San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1882-03-23
c,pp CULTURE IN TEX .S.
.,.a for The News by +. L. Y0ukrm, of Pal
estne. Texas,

esuhe' ieAas'
70 vouug carp fish, three or four in
n length be placed ia a lake or
eno oot In March, in September follow
;no thew will be grown to the length
i nt,rom ten to fourteen inches and will
ws;ch sometimes from one to one and a
S wo rounds. 1t requires three years to
ling a trout up to one pound. Such is
.hs wonderful growth of this new food.
ssb now being introduced into our lakes
and brooks for propagation. These
ssb subsist mainly upon vegetable food,
lint will not refuse worm or insect
when opportunity offers. They grow
IN any kind of water" but we must
beware of waters tinged too strongly
18th turpentines or products of coal
S;stillation. They grow faster with
GOOD. natural and abundant food, in
Rice. pure wuter. Too much feeding
;n;nres the water by the securing of the
remaining surplus. The natural food
of this fish is the products OF various
water plants, some of which l will now
proceed to describe:
1. The Great Caladium Esculentum-
This plant grows luxuriantly in water
twelve inches deep, or on the banks
hard by. 1t has esculent roots, filed
with farinaceous and amylaceous matter,
and is in some places used as human
food, hence the specific name. The
nlant is we'll suited to lakes; also as
fish shelter as we'll as food. Planted in
the margin of the lake, six to twelve
inches deep in water, it will grow up
continuously, three to four feet above
the surface, imme nsely large leaves,
sometimes two or three feet wide and
three or four feet long, giving the
shores or banks quite subtropical APP
pearance in the size and splendor of it's
foliage.
2. Nymphaca Odorata This charm
ing water plant grows in from few
inches of water to four feet deep, and
Yields an abundance of farinaceous
matter in it's stems, leaves and roots.
[See Cases Botanical Index, page SO.
it grows luxuriantly in water, and its
leaves, one foot broad, lie fiat upon the
water, affordiHg shade to the tinny
tribes beneath. Its curling stems make
a safe Judgment for the eggs of the
carp, and its pure white flowers which
dot the lake over, filling the valley with
fragrance, ripen seeds with are full Of
nutrition.
3. Nuphar Advena-Ca Calhoun, to the
Southern Stock Journal, is mistaken
as to the species (Luteum) of our Nup-
har. The yellow flowers of this species
have the odor of brandy, and leaves
both floating and erect. This is the
American species. The Luteum is the
European, and the seed contain a large
quantity of farinaceous matter, and
some species are used for food in other
countries. When planted in a lake or
aquarium it makes more vigorous
growth than any other variety OF aqua
tic plant, consequently it contributes
more toward purifying the water by
the large amount of oxygen supplied it,
and carbon absorbed from it, which is
so important to pure water and healthy
animal life in confinement. See Cases
Botanical Index, page 8. We fear that
its rapid growth renders IL too uncon-
trollable in srall ponds, but such luxu-
rance of development well suits it to
large lakes, where the amateur will ex-
perlence much pleasure in watching it's
triumphant progress over the waters.
4. Nelumbeum Luteum-There is
strange grandeur and an exquisite
beauty about this plant which excite
the admiration of all romantic lovers
of flowers, a sweetlovliness about them
which create desire to possess and Gull
tivate some of them. All water lilies
are lovely, but this one is gorgeous.
The flowers are a light canary color,
varying from white to pink, and often
five inches in diameter, and exquistely
fragrant. The seed receptacle, like the
flowers standing out of the water, is
a flat, circular surface, and constitutes
the base of an inverted cone, which is
perforated with holes for the accommo-
dation of the nuts. These are the
water chlnquepins. "The root contains
large percentage of mucilaginoIs and
farlnaceous matter, and is said to be
one OF the best known native vegeta-
bles for food" See Botanical Index,
page r.. "The tubers are farinaceous
and edible" See Gray's Manual OF
Botony, page ST We are apprehen-
sive, also, that the plant would not suit
small lakes on account of its rapid
growth. 1t might fill them up with
roots; but give it the great lakes OF
Texas, and we vouch for its success and
Its sublime developments in yielding
food and shelter.
8. The Nasturtium Oficinalis, or
Cress-This is avorite fish salad for
the table of the cyprine. They devour
it greedily. "fhey are particularly
fond of water crosses and other juicy
plants" See DIR. Hessel in American
Agriculturist, where he teaches us that
carp fish can hear. Plant the cress
hard by the edge of the lake, and 1t
Will send its limbs far out in the water.
"