[71] 



CARP-CULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 729 



made not a particle of growth, or but very Uttle. I then abandoned them as a fail- 

 ure. The little dam washed away, leaving theni in this covered spriri", overhuii"- with 

 shade trees. Last fall I put up a tenant's house near by, and the carpenter's litfle sou 

 discovered 23 lish in the spring, large and small. There was apparcutlv nothiuo- in 

 the spring (it being very pure water) for them to feed on, and thev were there witlu.iit 

 food for at least 18 months. I speak of this to show how hardy they must be 1 

 transferred the 23 to a pond, where 22 of them still are. 



The huudred lish which I obtained from Mr. Hollyday last fall I put into a small 

 pond about 3 feet deep. I have lost but one of them that! know of I saw ahout r.(J 

 of them at one time last April, and have never seen one since, although I am sutislied 

 they are there. 



Plants. — The mill ponds contain lilies and common water grass. One of mv owu 

 ponds — the one with 22 carp in it — has a heavy growth of grass, etc. 



ExKMiES.— The mill ponds have a few pike in them, and a great many black catflsh ; 

 also common snappiug-turtles and small red-bellied terrapins. 



Food.— The carp in the mill ponds and my grassy pond are not fed. I f(^ed those 

 in my other pond with hominy, corn meal, dough, and wheat. 



Gkowtii and rkpkoduction.— Three or four of the 23 fish found in the spring 

 last fall were 4 inches long. These were the survivors of the 1880 lot. The remaiti^ 

 ing 19 or 20 were young produced by them, and were about an inch long. The carp 

 iu the mill pond have, from all accounts, produced a great many young. 



Hardihood.— In November, 1830, I obtained 20 carp for Dr.'Finley, wlio lives 

 near Church Hill, in our county. He put them into a pond in his field which it 

 is impossible to run off, but wliich very rarely dries up. Iu the summer of 18'?1 it 

 became very low, and the cattle standing in it every day kept it so stirred up that 

 one would have expected any kind offish but catfish to have died. When at its lowest 

 he dragged an old net through it and caught 15 carp iu the one haul, with an average 

 length of about 15 inches. Several of these were eaten by himself and neighbors aud 

 pronounced very excellent fish. 



I heard of an instance in Harford County, Maryland, where a man's dam gave way 

 and let out all the water from his pond, in which he had put carp some time before, 

 except what was held by a small hole in its bed. The next summer ho let off this 

 water with the view of repairing and restocking pond, when, to his astonishuient, tlnj 

 old stock was there, in good health. [See another instauce al)ove. ] 



Carp in salt water.— I heard of a scale carp which got out of Thomas Hughietfs 

 ])ond on Miles River, in Talbot County, Maryland, and was cauglit in the stream at 

 Pott's Mill, head of Miles River, and weighed 8 pounds. Miles Rivitr is salt water. 



This shows that they will live and thrive in salt water as well as fresh, although I 

 feel sure they will make for fresh water, since this fish was caught at a place where 

 the water is but little brackish.. 



328. Statement of Richard Hollyday, Centreville, Queen Anne Co., Md., Oct. 20, 1883. 



Disposition of carp received. — I received 80 scale carp in 1879 and 40 leather 

 carp in November, 1880. I keep them in 2 separate ponds of about 4 of an acre each. 

 The water is 5 feet deep, but shallow at the edges. It contains from 1 to H feet of 

 mud in the center, and has sandy shores. It is supplied by a small stream from 

 never-failing springs. There is but little waste except after a freshet. It is of 

 medium temperature. 



Plants. — The scale carp pond contains two varieties of pond lily. The other has 

 a common flag or cat-tail. 



Enemies. — They contain a few sun-fish, bull-frogs in great numbers, a few snappiug- 

 turtles, and numerous snakes. 



Food. - I have fed them but seldom this season, sometimes giving them pure clab- 

 ber, of which they are very fond ; but I usually feed them with kitchen refuse. 



Ghowth.— I think I can account for every one of those received. 1 Jet Comiuis- 

 siouer Hughlett have 32 of the scale carp in 1881. I find that the leather carp grow 

 much more rapidly than the others. I sold a pair to a neighbor in Ainil, 1862, meas- 

 uring 15 inches and weighing 3| pounds. He told me, not long since, that one of 

 theiu measured 22 inches aud weighed 8 pounds in July last. My leather carp have 

 outgrown the other kind, though one year younger. I am inclined to the belief that 

 the water being warmer in that pond suits them better. 



Reproduction.— They produced about 3,000 scale carp and 300 leather carp last 

 year. I cannot yet estimate the number for this year. 



Disposition of young.— I let Commissioner Hughlett have 2,.500 aud have sold 400 

 to neighbors. . 



Edidle qualities.— Those that I have eaten I had corned over night and broiled 

 for breakfast. I have invited a number of persons to eat them and all luonoiiuco 

 them delicious. 



