402 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
The “Abstract of the Eleventh Census,” in a table showing the extent of carp- 
culture in the United States in the decade ending' in 1890, gives the following data for 
the States ot California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Idaho, and Utah: 
Number of carp-culturists 1,006 
Number of ponds and other bodies of water in which carp were planted.. 1, 241 
Number of carp planted 101, 617 
Value, of carp sold or used from private waters $15, 324 
The field inquiries conducted by the Fish Commission through Mr. W. A. Wilcox 
showed that the sales of carp by the fishermen increased annually from 1889 to 1892. 
Figures drawn from the books of the San Francisco dealers for the years 1893 and 1894 
indicate a continuation of the increase, the aggregate receipts in the latter year being 
about 20 per cent larger than in 1893. Following is a statement of the quantity and 
value of the carp taken for market in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers during a 
series of four years, as determined by Mr. Wilcox: 
Years. 
Pounds. 
Value. 
1889 
51, 214 
$1, 734 
1890 
58, 113 
1,974 
1891 
59, 618 
2, 016 
1892 
65, 662 
2, 191 
Total 
234, 607 
7,915 
The foregoing fish were taken with seines and fyke nets. The average gross price 
received by the fishermen was a little over 3 cents a pound each year. In addition to 
these fish, large quantities are known to be taken for local sale and home consumption 
in counties remote from the coast, for which no statistics are available. 
San Francisco is naturally the principal market for carp on the Pacific Coast. An 
examination of the records of the wholesale fish-dealers of that city by the writer and 
the California fish commission showed the receipts to have been 35,653 pounds in 1893 
and 42,580 pounds in 1894. The largest quantity handled in any one month was 10,142 
pounds in January, 1894. The figures for each month in the years named are given in 
the following table. In addition to these, many thousand pounds of carp are handled 
by the Chinese dealers, of which no accounts can be obtained. The catch of the Chinese 
fishermen can not be ascertained, owing to their suspicious disposition and their failure 
to keep any records. Mr. Babcock states that large quantities of carp are offered for 
sale in the Chinese markets every morning. It is likely that their aggregate trade in 
this fish is larger than that of all the other dealers. 
Statement by months of the number of pounds of carp handled by San Francisco dealers in 1893 and 1894. 
Months. 
J anuarv . . . 
February . . 
March 
Ax>ril 
May 
June 
J uly 
August 
September. 
October 
November. 
December . 
Total 
1893. 
1894. 
784 
10, 142 
709 
4, 755 
4,936 
6, 798 
3, 191 
2, 839 
660 
767 
1, 589 
699 
4,650 
729 
1,725 
383 
1, 531 
4, 396 
3, 982 
4, 969 
6,319 
4,461 
5, 577 
1, 642 
35, 653 
42, 580 
