150 THE PERCH. 



perch. Yarrell speaks of one, recorded by 

 Schafier, of about 40 inches in length, the head of 

 which (nearly a foot long) is preserved in the church 

 of Lulca, Lapland. 



The waters of Norway and Sweden, also the 

 Danube, contain gigantic perch, far exceeding the 

 extreme weight spoken of by some angling 

 writers as having been caught in this country, 

 where quantity and not extreme size seems to be 

 the character of the sport 



For instance, the Field of August 25th, 1884, 

 gave an account of " the capture by two anglers 

 in six hours (between eleven and five o'clock) of 

 more than 800 perch in Slapton Ley," a well-known 

 piece of water in Devonshire, which may be fished 

 by all comers on payment of a small fee. The 

 accuracy of the statement was questioned, but the 

 evidence of subsequent correspondents confirmed 

 it ; one gentleman stating that he and a friend in 

 five hours' fishing took 476 perch. Next to this 

 Devon lake, or " ley," perhaps Windcrmcrc might 

 be mentioned as holding countless shoals of small 

 perch ; in both these waters the fish average 

 about five to the pound weight, a half-pounder 

 being considered a fine specimen. Corrib and 

 some other Irish lakes and rivers hold large 

 perch, where 2| Ibs. to 3 Ibs. fish are not infre- 

 quently caught. 



In Virginia Water and other private lakes I 

 know of perch of fine size ; and I have two fifteen- 

 acre ponds in my mind's eye, where three-pounders 

 are not at all uncommon. But possibly among our 

 southern rivers, the Colnc, Kcnnct, and Loddon 

 have produced the finest fish ; my own best catch 

 in the Colne was in 1875, seven perch weighing 



