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SCANDINAVIAN FISHES. 



su|)])lied witli a continual flow of fresh water. In 

 summer, so long as the water is not too warm, Carp 

 frequent sliallow and sunny spots; in winter they flock 

 together in deep pools. 



The adult Carp is sluggish and peaceable in dispo- 

 sition, though frecjuently migratory in its habits, espe- 

 cially during the spawning-season. It is highly sensitive 

 to heat and cold: during the colder part of the year 

 it abstains from food. Still it is very tenacious of life, 

 and may be transported long distances alive. It maj' 

 also be transferred from its native liaunts to some ar- 

 tificial receptacle, where it maj' be kept alive for a 

 long time, and better seen to and fattened. This is an 

 old custom, resorted to especially for the purpose of 

 freeing Pond Carp from their muddy flavour. Packed 

 in damp moss or ice, and with a bit of bread dipped in 

 spirits in the mouth, the Carp can live at least twenty- 

 four hours or more. The above-mentioned Mirror Carp 

 from Sundbyholm was sent to the Royal Museum alive 

 in a bucket, and was kept alive in a tub for some days. 

 One morning it was found to have leapt out of the 

 tub, and lay on its side apparently dead. It was re- 

 stored to the water, but floated belly upwards and did 

 not move a limb. It was then given a dessert-spoonful 

 of spirits, and began after some minutes faintly to move 

 its pectoral fins. After a quarter of an hour the dose 

 was repeated, and within an hour tJie fish moved about 

 with ease, as if nothing had happened. During the warm 

 season, however, the Carp soon dies of suffocation, if 

 prevented from coming up to the surface to breathe. 

 BuCKLAND tells" an amusing anecdote of its habit of 

 l^reathing air. In an Irish lake fairies were seen danc- 

 ing on the water during calm, moonlight nights — the 

 fairies being large Carp that made rings at the surface 

 by smacking their lips as they breathed. 



The food of the Carp is both animal and vegetal )le, 

 consisting of seeds, fisii-roe, and insects; but it never, 

 or extremely seldom, Ijites at a fly. Its favourite 

 nourishment is composed of decomposing vegetable 

 substances, worms, Entomostraca, and the larvae of in- 

 sects. The mud swallowed by it can hardly be included 



among its food, but seems necessary to its digestion 

 and general healtli. 



The spawning-season occurs in May or June, but 

 may sometimes be protracted till the month of August, 

 being often interrupted during unfavourable weather. 

 At this time the Carp is exceedingly restless and bold, 

 darting wildly about, jumping out of the wiiter, and 

 leaping high, if necessary, to reach a suitable spawning 

 l)lace. Here the eggs, which are small (al)out 1 '.'j inra. 

 in diameter) and light yellow or yellowish green, are 

 deposited in shallow water, and attach themselves in 

 lumps to the water-plants, especially Utriadaria, Nym- 

 pli(ea, Alisnia, and Gli/ecria''. Tiie males — two or three 

 to every female — swim at the surface above the fe- 

 males, as far as the depth of the water permits. Tiie 

 number of the eggs varies according to the age and 

 size of the females, but is also different in individuals 

 of the same size. In a female 3 lbs. (1^/5 kgra.) in 

 weight Bloch" counted '237,000 eggs, and in a female 

 16^2 lbs. (7'/2 kgm.) in weight, the ovaries of wliich 

 weighed 5' , lbs. (^Vo kgm-)> Buckland'' estimated the 

 number of the eggs at 2,059,750; but another female, 

 21 Vo lbs. (9% kgm.) in weight, contained only 1,310,750 

 eggs. Sterile Carp are not uncommon, and have always 

 been highly esteemed for their fat, delicate flesh. An 

 English fisherman of the name of Tull discovered' a 

 method of castrating Carp in order to fatten tliem with 

 better success. 



In a suitable temperature the ova develop so 

 rapidly that the eyes of the embryo appear on tlie fiftii 

 or sixth day, and the egg is hatched between tlic twelfth 

 and sixteenth days, according to Day, or as early as 

 the eighth day, according to Benecke. Of the growth 

 of the fish Canestrini-'^ tells us that at the age of one 

 year it weighs 8 gm., at the age of two 32 gni., at 

 the age of three 500 gm., at the age of four 1 kgm., 

 at the age of five 2—4 kgm., at the age of six 4 — .i 

 kgm., at the age of seven 7 — 8 kgm., and at the 

 age of eight 9—10 kgm. These weights vary of 

 course according to the abundance of food. The Carp 

 may reach maturity in the third year. 



" Nat. Hist. Brit. Fish., p. 40. 



' The sueds of Gbjceria jtnitnnfi are also an agreeable foofl for the Carp. 

 ' L. 0., p. 97. 

 '' L. c , p. 38. 



' See Watson, An Account of Mr. Arimuel Titll'.^ M'etiiod of ('aatratin;] Fish.. Pliilos. Tr 

 (Dec. 1754). 



/ Fauna D' Italia, part. Ill, Pfstv', p. 10. 



Tol, XLVIII, art. CVI, p. 870 



