MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 437 
Immediately after they separated the female emitted a stream of 15 or 20 
eggs, and to my disgust the pair immediately set to work (apparently) to 
gobble them up. One or two eggs which were caught in the eddies and carried 
down amongst the rocks were immediately snapped up by the other fish which 
were hanging around for this purpose. This took place several times and at 
last I noticed that the pair paid frequent mysterious visits to the undersides of 
the hollow stone, but there was nothing there that I could see. 
The next morning these visits were explained and I then noticed the female 
frequently rising to the surface and bringing down with her a mouthful of air 
which she let go against the underside of the bridge until there was a large 
silvery globule accumulated. The eggs had, it appeared, been plastered to the 
underside of the rock and she was now supplying them with air. 
Every now and then the globule would overflow and a large bubble would 
rise to the top ; she however kept on bringing down more air with the idea, 
I suppose, of keeping the supply fresh, 
I have already mentioned that these fish seem capable of actually breathing 
atmospheric air, but what the eggs should want with air, and compressed air 
at that, I leave others better versed in fishlore to explain, The eggs could 
hardly have been less safe had the parents put them on the top of a floating 
leaf, as one or other had to remain constantly on guard to keep away the 
other fish. 
’ Another point struck me, which was the great self-denial exhibited by the 
pair, and more especially by the male ; these eggs seemed to be regarded by the 
other fish as great delicacies, and I could quite imagine a bad husband (and 
I suppose there are such things amongst fish as amongst other animals) 
bolting his mouthful of eggs and explaining the contretemps and excusing 
himself on the grounds of a sudden inclination to cough. 
I was very much disappointed when I received the impression that the pair 
were destroying their own eggs, as it seemed to me that the Gourami, which 
attains to a weight of 20lbs., showed a most wonderful adaptability to cir- 
cumstances in coming to maturity at three or four pennyweighits, and I was 
naturally anxious to prove that they were really mature in every sense of the 
word, I had then to go into camp and leave the female still watching and 
aerating her eggs. When I returned after a short absence the globule was 
gone and all the fish were of the ordinary hue, and I searched in vain for any 
fry. Very soon after another pair, or it might have been the same, took up 
their quarters under the rock and went through the same process, 
T am unable to remember how many times this happened, but one day I no- 
ticed several tiny pairs of eyes looking at me through the glass ; behind these 
eyes was.a gelatinous tail and what appeared to be a pendulous sac or stomach, 
These were evidently very young Gourami, but I could only see them when 
they came close to the glass as the Aquarium was very dark. Mr. Thomas 
