CHAPTER XX. 



THE MINNOW. 



THE minnow, or as Walton calls him (and he ia so still termed in many 

 parts of England) the pink (Leuciscus phoxinus), is the smallest of the 

 carp family, and rarely grows to beyond Sin. I certainly know of one 

 exception to this which was taken from the Colne, near Staines Moor, 

 and measured 4in., but never before nor since have I seen one beyond 

 Sin. The ordinary size is from lin. to 2in. 



The minnow (from the Latin Minumus) is found in nearly all the 

 streams of Great Britain, and is essentially a shallow water fish. I have 

 good reason for saying that it cannot sustain life even in great depths from 

 the following incident : Some year or two since it became necessary to 

 fish for some of the large perch found in the Obelisk Lake, Windsor 

 Park, for the household of H.E.H. Prince Christian. To this end, lines 

 baited with some exceedingly fine fresh caught Colne minnows were 

 arrayed and laid partly in the very deep water near the pond head (about 

 29ft.), and partly in the shallower water contiguous. On taking up 

 the line after some quarter of an hour's waiting, it was found that all 

 the minnows which had been lowered into the deep water were dead and 

 stiff, showing, indeed, in so short a time a peculiar amount of rigidity. 

 I subsequently made several experiments which convinced me of the 

 superior density of deep water, and of the inability of minnows to endure 

 this. I may say that gudgeons were not similarly affected. 



The minnow is, as almost everybody knows, a delightfully handsome 

 vivacious little fellow. Just before the spawning season in May the fish 

 undergoes a remarkable alteration of appearance, especially the females. 

 In this, as will be seen, it essentially differs from the stickleback, the male 

 of these fish alone changing his coat. The minnow is, if possible, more 

 gorgeous than the stickleback. The hues vary from an intense bluey-green 

 on the back and orange on the belly to an olive back and gradations of 



