New-York tribune., 1903-03-22
TO GET RID OF CARP.
Contract to Erterminate This UTpde-
sirabIe Fish in Schuylkiu Ri0er.

The German carp is unpopular. The fad for
.hie sIurgish fish is dead and the fish itself
soon will be- Pennsylvania is the first State TO
declare that the carp must be killed OF in the
Interest Of more edible fish. The war VIII oegln
} ortly on the Schuylkll River. from "hich
Henry Burger, of Mays Landing N. j. mas
undertaken TO Danish forever the creature thit
.3ves its existence there to the fact that Jeal0
ooo some misguided individual declared that
,arp were fine fish. The difficult nature or th@
task may be imagined when it is stated that
Burger is under bonds not to remove from lne
river a single fish other than the German carp
1,hose death sentence has been signed. his
paiv reward for this work is the carp tha'
tr will take from the river. In cohSloe' a'io
Of this reward the extermlnator or carp WA
net only guarantee to remove the oboectlohahse
fish from the river, but will restock II win
twenty thousand spawn of pike, plckerel ail0
perch making the Schuylkill once more a nSleF-
mans delight
Henry Burger is not posing as a pubhc pehe-
fa, tor Neither is he a fishing enthusiast "ho
hcr-es by this great deed to perpetuate his name
in pscatorial annals 1t is simply a plain busl-
ness proposition with Burger. He says ne VIII
take from the Schuylkil ten thousand POUNDS ol
German carp in a week by employing d Hee' VI
fishing boats. This enormous QuahttS Vi lile
rnud grubbing carp will be marketed IN various
rites as fast as it can be shlppeo' anu bui SCI
,xrects to sell every pound OF it, Inc hsh VIII
be sold as carp, not cut up ana dlSsulseo uii01A
.no1her name 1t is unhandsome in appearance
.oarse and repellent, looking to per1eclioH 'iie
r;,rt of a hogfish. Cut it ever so snlah II IS
~ e+iI the most unappetizing OF all the finny
,r;,n It is only persons whose circumstances
f,-ce them to buy the very meanest 1000 De-
cause their means will not allo" OF d penny
being spent injudicously that are steauy GUS
toners for the carp. The fish sells IN the
Ghetto in the Italian quarter, among the poor
foreigners of any nationality
With this icnominious exit at poverty prices 1t
IS no1,cl 10y all lovers of the game fish the Ger
ma, earn will disappear entirely from American
waters The method of removing him from the
ScbuvIkiU River will be hy great nets, worked
tvvipdIasses frCm rowhoats or piers. One way
Of Riding the river of the pest would be by
usi.g dynamite. But this would kill all fish
inIistriminatey, and it is only desired to remove
tlf, carp The only method left to Burger
therefore, is netting. The fish grubs down in
III, mud of the river bed and the nets VIII be let
down and raised with monotonOus regularity
the fishermen dipping out the carp with a small
e. net as fast as the large one brings them to
the surface. With sufficient number of men
cr,r,loycd at this work at time it is hoped
that the carp will be entirely removed in a few
weeks
While it is necessary for Burger to return all
fish other than carp that the nets bring to the
beats it is not expected that the fishermen Will
be ovcrwOrked by the separation clause in the
contract, for since the carp were let loose in
the river other fish have been conspicuous chief
Is 10y their absence. It is known that the re-
1ul%ive carp prey the other finny denizens
Of the river, destroy their spawn and drive away
those fish that cannot take their part sue
CesscuIly In course Of time, therefore, the carp
have come to be almost the sole possessors
OF the stream, and fishermen who love game fish
have ceased to cast their lines into the Schuyl-
kill Left to themselves the carp have increased
ard multiplied to such enormous extent that
the river sWarms with them. They have also