474 
VERTEBRATA. 
THE COMMON CARP. 
especially as a change from tlie salt-fisli diet to whicli many good Catholics were condemned 
during Lent. The CyprinidcB feed principally upon aquatic plants and worms ; but a few of 
them seem occasionally to prey upon 
small fishes. 
Genus CYPRINUS : Cyprinus, in- 
cludes the Common Carp of Europe, 
C. carpio: it is ten to forty inches 
long, and sometimes attains the weight 
of a hundred pounds; the general 
color is rich olive-brown above ; yel- 
lowish-white beneath. It inhabits 
most of the fresh waters of Europe, 
lakes, ponds, and rivers, generally pre- 
ferring still water. It is kept and 
cultivated in numerous reservoirs, especially in Austria, Prussia, and Great Britain. It was first 
introduced into the latter country about three ceiituries ago ; it has also been introduced into 
this country with complete success, though on a limited scale. It is in season for the table from 
October to April, A carp has been known to live to the age of one hundred and fifty years. 
The Gold Carp, G. auratus, often called Gold-Fish and Silver-Fish, as it assumes both 
colors, is originally from China, the most 
beautiful species being taken from Lake 
Che-Kyang. Every person of fashion in 
that country is said to keej) them, either 
in porcelain A^essels or in the basins that 
decorate the courts of Chinese houses. 
The elegance of their form and colors, and 
their playful and graceful motions, to- 
gether with their tameness and facility 
of production, and what is exceedingly 
rare in fishes, a seeming aff"ection for eacli 
other, have made -them favorites every- 
where as ornaments of the parlor and the fountain. Though they can bear high as well as low 
degrees of heat, still they thrive best in water at a temperature of about eighty degrees. 
Genus BARBUS: Barhus.—Th\& 
includes the Barbel, B. vulgaris, 
said to be so called on account 
of the barbs or wattles about its 
mouth; it is common in the warm 
and temperate parts of Europe, being 
abundant in the Rhine, Elbe, and 
Weser; also in some of the English 
rivers. They are shy of observation, 
but are said, when supposing them- 
selves unnoticed, to show considerable 
playfulness. They grow to the size 
of fifteen pounds, and in some places 
are caught in large numbers for food. 
In cold weather they become torpid, 
and may be taken by the hand. 
Genus GOBIO : Gohio.—Th\s in^ 
eludes the Gudgeon, G. Jiuviatilis : it 
is common in Europe, and is found in 
streams which flow over gravelly soil. It swims in shoals, feeds on worms, aquatic insects and 
THE GOLD CABP. 
THE BARBEL. 
THE GUDGEON. 
