84 



the temperature of the water — which was comparatively low — 

 kept down by the addition of ice, and nine of these cans 

 loaded into a lumber-wagon and the journey to the station over 

 a bouncing corduroy road commenced. Only one opportunity 

 to change the water en route was afforded, but, notwithstand- 

 ing all this rough handling, they reached their destination 

 with only the loss of some four or five specimens. 



During the winter they were watched and cared for, but 

 the loss was about twenty-five per cent. When the spawning 

 season arrived a close watch was kept to see when any signs 

 of spawn-laying should commence, but we watched in vain. 

 So far as could be ascertained there was nothing to indicate 

 that they had, would, or could, ever spawn, and to-day we are 

 no nearer a practical solution of the vexed question than when 

 we commenced. During this, and a subsequent visit to the 

 same locality, I was enabled to make some observations upon 

 their food and their habits in feeding, which may be of 

 interest. Near the camp was a pool in which two small fish 

 had their haunts, one about six inches in length, and the other 

 half the size. The larger one when at rest was on a bit of 

 clean sand in plain view ; the other lay under some sunken 

 drift wood, dark in color, and under which he concealed him- 

 self, only the tip of his nose being visible, and the contrast in 

 color corresponded exactly with their resting places ; the 

 larger one was so nearly the color of the sand on which he lay 

 as hardly to be distinguished from it ; only when in motion as 

 he arose to the surface for his food ; the other was as dark as 

 the sticks under which he lay, showing that the question of 

 color is one of bottom locality and undoubtedly a circum- 

 stance of more or less light. I was somewhat surprised at the 

 tenacity with which they adhered to a locality when once 

 domiciled in it. Three or four times I drove them out of their 

 haunts ; one afternoon chasing the larger one several rods up 

 the stream only to find him in the same spot the next day, 

 and when I returned to the same locality, after an absence of 

 four weeks, I found the same fish apparently in the same 

 places. In rising for food I never saw either of them more 

 than a yard from their haunts, and only rarely but a few 



