60 HINTS ON ANGLING. 



The bream is to be found in most of the slow still 

 rivers of England, and sometimes attains a very large size : 

 he is then very much like a pair of bellows in shape, and 

 not very superior, we apprehend, in flavour. In the 

 north of Europe, this fish has been known to reach the 

 weight of twenty pounds ; and, in 1749, there were taken 

 at a single draught, out of a large lake near Nordkiaeping 

 in Sweden, five thousand bream, the aggregate weight of 

 which was eighteen thousand pounds. We have ourselves 

 caught them four and five pounds in weight, and have 

 heard of other people catching them still larger; but this 

 size is by no means general. 



The bream spawn late in June or early in July, and 

 at that season seek out the level shelving sides, or the 

 muddy bottoms, of rivers well grown with weeds. Each 

 female is accompanied by three or four males. They 

 multiply very rapidly; and, indeed, 137,000 eggs have 

 been counted in the ovarium of a single female. During 

 this season, it is said, the males are covered with little 

 tubercles like the small-pox, which disappear when these 

 processes are over. " At this season," says a French 

 author, " they make a great noise as they swim in 

 numerous flocks ; and yet they distinguish the sound of 

 bells, or the tambour, or any other analogous tones, 

 which sometimes frighten them, retard them, disperse 

 them, or drive them into the nets of the fishermen." 

 Surely, all this must be purely fanciful ! Our author 

 gives no authority for the statement, neither does he say 

 that he ever witnessed the circumstance himself. 



The bream grows very fast, and is remarkably tenacious 

 of life when taken out of the water during cold weather. 

 He can then be transported alive to a great distance, 

 provided he be carefully wrapped up in snow, with a 



