GEN. ABRAMIS. THE BREAM. 65 



tor-fish ; and hence this practical author makes this 

 virtue the ostensible reason of its introduction into 

 fresh- water preserves. The ingenious Moses Brown, 

 in his Piscatory Eclogues has embodied this senti- 

 ment, for against such authority we must not call 

 it prejudice, as it respects the Pike, in the following 

 lines : 



The Tench he spares 



For when by wounds distressed, or sore disease, 



He courts the salutary fish for ease ; 



Close to his scales the kind physician glides, 



And sweats the healing balsam from his sides. 



Gen. LV. ABRAMIS. This genus has neither 

 spines nor barbules ; the dorsal is short, and placed 

 behind the ventral fin ; the base of the anal is long. 

 There are several species on the continent of Eu- 

 rope, where they abound, extending to a high lati- 

 tude ; they have also been observed both in Asia 

 and America. Three species are catalogued as 

 British. 



(Sp. 102.) A. brama. The Bream, or Carp- 

 bream, is by much the largest of the British spe- 

 cies, being, in the language of I. Walton, a larg 

 and stately fish. Its specific characters will be 

 elsewhere more minutely detailed. The prevailing 

 colour is yellowish white, becoming darker with 

 age ; the irides are golden yellow ; the cheeks and 

 gill-covers silvery white; the fins light-coloured, 

 the pectorals and ventrals tinged with red, the 

 others with brown. This fish thrives most in deep 

 quiet rivers and large pieces of water, such as large 

 D 



