158 THE PERCH. 



markings or bars, but is coloured almost exactly 

 like a gudgeon, and is often caught when angling 

 for the latter fish. Its average length is four or 

 five inches. Pope arc plentiful in the Thames, and 

 the Berkshire Canal ; also in the rivers Kennct, 

 Yarc, and Wensum. They are bold-biting fish, 

 with iridescent opal tints on the cheeks, spots on 

 the spinous dorsal fin, and a sharp point on the 

 gill-covers. 



Buckland : says " A cruel habit, which probably 

 originated in some idea connected with Roman 

 Catholic persecutions, is practised up and down the 

 Thames, and almost all over England. When a 

 pope is caught, a wine-cork is pressed tightly on to 

 a spine of the dorsal fin, and the fish is turned 

 loose again into the water, to bob about upon the 

 surface. This is what is called ' plugging a pope.' " 



