Instincts, Habits, and Adaptations 171 



Cragin, formerly United States consul at Paramaribo, Surinam. 

 In a letter dated August, 1 854, he says : 



" 'The eggs you will receive are from another fish. The dif- 

 ferent fishermen have repeatedly assured me that these eggs 

 in their nearly mature state are carried in the mouths of the 

 parent till the young are relieved by the bursting of the sac. 

 Do you either know or believe this to be so, and, if possible, 

 where are the eggs conceived and how do they get into the 

 mouth?' 



"In the month of April, 1857, on visiting the market of 

 Paramaribo, I found that this statement, which at first seemed 

 to be very improbable, was correct as to the existence of eggs 

 in the mouths of several species of fish. In a tray of fish which 

 a negro woman offered for sale, I found the mouths of several 

 filled with either eggs or young, and subsequently an abun- 

 dance of opportunities occurred for repeating the observation. 

 The kinds most commonly known to the colonists, especially 

 to the negroes, are jara-bakka, njinge-njinge, kcepra, makrede, 

 and one or two others, all belonging either to the genus Bagrus 

 or one nearly allied to it. The first two are quite common in 

 the market, and I have seen many specimens of them ; for the 

 last two I have the authority of negro fishermen, but have 

 never seen them myself. The eggs in my collection are of 

 three different sizes, indicating so many species, one of the 

 three having been brought to me without the fish from which 

 they were taken. 



"The eggs become quite large before they leave the ovaries, 

 and are arranged in three zones corresponding to three succes- 

 sive broods, and probably to be discharged in three successive 

 years; the mature eggs of a jara-bakka 18 inches long measure 

 three -fourths of an inch in diameter; those of the second zone, 

 one-fourth; and those of the third are very minute, about one- 

 sixteenth of an inch. 



"A careful examination of eight specimens of njinge-njinge 

 about 9 inches long gave the following results: 



"The eggs in all instances were carried in the mouths of 

 the males. This protection, or gestation of the eggs by the 

 males, corresponds with what has been long noticed with regard 

 to other fishes, as, for example, Syngnathus, where the mar- 



