PERCH. 145 



the body is rather short and laterally compressed, with cycloid 

 scales of moderate size, a pointed snout, with large gape and a 

 projecting lower jaw. The dorsal tin is set far back and has five 

 strong spines ; the anal fin has three spines. The scales extend 

 over the soft portions of both dorsal and anal fins. The Archer- 

 fish is a fresh-water fish of the East Indies, Queensland and New 

 Zealand. It is so called because of its habit of rising to the 

 surface and discharging from its mouth a drop or jet of water 

 upon an insect which it perceives resting on a leaf or twig over- 

 hanging the water, in order that the insect may fall into the water 

 and become an easy prey. The fish continues this entertaining 

 practice in captivity, and the Malay people keep the " Ikan 

 sumpit," as they call it, for purposes of amusement. 



The Perches (family Percidse) are fresh-water fishes of the 

 northern hemisphere, with the spinous dorsal fin longer than the 

 soft dorsal, and the latter not much more developed than the anal 

 fin ; the anal fin has one or two spines only. The Perch, Perca Perch. 

 fluviutlUs, 507, well known to anglers by the conspicuous vertical 

 dark bars extending from the back some distance down the sides, 

 is a bright-looking fish, rather rough to the touch owing to the 

 tine serration of the free edges of the ctenoid scales. Although 

 the specific name of the Perch is fluviutilis, the fish is more at 

 home in lakes than in rivers ; in fact the Perch cannot spawn in 

 places where there is any considerable current. Perches are 

 essentially gregarious fish, swimming about and seeking their prey 

 in shoals, but as they grow old they become more solitary in their 

 habits. It is curious to note that large and small Perch do -not 

 associate together ; large Perch, in fact, do not hesitate to devour 

 the young of their species. The Perch is a good fish for the 

 table, its flesh being firm, clean and white, but most of the 

 specimens caught by anglers are discarded, and there is no demand 

 for such fish in the British markets. In Russia, on the other 

 hand, the Perch is an important article of diet. The size of the 

 Perch varies much in different waters, depending largely on the 

 relative abundance or scarcity of food. Perch up to 3 lbs. in 

 weight are not infrequently caught in Britain ; Frank Buckland 

 vouches for the capture of genuine Perch of 4^ lbs. A few cases 

 7 or 8 lbs., but there is a suspicion 



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