THE STICKLEBACK’S NEST. 195 
eggs, ‘I'bis fish inhabits the slimy bottoms of the lagoons 
_ near Venice, and burrows galleries in the clayey soil, where 
it spends the greater part of the year, protected against storms 
and enemies. In spring it digs more superficial dwellings 
among the roots of the sea-grass, to which the spawn attaches 
itself. The architect watches over the entrance of the house, 
opposing sharp rows of teeth to every intruder. 
A similar care may be admired in the tiny Stickleback, which 
the celebrated ichthyologist, M. Coste, has often watched build- 
ing its nest. After the fish has collected the materials, it 
covers them with sand, glues the walls with a mucous secretion, 
and prepares a suitable entrance. At a later period it becomes 
the bold and indefatigable defender of its eggs, repelling with 
tooth and prickles all-other sticklebacks that approach the nest. 
If the enemy is too powerful, it has recourse to artifice, darts 
forth, seems actively engaged in the pursuit of an imaginary 
prey, and often succeeds in diverting the aggressor’s attention 
from its nest. The River Bullhead is likewise said to evince 
the same parental affection for its ova, as a bird for its nest, 
returning quickly to the spot, and being unwilling to quit it 
when disturbed. It is believed, also, of the Lump-Sucker, that 
the male first keeps watch over the deposited ova, and guards 
them from every foe with the utmost courage. If driven from 
the spot by man, he does not go far, but is continually looking 
back, and in a short time returns. Thus we find among the 
inferior animals glimpses of a higher nature, which prove that 
all created beings form a continuous chain, linked together by 
one all-pervading and almighty Power. 
The senses of the fishes are also in perfect harmony with 
the peculiarities of their mode of life. Their eyes are indeed 
wanting in the fire and animation which gives so much expres- 
sion to the physiognomy of the higher animals, but the structure 
of these organs is admirably calculated for the element in which 
they are plunged, as the spherical form and great size of the 
crystalline lens, by concentrating the rays of light, enables them 
to see with distinctness even through so densea medium as that 
which surrounds them. When water is clear, smooth, and un- 
disturbed the sight of fishes is very acute, a circumstance well 
known to anglers, who prefer a breeze undulating over the 
surface, as they can then approach much nearer the objects of 
