METHOD OF SPAWNING. 35 



an old spawning place, a sort of trough left in the 

 channel, or form a fresh one. They are not fond of 

 working in new loose channels, which would be liable 

 to be removed by a slight flood, to the destruction of 

 their spawn. The spawning bed is made by the 

 female. Some have fancied that the elongation of the 

 lower jaw in the male, which is somewhat in the form 

 of a crook, is designed by nature to enable him to ex- 

 cavate the spawning trough. Certainly it is difficult to 

 divine what may be the use of this very ugly excres- 

 cence ; but observation has proved that this idea is a 

 fallacy, and that the male never assists in making the 

 spawning place ; and indeed, if he did so, he could not 

 possibly make use of the elongation in question for 

 that purpose, which springs from the lower jaw, and 

 bends inwards towards the throat. 



When the female first commences making her spawn- 

 ing bed, she generally comes after sunset, and goes off 

 in the morning: she works up the gravel with her snout, 

 her head pointing against the stream, as my fisherman 

 has clearly and unequivocally witnessed, and she 

 arranges the position of the loose gravel with her tail. 

 When this is done, the male makes his appearance in 

 the evenings, according to the usage of the female ; he 

 then remains close by her, on the side on which the 

 water is deepest. When the female is in the act of 

 emitting her ova, she turns upon her side, with her face 

 to the male, who never moves. The female runs her 

 snout into the gravel, and forces herself under it as 

 much as she possibly can, when an attentive observer 

 may see the red spawn coming from her. The male in 



