Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 300, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 December 1911 — Corn Fed Catfish Latest From Kansas [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Corn Fed Catfish Latest From Kansas

TOPEKA, Kan. —Ever hear of a cornfed, pedigreed catfish? Kansas has some and is going to have more. Prof. Ll L. Dycbe, curator of the Natural History museum of the State’ university and state fish and game warden, has undertaken to Improve fhq breed of catfish by the methods employed by expert breeders in improved hogs, cattle, sheep and chickens and the methods advised by sociologists to improve the human race —careful selection of mates. At the state fish hatchery at Pratt they are growing corn-fed .catfish that are as much of an improvement over the ordinary catfish, just by feeding alone, as the catfish is better than a buffalo as far as food value is concerned. The corn-fed Kansas steer and hog bring the highest prices in the N ' “ "We have one email pond at the. catchery that is flooded and lined wit W cement.” said Prof. Dycbe. “After the •pawning season is over and the little fish are old enough that they don’t need the mother’s cars, we take the big ones out of the spawning ponds •There we W feed them and they cis-

not eat the little ones. The worst trouble we have in a flab hatchery is the old fish eating young ones. “In this cement pond we put, amnng other varieties, s large number of catfish. Bass eat live food, frogs, fish, worms, snakes spd such, while the crappie and catfish live chiefly on vegetables. Every day we put chopped cornmeal and corn bread into that pond for the catfish. We put little goldfish sad small carp into it for the bass. The crappie eat corn and other vege tables and if he gets real hungry be will eat carp or beef, liver or grasshoppers. “We have catfish in other ponds that are not fed on corn and we have been rating both the corn-fed catfish and those that are not corn fed and there is all the difference in tbs world la the flavor of tbs two."