20 



car. During the year some 100 cars are sent from Havana, so it can easily 

 be .seen that the ice trade there is a Vjig thing-. A>xjut a third as much more 

 is used for packing the fish that go by express and that are taken away by 

 peddlers. 



All coarser sorts of fish are sent by freight in car load lots, while the 

 choicer kinds are shipped by express in much smaller packages. New York 

 City furnishes the greatest market for (Jerman carp. This fish seems to be a 

 favorite article of diet for the poorer Jews of manj- eastern cities, and large 

 quantities are sent to Tioston. Baltimore, Philadelphia, as well as to Chicago. 

 St. Louis and sonthern cities. 



In every northern city carp can be found on the menus of many restaurants 

 and good hotels. At the Waldorf-Astoria caft- carp with Rhine wine sauce is 

 quoted at 05 cents per portion, just the same as fresh mackerel. Kan.sas City 

 and Memphis are also large users of carp from Havana. 



Carp were introduced into the Illinois river some fiften years ago. but are 

 already largelj'^ in the majority and may soon claim 'role occupancy of that 

 water. They were planted by the United .States fish commission, but have 

 increased in numbers so rapidly as to threaten the life tenures of all other 

 fishes there. 



Carp do not eat other fish as a rule, as is commonly supposed, but they are 

 enormously prolific, are voracious eaters and grow very rapidly. Like the 

 English sparrow they monopolize the territory and the other tish are starved 

 out. They eat moss, as do other fish, but being pugnacious they keep the 

 other fish from the feeding grounds. They also dig deeply into the mud. 

 stirring up the water and making it so muddj- and thick that other varieties 

 of fish which require clear water die off qiaickly. 



Carp grow twice as fast as do other fish. At eighteen months they will 

 freqiiently weigh three pounds if they have plentj' to eat. 



Buffalo are a higher priced fish than carp, the latter retailing in the large 

 cities as low as 5 cents a pound. Bufl^alo are a favorite fish in the south and 

 large quantities are sent from Havana to Memphis. St. Loiais. Lexington. At- 

 lanta and Vicksburg. Crappies, sun fish, and cat fish come next in point of 

 demand. 



There are four wholesale dealers at Havana. These men own tug boats 

 and lease extensive fishing grounds, one man. Capt. John A. Schulte. himself 

 owning 3,000 acres and leasing as many more. Mr. Schulte has been in the 

 business there for thirty-two years and is reckoned to be worth fully SIOO.- 

 000.00. Each of these wholesale dealers own a large market boat, which is 

 stationed at the foot of Main street and here their fishermen come daily with 

 tug boats of fish, freshly caught. 



At these market boats the fish are packed in boxes. l.")0 pounds of fish and 

 100 pounds of ice being placed in each box. Catfish are always skinned. Other 

 fish, when shipped east or north, ai-e sent away whole, but for the western 

 and soxithern trade thej' are always dressed, that is they have their heads 

 taken off and their intestines removed. This is one of the peculiarities of the 

 trade. The freight on a car load of fish from Havana co New York averages 

 $235.00 per load. 



Dealers own many boats and employ many fishermen. Quarter boats, that 

 is quarters for provisions aiid cooking, are sent out to the grounds, which are 

 not always in the Illinois river, some excellent grounds being located in ad- 

 jacent lakes and creeks. These men are paid good wages and like the life. 

 As in other occupations some save money and others are always in debt, it 

 depending on the man. It is claimed though that wlien a man once becomes 

 a regular fisherman he seldom goes into any other occupation. There are also 

 private fishermen who dispose of their catches to the dealers, but the lat- 

 ter are not numerous. 



Fish are caiiglit in seines and set nets, never by hook and line except by 

 amateurs. The state guard the fish rigidly, and inspectors watch every catch 

 to see that all tish are of the proper length and size, others being returned 

 unharmed to the water. No seines at all can be used during the spawning 

 season, which is from April 15 to June 1. 



The fish heads and intestines are used for fertilizers for garden patches and 

 as food for fowls, being much in demand. Seines are from 800 to 1.500 yards 

 long and eight men are re<iiiired to make a liaul. Usually 5.0(H1 pounds of 



