110 THE GREY MULLET. 



face, where the water becomes perpetually aerated; 

 for they rarely descend far below this, but play day 

 and night at the top of the water. They are social 

 little fishes, congregating together into a little schull 

 as soon as put in, and always manifesting a tendency 

 to association. They were amusing, from their live- 

 liness, being never at rest, but ever swimming way- 

 wardly to and fro, most vivaciously ; and from the 

 eagerness with which they fed. Any minute atoms of 

 food, either vegetable or animal, they greedily devoured. 

 A bit of apple or pear-pulp, or of a ripe plum, or crumb 

 of bread, slightly chewed and spat into the water, 

 became the centre of rapid evolutions, the result of 

 which was that every atom was cleared away before it 

 had descended many inches below the surface. A 

 morsel of meat, or of fish, cooked, or the flesh of 

 prawn, treated in the same way, was devoured with the 

 same eagerness ; but perhaps the favourite food was 

 the spawn of a Prawn, or Shrimp, either cooked 

 or raw, every egg of which was snapped up as it 

 sank. 



They were rather pugnacious, chasing each other 

 about, when one was more successful than usual, just 

 as chickens do, and often snatching the food from 

 each other's mouth. 



When, through a predominance of animal life over 

 the vegetable, or from any other cause, the water in 

 the Tank has become to a considerable extent deprived 

 of its oxygen, I have noticed that the little Mullets 

 endeavour to supply the deficiency by protruding 

 their mouths from the surface and sucking in mouth- 

 fuls of air, presently disgorging a number of minute 



