ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



1053 



MATA-MATA TURTLE (Chelys fimbriata), AMAZON RIVER 



THE PRIVATE FISH POND— A NEG- 

 LECTED RESOURCE* 



THE possibilities of small fish ponds as 

 sources of food for the people have 

 received little consideration in this 

 country and the actual breeding and maturing 

 of fishes in such ponds is an art which we 

 have yet to put in practice. While certain 

 foreign countries have long profited by the 

 art of private fish culture, and have furnished 

 notable examples, our own facilities for this 

 industry have been neglected. It is probable 

 that our resources in this respect are greater 

 than those of other countries, as the United 

 States already lays claim to the most extensive 

 fish cultural operations carried on in the 

 world and nowhere is there so large a body 

 of professional fish culturists as that con- 

 nected with our national and state fishery 

 commissions. 



In these times when the value of running 

 streams for water power is being widely con- 

 sidered, the possessors of brooks, springs and 

 small lakes should be awakened to the value 

 of their home resources for water farming. 



It is gratifying to note that trout culture 

 in the hands of the private citizen is making 

 some progress in the New England states 

 and the advertisements of successful trout 

 raisers may today be found in American 

 journals devoted to fish and game. Trout 

 culture is, however, a branch of the work 

 which requires special conditions, such as 

 purity of water, comparatively low tempera- 



"Extract fr >m a paper by C. H. Townsend, read before the- Ameri- 

 can KUIn-rics Society, September 8, laiS. 



ture, the construction of 

 buildings and artificial 

 fertilization. The possi- 

 bilities for the private or 

 commercial culture of 

 many kinds of fishes, 

 which are more widely 

 distributed than the 

 trouts and can be cultiva- 

 ted by simpler methods, 

 should receive serious 

 consideration. North 

 America is abundantly 

 supplied with hardy 

 fishes which are available 

 for this purpose. There 

 are no serious difficulties 

 in the way of obtaining 

 them for breeding and 

 under cultivation they 

 would yield a food supply which would 

 supplement to an important degree that 

 derived from the public fisheries. 



In Europe the cultivation of carp is carried 

 on extensively. This fish is now abundant in 

 American waters, and, while not comparable 

 to many of our native species, already con- 

 tributes annually many millions of pounds 

 to our market supply. Despised by many, 

 it is, nevertheless, marketed more profitably 

 each year in most of our large cities and there 

 is no doubt that the carp is destined to supply 

 a considerable amount of our fish food. The 

 methods of carp culture as practiced in 

 Europe have been frequently published in this 

 country and are available for use. It is 

 unquestionably the easiest of all fishes to 

 raise, and it is only necessary to turn to the 

 weekly New York market reports for assur- 

 ance as to its money value and extensive 

 use. But it is our native fishes which I wish 

 to consider especially in this connection, as 

 many of them have been proved available for 

 cultivation and are more acceptable as food 

 to our people than the carp. Among them 

 may be mentioned the various species of 

 basses, perches, sunfishes and catfishes, which 

 are well distributed in our eastern states, 

 and there are other species inhabiting our 

 western and southern states which are also 

 available for pond culture. 



Many persons have undertaken the raising 

 of fishes, but their efforts have been limited to 

 the mere stocking of natural ponds. Com- 

 paratively few have realized the necessity of 

 proper equipment and actual cultivation, 

 which involves the complete control of the 



