554 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISII AND FISHERIES. [88J 



been stocked in proportion to their cni)acity. It will rarely occr.i-, es- 

 l)ecially in large pond i'urnis, that all tlic i)onds arc poor. L^ven if the 

 stock pond is poor, but the raising i)onds good, the carp can in these 

 acquire the necessary weight so as to become marketable after two 

 years in the stock ponds. If placed in the stock ponds when weighing 

 1 i)onnd apiece the carp will in one, and certainly in two years, reach 

 the marketable weight of 2 or 2i pounds. If the pond is stocked in due 

 proportion to its capacity it may even reach a greater weight in two 

 years. But, as Delius says,* there is no special advantage in raising 

 carp to a greater weight than 2 to 2.V i)Ounds, it being more i)rotitable to 

 sell the carp as soon as possible, even if tiiey should weigh only 2 or 2^ 

 pounds, than to raise them to a weight of 4 or 5 pounds, which would 

 re(piire live or six jears. For to (he carp cultivator, as to the stock 

 raiser, ai)plies the old adage: "Too long a period of raising, the total 

 quantity of food being the same, will yield but small i)rofits." It will, 

 under all circumstances, be more prolitable to produce a certain luimber 

 of marketable fish in a few years than a larger number in a longer 

 ])eriod. To obtain the desired result the i)onds should rather be under 

 than over stocked. The most i)roiitable method will always be the one 

 by which carp can be marketable in four and not in five or even six 

 years. To attain this should be the aim of every rational pond cultiva- 

 tor. In endeavoring to reach this object he may meet with unavoidable 

 difQculties, but if proceeding systematically he will always be able to 

 raise marketable fish in five years, even in medium, and occasionally 

 also in poor ponds. If he needs six years, he must have made mistakes 

 in the selection, stocking, and management of his raising ponds. 



I therefore repeat what I said under the head of raising ponds : It 

 should be the principal aim of the pond cultivator to shun no trouble and 

 care, to raise only healthy aiul strong fry and young tish ; for a single mis- 

 take may frustrate all his i)lans, and disturb even the best system to a 

 degree that it may take years to repair the damage. If the pond culti- 

 vator has done his duty by his raising ponds, he will in due time reap 

 his reward in the stock jjonds. UoraK says: " Carp i)onds with a one 

 year's course are but rarely profitable ; the aim should be, therefore, 

 to have only ponds with a two years' course, and to avoid a three years' 

 course." He endeavors to prove his assertion as follows : " The location 

 of the pond, and the nature of its soil and water have a decided intlii 

 ence on the length of time which will be required to raise the fish to 

 their proper weight. There are only a few ponds in which the young 

 fish, which generally remain in medium ponds three summers, will be- 

 come marketable fish in two or even one year. Such results can only 

 be looked for in exceptional cases, in particularly favorable years, and 

 after the pond has been sowed, for as a general rule the large three- 

 year-old lish will need three summers, and the two-year-old fish one 

 summer to becouje marketable fish. After having been sowed, only ' 



*DeliiKs, Teichwirthschaft, p. G4. 



