252 PIKE AND OTHER COARSE FISH. 



account of some of them : ' A deformed variety' of perch,' he 

 says, ' with the back greatly elevated, the tail distorted, and 

 bearing the local name oi Rudahorse, was noticed by Linnseils at 

 Fahlun, in Sweden ; and similar monstrosities occur at Elgsjon 

 in Ostrogothia, and in other lakes in the north of Europe. Der 

 formed perch are also found in Glyn Raithlyn, in Merioneth-^ 

 shire. Such a fish is figured in the volume of Daniel's ' Rural 

 Sports,' devoted to fishing and shooting, p. 247. Perch almost 

 entirely white inhabit the waters of particular soils ; and I am 

 indebted to the kindness of G. S. Foljambe, Esq., of Osberton, 

 for specimens of a variety of perch from Ravenfield Park ponds; 

 near Rotherham, in Yorkshire, the seat of Thomas Walker, Esq., 

 which, when received in London, were of a uniform slate grey 

 colour with a silvery tint ; and this peculiarity of colour is re- 

 tained when the living fish are transferred from the park ponds 

 to othfer waters. 



It would be easy to multiply such instances, indeed I my- 

 self took on one occasion several specimens of deformed perch 

 in some ponds near New Brighton, Cheshire ; and elsewhere 

 they do not appear to be very uncommon. 



To other fish of his own size the perch is a formidable foe, 

 although, unlike the pike, whose gape stretches almost as that of 

 a boa constrictor, his mouth is incapable of taking in anything 

 much above bait size or of being used as a weapon of offence. 

 In this particular, however, he has a unique advantage in regard 

 to the spines with which his back fin is armed, as well as in. the 

 sharp long points of his gill covers. 



How far the spines of the perch protect him from the 

 assaults of the pike is not quite certain. In many fishings' 

 both in England and Scotland, small perch are considered the 

 favourite baits of the pike, which does not seem to be at all 

 deterred by their spiky appearance. Moreover, as the pike 

 always swallows his prey head foremost, whilst the spines of the 

 perch are capable only of projecting backwards — shutting down 

 like the props of an umbrella, upon pressure from in front — it 

 would not appear that they could impede the operation of 



