80 BRITISH SPORTING FISHES. 
food, and rush after the gauzy-winged ephemere. 
But a tiny red-worm—what a prize, and what a 
commotion it brings! Like a brood of chickens 
with an earthworm, every minnow goes pully-haul- 
ing away at the delectable morsel as though for 
very life. They rush hither and thither, chasing 
and chased, fighting and struggling, until their 
pink prey is torn into segments, when each rushes 
off with what it can get. All this you may watch 
in a very modest aquarium; and as the lives of 
the little fishes reach out to as much as three years, 
there is ample time to form pleasant acquaintance. 
This affords opportunity for studying the life- 
history of the species, and all its domestic economy 
is laid bare to the observer. 
Perhaps the period of spawning is the most 
interesting, and if you search out a spot where this 
is proceeding, this is what you will see: Upona 
bed of clean gravel the female lies with her head 
up-stream, and guarded on each side by a smart, 
pugnacious gallant. We say smart, for of all the 
small fry of the waters, minnows are the most 
dandified, and glow with quite a variety of 
resplendent colours. Spawning proceeds over 
three or four days of early May. Courting trios 
are everywhere dotted over the stream. As the 
exceedingly small eggs are deposited, they are 
impregnated, and show great tenacity in holding 
