296 HANDBOOK OF NATURE STUDY 



The average size of this pretty fish in length and width 

 is about that of a boy's hand, but you will catch many that 

 are smaller. Can you see why it is called pumpkin seed ? 

 The color above is greenish with blue spots. The lower 

 side and the cheeks are orange and the latter are marked 

 with blue lines. It is a common fish in nearly all our lakes 

 and rivers. 



The sunfish, like all fishes, is well adapted to a life in the 

 water, in which alone it is able to breathe. Watch it in the 

 water and see how it seems to swallow some every second. 

 This water passes out under two covers behind and below 

 the eyes. Under these covers you find delicate, blood-red 

 organs which look somewhat like small feathers and are 

 attached to semicircular bones. These red organs are the 

 gills, and with them the fish separates the air from the 

 water and breathes the air. The gills are the lungs of the 

 fish, but it can breathe with them in water only. When it is 

 taken out of the water, it gasps for air, its gills stick together, 

 and in a short time the fish dies of suffocation. A fish will 

 exhaust the air from a pan of water in a short time, and 

 must then be given fresh water. In the summer you must 

 change the water for a fish more frequently than in the 

 winter, because warm water holds less air than cold water. 

 You can keep a few minnows in a tin pail for a long time. 

 Feed them with a few crumbs of wheat bread three times a 

 week and change the water after feeding. 



The body of a fish is so shaped that it can easily cut through 

 water. 'The sunfish has one pair of fins behind the gill 

 covers and another pair on the abdomen. With these two 

 pairs of fins, together with the large tail fin, the fish pro- 

 pels itself rapidly through the water, at the same time using 

 the tail as a rudder. One fin on the back and another 



Observations. Fossils in the rocks or in collections. 



