THE GOLD-FISH AND THE BAEBEL. 577 



exercise of their reasoning powers, which tell them that the once-feared 

 biped on the bank will do them no harm, but in all probability will be 

 the means of indulging their appetite with favorite food. 



The Carp is one of the fish that retain life for a lengthened period 

 even when removed from the water, and if carefully packed in wet 

 moss, so as to allow a free circulation of air, will survive even for 

 weeks. Anglers never seem sure of the Carp, taking plenty on one 

 day and none at all for a week afterward, the fish having been 

 aroused to a sense of their danger, and declining to meddle with any- 

 thing that looks as if it might hide a hook. Even the net, that is so 

 effectual with most fish, is often useless against the ready wiles of the 

 Carp, which will sometimes bury itself in the mud as the ground-line 

 approaches, so as to allow the net to pass over it, or, if the ground be 



The Carp {Oyprinus carpio). 



too hard for such a manoeuvre, will boldly shoot from the bottom of 

 the water, leap over the upper edge of the net, and so escape into the 

 water, beyond. 



The beautiful Gold-fish [Oyprinus auratus), so familiar as a pet and 

 so elegant as it moves round the glass globe in which it is usually kept, 

 is another member of this large and important genus. It seems to have 

 been brought to this country from China, and has almost acclimatized 

 itself to the cold seasons of England. Its habits and splendid clothing 

 are too well known to need description. 



Another well-known member of the same genus is the Barbel, 

 a fine but not brilliant fish, which is common in many of the English 

 rivers. 



This fish may easily be known by the four fleshy appendages, called 

 beards or barbules, which hang from the head, two being placed on the 

 nose and the other two at each angle of the mouth. It is one of the 

 mud-loving fish, grubbing with its nose in the soft banks for the pur- 

 pose of unearthing the aquatic larvse of various insects which make 

 49 2 M 



