ANIMALS INTRODUCED FOR SAKE OF SPORT 277 



the Carp came as a good second, for although we may sus- 

 pect the accuracy of the old doggerel lines 



Turkeys, Carps, Hops, Piccarel and Beer 

 Came into ENGLAND all in one year 



they at least faithfully indicate that the Carp was introduced 

 to this country and that at an early date. The Carp 

 (Cyprinus carpio] is a native of the rivers of China, but so 

 long ago as 1496 it had been planted in the streams of 

 Britain, for Dame Juliana Berner's Boke of St Albans says 

 that it is a "dayntous fysshe, but there ben but fewe in 

 Englonde and therefore I wryte the lesse of hym." The 

 " fewe in Englonde " of the fifteenth century have increased 

 to many in our day, for the Carp thrives in lakes, rivers, and 

 ponds, natural and artificial, from Northumberland to Corn- 

 wall. In Scotland it is less common than in England, yet it 

 occurs in many lochs and ponds throughout the country and, 

 according to Stoddart, exists even in the lakes of the Outer 

 Hebrides, in Lewis, Harris, the Uists, and Barra. In other 

 countries, such as America, valuable and extensive fisheries 

 have been created by the introduction of this native of the 

 Far East (see p. 258). 



The Trout of Lake Geneva (Salmo lemanus] was placed 

 many years ago in several lochs and tarns in Mull, as well 

 as in Loch Lomond, where it has now become very rare. 

 A somewhat similar tale of half-hearted success has to be 

 told of the efforts to introduce into Scotland the American 

 Brook Trout {Salvelinus fontinalis] often misnamed in 

 this country the "Rainbow Trout." This Char, related 

 to the red-bellied Char which inhabits some of our deeper 

 lakes, has been set free in many lakes and rivers, but 

 though it survives for a time, it appears seldom to thrive 

 and become firmly established. Mr H. A. \Voodburn 

 says of its occurrence in the Clyde drainage area, that it has 

 been placed in many small lakes throughout the district and 

 also in Loch Lomond, where it still maintains its identity 

 but has not thriven. It has also been distributed throughout 

 Renfrewshire and Ayrshire, and is thriving in the Rivers 

 Ayr and Irvine, and in the Waters of Borland, Kilmarnock, 

 Cessnock, Carmel and Alnwick. It is impossible to follow 

 the details of the introduction of the American Brook Trout 

 in other areas, for it has been widely distributed throughout 

 Scotland, even in islands such as Mull, and there is the 



