52 BRITISH SPORTING FISHES. 



and the Golden carp, or gold-fish (Cyprinus 

 auratus). As already stated, these have all been 

 introduced ; but as carp in general are tenacious 

 of life even under adverse circumstances, the fish 

 have thriven amazingly in their naturalised haunts. 

 By far the most common of the carp is the first- 

 named, which occurs generally in ponds, and has 

 even found its way into several rivers. The 

 crucian carp occurs less abundantly, whilst the 

 gold variety is rarer still. In many parts of the 

 country this occurs in reservoirs of warm water 

 connected with manufactories the hot steam 

 driven into the water making it peculiarly con- 

 genial to the gold-fish. 



" The Carp is the queen of rivers ; a stately, 

 a good, and a very subtle fish, that was not at 

 first bred, nor hath been long in England, but is 

 now naturalised. . . . The carp, if he have 

 water room and good feed, will grow to a very 

 great bigness and length ; I have heard to be much 

 above a yard long. It is said by Jovius, who hath 

 writ of fishes, that in the lake Lurian, in Italy, 

 carps have thriven to be more than fifty pounds 

 weight. Gesner says a carp has been known 

 to live in the Palatinate above a hundred years ; 

 but most conclude, that, contrary to pike or luce, 

 all carp are the better for age and bigness. The 

 tongues of carps are noted to be choice and costly 



