CTPRINID^. 191 



has induced them to seize upon almost every other living thing ; all other kind 

 of fish,' rats, young ducks, and moor-hons have fallen a sacrifice to the all-devouring 

 pike, but not the tench ; and keepers always avoid setting their trimmers or 

 trolling for pike with a tench for a bait, alleging as a reason that no other fish 

 will touch it." 



A few days subsequently he found the above fallacious, as he saw another 

 tench undergoing the same process, and afterwards found a dead one which 

 evidently had been injured by a pike, and on dragging the pond only three or four 

 were caught out of ten or twelve brace that had been put in, the rest appeared to 

 have been destroyed by the pike (Zool. p. 4100). A tench of 71b. weight was 

 taken at Frogmore Gardens, Windsor, from the pouch of a pike between 30 lb. 

 and 401b. weight (G. Guyon, Zool. 1867, p. 563). Mr. Gurney (Zool. 1853, xi, 

 p. 4124) observes that he has seen a tench taken out of the stomach of a pike. 

 " In the autumn of 1848 I turned into a pit, which I believed to contain no fish 

 of any kind, fifty small tench, and forty or more crucian carp ; seven tench and 

 twenty-four crucians were also turned in at a subsequent period. October 13th, 

 dragged the pit and took three lanky pike, 3 lb. 2 lb., and If lb. weight. All that 

 remained of the stock were one tench 1^ lb. weight and eight crucians of about 

 1 lb. each." 



In olden times it used to be applied to the palms of the hands and feet in 

 order to absorb fever : or laid over the liver in cases of jaundice, when the fish, 

 it was asserted, became yellow and retained the disease. A live one tied to the 

 temple has been stated to remove a nervous headache, or worn round the neck to 

 cure sore eyes. It has also been recommended in obstinate cases of worms ! 



As food. — It has been variously esteemed, being rejected by some as unpalatable 

 or even unwholesome, whereas others have considered it to be among the best of 

 our eatable freshwater fishes. Most of our abbeys and monastic establishments 

 maintained stews where these fish were kept, which would seem to show they 

 considered them to be delicacies. The taste of course considerably depends on 

 the waters it has inhabited and the food on which it has lived. It may be placed 

 in a stew and fattened with a mixture of greaves and meal. 



Respecting the effect of the character of the water in which it lives upon its 

 suitability for the table, we are informed that no tench could be better grown or 

 of sweeter flavour than some taken out of Munden Hall, Fleet, Essex, which was 

 so thick with weeds that the flue-nets could hardly be sent through them, and the 

 mud was so intolerably fetid that it had dyed the fish of its own hue, which was 

 that of ink. This, however, differs from the experience of many who generally find 

 that a pond tench is muddy and not always desirable for the table if other fish 

 are procurable. 



A quantity of tench averaging about 3 lb. each, and of a golden colour, were 

 taken from a clear pond at Leigh's Priory, but when dressed and brought to table 

 smelt and tasted so rank that no one would eat them. This has been given as an 

 instance, showing that clear water will not always render these fish eatable. At 

 the Fisheries Exhibition some tench were placed in one of the cemented tanks 

 and some earth and sods placed for them to grovel amongst. After about six 

 weeks a brace were cooked and better fish could not have been desired. Some of 

 the gold variety were also similarly treated, but they were somewhat inferior. 

 A good tench is certainly by no means despicable as food, while its best season is 

 from the commencement of September to the end of May. 



Habitat. — Extended throughout the fresh waters of Europe into those of Asia 

 Minor. Malmgren. I.e. fixes 62° N. Lat. as the northern limits of this fish in Finland. 



In Scotland. — A beautiful specimen was captured in the Moray Firth in the 

 middle of June, 1863, from whence it came and how it fared is a mystery (Edward) ; 

 it thrives in Aberdeenshire and a few are found near Edinburgh. One upwards of 

 24 lb. was taken at Kelvedon (Denny, Hard. So. G. 1867, p. 17). Present in Hirsel 

 Lough, an artificial piece of water in Berwickshire, first filled in the month of 

 December 1876. It is not so common in the western as in the eastern counties of 

 England. It was introduced into numerous ponds, reservoirs, canals, and some 

 sluggish streams in Yorkshire (Yorkshire Vertebrata) . In Norfolk from 14 to 



