72 



puted question of taste, the food value of the fish must 

 be considered : 



Buy a carp of one kilogram ; cook it ; it will not 



weigh more than 991.80 grams 



Remove the skin and weigh it ; it is 96.90 grams 



Take out the viscera, which weigh 379.76 " 



Carefully remove the skeleton . 201.78 " 678.44 



There remains of flesh onlj- 312.36 grams 



Thus, from this fish for which we have paid three 

 francs, we obtain only three hundred and twelve grams 

 of flesh ; that is for the flesh almost at the rate of ten 

 francs per kilogram. 

 If we take a salmon or a trout of one kilogram, see 



what we obtain ; after cooking it weighs . . 965.70 grams 



Skin 49-90 grams 



Viscera 199.80 



Skeleton 122.10 " 371-80 '* 



Flesh 593-80 grams 



It is unnecessary to emphasize further the inferi- 

 ority of the carp. 



How then comes it that, in spite of this inferiority, 

 which has doubtless been remarked and commented 

 upon by many other persons than myself, the carp still 

 continues to be the only fish cultivated in ponds ? 

 There are several reasons for this ; the carp really po.s- 

 sesses several valuable qualities from the point of view 

 of the fi.sh breeder. Of all our fresh Avater fishes its 

 grow^th is the most rapid. At four years it weighs two 

 kilograms, and frequently arrives at this weight earlier. 



It is extremel}^ hardy and is not injured by freez- 

 ing nor b}^ impurities in the \vater. Its culture is 

 attended with uniform results ; finall}-, the carp re- 

 quires less care than other fishes. Its food is vegeta- 

 ble, and one ma^^ really say that this fish raises itself. 

 This, indeed, is the principal cause of its success ; 

 many proprietors are satisfied with small results upon 

 the condition that they do not cost any trouble. 



