242 Bass, Pike, and Perch 



a good stock of patience, one may eventually suc- 

 ceed in taking a few fish ; but the game is hardly 

 worth the candle. 



As the fish has its advocates, however, I add 

 the following account of angling for carp in 

 England, where it has been acclimated for 

 several centuries. The directions given are 

 abridged from Cornwall Simeon, a writer on 

 natural history arid angling : — 



" The tackle required will simply be a long rod, 

 a reel containing not less than fifty yards of 

 fineish line, a fine but sound casting-line nearly 

 as long as the rod, hooks of about No. 9 size tied 

 on gut to match, and a small, unpretending float, 

 besides a good lump of the crumb of new bread, 

 and a landing-net. Select a quiet, shallow part 

 of the pond, especially if the weather be hot, and 

 near its edge stick a few small bushes as a screen. 

 Then plumb the depth of the water, and cover 

 the whole of your hook, leaving not the slightest 

 part visible, with a piece of bread kneaded into 

 paste, and setting the float two or three feet 

 farther from the bait than the depth of the water, 

 throw it well out, drawing in afterward all the 

 slack of your line. You may then rest your rod 

 on a forked stick, and sitting down, smoke your 



