m 



CARP-CULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 6G5 



An experiment in mineral water.— Dr. Smith put 4 small carp in a ixmd of min- 

 eral water in which other lish died immediately, and in the followino- November in 

 the presence of his wife and friends, canght one which weighed 6J pounds, and measured 

 2:^ inches in length and 14 inches in circumference. 



27. Statement of the California Fish Commissioners, San Francisco, Cal. 1880.* 



Distribution of carp received.— Of the 300 carp brought to California Decem- 

 ber 29, IH/f), but .2 perished. Sixty were placed In a public lake near Sacramento; 

 the remainder were placed in a private pond of li. R. Thompson, in Alameda, who 

 promised to protect them and allow the State to remove them and the increase when- 

 ever desired. We have no report of those placed in Suttervilie Lake ; probably none 

 of them have been caught. Those placed in the i)rivate ])ond at Alameda are doiu"- 

 weli. These fish were hatched from the egg in June, 1H7'J, and when received avei° 

 aged about two inches in length. During the mouth of June, 1880, 12 were forwarded 

 to Mare Island. 



Growth.— In June, 1880, one year from the time they had left the egg, they had 

 grown to a length of more than 8 inches. The increase in the size of the lish and 

 their line ai)i)earance make it certain they have found congenial homes. They were 

 probably too young to have spawnedlast year. The 8 carp of another variety brought 

 to this State in 1872, from Hamburg, by Mr. J. A. Poppe, have iucreased largely and 

 have l)een widely distributed. Whenever planted in our water they have grown 

 rapidly and multiplied in numbers. No other variety of fish has been so long under 

 the care and protection of man, and no other seems so capable of doniostication. 



Habits. — At the beginning of the cold season carp seek deeper water, making holes 

 in the nmd, where they pass the winter in a kind of slcej). They make a cavity in 

 the muddy ground called a "kettle." In this they pass the time until spring, huddled 

 together in concentric circles, Avith their heads together, the posterior part of the 

 body raised and held immovable, scarcely lifting the gills for the process of breathing, 

 and without taking a particle of food. It is a most striking fact that the carp, 

 though it does not take auy food during this winter sleep, does not diminish in weight. 



Miscellaneous. — The carp will certainly thrive in the interior waters of this State, 

 with the i)ossible exception of the lakes near the summit of the Sierra Nevada, where 

 the water in summer may be too cold. 



28. Statement of Joseph D. Bedding, Cal. Fish Commission, San Francisco, Cal., Apr, 5, 1884. 



Edible qualities. — A gentleman friend of mine, and quite an epicure, invited me 

 to a carp dinner. We had carp cooked In five different ways — boiled, broiled, fried, 

 stewed, and baked. Under the head broiled I include the method. No. 335, on page 

 326 in U. S. F. C. Bulletin, 1883, which was by far the most delicious. In each instance 

 the carp were properly cleansed for a period of several days by being kept in pure 

 water constantly changed. It is to my mind a first-class food-fish, if properly treated, 

 and should in time become to fish what potatoes are to vegetables. 



29. Statement of Levi Davis, Forestville, Sonoma Co., Cal., 1883. 



Edible qualities. — Carp is an excellent and chea]> food, the quality of which I 

 consider equal to the trout. 



30. Statement of Alfred La Motte, Sonoma, Sonoma Co., Cal., 1883. 



Edible qualities.— The table qualities of the carp are good, not equal, of course, 

 to the brook trout, but superior to most of our river fishes. 



COLORADO. 



31. Statement of Addison Baker, Denver, Arapahoe Co., Colo., Aug. 6,1883. 



Disposition of carp received. — About three years ago I received 25 carp, which 

 I placed in a natural pond on Platte River bottom. It is 800 feet long, from 50 to 100 

 feet wide, and from 2 to 6 feet deep, with a gravelly bottom overlaid with black muck 

 and moss. The water in the ])ond is spring water, but rises and lowers with the 

 Platte River, which is near by, and nearly 10 miles from the foot of the mountains. 

 When the river is low I turn in water taken from farther up the stream. The tem- 

 jjerature of the water is about 60 degrees. 



"Report California Fish Commissioners, 1880, pp. 10, 11. 



