72 ANGLING. 



The carp will live to a great age ; and in favourable situations, 

 will attain a very large size. It is said, that the big old carp which 

 are to be found in the fosse of the chateau at Eontainebleaiu in 

 Prance, were placed there in the time of Francis I. EufFon speaks 

 of carp in the fosse of Portchartrain, which wer# one hundred and 

 fifty years old, and still possessed all the vivacity and agility of - 

 ordinary fish. Others are spoken of by some authors, which 'had 

 attained the age of two hundred years. 



We must, however, take all these stories about the ages of fish, 

 cum grano 8ali$. It is extremely difficult to obtain correct informa- 

 tion on such a subject, especially as the evidence, from the nature 

 of the case, must necessarily be of a very loose and inadequate 

 description. The weight of fish is a more tangible affair ; and on 

 this point we cannot be very far deceived, if proper precautions be 

 adopted. Carp, if only half the statements on record be true, will 

 undoubtedly reach a very large size, especially in the north of 

 Europe, where they seem to be highly prized, and very carefully 

 protected. Pallas says, that the Volga produces carp 'five feet in 

 length. "In 1711," says Eleazar JBloch, in his splendid work, 

 " a carp was caught near Erankfort, on the Oder, which was more 

 than nine feet long, and three round, and which weighed seventy 

 pounds." In the lake of Zug, in Switzerland, one was taken widen 

 weighed ninety pounds. Monsieur Pesson-Maisonneuye seems to 

 think their size varies according to the places they inhabit, and 

 the food they live upon. " In Erance," says he, " they reach ten 

 or twelve pounds; in Germany, they become monstrous. ^ They are 

 taken in Pomerania, thirty or forty pounds in weight ; and in Prussia, 

 fifty pounds is a common size !" Eor our own part, we should like 

 to see one of these extraordinary fish, but much fear we shall not 

 be so fortunate. 



The carp spawn in May, and even in April, when the spring is 

 forward and warm. They seek out quiet places covered with ver- 

 dure, in which to deposit their eggs ; and it is said that two or 

 three males follow each female, in order to swim over and impreg- 

 nate the deposit. At this season, carp which inhabit rivers and 

 running streams, endeavour to get into more tranquil waters ; and 

 if, during their migration, they meet with unexpected obstacles, 

 they are very resolute and determined in their efforts to overcome 

 them ; leaping, it is affirmed, after the fashion of the salmon, five or 

 six feet in height, in order to accomplish their purpose. 



The carp multiplies prodigiously. A fish of half a pound in 

 weight has been found, on examination, to contain 270,000 eggs ; 

 one of a pound-and-a-half weight, 342,000, and one of nine pounds, 

 the enormous number of 621,000 eggs. 



The carp are very tenacious of life. Many anecdotes illus- 

 trative of this fact are on record. Indeed, in Erance it is no mi- 

 common thing to transport them to great distances from one lake 

 or river to another, wrapping them in fresh grass, and dipping 

 them every twenty-four hours of the journey into fresh water for 



