THE CARP AND ITS CULTURE. 877 



impreguations aud hatching, as also by the natural increase of this fish, 

 with its abundance of eggs, any amount of fry, as well for fresh water 

 as most probably also for salt water, as the fact of its occurring in the 

 salt water of the Black, and very frequently in that of the Adriatic Sea, 

 will demonstrate. 



There is no other fish which will, with proper management, be as ad- 

 vantageous as the carp. Its frugality in regard to its food, its easy 

 adaptability to all waters, in rivers, in lakes, and ponds, and even salt- 

 water estuaries, its regular, rapid growth, and its value as a food-fish, 

 are its best recommendations. 



2. — The localities best adapted to a cakp-pond. 



1 will try to describe, in the first place, the manner in which carp- 

 culture in ponds is conducted in Central Europe, and subsequently 

 explain more fully its introduction in open waters. 



If intending to establish carp-ponds, it will be necessary to ascertain 

 the following points before the execution of the plan: 



1. Is there a suflicient quantity of water at hand for all purposes, for 

 the summer as well as winter "? 



2. Is the ground, soil, and water favorable for culture? 



3. It is important to examine the land minutely, in order to find what 

 are the components of the soil, for not every kind of soil is suitable for 

 carp-culture. 



4. It ought to be decided from the commencement how large the es- 

 tablishment is intended to be, whether only for private use and pleas- 

 ure, or whether wholesale production of the fish as an article of trade 

 is contemplated. 



If points 1 and 2 hav^e been satisfactorially settled, then the ground 

 must be examined, particularly whether it is so constituted as not to 

 allow the collected water to penetrate, and whether the ground is sandy 

 or loamy. Above all, it must not be neglected to measure the depth of 

 the stratum which holds the water, aud to be fully assured that it is 

 sufliciently impermeable to withstand the pressure of the water and to 

 hinder its oozing through, so as to prevent the consequent drying up 

 of the pond. 



A rocky, gravelly ground is not appropriate for carp-culture. Sandy 

 ground, without a considerable mixture of loam, clay, aud humus, is of 

 small use. I speak here of large ponds of considerable extent. Small 

 ponds with a sandy bottom may be improved by supplying them with 

 loam, as it is frequently done in agriculture. 



Loam is a mixture of a small per centum of sand and a larger quan- 

 tity of clay, and is suitable for ponds. If such ground contains some 

 marl, or, better, some little elements of humus, itis of the greatest advan- 

 tage for fish-culture. These constituents of humus, if dissolved, give the 

 water a yellow, muddy color ; and this water supports by its ingredients 

 a profuse number of microscopic beings, which again form the support 



