The Washington times., 1915-10-22
GOLDFISH PONDS. .
4. !: PAY GOOD PROFIT
But Much Hard Work Is De.
manded byKansas Farmers
y Winter Occupation.

TOPEKA. Kan. Oct. 22.-Ten acres Of
goldfish bring Eugene Cate. of Lang
don. Kan. more ready cash annually
than is cleaned up on the average 100
acre farm. But raising apd marketing
ten acres Of gold Ash IL no lazy mans
job. In fact. MIR. Cate puts In as
many days work In a year as does the
average farmer. Z.
His working season. however. differs
from that Of a farmer. His heavy work
begins In the fall, just about the time
the heavy farm work Is over for the
season. and II lasts all winter. Wading
months and sorting fsh with the bare
hands are some OF the inconveniences
suffered by the goldfish producer.
For many years Mr.. Cate has oper-
atcd a private hatchery In Reno coun-
~. near the little town Of Langdon.
Of the sand hills, some of the land be-
ing covered with bogs and springs. He
built ono pond and stocked II with FISH.
expecting to sell them on the market
fsh for ponds and creeks. and he quit
raising for tSs market and went into
the regular hatchery business.
Covers Thirteen Acres,
He gradually enlarged his hatchery.
until now II covers thirteen acres and Is
composed of fifteen ponds The indus
try grew to such proportions that Mr.
Cate has turned his grain farm over to
his son. and now devotes his time ex-
clusively to the production of fish.
For some years he raised game fish
and shipped them all over the West
Notwithsta nding that nearly every State
has a fish hatchery which supplies small
hsh for Its streams. ponds. and lakes
free of cost. Mr.. Cate has had no trou-
BILE disposing Of his hatch. He still
Missouri. Oklahoma, and Nebraska with
game fish. He sells direct to the Ne
braska fish department and also 10 the
Federal Government.
Il have found that there Is more
money In goldfish than game fish," said
he. "and l am gradually working into
that line. When a pond is filled with
game fish once. that ends II. One must
he looking for new customers all iS2
time for game FISH. But 1t Is different
with goldfish. You can get regular
Customers for them. Rig department
stores put In orders regularly for them.
rs DO many drug stores. All bird stores
keep n. supply OF goldfish on hand.
There Is a steady demand from regular
customers, and 1t is fine trade to
handle.
Harvest Just Opening.
Ten OF the fltteen ponds at the tatte
hatchery are now used In producing
goldfish. The harvest for this season
10 tust opening. Mr.. Cate is beginning
to drain his ponds and within the next
ten days he will begin shipping gold
fish to all parts of the country Every
train will take on from one to a dozen
cans. each containing from, 10n to 2od
fish. Two or three times week an
express car will he sent to LanEdon to
be loaded with tiny goldfish for Kansas
City. Omaha. st. Louis. or Chicago.
Where the shipments are made direct
without n change OF cars. Mr.. Cattc
depends upon the express messengers to
look after the fish in transit. When an
entire carload Is shipped he sends n
messenger along. One reason for his big
trade Is that he takes great care In
selecting breeders. His goldfish arc
considered the finest product. Just now
ne Is developing a fan tail breed that
Is in great demand.
"It is an interesting work" he said.
while the farmers in my vicinity feel
sorry to see me wading around in icy
water In the winter. l Just remind them
that l can take 1t easv in the summer
when they are burning up In the harv-
est fields. And am also comforted In
the thought that my seasons crop can
not he wiped out either by drought or
flood