JOHNNY DARTERS. 27 
as is scarcely found elsewhere in the animal world 
excepting on the heads of frogs. The same tint 
shines out on the branching rays of the caudal fin, 
and may be seen struggling through the white of 
the belly. The blotches nearest the middle of the 
back become black, and thickly sprinkled every- 
where are little shiny specks of a clear bronze- 
orange. In the aquarium Dzplesion is shy and 
retiring, — too much of a fine lady to scramble for 
angle-worms or to snap at the “ bass-feed.” She 
is usually hidden among the plants, or curled up 
under an arch of stones or in a geode. 
We never tired of watching the little Johnny, or 
Tessellated Darter (Boleosoma nigrum Rafinesque). 
Although our earliest aquarium friend, — and the 
very first specimen showed us by a rapid ascent 
of the river-weed how “a Johnny could climb 
trees,’ — he has still many resources which we 
have never learned. Whenever we try to catch 
him with the hand, we begin with all the uncer- 
tainty that characterized our first attempts, even 
if we have him in a two-quart pail. ; We may know 
him by his short fins, his first dorsal having but 
nine spines, and by the absence of all color save a 
soft yellowish brown, which is freckled with darker 
markings. The dark brown on the sides is ar- 
ranged in seven or eight w-shaped marks, below 
which are a few flecks of the same color. Cover- 
ing the sides of the back are the wavy markings 
and dark specks which have given the name of the 
“ Tessellated Darter; ” but Boleosoma is a braver 
name, and we even prefer “ Boly” for short. In 
the spring the males have the head jet-black; and 
