THE HABITS AND HAUNTS OF FISH. 35 



stated to be the case with the carp; indeed, their main 

 habits and instincts correspond closely with those just 

 ascribed to the carp. The chief points of distinction are 

 that the tench possesses greater powers of suction, is con- 

 ' siderably less in size (seldom attaining more than six or 

 seven pounds in our home waters), and is inferior in cun- 

 ning. The body of the tench is abundantly supplied 

 with mucous, which is generally supposed to have medic- 

 inal properties. This would be difficult to prove, and 

 we very much doubt whether it ever has been satisfac- 

 torily established. Both carp and tench are eminently 

 tenacious of life, and able to breathe with the most 

 meagre supply of oxygen. The young of both fish are 

 also of marvellously quick growth, where food is plenti- 

 ful, and the surroundings are favorable to their well- 

 being. The golden variety of tench, now acclimatized 

 here, is being artificially bred and distributed upon an 

 extensive scale. 



BREAM* (Abramis brama) abound to profusion in many 

 of our lakes, rivers, and canals, as also in small confined 

 sheets of water throughout the land. There are two 

 principal British varieties of these fish, viz., the common 

 or carp bream, and the white bream, or breamflat. There 

 are numerous hybrids among bream, as, indeed, is the 

 case with the whole carp tribe. These are occasionally 

 taken for new varieties, and new species. In early morn- 

 ing, with the first gleam of the sun in the east, the 



* The reader must not confound the English bream with our sunfisb, 

 which is called in many sections of the United States, a bream. The 

 bream of the text belongs to the carp family, and the sunfish to the 

 perehes. We have two well recognized varieties (both carps) of the 

 bream in this country ; the Notemigonus chwjsoleurm, commonly called 

 shiner, the habitat of which is from New England to Minnesota ; the N. 

 Americanus, or Southern bream, ranging from Virginia to Georgia. Both 

 of these fish are similar in their habits to the English varieties, loving 

 weedy streams and ponds. The former, N. chri/soleucus, resembles a 

 shad and grows to a weight of a pound and a half. The saltwater por- 

 gee is sometimes called a bream in the Southern States. 



