TH'E CARP AND THE STICKLEBACK 



looked through it against the light to see how many 

 bands of annual growth there were. The examination 

 did not give any definite result. I could see, about the 

 middle of the scale, four bands corresponding to the 

 first four years of the creature's life in its youth, but, 

 towards the edge, the bands became narrower, inter- 

 rupted one another and joined up, not providing any 

 means by which I could form an opinion. The mystery 

 of this fish's life continued after its death. 



But if, in this particular instance, where certain 

 proofs were missing, the mystery continued, it was 

 different in other cases. We know the places where the 

 old carp live; we know, if not exactly, at least with a 

 certain degree of probability, how long they can live, 

 judging by the time when they were put into the water 

 still quite small. It is sometimes said that they may live 

 to be a hundred, even two hundred or more years old. 

 But people forget that the waters have been restocked 

 at different dates to make up for losses. Putting aside 

 fairy tales and exaggerations, we may reasonably give 

 the very large carp several decades, though it is not safe 

 to go too far, to go beyond half a century to a hundred; 

 the strength of the specimen and circumstances being 

 the main factors to take into consideration. 



In this capacity for longevity, two important facts 

 stand out above the rest. The first is the growth itself 

 and the great size to which it may attain. We often look 

 upon things with the eyes of custom and regard the 

 carp as a small or middle-sized fish, and leave it at that. 

 The real facts are different. The carp usually eaten are 

 young ones, like veal or lamb; they have hardly begun 

 to grow and are still far from their end. The individual 

 left to itself would continue to grow and get bigger for 

 many years to come. The adult, like the sheep or heifer, 

 is a creature tolerably large in size and quite heavy. 

 When one is met with, it is considered monstrous, 

 unusual, and astonishing; as a matter of fact, it is 

 perfectly normal. 



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