THE CARP. 71 



public ferry, where the bottom was gravelly, and the water not too 

 clear. They were caught between three and five in the morning, in 

 August, whilst the thick, heavy dew was on the water, and before 

 it had been disturbed by the usual traffic. 



The hooks commonly recommended for perch, are too small. 

 No. 4 will be found the most efficient size ; for this fish has a large 

 mouth, out of which a small hook may very easily slip. 



As to the float, if he must have one, the angler should be guided 

 by circumstances, such as weight of shot, nature of bait, current, 

 depth, &c., but on no account should it be very large ; indeed, as 

 an ordinary rule, every part of an angler's apparatus, which may be 

 seen by the fish, should be as small as the exigencies of the case 

 will permit. 



In many countries, the perch is esteemed a very dainty dish. 

 In Italy, Androvandus praises it. Gesner prefers it to the trout. 

 He tells us that the Germans have a proverb, " More wholesome 

 than a perch of the Rhine;" and adds, that the river perch is so 

 wholesome, that physicians allow him to be eaten freely by 

 wounded men, those suffering from dangerous fevers, and by 

 women in child-bed. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



THE CARP. 



THIS is a shy, cunning, and careful fish, very crafty and suspicious 

 and, therefore, very difficult to deceive. All the skill and ingenuity 

 of the angler, are required to entrap him ; and his patience that 

 only virtue which the would-be wise of this world will allow him 

 will be tried to the uttermost. 



The carp is a very handsome fish, and is very highly esteemed, 

 especially among some continental nations, for^his edible qualities. 



He is to be found in most of the ponds and rivers of Europe ; but 

 he chiefly frequents those waters which have a very gentle flow ; 

 and in haunts of this kind, his flesh acquires the highest degree of 

 delicacy and goilt of which it is susceptible. Perhaps, those fish 

 are the best, both in colour and flavour, which are taken out of lake?, 

 and ponds of pure, limpid water, which is continually changed by 

 a placid current perpetually nuining through them, and the bottoms 

 of which are covered with fine sand or pebbles. If, in addition to 

 these advantages, the water which drains into these ponds or lakes 

 from the surrounding lands, falls over a shingly or gravelly soil, 

 the carp will be of splendid quality, and become a most delicious fish. 



