BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 389 



car})" or why I sliould recommend this fish. Still less would I be in- 

 clined to do this if we are to understand by that name the gold bastard 

 carpj or chuh (?) Caraclno dorso crasslor, which, as I read, is found in 

 l^onds and rivers in Upper Saxony. 



There are still more races of deteriorated carp : 



Cyprimis elatus (French; ^^ carpe hossue^^), principally found in Italy. 



C. regina (French ; " carpe rcine^^). 



C. hungaricus (French; ^'■carpe de ffongrie"). 



C actiminatus. 



Xone of these will be of any interest to pisciculturists. 



I therefore say most emphatically : " Let people cease to seek after 

 colored carp ! " They are on the wrong road, and we ought not to be led 

 astray in this respect by the evidently not well-informed Americans.* 



"We are therefore not able to give a history of the colored carj), es- 

 pecially as the history of the European carp is still shrouded in dark- 

 ness. We know that its original home is Asia Minor and Persia, and 

 that it was known to the Greeks and Romans, but it is impossible to 

 say when it was first introduced into South and Central Germany and 

 into France, and whether it was the Eomans who, when entering those 

 countries as conquerors, introduced it. 



There is documentary evidence that it was cultivated in France as a 

 pond fish as early as 1258, and about the same time in Germany. It 

 was introduced into England in 1514, and into Denmark in 1060. 



Possibly I may be fortunate enough to give you some further infor- 

 mation relative to the carp in some future letter; at any rate, I shall be 

 on the lookout for farther information. 



My best thanks for the second batch of Sahno fontinalis, which are 



flourishing. I intend to express my thanks in a more .formal manner at 



some future time. 



liespectfully, j-ours, 



F. ZENTZ. 



TUE I»ECUI.IARITIES OF BlilTE CARP. 



BY HERR ECRARDT. 



[Translatiou. ] 



The hlue car}) is distinguished from the other varieties of carp by its 

 more compact build, its size, its blueish glittering color, when in the 

 water, and its darker color when out of the water, its quiet temperament, 

 and its greater capacity for taking and assimilating food. It does not 

 become fit to spawn till its fifth year, and at that time weighs 7 to 13 

 pounds. Its home is South Germany, especially the neighborhood of 

 Wlirzburg and Altenburg. It has been raised from Bohemian carj). I 



* Note in some other handwriting : The reverse is the case ! ! We (without evil inten- 

 tion) led the Americans astray! ! ! ' 



