276 Mr. R. Warington on the Habits of the Water-Snail 



^f The next subject of interest which I wish to call attention 

 to is — 



J The Stickleback, Gasterosteus leiurus. This most beautiful 

 little creature has afforded a subject for much interesting obser- 

 vation for some time past, and I fear that what I have to offer 

 will prove very much a repetition of what has already been pub- 

 lished on the subject. As however the proceedings and obser- 

 vations of those who dare not rank themselves in the class of 

 naturalists, sometimes from their want of knowledge cause circum- 

 stances to arise which would not otherwise occur, so in the pre- 

 sent case my failures through my own ignorance may develope 

 some new points in the oeconomy of these small fry. Mr. Edwards 

 of Shoreditch, whose London garden pond has afforded much 

 interesting matter to many microscopists, informs me, in a note 

 dated August 27, 1852, that it is about fourteen years since he 

 first noticed the fact of the stickleback building a nest, guarding 

 the spawn and defending the young ones : no publication, how- 

 ever, of these observations seems to have taken place. Since this 

 period, the facts have been published by M. Coste in France in 

 1847, and quite lately by Mr. Kinahan*, in a paper laid before 

 the Dublin Natural History Society. 



My observations in the miniature ponds commenced in May 

 1851, when, having received from a friend at Mitcham several 

 of these little fish, male and female, the latter being full of 

 spawn, they were introduced to their new abode. A curious 

 scene followed : the male fish immediately took up certain posi- 

 tions, the strongest apparently having the first choice, which they 

 maintained against all intruders, and a species of border warfare 

 was continually maintained across the proscribed boundaries 

 of each, and although at times driven out by a fierce attack from 

 a stronger fish, yet, immediately the battle had ceased, they re- 

 turned to their previous position, which they defended most 

 vigorously. These battles were at times most desperate, for 

 these puny combatants would fasten tight on each other for 

 several seconds, tumbling over and over, until their strength 

 appeared completely exhausted. If there were more fish present 

 than there were positions for, they fared most grievously, being 

 driven altogether into one corner of the pond, and from which 

 they ventured forth only to be driven back again on all sides, 

 where they were continually exposed to the attacks of their com- 

 panions. 



The day after they had been placed in their new dQinain, the 

 strongest of the male fish was observed most busily employed 

 gathering small ligneous fibres from different parts of the pond, 



* Zoologist for July 1852. 

 m£iiv:t^\i iiifio eij ^^^a«tiio ^iiiigii^ eiwoiuj u tsisd 



