636 THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. | [Vor. XXXIX. 
July 30, A.M. Three on wood, one of them with its head 
touching the sand, the rest among the rocks. 
July 30, P. m. Five on wood, the rest among the rocks. 
Aug. 1, A.M. All among the rocks. 
Aug. ı, Noon. Five on the wood, two of them partly touch- 
ing sand, the rest among the rocks. 

* Fic. 2.— Hagfish at he t Eeh 

of the aquarium. Natural size. 
At a later date when there were one hundred and thirty fish 
in the tank, two more observations were made. The first showed 
only sixteen of the hundred and thirty fish on the sand, the 
second only fifteen. A few days later with one hundred and 
twenty-four fish in the tank, only twelve were on the sand. 
Unquestionably then, in the ordinary circumstances of life, 
the hagfish prefers a hard bottom to rest on. If the rock heap 
