390 



KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL, 



"Alveolus," " Actceon," &c, " Galathea," "La- 

 thonia," &c. 



At length we reached "Komanel," where we 

 rested awhile at a curious old chalet called "La 

 Croix d'or. We had a capital luncheon, excel- 

 lent cheese, salad, and famous heer and wine. 

 Having packed the insects already taken as 

 closely as possible, we started afresh, and at 

 last came to " Vernand-dessus," a most lovely 

 romantic spot. The park was adorned with some 

 of the finest timber I ever saw. The oak trees 

 were of a prodigious size; and I think I scarcely 

 ever beheld such splendid beech trees. We 

 sauntered along till we came to a lovely spot, 

 just on the top of a gentle slope towards the 

 south, really quite alive with insects. The vast 

 number of insects taken on this slope I cannot 

 remember; but I know that both the purple 

 emperor and his imperial consort were made 

 prisoners, and a most singular variety of Ono- 

 crychis ; also a vast many Noctuelles and Geo- 

 metroe. 



The day was uncommonly hot; and a snug 

 grassy mound presenting itself, under the shade 

 of a noble oak, the whole party profited by it, 

 and reposed awhile in this inviting corner. My- 

 self and my brother of course appropriated the 

 best places to ourselves! While Bombyx and 

 his party were chatting and laughing, my atten- 

 tion was drawn to a beast I at first took for a 

 cat, some five or six hundred yards off. " AY ell, 

 thought I, this is a queer cat. " I say, Carlo, just 

 look here ! " (but the beast had slipped behind 

 some trees.) "Look where, stupid? " said he, in 

 his usual rough way. " Upon my word, Carlo, I 

 shall never make a gentleman of you, do what I 

 will.'"' And I very kindly described the beast to 

 him ; but I got no thanks. He said I was a wild 

 young fool, and must go to sleep and not disturb 

 him with my nonsense. 



Well, he was soon snoring again; but I kept 

 my eye on the animal, and shall give you some- 

 thing more about him in my next. Meantime I 

 am, as ever, your faithful friend, 



Tottenham, Dec. 8. Fiko. 



"THE LIGHT OP OTHER DAYS,"— 

 FISH-PONDS AND TITTLEBATS. 



Casting- our eye over a recent number of 

 " HouseholdWords," we were not a little amused 

 to see some few particulars therein given, of our 

 earliest friend, — the " Tittlebat;" or more pro- 

 perly speaking, the " Stickleback." 



How very often have we stolen forth, in our 

 young days, ere it was yet light, to be first on 

 the rail of a certain pond, armed to the teeth 

 with a black wine-bottle (broken), some thread, 

 some pins, a long stick, and a bag full of small 

 worms! There have we satin many a pelting 

 storm, eagerly watching for a "bite," — and 

 many have been our innocent joys over "a 

 good morning's sport." This might consist of 

 a round dozen of Tittlebats, caught with a crooked 

 pin, — oftentimes without any pin at all. They 

 were all carefully placed in the bottle ; and their 

 gambols when thus confined were infinitely 

 diverting. During baby-hood we were the pa- 

 trons of Tittlebats, and were found in their 



haunts early and late. What we here speak of, 

 has reference to the open grounds where now 

 stands the Regent's Park. When we were a boy 

 this site was one wide expanse of uncultivated 

 fields, — and here we revelled to our heart's de- 

 light in " the joys of angling." 



The Tittlebat is a very curious little fellow. 

 His natural history is as interesting as it is singu- 

 lar. He is completely sui generis', "none but him- 

 self can be his parallel." He was ever loved by 

 little boys, and he ever will be so. We fre- 

 quently, now, meet juveniles in eager pursuit of 

 our old favorite sport. 



From the collected particulars of this little 

 hero of the pond, we learn that the order of 

 things is reversed in his race. The mother is 

 passive, while the father is active. The 

 male takes all the parental cares vpon himself. He 

 trains up the young ones in the way they should 

 go, builds the nest, watches the hatching of the 

 eggs, and defends them in the hour of peril ! 



"At the approach of the breeding season, 

 which commences in May, the male stickleback 

 — which then acquires great brilliancy of color, 

 takes possession of some particular spot which 

 seems fit for his purpose ; and chivalrously de- 

 fends it against all comers. Any other fish that 

 approaches the defended spot is instantly attacked 

 with vigor. Battles result of the most desperate 

 description. Having secured possession of the 

 chosen place by these repeated contests, the 

 little fish begins the business of nest-building. 

 He collects together every little fibre he can find, 

 which appears likely to suit his purpose; and in 

 so doing, he makes careful selection. The fit- 

 ness of every piece he, in the first place, carefully 

 tries by dropping it from his mouth, — watching 

 it as it sinks in the water; if it falls rapidly; 

 that is to say, if it is heavy enough to lie stiil at 

 the bottom of the water, it is immediately car- 

 ried off and added to the materials already col- 

 lected; but, if it falls too slowly, it is tried a 

 second time in the same way; and if proved too 

 light, it is abandoned altogether. 



If the tittlebat should chance to meet with 

 any piece peculiarly well fitted for some special 

 purpose, he carries it off immediately to his nest. 

 Here an extensive re-arrangement of his mate- 

 rials takes place, apparently in order to dispose 

 of the new prize in the most favorable manner; 

 and it is only by dint of great labor that he suc- 

 ceeds at last in getting every piece fitted in the 

 best way to his perfect satisfaction. The fibres 

 are pressed strongly into the mass of materials 

 with the nose of the fish; any refractory piece 

 is kept in the desired position by means of a 

 small stone, or a few particles of sand brought in 

 the mouth, and neatly dropped upon it; if, how- 

 ever, this method should not succeed, the 

 offending fibre is rejected altogether. 



" After a short time the tittlebat makes a 

 round hole in the middle of the mass that he 

 has built, by pressing upon it with his snout. 

 He then continues his previous operations, build- 

 ing up the walls of the nest by the constant ad- 

 dition of fresh fibres; pressing them in, and 

 interlacing them continually with his nose. These 

 operations, however, do not proceed without in- 

 terruption. Any other male fish that may chance 

 to make his appearance in the neighborhood of 



