CHAPTER VI 
THE CARPS 
TaE majority of freshwater fishes found in the northern 
climes of Europe, Asia and America belong to the carp 
family. 
In our islands we find the carp itself, the tench, the 
bream, and all the ‘“ white fishes,’’ such as the roach, 
rudd, chubb, and dace. 
The carp vary immensely in size and external appear- 
ance. The huge mahaseer which has given sport to many 
an Anglo-Indian in the rivers of Northern India is a carp, 
so also is the homely minnow. 
The word “carp,” however, usually conveys to our 
minds a big bronze-coloured fish covered with large 
scales, and possessing a leathery mouth which can be 
shot out like a tube. 
When writing about the carp, it is usual to start 
with historical allusions to his antiquity, always 
bringing in Fontainebleau, Louis XIV., the Prince of 
Condé, and the monks of old. The writer then 
goes on to describe how to fish for him -with rasp- 
berries, cherries, peas and plums, pudding, cake, and 
paste, the last prepared with or without worm juice, 
according to the fancy of the angler and the carp. 
But I propose to deal with him first as a sporting 
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