406 FISHES. 



of a large example in good condition it should be placed 



for forty - eight hours in running water, after which it 



looks a different fish. There are small barbels 



ch ' at the corner of the mouth. The dorsal-fin 



is without spines, the lips are fleshy, and the tail -fin is 



large and not forked. The colour of the tench is usually 



.a dark shade of green, white beneath. Its greatest weight 



in these islands is rather over 5 Ibs. It is more tenacious 



of life than any of the foregoing, surviving many hours 

 out of water. Every writer on the subject has noticed, 

 and most have criticised, the reputed healing powers of 

 this fish. These remain not proven. The tench feeds on 

 insects, aquatic plants, and mud, and the spawning-season 

 lasts through the summer. Fond of stagnant water, but 

 thriving equally in rivers, the tench is widely distributed 

 in England, more locally in Scotland and Ireland, in which 

 latter country many regard it as not indigenous. 



One of the most familiar of our coarse fish, the Bream is 

 captured in our rivers and lakes to a weight of nearly 1 2 

 Ibs., and bream of 7 Ibs. are by no means un- 

 common in the Broads. These large Norfolk 

 bream are much used as bait for the crab-pots on the 

 coast. Deep for its length, the bream is of silvery hue 

 throughout, save for a tinge of red on the fins. The 

 lower lobe of the tail is slightly longer than the upper, 

 the reverse of that in sharks. The bream thrives equally 

 in still or running waters, preferring the latter with a 



