THE ROACH AND DACE. 99 



pikes, and other voracious fishes. The female 

 deposits her eggs in May, and, according to 

 Bloch, there are one hundred and thirty thou- 

 sand in the roe of a well-grown individual. In 

 some parts of Ireland, where breams are very 

 abundant and very large, sometimes weighing 

 ten or twelve pounds each, the fish are taken 

 in large quantities and dried, in which state 

 they are acceptable to the peasantry. The 

 bream has neither bony rays on any of its fins, 

 nor barbules about the mouth ; its body is deep 

 and compressed ; its general colour is yellowish 

 white, often with a tinge of brown. A distinct 

 and smaller species, of a silvery white, inhabits 

 some of our rivers, as the Trent, the Cam, as 

 well as lakes, etc. It is the white bream, or 

 bream-fiat, (Abramis llicca^) common on the 

 continent. It is in no request for the table. 



Two fishes, respectively termed the roach, 

 (Leuciscus rutilus,) and the dace, (Leuciscus 

 vulgarisj) are common in the rivers and lakes 

 of the British islands and those of the adjacent 

 continent* They are pretty silvery-sided fish, 

 gregarious in their habits, and are fond of deep 

 quiet spots, or still nooks in the river, mill-dams, 

 and similar situations. These little fishes are 

 not in much estimation for the table, yet their 

 flesh is delicate, and in the best degree of per- 



