13 



CARr. 



The question is asked of us a great many times during the 

 season, "Is not the carp a failure ?" and in order that the situa- 

 tion may be thoroughly understood, we propose to give some of 

 the facts regarding it. When introduced by the U. S. Fish Com- 

 mission into the State of Illinois, carp were comparatively but 

 little known. So much, however, had been said in their favor re- 

 garding their rapid growth, increase and ease of culture, that a 

 great many people in the State made ponds, applied for and re- 

 ceived carp, and started in with bright anticipations of success as 

 fish culturists. The result w'as general disappointment, and, so far 

 as the general effort was concerned, a failure. So much had been 

 written regarding the fish, which at that time w'as hardly known 

 at all to the generality of fish men, that the universal opinion 

 seemed to be that all that was necessary to get large returns from 

 a small investment was to dig a hole, let in the surface water, 

 secure twenty or twenty-five carp, put them in and let them do 

 the rest. It was not long before those interested realized that, so 

 far as the rapidity of growth was concerned, all that had been 

 said of them was true. 



Early in the spring the fish began to show themselves on the 

 surface of the water, and, as a natural consequence, some were 

 taken out for food. Then followed general dissatisfaction and un- 

 favorable criticisms by the press throughout the State, and carp 

 became unpopular as a pond fish. Black bass or crappie, taken 

 under the same conditions, would prove quite as unsatisfactory as 

 table fish. In the first place, in almost every instance, the ponds 

 used for the reception of the carp were simply holes, filled with 

 surface water, and used by the stock the year round. Even under 

 such adverse circumstances, the carp grew, and when the warm 

 days of spring came, began to spawn. At this season the fish were 

 found frequently upon the surface of the water, and were easily 

 taken but, when prepared for the table, were found to be soft and 

 unpalatable. As before stated, a bass or a crappie, under like con- 

 ditions, would be unfit to eat. Thus, through ignorance of the 

 proper methods, a large proportion of those interested pronounced 

 carp culture a failure, and gave up their ponds. On the other 

 hand, those who built fish ponds, gave the carp good water and 

 good food, and used ordinary judgment as to the time to use them 

 as food, found that the carp was, in every sense, a valuable food 

 fish, and might become an important auxiliary to the food products 

 of the farm. 



We do not hesitate to say that the carp, which is now found in 

 all the waters of the State, is the greatest source of revenue to 

 those who fish as a business, and has paid larger dividends on 

 the investment than any other fish ever introduced into our waters. 

 So widely have they spread that they may now be considered 

 among the indigenous fishes of the State, and take the place, to 

 a great degree, of the native butfalo, once the most important fish 

 of commerce. For years it had been the custom of fishermen to 



