CONCERNING SMALL FRY. 75. 
the loach to the gourmet, that in times past 
numbers were, with great trouble, transported 
to various European waters; and Frederick, King 
of Sweden, had them brought from Germany and 
naturalised in his own country. 
The Bullhead, or miller’s-thumb, must be a 
terrible bugbear and goblin tothe small fry among 
which it lives. He leads a life not unlike that of 
the loach, haunting like spots, feeding upon the 
same food, and spawning during the first spring 
months. <A low, flat head, large eyes, wide, 
gaping mouth, and body covered with slimy 
mucus —these hardly go to form a pleasant 
picture. To the juvenile poacher the miller’s- 
thumb is probably never so popular as the silvery 
minnow or the spined stickleback; but one pe- 
culiarity it has over these, and that is its 
chameleon-like colours. Of a dozen specimens 
caught no two are alike. He is yellow, brown, 
black, green, creamy; and doubtless these vary- 
ing colours are due to the hues of the streams. 
he inhabits. In summer he indulges himself, 
lying on some flat stone for hours, and there 
taking his midday szesta. The bullhead is even 
more formidable to handle than to look at, being 
all over protected by spiny armour. The spines are 
mostly carried on the fins, and these are frequently 
used with considerable effect. The birds of the 
