Part III.] Pond Fish Culture. 187 



•as that connected with our national and state fishery commis- 

 sions. 



In these times when the value of running streams for water 

 power is being widely considered, the possessors of brooks, 

 springs, and small lakes should be awakened to the value of 

 their home resources for water farming. At a former meeting 

 of this society I had the privilege of describing at considerable 

 length approved methods for the construction and care of 

 small fish ponds.* The matter is recorded in the printed 

 transactions of the society, and it is unnecessary at the present 

 time to reconsider the methods of pond management, but it is 

 always desirable to keep the subject of private fish culture be- 

 fore the public. 



It is gratifying to note that trout culture in the hands of 

 the private citizen is making some progress in Massachusetts 

 and adjacent states and the advertisements of successful trout 

 raisers may to-day be found in American journals devoted to 

 fish and game. Trout culture is, however, a branch of the 

 work which requires special conditions, such as purity of 

 water, comparatively low temperature, the construction of 

 buildings and artificial fertilization. The possibilities for the 

 private or commercial culture of many other kinds of fishes, 

 which are more widely distributed than the trouts and can be 

 cultivated by simpler methods, should receive serious consid- 

 eration. North America is abundantly supplied with hardy 

 fishes which are available for this purpose. There are no 

 serious difficulties in the way of obtaining them for breeding, 

 and under cultivation they would yield a food supply which 

 would supplement to an important degree that derived from 

 the public fisheries. 



In Europe the cultivation of carp is carried on extensively. 

 This fish is now abundant in American waters, and while not 

 comparable to many of our native species, has already con- 

 tributed annually many millions of pounds to our market sup- 

 ply. Despised by many, it is nevertheless marketed more 

 profitably each year in most of our large cities, and there is no 

 doubt that the carp is destined to supply a considerable amount 

 of our fish food. The methods of carp culture as practiced in 

 Europe have been frequently published in this country and are 

 available for use. It is unquestionably the easiest of all fishes 

 to raise, and it is only necessary to turn to the weekly New 

 York market reports for assurance as to its money value and 

 extensive use. But it is our native fishes which I wish to con- 

 sider especially in this connection, as many of them have been 

 proved availalDle for cultivation and are more acceptable as 

 food to our people than the carp. Among them may be men- 



* Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 1907, "The Cultiva- 

 tion of Fishes in Small Ponds," by C. H. Townsend, pp. 128-139. (Note. 

 For sale at the Aquarium, New York; pamphlet, 25 cents.) 



