The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1882-01-01
CARP CULTURE
An Interesting Description OF tho Fish and
the Process and Manner of Its Cultivation
m pnnI upl 81 4.


The Carp has a toothless mouth, thick
lips, and four barbels on the upper jaw. In
place of the usual teeth of the mouth there
are number of stout teeth on the pharyn-
geal bones, which ARE arranged in three
rows The general color of the back and
sides is a dark, olive brown, the abdomen
often of whitish yellow or orange tint.
The carp, which is sometimes compared
with the buf1llo fish, does not resemble
it at all with the exception of the similarity
oftheir coat Of scales; nor does the flesh of
the buffalo fish ever attain the excellence of
that of the carp. There are three kinds of
carp, the leather, scale and mirror.
The leather carp has no scales at all or
sometimes a few on the back.
The scale carp has regularly concentrical-
| ly-arrangcd scales all over the body as other
The mirror carp are similar to the leather
carp, with the exception of twS or three
rows of large scales down the side. They
are all equally good for culture, the leather
shorter and more fleshy than the
scale. The carp are partial to STAG
nant waters, or such that do not how
too swiftly, with loamy, muddy bottom
and deep places covered with vegetation,
Many persons seem to think that they re-
quire exceedingly deep water, on the con
trary, they require shallow water, only a
hole here and there about three or four feet
deep, to protect themselves from the ex-
| IRENE heat i'll the dead of summer. The
carp feeds upon vegetable food as well as
upon worms and Larvae of aquatic insects,
which it turns up from the mud with the
head.
The carp grows little or none at all in the
cold winter months; warmth alone seems to
exercise a favorable influence upon it and
to promote growth. 1t is for this very
reason why they are especially adapted to
the waters of Texas and other Southern
States. To illustrate to you the rapid
growth of this wonderful fish | take
| pleasure in stating that Mr.. Ellis, Mr.. Sim
mons, Mr., Stewart, of the United States
Fish Commission, and myself, caught nine
of twelve carp placed in pond
on Mr.; Rogers plantation, near
and found that the largest was twenty-one
and half inches long, weighing exactly
| five pounds, the Others were au inch or two
shorter and not quite as heavy. These
| fish were at that time about sixteen months
old, and when put there the preceding year,
were only about four inches in length, sim
liar to those now being distributed by Mr..
Il. X, Robertson, Fish Commissioner ofthe
State. Persons getting carp to stock their
ponds should give them some
| attention, as they are rcmarka-
bly rapd growers, and a fine table fish
A carp weighing from four to five pounds
contains about 100000 eggs, but only about
500 or | 900 Of these ever reach maturity
The spawning season commences in Nav
ard lasts through June and July. Dur
ing the spawning season Il marked change
takes place in the male; small Jumps, like
warts, appearing on the skin of the head
and back, but they disappear after that sea
son. Just before spawning the fish become
quite lively and rise very often to the sur
face of the water. Several male fish keep
near the female; the latter swims
more swiftly on warm sunny morning
keeping usually close TO the top, followed
by the males. They lash the water in a
lively way, shooting through the water
near its surface, with tremulous movements
of the fins. This is the time wien the fe-
male drops the eggs, which are immediately
impregnated by the "milter." The female
drops from 400 to 500 eggs at time, reQuir-
ing four or five weeks before it has given up
the last egg. The eggs of the carp are adj
hesivc and adhere in Jumps to the OBJ
ject upon which they fall. Those eggs
which have nothing to cling to are lost com
pletely. The good IT we'll impregnated
eggs will develop themselves quickly, if
assisted by warn, weather. Traces of dusky
spots, or the eyes may be seen about the
sixth day and the small embryo fish will
appear in twelve or sixteen days according
| to the weather and temperature of the
water, or whether the water in which the
T, fish are Matched is deep or shallow. As |
have said before, ponds must not be too
deep, as the water will harbor fewer
insects and worms, which form q
part of the carp's food; besides, this
! fish does not grow rapidly in cold water.
A pond should be about three feet deep
| in the center, tapering up at the edges with
depth ofsix inches or foot. At the outlet
or sluice it should be deeper than at any other
point so as to allow the fish to winter
there, or for resting place in summer.
Should any brooks or streams fall into
ponds, ms is often the case with large ones,
they should be turned Off and run along
side the pond, when the latter can be sup
piled with water if required, This should be
done to guard against an overflow, for
no matter how inconsiderable, it would
have an injurious eject upon the fishes.
I The stream flowing right alongside of the
constant supply of water run into the pond.
In emptying ponds the greatest caution
should be taken to have the water flow out
very gradually; it requires several days,
for If the water is drawn off suddenly many
of the fish will settle in the mud
and not in the collector" or deep hole
at the outlet of the pond, thereby mourning
a heavy loss,
1t is not every natural pond that is
good one, having the essentials of good
soil at the bottom and capable of producing
sufficient food for the fish. If these cond!.
tons are wanting, the fish must be fed
Sandy bottoms with no clay furnish little
or no food, II the fish do need feeding,
feed them lightly, never give them too
much food at one time or feed them always
at the same place, as they will not scs1r
the bottom or take much exercise-,if
they find their food at the same
place, consequently becoming lAnsuid
Feed in the early morning or at SHUTDOWN
The carp, whether 1t bs scale, mirror or
leather, is one of the most excellent fresh
'Xatar fishas aud It's Introduction will be of