178 THE CARP. 



in 1496 ; in which work the carp is spoken of as, " a deyntous 

 fisshe/' whilst Mascall's time was about the year 1660. Mr. Yar. 

 rell also mentions that in the privy purse expenses of King Henry 

 the eighth, various entries are made of rewards made to persons 

 for bringing carps to the King. 



Nor is Baker's couplet one jot more correct as to the hops, beer, 

 and turkies. An excise on beer existed as far back as the reign 

 of king Edward the First, which was in those days preserved by 

 means of wormwood and other bitter plants, hops, being un- 

 known till about the year 1534; and so little favour did they then 

 find in the eyes of this nation, that about four years afterwards we 

 find them petitioning the parliament against hops as a wicked 

 weed ; with about as much justice and foresight, as a narrow mind- 

 ed set of ignorant teetotallers might present a similar petition at 

 the present day. Turkies it seems were first known in this coun- 

 try about the year 1528. 



Aristotle and Pliny say that the carp spawns six times in a 

 year ; but in this country it seems that it occurs but once during 

 that period, and takes place about the months of May and June, 

 some spawning earlier, and others later, as is the case with the 

 salmon and many other fishes ; some of whom deposit their spawn 

 months earlier than others, so that some carps being to be met 

 with in roe all through the summer, affords no criterion whatever 

 that they spawn more than once in the year. At the time of 

 spawning the female is usually attended by two or three males, and 

 the ova being cast on the flags and weeds is there impregnated by 

 the males, and in the course of about ten days it is enlivened, un- 

 less destroyed by other fish, waterfowl, or other animals, that are 

 pretty certain if they come across it, to devour the greater portion 

 if not the whole. But for this, and the young being exposed to many 

 dangers in their infant state, the increase would exceed all bounds. 

 Bloch found 237,000 ova in a female of a pound and a half, and 



floures that makyth him hungry ; he hereth the melodyous armony of 

 fowles ; he seeth the yonge swannes, heerons, duckes, cotes, and many 

 other foules, wyth their brodes ; whyche me semyth better than alle the 

 noyse of houndys , the Wastes of hornys, and the scrye of foulis, that hun- 

 ters, fawkeners, and foulers can make. And if the angler take fisshe, sure- 

 ly then there is noo man merier than he is in his spyryte." 



