New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-03-13

H NUMBER OF CURIOUS EXAMPLES LEGEND OF THE
STTCKLEBACK and NOAHFS 1fRK.

ton. After the cement has been applied the isa
may be seen driving by mears Of its powerful fms.
currents Of against IT, which IS evidently FOR
the purpose OF finding If a weak place exists in H.
Should a grain of sand piece Of weed become
displaced. IL is Immediately restored its position
and firmly cemented Sometimes. in order 20 try
the strength Of the structure st more vigorously
the FISH hurts itself against it. and this not once
but repeatedly
The foundation once complete the next operation
is to collect materials. chiefly pieces Of straw.
roots leaves etc. and build the walls Of the nest
The object of the little builder Is to build barrel
shaped structure with the inside as smooth pos
si5le. The stckieback Is fnicky the pro-
ver5aI Old maid. and. result. the process Of
selection and rejection sometimes goes on for days.
and other times finished in a few hours. In
the case OF the smooth tailed stckleback. the
terials are placed in longitudinal position. The
process of cementng after the structure is raised
is long and labOrious and is not finished until
the whole structure is perfectly sound and stable
from an aquatic point Of view. Two apertures are
constructed in the nest. one for ingress and the
other for esress- They are quite smooth and SYM
metrical and offer opposition 10 the passage OF
the fish.
As soon the nest is completed 70 the satisfao-
ton of Master StickIeback he begins TO cast
his eyes around for a suitable mate. and his
duct in this is such that the good people OF
this country would rise Up in their wrath should
he be elected Congress- for. sad to relate he Is
d most inveterate pOlygamist. When he discovers
an unattached attractiye female he persuades her
in the most cOurtly fashion TO enter the beautiful
habtation he has constructed. After she enters
he keeps her there until she deposited her eggs.
when he fertilizes them and then gives her her
congo in no uncertain manner After getting rid
Of number one he proceeds to hunt up another
wife. with whom he goes through the same opera
ton. and so on until he has had six In all.
lie then devOtes all of mis- time 70 guarding tho
eggs in his nest until the young Matched out
and have attained an age at which they can shift
Tor themselves
There a legend that the stickleback builds a
nest because during the Deluge it pulled the tow
out Of the biigehoe of the Ark and II IL had not
been Tor the hedgehog. who plugged up the leak
with his own body. Noah aud his sons would have
had an exciting time baing their boat When
Noah found Out who had done the deed he ordered.
as a punishment that the cuprit should be COM
PEELED each year TO build nest. while other fishes
would have easy time OF it.
Some Of the gObies (which found scattered
pretty much all the globeJ also build nests OK
varying styles and materials
The ballan wrasse Labrus maculatus) Of the At
Iantc also builds nest during the breeding sea-
SON These usually built crevices OF rocks.
The nest Is generally crescentric in outline.
about six or seven inches wide the widest part
and twelve inches nigh: the shape depends cousid-
erably on the shape OF the crevice. The nest ia
made generally of tufts OF cOraIline and seaweed
fixed together at their bases by a semi-soHd mucus
with which nature has provided the fish. There is
sinai opening IeddlnS INTO Jne centre the nest
A remarkable thing about these nests is that they
are generally built at half tide mark which leaves
them exposed to the air least twelve hours each
day-six hours at a tide. The fish have been seen
jumping out Of the order to reach the nest
when the tide Is rising but had not yet reached
the nest
The beautiful little paradise fish COsphromenus
olfax also builds nest This fish was first
brought to Europe in 1863 by NJ Simon. who was
at the time French Consul at Ninspo. China. and
who had found them In brook near Canton
These fish, up the OF their introduction into
Europe. IN 1862 said to be unknown to- nat
uraIists. They grow more than three or four
inches in length. and owing their curious shape
and beautiful eoIorng frequently seen In large
aquariums in this country and Europe During the
breeding season the fish builds its nest by entan-
Cling the stems and leaves OF aquatic plants and
grasses The nest is usually oval shaped and has a
hole IN the large end After the eggs have been
deposited in the nest both parents carefully guard
II for month, when the young Matched out
Their parental does not end here however
as they watch tenderly over the young ones until
they have attained size when they are able to
look out for themselves
few fishes. in order 70 avoid the trouble Of
making a nest OF their own. utilize other animals
or natural objects which require no work to pre-
pare them for the purpose. For Instance a long
slender. sivery fish makes its home IN the intest-
nal canal Of the cucumber which II enters and
leaves when II pIeases SIN another lives IN tho
interior OF a sea anemOne Wherever coral is abund-
ant a number Of species Of small fishes known to
science as coral fishes are found making their
homes I'm the numerous holes and crevices in the
coral.