62 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 
The incredible increase of fishes has been a matter 
of immemorial observation. In the retired lakes and 
streams we speak of, but for a wise arrangement of 
Providence, it seems not improbable that they would 
outgrow the very space occupied by the element in 
which they exist, To prevent this consummation, there 
are fresh water fiends, more terrible than the wolves and 
tigers of the land, that prowl on the finny tribe, with an 
appetite commensurate with their plentifulness, destroy- 
ing millions in a day, yet leaving, from their abundance, 
untold numbers to follow their habits and the cycle of 
their existence undisturbed. These terrible destroyers 
have no true representatives in the sea; they seem to 
be peculiar to waters tributary to the Mississippi. 
speaking of the European carp, that we are tempted to make 
one or two extracts that are remarkable fer their truthfulness 
as applied to the section of the United States where arrow- 
fishing is a sport. In the work we allude to, we have the fol- 
lowing: 
“The usual length of the carp in our own country (England) 
is from about twelve to fifteen or sixteen inches; but in warm 
climates, it often arrives at the length of two, three, or four feet, 
and to the weight of twenty, thirty, or even forty pounds.” 
Par. 3448. Again, “The haunts of the carp of stagnant water 
are, during the spring and autumn months, in the deepest parts, 
particularly near the flood-gates by which water is received and 
let off. In the summer months they frequent the weed beds, 
and come near to the surface, and particularly are fond of aquatic 
plants, which spring from the bottom and rise to the top.” Par. 
3453. We find that the fish retains the same distinctive habits 
in both hemispheres, altering only from the peculiarities of the 
country. 
