28 NATURAL HISTORY. 



the ancients, who described it as living on sea grass 

 only, and was so affectionate to its own kind, that on 

 one of the race being taken, others were at once ready- 

 to rescue. 



SECOND ORDER. 



MALACOPTERIGEAN ABDOMIN ALES. 

 SOFT-FINNED. 



These have the ventral fins suspended under the ab- 

 domen, behind the pectoral. They are mostly found in 

 fresh waters. To them belong first 



The Carps, which have a slightly-cleft mouth and 

 weak jaws, most frequently without teeth, but have a 

 masticatory apparatus in the back part of the palate. 

 The tongue is smooth. They have only one dorsal fin, 

 and the body is covered thickly with scales. 



Of the Cyprinidse the most remarkable is 



The Common Carp (cyprinus carpio), a fish generally 

 known ; olive-green above, yellow below ; ordinarily one 

 foot in length, and weighs from two to three pounds, 

 although it sometimes measures four feet, and reaches a 

 weight of seventy pounds. The cirri, or filaments of 

 the beard, are short. Their food is composed of all 

 kinds of worms, insects, roots, rich earth, etc. This fish 

 delights in tranquil waters or slowly-flowing rivers. 

 Towards the end of May they seek a shallow place, in 

 which to deposit their spawn, and sometimes journey a 

 long distance before a suitable one is found. If any 

 obstruction presents itself, they overleap it with great 



