782 



GLEANINGS IK UEE CULTtJRi:. 



Oct. 



begin to compare with this little bit of wrig- 

 gling and twisting animated natnre'f' Was 

 even Solomon in all Ids glory arrayed any 

 thing like one of these? Now, I really wish 

 1 could give you a picture of this one little 

 tish that would do him justice. We will try. 



A YOUNG MIKROli CARP AS I SCOOPED HOI 

 OUT OF THE POND. 



I believe the cut above shows you just 

 about the size of the fish I first scooped up. 

 When I had admired him sufficiently I put 

 him in a tub that is fed by the windmill, 

 where the .Jersey cow drinks, and I scooped 

 for some more. This time I got half a doz- 

 en. Nature does not make them all alike, 

 and here is a picture of one of the next. 



ANOTHEl! MIiaiOR CAIJP. 



Where there are no scales they are as 

 shiny and glossy as a piece of bright silk. 



At the tliird scoopful I had a whole 

 dozen of different markings and sizes, and 

 these pleased me so much tluit I selected 

 three, put them in a quart fruit-jar, and sent 

 them to the engraver. The third one has 

 scales all over, as you notice, and this is 

 called a '' full-scale " carp. 



FULL-SCALE CARP. 



Now, a great deal has been said about 

 these three different kinds of carp ; and 

 breeders have talked a good deal as we 

 would talk about the stripes on our bees. 

 Some declare that carp should have no scales 



at all ; others arts strongly in favol* of mirtoi' 

 carp, and still others as vehemently declare 

 the ones with scales all over are hybrids, 

 mongrels, etc. My opinion, however, back- 

 ed by friend White, is, that it does not 

 make a particle of difference whether they 

 have scales, no scales, or a few scales here 

 and there.* The latter are by all odds the 

 handsomest. But it may be that those with- 

 out any scales at all are the easiest to pre- 

 pare for the table. This will be determined 

 when we get further along in the industry, 

 probably. 



Do yon want to know how old carp are, 

 the size of the pictures^ V Well, probably two 

 or three months. I am inclined to think 

 the breeders are spawning all the time dur- 

 ing warm weather, for there are little carp 

 in our pond now not bigger than a pumpkin- 

 seed, and from that all the way up. Great 

 stories are told in regard to the rapidity of 

 their growth. Friend White says he sold a 

 neighbor 25 tish of the size I have shown 

 you in the pictures, or about that. This 

 neighbor fixed a little puddle for them (for 

 it could hardly be called a pond) just below 

 a little spring ; and as they loved to see the 

 fish eat, they were fed daily with scraps 

 from the table, all they would eat. He sold 

 the fish ill harvest time, and at the time of 

 my visit, toward Oct. l,he said that many of 

 them were as large as a man's hand, and fit 

 for the table. Very likely they will grow as 

 fast as chickens, and require very much less 

 expense in the way of food. 



ARE CARP GOOD TO EAT? 



There has been much said through the 

 papers, as you may know, about the fitness 

 of carp for food ; but so far as my taste is 

 concerned. I must say most emphatically 

 they are excellent. I am a little notional 

 about fish. I don't care much about white 

 fish ; and the kinds of fish that many peo- 

 ple praise I should object to; but I have 

 from childhood considered black bass one of 

 the choicest dishes that can be served to ap- 

 pease a man's hunger; and when I tell you 

 that I consider the carp, just as they are 

 taken from our ponds, without any feeding 

 or fattening, fully equal to the bass, it is 

 saying a good deal. The flesh is a trifle 

 sweeter and a little more greasy. Aside 

 from this I don't believe I could tell one 

 from the other. 



*A flock of poultry may, by a little pains, ho made 

 all black or all white; and the color of the feathers 

 will in no way chang-e the habits or valuable traits 

 of the poultry; and my f)pinion is, that scales or no 

 scales has as little to do with the rapid growth or of 

 the quality of the tlesh of the fish. 



For a further consideration of this subject, see our revised A B C of Carp Culture, now in press. 



