246 Mr. A. Hancock on the Nidification of 



the fry out one day for examination with the microscope; on 

 returning it to the trough, it was in so sickly a state as to be 

 scarcely able to leave the vessel, which was held in the hand. 

 The old fish, perceiving the helpless condition of its offspring, 

 came up to the surface of the water, and seizing hold of the ex- 

 hausted young one carried it off almost from amidst my fingers, 

 and taking it to some distance puffed it out of its mouth into a 

 tuft of Confervse. This courageous act of our little fish would 

 seem, in some measure, to give credence to the assertion, so fre- 

 quently made, that some of the sharks protect their young by 

 receiving them into the mouth on the approach of danger. 



Other facts might be related evincing parental attachment ; 

 but perhaps enough has been said to satisfy those, who take an 

 interest in such matters, that in this respect the Three-spined 

 Stickleback is scarcely, if at all, inferior to the hen, whose affec- 

 tionate regard for her offspring has ever been the theme of ad- 

 miration. Incubation, with the fish, is out of the question ; it 

 attends its nest, however, as diligently as any of the feathered 

 tribes, keeping it in constant repair, fanning it with its fins, and 

 removing anything that might obstruct the free action of the 

 water upon the eggs ; it defends its young with the same un- 

 daunted courage, and though it cannot gather them under 

 spreading wings as the hen gathers her brood, yet all those 

 which stray are brought back to the nest, that they may be 

 under the protection of their ever-vigilant and courageous 

 parent. 



The nest of the Fifteen-spined Stickleback {Gaster-osteus spi- 

 nachia) was first noticed by Mr. Jonathan Couch on the Cornish 

 coast in 1842. Since then it has been observed two or three 

 times on the coast of Northumberland. It is composed of pen- 

 dent seaweeds bound together, by a silk-like thread, into pear- 

 shaped or fusiform masses : the spawn is deposited in the centre 

 of the mass. Mr. Couch says, " One of these nests was visited 

 every day for three weeks, and the old fish was found invariably 

 guarding it ; it would examine the nest on all sides, and then re- 

 tire for a short time, but soon return to renew the examination. 

 On several occasion s,^^ continues this gentleman, " I laid the eggs 

 bare by removing a portion of the nest, but when this was dis- 

 covered great exertions were instantly made to recover them. 

 By the mouth of the fish the edges of the opening were again 

 drawn together, and the other portions torn from their attach- 

 ments and brought over the orifice till the ova were again hid 

 from view. And as great force was sometimes necessary to effect 

 this, the fish would thrust its snout into the nest as far as the 

 eyes, and then jerk backwards till the object was effected. While 

 thus engaged, it would suffer itself to be taken in the hand, but 



