6 CARP. 



to have attained to an hundred years; but even this is said to 

 have been considerably exceeded in some instances, although on 

 evidence that may be considered doubtful. 



There is reason for supposing that the Carp was not originally 

 a native of Britain; and its power of living long out of water 

 renders it highly probable that it may have been brought to 

 this country, as we know it has been conveyed to others, from 

 very distant places. But on the other hand, Leonard Mascal 

 affirms that it was himself who introduced it in the reign of 

 Henry the Eighth; which boast could only shew that he had 

 conveyed it to places where it was not before known; for it is 

 referred to as a known, although not common, fish in the Book 

 of St. Albans, a portion at least of which is believed to have 

 been written or compiled by Dame Juliana Berners, and the 

 fishing portion of which was printed with the rest by Wynkyn 

 de Worde toward the end of the fifteenth century. It is not 

 unreasonable to believe that we owe the possession of this fish 

 in the first place to the sagacious industry of monks, who were 

 acquainted with it as a pleasing addition to their table, and a 

 variation from the more common of the inhabitants of our 

 streams. 



It is believed to have been introduced into Ireland still more 

 recently than into England, and its progress from place to 

 place in all cases has been slow; so that it is only in recent 

 times it has obtained a residence in the extreme west of England; 

 which circumstance however, may be explained by the fact that 

 there are there no slow-moving rivers to suit its habits; and 

 the cost of forming a pond, which is essential to its preservation, 

 is unnecessary, in consequence of the abundance of the fish of 

 the sea so easily procured. 



That these ponds were regarded as important in the economy 

 of noble and gentle houses in inland situations, at a time when 

 a fish diet formed a portion of the religion of all orders of 

 society, appears from a variety of authorities in the domestic 

 history of our country; and much expense was employed in 

 forming them, while severe laws were enacted to keep them 

 safe from such as sought to observe the ritual at the expense 

 of their honesty, or who may have coveted delicacies, of which 

 they grudged the possession to their superiors. 



The value formerly set on these ponds is shewn by the fact 



