216 
MALACOPTERYGII.— CYPRINID^, 
is crowded with punts, and numerous anglers 
throng the banks, among whom may be seen 
many of the gentler sex. Gudgeon fishing is 
then the order of the day, and Chub, Roach, and 
all the coarser kinds of the CyprinidcE, are taken 
in great numbers. Barbel fishing begins later, 
and continues vigorously prosecuted till October, 
when the coldness of the weather gradually puts 
a stop to all fishing until the return of genial 
spring. 
The Carp is wary, and often tries both the 
angler’s skill and patience. The small ones, how- 
ever, may be caught readily, but the large ones 
seem to have learned wisdom, ^Gong experience 
having made them sage.” They avoid the baited 
hook and the net ; the latter by sinking into the 
mud, and allowing it to be dragged over them. 
They delight in still water where there are aquatic 
plants with large leaves : they feed on worms, the 
larvae of insects, the spawn of other fishes, and the 
shoots and tender leaves of water plants. It is 
recommended to sow grass-seed around the edges 
of ponds where Carp are kept. 
There is,” says Mr. Jesse, himself a devotee of 
the gentle art, a freshness, a repose, an indescrib- 
able enjoyment of solitude on the banks of a 
clear and placid river, which a lover of Nature can 
alone sufficiently appreciate. The air is so pure 
on a fine morning in the spring, her breath so sweet 
as it passes through the snowy hawthorn bushes, 
the sloping hills are so varied with trees and 
flowers, and the meadows so fresh and gay, that 
cold must that heart be, and insensible to the 
charms of river-scenery, that does not enjoy such a 
spot, and look around him with delight. Those 
