is turned to and fro, especially the tail ])art, 

 and thus is jerked forward, the gill cover 

 spines again seeking a fresh hold. In this 

 manner the fish moves quite rapidly along 

 the ground and can cover considerable dis- 

 tances. 



Should the fish not find water or only 

 places nearly dried up, they will bury them- 

 selves in the mud. They are then found at a 

 depth of about 18 to 20 inches. Frequently 

 the upper part of the mud covering is so 

 dry that it cracks and falls apart when 

 taken up. The fish usually lie in a some- 

 what dam}) layer, but even this may dry 

 out without endangering the lives of the 

 burrowers. As soon as the first rain shower 

 has filled the pool, they dig themselves 

 out and again lead an aquatic life. 



The spawning habits as observed show 

 that the male drives the female for a time, 

 whereupon she deposits her eggs near the 

 bottom on the stems of water plants. The 

 male fertilizes them in passing over them. 

 By the constant moving about of the fish 

 the eggs become loosened and rise to the 

 surface, where they drift about for two or 

 three days and then hatch out in the sun- 

 light. The young grow raj)idly, looking 

 much like young chanchito. The climbing 

 perch is a hardy fish, living well hi captivity. 



The second family, the snakeheaded 

 fishes, so-called from their somewhat snake- 

 like-appearing heads, have not reached the 

 state of perfection as the climbing perches ; 

 their labyrinth is les^ perfectly developed, 

 rather rudimentary, as it were. Over the gill 

 cavity there is a sac-like extension whose 

 wall is richly supplied with blood vessels; 

 this does not look like the bony labyrinth 

 of the other fishes of this series, but it 

 performs the same service. Both dorsal 

 and anal fins are very long and have no 

 spines. The air-bladder is very long, reach- 

 ing into the caudal peduncle, the Heshy 

 end of the body whence issues the tail fin. 

 Like the climbing perch, they are tenacious 

 of life and able to live for some time outside 

 <of the water, which, however, they never 



leave voluntarily. Some of the members 

 of this family grow to some size and are 

 used for food. 



The family has quite a number of species, 

 some being African, but the greater number 

 occurs in Asia, especially in India and Indo- 

 China. The illustration is of a fish found 

 in India and China; it reaches a considerable 

 size. The back is brownish-gray or green, 

 the lower parts lighter colored; there are 

 obliquely running bars on the sides. 



A smaller species is O. punctatus, reach- 

 ing a length of about twenty inches. The 

 upper parts of this species are greenish, the 

 lower grayish-white, there are also darker 

 oblique bars and a few blotches on the 

 lower part. It occurs in India, and is one 

 of the smaller species. 



The snakeheaded fishes do not exercise 

 any parental care, simply setting adrift their 

 eggs at the surface of the water, where 

 they hatch in the sun in a very short time. 



Perhaps it may seem too early to speak 

 of getting an aquarium for your friends for 

 the holiday season, still a month off, but 

 you cannot get busy too early to avoid the 

 rush. You know that it takes time to set 

 up your tank and have the plants show up 

 well, the water thoroughly clear and the 

 fish used to their new surroundings. Now 

 is the time to make up your mind as to the 

 kind of tank j^ou want. From the simple 

 tin-framed aquarium to that of plate glass 

 and polished glass or the all-glass aquarium, 

 there is a wide range of choice. Or, per- 

 haps you already have the aquarium: then 

 a few choice fish would make a gift appre- 

 ciated by anyone. 



The great interest taken by the public in 

 aquarium matters is strikingly shown bj- the 

 wonderful attendance at the public aqua- 

 rium in New York City. Of all ])ublic 

 attractions in the world, including the great 

 British Museum, the New York Aquarium 

 has the largest attendance. It has thus 

 been proven that this is New York's greatest 

 attraction for visitors. 



