37 



entrusted to the male, and that several females deposit their eggs in the 

 same nest ; that a single male impregnates all the eggs of one nest, and 

 that he has to defend them against the voracity of other fish, and even 

 of the females themselves till they are hatched, his vigilance only ceas- 

 ing when the young are able to provide for their own safety. Of the 

 accuracy of this I cannot speak with any certainty ; Dr. Dawson is 

 inclined to believe that the carefully built nest ni'jy have for one of its 

 objects, to guard against the destruction of the embryo in the ova by 

 microscopic animalculse. The same writer affirms that when irritated 

 or alarmed^ it will remain motionless over some }^art of the bottom 

 resembling its own colour, which it possesses the power of deepening 

 almost into black. 



The Sheeps-head {Haploidonolus Grunniens) is found in the Ottawa, 

 but is by no means common, though formerly it is said to have been quite 

 abundant. Last summei* some very fine specimens were to be seen at the 

 fish stalls, taken from the river near Templeton. Its back is consider- 

 ably arched, giving it the appearance of a white bass, eyes lai-ge and 

 mouth small. A peculiarity about this fish is that the first ray of the 

 spinous or prickly portion of the dorsal fin is short, the third longer 

 than the second, and so in proportion till the ninth is longest of all. 

 It is sometimes called erroneously white bass and white perch. 



The Catfish genus will i-eward the student's careful examination of 

 every individual that falls under his notice, for the scientific world is 

 yet in doubt as to the number of species that compose it. The channel 

 catfish [Ictalurus Lacustris) is met with in the Ottawa River, in the 

 deepest parts or channel, and specimens of it may occasionally be seen 

 in our market of ten lbs. weight and upwards, but a fish of over 4 lbs. 

 ■weight is a large one for these waters, although in the south and west 

 they attain an enormous size. Its forked tail, one lobe of which is 

 slightly longer than the other, easily distinguish it from the common 

 catfish {Amiurus Ca^Ms), which is very common in any water with a muddy 

 bottom. A peculiarity about it is that occasionally its ventral fins are 

 wanting. Another strange feature is that in early spring it buri'ows 

 into the bank and forms a semi-circular dam of mud and clay in front 

 of its burrow, with an aperture to swim in and out of. In this burrow 

 the female deposits her spawn, and the only portion visible outside the 



