THE PERCH FAMILY. 61 



predatory instincts, even when the natural appetite has 

 been fully satiated. 



A very singular, if not unparalleled, instance of the 

 voracity of the Perch occurred to me when fishing in 

 Windermere. In removing the hook from the jaws of a 

 fish, one eye was accidentally displaced, and remained 

 adhering to it. Knowing the reparative capabilities of 

 piscine organization, I returned the maimed Perch, which 

 was too small for the basket, to the lake, and, being some- 

 what scant of minnows, threw the line in again with the eye 

 attached as a bait there being no other of any descrip- 

 tion on the hook. The float disappeared almost instantly ; 

 and on landing the new-comer, it turned out to be the fish 

 I had the moment before thrown in, and which had thus 

 been actually caught by his own eye. This incident proves, 

 I think, conclusively, that the structure of cold-blooded 

 animals enables them to endure very severe injuries and 

 wounds without experiencing material inconvenience; a 

 fact which may tend to remove any qualms of conscience 

 felt by anglers on the score of the sufferings supposed to 

 be inflicted on their captures. 



How far the spines of the Perch protect him from the 

 assaults of other fish especially of the Pike is not 

 quite certain. In many fishings both in England and 

 Scotland, small Perch are considered the favourite baits for 

 the Pike, which does not seem to be at all deterred by their 

 spiky appearance. Moreover, as the Pike always swal- 

 lows his prey head-foremost, whilst the spines of the Perch 



