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THE FARMER’S PRACTICAL LIBRARY
EDITED BY ERNEST INGERSOL ~
FISH CULTURE
BY
WILLIAM E. MEEHAN
The Farmer’s Practical Library
EDITED BY ERNEST INGERSOLL
Cloth 16mo _ Illustrated
From Kitchen to Garret. By VurcInra
TERHUNE VAN DE WATER.
piplenaoreee Entertainments. By RENEE
Stern, of the Congressional Library.
Home Waterworks. By Carieton_ J.
Lynpr, Professor of Physics in Mac-
donald College, Quebec.
Animal Competitors. By Ernest INGERSOLL.
Health on the Farm. By Dr. H. F.
Harris, Secretary Georgia State Board
of Health.
Co-operation Among Farmers. By Joun
LEE CouLTER.
Roads, Paths and Bridges. By L. W.
Pact, Chief of the Office of Public
Roads, U. S. Department of Agriculture.
Poems of Country Life. By GEORGE
S. BRYAN.
Electricity for the Farm and Home. By
FRANK KOESTER.
Fish Culture in Ponds and Other Inland
Waters. By WiuiLuIAM E. MEEHAN,
Supt. Public Aquarium, Philadelphia.
Village Improvement. By Parris. T.
FARWELL. In preparation.
The Satisfactions of Country Life. By
Dr. JaMes W. Rosertson, Principal of
Macdonald College, Quebec. In prep-
aration.
The Farm Mechanic. By L. W. Cuase,
Professor of Farm Mechanics in the
University of Nebraska. In prepara-
tion.
THE HON. WILLIAM E. MEEHAN.
FISH CULTURE
IN PONDS
AND OTHER INLAND WATERS
BY
WILLIAM E. MEEHAN
Formerly Fish Commissioner of Pentsylvania, Superintendent
Public Aquarium, Philadelphia
ILLUSTRATED
Hew Work
STURGIS & WALTON
COMPANY
1913
@
CopyriGcnHt, 1918, BY
STURGIS & WALTON COMPANY
Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1918
702008
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I PoND-CULTURBE OF BLACK BASS . . . « « 3
II SPAWNING OF BLACK BASS AND CARE OF Fry . 24
III Rocxk-Bass, Catico-Bass, AND SUN-FISHES 49
IV Cat-FisH CULTURE 59
V Carp CULTURE , 70
VI WATER FoR TROUT CULTURE . 86
VII Trout Ponps AND How To Buitp THEM 93
VIII CoNnstTRUCTION or A TROUT-HATCHERY «2
IX TAKING AND FERTILISING Trout Eaes . . 126
X TrRovuT HATCHING, AND CARE OF Fry . . 138
| BEARING YOUNG TROUT). 5 UM oR a RS 160
tem ATLANTIO SALMON LS eg 174
XIII Hatcuine FisHes’ Eces In Jags ... . . 178
XIV CULTURE OF THE YELLOW PERCH . 188
XV REARING PICKEREL AND MUSCALLONGE . . 200
XVI Wuite PercH, Strirep Bass, SMELTS AND SucK-
RAG at he eR ie ARO RD arse nN RE MRREITA | 5
XVII Frog CULTURE whe ae
XVIII Makine AND MANAGING AN AQUARIUM ‘ia eee
XIX THE CULTURE AND CURE OF GOLDFISH ene a
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Meeerout Hatching-frough 9. . - «6. 6 « + « « dI6®
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CRman-Pickerel, in an Aquarium . . . . . « « « 200:
Striped Bass (Roccus lineatus) . . . . . + + . S14
Common, or White, Sucker (Catostomus teres) . . . - 214
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FISH CULTURE
FISH CULTURE
CHAPTER I
POND-CULTURE OF BLACK BASS
WHEN the propagation of bass was first un-
dertaken in the United States, it was speedily
discovered that it is impossible to express eggs
and milt artificially from the ripe female and
male. The handling of ripe bass produces a
nervous condition which prevents their eject-
ment, and affects even a fish taken from the
nest in the act of spawning. Fish-culturists
were then driven to resort to pond-culture; that
is, to prepare bodies of water in which the fish
might naturally spawn and hatch their young.
Temperature and Volume of Water.—As
bass naturally inhabit warmer waters than
trout, it follows that water for a bass-cultural
plant in the Northern States must not be
directly from a spring or be of low temperature.
3
4. FISH CULTURE
River, stream or lake water, which during the
spawning season will not fall below 55 degrees,
preferably below 60 degrees, and only becomes
muddy after exceptionally heavy storms, and
then for a short time only, is necessary. Dur-
ing the breeding season, higher temperatures —
than those named, and water perpetually clean,
are very much to be desired. At 50 degrees
the fish will not spawn; and at 45 degrees both
eggs and fry will die.
A great volume of water is unnecessary, al-
though desirable, since it insures one against
any fear of a shortage in drought. Under
ordinary circumstances 500 gallons of water a
minute will be ample to operate a very large
plant, but, whatever the volume, it is of the
utmost importance that it be under complete
control. A fish-culturist who cannot regulate
his water-supply is likely to lose two-thirds of
his chances for successful work.
Water that becomes roily through storms is
not objectionable, provided the roiling is not
continued too long or is of too frequent occur-
rence, especially while the nests contain eggs.
For a short time muddy water has no percept-
POND-CULTURE OF BLACK BASS | 5
ible effect on fry, or advanced fry, and is bene-
ficial to mature fish.
As a rule the best water for both kinds of
bass is from a stream draining a lake. It is
even more desirable when taken directly from
the lake itself, because it is better aerated and
probably contains more plankton, or minute
surface forms of animal life which are essen-
tial as food for advanced fry and young bass,
and which are taken unconsciously by the large
fish. Next to water flowing from a lake is
stream water which is not too frequently spring
fed; and after this in value is river water.
Choice of Site—Three conditions are neces-
sary as a basis for successful cultivation of
small-mouthed bass; a favourable site, properly
constructed ponds, and suitable water. Nearly
all other problems which may and will arise
are either subordinate or sequences.
When seeking a suitable site for bass-ponds,
a decided pitch in the ground is not vital, as it
is only necessary to have sufficient for complete
drainage. A relatively large area of ground
is required if many thousand young fish are to
be fed, say at least 25 acres. A pond of half
6 FISH CULTURE
or three quarters of an acre cannot be expected
to yield more than 100,000 young fish, even with
a suitable number of accompanying fry-ponds;
indeed, not more than 50,000 or 60,000 could
ordinarily be expected.
Character of the Bottom.—When the small-
mouthed bass seeks a site for a nest it al-
most invariably selects a gravelly or rocky bot-
tom; but this is about the last selection the ex-
perienced bass-culturist will make for his pond.
His first choice would probably be a heavy clay.
through which water cannot percolate, or a spot
where the bottom can be made water-tight by
puddling it with clay. A stony or gravelly
bottom is not desirable, at least for breeding-
ponds, because the fish-culturist cannot have
absolute control over his brood-fish, as it would
be impossible to force them to use artificial
nests. Mucky ground for smallmouth-breed-
ing should be avoided, because in moving about
the fish are apt to keep the water muddy, thus
preventing frequent observation,—a very im-
portant feature in bass-culture. Swamp-land
is worthy of very favourable consideration, be-
cause, while the surface is apt to be wet and
POND-CULTURE OF BLACK BASS
soggy, the underlying material is likely to be
clay or heavy loam, impervious to seepage. On
the size and character of the gravelly spots or
muck-holes in it must rest the availability of
such property for the purposes of bass-ponds.
A pond cannot be built over a muck-hole of any
considerable depth.
Dams and Reservoirs.—A. wise man will not
build a pond for breeding bass by throwing a
dam across the stream which supplies the
water for his establishment. There are cogent
reasons for not using the bed of a stream for
such a purpose, among which are the fact that
the water-supply is beyond the ownér’s con-
trol, and in case of heavy rains he stands a
good chance of losing his entire stock. Not
having entire control of the supply, the fish-
culturist would also be at the mercy of varying
conditions of water-temperature. Further-
more, mud is almost certain to gather in the
bottoms, and there is danger of eggs being
smothered by it.
All ponds for a bass-cultural plant should
therefore be built to the right or left of the
supplying stream, and the water let into them
8 FISH CULTURE
by pipe or sluice, arranged as is recommended
hereafter.
The first work to be done is to make such
arrangements as will insure the easy flowing of
water from the sources to any part of the
grounds. If the fall in the land is sufficient, a
pipe of adequate size may be laid in the creek
at the upper end of the grounds, or above them,
so that the water can be carried to the pond by
gravity. When such piping is not feasible, a
dam must be built at the upper end of the prop-
erty high enough to carry the water where de-
sired. What may be called the reservoir, or
supply-dam, should not be solid from shore to
shore, but have a wide sluiceway at the chan-
nel-point, closed by splash-boards or gates,
which may be removed or opened during
freshets to carry away the surplus water and
maintain the reservoir at as nearly a normal
height as possible.
Where it can be done, an ideal plan is to
establish a regular reservoir at the upper end
of the establishment, where the water can rest
awhile, subside and breed plankton, and from
which the supply for the hatchery can be drawn.
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POND-CULTURE OF BLACK BASS 9
Concrete is the best material for dams across
a stream, but whether built of concrete, timber
or masonry, the lower face should not be per-
pendicular, especially if the stream is large or
its volume frequently changes, for if it is the
falling water will rapidly wash a big pool at
the base of the dam and is apt to cut under the
foundation. To ensure permanency the lower
face of the dam should be sloped, either un-
brokenly or in a slightly reversed curve from
the crown. The curved construction is the
most approved form to prevent pool formation
and undermining.
Construction of Ponds.——Ponds for black
bass may be dug below the surface of the ground
or built above it to accommodate the pitch of
the land, the fancy of the owner, or the reputa-
tion of the supplying stream for flooding. If
the land is flat, and the water to be introduced
by means of a dam across the stream, naturally
the ponds will be dug below the surface, and
perhaps in addition will need sides built up for
some distance above. If the land has a decided
pitch, then the natural course will be to build
the ponds entirely or almost entirely above the
10 FISH CULTURE
surface. Such construction may be considered
as ideal, because perfect drainage 1s then cer-
tain.
Earlier bass-culture was conducted in ponds
of very small dimensions, but with advancing
experience the area for breeding-fish was in-
creased, until now some almost approach the
size of lakes. Few now in use for breeders are
less than 200 by 75 feet; and the tendency is
to make them much larger. Four to five acres,
however, is about the limit that can conveniently
be cared for; and those who breed bass feel that
even that space can be more satisfactorily
handled, and with better results, when divided
into two or three breeding-ponds than as a
single body of water. Owing to the expense of
constructing very large ponds, and the length
of time required for their completion, it is ad-
visable when starting a bass plant to build one
or two ponds about 300 by 100 feet in order that
there may be an early stock of young fish.
Depth and Bottom.—The bottom of a pond
for fish-cultural purposes is divided into two
parts, one called the ‘‘kettle,’’ and the other the
‘‘spawning-shelf,’’ or simply ‘‘shelf.’’? The
POND-CULTURE OF BLACK BASS 11
first is an area at the outlet end of the pond
deeper than the shelf and intended as the winter
quarters of the bass. The second is the area in
which the bass spawn and spend the greater
part of the year, and is the shoalest part of the
pond, as well as of the greatest extent.
Some culturists prefer to construct a bottom
which slopes gradually downward from the
upper or inlet end to the lower or outlet. Un-
-questionably fish seem to do as well in a pond
of this character, and it does not necessarily
mean a loss of the spawning area. Bass often
build their nests in from six to eight feet of
water, although in such instances it is usually
late in the season. Ponds with a sloping bot-
tom throughout are not nearly as easily handled
and cared for as those in which the water over
the spawning shelf is approximately of even
depth. One desirable feature is the greater
ease with which the action and progress of the
fish may be watched during the spawning
period, or at any other time. Close observation
of bass is essential during the height of the
spawning season. At times there will be fresh-
ly laid eggs, eyed eggs, eggs just hatched, fry
12 FISH CULTURE
freshly hatched, fry collected and ready to rise
towards the surface of the water, all at the same
time.
Fry have been seen at nine oclock in the
morning tight against the bottom, and at three
o’clock in the afternoon swimming near the sur-
face. On occasions fry may be hugging the
stones on the nest, and half an hour later be ©
swimming freely two or three inches above the
bottom. In deep water or on sloping bottoms,
movements of the fry are apt to escape notice.
Before the culturist is aware of it, he will find
the edges of his pond black with advanced fry
which have escaped being impounded, and which
he will find extremely difficult to capture in
their entirety.
Sides and Outlets—Ponds with sides of
natural earth are better than those with sides
constructed of concrete, stones or boards. Be-
sides, the cost of artificial walls would be so
great as to be almost prohibitive. The only
drawback to the natural earth is the proneness
of muskrats to pierce them with holes, which de-
stroy the banks and often allow water to escape.
The sides of a bass-pond should always be
BASS HATCHERY AT MILL CREEK, MICH., SHOWING RE-
TAINING-WALL TO PREVENT FLOODING.
POND-CULTURE OF BLACK BASS 18
sodded to the water’s edge, both for beauty and
for the encouragement of grasshoppers and
crickets, which will occasionally fall into the
water and furnish food for the fish. There
should be a valve or regulating board at every
water-intake, so as to guage and control the
quantity of water used. The inflow-pipe or
sluice ought to be carefully screened, in order
to prevent the entry of any undesirable water-
life, as eels, and mud-puppies (otherwise known
as water-dogs or hellbenders) either of which
can do considerable damage. The outlet of the
brood-pond may be by splash-board or pipe, but
whichever is adopted it must be enclosed by
screens, to prevent either mature or small fish
from escaping. The desirable place for the
outlet is the centre of the breast of the pond.
It is also very important that arrangements be
made by which the water can be drawn off
gradually when desired, so as not to create a
suction sufficient to carry out of the pond any
small fish, which may have escaped from cribs
or pounds.
Brood-ponds should contain aquatic plants,
such as -the common water-lily (Nymphia
14 FISH CULTURE
odorata). During hot summer days bass love
to lie underneath the shade of its leaves, but
care must be taken not to permit the plants to
gain such a strong hold as to clog the pond and
prevent free work.
Quarters for Fry and Fingerlings.—Ponds
for the exclusive use of the advanced fry or
fingerlings of bass are just as necessary as
ponds for brood-fish. It is difficult to have too
many ponds. It is recommended that there be
not less than five fry-ponds for every brood-
pond of about ten thousand square feet, and
each of considerable area, with a combined area
equal at least to that of the brood-pond. The
more room there is for the advanced fry and
fingerlings the less will be the amount of canni-
balism.
A large number of medium-sized ponds for
advanced fry and fingerlings, instead of one or
two large ponds, is preferable, because it is es-
sential to control or closely supervise the fish,
which cannot be done if the body of water is
very large. The dimensions of the fry-ponds
will be governed by the available ground, the
quantity of natural food which can be bred,
POND-CULTURE OF BLACK BASS 15
the convenience of handling, and the number of
fish to be placed therein.
Again, it is emphasised on general principles
that the smaller the number of advanced fry
placed in a rearing-pond, the greater will be
the percentage when the period arrives for their
distribution. A pond of less than 30 by 20 feet
ought not to be considered for a moment, since
it would hardly rear 2,000 fish to be two months
old, probably much less. About 2500 square
feet, carrying approximately 20,000 advanced
fry to the age of thirty days, or the fingerling
stage, may be considered as a minimum.
The depth of water in the fry-pond is an im-
portant consideration. Young bass being rapid
growers during the first few months, in order
that they may develop freely and quickly
should have the highest temperature of water
naturally obtainable, so long as it does not ex-
ceed 85 degrees. It is for this reason that fry
ponds for bass are seldom more than two feet
deep, with a minimum of 12 inches, and with
a kettle at the lower end to facilitate the use of
a net when the water is drained off to take out
the fish.
16 FISH CULTURE
The shape of a fry-pond is immaterial, pro-
viding there are not many angles to prevent
quick and easy seining; yet it is an economy to
have fry-ponds longer than their width, so that
they may be more easily seined, since the
method is to seine them lengthwise and not
across.
Fry-ponds are to be located as close to the
breeding-ponds as possible, chiefly on account
of convenience in transferring, and close to-
gether, so that when sorting takes place the
different sizes of fish may be quickly changed
from one to another. If there be any consider-
able number they should be divided into groups,
each with a separate drainage system, and a
separate water-supply; for, as high tempera-
tures are necessary, such waters lose their
health-giving qualities very rapidly.
As soon as possible ponds enough should be
built to have two complete sets for use in alter-
nate years, so that while one set is used the
other can be drawn entirely clear of water from
September until March. ‘Two sets of ponds will
be found useful also because of the rapid
growth of aquatic plants, an essential feature
POND-CULTURE OF BLACK BASS 17
of a brood-pond. The drawing off of water en-
tirely from September until March is desirable
because it encourages the growth of plankton,
an essential feature in successful bass-culture,
and also because it destroys the larve of the
dragon-fly, and of water-beetles, the water-
beetles themselves and the crayfish, all destruc-
tive although furnishing food for the fishes.
Finally, the periodical drawing off of water as-
sists in keeping alge in check,—one of the
greatest nuisances known to fish-culturists.
Introduction of the Stock.—For some years
it was universally believed that mature
bass must, under all circumstances, be intro-
duced from their wild habitat into the hatchery
in the autumn, to insure their spawning the fol-
lowing spring. An impression prevailed that
the fish required time to accustom themselves
to their new environments, and to recover from
the excitement or terror of capture and trans-
portation.
Those who entertained this view may have
acquired it from the knowledge that some-
times, after abortive efforts had been made to
express eggs from a ripe female, she was un-
18 FISH CULTURE
able to perform that function herself. But the
experiences of Dwight Lydell, and of the late
Frank N. Clark, two authorities on the culture
of small-mouthed bass, and the observations
of others, seem to show conclusively that
neither terror nor excitement can be taken as
an explanation. Moreover, the same authori-
ties demonstrated that small-mouthed bass may
be introduced into hatchery ponds in the spring
and spawn the same season only when intro-
duced not earlier than ten days before the
regular spawning period. It is therefore a
hazardous procedure to depart from the prac-
tice of autumn introduction in the case of the
smallmouth. The spawning habits of the
largemouths, on the contrary, do not seem to be
affected or disturbed in any manner by the
time of their capture. Whether caught in au-
tumn, early spring, or when ripe, seems to
them a matter of indifference, for when the
breeding season arrives they follow the in-
stincts of their nature and fulfil the function
of reproduction.
A cautious bass man will put off securing his
supply of mature fish in the fall as long as he
POND-CULTURE OF BLACK BASS 19
ean safely do so. If he captures them while
the water is yet warm he is likely to lose many
of his best specimens through fungus. Be-
sides that, he does not want to begin taking
care of a lot of fish and providing food for
them until he has to do so. If the fish are in-
troduced in the fall, as it is impossible at that
time to distinguish sex, it is better to have
more than needed. The trouble and cost of
caring for any surplus during the winter is
trifling. When spring arrives, and the fish
develop to the point where the sex can be
determined, sorting must begin and continue
until the requisite number of males and females
is secured.
Feeding Mature Bass—For a day or two
after wild mature bass have been placed in
a breeding-pond it is not worth while to at-
tempt to feed them. It is better to allow them
a little time to grow accustomed to their new
quarters, and also to become quite hungry.
One of the difficult tasks to accomplish is to
induce small-mouthed bass to take other than
live food, especially when there are no domes-
ticated fish already in the pond; if bass are
20 FISH CULTURE
already there the work is greatly simplified,
because the new comers, seeing the ‘‘oldsters’’
rush forward to the meal, are more likely to do
likewise, if only to gratify their natural in-
stinct to keep their fellows from getting any-
thing they can possess for themselves.
Bass-culturists naturally resort to beef lungs
and liver if live food cannot be furnished.
Some believe it essential to cut these into
slices about the bigness of one’s little finger,
so as to make the pieces somewhat resemble
worms or fishes, and give them a wriggling mo-
tion as they sink, deceiving the bass into think-
ing that they are alive. The experience of
others shows that the energy expended in doing
this is unnecessary, for small-mouthed bass
can be induced to take lungs and liver cut in
an ordinary meat chopper through the largest
perforated plate, if time and patience are ex-
ercised. As soon as smallmouths have be-
come used to this food, they will eat it as readily
and eagerly as trout.
Bass, even in ponds, do not school as closely
or move with the same speed as trout, there-
fore artificial food must not be thrown at them
POND-CULTURE OF BLACK BASS 21
as rapidly or in the same manner as when feed-
ing trout. At the outset, when teaching bass
to take lungs and liver, only a piece or two
at a time should be cast into the water, and
then by the hand and not by means of a dipper
or spoon. If the pieces can be thrown so as to
cause them to skip a little, the chances of the
fish taking them will be greatly increased.
When feeding the first few times, mixing with
it a few minnows will induce the fish to take
the artificial food more readily. The best plan
is to throw two or three little strips of lung,
then a minnow or two, and immediately after
a few more pieces of meat.
Mature bass may become accustomed to the
artificial food in a week or two, but the cul-
turist need not lose heart if at the end of five
or six weeks they have not yet brought them-
selves to feed upon it. Efforts must be con-
tinued, for sooner or later, success will be
achieved. It will be a great aid if the feeder
makes a practice of casting the food upon the
water daily from the same spot on the bank of
the pond, for fish soon become accustomed to
their attendant and his ways, and if they are
22 FISH CULTURE
hungry hasten to the customary spot when he
appears in the hope of getting something to
eat. One fish-culturist never passes his feed-
ing-place without throwing some small objects
into the water, even if it is only a handful of
pebbles. The consequence is that whenever he
appears there is a rush of fish after him and
they will almost take liver from his fingers.
Minnows.—Small-mouthed bass grow sleek
and healthy on liver and lungs, although it is
admitted that minnows and crayfish, if they
can be secured, are the best food that can be
given. It is surprising what a quantity of
minnows a few bass can devour and digest in
a very short space of time. One hundred ma-
ture bass can readily dispose of 800 of the
small fishes without any trouble whatever in
an hour, when fed to them two or three at a
time. It is not advisable to furnish so many,
however, for if the bass average two apiece,
per day, they will not starve. Neither is it
well to feed them in such a way that by the
time the assistant is through all the minnows
have disappeared. Some advocate feeding one
half the number allotted for a meal, two and
POND-CULTURE OF BLACK BASS 23
three at a time, and then casting in the re-
mainder at once. It is argued that by this
method many of the minnows will escape for
the time being, and keep the bass busy for
half a day or more hunting them. This search-
ing for the food some men declare to be bene-
ficial.
There is one important exception to this
rule, however, namely, that just before the
spawning time the minnows must be thrown in
one at a time and eaten before another is tossed
in. It is inevitable that some nests will be
stolen and some may escape observation.
When this is the case, if there are any number
of minnows at large in the pond, they will have
the time of their lives when they come upon
the young bass. They know their opportunity
and will seize it. They are much larger than
the bass-fry, and a hundred or two healthy
minnows can easily devour several thousand
fry in two or three days; hence there must be
no minnows alive and free in the breeding-
pond at spawning time.
CHAPTER II
SPAWNING OF BLACK BASS AND CARE
OF FRY
Havine considered the character of the pond,
the quality and volume of the water-supply
and its disposition, the next important point
for presentation is that of the nests and their
adjuncts. Bass nests in a hatchery are of two
kinds: those provided by the culturist, and
those which the bass themselves make.
Artificial nests consist of a box containing
coarse gravel. The size of the box is some-
times determined by the size of the fish in the
breeding-pond, but ordinarily it is two feet
square, with two sides open. The bottom is
fitted with two strips, three to six inches wide.
The thicker the strips, the deeper the bed of
gravel. The top of the box is provided with a
board to strengthen it, and on which to place
a weight to keep the apparatus steady in the
24
s Salmoides).
U
r
ASS (Micropte
ACK B
LARGE-MOUTHED BLACK B
ASS (Micropterus Dolomieu)
MOUTHED BL
SMALL-
SPAWNING OF BLACK BASS 25
water, as well as to act as a sunshade to the
fish. A spot several inches deep and two feet
square is excavated in the pond, the box is
placed therein, and the hole filled with gravel,
varying from the size of a goose-egg to that of
a marble, to the top-level of the strips. It is
policy to place some of the large stones in the
centre, as a bass would do if it were construct-
ing the nest.
It is the male that selects the site for the
nest and gets it ready for use. He does this
before he has even looked about him for a
mate. If he has started early in the season,
say the latter part of May, while he is yet un-
ripe or ‘‘hard,’’ he sometimes digs for days
before the nest is completed to his satisfaction.
Construction of the Natural Nest.—The
nest-building season begins usually about the
middle or latter part of May and sometimes
does not end until after the first week in July.
As a rule the site for a nest is selected with
great care and with close attention to sur-
rounding conditions. Bottoms with small
loose stones, or with gravel or clean sand, are
invariably preferred. Places with large rocks
26 FISH CULTURE
or immovable stones are generally avoided.
Early in the spring nests are located in shal-
lows where the water is likely to catch the
warming rays of the sun earliest and receive
them the longest, but nests will often be located
in places shaded throughout the day; and to-
ward the close of the season they may be con-
structed in seven or more feet of water, doubt-
less because the shallows have become too
warm for the proper hatching of the eggs.
Wherever possible, a natural nest is placed in
close proximity to a large stone, a sunken log
or some other submerged object, which will
protect it from being violently washed by the
water in stormy weather.
A site selected, the male bass clears away the
mud and débris from a circular space, by ex-
ceedingly rapid fanning motions of the pec-
toral and ventral fins, and by slower sweeps of
his tail. Leaves and sticks are carried outside
the enclosure in his mouth. Stones and
pebbles are pushed into place by means of his
nose. Usually a slight concavity is noticed in
the natural nest, and should be imitated in the
artificial one. Sometimes a natural nest is
SPAWNING OF BLACK BASS 27
found almost perfectly level, due it is believed
to the rapid ripening of the male, which pre-
vents his completion of the work. If he is
nearly ripe, he is less likely to spend much time
in construction, but devotes himself rather to
thoroughly cleaning it and to working the
larger gravel to the centre, the two most im-
portant considerations. The larger stones are
centred in the nest because it is among them
that the bulk of the eggs are to be deposited.
Courting the Female-—When his house is
ready, the male bass seeks a female and pays
court to the first that he meets. He does so
without ascertaining whether or not she is ripe,
reserving for himself the privilege of reject-
ing or divorcing her after she has been to the
nest and proves unripe. On encountering a
female he begins the most grotesque contor-
tions. He will swim around her in erratic
circles, will nip her gently on the cheeks and
belly, rub against her and show himself off, in
his way, just as proudly as a cock bird does
when courting a hen. All the time he guides
her steadily towards the nest. At times she
appears to* accompany him willingly; then
28 FISH CULTURE
again she displays indifference and even re-
luctance at accepting his advances. When at
last he has succeeded in coaxing her to the nest,
it seems as if the coquette regarded his work of
nest-building with scorn or contempt. She is
apt to swim languidly several times over the
nest and then leave it, to the evident perturba-
tion of the male, for he redoubles his antics and
contortions, exhibiting as many as a negro in a
‘cake walk,’’ and guides her back again to the
nest.
This courting sometimes continues for two
or three hours before the female consents to
remain. Then if he finds she is hard, and the
egos cannot be expressed, he promptly drives
her away and goes in search of another female,
to whom he pays as assiduous court as he did
to the first. Should she prove ripe, the func-
tion of spawning is begun. If much delay oc-
curs in meeting a ripe female, he does not
accept the fact philosophically, but ‘‘runs
amuck.’’ He darts hither and thither over the
pond, and at the first nest in which he discovers
a ripe female, there ensues at once a free fight.
The raging bachelor dashes into the peaceful
SPAWNING OF BLACK BASS ~— 29
household, and does his best to thrash the male
owner and appropriate his mate. It is a bat-
tle often to the death, a struggle in which no
quarter is desired nor given, and in which the
female is apparently an uninterested specta-
tor, ready to accompany the victor. Whatever
the outcome, the nest is nearly certain to be
destroyed.
On account of the propensity of the male to go to
war when unable to find a ripe female, it is consid-
ered best by some not to stock a breeding-pond with
pairs, but to introduce females in the proportion of
about five females to three males. The surplus is not
lost, because it often happens that a male will nest a
second time, if he comes upon a ripe female after he
has hatched out the first lot of young and discards
them. All fish-culturists, however, do not advocate
or practice having the sexes in the proportion of five
females to three males. On the contrary, the majority
probably pair the fish evenly, and assert that no ill
effects have ever followed doing so.
It is a curious fact that no matter how many nests
there are in a pond every male is able to distinguish
his own from his neighbour’s. A male may be removed
from the nest at one end of the pond, taken to the
other and liberated, yet, even if the distance is a mile
or more, it will not be long before he will be found
30 FISH CULTURE
back again oft the nest he constructed. To prove this
fact it is only necessary to catch a male, mark him
and liberate him at once.
While the black bass is usually satisfied with one
female, monogamy is not an invariable habit. It is
said that sometimes a male, seeing a female passing
the nest, although he already has a mate, will rush
out and bring in the stranger, and add her to the
household. It is also said that occasionally, for some
reason or other, before the female has finished ejecting
her eggs, the male will become dissatisfied with her,
drive her away and bring in another mate to take her
place. Again, if a female is not attracted by the par-
ticular male, he will sometimes have great difficulty
in inducing her to remain. She will make efforts to
escape while he is doing all in his power to keep her.
Sometimes she succeeds in getting away, and mates
with another male, but rarely without a terrible battle
in which she may lose one or more of her fins, or be
otherwise injured. It is possible that when the female
is dissatisfied, 1t may not be due to a lack of attraction
on the part of the male, but that she is not suited
with the nest, particularly if it is restricted by an arti-
ficial box.
Behaviour when Spawning—The act of
spawning and impregnation is exceedingly in-
teresting. The male and female pass each
other in opposite directions, pressing their
SPAWNING OF BLACK BASS 31
bodies together, and thus assisting each other
in voiding the eggs and milt which issue almost
simultaneously, the eggs possibly an instant
ahead of the milt. If the eggs do not come
freely, the male will sometimes go to the length
of pressing the abdomen of the female with his
mouth, she working her tail rapidly as if to
loosen the tissues; indeed, frequent and plainly
visible tremors shake both male and female
from head to tail throughout the entire process.
The female does not yield all her eggs at
once. The larger the fish and the warmer the
water the greater will be the number of eggs
deposited at a single spawning. As a rule, one
period of spawning covers about half an hour,
but even then there is not an uninterrupted
flow of eggs; they issue in little spurts or jets,
from 30 to 60 seconds apart. There may be,
also, intervals from three to five minutes, dur-
ing which the pair swim around the nest,
coquetting with one another. At the end of
half an hour there is a cessation of egg-laying,
of indeterminate length, depending on the
temperature of the water and upon the condi-
tion of the,female. As a rule, two or three
32 FISH CULTURE
days elapse before all the eggs are deposited.
As soon as all the eggs are laid, the male
drives the female away and assumes full
charge of caring for the eggs and hatching
them. He moves slowly back and forth a few
inches above the nest, with intervals for rest
of perhaps a minute, keeping his pectoral fins
moving all the time, so as to fan away all dirt
or sediment, and often raising his body to an
acute angle so as to bring the fanning tail-fin
closer to the eggs. Every few minutes he will
carefully scrutinise all parts of the nest, to
make sure there is no dirt anywhere; and will
make short excursions to see that no enemies
nor curious fish are approaching too near.
During this period he exhibits marked
savagery,—seems to have lost nearly all sense
of fear. At such times a bass has been known
to rush fiercely at a man’s hand thrust into the
water, and bite it with all his might. After
the eggs have hatched, and when the culturist
is dipping the advanced fry from the nest, it
is not uncommon to have the old male rush at
the net and sometimes tear it. It is unsafe for
any fish to approach a nest while it is occupied
SPAWNING OF BLACK BASS 33
by eggs or fry, for a bass will not hesitate to
attack a fish three or four times its own size,
and will invariably succeed in driving it away, .
unless, as before described, it is another black
bass, one on a rampage for a mate. A bass
of one and a half pounds will put to flight two
or three carp of twenty to twenty-five pounds’
weight.
Bass which have been kept in breeding-ponds.
lose to some extent, in course of time, the
viciousness they display in a wild state when
spawning. Seeing mankind as often as they
do, and receiving food from their keepers
regularly, the fish become domesticated, and
the regular attendant, if he moves quietly, can
go around the pond and attend to his work
without disturbing them. Still, it is always
better at spawning time to approach a nest
only when necessary, and then in the quietest
and most inconspicuous manner possible.
Domestication of bass never extends to a point
where the male views a disturbance of his nest
with resignation. While not always as vicious
as when in a wild state, he will often display
strong anger and bite a man’s bare legs if he
— 384 FISH CULTURE
wades into the water, or strike at his hands
or at the net when the nest is being tampered
with.
During all the time of building the nest and
watching the eggs, and until long after the
little fish are hatched, the male bass does not
usually take any food. If food be dropped
into the nest he will pick it up and throw it
outside. It is said to be a fact that if a fish
has been killed, or for some reason driven
from the nest while the eggs are still un-
hatched, and another male comes along ‘and
takes possession, instead of assuming charge
and hatching the eggs as he finds them he will
simply treat the eggs as dirt, clean the nest,
and bring in a female to deposit a new stock.
Another curiosity of the spawning period is
the frequency with which a male will select for
his mate a female much larger than himself.
Out of forty-seven nests which I examined in
one natural pond, two-thirds of the males were
much smaller than the females; and, as a rule,
a female bass is larger than a male of the same
age. Except for a short time before spawning
actually begins it is extremely difficult to dis-
SPAWNING OF BLACK BASS 35
tinguish the male from the female,—indeed
most fish-culturists say it is impossible to do
so, in spite of the contrary belief among fish-
ermen. Just before spawning time the females
are rounder in outline than the males.
Barrenness occurs to a greater or less extent among
all fresh-water fishes, but this does not imply that a
female will be barren throughout her life. Some may
be barren one year and never again until there comes
what may be called a ‘‘change of life’’; or barren for
two or even three successive years, and then produce
good eggs. Intermittent barrenness is more common
among introduced fishes in captivity than among wild
indigenous species. One of the most conspicuous ex-
amples in the eastern United States is the rainbow
trout, of which half of the females in a single pond
have been barren in one year, and at the same time
half of the males were either without milt, or yielded
infertile milt. This, however, is merely an illustration
of a well known law of nature, that changed environ-
ment is likely to produce sterility in animal life.
Preference for Natural Nests—Many men
urge that artificial bass-nests should not be
placed nearer together than ten to fifteen feet;
and that the boxes ought to be so arranged that
the fish on one nest cannot see the fish on an-
36 FISH CULTURE
other; yet in particular cases, where it was
necessary for the nests actually to face each
other, no trouble was experienced. Moreover,
a number of bass have built natural nests im-
mediately outside and against the boxes of some
of the occupied artificial nests, and were not
disturbed. Several other fish built natural
nests close together and appeared to get along
well. This becomes more significant from the
fact that these bass were not domesticated in
any way, but were wild fish caught during the
spring in Lake Erie, and introduced into the
breeding-ponds, where they built nests and
spawned a few days after their arrival.
In every pond fish will be found which ab-
solutely refuse to make use of nests prepared
for them, however carefully constructed, but
will build their own, sometimes of inferior con-
struction. Some bass have, on occasions,
carried their apparently obstinate rejection of
an artificial nest so far as to scoop out a hole
in the muddy bottom, in which unfavourable
situation eggs were deposited and hatched.
Often the natural nests are larger and con-
tain more eggs than those which are artificially
SPAWNING OF BLACK BASS 37
built. A skilled bass-culturist in commenting
on this peculiarity said:
**In the use of the artificial or box nests, it is pos-
sible that the female selected by the male may be an
extraordinary fish. In their maneuvres back and
forth on the nest, it is my opinion that the female
sometimes becomes tired of her confinement, refuses
all persuasion of the male, and will not remain on the
nest until all of her eggs are cast. I noticed particu-
larly in one season, that the larger fish nearly always
occupied the natural nests, and it would naturally
follow that there would be found the largest number
of eggs. Of course this idea will not prevent an in-
crease in the size of the artificial box, but even then,
in my opinion, they are sometimes cramped for
room.”’
There is reason to believe that this opinion
is nearly correct, and it leads to the thought
that whenever the size and the character of the
bottom of a pond will permit it, natural nests
will be productive of more eggs and fish than
the same ponds with only artificial nests. The
bass-culturist quoted above, an ardent believer
in natural nests, said further:
‘*Where ponds are small in area, it is perhaps nec-
essary that artificial nests of some character be used,
38 FISH CULTURE
so as to provide more or less seclusion. From my
observation and experience, I should prefer, where
conditions permitted, to build no nests, but prepare
for the spawning season by arranging the pond as
follows: JI should construct the edges or shores of
the pond in irregular shape, allowing a point to pro-
ject here and there, creating small bays, somewhat
like one or two of the ponds at the Drayton Plains
Hatchery, Michigan. Then instead of using the arti-
ficial or box-nest, I should simply provide a sunshade,
set upon props or sticks, leaving all sides free and
open to the unrestricted movements of the fish. In
a pond of large area, I am satisfied that this is ample
shelter. It is only needed to protect the fish, while
hovering over the nest, from the direct rays of the
sun. The size and area of the pond would furnish
the same seclusion that is given in a pond of smaller
size by the box or Lydell nest.’’
Bass-fry and their Care—When the young
small-mouthed bass issue from the eggs they
are exceedingly small and almost transparent;
but in from 24 to 48 hours, depending on the
temperature of the water, they change to dark
brown and then to black, and resemble a newly
hatched tadpole. There is no such quick
change of colour with the large-mouthed bass,
in which the early stages of development of the
SPAWNING OF BLACK BASS 39
fry proceed much more slowly than in the case
of the smallmouth.
During the sac stage the fry of the small-
mouth huddle close among the stones in the
nest, a quivering and almost solid black mass.
In this period they cling so closely to the stones
that it is impossible to remove them without in-
juring and killing large numbers. As the fish
approach the advanced-fry stage they begin
slowly to rise. When the metamorphosis is
completed they approach close to the surface,
provided the water-temperature is right. If
when they are rising the temperature falls the
little fish will drop at once to the bottom. The
ascent from the nest to the surface is not sud-
den but gradual, and by a series of upward and
downward movements, covering a period of
about three days.
_
5
LY
=
Us
(Ameiur
COMMON BULLHEAD
CAT-FISH CULTURE 61
fish at that time contract fungus more readily
than some scaled fishes.
White and Yellow Cat-fishes—The white and
yellow cat-fishes, when transplanted from rivers
like the Delaware and the Hudson into interior
waters in the same latitude, develop a flavour
excelled by very few species. The yellow one
takes very kindly to being transferred from its
native environment, and land-locked, while the
white cat-fish accommodates itself to changes
nearly as well. Hence the culture of both these
species can be profitably carried on for market
purposes in towns removed some distance from
sea-port cities, since the prices for them in city
markets are very encouraging.
One man in Pennsylvania had a number of arti-
ficial ponds, each covering a considerable area of
ground. One or more of them had formerly been
mill-dams. At a certain period of the year he drew
down the water, thinned out his stock of young bull-
heads by netting them out and throwing away the
smallest, returning to the water only the largest and
best appearing, as he said that unless such thinning
took place the entire stock would be stunted and their
market value depreciated.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has for sev-
62 FISH CULTURE
eral years been engaged in the propagation of white
and yellow cat-fish on a large scale. It has, however,
been giving very little attention to pond-construction
for this species of fish, simply using types of ponds
already built. The only uniform features have been
natural clay banks and clay bottoms without any
gravel coverings. The most pretentious ponds as far
as size and general utility are concerned are at Tor-
resdale Station, in Philadelphia. One is 150 feet
Square; another is 275 feet long and 90 feet wide;
others are about 100 feet by 30 feet. The largest is
about six feet deep in the kettle, with an average
depth of a foot and a half all over the shelf. It was
formerly used for propagating sun-fish and_ bass.
It is excavated throughout and is fed by a small
stream. The first-mentioned pond is supplied by
water pumped into it from the Delaware River.
White and yellow cat-fish do equally well in both
ponds, and in 1908 the square pond yielded very nearly
200,000 cat-fish from about 300 brood fish of both sexes.
Spawning and Care of Young.—The spawn-
ing habits of the white and yellow cat-fish are
interesting. Although a nest-builder, the loca-
tion of the home and the habits of each are not-
ably different from those of the black bass.
Instead of selecting a stony or gravelly spot as
a small-mouthed bass would do, or a sandy
CAT-FISH CULTURE 63
place like the sun-fish, or a moss-grown bottom
like the large-mouthed bass, it chooses one of
the banks of the pond or a sharp depression in
the bottom. Here is excavated a tunnel or cave,
sometimes equal in length to the fish itself, and
several times larger in circumference.
The eggs, and there are many of them, are
deposited thickly on the bottom of the excava-
tion and fertilised, one of the parents taking a
position over them with only its head projecting
from the cavern. Here it remains almost mo-
tionless, rarely leaving for any purpose except
to drive away an intruder, or when stirred out
by a stick. Left alone, it will almost imme-
diately return to its household cares. The cat-
fish is a solemn and forbidding-looking creature
about the head, even under favourable circum-
stances, but there is something almost savage
in its aspect when guarding a nest. The cav-
ern, the position which the fish takes, with head
only projecting, and the warlike look in its eyes,
together with its capacious mouth, bring to
mind some fabled monster.
Under favourable water-conditions in Penn-
sylvania, both the white and yellow cat-fishes
64 FISH CULTURE
begin spawning about the latter part of June.
The period of incubation is about two weeks.
As soon as the young have absorbed their sacs
and are ready to swim up to the surface, they
are coaxed from their cavern to the water just
outside its entrance. Here they remain for a
day or two, being driven back daily into the
cave when the sun has gone down, or when en-
emies approach. Little by little, however, they
are led away, though kept closely herded, until
they appear on the surface of the water like a
big quivering black ball. In this manner they
work slowly back and forth over the pond. As
they move, the old fish swims slowly around
them, driving back into the mass any which may
stray. At this stage of their development the
fish-culturist steps in, and with one sweep of his
long-handled scoop-net gathers in the entire
school and transfers them to one of his small
ponds, where they can very quickly be taught
to eat ground liver, and, later, pieces of bread.
The fish grow quickly, and by the first of Sep-
tember are an inch or more long.
Profit in Pond-culture of the Cat-fish—Few
fishes offer greater possibilities than some of
CAT-FISH CULTURE 65
the cat-fish, notably the common bullhead and
the yellow cat-fish. Their cultivation is pecul-
iarly to be recommended to farmers. Almost
every man engaged in agriculture possesses @
piece of low wet land with a spring-run or a
small stream flowing through it. This land is
perhaps not extensive enough for ponds of a
sufficient size for commercial value, but it would
have to be less than half an acre to be too small
to be converted into two or three cat-fish ponds
large enough for an unfailing supply for table
use.
Mature fish in confinement will readily take
almost any food which may be given them.
They eat living minnows, dry bread, or chopped
lungs, with equal gusto, and in taking any float-
ing food make a sucking noise nearly as loud,
and remarkably similar to, that made by ill-bred
men when eating soup or drinking coffee.
Under favourable circumstances cat-fish will
be ready for the market when nearly two years
old, and certainly at the age of three. Their re-
markable tenacity of life should make them par-
ticularly valuable for the market, since there is
a very large element among consumers who in-
66 FISH CULTURE
sist on purchasing alive the fish they want for
their table, and living fish bring a much higher
price than those which are sent to the market
dead.
Preparation of Cat-fish Ponds.—Construct
one pond which will occupy about half the land
available, and three others which will occupy
the other half. The large one will be used for
breeding, and for the maintenance of fish more
than one year old; while the smaller ponds are
for the rearing of young fish up to the age of
one year. The sorting may all be done into
these three ponds. Two or three ponds about
300 feet long and 100 feet wide each, and ten
or twelve smaller ponds, would yield many hun-
dred thousand healthy fingerlings and yearlings
to be sold for stocking purposes. If, however,
it is designed to raise cat-fish for food and for
market there must be a decided increase in the
size and number of the larger ponds. It would
not be advisable to increase the size of the ponds
designed for keeping those less than a year old,
because they could not be easily and quickly
worked; but it might be desirable to increase the
number in order to permit sorting into three
CAT-FISH CULTURE 67
or more sizes at least three times in the first
twelve months.
Sorting fish into sizes several times during the year
is a very important duty of the fish-culturist. This
is true even when the young are not pronouncedly
cannibalistic. It is a well known fact that very young
fish of the same age vary considerably in size. When
allowed to remain unsorted, the larger annoy the
smaller, will not allow them to eat until they them-
selves are gorged, and chase them around the pond
between meals. As a result, the smaller fishes do not
grow, at least at the same rate as the larger. When
sorting is practised, the majority of the smaller, if
they are in good health, rapidly overtake the larger,
and there is not much difference in size when they
reach the yearling stage. At that age, the smallest,
or cullings, can be disposed of, leaving the others in
fine shape for rearing to market age. Where the
species are cannibalistic, sorting is imperative, if it
is not desired to lose more than fifty per cent. of the
young stock.
The larger the volume of water the more
rapidly the fish will grow. The quicker the
growth the sooner the fish will be ready for the
market. Ponds from three quarters to one acre
in area each are advised, with a length much
greater than their width. Very wide ponds are
68 FISH CULTURE
to be avoided, because of the difficulty in han-
dling the nets when fish are to be removed, un-
less it is possible to draw off all the water for
that purpose.
The character of the sides and bottoms of the
ponds for cat-fish culture is important. When
ponds are built for most types of fishes the bot-
toms are gravelled, and in some instances—
trout-culture for example—the sides are walled
with boards, stone or concrete; but ponds for
cat-fish must have the banks and bottoms of
clay,—at least those portions where the fish
spawn. The kettle, or deep portion, if not of
clay, may be of heavy mud, but not too deep.
There are two reasons for this: first, the clay
banks and bottoms are essential as nest-building
and spawning places; second, during the winter
months cat-fishes burrow to a greater or less
extent. They cannot do this where the bottom
is gravelly.
Two feet is a sufficient depth for the shelf,
although two and one-half or even three feet
is more desirable. The kettle should be from
five to six feet deep. Cat-fish do better where
the water is not too shallow, and for this reason
CAT-FISH CULTURE 69
the greater depth of the shelf is advised. The
shelf, a shoal part, had better comprise the
greater part of the pond, as it gives a larger
spawning-surface. The kettle naturally will be
located at the outlet end. Arrangements for
the inflow and outflow are the same as for bass
or any other warm-water fish-ponds—that is,
provide an inflow pipe, and for the outflow con-
crete gate-frames with splash-boards and
screens. About the same amount of water is
ordinarily used as for black bass, although cat-
fish can get along on a smaller supply. Too
little water breeds the dangerous fungus.
CHAPTER V
CARP CULTURE
Hap it not been for over-enthusiasm carp
farming would probably now be a very large and
valuable industry in the United States, and the
fish generally regarded with friendly eyes. In-
stead, it is undoubtedly the most execrated and
unjustly accused fish swimming in American
waters.
The introducers of the German carp have been
likened to Benedict Arnold. Many men have advo-
cated laws putting a bounty on the death of the fish
with a view to its extermination. Pennsylvania, in
order to prevent its increase, carried in its statute
books for a time a law imposing a heavy fine on any
person who planted carp in any of the waters of that
state.
There is not a fish-crime on the calendar that has
not been charged against the German carp; some
rightly, many more wrongly. It is accused of being
70
CARP CULTURE 71
a spawn-eater, probably with justice; also of destroy-
ing water-plants, which are almost as necessary to
the well being of fish-life as the water itself. This
charge is undoubtedly true. Wherever there has been
a decrease in game fishes it has been accounted re-
sponsible. There is little if any truth in this last
statement. In many instances where carp have been
pronounced the offenders, the decrease has been traced
to other agencies, chief among them man. The most
widespread condemnation is that it is unfit to eat,
as its flesh has a strong muddy flavour due to its
habit of rooting in the bottom of a pond or stream.
The bad reputation of the carp was gained
through over enthusiasm on the part of its
friends, and misapprehension regarding the re-
quirements of its successful pond-culture, when
first introduced into the United States. As a
matter of fact, while the carp is undoubtedly
very inferior in table qualities to many native
food-fishes, it is not an unpalatable fish when
reared in a suitable environment. It cannot be
so, since it is found on the bills of fare, at one
dollar a portion, of high-class restaurants in
New York and elsewhere. Without doubt,
many persons who have condemned the carp
most severely, have eaten it under the impres-
(2 FISH CULTURE
sion that they were being served with something
else. Mr. John W. Titcomb, formerly the head
of the Division of Fish Hatching of the United
States Bureau of Fisheries, relates that in Jan-
uary, 1902, 224 members and guests of the North
American Fish and Game Protective Associa-
tion were served with carp at a banquet, ate it
and pronounced it ‘‘good,’’ under the impres-
sion that it was baked red snapper.
Bad Reputation Due to Improper Culture.—
When the carp was first introduced into Amer-
ica the authorities very properly stated that it
was a highly esteemed fish in Germany andother
parts of Europe; that it was very prolific, easily
eared for, suitable for warm sluggish waters,
and specially adapted to pond culture. There
was an instant and widespread demand for the
new importation. Farmers who had duck-
ponds, built perhaps three quarters of a century
before and never cleaned, stocked them with
carp. Others built for their reception dams
across streams on their bog-lands, without tak-
ing the trouble to clear away the mud. Almost
any muck-hole containing a few hundred gallons
of water was considered fit to be utilised.
CARP CULTURE 73
The craze, for such only can it be called,
spread rapidly without any pretence of method
or intelligence until ‘‘almost every farmer had a
carp pond in his front yard, back yard, barn
yard, or somewhere.’’ The crash came when
the fish were large enough to be killed. As
might be expected they were inedible. Their
flesh fairly reeked with a smell and a taste of
filth. The disgusted farmers tore down their
dams and liberated the fish with blackened char-
acters into the public waters.
Unquestionably the carp is inferior to almost
every other fish native to waters like those of
Pennsylvania, but it is equally certain that if,
when it was first introduced into this country,
fish-culture had been advanced as far as it is
to-day, carp-farming would probably be a recog-
nised industry, yielding in the aggregate a huge
sum of money annually. As it is, a revulsion
of sentiment is slowly but surely taking place in
favour of this importation as a food-fish. :
Market Value.—The carp undisputably holds
an important place in the market. It is worth
several hundred thousand dollars a year to the
state of Ilinois. Over 40,000 pounds, two-
74 FISH CULTURE
thirds of which come from other states, are sold
weekly in the markets of Philadelphia, while
5,000,000 pounds are disposed of yearly in New
York. A five-pound live carp will sometimes
bring more in Philadelphia or New York than
a Delaware River roe-shad of the same weight.
Almost the entire industry in America to-day
depends on the carp caught from the rivers and
lakes, although a large proportion are held in
temporary ponds and pens before being sent to
market.
There is reason to believe that if states now
condemning this fish would recognise its market
value, would give encouragement to its citizens
and would instruct them in the proper methods
of culture, capital would speedily be invested
and carp-farming become a profitable industry,
as it is to-day in Germany. It should become
profitable, because the demand for carp in the
large cities is generally greater than the supply,
and because in the smaller cities a demand catl
likely be made for the fish. As carp-farming is
not generally carried on in this country, it is
impossible to say how large a tract would be
necessary to insure very profitable returns, but
CARP CULTURE (bs)
probably any reasonable amount would yield
fully as much, acre for acre, as land devoted to
vegetable produce. This is important, since a
carp-farm can be established on land which or-
dinarily yields little or nothing.
Ponds.—Hatching-houses and expensive ap-
paratus are unnecessary. The entire business
may be conducted by pond-culture. Mr. Leon
J. Cole, who prepared a bulletin for the United
States Bureau of Fisheries in 1905, entitled
‘‘German Carp in the United States,’’ says:
‘*A well appointed carp-cultural establishment has
at least three kinds of ponds, each adapted for a par-
ticular phase of industry.
**1. Spawning ponds.—Shallow ponds in which the
water is easily warmed by the sun and suitable for
the spawning fish.
‘*2. Raising ponds.—Ponds usually of medium size,
to which the fry are transferred and where they are
retained, isolated from the larger fish, until they are
a year or two old.
**3. Stock ponds.—Large ponds in which the fish
are kept until they have reached a marketable size;
this is usually considered to be when they have reached
a weight of two and three-quarters pounds to two and
a half pounds,’’
76 FISH CULTURE
To these Mr. Cole adds a fourth type, namely
winter ponds, located in sheltered spots, which
should have a depth of six to eight feet. Winter
ponds are only necessary where the stock or
raising ponds are not suitable for carrying fish
from autumn to spring, that is to say, where
the water would freeze to or nearly to the
bottom.
Generally, it is not wise to build any ponds
for the cultivation of carp by damming a stream
unless there is no possibility of a freshet.
Should it be found cheaper, and otherwise good
policy, to build in this manner, an artificial
ditch should be built the whole length of the
pond, at one side, to carry off surplus water.
If a dam built across a pond were to break out,
or an overflow to occur of any considerable
depth, an almost total loss of fish would result.
This is peculiarly the case with carp, for that
fish more than most follows currents and
changes in depths. If surrounding land be-
comes submerged, for instance, nearly every
carp will swim from the pond to the submerged
lands.
The third type, described by Mr. Cole as the
CARP CULTURE 77
‘‘stock-pond,’’ should be as large in area as
possible; it may properly be two or more acres
in extent. Conditions which call for restricted
areas for other species of fish do not obtain
with carp, on account of its proneness to follow
currents, so that there need be hardly any
restriction placed upon the size. It is only
important that, apart from the wintering
quarters or kettle, there should be at the lower
end splash-boards or gates which can be opened
easily to permit the water to be drawn off rap-
idly along a race or ditch into a pool known as
a ‘‘fish-pit,’? into which the carp will go and
where they can be netted out.
If desired, and this is recommended by Mr.
Cole, the fish-pit can be in the pond itself at
the place of outlet. Ditches from various parts
of the pond lead into other ditches which are
deeper, and these finally lead into the fish-pit
itself whence they can be taken out with dip-
nets.
Care of Carp.—There ought to be at least two.
stock-ponds so that one can be annually drained,
cleansed of sediment, and purified by the action
of air and weather. To insure the best results
18 FISH CULTURE
there should be a large number of spawning-
ponds of small size, each large enough to hold
not more than five fish, three females and two
males. They must also be very shallow so that
the water may be warmed rapidly by the sun.
Such ponds need not be more than 20 feet long,
and eight or ten feet wide. Raising-ponds for
advanced fry, fingerlings and yearlings, must
of necessity be much larger, and somewhat
deeper than spawning-ponds. They should not,
however, be of so great an area that they can not
be easily seined, and the fish handled quickly
and thoroughly ; but they must be large enough
to carry safely a number for at least one year,
preferably two.
To facilitate growth, the water should be
moderately warm, mostly shallow, and the ponds
supplied with an abundance of aquatic vegeta-
tion. A large volume of water is not essential,
but enough to insure proper aeration and to pre-
vent too high a temperature is necessary. Con-
trary to widespread belief there can be an ex-
cessive water-temperature, even for carp.
Rudolph Hessel, in his work ‘‘The Carp and
Its Culture in Rivers and Lakes and Its Intro-
CARP CULTURE 79
duction into America,’’ says that the inflow of
water into the pond should never be allowed to
be direct; as, for instance, a brook falling into
it. ‘‘This often causes the water to rise at an
inopportune time, carrying into the pond other
fishes, especially the rapacious pike. The carp
also has the disposition to swim towards the in-
flowing water, by which means it is drawn away
from its proper feeding place.’’ If this is cor-
rect, and from the investigation of Mr. Cole it
appears to be, then the inflow should be so ar-
ranged as not unduly to attract the fish to the
spot.
Kinds of Carp—tThere are three well defined
species of introduced carp more or less common
in American waters; namely the leather, mirror,
and scale carp. The leather carp is dis-
tinguished by its having no scales, or only a
few on its back, but, instead, a thick soft skin,
velvety to the touch. The mirror has three or
four rows of very large scales on its sides, the
rows being separated by a scaleless skin. The
scale carp is completely covered with scales, and
is neither more nor less than a developed form
of the original species. All three are rapid
80 FISH CULTURE
growers, attaining heavy weights and having the
reputation of great longevity. Specimens
weighing from 20 to 25 pounds are not uncom-
mon, and occasionally there are found some,
particularly of the mirror carp, which will turn
the scales at 40 pounds. In water of ordinary
temperature carp will acquire a weight of from
three to three and a half pounds when three
years. old, and where the water is warmer they
sometimes reach it in a year or two.
Spawning Habits—In the warmer parts of
the United States carp begin spawning as early
as April, but in the Middle States not until May
and June. Under ordinary circumstances they
require three years to reach maturity; but it
is said that under very favourable circum-
stances they sometimes spawn when only two
years old. According to Robert A. Poppe, carp
have been known to spawn when nine months
old. Whatever the age, fish first spawning are
from three to four pounds in weight, with a
length of from 15 to 18 inches. The eggs are
very small, but the number to each female is
exceedingly large, a female weighing from four
to five pounds yielding from 40,000 to 50,000
CARP CULTURE 81
eggs.