825 



bo(l\', l>i-'iii,U' small (111 the l.iack and lielly, liii\ii'cst at tlic 

 middle (if the sides. The large scales are of a rounded 

 (luadi-ilatcral shape or almost circular; the small ellip- 

 tical, v'ith the longitudinal axis set across the hody. 

 The cdiicentric stria; are extreiiieh' Hue and dense; the 

 radiating grooves fe\v and faint on the hind part (tf 

 the .scale, hardh' \isiMe on the inserted part, though 

 the latter, at least in the large scales, is usual!}' si- 

 nuate at the margin. 



The coloration resembles that of Jlljiinuis and 

 Chipea. According to Hkckel and Knku "the occi]iut 

 is steel-hlue or liluish green, the hack grayish lirowii, 

 the cheeks of a nacreous lustre, the sides of a light 

 silvery lustre; the dorsal and caudal fins grayish, the 

 others with a dash of red; the iris silvery." 



The Ziege, like the Ziirthe and, in some localities, 

 the Zope, is an anadronious fish, ascending rivers from 

 the sea or the great lakes in order to spawn. Its best 

 known haunts, where it is taken in millions, are the 

 Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, the ('aspiaii. and the Sea 

 of Aral, with all the large rivers flowing into these 

 Avaters. l>ut the species also occurs in the Baltic, 

 chiefly to the south and east, west to Greifswald, and 

 in Lake Ladoga. From these localities it makes its \vay 

 into the North German Haffs and estuaries and into 

 most Russian and some Finnish rivers. Within the 

 basin of the Danube it is common in Hungary, and in 

 summer some Hungarian lakes yield large catches of 

 Ziege; but in Bavarian waters it is rare. At the middle 

 of the last century, according to Linx.eis, it frequented 

 the River Helge off Kristianstad, in spring, till the end 

 of May. The sjiecimen taken in this river and de- 

 scribed by I^ixx.Kfs (length 22 cm.) is still preserved 

 in the Zoological iluseum of Upsala University. The 

 species has never since been caught in the Helge, but 



off ihc moufli of this ri\-er it is well known to some of 

 the lishernicii of .\hus, according to their own asser- 

 tion, being fre(nieiitl\- taken in the Herring-nets. In 

 I)eiiniark it has never been found. 



The Ziege is an active and roving lisli, not unlike 

 the Herring. It lives on miscellaneous small animals, 

 siK'h as crustaceans, insects, the fry of other piscine 

 species, and small fishes. It seeks its food, as indicated 

 by the jujsition of the mouth, in the same manner as 

 the Bleak, niosth' at the surface of the water. In spring 

 and earh' summer, from May to July, it spawns 

 in shalhiw water on a weeih' bottom. In a female 

 weighing 117 gnn. and \villi o\'aries weighing 77 

 grm., Bloch estimated the nuniber of the eggs at 

 105,740. 



Bony, lean, and thin — lience, it is said, the Ger- 

 man name of Zii-iic (goat) — the species is held in 

 little esteem where other fish is to be had; liut where; 

 this is not the case, or where the Ziege is taken in 

 enormous quantities, as in Southern liussia, it is used 

 as human food. Its scales are employed, like those of 

 the Bleak, in the manufacture of the so-called essence 

 (Torieiit, the colouring matter of imitation pearls. The 

 nearest fishing-stations to Scandinavia where the Ziege 

 is taken in any consideralile (|uantity, lie on the 

 Prussian coast and in the (Terman Haffs, the tackle 

 used consisting of gill-nets, which are set at the sur- 

 face, or drift-nets. "It has numerous foes," saj^s 

 Bloch, ''in predator)" fishes and waterfowl, to which 

 it often falls a prey, its silvery colour rendei'ing it 

 easy of oljservation." Thus the Ziege shares the fate 

 of the Herring, and where these two species live in 

 com)iany, the former has as good means of escape 

 as the latter, if not better, its sharp fins being well 

 adapted for rapid flight and speedy doubling. 



