CONCERNING SMALL IRY. 13 
running-brook and of shallow-water conditions. 
In haunt and habit it is quite a hermit, and loves 
to lie under loose, flat stones, from beneath which 
it is slow to emerge. It is nocturnal in habit, 
getting quite lively at twilight, and as darkness 
increases it comes abroad and roams about in 
search of food. This consists of tiny insects and 
various kinds of larve, and in years gone by we 
have frequently enticed the “lusty loach” from 
his dark retreat by dangling before him a small 
red-worm. This predilection for worms is also 
seen during a freshet, for then, like trout, the loach 
gets into the quiet eddies and backwaters waiting 
for the soft-bodied creatures to pass. Sometimes 
it may be seen foraging among the aquatic grasses 
for anything which may have lodged there. 
The loach spawns in spring, though the only 
fact on this head which is known with cer- 
tainty is its exceeding prolificness. It has been 
remarked that the loach is particularly active 
at night, and, when trout-fishing, we have 
frequently noticed it take to the shallow water, 
where it seems to enjoy swimming about with 
its back-fin protruding. Eels feed much upon 
loach, as do otters, and hence Nature has de- 
creed that the three shall be night-feeders. The 
body is covered with a smooth, slimy secre- 
tion, and it would seem that on this account 
