MINNOWS 263 



the Carp in America, one important fact remains unassailed. 

 That fish is now thoroughly established in our waters, and 

 is here to stay. It is now in demand as a market fish. 

 The annual catch about ten years ago was as follows: 



POUNDS WORTH 



The Mississippi River and tributaries (1903) 12,270,346 $278,565 



The Great Lakes (1903) 4,237,643 71,285 



Interior waters (1900-03) 1,016,129 12,029 



17,524,118 $361,879 



To-day the testimony of the United States Fish Com- 

 missioner is as follows (1914) : 



" While fly fishermen still have no words of praise for the 

 Carp, the fish consumer has a different attitude, in view of 

 the fact that the Carp imported from Germany has become 

 the most widely distributed and most important fish in the 

 interior waters of the United States. The catch at this time 

 probably exceeds 50,000,000 pounds annually. A great deal 

 more has been expected of the Carp than was ever claimed 

 for it by Professor Baird, and, as you know, the fish was 

 planted in waters to which it was entirely unadapted. For 

 the warm, sluggish, turbid waters of the great central sec- 

 tion of the country, where the Carp has taken firmest hold 

 and become most abundant, this fish has few superiors." 

 (Hugh M. Smith.) 



MINNOWS. No common fishes of our country, it is safe 

 to say, are so little understood, or so generally misunderstood, 

 as those classed under the above name. To most persons, a 

 "Minnow" is a tiny young fish, from 1 to 3 inches in length, 

 useful only as bait for bass and other fishes. 



