THE CARP. . 173 



single fish, but without even obtaining a nibble, to keep alive his 

 hopes. But endurance like this cannot last for ever, so that at 

 length even the value of the prize, enhanced as it doubtless is by 

 the difficulty of obtaining it, proves insufficient to counterbalance 

 the heavy tax that is thus laid upon the patience, and the attempt 

 in consequence is relinquished in despair. But for all this the 

 carp may be prevailed upon to bite, and when hooked there is no 

 fish that shows more game, or maintains the contest for life and 

 liberty for a longer time. 



The carp is more of a pond than a river fish, although in some 

 of the quieter parts of the latter I have found them tolerably abun- 

 dant. In clay bottoms they rarely if ever take a bait freely. 

 Walton expresses an opinion that it is more difficult to entice a 

 carp to bite in a river than a pond ; but during my practice I have 

 experienced the exact reverse. In a small brook in Hampshire, 

 which I had occasionally the good fortune to fish in when a boy, I 

 seldom fished throughout the day without getting hold of a carp 

 my catching him was quite another matter whilst in the lower 

 pond at Shirley near Southampton, and which was well stored 

 with these fishes who were constantly tantalizing us by jumping 

 some feet above water, and exhibiting their mighty dimensions, 

 I never once got a bite from any one, though I fished in it re- 

 peatedly for several seasons, nor did I ever meet with a brother 

 angler who in this respect had been more successful there than 

 myself. 



Before proceeding further it may not be improper to remark 

 that there are two distinct species of fish, perfectly distinguishable 

 from each other, both passing under the appellation of carp : a 

 name, strictly speaking, only applicable to the larger species, the 

 cyprinus carpio of Linnaeus. The proper name of the smaller spe- 

 cies is the gibile, or the crucian ; in Warwickshire it is known by 

 the name of crowger : and is the same fish as the cyprinus gebelio 

 of Bloch. This fish is of a much smaller size than the common 

 carp, as itYarely arrives at the weight of two pounds ; and a half 

 a pound being the usual average ; whilst the common carp has 

 been known to exceed thirty pounds, and four or five may be con- 

 sidered a fair average size. Daniel, in his Rural Sports, notices a 

 brace sent by a Mr. Ladbroke from his park at Gatton to the then 

 Lord Egremont that weighed thirty five pounds. Mr. Yarrell also 

 states that in the fishing of the large piece of water at Stourhead, 



