ii8 THE SPORTING FISH 



a pig furrows a field with its snout. Lob-worms, 

 gentles, and greaves (here placed in what may pro- 

 bably be regarded as their order of merit), are the 

 usual baits for this fish. Three styles of fishing also, 

 one of which is peculiar to the Barbel, are commonly 

 employed for its capture, viz., ordinary float-fishing, 

 Nottingham-fishing, and " legering" — the last the 

 specialty of the art, and until late years almost 

 wholly confined to the Thames and its habitues. 



The Barbel spawns in May or June, depositing 

 its ova, which in a large fish sometimes number 

 7,000 or 8, 000, in the gravelly or shingly beds of 

 the stream, where they are immediately covered 

 by the parent fishes. These eggs are vivified, in 

 warm weather, between the ninth and fifteenth day. 



The spawners, so soon as they have recovered a 

 little strength, make their way into the swiftest 

 streams they can find, such as weirs, mill-tails, &c., 

 to scour and brace themselves, beginning to get 

 into condition again in a few weeks, and being in 

 the best season for the angler until September and 

 October, when the frosty nights drive them from 

 the streams and shallows into the deeper waters. 

 Here they will be found until the spring ; and in 

 these quiet deeps and eddies they are to be caught, 

 if anywhere, during the winter months. At this 

 period, however, especially if the weather is very 

 cold, it is of comparatively little use to fish for 

 them, as they lie in a sort of semi-torpid condition 

 and refuse to move. So inanimate are they, that 



