[21] 



CARP-CtJLfURE IN T^HE tJNlTEt) STATES. 070 



Growth. — I have 3 old ones Ml. They are each about 2 feet in leuf^th, and I sup- 

 pose they will weigh f) or (> pounds. I examined one of the yoiing c)n(s, 15 months old. 

 It weighed 2^ pounds, and measurctl 17.J inches. 



Reproduction.— My old carp spawned when 2 years old (.lunc, IrtSl). | do not 

 know how many young they have produced, as my pond broke and I lost many. 1 

 secured between 200 aud :?00. 



Sales. — I sold some of the young at $5 per dozen. 



Edible QifALrriFS. — They are not full (d" bones, and do not taste of unul, as some 

 would have ns think, but, on the contrary, are very free from small bimcs, and are 

 a most excellent tabl<^ lish, to which several who have dined with me will testify. 



DlEFlci'LTlES.^ — The dam broke in .luue, 1880, and I lost all cxcei)t live, foiir of 

 which W' re scale carji. The .'') iisli Ihen averaged 11 inches in length. They were 

 about :? incdies long when received three months j»reviously. June 1, 1881, 1 examined 

 the ])ond which had contained the live carj). Only four large carp were found, three 

 scah^ and one leather. These measured 18 inches iu length. In April, 18-2, I e.x- 

 auuned the2 pon.ds built on the snuill streams and discovered a great dillerenci! in the 

 growth of tln^ lish in the two i)onds, and yet it was the same water aiul the same kind 

 of bottom. The tish in the small deep i)ond were only G or 7 inches iu length, while 

 those in the poiul below, covering about twice the space, were 12^ inches long. 



Miscellaneous. — When in 1882 I (examined the pond into which I had put the 

 carp and bream, I was snrpristul at the large growth of the carp as well as the slow 

 growth of the l>ream. The largest of the six carp, now one year aud three or four 

 months old, measured 17 inches iu length and weighed full 2^- pounds. The bream 

 were only a little larger when put in. But there were plenty of small bream. 



My conclusions as to carp are that in southern waters it nnikes no ditlereuce 

 whether the water is clear or muddy; that if they have plenty of feeding ground, it 

 is not necessary to feed them; that they do not ''kettle" in winter iu this latitude; 

 and that they will caitainly spawn in two years if properly cared for. 



87. Slaiement of J. F. Hanson, Macon, Bibb Co., Ga., July 23, 1883. 



Disposition of cakp received.— I received 20 ii.sh about 3 years ago, and put them 

 in a large cistern 75 feet iu diameter, used as a reservoir for spring water. About 10,000 

 gallons a day, at a temperature, say 68° to 70°, flow through it. 



Plants. — It contains moss and weeds, growing in the water which is perfectly 

 clear. 



Enemies. — There are toads sometimes found in it, and a few sun perch. 



Food. — We fed the fish with cracked Indian corn and with ])lain corn bread. 



Difficulties. — In a sluut tinu' after we received them they disappeared, and I can- 

 not tell what became of them. I never found any of them dead. I think the water 

 was too cold and too clean. 



[No trouble arose from the water being clean. But to transfer the fish from warm 

 water suddenly to cold water would 1m^ so violent a change of temi)erature as to injure 

 them. They would then become a much easier prey to enemies or perhaps die anyway. 

 Carp can be transferred to icy cold water if the transition is made very gradually. — 

 Editor.] 



88. Statement of Charlie Uerbst, Macon, Bibb Co., Ga., July 23, 1883. 



Disposition of carp received. — I received 5 or G carp 2 or moni years ago. 

 Since then a few were given to me. I only have 2 now, and these I bonglit. 1 

 keep Ihem iu a glass tank, with a capacity of about 22 gallons, in wbi(;li their shape 

 and color are clearly seen. 1 change the water weekly, and handle the lish with a net. 



Enemies. — It contains goldfish and small terrapins, kuown iu the local lingo as 

 "cooters." [Small water terrai)ins.] 



Food. — I give them corn muffin and boiled rice. 



89. Statement of I. C. Flant, Macon, Bibb Co., Ga., July 23, 1883. 



Disposition of carp received.— I received my carp 2 aud 3 years since; abont.">0 

 (>ach year. I kept them at first in a pond covering about a half acre. I now have 

 one 80 by 125 feet, inclosed by a board fence, to keep turtles, snakes, frogs, &.c., mit. 

 There i.s a constant stream from dozens of springs on the eilge of the largest jtond, 

 giving a stream say 10 inches iu diameter that passes from the poml all the time. 



Plants.— The ponds are shaded by willows, bays, and other small shrubs usually 

 found around Southern ponds, aud contains i)ond-lilie8 and dozens of kinds of water 

 plants and grasses. 



Enemies.— The only trouble which I have had in raising carp has been from turtles 

 and frogs, which seem to eat up all the eggs. I lost thousands of line lish the first 

 2 years in my large pond, they being destroyed by turtles. 



