471 
i Se — ie 
While specially adapted for warm climates (they do not grow in weight 
materially in water of less than 48° F.) on account of their ability to stand 
warmer water than most fish, their culture is nevertheless prosecuted successfully 
in climates (Sweden for example) not very different from our own. 
Special shallow ponds are arranged for the fry in which vegetable food is 
supplied for them by previously sowing clover ; the larger fish, however, are fed 
on mixed animal and vegetable food, for example, chopped straw mixed with dried 
blood, etc. The winter pond is made seven feet deep, and in this no food requires to 
be provided as the fish neither feed nor grow there. They are in season from 
‘October till May, and they are always placed for a week before sale in a pond 
traversed by a current of running water to remove the muddy taste which all 
such bottom-feeding fish have when taken from the water. As they bring high 
prices in Europe, 16 to 20 cents a lb., their culture is attended with consider- 
able profit; but the usual verdict of English speaking people on the subject of 
the Carp is that it is a tasteless fish, only fit to be a vehicle for sauces. 
Various other foreiga fish have been successfully introduced into North 
America, ¢.g. the European Brook Trout cr Brown Trout, a fish which in some 
respects deserves more attention for culture purposes than our own Brook Trout, 
and again the California Mountain or Rainbow Trout (Salmo iridews), an exceed- 
ingly handsome species, is successfully hatched and introduced in the east. 
One of the native fishes most adapted for pond cuiture is the Catfish (p. 442) 
which is not only prolific, but looks well after its young, all of which are 
hatched ; it grows comparatively rapidly, is an omnivorous feeder, and fetches 
{where properly appreciated) high prices. One experimenter writes from the 
States that the culture of Catfish pays better than farming land and that peaty 
soilis very well fitted for it which would be unsuitable for agricultural purposes. 
The merits of the Catfish as a pond fish have been recognized in California, 
where it has been introduced, also in various parts of Europe where societies 
interested have experimented with it. | 
