286 



THE ROACH. 



Tjie Beeam is mostly found in i-athei' large lakes or in slowly running rivers. Although 

 the flesh of the Bream is not held in any great estimation, being poorly flavored and very full 

 of bones, so that, in spite of the great dei)th of its body, there is scarcely sufficient flesh to 

 repay the trouble of cooking, still, the fish was formerly in much I'epute as a delicacy ; so 

 that either tlie fish seems to have deteriorated, or the present generation to have become more 

 fastidious. Spring and autuum furnish the best Bream, and the flesh can. be dried something 

 likt; that of the cod-fish. 



'J'he color of the Bream is yellowish-white, except the cheeks and gill-covers, which have 

 a silvery lustre without any tinge of yellow. Sometimes the Bream attains a considerable 

 size, reaching a weight of twelve or fourteen pounds. 



LINO.— Lo/a vulgaris. SLi' SILURUS.— Sitoj'Ms glaiils. lOue-quaiUT imiuial bize.) 



The Roach is a fish especially dear to scientific anglers, on account of its capricious 

 habits, and the delicate skill required to form a successful Roach-fisher. 



An angl(>r accomplished in this art will catch Roach where no one without special experi- 

 ence would have a chance of a bite, and will succeed in his beloved sport through almost every 

 season of the year, the winter mcmths being the favorites. So ca]irici()us are these fish, and so 

 sensitive to the least change of weather, that a single hour will suffice to put them off their 

 feed, and the angler may be suddenly checked in the midst of his sport by an adverse breeze 

 or change in the temj^er-ature. 



The Roach is a gregarious fish, swimming in shoals, and keeping tolerably close to each 

 other. It is not a large species, all over a pound being considered as fine specimens, and any 

 that weigh more than two pounds afe thought rai-e. It is a pretty fish, the upper parts of the 



