236 



nf Natural l&t 



taken out of the water, and have flesh prone 

 to rapid decomposition : mackerel, salmon 

 trout, and herrings are examples. On the 

 contrary, those Fish that live near the 

 bottom of the water have a low standard of 

 respiration, a high degree of muscular irri- 

 tability, and less necessity for oxygen ; they 

 sustain life long after they are taken out of 

 the water, and their flesh remains good for 

 several days." 



In "The Zoologist," (p. 79.1, et seq.) there 

 i is an article of considerable interest, entitled 

 i " Notes on the Nidification of Fishes," by 

 i R. Q. Couch, Esq., from which the following 

 I passages are extracted : 

 I " We have been accustomed to look on 

 j the inhabitants of the deep as devoid of any 

 j thing like intelligence or affection; as beings 

 1 guided solely by insatiable appetites, which 

 ! lead them indiscriminately to prey on each 

 i other, and to abandon their offspring to the 

 mercy of the sea and their predatory com- 

 panions, from the instant that the ova are 

 shed. Any attempt to dispel this opinion 

 will probably be received with distrust ; for, 

 taken as a whole, fish are certainly the most 

 universally predaceous of any class of ani- 

 : mals in existence ; being checked only by 

 ', want of power. But notwithstanding this, 

 some, at least, have a redeeming quality, 

 and show a remarkable care and anxiety 

 for their young. Nests are built in which 

 the ova are deposited, and over -which the 

 adult fish will watch till the young make 

 their escape. And where circumstances will 

 not allow of this continued care, as from the 

 reflux of the sea, the old fish will return 

 with the return of the tide, and remain as 

 long as the water will permit. 

 i "During the summers of 1842 and 1843, 

 while searching for the naked molluscs of 

 the county, I occasionally discovered ppr- 

 1 tions of sea- weed, and the common coralline 

 ! (C. officinaUs), hanging from the rocks in j 

 ! pear-shaped masses, variously intermingled 

 j with each other. On one occasion, having 

 observed that the mass was very curiously 

 ! bound together by a slender silky-looking 

 thread, it was torn open, and the centre was 

 found to be occupied by a mass of trans- 

 parent amber-coloured ova, each being 

 about the tenth of an inch in diameter. 

 ! Though examined on the spot with a lens, 

 I nothing could be discovered to indicate their 

 character. They were, however, kept in a 

 ! basin, and daily supplied with sea-water, 

 , and eventually proved to be the young of 

 i some fish. The nest varies a great deal in 

 size, but rarely exceeds six inches in length, 

 and four inches in breadth. It is pear- 

 shaped, and composed of sea-weed, or the 

 common coralline, as they hang suspended 

 I from the rock. They are brought together, 

 without being detached from their places 

 of growth, by a delicate opaque white thread. 

 This thread is highly elastic, and very much 

 resembles silk, both in appearance and 

 texture : this is brought round the plants, and 

 tightly binds them together, plant after 

 plant, till the ova, which are deposited early, 

 are completely hid from view. This silk- 

 like thread is passed in all directions through 

 and around the mass in a very complicated 



manner. At first the thread is semi-fluid> 

 but by exposure it solidifies ; and hence 

 contracts and bind the substances, forming 

 the nest so closely together, that it is able 

 to withstand the violence of the sea, and 

 may be thrown carelessly about without 

 derangement. In the centre are deposited 

 the ova, very similar to the masses of frog- 

 spawn in ditches. 



" It is not necessary to enter into the mi- 

 nute particulars of the development of the 

 young, any further than by observing that 

 they were the subject of observation, till 

 they became excluded from the egg, and that 

 they belonged to the fifteen-spined Stickle- 

 back (Gasterosteits Spinachia). Some of 

 these nests are formed in pools, and are 

 consequently always in water ; others are 

 frequently to be found between tide marks, 

 in situations where they hang dry for several 

 hours during the day ; but whether in the 

 water, or liable to hang dry, they are always 

 carefully watched by the adult animal. On 

 one occasion I repeatedly visited one every 

 day for three weeks, and invariably found 

 it guarded. The old fish would examine it 

 on all sides, and then retire for a short time ; 

 but soon return to renew the examination. 

 On several occasions I laid the eggs bare, by 

 removing a portion of the nest ; but when 

 this was discovered, great exertions were 

 instantly made to recover them. By the 

 mouth of the fish the edges of the opening 

 were again drawn together, and other portions 

 torn from their attachments, and brought 

 over the orifice till the ova were again hid 

 from view. And as great force was some- 

 times necessary to effect this, the fish would 

 force its snout into the nest as far ns the 

 eyes, and then jerk backwards till the object 

 was effected. While thus engaged, it would 

 suffer itself to be taken in the hand, but re- 

 pelled any attack made on the nest, and 

 quitted not its post so long as I remained. 

 And to those nests that were left dry be- 

 tween tide-marks, the guarding fish always 

 returned with the returning tide, nor did 

 they quit the post to any great distance till 

 again carried away by the receding tide. 

 * * * But fish vary a great deal in the 

 modes of what may be called their incuba- 

 tion, as much as any other class of animals. 

 Thus, some of the sharks produce their young 

 alive, and in a state quite ready for active 

 life ; while others, with the rays, deposit eggs 

 very similar, physiologically, to birds' eggs, 

 which are known as mermaid's purses, being 

 frequently to be found cast on shore on most 

 beaches. Also, among the pipe fishes (Syng- 

 nathi) of our own seas, we have instances of 

 marsupial fish, as perfect ns the kangaroo 

 is marsupial among quadrupeds. But the 

 formation of nests and the watchful atten- 

 tion of fish over their young, which I have 

 repeatedly seen, are unsuspected points of 

 great beauty in their history, and give to 

 them a higher degree of intelligence and 

 interest than we have been accustomed to 

 award. But, from their living in the almost 

 boundless ocean, and wandering where they 

 cannot be observed by man, their habits and 

 economy have been but slightly studied, and 

 they have suffered in reputation accordingly. 



