CONCERNING EGGS 69 



more than 280,000 eggs have been taken from a 

 perch which weighed but half a pound. 



Few objects are more beautiful than perch 

 spawn, which, as shown in the accompanying 

 illustration, is deposited by the female in a long 

 band, and draped over aquatic plants in such a 

 manner that it greatly resembles a piece of fine 

 lace exhibited at a shop. In the majority of cases, 

 when once a fish has laid its eggs, it leaves them to 

 their fate ; at other times, however, the parents 

 stand guard over them, or even curl their bodies 

 around them. The habits of the bitterhng carp, 

 a small fish which does not grow to a length of more 

 than three inches, are very curious, inasmuch as 

 the female will sometimes deposit her eggs within 

 the shells of fresh-water mussels in order to afford 

 them protection against the unwelcome attentions 

 of those foes who are ever ready to devour them. 



Amongst the molluscs, mention must be made 

 of the oyster, which produces enormous quantities 

 of eggs. Concerning this feature, Buckland writes 

 that the spawn or ' spat ' as it is called ' resembles 

 very fine slate-pencil dust, and the number of spats 

 in one oyster . . . varies from 829,000 to 276,000 

 individuals. One fine hot day the mother oyster 

 opens her shell, and the young ones escape from it 

 in a cloud, which may be compared to a puff of 

 steam from a railway engine on a still morning.' 

 The above figures, however, are exceeded by another 

 writer, who states that ' a single individual has been 

 known to produce as many as six miUion eggs.' 



Although snails are such common objects in our 



