FISHES. 235 



may be made "very good meat." "Red Spinner," a 

 well-loved authority of the present day on angling, charit- 

 ably writes, in one of his delightful works, "I have never 

 yet sought in vain for some poor person who was glad to 

 receive, and ready to eat, even the logger-headed cheven." 

 It is recorded that a Chub, "said to weigh gibs," was 

 once taken in the Severn. 



DACE. This pretty fish is a general favourite with anglers, 

 L. Vulgaris. especially fly fishers, as it rises freely 



to the artifical fly, and is not bad eat- 

 ing. It is pleasant to see the " silvery dace " sporting in 

 large numbers in the Severn, Rea, Tern, Teme, and other 

 rivers in the County. A correspondent to The Field wrote 

 on December 3ist, 1898 : " I have been an angler for over 

 60 years, and have never caught or seen a Dace of lib. 

 The two largest I ever captured were taken with artificial 

 minnow. The one was 15025. and other 14025. The 

 larger one was captured twenty years ago, in the Wylie, 

 in Wiltshire, and the other in the Rea, in Shropshire.'* 



MINNOW. A pretty little fish, found abundantly in the 

 L. phoxinus. Severn and in most tributary streams. 



It is not generally known that, during 

 spawning time, male minnows assume very brilliant 

 hues. " Red Spinner," of The Field, tells us he has seen 

 them "all the colours of the rainbow." This transforma- 

 tion occurs about March. Minnows are in great demand 

 among anglers, who use them as baits, on spinning tackle, 

 for the capture of Pike and Trout. 



TENCH. A dull - coloured, mud -loving fish, with small 



Tinea vulgaris. deeply-embedded scales, and a thick 



coating of slime, reputed to have heal- 



