354 



LAKES AND STREAMS 



Tench. 



seven gallons of minnows were served fried, and there are other records of 

 these fish in old accounts. 



The orfe (Idus melanotics), a continental species, remarkable for 



its golden colour, has been introduced into many English ponds, where 

 it is often mistaken for the golden carp. 



The tench (Tinea vulgaris), with its slimy coat, and a barbel at 



each corner of the small, scornful-looking mouth which provided Cicero 

 with an epithet, is at home in most countries of Europe. It is a fish of still 

 waters, and occasionally lives in sluggish streams, deep down as a rule, but near 

 the surface in hot weather. During the winter it lies torpid in the mud, and at 

 any time will dive into the mud to escape capture, though it is so slow of move- 

 ment that it can be caught by the hand. It spawns when the wheat is in blossom ; 

 and the males are distinguishable from the females by their long shell-shaped 



pelvic fins. Tench feed on weeds, worms, and insects, and are almost as tenacious 

 of life as eels, it being a frequent occurrence for them to live a whole day out of 

 water. They sleep in curiously contorted attitudes, often with their heads resting 

 on the bottom. Tench are said to be the only fish that pike will not touch, but a 

 few exceptions to this are on record; they are also said to heal the wounds of 

 other fishes with the slime of their skin, and many instances of this are 

 cited, although the slime has not been found of any therapeutic value in human 

 cases. The species varies much in colouring and has been divided into several 

 races, one of which, gorgeous in gold and black, is peculiar to Silesia and 

 Bohemia. 



Another genus, of which there are several species in Europe and 

 western Asia, is represented by the beaked carp (Chondrostoma naso) 

 of the Elbe, and the rivers of France, and certain other countries ; and also by 

 C. genei in the Rhine ; both species being mainly confined to the Mediterranean 

 countries and Europe. 



Beaked Carp. 



