THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 



a frog upon his head; and that he, upon that occasion, 

 caused his pond to be let dry : and I say, of seventy or 

 eighty carps, only found five or six in the said pond, and 

 those very sick and lean, and with every one a frog sticking 

 50 fast on the head of the said carps, that the frog would 

 not be got off without extreme force or killing. And the 

 gentleman that did affirm this to me, told me he saw it ; 

 and did declare his belief to be, and I also believe the same, 

 that he thought the other carps, that were so strangely lost, 

 were so killed by the frogs, and then devoured. 



And a person of honour, now living in Worcestershire, 3 

 assured me he had seen a necklace or collar of tadpoles, 

 hang like a chain or necklace of beads about a pike's neck, 

 and to kill him ; whether it were for meat or malice, must 

 be to me a question. 



But I am fallen into this discourse by accident, of which 

 I might say more, but it has proved longer than I intended, 

 and possibly may not to you be considerable : I shall there- 

 fore give you three or four more observations of the carp, and 

 then fall upon some directions how you shall fish for him. 



The age of carps is by Sir Francis Bacon, in his " History 

 of Life and Death," observed to be but ten years; yet others 

 think they live longer. Gesner says, a carp has been known 

 to live in the Palatinate above a hundred years ; but most 

 conclude that, contrary to the pike or luce, all carps are the 

 better for age and bigness. The tongues of carps are noted 

 to be choice and costly meat, especially to them that buy 

 them ; but Gesner says, carps have no tongue like other fish, 

 but a piece of flesh-like fish in their mouth like to a tongue, 

 and should be called a palate : but it is certain it is choicely 

 good ; and that the carp is to be reckoned amongst those 



