586 EEPOET OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 



be the probabilities in favor of the harmlessness of the carp; but it 

 seems to me that in most of these charges of destructiveness the burden 

 of proof must rest with those that make the charges. If, howe^'er, in 

 the case supposed above, the watcher shoukl see a carp come near and 

 be driven away by the bass, this would be good direct evidence in the 

 carp's favor. All this serves to emphasize the importance of taking 

 advantage of whatever opportunity chance may offer to throw light on 

 these questions. 



The principal charges that have been preferred against the carp have 

 been enumerated in a preliminary statement of the present investiga- 

 tion (U. S. Fish Commission Report, 1903, p, 129) as follows: 



(1 ) That the carp thrashes about and stirs up the mud, so that the breeding grounds 

 of other fish are spoiled ; (2) that the carj) roots up the vegetation, destroying the 

 wild rice, etc., and thus ruining good duck-shooting grounds; (3) that the carp eats 

 the spawn of other fish; (4) that the carp eats the young of other fish; (5) that the 

 carp is of no value as a food fish; (6) that the carp is of no value as a game fish. 



To the first of the above might be added the charge that in stirring 

 up the mud of supply reservoirs of water that is used for drinking 

 purposes the water is made unfit for use. The first four of the charges 

 will be considered here, the fifth and sixth will be discussed in connec- 

 tion with the food value and uses of the carp. 



RELATION OF THE CARP TO VEGETATION. 



The principal complaint against the carp on account of its destruc- 

 tiveness to aquatic vegetation comes from sportsmen, especially the 

 duck hunters. They are almost unanimous in their condemnation of 

 the carp on this account, but conversation with a number of them soon 

 makes it apparent that while some are speaking from personal experi- 

 ence, and the opinions given are their own, many are merely repeat- 

 ing statements which they have heard, and which have become so 

 stereotyped that they are easil}^ recognizable to one who is investiga- 

 ting the subject. It so happens that the St. Clair Flats, and mbre espe- 

 cially the marshes bordering Lake Erie, are among the most famous 

 duck-shooting localities in the Middle West, so that in this connection 

 I shall confine myself for the most part to inquiries made there. 



The most definite information I obtained as to the changes that have 

 taken place in the aquatic vegetation in the last decade or so was near 

 the mouth of the Sandusky River, where it opens into the ba}'' of the 

 same name. Mr. Fitzgerald, the keeper at the Winnows Point Club, 

 who has lived in the region all his life, not only told me of the changes 

 in the conditions as he could remember them, but allowed me to exam- 

 ine the records of the club inJurther substantiation of his observations. 



It appears that the first carp were brought to that immediate vicinity 

 in 1883 by D. W. Cross and Colonel Scovill, of Cleveland. A small 

 pond was prepared near the clubhouse and, according to the records, 



