THE BREAM. 221 



The bream is gregarious, and found in many rivers, 

 canals, ponds, lakes, broads, &c., the Norfolk broads being 

 famous for this fish ; it runs to a considerable size, from 

 7 Ibs. to 1 1 Ibs., bites freely, and affords good sport to those 

 who like it. Thomas Weaver (first edition of Walton) 

 says : 



" The treacherous quill in this slow stream 

 Betrays the hunger of a bream." 



Bream spawn in May, and in the broads in the spawn- 

 ing time, or just before, the big ones roll about " like 

 porpoises." 



In the " Boke of St. Albans " the bream is described as 

 a " noble fysshe and deynteous." 



Another bream, called the BREAM-FLAT or WHITE BREAM 

 (Abramis bltcca), was first described by the Rev. Mr. Shep- 

 pard in 1824. Day says: "It does not appear to collect 

 in large shoals, and is more commonly found with the 

 rudd and roach than the true bream. It is lively, sportive, 

 and tenacious of life. Sir John Lubbock observes that 

 its mode of biting when angled for is singular, as it appears 

 more prone to rise than to descend, and the float, con- 

 sequently, instead of being drawn under water, is laid 

 horizontally on the surface." But we have often observed 

 precisely the same proceeding in the biting of the carp. 



The head is larger and the fleshy portion of the tail 

 deeper than in the carp-bream. The lateral line is not so 

 low down, and the number of rays in the fins differ. The 

 pharyngeal teeth are in two rows. 



The fin-rays are: dorsal, 10; pectoral, 14 ; ventral, 9; 

 anal, 22 ; caudal, 19. 



The general colour of the sides is silvery bluish-white, 

 without any of the yellow-golden lustre observable in the 

 carp-bream ; the eyes silvery-white, tinged with pink ; 'the 

 pectoral and ventral fins tinged with red. 



The Genus LEUCISCUS is the fifth of the Cyprinidce. It 

 is widely distributed over both the Old and New World, and 

 is known under the general name of " White Fish." The 



