300 BULLETIN OP THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



GROWTH, SPAWNING, EDIBLE QUALITIES AND MANNER OF COOK- 

 ING GERMAN CARP RECEIVED FROM T£IE UNITED STATES FISH 

 COMMISSION IN ISSO. 



By W. VAN ANTWERP. 



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



To-day I can go to my ponds and catch carp of 7 pounds weight, 

 which were planted two years ago the 19th of this coming December. 

 Several ponds have young fry in them to the amount of many hundred 

 thousand each. I went personally and put them into shallow water 

 lying fair to the sun, with brush, stumps, and old roots to make places 

 for sjiawning. I have sown rice and transplanted water lilies, &c, to 

 make shade and concealment for them. We have caught quite a num- 

 ber to test their edible qualities which all pronounce not excelled by 

 any of our indigenous fishes. 



I always instruct the cook to clean them nicely ; then wrap the fish 

 in a linen towel, have a large kettle of water boiling, coil the fish neatly 

 in the kettle and boil fifteen minutes, then turn off the water, remove 

 to a baking pan without marring and put in the oven, bake and then 

 baste with butter gravy. A nice dressing could occupy the interior of 

 the fish and the space around the sides. If properly done it makes a 

 dish fit for a king, or a hungry fisherman. 



Mount Sterling, Montgomery County, Kentucky, 



October 31, 1882. 



GROWTH AND FOOD OF CARP. 



By SAMUEL GILLESPIE. 



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



My fish surpass all expectations in growth. They are estimated by 

 the most competent judges to weigh 4 pounds. When I received them 

 from you, November 7, 1881, they were about 2 inches long. After put- 

 ting them in the pond I never saw anything of them until the 15th of 

 June. I then commenced feeding them twice a day on bread and pota- 

 toes. I continued this until the middle of July; then I commenced on 

 sweet corn cut from the cob. They are very fond of this, and come as 

 readily for it as my pigs. I still fed the scraps from the table, too, but 

 corn is their favorite. On the 10th day of November they bade me adieu 

 until next summer. They have caused quite an excitement, and people 

 come miles to see them. 



Mellvllle, Butler Co., Ohio, 



December 14, 18S2. 



