THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 149 



You may remember that I told you, Gesner says there are no 

 piKes in Spain ; and doubtless there was a time, about a hundred 

 or a few more years ago, when there were no carps in England ; 

 as may seem to be affirmed by Sir Richard Baker, in whose 

 Chronicle vou may find these verses : 



Hops and turkeys. Carps and heevy 

 Came into England all in a year. 



And doubtless, as of sea fish the herring dies soonest out of 

 the water, and of fresh-water fish the trout ; so, except the eel, 



their produce has been taken by fishermen, and they seem to flourish still 

 better even than in the ponds. A law was passed to protect them for five 

 years, that being, as a facetious member of the legislature observed, " the 

 term of naturalization for the scaly foreigner." The most strenuous na- 

 tive American could not carp at such a law. It were w^ell, if those gen- 

 tlemen who have ponds on their estates, would procure from the liberal 

 gentleman above named pairs of carp for propagation, as they would find 

 it contribute not only to luxury but profit. In some parts of Europe, a 

 large rent is derived in this manner from waste waters, even more than 

 from land. It is said that a pond of an acre, of ordinary depth, will feed 

 from three to four hundred carp. They thrive best in ponds of clayey or 

 marly sides, well stocked with aquatic plants ; though it is recommended 

 to feed them with grains and garbage, especially to keep the verdure plen- 

 tiful on the banks of the pond. How many waters, that now are useless to 

 the proprietor, might be readily stocked with this " deyntous fysshe ! " 



Walton's story of their being destroyed by frogs, is, most probably, a 

 mistake. Fish are sometimes killed in waters by causes which lie hid, at 

 least from the superficial observer. 



As we have little or no angling for carp, I add nothing to what Wal- 

 ton, who understood this part of his business very well, has given. If the 

 reader wishes more, he may find it in Bowlker's Art of Angling, or most 

 of the books before named. There are also directions given in the Ameri' 

 :an Angler's Guide, a book which deserves more credit than it has re- 

 ceived, though principally compiled from the English books, for it con- 

 tains much sound information, and, with the exception of the Sportsman'^ 

 Manual, published by Schreiner, Phil., 1841, is the only book of good 

 counsel on the subject, as yet brought out by an American ; Smith's few 

 pages at the end of his Fishes of Massachusetts, being confined to '.lout 

 fishing. It ought to be added that the beautiful gold carp or gold fish 

 (Cyprinus Auratus) has been acclimated in this country. They are 

 caught frequently in the Schuylkill, having escaped from the pond of the 

 late Mr. Pratt's garden ; and are seen in several ponds of New England, 

 particularly one at Brookline, Massachusetts. — im. Ed. 



