FISH STEWS. 105 



certain characteristics. It should be stony or 

 sandy, warm and free from wind, not deep, and 

 have willows and grass on its sides. Then he 

 notes that carp usually breed in marl-pits, or such 

 as have clean clay bottoms, and are new. The 

 pike, or "luce," as it was called, was in great 

 request for fattening in stews, as it grew with 

 great rapidity. The char, one of the most beauti- 

 ful and dainty of British fishes, is said to have 

 been introduced by the monks, as doubtless were 

 the various species of carp. Carp-culture on the 

 Continent is quite an important industry, and in 

 ancient days this fish was in great repute for the 

 table. Of late much attention has been paid to 

 its cultivation; but in the " Boke of St. Albans" 

 it is described as "a deigntous fysshe, but scarce." 

 It is little wonder that the monks were alive to 

 the merits of carp, for no fish was better adapted 

 to thrive in the stews and fish-ponds, where the 

 monks usually kept their finny live stock. In both 

 France and Germany carp - culture is quite an 

 important industry, and a great many persons are 

 engaged in it, both men and women. The tench 

 being a fish of contented mind, almost any kind 

 of conditions will suit his temperament. As a 

 store fish he is invaluable, and in any case gives 

 nearly no trouble. Of all the fish of pond or 

 stew, the tench is the most accommodating. 



