CYPRINUS — THE CARP 107 



Carp spawn in the northern United States in May and 

 June. The eggs are small and exceedingly numerous, 400,000 to 

 500,000 being a common number in a 4- or 5-lb female. They 

 spawn most frequently during the early hours of the morning 

 One large female is ordinarily accompanied by four or five males. 

 Five or six hundred eggs are emitted at a time, the oviposition 

 being accompanied by much splashing on the part of both 

 sexes. The eggs are scattered about, according to Cole, ad- 

 hering to roots and stems and other objects. In moderately 

 warm weather the young hatch, in this latitude, in about twelve 

 days. The young carp reach a length of 4 to 6 inches by the 

 end of the first summer, and attain a weight of about 1 lb in 

 twelve months. By the end of the second summer a weight 

 of about 3 lb may be reached, this depending upon their nourish- 

 ment. They first spawn in the spring of their third year. 

 Carp in our waters do not ordinarily reach more than 5 to 10 

 lb weight, although occasional specimens have been taken 

 weighing as much as 30 lb. In Europe double the latter weight 

 is said to have been reached in one or two instances. 



The carp lends itself more readily perhaps than any other 

 fish to the requirements of artificial culture. The rearing of 

 carp is a very ancient practice, a treatise on the subject by a 

 Chinese dating from the third century. In this country it has 

 practically been discontinued since the species has multiplied 

 on such a vast scale in our natural waters. However, the 

 adaptability of the carp to confinement is still taken advantage 

 of in certain localities, especially in the Great Lake region, in 

 the use of retention ponds, in which large numbers of the sum- 

 mer catch are held over to get the advantage of the winter 

 market. 



Carp bite readily on such baits as worms, liver, paste, and 

 bread crumbs, and in fact will take nearly any except live bait, 

 and they are not lacking in game qualities when hooked. Thej^ 

 have long been valued by English anglers, but are not much 

 thought of by the American sportsman of the newer school. 



The carp does not hold a very high place as an edible fish. 

 As a cheap flesh food it compares favorably in price with any 

 of the products of either fresh or salt water. Various efforts 

 have been made to devise means of preparing carp in a way both 

 simple and acceptable to palates accustomed to better fish. 

 The Germans in order to get rid of the muddy flavor, have in 

 some instances adopted the plan of placing the carp in fresh 



