THE CARP 



413 



lighted and strong-lunged populace. The string 

 of fish caught on that halcyon day by my tall 

 brother reached from my shoulders to the ground, 

 and for three days the cooks of that countryside 

 had Suckers "to burn." 



This Sucker is perhaps the most widely dis- 

 tributed and the most common fish species in- 

 habiting the United States. It ranges "from 

 Quebec and Massachusetts westward to Montana 

 and Colorado, and southward to Missouri and 

 Georgia." (Jordan.) It is one of the best of 

 its Family for the table, it is universally eaten, 

 and is much superior to any carp the writer has 

 ever encountered. In one year (1899-1900) the 

 catch of Suckers in twenty-three states yielded 

 655,637 pounds, worth $115,512. 



The Red-Horse, 1 or so-called "Mullet," which 

 makes Ohio the centre of its distribution, is an 

 abundant and well-known fish in the region west 

 of the Alleghenies. It is rather handsome in 

 colors, and, although its flesh is coarse and in- 

 sipid, it is really an important food fish in its 

 region. 



The Buffalo Fishes 2 comprise three species, 

 all big and burly, ranging in maximum weight 

 from 35 to 50 pounds, and from 2 to 3J feet in 

 length. They inhabit the Mississippi and its 

 tributaries, and in the spawning season push 

 their way even into the larger lakes and flooded 

 marshes of Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota. I 

 have seen specimens weighing between 30 and 

 40 pounds caught in the Mississippi, at Burlington, 

 Iowa, by hand-line fishing between lumber rafts, 

 with about as much interest and enthusiasm on 

 the part of the fisherman as usually attends the 

 capture of a good strawberry bass. One fat and 

 fearless "angler" sat on a chair, and baited his 

 hook with cheese. 



But let no one underrate the economic im- 

 portance of the Buffalo Fish. The catch of 1899; 

 chiefly in Illinois, Arkansas, Mississippi and 

 Missouri, in the order named, amounted to 14,- 

 221,988 pounds, worth $350,026. 



The German Carp 3 was introduced into the 

 United States by Mr. R. Poppe in 1872, and in 

 1S77 by the United States Bureau of Fisheries, 

 because of the fact that in Germany it is con- 



1 Mox-os-to'rna au-re-o'lum. 



2 The Common Buffalo Fish is Ic-ti'o-bus cyp-ri- 

 nel'la. 



3 Cy-pri'nus car'pi-o. 



sidered a good food fish, and can live and thrive 

 in muddy ponds and streams. By thousands of 

 prairie dwellers, it was received gladly, especially 

 throughout the great plains, where any fish 

 with scales is welcomed. The free distribution 

 of young Carp led a great many persons to apply 

 for them, and plant them in ponds, from which 

 they afterward found their way into streams 

 that contained fishes infinitely their superior. 



Between the years 1877 and 1885, the streams 

 of very nearly the whole Pacific coast of the 

 United States were stocked with Carp. At first 



GERMAN SCALED CARP. 



they were placed in ponds, but through "moving 

 accident, by flood and field," they reached the 

 rivers, and impregnated them and all their trib- 

 utaries. At first they were highly esteemed, 

 and sometimes greatly overpraised. It was 

 claimed that they were hardy, prolific, harmless 

 to other fishes, rapid in growth, persistent under 

 adverse conditions, and acceptable on the table. 

 Beyond question, under certain conditions nearly 

 all these claims are justified by the facts! 



But when the novelty wore off the Carp, the 

 cold-blooded critic began to say things. By him 

 it was pointed out that Carp stir up the mud in 

 all mud-bottomed ponds inhabited by them, and 

 keep the water murky. This is quite true; and 

 to keep the mud-loving Carp from perpetually 

 soiling and disfiguring the once clear and beauti- 

 ful waters of the Merced Lakes, in California, first 

 sea-lions, and then muskallunge, were introduced 

 to exterminate the Carp. 



In California, the Carp is now ranked with the 

 introduced catfish, as an unwelcome guest. 

 It is claimed that Carp consume to a serious ex- 

 tent the wild celery and grasses on which wild 

 ducks feed, and the duck supply is diminished 



