THE COMMON CARP. 135 



OEDER II.— MALACOPTEEYGII. 



Div. I. — Abdominales. 



Family CYPRlNlDiE. 



The Common Carp, Cyprinus Carpio, Linn. 



This fish, which was introduced into the British Islands, has long been 

 in Ireland. Localities noted : — Montalto and Killyleagh, County Down ; 

 and Markethill, County Armagh (Mr. J. Sinclaire) ; County Dublin (Dr. 

 Ball) ; Counties of Galway and Sligo (Mr. R. Barklie).* 



These are localities of which I happen to have heard ; there are proba- 

 bly many others, but this is of little consequence with regard to an in- 

 troduced species. Dr. Ball informs me that some years ago he was pre- 

 sent at the capture of tAvo or three dozen of carp in a jDond covering 

 several acres of ground at Abbeyville, near ]\Ialahide. The largest 

 weighed \7h lbs. and the smallest 6 lbs. Tench, minnows, and rudd 

 were also in this pond. 



The Chub {Cyprinus Cephalus) and the Barbel {Cyprimis Barhiis) are in- 

 cluded in Dr. P. Browne's catalogue (1744) ; but we require something more 

 than the mere writing out of a name before we can include species in our Fauna. 

 This catalogue is carelessly drawn up. 



The Golden Carp, or Gold and Silver Fish, Cyprinus auratus, 



Linn. 



In some ponds near Belfast this species bred the first year of its intro- 

 duction ; in others, not for several years ; and in one the fishes have never 

 increased. The temperature of the water in the first was warmest, and 

 in the last coldest. A gentleman who resides in this neighbourhood in- 

 formed me of a singular fatality which befell a gold-fish confined, at his 

 house, within a glass globe such as is usually appropriated to their use. 

 The globe filled with water and containing this fish was placed at the 

 drawing-room window : the rays of the sun thus collected, formed a focus 

 on a table covered with a woollen cloth, and the consequence was, that 

 both the cloth and table were partially burnt. The fish, as may be anti- 

 cipated, was dead when the accident was discovered. 



31st May, 1846. — In the pond before Hampton Court Palace [Eng- 

 land] are very large and variously coloured fish of this species, and I was 

 interested to-day in looking at them feeding. They often made a stoop 

 vertically downwards to seize small objects, living, I presume, on the 

 cJiara and other plants covering the bottom of the pond ; and I particu- 

 larly remarked that one of the fishes several times cropped the chara 

 itself. 



The Gudgeon, Gohio fluviatilis, Will., 

 Inhabits many of the waters of Ireland, preferring gravelly and oozy 

 bottoms. 



Localities noted : — Lough Ncagh and River Lagan, County Antrim ; 

 Liff"ey and Royal Canal, Dublin (Dr. Ball) ; Kilkenny (Tighc) ; The Bar- 

 row (Rev. B. J. Clarke) ; The Shannon Canal near Portumna and brooks 



* Introduced by the great Earl of Cork into the South of Ireland. — Vide. 

 Robert Boyle in a paper to the Royal Society. — R. Ball. 



