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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



of themselves and facing the vicissitudes of life. Mutual attachment 

 among the diflFerent members belonging to a family of this species 

 seems to be a marked trait ; it has often been observed that they i)ro- 

 tect their young by harboring them in their mouth whenever danger 

 threatens. Even among the larger salt-water fishes, this manner of 

 sheltering the brood is occasionally adopted. As an example may be 

 cited a fish which the Chinese call htu-lau. It attains a lencrth of 



Fig. 2.— The (J/j/tiorrp/ui/ii'i and it.s Bp.ood. 



thirteen feet and weighs over two hundred pounds. The same observa- 

 tion has been made with fishes whose home is in the lagoons of South 

 America. The young fishes seem so accustomed to this place of refuge 

 that, on perceiving any commotion in the water that seems in the least 

 suspicious, they hasten en. maftse into the ])rotecting mouth of their 

 mother. Another fish, living near the coasts of South America, is 

 known to fasten its young ones to its fins and body by means of a 

 glue-like substance. This gives to these fishes the appearance of being 

 covered with small protuberances. 



On the coast of Guiana fishes have been found which dig their nests 

 in miry shores, and live there much as sand-swallows do on land. 



Another variety of the above-mentioned Ojyhiocephalus, a native 

 of India, also makes its home in holes in the ground, and can remain 

 in its nest for some time, even after the water has receded. These 

 generally live together in couples. If the earth becomes too dry, they 

 leave their houses and creep along for quite a distance on the damp 

 ground. The lower classes of nativeS, whenever they see them en- 

 gaged in such pilgrimages, believe tliem to have fallen from the sky. 



