THIS fish never exceeds fifteen inches in length, and seldom arrives at three pounds weight. The back and sides are of a silvery grey, and when the fish is first taken out of the water, slightly varied with blue and gold. The coverts of the gills are of a glossy green, and the scales are large.

The Grayling is a fresh-water fish, and delights chiefly in clear and not too rapid streams, where it affords great amusement to the angler, as it is very voracious, and rises eagerly to the fly. They are bolder than trout, and even, if missed by the hook several times successively, they will still pursue the bait. They feed principally on worms, insects, and water-snails; and the shells of the latter are often found in great quantity in their stomachs. They spawn in the months of April and May. The largest fish of this species ever heard of was one caught in the Severn, and weighed five pounds.

Ancient writers strongly recommended this fish as food for sick persons, as they considered it peculiarly wholesome and easy of digestion.

*

THE body of this fish is a pale olive-grey, deepest on the back, and marked on the sides by several yellowish spots or patches; the abdomen white, slightly spotted with black; its length is from one to eight feet, and its weight from one or two to forty or fifty pounds. The flesh is white and firm, and considered very wholesome; the larger and older it is, the more it is esteemed. There is scarcely any fish of its size in the world that in voracity can equal the Pike. It lives in rivers, lakes, and ponds; and in a confined piece of water will soon destroy all other fish, as it generally does not feed upon anything else, and often swallows one nearly as big as itself; for through its greediness in eating, it takes the head foremost, and so draws it in by little and little at a time, till it has swallowed the whole. A gudgeon of good size has been found in the stomach of a large Pike, the head of which had already received clear marks of the power of digestion, whilst the rest of the fish was still fresh and unimpaired.

"I have been assured (says Walton) by my friend Mr. Seagrave, who keeps tame otters, that he has known a Pike, in extreme hunger, fight with one of his otters for a

*Mr. Boccius has, however, shown that the Trout is even more voracious.

carp that the otter had caught, and was then bringing out of the water."

Boulker, in his Art of Angling, says, that his father caught a Pike, which he presented to Lord Cholmondeley, that was an ell long, and weighed thirty-six pounds. His lordship directed it to be put into a canal in his garden, which at that time contained a great quantity of fish. Twelve months afterwards the water was drawn off, and it was discovered that the Pike had devoured all the fish, except a large carp that weighed between nine and ten pounds, and even this had been bitten in several places. The Pike was again put in, and an entire fresh stock of fish for him to feed on all these he devoured in less than a year. Several times he was observed by workmen who were standing near, to draw ducks and other water-fowl under water. Crows were shot and thrown in, which he took in the presence of the men. From this time the slaughtermen had orders to feed him with the garbage of the slaughter-house; but being afterwards neglected, he died, as is supposed, from want of food.

In December, 1765, a Pike was caught in the river Ouse, that weighed upwards of twenty-eight pounds, and was sold for a guinea. When it was opened, a watch with a black riband and two seals were found in its body. These, it was afterwards found, had belonged to a gentleman's servant, who had been drowned in the river about a month before.

The Pike is a very long-lived fish. In the year 1497, one was caught at Heilbrun in Swabia, to which was affixed a brazen ring, with the following words engraved on it in Greek characters: "I am the fish, which was first of all put into this lake, by the hands of the governor of the universe, Frederick the Second, the fifth of October, 1230."

THE PERCH (Perca fluviatilis)

SELDOM grows to any great size; yet we have an account of one which is said to have weighed nine pounds. The body is deep, the scales rough, the back arched, and the side-lines placed near the back. For beauty of colours, the Perch vies with the gaudiest inhabitants of the waters; the back glows with the deep reflections of the brightest emeralds, divided by five broad stripes; the abdomen imitates the tints of the opal and mother-of-pearl ; and the ruby hue of the fins completes an assemblage of colours most harmonious and elegant. It is a gregarious fish, and is caught in several rivers of these islands; the flesh is firm, delicate, and much esteemed.

It is generally believed that a pike will not attack a full-grown Perch: he is deterred from so doing by the spiny or dorsal fin on the back, which this fish always erects at the approach of an enemy. Perch are so voracious, that, if an expert angler happens to find a shoal of them, he may catch every one. If, however, a single fish escape that has felt the hook, all is over; as this fish becomes so restless, as soon to occasion the whole shoal to leave the place. Perch are so bold, that they are generally the first fish caught by a young angler; they will also soon learn to take bread thrown into the water to feed them. A large-sized Perch weighs about three pounds; but generally the Perches caught in ponds do not exceed eight or ten ounces in weight.

THE POPE, OR RUFFE.

THE Pope is very like a small perch, but with a curiously formed single dorsal fin: the colour of the back is a dusky olive green; the sides light brownish green and copper colour; and small brown spots are spread over the dorsal fin, the back, and tail. The pectoral, ventral, and anal fins are pale brown. This fish rarely exceeds six inches in length; but it is nearly as good as a perch of the same size; which it resembles, both in its haunts and habits: it spawns in April, and feeds on small fry, worms, or aquatic insects.

Cuvier assigns the credit of the first discovery of this fish to an Englishman of the name of Caius, who found it in the river Yare, near Norwich, and called it Aspredo, a translation of our name Ruffe, (rough,) which is well applied to it, on account of the harsh feel of its denticulated scales.