American Fisheries Society. 99 
looking down into a creek on one occasion saw a sight which 
goes to show what a smart fish the carp is. The maneuver of 
the carp referred to in this instance rivals the strategy of the 
Russians and Japanese in their present warfare. My friend 
looking down into the creek was watching a female bass guard- 
ing its spawn, noticed nine carp preceeding in parade in front of 
the bass, not one of the carp seemed to pay any attention to the 
bass until the last one was almost directly opposite the bass, 
when that carp made a dive for the spawn, and although the 
bass was only half the size of the carp it showed fight, and while 
the bass was fighting the offending carp, the other eight carp 
immediately turned in and gobbled up the entire spawn. ‘This 
was just a little strategy on the part of the nine. They had 
planned the whole thing before they started to eat that spawn. 
(Laughter. ) 
Secretary: I would like to ask Mr. Meehan if the story that 
the carp is responsible for the Johnstown flood is true. 
(Laughter. ) 
Mr. Meehan: It might be. 
Mr. Whish: I take great pleasure in listening to these dis- 
cussions and forming my own conclusions; and my conclusion 
on the carp question is, that the American fish culturist, (not 
the worthy paper of that name but the individual) has received 
an important lesson from the German carp. He has heard a 
great deal about the German carp abroad and he brought it over 
here. I do not know anything about the habits of the German 
carp abroad, but his habits here are not those of a gentleman 
among fishes. In our state we have tried to get rid of the carp 
in some of our waters in this way: We gave a permit to one city 
council to use the seines of the commission for the purpose of 
relieving a river of that fish. They took out a carload a day for 
twelve days, without any appreciable effect on the supply, and 
then gave it up. In New York, those of us who are interested in 
the culture of the better class of food fishes as well as of game 
fishes regret that the carp ever was put in our waters. It would 
be my judgment, that if carp were to be planted again in this 
country, with the present knowledge which people have of the 
carp, its range would be decidedly limited. 
