* * * * FISH FOOD.
In a neighbouring district of this Western country some of us made a little investigation into the food of a very different animal. It was the period just before the rise of the mayfly ; and though trout abounded scarcely a rise was to be seen from morning to night. One or two fish were, however, after long efforts, induced by an artist's hand to take the artificial fly ; and it was on these rare captures that investigation was made. Not a single fly of, any description was discoverable. The fish had fed solely on sub-aqueous creatures—and spiders. The more you enquire into the food of animals, the more evidence is accumulated of the immensity of the spider population, and its range. There are spiders under everything, the water as well as every other piece of loose bark. The stones of the walls are full of spiders, after which all sorts of birds hunt. Even sparrows, when so engaged, look like flycatchers. Most surprisingly the bats eat quite a large number of spiders, which are found at certain seasons much higher in the air than you would think possible for any creature not possessed of wings.
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