744 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [86] 



Growth and repkoductiox. — At 2 months old the youufj fish are from 3 to 4 iuclies 

 long and line fat fellows. I think 6 will weigh one ponud. They grow fast and I think 

 are large enough to eat when 6 mouths old. The old ones are about IG to 18 inches 

 long, and will weigh from :> to 5 pounds. The second lot I received, on January 3, 

 I8ri3, heing then about li inches long, will now weigh from f to 1 pound. In January, 

 1882, L was told by a man that his carp had grown from about 4 to IG or 18 inches iu 

 length in about 8 months. 



How TO CATCH CARP.— I tried, day before yesterday, catching the carp with a hook 

 baited with a red earth-worm, and caught live in a few minutes, one of the largest, 

 two of the second, and two of the third size, the last being this year's s])awn. They 

 took the hook quick and pulled well. Their mouths tore badly, and without caution 

 I would have lost a great many, one of the second size having the side of its mouth 

 torn almost ofl". 



393. Statement of Wallace and McGowan, Holly Springs, Marshall Co., Miss., Dec. 4, 1880. 



Growth. — A party to w^hom we gave carp last February put them iii a. small high- 

 land pond, and about a month ago took out one, which he says weighed over 3 pounds. 



3D4. Statement of A. Q. Withers, Holly Springs, Marshall Co., Miss., Aug. 29, 1883. 



Disposition oi'' carp received. — The carp, measuring about H inches long and 

 weighing from 1 to 2 ounces, received December 17, 1880, I placed in a pond 200 feet 

 square and from 1 foot to 6 feet deep, where they remained until June 20, 1881. Fear- 

 iug that my pond would go dry and I lose my fish, I seined it and found 2 1 carp remain- 

 ing. I gave 4 of them to Mr. Mathers, the owner of the. seine, and removed the others 

 to"i cistern, containing about 1,000 barrels of cold water, and having a depth of 25 

 feet. I have placed turf and twigs in the cistern. I received another lot of 30 iu the 

 fall, 1881. 



Enemies. — The pond contains no other fish, but some frogs inhabit it. 



Food. — Up to the time of removing the carp from the pond, I paid no atteutioii to 

 them, as there Avas a sufficient fiuantity of food in the pond. I now give them corn 

 bread and shelled corn weekly. During water-melon season I frequently sliced up 

 melons for them, and they would congregate around the floating pieces and muuch 

 the red part like humans. The carp could be seen every day swimming around the 

 cistern and feeding with their ])eculiar sucking sound. 



Growth. — It was all we could do to get the 4 carp I gave Mr. Mathers into a com- 

 mon water-bucket, notwithstanding they were the smallest of the lot. The 3 which 

 died within a few days after placing then in the cistern averaged 12 inches in length. 

 The entire lot averaged 2-^ pounds. The remainder of the carp in the cistern ulti- 

 mately died and would have weighed 3 pounds. The carp last received now weigh 

 fully 3 pounds each. 



Reproduction. — Since the last lot si^awned I have seen a school of young which 

 I judge to weigh from 2 to 3 ounces. 



DiFFicCTLTiE.s. — The water froze in the buckets when the first young cari) were en 

 route and 3 perished. 



Miscell^vneous. — Before they died I had intended to let my 14 carp remain iu the 

 cistern, and to convert it into a hatchery so as to remove the young at the proper time 

 to the i^onds. Wln-u I seined the pond the carp showed some activity, floundering 

 about, and wht'U ni)on the surface of the water iu the cistern they darted and floun- 

 dered below with (^uite a noise w^hen suddenly surprised. I would not sell my carp 

 for |100 each if I could get no more. 



395. Statement of W. W. Cock, Huclsonville, Marshall Co., Miss., Nov. \, 1883. 



Disposition of carp received. — In November, 1880, I received about 20 carp. 

 They were kept in a still i)ond until the following summer, when the water dried up 

 and I gave them away. The jiond was about 3 feet deep, with a muddy bottom. 



Pi-ANTS. — Smart weeds and grasses grow in the i)ond. 



Enemies. — Perch and bull-frogs inhabit the jiond, but no turtles. 



Food. — The carp fed on insects and mud. Very little care was taken of them. 



Growth. — The 5 that I gave away in the summer of 1881 then weighed about 3^ 

 pounds each. 



390. Statement of J. M. Brooks, Waierford, Marshall Co., Miss., July 27, 1883. 



Disposition of carp received. — I received 25 leather carp about 3 years ago, and 

 have kept them in a small pond with muddy bottom. It is supplied only by rain-fall. 



Plants. — It contains a water lily with large round leaves, commonly called " wam- 

 papin," in the Mississippi Valley. 



Enemies. — There are also perch and frogs in the pond. I have never fed the carp. 



