BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES PISH COMMISSION. 103 



migrated considerably, as it lias been transplanted from its original 

 home to more northerly latitudes. It is uncertain whether the home of 

 the carp is the Caspian Sea or whether it has also originally been found 

 in the Danube, the Rhine, and the Main. It is' certain, however, that 

 it was known to the Greeks and Romans, and that from Central and 

 South Germany it has spread throughout a great part of Europe. Thus 

 the German carp was introduced in England in 1521, into Denmark in 

 1500, into Prussia in 1709, and thence into the Baltic provinces of Russia. 

 Germany, however, has always remained the principal carp country, 

 and nowhere else has so much attention been given to the raising of carp 

 in ponds. In return for a number of fine good fish which the United 

 States had sent to Germany, the German fishery association has, since 

 1877, transmitted to America a number of live carp, especially leather 

 and mirror carp. There are quite a number of interesting data relative 

 to the spread of carp in America. Up to January 1, 1883, German carp 

 had been distributed in 17,800 North American waters. In 1881 they 

 were introduced into Canada, in 1882 into Brazil, Colombia, and Ecua- 

 dor. In America the German carp has grown in a manner utterly un- 

 known even in our best fish-cultural establishments. There are a num- 

 ber of instances to show this. Thus we have a case from Texas where a 

 carp, scarcely 4 inches in length, had in eleven months reached the 

 weight of 4 pounds 11 ounces. As a general rule carp in America in- 

 crease 3 to 4 pounds in weight in a year. In the beginning many 

 American families did not relish the carp. One lady said that theleather 

 carp deserved its name, as it tasted like leather. Other Americans said 

 that, owing to its rapid growth, its cheapness, and because it is the 

 favorite fish of the Chinese, it was thought that it would bring large 

 masses of the disagreeable pig-tail bearers to the shores of the United 

 States. Gradually, however, the Americans learned to appreciate the 

 carp, and quite recently a Kentuckian declared that a nicely-baked carp 

 was a dish fit to set before a king as well as before a hungry fisherman. 

 Others compare the flesh of the carp to that of the trout, or of the black 

 bass, which is the favorite fish of the Americans. Kecently a com- 

 mencement has been made in America to raise carp in ponds, and the 

 Government has constructed large carp ponds." 



Mr. Zenk drew a number of scientific and practical conclusions from 

 various facts connected with the acclimatization of carp in America. 

 The carp thrived best in the Southern States, where the warm season 

 is longer than in the North, and where the carp, abandoning its Euro- 

 pean habits, does not seek a winter lair, but keeps on eating all the 

 year round, the production of food being very great, owing to the 

 high temperature of the water. The question with us in Germany is, 

 therefore, to place the carp in circumstances which further its growth 

 as much as possible; that is to say, to place them in ponds which are 

 as warm as possible, and remain warm for a long time, to supply the:" 

 with good and ample food, and to be very careful in the selection of the 



