48 THE FRESH-WATER F I SI IKS OF 



are large, rough, and finely-denticulated at the margin. The scales resemble 

 those of the Perch, but differ in being longer, in wanting the basal expansion, 

 and in being rougher. The lateral line runs parallel to the back, and near to it. 

 The mucus-canal in these scales is very large. In this line seventy scales 

 may be counted. There are seven rows of scales above the line and fourteen 

 rows below it. 



There are two ovaries equally developed. The eggs are stated by 

 Blanchard to be larger than those of the Perch, although the animal is so 

 small. The stomach is oval, and the intestine has only two folds. There are 

 forty-two vertebrae, of which seventeen are abdominal, and twenty-five are 

 caudal. 



The Apron is found chiefly between Lyons and Vienne, in the Upper 

 Rhone; it also occurs in the lower part of the river, but has not been 

 noticed below Avignon. It has also been found in the Saone, Doubs, Ouche, 

 Ognon, &c. Like other Perches, it lives on small fishes and insects. It 

 spawns in March and April. It lives at the bottom, and comes to the surface 

 only in bad weather with a north or west wind, when other fishes take refuge 

 at the bottom. This habit has given it a bad reputation with French fisher- 

 men, who term it the " sorcerer." In the Cote d'Or the fishermen for a long 

 time threw these fishes away whenever captured, believing that they brought 

 bad luck, but having discovered that they are excellent eating, and flavoured 

 like the Perch, they believe now that the capture brings bad luck to the fish. 

 In the Isere their capture is regarded as a bad omen. 



Although the body is widest in the opercular region, the width in the 

 Apron is less than that in the Streber. In the former the tail is shorter and 

 more compressed ; it has fewer scales about the head than has the latter. The 

 banding on the body is different ; there are five bands in the Streber and four 

 in the Apron, according to Siebold, or three according to Blanchard. In the 

 Streber the principal bands descend from the bases of the first and second 

 dorsal fins, and are proportionately wide ; while in the Apron the narrow 

 bands descend forward from between and behind the dorsal fins. 



Aspro streber (Vc>N SIEBOLD). 



This somewhat rare fish, formerly identified as Aspro vnlgaris, is, according 

 to Von Siebold, limited to the Danube and its tributaries, and he regards the 

 identifications as erroneous which have recorded it from the Rhine and the 

 Lake of Geneva. Being small and rare it has not attracted much attention. 

 It spawns in March and April. 



The colour is olive, shading into yellow-brown or a reddish tint above, and 



