CHAPTER II 



THE PERCH E.LMILT 



BV JOHN BlCKtRDVKE, M.A. 



,.f^ 



T\\\\ thick-set, goldeii-bronze, 

 dark-barred, hog-backed 



'''«tf«^fi:;fi,;;C- 



# 



■A .jL^-. i^'./'r.-^. , 



Fhate by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt] Iff -'a thing ton 



lar(;e-mouthkd black bass 



j^n exceedingly gjmy figfirer 



fish known as the PERCH 

 has man}' striking characteristics, and 

 is remarkable, among other things, for 

 the vast number of its relations scat- 

 tered all over the world. So numerous, 

 indeed, are its cousins that ichthy- 

 ologists have had to divide the Perch 

 P'amily into a large number of groups. 

 There are various species of perch 

 found, as a matter of fact, in the fresh- 

 waters and on all the coasts of the 

 temperate and tropical regions. 



The Common Perch, which is 



widely distributed over Europe, 



Northern Asia, and North America, 



is properl}- an inhabitant of rivers, 



lake-, and ponds, but sometimes descends to brackish water. It runs up to about 5 lbs. in 



weight, and is carnivorous, eating most kinds of fish small enough for its swallow, including 



the fry of its own species, which are, in some waters, an excellent bait. 



In England perch spawn in the spring, the eggs being held in a band-like mass of 

 gelatinous matter deposited on weeds or the roots of trees not far below the surface of the 

 water. The spawn, as a matter of fact, is often collected by fish-culturists and hatched out. 

 Swans and water-fowl gener- 

 ally eat the eggs by the million, ' 

 and wherever perch are pre- 

 served these birds should, so 

 far as possible, be kept from 

 the water during the spawn- 

 ing-season. At Henle}' and 

 other places on the Thames 

 those interested in fishery 

 preservation place wire netting 

 round the boughs and weeds 

 where perch have spawned, 

 to prevent the eggs being 

 eaten b}- swans and ducks. 

 Perch are usualh- termed 



Fholc b, IV. Suvilll-Ktnl, F.Z.S.] [MilfarJ-,n-Sca 



voracious fish, but when large BUTTER-F!bH 



are extremel)- sh\- and difficult ^ native of tie tropical pam of the Indo-Padfa Ocean 



214 



