452 



THE TENCH GUDGEON CHUB. 



College, Cambridge, contained a Carp that had been an inhabitant of 

 it more than seventy years; and Gesner has mentioned an instance 

 of one that was an hundred years old. They are also extremely tena- 

 cious of lifs, and will live for a great length of time out of water. 



THE TEXCH. 



Tench are partial to foul and weedy waters ; and their haunts in 



rivers are chiefly among weeds, 

 and in places well shaded with 

 rushes. These fish thrive best 

 in standing waters, where they 

 lie under weeds, near sluices 

 and pond-heads. They are 

 much more numerous in pools 

 and pits than in rivers ; but 



those that are caught in the latter, are far preferable for the table. 



They begin to spawn in June, and may be found spawning in some 



waters till September. The best season for them is from that time 



until the end of May. 



They do not often exceed four or five pounds in weight. 



THE GUDGEON. 



The food of the Gudgeon consists of aquatic plants, worms, the 

 larvae of water- in sects, and the spawn of 

 fish. They usually swim in small shoals, 

 and are found in gentle streams, where 

 the bed is of sand or gravel. If the bed 

 of the stream be raked or stirred up, 

 they eagerly collect round the spot, and 

 are easily caught with lines baited with 

 small earth-worms. 



The flesh of the Gudgeon is white, of excellent flavor, and easy of 

 digestion. 



THE CHUB. 



The Chub is a handsome fish ; but it is not in esteem for the table, 



being very coarse, and, when out of 

 season full of small, hairy bones. 

 Its name is derived from the shape 

 of its head ; the French and Italians 

 know it by a name synonymous 

 with ours. 



Its haunts are rivers, whose bottoms are o? sand or clay, or which 

 tre bounded by clayey banks ; in deep holes, under hollow banks, 



