l6o THE COMMON PERCH. 



them striving which shall first seize his bait, till the 

 whole shoal are caught. 



The females deposit their spawn, sometimes to 

 the amount of 280,000 ova, betwixt the^nonths of 

 February and May. This is usually done during 

 the act of rubbing themselves against some sharp 

 body. 



Perch are much admired as firm and delicate 

 fish. They were in high esteem among the Ro- 

 mans. 



In one of the pools of Merionethshire there is a 

 singular variety of the Perch, the back of which is 

 hunched, and the lower part of the back-bone next 

 the tail is strangely distorted. The common kind 

 are as numerous in this pool as the deformed fish. 

 Some of the crooked Perch have likewise been 

 found in the small Alpine lakes of Sweden *.'"' 



* Daniel ii. 3+6. Pcnn. Brit. Zool. iii. 254. 



