ACCLIMATIZATION OF FISH IN THE PACIFIC STATES. 
395 
Carp have become numerous iu Clear and Silver lakes, near Spokane, Wash., 
and are lield in considerable esteem. 
Marked and immediate results attended the planting of carp in Nevada. In 1884 
Mr. Thomas Oliver, tvlio had carp ponds near Carson City, was reported to have 
thousands of young carp for sale, the progeny of eleven small fish received two years 
before. The report of the Nevada fish commission for 1889-90 stated that Mr. 
Oliver’s fish had multiplied so rapidly that he produced more than enough to supply 
his neighbors and the State commission with plants. An earthquake in June, 1887, 
however, destroyed these flourishing ponds. 
Mr. Taft, of Diamond Valley, in 1890, produced fish for the Eureka market and 
local consumption. The Humboldt River near Winnemucca was said to have an 
abundance of carp in 1890, some of the fish weighing 5 pounds and upward; they 
were sold in the Winnemucca markets, and were rather highly esteemed. 
In 1881 Hon. Thomas B. Rickey planted some carp in reservoirs and ditches con- 
nected with Alkali Lake, in Douglas County. The Nevada fish commission report for 
1889-90 stated that the fish had increased beyond all expectations in Alkali Lake, 
from which many fish had been taken and salted for home use. 
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE, FOOD VALUE, AND INJURIOUS QUALITIES OF CARP. 
In the Pacific States, as elsewhere, opinions differ widely as to the edible qualities 
of the carp, and as to whether the fish is not more injurious than useful. The various 
views entertained depend to a considerable extent on local conditions and are often 
based on limited observation and experience. Prejudice and preconceived ideas have 
also led to the formation of opinions favorable and unfavorable to the fish. 
The present feeling toward the carp in California, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho 
is generally adverse, and seems to represent a reaction from the favorable attitude 
which prevailed for a number of years after the acclimatization of the carp. The 
most extravagant statements regarding the food value of the fish were then enter- 
tained. We find in some State reports such superlative expressions as ‘‘carp are the 
most delicious fish that swim”; “carp as food-fish have no superior,” etc. — which 
excellence has hardly been claimed even by many who are thoroughly acquainted with 
and most favorably impressed with the edible qualities of the carp. With this high 
ideal in mind, it is not surprising that disappointment overtook those who stocked 
their ponds with these fish. 
Outside of the question of its food value, the carp is, iu the Pacific States, con- 
demned on a number of other grounds, which will be mentioned. 
In reservoirs and lakes, its habit of stirring up the mud and sediment makes the 
water roily. Reference is elsewhere made to the planting of fry of the predaceous 
muskelhinge in Lake Merced, near San Francisco, in order to secure the destruction 
of the carp, which were very abundant and constantly kept the water muddy. As this 
lake was one of the reservoirs for the water supply of San Francisco, the matter had 
considerable importance. Sea lions were previously placed in this lake for the same 
purpose. Mr. Babcock writes as follows on this subject: 
Carp have entered the Blue Lakes in Lake County. The Blue Lakes, three in number, were for- 
merly very striking and beautiful bodies of water. A. V. La Mott now tells me that lower Blue Lake is 
so muddy that its beauty is gone, the carp keeping the water roiled all the time. Lake Merced, property 
of the Spring Valley Water Company, in the city and county of San Francisco, was so damaged by 
