232 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[April 21,',1881 



Oyprbndm, whoro tho cat 

 species, which aro locally 



Mr. Mii.i.r.k We have, 

 Fulton Market. Tin van 



Mr i:i.\,-KR.ui)-TiioB 



Wdploidotiotui grvmim.1 



ttotfsBVClt and Prof. Good 



Mr. Mn.i.i:i;-[ ones h* 



d'aVa Out uf waist in tho I 



i.l 



I the 



half 



a dn/.ell 

 nil carp, 

 hero at 



etc. 

 limi 





lo L 



rcf 



altfi 8Uo< 



HTcd to 



by 



oad 

 M 



Sd 



vhich ll 

 when pn 



ed 



t iu 



tu 



nee had a Hudson Kiver c 



io tho bottom of a barrel, 



armarium he nwu.ni off noiie I In: worse tor it. 



Mr. l'uii.i ns Tho lish which is called carp in tho Hudson in 

 simply an iiiimlorcd gold fish. 



Mr. M Miir.it -jrtr. Phillips is correct. The mark which distin- 

 guishes the Iruo eurp from the gold lish is the fact tliat the former 

 fattt! l> barbel or board attached to each Hide of tho upper jaw, 

 near the alible or the month, while the gold fish haa none. Tho 

 Hudson carp has no barbels.' 



Mr. 1'HiLi.ii's - I once wont up the Hudson to gather ihese carp 

 for the Smithsonian at a lime when it was claimed by aoiuo that 

 there werogood carp in tun Hudson. A gentleman of color pro- 

 i get them in rpianiitv and 1 employed him. Ho 

 tteefuj n-h which, as ho promised more, J throw 

 3 were forthcoming, and I was forced to return 



isb commissioners of that State 

 of tho front part of tho dorsel 



ig thoc 



teased to 



brought in 

 away j bill 

 without th. 



Mr Ma tur.il- You will find the Ohio carp figured in tho first 

 annual report o 

 1876 Jl has th 

 i ugly elongated. 



Dr. ll'.n.-oN Among tho carp dislribnted bv Prof. Baild aro 

 llirce varieties of one species. Thcro is tho soldo carp, which is 

 covered w tth scales : the mirror carp, which has a few largo scales 

 in different ports, or perhaps a row of thera along the back, and 

 the leather carp, w Bicb is naked. Mr. Hesscl thinks the latter are 

 best, and Prof. Baud thinks that all the carp in America are tend- 

 ing to the nude varied and will eventually become so. 



Mr. RoosBVXLT-Jii Europe they have worthless varieties of carp 

 as well a- good ones. 



Mr. Ui,.mkiviw. Jf you will take a walk through Fulton. Mar- 

 ket some morning you will hear the cry, " Hero is your Qerniau 

 carp !" hul. so far there have been no' true cart) in ttio market. 

 Tin -n ■ I'iM' been several different lishes wild as the German carp 

 hero, among them the fifth called "Buffalo " in the West i have 

 not eaten them mid do not know how they would compare with tho 

 carp. 



Mr Mai nr.ii-I ha v> eaten both lisle. -.and while they arc neither 

 of them what we would call first-class fishes, the carp are the best 

 of tho two. 1 have eaten carp that were vcrv good and carp that did 

 lot 



beer 



istoi 



to It, but (I 













ouoalouombin 



-dion. The 



oarp baa i 











.'".,'- 



lilalolish. Th 

 iii waters win 



e excellence 



of the car] 





that i| 



eh produce 



nothing ed 



!.!■■ 



and i 



u tho 



nlau.l , 



n'lio: 



- of the south 



aud other 



parts wiier 



• til 



■re. HI 



3 uo g 



jod lish 









Mr. Ann 



N 



Io wl 



at cla 



as does tho Br 



ITalo belong V 





Prof. Q 



1O0 



.-It 



is als 



one t 



f 11: 



1 CntslmniOm 



or wicker*. 



There are t 









accordi 





the latest anil 



oritice, the 



{clUhuobns 













tetltyt of Agas 





Mr. Mob 

















Mr. boo,. 



r.\ [■ 



l.T — \ 



V lea 





oing 



spin Walton a 



id tho older 



angl!»g bo 



jks. 



re 



modi 



rn on. 





say • 



iiuch about it. 







POUT OF TnE OHIO COMMISSION. 





T HE fift 

 •* 1880 



ian 



mi:-! 



eport 



of tho 



I-'i-di 



Commission of Ohio for 



Mil 



nit. 



illicit 



to the 



lack 



if linhwayHou the streams. 



Biid insists 



si.;. 





OS hH 



ii right 



tO BO 



obstruct the 



passage of 



fish by me 













ar covered bj 



the report 















-!.... to the propagation of 



white::, h 1 













their comtue 



cinl value. 



Sis and :i 



led 











v hutched at 



tin; Toledo 



hatchery, i 











ottl r 



last spring a 



nd planted 



.•i rarii :■ 







'shore 







e is, that th 



ouud fisher- 



■ supply of 



mal i 



■ Ills 



illlli.. 



ef 



li-hed lar 



o catch of last year, nol- 

 or fishing, hears testimony 

 s supply. 



ummcr, and the estimate 



of tho hatcheries, Toledo 



s than live million of whitclish 



h!o v stata8 that tlit: hatch of the pitr,t year has resulted in tho pro- 

 duction of a hardier and more matured fish than thoy have had 

 before, and that while iu hoiiui seasons a loas has been sustained 

 in tin ■transportation of the frv there was nono in tho past vear. 

 Of laud-lOCked salmon about 20,{]00 were hatched and distributed, 

 and of brOok trout 1.1,1101). A few of the oggs of rainbow trout, 

 Siiw, in,l.n, were received from California and 1,000 fry placed 



till von 





tc.iililv 



Wllht.U 







to the V 







Anew 



hale! 



■r\ wa 



of (he 8 



up.nn 



:eiiden 



and Sai 



1,1.-1: V 



there 



OggH. J 



ii the i 



oporto 



'the 



trp, ita growth, spawning, making ponds, etc, 



Till'. HACKS OF CAP,!', THEIU IHSTOUY AND HABITS.* 

 l'.v ]{i;i«u.i-ii Hi:ssri.. Spit. I.'. 8. C-Anr Ponds, Wasim.noton, D. C. 



I.— THE SI'KCIES AXD VAHIKII1S. 



'j'HE carp, Uyprimib carpio, Of tho family Cyprinid'z, has a 

 ' toothless mouth, thick lips, and four barbel* on the upper jaw. 

 Ln place of thfl u-ual teeth of the mouth there are a number of 

 stool t< i ill on the pharyngeal bones, which are arranged in three 

 rows. It has cue. single dorsal, which is longer than the anal. 

 Both these tins have at their origin, on the anterior edge, a strong 

 ray, which is serrated in a downward direction. The caudal is of 

 seini-circnliir shape, ami the natatory bladder is divided into two 

 sections, with connecting ah-pa-sage. the scale- have an entire 

 edge, and the body is compressed on the sides. The general color 

 of tie- back iind'r-idcs is a dark olive brown, the abdomen of a 

 whiii-li \ellou .,r Orange tint. The coloinig depends, as with all 

 lishes, partly upon the a .<■ and season, partly upon tho waler, tho 

 ; oil. ano a ho upon Hie food of tho lish. 



lie it remarked that the carp, which has occasionally been com- 

 pared to the buffalo ii„h. has no resemblance to it, with the excep- 

 tion of the siiiularilv of their coat of scales : neither does tho 

 flesh or Hie. bnlT.ilo lish ever come tip to the excellence of that of 



Tho carp was, iu all probability, originally introduced into 

 F.irrope from Central Asiainauv centuries ago.aud is now common 

 in most of the large rivers. In some parts of Europe, principally 

 iu Bohemia, Austria, Southern, Central and Northern Germany, 

 It has beeonio domesticated. 



Tho carp is alleged to have been imported into England iu tho 

 vear IO' 1 !. In Austria, which possesses the most extensive carp 

 fisheries in Europe, the culture of the carp can be traced as far 

 back as the vear i2u7. The Emperor Charles IV. of Oct many, by 

 granting sundry privileges, favored tho establishment of ponds in 

 his dominion- 1 , 'and the inonkswcre especially assiduous in the cul- 

 ture of lish in ponds. As early as the first half of the fourteenth 

 eentniv [lohciniii had ita first large carp pond, and (he culture of 

 this tis'h progressed in that rem. try, as also iri 1'oland and thai dis- 

 trict vvliieh now comprises (lerman Austria; also in I'ppe.r f.uso- 

 ulia, Saxony. Silesia and Davaria. A celebrated establishment, for 

 carp culture, with large, exit usivc ponds, was located, as early aB 

 the fourteenth centurv, near the town of Wittingau, iu Bohemia, 

 Austria. The first beginning of it mav be traced back to the vear 

 1067. At lhat time the Lords of Kosenberg called into exiatouco 



■ KMiacis tram "The carp and Us Culture in Rivers. and Lake-, 

 and hs tin rn.ln, iinn in .vim-ncn," being Part lV.of lue Ueporlof tho 



i". .s. l-bii commission, :s?5-T6. 



null ;n intai:i d lor centuries these establishments on a scale so cx- 

 teiiMw lhat to this day they are the admiration of the visitor, the 

 main parts having Mirvivcd. while the race of Rosenbergs has long 

 been extinct. 



The manor of Wittingau suffered greatly from tho calamities of- 

 the Thirty Years' War, aud with it, in consequence, its fish mil 

 turo The latter onlv recovered the effects of it after passing, to- 

 gether with the large estate of a rich monasters' of the same name, 

 iu (he vear 1C70, into possession of the Princes' of Sehwarzcnborg, 

 their present o« m is. The extent whit h carp mil rn .:• has reached 

 on these princely dcniaiijs will be scon from the circumstance that 

 their artificial ponds comprise all area of uo less than 20,000 acres. 

 Tho proceeds amount to about 500,000 pounds of carp per annum. 

 The ponds of tho Trince* of Schwar/enberg aro probabiv tho most 

 extensive of tho kind on the globe. Thev arc usually s'ltuatcd in 

 some undulating lowland country, where small vallovs havo been 

 closed in by gigantic dams for tho purpose of farming reservoirs. 

 Similar establishments, though not squally extensive, are found in 

 the provinces of Silesia and Brandenburg: as. for instance, near 

 Broslau aud Cottl us. in Pcitz ami Pieitz. which I visited last vear 

 In Hessc.-Cassel, Hanover, Oldenburg. Mecklenburg anil Hol'stoiu 

 there are also many hundreds of ponds, none of them covering 

 more than a few acres, but almost everv large farm possessing at 

 least one of them. 



It will be easily understood that after such au exclusive culture 

 in ponds, continued through centnries, as also an existence, in 

 open water, where the OyprinUm were left 



show i i 



of ■ 



stlilti: 



: ihffei 



•ath, 



spci 



'.'//"' 



ir 1 1. 



.develop.... 

 races, muugu uenvetl directlv from the original type, just iu with 

 our domestic annuals. Thev arc divided into three chief groups : 



1. Gyprimis carpii) milmistfix, the scale, carp, with regular, 

 concentrically-arranged scales, being, in fact, the original species 

 improved. 



2. Cyprinus carpio speadarb, the minor earn; thus named on 

 account of tho extraordinarily large scales, which run aloug the 

 sides of the body in three or four rows, the rest of the body being 

 bare. 



3. Cyprians carpio rnrinn-us, stile ttitdtiS, the leather carp; 

 which has on tho back cither only a few scales or none at nil. and 

 possesses a thick, soft skin, which feels velvety to tho touch. 



The two last named arc distinguished from "the original form bv 

 a Million bat shorter and stouter, but more lleshv body. It. is rather 

 difficult Io decide which of Ihese three species 'is the' most suitab'o 



ultu: 





■mil. 



ed doi 



lot vs 



liCt, I 



of Wi 



■•:!: 



parte of Bavaria and Saxony, etc., for t! 

 ror carp or leather carp onlv are bred. There is, iu fact, no suffi- 

 cient reaaon for making &ny distinction among those time i alle- 

 lic*, for if they are genuine types of their respective species thev 

 are indeed excellent and desirable fish. 



The assertion Ivhieh has been made at times that the scale carp 

 is better adapted for Irauspoitalion than either the mirror Or 

 leather carp by reason of its coat of scales which would protect i! 

 more elliciently from the accidents incidental to transfer, as also 

 against inimical or hurtful attacks in tho pouds t the minor carp 

 having very ftw and the leather carp no scales'! is not correct. In 

 transportation scales arc not onlv inefficient for protection, bnllhcv 

 freirueutl 



the 



•all.. 



, and the lish of course will die. Again, si Id 



any scale be lost the bare spot will very BOO« begin to fester II de- 

 velop a co.ifei vaccous growth and thi; BOnsoiJnences Trill bu the 

 same. On the contrary, the leather carp, which, oddly, eunuch like 

 the, frog, is de-tit ute' of covering, will boalva great deal more ill 

 usage aud injury whether young or old than a scale carp. The 

 smooth, slippery skin of the leather carp suffers mufch less fMjm 

 friction during transportation limn the scale carp, and any slight 

 wouud willhual up more easily, as the epithelium will cover it im- 

 mediately and the formation of a new skin can progress under its 

 protection. I have often had the opportunity of s< wa\ 

 upou the skin of thu mirror car]) ami even more so on that Of the 

 leather oarp. They arc tho effects of an injurv from tho sharp 

 cl.es of the heron's bill, the bit.- of a pfte, or some other lrurtj 

 and 1 never saiv anything of the kind on a scale carp, for if one of 

 these bo wounded il almost invariably dies. 



The carp will sometiinee cross vih some related species of the 

 Oyprwidias; for instance, Varitssius ;-ttigi>rif : and, in couse- 

 tpience, hybrids have been engendered, which sometimes resem- 

 blo tho genuine carp so much that il is often difficult, for the Hin- 

 di nt as well as for the professor! cnlturist and experienced fisher- 

 man to immediately recognize them. Such fishes aro valueless as 

 foodonaecouutof their bad aud vcr.i bony flesh. Oncof the h\ britl* 

 mentioned iu the Carpio kotlarii— Cyprinus strialus, which was 

 formerly regarded as a separate Species. It is a cross hctwe, n the 

 carp and Uarassius vulgaris (crucian carp), a very poor and bony 

 fish, which, in Germany, is sometimes called " poor man's carp." 

 Homo varieties exist of this common lish. The latter has even 

 been dignified by a specific name of its own. Carassiun ffibdin. 



The spa wuing season of the crucian and tho true carp coincide, 

 and, where kept together, hybrid races may readily l.e formed : 

 that period iiieluding the time from the mouth of May until 

 August. 



In order to determine this ipieslion. I myself mauaged to bring 

 aboutsuch crosses by plating ill female common carp with male 



in small tank-, constructed with this end ht view j oli l also pni 

 together female Cnrpi; kvllarii with male common carp; this for 

 the sole, purpose of testing the capability of propagation of tho 

 C. kvllarii, which had been doubted. In the two former cases I 

 obtained forma analogous to the Carpio kolinrii sometimes :i.. 

 preaching in appearance the true carp, at others the crucian oarp. 

 In the third case, however, baring plaecd npo Car,, if l;uW<rii to- 

 gether with CuprinuK carpio, I obtained a product with difficulty 

 to be distinguished from the genuine carp. T took the trouble to 

 feed them f..r throe yoars, in order to try their nttness for the 

 table, but their flesh was exceedingly poor aud very bony, and 

 could not be Compared by any means to that of the common carp. 

 Considering, then, the whule extensive tract of country devoted 

 to fishculture in Central Europe, where crucian carp are bo be 

 found from Italv to Sweden and Norway, from France to the 

 boundary of Eastern Siberia, considering tlie many who cultivate 

 on a small scale and the owners of badlv stocked pi.uds, with their 

 different doubtful productions, how often do we dud iu tlm mar- 

 kets or ponds verv nice crosses which have been propagated 

 through from three to ten generations and which are sold tor cup: 

 There are many small sheets of water in Germany, Franoe, Aus- 

 tria, Italv, Holland and Belgium, and probably also iu England, 

 the proprietors of which imaginu, in good faith, that they havo 

 stocked their ponds with good, genuine carp, which, in reality, 

 through careless selection or ignorance, arc hybrids which may 

 even have been cultivated for two or three generations. In tome 

 ponds iu Switzerland, near the Lake of Constance, some crosses of 

 .rifrramis braina wero found as lato as twenty years ago. 



2. — TUB HABITS AND TBE MODE OF Rlil'RonVtvnoN. 



Tho carp is partial to stagnant waters, or such as have a not too 

 swift current, with aloamy, muddy bottom and doop places covered 

 with vegetation. It inhabits now most of tho larger anil smaller 

 riverB of Europe, particularly the Elbe. Weser, llhine, Danube, 

 Po. l.hoite, Garonne, Loire, then tho Bavariau aud Swiss lakes. 

 Hie Lain: of Constance, Ac: even salt water scorns to agree with 

 it very Well. I have taken it in the Black Sea. where its Weight 

 of ton amounts to from fifteen to twenty pounds. It is also found 

 in the Caspian Sea in great number-, and is known there by the 

 name of SaSstln. 



Il is an advantage that the carp is able to live in. water where 

 other fishes could not possibly exist : for instance, in the. pools or 

 bog meadows or sloughs. However, it is not by any means to bu 

 inferred from this that the best locality for carp ponds of a 

 superior kind could bu iu such situations. Tho presence of too 

 much humic acid is unfavorable to the well-being of the carp, as 

 wo shall see presently in the chapter upon the establishing of 

 fish ponds. 



Th • etip lives upon vegetable food as well as upon worms and 

 larva: of aquatic insects, which it turns up from the mud with 

 ll.e buid ; it is very oasily satisfied, and will not refuse the offal 

 of the kitchen, slaughter-houses and breweries, or ew-i, the excre- 

 ment of cattle and pigs. I propose to enter further nnoii the sub- 

 ject of feeding it when T speak nf its culture iu ponds. 



In the mod. rate xone, that is to say m Centra! Europe, the carp 

 will, at Hie hegining of the cold, season seek deeper water to pass 

 that period in a kind of sleep. This wdl sometimes, occur as early 

 as the beginning of November, if ibe winter should >et in early ; 

 and it iff th be remarked that they will retire at an earlier period 

 in ponds than in livers. They do so always in groups of from 

 fifty to 100 and mote. Xhcv niake a caritv in the imtddv ground, 

 called a '•kettle:" in this thoy pass the 'lime until spring, hud- 

 dled together in concentric circles with their heads together, the 

 posterior part of the body raised ami held immovably, scarcely 

 lifting tho gills for the process of breathing, and without taking a 

 particle of food. They do not take any food from the beginning 

 of October, and continue to abstain from it, iu some countries, 

 until the cud of March, and in colder districts even somowhat 

 later. It will not answer, however, to depend on this habit when 

 transporting them for propagation in the spring or winter time, 

 more especially young carp one or two years old The lish will ar- 

 rive iu a worn aud hungry condition, ami must be kept iu a tilik 

 constructed on purpose for observation, where it has uo chance to 

 bury itself in the mud ; here it will sometimes take a little food. 

 Al such times I generally make use of boiled barley, or rye dour 

 converted into a kind of tough paste by the addition of hot water, 

 and with this 1 mix a little loam and rvc. bread ; but I continue tho 

 feeding onlv until I can judge from the looks, of the lish that thev 

 have recovered. This method I followed with the carp which I 

 imported from Europe for the purpose of breeding i*i the winter 

 of 1876-'77. It is H most striking fact that the carp, though it 

 does not tako any food during this winter-sleep iu its natural re- 

 treat, docs not diminish in weight, while, in the so-called '•wintcr- 

 ehambera" it does so to a remarkable, degree. These "wniter- 

 chambe-ro" are large tanks. 1,(100 to S,fJfJfJ Bijuare feet in size orlejs ; 

 they arc sometimes walled in with masonry, s.imetium„ they are 

 constructed of wood. Fishes intended for sale are kept iu than 

 for a few weeks or mouths during [he winter. 



The carp docs not grow in the w inter. Warmth alone seems to 

 exercise a favorable intluoiice upon it aud to promote growth. It 

 only grows in the months of May. .lime, Jury aud August; and 

 does not appi ar to coutjiiue doing BO m September, i 



glit 



■nth 



to grow out of au accumulai 

 posited around the entrails. In p 

 food and healthy water, in au ordn 

 crease of weight" iu the year will be 

 lows : 



I'crccnl. niorlgln.il For cftnt rrf 



weight.. gl'otllh.j 



Maj Jo-tfi 



fat which is being de- 

 hich contain plenty of 

 ir, the growth and in- 

 :utcd in ligur.- as f.c- 



33 



:,: 



91 



If the weather iu tho mouth of May be mild and warm from the 

 begiuuing a better growth may he expected, amountinc, as iu 

 June, to about 30 per oeutuui. This month (Msy) is deei'dedlv of 

 git at importance lor the growth of the lish during I lie current 

 vear. for, in proportion as ihc tish has grown in the short suatio oi 

 one nirvuih, it. will take more food in the following one. as the in- 

 crease OI its growth aud eons id. want, will demand. Ctillur- . 



fete, the:, fore, consider the month Of Mav a-: being Ihc most im- 

 portant of the whole period of the carp's growth. The ahove- 

 given calculations, of course, are limited to ponds ill w huh no 

 artificial feeding is resorted to, but in which there is suttioiout 

 food by reason of the good quality of the water and soUwhicn 

 piodu,.-;l. 



Iu ^mall ponds, situated in park- or gardeus, whioh possess 



a little greater if feeding is had recourse to. for su- h small ponds 

 tcovcring only half an sort I .'.on. .1 produce sullici. i.t food tkem- 



prcscntly, ami which m ■ : ■ ; i , . 



to 1,000 acres should not be made us£ of. 



The above calculations are-only admissible for Centra] Europe, 

 from the Adriatic to the liaiiic and the Norths,:,: , : . countries 

 further north, as iu Sweden, the growth of carp is less, as, on the 

 cotitn 



,l::i 



i lllvi 



ndili. 





Ihc. result is more favorable still. 

 climate, au early spring, a very 

 a late winter which, in addition, is 

 ■isc a favorable influence upon the 



h becomes lively at a much earlier 



In these warm climates th 

 season, if it does at ailpa-a the winter in that lethargic stat", 

 without taking any food, thau it does iu the coui.tries' of the 

 northern part.- of Central Europe. 



The pond-carp of Central F.uiope generally Waves its winter re- 

 heat when Iheravs of the spring sun hii'vu warmed the water 

 thoroughly, while al the same time it begins to seek for food at a 



iu thcmiddlu of 

 Northern Prance, s 



situation aud are « 

 sonic localities thrt 

 elevated situations, 

 and Dpi 



■ily 



it for lu- 



snial! and Buffers greatly 



easily dwarfed at that tu 

 .Iocs' not take place all at 

 it will have left the lasfc, 

 the selling IU of rainy, cc 

 interrupted, but 





L egg to the 

 cool woath 

 sinned as 



i •!-..;: .ge.l 



llurist, in 



the tei 



Euroi*. In Sicily, iu the ncigl.bi.rh 

 aro some private ponds, the carp beg 

 moid or the month of April. This is 

 French provmcu of Coustautino, Algi 

 The ahuudauce of oggs in the cart 

 circumstance which will explain its t 

 natural waters. A fish, weighing fr 

 tains, on au average, 400,000 to 501 

 figure still higher. Inot only made I 

 repeating theui io 1876 on a female i 

 from the environs of Gunzenhauseu 

 enough, at tho end of November, wa' 



calculation !. made in thu 



whole, in the 



idd, it will be 

 leratiirc. grows 

 cii.-niic com wcalher at this 

 nig ft\ also Buffer much from 

 profitable to I he cnlturist of 

 i southern part of Europe tho 

 v.rher dale than iu Central 

 iod Of Palermo, where 1 hero 



laid to bo tho case also iu the 

 ria, Africa. 



is very great, and it is this 

 vtraordinary increase in the 

 >ni four to five pounds, cons 

 ,000 eggs. Other statements 

 alcultttionsnivsslf, formerly, 

 lirror-carp, w'uich I obtai 



I ; 



■u.-ly 



chaogi takes place 

 kin ■■: 

 expiration of that 

 oyprin fids, s .e. -. 

 I'aliiii.; out of the 



iuorinaed vivacity ; 



