328 NOTES ON FISH AND PISHING. 



NOTE XVII. 



Small Jru. 



THE BLEAK— THE POPE THE LOACH. 



The time has now come when I must serve up my fish 

 together, so above is the first batch of Small Fry. The 

 Bleak holds the post of honour, because he is a kind of 

 " Triton among the minnows." Though his appearance 

 is hardly suggestive of the fact, he belongs, like so many 

 other of the common fresh-water fish, to the great Carp 

 family, and to the sub-order of Leucisci, and hence is called 

 by naturalists Gyprinus alburnus, or Leuciscus alburnus. 

 The English name "bleak," also written "blay," com- 

 bines the ideas of " white " and " shining," and is de- 

 rived from the old Anglo-Saxon bide, which signifies 

 "white" — (the only instance I know where it can be 

 truthfully said that " black is white," if the pun may be 

 excused) — which again is connected with, or rather is the 

 same word as, the Danish blic, and the German blicJc and 

 blicken, to "gleam," "glitter," "glance," "shine," or 

 " twinkle," which in turn is only another form of the Anglo- 

 Saxon blican, of the same signification. We still have 

 the root of the old word in " bleach " — to " whiten." Thus 

 our little friend is the "white, glittering fish," and 

 rightly so called,, for he is white and glittering as the 



