286 NATURE AND WOODCRAFT. 



for sale. Bream, as a stew-fish, has been 

 appreciated since the time of Chaucer ; and 

 Walton, in his admiration, refers to him as 

 "large and stately." Bream, like Tench, are 

 fond of still, quiet waters, with soft soil bottoms, 

 in which they find their chief sustenance. 

 This fish has been known to attain to seventeen 

 pounds in weight, though this is somewhat 

 exceptional. There is a French proverb to the 

 effect that " He that hath Breams in his pond 

 is able to bid his friend welcome ; " and if the 

 bream is toothsome, he is equally good as a 

 sporting fish. 



These are some of the fresh-water fish which 

 once occupied the Stews in this country, and 

 might with profit do so again. 



