THE PERCH. 



' THE Yellow Perch. ; P$rca flavescens. 



This fine fish, which belongs to the family Percoidce, 

 of the division Acanthopterygti, or thorny-finned, is the 

 common perch of the waters of the United States; 

 ranging from the extreme east to the extreme west of 

 the continent; from the streams and pools of Nova 

 Scotia and ]STew Brunswick, to the feeders of Lake Supe- 

 rior and the northern tributaries of the Canadian lakes. 



To the northward, it is not found in the rivers flowing 

 into the Arctic Ocean or Hudson's Bay, and its southern 

 limit is ill-defined, and can scarcely be ascertained, ex- 

 cept by personal inspection ; since the denizens of the 

 southern waters have been disfigured by appellations, 

 local, provincial, and most unscientifical, so barbarous 

 as to defy the most intelligent inquirer. 



The title of the division Acanthopterygii, or thorny- 

 ftnned, is founded on the principle that every genus and 

 sub-genus thereof has one or more of the fins supported 



