68 FISH HATCHING. 



large trout. I took her carefully out, and 

 gave her to Mr. Bartlett, who has since got a 

 mate for her. We have learned a fact from 

 these two pretty birds. There are a great 

 number of small fish in their quarters at the 

 Zoological, and they eat an enormous number 

 of them, diving after and pursuing them with 

 arrow-like velocity. If, therefore, they do 

 not devour the spawn of trout, they will the 

 young fish. 



We have acquitted the water-ouzel and 

 -dabchick of eating the ova, but now I bring 

 the charge against the common house (not 

 water) rat, for Froude — the intelligent keeper 

 to Mr. S. Gurney, M.P. — has written to me 

 to tell me, that these rascals had made a run 

 and got into the house where the ova were 

 deposited, and actually devoured several 



