594 REPOKT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 



ing case of the way this problem was met in Lake Merced, one of the 

 reservoirs for the water supply of San Francisco, is reported by Smith 

 (1896, p. 395) in the paper that has already been quoted. A number 

 of sea lions put into the lake apparentl}" did the work very effici- 

 ently; but unfortunately this is not a method that it is always possi- 

 ble, or at least, practical )le, to apply. Doctor Smith quotes Mr. 

 Babcock, of the California Fish Commission, as follows: 



Carp have entered the Blue Lakes in Lake County. The Blue Lakes, three in 

 number, were formerly very striking and beautiful bodies of water. A. V. La Mott 

 now tells me that lower Blue Lake is so muddy that its beauty is gone, the carp 

 keeping the water roiled all the time. Lake Merced, property of the Spring Valley 

 Water Company, in the city and county of San Francisco, was so damaged by carp 

 as to be almost useless to the company. The company employed four fishermen by 

 the month to seine tlie lake, and during that time — some four months — bought 19 

 good-sized seals [i. e., sea lions] taken near Cliff House. These seals were placed in 

 Lake Merced in 1891, and for a time the company employed men to go over the lake 

 to pick up the pieces of dead carp that were so numerous as to be dangerous to the 

 purity of the water. In the summer of 1895, at the request and expense of the 

 water company, I engaged several Italian fishermen to go to the lake, and under our 

 supervision they used all kinds of drag nets and seines in the lake and were unable 

 to take any carp or any other fish than sticklebacks. The seals have grown very 

 thin. Another effort was made in same manner with like results in the fall of 1895. 

 I am of the opinion that there are no carp, big or little, in the lake at this time. 

 The coming season the company will try again for carp, and if none is found the 

 seals will be killed off and large-mouth black bass placed in the lake. 



The planting and maintaining of large predaceous fish in waters 

 where carp are objectionable will undoubtedly help to a large extent in 

 keeping their numbers down, as they will prey upon the 3'oung carp. 

 It is doubtful whether thev will be of much effect in removing the 

 larger fish, however. 



Another point is mentioned in the above quotation which is often 

 one of considerable importance, namely, the marring of the beauty of 

 lakes and other bodies of clear water by carp, by keeping the water 

 constantly muddy and roih'. This is a problem which is apt to be 

 encountered bj^ park commissioners, and is to be met in the same way 

 as in the case of the reservoirs. In parks, however, the usefulness of 

 carp as a source of interest to visitors, who take pleasure in feeding 

 them, may be considered as offsetting their undesirability in other 

 respects, though gold-fish are usually preferred on account of their 

 more showj^ appearance. 



RELATION OF THE CARP TO OTHER FISH. 



Perhaps more complaint has been made against the carp by anglers 

 and commercial fishermen for its alleged destruction of other fish 

 than by the sportsmen for its harmfulness to the feeding grounds of 

 ducks. These complaints have come from nearly all quarters, and it 

 will usually be found that the}^ arise from a general sentiment rather 



