106 COMMON PIKE-PERCH. 



is extremely prolific, three hundred thousand ova, 

 of about a size equal to a grain of mustard, occa- 

 sionally forming the roe of a single fish. It is, at 

 the same time, a much more tender fish than the 

 Perch, and will not bear carriage in the same 

 way; and it is this which, Cuvier thinks, has 

 hitherto prevented its introduction into France, 

 where there is no remarkable difference in climate 

 from the countries in which it is so abundant. 

 Would it not be possible to introduce it to some 

 of the British waters ? 



The general colours of this fish, though less 

 gaudy than those of the Perch, are chaste and 

 simple ; the back and upper parts are of a greenish 

 gray, changing, on the sides and belly, to silvery 

 white. In the old fish, the upper parts have dark 

 clouded spots, but which, in the young, take the 

 form of vertical bands. The dorsal fins are gray, 

 and have black spots between the rays, which are 

 so distributed as to form bands across. In the 

 young, these spots are more clouded, and are also 

 sparingly scattered over the head and tail. The 

 other fins are greenish gray, in some individuals 

 tinted with yellow. The teeth are in general 

 small, but thick and close set ; two on the upper 

 jaw, four on the lower, and two on the fore part 

 of each palatine bone, are of a larger and more 

 formidable size. The internal structure of this 

 fish nearly resembles that of the Perch. 



