1J^ acre. About 18 months ago 1 first put in 110 earp that were about 4 inches long, and 10 months ago I put in 7 spawners that were from 22 to 30 inches long. Last October I drained the water off and was surprisad to find more than 50,000 little carp that were from 1^4 to 7 inches long; and, the 110 small carp that I put in 18 months ago meas- ured 16 and 18 inches long. On the day I drew the water from my pond I sold $95 worth of the small fish. I assorted them in sizes under 3 inches, over 3 and under 4)4 inches, over 4}£ inches and under 6 inches, and sold them at proportionate prices. Joseph Bbunot. SALE OF CARP FOB TABLE USE. Edinburg, Ind., December 12, 1886. I am selling carp for food fish. This last fall and winter, and up to the present'time, I have disposed of about 2,000 pounds and have yet about PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. 107 5,000 pounds on hand, which I am holding for the Lenten season, when I expect a readier sale and higher price for them. What I have sold have given good Satisfaction, except a few that were small, not weighing more than one pound each. I would recommend no one to offer carp in market under Wo pounds in weight ; three pounds and upwards would be better. I sell at from 12)4 to 15 cents per pound. V. Stiliabower. Dorrance, Kans., March 6, 1887. My pond is only 250x25 feet, with a spring, which is very rare in this part. I sold a good many fish for table use, last October, for fifteen cents a pound, and folks come to my place to get more ; they say they never ate any fish that were as good. In January last, when the mercury was about 20 degrees below zero my under drain got damaged and let the water out, clear to the bottom. I could not get to the fish as there was eighteen inched of ice ; and I never expected to see any of them alive again, as there was very little water coming and I could not stop the leak for three days. But when the ice broke up I found all alive, with the exceptions of one, a four-pounder. The rest were all half that size. W. Bunker. "Waverly, Ohio, Jan, 7, 1888. Last March (1887) I sold an express load of carp in the rough for 12)4 cents per pound. They sold like hot cakes. I had but one complaint and that man said they were too fat. W. B. Lee. CATCHING CARP. Clayton, Mo., November 8, 1885. Make a thick mush of corn meal, put plenty of salt in beforehand, cook it well, take pieees of cheese cloth 1)4 to 3 inches square (which is as large as can go in the fishes mouth) tie the mush up in this, pass the hook through the cloth to the inside, being careful not to let it come out on the opposite side of the ball, fasten lines to your hook about 2>£feet long, take a small wire long enough to reach along the dam of the pond or along the deepest and straightest edge of the pond. Tie your lines to this wire at about four feet apart, and stretch your wire so that the bait on the hooks will just touch the sloping side of the dam or bank. I have found this place mostly frequented by carp in search of food, and the bait being on the ground and not suspended in the water, they can better find and take hold of it, or in feeding they get it in their mouth. I use the bass hook for this purpose ; care must be taken in landing them, as they are very tender and will tear out their mouth. I have caught several that weighed from 2)4 to 3 pounds in this way. E. B. Brotjster. Mount Union, July 19, 1886. To catch carp take an old bone-dust or coffee sack, a hoop from a bar- 108 PBACTICAL CAEP CDLTUBE. rel, fasten it inside of the sack at the bottom and another one at the top of the sack, with a short pole for a handle ; put some corn, wheat or bread in the sack and sink it under water. You can catch fish of any size in it. I took four in this manner to-day; had one for dinner; weight %% pounds; very good fish. Chas. F. Johnson. Brooklyn Villa&e, O., August 22, 1886. To catch carp in small ponds have a box (of size to suit) with bottom fixed to feed the carp upon, and have six or eight inches open at the bot- tom of the sides for them to enter, and the top to come out of the watex with pulley and rope to raise and lower the box, and on the inside have another box to let down and close up the opening for the entrance of the carp and if th^y are in, and when the water passes out you take out those you want and put boxes and fish back again. James Gay. Brown's Valley, Ind., February 21, 1888. To catch large carp and not small ones, bait with corn after being soaked in water for ten or twelve hours ; put the hook through the point of the grain and throw out along the edge of the pond at sundown; line tied to limber switches stuck in the bank ; go for your fish in the morning. , Peter James. CARP IN MINERAL, SULPHUR AND SALT WATER. IN SULPHUR WATER. Woods Cross, Utah, June 30, 1885. I have a carp pond containing one and-a-half acres. December 8, 1884, I received twenty German carp from Washington. Eighteen I placed in the pond for the winter, and two I put in a tank holding about 150 gallons, fed by an artesian well. The water contains a little sulphur and iron, with a temperature of 54 degrees Fahr. They wintered all right, although the prevalent idea is that water containing mineral is injurious to the carp. Jacob Gierisch. IN SALT WATER. Blue, Utah, March 31, 1886. December, 1884, I received twenty-one minnow carp, mirror variety, of United States Fish Commission. Kept them in a pond 10x15 feet the remainder of the winter. Early in the spring I found that they had grown but very little, and removed them to a pond of about two acres, made by draining a swampy piece of slough land and turning a mountain spring into it. Late last fall I drained this pond and got thirteen (muskrats and snakes got the other eight) carp measuring about fifteen inches in length, and weighing from two to three pounds each. There was a thin scale of PRACTICAL, CARP CULTURE. 109 ice on this pond when I drained it, and as the water lowered about half of the fish tore more or less of their scales off running through this scale ice. I then placed them in a deep pond which I had made for them to winter in and fed them some. They did not '■ hole up," but were feeding all winter whenever the pond was open. This spring the thirteen are all alive, but the ones that were hurt in the ice have fungus growth, bad. The others look fine. None of them have grown much this winter. I have made a good hatching pond and placed them in it, hoping to get some young this season. During the winter I bought fifty young and three spawners, scale variety, shipped from Ohio. The express on the lot was about twelve dol- lars. They all arrived in good order, and I kept them by themselves. I have oh my place a large, deep pond of very clear, very salt water, with lots of rushes around the sides, is fed by large salt spring, and is full of small wild fish and snails. As an experiment I placed one of my small carp in a small pail of this clear salt water, and changing the water daily kept him in it until I was satisfied that he would live and do well in this salt pond. I intend, with giant powder, to kill the small wild fish of this pond, and after my mirror carp spawn shall rub the fungus off the affected fish and place them in the salt pond. Will it kill or cure them? And will not fish be firmer and finer-flavored in the salt water than in a sluggish fresh water pond ? My salt pond never freezes. IN MINERAL WATER. Morenci, Mich., March 15, 1888. My neighbor, Mr. T. T. Baker, has a pond supplied by what is known here and in Northwestern Ohio, as a fountain. That is a hole bored in the ground, a gaspipe with a strainer inserted, from which the water flows. The water appears to be impregnated with iron, or at least everything with which it comes in contact becomes the color of iron rust. His pond is made by excavating a ditch around a piece of land, leaving the center covered with the native sod, and raising a bank outside and letting the water in until the center is overflowed a foot or more and the water in the ditch is four or five feet deep. It covers about 100 square rods of ground. In the fall of 1885 he stocked it with a few spawners and 100 or more small fry. In the summer of 1886 they spawned in May, and again later, and by fall, 1887, the pond was full of fish. In 1887 he commenced to use them, catch- ing all of the first large ones, and some besides. The ice has been off his pond for some time, while the ice on my pond, which is fed by a small brook, is a foot thick. Last week he caught a mirror carp, with a hook, weighing over four pounds and it must have been one of the small ones put in at first, as his spawners were all scale carp. A. Combs. GREAT VITALITY OF CARP. EIGHT HOURS OUT OF WATER. Charlottesville, Va., March 18, 1884. On Saturday evening I caught with a hook a carp which would weigh- 110 PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. about four pounds. I put him in my bath-tub filled with water. On yes- terday, about 8 o'clock a. m., I put the carp in a small box, surrounding it with wet moss, and forwarded to Lynchburg by express. It reached there about 4 p. m.,°and I learn this morning from my friend to whom it was sent that when taken out and placed in a tub it was as lively as could be. My family ate a small carp Sunday morning and thought it vey good. — [From a letter to C. W. Smiley.] R. T. W. Duke. FIVE HOURS OUT OF WATER. Edinburg, Ind., December 12, 1886. Sent eight beautiful carp for eating purposes to Enos B. Reed, Indian- apolis, Ind., packed in dry excelsior. They were at least five hours out of water, and when received by Mr. Reed they were alive and kicking. Well, he did not eat them, but put them in his carp pond; where they are doing well. I merelyistate the above facts to show the tenacity, of life in the carp. V. Smllabower. IN A PINT OF WATER. A small lot of carp was sent to C. F. Jones, Carysbrook, Va., leaving Washington on the night of November 20, 1886, at 10 p. m. These carp were on the way over five days, they having been delayed in Columbia. Mr. Jones, who lives twelve miles from that point, on the Rivanna river, depended on the captain of a boat running between those points to bring the carp. The captain failed for several days to do so, and the carp lay over in the express room without a change of water. After this delay they were brough up the river in an open boat thirteen miles, with the ther- mometer at 23 degrees Fahrenheit. When Mr. Jones opened the bucket, December 4, he thought the fish were all dead, as there was no signs of life and only a pint of water, the rest having been turned to ice ; but noticing a slight movement of the gills, he transferred the fish into tepid water and in thirty minutes they were all lively. He then kept them over Sunday in the house, during which time none died or showed any injurious effects. This display of vitality is doubtless due to the cold weather at the time the fish were shipped and during their stay in Columbia. — Bulletin U. S. F. C. ROLLED UP IN A NEWSPAPER. Gates Mills, O., May 1, 1887. The tenacity of life in the carp is wonderful. Thomas Baxter, a neigh- bor of mine, recently took a carp from his pond and laid it on the grass for an hour, it was then rolled in a newspaper and carried a journey of ten miles, which occupied two hours more. When taken out of the paper 'it FHA0TI6AX CABP OUI/rURB. Jll appeared to be alive and when placed inadlsb of water splashed the water over the floor and swam about apparently little worse for its journey. DO NOT HIBERNATE. CATCHING CABP THROUGH THE ICE. Shelby, O., January 25, 1886. I constructed a pond of about an acre late in the fall of 1884, put in 125 young carp. They did no good. Again in April last I put in 200 more. They did splendidly. I caught some in the fall weighing from three to four pounds. I also put in the pond in the spring six brood fish. I now have plenty young fish six to eight inches long, being twice as large as those I got in the spring for stocking. Do carp burrow in the mud in win- ter? I say they do not, as the following will show. A few days after the cold wave we had in December last, I cut a hole through the ice, put down baited hook and caught six, some small and some large. Again on Jan- uary 2 I caught with hook and line some more. Again on last Wednes- day, January 20th, I cut through six inches of ice and soon caught a three- pound fish with hook. The bottom of my carp pond is composed of muck and sand, so carp could get down very readily. The water in my pond is chiefly surface water. My experience is that carp in mid winter lay still on the bottom and in the deepest part of the pond. My pond has six feet of water. I find I can only catch them in the deepest water and nowhere else. If carp burrow in mud in winter, how can they be caught with hook and line. If any doubt let them come and try themselves. C. C. Losjsk. FISHING THROUGH THE ICE. Columbiana, O., February 19, 1886. On February I2th I took two fifteen-inch carp in less than fifteen min- utes out of four feet of water with bait hook and line, through a hole cut through six inches of ice; mercury 34 degrees. Again, on February 18; mercury 23 degrees. No hibernation here. As to the different types of carp, so far as edible quality is concerned, we consider there is just as much difference as there is difference in beef of red, white, black and spotted bullocks. But when it comes to the cleaning we prefer the full scale, they are so much easier cleaned, one great advantage in their favor. As to growth, there is a diversity of opinion ; in my experience with the differ- ent types, should place it in favor of full scale carp. Jac. Knopp. IS WARM WATER NECESSARY FOR CARP TO GROW WELL? Princeton, Ills., January 17, 1887. On Christmas day, 1884, 1 saw six large spawners swimming abreast in my pond, which was covered with heavy ice, except a small place ten feet in diameter at inlet. Again last week (January 13, 1886) I saw through 112 PRACTICAL (JAE.P CCJLTURE. clear ice ten inches thick, arid frozen within a few inches of the bottom, a large carp which darted away like an arrow at my approach. The old theory of universal hibernation being thus disproven, we must have some other to accommodate those fellows who see their sleepy ( ?) fish shooting around in the winter time. All animal life requires is oxs'gen for support. If the supply of oxygen is scant the animal becomes torpid, sluggish. Precisely so with the carp. If a pond has a running stream supplying it, a given number of carp (depending on the amount'of flow), will get enough oxygen to keep up a normal circulation, and, consequently, will not hiber- nate, and will probably take food. If a pond is pretty well stocked with carp and covered with ice, no doubt the fish will hibernate, unless the in- flow of fresh water is very large. One other thing I have had my doubts about. Hessel. and in fact nearly all writers on carp, emphasize the state- ment that warm water is absolutely essential to carp culture. I suspect that this conclusion is empirical rather than logical. If so, it may mis- lead some who would like to raise a few carp for pleasure, or for the family table, but who have at hand only facilities for a cold water pond. Concede that warm water is essential to natural growth, it seems tome that it does not follow that carp fed liberally require it. Cold water would produce little or no food, warm water the greatest possible amount. As far as I am concerned this lacks proof. I simply set it up as a theory to be knocked down by those better informed than myself. S. W. Colton. COME AT THE SOUND OF A BELL. Chilmcothe, O., February 22, 1888. My carp do not go into the mud. When filling my ice house I cut a hole at one corner of the pond, over the deep water. Then rang my bell as I did in the summer time, and they came by the hundreds. I have lost no fish this winter. W. A. Pursel. GROWTH OF CARP. FOURTEEN weeks old, MEASURES 10% INCHES. St. Josfph, Mo., September 12, 1885. Sir, I have read a great many items in your journal on the rapid growth of the carp, but the growth of the carp at the hatchery will exceed any- thing that I saw in the Journal. I took eight carp to the St. Joseph fair, three months and seven days old, averaging from seven to ten and three- fourths inches, and took a twenty-dollar premium. I find that clabbered milk is one of the best things for food for young carp. They will grow and thrive faster on it than anything else you can fee'd them. Elias Cattrill, Sup't State Hatchery, St. Joseph, Mo. Clarendon, Tex., March 29, 1886. In February, 1885, I put into my pond fourteen scale carp, from four PRACTICAL CAEP CULTURE. 113 i to six inches long, after conveying th<>m 180 miles by wagon, nine days on the road. I have just drained my pond. Found the original fourteen all right and more than twice the size they were when put in, I also took out 125 young ones, ranging from one to three inches long, which I sold for a big price, and left a few more in the pond. I can only account- for the small number of young from the fact' that my pond was infested last summer with turtles and frogs, which I suppose destroyed many of the eggs and young fish. J. G. Murdoch. Afton, Iowa, August 12, 1886. In November last I placed nineteen carp minnows in a small pond ; commenced feeding them in July; they will average fifteen inches in length now and look as if they would weigh two pounds. S. D. Comport. Blakesburq, la., October 18, 1886. On November 8, 1884, I planted 500 fry from 2)4 to 3 inches long in a pond ten feet deep, filled with surface water. On the 21st of August, 1885, I took some with a sein that weighed 2J4 to 3 pounds each. My neighbors who helped draw the sein could scarce believe it possible they had grown so. I gave them some to try, and they say they never tasted better fish. W. A. Day. Edgar, 111., November 17, 1886. I have a well constructed dam with drain pipe, overflow and screen, so put in that the wate'r comes through from below. The pond, when full, covers about one acre and a quarter of ground. It is fed by tile and nat- ural springs that never fail. I started my pond in' October, 1885, with large and small scale and parti-scale carp. I drew my pond this month and found a few thousand of 1886 hatching from three to seven inches long;' the hatch of 1886 weighing from three-quaoters of a pound to a pound and a quarter. All of my fish are in a thrifty condition. I am sell- ing some young fry to stock ponds with. One quickly passes the experi- mental stage and finds that carp culture pays. They are nice for breakfast, dinner or supper. C. C. Stanfield. Hooker, O., October 20, 1887. My carp ponds have been very successful this year. I have four-year old fish that weigh 14 pounds, three year-olds that weigh 10 pounds, two- year olds 5 pounds, and thousands of this year's spawn from 2J to 7 inches long. We have been using them freely this fall and find them to be of excellent quality. Can see no difference in the quality of the different varieties. I use the bottom drain overflow in my ponds and consider it superior to any other. S. E. Williamson. Palmetto, Ga., January 4. 1887. I drew my pond on the 29th day of December, and I found two of my 114 PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. carp that I put in for breeders. One weighed 5 pounds and the other 6, and three different sizes too numerous to mention, and all were in fine condition. My pond was overstocked, I think. After three years my- pond had enough carp from 1$ to 6 inches to stock three ponds of one- quarter of an acre each. A. J. Dennis. A SIMPLE METHOD SUCCEEDS. Pinckneyville, 111., July 9, 1887. My carp raising is done on the simplest and rudest principles. In 1882 I put twenty in a stock pond. In the fall of 1884 I caught twelve of them out and placed them in another pond, built the same fall, in another pasture near my house. Last season my new pond of an acre literally swarmed with young fish. To-day when we feed them I see some of the original ones, over thirty inches long, also some that I received from the government in the fall of 1884 — former at least thirty inches long, latter from twenty to twenty-four inches ; then thousands of last year's hathcing from 4 to 12 inches in length. I tell our farmers they need not be experts to raise them. Build a good strong dam covering from one to as many acres as they desire, put a dozen carp in it, and inside of five years they will have all the fish of the finest quality that they want. When they doubt my word I take them to my plain country pond, covering an acre or so, call up the fish, throw in a few chunks of bread, and then let them stand speechless with amazement and gaze at the thousands of fish, from 30 inchesin length down to the young ones, scrambling over each other for food. I then pick up some nice yearlings five to twelve inches long and show them what was hatched a year ago. Then they are convinced, but, like the doubting apostle, nothing but seeing and feeling will drive away their unbelief. They look at my pond with its grasses, lilies and shade trees around it ; they can make one as good as mine, snd they leave determined to have a pond as soon as they can build it, and they want to know if I can let them have some fish this fall that will lay eggs next spring. They haven't time for them to grow; they must have spawners, they want fish. I assure you that when a new industry is so convincing to the average farmer on first presentation under so rude and simple cir- cumstances, it is a success. E. H. Lemen. Xenia. Ind., July 15, 1887. My fish are doing well. On the 14th day of last August I put in my pond 500 fish, averaging 1% inches long. I seined my pond this week; they measure from five to eight inches in length. D. M. Darby. Spalding, Iowa, February 7, 1887. I got my first carp August 22, 1885, 71 in number, the larger about four inches long. They spawned some last year. They have done better and PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. 115 grown faster than I could have expected. Last fall I caught some 18 inches long that weighed 3% pounds. I had three kinds of carp. The scale carp increased the most and made the biggest growth, and they are good enough fish for me to eat. J. V. Hoakison. Hudson, N. M., October 15, 1887. My carp are a success, and are doing well. I think I have some that are three years old, and will weigh from 9 to 10 pounds. R. H. Hudson. Shineksville, Pa., December.18, 1887. My four-year old carp weigh ten pounds each, and my three-year-old ones weigh six pounds. I willfatten 1,500 for the market the coming sum- mer and show the people how big a carp can be raised in one summer from three-inch long fry if put in a warm pond about April 1st. D. N. Kebn. Much has been written and said upon the rapid growth of carp, their age, their measurement and their weight has been given, and while the figures have been readily accepted as correct by the great majority of carp growers, there are others who doubt the statements, because they do not tally with their experience. The parent stock, the character of the water, the food supplied and the climate, each make a great difference in the development of this rapid growing fish. The greatest divergence of differ- ence will, of course, be found where all these conditions are on the one hand favorable, and on the other hand unfavorable, and as these condi- tions approach each other, so will the growth of the fish. Prom Vol. VI. of the Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission, page 457, we clip the following statement and measurements : GROWTH OP CARP. On December 2, 1885, the size and weight of two young carp which were just b% months old, and they were reared at the carp ponds in Washington,. were as follows, as reported by Dr. Hessel: Measurements. No. 2 Leather. Length, inches Verticle height, inches.. Circumference, inches.... Weight, ounces 12* 4 8 18 The eggs were obtained by methods which fixed exactly the day of impregnation, which in this case took place on June 15, 1885. This is an official statement, and is specific, and from an official and reliable source. It is well established that with equally favorable condi- tions, the second season's growth is in a constantly increasing ratio to that of the first season's. Had this pair of carp stopped growing for the 116 PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. winter ( ?) before they were weighed, if so the test was not a fair one, as they should have been weighed just before they stopped for the winter. Did the weighing stop their growth? or did they continue to grow during December? Let us take them where we find them and leave them there until the 1st of April, 1886, when we start them out on their way at the old ratio of development, without an increase of the ratio, and on Decem- ber "15," at 18 months' of age, one of the fish weighs 46 ounces and the other 43 ounces. These will be the minimum weights, and they do not do the fish justice. And yet they cannot but be satisfactory to carp raisers. SEASON OF SPAWNING, TEMPERATURE OF WATER, AND LENGTH -OF TIME REQUIRED FOR EGGS TO HATCH IN DIFFERENT TEMPERATURES, ETC. New Port Tracey, O., July 8, 1885. I will give my mode of gathering eggs for the hatching lake. I first build the lake; I make it twelve feet by twelve feet, about 2£ feet deep in the center, and the shape of a basin; construct it near the large lake or some place where it can be fed by warm fresh water. I have ho outlet or waste way. I only feed it with water just as fast as it soaks Sway. I plank it up on all sides tight, so that no snakes, frogs or turtles can get in. Now I set sods around the edge of the large lake, from ten to twelve inches square, the grass being from six to eight inches high. When the spawn- ing season comes I watch early in the morning for the spawning; I gather the eggs in the eveniDg, lifting the sods carefully with a fork and setting them in the hatching lake the same depth that they were in the large lake W. H. Westhafer. Park Ridge, Ills., May 12, 1886. Having just completed an experiment instituted to determine how long it takes carp eggs to hatch, [ herewith send you the Ljsult. On Wed- nesday last, May 5th, my carp began spawning for the season. On Friday last, on my return to the ponds, I made search for eggs and found them in abundance on hornwort {(Jeratophyllum) . I selected sprays with eggs ad- hering — in all forty — and put them in an ordinary fruit jar, placing the jar in the pond so that the surrounding water would reach within an inch of the top. This I have examined morning and evening of each day since. It. had been quite warm last week, and on Friday I found the temperature of the water to be 64 deg. Farh., while the atmosphere in the shade was 62 deg. Friday a northeast storm set in, and since then the weather has been cloudy or foggy most of the time, with but little sun shining. Dur- ing most of this time the thermometer has varied from 50 to 56 deg. in the shade, while the water has fallen to 57 deg. Farh. This morning the first little fish made its appearance, just five days after the eggs were put in the jar, and seven days after they were cast. More unfavorable weather could PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. 117 not well have existed for the hatching of carp eggs than that which has prevailed during the past week. Last June I carefully tested the same matter and found the eggs to hatch in four days, the weather being favor- able. We may therefore conclude that in thin latitude, carp eggs will hatch in from four to seven days, according as the weather is favorable or un- favorable. This is quite different from the time required for the same purpose in Germany, as we are informed on good authority, viz., from twelve to twenty days. I may add that my spawning pond consists of l-56th of an acre, is favorably located, having on the west and northwest a wooded bluff. It is stocked with eleven carp received from the govern- ment, and now five years old, with fifteen of their progeny three years old- J. H. Bournes. New Lisbon, O., May 25, 1886. My carp spawned on the 21st of May. On the 23d I took a small hand- ful of the sea moss which I had put in the spawning pond to receive the eggs and put it into a two gallon glass globe, with about three quarts of rainwater, and kept it in the sun in the day time and in the house at night. On the 25th, just four days, or niuety-six hours from the time the egga were laid, there were dozens of young carp to be seen in the globe. The young carp are quite small but very lively. James T. Hawkins. Underwood. Tenn., June 13, 1886. I have two four-year-olds ; they only spawned once last year. This year they spawned on April 19th and on Wednesday evening the eggs were hatching. The same fish is spawning this morning but don't seem to be depositing many eggs. I had one three-year-old that spawned June 7th. The eggs hatched in forty-eight hours. The thermometer stood at 80 degrees in the water at noon. While large fish lay more eggs, I believe we can get more fish from younger spawners. The old ones will eat their eggs unless they are protected. I took from a seven-pound carp last season a little over half a gallon of clean eggs. Did not count them. If some one will count half a gallon of cabbage seeds, they can tell about how many eggs to the pound of fish. ' My one-year-old have been spawn- ing this spring; they also spawned last year. E. P. Underwood. Shimersville, Pa., June 14, 1886. I have completed a five days' experiment in taking the temperature of water in my quarter-acre pond. June 9th, at 5 p. m., 76 deg. Farh., it commenced to rain at 3 p. m., rained all night, cleared off in the morning and at 6 a. m., June 10, the water was 78 deg. Farh., at lp.m.; 84 deg. Farh. at 6:30 p. m., after a heavy thunder shower of one hour duration the water was 82 deg.. Farh., June 11, at 4 p. m., Sfideg. Farh. ; June 12, 6 a. m., 72 deg. ; 11 a. m. 82 deg. ; 3 p. m. 90 deg. ; 5:30 p. m. 88 deg. ; 8 p. m. 82 deg. 118 PRACTICAL OABP CULTURE. All the above temperatures was taken six inches below the surface of the water. June 12, 8 p. m., thermometer was 65 deg. in open air; three feet below the surface of the water 72 deg. ; June 13, three feet below the sur- face, at 6 a. m., 70 deg. ; temperature in open air 60 deg. ; at 4 p. m., four feet deep, 72 deg. The water was seven feet deep at this place. In my pond No. 1 the carp spawned April 21, May 11 and May 22. In my pond No. 2 they spawned May 22 and June 7. In pond No. 1 1 have six and ten-pound heavy carp, and in pond No. 2 I have four and five-pound heavy carp. I have scale carp. At our Eastern State hatchery they had to watch the old carp day and night so they would not destroy their spawn. I am sure that my scale carp did not eat a single egg. My scale carp always spawn a month earlier than the leather carp do in my neighborhood. A carp hatched in April will be much ahead of a carp hatched in Mayor June, not only in the first year but in all after years. D. N. Kern. TO PREVENT EGGS BLOWING OUT AND DRYING UP. Dresden, Tex., July 7, 1886. Let me tell you how to prevent the eggs from blowing out on the sand and drying up in the sun, for I am out on the high prairies and not a tree or shrub about my pond, and the wind has a fair sweep, as the water is about level with the prairie around. Take strips of old grain sacks or bagging a foot wide and six feet long, and nail to strips or sticks one inch square by two feet long ; small round poles will do, sharp at lower end, and stick these down in the mud in the edge of the pond, so that six inches of the bagging or cloth will be above water. The eggs hang on to the rough cloth and the cloth will remain wet for two or more inches above water and the eggs will hatch if they should be above water. B. F. Carroll. Lakeside, Kan., Feb. 3, '87. This winter has been a hard one on Kansas carp, on account of ponds getting so low in the fall and freezing solid. The native fish in the creeks have fared no better. Some\places, for long distances, nearly all are dead. I have watched with interest the results of cutting fish out of the ice, and have been able to hear of two carp, of about six pounds each, being caught that way out of the creek and river several miles from here. My carp went through January (ice was all out February 1st) without the loss of over one dozen, as I have between 50,000 and 100,000. I think that is doing very well. I have increased my ponds in number and size until I now have three ponds, covering nearly 25 acres of ground, stocked exclusively with carp. I shall make another pond this fall to cover 15 acres, thus giving me 40 acres in all. Carp raising is no longer an experiment. It is a reality. I can sell all I have for market for 15 cents per pound live weight. Have sold some, and the almost unani- mous verdict was, "as good as I ever ate." What better do we want than i PRACTICAL CARP CULTURE. 119 ttiat? To those of my brother carp-raisers who have lost all in the ice this winter, I would say don't give up the carp. They are bound to be the coming fish. Get some more and try it again. For your benefit I would say that I wintered 11,000 in one of my ponds this winter, never cut the ice, fed nothing and, in short, paid no attention to them whatever, and have not lost one-half dozen. My secret was just this: Deep water and plenty of it. The balance'of my fish were put in a small pond (there is between 50,000 and 100,000 in there), not containing over one-tenth of an acre, and not over five feet deep in the deepest place. I cut in the ice a hole 16 feet square, and kept it open all winter, feeding once a week. The result is — no dead fish, not one dozen in all. Another point and I will close. In the past, when I have drained my pond, I have found bushels, I might say wagon loads, of those large-sized tadpoles. I suspicioned my carp of eating them during the past summer, and when I drew the water off in November there was not one tadpole in the pond. I infer from this that the smaller sizes do not eat them, but I know the larger sizes do. W. C. Rose. EGGS THAT GO TO THE BOTTOM ARE NOT LOST. Chatham Center, O., June 16, 1887. It is said that eggs that go to the bottom will not hatch. This is not correct. I fixed my pond all up with grass and brush, but the very dry weather caused the water to settle, leaving my fixing high and dry and yet, in a single dip with a scoop I took out 556 minnows by actual count. John W. White. Winslow, Mo., October, 1887: My carp spawned last year on May 18th, 19th and 28th, and on June 1st, 7th, 11th, 13th, 16th, 30th and on July 5th. I have two spawning ponds, two growing or stock ponds and a supply pond, covering in all about eight acres. James W. Waldo. Corsicana, Mo., April 23, 1888. My fish commenced spawning April 2nd, and in five days after they hatched. We put the thermometer in the water and it stood at 65 deg. Now I think there are at least 100,000 young ones, which are growing nicely. I am feeding the large fish, which are becoming very gentle, al- most gentle enough to eat out of my hand. I will soon have completed my fifth pond. Have a hydraulic ram running all the time. Am plowing and feeding hogs to firmly fix the bed. Will soon attach an elevator to the carding machine, which, together with the ram, will force from 80 to 100 gallons per minute. My fish are doing just as well as I want them to do, and ten times better than I expected. L. J. Blankenship. a surprise. Berthoud, Col., April 12, 1888. . Three years ago I bought twenty scale carp about sixteen inches 120 PRACTICAL CAKP CULTURE. , long and put them in my lake, for a trial; the lake is about 60 by 100 rods long. It is a natural basin without an outlet and in the deep- est place is from 7 to 8 feet. Last year folks used to ask me about my carp ; I told them that I thought they were all dead ; but three weeks ago some one asked me if I would let them try a seine in it. I told them yes, for I wanted to know whether I had any carp left. The trial was made, the first haul we had nothing; the second haul we got a few carp and some suckers ; the third haul we had 10 big washtubs full, of all sizes ; the largest weighed over 10 pounds. Among this lot there were some 50 pounds of suckers. All the fish were of a fine quality. C. G. Bestle. CARP SEEKING THEIR OLD HOME. Potomac, III., May 31, 1888. On the 12th day of May, 1886, we had a heavy rain storm. . So much water fell at the time that the overflow of one of my carp ponds, or lakes, was inadequate to carry off the water, and as a conse- quence the levee burst. At the time there was in it 120 spawners twelve to twenty-four inches long and 6,000 young fish. The levee was repaired in the next few days, but I found at the next drawing that I had lost 60 of the large fish and a thousand or two of the small ones. Now the strange part of the story is that these large fish are now coming back for admit- tance, after an absence of more than two years. A few days ago while drawing this same pond I discovered three large carp (one spawner and two milters) in the ditch below the pond. They were returned to their old quarters. To-day we found the fourth one trying to make an entrance from the creek. Now the query in my mind is : are these fish trying from knowledge to gain an entrance to the pond they left so long ago? As there have been no carp planted in the streams near here, I feel sure they are the same fish that left me two years ago. Since their escape there has been several carp taken from the streams with hook and line. John Goodwine, Jr. SOME GENERAL PHASES OF CARP CULTURE. A FINE TABLE FISH. Chagrin Falls, O., March 24, 1885. Carp culture has come to stay, and the more it is investigated the bet- ter it shows up. The vicinity of Chagrin Falls enjoys the notoriety of having more carp ponds than any other part of the United States of like area. There are within twelve miles of this place over 100 ponds, and I think the number will be doubled the coming summer. The first pond was constructed hereby W. E. Watters three years ago and stocked by him in connection with the Chagrin Falls Fish Club, The result has proved so satisfactory that everybody is going into it. He has fish three years old which weigh ten pounds each, and in his pony James P. Boyd, A. M.— The mental attainment, noble aim, pure official record, honorable political method and sterling character of Roscoe Conkling was surpassed by no man. Every American citizen should read the hook. Price, 15 cents. _ RELIABLE BREEDERS OF CARP. »-j J. THOMAS, Pueblo, Colorado. QTTO SCHISSEL, Indianapolis, Ind. If STILLABOWER, Edinburg, Ind. OHNGOODWINB, Jr., Potomac, Ills. R. KRALEY, Salisbury, N. 0. glOL O'COON, Little Genesee, X. Y. -yy IS. RITCHIE, Hudson, Ohio. 3 W. ' ' # ^^»