172 WOLF-HUNTING. 



and any invasion of this sanctum was instantly followed by a fierce 

 encounter, which never ceased till the trespasser was ejected from 

 the premises ; tooth and spine were freely used on both sides, and 

 the death of one, pierced by the spines, was the not unfrequent 

 result of the battle. 



It has been observed by M. Coste and other ichthyologists 

 that the colour of the sticklebacks depends on the colour of the 

 ,ground they occupy ; for instance, one living in an earthenware jar 

 in the far corner of the reservoir had assumed a dusky, brown hue 

 while on the opposite side, another, whose castle was a white 

 tea-pot, was so light-coloured that, but for" the pink colouring of 

 his vicious little eye, he could scarcely be distinguished from the 

 surrounding water. This assimilation in colour to that of their 

 habitats is, however, not peculiar to this class, and is doubtless a 

 provision of Nature to secure them and other species from the 

 attacks of their enemies. The sticklebacks were great pets of 

 M. Coste's, who told us, with much concern, that when he had 

 trained them to quiet habits and even good-fellowship, they rarely 

 lived longer than two years. 



The next compartment to which M. Coste directed our 

 attention was that enclosing the turbot the most important, so 

 far as the object of the institution is concerned, of all the fish 

 contained in the Observatory. One hundred thousand turbot, 

 more or less, are brought annually to the London market by 

 Dutch fishermen of Scheveling alone, who are supposed to earn 

 thereby some ^80,000, a large sum which our own north-country 

 fishermen might well envy, and a share of which the French are 

 now making great efforts to obtain. 



In captivity as M. Coste demonstrated the turbot will take 

 food from the hand ; and although he looks so unintelligent, he 

 is not quite so great a fool as he looks. He knows, for instance, 

 one hand from another ; and the intrusion of a strange one, too 

 near him, is instantly resented by an indignant attitude and 



