The Carp 



sesses a thick soft skin which feels velvety 

 to the touch. Then there is the golden 

 carp, popular in small fountain ponds and 

 household aquariums. But the common 

 carp has become very abundant in certain 

 lakes and rivers; those found in the latter 

 are much the best to angle for, and are of 

 better flavor. In lakes it prefers a muddy 

 bottom, particularly near the roots of water 

 lilies; in the rivers it likes those parts 

 where the stream is slow and stagnant, with 

 the bottom thick in mud, as it lives princi- 

 pally on vegetable food, much preferring 

 the seeds of water lilies, wild rice and water 

 oats. In captivity it will eat lettuce, cab- 

 bage, soaked barley, wheat, rice, corn, in- 

 sects and their larvae, worms and meats of 

 various kinds. They can readily be caught 

 with dough, grains of barley or wheat, 

 worms, maggots, wasp larvae and sometimes 

 pieces of meat and fish. The carp is very 

 tenacious of life, more so than any other 

 fresh-water fish, with the exception of the 

 catfish and eel. In Holland they have a 



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