[121] 



CARP-CULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 779 



length, 16 inches around the body, and weighed 7 pounds and 2 ouncivs. The other 

 was about the same size. There were 105 caught which weighed from lO to 24 ounces 

 and measured from 10 to 13 inches in length. Several large ones are known to have 

 escaped, and it is hoped they may stock the ponds lower down the stream. 



Thus it will be seen that these fish spawn as early as 12 months of a'-'o, but when 

 they cease to grow we know not. " '^ 



547. Statement of H. G. Ewarf, RendersoniHlle, Henderson Co., N. C, Mar. 20, 1884. 



Disposition oi-- Cakp received.— I placed the 40 carp, which I received December 

 15, 1881, in an extensive spawning pond, covering an area of 100 by 150 feet, with a 

 depth of from 4 inches to 5 feet. I subsequently built hatching, nursery, and stock 

 ponds. iSIy hatching pond covers an area of 5 acres. It is fed by water from an adja- 

 cent spring, which is conducted in wooden troughs. The water in the pond is from 2 

 inches to 4 feet deep. Below this pond is the nursery pond, the depth of which varies 

 from 2 inches to 6 feet, with a soil of black loam. The stock pond is situated i of a 

 mile from the nursery pond. 



Plants.— The hatching pond is well supplied with needle grass, pickerel weed, 

 water-lilies, wild rice, and other aquatics. The nursery pond also contains numerous 

 aquatic productions. 



Enemies.— Green frogs, musk-rats, turtles, snakes, cranes, herons, and kingfishers 

 disturb the carp, and the only remedy is a shotgun, which must bo used diligently 

 and effectively during the summer months; otherwise the carp would soon be exter- 

 minated. I killed a blue crane which had swallowed whole a carp weighing li 

 pounds. The pond can be protected from poachers by stretching barbed wire under 

 the surface of the water, close to the banks. This will soon put a stop to night 

 seining. 



Food. — Commencing in the spring, I daily give them lettuce leaves, turnip tops, and 

 kitchen scraps. Later, I feed cabbage leaves, melon rinds, sweet corn, squash, &c., 

 and in the fall pumpkins, boiled turnips, cabbage, potatoes, &c. They seem esp*'- 

 cially fond of pumpkins. 



Growth. — I have carp weighing 5, 7, and 8 pounds which are only 3 years old, and 

 2 year-old carp weighing from 3| to 4 pounds. In South Carolina, Georgia, or the 

 eastern part of this State, where the waters are warmer, the lish would doubtless 

 have attained a weight of 15 pounds. In this section, with long winter and late 

 springs, they will not grow with such rapidity. 



Reproduction. — Last September I caught a female carp, weighing only IJ pounds, 

 that must have had 20,000 eggs in it. A female carp weighing 5 pounds is said to 

 contain 500,000 eggs. Unlike other fish, they do not spawn at certain seasons, but 

 drop their eggs as soon as each female attains maturity, whether that be in Ai)ril or 

 November. 



Just before the spawning season the carp evinces great activity. Naturally slug- 

 gish, it now swims rapidly through the pond, and often, like the mullet, jumps its en- 

 tire length out of the water. When ready to dei)osit its eggs, the female carp heads 

 rapidly for the warm, shallow water, closely pursued by the male. When the female 

 drops her eggs, the male swims closely behind her, and dropping his milt among them 

 vigorously la.shes the water with his tail, mixing the spawn. This is the method of 

 impregnation, and the eggs hatch in from 6 to 12 days, according to the temperature 

 of the water. 



Edible qualities. — Some carp were taken after the spawning season, late in the 

 fall, and were plump and in good condition. I tried them baked and fried, and 

 found them far superior in flavor to the mullet or perch, and very nearly, if not indeed 

 quite, the equal of the shad. The flesh is very white, and is of about the same con- 

 sistency as the latter fish. 



The carp is as free from bones as any fish I know of. Indeed, with large carp, 

 the bones give no trouble, the flesh flaking ofl;" nicely. Carp, however, sh()uld not 

 be eaten during the spawning season, or immediately thereafter, as at that time, like 

 all other fish, the flesh is sof£ and of an unpleasant taste. I do not belhn-e, however, 

 that earn taken from stagnant and offensive pools of water would be tit to eat ; for, 

 in such, *the flesh of the. fish will undoubtedly l)e affected and rendered unfit for ta- 

 ble use, having a moldy and muddy taste. 



How to catch carp. — The carp is not so gamy as the sheepshead, trout, or Span- 

 ish mackerel, but it takes the hook freely at all times, is a strong puller and fight.s 

 to the last. It often happened last fall that they snapped my line in two and escaped 

 with bait and hook. 



Vitality.— Carp are wonderfully tenacious of life. Last September I caught a t,- 

 pound carp, placed it in an emptv'bucket, and after a walk of * mile and a delay or 

 at least | of an hour, placed it in'a tub of water. To my surprise in a few seconds it 

 was as lively as when taken from the pond. I am now shipping breeders over the 

 States, so far without loss. 



