THE DACE. 37 



geon feeds on the bottom, the roach a little above, 

 and the dace somewhat higher than the roach. 

 The same bait and the same tackle are used for 

 both ; but the dace is the more greedy or the less 

 shy fish of the two, bites more freely, and is taken 

 with larger hooks and coarser lines than the roach 

 will look at. 



The dace does not run nearly so large as the 

 roach : a fish of a quarter of a pound may be con- 

 sidered a good specimen. It is more lively on the 

 hook, and, in proportion to its size, shows greater 

 sport, trusting more to the powers of its fins and 

 tail than the roach does ; the latter being apt to 

 take an unfair advantage of its clumsy figure, and 

 turning broadside to the opposing stream, cheat 

 the guileless angler with the show of dimensions 

 which it by no means possesses. 



The form of the dace is rather elegant than 

 otherwise. Its fins, which are white instead of red, 

 the colour of the roach's, at once distinguish it 

 from that fish ; and its scales, which are small 

 and closely packed, are exceeded in brilliancy by 

 no river-fish (hence the appellation " leuciscus ") 

 except the bleak, and are used in making imita- 

 tion-pearls and other very beautiful ornaments. 



As an article of food for man we mean the 

 dace is beneath contempt ; but as a bait for a 



