A HISTORY OF DERBYSHIRE 1 6. Chub. Leuciscus cephalus, Linn. Commonly found in the Trent, also in the Dove below Rocester and in the Derwent as high as the Chatsworth water. Formerly plentiful in the Rother, where a few still survive. Glover gives the maximum weight of chub from the Trent and Derwent as 6 lb., length 14 to 16 inches; and Garner says that in the Trent they reach 5 lb. 17. Minnow. Leuciscus phoxinus, Linn. Generally distributed. 1 8. Tench. Tinea vu/garis, Cuv. Thrives best in ponds, canals and sluggish streams. It is found in the Trent and the lower reaches of the Dove and Derwent, but rarely exceeds 2^ lb. Mr. Storer informs me that they have been taken up to 3 lb. near Burton. 19. Bream. Abramh brama. Linn. Very common in the Trent below Twy- ford, but less so near Burton. It appears to be absent from the Dove, except near its junction with the Trent, but is found in the Derwent up to Cromford, and in canals communicating with the Trent. Six and a half stones of this fish were taken by three anglers at Barton in one day. Glover and Garner mention fish of 7 lb. weight from the Trent, and one of 6 lb. was taken at Shardlow in 1901. 20. White Bream,' Breamflat. Abramh blicca, Bloch. This fish, which was first described from the Trent near Newark (Trans. Linn. Soc. xiv. p. 587), is not uncommon in the lower part of the Trent, and a few are to be found within our limits, but it is comparatively scarce above the junction with the Soar, and is absent from our other rivers. It has how- ever been recorded from the Trent at Hixon in Staffordshire, and has probably been over- looked in other parts of the river. 21. Bleak. Alburnus tucidus, Heck, and Kner. Mr. E. Brown (Fauna of Burton) de- scribes this fish as ' very abundant in running streams, especially in the Trent ' ; and Mr. C. Hanson has recorded it from the lower Dove. 22. Loach. Nemachilus barbatulus. Linn. Locally, Stone Loach, Tommy Loach. Common in nearly all our brooks and rivers. 23. Spinous Loach. Cobitis teenia, Linn. Recorded by almost all writers on the fish of this district from the Trent. It is still not uncommon near Burton, where it con- ceals itself among the weeds or under stones (G. H. Storer). MALACOPTERYGII 24. Salmon. Salmo salar. Linn. In former times large numbers of salmon ascended the Trent, Dove and Derwent for spawning purposes ; but owing to the numer- ous obstacles in the two latter rivers, and the reckless way in which the fish have been killed, their numbers have decreased year by year, and their range has been restricted. In Glover's time (1829) salmon still as- cended the Dove, Wye, Lathkill and Der- went. For many years their progress has been effectually stopped up the Derwent by Darley weir ; but Mr. O. B. Murphy in- forms me that about 1880 he saw salmon jumping up the Long Bridge weir in the middle of Derby, but they failed to pass Darley weir, and, as the water ran low, were killed by the polluted water from the mills, etc. Since then salmon have not faced the Derwent on account of the state of the river below Derby. They still continue to ascend the Trent in reduced numbers, and of late there has been some slight increase in their ranks. Strangely enough these fish refuse the fly, and can only be taken by spinning or ground fishing. On arriving at the junction of the Trent and Dove most of the fish make their way up the latter stream. At Dove Cliff a salmon ladder exists, and as many as twenty salmon are said to have passed up it in an hour in a good season (G. H. Storer). Sir O. Mosley (Nat. Hist, of Tutbury, p. 64) informs us on the authority of Mr. Thornewill that in one year no fewer than forty-two were taken at this spot, but that in the eight years prior to 1863 not more than twelve or four- teen were taken. This diminution he ascribes partly to a succession of dry seasons, and partly to the indiscriminate slaughter of spent fish. At the present time few salmon ascend higher than Tutbury, but formerly they were known to ascend as high as Dovedale. The late David Foster of Ashbourne remembered seeing them there when a young man (prob- ably about 1830). Twenty years later an occasional fish was seen as high as Mayfield weir, and a small grilse was hooked below the weir about 1886, but escaped. Below Rocester Mr. O. B. Murphy took three fish weighing 9^ lb., II lb. and 13^ lb., and lost a fourth, about 1 88 1 ; and Mr. Bass captured one of 22^ lb. near Doveridge a few years 114
