38 THE BARBEL. 



better fish, hereafter to be described, to wit, the 

 jack, it is unequalled. The greedy tyrant of the 

 waters is in some respects an epicure, and besides 

 that the appearance of the dace in the water is very 

 attractive, the fish itself seems to have an especial 

 charm for its devourer. The form, too, of the dace 

 is admirably adapted for fixing on to the flight of 

 hooks used for spinning. A slight " wobble " is all 

 very well in pike-fishing, but a roach is all wobble. 

 We have separated the dace from the roach, and 

 placed him nearly at the end of his class, because 

 with him commences the practice of the great art 

 of fly-fishing. The gudgeon supplies the accidence 

 of bottom-fishing, the dace of fly-fishing. In the 

 spring and summer months the dace is altogether 

 a surface-feeder ; and with reasonably fine tackle, 

 a midge, a blue dun, or a red ant, great execution 

 may be done on the gravelly shallows without 

 much strain on the skill of the fisherman. In the 

 autumn he affects the same diet as his cousin the 

 roach. 



THE BARBEL. 



Like a small minority of the intelligent youth 

 of the present day, this fish is principally distin- 

 guished by its beard, from which it derives its 



