68 FISH HATCHING. 



large trout. I took her carefully out, and 

 gave her to Mr. Bartlett, who has since got a 

 mate for her. We have learned a fact from 

 these two pretty birds. There are a great 

 number of small fish in their quarters at the 

 Zoological, and they eat an enormous number 

 of them, diving after and pursuing them with 

 arrow-like velocity. If, therefore, they do 

 not devour the spawn of trout, they will the 

 young fish. 



We have acquitted the water-ouzel and 

 dabchick of eating the ova, but now I bring 

 the charge against the common house (not 

 water) rat, for Froude the intelligent keeper 

 to Mr. S. Gurney, M.P. has written to me 

 to tell me, that these rascals had made a run 

 and got into the house where the ova were 

 deposited, and actually devoured several 



