THE CARP. H9 



Description. 



and beautiful colours at a distance, large and 

 wide vases of white glass are principally used. 

 When thus enclosed they seldom exceed six 01 

 eight inches in length, but in ponds they grow to 

 twelve or fourteen inches." 



THE CJRP. 



THE mouth of this fish is toothless ; their gills 

 have three rays, and their belly fins frequently 

 nine. Their form is somewhat thick, and their 

 colour blue-green above, greenish-yellow mixed 

 with black on the upper part of their sides, whit- 

 ish beneath, and the tail yellow or violet. The 

 scales are large. On each side of the mouth 

 there is a single beard, and above this another 

 shorter. The dorsal fin is long, extending far 

 towards the tail, which is forked. They are 

 found in the slow rivers and stagnant waters of 

 Europe and Persia, and here principally in deep 

 .holes, under the roots of trees, hollow banks, or 

 great beds of flags, &c. They do not often ex- 

 ceed four feet in length, and twenty pounds in 

 weight ; but Jovius mentions some caught in the 

 Lago di Como, in Italy, that weighed two hun- 

 dred pounds each ; and others have been taken 

 in the Dniester five feet in length. Near Ange- 

 burg, in Prussia, they are caught weighing forty 

 pounds. At Dortz, in the Mew Mark, on the 



