CONCERNING SMALL FRY. 89 
pond and ditch, fresh water and salt—even in 
brackish estuaries. 
When any common object has a great many 
provincial names, be assured that it is dear to 
dwellers in the country. A general favourite, the 
stickleback has upwards of thirty a/zases, and this 
is probably owing to the fact of its being a nest- 
builder. As in the case of a considerable number 
of animals and birds, fish assume brighter and 
more glowing colours as the breeding season ad- 
vances. And this is particularly true of the stickle- 
back at the time of nest-building. Now his colours. 
become bright and intense; his under-parts glow 
with silvery crimson, and his eyes and cheeks are 
metallic lustred. With the light full upon him he 
is almost transparent, and now he assumes a war- 
like disposition. 
The following, however, shows the whole breed- 
ing economy of the stickleback as observed by the 
Curator of the Norwich Museum :—“ Two glass 
troughs filled with aquatic plants and animals were 
provided, into which a solitary individual of either 
species was inducted. Each made himself quite at 
ease; and a female companion being introduced 
into the domicile, he was not long in commencing 
the work of nidification. The appearance of the 
three-spined stickleback was exceedingly beautiful. 
The little creature's throat and belly were of 
