The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1883-04-19
GERMAN CARP.
A Valuable Paper On Fish Culture
and Fish Ponds.
BY DIR. W. L. MoOREs .

bling article on carp culture. The fact
set down are CLEANED partly from pei
sOnal experience and partly from tina
of others.
The carp is thought to be native O
Asia, and was introduced into Europ
about the time of the latter Crusades
and has been bred on that continen
ever since, a period covering seYera
centuries. Although the carp wa
bred in several European countries, /
was owing to the greater adapta bility
of the country TO pond making, culti
waited 10 greater extent in the Ger
man states than elsewhere, and 1t il
probably from this fact that the fisf
is now generally known as the German
carp.
The German carp was introduced
into the United States In 1875 by Or.
! Rudolph Hessel. DE- II. made seEegal
jfneffectual efforts to import the carp be-
fore he succeeded in landihg alive 80
| pairs of adult fish at Washington, u.
| c. He deserves great credit for his un-
| firing efforts, regardless OF expense, To
introduce the fish into this country
! His report to congress-, written with a
view to induce the American people to
adopt the carp, shows him to be man
of scholarly attainments, and master OF
the subject he reports upon. He now
has charge OF the government hatch
ings at Washington, whence hundreds
of thousands of young carp are annu-
ally shipped to the states by the U. s.
Fish Commission.
There are three varieties of the Ger
man cSrp,kviz.: The Leather, the Scale
and the Mirror carp. The Mirror carp,
(cypriniuS ca7pio specUldriS) or as it is
cntOofiTnns NolIod holt scala oor0
i0he only one of the carp family
1 am acquainted with from personal eX-
perience or observation This fish has
only three rows of scales on each side, a
band of yellowish or ''sky-blue" integ-
ument lying between each row. This
arrangement of the scales and the
unique blending of colors give a four
pound Mirror carp beautiful and pic
turesque appearance.
In shape the carp resembles the buff
falO fish; and but for its color and
scale arrangement might be mistaken
for that fish at little distance from 1t.
It's mouth, OF bright yellow color in
side, is shaped somewhat like that of
the sucker or red-horse, but is pro-
vided with pair of barbels after the
order Of the catfish. The skin is
thick and tough, but will peel off the
flesh as easily as that OF an eel. The
muscles and bones are arranged much
like the buffalo's and the taste also re-
minds one OF that fish, though it is
claimed by, epicures to be of much
finer flavor. Indeed, am of the opin-
ion that the German carp, the red
no rse, so-called, the buffalo land the
A merican carp belong to a family
whose kinship though somewhat re-
Nf1 aoT iIUYh hu ,fah ff-h
though the carp has an inter-muscular
bone, ir is not TO be understood that it
has the ''bundle" bone, peculiar to the
lower orders of the sucker tribe, CIR
cumstance that would weigh much
against its popularity as table fish. On
che contrary, we are informed on the
OF DIR. Hessel that the carp is
more sought after by the aesthetic |
Frenchman and commands a much
higher price than any other fish in the |
markets of Paris, where are to be found |
every variety of the food fishes, includ
ing the Salmon, the reputed prince of
edible fishes.
The German carp, sometimes styled
the "flsh OF civiliZa ION" or the "farm-
er's ish," is a saltwater fish, a fact |
which renders it specially, adapted TO
culture in ponds or lakes. In point OF
fact he is lazy, and a irregular glutton as
q food consumer. AS 1 can better il
lus'rate the growth, by referring 10 my
experience and that of my friend Mr..
Clayton, who has given me access TO
his ponds at all times for the purpose
OF observation or experiment. 1 re-
ceived eleven pairs OF young carps from
the U. 5. Fish Commissioner, Noyem-
Der 30th, 1881, and not having my pond
finished, they were placed in box in
my spring, where they remained TAX
ing but little food until May 1st, 1882,
when they were released in the pond
The average length l presume was
about four inches-weight one and
half ounces. Six weeks after being re-
leased cat caught one that weighed
nine ounces. 1 drained nv pond
March 10th, 1888, and the average
weight on the scales was four pounds.
This is no more than they would have
weighed Nov. 10Th, for about that time
the carp ceases to feed, and seeks
quarters for his long winter nap. So
we see the increase in weight from
May 1sG TO November 18th, six and
half months, was pounds l416 ounces.
This represents the growth for one
year, as the growth during the winter
months when they take no food amounts
to nothing. MIR. Clayton's fish are one
year older, and their average weight
last fall was eight pounds. Mr.. C's
fish were not led, and zine were set
back so to speak by being confined In
a small space in cold spring water for
five months. do not think this should
be set down as fair test OF their capac-
ity for growth in favorable water,
where the supply of food is unlimited.
The u. 5, Fish Commissioner says he
shipped a carp two inches long to a
gentleman in Georgia and received the
same fish back In,twelve months weigh
ing seven pounds. 1t may be well to
note the fact here, that the season in
the climate of Georgia in which the
carp will take food IS longer than in
Tennessee. Mr.. Geo. Finley OF Pitts
burg, Pa, good authority on carp cul-
lures, writes me a fve-pound carp at
three years old is considered profita-
BILE fish in his latitude, l feel war
this climate may be produced in halt
that time, or eighteen months.
The ultimate size to which the carp
may attain depends doubtless on the
supply of food, and the area OF water in
which he lives. In Europe he grows
to weigh fifty or even seventy-five
pounds, in the great two thousand acre
ponds OF Bohemia, and Austro Hunga-
ry; but do not think we need expect
such giants in the diminutive ponds OF
this country though we may look for
twenty. FOUNDER in a reasonably
short period.
The carp will spawn in this latitude,
all things being equal, at the age OF
two years. They will commence
spawning the first warm spell OF wealth
er in the latter half of May or about the
first OF June, and continue for several
days, or until the weather turns cooler,
and resume when favorable. This
! order of business seems to be kept up
during the entire summer, for on ex-
kamining the small fry in the fall it will
be found the sizes range from five
inches down to steel pen. The eggs
are deposited upon and adhere to wa
ter plants, roots, stones and brush near
the margins of the pond, and in shall
low water. Eggs that do not adhere to
something of this sort but fall to the
bottom are lost. In view of these facts
it is obvious that ponds not affording
these facilities for the Judgement OF
eggs should be provided with a guam
rity of brush WOOD tied in bundles and
placed in shallow water near the mar
| gin. l saw very gratifying results fol-
| low this procedure last season.
The quantity of eggs deposited dur
! ing the spawning season by single fe-
male carp is enormous. Hessel counted
& number Of eggs and weighed them,
and then weighed the whole mass OF
1 r. 4 -