The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-03-27
TO GET RID OF CARP.

New York Tribune.

New York Tribune.
the German carp is unpopular. The fad
for this sluggish 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 will begin shortly on the
of Mays Landing, N. j., has undertaken to
Danish forever the creature that owes its
existence there to the fact that years ago
some misguided individual declared that
carp were fine fish. The difficult nature of
the task may be imagined when it is stated
that Burger is under bonds not to remove
from the river a single fish other than the
German carp, whose death sentence has
been signed. His only reward for this work
is the carp that he will take from the river.
In consideration of this reward the ex-
Termination of carp will not only guarantee
to remove the Objectionable fish from the
river, but will restock it with twenty thou
sand spawn of pike. pickerel and perch,
making the Schuylkill once more fisher
mans delight.
Henry Burger is not posing as a public
benefactor. Neither is he fishing enthusi-
asst who hopes by this great deed to per-
petuate his name In piscatorial annals. 1t
is simply a plain business proposition with
Burger. He says he will take from the
Schuylkill ten thousand pounds OF German
carp in a week by employing a fleet of
fishing boats. This enormous quantity of
the mud-grubbing carp will be marketed in
various cities as fast as ii can be shipped,
and Burger expects to sell every pound of
1t. The fish will be sold as carp, not cut UP
and disguised under another name. 1t is tin-
an oonr n a a naq P
hogfsh. Cut 1T ever so small 1t is carp still,
the most unappetizing of all the finny
tribe. 1t is only persons whose circum-
stances force them to buy the very mean
est food because their means will not al
low of penny being spent injudiciously
that are steady customers for the carp.
The fish sells In the ghetto, in the Italian
quarter, among the poor foreigners of any
nationality.
With this ignominious exit at poverty
prices 1T is hoped by all lovers of the game
fish the German carp will disappear en-
tirely from American waters The method
of removing him from the Schuylkill river
Will be by great nets, worked by wind
lasses from rowboats or piers. One way
of Kidding the river of the pest would be
by using dynamite. But this would kill all
fish Unfortunately. and IL is only desired
to remove the carp The only method left
to Burger therefore, is netting. The fish
grubs down in the mud of the river bed,
and the nets will be let down and raised
with monotonous regularity, the fishermen
dipping out the carp with a smaller net rs
fast as the large one brings them to the
surface With "a, sufficient number Of men
] hoped that the carp will be entirely re-
moved in a few weeks.
While it is necessary for Burger to re-
| turn all fish other than carp that the nets
| bring to the boats, 1t is not expected that
| the fishermen will be overworked by the
separation clause in the contract for since
|
| fish have been conspicuous chiefly by their
| absence. 1t Is known that the repulsive
| carp prey on the other finny denizens of
] the river, destroy their spawn and drive
| away those fish that cannot take their own
| part successfully. In course of time, there
| fore, the carp have come to be almost the
| sole possesSors of the stream, and fisher
men who love game fish have ceased to
| cast their lines into the Schuylkill Left to
| themselves the carp have increased and
multiplied to such an enormous extent that
| the river swarms with them. They have
| also grown to a huge size and no fish of
| the smaller variety is safe from their ag-
| gressiveness. So fast have they increased
| since the first were planted that il is evil
| dent the new spawn to be deposited will
| not be safe so long as a single carp re-
| mains in the Schuylkill. For that reason
| there are many who doubt Burgers ability
to carry out his contract and incline to the
belief that it would be best to use dyna-
mite and kill off everything that swims in
| the carp-infested waters, In order that
| genuine game fish may have a fighting
| chance for their lives there.