CYPRINID^E. 163 



introduced into and widely disseminated in the temperate parts of Europe 

 and Asia. It appears to have been cultivated in Germany and France as 

 early as 1258 ; introduced into Sweden in 1560, and into Denmark in 1660, and 

 is now found from Italy to Sweden and Norway, and from France to Russia 

 and the boundaries of Eastern Siberia. A considerable number are taken in 

 the Black Sea and Caspian ; and Nordmann remarks upon their presence in the 

 salt lakes of New Russia. Among the older writers Cassiodorus, of the sixth 

 century, terms the Carpa of the Danube a costly fish of delicate flavour and 

 supplied to the table of princes. 



When this fish was first introduced into England is involved in obscurity ; it 

 is not alluded to in the Anglo-Saxon Dictionary of ^Elfric, who, in 1051, died 

 Archbishop of York. The first mention of it seems to be in Dame Juliana 

 Berners' Boke of St. Albans, published in 1496, wherein she speaks of the carp 

 as " a dayntous fysshe, but there ben but fewe in Englonde, and therefore I wryte 

 the lesse of hym." About 1514 * Mascall is said to have introduced it 

 into Sussex, probably extending its range. The Rev. J. Hughes, of Meltham, 

 observed that he had read most of the works of the Welsh poets, from 

 Aneurin down to the last century, but in none had he found the Welsh name for 

 the carp. The doggrel lines of — 



" Turkeys, carp, hop, pickerel and beer 

 Came into England all in one year" 



— may be considered interesting as verses, but not faithful representations 

 of facts. 



It appears to be absent from the Orkneys, and is not so common in Scotland as 

 it is in England, where it is found in lakes, ponds, canals, railway ponds and rivers 

 throughout the country. It is especially fine in some of our eastern counties, as 

 in Yorkshire and the Norfolk broads. It was formerly said not to be found in 

 Cornwall, but is now present there. Moore observes upon its absence from the 

 Isle of Wight. 



In Ireland it has been noted in County Down, Armagh, Galway, Sligo, 

 Kilkenny and Dublin, and said to have been introduced into the south by the 

 great Earl of Cork. Rutty observes that this fish was acclimatized in Ireland 

 during the reign of James I (a.d. 1603 to 1625). 



The example figured is a female full of roe which died in October, 1882, while 

 in transit from Buckinghamshire to the Royal Westminster Aquarium. It is 

 16'8 inches long, and for it I am indebted to J. Carrington, Esq., f.l.S. 



As to the size these fish attain in this country, that varies with localities, one 

 over 20 lb. appears to be a very large one. One was taken at Sheffield Park in 

 1882 which weighed 19 lb. (Field, November 18, 1882) : on emptying the lake 

 at Bay ham Abbey, near Lamberhurst, in July, 1870, one was secured weighing 

 21 lb. 10 oz. (Coombe, Field, November 25, 1822) : Yarrell exhibited one 30 inches 

 long and weighing 22 lb. at the Zoological Society, November 22, 1836, it was 

 taken in the Mere, near Payne's Hill, Surrey : in the autumn of 1858, the great 

 pond at Harling, near Petersfield, was fished, and a carp of 24| lb. taken (Gordon, 

 History of Harting) : in Holland 20 lb. fish are not rare, while in the German 

 lakes they attain to 40 lb. or 50 lb.f 



* Dr. Giinther places the date a century later, observing, " the year 1614 is assigned as the date 

 of its first introduction into England " (Introduction Study of Fish, p. 590), or 118 years subsequent 

 to the date of Dame Juliana Berners' work wherein she tells the reader how to catch it by angling 

 in this country. 



f In 1711 one was said to have been dragged from the Oder, near Frankfort, 9 feet long and 

 3 deep, and weighing 76 lb. : Jovius alludes to another from Lake Como of 200 lb. weight ! 



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