CULTIVATION OF MARINE AND KRKSH-W ATKK ANIMALS tX JAPAN. 273 



I have just now no available statistics in regard tut he output of gold-fish, but the 

 number produced must be millions upon millions. It shows the power of children 

 in the nation, for they are par excellence the customers of these establishments. 

 It is said that in the old regime, even in years when a famine was stalking in the 

 land and hundreds were dying fr starvation, there was a tolerable trade in gold- 

 fish, proving- the truth of an old proverb: "Crying children and landlords must 

 not be disputed." Landlords are not now tyrannical as of yore, hut children have 

 not abated their power in the slightest degree, and that they do not get the moon 

 seems simply to he due to the fact that it involves an impossible feat for their parents. 



THE CARP. 



< yprinus carpio Linnaeus. 



Closely connected in some respects with the culture of the snapping turtle and 

 of the gold-fish is that of the carp. As stated before, the carp is put in the same 

 pond with Trionyx; and the raising of the ornamental varieties is generally under- 

 taken by gold-fish breeders. There are several breeds, among which the red carp 

 ("higoi"), the "hokin" (literally '■gold-cheeked." with the operculum of the gold 

 or silver color) and the " goshiki-goi " (literally ••five-colored." or variegated) 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 2 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 oeiir 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 it^ neighborhood. I oug-ht 

 •to add that Air. Ilattori. who is the proprietor of the turtle farm, was largely instru- 

 mental in developing the industry in this region. 



Some of these establishments are very interesting. Figure 1. plate VII gives a 

 view in one of them — a very large establishment, with an area of 7"> acres, and a 

 large number of ponds, the largest of which are about ."> acres in extent. 



The carp is reared from the r^is in these establishments. In May of every vein- 

 large adult individuals are carefully selected for breeding, and. as in the case of 

 gold-fish, eggs are made to he deposited on the water weed ("matsumo") or bundles 

 of tine willow roots, where they hatch in about a week. The young are about ."> milli- 

 meters in length, and undergo the same course of feeding as the young gold-fish. 

 The rate of growth depends very much upon the extent of the crowding in the ponds. 

 It is found that for individuals 1-t to 16 centimeters long the best rate of distribution 

 is about two for every "tsubo" (6 feet square). Skilful culturists can push the 



B.B. F.1904— is 



