Raising Goldfish for Premiums

 Raising Goldfish for Premiums 

    

     BACK in 1900, Eugene C. Shireman was selling washing powder for a company which had hit upon the bright idea of offering a small bowl and a pair of goldfish as a premium. This premium idea worked so well that they soon ran out of goldfish and Shireman decided to turn a swamp, which he had received as a legacy years ago, into a fish farm and sell his crop to the company. He stocked his pool with two hundred goldfish which multiplied rapidly. But by the time he was turning out sufficient fish to sell, the company had gone out of business. However, there were other outlets, and today the fish are sold through five-and-ten stores, pet shops, chain stores, drug stores, florists, department stores, etc. The various State Departments are also a market for goldfish which are used extensively in mosquito control work. The goldfish, which belong to the carp family, are exceedingly fond of the mosquito larvae and will clear a stagnant pond of water of these pests in no time. From a small start with 200 fish in 1900, Eugene Shireman has developed the famous Grassyfork Fisheries at Martinsville, Indiana, and has raised over 75,000,000 fish. Grassyfork Fisheries consist of 1,500 acres of gently rolling hills and give employment to 125 persons. There are 615 ponds as well as 216 hatching tanks. The ponds and tanks are terraced so that they can be fed with a continuous circuit of fresh water from the numerous springs located on the property. One hundred and sixty thousand carefully selected goldfish are reserved as breeding stock at the Grassyfork hatcheries. Branch shipping points are maintained at Chicago, Illinois, and Saddle River, New Jersey. From Martinsville the goldfish are shipped via a fleet of tank trucks. From Chicago and Saddle River the fish are shipped to the customers, via express, in peculiar, globe-shaped shipping cans. In addition to the goldfish, the Grassyfork hatcheries also raise some forty varieties of toy tropical fish which have recently become so popular, such as Gouramis, the live-bearing Guppies, Helleri, and other species. As these fish are less hardy than the common goldfish, the tanks in which they are raised are located indoors in greenhouses. An important part of this business is the aquatic plant department. About sixty varieties of water lilies are raised, besides perennials, marsh and bog plants, and all the other items necessary, to add beauty to pools and rock gardens. The price for goldfish runs from a nickel apiece for small common goldfish to $25 apiece for the relatively rare Moor “telescopes.” The most interesting goldfish and also the most valuable specimen ever seen in America was the famous Liberty Bond fish which was exhibited during the World War. The colors of this fish were red, white and blue and it was used to attract crowds during Liberty Loan drives of 1917 and 1918. The value placed on it at that time was $10,000. There is still a big market for goldfish among merchants and other business men who use them as premiums. The L. Fish Furniture Company, of Chicago, built its business, one of the largest in the world, that way. Fish furniture is sold on the installment plan. When a customer gets her account almost paid up, she is called upon by a salesman who presents her with a bowl of goldfish with “Mr. Fish’s compliments.” That breaks the ice. The salesman then proceeds to find out if the customer has an electric refrigerator. If not, he sells her one—on the installment plan, of course. If she has a refrigerator, he sells her a washing machine or some other electric appliance. In this way the company’s customers are kept on the books year after year.