A HISTORY OF BERKSHIRE the town, where coarse fish are persistently netted out for many miles, though not entirely exterminated, the trout run smaller, are much more numerous and rise rreely to the artificial fly. Trout are also found in the upper portions of the Loddon, the Pang, the Cole, the Embourn and in the Lambourn, a choice little trout stream which rises near the racing town of that name and flows into the Kennet below Newbury. Of the so-called coarse fish there is little to be said, except that the Thames still pro- duces them in fairly large numbers, though there has been a very marked decrease during the past fifteen years. In the Kennet, if we except jack or pike and trout, the fish, owing doubtless to superior feeding, are more portly in build and grow to a better average size than in the main river. TELEOSTEANS ACANTHOPTERYGII 1. Perch. Perca fluviatilhy Linn. This is a common form in the Thames, the lower Loddon, and in most of the ponds or lakes, artificial or otherwise, in the county. It used to be far more numerous in the Thames than it is at present, and its decrease is owing to the large number of swans, which, when the perch deposit their eggs among the waterweeds or on the roots of trees, feed on them, destroying millions. Tame ducks, which are allowed to go down to the river in the spring, are almost equally destructive. The perch of the Thames and tributaries are ex- cellent fish as food when in their best season. They do not appear to grow to such a large size as was the case a quarter of a century ago, when fish of 3 Ib. were frequently recorded. Now it is not a common occurrence to catch one of more than 2 Ib. in weight. The Ken- net in particular used to be noted for very large perch. One reason doubtless for the decrease in size of these fish is the fact that much sewage which formerly went into the river is otherwise dealt with. 2. Ruffe (Pope). Acerina cernua, Linn. A somewhat common fish in the upper Thames and the lower portions of its tribu- taries. 3. Miller's Thumb (Bullhead). Cottus gobio y Linn. Are found under stones in the brooks throughout the county and in all parts of the Thames and tributary streams. HEMIBRANCHII 4. Three-spined Stickleback. Gastrosteus aculeatus y Linn. This fish is very widely distributed in the more stagnant portions of the streams and brooks of the county. It is destructive to the fry of other fish. HAPLOMI 5. Pike (Jack). Esox Indus, Linn. There are several private sheets of water in the county containing quantities of these fish which grow to a large size, while the Thames every year yields specimens running up to, and sometimes over, 20 Ib. Since a destruc- tive method of angling known as ' trailing ' has been abolished from the Thames, pike, which were decreasing, appear to have be- come more numerous, but they now run somewhat small in size. The portion of the Thames bordering this county probably con- tains a larger number of fair sized pike than any part of the river. OSTARIOPHYSI 6. Carp. Cyprinus carpio, Linn. These fish are occasionally caught in the Thames, which they probably reach in times of flood from private ponds and lakes. They have occasionally been found fairly numerous in the neighbourhood of Shellingford. Carp are too scarce in the river to be regularly fished for ; their capture is invariably acci- dental when anglers are seeking tench, chub or roach. In private lakes, such as those in Highclere Park, numbers of large carp are to be found. 7. Gudgeon. Gobio fluviatilis, Flem. These delicate little fish are found in large quantities in the Thames, Kennet and Loddon, and in not a few of the tributary brooks. It used to be quite a common thing for anglers in the upper Thames to catch as many as twenty-two dozen in the day, but half that bag is now considered satisfactory, and there is no doubt that there are not half as many of 134
