The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1884-11-14
HE FOES OF FISH.
Some Recent Inquiries by the United
States Fish Commission.

fish. A paper by G. E. Sims, Jr., de-
scribes novel and unexpected enemy
to the pisc;culturist, discovered among
the weeds in his aquarium. in the shape
OF fish-eating plant. my attention
was first drawn to it, Mr.. Simms saws.
''by observing that several of the tiny
fish, without any apparent cause, were
lying dead on the weeds, while the rest
Of the brood looked perfectly healthy
and in good condition. At first | was
somewhat puzzled at the strange posi-
ton in which they were lying, and in
trying to move one with a small twic.
was still more surprised to find it was
held fast by the head, in what thought,
when | pulled the plant from the wa
ter, were the seed vessels; and still
closer examination revealed the strange
fact that others of the little fish had
been trapped by the tail, and in one or
two instances the head and tail of the
same fish had been swallowed by ada
cent bladders, thus forming with its
body a connecting bar between the two.
This is plant known to botanists as
Dricalaria vulgaris. A peculiar fact in
connection with it is that it has no roots
at any time of its life, and the floating,
root-like branches which are covered
with numerous capillary and much
divided leaves are interspersed with
tiny green vesicles, which were sup
posed by former school of botanists
to be filled with water, by which means
the plant was kept at the bottom until
the time of Towering, when the water
gave place to air, and the plant then
rose to the surface to allow its bloom to
expand. As a matter of fact, these
vesicles exercised no such function,
their real work being to entrap minute
crustaceans, worms, larvae, etc., for its
support, and without a good supply of
which it is impossible to keep it alive
in an aquarium.
Snakes and muskrats appear to be
chief among the enemies of the carp.
Reports made by Rud. Hessel, Super
intendent of the United States carp
ponds, during August and September,
1888, are quoted to show the destruc-
ton of young carp by snakes. In this
report Mr.. Hessel says: During the
past few days a great many snakes
have appeared at the ponds, many of
which have been killed, as follows:
August 4, 16; August 5, so; August g.,
81; August Z, 50; August 8, 80; August
9. IA; August 10, IS; August II, q.
This makes 221 snakes killed in one
week. In the smaller snakes I found
from nine to fifteen young carp, and in
the larger ones sometimes over twenty
FIVE, besides undigested skeletons of
fish. They contained no frogs or tad
poles. we can, therefore, see that one
medium-sized snake devours forty
young carp per day, for they digest
very quickly. That would make for
225 snakes 5000 carp per day, and 63,-
600 per week. That number is correct,
and it shows that snakes are more in
furious than cranes, herons and other
birds. l kill them by shooting, some
times only seeing small part of the
head in the water, or hiding beneath
water plants. I have had opportunity
to see how they catch the young fish,
and how they devour them. An old
wall constitutes their best hiding place.
often shoot them sitting in the
cracks of the old wall, the head look
ing outside, watching the poor little
fishes"
A paper by DR.. G. Hart Merriam on
THE Muskrat as a Fish-eater," says:
CAT q meeting of the Biological Society
of Washington, held in the National
Museum December IA, 1888, Mr.. Henry
w. Elliott spoke of the Appetite of the
Muskrat. He stated that in certain
parts Of Ohio the muskrat did great in
jury to carp ponds, not only by perfor-
ating the banks and dams and thus let
ting off the water, but also by actually
capturing and devouring the carp,
which is sluggish fish, often remaining
motionless, half buried in the mud. !"
In the discussion thatfollowed DR.. Ma
son Graham Ellzey said that
from boyhood he had been IA
miliar with the fact that the musk
rats sometimes eat fish. In fact, he had
seen muskrats in the act of devouring
fish that had been recently caught and
left upon the bank. The president, DR..
Charles A. White, narrated a similar
experience.
On the 9TH day of FEBRUARY, 1884,
brought this subject to the notice of the
Linn@an Society of New York, and
asked if any of the members knew the
muskrat to be a fish-eater. DR.. Edgar
A. Mearns said that he had long been
familiar'with the fact, and that it was
no uncommon thing to see muskrat
munching dead fish upon the borders
of the soft marshes along the Hudson.
He had shot them while so engaged.
In letter dated Charlottesville, Va.
March Is, 1884, Mr.. r. T. w. Duke
writes: "On Saturday evening |
caught, with a hook, carp which
would weigh about four pounds. Iput
it in my bath-tub filled with water.
Yesterday, about eight o'clock a. M, l
put the carp in small box, surrounded
it with wet moss, and forwarded it to
Lynchburg by express. 1t re1ched there
about four p. M, and I learn this morn
ing from my friend to whom it was
sent that when taken out and placed in
tub it was as lively as could be. We
ate small carp Sunday morning, and
thought it very good
The method frequently adopted by
fish culturists to destroy noxious fishes
is to introduce quicklime into the pond.
This for time exerts a very destructive
influence, but before long becomes
inert by shaking and forming a harm
less combination. If the water is drawn
off after lining, of course it would be
very much better, and at the end of a
week carp or any other fish could be
introduced. DR.. Rud. Hessel, Superin-
tendent of the carp pond, said, Novem-
Der %, 1888: ''Some forty eels have
been killed during the last eight days in
the East Pond, and there are still more.
One barrel of lime is required to exter-
inmate them. - Chicago Times.
A Horrid Husbands irony.
IsT ea1 Joav