OK, PLAIN TEACHING 



91 



eggs ; the male, 2, guards the 

 spot, and with great courage 

 beats off other fish that show a 

 disposition to intrude. When 

 the young fry appear, the male 

 still continues to guard them, 

 and if one of them incautiously 

 wanders away from the rest, he 

 will follow it, and bring the wan- 

 derer back. The nests ore pear- 

 shaped, and hang from the points 

 to which they are attached. 



R. W. Couch, Esq., gives an interesting 

 account of the foregoing f act : — " Some of these 

 nests are formed in pools, and are consequently 

 always in water ; others are frequently to be 

 found between tide-marks, in situations where 

 they hang dry for several hours during the day ; 

 but whether in the water, or liable to hang dry, 

 they are always carefully watched by the adult 

 animal. On one occasion I repeatedlv visited 

 one every day for three weeks, and invariably 

 found it guarded. The old fish would examine 

 it on all sides, and then retire for a short time ; 

 but soon return to renew the examination. On 

 several occasions I laid the eggs bare, by re- 

 moving a portion of the nest ; but when this 

 was discovered, great exertions were instantly 

 made to recover them. By the mouth of the 

 fish the edges of the opening were again drawn 

 together, and other portions torn from their 

 attachments, and brought over the orifice, till 

 the ova were again hid from view. And as 

 great force was sometimes necessary to effect 

 this, the fish would force its snout into the nest 

 as far as the eyes, and then jerk backwards till 

 the object was effected. While thus engaged, 

 it would suffer itself to be taken in the hand, 

 but repelled any attack made on the nest, and 

 quitted not. its post so long as I remained. 

 And to those nests that were left dry between 

 tide-marks, the guarding fish always returned 

 with the returning tide, nor did they quit the 

 post to any great distance till again carried 

 away by the receding tide." 



5 



360. 



Another fish, the goby {Gobius 



niger), 5, has similar habits ; the 

 male makes a nest in the sand, 6, 

 and surrounds it with fucus* 

 This is more like a true nest than 

 that of the stickleback, 1, and the 

 male continues to watch it until 

 the young ones are hatched. 



The sea-horse (Hippocampus 

 brevirostis) , 7, is a most singular 

 example ; derives its name obvi- 

 ously from the horse-like form of* 



7 



361. 



its head ; is covered with a series 

 of bony plates, 9, the tail, 10, ter- 

 minating in a long finless tip. 

 "With this tail the fish fixes itself 

 upon the stems of marine plants, 

 and strikes with great force 

 against its prey. The male is 

 provided with a pouch-like cavity, 

 in which the eggs of the female 

 are carried until they are hatched, 

 and for some time afterwards, the 

 young ones, 11, frequent thispouch 

 for protection, reminding us of 

 the young of the opossum. 



The existence of this pouch-like cavity, and 

 its application to the protection of the young, 

 is well attested. Mr. Yarrel says, alluding to 

 the pipe-fish, another individual of the ^ame 

 family : — "I have been assured by fishermen 

 that if the young were shaken out of the pouch 

 into the water over the side of the boat, they 



* A description of weed. 



