RECORDS. 151 



1 8 Ibs., the largest 3^ Ibs., and in the Locldon five 

 of the aggregate weight of 1 2 Ibs. The two finest 

 Kennet records I ever heard of were made by the 

 late Mr. Francis Francis, who took home thirty- 

 seven perch weighing 60 Ibs. (many over 2 Ibs. 

 each), the selection of one day's fishing ; and the 

 friend who angled with him had three large perch 

 on his paternoster at the same time, of which he 

 bagged two weighing 2 Ibs. and 2^ Ibs. respec- 

 tively : while the third fish, which was the largest 

 of the three, got away. 



Near Kintbury, on the Kennet, Mr. C. Penncll 

 and a friend took one day " several dozen perch, 

 averaging more than a pound weight each, and the 

 largest considerably exceeded 2 Ibs." 



On November 8th, 1876, the late Mr. J. H. 

 Keene caught fifteen perch weighing 21 Ibs. in 

 Virginia Water, and a few days before that eight, 

 averaging i^ Ibs. each ; also in the same water 

 (February, 1877) a friend of mine captured several 

 over 2 Ibs. each, fishing with brandlings and 

 lobworms on a light leger-line; and in 1882 two 

 other anglers I know, fishing the lake at Eastwell 

 Park, Kent (Lord Winchelsea's), caught with worm 

 baits fifty perch, some of 2} Ibs. each, of the ag- 

 gregate weight of 69 Ibs. Of late years the Thames 

 has not produced many perch ; but as they are 

 now better looked after at spawning time and pro- 

 tected from the swans which then greedily devour 

 the perch ova those fish are again increasing in 

 number. The largest specimen Thames perch I 

 know of weighed 4 Ibs., and was caught at Sun- 

 bury, January, 1879. In the Thames a 2-lbs. fish 

 is now considered a fine specimen, and although 

 there may yet be three-poiinders in the river it will 



