CONCERNING SMALL FRY. 73 



running-brook and of shallow-water conditions. 

 In haunt and habit it is quite a hermit, and loves 

 to lie under loose, flat stones, from beneath which 

 it is slow to emerge. It is nocturnal in habit, 

 getting quite lively at twilight, and as darkness 

 increases it comes abroad and roams about in 

 search of food. This consists of tiny insects and 

 various kinds of larvae, and in years gone by we 

 have frequently enticed the " lusty loach " from 

 his dark retreat by dangling before him a small 

 red-worm. This predilection for worms is also 

 seen during a freshet, for then, like trout, the loach 

 gets into the quiet eddies and backwaters waiting 

 for the soft-bodied creatures to pass. Sometimes 

 it may be seen foraging among the aquatic grasses 

 for anything which may have lodged there. 



The loach spawns in spring, though the only 

 fact on this head which is known with cer- 

 tainty is its exceeding prolificness. It has been 

 remarked that the loach is particularly active 

 at night, and, when trout - fishing, we have 

 frequently noticed it take to the shallow water, 

 where it seems to enjoy swimming about with 

 its back-fin protruding. Eels feed much upon 

 loach, as do otters, and hence Nature has de- 

 creed that the three shall be night-feeders. The 

 body is covered with a smooth, slimy secre- 

 tion, and it would seem that on this account 



