FISHES 



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think only one ; and what is more, there is a group of as beauti- 

 ful little eggs, almost ready to hatch, as anyone could wish to 

 see. I could show them to you, but that would mean the de- 

 struction of the house, which I wouldn't have touched for the 

 world. I haven't shown my brother where it is, for he might 

 have a shy at it if I offended him. Now, look here, I must 

 show you with a stick; and see how brave the gallant little 

 ' robin ' is his spines are out, and he doesn't mean to leave 

 his home undefended. See here a kind of green sponge 

 about the size of a hen's egg; it is made up of gathered-up 

 and broken . . . weed, the same as that which forms the clump. 

 You certainly would not have noticed it; but now, if you can, 

 look very closely. What do you see? If you have eyes at all 

 you can see the tip, only the tip, of the tail fins; and if I gently 

 put this weed aside with the stick, you can see the tip of a 

 darling little nose. That is the lady keeping house and minding 

 the prospective offspring. Now if I just apply my stick so, away 

 goes the lady there, but not very far. And what happens? 

 The instant my interfering stick is taken away, the * robin ' takes 

 the lady's place in the nest; and now only the tip of his tail 

 and the end of his nose is to be seen; and there he will remain 

 till his spouse has the courage to come back, as he always does 

 remain in possession when the lady goes out shopping dear me! 

 I mean foraging for food. Who told me it was a nest? . . . Why, 

 nobody told me. I've seen them making a nest, i.e. working at 

 it, even in this ditch; but I've seen them make one more than 

 once from beginning to end in my own aquarium. There isn't 

 much making about them, though, except with their mouths 

 and their noses. When you see the sticklebacks, especially the 

 ' robin ', poking and picking away at bits of green rubbish, 

 and when, every now and then, a whole mouthful of odd bits 

 of anything is suddenly shot out before him, all of which he 

 will catch like a conjurer without le^ing 1 any fall to the ground, 

 and then disappear, be sure a nest is being built. I think 

 the swallowing, and tossing and turning of fragments of weed or 

 decaying leaves, which I have repeatedly witnessed, is to give 

 such items some property of hanging or attaching themselves 

 together. In any case, a nucleus of the nest will soon be seen, 

 which is added to in the way I describe; and so far as I can 

 make out, nothing like structural arrangement is attempted. All 



