,54 OBSERVATIONS 



viously baited, with lobworms, and boiled 

 malt ; you must fish at the bottom, they bite 

 freely and are easily taken. I cannot pafs 

 unnoticed the general opinion, that the slime 

 of -the tench is of a healing nature, on which 

 account it is said, pike will not prey on 

 them. I fear this observation is given to 

 the world without any evidence to support 

 it, and I attribute this supposed self-denial 

 of the pike to a different cause: tench are 

 fond of mud and are constantly at the bottom, 

 where they are probably secure from the 

 attacks of their voracious neighbour. 



BREAM 



Spawn in June and July, and are best in 

 season in September ; they grow to a very- 

 large size, I have seen them five and six 

 pounds. The large ones are called carp, 

 bream, as they are yellow,, resemble the carp 

 in colour, and are supposed to be a distinct 

 species from the white bream. They fre- 

 quent the broadest parts of the river, where 

 it is deep, and the stream gentle. The best 



