656 
SCANDINAVIAN FISHES. 
At last the time for the ripening of the eggs ap- 
proaches, and new troubles come. He has now to pro- 
tect and defend the helpless young. In Warrington’s 
aquarium a female laid her eggs at night on the 8th 
of May, and on the very next day the mother was 
driven away by the male. The latter continued his 
guardianship until the 18th of the same month, and 
then began suddenly to destroy the nest, leaving only 
a few stalks at the foundation. All the mud and 
sand that covered the eggs was removed in his mouth, | 
and a space about 8 centimetres in diameter carefully I 
cleared. Astonished at such conduct on the part of the 
nest’s protector, Warrington took a magnifying glass to 
ascertain the cause, and discovered the new-hatched fry. 
Henceforth the male Stickleback never ceased swimming 
in every direction over the cleared space, redoubling his 
vigilance, and driving away every other fish that came 
too near. As the young gained in size and strength, 
they seemed anxious to leave the nest, but the father 
intercepted them time after time, carefully taking the 
truants in his mouth, and returning them to their 
quarters. Not until they were strong enough to swim 
with ease, did the father’s watchful care gradually begin 
to slacken, but at last, when they were quite capable 
of procuring their own food, he left them entirely to 
shift for themselves.” 
When the spawning is over, the handsome colours 
of the fish gradually disappear, and its normal tem- 
perament returns. 
From the great numbers in which this species oc- 
curs, especially during certain years, we might suppose 
it to be very prolific: but this is not the case. The 
female has no more than 110 — 150 eggs in both ova- 
ries; and as the restricted number of the males leads us 
to assume that not all the eggs are fertilized, the fe- 
cundity of the species cannot be set very high. In 
spite of this, as we have already mentioned, in certain 
years enormous shoals of Three-spined Sticklebacks are 
met with. Several reasons have been suggested to ex- 
plain this fact. The most probable explanation of these 
cases in general is Cuvier’s, that the years in which 
these large shoals appear have been more than usually 
favourable to the process of reproduction; but Sundevall 
explains a portion of these variations by the fact that, 
during the years in which the Herring-fry are plentiful 
in the outer part of the island-belt, the Stickleback re- 
tires thither and is comparatively scarce nearer to the 
mainland; while the largest catches of Sticklebacks on 
the coast of the mainland seem to be made during 
periods when the opposite is the case. 
The Three-spined Stickleback, which is surpassed in 
voracity by few predatory fishes, becomes very fat, and 
is probably rapid of growth, soon attaining its full size. 
But the statement of certain authors, that it does not 
live more than 3 years, seems to require corroboration. 
This fish is hardly used at all as human food — 
though in England, together with Herring-fry, it of- 
ten tempts consumers under the name of Whitebait. 
Steller and Tilesius state that the Stickleback which 
occurs on the coast of Kamchatka, is delicious when 
boiled and an excellent ingredient in soup. Still, even 
the Kamchatkans themselves reject it for their own use, 
but keep it to feed their dogs in winter. The single 
specimens which in Scandinavia are caught at almost 
every haul of the seine for other fish, are generally 
thrown among the offal and used as food for swine. Pre- 
datory fishes and seafowl, however, eagerly devour the 
Stickleback, and it is the principal food of the Garpike. 
When the Three-spined Stickleback is taken in 
quantities, which happens only in certain years, it is 
boiled down into oil, a manufacture to which so early 
a writer as Westbeck (1753) directed the attention of 
his countrymen. A barrel (4 V 2 bushels) of fresh Stickle- 
backs yields more than one gallon of clear oil. The foot 
or sediment that settles at the bottom of the cauldron 
is an excellent manure, two barrels (9 bushels) of this 
sediment, mixed with a sufficient quantity of water, 
being reckoned equal to 10 lasts 0 of dung. 
The only method of fishing employed exclusively 
for this fish is simple enough. The fishery commences 
at the beginning of November — some fishermen state 
that the Stickleback does not come in before the ground 
has been covered with snow — and continues until the 
inlets and channels have begun to freeze. Towards 
evening, when it has been observed that the Stickle- 
backs are collected in a shoal, the presence of which is 
betrayed at sunset in calm weather by the surface of 
the water being rippled as if by fine rain or a shower 
of sand, two fishermen repair to the spot in a boat. In 
the bow of the boat is erected a kind of fire-pan (fig. 
164), on which dry wood is laid and kindled. When 
the boat has reached that side of the shoal towards 
Sw. parlass = a load drawn by two horses. 
