BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 305 



Vol. IV, No, SO. lV«shisa§-|©B9, ©. C. Ai^g. 19, 1 8§4. 



163 BRIEF NOTES ITJPOJV FISH AN5> TME FISHEKIES. 



By CIIAS. Vi^ §ITI!J^E¥. 



[Mainly extracts from the official corresj)ondence.] 



Cause and cuee of muddy flavou in fish. — J. M. C, writing in 

 Forest and Stream, of March C, 1884, says that three years ago, during 

 the months of June, July, and August, the creeks in Fillmore County, 

 Minnesota, were teeming with brook trout, and he seldom, in a day's fish- 

 ing, failed to take 50 fish, averaging half a i^ound each. Kow, be is satis- 

 fied with half a dozen of tbe same average weight. The first great cause 

 of the decrease was the breaking up of all land that could be tilled for 

 wheat. The wash irom plowing filled the streams with mud, and no suit- 

 able places were left for spawning. He says that trout caught when the 

 streams are muddy lose all their flavor, while in from five to eight days 

 after the water becomes clear tliey are as fine-flavored as before the flood. 

 Last summer, from the middle of May to the last of June, he caught 

 from one to five bass nearly every day. When the water was muddy 

 the bass were contaminated ; when clear, they were free from an 3^ taint 

 of mud. The past five years grangers have paid more attention to stock- 

 raising, and have seeded down the valleys, hence the wash is small. 

 Plants are again growing in the running brooks, alfording cover for trout, 

 and their quality has improved. 



M. P. Pei'rce, speaking of the edible qualities of carp, illustrates the 

 same fact bv Jersey chickens, which are raised on offal, and then fed on 

 j)ure food and clean v>'ater for a short time i^rior to being offered for sale. 



Vitality of carp deprived of water. — In a letter dated Char- 

 lottesville, Ya., March 18, 1884, Mr. R. T. W. Duke writes : 



" On Saturday evening I caught icith a liooh a carp which would weigh 

 about 4 pounds. I i)ut it in ray bath-tub filled with water. Yester- 

 day, 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. We ate a small carp Sunday morning and thought it very 

 good." 



Danger of confusing pure German carp with the poor hy- 

 brids OF native waters. — Ke]>lying to an inquiry about the carp in 

 the Hudson River, Professor Baird says : 



" I cannot speak positively in regard to the action of Captain Robin- 

 son in connection with the carp.* I can only say that I have examined 



* Refeieuce to Capt. Henry Robinson's carp will be found on p. 25, BnllU. S. F. C, 

 1882 ; and on p. 266 of this volume. 



Bull. U. S. F. C. 84 20 



