270 On Breeding of Fish, and the 



the shore, where thev are sometimes so entangled that 

 they may be caught with the hand ; they avoid spawning 

 there, but will return again to find a place where the water 

 has a fall and runs briskly, and where there is a gravelly 

 boltoni. After they have chosen a place, they will beat 

 violently into the gravel or coarse sand till they make a 

 deep hole, and so deep that it is frequently to be seen the 

 next dav, notwithstanding the current stream. This shows 

 what diffii;ulty the Irouts have to part with their spawn, as 

 they, of all small fjshes, have the largest eggs ; they are 

 lonoer about their spawning, and they frequently begin in 

 November and continue till February. The fishermen are 

 ■well acquamted with the spawning-places, and know how- 

 to make their advantage of it, by placing baskets near them, 

 and thev arc sure of agood booty. I hear frequent complaints 

 of people, that thev have no success in breeding of trout ; 

 but they do not consider that they require a hard gravelly 

 bottom and hard water; when both these are wanting they 

 cannot spawn ; and if they do, it turns to no account, and 

 the old ones die soon. If they appear near the head of tiie 

 entrance, and the surface of the water, it is a sure sign the 

 water is too soft for them. Perches have much greater ad- 

 vantaffcs in spawiiing, and seem to have no difiieulty ; they 

 spawn against bushes, shrubs, or reeds, where it adheres ; 

 and whc7i they cannot find any thing of this kind, they get 

 near the shore where grass grows, sometimes under water, 

 and dra'-'' their spawn along the grass ; the male following the 

 female mnnediately, and impregnating the eggs. When the 

 weather is not verv cold or stormy, the latter quicken in three 

 days : those egas that fall in mud or sand come to nothing; 

 their lime of spawning is in the beginning of the spring. 



Of breams there are two sorts : one is called the 

 Hack from their dark colour, and their spawning is when 

 the black-thorn is in blossom : this kind spawns ear- 

 liest ; they require no stony or gravelly bottom, botany 

 little plant serves them ; as ihe eggs are inclosed in a gluti- 

 nous fatty nutier, they adhere easily to any thing. These 

 fishes, and in general the most that belong to the species 

 of the white l^^h (such as roach, dace, Sec), have further 

 advantao'es in spawning. Tlic male breams get against 

 that time hard knots on the head and body, on which the 

 female rubs herself so violently that she frequentlv loses 

 many of her scales. The second sort of breams, which are 

 called jL/hite breams, spawn later, and not till May. The 

 gudc,eons alwavs choose sandy places for their residence 

 and'spawning. Pikes spawn at three differeut seasons in 



the 



