THE BASSE. 231 



seven in number. The first dorsal fin is brown, with a little black between two or three 

 of the first and last rays ; the second dorsal and the pectoral are pale brown, and the tail 

 and other fins are bright red. 



THE fine fish so well known under the name of BASSE, or SEA-DACE, or SEA-PERCH, is 

 common on many of our coasts, and is considered by anglers as affording "good sport. 



It seems, from the accounts of practical sportsmen, to bite with readiness at a bait, 

 but to be a difficult fish to secure, on account of its tender mouth, its ingenious stratagems, 

 and its great strength. When hooked, it leaps, plunges, arid swims with such force and 

 swiftness, that the captor is forced to exercise the greatest skill in preventing it from 

 breaking away. One of its favourite ruses is to double back under the boat, in hopes of 

 cutting the line against the keel, or gaining a fixed point by which it may be able to drag 

 the hook from its mouth. 



Even when fairly tired out, and drawn to the edge of the boat, it is by no means 

 secured, for its scales are so hard that a very sharp blow of the gaff is needed to fix the 

 hook in its side, and its gills and fins are so formidably armed, that it cannot be grasped 



BASSE. Labrax lupu*. 



with impunity. The spines of the dorsal fin, in particular, are strong and sharp as packing- 

 needles, and the various portions of the operculurn are edged with projecting teeth that 

 cut like lancets. Many are the wounds that have been inflicted by the sudden twist and 

 wriggle of the Basse, when grasped in a careless manner. When lifted into the boat, the 

 hook is not to be taken from the mouth without some risk, as may be imagined on 

 reference to the illustration. 



It is a voracious fish, and derives its name of " lupus," or wolf, in consequence of its 

 insatiate appetite. It feeds upon other fish and various inhabitants of the sea. Mr. Couch 

 states that it is very fond of woodlice, and is bold enough to venture among rocks in u 

 tempest for the sake of snapping up these creatures, as they are washed by the waves and 

 beaten by the winds from their places of concealment among the stones. 



The flesh of the Basse is very excellent, and is thought to be in best condition when 

 the fish is small, measuring about eighteen inches in length. The colour of this fish is 

 dark dusky blue on the back, and silvery white on the abdomen ; the fins are brown. 11 

 sometimes attains a very large size, having been known to weigh upwards of twenty 

 pounds. It seldom, however, reaches such extreme dimensions, and a specimen of fifteen 

 pounds' weight is thought to be a remarkably fine one. 



