THE CARPS 97 
carried up by the eddy as the water enters his mouth. 
This food is thoroughly ground into a pulp by the 
teeth in the throat, any larger pieces of food which 
pass into the stomach being returned to the throat 
to be masticated. 
If you take any of the carp family and slip your 
finger behind the gill cover, you will feel several arches 
on either side which carry the gills, and attached to the 
last of these arches are the throat teeth. 
In the carp the throat teeth have broad grinding 
surfaces, which work against the pad of gristle in the 
roof of the throat. In the chubb these teeth are 
pointed, and when they are made to meet the teeth 
on the other side, this fish is able to cut a minnow 
clean in two. 
The grinding teeth of the carp shown in the illustra- 
tion have an interesting history. In 1902, Ipswich was 
visited by a terrific storm; the water rushing down the 
paths in the park, cut great gulleys six feet deep, and 
a torrent of mud and sand swept through the fish ponds ; 
from these ponds the water went through the houses 
at the bottom of the park, and carried fish right into 
the town. The carp from which these photographs were 
obtained weighed seven pounds, and was found among 
the branches of a tree in a private garden. Among other 
fish a four-pound eel was taken in the cellar of a house. 
Thousands of fish died, their gills being absolutely 
clogged with fine sand; many of the bigger fish might 
have been saved if the grit had been gently washed away, 
H 
