of fishing. 33 



Of clensing your pondes from weedes. 



If you will haue profite of your fish, in your pondes and pooles, ye must haue a 

 care alwayes to dense them from three yeare to three yeare, in taking away all 

 weedes, rushes, and flagges, for they doe greatly stuffe and trouble the fish, and 

 makes them to be more slymie, and of a worser taste. Likewise ye must se'e 

 alwayes for Otters and Water-rats, haunting your pondes and pooles : ye'e shall best 

 know if there be any in the night season, for then they hunt abroad for fish : then 

 sdeke to take them by such means as afore mentioned, which else they will soone 

 destroy all your fish. Also it is not good to suffer any to shute with guns nie your 

 ponds and riuers, for it feares and astonish the fish greatly, and worst of all in 

 spawning time, and many will die thereof: ye may watch the haunt of the Otter 

 and Ratte, and strike them if yde can with the trowte spcare, which is a very good 

 thing to kill them, if it be well done, for so many haue be'ene kilde. 



Here shall be shewed a care of lauing your pondes 



in sailing the water where it is scant for 



to saue your fish aliue. 



In lauing your pondes and pooles, the greatest care is (if there be any scant of 

 water) to ke'epe and bestow it so, that the water which is cast foorth, may remaine 

 nie the sides of your pondes and pooles, that ye may recouer it soone againe to 

 saue the rest of your fish, while ye dense forth the weedes and mudde, which will 

 let the water to come quickly to the scoopes. Therefore it shall be best to dense 

 the sides and bankes first of all : in hauing all such tooles readie, as shall be ndede- 

 fuU thereunto : as mattockes, spades, shoules, scauells, scoopes, and such like : to 

 dispatch it as quickly as ye can. And when the water is lower than the Rat-hole 

 in the bankes, ye may set such engins afore their holes to kill them at their comming 

 out as afores-aide, for they will lye alwaies in the holes aboue the water, to smother 



F 



