THE CARP 103 
The carp is one of those fish which own to no normal 
stature or weight ; but, just as no precise limit can be assigned 
to its proportions, so none can be set to the wild stories long 
current about the size of individuals. There can be little 
doubt, however, that in Germany these fish are sometimes 
taken of the weight of from 30 lb. to 40 lb. The records of 
heavy carp in England are open to cavil, owing partly to the 
neglect of precision in making them, and partly to the well- 
known characteristic of all sporting fish to increase in weight 
year by year after death ; but there is nothing unusual in the 
occurrence of carp from 10 lb. to 15 |b. in weight in British 
waters. 
The late Frank Buckland received one of 214 1b. from 
Mr. Charles, the fishmonger of Lower Grosvenor Place, of 
which he took a cast, and another of 163 1b.; but he has 
omitted to record where these fish were caught—whether in 
England or on the Continent. There is also a well-authenti- 
cated instance of a carp weighing 244 lb., netted from Harting 
Great Pond, near Petersfield, in 1858. If the size of carp 
be a matter of uncertainty, still greater is the difficulty in 
ascertaining their normal duration of life. Marvellous stories 
have been supplied for those curious in such matters—and by 
what easy transition do the curious become the credulous !— 
but of trustworthy evidence the absence is almost complete. 
There is good reason to suppose that the carp exceeds most 
fish in longevity ; it leads a leisurely life in tranquil waters, 
exposed, indeed, to the attacks of a variety ot parasites, but 
protected, as a rule, from violent catastrophe, and singularly 
discreet in accepting the lures of any but the most crafty 
anglers. Still, the even tenor of the carp’s life is not 
altogether exempt from the vicissitudes of human politics, 
and the great carp in the ponds at Versailles, reputed to be 
the original fish placed there in the reign of the Grand 
Monarque (1643-1715), are believed to have shared the fate 
of other privileged classes at the hands of the revolutionaries 
