136 NATURE'S CALENDAR 



June i6 gin to appear, and others are spawning 



— such as perch and sunfish — in the more 

 northerly ponds and streams. The fish- 

 ing for the short-nosed sturgeon ("Al- 

 bany beef") begins the latter part of the 

 month in the Hudson, after the shad-fish- 

 ing is done with. 



In the bays along the coast small floun- 

 ders attract indolent anglers. The best 

 fishing of the month, however, is for 

 sheepshead, which now enter the shallow 

 sounds and harbors, where they will re- 

 main until autumn. 



The black-nosed dace are nesting and 

 guarding their nests in the shallow edges 

 of clear streams and ponds with jealous 

 care ; and they are all in their rosy nup- 

 tial dress. How intelligently they arrange 

 this matter is well told in The American 

 Naturalist for 1879, by Dr. W. H. Gregg, 

 of Elmira, N. Y.: 



" In the early part of June, 1878, an ex- 

 cellent opportunity offered itself for ob- 

 serving the breeding-habits of the dace. 

 Standing one afternoon upon one of the 

 bridges of the river in this city, a nest of 

 this fish was discovered in the stream be- 

 low; it was about two feet in diameter, 

 situated in running water from twelve to 

 fifteen inches deep, and protected upon 

 the upper side by a small root, by which 

 the current of the water was broken. 

 The female would pass over the pebbles 

 and deposit her spawn, while the male 

 stood ready for an attack, and on the ap- 



