Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1882-03-01
CARP CVLTpRE IN WEST VIRGINIA
WATERS.

think the carp is, in the way of fish
food, the greatest blessing yet discover
ed.
All over our State, in the small
streams, and in private ponds, there is
an enthusiastic ambition to cultivate the
carp.
This fish, which has so recently been
distributed in the United States, has
shown a most remarkable annual
growth, greatly in excess of what has
been observed in the case of those bred
in their native waters i'll Germany.
They seem to find in our climate the
greatest abundance of natural food, and
the comparative mildness of the climate
permits them to feed through a much
more extended portion of each year
than is possible in Northern Europe.
They have been wonderfully prolific
and prosperous in the waters of the
neighbOring State of Maryland, and
equally so in OWL streams. But in
Maryland they are making a speciality
of their propagation, and with most en-
cOuraging results. Arecent report of L.
Il. FERGUSON, the Commissioner OF
Fisheries in Maryland, devotes consider
able space to this subject. A few ex-
tracts from this report, We have no
doubt, will be- read with avidity by a
great number of our people. The follow
ing gives some idea of the plan ofpropa-
eating them OH a small scale:
This fish is 80 admirably adapted for
domestic purposes, that every one i'll the
State who has even a small pond, such
as is usually devoted to the collection of
ice, should prepare it for rearing carp,
which being largely a vegetable feeder
a be raised at very little expense, and
can he utilized for the consumption of
the waste Of the kitchen and garden.
When the utilization of an ordinary ice
pond for carp culture is contemplated,
the essential points to be regarded
are 50 simple that it is only neceS-
sary TO suggest them in order to the
guidance of the most inexperienced
culturist. In the preparation of ponds
of this character it is not necessary that
the drainage from the surrounding fields
should he diverted, except when excess
sivSi in quantity or liable to become 81
after a heavy fall of rain. A certain
amount of such drainage, indeed, often
proves beneficial, as considerable guam
titles Of food, generally of 4 very deSir-
able nature, are thus conveyed into the
ponds; in the event of its being admit
1ed, however, an overflow must be
provided, which should be well protect
ed by wire cloth screens to prevent the
escape of the fish"
The Maryland commissioner quotes a
number of letters from parties who have
undertaken the culture of the carp.
Here is one:
"KOssE, LIMESTONE, Co., TEX.,l
june 2S, 1880.
DEAR SIR:-The German Carp sent
Samuel Bell and me last fall are doing
Us finely as any one could possibly ask.
When they arrived there was very little
water in u pond, so we put them in a
we'll with about four feet of water in il,
and connected the well with the tank
by means of small ditch, letting the
tank water fill it up; the ditch Vas left
open 80 that the water would not stag
nate. We put five of them in the tank
Tor pond, and fed all of them OR corn
bread and vegetables that had
seed, such as tomatoes, squashes,
etc, all of which they ate.
They seemed to like the
squash best and preferred it baked.
" = = g They are now about four
inches wide and a foot long. Corn
bread is their favOTite diet, and by feed
ing them at the same place every day
they become accustomed to look for it,
and now all We have to do when We
wish to look at them is to tie q piece of
stale bread On a string and float it on
the water, when they come up all round
il and scramble for it as hogs do for
corn. Fish in this section are scarce
and high, and the carp seems to be the
fish. Yours truly,
"NOLNEY METCALF."
Letters are given showing, in one in
stance, a growth in three months from
about three inches to four inches; in
another, in five months, from half an
ounce to two pounds or more; in
another, in twelve months, from three
inches in length to from fifteen to sew
enteen inches, and six to seven inches
in breadth.
But the most wonderful story comes
from Georgia from u gentleman in
Macon, who vOucheS tor its truth:
Yesterday Mr.. +. Witkowsky, who
OWLS the lanyard on the old COnfed-
crate armOry property, concluded to cut
the dam and clean out the pond in
order that he might introduce.his new
German carp. The pond contained a
large number ofsmaller fish, and among
them Mr.. WitkOwsky hoped to find his
four carp, which had been put into the
pond last May. He found three of the
fish; but to his establishment they were
by actual measurement twenty, twenty
two and twenty-five inches in length
respectively. The fourth escaped
through the cut in the dam. These
carp were but two or three inches long
when put in the pond, and their growth
is remarkable"
There is no doubt but that the cultiya-
ton of the carp will become a very ex-
tensive and profitable business in the
waters of West Virginia in the near
future. Certainly no other fish makes
more generous returns for the labor and
expense bestowed upon it, in this
climate.