."II THE I'lrE-FISHKS. 



1831, made the like discovery, as also, that the male not 

 only hatches the ova entrusted to his cart- by the female, 

 but during the growth of the fry performs towards them 

 all the affectionate duties of a mother, lie further tells 

 us, that these fish spawn in deep water in the month of 

 May. "Shortly before that time the leaf-shaped flaps. 

 closing the male's pouch, swell, the opening itself becomes 

 more and more filled with a white, clear, and thick- 

 mucus, which serves as a bed for the ova, pos>ihly also, .-IN 

 food for the newly hatched young ones. These, when 

 born, embed themselves in the mucus, which diminishes 

 proportionally with their growth; so that by the time 

 they are enabled of themselves to move about in the 

 water, little or none of it remains. Most likely actual 

 congress takes place between the pair, during which 

 the female deposits her ova in the male's pouch, where 

 it is retained by the flaps in question, whilst he over- 

 spreads it with his milt. The ova, which Hi 1 in rows, 

 are large as compared with the size of the fish. \Vhen 

 first deposited they are yellow, but whiten gradually, and 

 at length become clear as water, with a small dark yellow 

 spot, which, when the egg is about to be excluded, 

 blackens, and clearly shows the embryo. One day in 

 July," he goes on to say, " when I was present at the 

 drawing of a net in the Skargml, a male, with fully deve- 

 loped young in its pouch, was captured. AVith some 

 stones I immediately made a little pond at the ed^e of 

 the water, in which the fish was placed. After swimming 

 backwards and forwards a short time, it, by a downward 

 movement of its tail, opened the pouch, out of \\hieh the 

 young, one after the other, crept, and swam dose under 

 and on both sides of their lather, though always keeping 

 near the pouch. AVhen, however. I attempted to take 

 hold of the old lish, it made a sudden upward movement 

 of its body (bending it bo\\-form\ on which the \uung 



