THE GERMAN CARP IN THE UNITED STATES. 619 



1902, p. 150). In 1899 the catch for these streams was 11,869,81:0 

 pounds, valued at §289,258. In a letter dated October 19, 1903, Dr. 

 S. P. Bartlett states that the value of the output in 1901 from the 

 Illinois River was nearly two-thirds of a million dollars, 17,000,000 

 pounds being- the output; " and in a previous letter — 



1 am safe in saying that of all the fish produced in our inland waters and rivers the 

 carp will bring the fishermen more money than all their other catch. 



ANGLING. 



The anglers for trout and bass naturally look upon the carp with 

 great contempt. Nevertheless there are those who are ready to cham- 

 pion the foreigner, and some would even rank him as a g-ame fish. In 

 Germany, angling for carp in the open waters has afforded recreation, 

 and has been a not unimportant factor in the food supply of the peo- 

 ple; and in England carp have been sought by the angler since their 

 earliest introduction into that country. They are mentioned among 

 the fishes included in the treatise on angling in the "Boke of St. 

 Albans," first published in 1186, and consisting of a number of com- 

 pilations often attributed to Dame Juliana Barnes (or Berners), though 

 the section on angling was probably not written by her. This account 

 is interesting as being probably the earliest record we have of the 

 carp in the English language; and being brief, ma}^ well be quoted 

 here: 



The carpe is a deyntous fysshe: but there ben but fewe in Englonde. And there- 

 fore I wryte the lasse of hym. He is an euyll fysshe to take. For he is soo stronge 

 enarmyd in the mouthe that there maye noo weke harnays holde hym. And as 

 touchynge his baytes I haue but lytyll knowlege of it. And me were loth to wryte 

 more than I knowe & haue prouyd. But well I wote that the redde worme & the 

 menow ben good baytys for hym at all tymes as I haue herde saye of persones cred- 

 yble & also found wryten in bokes of credence. & 



In the later English writings on fishing, the carp is accorded a 

 prominent place, and Izaak Walton (1901 ed.) devotes a chapter to its 

 natural histoiy and the modes of capture. He stvles it "the queen of 

 rivers; a stately, a good, and a very subtile fish," and says (p. 17): 



And my first direction is, that if you will fish for a Carp, you must put on a very 

 large measure of patience, especially to fish for a River Carp: I have known a very 

 good fisher angle diligently four or six hours in a day, for three or four days 

 together, for a River Carp, and not have a bite. 



a It would seem that Doctor Bartlett has put the valuation rather high. Two-thirds of a million 

 dollars for 17,000,000 pounds of fish would mean a value of .slightly over 3.8 cents per pound. At the 

 same rate used in estimating ihe value of the Lake Erie catch above (IJ cents) the Illinois River 

 catch for 1901 would be worth 8255,000. If we estimate the Lake Erie catch for 1901 on the l)asis of 

 the catch of 1900 over that of 1899 (an increase of nearly a third) it would amount to appro.ximately 

 5,800,000 pounds, with a value of $87,000, making a total of 22,800,000 pounds, worth ?342,000 for the 

 two regions. There are no data at hand for estimating the amount of carp caught in other parts of 

 the United States, but it is probably comparatively .small in proportion to that for the regions given. 



& From a reprint of the Wynkyn de Worde edition of 1496 (London, 1810, treati.se of "Fysshynge 

 with an angle," signature i j). 



