747 



according to Uiiron Cedehstkom, the Gudgeon is ofteii- 

 est taken in cmtIn- summer in traps {ri/ssjor, see above, 

 p. :')?>, i\}S. 7), wliicli are set in tlie middle of the ri\('r 

 against tlie stream. Tlie (iudgeon aseend the river in 

 the evening to spawn", but in the morning return to 

 Lake Finja. (hi the 2.")th i if May, 1 S.VS ('kdkkstkom 

 observ('(l the dudgeon spawning in tiiis h)caHt\-; lie was 

 t(jld that the spawning liad already lasted a, week iiere 

 and along the shores of Lake Finja. Riscoxi describes 

 the spawning of the (gudgeon in Lonibardy as follows'': 

 "During niv sta\' at Desio, on a most lovely day in 

 July, I was walking early in the morning along the 

 shore of the little lake of \illa Tra\ersi. Suddenly a 

 noise reached my ear. 1 thought at tirst that some 

 one was Ix-ating tiie watei- with sticks or with the fiat 

 of an oar. <hi glancing along the shore I soon detected 

 the s[)ot from which the sound proceeded, as well as 

 the cause of this disturbance: it was caused by spawn- 

 ing fishes. Eager to obtain a closer view of this sight, 

 I stealthih- made my way towards tiieni, and under 

 cover of the bushes that fringed tiie shore, I got near 

 enough to observe thera with ease and without betray- 

 ing nn- own presence. They lay at the mouth of a 

 small brook, the water of which was cool and clear, but 

 SO scanty that the pebbles at the bottom were aluKJst 

 dry. They were Gudgeons. They approached the mouth 

 (if the brook. Witii rajiid strokes they came swifth' on 

 and advanced aliout a metre up the brook, not leaping, 

 but in a manner gliding over the pebbles. After this 

 first spurt they stopped, bent the trunk and tail alter- 

 nately to the right and left, and in this way rubbed 

 the ventral side against the bottom. Whh the excep- 



tion of the licll\- and the l<i\\ci- ]iart of the head their 

 whole bodv now lay out ol tiie water. They i-etained 

 this |iosition for seven or eight seconds. Then they 

 dealt a siiarp lilow with the tail on the bottom, splashing 

 the water in all directions, turned round, and darted 

 back to the lake, soon to I'cpc.'at the same operation". 



The eggs are coni]iarati\cly large when deposited, 

 aliout 1 ' , mm. in diameter, but also I'athei' few in 

 number, at most some thousands in each female. They 

 are transparent, with a dasli of blue or jellow. \'ai,en- 

 ciENXES supjHised tiiat tile (iiidgeoii spawns several times 

 a year. The only exideiice of this seems to be that the 

 female does not deposit her roe all at once, but bit by 

 bit. That the spawning-season is of long duration, 

 however, is shown by the fact that Fatiii in Switzerland, 

 and LiLE.iEBdRG liere in the North, found females full of 

 roe, but not yet ready to sjiawn, latc' in July . 



To the angler the Gudgeon affords excellent sjjort. 

 It readily takes a bait of flies or worms; and tenacious 

 of life as it is, it may be used with advantage as live 

 bait for larger fish. Its greatest value lies, however, 

 in the flesh, which is of delicious flavour and easj' of 

 digestion. Bucklaxd writes: "When out gudgeon-fishing 

 on the Thames, be sure and take a frying-pan, as gud- 

 geons taken out of the water and immediately fried are 

 delicious. Clean, wi]ie, and tfour, tlien well fry in 

 boiling fat, or, better, in oil, till they ai;e crisp and of 

 a light brown colour. Such a fish dinner is always a 

 great feature in a pic-nic on a fine day". A somewhat 

 similar method is employed in Scania in the prepara- 

 tion of fiskakaga (fish-cake) from Gudgeons and other 

 small fishes. 



Gexus TINCA. 



Base of th- dorsal Jin less than twice that of the anal. Branched rays in the dorsal fin at most !J, in the anal 



at most 8. Neither of these fins furnished with a spiniferous ray. Scales small and thin — their number in 



the lateral line at least almif HO. Distance between the anal fin and th<- vent 'mly \/o or V3 



of the base of this fin. 



By the deeper form of the body this genus is more comes nearer the Leuciseines, among which the Minnow 

 closely approximated to the true Carps; but it also wdth its small scales reminds us most of Tinea. Only 



" .\ccording to Fatio the Gudgeon spawns in the daytime. 

 * See Brehm, Thierleben, Aufl. 2, Abth. 3, Bd. 2, p. 275. 



"■ V.4LENCIEXNES also states that the spawning lasts from April tu the end of July or tlie middle of August. The Gudgeons we re- 

 ceived this year (1891) .it tlie beginning of June from the Finja, had just commenced spawning. 



