105 



subsists on vegetable food and small animals, such as aquatic 

 insects, small pond-snails and worms, and can live for some time 

 out of water. It delights in tranquil waters, particularly those 

 with a muddy bottom and partially shaded by trees ; it is a fish of 

 sluggish habits except during the breeding season, when it becomes 

 very excited and frequently leaps out of the water. The Carp is 

 eaten in inland countries, but it is not valued in parts where 

 sea fish are obtainable. Carps have been known to live to a great 

 age (50 to 100 years), and to attain a weight of 20 to 50 lbs., 

 and a length of four feet or more. 



In a state of domestication there have arisen two breeds of Carp 

 that tend to lose their scales. In Central Europe there is one 

 form known as the Mirror Carp or " Spiegel-karpfen " (320) which 

 retains large, bright scales along the side of the body and large 

 dull scales on the back, and another form, the Leather Carp or 

 " Leder-karpfen " (319), which has very few scales, if any at all, 

 and the skin is thick and leathery. 



The Crucian Carp, Cyprinus vulgaris (322), differs from the 

 Common Carp in having no barbels, and in the different arrange- 

 ment of the pharyngeal teeth. The iris is silvery, whereas in the 

 Carp it is golden. This fish rarely exceeds six or seven inches in 

 length, but may weigh as much as 2 lbs. The Crucian Carp was 

 probably introduced into England from Hamburg, for in the 

 earliest references to this as an English fish it is called the 

 " Hamburg Carp." The term Crucian is evidently a corruption 

 of u Karausche," the German name of the fish. The Prussian 

 Carp is but a lean and elongated variety of the Crucian Carp. 



The Gold-fish (323) is a golden yellow or red breed of Carp- 

 like fish produced as the result of artificial selection in China and 

 Japan ; it has been introduced into Europe and America as an 

 ornamental fish for aquaria and ponds in gardens and parks. The 

 brilliancy generally diminishes when the fish are kept in the open, 

 and they tend to revert to their original greenish colour. Many 

 varieties and monstrosities of the Gold-fish have been produced as 

 the result of domestication, and, in the case of their tails, of 

 mutilation. 



The Catla, Catla buchanani (324), is a large Indian fish ; it is 

 Carp-like, but the head is more arched between the eyes, there are 



Mirror 



Carp. 



Crucian 

 Carp. 



Gold-fish. 



Catla. 



