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one-quarter grown. They are at this period often mistaken for 

 the Black-nosed Dace, as had been remarked by Dr. Wheat- 

 land, which they resemble more than they do the adults of their 

 own species, having, a terminal mouth and the under jaw 

 opening downwards. He thought that the manner in which 

 the mouth obtained its adult situation, was by a proportionally 

 faster development of the frontal and ethmoid bones, thus 

 gradually pushing the under jaw downwards. He thought 

 that the change of coloration in the male fish at the spawn- 

 ing time, was identical with that of birds and other animals. 

 The constancy of generic and family marking was by no 

 means confined to fishes, as we see it very strongly in Mam- 

 mals, Birds and Reptiles, as well as the great changes in the 

 coloration between the young and adult of the same species. 

 For instance, in the Black snakes, (the genus Bascanion,^ 

 the young are mottled, while all of the species in their adult 

 state are black. The same could be said of other genera of 

 snakes. In Eutania^ for instance, all of the species are 

 striped. 



Mr. Putnam also made some remarks on the nests of fishes. 

 He had lately had the opportunity of seeing the nests of the 

 two spined and many spined stickle backs, Gasterostens bi- 

 aculeatus and G. occidentalis at the Aquarial Gardens. The 

 two spined forms its nest in the open gravel, covers it up 

 with small pieces of weeds, and over the whole places a few 

 small stones ; while the many spined builds its nest on the 

 gravel at the roots of the water plants through which it 

 makes a triangular opening. Through this opening the 

 male fish keeps up an almost constant current of water by 

 means of its pectoral fins. These nests differ from those of 

 the European Sticklebacks, one of which the G. pungitius 

 constructs its nest of pieces of the water weeds among 

 which it is suspended. It is open at both ends and the eggs 

 are placed in the centre. The male fish in all these species 



