I'OI'E. 



Thus tlu' length of the liciid and th(! size of the 

 eyes in pi'oportion to the lengtli of the body diminish 

 witli age. The other pi'oportions given above increase 

 with age; and the male seems to differ from the fe- 

 male ill the greater lengtli of the \cnti'al fms and the 

 slightly deei)er form of the body. 



Tlie Pope, which in Scandinavia is known by se- 

 veral names, e. g. kuUhas or kullribas (the German 

 Kiudharsch) in the south of Sweden, Ilork in Denmark 

 and Hon- in Norwa}', occurs more or less plentifully 

 in almost all waters. It seems, ho^vever, to Ijelong 

 more strictly to the central and northern provinces of 

 Sweden than to the southern ones. With the exception 

 of the countries which border on the Mediterranean, it 

 occurs throughout Europe, and in the Arctic regions 

 it is met with from the White Sea to Siberia, at least 

 as far as the Lena. It inhabits the island-belts of the 

 Baltic Avhere the water is not too salt, as avcII as most 

 of our ri\ers and lakes. It prefers lakes where the 

 water is clear, and though it is sometimes met with in 

 lakes with a muddy bottom, still it does not flourish 

 so well in such waters. It apparently prefers a bottom 

 of sand or clav, Init may also be found where the 

 bottom is stony or among weeds. In spring it ascends 

 the streams and brooks, but does not stay there during 

 winter. In autumn if makes its Avay to deep ^vater, 

 where it passes the winter. It seems to be of a very 

 sluggish disposition. It ahvays keeps close to the bottom, 

 never iroes to the surface and is seldom seen midway 

 in the water. During tlie spawning season and in 

 winter it lives in company with its fellows," while dur- 

 ing the rest of the year it leads a solitary life. It stays 

 long at the same spot and seems to a\vait the approach 

 of its prev rather than hunt for it; and when it does 

 move, it does not do so by continuous sAvimming but 

 by rapidly darting forward again and again. Still it 

 is not incapacity that is the cause of this sluggishness 

 and indifference. When it is frightened, its movements 

 through the water are so speedy, that they have given 

 rise to the proverb 'as quick as a pope'. Its voracity 

 is great, and it eats indiscriminately small fry, insects, 

 worms and shellfish, which it finds on weeds, stones 

 or other objects lying in the water. Seldom, if ever. 



does it seize any prey wliicli is at liberty and moves 

 (juiekly through the water. Thus it Ijites freely if the 

 bait be allowed to rest at the bottom. It is highly 

 tenacious of life'', is thought to be slow of growth' and 

 does not reach any considerable size. In one or two 

 lakes, according to report, it may become as large as 

 a middling-sized perch. In the island-belt off the east 

 of Sweden it never attains a greater length than 200 mm. 



The s])awning-season lasts long and occurs at ab<jut 

 the same time as that of the Perch, i. e. with us in 

 May, ])ut earlier to the South. It spawns in modei'ately 

 deep water wlici-e the bottom is of sand or clay and 

 overgrown with sedge. The roe is line and yellowish, 

 and is deposited among the sedge oi- on the sand at 

 the bottom. It is very prolific; in one roe, which 

 weighed about 11 grams, Bloch counted 7.5,600 eggs. 



In Sweden the Pope is one of the fishes not held 

 in high esteem, and there is therefore no special mode 

 of fishing for it. In cei-tain places, however, it is taken 

 both in nets and in seines. When it lives alone, it is 

 taken on almost ever^- kind of tackle, together with 

 other fishes; thus it is often caught by the perch-fisher 

 when the bait is allowed to sink fairly deep. In Swe- 

 den it is only the peasants and poor people who know 

 the value of the flesh of the Pope, which is firm, white, 

 of good flavour, easy of digestion and free from small 

 bones. The peasant calls the Pope 'food for a king' 

 (kungamat), but it seldom appears on the tables of the 

 rich. As bait for pike, burbot, etc., for all its tenacity 

 of life, it is of very little use on account of its .slug- 

 gishness. 



Attempt has been made to blacken the character 

 of this undeservedly despised fish still further and to 

 add hatred to contempt, by the statement that it is 

 guilty of devouring the roe of other fishes and small 

 fry. These accusations are perhaps unfounded, at any 

 rate they are not justified. The generality of fishermen 

 believe that it frightens away all other fishes. This 

 supposition may depend upon the circumstance that, 

 when all other fishes, at the approach of a storm or 

 from some other cause, withdra^v from the shore to 

 deep water, the Pope on account of its heedlessness 

 i)nd indifference remains and thus becomes the fisher- 



' Klei.n relates (see Blocii, Naturg. Fische Deiitschl., II, p. 75) tliat at one haul of a winter seine in Frische-HaflE an enormous 

 quantity of pope and sahnon-fry were taken: lie declares that there were about 780 barrels. 



* According to Flemmixo (see Blocii, ibid., i>. 77) it may be frozen stiff immediately upon its capture, and will still return to life 

 if placed in cold water. 



<■ Kroyer (Danm. Fiske, I, p. 54) fouud that in the middle of September young speciaiens, which were thus about 4 months old. 

 were from 1 ' o to 2 inches long. 



