THE MOTHER MURRE 



69 



other enemies, until the young shall hatch and t 

 ?able to swim away by themselves. Here he stays fo t v^ 

 'a month, without eating or sleeping, so far as we jf* 

 know. 



It is the male toadfish that crawls into the nest-' 

 ? hole and takes charge of the numerous family. He 

 'may dig the hole, too, as the male stickleback builds 

 /the nest. I do not know as to that. But I have raised 

 , ' many a stone in the edge of the tide along the shore 

 ; of Naushon Island in Buzzard's Bay, to find the 

 under surface covered with round, drop-like, amber 

 1 ~ ^ e o' s ) anc ^ in the shallow cavity beneath, an old male 



f toadfish, slimy and croaking, and with a countenance 

 ugly enough to turn a prowling eel to stone. The- 

 female deposits the eggs, glues them fast with much 

 J^jnicety to the under surface of the rock, as a female 

 might, and finishes her work. Departing at once, she j 

 r ffy leaves the coming brood to the care of the male, who 



from this time, without relief or even food in all\i 

 probability, assumes the role and all the responsibili- 

 'ties of mother, and must consequently feel all the 

 /mother-love. 



Something like this is true of the common horn- 

 ,pout, or catfish, I believe, though I have never seen 

 it recorded, and lack the chance at present of prov- 

 ing my earlier observations. I think it is father o\ 

 catfish that takes charge of the brood, of the%* / 

 swarm of kitten catfish, from the time the spawn ^ ^ 

 is laid. 



