22 
THE EUROPEAN CARP. 
The great interest which is being manifested 
in Fish Culture, and particularly the propaga¬ 
tion of carp, leads us to collect a few f£?cts and 
figures in regard to this rapidity growing in¬ 
dustry. A correspondent of the Country Gen¬ 
tleman gives the following: 
“The artificial propagation and culture of fish 
is a great and growing industry in the United 
States, and no species is of more importance 
than the distinguished immigrant, the European 
carp, Ciprinus carpio. This fish is being rapidly 
propagated in the national carp ponds at Wash¬ 
ington, and distributed to all parts of the coun¬ 
try. In"view of the importance of this govern¬ 
ment enterprise, especially to farmers who may 
have a pond at their disposal, or the “makings” 
of one, it may not be amiss to look a little into 
the history and characteristics of the fish. It is 
closely related to the gold-fish, red-fin, shiner, 
and several other fish common in the lakes and 
streams of America. The carp has been grown 
artificially for centuries, and like many do¬ 
mesticated animals, it has developed several 
distinct varieties. Of these there are three lead¬ 
ing groups—those with scales, like ordinary 
fishe3, called “scale carp”; the “mirror carp,” 
with very large scales in a band on each side 
of the body; and the “naked carp,” which has 
only a few scales along the top of the back, and 
a soft velvety skin on the rest of the surface. It 
is “naked carp” that is most largely propagated 
here, though some of the two other classes were 
brought from Germany. 
The first successful importation was made in 
May, 1877, when 345 youug carp were brought 
to New York. They spent their first season in 
ponds made for them at Baltimore, and were 
removed to the government carp ponds at Wash¬ 
ington in 1878. These ponds cover about twelve 
acres, in the vicinity of the monument. 
The carp is propagated very readily, and rear¬ 
ed with ease. A fish weighing five pounds lays 
from 400,000 to 500,000 eggs, and one of twice 
that weight will deposit the enormous number 
of 1,500,000 eggs. The carp spawn in the sum¬ 
mer; the eggs are sticky, and cling to grass, 
twigs, &c., and hatch in from ten to twenty days. 
This fish is a vegetarian, and in this important 
characteristic it differs from most other Ameri¬ 
can fiish grown for' food. The carp, on this 
account, is harmless to other fish. Prof. Baird 
has written: “The food fish indigenous to the 
United States, which has been most widely dis¬ 
tributed in the smaller ponds and lakes, is the 
large-mouthed black bass. This fish is very 
carnivorous, preying upon almost all species in 
the same w'aters. Even the pickerel is said to 
decrease rapidly when in contact with it. The 
necessity of fish food is always a bar to a great 
increase of numbers among fishes, particularly 
in small bodies of water.” Contrariwise, the 
carp do not decrease the number of other fish, 
but will supply them with food if it is thought 
desirable to grow them in the same waters with 
carnivorous fish. 
The carp accommodates itself readily to con¬ 
ditions that are considered unfavorable for the 
growth of most fish. “They are equally at home 
in lakes and streams, and in the merest puddles 
and ditches, and are found in the latitude of 
St. Petersburg as well as in Italy and Northern 
Africa.” To any farmer who has a small stream 
in which a pond may be made at a trifling ex¬ 
pense, the growing of carp is heartily recom¬ 
mended. The fish is a rapid grower, and es¬ 
pecially so in American waters. A carp in its 
fourth year will weigh nine or ten pounds here, 
while those in Europe of the same age are. about 
half as large. It grows more rapidly in the 
south than at the north. In New York and its 
latitude the season’s growth of a young carp 
averages not far from three pounds. 
The young carp are sent out in tin cans hold¬ 
ing a gallon of water and twenty fish. For 
larger shipments, ten-gallon cans are employed, 
which accommodate 150 to 200 fish. It has been 
found that the autumn is the best season to dis¬ 
tribute, as they Lre then better able to bear the 
transportation than in the spring. Those who 
eujoy delicate-flavored fish for the table, and 
can grow carp, should take the necessary steps 
to stock a pond and add fish-growing to the list 
of farm operations.” 
Mr. D. N. Kern of Lehigh Co. Pa., who has 
given considerable attention to carp culture 
writes as follows to a contemporary: 
“My six breeding carp commenced to spawn 
about the middle of May. When the little carp 
were first hatched they swam nearly on top of 
the water, but now they are three weeks old and 
some are two inches long, the greatest number 
are one and a half inches long and they keep 
pretty close to the bottom of the pond; that is 
where the water is about one foot deep. How 
many thousands I have got, I cannot say; per¬ 
haps fifty thousand. I expect I will have a 
hundred thousand in about one week from this 
date, June 18th. My old carp weighed three 
pounds last fall; at this date they weigh about 
four pounds. Two weeks ago I put four young 
( 
