FISH STEWS. 105 
certain characteristics. It should be stony or 
sandy, warm and free from wind, not deep, and 
have willows and grass on its sides. Then he 
notes that carp usually breed in marl-pits, or such 
as have clean clay bottoms, and are new. The 
pike, or ‘‘luce,” as it was called, was in great 
request for fattening in stews, as it grew with 
great rapidity. The char, one of the most beauti- 
ful and dainty of British fishes, is said to have 
been introduced by the monks, as doubtless were 
the various species of carp. Carp-culture on the 
Continent is quite an important industry, and in 
ancient days this fish was in great repute for the 
table. Of late much attention has been paid to 
its cultivation; but in the “ Boke of St. Albans” 
it is described as ‘‘a deigntous fysshe, but scarce.” 
It is little wonder that the monks were alive to 
the merits of carp, for no fish was better adapted 
to thrive in the stews and fish-ponds, where the 
monks usually kept their finny live stock. In both 
France and Germany carp-culture is quite an 
important industry, and a great many persons are 
engaged in it, both men and women. The tench 
being a fish of contented mind, almost any kind 
of conditions will suit his temperament. As a 
store fish he is invaluable, and in any case gives 
nearly no trouble. Of all the fish of pond or 
stew, the tench is the most accommodating. 
