72 FISH CULTURE 



sion that they were being served with something 

 else. Mr. John W. Titcomb, formerly the head 

 of the Division of Fish Hatching of the United 

 States Bureau of Fisheries, relates that in Jan- 

 uary, 1902, 224 members and guests of the North 

 American Fish and Game Protective Associa- 

 tion were served with carp at a banquet, ate it 

 and pronounced it "good," under the impres- 

 sion that it was baked red snapper. 



Bad Reputation Due to Improper Culture. 

 When the carp was first introduced into Amer- 

 ica the authorities very properly stated that it 

 was a highly esteemed fish in Germany and other 

 parts of Europe ; that it was very prolific, easily 

 cared for, suitable for warm sluggish waters, 

 and specially adapted to pond culture. There 

 was an instant and widespread demand for the 

 new importation. Farmers who had duck- 

 ponds, built perhaps three quarters of a century 

 before and never cleaned, stocked them with 

 carp. Others built for their reception dams 

 across streams on their bog-lands, without tak- 

 ing the trouble to clear away the mud. Almost 

 any muck-hole containing a few hundred gallons 

 of water was considered fit to be utilised. 



