BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMJIISSION. 57 



17 CAK1» CULTURE IN GERMAiW.* 



By XAVEK VO:\ STABROWSKi. 



The carp is the easiest fish to cultivate, and it is the best adapted to 

 most of the waters of our country. It flourishes in both stagnant and run- 

 ning water, if it is warm and contains sutficieut food. Its power of re- 

 production is very great, as many as 500,000 eggs having been counted 

 in a carp weighing li kilograms [about CA pounds]; and it grows so 

 rapidly that in its third year it is fit for the table. Its scales, with 

 their golden glitter and black shading, give it a pretty appearance. For 

 these reasons it is the favorite fish of our nation, and it is more sought 

 after and fetches a higher price in the market than the pike. The carp 

 is exceedingly voracious and not at all particular as to its food. In 

 fact, it eats anything from meat to manure. It has therefore been said 

 that, in some respects, it is among the fish what the hog is among tbe 

 mammals. 



The carp is a gregarious fish, and is generally found in large schools. 

 This shows that it is not a predaceous fish. It is sportive and sly. Xo 

 other fish engages in such constant gambols as the carp. It is a pru- 

 dent fish. When a drag-net is used the carp places itself perpendicu- 

 larly in front of it, with its head in the mud, so that the lower rox)e of 

 the net upsets it, giving it a horizontal position, the net meanwhile 

 gliding over its body. On the other hand, if the carp cannot perform 

 this maneuver, it boldly leaps over the upper rope of the net. 



If good and early results are to be obtained, one should proceed in 

 the following manner : Instead of draining the spawning pond in Octo- 

 ber, this should be done in July. The young fry, measuring 3 to 4 cen- 

 timeters [about 1^ inches] in length, are placed in the raising pond, 

 which should be prepared for the reception of the young carp in the 

 following way: During the preceding autumn the pond should be 

 drained and exposed to the air as well as to the frost, so as to banish 

 the noxious gases, which prove fatal to the fish, as well as ail hurtful 

 worms, insects, small fish, and frogs. During the following spring .the 

 pond is plowed and oats and clover are sowed in it, which are harvested 

 when still green, about the middle of June. After three weeks the 

 clover has again grown high enough and is full of many different insects 

 and worms, wliich are the most suitable food for the little fish. 



When (in July) the young carp are to be placed in this pond, only a 

 small portion of it should be set under water;; each week the quantity 

 of water should be increased, thus setting a constantly larger area of 

 the pond under water, and constantly furnishing new food for the Msti. 



* '■^ Dtr Karpfvn {Ciiprlnus carpio)." From the Deitlache Fisehcrei-Zeittmg, Vol. VIII, 



No. 49, Stettin, December 8, 18S5. Tmnslate i from the German Ijv Herman Jacob- 

 ftOX. 



