184 MARVELS OF FISH LIFE 



must have been thoroughly uncomfortable, this devoted 

 parent never deserted the eggs. 



To test this parental instinct the fish was removed 

 a couple of yards, but at once wriggled back to the 

 former position, with its snout almost touching the 

 stone to which the eggs were attached. 



To return to the question of procuring specimens for 

 photography. I find my friends do not always choose the 

 most convenient time for bringing them to me. For 

 example, an angling friend of mine was cleaning out a 

 ditch near the banks of the Orwell, and saw a large fish 

 moving in the mud ; being an enthusiast, he at once 

 jumped in and seized it. Orwell mud is blacK, sticky, 

 and odoriferous, and there was quite a crowd of little 

 boys when my friend presented himself at my consult- 

 ing rooms, dripping wet, covered with black mud, and 

 carrying a small wooden bucket, in which he was 

 endeavouring to keep a huge lamprey. 



On a few occasions I have photographed fish that 

 have been sent to the taxidermist to be set up. For 

 example, the tench shown on the plate facing p. 30 was 

 one of two fish taken out of the mud while a pond (not 

 many miles from Ipswich) was being cleaned. These fish 

 were wrapped in a damp cloth, and sent by carrier to the 

 taxidermist. Here they soon recovered in a tub of 

 water, and next morning I got some excellent photo- 

 graphs. The two tench were exceptionally fine speci- 

 mens, weighing over three pounds apiece ; and I am 

 patiently waiting for the day when the owner of the 



