416 RAMBLES ABOUT HOME. 



shallow waters, birds of a dozen species eagerly litmt 

 them, and late in the spring, when after the freshets 

 chance pools become nearly or quite dry, mice and squir- 

 rels will feast upon the decaying bodies of these little 

 minnows, that may have escaped the searching glances 

 of our many birds. Even spiders have been known to 

 capture single specimens and lift them from the water. 

 Their principal safety appears to lie in taking refuge in 

 weeds, where they are not seen so readily. I found that 

 this was their principal method of avoiding the single 

 predatory fish I kept in the same tank with them. They 

 are not disposed to remain hidden, however ; and soon 

 after rushing pell-mell into a mass of weeds, they reap- 

 pear and face the dangers that they know confront them. 

 Where they feed and what they feed upon I can not say, 

 but their movements at times clearly indicate that they 

 find something to prey upon, but the objects are so small 

 that I could not detect them with the naked eye. This I 

 have tried by scooping up a bucket of water where the 

 minnows were feeding, but such efforts availed nothing. 

 I am satisfied that, small as they are, these little minnows 

 are carnivorous, and suggest that they have the power of 

 seeing such forms of animal life as can only be detected 

 by man with the aid of a microscope. 



When these little minnows enter the more shallow 

 waters, in March and April, it will be noticed that the 

 coloring of about one half their numbers is more brill- 

 iant than during summer and autumn. The fins are even 

 rosy, and the lower lines of scales almost crimson. Early 

 in May this color begins to fade, and is soon replaced by 

 the characteristic silvery hue of the remaining months of 

 the year. This growth, climax, and fading of gorgeous 

 colors, which is confined to the male fishes, correspond 

 with the growth of the eggs in the females, and their 



