352 LAKES AND STREAMS 



plumbing of the depth, and the scattering of the ground-bait. Of course the latter 

 attracts them, and they come to see what's up, and if inclined to feed they will 

 constantly take the baited hook for an innocent morsel of favourite food. But to 

 make a good basket of roach, even when they are on, requires very careful 

 attention to a number of details." The largest roach are about 10 inches in 

 length, and in England the species seldom attains a weight of 2 lbs. The food 

 consists largely of crustaceans. The roach is richer and more varied in colour 

 than is usually believed. The upper part of the head and back is dusky 

 and often bright green with reflections in many shades of blue, the greens and 

 blues becoming lighter on the sides, and passing into silvery white below ; the eyes 

 are yellow, the cheeks and gill-covers silvery, the dorsal and caudal fins pale 

 brown tinged with red, and the pectorals orange-red, while the other fins are 

 bright red ; but these hues are only plainly discernible in healthy, mature 

 examples. An allied species, L. virgo, gorgeous in metallic lines, large scales, and 

 orange-yellow pelvic and caudal fins is confined to the Danube ; and another kind, 

 L. meidingeri, distinguished by the male having large amber-yellow warts on the 

 skin during spawning -time, lives in the very deep Alpine lakes. The rudd 

 (L. erythrophthal/mus) differs by its copper-coloured fins and glistening golden eye, 

 marked by a red spot at the top. In East Anglia rudd live in the Broads, while 

 roach unaccompanied by rudd seem to prefer the rivers ; but, as a rule, rudd are 

 not taken from water in which roach are not present, though roach are frequently 

 found where there are no rudd. 



The chub (L. cephalus) is another widely distributed species, 



ranging into Asia Minor. Must of its scales are edged with black, 

 and in the spawning-season its fins are ornamented with red and yellow. This 

 fish sinks to the bottom instantly at the slightest alarm, even the shadow of a 

 rod, but, as a rule, swims close to the surface in the shade of a bank or tree, and 

 feeds on the worms, insects, and vegetation that fall into the water, as well as 

 the small crustaceans that take refuge in the soft soil of the bank, particularly 

 young crayfish. Chub may be distinguished from dace by the chocolate edges of 

 the tail and back-fin. The scales are also larger, there being from forty-three to 

 forty-eight on the lateral line, which is slightly concave and reaches its lowest 

 point over the tips of the reddish pelvic fins. The very white leathery lips and 

 large mouth are also conspicuous distinctions. The mouth and throat are lined 

 with a tough membrane from which the hook is seldom disengaged without trouble, 

 and in the throat are two rows of large teeth numbering three or five on each side. 

 In England chub have been taken over 20 inches in length and weighing more 

 than 5 lbs., but on the continent the fish is considerably larger. 



The dace (L. vulgaris), which ranges over most of the European 



counti'ies but is absent from Italy, Scotland, and Ireland, is a some- 

 what slender, graceful fish, bluish above and silvery below ; the pelvic fins being 

 greenish, tinged with red, and the anal without any trace of red. In the lateral 

 line, which reaches its lowest point beneath the hind end of the dorsal tin, there 

 are from forty-eight to tifty-two scales, and at the base of each pelvic fin there is 

 an angular scale. In length it occasionally attains 12 inches: one was caught 

 in the Kennet which weighed a pound and a quarter, but the average is much less. 



