228 
FOREST AND STREAM 
[Sept. 22, 1900. 
drafts will be revised in a few minor details and intro- 
duced into the Assembly. The provisions of Mr. Shriner's 
proposed measures are outlined on another page of this 
issue. 
At the conclusion of Mr. Shriner's able address, Presi- 
dent Bie4in£;er proposed that he be made an honorary 
member of the League, and the motion v/as carried amid 
much enthusiasm. 
Several other speeches were made, all of which called 
attention to the need of concerted action on the part of 
the members of the League, many of whom appear to be 
indilferent to the success of the organization. 
The next meeting will be held at Wall's Hotel on Mon- 
day, Oct. 15. 
The Carp as Food Product of 
Illinois Waters. 
JHf BY S. P. BARTLETT. 
{Read before the Americ.n Fisheries Society.) 
I TAKE up this subject with a great deal of hesitancy, 
knowing what wide discussion it has caused as to its 
merits and demerits, particularly its demerits, and that 
the consensus of opinion may be opposed to mine; and 
who am I that I should attempt to refute such varied 
authority? But permit me modestly to preface my re- 
marks by .saying that I deal with the results of carp 
lilanting in Illinois waters alone. Here I know whereof I 
affirm, and I base my statements upon my experience 
only, and with profound deference to the opinions of those 
who may have reason to differ with me. 
, Without egotism, I think I can safely say that few 
men in Illinois have a more general knowledge of the 
waters of the State than I have acquired. Tweut\'-fuur 
years of active work in the Fish Commissions have taught 
me many lessons, and more than once I have been con- 
vinced that I have been all kinds of crank in that time. 
The deductions of to-day may be diametrically opposed 
to those of twenty years ago, made under similar 
conditions, but with less experience to guide. From 
the investigations and experiments of the \arious 
Fish Commissions ha^-c come many practical results, not 
the least among which has been the introduction of the 
German carp. After the United States Fish Commission 
had increased its output of these fishes to an extent 
sufficient to give carload lots to the different States, I 
was instrumental in securing a carload for Illinois, and 
accompanied the car to the various ix)ints where the plants 
were made, and from these plants has come one of the 
largest factors in the yearly product of the waters of the 
State. 
It would not be worth while to record here the flood 
of criticism that followed the introduction of this foreigner 
into Illinois waters. This is now only a bit of ancient 
history, seldom revived. I need only say that the press 
generally throughout the State made a vigorous "kick" 
against it, and legislation with a view to Hmiting the dis- 
tribution was attempted. Yet, while at first I may have 
had doubts as to the utility of the plant, I stood my 
ground, perforce, and defended the attacks against it. 
Public prejudice was largely augmented by the non-suc- 
cess of the many who attennpted pond culture of carp 
under conditions which would have made any different 
results impossible. 1 he idea seemed to prevail that any- 
thing would do for carp, and, starting with this premise, 
there were at one time 600 carp ponds in the State, which 
consisted chiefly of holes in the ground filled Mnth surface 
water, devoted not to the carp alone, but free to every- 
thing else on the farm — horses, hogs, chickens, ducks and 
geese; and while even then some carp lived and grew, it 
may be imagined that they were hardly fair samples of 
their kind; and, added, to these disadvantages, they were 
taken out for use regardless of conditions, at spawning 
time, and when cooked were naturally pronounced unfit 
for food. A few, practical enough to give them an even 
chance with other farm products, by supplying conditions 
favorable to the best results, did well with them, and were 
well satisfied with their i-eward : but the experience oi' 
the many was made the criterion of success, and carp 
culture on the farm 'was voted a practical failure. The 
ponds made for them gradually broke down, and the carp 
were carried through the creeks to the rivers and lakes, 
and here began their career of use and benefit. 
For a great many years previous, on both the Illinois 
and Mississippi rivers, it had been the practice of fisher- 
men and farmers in the spring of the year, when the 
buffalo fish "rolled," to take them by shooting, spearing 
or with pitchforks, and, packing them in sugar hogs- 
heads, they were shipped by river to St. Louis and other 
markets. Those that remained good were sold, the soft 
and tainted thrown away. The net results w'ere. perhaps, 
from one-half to one and one-half cents per pound to the 
shipper, and a loss to the community at large of thousands 
of pounds of good fish. This improvidence continued, and 
up to 1880 the output had constantly decreased, until, from 
the best information we could obtain, only about one 
million pounds of buffalo fish were taken on the Illinois 
River in the season. They were simply "killing the goose 
that laid the golden egg." Taking the buffalo at spawning 
time, they destroyed not only the stock, but the increase 
as well, imtil the waters were practically depleted. This 
being the condition of things at the time of the introduc- 
tion of the carp, it but remains to show how they improved 
their opportunity and became a valuable auxiliary to the 
supply of coarse fishes. For several years the carp w^ere 
caught, but, having a bad name, the fishermen would 
have none of them, and they. were thrown back into the 
water. This, as it proved, was fortunate, for they grew 
and multiplied, and the fisherm.en finally awoke to ihe 
fact that there was a practically unlimited market for 
them in the East, at good paying prices and began to 
utilize them. Year, after year the catch of carp had 
increased, until careful estimates show that 600 carloads 
of them were slripped East last season from different 
points on the Illinois River alone. The preiudice ''against 
the fish as food had gradually disappeared in this Slate, 
until now it is found in the fish markets of every town 
and village, and on the tables of almost every hotel and 
re=^'^aurant in the surrounding country. 
For years, and seemingly to my misfortune. I was held 
responsible for the introduction and defense of this much 
maligned fish, and I have had plenty of newspaper 
notoriety as its advocate; but I have emerged from it 
triumphant, as it is to-day the universal opinion of every 
responsible fish dealer on the Illinois River that the carp 
was the best gift ever made by the United Siates Fish 
Commission to the people of the State. 
There are natural reasons why the carp should be pelnti- 
ful in the waters of our Slate. Not to take too much 
time, I will briefly say that the Illinois River, with its 
bottom lands frequently covering fifteen miles from bluff 
to bluff", abounds in low, flat lakes, into which the fish 
go with the overfiows of the nver, which occur several 
vnnes a year. The water of these lakes becomes very 
warm, yet there is sufficient depth to prevent bad re- 
sults, and here the carp tlu'ive. and from these lakes they 
are taken for market. The catches are so great as to 
savor strongly of the traditional "fish scory," 25 000 
pounds at a haul being not at all infrequent, and some 
catches have been made that would sound almost fabulous. 
I append herewith a statement or report oi the Illinois 
River Fishermen's Association, which will give some idea 
of the financial value of this product to the towns along 
the river; and when it is considered that very many of 
the inhabitants of these towns depend upon the fishing 
industry for a living, the benefit of this replenishment of 
these almost depleted waters may be understood and 
appreciated. 
Peoria, for instance, ships about two carloads of carp 
daily during the height of the season. They are packed 
in boxes holding 150 pounds net of fish. The fish are 
packed in' ice and then placed in refrigerator cars, and 
not infrequently the fish still show signs of lite on their 
arrival in New York, to wdiich point most of them are 
shipped. Unlike the buffalo, which must be dressed and 
l)acked in ice for shipment, the carp are shipped "in the 
rough" — that is, just as taken from the water, with 
absolutely no loss or shrinkage from the seine to the 
dealer, its admirable keeping qualities preserving its edible 
value perfectly. 
At .several points on the Illinois River holding or live 
pens have been prepared for storing the carp until -the 
market or the dealer is ready for them. Notable among 
these storage pens is one owned by Mr. John Schulte. 
The lake in which it is built is six miles long, and 
averages one-half mile in width. Within this lake he 
has built a large inclosure, and the ii,sh taken during 
the hot months are put into it and kept until the market 
is right, when they are taken out and packed for ship- 
ment. Mr, Schulte permits me to give one; instance show- 
ing the results, financially, of a catch made by himself. 
The owner of a mill pond wished to have the carp 
taken out of it, and gave Mr. Schulte the privilege of 
taking them. Mr. Schulte showed me * a check for 
$1,080.35 as the net result of the carload he took froin 
that pond. 
Buyers from New York houses are stationed at different 
points on the Illinois River all the time, and readily 
take all that is oft'ercd, just as it comes from the water, at 
a net price. 
I give herewith a couple of letters received in reply to 
my questions as to the value of carp : 
Peoria, 111., Dec. 17, i8g8.— Hon. S. P. Bartlett, Supt. 
U. S. Fish Commission, Quincy, 111. Dear Sir: In an- 
sw'er to your question as to my opinion of carp, will 
say, as I have often said, that the carp is the bread- 
winner of the fishermen, and is a cheap food fish in big 
demand in New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago. 
The prejudice against the carp here at home does not 
apply abroad. Instead of carp being unfit to eat, scaven- 
gers liviug on anj'thing and everything, devouring the 
spawn of fine fish, etc., they arc a fish of fair flavor for 
eating purposes ; do not eat other than vegetable matter, 
such as grass, flag roots, moss, etc., and never eat the 
spawn of other fish as the black bass does. Often I have 
heard it said that the carp was driving the fine fish out 
of the river. This is also far from the truth, as the 
carp lives in harmony with all kinds of fine fish. The 
only fish that does not seem to like the carp is the buffalo, 
and that is because carp are too lively for them, and 
they camiot stand the jumping about of the carp, but if 
the buffalo have become scarcer we have their cousin — the 
carp — to take their place. 
In our dealings with our customers since the buffalo 
have become scarce, in filling our dressed fish orders, we 
have had to substitute carp for buffalo very often'. At 
first there was great complaint, and orders often read, 
"Don't send me carp if you have no buft'alo." We kept on. 
however, substituting, and now many of the dealers who 
were so strongly prejudiced against carp order buft'alo 
or carp, and many huxc written us to the effect that the 
people like them since they have given them a trial. 
In summing up this carp question it can be truthfully 
said that the general opinion of the public on .the ques- 
tion is purely imagination, and has no foundation in 
fact, and the best evidence of this is the wonderful de- 
mand for Illinois River carp from Eastern markets, where 
they are sold for Illinois River carp, and not canned for 
"salmon," as many people believe. Most respectfully 
yours, M. D. Hurley, 
President Illinni'= Fishermen's Association. 
ful now than they h*vc hma before f0r years, and con- 
stantly increasing; s© are the earp.. There would seem 
to be no need for me to say more in refutation of the oft- 
repeated charge that carp destroy the bass and kindred 
fishes. 
I repeat, I am dealing only with what I know, and 
what I say applies only in Illinois waters. Possibly, in 
Other places, earp may exhibit cannibalistic and mur- 
derous tendencies, but here they get down to business 
and make money, food and friends. 
Havana. 111.. Dec. 21, 1898.— S. P. Bartlett, Supt. U. S. 
Fish Commission, Quincy, 111. Dear Sir : You ask me as 
to cron of German carp, and my opinion of their value. 
As to the crop of j^oung carp this season, will f«iy that 
there is an enormous lot of them, and by next August 
they will be good marketable fish, weighing froin 3 to 5 
ponuds each. 
The Fish Commission did a good thing when they in- 
troduced the German carp in Illinois River. Carp are 
in great demand and a ready sale. There is more demand 
for German carp than, for all other fish taken from our 
rivers combined. 
From the information I get, as an official of tte? 
Illinois River Fishermen's Association, from all points 
along the river, the earn have brought more money than 
the catch, nf all other of our fishes combined. Long live 
the carp. Yotirs respectfullJ^ John A. ScHtixTE. 
From a .commercial standpoint, theii, there can no 
longer be jxny doubt as to the growing ponularitj- of the 
carp, and as to one other alleged point against thern. T 
would only say that their introduction has not in anv 
way lessened the angler's chances. Bass are more plenti- 
Canadian Angling Notes. 
An unusual number of American anglers are at pres- 
ent in the Lake St. John district. The ouananiche sea- 
son, which closes to-morrow, has been a very successful 
one, and there is every reason to anticipate a constant 
improvement in this sport, now that the Roberval hatch- 
ery has proved itself a success. Another very_ large lot 
bf fry has again been planted from this institution. The 
sport on the trout streams is now at about its best. Last 
week it was very good, but on the lakes the larger fish 
were not rising, on account of the warmth oi the water. 
The frost of the last few nights has lowered the tempera- 
ture of the water, and now the large fish are rising more 
freely. A son of Mayor Parent, of Quebec, killed three 
brook trout on one cast in the Ouiatchouan River a few 
daj's ago that weighed respectively 4 pounds, 2^4 pounds 
and I pound. 
Large fish are now also being taken in the Jeannotte, 
the outlet of Lake Edward. Among those who have 
fished it this week are L. N. Joncas and Senator Paquet, 
of Quebec, and Carlo Smith, of the Elgin w^atch works, 
Elgin, 111, 
Mr. George E. Hart, of Waterbury, and Mr. Gordon 
Burnham, of New York, have taken some large trout 
out of Lac des Passes, on the Triton tract, and are now- 
doing the same thing at Lac des Commissaire, on the 
Nonantum. Club limits. They have been joined on the 
latter waters by Messrs. F. S. Bradley, of New Haven; 
Mr. Brown, president of the club; Mr. Thompson, treas- 
urer, and Mr. H. Beck, of New York. 
Judge Kellogg and Mi". H, Chase, of Waterbury. have 
gone to the Metabetchouan Club, at Lake Kikisink. 
vVmong others who have lately enjoyed good sport there 
are William C. Lincoln, of Pittsburg, and C. M. Cal- 
houn and W. C. Bryant and wife, of Bridgeport. 
.Messrs. Amo; ; R. Little and Chas. W. Ogden, of Phil- 
adelphia, and E. P. Ricker, of Poland Springs, have been 
enioying the fishing on the limits oi the Penn Fish a:nd 
Game Club, and Mr. E. W. Brewer, of Springfield, Mass.. 
president of the Amabalish Club, went up to-day to his 
club waters, accompanied by his son and a party of 
friends. 
Un the Triton and Tourilli tracts there are at least a 
hundred visiting sportsmen. Rev. Paul Van Dyke and 
Judge Swavnc, of Toledo, O.. are among recent visitors 
at the Triton, while among those on the Tourilli are 
John L. Holcomb. vice-president of the Phoenix Insur- 
ance Co.. of Hartford; P. A. Rawlings, of New York; 
Hon. Lyman D. Gilbert, of Harrisburg, and David T, 
Watson, of Pittsburg. 
E. T. D. Chambers. 
Qup.BEC, Sept. 15. 
My First Fly. 
As one advances in age and is unable by weight of 
years or otherwise to indulge in sports most enjoyed in 
bovhood, the mind seems to revert and memory to re- 
call incidents of those early years. Recently, while smok - 
ing my evening pipe, my memory went back to the day 
in the long ago and tlie circumstances under which I 
acquired my first fly. 
A gentleman from a manufacturing town m the btate 
of Massachusetts was in company with my father visiting 
the farmers of mv native town for the purchase of wool. 
As I remember it was in the month of June, 1836. Brook 
trout were in season. This gentleman was on a certain 
day an unexpected guest at dinner. My mother was 
preparing the best meal she could at short notice, when 
I arrived with a handsome string of trout, the result ot 
a morning spent at a nearby brook. My arrival was op- 
portune, for while the food supply was abundant the 
varietv was limited. A short time was required to pre- 
pare those .trout for the frying pan, from which they 
went smoking hot to the table. This was a surprise dish 
and fo-und favor, with the guest, drawing from him an 
inquirv from whence they came. He was told that the 
boy had caught them in a brook not far remote. He then 
asked to see tlie boy, who, though hardly presentable in 
his fishing clothing, came forward, wdien in substance 
the following colloquv ensued. I was asked if I was the 
lad who had caught the trout, and how I caught them, 
T replied with hook and line. 
"Did you use a fly?" , ^ - 
"No, sir; we use bait;- never heard of fly bait; use hop- 
pers sometimes, but mostly angle dogs." 
".A.nd what are angle dogs?" 
"Why. just fish worms that we find in compost heaps 
or in muck in the meadow pasture." 
"T fish for trout sometimes, and with a fly." 
"You could catch no trout about here with fly bait: 
flies are too small — wouldn't stay on the hook." 
"I don't mean common house flies, but artificial flies 
are what I use." 
T had never before heard of artificial flics and evidently 
indicated a doubt as to whether tlie gentleman was 
speaking in parables or otherwise, but finally said. "I have 
iiCA-er seen an artificial fly." and was in doubt if the 
gentleman meant what he said. Calling me to his side 
he took from his pocket a memorandum book, and from 
between its leaves produced a snelled hook, around the 
herd of which was wrapoed a crimson substance bound 
with a narrow strip of gilt thread, with an attachiuent of 
a pair of crimson wings, and said: "This is an artt- 
ftclal flv." I had never seen a fly in any wise resembling 
it. and" asked; "Can you catch trout with that?" He 
said "Yes"; but I shook my head in doubt, saying; "I 
do not think the trout in our brooks will bite at that 
You can> fasten any sinker on that horse hair tied to 
the hook." _ . . u 
