4 Fish 'AND Game Warden. [Bull. No. 1. 



NATIVE KANSAS FISHES. 



To the majority of people fresh fish is not only a very ac- 

 ceptable article of food but a real luxury. As a rule fresh 

 fish does not keep well except in cold weather, and must be 

 packed in ice when shipped for any considerable distance. 

 Even then most varieties of fresh fish lose more or less of their 

 flavor when kept any length of time, and when prepared for 

 the table are a disappointment, having a flat and insipid taste. 

 If the people of Kansas want good fresh fish, they must secure 

 them from the streams and ponds of our state. 



Our native fishes — the black basses, the crappies, the sun- 

 fishes and the catfishes — are among the best game and food 

 fishes in the world ; and when they have a shadow of a chance 

 they do well in Kansas waters. Most of them thrive and do 

 well in ponds that have been properly constructed and cared 

 for. We hope in this bulletin to give instructions along lines 

 that will make it possible to build ponds suitable for fish- 

 culture purposes, such as are required for rearing fish on farms, 

 and to give information that will enable a person of ordinary 

 intelligence to manage such ponds for both pleasure and profit. 



The German carp is also considered a very good food fish in 

 many places in the world, and it is undoubtedly the best pond 

 fish in the country when considered from the standpoint of the 

 number of pounds that can be produced in an acre of water. 

 The German carp feeds almost exclusively upon vegetable mat- 

 ter and converts a vast amount of worthless vegetable growths 

 found in streams and ponds into fish flesh; and in all fairness 

 to the carp, I want to say, strange as it may seem to some 

 people, that this fish, when taken from good waters, is not 

 only valuable in the markets of the world, but when properly 

 handled and cooked is a good and nutritious food for human 

 beings. A special bulletin on the German carp will be issued 

 in the near future. 



It is a well-known fact to many fish culturists and anglers 

 that the young of the German carp serve very extensively as 

 a food for game fishes. The carp is very prolific; the mature 

 females are said to produce from 500,000 to 3,000,000 eggs 

 each during the spawning season. It is safe to say that, 

 owing to the fact that the carp lives on vegetable matter, 

 which is usually abundant in streams and ponds, it is possible 

 to produce in an acre of water from five to ten pounds of carp 

 to one pound of native fish. 



GO FISHING. 

 Most people are fond of fresh fish, and they enjoy the 

 pleasure and the exciting sport of going fishing and of fishing. 

 Show me a boy who is not delighted at an opportunity to go 

 fishing. He will travel long distances, if need be, to visit some 

 pond, lake or stream in the neighborhood where he can fish. 

 As I look back, it seems to me that some of the happiest days 



