BREAM. 
( Isoetes lacustris), which it roots up like the pig. Float- 
ing bits of this weed betray to the fisherman the re- 
sorts of the Bream. Though during summer the Bream 
stays in water of a moderate depth, adult individuals 
never ascend to the shores except in the spawning- 
season. Only small Bream repair to the shallows in 
early spring and remain there all the summer. Late 
in autumn, when the weather is very stormy, the Bream 
is sometimes driven into shallow inlets, and is then 
known by the fishermen as Ovddersbraxen (Storm 
Bream). The individuals that ascend rivers during the 
spring spawning and in summer are generally young. 
Their habits also differ from those of their fellows in 
general, for the shoals of Bream do not move against 
the stream, but always swim with the current. As the 
autumn draws to a close, the Bream retires to deep 
water, and chooses its winter-quarters in the deepest 
place it can find. Here it lies packed in countless 
multitudes, and such places are called Braxenstand 
(Bream-stands). A famous pool of this description lies 
in Lake Hallbo in Sodermanland, and has annually 
yielded a take, at the same spot and at a single haul, 
of 4,250 — 17,000 kgrm“. 
The Bream is cautious, cunning, gregarious, and 
very timid. It is seldom found alone, but almost 
always in large or small companies. The best proof 
of its cunning is its habit of burrowing in the mud 
or lying on one side that the seine may pass over 
it. Loud noises, thunder, the sound of bells, the re- 
port of firearms, etc., always drive it into deep water, 
from which it does not return for several days. Its 
tenacity of life is such that, embedded in grass, it may 
be conveyed alive for considerable distances. A method 
long employed in order to keep the fish alive during 
as long a transportation as possible, is to place in its 
mouth a bit of bread previously dipped in spirits. 
The Bream may be planted in ponds, where it 
thrives well and grows fat if not stinted in food. In 
a state of nature the fish lives on weeds, mud, worms, 
and insects. In the stew it may be fed and fattened 
on brewers’ grains, pellets of dough, and the like. 
Like the other Swedish Cyprinoids the Bream is 
subject to great variations of form and colour, these 
depending on the age of the fish, the season of the 
year, the nature of the water, etc. The difference is 
often so great that some ichthyologists — as shown by 
“ Cf. Lloyd, Scandinav. Advent., vol. I, p. 45. 
815 
our list of synonyms — have been in doubt whether 
these forms did not constitute distinct species. If the 
supply of food is plentiful, and the fish becomes fat, 
the body is always deeper in relation to its length than 
in specimens which are lean for lack of food. In the 
latter case the body is more elongated, 'with more 
pointed head, and the back usually rises in a less sharp 
curve. Young specimens are always much shallower 
than old, and more elongated in form. At this age 
they are regarded by the fishermen in certain localities 
as a distinct species, and are called Banka, Bldpanka, 
Flira, Svartspoling, etc. The colouring too, as we have 
mentioned above, is much darker in fat Bream than in 
lean or young specimens. 
At the end of May or beginning of June the Bream 
repairs to the shores in order to spawn. The spawning 
always takes place when the juniper is in flower, a 
circumstance which is duly observed by the fishermen. 
The first shoal to arrive at the spawning place, which 
is never changed, being the same from year to year, 
consists of males alone. The females come later to 
join their mates, and the spawning now begins, the 
silent hours of night being preferred for this purpose. 
The operation is accompanied with great noise, for the 
fish rove to and fro at the surface in dense shoals, 
lashing the water with their tails and displaying their 
activity in many ways. The roe is deposited on rushes 
and weeds, against which the female rubs her body 
while spawning. The ova are small and yellowish. 
The spawning last 3 or 4 days, according to the wea- 
ther. The eggs are hatched in three weeks, and the 
fry grow quickly. When the old Bream have finished 
spawning, the young fish commence. If no convenient 
spawning-place can be found in a lake, the shoal ascends 
some large stream in quest of a suitable spot. In the 
latter case the choice always falls on some weedy bight 
at the side of the channel. 
The Bream is very prolific. Bloch counted 137,000 
eggs in a female weighing 6 lbs. (2,811 grammes), and 
Benecke estimates the number at 200,000 — 300,000 
ova about 1 1 / 2 mm. in longitudinal diameter. 
The flesh of the Bream, though bony, being of 
good flavour, the fisherman has many different methods 
of taking this species. During the spawning-season gill- 
nets are generally used, the seine being less suitable, 
as the fish are frightened by its use, and often disturbed 
103 
Scandinavian Fishes. 
