GROUP OF FRESHWATER FISH 



i. The Carp (Cyprinus carpto) inhabits ponds, lakes, and 

 sluggish streams, living upon worms, insect larvae, &c., and vege- 

 table matter, to which food its thick-lipped mouth, provided with 

 four sensitive barbels, is well adapted. It is very tenacious of life, 

 and exceedingly long-lived (100 years or more). 2. The Crucian 

 Carp (Carassius vtilgaris) is a small fish common in the lakes and 

 ponds of Central and Northern Europe. It is often kept in 

 captivity, together with its near relative, the Gold-Fish, which is 

 a domesticated variety of the Golden Carp (C. auratus). 3. The 

 Tench (Tinea vulgaris] is a well-known ground-fish of the carp 

 kind, and its food is of the same mixed nature. It lives in stagnant 

 water, which may be so foul that no other fishes can maintain 

 themselves in it. 4. The Pike (Esox lucius] is an exceedingly 

 voracious fish, widely distributed through temperate North America, 

 Europe, and Asia. It attains a very considerable size. 



