FLYING FISH 97 



of the water. They are sometimes called " Sea 

 Swallows " because of their resemblance to 

 Swallows in their flight. Some of these fish have 

 four wings, others only two. The fish clears the 

 water by the aid of its tail, keeping its wings close 

 till free of the brine; it then flies with a rapid 

 motion until the wings become dry, which generally 

 happens in the course of sixty yards. A touch of 

 the water enables it to fly on about twenty yards 

 further, and then the fish returns to the sea ex- 

 hausted. It does not rise more than six feet from 

 the surface, and seldom flies for more than one 

 hundred yards. 



As regards the line of flight, some people profess 

 to say that the fish fly against the wind. This 

 may be so, sometimes, but it is accidental. The 

 fish fly just where they imagine they may get out 

 of the way of various denizens of the vasty deep, 

 which pursue and seek to devour them. Hence 

 their frantic efforts to escape. 



VII. ANIMAL HOMESTEADS 



The variety in the construction, and the environ- 

 ment in which some are placed, of the homes of 

 >even our British species of animals, are two in- 

 teresting features worthy of notice. Whilst some 

 kinds of animals do not make the slightest attempt 

 to build a homestead of any description, either for 



