26 SCIENCE SKETCHES. 
One of the most simply beautiful of all fishes is 
the Green-sided Darter (Diplesion blenniotdes Rafi- 
nesque). He is not, like the Pacdlichthys, an ani- 
mated rainbow; but he has the beauty of green 
grass, wild violets, and mossy logs. As we watch 
him in the water, with his bright blended colors 
and gentle ways, once more, with Old Izaak, ‘‘ we 
sit on cowslip banks, hear the birds sing, and pos- 
sess ourselves in as much quietness as the silent 
silver streams which we see glide so quietly by us.” 
During the ordinary business of the year Dzple- 
sion, like most sensible fishes and men, dresses 
plainly. It is not easy to get time for contempla- 
tion when the streams are low and food is scarce. 
Besides, a plain coat may ward off danger as well 
as facilitate attack. At all times, however, he may 
be known by these marks: the fins are all large; 
the back is covered with zigzag markings, while 
on the lower part of the sides are eight or nine 
w-shaped olive spots. These are more or less con- 
nected above, and sometimes form a wavy line. 
The eyes are prominent; the snout is very short 
and rounded; while the little inferior mouth is 
puckered up as if for saying “ prunes and prisms, 
prunes and prisms.” But when the first bluebirds 
give warning by their shivering and bodiless notes 
that spring is coming, then Dzplesion puts on his 
wedding-clothes, and becomes in fact the green- 
sided darter. The dorsal fins become of a bright 
grass-green, with a scarlet band at the base of each ; 
the broad anal has a tinge of the deepest emerald; 
while every spot and line upon the side has turned 
from an undefined olive to a deep rich green, such 
