The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1884-09-11
THE CARP QUESTION.
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MrkINSEY, sept, 4. Special. An
article In the HERALD of late issue, takes
the position that carp culture II a failure
In Texas. Your correspondent directed
the attention Of prominent Collin county
| gentlemen thereto n sends tho HER
An the result. 4. Ice Fairos who loves
n good joke M we'll as the good things of
life says, | have been engaged III carp
| culture since 1881, when ! got two fish; NJ
that time, had no tank hut kept them
In n water box for one year.
nut them In my tank whlrh. !
made too weak and which ! lost
by my tank helng washed away. IN
the spring of lssl, | got thirty.two' l
nut them in n tank constructed by
throwing n dam across u ravlno and dig
ging IL out. | then left the lish tn raise
themselves. Occasionally feed them
corn, oats, wheat, bread, In lllrt the hsh
eat anything u hog Will. They viii
spawn when raised here, at II year old,
and under favorable circumstances viii
then weigh from two and n hall 10 lhree
pounds; are easily domeslicated. l
have some am now stall
feeding in n cool place. The carp Is II
beautiful fish, and rs to cdibilitv.
Ii r. tOOthsonc, no mattor now cooked
but boiled, and then battered ON u little
pepper, makes a dish AT fora king. The
ish nrc getting in the streams ana
creeks l suppose, rom some tanks
washed away by heavy rains. | am on
tho opinion tlat with ordinary care the
earn Is destined to prove Il cheap ami
vuluahl" article of food. .
Mir. Francis Emerson, President ol
the First National hnak, whu has one on
the best managed farms in the county,
atatos that he has cNperinlCnted win
the carp, and has no u II Is rrolitl
bic TO raise them. The greatest draw back
are depredntors fishing before ponds are
stocked. ON this point he was en-
phatic in his belief that the Legislature
should pass laws protecting this indus
try. Mr., Emerson gives many instances
of successful fish %raisers, but one trouble
is in constructing dams. They are not
made strong enough. DIR. q. A. Footc,
who has resided in Texas tor thirty
eight years and with whom n cannot
converse without being an enthusiast on
this subject said: | have been engaged in
raising carp about two years when got
n few small ones from the department
at Washington. | have eaten more
fish than | placed in the pond.
/ should say the fish will spawn
at a year old. and | am confident that
| this springs spawn will be of sufficient
size to eat by the last of October, | mean
ANYTHING over ten inches long be sufh
cient size. / caught one weighing eight
pounds from Capt. Rhea's tank. | don't
think they are quite so juicy and tooth
some when they get over five pounds.
| have indicated already that the carp
grows rapidly, say to twenty inches and
NOR, in length in Il year, but this, IN a
| feed mine once n week. Anything
will answer, bread, bran, shorts. lettuce,
turnip greens, corn, oats, are all de-
youred with avidity. | al call mine
up to the bank in a minute. ] am salts
fled that last night when | called them
up | saw at least fifty good big fellows at
the bank with half their back out of the
water. | do not raise fish except for my
own use and to send one occasionally
to my neighbors. | have made II a per-
feet success and have not the slightest
doubt that it would he more profitable
than raising poultry. II only care re-
CURED is to get the fish and make a pond
out OF which they cannot escape as the
carp is Il born rambler and ilourishes
best in warm water.
Prof. William Allen says: ! have in
my tank twenty l-year old carp. l do
know they will grow, for / have meas,
ured several at a year old, and | find
males measuring seventeen and females
twenty-five inches. | eau further state
that / derive great pleasure and instruc-
ton in noting the habits, etc., of the
fish, which Will probably not interest
HERALD readers.
Capt. w. A. Rea, in response: You
can say for me that | have thousands in
my tank, and have caught them weigh
ing 9and 10 pounds. | know the carp, il
let alone and kept in water, will thrive
The fish does not feed on the spawn,
grows and ~propagates rapidly, and, in
fact, the carp is without doubt q sue.
cess. The scale carp is better than any
other kind.
Numerous other gentlemen are en-
gagged and other instances might be
cited, but all Of the above named gentle
men are well-known to nearly every
citizen Of the county. 1t might be
added that so far as your correspondent
can learn, those who have given it at
tention have been pleased and think the
carp Just what is needed. There are
some who have constructed a weak
dam or permitted crawfish to injure
but they have the sense to blame them
selves.
1t might be further added that nearly
every one of these spoke in terms o
praise Of DR.. Baird, to whom they hat
applied for advice and information.
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For Congress.