THE COMMON CARP. 
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ORDER II. — MALACOPTERYGrII. 
Div. I. — Abdominales. 
Family Cyprinidae. 
The Common Carp, Cyprinus Carpio, Linn. 
This fish, which was introduced into the British Islands, has long been 
in Ireland. Localities noted Montalto and Killyleagh, County Down ; 
and Markethill, County Armagh (Mr. J. Sinclaire) ; County Dublin (Dr. 
Ball ) ; Counties of Galway and Sligo (Mr. R. Barklie).* 
These are localities of which I happen to have heard ; there are proba- 
bly many others, but this is of little consequence with regard to an in- 
troduced species. Dr. Ball informs me that some years ago he was pre- 
sent at the capture of two or three dozen of carp in a pond covering 
several acres of ground at Abbeyville, near Malahide. The largest 
weighed 17^ lbs. and the smallest 6 lbs. Tench, minnows, and rudd 
were also in this pond. 
The Chub ( Cyprinus Cephalus) and the Barbel ( Cyprinus Barbus ) are in-, 
eluded in Dr. P. Browne’s catalogue (1744) ; but we require something more 
than the mere writing out of a name before we can include species in our Fauna. 
This catalogue is carelessly drawn up. 
The Golden Carp, or Gold and Silver Fish, Cyprinus auratus, 
Linn. 
In some ponds near Belfast this species bred the first year of its intro- 
duction ; in others, not for several years ; and in one the fishes Rave never 
increased. The temperature of the water in the first was warmest, and 
in the last coldest. A gentleman who resides in this neighbourhood in- 
formed me of a singular fatality which befell a gold-fish confined, at his 
house, within a glass globe such as is usually appropriated to their use. 
The globe filled with water and containing this fish was placed at the 
drawing-room window : the rays of the sun thus collected, formed a focus 
on a table covered with a woollen cloth, and the consequence was, that 
both the cloth and table were partially burnt. The fish, as may be anti- 
cipated, was dead when the accident was discovered. 
31st May, 1846. — In the pond before Hampton Court Palace [Eng- 
land] are very large and variously coloured fish of this species, and I was 
interested to-day in looking at them feeding. They often made a stoop 
vertically downwards to seize small objects, living, I presume, on the 
chara and other plants covering the bottom of the pond ; and I particu- 
larly remarked that one of the fishes several times cropped the chara 
itself. 
The Gudgeon, Gobio Jluviatilis, Will., 
Inhabits many of the waters of Ireland, preferring gravelly and oozy 
bottoms. 
Localities noted : — Lough Neagh and River Lagan, County Antrim ; 
Liffey and Royal Canal, Dublin (Dr. Ball) ; Kilkenny (Tighe) ; The Bar- 
row (Rev. B. J. Clarke) ; The Shannon Canal near Portumna and brooks 
* Introduced by the great Earl of Cork into the South of Ireland. — Vide 
Robert Boyle in a paper to the Royal Society. — R. Ball. 
