146 BRITISH FRESH- WATER FISHES 



some roots, a large animal was seen to move, which the 

 workmen took to be an otter. Forming a ring they tried 

 to bolt him, when the creature was found to be an enormous 

 tench, wedged into a hole, the shape of which he had grown 

 to fit. The dimensions of this notable fish are recorded 

 with so much precision that the evidence about it cannot 

 be set aside. They are as follows : length from eye to 

 outer margin of tail fin 33 inches, circumference 27 inches, 

 weight 1 1 lb. 9^ oz. 



The tench is very prolific : the ova are greenish in 

 colour, and the ovary of a female weighing 3|- lb. has been 

 found to contain no less than 297,000 eggs. It spawns 

 in May and June, when the males abandon their leisurely 

 and sedentary habits, appearing in the character of dashing 

 lovers, racing after the females so impetuously as sometimes 

 to drive them ashore.* It has been observed that every 

 female is followed by two or more males. The spawn is de- 

 posited chiefly on water weeds — the Potamogeiton^ for instance, 

 which is sometimes locally called " tench weed." 



The food of the tench is of the same character as that 

 of the carp, consisting both of animal and vegetable substances, 

 but probably it is not in the habit of preying upon other fish ; 

 for, notwithstanding its great spread of fins and powerful 

 build, it is an animal of leisurely movement and sluggish 

 disposition. In winter it buries itself in the mud, and lies 

 low till the return of warmth in spring. 



Folklore has gathered fondly round this fish, and 

 many wonderful stories have been believed about its healing 

 virtues, not only affecting other fish, but men also. It is 

 wearisome, and even humiliating, to repeat such idle tales. 

 Their worth may be gauged by a perusal of what Izaak 

 Walton, shrewd enough in so many respects, reports of them. 



* I speak not from personal observation. Mr. J. H. Keene states 

 that he has witnessed " repeatedly " such a scene as this {The Practical 

 Fisher ma?i, p. 85). 



