THE CARP. 95 



the Carp then hastily take it, and swim away. Another 

 i:;entleman, Mr. Knight, who lives in Hackney, has 

 also several Carp in a pond, which are very tame, 

 and will take food from the hand of those persons 

 they are in the habit of seeing daily, but are shy 

 of strangers. I saw a visitor to this gentleman offer 

 bread to some Carp which were swimming near the 

 sides ; but on their nearer approach, and not know- 

 ing him, they dived away. Some time after, the said 

 gentleman laid himself at length on his stomach, and 

 offered a piece of bread just under the water 3 and a 

 Carp rose, took it, and very leisurely swam away. 



Carp, in form, are thick, with a short neck ; they 

 have large scales, very regularly covering the whole 

 body, like trellis-work or fine netting 3 the upper part 

 of the sides are a greenish golden yellow -, the lower 

 part, a whitish colour 3 the tail, a sort of yellow violet 3 

 the mouth is small, with two wattles hanging from 

 it 3 the dorsal fin reaches nearly the whole length of 

 the back 3 they have neither teeth nor tongue, but a 

 fleshy palate. Carp spa^vn early in June, and, some 

 say, again in August, (but, during my observations, I 

 have never known such a case to occur,) at which time 

 they are so intent in depositing , their ova, among 

 weeds, &c., near the shore side, that they may be 

 sometimes caught with the hand, in small rivers, pits, 

 and ponds. They are sometimes drawn out of shallow 

 weedy ponds, with hay rakes, while spawning, though, 

 at other times, no fish are more difficult to catch, even 

 with nets, for they will escape the drag-net by leap- 



