FISHERIES AND THEIR PRODUCE. 51 



Trout, perch, carp, and tench, together with 

 pike, are often to be seen at the London fish- 

 mongers', but they are sent expressly by the 

 owners of the rivers or preserves, (in which 

 they are taken by way of sport, or for the pur- 

 pose of thinning the water,) in the same way 

 as pheasants are sent to the London dealers in 

 poultry and game. Many, doubtless, are taken 

 by poachers, for the sake of a precarious and 

 dishonest livelihood. But with regard to the 

 consumption of these fishes we have no statisti- 

 cal data ; it is far larger in proportion in the 

 rural districts of our island than in London, or 

 in the chief towns. 



