The custom of keeping fish in the grounds of country residences is much less common now than it was in the days when, from the whole country being Catholic, fish was essential as an article of food two days in every week; and when the communication between the interior and the sea was so slow, as to be unavailable for the transport of fish. Nevertheless, fishponds, wherever they can be made, are not only sources of beauty in the landscape, but of interest and use with reference to the fish that may be reared and fed in them. In every garden, however small, and even in every green-house or conservatory, there may be a vase or small basin for gold and silver fish. These require very little care, whether in the house or in the open air, except, in the latter case, breaking the ice in winter, to admit air when the water is frozen over. Should the fish, however, be intended to breed, the pond must be in a warm situation, fully exposed to the sun, so as to raise the temperature of the water early in the season; and the margin must be shallow and sandy, as it is only in shallow water on a sandy bottom, or on roots or bundles of sticks, that fish will deposit their spawn.

The carp, the tench, and the perch are the most convenient fishes for managing in artificial ponds; and, throughout Europe, they are more used for this purpose, than any other kinds. Of these, the carp is incomparably the best, on account of its astonishing fecundity, its large size, and the rapidity with which it grows when well fed, notwithstanding the great age which it has been known to attain. To manage carp properly, three ponds are requisite; one for breeding, another for rearing, and a third for feeding. In the spawning or breeding pond, full-grown fish should be put early in Spring; the season for spawning being from the latter end of May till the beginning of July, the time varying according to the warmth of the season. After spawning, the old fish are put back into the feeding pond, and the young fry left to themselves till the spawning season approaches in the following year. They are then removed to the nursing-pond, where they remain about two years, the time varying according to their growth. Every season the nursing-pond is drawn, and all the fish which are above 5 in. in length, put into the feeding-pond; whence the largest are taken out as wanted for use.

When wanted of extraordinary rise, they may be kept in stews, and fed with garbage, boiled potatoes, bread, boiled rice, or any soft substance which does not require mastication. Their natural food consists of the larvae of insects, worms, and soft aquatic plants. The pond in which the feeding fish are kept, should be rather deep, and have a soft marly or muddy bottom, and a warm exposure; the water should be soft, and this it generally is on marly soils: when carp are fed in stews, they should be kept in rain water. A carp will usually attain the weight of 3 lbs, in six years, and 6 lbs. in ten years. The largest ever caught was not quite 20 lbs. weight They are in season from October to April. The whole business of stocking ponds, and raising end fattening carp, is reduced to a regular system, which is practised extensively in the interior of France and Germany, and more particularly of Prussia. But in villa pleasure-grounds, it may be tried with a single pond; taking care to reduce the number of fish by using some of the largest every year in the proper season. From 300 to 400 carp to an acre, is the number allowed in the feeding-ponds in Prussia; but in these ponds very little food is given, and hence the range required is the greater.

The tench is generally kept in the same pond as the carp, and requires the same treatment It will, however, thrive, and even attain an extraordinary size, in situations, and in stagnant fetid water, where no other fish would live. The tench is very tenacious of life, and requires less oxygen than any other fish. Mr. Yarrell, in his excellent work on the British Fishes, says that the tench can breathe when the quantity of oxygen is reduced to the

5000th part of the bulk of the water; ordinary river water usually containing the 100th part of oxygen. Hence, tench will thrive in deep muddy holes, where no other fish could exist; though, in this case, they should be kept a week or ten days in clear water, before using for the table, in order that the muddy taste may go off. The tench is covered with a thick slimy matter, which is said to have a healing property for other fish if they rub themselves against it when they are wounded; and hence the tench is vulgarly called the fishes' physician. The perch requires clearer water than either the carp or the tench, and will thrive in rivers where the current is not too rapid. When kept in stews, there should be a stream of water constantly running through these. The perch eats worms, flies, and young fish of its own kind, and also minnows, and small roach, dace, etc. The eel thrives in deep, muddy, shady ponds, where, however, the water must not be stagnant Eels attain the greatest size in millponds, or in muddy rivers, in the soft banks of which they can bury themselves 12 or 16 inches deep, while the stream continues constantly running its course over the mud, and where they are frequently found, and dug out or speared, in the winter.

In stews they may be fed at discretion, with snails, frogs, worms, &c; and will attain a large size, but they are seldom kept in ponds, as they destroy other fish. It is not known to many persons that the eel, in the summer season, frequently quits the water during the night, and wanders among grass in search of slugs, frogs, and worms; yet this is the case, and where there is a mill-pond, or a dam between two ponds, large eels may often be seen in a warm summer's evening, when the meadows are wet with dew, making their way, with an undulating, or wriggling, though not very rapid motion, through the long grass, in search of food, or from one pond to the other. The pike grows to a large size in stews or ponds, where it requires clear and hard water; but it is so voracious that its keep is very expensive, as it devours all the other fish, and even all the fry of its own species that come within its reach. "Eight pike," says Mr. Jesse, "about 5 lbs. weight each, consumed nearly 800 gudgeons in three weeks." "In default of other fish," says Mr. Yarrell, "pikes will seize moor-hens, ducks, or indeed any animals of small size, whether alive or dead." They swim rapidly, and dart at their prey with great fierceness; and from this, their extraordinary strength and boldness, and their voracity, they afford more sport than most other kinds of fish to the angler.

The roach and dace are sometimes kept in ponds, and have a beautiful appearance in the water, but their flesh is insipid and woolly. Gudgeons, and other common small fish, are usually found in rivers; as are trout, which, however, may be kept, and will attain a large size, in ponds which have a hard rocky bottom, clear water, and a constant stream running through them.