Wild Life in Water 129 



mer ever on the lookout for a viftim, the 

 latter watchful of an ever-present danger. 

 Day long it was a tragedy where brute force 

 counted for little and cunning for a great 

 deal. 



Another very common fish in my pond 

 was likewise very suggestive in connexion 

 with the subject of animal intelligence. I 

 refer to the common " sunny," or " pumpkin- 

 seed." A shallow sand-nest had been scooped 

 near shore and the precious eggs deposited. 

 A school of silvery-finned minnows had dis- 

 covered them, and the parent fish was severely 

 taxed in her efforts to proteft them. 



So long as this school of minnows re- 

 mained together, the sunfish, by fierce rushes, 

 kept them back ; but soon the former was 

 it accident or design ? divided their forces, 

 and as the parent fish darted at one assaulting 

 party, the other behind it made a successful 

 raid upon the nest. This continued for some 

 time, and the sunfish was getting quite weary, 

 when, as if a sudden thought struck it, its 

 tallies changed, and it swam round and round 

 in a circle and sent a shower of sand out into 

 the space beyond the nest. This effectually 

 dazed the minnows. 



