1907] Notes. 71 



NOTE ON THE EUROPEAN CARP. 



To the Editor of The Ottawa Naturalist: 



The species of fish, which you kindly drew my attention 

 to at Lapointe's, the fish-dealer's, two large specimens of which 

 were purchased for the museum, is the European carp {Cyprinus 

 carpio). The specimens are from Lake Ontario, and were trans- 

 ported from Toronto to Ottawa. They weigh some 22 pounds 

 each, being within \ pound of each other; and measure respec- 

 tively: (1) 2 ft. 9 ins. long; 9 ins. deep; 1 ft. 10 ins. girth; (2) 

 2 ft. 8 ins. long; 10 ins. deep; 2 ft. girth. A number of much 

 smaller specimens were also seen at the same time in the market. 

 Another specimen of this species in the Fisheries Museum, from 

 the Bay of Quinte, near Belleville, Ont., is mentioned in the 

 Zoological Report of the Club; and Mr. Hurley, Fishery Officer, 

 states that the carps are infesting the Bay of Quinte in thousands. 

 When fresh the two specimens from the market manifested 

 high coloration; they were a vivid golden colour, and the 

 paired fins, opercular covers, and other parts were bright reddish, 

 a feature which Prof. Prince considers, probably, due to seasonal 

 characters, owing to the approach of the spawning time. The 

 structure of the carp is to be found treated of in various 

 ichthyological works, and, therefore, need not be entered into 

 here; and a very full account of how injudicious it has been 

 to introduce the German carp into our waters will be found 

 in an article entitled: "The Place of Carp in Fish-culture" 

 (Supplement No. 1 to the 29th Annual Report of the Depart- 

 ment of Marine and Fisheries, Fisheries Branch, 1896), by Prof. 

 E. E. Prince, Commissioner of Fisheries. 



Andrew Halkett. 



Ottawa, 22nd April, 1907. 



INJURY TO NESTS BY MUSKRATS. 



During the past week we have found three nests of the 

 Virginia rail and one nest of the American bittern, with the eggs 

 all smashed. As these nests were all located in marshes in 

 remote parts of the country, I have placed this destruction to the 

 credit of the muskrats, which are quite common in the district. 



I shall be very glad to have the views of some of our ornitho- 

 logical friends on this subject, and to know if my conclusions are 

 correct. 



W. J. Brown. 

 We.stmount, Que., June 3rd, 1907. 



