NATURE'S CALENDAR ,ti 



The early days of July are an excellent jyj^ jg 



time to study the fresh-water fishes, es- 



pecially the little fellows that belong to 

 the brooks and mill-ponds — minnows, 

 shiners, sunfish, perch, bull-heads, and the 

 like. Of these the " pumpkin seeds," or 

 sunfish, are more or less known to every 

 fishing school-boy, and he will tell you 

 that they are sharp-witted and lively, feed 

 on insects and worms, and build nests. 



" To see our common sunfish at their 

 best," writes Dr. C. C. Abbott, " it is 

 necessary to hunt up their nests in May. 

 . . . One of the 'sights' of this time, if 

 we direct our- steps to the creek, is the 

 row of sunfish nests along the shore. 

 These fish at that time have a horror of 

 dirt, and every speck other than fine, 

 clean sand is carefully removed from the 

 shallow circular depressions which con- 

 stitute their nests. ... In these nests 

 both fishes will often be, and yet scarcely 

 recognizable from above. All the gor- 

 geous coloring is confined to their sides 

 and bellies; the back, being a dull green, 

 blends well with the surroundings and 

 the color of the water. . . . The nests are 

 usually occupied for the space of four 

 weeks, when the parent fishes relinquish 

 their care and leave the young sunnies, 

 now more like flakes of jelly than bony 

 fishes, to shift for themselves." 



Some of the smaller ones are darters 

 — diasky fingerlings that rest motionless 

 on the sand. If anything startles them 



July 17 



