798 Fishes. 



cess of formation. Having preserved the ova, till the young had 

 effected their escape, to detect the species of fish to which they be- 

 longed, judging from their shape and spotted appearance, they seemed 

 to be the young of the rock-ling [Motella vulgaris). On this point, 

 however, there is no certainty, as from the inaccessible places in which 

 the nests are placed, they cannot be conveniently watched after the 

 tide has flowed sufficiently to cover them ; for they are always left 

 dry, for a longer or shorter period, during the rise and fall of the tide. 



The next to which I shall refer differs from both the preceding, and 

 it may, perhaps, be doubted whether the term nest is strictly applica- 

 ble to it, as the fish merely makes use of a natural cavity in the rock, 

 in which the ova are deposited and remain adherent. But as it shows 

 a deviation from what has been considered the usual mode of spawn- 

 ing in fish, it may be briefly noticed. The cavities selected are almost 

 always nearer low than high-water mark ; they have generally rather 

 narrow openings, and the roofs are smooth, or at least not much broken 

 by fissures. On the roofs and sides of such cavities the ova are de- 

 posited and thickly arranged ; looking as if they were vaulted with a 

 pavement of round stones. As the ova are of a beautiful and bright 

 amber colour, with a highly-polished surface, they have a very bril- 

 liant appearance as the light falls upon them in their dark recess. 

 They are semicircular in form, and about one-tenth of an inch in 

 diameter. Having succeeded in hatching them, they prove to belong- 

 to the common shanny [Blennius pholis). This opinion of their cha- 

 racter has been repeatedly confirmed, as it is the habit of this fish to 

 retire beneath stones, or to crevices of the rock, during the recess of 

 the tide, where they remain dry till the sea returns. By enlarging the 

 openings of the cavities, I have generally succeeded in capturing the 

 adult animal at the furthest part of the chamber, and on one occasion 

 found it depositing the ova. 



But fish vary a great deal in the modes of what may be called 

 their incubation, as much as any other class of animals. Thus, some 

 of the sharks produce their young alive, and in a state quite ready 

 for active life, while others, with the rays, deposit eggs very similar, 

 physiologically, to birds' eggs, which are known as mermaid's purses, 

 being frequently to be found cast on shore on most beaches. Also, 

 among the pipe fishes {Synguathi) of our own seas, we have instances 

 of marsupial fish, as perfect as the kangaroo is marsupial among qua- 

 drupeds. But the formation of nests and the watchful attention of 

 fish over their young, which I have repeatedly seen, are unsuspected 

 points of great beauty in their history, and give to them a higher de- 



