26 THE FALL OF THE YEAR 



She now begins to lay the eggs, but not in the 

 sand, as one would suppose; she deliberately pastes 

 them on the under surface of the rock. Just how 

 she does this no one knows. 



The eggs are covered with a clear, sticky paste 

 which hardens in contact with water, and is the 

 means by which the mother sticks them fast to the 

 rock. This she must do while swimming on her back, 

 fastening one egg at a time, each close beside its 

 neighbor in regular order, till all the cleared surface 

 of the rock is covered with hundreds of beautiful 

 amber eggs, like drops of pure, clear honey. 



The eggs are about the size of buckshot; and, 

 curiously enough, when they hatch, the young come 

 out with their heads all turned in the same direction. 

 Does the mother know which is the head end of the 

 egg? Or has some strange power drawn them around? 

 Or do they turn themselves for some reason? 



It will be noticed, in lifting up the rocks, that the 

 heads of the fish are always turned toward the en- 

 trance to their nest, through which the light and 

 fresh water come; and it is quite easy to see that 

 these two important things have much to do with 

 the direction in which the little fish are turned. 



After Mrs. Fish has finished laying her eggs, her 

 maternal cares are over. She leaves both eggs and 

 cares to the keeping of Mr. Fish, swims off, and , 

 crawls into a tin can — or old shoe! — to medicate in 

 sober satisfaction for the rest of the summer. 



