190 PHYSOSTOMI. 



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Daniel mentions the capture of a tench 33 inchea long to the fork of the tail, 

 and which weighed 11 lb. 9| oz., its belly being of a vermilion colour ; it was 

 taken under some roots at the side of a pond, in which contracted situation it had 

 literally assumed the shape of the hole in which it had, of course, for many years 

 been confined. It has been computed that these fish can live in water in which 

 the amount of oxygen has been reduced to the 5000th part of the bulk of the 

 water, ordinary river water containing about 1 part in 100. In some pits they 

 breed but and never attain to any size ; in other ponds they grow, but never 

 breed. 



Means of capture. — It is rather readily captured, and esteemed a foolish fish by 

 many fishermen ; it takes a bait throughout the spring and summer. In Norfolk, 

 according to Lubbock, formerly the fishermen on the broads relied upon the bow- 

 net, and occasionally the trammel or flew; but of late years, and in shallow waters, 

 they prefer their own hands, with a landing net to be occasionally used. A small 

 low-sided steady boat is employed and poled along, the fisherman lying down with 

 only his head over the gunwale and his right arm bared to the shoulder, he gently 

 displaces the weeds and tries to descry a tench. If he sees one, and how its head 

 lies, the chances of success are increased ; if not he slowly and cautiously touches 

 it, which is only taken notice of should the tail be touched, when it dashes away. 

 The fisherman tries to insinuate one hand just behind the gills, raising the fish 

 gently but rapidly to the surface, but must not knock the boat or the jar wakes up 

 the tench, which at once struggles. 



Baits. — Paste, worms, gentles. In old works tar was recommended to be 

 added to the baits used for this fish as it was said to be very partial to it. 



Breeding. — Occasionally at the end of May ; more commonly in June, or at the 

 beginning of July. The female tench is generally accompanied by two males. The 

 eggs are small and deposited in the weeds. M. Petit found nearly 350,000 in one 

 specimen. Harmer examined seven and found from 83,104 to 383,252 ova, or an 

 average of 211,826 in each. Bloch, from a 4 lb. specimen, obtained 297,000. It 

 does not breed so rapidly in rivers as in ponds and broads. In the male the 

 outer ventral ray and, in some instances, several more are enlarged and thickened, 

 while at the breeding season the basis of the ventral fin are inflamed and often 

 excoriated. In stocking breeding ponds two males ought to be employed to each 

 female. In places it is found to be rather a rapid grower, this being especially 

 affected by the temperature of the water and the amount of food ; it has been 

 known to attain from \ lb. to 1 lb. in twelve months, and an instance has been 

 recorded where one in a pond in six years was 4-§- lb. weight. 



Diseases, etc. — Much affected by thunderstorms : the effects on fish contained 

 in trunks appears to be partial. All the fish in one trunk on a particular broad 

 perish during a thunderstorm, while not one of those contained in another trunk 

 in the same water is injured (Lubbock). 



Uses. — It has been termed the " Fishes' Physician," and Camden in his 

 Britannia observes that he had seen the bellies of pikes which have been rent 

 open, have their gaping wounds presently closed by the touch of the tench, 

 and by their glutinous slime perfectly healed up. (See also page 143.) A 

 knowledge of this among fish has been said by many ichthyological authors to 

 induce, pike, perch, and eels to spare the tench. Salter asserts, that having laid 

 trimmers baited with live roach, dace, bleak, and tench, the eels and pike refused 

 this latter fish as a bait, and that he only met with one instance to the contrary. 

 Two reasons have been given why pike do not destroy them, one is that they live 

 in the mud where they cannot obtain them : the second, that they purposely 

 abstain from devouring them. Mr. Barr, on the contrary, asserts that you cannot 

 put a better bait on a trimmer than a young tench, while out of the stomach of 

 a trout he took twenty-two of the size of minnows. Mr. Slaney (Zool. 1853, 

 p. 4021) observed a pike which had seized a tench of about 3 lb. weight cross- 

 wise but was unable to swallow it, and at last the tench got away. " This is the 

 only instance I ever met with in which the tench was attacked by any other fish, 

 though I have constantly had them put together with pike and perch in small 

 streams and other places, where the absence of food for the predatory species 



