THE CARP FAMILY. 401 



of six years may weigh anything between 4 Ibs. and 10 Ibs. ; 

 and the largest carp ever recorded in England (Petersfield) 

 weighed 24 Ibs., and had scales the size of florins. The carp 

 has four barbels, two on either jaw, those on the lower being 

 longer than the others. It is for the most part a vegetable- 

 feeder, but also consumes large quantities of the larvae, 

 which it routs up from the muddy bottom. Though a 

 long-lived fish, and also capable of surviving some time 

 out of water, the carp is somewhat susceptible to sudden 



changes of temperature ; and in very cold weather num- 

 bers of these fish are known to burrow in company, not 

 unlike, though under opposite conditions, the mud-fish of 

 the East. The breeding-time is in summer, and as many 

 as 750,000 (Seeley) of the small green eggs have been 

 taken from a lo-lbs. fish. The carp breeds freely with the 

 two species that follow. It is said to utter sounds not un- 

 like a grunt. The large size of the scales in our carp is 

 nothing to what is observed in a Continental variety, 

 which has enormous scales arranged in rows. 



The Continental Crucian Carp is, together with the 



goldfish, without barbels on the jaws. A small fish, 



* Crucian rarely exceeding a weight of 1% lb., it has 



Carp. done well in the Thames and others of our 



rivers. It is somewhat deeper for its length than the 



common carp ; in colour, it is greenish above, bronze on 



the sides. 



2 C 



