208 THE COMPLETE ANGLEB. [PART I. 



about a hundred or a few more years ago, when there were 

 no carps in England, as may seem to be affirmed by Sir 

 Richard Baker, in whose chronicle you may find these 

 verses. 



Hops and turtles, carps and beer, 

 Came into England all in a year. 1 



And doubtless, as of sea-fish the herring dies soonest out 

 of the water, and of fresh-water-fish the trout, so, except 

 the eel, the carp endures most hardness, and lives longest 

 out of his own proper element : 2 and, therefore, the report 

 of the carp's being brought out of a foreign country into 

 this nation, is the more probable. 



Carps and loaches are observed to breed several months 

 in one year, 3 which pikes and most other fish do not. And 

 this is partly proved by tame and wild rabbits, as also by 

 some ducks, which will lay eggs nine of the twelve months ; 

 and yet there be other ducks that lay not longer than about 

 one month. And it is the rather to be believed, because 

 you shall scarce or never take a male-carp without a melt, 



1 From a passage in the book of Dame Juliana Berners, it appears that in 

 her time there were carps, though but few, in England. It seems, there- 

 fore, that Mr. Mascall of Plumstead, did not first bring hither carps ; but, 

 as the curious in gardening do by exotic plants, he naturalised this species 

 of fish; and that, about the era mentioned in the above distich, "Hops 

 and turkeys," &c., which is elsewhere read thus : 



' ' Hops, reformation, turkeys, carps and beer, 

 Came into England all in one year. H. 



2 Carp live the longest out of the water of any fish. It is a common 

 practice in Holland to keep them alive for three weeks or a month, by 

 hanging them in a cool place, with wet moss in a net, and feeding them 

 with bread steeped in milk ; taking care to refresh the animal now and 

 then by throwing fresh water over the net in which it is suspended. H. 



3 Erroneous : Carp spawn only once a year, towards the end of May 

 or the beginning of June, according to the temperature of the water. 

 On this subject Ephemera, following Elaine, thinks, and with sufficient 

 evidence, that carp do not always deposit the whole of their spawn ; that is, 

 do not complete the spawning process at one time : he thinks it not im- 

 probable that they eject portions of ova only at several distinct periods, 

 .and that some weeks even intervene between the first and last ejectments. 

 He asserts that none of our river fish deposit their ova at a single sitting, 

 any more than hens or other female birds do. The ova are not all mature 

 at the same time. Those near the vent are the first matured and expelled. 

 ED. 



