11 



CAHl'. 



Seven years have passed since the introduction of Carp into 

 the State o£ Illinois, — two years since they were planted in public 

 waters of the State, and a brief resume of what has been accom- 

 plished may not be without interest: 



When Carp M-ere first proposed, there were but few, if any 

 ponds in the State for the cultivation of fish, and the subject was 

 considered as relating to the ornamental adjuncts to farm man- 

 agement. Few gave it any thought as a source of profit, or as a prob- 

 able increase of the products of the farm. One by one began to con- 

 sider the matter, and applications for the fish became frequent. 

 Much was promised for them. In their natural home, in that 

 thickly populated portion of the old world, Germany, they ranked 

 among the fine fish. They were known to be hardy and prolific, 

 accommodating themselves to almost any kind of water, and to 

 almost any locality. As a result of such theories, a large pro- 

 portion of those who early applied for Carp, put them into their 

 stock ponds, or ponds to which stock was allowed free access, and 

 left the fish to care for themselves. The result was, to some ex- 

 tent, unsatisfactory, as might have been expected. Such fish as 

 survived the freezing up of the pond in winter, and its drying 

 out in summer, were not found to be of so fine a character as to 

 flavor and general edible qualities, as had been expected. In other 

 words, these experimenters had undertaken to olDtain something 

 for nothing, a result very difficult to attain in any business under- 

 taking, and disappointment ]-esulted. As the subject of fish cul- 

 ture, in ponds supplied by surface drainage, began to be better 

 understood, ponds were built for their reception, alone, and at 

 least as good a chance for existence and growth given them, as 

 the average chicken or hog obtained, and results were, conse- 

 quently, better. Until now, those who undertake to cultivate fish, 

 do so with the understanding that good results only follow good 

 care and proper appliances. 



As a glance at the tables of carp distributed will show, the in- 

 terest in their culture is far from abating, and the practical evi- 

 dence on every hand tends to show the following facts, viz.: Carp 

 can be successfully raised in inland lakes; that the percentage of 

 profit from an acre of water is largely in excess of an acre of 

 land with equal amount of care and expense; that carp are fully 

 up to the average as an edible fish, if properly treated, and, in 

 spite of adverse criticism, they still hold their own as a desirable 

 adjunct to economic farming, as is shown by the large number of 

 applicants filed this year to be supplied by our distribution of 

 November next. In the proper place, in this report, will be found 

 copies of some of the many letters we have received, from those 

 who have obtained carp through our commission, bearing upon 

 tliis subject. From estimates based upon the reports of those who 

 ' have undertaken carp culture, it is safe to assume that, in this 

 State last year, the pi'oduct of carp ponds would be, at a small 



