CARP AND BREAM. 55 



than any other fish, and this probably because it 

 is not an indigenous but an introduced species. 

 In cold water they spawn but seldom, their fecun- 

 dity being affected ; the fish are stunted and less 

 brightly coloured ; whereas in warm water they 

 live to a considerable age, and attain to a large 

 size. It is owing to these facts that carp flourish so 

 much better in the southern than in the northern 

 parts of Britain. 



The food of the carp consists for the most part 

 of suoculent stalks of water-plants, of worms, 

 insects, and soft-bodied life generally which is 

 found in mud. In winter they lie in a semi- 

 dormant condition at the bottom of ponds partially 

 buried. This does not occur when the water- 

 temperature is high, as here the fish feed and 

 thrive through the hardest weather. Carp are 

 not much fished for, as they can hardly be said to 

 afford good sport, and then they are most difficult 

 to circumvent. They possess leather-like mouths, 

 and there is a barbule at the upper part of each 

 corner of the mouth. The following interesting 

 quotation from Lady Colin Campbell's Book of 

 the Running Brook and of Still Waters sets 

 forth some of the points enumerated above as to 

 the value of carp-culture, their rate of growth, and 

 above all, their tenacity of life. This refers to the 

 highlands of Limousin, and gives a graphic 



