152 THE COMPLETE ANGLER, 



doubtless sweet pastes are best ; I mean pastes made with 

 honey or with sugar ; which, that you may the better beguile 

 this crafty fish, should be thrown in the pond or place in 

 which you fish for him, some hours, or longer, before you 

 undertake your trial of skill with the angle-rod ; and doubt- 

 less if it be thrown into the water a day or two before, at 

 several times, and in small pellets, you are the likelier, when 

 you fish for the carp, to obtain your desired sport. Or, in a 

 large pond, to draw them to a certain place, that they may 

 the better and with more hope be fished for, you are to throw 

 into it, in some certain place, either grains or blood mixed 

 with cow-dung, or with bran ; or any garbage, as chickens' 

 guts or the like ; and then some of your small sweet pellets 

 with which you purpose to angle : and these small pellets 

 being a few of them also thrown in as you are angling, will be 

 the better. 



And your paste must be thus made : take the flesh of a 

 rabbit or cat cut small ; and bean flour ; and if that may not 

 be easily got, get other flour ; and then mix these together, 

 and put to them either sugar, or honey (which I think better) : 

 and then beat these together in a mortar, or sometimes work 

 them in your hands, your hands being very clean ; and then 

 make it into a ball, or two, or three, as you like best, for your 

 use ; but you must work or pound it so long in the mortar, 

 as to make it so tough as to hang upon your hook, without 

 washing from it, yet not too hard : or, that you may the 

 better keep it on your hook, you may knead with your paste 

 a little, and not much, white or yellowish wool. 



And if you would have this paste keep all the year, for any 

 other fish, then mix with it virgin wax, and clarified honey, 

 and work them together with your hands before the fire ; 

 then make these into balls, and they will keep all the year. 



And if you fish for a carp with gentles, then put upon your 

 hook a little piece of scarlet about this bigness D , it being 

 soaked in or anointed with oil of peter, called by some oil of 

 the rock ; and if your gentles be put two or three days before 

 into a box or horn anointed with honey, and so put upon your 

 hook as to preserve them to be living, you are as like to kill 

 this crafty fish this way as any other ; but still, as you are 

 fishing, chew a little white or brown bread in your mouth, and 

 cast it into the pond about the place where your float swims. 

 Other baits there be ; but these, with diligence and patient 

 watchfulness, will do it better than any that I have ever 



