BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 209 



Vol. II, No, 14. ^V:Q^*hBIlgtoHB, I>. C. Oct. 1, 1 886. 



69.-THE TENCH KlJ!:t'01TflMEIV»E» EOK CLI.TI VATIOIV l?f SWE»EIV. 



By FJIII^SP TKYBOITB. 



In Sweden we have a fish closely related to the carp, which at least so 

 far north as Dalarne and Helsingland could be planted to great advan- 

 tage in many lakes, streams, ponds, and other small waters with a 

 loose bottom, and with banks at least partially covered with vegetation. 

 Professor Wittmack says, "Besides the eel there is hardly another 

 fish so suitable for stocking marshy waters as the tench; " and in mak- 

 ing tbis statement he has reference to Germany, where it is thought 

 that the carp is the best fish for this purpose. In the carp ponds tench 

 are often kept with carp, as the tench is satisfied with food which the 

 carp does not care for, or could not easily get at. In Germany it is 

 said that the tench does not grow as rapidly as the carp. In Sweden 

 this will probably be different. There is every reason to supi)ose that 

 the tench, being indigenous in more northerly latitudes, will llourish 

 and grow in colder water than the carj) can stand, and will therefore 

 have a longer annual period of grow^th. Cold winters and thick ice do 

 not disturb the tench, which has a great capacity for burrowing in the 

 mud and lying in a state of torpor. In Germany it reaches a weight 

 of 1^ kilograms [a little over 3 pounds] in the third year, and when six 

 or seven years old is said to reach a weight of 3 to 4 kilograms [6^ to 

 8j| pounds]. In Sweden, when in suitable waters, like those in the 

 northern i)art of the province of Sm^land, it reaches a weight of 6 or 

 more pounds. I do not know how fast it grows in Sweden in a free 

 state, for, to, my knowledge, only very imperfect observations have 

 been taken regarding this matter. Very few of our fish can so well 

 stand a long transportation as the tench. It can therefore easily be 

 transferred to waters at a great distance from its home. Although it is 

 much sought after by the pike, it can nevertheless be planted in waters 

 where pike and j^erch are found, as it knows well how to hide in the 

 mud and in dense growths of aquatic plants. As an instance of the 

 successful planting of tench, it may bo mentioned that in a small lake 

 in the northern i)art of the Kalmar district, in 1871, 40 tench, weighing 

 from ^ to J pound, were planted. Three years later the largest of these 

 had reacihed a weight of 4 pounds. After 1 5 years, and probably sooner, 

 many tench w^ere caught i^n this lake, nnd they had spread to another 

 lake in the neighborhood. In another small lake, not far from ths 

 above-mentioned, '20 tench were i)lanted, measuring 5 to inches in 

 length. After 32 or 15 years had passed, there were excellent tench 

 fisheries in this lake, many of the fish weighing from 4 to 5 pounds. In 

 Bull. U. S. F. 0., 80 14 



