98 BRITISH FISH AND FISHERIES. 



being that of a char, or vermilion. This ex- 

 traordinary fish, after having been inspected by 

 many gentlemen, was carefully put into a pond, 

 and, at the time the account was written, 

 twelve months afterwards, was alive and well." 

 Not only then did this fish live in his moist 

 prison, but grew to an enormous size. The 

 tench is too well known to require a particular 

 description. 



In many of our large rivers or lakes, and in 

 some of our canals and slow rivers a fish called 

 the bream, or carp-bream, (Air amis Irama^) is 

 very abundant ; it inhabits the lakes of Cum- 

 berland and those of Ireland, and is common 

 in the southern and central parts of the Euro- 

 pean continent. 



Walton says : " The French esteem this fish 

 highly, and to that end have this proverb, He 

 that hath breams in his pond, is able to bid his 

 friend welcome. And it is noted that the best 

 part of a bream is his belly and head." This 

 last observation may be taken as a tacit admis- 

 sion that the bream does not merit the praise 

 bestowed upon it ; in fact, its flesh is insipid and 

 full of little bones but French cookery may 

 probably render it palatable. 



The bream is very prolific, and in large 

 lakes affords an abundant supply of food to 



