398 A DESCRIPTION OF 
Dace spawn in March, and are in season about three 
weeks afterwards. They improve, and are good about 
Michaelmas ; but in February they are best. The flesh is 
however, at all times woolly and insipid. They are very 
lively creatures, and, if kept in ponds, may live a consi- 
derable time. 
THE ROACH (Cyprinus rutilus,} 
Belongs also to the carp family, and is remarkable for its 
numerous progeny. It is a deep yet thin made fish, in 
shape somewhat resembling the bream, but approaching to 
the carp by the breadth and shape of its scales, which are 
large and deciduous. The soundness of the flesh is become 
proverbial, and pleases the taste by a peculiar delicacy of 
flavour. The ventral fins are, like those of the perch, of a 
bright crimson, and the irides of the eye sparkle like 
rubies and garnets. The length of the Roach is com- 
monly between nine and ten inches, but sometimes much 
greater. 
The Bleak (Cyprinus alburnus,} is nearly allied to the 
Roach ; and it is interesting from its scales being em- 
ployed in making artificial pearls. 
