112 BRITISH FRESH-WATER FISHES 
crucian carp, has not the muddy taint which naturally pertains 
to the common carp, and there must be few Englishmen who 
can check his experience by their own. For my own part, 
my acquaintance with this fish is limited to its behaviour in 
an aquarium, whereof I have found them docile denizens 
and easily managed. They accept gratefully consignments of 
breadcrumbs, varied with small earthworms; if you want 
to provide your captives with a special delicacy, turn in a 
cupful of those bloodworms which in summer stain the 
shallow parts of dirty ditches. They are the larve of dif- 
ferent species of Chironomus, a gnat-like insect which abounds 
wherever there is stagnant water. 
The term “ crucian” has been a puzzle to some etymolo- 
gists, and one does not arrive far on the road to its solution by 
explaining it as a corruption of the German name for this fish 
—Karausche—which has received a Latin form in the specific 
name for the genus—Carassius. Some confusion also has ensued 
from the name of Prussian carp given to the variety above 
referred to, and its distinction under the scientific title of 
Carassius gibelio. This, as well as the C. moles of Agassiz and 
C. oblongus of the Austrian naturalists, Dr. Gunther regards as 
mere varieties of the crucian carp. 
The Golden Carp, or Gold-Fish (Carassius auratus) 
Fin ForMUvLA. TEETH. 
Dorsal: 16 to 19 rays, of which the first is curved, | Pharyngeal. 
bony and serrated. 
Anal; 8 rays, of which the first three are bony. 
Pectoral 
Ventral + Variable. 
Caudal J 
The well-known Gold-fish (Carassius auratus) must be 
recognised as having acquired a permanent place among the 
fresh-water fishes of Britain, seeing that, although usually 
