332 THE TENCH. 



THE beautiful GOLD-FISH (Cyprinus aurdtus), so familiar as a pet and so elegant as it 

 moves round the glass globe in which it is usually kept, is another member of this large 

 and important genus. It seems to have been brought to this country from China, and 

 has almost acclimatized itself to the cold seasons of England. Its habits and splendid 

 clothing are too well known to need description. 



ANOTHER well-known member of the same genus is the BARBEL, a fine but not 

 brilliant fish, which is common in many of the English rivers. 



This fish may easily be known, from the four fleshy appendages, called beards or 

 barbules, which hang from the head, two being placed on the nose and the other two 

 at each angle of the mouth. It is one of the mud-loving fish, grubbing with its nose 

 in the soft banks for the purpose of unearthing the aquatic larvae of various insects 

 which make their home in such places, and being, in all probability, aided by its 

 barbules in its search after food. 



The following remarks on the habits of the Barbel are by Mr. F. T. Buckland : 



" After fishing, without any sport, a place in the river near Old Windsor, which had 

 been previously well baited, I gave up the idea in consequence of the information 

 of a man who was cutting willows. He said he ' could show me where the Barbel 

 were.' Accordingly, we dropped quietly down in the punt a few yards from where 

 we had been fishing, and pointing down under a bush he said, ' Look there, sir ! ' 

 Underneath a thick hedge was a deep bank, hollowed out into ledges. The roots of a 

 willow-tree grew out of this bank some six yards into the stream, and formed an arch- 

 way large enough to wheel a wheelbarrow through. Peering down into the water, I 

 saw at the lower entrance of the archway a dark moving mass, which I soon made out 

 to consist entirely of Barbel. 



There they were, great fellows, the patriarchs of the river, swaggering and pushing 

 about their neighbors, of four or five pounds weight ; and little fellows not larger than 

 roach, quietly reposing on the bottom, or rolling their fat sides round and round as their 

 quarters became too crowded. After watching them some time, and ascertaining for a 

 fact that the Barbel when at rest does more or less ' walk upon the bottom by means 

 of his fins,' and trying them with every possible kind of bait (which, of course, they 

 would not touch), I lowered the rod among them. 



In an instant they all rushed up into their vegetable archway. Into this, which 

 was too small to hold them all, they pushed, and crowded, and hustled, exactly like 

 a flock of sheep driven out of a pen between two hurdles by the butcher's dog. They 

 were evidently fighting for good places under the arch, as the tails of the hindermost 

 moved in a most vigorous and energetic way, and every now and then one of them 

 would lose his place, get pushed out, and would come sailing swiftly down away from 

 the crowd ; then, turning head to stream, would charge right into the crowd again. 



I have visited this Barbel's home several times since, and have always witnessed the 

 same performance. What they get to eat there I cannot tell, unless they go out, like 

 the cats, at night, and forage in the deeps." 



The Barbel is sometimes so sluggish in its movements, and so deeply occupied in 

 rooting about the bank, that an accomplished swimmer will sometimes dive to the bed 

 of the river, feel for the Barbel along the banks, and bring them to the surface in his 

 bare hand. From this habit of grubbing in the mud, the Barbel has earned the name 

 of Fresh-water Pig. 



The color of the Barbel is brown above with a green wash, and yellowish green on 

 the sides. All the scales have a metallic lustre, and the cheeks and gill-covers have 

 also a polished look as if covered with very thin bronze. The abdomen is white. -The 

 Barbel is somewhat long in proportion to its weight, which is extremely variable, sel- 

 dom, however, exceeding eleven or twelve pounds. 



THE three fish that are represented in the engraving are well-known inhabitants of 

 the British rivers, and are all in some favor with anglers. 



The TENCH is hardly so common as the other two species, preferring the slowest and 

 muddiest rivers, and thriving well in ponds and lakes or even clay pits. No water 



