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The preparation of beds is usually begun in the 

 latter part of April or early in May, though the spawn- 

 ing does not follow, as a rule, until several days later. 

 This 3'ear the males began working on the beds in the 

 annex pond on April 30; the first spawning there was 

 on May 8. At the beginning of the season the males 

 work on the beds only occasionally, and suspend work 

 entirely during a cold storm or a spell of cold weather; 

 but as the season advances matters are hastened and 

 preliminaries shortened. 



When the bed is ready and the male has induced a 

 female to accompany him to it, there follows a series of 

 movements quite impossible to describe. Generally 

 the female is coy and diffident at first, and inclined to 

 leave, but after much manoeuvring and persuasion by 

 the male, is rounded up and reluctantly remains. The 

 male grows more active and ardent; his movements 

 indicate strong sexual excitement and a desire to 

 induce excitement in the female; coaxing and caress- 

 ing alternate with bunting and biting various parts of 

 the bod}^, but chiefly around the vent. Then the male 

 glides slowly over the bed with a peculiar, trembling, 

 fluttering movement, while careened over nearly on his 

 side. Soon the pair crosses the bed slowly, duplicating 

 the spasmodic flutterings, each leaning over outward, 

 thus bringing their vents close together, although the 

 female is always slightly in advance. The bed is 

 crossed in like manner at intervals of ten to twenty 

 seconds until the spawn is all cast, which usually 

 takes from five to ten minutes. The preliminaries 

 that lead up to the spawning last much longer, as a 

 rule, than the act of spawning, and sometimes fail 

 altogether. In one instance a male was seen, after an 

 hour's ineffectual effort to induce spawning, to drive 

 the female back to the main pond and return in a short 

 time with another. While the female is spawning the 

 entire body is strongly mottled, but resumes its normal 



