236 NOTES ON FISH AND PISHING. 



to certain patients, permits them perch. In The Haven 

 of Health, we are told that " the perch is likewise of 

 hard and fast substance, and therefore is of more pure 

 nourishment ;" and Walton, commending him, cites the 

 proverb, "More wholesome than a perch of Rhine." 

 How perch were cooked in ancient days we have no 

 record. The methods of cooking our own perch are 

 many ; and here it may be observed, as of all other of 

 our fresh-water fish, that perch vary according to the 

 water from which they are taken. The clearer and 

 sharper the river the better the perch, as a rule. A 

 Hampshire Avon perch is very good, and so is a Kennet 

 perch ; but a Thames perch is the best of all perch. A 

 stagnant pond perch is generally of the pond, "pondy;" 

 but there are exceptions, and I would strongly advise all 

 fish-eaters never to refuse a Virginia Water perch, which 

 is little, if at all, inferior to his brethren of the Thames. Dr. 

 Badham tells us that the common perch on the Continent 

 is generally stewed in vinegar, fresh grape, orange juice, or 

 some other sour sauce ; but on the Lago Maggiore they 

 are spitted in their scales, and basted while roasting with 

 some acid sauce, while in Holland butter is added. There 

 is an " infinite variety " of dressing and serving them 

 among ourselves. Some simply boil ; some broil ; some 

 fillet and fry with egg and bread crumbs j some swear 

 that the perch must be cooked in his skin and scales, 

 whatever process he is subjected to, and deal with him as 

 gipsies do with a hedgehog, though minus the clay crust. 

 Manipulated in the form of a " spread-eagle " with the 

 scales intact on a grid, with a suggestion of butter and 

 cayenne, served piping hot, and eaten with lemon, he is 

 " very good," as also baked whole in his jacket j but the 



