PRACTICAL CAR!' CULTTRi:. y3 



from the salted meats which are so universally found upon the tables of 

 the farmer, especially during the summer months. The young, the in- 

 firm and the aged would find their digestion improved and their* sleep 

 more refreshing if they were to substitute an occasional dish of fish in the 

 place of the ham and the corned beef. 



St. Paul tells us that strong meat belongeth to them that are of full 

 age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to dis- 

 cern both good and evil. Taken in a physiological sense, that seems to 

 teach clearly that only those who have reached their full strength, and 

 are doing manual labor of the severest kind, can with safety load their 

 stomachs as so many of us are constantly doing. We no longer wonder 

 that farmers grow old prematurely, and that so many of them are dys- 

 peptic, and that so frequently they are compelled to end their lives within 

 the walls of an asylum for the insane, when we learn how they live 

 what they eat, and the lack of true business principles in their daily 

 work. Let them, therefore, eat fish, and avoid all these ills." 



THE CARP AS A FOOD FISH. 



It is no longer necessary to speed over to Europe for testimony upon 

 the table qualities of the carp. There are a half a million people in the 

 United States who will testify to the excellent flavor and character of 

 their flesh. Seeking the very best of our native fishes with which to 

 compare them. In fact the criticisms and complaints are so few as to 

 deserve no attention. All men do not like roast pork, roast beef, nor even 

 roast turkey with cranberry sauce, while there are others who decline the 

 delicious bivalve, in any form it may be prepared, and there are thou- 

 sands who turn away from frogs quarters. It is true that tastes differ, 

 and that prejudice often governs taste, and that excellent people will 

 differ in their opinions and judgment. It is not saying too much to claim 

 that there is less difference of opinion on the good eating qualities of carp 

 by those who have partaken of their flesh, than there is in the same num- 

 ber of persons on the edible qualities of a goose or a hog. The testimony 

 on this point is all on one side. Out of nearly 1,000 letters relating to this 

 one subject, only 13 or about 1>^ per centum have any criticisms to make. 

 The other 98^' per centum speak in their praise. Space will not permit 

 the publication of these opinions, nor does it seem necessary. Those 

 seeking such information are referred to the back numbers of "American 

 Carp Culture." Every farmer can raise his own fish food, as well and 

 more easily than he can raise poultry or pork, and contribute greatly to 

 his own and his family's health, prosperity and happiness. 



The flesh of animals used for stock-getting purposes is not fit for the 

 table during the season of service and breeding. The same is true of 

 poultry, and applies with equal force to fish, especially the summer 

 spawning classes, to which the carp belong. At such seasons the flesh of 

 all animals is unpalatable. In the females it is soft and flabby and in the 

 males strong. In this fact lien the secret of most of the criticisms made 

 on the edible qualities of the carp. They have been eaten during th* 



