262 THE ANGLER-NATURALIST. 



by a tliin coating of glutinous matter^ the male at the same 

 time shedding his milt over them. Whether these furrows 

 are made conjointly by both spawners, or by the female 

 fish only, and whether the snout or the tail is the organ 

 used in the delving process, have been disputed points 

 amongst naturalists. From the concurrent testimony, 

 however, of those who have had the best opportunities of 

 observation, it now appears certain that the trenches are 

 made by the tail of the female fish only, and that the male 

 takes no share whatever in the more laborious portions 

 of the parental duties. 



The only extra-matrimonial function that he performs 

 consists in exerting an unwearied vigilance to protect his 

 seraglio j[rom the invasions of rival males, all of whom 

 he assiduously endeavours to expel, — living, in fact, in a 

 perpetual state of active hostilities. The female, regard- 

 less of the frequent absences of her lord during these con- 

 tests, and probably satisfied with the presence of the male 

 Parrs, proceeds with her operations by throwing herself, at 

 intervals of a few minutes, upon her side, and whilst in 

 that position, by a rapid action of the tail, she digs a 

 receptacle for her eggs, a portion of which she on each 

 occasion deposits, and, again turning on her side, covers 

 it up by a renewed action of the tail; thus alternately 



state in about eighteen months from the time of hatching-. The females, 

 it would appear, never become prolific whilst in the Parr state unless 

 they are amongst the exceptional fish, alluded to in "Proved Facts " 

 No. 4, which remain over the third year in the rivers before miorating. 



