This fish takes its name from the head, not only in our own but other languages; we call it chub, according to Skinner, and from the old English cop, a head; the French, testard; the Italians, capitome: in different parts of England this fish is called cheven, nob, or botling; he much resembles the carp, but is of a longer form; the body is oblong, rather round, and of a pretty equal thickness in the greater part of the slope; the scales are large; the irides silvery; the cheeks of the same colour; the head and back of a deep dusky green; the sides silvery, but in the summer, yellow; the belly white; the pectoral fins of a pale yellow; the ventral and anal fins, red; the tail forked, of a brownish hue, but tinged with blue at the end; it is altogether a handsome fish, will sometimes weigh upwards of five pounds; but Salvianus speaks of them as increasing to eight or nine. The flesh of the chub is not in much esteem, being coarse, and when out of season, full of small hairy bones; the head and throat are the best parts, taking care to have the latter well washed and cleansed from the grass and weeds usually in it. The roe is exceedingly good, and this fish stewed as carp, will, it is said, deceive a connoisseur. The haunts of the chub are in rivers whose bottoms are of sand or clay, or which are bounded by clayey banks; particularly in deep holes, shaded by trees, weeds, &c. They frequently float on the surface, and are sometimes in streams and deep waters where the currents are strong; in ponds fed by a rivulet they grow to a large size. They spawn in April, and are most in perfection in December and January, having then very few of the hairy bones aforementioned.