GILL] THE FAMILY OF CYPRINIDS 215 
by “Piscator.”” It is indeed good cooking that makes any Cyprinid 
palatable! 
The Dace (Leuciscus leuciscus) is closely related to the chub 
but is conspicuous for its shiny, silvery appearance, which renders 
it a favorite lure for the pike. Its average length is about eight 
or nine inches. It affects clear streams and rather deep water with 
a gravelly bottom. It is a very lively and active fish and its frequent 
dart-like movements, it has been claimed, have suggested the names 
dard and dart. Dace (also rarely spelled Dase and Darce) is per- 
haps a curtailed derivative of the French Vandoise or its original, 
and Dart as well as Dort of the French Dard. Vandoise is now the 
most prevalent name in France, Dart being more restricted. The 
most current German name is Louben. 
The Roacu (Ruttlus rutilus) is one of the most esteemed angle 
fishes of Europe and a special “ Book of the Roach” has been pub- 
lished for the benefit of anglers. At one time, as by Walton, it was 
“accounted the water-sheep, for his simplicity or foolishness.” But 
many now are convinced, with Frank Buckland, that “to catch him 
the fisherman must have a subtle eye and a steady hand.” It some- 
times attains a weight of two pounds or even more, but that is very 
much above the average. 
It thrives in stagnant water and muddy ponds and js the most 
common fish in the river (Lea) which Walton often fished. 
The Rupp (Scardinius erythrophthalmus) is distinguished by its 
high back, reddish fins, and red eyes. It occurs in such localities as 
the roach affects, but is less generally distributed. According to 
Day, “ It has been asserted that where Rudd exist roach are almost 
invariably present, whereas the converse does not hold good.” It 
rarely attains a length of two pounds, and is “ scarcely eatable.” 
The name is supposed to be connected with red and ruddy. Red- 
eye is another (rare) English name of the fish and parallels the 
German Rothauge. 
The Minnow (Pho-vinus phoxinus) is the smallest of the West- 
ern European Cyprinids, has small scales, and is at once distin- 
guished by the incompleteness of the lateral line. It is usually 
found about three or four inches long. The males develop tubercles | 
on the head and are brightly colored during the breeding season. 
-The present name was preceded, in the usage of our predecessors 
by such forms as menow, mine, and the like, and has been supposed 
to be “ possibly from the root of min, less, with me termination 
-ow due to the confusion with some other word, perhaps of, menu 
