THE GERMAN CARP IN THE UNITED STATES. 631 



very largely upon sowed corn, which was cut when about 1 to 2 feet 

 high and thrown into the pond. The proprietors claimed that the fish 

 would dispose of a load — supposedly a wagonload — of this in four or 

 live da}^s. At this same place the first }^ear the pond was used the fish 

 were not fed at all, and when marketed there was only half the weight 

 of tish that had been put in. 



THE VALUE OF CAIH' PONDS. 



It is safe to say that under existing conditions, where at certain sea- 

 sons of the year three or four men with a seine can obtain adult carp 

 in almost limitless numbers with comparative^ little trouble, carp 

 culture in the ordinary sense would not be profitable. At least this is 

 true in regions such as Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair, where carp are 

 so abundant. That regular culture ponds, in which the fish are reared 

 from the Qgg until of a saleable size, could not be conducted with profit 

 in proximity to some of the large cities which constitute the principal 

 markets for carp is not so certain. Undoubtedly, as the demand for 

 carp grows, as it surely must, such will be the case. 



On the other hand, there is no doubt of the great gain to be made 

 by taking carp in the spring and early summer, when they come into 

 the shallows and marshes in such great numbers, and holding them 

 over to fall or winter, when the market price has sometimes multiplied 

 fully tenfold. Let us take, for example, a suppositious case, based, 

 however, on actual conditions. A moderate sized pond could readily 

 accommodate, let us say, 50 tons of carp, and these could be obtained 

 with comparative ease during the spring. At this season, when the 

 fish are most plentiful, the price is often as low as 30 cents per hun- 

 dred pounds, so that the market value of the whole 50 tons would be 

 but $300, even if they could be disposed of at all at that time; for it 

 often happens that when the fish are so plentiful many more are 

 brought in than can be used, and great numbers bring the fisherman 

 almost nothing, being only sent to be made into fertilizer. Now let us 

 suppose that instead of disposing of these fish at such an unsatisfactory 

 figure the fisherman pens, or otherwise holds them over the summer. 

 Under at all favorable circumstances the loss in that time surely ought 

 not reasonably to be greater than 10 per cent of the total number of 

 fish impounded, even allowing for the damage to fish by handling. 



Indeed, in a properly conducted pond, there should be no loss in 

 weight at all. The growth of the living carp, if properly fed and 

 cared for, should adequately oti'set the loss of individuals. For the 

 sake of fairness, however, we shall assume a loss amounting to 10 per 

 cent of the weight, and that the total weight of fish recovered from 

 the pond in the fall amounted to one-tenth less than that put in — in 

 other words, to 45 tons. Now, in the late summer, fall, and winter 

 months it is not at all unusual for the price of carp to go to 2, 2i, or 



