ELEVENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 5 
ant H. B. Mansfield, United States Navy ; Colonel M. McDonald, 
United States Fish Commission. 
The Secretary then read :— 
THE HABITS, ENDURANCE, AND GROWTH OF CARP. 
BY HUGH D. M GOVERN. 
Having, at our previous meeting, mentioned something as to 
the habits and growth of carp, which was looked on by some of 
our theoretical fish-culturists as a good fish story, I now wish to 
give them some more facts. Having lost so many carp last year 
by experimenting in ponds that were covered with ice, this year 
I confined myself to observation. 
I placed seven two-year-old carp in a small pond, and was 
successful in getting six hundred young carp, when I drew off 
my pond in the month of November. 
I was delighted at my success, and knowing that I had thirty- 
four of the same age and size in my large goldfish pond, [ came 
to the conclusion that I would be able to “run opposition” to 
the United States Fish Commission in supplying the wants of 
the public But alas! when after three anxious days of expec- 
tation and hard labor my pond was drawn off, I found but thirty- 
one large carp in fine condition, and twenty-five young carp ; 
three of my original thirty-four had disappeared in some mys- 
teriovs manner. Thus ended my expected bonanza. 
ican account for the poor results in but one way, viz: that 
the carp spawned after the goldfish, and the goldfish ate up the 
spawn. lam well satisfied that those in the large pond were as 
well mated as those in the small pond. As it was, however, I 
would have been more successful had not my pond been so 
newly constructed that there was a lack of vegetation. 
I placed six carp of the same age and size in one of my trout 
ponds for the purpose of using them as scavengers, and, indeed | 
they did their work well. It is well known to all fish-culturists 
that if there is not a strong current of water passing through a 
pond in which you feed, some food will escape. The trout re- 
main on the bottom; the food becomes fungus and fouls the 
