64 ACANTHOPTERYGII. PERCADiK. 



of five or six pounds in weight, are abundant in 

 the lakes and rivers of Sweden, and afford good 

 angling. The head of a Perch is said to be pre- 

 served in the church of Luehlah, in Lapland, 

 which measures nearly twelve inches from the 

 point of the nose to the end of the gill-cover, 

 which, according to the proportion of parts in 

 ordinary specimens, would give the enormous total 

 length of four feet for this Fisho It is possible, 

 however, that this may be the head of some other 

 species. 



Perch resort to pits, eddies, holes, the pillars 

 of bridges, and mill-dams; they frequent the 

 floors of staunches early in the morning, where 

 they may be taken in great numbers at break of 

 day, by means of a casting-net ; in these places 

 they work to meet the fresh water that oozes 

 through. 



The Perch has a tendency to ascend towards 

 the springs of rivers, having a great repugnance 

 to sea-water. It delights in clean swift streams 

 with a gravelly bottom, not very deep ; it is sel- 

 dom found at a greater depth than a yard below 

 the surface. It is tenacious of life, though per- 

 haps less so than the Carp ; it has been known 

 to survive a journey of fifty miles, in the old 

 days of travelling, when railways were unknown. 



Like other " anglers' Fish," the Perch is not 

 very often seen on the stalls of fishmongers in 

 London, In Billingsgate market it is, however, 

 sometimes exposed, especially on Fridays, as it 

 is bought chiefly by Jews to form part of their 

 Sabbath repast. We believe that this Fish is 

 kept by the dealers in tanks, and that those which 

 are not sold are frequently so little injured by 



