2 PERCH. 



nkpK-ii ; he says that the Perch produces its eggs in a continuous series like frogs, and that 

 the fishermen unwind the broad entangled mass from among the reeds in ponds ; this 

 description at once enables us to identify the fish with certainty; but Aristotle under the 

 same name seems to have also included some marine species, as the Bass or Sea Perch. 

 Pliny recommends the burnt ashes of salted perch-heads as a remedy to dispel pustules 

 (xxxii. 9). Ausonius was certainly acquainted with the fresh-water Perch, and appreciated its 

 excellent qualities as food when he says — 



" Nee te delicias mensarum, perca, silebo, 

 Amnigenas inter pisces dignande marinis, 

 Solus puniceis facilis contendere mullis." (x. iij-) 



"Nor will I pass thee over in silence, O perch, the delicacy of the tables, worth_v among river-fish to be compared 

 with sea-fish ; thou alone art able to contend with the red mullets." 



The Perch occurs in many of the fresh waters of Europe, and in Asiatic Russia. In 

 England it is extremely common in rivers, lakes, ponds, and canals; in Wales it is said lo 

 be rather a local fish and chiefly confined to stagnant waters ; in Scotland it is not found 

 north of the Forth, except where it has been introduced ; in all the almost countless waters 

 of the northern counties of Scotland, Yarrell states that the Perch is said to be wanting ; 

 farther north, as in Orkney and Shetland, the Perch does not occur, while still farther north, 

 as in various parts of Scandinavia, it is again found. In the rivers and lakes of Ireland 

 the Perch has been long known to occur. According to Couch the Perch is not a native 

 of Cornwall, though it has been introduced within the present century, and where found it 

 thrives well. 



Perch deposit their spawn during the month of April and at the beginning of May, 

 and a most curious and beautiful object is the spawn which they produce ; it consists of a 

 broad band of network of pearl-like eggs, a foot or considerably more in length ; it is 

 unfortunately very readily discerned, as it adheres to bushes or weeds in the water ; conse- 

 quently vast quantities of the spawn are devoured by ducks, swans, and other enemies. The 

 number of eggs contained in one of these pearly festoons has been estimated at the enormous 

 quantity of 155,000 and 280,000; the band is a hollow tube, and can be placed on the 

 wrist as a bracelet. 



The Perch attains to about the size of two inches and a quarter in a year, and a two 

 year old will measure about five inches. I believe that when two years old they are able to 

 mature spawn. The growth of Perch, as of other fish, depends in a great measure upon 

 the localities where they are found. In large pools, and in rivers where the fish are not 

 too numerous, and where food is abundant. Perch grow to a large size, but in small ponds 

 they never attain to any size, though they will breed abundantly. Being voracious feeders, 

 food is a very important consideration, and where ponds abound with these fish a sufficiency 

 of food is not easily obtained. Some pisciculturists recommend that the sexes should be 

 separated, the females being placed in one piece of water and the males in another ; where 

 this is done the Perch are said to grow well and rapidly. There is no fish, perhaps, that 

 gives better sport to the youthful angler than the Perch; bold, and always ready for a worm, 

 minnow, or other food, they fall easy victims to the baited hook. The following instance of 

 the voracity of the Perch is given by Mr. Cholmondeley Pennell in the Angler A\^turali$t, 

 (p. 61):- 



" A very singular, if not unparalleled instance of the voracity of the Perch occurred to 

 me when fishing in Windermere. In removing the hook from the jaws of a fish, one eye 

 was accidentally displaced, and remained adhering to it. Knowing the reparative capabilities 

 of piscine organization, I returned the maimed Perch, which was too small for the basket, 

 to the lake, and being somewhat scant of minnows, threw the line in again with the eye 



