THE RUDD 199 



sort of hissing noise. In Norfolk they have been de- 

 scribed as crowding together along the rushes which 

 fringe the banks in such dense multitudes that every 

 instant one may see small ones raised half out of the 

 water by the passage of larger fish. The males are 

 now quite rough, little conical tubercles being de- 

 veloped not only on the head, but all over the body. 



The eggs, which are small and very numerous, are 

 shed on the bottom, and are hatched in a fortnight 

 or a little less ; in eight to ten days the yolk- 

 sac is absorbed and the young fry swim about in 

 dense shoals among the reeds near the banks ; they 

 are said to attain sexual maturity when quite small, 

 at an age of two years, whilst three-year-old fishes 

 are said to be 4 or 5 inches long. 



The flesh of the Roach is white and firm, but 

 usually rather muddy ; the best flavoured are those 

 taken in clear, running water. 



The name Roach is derived from the old French 

 Roche, of uncertain origin and meaning. 



The Rudd {Scardi7ims erythrophthalinus) is 

 usually a deeper fish than the Roach, the greatest 

 depth of the body in the adult measuring not less 

 than one-third and sometimes nearly one-half of the 

 length to the base of the caudal. The terminal 

 mouth is somewhat larger and more oblique than in 

 the Roach, and the pharyngeal teeth differ notably 

 from those of that species both in structure and 

 number, as they are strongly pectinated and are 

 arranged in two series, five in the posterior and 

 three in the anterior row (Fig. 20, p. 220). 



The scales number thirty-nine to forty-four in the 

 lateral line, seven or eight in a transverse series from 



15 



