136 



FISHES AND FISHING. 



which graced the tables of the monks of olden times. 

 Stews and ponds were common, to enable those who 

 lived at a distance from the sea, to satisfy their con- 

 sciences by eating fish on fast days. 



Carp were in England when Dame Berners wrote 

 on angling, published in 1486 ; therefore, it is un- 

 true that they were introduced by Leonard Mascal, 

 temp. Henry YIII. 



As some persons may not understand what a flue 

 or flow net is, the following description may be use- 

 ful. It is a fine net, an inch to an inch and a half 

 meshes, double the depth of the water intended to be 

 fished, and a j^ard or two wider. On each side of 

 this net is one of coarser twine, and very large 

 meshes, about six inches deeper than the water. 

 These three nets are joined together to a cord at top 

 and bottom, the former having large perforated 

 bungs, fixed at certain distances, strung on it ; the 

 latter, oblong, perforated bullets, secured in the 

 same way. By this, it will be seen that the middle 

 net hangs loose, and the moment fish are disturbed 

 by the poles being plunged into the water, they try 

 to escape ; in doing so, they run through the outside 

 large meshes, and striking against the inner loose 

 net, it enwraps them like a bag ; thus they are caught 

 by the gills, and the more they struggle the more 

 securely they are held. These poles are useful in 



