90 NATURAL HISTORY 



male and female ; the females big with 

 spawn : some lamperns; some bulls heads; 

 but I could procure no minnows. This 

 basket will be in Fleet-street by eight this 

 evening ; so I hope Ulazel will have them 

 fresh and fair to-morrow morning. I gave 

 some directions, in a letter, to what parti- 

 culars the engraver should be attentive. 



Finding, while I was on a visit, that I 

 was within a reasonable distance of Am- 

 bresbury, I sent a servant over to that town, 

 and procured several living specimens of 

 loaches, which he brought, safe and brisk, 

 in a glass decanter. They were taken in 

 the gullies that were cut for watering the 

 meadows. From these fishes (which mea- 

 sured from two to four inches in length) 

 I took the following description : " The 

 *' loach, in its general aspect, has a pel- 

 " lucid appearance : its back is mottled 

 " with irregular collections of small black 

 " dots, not reaching much below the linea 

 ** lateralis, as are the back and tail fins : a 

 " black line runs from each eye down to 

 " the nose ; its belly is of a silvery white ; 



