580 THE DACE, CHUB, BLEAK, MINNOW, AND SUN-FISH. 



close to each other. It is not a large species, all over a pound being 

 considered as fine specimens, and any that weigh more than two 

 pounds are thought rare. It is a pretty fish, the upper parts of the 

 head and body being grayish green glossed with blue, the abdomen 

 silvery white, and the sides passing gradually into white from the 

 darker colors of the back. The pectoral, ventral, and anal fins are 

 bright red, the former having a tinge of yellow, and the dorsal and 

 tail fins are brownish red. 



Closely allied to the roach is the Dace {Leuciscus vulgaris), a com- 

 mon and small species that inhabits most of our streams. The well- 

 known Chub [Leuciscus cephalus) also belongs to this genus, as does 

 the Bleak (Leuciscus alburnus), in many countries called the Tailor 

 Blay by the ignorant, from the idea that whenever any other fish, 

 especially the pike, wounds its skin, it immediately seeks the aid of 

 the Bleak, which by rubbing its body against the wound causes the 

 torn skin to close. The beautifully white crystalline deposit beneath 

 the scales was much used in the manufacture of artificial pearls, hollow 

 glass beads being washed in the interior with a thin layer of this sub- 

 stance, and then filled with white wax. The scales of the w hitebait 

 ^ were also used for the same pur- 



^^V pose. The MiKnow {Leuciscus 



^^^^^^^- ^ - -:^^^^J ^_j^^^^ phoxiniis) is another member of 

 ""^^^^^^^^^B this large genus, and is too well 



^^Hfe^^S^^^^^^^^^ tognathi, or "fixed jaws," because 



^^BBBB^miLj^^fe^^ their jaws are fused together and 



^^^^ "^ cannot be opened and shut. 



^^^^^ ^ ^® \ . ^^1^ ^"^ example of this curious 



B^Bl^t-^ . - ^^^2^.^^^^ order is the well-known Sun- 



The Sun-fish {Orihragoriscus mola). FISH, which looks just as if the 



head and shoulders of some very 

 large fish had been abruptly cut off and a fin supplied to the severed 

 extremity. 



Several specimens of this odd-looking fish have been captured in 

 British waters, and in almost every case the creature w-as swimming, 

 or rather floating, in so lazy a fashion that it permitted itself to be 

 taken without attempting to escape. In the seas where this fish is gen- 

 erally found the harpoon is usually employed for its capture, not so 

 much on account of its strength— though a large specimen will some- 

 times struggle with amazing force and fury— but on account of its 

 great weight, which renders its conveyance into a boat a matter of 



