" Of
this plant it is said that a little girl, on seeing it growing,
exclaimed that she never knew before that sausages grew on sticks. The
teasel (_Dipsacus_) was abundant, as were also several of the true
thistles.
In some places one of these streams becomes too deep for the bur-reed,
and its surface is only diversified by the half-floating leaves of one
or two aquatic plants.
On approaching one of these places, I find the water to be apparently
without inmates. They had only been alarmed by my approach, which, as I
had but little time to spare, was not as cautious as it ought to have
been. However, I remained perfectly still, and presently a little fish
appeared from below. It was soon followed by a second and a third, and
before long a whole shoal of fish were floating almost on the surface,
looking out for insects which had fallen into the water.
The day being hot, and with scarcely a breath of wind, the fish soon
became quite bold. They did not move beyond the small spot in which they
had appeared, but they all had their tails in slight movement, and their
heads in one direction, thus showing that although the water appeared to
be perfectly motionless, there must be a current of some sort, fish
always lying with their heads up the stream, so as to allow the water to
enter their mouths and pass over their gills.
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