SOFT-FINNED FISH. 



305 





whole body; the back-fin at the extremity of 

 the back. 



47. Cyprinus or Carp. Tlie body elongated, 

 almost round; the head with a small beak; 



dolphin. I wish I could believe so; for it were much 

 more agreeable to suppose, that at the end of the fine 

 sweep which they take, they fall safely on the bosom of 

 the sea. 



"I do not recollect whether that eminent traveller, 

 who not only observes many more things than most men, 

 but describes them much better, has any where men- 

 tioned his having witnessed one of these chases. The 

 best I remember, was during the first voyage I ever 

 made, through those regions of the sun, the tropical 

 seas, and I will therefore describe it. 



" We were stealing along pleasantly enough, under 

 the influence of a newly-formed breeze, which, as yet, 

 was confined to the upper sails, and every one was look- 

 ing open-mouthed to the eastward, to catch a little cool 

 air, or was congratulating his neighbour on getting rid 

 of the calm in which we had been so long half-roasted, 

 half- suffocated, when about a dozen flying fish rose out of 

 the water, and skimmed away to windward, at the height 

 of ten or twelve feet above the surface- Shortly after, 

 discovered two or three dolphins, ranging past the ship 

 in all their beauty. Presently, the ship in her course, 

 put up another shoal of those little creatures, which flew 

 in the same direction which the others had taken. 



" A large dolphin, which had been keeping company 

 with us at the depth of two or three fathoms, and as 

 usual, glistening most beautifully in the sun, no sooner 

 detected our poor dear little friends taking wing, than 

 he turned his head towards them, and darting to the 

 surface, leaped from the water with a swiftness little 

 short, as it seemed, of a cannon-ball. But, although 

 the force with which he shot himself into the air, made 

 him gain upon the flying-fish at first, yet the start which 

 they had got, enabled them to keep ahead of him for a 

 considerable time. 



" The length of the dolphin's first spring, could not 

 be less than ten yards ; and after he fell, we could see 

 him gliding like lightning through the water, for a 

 moment, when he again rose and shot forward with a 

 speed considerably greater than at first, and of course, 

 to a still greater distance. In this manner, the merciless 

 pursuer seemed to stride along the sea with fearful ra- 

 pidity, whilst his brilliant coat sparkled and flashed in 

 the sun quite splendidly. As he fell headlong on the 

 water, at the end of each huge leap, a series of circles 

 were sent far over the still surface, which lay as smooth 

 as a mirror. 



" The group of flying-fish thus hotly pursued, at length 

 dropped into the sea ; but we were rejoiced to observe, 

 that they merely touched the top of the swell, and 

 scarcely sunk into it : at least, they instantly set off 

 again in a fresh, and even more vigorous flight. It was 

 particularly interesting to observe, that the direction 

 they now took was quite different from the one in which 

 they had set out ; thus implying, that they had detected 

 their fierce enemy, who was following them, with giant 

 steps, along the waves, and was now rapidly gaining 

 upon them. His terrific pace, indeed, was two or three 

 times as swift as theirs, poor little things ! 



" The dolphin was fully as quick-sighted as the fly- 

 ing-fish. For whenever they changed their flight in the 

 smallest degree, he lo>t not the tenth part of a second 

 in shaping a new course in pursuit, whilst they in a 

 manner really not unlike that of the hare, doubled more 

 than once upon their pursuer. But it was soon too 

 plainly to be seen, that the strength and confidence of 

 the flying-fish was fast ebbing. Their flights became 

 shorter and shorter, and their course more fluttering and 

 uncertain, whilst the enormous leaps of the dolphin 



VOL. II. 



the hinder part of the bone covering the gills, 

 marked with a crescent; the iin covering the 

 gills with three rays. 1 



48. The Cobitis or Loach. The body ob- 



appeared to giow only more vigorous at each bound. At 

 last, indeed, we could see, or fancied we could see, that 

 this skilful sea-sportsman so arranged all his springs, 

 that he contrived to fall at the end of each, just under 

 the very spot, on which the exhausted flying-fish were 

 about to drop ! Sometimes this took place at too great a 

 distance for us to see from the deck exactly what hap- 

 pened ; but on our mounting high into the rigging, we 

 could discover that many of the unfortunate little crea- 

 tures, one after another, either fell right into the dol- 

 phin's jaws, as they lighted on the water, or were snapped 

 up instantly afterwards." 



1 The Common Carp. In their general habits these 

 fish exhibit so great a degree of cunning, as to be some- 

 times called by the country people the River Fox. When 

 attempted to be taken by a net, they will often leap over 

 it; or immerse themselves so deep in the mud, as to 

 sufler the net to pass over without touching them. They 

 are also very shy of taking a bait; but, during spawning- 

 time, so intent are they on the business of depositing 

 their ova, that they will sutler themselves to be handled 

 by any one who attempts it. They breed three or four 

 times in the year, but their first spawning is in the begin- 

 ning of May. Carp are found in the slow rivers and 

 stagnant waters of Europe and Persia ; and here princi- 

 pally in deep holes, under the roots of trees, hollow 

 banks, or great beds of flags, &c. They do not often 

 exceed four feet in length, and twenty pounds in weight; 

 but Jovius mentions some caught in the Lago de Como, 

 in Italy, that weighed two hundred pounds each, and 

 others have been taken in the Dueister five feet in 

 length. 



The carp is the least carnivorous among fishes. It is 

 very tenacious of life, and can be carried alive over land 

 for great distances. It has been frequently carried alive 

 from Strasburgh to Paris, by keeping a little wet moss 

 in contact with the gill-lids; and without even this sim- 

 ple precaution it will live for a long time out of water. 

 " And, doubtless," says Izaac Walton, " as of sea-fish, 

 the herring dies soonest out of the water, and of fresh- 

 water fish, the trout, so, except the eel, the carp endures 

 most hardness, and lives longest out of his own proper 

 element. And, therefore, the report of the carp's being 

 brought out of a foreign country into this nation, is the 

 more probable." One of the recent editors of Walton 

 says that it is a common practice in Holland to keep 

 carp alive for three weeks or a month, by hanging them 

 in a cool place, with wet moss in the mouth, and feeding 

 them with bread and milk. 



The carp does not delight in troubled waters : it loves 

 to haunt placid streams which steal along without any 

 perceptible current; such as the moats and trenches of 

 old castles ; or retired shady ponds, where aquatic plants 

 accumulate. It feeds upon these vegetables, and, from 

 the quietness of its habits, it attains a great age. When 

 very old its back becomes quite white. Gesner says, 

 that a carp has been known to live in the palatine above 

 a hundred years. In 1782, a gentleman of Emanuel 

 college, Cambridge, published an account of a carp which 

 had inhabited a small artificial pond in the college for 

 thirty-six years ; and that, although the fish had lost one 

 eye, yet it knew, and would constantly swim up to its 

 feeder. Carps are not timid, but rather fond of society; 

 and, as in the instance just given, they are so far capable 

 of being educated, as to come and be led at stated hours 

 on being whistled to. There are immense numbers of 

 this fish in the stilly part of the Rhine, near Strasburgh ; 

 and vast quantities are sent annually to Paris. 



The food of the carp is animal, as well as vegetable. 

 2fi 



