WHITE PERCH AND ITS FAVOURITE BAIT. 201 



to judge whether the bird or the man is the best fisher. This species is 

 most abundant round the borders of the stagnant lakes, bayous, or ponds 

 of the Southern Districts; and I have seen them caught even in the 

 streets of the suburbs of New Orleans, after a heavy shower. They be- 

 come a great pest by perforating embankments of all sorts, and many are 

 the maledictions that are uttered against them both by millers and plant- 

 ers, nay even by the overseers of the levees along the banks of the Mis- 

 sissippi. But they are curious creatures, formed no doubt for useful pur- 

 poses, and as such they are worthy of your notice. 



