MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS 153 



the sole survivors of six large rainbow trout 

 turned into my observation pond. All went 

 well until the spawning season came round. One 

 of the males now attached himself to the female 

 fish and drove off the other occupant of the pond 

 L whenever he came near. Every now and then 

 the other male rainbow refused to go, and then 

 a battle ensued. For three weeks these fish 

 fought at intervals, but the trout that had first 

 taken possession of the female was able to hold 

 his own and retain his mate. 



I have illustrated the last of these fights on 

 the plate opposite page 154. 



On this occasion I went down to the pond 

 early one morning, to find the surface disturbed 

 and covered with froth. From the observation 

 chamber I watched the fish chase each other 

 round and round in a gradually diminishing 

 circle. This is shown in the top photograph. 

 As I watched, the pursued fish suddenly turned 

 and seized his pursuer by the jaw. After a 

 rough and tumble, both broke away, like boxers 

 in the ring, then they closed, and this time the 

 trout that was ultimately victorious got an ex- 

 ceptionally good grip on the lower jaw of his 

 opponent. They now turned over and over, 



