BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 317 



euce, and weighs 5| ounces. It has been delivered to a curator of the 

 ISTatioual ■Museum for preservation in alcohol. [A. Howard Chirk, Wash- 

 ington, U. C, October 2S, 1885.] 



Game qualities of carp. — Mr. A. Shiukle, president of tJie First 

 National Bank of Covington, Ky., writes concerning the game quali- 

 ties of carp, that as to the sport of catching them he has never seen their_ 

 equal, as they exceed the black bass in strength, and that after hook- 

 ing one he has been as much as fifteen minutes in getting it safely 

 landed. 



How TO CATCH CARP. — Make a thick mush of corn-meal, in which 

 plenty of salt should be placed : cook it well : tie it up in pieces of 

 cheese-cloth from li to 2 inches square, and pass a hook through the 

 cloth, being careful that it does not appear on the opposite side of the 

 ball of mush. A small wire should be stretched along the dam or along 

 the deepest and straightest edge of the pond, and hooks suspended on 

 cords 2J feet long, about 4 feet apart. The hooks should just touch the 

 side of the dam or bank which is most frequented by carp in search of 

 food. The bait being on the ground, carp can find and take hold of it 

 better. I use the bass-hook for this purpose, and have canghc several 

 that weighed from 2i to 3 pounds. Care should be taken in handling 

 the fish, for, being very tender, their mouths may be torn. [E. B. 

 Brouster, Clayton, Missouri.] 



The USE of fish refuse as manure.* — If for some reason one 

 cannot find any other use for dead fish, or for the refuse of fish, this 

 material may profitably be gathered for manure. It should be remem- 

 bered that as we get only about 3 i)ounds of dried fish from 13 pounds 

 of fat cod, so the heap of refuse \^ ill shrink very much when transformed 

 into manure. This is caused by the quantity of water (about 80 per 

 cent) contained in the flesh and body of the fish. Everybody knows how 

 a fish looks which is exposed to wind and sun and dries in the open 

 air. 



Fishermen who have a small piece of ground to cultivate, even if it 

 is only a garden patch, are recommended to gather the refuse from the 

 fisheries and place it in a hole in the ground. They thereby secure a 

 valuable fertilizer, which, used judiciously, will amply repay them for 

 their trouble. The hole should be dry at the bottom, and about 6 feet 

 deep, long, and broad. If the soil is sandy, it will be best to spread some 

 clay at the bottom. On this there should be placed a layer of ashes about 

 10 inches thick ; on the ashes s|)read a layer of fish for another 10 inches 

 or so, the fish being sprinkled with fine lime. Then follows another layer 

 of ashes, another of fish and lime, and so on until the hole is full. It 

 should be covered with sod, the grassy side downward, and finally the 

 whole spread over with boards, on which some heavy stones may be 

 jdaced. After six months the hole will contain excellent manure, which 

 may be used or even sold. 



* Translated from the Norsk Fiskeritidende. October, 1886, by Herman Jacobsox. 



