P E R C A. 
tie tranfparent bubble, round which is the yolk, and 
round that the white. In a perch of two pounds and 
three quarters weight, the ovary weighed feven ounces, 
and contained 258,800 eggs : according to the calculation 
of Harmer, a perch of only half a pound weight had 
281,000 eggs, “ an immenfe number,” fays Bloch ; “ but 
necefl'ary for the prefervation of a fpecies continually ex- 
pofed to the rapacity of fo many of the inhabitants of 
the flood, and of which the eggs are fo often loft, difper- 
fed by ftorms, and devoured by aquatic birds: add to 
this, the male can never fecundate all thefe eggs, and 
many remain faftened together by a vifcous matter, and 
tliofe which lie underneath remain barren.” But from 
later obfervations we may conclude, that the perch pro¬ 
duces a much larger number of eggs ft ill : Citizen Piriet 
of Geneva wrote to Cepede, in Floreal, an 6. or May 
1798, that he opened a perch caught in the lake of Ge¬ 
neva, which weighed about 650 grammes, or i|lb. avoir- 
dupoife : and that the ovary made about one-fourth of 
the whole weight, the number of eggs being 992,000. 
The perch fpawns, like the pike, from the third year ; 
and about that time, if opportunity ferve, they leave the 
lakes to get into ftreams and rivers. 
The perch fwims as fwiftly as the pike, remaining at 
a certain depth, which muft be ohferved when this fpe¬ 
cies is fifhed for with a bait. Like the pike, they devour 
their own fpecies ; and are fo bold and heedlefs, that 
they fometimes lofe their lives in feizing their prey: for 
the llickleback, when it feels itfelf caught, writhes about, 
and works its prickles into the mouth of the perch, 
which is thus left to die of hunger. Some indeed affert 
that the perch is as ravenous as the pike, and not fo ea- 
flly i checked in purfuit of his prey. “ I faw once in Mr. 
Hawes’s lubfcription-water on the Lea, a perch chafe 
fome fmall fry that had gathered round the ground-bait, 
until, one fmall fifti, in trying to efcape, leaped on the 
fhelving bank of the river out of the water. The perch 
immediately followed, and pounched his prey on dry land, 
not deterred by the prefence of myfelf and another per- 
fon. The perch weighed about two pounds.” Sporting 
Mag. Nov. 1822.—And Walton calls the perch “ a fifln of 
prey, that, like pike and trout, carries his teeth in his 
month; he dares venture to kill and deftroy feveral other 
kinds of filh.” 
The perch is fubjeri to a peculiar malady under the 
ice : the body is fuelled, and, if fiflied for at this time in 
deep lakes, a fort of wedge-ftiaped bladder comes out at 
the mouth ; but, when taken out of more fiiallow' w-ater, 
this bladder is found at the naVel. Bloch examined feve¬ 
ral in this condition ; he found that this bladder was no¬ 
thing but the flcin of the mouth which came away ; fo 
that fiftiermen are greatly deceived who fuppofe that the 
air-bladder thus comes out cf the body, for this filh has 
properly no air-bladder, but inftead thereof a thin flrin 
which goes from one fide of the ribs to the other. 
The flefti of the perch is white, firm, and well-tailed ; 
and, not being fat, furnilhes good food for weak fto- 
machs. With its Ikin a very good glue is prepared, 
which the Laplanders ufe in gluing their bows. As this 
glue ferves many good purpofes, it may not be amifs to 
fpeak of the manner of preparing it. The Laplanders 
make it as follows : they tear the Ikin from the largeft 
perch, and dry it ; then foften itagain in cold water, that 
the fcales may be rubbed off; commonly they take four 
or five of thefe Ikins at once, and put them in a rein¬ 
deer’s bladder, or wrap them in birch-bark, that they 
may not touch the water; they put the Ikins into a pot 
with boiling water, laying a Hone on them to fink them 
to the bottom, and thus keep them boiling for an hour ; 
when foft and flimy, they are drawn out, and plaftered 
over the wood their bows are made of. It is evident, 
that, with a little change in the procefs, it would be eafy 
to have this glue in pieces, like ours. Perch, if kept 
in ponds, fliould be by themfelves, for they will devour 
the young of any other fifli; they may be fed by throw¬ 
ing in fifh of fmall value among them: a pond might 
Vol. XIX. No. 1327. 
583 
alfo be flocked by means of the fipawm, as has been proved 
by experiment. 
13 . Linnaeus and Pennant make a variety of the hunch¬ 
backed perch ; but Bloch is of opinion that the bending 
of the back-bone is owing to accident, and cannot con- 
ftitute any diltinguifhing character. The fpecies how¬ 
ever varies in the number of tranfverfe ftripes on the 
body: Johnfon faw’ fome with 12, Aldrovandus and 
W’illughby with 9, Sheffer with 8, Cepede witli 7, Pen¬ 
nant with 4, Marfigli and Bloch faw fome without any : 
the ufual number is 6, as reprefented on the annexed En¬ 
graving, at fig. 1, 
2. Perea Americana, the American perch: red; 13 rays 
in the fecond dorfal fin. There are 9 rays in the firft 
dorfal, ^3- (printed by miftake .3*^ in Gmelin and Turtor.) 
in the lecond, 15 in the periorals, * in the ventrals, ^ 
in the anal, and 18 in the tail. (The upper fmall figures 
denote the fpinous rays.) 
The name of this fpecies ftiovvs its country: it lives in 
the brackifli waters of North America; that is, in the 
mouths of rivers or lakes communicating with the fea. 
It refembles the preceding; but the back is flatter, there 
are no tranfverfe ftripes, nor any fpot at the extremity of 
the firft dorfal fin. The lower lip, throat, membrane of 
the gills, and upper edge of the opercula, are of a beautiful 
red. There is one fpine in the fecond dorfal fin ; but in 
general in this genus, the firft dorial confifts of fpinous 
rays, the fecond wholly of articulated ones. 
3. Perea lucioperca, the pike-perch, or lander: four¬ 
teen rays in the anal fin, and ^ in the fecond dorfal. 
There are 7 rays in the membrane of the gills, 15 in the 
perioral fin, 7 in the ventral, 22 in the tail, 14 in the 
firft dorfal, and 23 in the fecond. This fifli refembles the 
pike in its long body and ftrong teeth, .and the perch by 
its hard fcales and blackilh rays ; hence the name. The. 
head is long, without fcales, and ends in a blunt point; 
the mouth is wide ; the upper jaw protrudes a little, and 
each jaw has forty teeth of different fizes. There are 
teeth alfo in the palate and throat. The pupil of the eye 
is dark brown, the iris brownifli red ; and it is remark¬ 
able that the eye has a cloudy afperi, like a man afHiried 
w ith acatarari. The back is round, with fpots of dark- 
blue and reddilh colour; the fides are filvery, and the belly 
white. The perioral fins are yellowilh, the others of a 
whitifh call ; the tail is bifurcated, and the dorfals are 
fpotted with black. 
This excellent fifli is found in Germany, Ruftia, and 
Hungary; and, as it delight? in clear deep waters, it is 
taken moltly in thofe lakes which have a bottom of fandor 
clay, and communicate with running ftreams.: thofe 
caught at Plantenfee in Hungary are lent to Vienna as a 
rarity, for prefents to the nobles of that city. According 
to Falck, this fpecies is found in all the frelh-water lakes 
and great rivers of Ruftia. They grow' three or four feet 
in length ; and in the Danube fometimes weigh 2olbs. or 
more. They are voracious, and commonly reft at the 
bottom of the water. They thrive belt in ponds where 
there are fmelts, which the lander eafily makes his prey, 
becaufe they likewife haunt deep places. The ovary of 
a fanderof three pounds weighed four ounces and a half 
towards the end of December : the ova were very minute ; 
the 128th part of an ounce contained 618, making in the 
W'hole 355,986 eggs. This fpecies feems not very tena¬ 
cious of life, but will die in warm w'eatber foon after 
being taken out of the water, and even when put into 
water-tubs for tranfportation ; fo that, when they are to be 
moved from place to place, they ftiould be kept in con- 
liant motion, and a fold feafon fhould be chofen : but 
the beft way to breed them in a dillant part is to ufe the 
fecundated eggs, which muft be carefully taken from the 
branches or ftones, and carried in a veffel with a little 
water. They muft be well fed if you want them to thrive : 
young fry of fmall value, fucli as rud, roach, &c. will 
anfwer the purpofe; but fmelts and gudgeons are the 
beft. Though they yield not to the pike in voracity, 
they will not eat w hen kept in refervoirs, &c. therefore 
7 K if 
