Morning journal and courier., 1892-01-21
The Sea,s RInny Nurslfngs.

In course of time-ten to fifteen days in
many common forms-the little baby fish
is fully formed within the egg, and soon
is ready to emerge. II the weather be
very cold the period of development may
be prolonged; but the approach of the
Matching stage is usually intimated by the
continued movements of the imprisoned
embryo, impatient apparently to enter
upon its free life in the external world of
waters. All the changes undergone by the
developing fish may be observed without
difficulty by means of a powerful lens,
and, if an appropriate specimen be Sc
dured, the observer may be fortunate
enough to be hold the little fish burst its
prison bounds. At the point of the thin
transparent shell, where the tail of the
fish lies, gaping opening usually appears,
and through it that delicate member is
pushed out like a long, CLASSY oar. After
the tail, the body, with q huge ball of yolk
hanging from the under side, follows, and
lastly the tiny, blunt head protrudes, '1ike
the head of a bulldog" as q fisherman
once aptly described it. Sometimes the
head with its enormous staring eyes is
pushed out first of all; while, at other
times, the head and body are free; but the
large head remains enclosed. Despite all
the struggles of the young fish-and they
are often desperate enough during the
Matching process-the head may continue
enclosed in its CLASSY helmet, and the un-
fortunate baby fish bravely swims about,
as pathetic q spectacle as the Man in the
Iron Mask. Should 1t be 90 fortunate as
to become completely libersted, its capers
| In Tho Ia q NJ tha
| bols of lamb. 1t has aspirations which
cannot be checked. Ceaselessly 1t wrig-
| giles upward, and then sinks quietly down
| again, only to renew time after time the
| ascending movement. There is no mono
| tony in its actions, for now it may be seen
plunging forward by a series of jerks In q
horizontal direction, now 1t spins round in
spiral fashion, and only when tired of
these varied evolutions does it lie extended
and inactive, swsying about in the eddy
| ing water. If our little whiting or had
dock succeeds in reaching the surface 1t
wriggles around in endless circles, or wan
ders aimlessly from one spot to another.
| No Ariadne makes her advent to help this
wandering newborn Theseus. But though
the sea be wide, 1t cannot stray far from
all companionship; countless millions of
newly hatohed brethren are swimming on
every side, and the surface of the water
often appears to be quite alive with them.
The young of most of our food-f -fshes
enter upon life very much in this way.
They are all, moreover, shaped after 9
similar fashion, for a mode of existence
that is practically identical. All alike are
very rudimentary creatures during their
early days. Even the trained eye can, as
a rule, detect no mouth-the mouth, like
the eyes of the young kitten, being closed
for some time-and the little fish feeds by
slowly absorbing its stock of food-yolk.
The brain, gills, liver and other organs, 90
necessary to the adult fish, are either un.
even the backbone is not true backbone
at this time, but appears merely as an elias
tic rod, called the notochord, the primitive
representative of the bony vertebral col
umn.