552 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES. 



Fishes of Great Britain and Ireland (1880-1881, p. 160). To use his 

 words : 



The fisherman finds this fish an adept at escaping from nets, by burrowing below 

 it, or springing over the corks, ... So diflicult is it to net that . . . one can well 

 understand the Norfolk pen-men regarding it with mysterious awe, how its entrances 

 and its exits into pieces of water puzzle them, and how, as Lubbock remarks, they 

 consider it as something more tlian a fish, and look upon it as what the Scotch term 

 "no cannie." 



Although 1 have spoken above of the carp's habit of ordinarily sv^^im- 

 ming about lazilj^ and quietlv, this is b}' no means always the case, for 

 these fish often produce a considerable disturl)ance by their splashing. 

 This is when they are feeding in shallow water, and Avill be discussed 

 more fully when we come to consider the feeding habits. The}' also 

 splash about considerabl}' at the breeding time. 



Carp exhibit a marked tendency to go about in schools. In regions 

 where they are abundant, it is usual to find either a large number in a 

 given localitv, or else none at all. That these schools are frequently 

 of great size is apparent from the fact that several tons of carp are 

 often taken at a single seine-haul along the shore of the open lake, 

 which is rather more conclusive evidence than is afforded when they 

 are taken in a bay or other partiall}^ inclosed place. 



Moderatel}' warm, shallow waters with abundance of aquatic vegeta- 

 tion, and deeper places to which the fish can retreat, are the most favor- 

 able conditions for carp, and it is in such places that the}' multip!}'' 

 fastest and obtain their most rapid growth. In the hilly eastern part 

 of the United States localities of this kind are relatively scarce, but the 

 rivers and lakes of the Southern and Middle States, with their exten- 

 sive bayous and marshes, come very close to the ideal conditions. 

 This suitability is abundantl}' evidenced by the rapidity with which 

 carp have taken possession of them, and have become in them, it might 

 almost be said, the dominant piscine type. Nevertheless the}" are by 

 no means confined to these waters which meet their requirements to 

 the best advantage, but seem to be able to adapt themselves to a variety 

 of conditions, though with less success. Thus we find them invading 

 to a certain extent the colder and deeper waters of the Great Lakes, 

 though a few fathoms is a great depth for them, and I have no evidence 

 to show that they go to any extent into the deeper waters. They will 

 live in small ponds fed by springs, where the temperature of the 

 water always remains very low, but in such places their growth is slow 

 and the}^ are by no means so prolific as in warmer wp.ters. On the 

 other hand, they may sometimes be found living in mudholes, where 

 it would not seem that they could obtain enough food for existence and 

 where the temperature must at times in summer become comparatively 

 high. The}' will live, and apparently do Avell, in waters that are 

 strongly mineral. I saw, for example, a carp pond in northern Ohio 



