THE TENCH. 



131 



the United States. Very few have acquired popular names, but among these is the Red-fin, also 

 known as the Red Dace, or Rough-head (Leuciscus cornutus), the fins becoming red during the 

 spawning season. It is found in Lakes Erie and Michigan, and other parts of the United States. 

 The Spawn-eater, or Smelt (Leuciscm hudsonicus), is a silvery fish with a black spot on the root of the 

 tail, and with a very large eye. It is about thrcs inches long, and occurs in Lake Superior. Many 

 of the American species have the eye large. 



The Tench (Tinea vulgaris) is the only species of its genus. It has small scales, which are 

 deeply embedded in a thick skin covered with thick mucus. The dorsal fin is short, and has no spine. 

 It is opposite to the ventral fin. There is a short barbel at the angle of the mouth. The pharyngeal 

 teeth are in a single row, are cuneiform, and slightly hooked. It ocelli's in France, Germany, and 



Austria, especially in the lakes ; it is not abundant in the English rivers, but is often found in old 

 pits in brick-yards, and muddy places generally. They are fattened on meal when preparing for table, 

 and are a well-flavoured fish. The Tench is tenacious of life, and is usually brought alive to market 

 in the midland counties. Tench have been taken thirty-three inches long, weighing eleven to twelve 

 pounds. In the colder months this fish shelters itself in a hole which it excavates in the mud. In 

 stocking Tench ponds two males should be allowed to every female. The eggs are deposited on weeds 

 in June, and hatched in two or three days. There are three hundred thousand ova in a fish weighing 

 four pounds. 



In the genus Chondrostoma, which is well represented in Western Asia and Europe, the lower 

 jaw has a sharp cutting edge over which there is a brown horny covering. 



The ninth group is named Rhodeina. It is a small assemblage of fishes, some of which are from 

 China and Japan, while the remainder are European. The most important genus is Rhodeus, well 

 known on the Continent from the Rhodeus amarus, which has a silvery-bluish band on the middle of 

 the tail, as in the Chinese species. It is sometimes found in warm' springs. The female at the spawning 

 time develops a remarkable tube external to the body, and often two-thirds as long as the fish. 

 Down this tube the eggs pass, and specimens are sometimes seen in the Strasbure market witk 



