1898.] BEEBDrSTG OF THD DEAGONET. 293 



0, striking the first dorsal of the latter about halfway up with 

 his head. The movement is very rapid, the object being, appa- 

 rently, to strike C's fin with the teeth, which project when the 

 snout is fully protracted. No damage whatever is inflicted, but 

 runs away. This attack was repeated on another occasion, and 

 appears to be the nearest approach to a fight that ever takes place. 

 In spite of the discomfiture of C, Gr continued to ascend alter- 

 nately with the conqueror and the conquered for the rest of the 

 time that I was watching them. I did not see her in the neigh- 

 bourhood of D. B was quiet after the ascent noted. E, the 

 large dull-coloured fish, made no demonstrations, and seemed only 

 concerned to get out of the way of such males as approached him 

 with fins erect. He finally buried himself in the gravel, 



It is difficult to decide, from the above observations, that 

 superior size and strength are of much avail to the male. A, 

 though he defeated C, got no more of G's society than his rival, 

 while B carried her ofi under his veiy nose. The system appears, 

 in fact, to be simply promiscuous polyandry, the female coupling 

 with the nearest male who is in a condition to further her object. 

 Among a lot of individual males, including some which are sexually 

 mature but neither very large nor thoroughly differentiated, I 

 imagine that the demonstrations of the large fuUy-difEerentiated 

 specimens would achieve the result of driving the smaller and less 

 ornate members from the field ; but, among themselves, fully 

 mature males seem to attain no individual advantage, and the 

 female does not care a rap with whom she pairs. However, her 

 involuntary selection of any fully mature male (the small semi- 

 difllerentiated ones being driven away) must tend to the advantage 

 of the species, if the influence of the male parent is of importance 

 in determining the size and vigour of the offspring. 



Savile Kent has compared the courting antics of the male 

 Dragonet to those of the cock in certain of the pheasants. In 

 the main the comparison seems just, though the Dragonet often 

 exhibits his charms in a purely speculative manner, on the chance, 

 as I suppose, of attracting a partner unseen to himself, but of 

 whose px'esence, somewhere in the vicinity, he is presumably 

 aware. Under similar circumstances the cock pheasant, perhaps, 

 would exert his vocal accomplishments, such as they are. Although 

 we have had mature male Dragonets in the tanks at practically all 

 times of the year, I have never seen them in the full courting 

 attitude except during the breeding-season. Moreover, some 

 mature males kept for a time during the breeding-season in a tank 

 by themselves were not observed to show any signs of sexual 

 excitement, although the maturity of their reproductive organs 

 was demonstrated by their behaviour when transferred to the 

 tank containing the ripe female. It must be a matter of general 

 experience that the domestic barn-door cock " scratches his wing " 

 to younger members of his own sex in a manner exactly similar to 

 that which he employs in endearing himself to the hen which he 

 designs to favour. The old cock can undoubtedly distinguish a 



