2oo The Complete Angler 



may grow in the pond's bottom, which Carps will 

 eat greedily in all the hot months, if the pond be 

 clean. The letting your pond dry and sowing oats 

 in the bottom is also good, for the fish feed the 

 faster ; and being sometimes let dry, you may ob- 

 serve 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 



