1880.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
13 
A Distinguished Immigrant. — Professor 
Baird’s European Carp. 
In 1876, Professor Baird, U. S. Commissioner of 
Fisheries, having for a long time understood the 
importance of acclimating the Carp in this coun¬ 
try, engaged an eminent German fish-eulturist, Dr. 
Rudolph Hessel, to bring over a supply of the 
best varieties of this 
favorite European 
food-fish. The first 
experiment, in May, 
1876, was unsuccess¬ 
ful, owing to the ex¬ 
tremely high tem¬ 
perature encountered 
on the passage, and 
out of 300,with which 
he started, only four 
survived. Another 
unsuccessful attempt 
was made in Decem¬ 
ber of the same year, 
and seven more were 
brought from Hun 
gary, a large number 
having died on the 
passage. In May, 
1877, Dr. Hessel re¬ 
turned from a third 
trip, bringing to New 
York 345 young carp, 
227 of which were of 
the varieties known 
as the “ Leather 
Carp ” and “Mirror Carp,” and 118of the common 
or “ Scale Carp.” The U. S. Fish Commission was 
not ready to receive them, and they were placed 
for a time in ponds prepared for their reception in 
Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, under the superinten¬ 
dence of Major T. B. Ferguson, Maryland Commis¬ 
sioner of Fisheries. Here they throve and increased 
rapidly in size, and in May, 1878, one hundred and 
twenty were removed to the Government Carp 
Ponds, built for them on the Washington Monu¬ 
ment Reservation, in the City of Washington. 
These ponds, a plan of the essential portions of 
which is given be¬ 
low, are constructed 
after the best Ger¬ 
man models, and 
cover about twelve 
acres of land, in the 
vicinity of the Wash¬ 
ington Monument. 
The' Carp have 
now multiplied to 
such an extent that 
it is possible to be¬ 
gin the work of dis¬ 
tributing them, and, 
by the time this 
number of the Amer¬ 
ican Agriculturist 
reaches its readers, 
Prof. Baird’s messen¬ 
gers will have car¬ 
ried cans of young 
carp to all parts of 
the United States. 
The introduction of 
this new food-fish 
will be of great in¬ 
terest and impor¬ 
tance to all inland 
communities, for 
there is no ditch, 
pond,or mill-dam, or A, B, C, D, E ; and F, Hatching Ponds 
any boggy, muddy 
spot, which can be converted into a pond, in which 
they will not thrive. It will be strange if, within 
twenty years, carp do not become as common do¬ 
mestic animals as ducks or pigeons. Through the 
courtesy of Prof. Baird we are able to present an 
excellent engraving of the new fish, with which, 
before long, many of our readers will doubtless be¬ 
come more directly acquainted. 
The Carp belongs to the family known to natur¬ 
alists as the Cyprinidce, members of which are to be 
found in every stream and pond in North America. 
Good examples of this family are the common 
Goldfish, and the familiar brook species known 
everywhere by such names as “Dace,” “Chub,” 
“Red-fin,” “Fall-fish,” and “Shiner.” The 
“ Buffalo-fish ” of the West is also said to resemble 
it in mauy respects. The Carp, however, is the 
Fig. 1.— the European carp ( Ciprinus carpio.) 
king of his tribe, and those who know, do not hesi¬ 
tate to say that, as a food-fish, it far excels the best 
of them. “ In Paris, Berlin, and Hamburg,” writes 
Dr. Hesse], “ in spite of an abundant supply of dif¬ 
ferent salt and fresh-water fishes, the carp is always 
preferred to these, and, with the exception of the 
trout and salmon, it frequently commands a price 
three times as high as that of all the rest.” Arti¬ 
ficial culture, continued through many centuries, 
has developed in the carp a number of varieties, as 
strongly marked as those of sheep, dogs, pigeons, 
or other domestic animals. These are divided into 
three groups : the “ Scale Carp”, which most close¬ 
ly resembles the original form, having scales like 
ordinary fishes, and has four thread-like appen¬ 
dages, or barbels, under the chin; the “Mirror 
Carp ” has extraordinarily large scales, which run 
along the side of the body in three or four rows, 
the rest of the body being bare ; and the “ Leather” 
or “Naked Carp,” which is almost destitute of 
scales, having only a few along the line of the back. 
and has a thick, soft skin, which is velvety to the 
touch. Both the latter varieties are said to be much 
superior to the Scale Carp, which is best known, in 
flavor, hardness, and adaptation to confinement. A 
claim has been made that carp were introduced into 
America, and particularly into the Hudson River, 
many years ago, but this is quite unsubstantiated. 
The Carp has other and strong recommendations : 
It is, of all fish, the 
most readily propa¬ 
gated and reared. It 
has been domesti¬ 
cated in Europe from 
time immemorial, 
having been intro¬ 
duced manycenturieg* 
ago from Central Asia 
or China, where it is 
native. Carp soon 
become tame and eat 
from the hands of 
their keeper; Dr. 
Hessel handles those 
in the Government 
ponds as if they were 
tame kittens, and 
says that they come 
to him when he 
whistles. Their fe¬ 
cundity is great. A 
fish weighing four or 
five pounds lays 
400,000 to 500,000 or 
more eggs, and one of 
ten or fifteen pounds 
about 1,500,000. In Middle Europe they spawn 
from May to August, and the breeding season ap¬ 
pears to be nearly the same in Washington : In 1879 
they spawned here from June to September. The 
eggs are sticky, and cling to plants and twigs, 
hatching in from nine to eighteen days, according 
to temperature. The actual rate of increase is very 
great, owing in part to the fact that the parents do 
not devour their young. The 120 fish brought to 
Washington two years ago have increased to, at 
least, 20,000. It is thus able to populate a body of 
water to the fullest extent, filling up the available 
space with theirown 
kind, while carniv¬ 
orous species re¬ 
quire that a large 
number of other 
fishes on which they 
may prey inhabit the 
waters with them. 
Unlike the majority 
of American food- 
fishes, their diet is 
largely vegetable, and 
they are particular¬ 
ly fond of water- 
cresses and other 
juicy plants. They 
grow fat upon the 
alga ;,commonly call¬ 
ed “Frog-spittle,” 
which covers quiet 
waters. They also 
devour worms and 
insect-larvse, which 
they root out of the 
mud, and all kinds 
of refuse matter, 
such as the offal of 
kitchens, slaughter¬ 
houses, and brew¬ 
eries. By reason of 
these habits, they are 
harmless to other fishes 
inhabiting the same waters. “ The food-fish indigenous 
to the United States,” says Prof. Baird, “ which has 
been most widely distributed in the smaller ponds 
and lakes, is the Large-mouthed Black-Bass. This 
fish is very carnivorous, preying upon almost all spe¬ 
cies in the same waters. Even the Pickerel is said 
to decrease rapidly when in contact with it. The ne¬ 
cessity for fish-food is always a bar to a great in¬ 
crease of numbers among fishes, particularly in 
Fig. 2 .— PLAN OP GOVERNMENT CARP POND, WASHINGTON, D. C. 
G, Turtle Pond; If. Vatrh House: J, East Pond ; K, North-west Pond; L, South-west Pond; 
O, O, Outlets; P. P, Fountains. 
