The Fauna. 79 



eels, but we have never known any of a large 

 size. Nine pounds is the heaviest pike we have ever 

 killed in it. Minnows and sticklebacks are found in 

 the Braid Burn, and the latter are also present in the 

 ponds on the Braid Hills. Sticklebacks make interest- 

 ing pets, and we have had them in confinement for 

 over four years at a time. They are very pugnacious, 

 frequently attacking each other when first put together 

 in the same vessel. They also make savage onsets 

 upon any new comer to their private domain ; and 

 we have hit on the plan of separating the stranger 

 from them, at first, by the introduction of a sheet of 

 glass, until they become familiar with the presence 

 of the intruder. 



