CARP, Cyprinus carpio, a fish of the family Cyprinitio3 (q.v.), of which, indeed, it. may be regarded as the type, a native of the central countries of Europe, and corre sponding latitudes in Asia, but on account of its value as an article of food, long natu ralized in many countries in which it is not indigenous. No fish, indeed, except its con gener the goldfish, has been so much transported by man from one place to another; and this has been the more easily and successfully accomplished, that the C. can subsist, longer than most fishes out of the water, if only kept moist. The C. is said not to be originally a native of England, but the statements sometimes made as to the time of its introduction are untrustworthy; it certainly existed in England before the 16th century. It is mentioned in the famous Boke of St. Albans, in 1496, by Dame Juliana Barnes, as a " dayntous fysshe, but scarce." The C. spawns in May, and is out of condition until July. It does not succeed so well in Scotland, of which country it is certainly not a, native, as in the s. of England; and in northern countries generally, it neither increases so rapidly in size, nor exhibits so great fecundity, as in more congenial climates. Its fecundity, in favorable circumstances, is prodigious; more than 700,000 eggs have been i found in the ovaries of a single C. of moderate size. The C. is rather an inhabitant of lakes and ponds than of rivers, in which, if it is found, it shows a preference for the stillest parts. It feeds chiefly on aquatic plants, and may be fattened on lettuces and similar soft vegetables, for which its teeth are remarkably adapted, being mostly large, flat, and situated on the pharynx very far back in the mouth; worms, mollusks, and insects, however, form part of its food. It deposits its spawn on weeds. It is said to live to a great age, even 150 or 200 years; its scales, "like the productions of the cuticle in some other animals, becoming gray and white with age. It is known to attain the weight of 3 lbs. when six years old. A C. of 18 or 19 lbs. weight is deemed
of extraordinary size in England, but one of 70 lbs. weight, and nearly 9 ft. long, was taken near Frankfort-on-the-Oder, and 30 or 40 lbs. is not an unusual size in some of the German lakes. In Austria and Prussia, many lakes and ponds are let at a high rent for the C. which they contain.—Of the other species of the genus eyprinus, as now restricted, which are found in Britain, none belong to the section having bar bules at the angles of the mouth. See CnumA..N, GIBEL, and GormFtsir.
To the angler, the C. is not a very valuable fish, as lie is by no means a free biter. When hooked, however, he runs strongly, and fights with considerable determination and cunning. In still water, the best means of fishing for C. is with a very light quill-float. A small piece of dead rush will answer the purpose equally well, or better. The float should be fixed on the line so that the bait may be upon the bottom, and if that be clear of weeds (the angler must take care that it is so), the C. will easily see and pick up the bait. It is advisable, however, in fishing for C., to use two rods, and the float to one of these should he so placed that the bait may be just off the bottom. The former tackle should be baited with well-scoured red worms, gentles, or grubs of some sort; the latter with a green pea, boiled wheat, or paste. The hooks should be of No. 8 size, and tolerably stout in the wire, and the gilt perfectly round and good, and as fine as is consistent with the size of the fish angled for. In usirig green peas or wheat, boil until the skin cracks. Very small potatoes of the size of a bean have been known to attract good carp. The best paste is bread worked up with a little brandy or gin. Gentles, wasp grubs, flies, and other insects, worms, or caterpillars, may all, tit times, take Carp. When a C. bites, he nibbles at the bait for some seconds before he takes it, and often takes off the tail of the worm, or strips the hook completely. But it is quite useless to strike until the float disappears entirely.