618 NATURAL HISTORY OP AQUATIC ANIMALS. 



hundreds of them can be taken in a short time on a small hook baited with worms or flies. This 

 species reaches a length of about ten inches. It assists to swell the urchin's string, but has no 

 tangible importance as a food-fish. Its flesh spoils very quickly after the fish is taken from the 

 water, hence the name " Rot-gut Minnow," applied to it in Alabama. A large part of the food of 

 the black bass, trout, and other predatory fish is contributed by the Shiner and by its numerous 

 congeners. 



THE CUT-LIPS EXOGLOSSUM MAXILLINGUA. 



The "Cut-lips," "Day Chub," or "Nigger Chub," has but a narrow distribution, being found in 

 abundance only in the basin of the Susquehanna. It reaches a length of six or eight inches, and 

 has no economic importance. 



LAVINIA EXILICAUDA. 



This species is found in some abundance in most streams of California, and comes occasionally 

 into the markets. It reaches a length of about fifteen inches. 



OETHODON MICROLEPIDOTUS. 



This species occurs in most streams of California in considerable abundance. A good many 

 are sent to the market of San Francisco, where they are eaten by the Chinese. It reaches a length 

 of about eighteen inches. 



HARD-MOUTH ACROCHILUS ALUTAOEUS. 



The Hard-mouth Chub is found in the rivers of Washington and Oregon. It reaches a length 

 of about a foot but is only rarely eaten. 



189. THE CARP CYPRINUS CARPIO. 

 By RUDOLPH HESSEL.' 



THE RACES OF CARP THEIR HISTORY AND HABITS. The Carp, Cyprinus carpio, of the 

 family Cyprinidte, has a toothless mouth, thick lips, and four barbels on the upper jaw. In place 

 of the usual teeth of the mouth there are a number of stout teeth on the pharyngeal bones, which 

 are arranged in three rows. It has one single dorsal, which is longer than the anal. Both these 

 fins have at their origin, on the anterior edge, a strong ray, which is serrated in a downward 

 direction. The caudal is of semicircular shape, and the natatory bladder is divided into two 

 sections, with connecting air-passage. The scales have an entire edge, and the body is compressed 

 on the sides. The general color of the back and sides is a dark olive-brown, the abdomen often 

 of a whitish-yellow or orange tint. The coloring depends, as with all fishes, partly upon the age 

 and season, partly upon the water, the soil, and also upon the food of the fish. 



Be it remarked that the Carp, which has occasionally been compared to the buffalo-fish, has 

 no resemblance to it, with the exception of the similarity of their coat of scales ; neither does the 

 flesh of the buffalo-fish ever come up to the excellence of that of the Carp. 



The Carp was, in all probability, originally introduced into Europe from Central Asia many 

 centuries ago, and is now common in most of the large rivers. In some parts of Europe, princi- 

 pally in Bohemia, Austria, Southern, Central, and Northern Germany, it has become domesti- 

 cated. 



The Carp is alleged to have been imported into England in the year 1504. In Austria, which 

 possesses the most extensive carp fisheries in Europe, the culture of the Carp can be traced as 

 far back as the year 1227. The Emperor Charles IV of Germany, by granting sundry privileges, 



1 Extract from Report of United States Fish Commission, part iv, 1875-76, pp. 865-876. 



