122 THE ANGLER-NATURALIST. 



able to them they will grow to 10 feet long. They are 

 plentiful in the Danube, the Rhine, the Elbe, and the Weser, 

 in almost all the rivers flowing into the Black Sea, and in 

 the Volga, where they attain the weight of 40 and 50 Ibs. 

 On the banks of this river the natives make a kind of fish- 

 glue or isinglass of the bladder, boiling the roe and feeding 

 their geese and poultry with it. The fish themselves are 

 sold at Astrakan at about 9 the thousand. 



The Barbel is a native of many parts of England, and 

 is exclusively a river-fish. It abounds particularly in the 

 Trent and the Thames, in the latter being so numerous, 

 that in the neighbourhood of Walton and Weybridge as 

 much as 280 Ibs. weight are said to have been taken by a 

 single rod in one day. At Temple Weir, near Marlow, 

 I have also known some extraordinary baskets to be made ; 

 and at Newlock a gentleman, who is well known as an 

 accomplished angler, once hooked, and was broken by, 

 a fish which he played for upwards of an hour without 

 ever succeeding in getting a sight of it. The probable size 

 of this Barbel may therefore be imagined. In this country 

 the usual weight of the fish does not exceed 10 Ibs. ; but 

 they are occasionally taken as large as 15 Ibs., and one is 

 mentioned as having been caught in the River Lea which 

 weighed 19 Ibs. 



A table of the relative lengths and weights of the fish 

 is annexed. 



