72 Twcnty-ii'uitli Annual Meeting 



■ waters a thousand fold ; our lakes are being carefully stocked ; oxH' 

 streams are already full. The stocking of our Great Lakes with 

 the rapid growing trout and the peerless whitefish is being system- 

 atically tarried on. (They have seen the error of their ways and 

 have abandoned the propagation of carp.) 



Their work is beyond praise and the results obtained will for- 

 ever remain commemorative of a philanthropic work well done, a 

 stewardship faithfully kept. 



And side by side with the encomiums passed upon the Fish 

 Commissioners, will go forth the thanks of a grateful State for 

 the forceful and splendid work of her State Game and Fish 

 Wardens. 



DISCUSSION OF MR. BREWSTER's PAPER. 



Mr. Ravenel : I take exceptions to every one of those re- 

 flections on the carp. Some private citizen in California intro- 

 duced the carp, and I am very sorry that I did not look up the 

 figures before I left ; but I am under the impression that the in- 

 troduction of the carp into various countries has been of more 

 value to mankind than any other fish 1 know of. The catch is 

 between fifteen and nineteen million pounds in this country, but 

 the value I do not know. Carp are worth as much as bass in 

 Illinois ; in Philadelphia they are worth more than shad ; of New 

 York it is unnecessary to speak. I will say that they never bring 

 less than 12}, cents a pound, whereas cod is sold at 6 cents. I 

 believe to-day the prejudice against carp has practically dis- 

 appeared, though in Xew Jersey it is a penal offense to plant 

 carp in the waters of the state. In New York they sell millions 

 of pounds, and it brings more than red snapper and shad. At 

 one time last fall on the Illinois River millions of pounds of carp 

 were being lield bv the fishermen for the market. The angler is 

 largely responsible for the prejudice against the carp. He as- 

 serted several vears ago that it ran out all other fishes. Two 

 years ago we seined the canal that empties into the Potomac 

 River near Washington, and we kept accurate account of the 

 fish caught. We caught between 5,000 and 10,000 black bass 



