230 THE COMPLETE ANGLER 



and being sometimes let dry, you may observe what 

 kind of fish either increases or thrives best in that water ; 

 for they differ much, both in their breeding and feeding. 



Lebault also advises, that if your ponds be not very 

 large and roomy, that you often feed your fish, by throwing 

 into them chippings of bread, curds, grains, or the entrails 

 of chickens or of any fowl or beast that you kill to feed 

 yourselves ; for these afford fish a great relief. He 

 says, that frogs and ducks do much harm, and devour 

 both the spawn and the young fry of all fish, especially 

 of the carp ; and I have, besides experience, many 

 testimonies of it. But Lebault allows water-frogs to be 

 good meat, especially in some months, if they be fat : 

 but you are to note, that he is a Frenchman ; and we 

 English will hardly believe him, though we know frogs 

 are usually eaten in his country : however, he advises 

 to destroy them and king-fishers out of your ponds. 

 And he advises not to suffer much shooting at wild 

 fowl ; for that, he says, affrightens and harms and 

 destroys the fish. 



Note, that carps and tench thrive and breed best 

 when no other fish is put with them into the same pond ; 

 for all other fish devour their spawn, or at least the 

 greatest part of it. And note, that clods of grass thrown 

 into any pond, feed any carps in summer ; and that 

 garden-earth and parsley thrown into a pond recovers 

 and refreshes the sick fish. And note, that when you 

 store your pond, you are to put into it two or three 

 melters for one spawner, if you put them into a breeding 

 pond ; but if into a nurse-pond or feeding-pond, in 

 which they will not breed, then no care is to be taken, 

 whether there be most male or female carps. 



It is observed, that the best ponds to breed carps 

 are those that be stony or sandy, and are warm and free 

 from wind, and that are not deep, but have willow- 

 trees and grass on their sides, over which the water 



