176 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



be enough to begin with. You might then have from 2,000 to 3,000 a 

 year for distribution to the hospitals, &c. 



The propagable leeches sell for higher prices than the common-sized 

 ones. I think that I paid 20 francs [$4J per hundred for the best of mine. 

 They may be cheaper than that. 1 suppose the best thing to do is to 

 get the price-lists from the different Bordeaux establishments, through 

 the mediation of the United States consular agency at that place, so 

 that we can see what kinds of leeches they sell, as well as their prices. 

 The Becharde Brothers, rue Fondad^ge, Bordeaux, from whom I got 

 my ^^vachesy''^ gave me entire satisfaction, both in regard to the quality 

 of the leeches furnished and their healthiness. 



Washington, D. C, November 17, 1883. 



S9 EDSBr^C: QUALITIES OF CARP. 



By £I>1^AKI> THOMPSON. 



[From a letter to Prof. S. F. Baird.] 



I enjoyed reading the different opinions of men on the eating qualities 

 of the carp.* I would venture to say it would be the same with beef, 

 pork, or any other fish, no matter where it came from. It would be an 

 utter impossibility to take any fish out of a muddy hole and expect it 

 to taste like a fish out of a pond with pure, clear water, such as yoa 

 could stoop down and drink out of. One fact which cannot be got over 

 is that different food and water will make either animal, fowl, or fish 

 taste differently, no matter where they come from or what their names 

 are. I once sent Mr. Eugene G. Blackford two brook trout, about one- 

 half pound each, and asked him his opinion as to flavor, and he pro- 

 nounced them as good, if not better, than any he had ever eaten. Why? 

 Because they were fed on the natural food for trout. Again, I have 

 eaten trout that tasted very distinctively of liver. Why I Because 

 they were fed on liver, &c. It is the food and water which makes the 

 <;arp have so many dilferent tastes. I might ask one more question. 

 Can you find two even in one family to whom things taste alike ? It is 

 not so in mine. 



The carp is the best fish I know of for workingmen and mechanics, 

 who rarely lack an appetite, and who will always consider the fish good 

 when they can get it. My personal opinion is that it is a very superior 

 fish, and I will even go so far as to say that I prefer it to trout. 



St. Johnland, Suffolk Co., E". Y., February 15, 1884. 



* Notes on the edible qualities of carp, «&c., by Chas. W. Smiley. BuU. F. C, 1883, 

 p. 305. 



