PERCID.E. 



on account of certain variations which the generic charac- 

 ters and descriptions hereafter appended to such as are 

 British will sufficiently explain. The Perch was well known 

 to the Greeks, and Aristotle has described its habits under 

 the name of IIs^. It was the Perca of the Romans ; and 

 is named Pergesa in Italy, Perscke in Prussia, la Perche in 

 France, and Perch in England. As a species, it is common 

 to the whole of the temperate parts of Europe ; and in this 

 country there is scarcely a river or lake of any extent where 

 this fish does not occur in abundance. It is found in most 

 of the lakes of Scotland, in those of the North of England, 

 where it is sometimes called a Basse, and also in the lakes of 

 Wales. In the various historical and statistical accounts of 

 the counties of Ireland, the Perch may be traced through 

 the southern, eastern, and northern districts from Cork to 

 Londonderry, and is probably to be found also in the rivers 

 and lakes of most, if not all the other counties. In rivers, 

 the Perch prefers the sides of the stream rather than the 

 rapid parts of the current, and feeds indiscriminately upon 

 insects, worms, and small fishes. So remarkable is the 

 Perch for its boldness and voracity, that in a few days 

 after some specimens had been placed in a vivarium, in 

 Bushy Park, Mr. Jesse tells us, they came freely and took 

 worms from his fingers ; and the Perch is generally the first 

 prize of the juvenile angler. They have been known to 

 breed in small vases ; and Bloch mentions having watched 

 some while depositing their ova in long strings in a vessel 

 kept in his room. A Peroh of half a pound weight has been 

 found to contain 280,000 ova ; and the spawning season is 

 ut the end of April, or beginning of May. Perch live for 

 some hours out of water, and bear a journey of forty or fifty 

 miles, if carried steadily, and watered occasionally. They 

 are constantly exhibited in the markets of Catholic countries, 



