CARP. 



snow, for several times in succession that it was applied; so 

 that at last the whole was exposed to the action of the natural 

 cold of the air without; and while subjected to this low tem- 

 perature the fish showed signs of great uneasiness. It was only 

 when they had exhausted their powers of life in the production 

 of heat that these Carps became frozen, and perhaps were dead; 

 for when again gradually thawed they were not recovered to 

 life. If we are to suppose that the fish frozen by Sir John 

 Franklin were of the same species as those of Hunter, the 

 only explanation of this difference of result will be that the 

 suddenness of the operation in the north prevented that 

 exhaustion of vitality which was fatal in the other. 



Nor are these the only circumstances under which it shews 

 itself highly retentive of life; for in districts where this fish 

 abounds it has been usual to convey it to market in a living 

 state, and if not sold it is again returned to its resting place; 

 which may be in some cool cellar, and that for days or even 

 weeks together; the only caution used being to preserve the 

 surface of the body in a moist condition, and to feed it with 

 some necessary food; by which it has been known to become 

 plump and fat. Willoughby remarks that this fish has sometimes 

 been found in such strange situations as to convey the impression 

 that it could not have been placed there by any known means; 

 and this has been thought sufficient to countenance the idea 

 that the individuals had been produced by spontaneous generation. 



The retentiveness of life thus possessed by the Carp is the 

 more remarkable, as it is not furnished with such a mechanical 

 adaptation for retaining water in contact with the gills, as exists 

 in some fishes; but Professor Owen supposes that this apparent 

 deficiency may find more than a compensation in a peculiar 

 development of the vagal lobes of nerves, which arise from the 

 lengthened process of the brain, termed Medulla oblongata. This 

 character is more or less displayed in some others of this family, 

 and especially in the Tench; and it may be that thus they 

 are enabled to extract and subsist on almost the minutest portion 

 of air which remains mixed with water after the larger part has 

 been absorbed into the blood; and in this faculty they exceed 

 almost all other kinds of fishes. 



That the Carp is also naturally long lived there are sufficient 

 proofs, and Gesner mentions an instance where one was believed 



