62 NATURE'S CALENDAR 



^ jj 3 by aquatic plants, which form a curtain 



round them, leaving open a large space 



for light." 



All of these perch-like fishes, from the 

 big pike-perches of Western rivers to the 

 little " breams," are fierce and voracious. 

 Not content to feed upon the worms, 

 grubs, insects, and snails that abound in 

 their waters, they greedily devour the 

 eggs and young of other fishes whenever 

 they can find them, even of those of their 

 own kind ; and they prey like bandits 

 upon the smaller sorts, making an open- 

 mouthed dash into a flock of minnows, 

 and trusting to luck to catch one, rather 

 than chasing them down. Between these 

 and the bass, the pickerel, and a dozen 

 other larger sorts, the life of the minnow 

 is a constant dodging and fleeing; and 

 it is no wonder they have become so 

 nimble that we call them " darters," for 

 it is only by nimbleness and speed, sus- 

 picious watchfulness and ability to dive 

 out of sight into the mud, that they can 

 live from day to day. 



" Minnow" is rather an indefinite term 

 in America, for here it means almost any 

 small fish which, from the angler's point 

 of view, is good for nothing but bait ; 

 but some minnows grow to be of con- 

 siderable size, as dace or roach or gudg- 

 eons. One of the local amusements of 

 the Baltimore people, in April, is to go 

 to the Patapsco River, near the Relay 

 House, and fish for gudgeons with the 



