216 MALACOPTERYGII. — CYPRINID^. 



is crowded with punts, and numerous anglers 

 throng the banks, among whom may be seen 

 many of the gentler sex. Gudgeon fishing is 

 then the order of the day, and Chub, Roach, and 

 all the coarser kinds of the Cyprinidce, are taken 

 in great numbers. Barbel fishing begins later, 

 and continues vigorously prosecuted till October, 

 when the coldness of the weather gradually puts 

 a stop to all fishing until the return of genial 

 spring. 



The Carp is wary, and often tries both the 

 angler's skill and patience. The small ones, how- 

 ever, may be caught readily, but the large ones 

 seem to have learned wisdom, "long experience 

 having made them sage." They avoid the baited 

 hook and the net ; the latter by sinking into the 

 mud, and allowing it to be dragged over them. 

 They delight in still water where there are aquatic 

 plants with large leaves : they feed on worms, the 

 larvae of insects, the spawn of other fishes, and the 

 shoots and tender leaves of water plants. It is 

 recommended to sow grass-seed around the edges 

 of ponds where Carp are kept. 



" There is," says Mr. Jesse, himself a devotee of 

 the gentle art, " a freshness, a repose, an indescrib- 

 able enjoyment of solitude on the banks of a 

 clear and placid river, which a lover of Nature can 

 alone sufficiently appreciate. The air is so pure 

 on a fine morning in the spring, her breath so sweet 

 as it passes through the snowy hawthorn bushes, 

 the sloping hills are so varied with trees and 

 flowers, and the meadows so fresh and gay, that 

 cold must that heart be, and insensible to the 

 charms of river-scenery, that does not enjoy such a 

 spot, and look around him with delight. Those 



