136 LAKES AND RIVERS. 



very short barbules, and the scales are small. This 

 fish usually weighs 5 or 6 Ib. It buries itself in the 

 mud in winter. There is a curious old tradition that 



TENCH. 



this fish by its touch cures the maladies of other fish ; 

 even Izaak Walton believed in it, and the Pike, usually 

 such a greedy and grasping fish, is said to avoid eating 

 the Tench as if by instinct, on account of its virtues. 



The Tench is considered very useful as an article of 

 food by some writers, but it seems more in theory 

 than practice in the present day. Like many pond 



