146 BRITISH FRESH-WATER FISHES 
some roots, a large animal was seen to move, which the 
workmen took to be an otter. Forming a ring they tried 
to bolt him, when the creature was found to be an enormous 
tench, wedged into a hole, the shape of which he had grown 
to fit. The dimensions of this notable fish are recorded 
with so much precision that the evidence about it cannot 
be set aside. They are as follows: length from eye to 
outer margin of tail fin 33 inches, circumference 27 inches, 
weight 11 lb. 92 oz. 
The tench is very prolific: the ova are greenish in 
colour, and the ovary of a female weighing 34 Ib. has been 
found to contain no less than 297,000 eggs. It spawns 
in May and June, when the males abandon their leisurely 
and sedentary habits, appearing in the character of dashing 
lovers, racing after the females so impetuously as sometimes 
to drive them ashore.* It has been observed that every 
female is followed by two or more males. The spawn is de- 
posited chiefly on water weeds—the Potamogeiton, for instance, 
which is sometimes locally called “tench weed.” 
The food of the tench is of the same character as that 
of the carp, consisting both of animal and vegetable substances, 
but probably it is not in the habit of preying upon other fish ; 
for, notwithstanding its great spread of fins and powerful 
build, it is an animal of leisurely movement and sluggish 
disposition. In winter it buries itself in the mud, and lies 
low till the return of warmth in spring. 
Folklore has gathered fondly round this fish, and 
many wonderful stories have been believed about its healing 
virtues, not only affecting other fish, but men also. It is 
wearisome, and even humiliating, to repeat such idle tales. 
Their worth may be gauged by a perusal of what Izaak 
Walton, shrewd enough in so many respects, reports of them. 
* I speak not from personal observation. Mr. J. H. Keene states 
that he has witnessed ‘repeatedly ” such a scene as this (Zhe Practical 
Fisherman, p. 85). 
