THE DRAWING OF THE SEINE. 159 



the frightened creatures tliat rush hither and thitlier in 

 the most reckless manner when startled by his sudden 

 appearance. We have only to take a favorable position, 

 and, ourselves unseen, to gaze patiently into their accus- 

 tomed haunts, to realize what animated, cunning, and 

 mentally well-developed creatures fishes really are. 



That curious group known as "darters," or etheosto- 

 moids, is always to be found, when not in motion, resting 

 upon the bottoms of streams ; and I have never found 

 these fishes in localities where their color did not closely 

 resemble the sand, mud, or pebbles upon which they 

 rested. I have tested them in this matter in the follow- 

 ing manner. Finding a spot in a small stream where 

 many of these fishes congregated, I placed a large num- 

 ber of white-porcelain plates in the stream on a level with 

 the surrounding sand. On disturbing the "darters," I 

 found that they invariably settled between these plates, 

 and never on them ; and this after the dishes had been 

 several days in position. Finally the currents covered 

 the plates with a thin coating of sand, and then occa- 

 sionally a "darter" would come to rest upon one of the 

 plates. The motion of his fins in so doing usually dis- 

 placed the sand, and exposed tlie white surface beneath : 

 if 80, the fish darted off, and settled between the plates 

 or beyond them. It is evident, I think, that protection 

 through their color must be quite essential to them ; 

 more so in the matter of procuring their food, perhaps, 

 than as a safeguard against the attacks of enemies. 



The mud-minnow depends very largely upon insects 

 and smaller fishes for food, and the question of color is 

 a prominent one in its life history. This fisli frequently 



