ON THE BEST KINDS OF FISH FOE EIVEES. 151 



escaped from private waters into the Thames ; and it 

 is found that the fish does well, increases rapidly, 

 bites boldly, and plays very gamely ; and that, too, 

 not m;erely in dead dull eddies, but in the more rapid 

 streams, many being taken in the Eichmond preserve ; 

 and in the rough and wild waters at Teddington 

 weir, very good sport indeed is often obtained with 

 them, and they are caught up to ten pounds' weight. 

 It need hardly "be observed that, in such localities, 

 the edible qualities of the carp are greatly improved ; 

 and so easy a fish is it to naturalize and transport, 

 that the only wonder is that the Society which takes 

 charge of the waters of the Thames has not, with 

 these facts before it, introduced it more widely into 

 aU parts of the river. 



The bream is widely distributed, many of our 

 rivers and lakes already abounding in it. There 

 are two kinds : the carp bream, which is the largest 

 and best fish of the two ; and the silver bream, 

 a small indifferent fish. I shall treat it more fully 

 when I come to ponds. In edibleness it may rank 

 next to the carp perhaps, and before chub and barbel. 

 I come now to one or two fish which are really rather 

 salt than fresh-water fish, though they enter the rivers 

 at times; and, first of all, I must notice the little 

 Whitebait {Clupea alba). AU sorts of suppositions 



