Hunt.— As to the Carp 191 



tion of the stream. We found in a few carp mussels which 

 had just been taken and were still alive. Others had the 

 shell just commencing to open, still others were wide open 

 and the meaty portion decomposed and partly digested. In 

 nearly all we found pieces of shells, sometimes as small as 

 the end of a lead pencil and in others the entire shell just 

 breaking into small fragments, showing that the digestive 

 powers of the fish must be great and quick in their action. 



In a number of the fish-, all taken in a stretch a mile long. 

 we found immense quantities of what looked like fish spawn 

 except that it was black and in pellets about the size of small 

 mustard seed. It was found only in fish from the same 

 locality and we were puzzled until one day, walking along the 

 stream in that section we saw two large carp close to the 

 bank with their heads at the surface of the water nipping 

 at small pods which hung from plants. We gathered some 

 of the plants and the mystery was solved. It was a wild 

 plant, introduced at this point along the stream only, several 

 years before, in an attempt to establish a feeding ground f< ir 

 wild fowl. The attempt proved a failure, and the plants we 

 found were a few survivals. 



That a carp will live for an almost unlimited time out of 

 water if it can secure enough moisture to sustain life was 

 proved by an occurrence in the town of West Chester, Pa., 

 a few seasons ago. A man had five large carp in a pond 

 and one night a cloudburst washed away the embankment 

 and left it dry with the exception of a small trickle of water 

 through the mud in the centre. The next few days were dry 

 and the mud became caked upon the surface. It was be- 

 lieved, of course, that the carp were gone down the small 

 stream below to the Brandywine, but five days later a small 

 boy discovered one of the carp in a small hole and captured 

 it with a scoop net. Nearby he found a second. Then the 

 bank was repaired and the two fish placed in the pond, but, to 

 the surprise of everybody who noted the fact, there were 

 five fish, all of large size, in the pond the next morning. 

 That they had been there when the water left and had re- 



