[155]

Oct 23' (E) Genista fragrans in dark

Movement of whole plant

Horizontal glass (Cytisus fragrans) [sketch]

[data not transcribed]

[155v]

71 83

Chap. 8

"safety by concealment rather than flight." He then adds that by carefully searching the banks, sufficient females can be found for obtaining ova. 54*(R) Mr. H. Lee informs me that out of 212 trout, taken for this purpose in Lord Portsmouth's Park, for the sake of procuring ova, 150 were males and 62 females.

With the Cyprinidæ the males likewise seem to be in excess; but of in this family several members viz, the carp, tench, bream and minnow, appear regularly to follow the practice, rare in the animal kingdom, of polyandry; for the female whilst spawning is is always attended by two males, one on each side, and in the case of the bream by three or four males. This fact is so well established known, that in stocking a pond with tench, it is always advisable to place in it recommended to stock a pond with two males tenches to one female, or at least with three males to two females. With the minnow, an excellent observer states that on the spawning beds the males are ten times as numerous as the females; when a female comes amongst the males, "she was is immediately pressed closely by a male on each side; and when they have been in that situation for a time, were are superseded by other two males."* (S) 55

[Descent 1: 308-9: "t invariably happens that when the first rush of fish is made to the net, there will be at least seven or eight males to one female found captive. I cannot quite account for this; either the males are more numerous than the females, or the latter seek safety by concealment rather than flight." He then adds, that by carefully searching the banks, sufficient females for obtaining ova can be found.54 Mr. H. Lee informs me that out of 212 trout, taken for this purpose in Lord Portsmouth's park, 150 were males and 62 females.
With the Cyprinidæ the males likewise seem to be in excess; but several members of this Family, viz., the carp, tench, bream and minnow, appear regularly to follow the practice, rare in the
54 'Land and Water,' 1868, p. 41.
animal kingdom, of polyandry; for the female whilst spawning is always attended by two males, one on each side, and in the case of the bream by three or four males. This fact is so well known, that it is always recommended to stock a pond with two male tenches to one female, or at least with three males to two females. With the minnow, an excellent observer states, that on the spawning-beds the males are ten times as numerous as the females; when a female comes amongst the males, "she is immediately pressed closely by a male on each side; and when they have been in that situation for a time, are superseded by other two males."55
55 Yarrell, 'Hist. British Fishes,' vol. i. 1836, p. 307; on the Cyprinus carpio, p. 331; on the Tinca vulgaris, p. 331; on the Abramis brama, p. 336. See, for the minnow (Leuciscus phoxinus), 'Loudon's Mag. of Nat. Hist.' vol. v. 1832, p. 682."]