Part III.] Pond Fish Culture. 127 



bass and other fish live, during the spawning season, and thus 

 far we have found no evidence that the carp eats the spawn of 

 other fish. So far as our observations go, one small-sized bass, 

 weighing from one and a half to two and a half pounds, can 

 easily put to flight several carp larger than itself, that may 

 approach or come near the spawning bed of the bass. The 

 bass usually makes the attack on a single carp — the one nearest 

 the nest — but all the carp in the bunch make a hasty retreat. 



Carp as a Food for Other Fish. 



The young of the carp, which sometimes appear in very 

 great numbers, serve as food for the bass, the crappie, the 

 catfishes, and the sunfishes. It is not possible to raise any 

 great number of the so-called game fishes unless they are sup- 

 plied with great quantities of food. Observations and studies 

 in and out of the laboratory go to show that a very consider- 

 able amount of the food of these fish is made up of other fish. 

 These other fish are, for the most part, those that eat vegetable 

 and waste matter, such as the German carp and uther fish 

 that belong to the Cyprinidse or minnow family, and the 

 Catostomidse or sucker family. 



The so-called German carp belongs to the minnow or Cypri- 

 nidse family. The goldfish (Carassiiis auratus) also belongs 

 to this family. Both of these fishes have a serrated spine in 

 the dorsal and anal fin. The Cyprinidse are mostly small fish. 

 However, the European carp and some American species of 

 this famih^ attain considerable size. There are about one 

 thousand species of fish in the world that belong to the minnow 

 family. There are about twenty-five species in Kansas. As 

 yet they have not been carefully determined. 



The American carp does not belong to the Cyprinidse or 

 minnow family, but to the sucker or Catostomidse family. 

 Over a dozen species of this latter family have been deter- 

 mined; in Kansas waters they include the buffalo, the carp, 

 the redhorse, and other common suckers. 



Carp as a Food Fish. 



The carp are used as food fish all over the country, and 

 there are thousands of people who are willing to testify that 

 they are a good food fish. If certain individuals do not care 

 to use them for food, they must not forget that the carp is a 

 very large factor when it comes to producing fish food for the 

 mass of the people. It is also a valuable fish for producing 

 food for other fish, such as the bass, the crappie, and the cat- 

 fish, all of which are considered most excellent for table use. 

 In time the carp will become an important article of food in 

 this country, the same as it now is in parts of Europe. It will 

 furnish a cheap and wholesome food for a great many people 

 who are unable to pay the high prices that most of the choice 

 varieties of fish command in the market. 



