Is famous for the sweetness of its flesh, when of moderate size, that is, when measuring about twelve to fifteen inches in length, and weighing about three pounds. The scales are large, with a golden gloss upon a dark green ground. These fish sometimes grow to the length of three or four feet, and contain a great quantity of fat. The soft roe of the Carp is esteemed a great delicacy among epicures. In the canals of Chantilly, formerly the seat of the Prince of Condé, Carps have been kept for above one hundred years, most of them appearing hoary through old age, and so tame that they answered to their names when the keeper called them to be fed. This fish has large molar teeth only, situate at the back part of the head or throat, and a broad tongue; the tail is widely spread as well as the fins, which are inclined to a reddish tint. Carp that live in rivers and running streams are preferred for the table, as those which inhabit pools and ponds have generally a muddy and disagreeable taste. Though so cunning in general as to be called the River Fox, yet at spawning time they suffer themselves to be tickled and caught without attempting to escape. It is said that Carp were first brought to England about three hundred years ago. They are very tenacious of life, and at the inns in Holland are often kept alive a month or six weeks, by being fed with bread and milk, and laid on wet moss in a net, which is hung from the ceiling in an airy place. The moss is kept moist, and water is thrown over the fish twice a day.
Carp is always considered a delicacy for the table, especially when stewed in port wine; and it appears to have been long held in high estimation on that account, as we find, from the privy purse expenses of Henry VIII., that the bluff king was exceedingly fond of Carp.
THE TENCH, (Cyprinus tinca,)
Like the carp, is remarkably tenacious of life. Its body is thick and short, and seldom exceeds twelve inches in length, or four pounds in weight. The eyes are red; the back, dorsal, and ventral fins dusky; the head, sides, and abdomen of a greenish hue, mixed with gold; and the tail very broad. The Tench delights in still water, in the muddy parts of ponds, where it is the most secure from the voracious ramblings and fierce attacks of the tyrant pike, and from the hook of the angler; here it lives nearly motionless, lurking beneath flags, reeds, and weeds. This inactive life has enabled some individuals of this species to attain an extraordinary bulk. We have read, as a well-authenticated fact, that in the northern part of England, in a piece of water, which having been long neglected, was filled with timber, stones, and rubbish, two hundred Tench, and as many perch of good size were found; and that one fish in particular, which seemed to have been shut up in a nook, had not only surpassed all the others in size, but had also taken the form of the hole in which it had been accidentally confined. The body was in the shape of a half-moon, conforming in the convexity of its outlines to the concavity of the dungeon where this innocent sufferer had been immured for a number of years; it weighed eleven pounds.