248 STICKLEBACK IN THE MILK. 



bait these fish are of an exceedingly beautiful colour, 

 as bright as a new shilling, and the diner-out at clubs 

 will discover sticklebacks on his plate if he will look 

 for them ; they are very good eating. 



The Ten-spined Stickleback {Gasterosteus pimgitius) 

 is one of the smallest of the fishes that occur on our 

 coast, as well as many of our rivers and creeks, up 

 which they migrate in shoals in the spring. It is from 

 an inch and a half to two inches in size, and is dis- 

 tinguished from all the rest by having nine or ten 

 spines on the back, and by the sides being perfectly 

 smooth, without any lateral plates. It can be found 

 in almost all the marshes along the estuary of the 

 Thames. This fish also builds a nest. 



TEN-SPINED STICKLEBACK {Gastevostcus puugitius). 



Sticklebacks are a very great nuisance by getting 

 into reservoirs, when, notwithstanding the filters, they 

 get sometimes pumped up from the mains which supply 

 the houses. 



I lately heard a story from my friend Mr. Bartlett, of a 

 milkwoman not very far from Albany Street ; she served 

 out at the door a pennyworth of milk, and in the milk 

 jug the servant girl found a live stickleback swimming 

 about. AVhen the fish, all alive oh ! in the cow's milk, 

 was shown to the old woman, she turned round to 

 her boy and boxed his ears. "Jimmy, oh! Jimmy, 

 you lazy rascal," she said; "you never strained the 

 water!" 



