729 



In Sweden the Carp-fishery is of little importance, 

 the occiirreiice of this fish in a natural state and in 

 any tiiiaiitit\- being confinctl to a few lakes in Scania 

 — VonibsjOn and Ringsjun, according to Nils.son — 

 with the streams that feed and drain them. The Carp 

 is taken with the tackle ordinarily employed in fresh- 

 water fishing. l)ut principally in different kinds of traps. 

 It is generally too cunning for the net and seine, avoid- 

 ing the former and swimming under or leaping over 

 the latter — a ruse which even the ancient Greeks and 

 Romans knew it to practise. Sometimes it is caught 

 with rod and line or on nightlines, a method of fishing 

 extensively enll)lo^•^'d in France both as an amusement 

 and a source of profit. The bait consists of lobworms, 

 a piece of old Gruyere, or a bit of dough kneaded with 

 a little lionet-. The hook must be allowed to sink to 

 the bottom, and the bait should not be too large, for 

 the Carp must gulp it down at once — if it begins to 

 nibble at the bait and feels the hook, it cautiously spits 

 out both of them. The angler may choose a spot (piite 

 near land, for the Carp resorts freely to the shore for 

 food, and may be enticed thither without diificulty by 

 now and then throwing some breadcrumbs into the 

 water. The best time for angling is the evening. 



Large, or at least middle-sized Carp, 3 — 5 kgra. 

 in weight, are good eating when well cooked, especially 

 when boiled in wine or stewed with spices. It was 

 therefore quite natural that, even in olden times, at- 

 tempts should be made to utilise this fish in the most 

 convenient and most profitable manner. Hence the 

 origin of the cultivation of the Carp, an industry which 

 has made great strides in some countries, especiall}' in 

 Germany and Austria, and which even in Sweden has 

 been carried on witli success. In his Skdnska Besa 

 LiNK.EUS described the condition of this industry in 

 Scania in 1749, and his opinion was that "the ground 

 occupied b\- a fishpond is far more valuable to its pos- 

 sessor than the finest tilth" (p. 378). In an academical 

 thesis (Lund, 1766) Cederlof has left us some econo- 

 mic remarks on the Scanian Carp-ponds. But this in- 

 terest flagged, and it was not until the present daj' 

 that the cultivation of the Carp was resumed as an 

 industry. This has been done by the insti'umeiitality 

 of !Mr. Wendt, a German landowner who removed 



to Sweden, and in 1879, at Gustafsborg near Perstorp, 

 a. railway station in the District of Christianstad, con- 

 structed a Carp-breeding establishment. In 1883 he sold 

 30,0(10 Swedish pounds (12,7.52 kgm.) of fish, and in 

 1884 half as much again (19,128 kgm.), most of this 

 quantity being exported to Germany". At Ltlngbans- 

 hytta in Wermland another establishment for the breed- 

 ing of Car[) has lately been opened'. 



These Carp-jjonds are dug, or still better — if their 

 site admits of this — formed by damming, beside a 

 river or brook. Thev should be some feet deep and 

 at least two in number, so constructed that one or 

 more of them may be emjjtied at the same time and 

 thoroughly drained. In a complete establishment the 

 ponds must be of two kinds, breeding-ponds (Germ. 

 Strcichteiche, where the Carp maj^ spawn, sich streichen) 

 and growing-ponds (Germ. Streckteiche, where the Carp 

 may grow, sich sfrecken, from the beginning of the se- 

 cond year). In some places a third kind of pond may 

 be seen, the stew (Germ. Fetteich, Setzteich, Ahivachs- 

 teich, Kammerteich), where the Carp that have reached 

 the age of three years or more, are kept ready for use 

 or sale. The size of the ponds depends on circum- 

 stances; but the breeding-ponds, which may be most 

 i-educed in size, should measure at least 10 — 12 

 arcs (about 1 rood), and to each are 5 females and 3 

 males maj' be allowed. These ponds, in which the fish 

 are to spawn, must also contain a. shallow part, wdiere 

 the water may l)e heated by the sun, as early in the 

 3'ear as possible, to a temperature of about +17° or 

 + 18° C. (about 63° Fahr.), for at a lower temperature 

 the Carp will not readil)' spawn. The growing-ponds 

 as w-ell as the stews, on the other hand, must contain 

 a deeper part, at least about 5 ft. in depth, where the 

 Carp may assemble in winter without danger of the 

 bottom freezing. The entrance and outlet must of 

 course be constructed, in the first place, so as to avoid 

 the possibility of inundation; and precautions should 

 be taken by means of suitable filters to prevent the 

 Carp from escaping and to keep out other fishes and 

 noxious animals. One or two Pike, to cut off the 

 weaklings and to keep the older Carp in active motion, 

 do no harm in the ponds, for the survivors thrive and 

 grow all the better for their company; and Perch and 



" See Trybom, Om karpodling i albnanhet och Mirskildt om den lid Gustafsborij i Krktiaiistads laii, Landtbruks-Akademicns Hand- 

 lingar och Tidskrift for ar 1885. 



' See LiLLEBOBG, Sv., Norg. Fisk., vol. Ill, p. 794. WIk'h this sheet was in (lie press, tlic second number of the 'Sveiisk Fiskeri- 

 Tidskri/t' appeared, containing a paper by H. V. Tibehg on the cultivation of the Carp at Lingbaushytta. 



