78 INSTINCT. 
“If the fostering care of this mouth-brooding fish is 
regarded as wonderful and singular, what should one 
then say, if another fish is spoken of which does not re- 
gard this kind of protection as sufficient, and which 
therefore causes its eggs to hatch outside the surface of 
the water. The exceedingly adorned and_ elegant 
Phyrrhylima Filamentosa performs this masterpiece of 
truest love. With great dexerity this fish darts from 
5 to 7 cm. above the surface of the water and there fastens 
its eggs on the walls of the aquarium—usually in one 
corner. Even though one must and can preserve damp 
air by covering the aquarium, the spawn would never 
theless surely dry up, if the fish itself were not constantly 
concerned to keep the spawn damp by an extended 
bombardment of little drops of water. In the perform- 
ance of this act the fish remains near the surface of 
the water and then by a quick upward movement of the 
fins of the tail it throws a drop of water upon the spawn 
in such an expert manner as is truly admirable. One 
must also keep in mind here that the spawn require from 
three to five days for hatching, and now one can under- 
stand what a huge task this little fish performs and what 
efforts are required. Later on the young hatch and 
then slide down the slick wall of the aquarium into their 
native element.”. (V. Schloemp in “Blaetter fuer 
Aquarien und Terrarienkunde,”’ Stuttgart, Sept. 1913.) 
In all the domain of natural science there are no 
wonders more amazing than those of instinct. The sub- 
ject is simply inexhaustible. Moreover, every animal is 
absolutely dependent on instinctively performed actions 
and habits. The life-story of many wasps, of the various 
ants,—someone has called the brain of the ant the most 
wonderful speck of protoplasm in the world,—and of the 
insects generally, is bound up with instincts that partly 
interlock marvellously with the life-story of plants, and 
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