The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1880-04-30
PROF. BAIRD'S EUROPEAN CARP.
A DISTINGUISHED 1srMIGRANT.

A DISTINGUISH ISIMIGRANT.
In 1915. Professor Baird, United
States Commissioner of Fisheries, hav-
ing for long time understood the i'm
portance Of acclimating the carp to this
country. engaged an eminent German
fish-culturist. 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
unsuccessful, owing to the extremely
high temperature encountered on the
passage. and out of 800, with which he
started. only four survived. Another
unsuccessful attempt was made in De
cember of the same year, and seven more
were brought from Hungary, large
number having died on the passage In
MAY. 1877. DIR. Hessel returned from a
third trip, bringing to New \ ork $40
Young carp. 227 of which were of the
varieties known as the Leather Carp
and Mirror Carp, - and us of the COM
mon or Scale Carp" The L. S. Fish
Commission was not ready to receive
them, and they were placed for time
in ponds prepared for their reception in
Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, under the
superintendence of Major T. b. Fergu-
son. Maryland Commissioner of Fish
cries. Here they throve and increased
rapidly in size, and in May, 1873, 120
were removed to the Government Carp
Ponds. built for them on the Washing
/ ton Monument Reservation, in the City
of Washington. These ponds are con-
structed after the best German models.
/ and cover about twelve acres of land, in
, the vicinity of the Washington Monu-
ment.
/ The carp have now multiplied to such
3 Il. = 81 70 .
work of distributing them. The intro
/ duction of this new food-fish will be of
great interest and Importance to all in
+ land communities, for there is no ditch,
/ pond, or mill-dam, or any bOggy, muddy
/ spot which can be converted into pond
! in which they viii not thrive. 1t will
! be strange if, within twenty years, carp
( do not become as common domestic ami
mails as ducks or pigeons.
The carp belongs to the family known
/ to naturalists as the "Cyprinida, =" men,
! bers OF which are TO be found in every
/ stream and pond in North America
I Good examples of this family are the
! common goldfish, and the familiar
| brook species known everywhere by such
! names as ''dace, " ''chub, " ''red-iin, -
/ -'fall-fish, - and ''shiner." " The "buffa-
( lo-tish'' of the west is also said to re-
! semble it in many respects. The carp,
! however, is the king of his tribe, and
! those who know do not hesitate to say
( that. as q food-fish. it far eXcelS the
| best of them. ''In Paris, Berlin. and
( Hamburg" " writes DR.. Hessel ''in spite
of an abundant supply of different salt
and fresh water fishes, the carp is al
/ ways preferred to these, and, with the
! exception of the trout and salmon, it
! frequently commands price three times
III. l.. oil
Cial 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 closely resembles the origin
al form, having scales like ordinary
/ fishes, and has four thread-like appen-
/ dages, or barbclS, under the chin the
/ Mirror Carp" has extraordinarily large
I scales, which run along the side Of the
/ body in three o. four rows, the rest of
I the body beingbare and tie Leather
/ OF Naked Carp" which is almost des-
/ titUtc 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 ''ScaIc Carp. -
which IS best known, in flavor, hard
/ ness, and adaptation to confinement. \
claim has been made that earn were IN
/ trOduced into America, and particular
/ ly into the Hudson river. many wears
! ago, but this is quite unsubstantiated.
/ The carp Has other and strong recon-
mendations: II is, OF all fish. the most
. readily propagated and reared 1t has
/ been domesticated in Europe from time
immemoTial, having been introduced
many centuries 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 fecuudity
( IS great, y fish weighing four or five
! pounds lays 400, 600 to 800. 600 or more
/ eggs, and one of ten or fifteen pounds
about 1,5OO, 600. In Middle Eur0pe
! they spawn from May to August. and
. the breeding season appears to be nearly
the same IN Washington. In 1879 they
spawned here from June 10 September.
! HE eggs are sticky, and cling 10 plants
I ana tWlGS, Matching in from nine to
eighteen days, according TO .empcraturc.
The actual rate of increase is very. areat
owing in part to the fact that tie pa
rents DO not deyOUT their young The
10 fish brought TO Washington two
y ttit9 ltHt llitt t5tSt-tl least ~.
I 600. 1t IS thus able to populate a BODY
! of water to the fullest extent. filling up
the available space with their own kind.
( while carnlVOrOUS species require that a
: large number of other fishes on which
I they may prey inhabit the waters with
! them. Unlike the majority of Ameri-
/ can food-fSheS, their diet is largely veg
etable, and they are particularly fond of
! water crosses and other juicy plants
They grow fat upon the ''alga, = com
+ monty called ''frOg-spittle, " which COW
/ erS quiet waters. They also dcvour
worms and insect-lary;c. which they
root out Of the mud, and all kinds of re
I fuse matter, such as the OfTal of kitch-
/ els, slaughter-EOuses, and breweries.-
/ By reason OF these habits they are harm
/ less 10 other fishes inhabitiug the same
waters. The fOOd-iish indigenous to
the United States,' SAYS Professor
Baird, (which has been most widely
distributed in the smaller ponds and
I lakes, Is the laTGe-mouthed black-bass.
Ihls hSh IS very CaniveTOuS proving
upon almost all species in the same wa
/ ters. Even tie pickerel IS said to de-
crease rapidly when in contact with il.
Tie necessity for fsh-food is ALWAYS
bar TO great increase Of numbers
among fishes, particularly in small
bodies Of water" Carp, on the other
hand, introduced into new waters, fills
a vacancy, aud not only do not decrease
Tho hg1 of Of I,o,. .ol.