XCIII 



Maryland are admirably adapted to the cultivation of 

 the Carp, and it may, therefore, be confidently expected 

 that within a comparatively short time every farmer 

 throughout the State will have one or more fish ponds, 

 which will prove quite as much a source of pleasure and 

 profit as is the familiar chicken-coop or pig-pen. 



Although hitherto regarded as being essentially a 

 fresh-water fish, it is quite likely that the Carp will 

 thrive in brackish water as well. I would, therefore, 

 earnestly recommend to those of our citizens whose sur- 

 roundings prevent them from securing ponds of entirely 

 fresh water, that they try, at least, the experiment of 

 cultivating this fish, in such water as they are able to 

 control. It should also be borne in mind that the Carp 

 is peculiarly well adapted to waters which are subject 

 to very high degrees of temperature during the summer 

 months ; for, although it sturdily withstands the rigors 

 of a Northern winter, it is even more at home in a warm 

 climate ; and the most favorable results have attended 

 its introduction into our extreme Southern States. 



As much of the success attainable in Carp culture 

 must always largely depend upon the character of the 

 ponds, and of the water with which they are supplied, 

 proper care must of course be exercised in each case to 

 obtain as favorable conditions as possible. 



It is important in the first place that the ponds should 

 have soft, muddy bottoms ; and that they be furnished 

 in the second j)lace with aquatic plants— especially those 

 producing seeds which will fall into the w^ater when ripe. 

 The Carp spawns in tne spring and summer— often ex- 

 tending its breeding season into the fall months — and as 

 the eggs upon being freed from the body of the fish 

 attach themselves to the plants where they remain ex- 

 posed to the attacks of other fish, by whom they are 

 greedily devoured, no fish besides the Carp should be 

 allowed in the ponds reserved for breeding purposes. 

 The young fish, it should be remarked, usually make 



