168 



ZOOLOGY. 



dents sayanus De Kay) occupies tlie nest of the common 

 suii-fisli, and with tlie female guards it and afterwai'ds he 

 young till they aie nearly a centimetre (two-fifths inch) in 

 length, when they are left hy their parents. (Abbot.) 



The darters, Etlteostorindce, belong near the perches, and 

 comprise the smallest of fishes. They inhabit the streams 



Fio. 213.— Sand-Darter. After Jordan. 



of the Mississippi Valley. A common example is the sand- 

 darter {I'leurohpis pelluculus, Pig. 213). 



The male stickleback {Gasterosteiis) makes an elaborate 

 nest of leaves, etc., suspended in mid-water, within which 

 it remains watching the eggs and young. 



One of the most valuable food-flshee is the mackerel 

 {Scomber scovibriis, Fig. 214), whose range is from Greeo- 



Fio. 214.— The Mackerel, Scomber scombrus, one quarter natural size. 



land to Cape Hatteras. It remains in deep water during 

 the late autumn and winter, approaching the coast in May 

 and .June for the purjiose of spawning, its annual appear- 

 ance being veiy regular, 'i'lio number of eggs deposited iu 

 one season by each female is said to be from five to six 

 hniidred tlidiisaiid. After spawning they move northward, 

 following the coast until they are clieeked by the coolness 

 of the water, when they return, and in November seek the 



