I SO IN SUMMER. 



ing rays of sunlight, the sparkle of the great bub- 

 bles that danced on every ripple, proved a very 

 carnival of light and color, the soul of which was 

 this company of fun-loving minnows. In saying 

 this, I intend to convey all the meaning that 

 such a phrase comprehends in other words, to 

 ascribe to these small fishes a pronounced de- 

 gree of intelligence, 



Their life proved not without its shadows, 

 however, as very often their merriment was 

 changed to terror in a twinkling. It happened 

 that a gorgeous dragon-fly came with a sudden 

 onset to the little brook and filled these fish with 

 fear while it hovered above them. I leave it to 

 others to say why the minnows should have been 

 afraid. Has any person ever seen a dragon-fly 

 catch a fish ? 



Prof. Seeley, writing of a European cypri- 

 noid, remarks, " Probably every person who has 

 ever looked into a small stream has been sur- 

 prised by the singular way in which minnows 

 constantly arrange themselves in circles like the 

 petals of a flower, with their heads nearly meet- 

 ing in the center, and tails diverging at equal dis- 

 tances." I looked for this, but our Jersey min- 

 nows were not so methodically inclined, and all 

 kept their heads in one direction, up-stream, until 

 at a certain point, when, as if on signal given, they 

 would, right about face, and dart down-stream 



