606 EEPOET OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 



recently published menu" of the cafe luncheon of the Waldorf-Astoria, 

 ]Sie\v York, for April 16, 1902, contains the item, "Carp, Rhine Wine 

 sauce" at 65 and 40 cents. 



It is not maintained, however, that the attempt should be made to 

 put carp on an equal footing with our admittedl}^ finer fishes. It is 

 merely desired to show that if the prejudice at present prevailing 

 against it as a food fish could be removed it would be much more 

 extensively used than at present. Even now hundreds of tons of carp 

 are being consumed yearly in the larger cities of this country, though 

 the demand can still not be considered equal to the possible suppl3^ 

 The amount of these fish now used will be considered under the sub- 

 ject of the carp fisheries (p. 617). The sale is at present mostly limited 

 to the poorer classes in the cities, and especially to the Jewish people. 

 For this trade it is necessary that the fish be shipped "in the round," 

 and those that have previously been cleaned will not be accepted. 



Several methods of specially preparing carp have been tried to some 

 extent in this country, but none of them has as yet been attempted on 

 a large scale. I was told that canning carp had been tried in Cleve- 

 land, but was unable to get any definite information on the subject. 

 If the dogfish of our coasts, a species of shark, can be put up success- 

 fully in this form, as is now maintained, it seems that as much might 

 be expected of the carp. The greatest difficulty would be, in both 

 cases, in overcoming popular prejudice and in establishing a market 

 for the product. 



A few firms along Lake Erie have been smoking a considerable 

 quantity of carp, which has, however, never had a wide market, but 

 has been disposed of locally. For this purpose the larger fish are 

 used, weighing usually 12 to 15 pounds. With a sharp knife the skin 

 and scales are cut ofi' in broad strips (about three to a side), the cuts 

 not going so deep, however, but that the imprints of the scales still 

 show on the flesh. The head, viscera, and fins are all cut away, and 

 the fish is then cut up into transverse sections or "steaks" some 2 or 

 3 inches in thickness. This last process is readily accomplished by 

 means of a sharp knife fixed in a long-handled lever, as is shown in 

 figure 4, plate ii (the operator to the left). Two skilled operators can 

 prepare a large number of fish in this manner in a comparatively short 

 time. The steaks are strung on long iron rods and are smoked in the 

 ordinary way. I was told that this product was sold as smoked carp 

 a,nd retailed at about 15 cents per pound. The claim was made that 

 "except for the bones it could not be told from smoked sturgeon," and 

 that I myself tried I found to be very palatable. At a retail market 

 in Sandusky I actuall}^ found smoked carp on sale at 18 cents per pound 

 under the name of smoked sturgeon. The larger fish are not readily 



a This menu has been reproduced in Transactions American Fisheries Society, Thirty-second Annual 

 Meeting, 1903, p. 123, and in the Report of the [Illinois] State Board of Fish Commissioners, 1900-1902. 



