226 
STRANGE DWELLINGS. 
nest, he seems to consider a certain area around as his own 
especial property, and will not suffer any other fish to intrude 
within its limits. His boldness is astonishing, for he will dash 
at a fish of ten times his size, and, by dint of his fierce onset 
and his bristling spears, drive the enemy away. Even if a 
stick be placed within the sacred circle, he will dart at it, ; 
repeating the assault as often as the stick may trespass upon 
his domains. Within this limit, therefore, he must seek mate- [ 
rials for his nest, as he can hardly move for six inches beyond { 
it without intruding upon the grounds of another fish. This 
right of possession only seems to extend along the banks and 
a few inches outwards, the centre of the stream or ditch being : 
common property. Along the bank, however, where the vege- || 
tation is most luxuriant, there is scarcely a foot of space that 
is not occupied by some Stickleback, and jealously guarded by | 
him. 
Although the nests of the Stickleback are plentiful enough, 
they are not so familiar to the public as might be expected, 
principally because they are very inconspicuous, and few of the 
uninitiated would know what they were, even if tliey were j 
pointed out. Being of such very delicate materials, and but 
loosely hung together, they will not retain their form when 
they are removed from the water, but fall together in an undis- 
tinguishable mass, like a coil of tangled thread that had been 
soaked in water for a few weeks. 
The materials of which the nest is made are extremely 
variable, but they are always constructed so as to harmonise 
with the surrounding objects, and thus to escape ordinary ob- 
servation. Sometimes it is made of bits of grass which have 
been blown into the river, sometimes of straws, and sometimes 
of growing plants. The object of the nest is evident enough, I 
when the habits of the Stickleback are considered. As is the j 
case with many other fish, there are no more determined I 
destroyers of Stickleback eggs than the Sticklebacks them- 
selves, and the nests are evidently constructed for the purpose 
of affording a resting-place for the eggs until they are hatched. 
If a few of these nests be removed from the water in a net, 
