ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



once when taken and then placed in salt water 

 for a few hours, the muddy taste disappears ; 

 but it should never be allowed to lie with the 

 entrails and blood in it. Still better is the 

 method of keeping them alive in pure water 

 for a few days until the intestine has been emp- 

 tied and the blood purified as in the process of 

 marketing alive. 



Dr. E. E. Prince, Dominion Commissioner of 

 Fisheries, in his annual report has taken up the 

 cudgels against the further introduction of carp 

 into Canada. In stating the arguments for and 

 against this fish Dr. Prince admits the follow- 

 ing points in favor oi the carp: 



1. It has some v.ilue in the United States 

 markets and is regarded by some persons as 

 possessing edible qualities. 



2. There are inferior waters adapted for 

 carp culture. 



3. They are reared with little difficulty. 



i. They are very prolific and grow rapidly 

 on very poor food. 



5. Some anglers find car]) fishing an enjov- 

 able pastime. 



Against these he opjjoscs the following argu- 

 ments : 



1. The cool, pure waters of ( anada are well 

 adapted for fishes superior in quality to the 

 carp. 



2. Carp are noniadie in their habits and, like 

 undesirable weeds. .s))read everywhere. 



3. They are voracious and omnivorous. 



1. Their market value (in Canada) can never 

 be great. 



5. They consume the food of better fish and 

 multiply so fast that they .are injurious and 

 even destructive to the better kinds. 



(5. They ruin the waters by destroying vege- 

 tation, rooting up the banks and disturbing the 

 bottom. 



7. They are destructive .spawn eaters and no 

 spawning ground is safe from their attacks. 



8. They are especially subject to parasites 

 and contagious fish diseases. 



Mr. Louis Radeliffe. of the Bureau of P'ish- 

 eries, defends the carp (Fishing Gazette, Jan- 

 uary 31, 19 It) in reply to Dr. Prince's attack, 

 and gives figures showing the rapid growth and 

 great im))ortance of the industry. In 1908. 

 Mr. Radeliffe points out, with figures taken 

 from the census rejiort, the yield, of carp 

 .amounted to t2, 703,000 ))Ounds, valued at 

 $1,13.5,000, equal to 2 per cent, of the total 

 value of all fisheries products, including shell- 

 fish, etc. From seven of our inland states, Il- 

 linois, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin, 

 Iowa and Minnesota, were taken nearly a mil- 



lion dollars' worth of this fish. In Illinois the 

 value of the carp was greater than that of all 

 other s])ecies combined. Even in 1908 — and 

 the earj) industry has increased rapidly 

 since that time — the carp was outranked in val- 

 ue in the United States by only si.K species, 

 viz.: salmon, cod, shad, squeteague, halibut, and 

 haddock. 



Probably Professor Prince is quite right in 

 arguing that no fish culturist should determine 

 to introduce these fish without fully considering 

 the grave possibilities associated with their cul- 

 tivation, and perhaps it would have been better 

 if the carp had never been introduced into 

 American waters. However, since they are 

 here and since there is no possible means of 

 getting rid of them, and since they will prob- 

 ably spread throughout our waters in the course 

 of time, it is encouraging to note that these fish 

 are beginning to find favor in the market, that 

 the demand for them is steadily increasing, and 

 that the method of marketing them alive has 

 been perfected, thus insuring a much better ar- 

 ticle of diet than when handled in any other 

 manner. 



From the staiid|)oint of the sportsman the 

 carp imdoubtedly makes a nuisance of himself 

 by destroying the sp.iwn and food of the more 

 desirable game fishes, and perhaps he may even 

 prove to be a serious menace to fishing indus- 

 tries based on the more desirable food fishes 

 of the fresh waters. However, if this much 

 maligned alien will only help to solve that ever 

 increasing and difficult problem, the high cost 

 of living, for the considerable portion of our 

 ))o])ulation who are not anglers and who are 

 unable to afford the more costly foods, he may 

 ))rove in the end a not altogether undesirable 

 citizen. R. C. Oshtrn. 



EUROPEAN BLIND SALAMANDER. 



ALONG with other material from Europe, 

 received early in December, were two liv- 

 ing specimens of the blind cave salaman- 

 der (Proteus ancjuinus). The family Proteidae, 

 to which this salamander belongs, is, so far as 

 known, limited to three species, each belonging 

 to a different genus. The other species are the 

 common mud pu|)|)y (Xcctiirus maciilatiis) of 

 e.istern North .\nuriea. and the blind sala- 

 mander {Ti/plilomolf/c rathhiDii) from .-irtesiau 

 wells of Texas. 



The mud l)Ui)py is always kept on exhibition 

 in some numbers at the Aquarium. While they 

 are noeturn.il in habit the eyes are fairly well 



