56 ANGLING. 



when, thinking he is going to lose it, he will often rush 

 at it and bolt it at once ; this would probably frighten the 

 carp, but it frequently has the opposite effect on the 

 tench ; when the float slowly sinks and streaks away 

 towards the middle of the pond, you may strike and do 

 your best. Tench are very fond of weeds, and will often 

 abound in small ponds which are quite full of them and 

 impossible to fish. In such cases I have often had good 

 sport by setting a man to work to rake away a clear space 

 of some twenty or thirty or more feet square ; bait this 

 well once or twice, and you may chance to get a good day's 

 sport in it ; and do not be in a hurry to leave off, for as 

 long as you can see your float the tench will keep on 

 biting, particularly on a warm, still evening and often 

 better then than in the broad daylight. 



Tench are very slimy fish, and when cooked this slime 

 should be wiped or scraped off; but they are a much 

 better fish for the table in an c dinary way than carp, 

 Ix-ing succulent and nourishing food. The old story of 

 the tench being gifted with medicinal properties is, of 

 course, pure nonsense, his slime not being an equivalent 

 for " parmacetti " for any wound " inward " or outward. 

 Both carp and tench a a remarkable for the long time they 

 can live out of the water, if only kept a little damp ; and 

 in cool weather they may be transported almost any 

 reasonable distance in damp moss. The stories of the 

 endurance of tench under these circumstances are endless. 

 I once carried one 160 miles in only a damp cloth, and he 

 was quite lively at the end of his journey. The golden 

 tench, or gold schley, a remarkable species of tench of a 

 bright yellow gold colour, was brought to this country 

 years ago by Mr. Higford Burr, of Aldermaston, and has 

 bred and thriven well with him, and may be seen in 



