Monastic imsi'aimks. 'jl 



experiments as these lust -luuucd uould be ^wrrc.v.v ,• althouj^h I 

 f;;utljer from ;i note of Dr. Hetliuue's, to liis beautiful edition of 

 WiUton, that he rather leans to the opinion that the various 

 species of this family were more eapal)le of intermixture, and 

 mort' aeeustomed to intirhrrcd, than 1 ;uu disposed to ercdit. 



At all events, there woulil be j^reat interest and entertain- 

 ment in the instituting such a serii's of experiments ; and tlie 

 result, whatever it should be, eould not fail of imi)ortance. 



That those whieh 1 first mentioned arc eminently practieable, 

 is not to be doubted ; and there is strong reason for believing 

 that this seienee was fully xuulerstood, and constantly practised, 

 like many other good things now forgotten, or, as we flatter 

 ourselves, recently discovered, by the monks of old. 



That Caqj were introduced from the continent to England, 

 by the monks, is nejirly certain ; this, however, could be accom- 

 plished without recourse to any artilieial modes of produein;^' or 

 raising the young fry. There are, however, many and powerfid 

 reasons for believing that the Orayling [Thijmallus Vcxiilifcr), the 

 Charr {Salino Uinbla), the Gwyuiad {Corvgomis Fcra), and perhaps, 

 also, the \ endacc {Coregonus \"iUu<jhbii), the Pidlan {Corvyottua 

 Pollan), and the Powan {Corvt/onits Lacepedei), were also intro- 

 duced by the same agency from foreign countries. This belief 

 is supported by the fact, that these fish exist only in isolated, 

 and often distant waters ; sometimes in only one of two neigh- 

 bouring rivers, whereof that which contains them is apparently 

 the least adapted to their Iiabits ; but always in such waters as 

 had many or diHtinguished monastic institutions on their banks. 

 Wlnle England was Catholic, great attention was paid to the 

 raising and fattening the choicest varieties of fresh-water fish ; 



