GENERAL NOTES. 



1 Neither pike nor eels are bred in any way but through the 

 natural intercourse of the sexes, although the appearance of both 

 in ponds where they were not placed by man has seemed to many 

 to be very marvellous. The explanation of this probably is, that 

 herons and other birds, feeding on fish-spawn in other pools, void 

 some of it in an undigested state into the water, and it is vivified. 

 Eels will make their way over the grass of a meadow, when it is 

 wet with rain or heavy dews. 



2 The instances of the daring and voracity of the pike are num- 

 berless. A keeper told me that he had seen a pike seize the feet 

 of a swan that was skimming along the surface of the water while 

 flying, and that the pike was lifted into the air some distance before 

 it let go its hold. 



3 Frogs are not venomous. The toad exudes a juice from its 

 body, which is irritating if it gets into a scratch, and dogs do not 

 like to mouth it. Ducks macerate frogs in the water, apparently to 

 make them more easy to swallow. 



4 The process of spawning is the same with all fish. The female 

 deposits her spawn, and the male fecundates it, or makes it fruitful, 

 by depositing his milt upon it. 



5 There are no water-snakes in England. The common ringed 

 snake, however, very frequently takes a swim. I used to fish in a 

 pool in a wood, on the top of a lonely hill, where we often saw 

 snakes swimming with the head and neck raised above the water. 

 They would dive if we went close to them ; and although we knew 

 that they were harmless, yet it was not a nice idea that they might 

 tickle our legs while we were wading, a thing which, of course, they 



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