604 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 
FOOD VALUE AND USES OF THE CARP. 
At the time of the introduction of the carp to this country a greatly 
exaggerated idea became prevalent as to its value as a food fish, or, at 
least, as to its qualities as a food fish. This will be noted by a glance 
at the statements which were sent to the Bureau of Fisheries by those 
who had received the fish, and which were compiled and published by 
Smiley (1884, 1886, 1886a, etc.) a few years after the fish first began 
to be distributed. Some of these enthusiasts even went so far as to 
say that the flesh of carp was of a better quality than that of the trout, 
white-fish, salmon, and many other of our finer fishes. How such a 
notion should have become so generally distributed it is difficult to 
see, for at no time were such claims made for the carp by those who 
were most interested in its introduction, although it is true that prob- 
ably most Americans will hardly agree with Mr. Hessel (1881, p. 897) 
when he asserts that it ‘tis one of the most excellent fresh-water 
fishes.” Mr. Hessel, however, was a German, and in Germany the 
flesh of the carp is much esteemed. What early habitude may do in 
determining likes and dislikes as regards food is illustrated by the fact 
that Germans who live near the Great Lakes, where they could easily 
get what we should consider better fish, often eat carp from prefer- 
ence, while the American fishermen rarely, if ever, use the carp them- 
selves. As will be mentioned later, the reason for this is perhaps a 
matter of cooking. 
At the present time the popular prejudice is in most parts of the 
country generally against the carp as a food fish. It is even stated 
by many that it is utterly worthless. A common complaint made 
against it is its muddy flavor, and that this often exists is admitted 
even by those who like the fish best. This flavor has, in fact, always 
been recognized by carp culturists in Kurope, and special precautions 
are taken to avpid it. It is said to be present in those fish which have 
lived in very muddy places, especially where the water is stagnant 
and the temperature rather high. If the carp are removed from such 
places and kept for a short time in fresh running water, the muddy 
flavor is claimed to be removed entirely.“ 
In the chapter dealing with the carp in Europe, it has been shown 
how extensively this fish is used for food there, especially in Germany 
and France. It is the custom in many places there to keep the fish 
alive in tanks at the market, thus selling them to the customers not 
only in a fresh but actually in a living condition. 
Many methods have been given for cooking carp—undoubtedly any 
«Day (1880-1884, p. 162) says: ‘‘To improve their flavour Mr. Tull (Phil. Trans. Roy. Soe., 1754, p. 870) 
castrated these fish and found that subsequently they grew more rapidly, fattened more readily, and 
were of a superior flavour.’ Similar experiments have frequently been mentioned, especially in the 
older works, but there scems to be no record of the attempt having been made recently. In this 
connection see Weddige (1882). 
