30 
SCANDINAVIAN FISHES. 
size". In central Sweden the largest examples occur 
in lakes which have steep, rocky shores and deep bights. 
The weight of the fish, however, seldom exceeds four 
and a half pounds. 
The Swedish fishermen draw a distinction between 
the Ice Perch , Leaf Perch , Stone Perch , Mud Perch, 
Deep-water Perch, and Sedge Perch. But the differences 
which have given rise to these several names, are due 
partly to the dissimilarity in the haunts of the fish, 
and partly to certain local or fortuitous circumstances 
which have a varying influence upon the spawning- 
season, rendering it earlier or later, and upon the appea- 
rance and flavour of the fish. The so-called Carass 
Perch which Linnaeus found in the meres near Falun 6 , 
has also been found in many other places both in Swe- 
den and Finland, as well as in England. Wahlgren 
has shown c that this change in form is due to an ab- 
normal shortening of the vertebrae (rachitis), but this 
misformation may sometimes be peculiarly regular in 
character, as is shown in figs. 3 and 4, p. 29, drawn 
from specimens taken in Lake Elgsjo in the neigh- 
bourhood of V adstena and handed over by Dr. Cnat- 
tingius to the Royal Museum. From Lake Tisaren in 
Nerike the Royal Museum has acquired, through Pre- 
sident af Robson (1837), a peculiar variety of the 
Perch, called by Sgndevall var. maculata (fig. 5), and 
known to the fishermen by the name of Skdlling. “Their 
spawn,” writes Robson, “is unknown, they have never 
been found to have milt or roe. They resemble the 
common Perch, but are more slender, being thin and 
lean. The head is larger in proportion to the body 
than in the common Perch. The head black, the rest 
of the body, on the contrary, lighter or fainter in colour 
than is the usual case with the Perch. They generally 
swim alone or in extremely small companies, never 
collect in shoals, occur seldom, and rarely exceed 7 1 / 2 
oz. in weight.” The appearance and habits of the so- 
called ’bottengnidare (bottom rubber) of Sodermanland, 
are identically the same as those of this variety. Our 
figure of the Spotted Perch is further designed to recall 
to the reader’s mind the similarity to the American perch 
that results from the ridges which may occur on the 
gill-cover. A third variety ( aurea or the Golden Perch) 
has been described by Sundevali/, who took his de- 
scription from a specimen from Eskilstuna which Avas 
handed over to the Royal Museum by Mr. Linder. 
“During life,” he says, “the colouring throughout the 
body Avas a decided orange, a little redder than the 
colour of the small, common Gold Fish, with only in- 
distinct. traces of black spots on the back.” It seems 
evident that in this case too some kind of sickliness has 
given rise to this variation of form, from the juvenile 
characters which this specimen has retained, notably in 
the comparatively large size of the eyes and the length 
of the ventral fins 6 . 
The sullen and sour disposition of the Perch seems 
to be the reason Avhy it prefers a solitary life, and only 
joins its felloAA's during the spaAvning-season in spring 
and at midsummer, Avhen it collects in shoals. At all 
other seasons only solitary individuals are found, but 
in Avinter one may see it collected in groups at certain 
places. It generally keeps near the bottom, and, though 
a fairly fast SAvi miner, remains motionless for long inter- 
vals at the same spot; and awaits its prey oftener than 
it seeks it. At need, hoAvever, it is very quick in its 
movements, and Avhen on the point of attacking its 
prey, or itself in fear of the assault of some foe, it 
spreads its fins, apparently as a sign that it is destitute 
neither of courage nor of Aveapons. 
The Perch is very tenacious of life, and may be 
kept alive for a long time in a cauf, if this be placed 
in sloAvly running Avater. In a packing of Avet grass 
it bears long journeys Avithout dying. Its groAvth is 
supposed to be slcnv ; , and it is not capable of propa- 
a Scheffer’s account ( Lapponia , Francoforti 1673, p. 354) of a perch the head of which was 6 inches broad , and was preserved in 
Lulea church, probably refers to some other fish, perhaps the Pike-perch or the Pike; Cuvier assumed it to have been a Norway Haddock ( Sebastes ). 
b Fauna Suecica (1746), p. 106. 
c Ofvers. Vet.-Akad. Fork. 1873, no. 8, p. 61. 
d Ofvers. Vet.-Akad. Fork. 1851, p. 155. Malm too has described a similar variety in Gbgs, Boh. Fn. p. 377. 
e The length of this specimen from the tip of the snout to the middle point of the caudal rays is 220 mm. The longitudinal diameter 
of the eye is 19.3 % of the length of the head, while the normal diameter is not more than 17 %. The length of the ventral fins is 65 % 
of the distance from the insertion of these fins to the beginning of the anal fin, while it is only in young specimens from 30 to 40 mm. in 
length that I have found this ratio to be as high as 60 %: in specimens about 200 mm. in length it falls to about 50 %, and in specimens 
of the common perch 300 mm. in length it was from 43 to 45 %. 
f According to Maklin (see Reuter, Finl. Fisk.) the Perch is on an average : 
when 1 year old, 86.5 mm. in length; when 3 years old, 179.2 mm. in length; when 5 years old, 264 mm. in length. 
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