THE CARP 173 



described as lying immovable on the mud, with their 

 heads together, forming a circle. 



They are extremely cautious, and it is a problem 

 for the angler to find a line strong enough to hold 

 Carp and yet fine enough to escape their notice, 

 whilst the net fisherman finds them full of ruses to 

 escape him, such as burrowing under or leaping over 

 the edge of his seine. 



Writing of the Carp in the Norfolk Broads, the 

 Rev. R. Lubbock says : " Mrs. Glasse's receipt for 

 stewing these fish begins with these words, ' First 

 catch your Carp.' The worthy dame here displays 

 acumen. In our extensive waters no fish baffle the 

 fisherman so completely as large Carp. Every one 

 has his peculiar tale of disappointment — how he 

 surrounded a shoal of Carp with his turning net, 

 and some sprang over and the rest ' mudded ' ; or 

 how he found them working in a dyke, and placed 

 a trammel net above and below them, so as to cut 

 off retreat both ways, and then dragged the inter- 

 mediate space with a third net, and got only one of 

 the smallest. I believe that some of our fen-men 

 regard this fish with mysterious awe ; his exits and 

 entrances puzzle them — they regard him as some- 

 thing more than a fish, and look upon him as what 

 the Scotch call ' No cannie.'" 



Carp can live for a long time out of water, and 

 can be sent alive for considerable distances packed 

 in damp moss ; they often breathe atmospheric air 

 under normal conditions in the warm weather, 

 coming to the surface and taking it in with a noise 

 which has been described as " smacking their lips." 



The breeding season is usually in May or June, 

 but may be prolonged throughout the summer, 



