IIo BRITISH FRESH-WATER FISHES 
be sufficiently boiled. Then take out the carp, and lay it, 
with the broth, into the dish, and pour upon it a quarter of 
a pound of the best fresh butter, melted, and beaten with 
half a dozen spoonfuls of the broth, the yolks of two or 
three eggs, and some of the herbs shred. Garnish your dish 
with lemons, and so serve it up. And much good do you!”’ 
One can almost see the old gentleman’s eyes twinkling 
and his lower lip trembling as he dictated these sumptuous 
directions ; but, after all, ’tis but a poor fish that cannot be 
relished with a simpler sauce. 
The Crucian Carp (Carassius vulgaris) 
Fin FoRMULA. TEETH. 
Dorsal: 18 to 20 rays, of which the first three | Pharyngeal, in a single 
are bony. series of four on each 
Pectoral: 13 to 14 rays. side. 
Ventral: g rays, of which the first two are bony. 
Anal: 8 rays, of which the first three are bony. 
Caudal: 17 rays. 
The Crucian Carp (Carassius vulgaris) has been placed 
by naturalists in a different family to that of Cyprinus on 
account of a different arrangement of teeth and the absence of 
barbels from the lips. Otherwise it bears a close resemblance 
in many respects to its greater relative, notably in colour of 
the skin and in the form and arrangement of the fins. It 
is, however, like the common carp, an exceedingly variable 
creature. In the type the body is very high and laterally 
compressed, the depth being about equal to one-half the length. 
In some waters it assumes a more elongated form, but even 
then it can be distinguished at a glance from small individuals 
of the true carp by the absence of barbels. The irides, also, 
which in the carp are golden, are generally of a silvery tone 
in the crucian carp, although some naturalists report them as 
golden with a tinge of red. It may be remarked in passing 
