BURBOT— WELS 347 



the other for egress, these being quite smooth and symmetrical, and offering no 

 opposition to the passage of the fish. Should the nest be attacked by an enemy, 

 the builder bravely defends it and generally drives off the invader, returning as 

 soon as the battle is over to repair such damage as may have been done by 

 bringing mouthfuls of weed and other substances, which are arranged and pushed or 

 hammered together by means of the nose of the lish ; and after the deposition of 

 the spawn by the female, should any pai't of the nest be displaced this is repaired 

 by the male to be ready to receive the spawn that follows. This goes on until some 

 six or seven layers of impregnated spawn are spread and the cavity of the nest is 

 filled, with the exception of a small space which the stickleback reserves as a hole 

 through which it may watch, with its marvellously brilliant eyes, the daily 

 progress of incubation. 



A century and a half ago sticklebacks were exti'aordinarily abundant in the 

 fens of Lincolnshire; and every seven or eight years enormous shoals appeared 

 in the river Welland, at Spalding, which they ascended in a great column. 



The burbot, or eel-pout {Lota vulgaris), is a local fresh-water fish 



which, although it belongs to the cod-family, never enters salt water. 



Of the two dorsal fins, the first has from ten to thirteen rays, and the pelvics are 



narrow with six rays : there is a barbel on its chin. This fish, which grows to a 



length of about one yard, is the only representative of its genus in fresh waters. 





THE BURBOT. 



Although most abundant in the Swiss lakes, it inhabits nearly all the rivers of 

 Europe and northern Asia ; but in England is mainly restricted to the rivers of the fen- 

 districts of Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, where it lurks in rat-holes and other cavities 

 under the banks. When on the move, it seems to use its pelvic fins, and not its 

 barbel, for feeling purposes. It is tenacious of life, and has been kept alive out of 

 water in damp situations for long periods by being fed on small fishes and raw 

 meat. In captivity it grows rapidly, and feeds voraciously at night on small 

 fishes, worms and insects. 



A great number of the fresh-water fish of Europe belong to a group 



(Ostariophysi) in which the swim-bladder is furnished with a duct, 



while all the fin-rays are articulated, and the pelvics, when present, are without a spine. 



