178 



and the two next in size fifteen; the weight of the 

 other seventy-nine "being eighty-four pounds, rather 

 less than an average of a pound and a quarter each 



CARP. 



The carp is not a common fish, being mostly 

 found in ponds where it is preserved, or in rivers and 

 cuts where the bottom is rather soft and the water 

 almost still. Fine carp are sometimes caught in the 

 Thames, or the Isis, as the river is commonly called, 

 between Dorchester and Oxford They are a very 

 shy fish, and do not take a bait readily. When an- 

 gled for, it is usual to throw in ground-bait of 

 brewer's grains, crusts of bread, or worms cut small 

 and worked up into balls of clay, a day or two be- 

 fore. As good a bait as any, is a well-scoured lob- 

 worm, at a foot from the bottom. Cad-bait, gentles, 

 and paste, are also used as bait for carp. Of all the 

 branches of fishing, angling for carp is certainly the 

 dullest and most stupid; and is only fit for those 

 persons who can sit or stand on one spot for five 

 or six hours, and return home " contented and grate- 

 ful" with three nibbles and one bite, and happy 

 beyond measure with a brace of fish. Carp are 

 mostly caught from one TO three pounds weight, 

 though large ones are sometimes taken weighing 

 six or eight. 





