ITS HABITS. 205 



settling himself in the same watchful attitude as before. 

 Ever} 7 atom of meat that you drop into the water within 

 his range of vision must be his : you perhaps intended 

 the morsel for the Goby or the Blenny, but Proach sees 

 it, and Proach must have it. They indeed may sail up 

 towards the speck, but Proach dashes up, bristling with 

 indignation at their temerity, and snaps the food from 

 before their very noses. Not one of them can get a bit 

 till Proach is satiated ; and I have often seen him lie 

 with a morsel projecting from his mouth for some time, 

 absolutely incapable of swallowing more, before he 

 would relinquish the contest. Now he fears nothing ; 

 he will even rush to the surface when he sees you 

 approaching, and, with a sudden snap, seize the meat 

 in your fingers, and drag it away. 



Mr. E. Q. Couch gives us some interesting particulars 

 of this little fish, or his brother, the Sea-scorpion ; for 

 they are so much alike, both in appearance and manners, 

 that some naturalists do not recognise any specific differ- 

 ence between them. " When caught," he says, " it 

 makes a croaking kind of noise ; opens its gill-covers, 

 and erects the spines of its head, and stiffens its whole 

 body, as if prepared for a vigorous defence. The spines 

 are covered with a skin or sheath, which the creature 

 has the power of drawing from the points and leaving 

 them bare. This fish will live a long time out of water, 



