RIVER GARDENS, ETC. 
small bundle of some green substance in bis tiny 
mouth, but, with all my watching, failed to discover 
the purpose for which it was intended. But before 
describing this interesting discovery, which, with 
proper care, may be illustrated in a well-arranged 
Aquarium, let us become more intimately acquainted 
with the little creature, whose parental instincts in 
the matter about to be described would seem to 
place him far above all the larger kinds of fish, as 
well of fresh as salt water. 
The Stickleback (of the genus Gasterosteus) is, as 
we shall see, a most interesting little fellow. He is 
found along our coasts aswell as in our inland streams, 
and is, therefore, suitable either for the marine or 
fresh-water Aquarium. He is possessed of muscular 
strength which seems far beyond his small dimen¬ 
sions ; and he displays his powers not only in com¬ 
bats, often fatal to one or more of the contending 
parties, but also in playful gambols, often leaping 
above a foot out of the water when excited to more 
than usual joyousness by the genial warmth of a 
summer’s afternoon. He might escape in this way 
from an Aquarium and perish, if no protection were 
placed over the tank, which is a precaution desirable 
on many other accounts. His natural food consists 
of small insects, chrysalids, and young fish just 
67 
