THE FOURTH DAY continued 

 On the Bream 

 CHAPTER X 



PISCATOR 



THE Bream, being at a full growth, is a large and 

 stately fish. He will breed both in rivers and 

 ponds : but loves best to live in ponds, and where, 

 if he likes the water and air, he will grow not only 

 to be very large, but as fat as a hog. He is by 

 Gesner taken to be more pleasant, or sweet, than 

 wholesome. This fish is long in growing ; but 

 breeds exceedingly in a water that pleases him ; 

 yea, in many ponds so fast, as to overstore them, 

 and starve the other fish. 



He is very broad, with a forked tail, and his 

 scales set in excellent order ; he hath large eyes, 

 and a narrow sucking mouth ; he hath two sets of 

 teeth, and a lozenge-like bone, a bone to help his 

 grinding. The melter is observed to have two 

 large melts ; and the female, two large bags of 

 eggs or spawn. 



Gesner reports, that in Poland a certain and a 

 great number of large breams were put into a pond, 

 which in the next following winter were frozen up 

 into one entire ice, and not one drop of water re- 



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