36 MARVELS OF FISH LIFE 
the bars, and so the bars are gradually changed into 
spots. With increasing size the pike leaves the reeds at 
the side of the pond or river, and lies on the bottom in 
open water. Here his spots conceal him, whereas yellow 
bars would reveal him. 
I would briefly refer to the photographs of the three 
pike on the plate facing this page. The top illustration 
was one of the first fish photographs I ever took, now 
some ten years ago, and I would draw attention to the 
fact that the reeds around the fish are not those of a 
water plant at all, though at the time I thought they 
were, in consequence of the land being flooded where they 
grew. The middle illustration, in addition to showing the 
bars changing into spots, is one of the best illustrations 
I ever obtained of a pike advancing to attack its prey. 
The back is perfectly straight, and the screw-like move- 
ment of the caudal fin, by which the fish slowly propelled 
itself forward, is well suggested. The bottom illustration 
is that of a dead twenty-one pound pike. 
It is net necessary that concealing colours should be 
dull. Rocks, weeds and stones in our rivers and in our 
seas are mostly of a sombre hue, and so our fishes, with 
very few exceptions, are not brilliant in colour. In 
tropical waters, however, fish vie with the most gorgeous 
of birds in their appearance, and crimsons, carmines, 
blues, greens and yellows, arranged in bars, bands and 
blotches, assist in concealing these gaudy fish among 
the corals and brilliant sub-aquatic scenes of those 
regions. 
