BARBEL, DACE, AND GUDGEON. 69 
geon may be plentiful enough, they often seem to 
be locally distributed in a river, and much of the 
success, of course, depends in finding a shoal. 
This habit of keeping much together, of being 
sequacious, has caused the gudgeon to be named, 
in common with roach, the water-sheep, not by any 
means on account of supposed stupidity, but from 
their follow-my-leader-like movements. In some 
parts of the country it is a common practice 
before fishing for gudgeon to rake the gravel at 
the bottom of the stream or pond. The cloud of 
mud as it goes down attracts the fish to its starting- 
point in hope of finding food ; and from the fact of 
their being able to feed upon such minute 
organisms they are rarely disappointed. When a 
shoal is once concentrated, the capture of the 
individuals is easy. In like spots which the 
gudgeon loves best to haunt at ordinary times it 
selects for its spawning-ground—among loose 
stones and pebbles and shallow water conditions. 
The shedding of the spawn takes place in late 
April and May, and hatching is soon completed. 
By the end of August the fry have attained to an 
inch in length, and are able to shift for themselves. 
This is one of the easiest fish to keep in confine- 
ment, as, with ordinary care, it can be retained in 
health for weeks and even months. Fishmongers 
keep the fish in vessels until they are required, and 
