FISHES 



11. Rudd. Leuciscus erythrophthalmus, hinn. 

 It is sometimes said that this is not a Wor- 

 cestershire form ; but if the usual tests sepa- 

 rating this fish from the roach are to be relied 

 upon, namely (i) the position of the dorsal 

 fin, (2) the rigid upper lip, (3) the brighter 

 red about the eye and fins, specimens of this 

 fish have been caught in pools in the county — 

 for instance, from some near Ripple. 



12. Dace. Leuciscus dobula, Linn. {L. vul- 



garis, Day). 

 A common form in streams on the Severn, 

 Teme, less so on the Avon. Common in 

 most of the brooks ; usually found below, or 

 at the foot of, a weir or in a mill-race. 



13. Chub. Leuciscus cephalus, Linn. 



The commonest fish in the county. Found 

 in all the rivers, and gradually pushing its 

 way further and further up the tributaries. 



14. Minnow. Leuciscus phoxinus, Linn. 

 Common in particular places in clear 



streams, but it has a habit of disappearing 

 from places where it was plentiful one year, 

 not a minnow being found there in the next ; 

 a decreasing species. 



15. Tench. Tinea vulgaris, Cuv. 



Found in a number of the pools in differ- 

 ent parts of the county, rarely in the rivers ; 

 but when such is the case, the fish has escaped 

 from some pool. 



16. Bream. Abramis brama, Linn. 



This fish is very common in the Avon, 

 and runs to a fair size ; its range is extend- 

 ing. It is by no means uncommon in the 

 Severn since the river has been deepened and 

 dredged, and has also ascended some of the 

 tributaries ; found in some number in the 

 deep holes in the lower Teme. 



17. White Bream, Breamflat. Abramis 



blicca, Linn. 

 This bream is said to be found in the 

 Avon, and to be becoming more plentiful 

 than formerly. It is a smaller fish than the 

 bream, and hardly ever exceeds a pound, if it 

 reaches that weight. 



18. Bleak. Alburnus lucidus. Heck. & Kner. 

 A very common fish in the Severn and in 



the lower parts of most of the tributaries, but 

 not as a rule found above the first serious 

 obstruction in any of them. 



19. Loach. Nemachilus barbatulus, Linn. 



A common form, but not often seen, as it 

 feeds at night and hides under stones and 



roots in the day-time. It is sometimes used 

 for bait, but with that exception it is not 

 much sought for. 



20. Spinous Loach. Cohitis tania, Linn. 



A very local form. Although I have 



never met with it myself, I have seen 



specimens that I am informed came from 

 the county. 



MALACOPTERYGII 



21. Salmon [Samlet, Smolt, Botcher, Gilling]. 



Salmo salar, Linn. 

 A fairly numerous fish in the Severn and 

 certain of its tributaries ; the chief in Wor- 

 cestershire being the Teme and the Dowles. 

 In Worcestershire the number of clean run 

 fish taken is very small, probably not aver- 

 aging over 200 a year, all caught by net, 

 but in the autumn and winter very large 

 numbers are seen at the weirs, trying to 

 pass up, and on the spawning beds. The 

 young, before they are ready to migrate to 

 the sea, are locally called 'samlets ' ; when 

 ready to migrate, and having the silver scales, 

 ' smolts ' ; on their first return from the sea, 

 ' botchers ' ; the ' grilse ' of most rivers, on 

 their second return, ' gillings ' ; and after 

 that, ' salmon' ; while a salmon that has 

 spawned, and not since returned to the sea, 

 is called an ' old fish 'or 'a kelt.' In 

 Worcestershire all the salmon that are 

 legally caught are caught with a draft net. 



22. Sea Trout [Sewin]. Salmo trutta, Linn. 

 For some reason this form, which is very 



common in the estuary, does not run up the 

 Severn in any great numbers, and is not 

 often taken with a bait. The mesh of the 

 net that can lawfully be used for taking 

 it is so large (2 inches from knot to knot) 

 that the fish pass through it, so that probably 

 there are more fish in the river than are 

 observed. The marking on the form of 

 this fish found in the Severn differs con- 

 siderably to the marking on the Welsh sewin 

 (S. cambricus). The Severn form rarely ex- 

 ceeds 3 lb., and is generally from ^ to i^ lb. 

 In the winter larger fish ascend and are found 

 spawning in places where salmon cannot 

 reach. In the Severn the sea trout go up 

 the whole length of the river, and up the 

 Teme as far as Powick. 



23. Trout [Brown Trout]. Salmo fario, 



Linn. 

 Without going into the question whether 

 iS. trutta and 5. fario are or are not local 

 forms of the same species, here S. fario is 



135 



