1850 THE STORY OF THE UNIVERSE 



a parent-fish was taken out of the water, the young 

 escaped from the pouch; but on the parent being 

 held over the side of the boat, the young at once 

 swam toward him, and re-entered the pouch without 

 hesitation. Some authorities have not hesitated to 

 express an opinion that the young are nourished 

 within the pouch by some fluid or secretion of its 

 lining membrane. But further observation is cer- 

 tainly necessary before this latter opinion can be 

 relied upon. 



The pipe-fishes are very near neighbors of the 

 sea-horses, and derive their name from the thin 

 elongated shape of their bodies, together with the 

 fact that the jaws are prolonged to form a long pipe- 

 like snout, at the extremity of which the mouth opens. 

 These fishes are very lively in all their movements, 

 and dart through the water so quickly that in many 

 cases the eye is unable to follow them. Like the 

 sea-horses, the male pipe-fishes protect and tend 

 their progeny, and exhibit an equal attachment to 

 their young. 



These latter features are also well exemplified by 

 the familiar sticklebacks of our ponds and streams. 

 The latter fishes actually build nests for the recep- 

 tion and care of their eggs, the nests being made 

 chiefly or solely by the males; while on the latter, 

 during the process of hatching and in the upbringing 

 of the young, devolves the chief care of protecting 

 and looking after the welfare of the progeny. These 

 instances of the care and duties which devolve on 

 the males, instead of on the mother-parents, appear 

 to reverse the more natural order which almost uni- 



