THE CARP FAMILY. 405 



fish being dark green on the back, with some red at the 

 base of the fins, and white beneath. Its greatest weight 

 is about 7 Ibs. The chub feeds on small fishes, crayfish 

 (Seeley), frogs, and water-voles. It spawns in May. 



Like some others of the coarse fish, the Dace is absent 

 from Scotland and Ireland, though widely distributed in 

 * Dace or England. It is a fish of running waters, and 

 Graining, grows in this country to a weight of i Ib. A 

 more tapering fish than the foregoing, it is silvery blue 

 throughout, .and has little or no red on the fins. The 

 " graining " is, more properly, to be regarded as a variety, 

 in which the head is smaller and the fins longer. The 

 food of the dace consists of insects and vegetable matter, 

 and it spawns in May or June. 



Barely, if ever, exceeding a length of 7 inches, and more 

 commonly measuring less than 4 inches, the Minnow is 

 found in every part of England, in all but the 

 extreme north of Scotland, and in most coun- 

 ties in Ireland, into which country, however, it was intro- 

 duced within the present century. In colour, this little 

 fish is dark green, with black patches along the lateral 

 line, which is interrupted about half-way, the breast-fins 

 being tinged with red. The colours of this fish change 

 rapidly according to circumstances, owing to two layers of 

 superimposed pigment-cells that lie just beneath the skin 

 (Seeley). The minnows are gregarious by habit, and 

 catholic in their feeding. They are also endowed with a 

 fatal curiosity that prompts them to congregate over a net 

 in which are tied fragments of red wool, a habit I have 

 also found in sand-smelts. The spawning-time is in May 

 and June. 



The mud-loving Tench, in which the small scales are so 

 embedded as to make it as slippery to the touch as an eel, 

 thrives well in stagnant waters, but to appreciate the beauty 



