202 
CARP. 
nostrils another pair, but these are much smaller 
and shorter. The lateral line is slightly curved, and 
marked with a row of blackish specks. The dorsal 
fin extends far towards the tail, which is slightly 
forked. 
The carp is said to have been brought into Eng- 
land by Leonand Marschal about the year 1514 , 
since which time it has continued to increase, and is 
now become a common fish. The haunts of these 
fish in the winter months are the broadest and most 
quiet parts of the river ; but in summer months 
they lie in deep holes, under the roots of trees or 
hollow banks ; they are extremely cunning, and 
frequently exhaust the patience of the angler. They 
are not only very shy of taking a bait, but will 
sometimes escape from a net, either by leaping over 
the sides, or by immersing themselves so deep in 
mud that the net will pass over them. This degree 
of cunning has gained them the name of the river 
fox. 
The longevity of carp is very great : instances are 
upon record of their having lived to a hundred years; 
and Dr. Smith, in his Sketch of a Tour to the Con- 
tinent, mentions some of these fish, which he met 
with at the prince of Conde’s seat at Chantilly, that 
were silvered over with age, and so tame, that when 
any passengers approached their watery habitation, 
they used to come to the shore in such numbers as 
to heave each other out of the water, begging for 
bread, of which a quantity was always kept at hand 
on purpose to feed them. The ponds at Versailles 
