ri85] 



CARP-CULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 843 



flooded the country generally, o.-iused my pond to overflow, and allowed most of my carp 

 to escape. 



Food. — The pond being newly constrncted, it afforded a sufficient supply of natural 

 food to sustain them. They are beginning to take food which I place in the pond. 



Growth. — Tlie few carp remaining are doing remarkably well, their growth bein" 

 astonishing and their general condition very prosperous. They were onlv Irom .', inch 

 to 21 inches long when received, but now average from 10 to 14 inches, tliis remarkable 

 growth having been attained in about 5 mouths. 



k 



839. Statement of T. C. Moore, Bremond, JRoherfiion Co., Te.r., Jul;/ SO, 1883. 



Dlspositiox of caep keceived. — I received 19 carp in the winter of 1881, and 5 in 

 the winter of 1882. 1 have an artificial poud containing about ', of an acre" and supplied 

 with water by the drainage from higher ground. It is irom a few inches to 3 feet deep, 

 and has a muddy bottom. 



Plants. — It contains wild grass and water-grass and P.ermuda grass. 



Enenies. — There are no other fish, but there are frogs, craw-lish, and perhaps a few 

 txrrtles in it. 



Food. — I have fed them with bread, bat irregularlj' on account of the distance of the 

 pond from the house. 



Geov\'th. — They are now apparently 18 inches long and would perhaps weigh from 6 

 to 8 pounds each. 



Difficulties. — The most serious difficulty has been to keep the water from overflow- 

 ing during heavy rains. Nearly all the first lot escaped in this way. Owing to the dis- 

 tance of the pond and the muddiness of the, water, I am not able to tell whether there 

 have been any young prodnc;ed or not. I intend to provide a better pond and to devote 

 more attention to them. 



840. Sfatevmit of G. B. Byrd, Cold Springs, San Jacinto Co., Tex.. June 23, 1883. 



Disposition of cakp received. — I received 12 live carp in February, 1883. After 

 dividing them with Mr. Thomas L. Ross, I immediately placed 6 fish in my pond. 



Eneiniies. — I have no other fish in the pond, not even a minnow. 



Food. — I fed them during the winter on boiled rice, corn-meal, and flour, in about 

 equal parts, baked into cakes of from l-V to 2 inches in thickness, and corn-bread, pan 

 length. I saw nothing of these fish until May 10, and began to fear that some accident 

 had befallen them, yet I continned to deposit food. I now have them so that they will 

 come to my call and feed right under my feet. They rise to the top of the water and 

 suck in a piece of biscuit as quickly as a hungry dog would devour it. 



Growth. — On May 10th I saw floundering around in some weeds a carp fully 12 inches 

 long, and since that day I have never lailed to see them. There is one in the lot that 

 must certainly be an extra fine specimen of the carp, as it is 16 inches long and large in 

 proportion. When I put them in the pond the largest could not have been more than 

 4 inches long, and now the smallest is certainly more than 10 inches. In fact, the 

 growth has been so remarkable that one would scarcely believe it. 



841. Statement of G. B. Byrd, Cold Sprinr/, San Jacinto Co., Tex., July 16, 1883. 



Food. — I have been experimenting as to the best food for carp. I give them both 

 muskmelons and watermelons, which they eat, but not with relish. They are extremely 

 fond of German millet, broom-corn, and Egyptian wheat in the dough state, or just as it 

 is ripe to cut. During fruit season I purpose feeding some of my carp exclusively on 

 fruit, such as pears, summer apples, plums, and grapes. 



Growth. — I have seen some (;arp that were placed in a pond one year before mine; 

 but I think my 6 carp will weigh qiiite as much, if not more, than those; while I have 

 one that is much larger than any of those alluded to. The Russian gentleinan says mine 

 are as large as carp grown in Ru.ssia in 3 years, and that he rarely saw carp twice the size 

 of mine in the markets. 



842. Statenunt of 3Irs. Nellie Clark, Fort Worth, Tarrant, Co., Tex., Oct. 14, 1883. 



Growth. — One year ago last winter I received 20 carp. A short time ago a net was 

 drawn through the' pond, and we found them to be from 10 to 12 inches long. We are 

 greatly in need of atinatic plants. c .-^ * ^ qi 



Growth and reproduction. — Writing subsequently, under date ot Uctooer .u, 

 1884, Mrs. Nellie Clark, Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas, says: "On dragging a net 



