198 THE BARBEL. 



on him afterwards ; a feeling quite sufficient to actuate an ardent 

 sportsman. Whoever, indeed, heard of a fox hunter of so omniver- 

 ous an appetite as to dream of eating the slightest portion of the 

 animal he so ardently pursues ? The utmost that I am aware a 

 sportsman's appetite has ever attained to, in this respect, has been 

 to partake of some delicate portion of the smoked carcass of a 

 badger cured in sweet pickle ; a feat which no disciple of Nimrod, 

 unless he be as hungry as Esau, can ever be expected to achieve. 

 According to Walton, the spawning time of the barbel is in 

 April, but more recent authorities have stated the time to be May 

 or June, and the latter seems to be a correct opinion as to the bar- 

 bels of the present day, however they may have managed these 

 matters a couple of centuries previously. After spawning they 

 soon recover their wonted health and spirits, and become as good 

 as they ever are a month or so afterwards for good to eat they 

 never can become the utmost that can be said of them being that 

 they are not utterly worthless as an article of food, without the 

 slightest pretentions to excellence. In fact Walton himself, who 

 would never have spoken ill of any thing if he could have helped 

 it, admits of the barbel " that he may rather be said not to be ill 

 than good meat." Immediately after spawning the barbel of both 

 sexes shelter themselves for a short period from the strong force of 

 the current amongst the weeds, or return to the more tranquil 

 parts of the river, which, as they increase in strength, they again 

 desert for the gravelly rapids, keeping always close to the ground 

 and swine-like rooting up the loose gravel with their callous noses : 

 some may however be found in all parts of the river. They are 

 also very fond of playing about the old piles of bridges, feeding 

 upon the larvae of the insects that infest the mossy weeds that grow 

 upon them. When the weeds of the river begin to rot and decay, 

 these fish retire into the deeper waters, and as winter approaches 

 they become lazy, and in fact nearly torpid, crowding and huddling 

 together in large masses. In this state they are easily taken by 

 nets, as also by jigging with the tormentor, which is effected by 

 having three or four stout hooks tied back to back, attached to a 

 strong rod and line, the hooks being sunk to the bottom by means 

 of a plumb of lead, the tackling is guided amongst the thickest of 

 them, or directed just under one particular fish, and then being 

 drawn up rapidly, one or other of the hooks will, if properly 

 managed, run into and stick fast in the fish. The same plan is 



