THE GEBMAN CARP IN THE UNITED STATES. 575 



carp and greatl}" i-cducos the danger is the short time required for 

 the development of the eggs and the rapid growth of the young fish, 

 which quickl}' talves them beyond the stage where the}'- can be preyed 

 upon by anj^ but the larger of their enemies. 



The general manner of the breeding of the carp is well known, but, 

 so far as I am aware, the exact method has never been studied in all its 

 details. This I found an exceedingly difficult thing to do in the open 

 waters, where the opportunity to observe the proceeding is very 

 largely a matter of chance. It is not so hard to find places where the 

 fish are spawning, but the difficult}" comes in getting close enough at 

 the right time to see w^hat takes place, and to have the water clear 

 enough to see into when once close. These conditions I have never 

 had the good fortune to have fulfilled, largely because the greater part 

 of my work in the field has been after the spawning season of the carp 

 was past. It is stated by many writers that at the time of spawning- 

 carp are so fearless, or at least so oblivious, that a person ma}^ approach 

 xery close to them and that they may then be easily captured (liessel, 

 1881, p. 872). But I have always found even the breeding fish very 

 shy. The place to make a careful studv of the breeding habits would 

 undoubtedly be in a moderately small pond, w^here the fish are con- 

 fined to a limited area, and where the}^ have become more or less accus- 

 tomed to the presence of people in the vicinity. In the following 

 description 1 shall rely for the most part upon my own observations, 

 amplifying them where I can with the observations of others.. 



As is the case with the feeding, I could not ascertain that the spawn- 

 ing of the carp is confined to any particular time of day, though it 

 apparently takes place more frequently in the morning hours. Hessel 

 remarks that it is more frequent in warm than in windy and rainy 

 weather, which agrees ver}" well with m}^ observations. At such times 

 groups of fish may be seen swimming about at the surface, usuall}' 

 close together in a compact mass. In the marshes along the Sandusk}'' 

 Eiver, where the best of ui}^ observations were made, the fish were in 

 shallow water, one to two feet deep, and prett}^ well grown up with 

 aquatic grasses, sedges, and flags, but with numerous open places from 

 a few feet to a few rods in diameter, where the vegetation w^as not so 

 abundant. The bottom was fairly solid, being composed of the roots 

 of the plants and much dead grass. In these open places especially 

 the carp could be seen, usuall}' swimming slowly about with their dor- 

 sal fins and often a portion of the ]>ack projecting above the water. 

 These also seemed to be the favorite places for depositing the spawn, 

 though much is also deposited about among the thicker growth. 



The spawning carp would usually be seen in groups consisting of 

 one larger fish in the lead and a number of smaller ones following 

 closely behind, making sometimes a string of six or seven fish in line, 

 as is shown in the first figure on the next page. It is probable that 



