768 
SCANDINAVIAN FISHES. 
this example. Should one of them fail in its endeavour, 
it then awaits the arrival of a new company before 
renewing the attempt. In this manner the males press 
on as far as possible until they find a spot suitable for 
their object, Aveecly at the bottom and in shallow run- 
ning water. Some days later, when the weather has 
become mild and fair, and the water has attained a 
temperature of about + 9° C. (48’2° Fahr.), the females 
reach the spawning-place in a similar manner, also col- 
lected in shoals, and join the males. The spawning 
now begins, being always accompanied with noisy tu- 
mult, and lasting about three days, night and day, 
unless interrupted by a cold north wind, rain, or storm, 
in which case it is postponed until finer weather sets 
in. The roe is deposited on twigs, the weeds at the 
bottom, stones, or some hard object, where it adheres 
firmly. The eggs are numerous “ and, when deposited, 
about lV 2 mm. in diameter. When the spawning is 
over, the fish return by the same route, male and fe- 
male now in company. 
The ova are hatched in 14 — 30 days 6 , according 
to the weather; and the young, says Sundevall, are 
about 7V 2 mm. long when excluded from the egg. 
In July, according to Cederstrom 0 , when the fry are 
about 12 — 18 mm. long, they sometimes begin their 
journey to more open water: but they generally stay 
at the spawning-place, unless the water dries up, till 
the end of August, Avhen they have attained a length 
of about 40 — 50 mm/ They iioav rove in vast, close- 
packed shoals to the shores of deeper Avater, Avhere they 
remain some time among the reeds. But they seem 
soon to disperse and to lead a more solitary life. At 
first their groAvth is irregular and sIoav. In its second 
summer, hoAvever, at the age of a year and a half, the 
Ide measures about 80 — 115 mm. in length; at the 
age of tAvo years, according to Marlin 6 , its length is 
about 180 mm., and at that of three years 215 — 220 
mm. According to Sundevall’s estimate the young 
Ide, about 175 — 220 mm. long, sometimes to be seen 
among larger Ide in the market-places of Stockholm, 
are three or four years old; and the species, he says, 
does not reach maturity, or a length of 3 dm., before 
the age of four or five years. 
In summer the older Ide are found in deep Avater 
on stony shores shaded by trees, and in calm evenings 
rise in companies to the surface; Avhile the young ap- 
pear on fine and warm days at shallow, Aveedy places 
along the shore. Towards the end of autumn the Ide 
again resorts to the shallows, and often ascends the 
streams and brooks visited by it in the spring during 
the spaAvning-season. As soon as the lakes are frozen, 
it retires to its haunts in deep Avater. 
The food of the Ide consists properly of plants, 
insects Avith their larvae, and crustaceans. Instances 
are recorded, hoAvever, of its partiality to small fishes. 
The flesh is flabby and bony, but of far from unplea- 
sant taste, and retains its flavour unimpaired for a 
considerable time. After someAvhat elaborate prepara- 
tion it is good eating. According to Bloch it should 
be stewed in beer in the same Avay as Carp, or sent 
to table fried, Avith vinegar and salad-oil or a sauce 
of mustard, capers, and Avine. It is also dressed in 
numerous ways, either salted or dried in the sun. 
When boiled, it acquires a reddish colour, Avhich may 
be further heightened by alloAving the fish for some 
time to lie in salt. It then resembles Salmon, and in 
many places is eaten Avithout further preparation. 
I 11 a cauf the Ide may be kept alive for a long 
time, especially if set in clear Avater with a sIoav cur- 
rent. In most parts of Sweden it is knoAvn by its 
common name of id; but in the southern provinces it 
is called ort or art, and on the coast of Lake Malar, 
in the neighbourhood of Eskilstuna, it is honoured by 
the name of harp. 
The most successful fisheries for Ide are those 
carried on at the spawning-place and along the course 
folloAved by the fish on its Avay thither. Traps ( ryssjor , 
see p. 33, fig. 7) are set in the small streams and 
brooks which it passes, and also at the place Avhere it 
spaAvns. They should be placed so as to close the pas- 
sage entirely, for if any opening be left at the sides of 
the trap, the Ide avails itself of this Avay of escape. 
8 In a female weighing 1 1 / 2 lbs. Bloch estimated the number of the eggs at 92,720; according to Reuter a middle-sized female 
lays about 70,000 eggs. 
b Generally in 14 — 18 days, according to Sundevall. 
c Ofvers. Vet.-Akad. Forh. 1851, pp. 163 seqq. 
d According to Cederstrom and Sundevall the fry which they kept in a pond, had not attained a greater length than 20 — 28 mm. 
by the 10th of September. 
c See Reuter, 1. c. 
