CHAPTER III, 



THE PERCH AND ITS VARIETIES. 



The common Perch. 

 The Ruffe or Pope. 

 The Basse. 



The common Perch. 



The distinguishing characteristics of the common perch are a 

 compressed body with a hog back rising suddenly behind the head 

 till it reaches the first dorsal fin, when the rise and fall becomes 

 gradual ; the extreme height being about the centre of the fin, 

 and then gradually decreasing towards the tail. The head is well 

 proportioned, and armed with hard plates both on preoperculum 

 and operculum, the former indented, and the latter terminating in 

 a sharp edge, ending in a flattened point directed backwards. 

 The body is covered with hard scales that adhere to it very firmly, 

 and are not detached without difficulty. The upper part of the 

 body is a greenish brown, marked with five or six dusky bands 

 down the sides ; the lower part of the body grows lighter by de- 

 grees, varying in tints of gold and silver, accompanied by blushes 

 of pink and blue in different lights. The first dorsal fin is armed 

 with about a dozen sharp spines, the membrane connecting them 

 being of a transparent pale brown, tipped at the end next the tail 

 with black, the second dorsal fin only contains two small spines 

 on the first rays, the remainder being soft, and of the same pale 



