CONCERNING SMALL FRY. 89 



pond and ditch, fresh water and salt even in 

 brackish estuaries. 



When any common object has a great many 

 provincial names, be assured that it is dear to 

 dwellers in the country. A general favourite, the 

 stickleback has upwards of thirty aliases, and this 

 is probably owing to the fact of its being a nest- 

 builder. As in the case of a considerable number 

 of animals and birds, fish assume brighter and 

 more glowing colours as the breeding season ad- 

 vances. And this is particularly true of the stickle- 

 back at the time of nest-building. Now his colours 

 become bright and intense ; his under-parts glow 

 with silvery crimson, and his eyes and cheeks are 

 metallic lustred. With the light full upon him he 

 is almost transparent, and now he assumes a war- 

 like disposition. 



The following, however, shows the whole breed- 

 ing economy of the stickleback as observed by the 

 Curator of the Norwich Museum : " Two glass 

 troughs filled with aquatic plants and animals were 

 provided, into which a solitary individual of either 

 species was inducted. Each made himself quite at 

 ease ; and a female companion being introduced 

 into the domicile, he was not long in commencing 

 the work of nidification. The appearance of the 

 three-spined stickleback was exceedingly beautiful. 

 The little creature's throat and belly were of 



