250 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



ponds. Here they are fed on gruel and the refuse obtained after ex- 

 tracting the oil from rape-seed. As soon as the spawn are large enough 

 to determine their species they are separated and the different varieties 

 placed in ponds by themselves. 



From these ponds they are sold to the natives, who come from dis- 

 tant parts of the country where there is a scarcity of fish. They carry 

 them to their homes and place them in artificial ponds, each household 

 having at least one, where they are fed on pigs' blood, and, as they grow 

 large, upon worms, small frogs, &c. The carp is the most valued by the 

 Chinese for cultivation, because it is more easily transported from place 

 to place, and is the most profitable on account of its food properties. 

 It is said that if properly cared for they will weigh 4 pounds the first 

 year and attain their full growth in five years, when they will weigh 

 from 25 to 30 pounds. 



United States Consulate, 



ChinMang 7 Kiang-Su, January 31, 1885. 



65 — FISH-C:CL,Tl T KJE IN CHINA. 



By ISAAC F. SHEPHARD. 



[Dispatch No. Ill to the State Department.] 



In accordance with the request of Minister Young, I have investigated 

 the subject of fish-culture in my consular district, and regret that I can 

 obtain only very meager results. I have consulted natives and foreigners 

 alike, and have, through an interpreter, sought for and examined books 

 that treat of the topic. These last give no details and no statistics, only 

 referring to the fact that fish are cultivated by artificial means, for the 

 purpose of securing food for the populace. From the varied sources it 

 is shown that fish-culture is extensively pursued in this region, by gath- 

 ering the seed from the Yangtse Eiver, and transferring it to the numer- 

 ous inland lakes that abound. Many of these are permanent bodies of 

 water, and many others are formed by the periodic overflow of the 

 large river which inundates the country in all directions for many 

 miles. These lakes are all stocked from the Yangtse, and the business 

 of taking the seed-fish, transporting to the cultivating waters, feeding 

 and recapturing for market or use is one of great extent, although no 

 statistics are available by which to estimate it. 



The seed taken is not the spawn of the flsh, but infinitesimally small fish 

 themselves. These are caught by sinking nets along the shores of the 

 Yangtse, and when captured are transferred to tanks attached to fish- 

 boats, and thence to larger receptacles, usually large water kougs. The 

 nets used are of extreme fineness, so that scarcely perceptible fish can- 

 not escape through the meshes. They are fed on hard boiled yelks of 

 eggs, wheat, bran, and bean flour, and on this food they flourish and 



