«6 STRANGE 'DWELLINGS. 



nest, he seems to consider a certain area around as his OAvn 

 especial property, and will not suffer any other fish to intrude 

 within its limits. His boldness is astonishing, for he will dash 

 at a fish of ten times his size, and, by dint of his fierce onset 

 and his bristling spears, drive the enemy away. Even if a 

 stick be placed within the sacred circle, he will dart at it, 

 repeating the assault as often as the stick may trespass upon 

 his domains. Within this limit, therefore, he must seek mate- 

 rials for his nest, as he can hardly move for six inches beyond 

 it without intruding upon the grounds of another fish. This 

 right of possession only seems to extend along the banks and 

 a few inches outwards, the centre of the stream or ditch being 

 common property. Along the bank, however, where the vege- 

 tation is most luxuriant, there is scarcely a foot of space that 

 is not occupied by some Stickleback, and jealously guarded by 

 him. 



Although the nests of the Stickleback are plentiful enough, 

 they are not so familiar to the public as might be expected, 

 principally because they are very inconspicuous, and few of the 

 uninitiated would know what they were, even if they were 

 pointed out. Being of such very delicate materials, and but 

 loosely hung together, they will not retain their form when 

 they are removed from the water, but fall together in an undis- 

 tinguishable mass, like a coil of tangled thread that had been 

 soaked in water for a few weeks. 



The materials of which the nest is made are extremely 

 variable, but they are always constructed so as to harmonise 

 with the surrounding objects, and thus to escape ordinary ob- 

 servation. Sometimes it is made of bits of grass which have 

 been blown into the river, sometimes of straws, and sometimes 

 of growing plants. The object of the nest is evident enough, 

 when the habits of the Stickleback are considered. As is the 

 case with many other fish, there are no more determined 

 destroyers of Stickleback eggs than the Sticklebacks them- 

 selves, and the nests are evidently constructed for the purpose 

 of affording a resting-place for the eggs until they are hatched. 

 If a few of these nests be removed from the water in a net. 



