THE TEN-S PINED STICKLEBACK. 
215 
themselves near the shore in the warm sunshine, others have been busily engaged making their 
nests, if a nest it can be called. It consisted of the very minutest pieces of straw or sticks, 
the exact color of the ground at the bottom of the water on which it was laid, so that it was 
next to an impossibility for any one to discover the nest, unless they saw the fish at work, or 
observed the eggs. 
“The nest is somewhat larger than a twenty-five-cent piece, and has a top or cover, 
with a hole in the centre, about the size of a very small nut, in which are deposited the 
eggs or spawn. This opening is frequently concealed by drawing small fragments over it, 
but this is not always the case. Many times have I taken up the nest, and thrown the 
eggs to the multitude around, which they instantly devoured with the greatest voracity. 
These eggs are about the size of poppy seeds, and of a bright yellow color ; but I have 
at times seen them almost black, which, I suppose, is an indication that they are approaching 
to life. 
“In making the nest, T observed that the fish used an unusual degree of force when con- 
veying the material to its destination. When the fish was about an inch from the nest, it 
suddenly darted at the spot, and left the tiny fragment in its place, after which it would be 
engaged for half a minute in adjusting it. The nest, when taken up, did not separate, but 
hung together like a piece of wool.” 
This interesting little account is doubly valuable, as not being the work of a professed 
naturalist, but of an observant lover of nature, who saw some curious phenomena, and recorded 
them in simple and unpretending language. The fifteen-spined Stickleback, a marine species, 
also makes a nest, though hardly of so careful a construction. 
The Three-spined Stickleback is very fond of inhabiting the mouths of rivers where they 
empty themselves into the sea, the brackish water appearing to suit its constitution. It can 
therefore be easily acclimatized to new conditions, and a specimen that has been taken from 
an inland stream can soon be brought to inhabiting the water of a marine aquarium, though 
such water is usually, in consequence of evaporation, more salt than that of the sea. 
As a general fact, the flesh of the Stickleback is despised as an article of food, and in my 
opinion wrongly so. I have often partaken of these little fish fried, or even baked, and think 
them decidedly palatable — delicate, crisp, and well-flavored, with the slightest possible dash of 
bitter that gives a unique piquancy to the dish. At all events, the young of the Stickleback 
and the minnow frequently do duty as whitebait, and the guests never discover the deception. 
Yet there is hardly any place in Europe where people, except the starving poor, will con- 
descend to eat this delicate and nutritious little fish, which can be scooped by thousands out 
of any streamlet, and does not require more trouble in cooking than the red herring. The 
only use that at present seems to be made of this fish is to spread it over the ground as manure, 
an office which it certainly fulfils admirably, but might, in ail probability, be better employed 
in feeding man than manuring his fields. An oil is sometimes expressed from them, and the 
refuse carted off to the fields, but the value of the oil seems hardly to repay the trouble of 
procuring it. 
Mr. Yarrell mentions a considerable number of Sticklebacks ; but Dr. Gunther, in his 
elaborate catalogue of Acanthopterygian fishes, comprises several species together, as only 
varieties and not different species. For example, the Quarter- armed Stickleback ( Gaster - 
osteus gymnurus ), or Smooth-tailed Stickleback, known by its four or five scaly plates 
above the pectoral fin ; the Half-armed Stickleback {Gaster osteus semiarmatus ), where the 
plates extend throughout half the length of the body ; the Half-mailed Stickleback ( Gas - 
terosteus semiloricatus ), where they extend still farther ; and the Yew York Stickleback 
{Gaster osteus norebor acensis'), are all considered as being only varieties of the species which 
has just been denoted. 
The Teh- spiked Stickleback is nearly, if not quite, as plentiful as the three-spined 
species, and is perhaps the smallest of our river-fish. 
It may be readily distinguished by the nine or ten spines upon the back, all in front of 
the dorsal fin, and by the absence of plates upon the sides. All the Sticklebacks are voracious 
