752 EEPOET OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [1)4] 



a jiond. of 5 acres we found 400 young carp of 14 iucbes. If I had not put the parent 

 hsh in the pond witli my own hands, I wouk1 have supposed they were dwarfed old 

 fish, but the fiicts are absolute and true as stated above. Nest season I have great 

 confidence that we will produce vast numbers of young carp. 



432. Statement of E. Crockett, Marshall, Saline Co., Mo., Apr. 11, 1883. 



Carp taken from Missouri River. — Large numbers of young carp, a foot or more 

 in length, are being taken from the Missouri^River near here, and with other fish are 

 sold in the markets at this place. One of the largest weighed 2 ]iounds. 



433. Statement of Samuel McClelland, Salt Springs, Saline Co., Mo., Jan. 18, 1883. 



Growth. — The carp I received in .June, 1880, have inci-eased in size and multiplied 

 in number beyond all my expectations. Tlie original carp are now over 3 feet long. 

 On one occasion I caught one of these large tish, but it broke the line and escaped. 



Reproductiox. — The young of the fall of 1880, when my carp first spawned, are 

 27 inches long and weigh 10 pounds each. The following summer's young now meas- 

 ure from 12 to 18 inches in length and weigh from 1 to 5 pounds. Last summer we 

 caught with the hook all the carp we wanted for use. The fish taken were in but 

 one instance of the second hatch, weighing abont a pound in the spring and 5 pouuds 

 in the fall. In summer millions of little lish can Ijc seen in the water. 



Miscellaneous. — In regard to spawning, I believe my carj) are laying eggs every 

 warm day in the year, yet I have never found an egg, except in the lish which arc 

 caught, aud they are generally full. My jionds now cover 8 acres, to which I will add 

 2 more in the spring. 



How to catch carp. — We have caught but one of the large ones. After we got 

 it out of the water it broke the lino and got away. We caught but one of the first lot 

 in a net ; it measured as before stated. We caught with the hook all we -wanted 

 for use last summer. Our catch was invariably of the second hatch, commencing in 

 the spring at 1 pound and increasing by degrees till in the fall they weighed as much 

 as 5 pounds. We often tried to seine them out, but only succeeded in catching a few 

 of the same size we caught with the hooks. Often larger ones would strike the net 

 w'ith great force, but when you came to shore they were not in it. I believe they go 

 down in the mud and the head-line ilrags over them. 



434. Statement of Samuel McClelland, Salt Springs, Saline Co., Mo., Sept. G, 1883. 



Disposition of carp received. — I received 8 carp from the United States I'lsh 

 Commission June 28, 1880, and bought 4 more from Mr. J. C. Keithley. I have since 

 received 10 scale carp from Saint Joseph. My ponds are fed by springs within the 

 banks, which produce 18 gadous per minute. There are 8 acres of surface water, 

 the depth varying from 6 inches to 8 feet. The bottom is peat and black soil. Very 

 little water passes out of the ponds, what they lose being mostly evaporated, and 

 it is not cold, but hot as the sun can )nake it. 



Plants. — The ponds contain all kinds of i)lants and grasses I have ever seen, and 

 some I never saw before, but I oulv know the names of the flag or cat- tail, lily, and 

 arrow plant. Another ])lant I call water-clover came this summer, and the ponds 

 are covered with it. The little plant I send you is abundant, and the fish eat it as 

 a cow eats clover. It has increased so fast that the ])onds are covered .with it. The 

 leaves spread out on the water and the roots hang down. The fish when feeding on 

 it open their mouths wide aud push their lips up through them, .sucking down all 

 that is within the circle. I have seen dozens of them feeding on it at a time. They 

 do it so quietly that it scarcely makes a ri]>ple. The jjlant was so thick that the fish 

 could not see me. I was so close I could have .spit in their mouths when their lips 

 came through, so there can be no mistake about their eating it. I can see no seeds 

 nor blossoms. How it increases or where it camt> from 1 do not know. [The speci- 

 men inclosed by Mr. McClelland has been identified by ]Mr. W. B. Conant, assistant 

 botanist of the Department of Agricultflre, as Lemna polyrhiza L. (duck-weed or 

 duck's-meat). He says, "There are several species of Lemna. The flowers are pro- 

 duced from the margin of the frond and are very small and very obscure. This 

 species is supjiosed not to flower at all in this country, but the specimen appears 

 to have seeds, which, if true, would establish its flowering here. Possibly there 

 may be some other species intermixed in the specimen. The mode of propagating 

 is by budding from a cleft on the edge of the frond. This is one of the smaller flow- 

 ering plants, and some species .are among the smallest."' — Editor.] 



Enemies. — I am sorry to say the ponds contain mud-cat and sun-perch, crappie, 

 hard-shell turtles, wild ducks, cranes, gulls, night-herons, king-fishers, snakes, frogs, 

 &,c. 1 liavc! Ibund no carp in ducks nor turtles, but havo ta.ken 9 from the stomach 

 of one niuht-beron. 



