1128 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [28] 



demand for large crucians, they may be placed in growing-jionds with 

 carp ; but the young carp fry found during the fisheries can, even more 

 than otherwise, be only used for feeding fish of prey, or for stocking- 

 rivers and lakes, as apart from their small size they are mostly worth- 

 less bastards of crucians. 



The goldfish, a gold-colored variety of the crucian, can be raised in 

 small, warm ponds, without much trouble, entirely on the same plan as 

 carp are raised. If there is a steady demand for one summer's and two 

 summers' fish the culture of goldfish may, under certain circumstances, 

 prove very profitable. 



The golden ide {Idus melanotus Heck. & Kner.,var. miniatus) is but 

 of little importance as a food-fish, but is highly esteemed as an ornament 

 for garden and park ponds, as it resembles the goldfish very much in 

 its color, and reaches a length of 40 to 50 centimeters. These fish will 

 stay near the surface in large numbers, but are so sly and quick that it 

 is not easy to catch them. Persons who desire to raise these fish on a 

 large scale will have to follow the rules laid down for raising carp. This 

 can only be recommended, however, in localities where there is a certain 

 sale, at a good price, of large numbers of young fry. 



The bleak {Leuciscus rutilus L.), the red bream {Scardinius erythroph- 

 tJialmus L.), and the " UckeleV' {Alhurnus lucidus Heck.) can be raised 

 in many places to considerable advantage as food for fish of prey. All 

 these fish are satisfied with small, shallow ponds, and increase very 

 rapidly. As the object is only to raise an enormous number of young 

 fry, which are caught when quite young and fed to other fish, it is not 

 necessary to construct raising-ponds and growing-ponds ; on the other 

 hand the ponds destined for these fish must offer the most favorable 

 conditions for depositing spawn, and for the development of the young 

 fry. The ponds should be shallow, so that they can be quickly heated, 

 and it is advisable to construct so-called "spawn-beds," such as are 

 sometimes used in carp-ponds. These "spawn-beds" are raised places 

 on the bottom of the pond, resembling garden-beds, which are laid out 

 in rows at suitable intervals, and whose surface is planted with grass, 

 water- cresses, and other i^lants which grow well in moist meadows, or 

 are covered with sod taken from such meadows. These beds should be 

 10 to 20 centimeters below the surface of the water. The fish take a par- 

 ticular delight in spawning in these places; the eggs, adhering to the 

 grass and the plants, develop very rapidly in the shallow water, and 

 the young fry finds welcome hiding-places and ample food among the 

 plants. The fish can easily protect themselves against strong heat by 

 retiring to the deep ditches between the beds. Such iDonds furnish an 

 almost inexhaustible supply of food for trout-ponds, and the beauty of 

 it is that the food-fish grow at the same rate as the fish to which they 

 are fed. 



The bream {Ahramis brama L.) is one of the most valuable fish for 

 large and deej) lakes. It reaches a length of 50 to 70 centimeters, and 



