A SCHOOL-BOY'S HOLIDAY RECREATION. 493 



THE HORNED HA.CE. 



This is eminently the school-boy's fish of the Middle States 

 Its burnished steel scales and fins, the latter edged vdth 

 bright pink like ribbon trimmings and with jf^fVoX steel 

 top of head armed all over with little po its, render it, next 

 to the brook trout, the prettiest fish of ouv small streams* 



It rises generously to the fly, preferring the red ibis, and 

 when I have been wading a trout stream and fishing with 

 the fly, this pretty rogue has annoyed me frequently by tak- 

 ing the fly before the more wily trout had made up its mind 

 to. It is an excellent pan-fish, and will take angle-worm ea- 

 gerly; thus conferring great recreation to recuperate stu- 

 dious school-boys on Saturdays and during vacations. It 

 is to be fished for with light perch rod, trout - hooks, light 

 sinker, and quill -float. The size of the horned dace runs 

 from one to three-eighths of a pound. 



The smooth-headed dace is a congener of the horned dace, 

 and by many supposed to be the female. It is a fish of 

 about the same size and appetite, though more plain in ap- 

 pearance, being a light gray with white abdomen. 



The brook chub also disports in the same waters with 

 these dace. It is a fish of about the same size, gray on back 

 and sides, drab fins, and white belly. It is sprinkled all over 

 with jet-black dots, no larger than a dot in writing. It is 

 also a greedy fish for angle-worm; and in large creeks it 

 rises to the plumptitude of a quarter of -a pound. It is not 

 at all like the river and lake chub, which sometimes scales 

 three pounds; and though they will also take the, fly great- 



