84 Tivcnty-nintli Annual Meeting 



Buyers for New York houses are stationed at different points 

 on the Illinois River all the time, and readily take all that is 

 offered, just as it comes from the water, at a net price. 



I give herewith a couple of letters received in reply to my 

 question as to the value of carp : 



Peoria, 111., December 17, 1898. 



Hon. S. p. Barti.ett^ 



Supt. U. S. Fish Commission, 

 QuiNCY, III, 



Dear Sir — In answer to your question as to my opinion of 

 carp, will say, as I have often said, that the carp is the bread- 

 winner of the fishermen and as a cheap fo'od fish in big demand 

 in New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago. 



The prejudice against the carp here at home does not apply 

 abroad. Instead of carp being unfit to cat, scavengers living on any 

 thing and everything, devouring the spawn of fine fish, etc., they 

 are a fish of fair flavor for eating purposes, do not eat other than 

 vegetable matter, such as grass, flag-roots, moss, etc., and never 

 eat the spawn of other fish as the black bass does. Often I have 

 heard it said that the carp are driving the fine fish out of the 

 river. This is also far from the truth, as the carp lives in harmony 

 with all kinds of fine fish. The only fish that does not seem to 

 like the carp is the buffalo, and that is because carp are too lively 

 for them and they cannot stand the jumping about of the carp, 

 but if the buiTalo have become scarcer, we have their cousin, the 

 carp, to take their place. 



In our dealings with our customers since the buffalo have 

 become scarce, in filling our dressed fish orders we have had to 

 substitute carp for buffalo very often. At first there was great 

 complaint, and orders often read : "Don't send me carp if you have 

 no buffalo." We kept on, however, substituting, and now many 

 of the dealers who were so strongly prejudiced against carp order 

 bufTalo or carp, and many have written us to the eiTect that the 

 people like them since they have given them a trial. 



