CULTIVATION OF MARINE ANIMALS IN JAPAN 711 



gated) are the most common. Travelers in Japan must have noticed 

 in ponds belonging to various temple-grounds these ornamental carps 

 which often reach the enormous size of two feet or more, and which 

 children delight in feeding. 



The ordinary carp itself has been very extensively cultivated from 

 olden times in Japan in ponds, reservoirs, and various other bodies 

 of water, and the business has been considered profitable, as the fish 

 commands a comparatively high price. 



Around or near Tokyo, especially in the district called Fukagawa, 

 there have sprung up within the last twenty years a number of carp- 

 culture establishments. They carry out at the same time and in the 

 same ponds the culture of the eel and of the gray mullet ("ina," or 

 "bora," Mugil oeur Forskal), the three fishes going well together and 

 being consumed to a great extent in the city of Tokyo. It is estimated 

 that there are in this small district alone 225 acres devoted to carp- 

 culture, producing annually 405,000 pounds of the meat of this fish, 

 valued at 30,000 yen at the wholesale price, and furnishing a large 

 part of the supply for Tokyo and its neighborhood. I ought to add 

 that Mr. Hattori, who is the proprietor of the turtle-farm, was largely 

 instrumental in developing the industry in this region. 



Some of these establishments are very interesting. A very large 

 establishment has an area of 75 acres, and a large number of ponds, 

 the largest of which are about five acres in extent. 



The carp is reared from the egg in these establishments. In May of 

 every year large adult individuals are carefully selected for breeding, 

 and, as in the case of goldfish, eggs are made to be deposited on the 

 water-weed ("matsumo") or bundles of fine willow-roots, where they 

 hatch in about a week. The young are some five millimeters in length, 

 and undergo the same course of feeding as the young goldfish. The 

 rate of growth depends very much upon the extent of the crowding in 

 the ponds. It is found that for individuals 14 to 16 centimeters long 

 the best rate of distribution is about two for every "tsubo" (six feet 

 square). Skillful culturists can push the fish, if necessary, to the 

 length of 30 centimeters in the first year, and to 50 centimeters in two 

 years. They are put on the market any time after the second year. 



Carp-culture is carried out extensively in parts of Japan other than 

 Tokyo, especially in mountainous parts where sea-fishes can be trans- 

 ported only with difficulty, and the industry is spreading more and 

 more every year into all parts. One interesting reason for this is found 

 in the circumstance that wet paddy-fields in which rice is grown, and 

 which occupy such a large portion of the cultivated area in Japan, 

 are found in many low-lying districts to be excellent for the raising of 

 the carp. The rice-plant not only does not receive any serious injury 

 from it, but is benefited, because many insects are devoured by the 

 carp. In the prefectures of Nagano (province Shinano) and of Gifu 



