176 THE PERCH. 



experienced in getting the consignment of pike- 

 perch from Schleswig safely to this country ; for, 

 after they were netted and placed in the fish- 

 carriers, which were oval-shaped barrels, 4 feet 

 long, 3 feet wide, and 18 inches deep, the fish 

 (twelve males and twelve females) had a rough 

 journey over frozen roads to the railway at Altona ; 

 and in transit from Hamburgh to London by 

 steamer, owing to fogs and stiff head winds, the 

 voyage lasted sixty instead of forty-eight hours ; 

 air having to be pumped into the carriers every 

 half hour to aerate the fish. The steamship 

 arrived in London at noon on a Sunday, when the 

 consignment of zander was met and taken charge 

 of by people appointed by his Grace the Duke of 

 Bedford. Fresh water was supplied to the fish, 

 and they were conveyed to Woburn Abbey, by 

 railway, rather more than a two and a half hours' 

 journey. On reaching their destination twenty- 

 three of the fish were found to be lively and in 

 good condition ; the twenty-fourth, being doubtful, 

 was killed, cooked, and eaten. 



The bass (Labrax lupus} also belongs to the 

 Percidce, and is the representative of the genus 

 _, B among British sea-fishes. It is known 

 (Labrax sometimes as the sea-perch, and is found 

 chiefly on the southern and south-east 

 coasts of Britain, but decreasing northwards. In 

 Ireland and the Isle of Man they are known, but 

 not abundant, and on the Scottish coast are but 

 rarely captured. They ascend rivers to a consider- 

 able distance, sometimes far above tidal influence, 

 and, when caught under such circumstances, have in 

 some instances been mistaken for fresh-water perch 



