FISHES AND FISHING. 135 



will feed freely, and the monks no doubt took advan 

 tage of that knowledge. 



To fatten Carp. " Barley meal, half a gallon ; 

 chalk, in powder, one pound and a half, very clean ; 

 clay, a sufficient quantity to make a stiff paste. Place 

 this in the stew or pond, in a net, not too small 

 meshes, suspended about a foot from the bottom. 

 When all is sucked away but the clay, place fresh in 

 the net, or nets/' 



Now, how the carp are to suck away the barley- 

 meal and chalk, leaving the clay behind, appears 

 difficult to understand. Probably, barley-meal, chalk, 

 flour, and honey, would be a better compound, appor 

 tioning the quantity to the number of fish. 



The carp should be kept by themselves, or tench 

 may be in the same stew, and fed with the same 

 food. The pike, perch, and eels, should also each be in 

 separate stews ; the first fed with large live gudgeons, 

 small roach, dace, or lampers, cut in pieces; the 

 second and third, with malt, soaked in sheep's blood, 

 live minnows, or moderate-sized worms ; but the dead 

 articles of food should not be more than the fish can 

 consume, otherwise the water will become putrid, 

 and there should be a gentle current of water con 

 stantly passing through the stews. 



In this way, fish might be obtained far superior in 

 point of nutriment and flavour, and so rival those 



