GUDGEON AND BLEAK. 327 



mother-of-pearl is procured ; this shell-fish grows to the length 

 of two feet, and according to Oppian, enters into co-partnership 

 with a small species of crab, which permanently resides within 

 its shell, and in return for this lodging accommodation caters 

 for the ' board ' of both parties. 



Pearl-fishing is often a very productive industry on theTayand 

 other Scotch rivers, such as the Earn, Isla, Lochy, and Dockart. 

 On the Tay it commences a little way above Scone Palace. 

 The pearls are found in the shell of the common fresh water 

 mussel. The fisher, armed with a long stick split at the end, 

 wades into the water till he reaches the mussel beds. Lifting 

 up the shells one by one with the stick, he transfers them to a 

 bag which he wears. The great purity of the water enables 

 him to choose the shells which he may reckon most likely to 

 suit his purpose. After his bag is filled he comes to the bank, 

 and sitting down opens the shells with a knife, examining them 

 carefully before he tosses them back into the water. Sometimes 

 he may open hundreds and find nothing ; at other times pearls 

 of great value are found, worth as much as io/., i5/., or 

 even 2o/., and some years ago a young lad got one in a small 

 river, a tributary of the Tay, which was shortly afterwards 

 sold in London for ico/. Pearl fishing is by no means an 

 unpleasant employment for a fine summer's day, and it is 

 only then it can be prosecuted when the waters are low and 

 clear. 



Of one mode of catching bleak I have already spoken in 

 the note which Mr. Senior has embodied in his article, 'Roach 

 fishing as a fine art.' This is the most certain way of taking 

 bleak that I am acquainted with. The method is to use a 

 single gentle at the end of a very fine casting line, without shot, 

 and with a piece of cork the size of a pea, to serve as a sort 

 of float three or four feet above the bait a few gentles or 

 soaked Iran also being from time to time scattered into the 

 river to attract the fish. The hook should be small enough to 

 be entirely concealed in the gentle. A light fly rod is the most 

 agreeable as well as most effective weapon. 



