174 NATURE-STUDY 



in food. The red-horse and the buffalo of our rivers, and 

 the common sucker of the lakes are easy sport, and though 

 not very good for food, are considerably caught for this 

 purpose. Most people think that minnow means a young 

 fish of any kind. That is not the case. Minnows are gen- 

 erally small, it is true, but they may be old. There are 

 some minnows several feet in length. There are other small 

 fish, full-grown, however, that are not minnows, as, for ex- 

 ample, the little darters of the streams. Minnows are lively 

 little fish, preyed upon by larger ones, and much used for 

 bait by fishermen. Allied to the suckers is the vegetarian 

 German carp, introduced from Europe into our muddy ponds 

 and lakes, and now so numerous as to be almost a pest. This 

 is a fairly good food fish. The goldfish is a species of carp 

 originally from China. A very interesting little fish, espe- 

 cially for the aquarium, is the stickleback found in streams. 

 The male makes nests for the female to deposit her eggs in. 

 Every boy will know the common bullhead of the lakes and 

 rivers. This is a sluggish, scaleless, slimy fish of rather 

 nocturnal habits, and will therefore bite well after dark. 

 It has a number of flexible feelers, or barbs, around its 

 mouth, with which to explore its way and perhaps find its 

 food. These feelers do not sting. Catfish and bullheads do 

 sting or prick with the spines on their back and pectoral 

 fins. The latter fins can be firmly locked so as to stand 

 out straight from the body, and so the fish is disagreeable 

 to handle. Other interesting fish found in fresh waters and 

 worthy of study are the dog-fish, the garpikes, the sturgeons, 

 and eels. 



