Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 88.djvu/597

 Raising Goldfish by the Acre

���Millions of gold- fish are raised on this farm. More money can be made out of goldfish than out of grain

��IX T E N - SIVE gold- fish farm- i n g is more profitable than cattle - raising, in the opinion of Eugene Catte of Lang- <1 o n, Kansas. He has ten acres of ])onfls given over to the raising of the shiny little parlor fish. Millions of goldfish have been reared by Catte since he started in the business years ago, but the demand for goldfish continues to grow.

That fish farming is a paying business when conducted on a wholesale scale is evidenced by the fact that this Kansas farmer has been able to make as much money from his ten acres of goldfish ponds as other farmers from their one hundred and sixty acre farms. In fact, the industry has grown to such propor- tions that Catte has turned his big grain farm over to his son in order that he himself may devote all of his time to the raising of goldfish.

��Photo fromjifc by Dr. R. W. Sbufeldt

��Raising goldfish is no lazy man's job. You must wade in and sort out the market- able fish with your bare hands

��Years ago Catte started a private fish hatchery on a homestead h e had taken up near the foot of the sand hills. He was able to convert some bogs and .1 spring into a fish pond, where he began raising fish for the mar- ket. There soon sjjrang up such a de- mand for small fish, however, that Catte found it more paying to turn his atten- tion to goldfish. Now his business has grown to such an extent that his hatchery covers thirteen acres and is compose^ of fifteen ponds, ten of which are de\■cff€'?^ to goldfish.

Catte's busy season begins in the au- tumn. Most of his time is spent in wad- ing about in high rubber boots, sorting out the marketable fish with his bare hands. This is no lazy man's job. Gold- fish farming consists in something more than reading the newspaper on the back porch, waitin^f fnr the fish to grow.

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