Skip to main content

Full text of "The American naturalist"

See other formats 


Google 


This  is  a  digital  copy  of  a  book  that  was  preserved  for  generations  on  library  shelves  before  it  was  carefully  scanned  by  Google  as  part  of  a  project 

to  make  the  world's  books  discoverable  online. 

It  has  survived  long  enough  for  the  copyright  to  expire  and  the  book  to  enter  the  public  domain.  A  public  domain  book  is  one  that  was  never  subject 

to  copyright  or  whose  legal  copyright  term  has  expired.  Whether  a  book  is  in  the  public  domain  may  vary  country  to  country.  Public  domain  books 

are  our  gateways  to  the  past,  representing  a  wealth  of  history,  culture  and  knowledge  that's  often  difficult  to  discover. 

Marks,  notations  and  other  maiginalia  present  in  the  original  volume  will  appear  in  this  file  -  a  reminder  of  this  book's  long  journey  from  the 

publisher  to  a  library  and  finally  to  you. 

Usage  guidelines 

Google  is  proud  to  partner  with  libraries  to  digitize  public  domain  materials  and  make  them  widely  accessible.  Public  domain  books  belong  to  the 
public  and  we  are  merely  their  custodians.  Nevertheless,  this  work  is  expensive,  so  in  order  to  keep  providing  tliis  resource,  we  liave  taken  steps  to 
prevent  abuse  by  commercial  parties,  including  placing  technical  restrictions  on  automated  querying. 
We  also  ask  that  you: 

+  Make  non-commercial  use  of  the  files  We  designed  Google  Book  Search  for  use  by  individuals,  and  we  request  that  you  use  these  files  for 
personal,  non-commercial  purposes. 

+  Refrain  fivm  automated  querying  Do  not  send  automated  queries  of  any  sort  to  Google's  system:  If  you  are  conducting  research  on  machine 
translation,  optical  character  recognition  or  other  areas  where  access  to  a  large  amount  of  text  is  helpful,  please  contact  us.  We  encourage  the 
use  of  public  domain  materials  for  these  purposes  and  may  be  able  to  help. 

+  Maintain  attributionTht  GoogXt  "watermark"  you  see  on  each  file  is  essential  for  in  forming  people  about  this  project  and  helping  them  find 
additional  materials  through  Google  Book  Search.  Please  do  not  remove  it. 

+  Keep  it  legal  Whatever  your  use,  remember  that  you  are  responsible  for  ensuring  that  what  you  are  doing  is  legal.  Do  not  assume  that  just 
because  we  believe  a  book  is  in  the  public  domain  for  users  in  the  United  States,  that  the  work  is  also  in  the  public  domain  for  users  in  other 
countries.  Whether  a  book  is  still  in  copyright  varies  from  country  to  country,  and  we  can't  offer  guidance  on  whether  any  specific  use  of 
any  specific  book  is  allowed.  Please  do  not  assume  that  a  book's  appearance  in  Google  Book  Search  means  it  can  be  used  in  any  manner 
anywhere  in  the  world.  Copyright  infringement  liabili^  can  be  quite  severe. 

About  Google  Book  Search 

Google's  mission  is  to  organize  the  world's  information  and  to  make  it  universally  accessible  and  useful.   Google  Book  Search  helps  readers 
discover  the  world's  books  while  helping  authors  and  publishers  reach  new  audiences.  You  can  search  through  the  full  text  of  this  book  on  the  web 

at|http: //books  .google  .com/I 


^ilABX^" 


6.C.  7;:-..//. 


^/... 


AMERICAN  NATURALIST, 

A  POPULAR    ILLUSTRATED    MAGAZINE 

NATURAL  HISTORY. 

EDITED   BV 

A.  S.  PACKARD,  JR.,  AND  F.   W.  PUTNAM. 

E.    S.    MORSE    AND    A.     HYATT,    ASSOCIATE    EDITORS. 

VOLUME    IV. 


SALEM,    MASS. 

PEABODY   ACADEMY   OF    SCIENCE. 

1S7.. 


an 
I 

'AS/3 


Entered  nccording  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1870,  by  the 

PEABODT  ACADEMY  OF  SCIENCE, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachasetts. 


B88BX  INSTITUTE  FBE88. 


CONTENTS  OF  VOL.   IV. 


Page 
Thb  PRiMByAL  Monuments  of  Psru  compared  with  those  in 

OTHER  parts  OF  THB  WoRLD.    By  HoD.  E.  G.  Squler.    IUU8- 

tratedf 1 

Remarks  on  some  Curious  Sponges.  By  Professor  Joseph  Leidy. 

Illustrated, 17 

The  Fresh-water  Aquarium.  By  Charles  B.  Brtgham.  (Con- 
cluded from  p.  490  of  Vol.  III.), 23 

A  Sketch  of  the  Truckee  and  Humboldt  Valleys.    By  W.  W. 

Bailey, 27 

The  Sea  Otters.    By  Capt.  C.  M.  Scammon,         ....  66 

Falconry.    By  William  Wood,  M.D., 74 

Certain  Parasitic  Insects.    Illustrated ;  voith  a  plate.    By  Dr. 

A.  S.  Packard,  Jr., 88 

Notes  on  Fresh- water  Fishes  of  New  Jersey.   Illustrated,   By 

Charles  C.  Abbott,  M.D., 99 

The  Indians  of  California.    Illustrated,    By  Edward  E.  Chever,  129 

The  Time  of  the  Mammoths.    By  Professor  N.  S.  Shaler,          .  148 

The  Mollusks  of  our  Cellars.  Illustrated.  By  W.  G.  Blnney,  166 
The  Surface  Geology  of  the  Basin  of  the  Great  Lakes  and 

THE  Valley  of  the  Mississippi.    By  Professor  J.  S.  Newberry,  193 

Our  Native  Trees  and  Shrubs.    By  Rev.  J.  W.  Chickering,  jr.,  214 

A  Winter's  Day  in  the  Yukon  Territory.  By  W.  H.  Dall,  .  218 
A  Few  Words  About  Moths.     With  a  Plate,    By  Dr.  A.  S. 

Packard,  Jr., 225 

The  Horse  Foot  Crab.     With  a  Plate,    By  Rev.  S.  Lockwood, 

Ph.D., 267 

The  Sea-weeds  at  Home  and  Abroad.    Illustrated,    By  John  L. 

Rnssell, ,        ....  274 

Foot-notes  from  a  Page  of  Sand.    By  Dr.  Elliott  Coues,  U.S.A.,  297 

The  Lyre  Bird.    Illustrated,    By  Miss  Grace  Anna  Lewis,  .        .  821 

Mussel  Climbing.    Illustrated,    By  Rev.  S.  Lockwood,  Ph.D.,   .  331 

Flowerless  Plants.    By  Dr.  A.  Kellogg, 337 

Variations  of  Species.  By  A.  H.  Curtis,  .  .  .  .  .  352 
A  Stroll  Along  the  Beach  of  Lake  Michigan.    By  Professor 

W.  J.  Beal, 356 

Mud-loving  Fishes.    Illustrated,    By  Charles  C.  Abbott,  M.D.,  385 

Variations  in  Nature.  By  Thomas  Meehan,  ....  392 
Observations  on  the  Fauna  of  the  Southern  Alleghanibs. 

By  Professor  E.  D.  Cope, 392 

On  the  Deep-water  Fauna  of  Lake  Michigan.    By  Dr.  William 

Stimpson, 403 

(ill) 


IV  CONTENTS  OF  VOL.    IV. 

CLUfBiMG  Plants.  IlltutraUd*  By  Professor  W.  J.  Beal,  .  .  405 
Bbgbnt  Advances  in  Geology.    By  J.  W.  Foster,  LL.D.,  .       449 

Vablations  in  Trillium  and  Wisteria.  By  Thomas  Meeban,  .  472 
The  FRoaTiVE  Yeobtation  of  the  Earth.    By  J.  W.  Dawson, 

LL.D., 474 

Indlln  Stone  Implements.  By  J.  J.  H.  Gregory,  .  .  .  483 
The  Habits  and  Migrations  of  some  of  the  Marine  Fishes 

OF  Massachusetts.  Illustrated.  By  James  H.  Blake,  .  .  613 
Cultivation  of  Alpine  Flowers.  By  Alfred  W.  Bennett,  .  621 
What  is  the  Washington  Eagle?  By  J.  A.  Allen,  .  .  .  624 
Acclimatization  of  Foreign  Trees  and  Plants.    By  Alfred  W. 

Bennett, 52S 

The  Distribution  of  the  Moose  in  New  England.    By  J.  A. 

Allen, 636 

NdTES  on  Certain  Inland  Birds  of  New  Jersey.    By  Charles 

C.  Abbott,  M.D., 636 

The   Former   Existence   of  Local  Glaciers  in  the  White 

Mountains.    By  Professor  L.  Agassiz, 660 

The  Flora  of  the  Prairies.  By  J.  A.  Allen,  ....  677 
Distribution    of   the  Marine   Shells  of  Florida.    By  Dr. 

William  Stimpson, 636 

The  Borers  of  Certain  Shade  Trees.    Illustrated,    By  Dr.  A.  S. 

Packard,  Jr., 688 

Springtime  on  the  Yukon.  By  W.  H.  Dall,  ....  694 
The  Impregnation  of  Eggs  in  Trout  Breeding.    Illustrated, 

By  A.  S.  Collins 601 

The  Ancient  Lakes  of  Western  America  :  Their  Deposits  and 

Drainage.  By  Professor  J.  S.  Newberry,  LL.  D.,  .  .  .  641 
The  Chinese  in  San  Francisco.  By  Rev.  A.  P.  Peabody,  D.D.,  660 
The  Lycosa  at  Home.  Illustrated,  By  J.  H.  Emerton,  .  .  664 
Lichens  under  the  Microscope.  Illustrated,  By  H.  WiUey,  .  665 
The  Ant  Lion.  Illustrated,  By  J.  H.  Emerton,  ....  706 
The  Resources  and  Climate  of  California.    By  Rev.  Dr.  A.  P. 

Peabody, 708 

Notes  on  Some  Birds  in  the  Museum  of  Vassar  College.    By 

Professor  James  Orton,  .        .        .        .       *.        .        .        .        711 

Further  Notes  on  New  Jersey  Fishes.    By  Charles  C.  Abbott, 

M.D., 717 

The  Spores  of  Lichens.    By  H.  Willey, 720 

The  Sperm  Whales,  Giant  and  Pygmy.  Illustrated,  By  Pro- 
fessor Theodore  Gill, 726 

REVIEWS. 

Report  upon  Deep  Sea  Dredglngs  in  the  Galf  Stream,  p.  83.  Transac- 
tions of  the  Chicago  Academy  of  Sciences,  p.  40.  Geology  of  the  Mis- 
souri River  Valley,  p.  41.     Petites  Nourelles  Entomologiqaes,  p.  42. 


CONTENTS   OF  VOL   IV.  V 

Volcanoes  and  Earthquakes,  p.  118.  Geology  of  Colorado  and  New  Mex- 
ico, p.  119.  A  Geographical  Handbook  of  all  Known  Ferns,  p.  121.  Ke- 
cent  works  on  the  Embryology  of  Articalates,  p.  122.  The  Bowdoin  Sci- 
entific Review,  p.  122.  Nature,  p.  123.  Chalchihultls  (Illustrated),  p. 
171.  The  Record  of  Zoological  Literature  for  1868,  p.  181.  The  Record 
of  American  Entomology  for  1869,  p.  182.  The  Weeds  of  Maine,  p.  182. 
The  Geology  of  the  New  Haven  Region,  p.  182.  Modem  Ideas  of  Deri- 
vation, p.  230.  The  Torrey  Botanical  Club,  p.  287.  Fossil  Plants  troxa 
the  West,  p.  237.  Relations  of  the  Rocks  in  the  Vicinity  of  Boston,  p. 
238.    Sponges,  p.  304.    The  Extinct  Mammalian  Fauna  of  Dakota  and 

«  Nebraska,  p.  307.    The  Earliest  Evidences  of  Plant  Life,  p.  810.    Fossil 

Birds,  p.  310.  The  Andes  and  the  Amazon,  p.  858.  Sketches  of  Crea- 
tion, p.  361.  Handbook  of  Zoology,  p.  362.  A  Naturalist's  Guide,  p.  863. 
Ornithological  Results  of  the  Explorations  of  the  North-west,  p.  367. 
Geology  of  Indiana,  p.  872.  Rudolph's  Atlas  of  the  Geography  of  Plants, 
p.  372.  Natural  Selection,  p.  419.  American  Microscopes  and  their 
Merits,  p.  422.  Alaska  and  Its  Resources,  p.  430.  Trout  Culture,  p.  434. 
Record  of  American  Entomology  for  1869,  p.  435.  Brazilian  Crustacea, 
435.  The  Population  of  an  old  Pear  Tree,  p.  436.  The  American  Mu- 
seum of  Natural  History,  p.  436.  The  Polyps  and  Corals  of  the  North 
Pacific  Exploring  Expedition  (Illustrated  with  two  plates),  p.  488.  Eco- 
nomical Entomology  In  Missouri  (Illustrated),  p.  610.  American  Crabs, 
p.  616.  The  Craw  Fish  of  North  America,  p.  616.  The  Lifted  and  Sub- 
sided Rocks  of  America,  p.  618.    Geological  Survey  of  New  Hampshire, 

I  p.  619.     American  Journal  of  Science  and  Arts,  p.  619.    The  Chemical 

History  of  the  Six  Days  of  Creation,  p.  620.  The  Eared  Seals,  p.  675. 
Injurious  Insects  (Illustrated),  p.  684.  Deep  Sea  Explorations,  p.  744. 
The  Classification  of  Water  Birds,  p.  746.  ThorclPs  European  Spiders 
(Illustrated),  p.  752.    Geography  and  Archaeology  of  Peru,  p.  754. 

NATURAL   HISTORY    MISCELLANY. 
I 
I  Botany.  —  Larger  Bar-Marigold,  p.  43.    The  Yellow-flowered  Sarra- 

)  cenla  purpurea,  p.  43.    Areas  of  Preservation,  p.  44.    Leaves  of  Conlferse, 

p.  44.  Notes  ftom  Chicago,  p.  45.  Photography  In  Botany,  p.  45.  Trans- 
formations of  Parts  of  Flowers,  p.  45.  Fertilization  of  Plants,  p.  46. 
In  Fours,  p.  46.  Androgynous  Inflorescence,  p.  46.  Edible  Fungi,  p.  123. 
Large  Trees  In  Australia,  p.  124.  Tendency  of  Floral  Organs  to  Ex- 
change Offices,  p.  125.  Monstrosity  In  Trillium,  p.  125.  Notices  of 
Botanical  Monstrosities,  p.  125.  Arctic  Flora,  p.  125.  The  Fertilization 
of  Wlnter-flowerlng  Plants,  p.  126.  Collected  Notes  on  the  History  of 
the  American  Oaks,  pp.  183,  242.  On  the  Fertilization  of  Grasses,  p.  239. 
Insect  Fertilization  of  Flowers,  p.  242.  Does  Air  Dust  contain  the  Germs 
of  Disease?  p.  248.  Hibernation  of  Duck- weed,  p.  811.  The  Fragarla 
Glllmani  again,  p.  312.  Vital  Force  and  Color  in  Plants,  p.  312.  The 
Lianis  or  Woody  Climbers,  p.  318.  Japanese  Sea- weeds,  p.  313.  Dialysis 
with  Stamlnody  in  Kalmla  latlfolia,  p.  373.    Occurrence  of  Rare  Plants  In 


VI  CONTENTS   OF  VOL   IV. 

Illinois,  p.  874.  Fragaria  GiUmaDi,  p.  487.  New  Plants,  p.  488.  Palms 
of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  p.  488.  The  Irritability  of  the  Stamens  in  the 
Barberry,  p.  488.  The  Compass  Plant,  p.  495.  On  the  Laws  of  Fascia- 
tion  and  its  Relation  to  Sex  in  Plants,  p.  611.  On  Objections  to  Darwin's 
Theory  of  Fertilization  through  Insect  Agency,  p.  612.  Nutrition  and 
Sex  in  Plants,  p.  562.  Richardsonia  scabra,  p.  558.  Acclimatization  of 
Palm  Trees,  p.  569.  Fertilization  of  Salvia  by  Humble  Bees,  p.  689. 
Motion  in  the  Leaves  of  Rhus  toxicodendron,  p.  689.  Bur  Grass,  p.  689. 
Wolffla  in  Blossom,  p.  690. 

Zoology.  —  Relation  of  the  Physical  to  the  Biological  Sciences,  p.  46. 
Notes  on  the  Ducks  found  on  the  Coast  of  Massachusetts  in  Winter,  p. 
49.  Is  Huxley's  Bathybius  an  Animal?  p.  50.  Reason  and  Instinct,  p.  51. 
Malformations  in  Insects,  p.  51.  The  Cotton  or  Army  Worm  of  the 
South,  p.  52.  Blackbirds  in  Winter,  p.  52.  How  the  Sculptured  Turtle 
deposits  her  Eggs,  p.  58.  Anecdote  of  the  Sparrow-hawk,  p.  53.  Hybrid 
Fowls,  p.  53.  The  Ruby-crowned  Kinglet,  pp.  54,  876.  The  Crocodile  in 
Florida,  p.  54.  House  Sparrow,  p.  54.  Dimorphism  in  the  Higher  Worms, 
p.  55.  Disposal  of  the  Placenta,  p.  66.  Summer  Red  Bird,  p.  56.  The 
Osprey,  p.  57.  The  Great  Auk,  p.  57.  A  Rare  Visitor,  p.  57.  The  Cow 
Bird,  p.  58.  Occurrence  of  the  Brown  Pelican  in  Massachusetts,  p.  58. 
The  Chipmunk,  p.  58.  Albino  Rodents,  p.  58.  Conchological  Section  of 
the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  Philadelphia,  Nov.  4,  1869,  p.  58.  A 
Rare  Duck,  p.  126.  External  Gills  in  Ganoid  Fishes,  p.  127.  The  Limbs 
of  Ichthyosaurus  and  Plesiosaurus,  p.  127.  The  Organs  of  Hearing 
and  Smell  in  Insects,  p.  127.  Albino  Bam  Swallow,  p.  127.  Spike 
Horns  (with  a  cut),  p.  188.  Adirondack's  Reply,  p.  189.  Habits  of  the 
Striped  Squirrel,  p.  249.  Conchological  Notes,  p.  250.  Functions  of  the 
Nerve-centres  of  the  Frog,  p.  250.  The  Compressed  Burbot  or  Eel  Pout, 
p.  251.  A  White  Woodchuck,  p.  252.  Rare  Birds' In  Nova  Scotia,  p.  253. 
A  New  Insecticide,  p.  313.  Fauna  of  Round  Island,  p.  814.  Position  of 
the  Brachlopoda  in  the  Animal  Kingdom  (with  cuts),  p.  314.  The  Ruby 
Crowned  Wren,  p.  316.  Early  Arrival  of  Geese,  p.  874.  Hybrid  Fowls, 
p.  874.  Hybrid  Rabbit,  p.  875.  Turkey  Buzzard,  p.  375.  Double  Headed 
Snakes,  p.  375.  Reproduction  of  Limbs,  p.  876.  Dpes  the  Prairie  Dog 
Require  any  Water?  p.  376.  An  Albino  Turkey  Buzzard,  p.  876.  Albino 
Snow  Bird,  p.  876.  Albino  Rats,  p.  376.  The  little  Striped  Skunk  in 
Central  Iowa,  p.  876.  The  Marsh  Harrier,  p.  377.  Night  Herons,  p.  877. 
Song  of  the  Song  Sparrow,  p.  378.  The  Pigeon  Hawk,  p.  489.  The 
Flight  of  Birds  and  Insects,  p.  439.  Paedogenesls  In  the  Stylopldae,  p. 
489.  Curious  Conduct  of  a  Sharp-shinned  Hawk,  p.  439.  Partheno- 
genesis in  a  Wasp,  p.  440.  List  of  New  England  Lepldoptera,  p.  440. 
Improving  Intelligence  in  Birds  and  Insects,  p.  440.  How  many  Lepl- 
doptera are  there  In  the  World?  p.  441.  Oologlcal,  p.  442.  Spike- horned 
Deer,  p.  442.  A  Spike-homed  Moose,  p.  448.  A  New  Insect  Parasite  of 
the  Beaver,  p.  448.  On  the  Early  Stages  of  Dlsclna,  p.  493.  On  Brachl- 
opoda as  a  division  of  the  Annulata,  p.  495.    The  Condor  and  the  Hum- 


CONTENTS   OF   VOL.    IV.  VI I 

ming  Birds  of  the  Equatorial  RegtoDS,  p.  495.  Embryology  of  Llmalus 
Polyphemus  (with  cuts),  p.  498.  On  the  Relations  of  the  Orders  of  Mam- 
mals, p.  602.  The  Structural  Characteristics  of  the  Cranium  in  tlie  Lower 
Vertebrata  (with  cuts),  p.  505.  On  three  new  generic  forms  of  Brachio- 
poda,  p.  510.  London  Zoological  Gardens,  p.  559.  The  Nesting  of  the 
Fish  Hawlc,  p.  559.  Anatomical  Characters  of  the  Limpets,  p.  561.  The 
Caudal  Styles  of  Insects  Sense  Organs,  i.  e.  Abdominal  Antennse,  p.  620. 
A  Remarkable  Myriapod,  p.  621.    How  to  Mount  Spiders  for  Cabinets,  p. 

622.  The  Toucan's  Beak,  p.  622.     Fhysella  not  a  Fresh-water  Shell,  p. 

623.  On  the  Young  of  Orthagorlscus  Mola  (with  cuts),  p.  629.  Ab- 
dominal Sense-organs  in  a  Fly,  p.  690.  Note  on  the  Existence  of  trans- 
versely striated  muscular  Fibres  in  Acmaea,  p.  691.  Cedar  Bird  with 
Waxen  Appendages  on  the  Tail,  p.  692.  Habits  of  the  Red-headed  Wood- 
pecker, p.  692.  American  Panther,  p.  692.  Notes  on  some  of  the  Coast 
Fishes  of  Florida,  p.  693.  Morphology  and  Ancestry  of  the  King  Crabs, 
p.  754.  The  Ancestry  of  Insects,  p.  756.  Monterey  in  the  Dry  Season, 
756.  The  Rough-billed  Pelican  on  Lake  Huron,  p.  758.  Migration  of 
Huwks,  p.  759.  Scudder's  Work  on  New  England  Butterflies,  p,  760. 
Callldryas  Eubule,  p.  761.  Mephitis  bicolor,  p.  761.  Woodcock  and 
Moles,  p.  761.  Turkey  Buzzard,  p.  762.  Spike-horned  Bucks,  p.  762. 
Deer's  Horns,  p.  763.  Singular  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Hornbills 
during  the  Breeding  Season,  p.  763. 

Geology.— Further  Evidence  of  the  Affinity  between  the  Dinosaurian 
Reptiles  and  Birds,  p.  59.  Fossil  Horse  in  Missouri,  p.  60.  Sudden  Dry- 
ing up  of  Streams  in  Nevada,  p.  61.  Quaternary  deposits  in  Missouri, 
p.  61.  New  Mosasauroid  Reptiles,  p.  62.  Scolithus  a  Sponge,  p.  62. 
Discovery  of  a  huge  Whale  in  North  Carolina,  p.  128.  The  Geology  of 
Brazil,  p.  128.  Professor  Ward's  Museum,  p.  128.  New  Animal  Remains 
firom  the  Carboniferous  and  Devonian  Rocks  of  Canada,  p.  190.  Gigantic 
Fossil  Serpent  Arom  New  Jersey,  p.  254.  Geological  Survey  of  Iowa,  p. 
317.  New  Fossil  Turkey,  p.  317.  Geological  Explorations,  p.  378.  Res- 
toration of  the  Dinotherium,  p.  379.  Ancient  Reptiles  of  the  Connecticut 
Valley,  p.  444.  The  Rate  of  Geological  Change,  p.  444.  Notes  on  some 
Post  Tertiary  Phenomena  in  Michigan,  p.  504.  The  Supposed  Elevation 
and  Depression  of  the  Continent  during  the  Glacial  Period,  p.  508.  Gla- 
ciers in  Palaeozoic  Times,  p.  560.  Recent  and  Fossil  Copal,  p.  560.  Rep- 
tilia  of  the  Triassic  Formation  of  the  United  States,  p.  562.  Relations 
of  the  Oneonta  Sandstone  and  Montrose  Sandstone  with  the  Hamilton 
and  Chemung  Groups,  pp.  563,  639.  Boulder-trains  in  Berkshire  County, 
Mass.,  p.  565.  On  the  Evidence  of  a  Glacial  Epoch  at  the  Equator,  p. 
666.  The  Lava-ducts  of  Washington  Territory,  p.  567.  The  Great  Salt 
Marsh  of  Silver  Peak,'  Southern  Nevada,  p.  567.  Geology  and  Topog- 
raphy of  the  White  Mountains,  p.  567.  New  Species  of  Trilobite  ftora 
New  Jersey,  p.  568.  Submergence  of  a  portion  of  the  North  American 
Continent  since  the  Drift  Period,  p.  568.  Black  Iron  Sand,  p.  569.  The 
Stratigraphy   and   Surface  Geology   of  North   Carolina,  p.  570.    The 


VIU  CONTENTS   OF  VOL.    IV. 

Origin  of  South  Carolina  Phosphates,  p.  571.  Did  a  Glacier  flow  flrom 
Lake  Huron  Into  Lake  Erie?,  p.  623.  The  Upper  Delta  Plain  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, p.  638.  On  the  Mud  Lumps  of  the  Passes  of  the  Mississippi,  p. 
638.  A  Point  in  Dynamical  Geology,  p.  639.  Discovery  of  Lower  Car- 
boniferous Fossils  on  the  Kio  Tapajos,  p.  694.  New  Fossil  Fishes,  p.  695. 
Plasticity  of  Rocks,  p.  695.  Salt  Plains  in  New  Mexico,  p.  695.  The 
Megatherium  and  its  Allies,  p.  763.  The  Tertiary  Beds  of  the  Amason, 
p.  765.  Lead  Mines  of  Missouri,  p.  766.  Marks  of  Ancient  Glaciers  on 
the  Pacific  Coast,  p.  766.  Boulders  in  Ancient  Times,  p.  767.  New  Dls- 
covei*y  respecting  Coccoliths,  p.  767. 

Microscopy.  —  Microscope  Objectives ;  Statement  and  Reply,  pp.  254 
and  255.  Circulation  of  the  Latex  in  the  Laticiferous  Vessels,  p.  317. 
Does  Boiling  Destroy  Germs?  p.  318.  Development  of  Gas  in  Proto- 
plasm, p.  379.  The  Largest  Inftisorium  Known,  p.  380.  Air  Tight  Spec- 
imens, p.  444.  The  Focal  Length  of  Microscopic  Objectives,  p.  445. 
Subsection  of  Microscopy  of  the  American  Association  for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Science,  p.  571.  New  Form  of  a  Binocular  Microscope,  p.  571. 
On  the  Illumination  of  Binocular  Microscopes  (with  cuts),  pp.  571,  638. 
Diatoms  fk-om  Marblehead,  Mass.,  p.  573.  Test  Plates,  p.  573.  Instru- 
ments at  the  Meeting  of  the  A.A.A.S.,  pp.  573-576.  New  Clinical  Com- 
pressor (with  cuts),  p.  574.  American  Microscopes,  p.  626.  Wales*  Low 
Power  Objectives,  p.  626.  The  Simplest  form  of  Micro-telescope,  p.  628. 
A  New  Form  of  Blnocnlar  for  use  with  High  Powers  of  the  Microscope, 
p.  696. 

Anturopologt.  —  Relics  from  the  Great  Mound,  p.  62.  The  Bone 
Caves  of  Gibraltar,  p.  255.  Archsological  Impostures,  p.  319.  Aborigi- 
nal Relic  firom  Trenton,  New  Jersey  (with  cut),  p.  380.  Origin  of  the 
Tasmanians,  p.  381.  Stone  Images  on  Easter  Island,  p.  382.  Peruvian 
Archaeology,  p.  445.  On  the  Structure  of  the  Eskimo  Languages,  561. 
The  Significance  of  Cranial  Chaftacters  In  Man,  p.  629. 

Miscellaneous.  —  The  Death  of  Michael  Sars,  p.  63.  Photograph  of 
Georj;e  Peabody,  p.  64.  Correction,  p.  64.  The  Sars  Fund,  p.  127.  Mary- 
land Academy  of  Sciences,  p.  191.  The  Future  of  Natural  Science,  p. 
438.  Wisconsin  Academy  of  Sciences,  Arts,  and  Letters,  p.  622.  Ameri- 
can Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  pp.  383,  492,  561,  629. 

Notes.  —  Pages  703,  767. 

Answers  to  Correspondents.  —  Pages  128, 256,  320,  388,  448,  576,  704. 

Books  Received.  —  Pages  64,  192,  256,  320,  884,  448,  492,  640. 

List  of  Plates  and  Cuts.  — Page  ix. 

List  of  Contributors  to  Volume  IV.  —  Pages  xi,  xil. 

Index.  —  Page  769. 


n^LUSTBATIONS 


IX 


Plate 

1.  Bhrd  lice,  seren  llgares,  . 

2.  Moths,  thirty-nine  flguies, 
8.  Horse  shoe  Crab,  eto.,  fonrteen 

flgures, 873 

4.  Horth  Paoiflo  Polyps  and  Corals, 

ten  llgares, 490 


LIST    OF   PLATES. 
Pi 


SM  Plate  Piffe 

96  5.  North  Paclfio  Polyps  and  Corals, 

nine  figures, 491 

6.  Illamination  of  Binocular  Micro- 
scopes,      687 

7.  Ii^urious  Insects,  twenty-two  fig- 
ures  687 


LIST    OF    WOOD-CUTS. 


No. 
1. 
2. 
8. 
4. 
5. 
6. 


Psge. 


Primitiye  tomb,  Accra,  . 

Hill  fortress.  Pern,         ...  5 

Ghalpa,Peru, 6 

Ghnlpa,  Bolivia,      ....  7 

Section  of  Chulpa,  ....  8 

V.  Burial  tower,  Peru.        ...  9 

7.  Pelasgic  tower,  Italy,     ...  11 

8.  Early  defences,  Peru,    ...  IS 

9.  Ancient  monuments,  Peru,  .  15 
10.  Pheronema  AnnaB,  ....  21 
11, 12.  Spicules  of  the  same,  .  81, 82 
18.  Bedbug, 85 

14.  Mouth  of  louse,       ....  87 

15.  Head  louse 87 

16.  Body  louse. 88 

17.  Embryo  of  louse.  ....  80 
18,19,84.  Embryo  of  Dragon  fly,  91,83 
20  to  23.  Development  of  mouth  parts 

of  louse, 02 

Louse  of  Cow 93 

Louse  of  Domestic  Fowl,      .       .  94 

Louse  of  Cat, 96 

Louse  of  Goat,        .       .       ,       .  96 

Antenna  of  Qoniodes,  ...  97 

Smelt, 108 

Gizzard  Shad, 109 

Chub, Ill 

Gar  pike, 114 

Indian  stalking  an  Antelope,        .  128 

Indian  Tillage 135 

Indian  bow  and  arrow,         .       .  139 
Arrow  heads,  etc.,  .       .       .       .189 

Water  basket, 140 


25. 
26. 
87. 


80. 
81. 


83. 
84. 
85. 
86. 
87. 
88. 
89. 
40. 
41. 
42. 
43. 


Awl,  etc.,  for  making  basket,  .  141 
Indian  woman  carrying  basket,  .  141 
Stone  mortar  and  pestle,  .  .  142 
Jaw  of  Limax  flavus,  ...  167 
Teeth  of  Limax  flavus,  ...  167 
44,44a.  Hyalina  cellaria,     ...    169 

45.  Limax  maximus,     .       .       .       .170 

46.  Limax  flavus, 170 

47.  ArlonAiscus, 170 

48.  Prepared  ancient  Mexican  skull,  172 
49  to  66.  Chalchihuitls, .  173  to  181 
67.  Spike  horns, 18S 


68.  Limulus  after  the  flrst  moult, 


68. 
70. 
71. 
78. 
78. 
74. 
75. 


Zvgnema, 

MO 


ougeotia, 

ChsBtomorpha, 

Microleus  repens,  . 

Seeds  of  Porphyra, 

Halimeda, 

Coralline,  . 
76  to  78.  Llngula,   . 
79 to 88.  Lyrebird, 
88.  Mussel  climbing,     . 

84.  Dlnotherium,    . 

85.  Indian  relic,     . 

86.  Melanura  limi, 

87.  Enneacanthns  guttatus, 

88.  Solanumjasminoides, 


.  271 

.  281 

.  281 

.  282 

.  283 

.  284 

.  286 

.  288 

.  316 
821  to  325 

.  831 

.  879 

.  881 

.  885 

.  886 

.  410 


80.  Grapevine, 414 

90  to  91.  Woodbine,       .              .    41^-416 
98.  Bryony, 417 

93.  Spike  horns  of  moose,    ...    443 

94.  Cancrisocia  expansa,     .       .       .   480 
95  to  99.  Embryo  and  young  of  Llmu- 

lus 496-501 

100a.  Larva  of  Branchlpus,  .  .  .501 
100b.  Larva  of  Apus.  .  .  .  .501 
101.  Larva  of  Trinucieus,  .  .  .  501 
108.  Larva  of  Sao  hirsuta,     .       .       .501 

103.  Larva  of  Agnostus  nudus,    .       .    501 

104.  Adult  of  •*  •*  .  .  501 
105  to  106.  Skull  of  Ichthyosaurus,      .   508 

107.  Skull  of  Lystrosaurus,   .       .       .507 

108.  Mackerel, 513 

lOe.  Codfish, 516 

110.  Haddock 517 

111.  Blue  fish, 618 

118.  Herring, 619 

113.  Bill-fish, 520 

114.  Internal  Lieberkuhn,      ...    572 

115.  Ward's  clinical  compressor, .  .  575 
115  bis  to  116.  Compaidea   tridentata 

larva  and  adult,     ....    590 
117  to  118.  Saperda  vestlta,  larva  and 

adult, 601 

119.  Larva  of  Saperda  calcarata,  .  602 
180.  Prlonus  brevicomls  and  pupa,     .    592 

121.  Saperda  inomata  and  larva,       .    6M 

122.  Monohammus  titillator,  larva  and 

pupa, 593 

123.  Chion  ductus,  larva  and  pupa,  .  594 
124  to  185.  Roller  Spawning  box,  .    606, 607 

126.  Pickle  worm, 611 

127  to  188.  Vine  dresser,  .       .       .    611, 642 

129.  Alypla8-maculata,  .  .  .613 
130  to  131.  Eudrya  grata,  .  .  613,614 
132  to  133.  Acoloithos  Americanus,  614, 615 

134.  Molacanthus  Palassii,    ...    630 

135.  Orthagoriscus  oblongus,  .  .  030 
136  to  137.  Orthagoriscus  mola,  .  680,  631 
138.  Nest  of  Lycosa,       .       .       .       .    6G4 

130.  Anatomy  of  Theloschistes,   .       .    667 

140.  Anatomy  of  Collema,     .       .       .667 

141.  Anatomy  of  Parmelia,  .  .  .  C68 
148.  Anatomy  of  Usnea,  .  .  .668 
143.  Anatomy  of  Sticta,  ...  669 
144  to  146.  Anat.  of  Theloschistes,  660,  G71 
147.  Spores  of  lichens,  .  .  .671 
148  to  149.  Anatomy  of  Theloschistes, .  672 
150.  Spemiatia  of  lichens,  .  .  .073 
151  to  153.  Anatomv  of  Biatora,    .    678, 674 

154.  Larva  of  Lyda,       ....    685 

155.  Pupa  of  Robber  fly,       ...   686 

156.  Pupa  of  Horse  flv,  .       .       .       .   68G 

167  to  168.  "Prism  for  binocular  micro- 

scope,        700, 701 

158  to  162.    Ant  Lion,      .        .       .     706,706 

168  to  176.    Sperm-whales,  728,734,736,741, 

742,  743. 
177.    Classification  of  Spiders,       .       .    763 


JSTtTtJLTA.. 


Ebb  AT  A  TO  Vol.  IV. --Page  63,  line  16,  for  pervenum  read  perverswm.  Page  80, 
line  16,  for  lips  read  hips.  Page  86,  line  8,  for  ArctotkiphyUa  read  ArdasU^hyUos. 
Page  103,  line  0,  for  H.  analottanus  read  H.  Keniuekiensis,  (Later,  however,  Cope  has 
shown  the  species  to  be  distinct  from  KIrtland's  KeiOuokieMis.)  Page  117,  line  13  of 
foot  note,  for  Teretribus  read  teretulus.  Page  112,  line  16,  fbr  Jtartton  read  Baritan. 
Page  273,  the  sentence  beginning  on  line  0,  shoold  begin,  "  Now  it  is  not  often  the 
case.''  Page  316,  line  6,  for  mouth  read  mantle.  Page  489,  line  8  for  but  one,  read  an. 
Page  430,  line  3,  leave  out  the  word  but  before  one  instance.  Page  458,  line  21,  for  Itord 
Mondoddo  read  Lord  Monboddo.  Page  468,  line  7,  for  it  is  read  is  it.  Page  468,  line  18, 
for  possession  of  stars  read  procession  of  stars ;  and  In  line  14,  for  either  read  ether. 
Page  501  under  flgare  100,  first  line,  for  Apus  read  Branch^us,  and  in  second  line,  for 
Bnsnchipus  read  Apus.  On  line  1  firom  bottom,  fbr  cephaiothorax  read  head.  Page  126, 
last  line,  fpr  Mb.  Dbbssbb  read  Mb.  Dbeslbb.  Page  875,  line  34,  for  J.  P.  Kibklaitd 
read  J.  P.  KiBTLAND.  Page  651,  last  line,  for  .Edofo^rM  read  .Zbolo^to.  Page  689,  line 
20,  for  poisoning  read  poison  ivy. 

Plates  3  and  4  (pp.  490, 491)  should  read  plates  4  and  6.  Plate  5  (page  637)  should  read 
Plate  6,  and  Plate  6  (page  687)  should  read  Plate  7.  Page  572)  for  figure  100,  read  figure 
114.  Page  575,  for  flgare  100,  read  figure  115.  Page  TOO,  for  figure  140,  read  157.  Page 
701,  for  figure  141  read  158.  (These  corrections,  however,  only  refer  te  the  serial  num- 
bers of  the  plates  and  cuts,  as  the  references  in  the  text  are  to  their  present  numbers.) 

(X) 


GONTBIBUTOBS.  xi 


LIST    OP    CONTRIBUTORS    TO  VOL.   IV. 

Charles  C.  Abbott,  M.D.»  Trenton,  N.  J. 

Prof.  L.  AOASSiz,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

J.  A.  Allen,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

W.  W.  Bailey,  Providence,  R.  I. 

Prof.  W.  J.  Beal,  Chicago,  HI. 

Alfred  W.  Bennett,  London  (ftom  Quarterly  Journal  of  Science). 

W.  G.  BiNNEY,  Burlington,  N.  J. 

James  H.  Blake,  Cambridge,  Mass.  • 

Charles  B.  Brigham,  M.D.,  Boston,  Mass. 

Edward  F.  Chever,  YorkvlUe,  HI. 

Rev.  J.  W.  Chickering,  Jr.,  Exeter,  N.  H. 

A.  S.  Collins,  Caledonia,  N.  Y. 

Prof.  E.  D.  Cope,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Dr.  Elliott  Coues,  U.  S.  A. 

A.  H.  Curtis,  Liberty,  Va. 

W.  H.  Daix,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Prln.  J.  W.  Dawson,  Montreal,  Canada  (Arom  Nature). 

J.  H.  Emerton,  Salem,  Mass. 

J.  W.  Foster,  LL.D.,  Chicago,  111. 

Prof.  Theodore  Gill,  Washington,  D.  C. 

J.  J.  H.  Gregory,  Marblehead,  Mass. 

A.  Kellogg,  M.D.,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Prof.  Joseph  Leidy,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Miss  Grace  Anna  Lewis,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Rev.  S.  LocKWOOD,  Lockport,  N.  J. 

Thomas  Meehan,  Germantown,  Pa. 

Prof.  J.  S.  Newberry,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Dr.  A.  S.  Packard,  Jr.,  Salem,  Mass. 

Rev.  A.  P.  Peabody,  D.D.,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Prof.  John  L.  Russell,  Salem,  Mass. 

Capt.  C.  M.  SCAMMON,  U.  S.  N. 

Prof.  N.  S.  Shaler,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Hon.  E.  G.  Squier,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Dr.  Wm.  Stimpson,  Chicago,  HI. 

H.  WnxEY,  New  Bedford,  Mass. 

Wm.  Wood,  M.D.,  Winsor  Hill,  Conn. 


zu 


OONTBIBUTOBS. 


LIST  OF  COMTBIBUTOBS  TO  THB  REVIEWS,  MISGELLANT,  ETC. 


Charles  C.  Abbott,  M.D.,  Trenton,  N.  J. 

Wm.  P.  Alcott,  Nortti. Greenwich,  Conn. 

J.  A.  Allen,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

T.  Allison,  DeWltt,  lovra. 

Mr.  AlTord,  Greenfield.  Mass. 

F.  P.  Atkinson,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

J.  L.  B.,  Colora,  Md. 

Ward  Bachelor,  Waverly,  Pa. 

Prof.  S.  F.  Baird,  Washington,  D.  C. 

F.  A.  P.  Barnard,  LL.D.,  Sew  Tork,  N.  T. 
Prof.  W.  J.  Beal,  Chicaoo,  HI. 

Edwin  Bicknell,  Cambndge,  Mass. 
Frederick  Brendel,  M.D.,  Peoria,  IlL 

G.  C.  Broadhead,  Pleasant  Hill,  Mo. 
Bobert  Brookhoose,  Salem,  Mass. 
Hon.  J.  D.  Caton,  Ottawa,  Bl. 

S.  C.  Clarke.  Jamaica  Plain,  Mass. 

J.  R.  CoUete.  SomerriUe,  Mass. 

Wm.  A.  Conklin,  New  Tork,  N.  Y. 

Prof.  A.  J.  Cook,  Lansing,  Mich. 

Dr.  J.  G.  Cooper,  San  FrancisoOfCal. 

Prof.  E.  D.  Cope,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 

Dr.  Elliott  Cones.  U.  S.  A. 

W.  H.  Dall,  Washington,  D.  C. 

B.  H.  Fisher,  Arba,  Ind. 

J.  H.  Emerton,  Salem,  ICass. 

Angnstns  Fowier^anvers,  Mass. 

Charles  C.  Frost,  Brattleborough,  Vt. 

Frank  Gammons,  West  Newton,  Mass. 

George  Gibbs,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Prof.  Theodore  Gill,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Henry  GiUman,  Detroit,  Mich. 

Prof.  Asa  Graj,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Edward  L.  Greene,  Decatur,  111. 

Prof.  James  Hall,  Albany.  N.  Y. 

Prof.  C.  F.  Hartt,  Ithaca,  N.  Y. 

W.  J.  Hays,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

J.  J.  Higgins,  M.D^  New  York,  N.  Y. 

Prof.  Eugene  W.  Hugard,  Oxford,  Miss. 

Thomas  Hill,  LL  J>.,  waltham,  Mass. 

Prof.  C.  H.  Hitchcock,  Hanover,  N.  H. 

Bobert  Howell,  Nichols.  N.  Y. 

Prof.  T.  Sterry  Hunt,  Montreal,  Canada. 

Prof.  A.  Hyatt,  Salem.  Mass. 

B.  C.  Jillson,  M  J>.,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 


J.  Matthew  Jones,  Hallfkx,  N.  8. 
Prof.  W.  C.  Kerr,  BaleighrN.  C. 

W.  Kirkland, . 

Bre?et  Mi^or  Gen.  A.  T.  Eantz,  U.  S.  A. 
Prof.  J.  P.  Kirtland,  Cleyeland,  Ohio. 
William  Kite,  Germantown,  PhiL.  Pa. 
Prof.  O.  C.  Auirsh,  New  Haven ,  Conn. 

C.  J.  Maynard,  Newtonyille,  Mass. 
Thomas  Meehan,  Germantown,  Pa. 

D.  MllUkin,  HamUton,  Ohio. 
Charles  S.  Minot,  Boston,  Mass. 
Prof.  E.  S.  Morse,  Salem,  Mass. 
H.  M.  Myers,  Williamatown,  Mass. 
C.  H.  Nauman,  Smyrna,  Fla. 

Dr.  T.  D^remieulx^ew  York,  N.  Y. 

Prof.  James  Orton,  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y. 

C.  8.  Osborne,  Rochester,  N.  x. 

A.  S.  Packard,  Jr..  M.D.,  Salem,  Mass. 

H.  W.  Parker,  Gnnnell,  Iowa. 

Dr.  Henry  C.  Pei^ins,  Newburyport,  Mass. 

Rev.  J.  B.  Perry,  Cambridge,  Mass. 

F.  W.  Putnam,  M.A.,  Salem,  Mass. 
R.  W.  Raymond,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
T.  T.  Richards,  St.  Louis.  Mo. 

Dr.  F.  J.  B.  Roshmer,  Mobile,  Ala. 
Prof.  J.  L.  Russell,  Salem,  Mass. 
Ira  Sarles,  Rnshfbrd,  N.  Y. 
S.  H.  Scudder,  Boston,  Mass. 

E.  G.  Squier,  M.A.,  New  York,  N.  Y. 
Winfria  Steams,  Amherst,  Mass. 
Dr.  R.  P.  Stevens,  New  York. 
Charles  Stodder,  Boston.  Mass. 

L.  J.  Stroop,  Waxahachie,  Texas. 

E.  H.  T ,  Hindsbury,  Pa. 

Prof.  8.  Tenney.  WilliamBtown,  SCass. 

G.  W.  Tiyon,  Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Prof.  A.  B.  Verrill,  New  Haven,  Conn. 
R.  H.  Ward,  M.D.,  Troy,  N.  Y. 

Prof.  A.  Winchell,  Ann  Arbor,  Mich. 

Walter  Woodman. 

Dr.  William  Wood,  East  Windsor  mil, 

Conn. 
Charles  Wright,  Cambridge,  Mass. 
Prof.  J.  Wyman,  Cambridge,  Biass 


COPIED    FROM 


Nature^  London. 

SderUMc  Opinion,  London. 

Monttuu  Mlcrosc€pioai  Journal^  London. 

Proceedingt  of  the  Entomological  Society  of 

London. 
Quarterly  Journal  of  Sbfenee,  London. 
Popular  Science  Reviewj  London. 
The  Academy,  London. 
Annals  and  Magazine  of  Ifaiural  Btatory^ 

London. 
Cmiimm,  Paris. 


BibUotheque  UnitferBeOe,  Archives  dee  Set- 

enees  Phytiquee  et  Naiurellea.  Geneva. 
Siebold  andKdUiker>t  ZeUschrift  far  Wit- 

eenschafttiche  Zoologie,  Berlin. 
SUzungs-herichte    der    NeUurwiesenechq^' 

Uche  GeMeZsd^/r  "  Jffif,"  Dresden. 
American  Journal  qf  Science,  New  Haven, 

Conn. 
FranlMn  Journal,  Philadelphia. 
Annals  of  the  Lyceum  cf  Natural  History  of 

New  tork. 


i 


1 


AMERICAN   NATURALIST. 

Vol.  IV.— MABCH,  1870.— No.  L 

THE  PRIMEVAL  MONUMENTS  OF  PERU  COM- 

PARED  WITH  THOSE  IN  OTHER 

PARTS  OF  THE  WORLD. 

BY  E.  a.   SQUnSR,  M.A.* 

There  is  a  class  of  stone  structures  in  Peru  belonging  to 
what  is  regarded  through  the  world  as  the  earliest  monu- 
mental period,  coincident  in  style  and  character  with  the 
cromlechs,  dolmens,  and  ''Sun"  or  ''Druidical"  circles,  so 
called,  of  Scandinavia,  the  British  Islands,  France,  and 
Northern  and  Central  Asia.  The  existence  of  such  remains 
in  Peru  has  not,  I  believe,  been  hitherto  mentioned  by  any 
traveller  in  that  country.  They  are  not  very  numerous,  at 
least  not  in  the  parts  of  Peru  traversed  by  me,  but  their 
scarcity  is  probably  in  great  part  due  to  circumstances  and 
causes  to  which  I  shall  refer  further  on,  and  is  by  no  means 
inconsistent  with  the  supposition  that  they  formerly  existed 
in  considerable,  if  not  very  great  numbers. 

I  think  students  will  attach  importance  to  these  remains  as 
indicating  the  existence  at  one  time  or  another  in  Peru  of  a 
population  identical  in  degree  and  stage  of  development  with 
the  people  who  raised  corresponding  lithic  and  megalithic 

*  Fellow  of  the  Society  of  Antiquaries  of  Liondon;  Honorary  Fellow  of  the  Anthro- 
pological Societies  of  London  and  Paris;  Fellow  of  the  Boyal  Society  of  Antiquaries 
of  Copenhagen,  etc.,  etc. 

Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congrem,  in  the  year  1870,  by  the  Pkabodt  Acaosmt  or 
SciKircB.  in  the  Clerics  Office  of  the  Dlstrtet  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 

iLMKR.  NATURALIST,  VOL.  rV.  1  (1) 


2  THE    PRIMEVAL   MONUMENTS   OP   PERU. 

monuments  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  and  who,  if  not  the 
progenitors  of  the  semi-civilized  nations  found  in  Peru  at  the 
time  of  the  conquest,  certainly  preceded  them  in  the  occupa- 
tion of  the  country.  If  it  should  be  found,  nevertheless,  that 
there  has  been  a  gradual  development  of  any  of  these  rude 
remains  into  elaborate  and  imposing  monuments,  corres- 
ponding with  them  in  their  purpose  or  design,  or  a  gradual 
chan^  from  the  rough  burial  chamber  of  uncut  stones  into  the 
symmetrical  sepulchral  tower  built  of  hewn  blocks  accurately 
fitted  together,  and  in  general  workmanship  coinciding  with 
the  other  and  most  advanced  and  admirable  structures  of  the 
country,  then  we  may  reasonably  infer  that  the  latter  were 
constructed  by  the  same  people  that  built  the  first,  and  that, 
monumentally,  at  least,  the  civilization  of  Peru  was  in- 
digenous, gradually  developed  and  not  intruded.  Leaving, 
however,  the  very  few  and  obvious  deductions  I  may  feel 
justified  in  making,  for  the  close  of  this  brief  paper,  I  wish 
to  call  attention  to  three  groups  of  monuments,  the  chulpas 
and  other  remains  of  Acora,  Quellenata,  and  Sillustani,  all 
in  the  great  terrestrial  basin  of  Lake  Titicaca,  near  that 
lake,  in  that  political  subdivision  of  the  ancient  Peruvian 
Empire  called  the  Collao^  and  now  Department  of  Puno. 

The  arable  portions  of  Peru,  circumscribed  by  mountains, 
cold  and  sterile  jpitnos  or  table-lands,  and  bare  deserts,  early 
forced  the  population  of  the  country  to  a  close  economy  of 
their  cultivable  lands,  and  led  them  to  bury  their  dead  and 
build  their  towns  in  waste  places,  on  arid  hillsides  above  the 
reach  of  irrigation,  or  on  rocky  eminences  and  promontories, 
which  even  their  patient  industry  could  not  make  productive. 
In  such  positions  throughout  the  ancient  Collao,  we  find 
numberless  cemeteries,  often  in  proximity  to  the  ruins  of 
towns  and  villages.  Some  of  these  cemeteries  are  marked 
by  really  imposing  monuments,  and  form  conspicuous  fea- 
tures in  the  landscape. 

The  first  and  simplest  form  of  the  burial  monument,  and 
which  I  shall  assume,  for  the  present,  to  be  the  oldest,  con- 


THE    PRIMEVAL   MONUMENTS   OP    PERU.  3 

sists  of  flat,  unhewn  Btoiies  of  varying  lengths  set  firmly  in 
the  groHud,  projecting  above  it  from  one  to  two  feet,  so  as 
to  form  a  circle,  more  or  less  regular,  about  three  feet  in 
diameter.  The  body  was  buried  within  this  circle,  in  a 
sitting  or  crouching  posture,  and  with  a  vase  of  pottery  or 
some  other  utensil  or  implement  at  its  feet.  Sometimes  a 
few  flat  stones  were  laid  across  the  upright  ones,  so  as  to 
form  a  kind  of  roof,  and  in  a  few  instances  these  nide  tombs 
were  placed  side  by  side  ia  long  rows,  and  stones  al'terwai-ds 
heaped  over  them,  so  as  to  give  them  the  appearance  of  lines 
of  I'uined  walls. 
Another  rude  but  more  advanced  and  impressive  form  of 


primitive  Tomb,  Acoi*. 

the  tomb  consists  of  large  slabs  of  stone,  projecting  from 
four  to  six  feet  above  the  ground,  and  also  set  in  the  form 
of  a  circle  or  sqnare  of  from  six  to  sixteen  feet  in  diameter. 
These  uprights  support  blocks  of  stone,  which  lap  over  each 
other  inwardly,  until  they  touch  and  brace  against  each 
other,  thus  forming  a  kind  of  rude  arch.  A  doorway  or 
opening  is  often  found  leading  into  the  vault,  formed  by 
omitting  one  of  the  upright  stones. 

The  arid  plain  to  the  south  of  the  town  of  Acora,  near 
the  shores  of  Lake  Tlticaca,  and  twelve  miles  distant  from 
the  ancient  town  of  Chucnito,  is  covered  with  remains  of 
this  kind,  of  which  Fig.  1  is  an  example;  and  on  the  west- 
ern border  of  the  plain,  at  the  base  of  the  mount-iins  which 


4  THE   FRIMEYAL  MONUMENTS   OF  PEBU. 

bound  it  in  that  direction,  are  some  of  the  better  class  of 
chulpaSf  round  and  square,  built  of  worked  stones,  to  which 
I  shall  have  occasion  to  allude  in  another  place. 

A  modification  of  the  second  class  of  ckulpas,  which  I 
have  described,  or  rather  an  improvement  on  them,  is  to  be 
found  among  the  ruins,  so  called,  of  Quellenata  to  the 
northeast  of  Lake  Titicaca,  in  Bolivia  (Fig.  2), and  at  many 
other  places  in  the  ancient  CoIIao.  Here  the  inner  chamber 
or  vault  is  formed,  as  in  the  case  of  those  already  noticed, 
by  a  circle  of  upright  stones,  across  the  tops  of  which  flat 
stones  are  laid,  forming  a  chamber,  which  often  has  its  floor 
below  the  general  level  of  the  earth.  Around  this  chamber 
a  wall  is  built,  which  is  carried  up  to  varying  heights  of 
from  ten  to  thirty  feet.  The  exterior  stones  are  usually 
broken  to  conform  to  the  outer  curve  of  the  tower,  and  the 
whole  is  more  or  less  cemented  together  with  a  very  tena- 
cious clay.  Nearly  all  are  built  with  flaring  or  diverging 
walls ;  that  is  to  say,  they  are  naiTower  at  their  bases  than 
at  their  tops.  Sometimes  this  divergence  is  on  a  curved  in- 
stead of  a  right  line,  and  gives  to  the  monument  a  graceful 
shape.  In  Quellenata  I  found  only  one  skeleton  in  each 
of  the  chulpas  I  examined;  and  none  of  the  chulpas  had 
open  entrances.  Similar  structures  in  shape  and  construc- 
tion occur  in  great  numbers  among  what  are  called  the  ruins 
of  Ullulloma  (Fig.  3),  three  leagues  from  the  town  of  Sta. 
Rosa  in  thd  valley  of  the  river  Pucura.  But  here  the  chul- 
pas have  openings  into  which  a  man  may  creep,  and  all  of 
them  contained  originally  two  or  more  skeletons. 

Returning  now  to  Acora.  As  I  have  intimated,  within 
sight  of  the  rude  burial  monuments  already  noticed  as  exist- 
ing there, — and  which  so  closely  resemble  the  cromlechs  of 
Europe, — are  other  sepulchral  monuments,  showing  a  great 
advance  on  those  of  Quellenata  and  Ullulloma.  They  are 
both  round  and  square,  standing  on  platforms  of  stones  reg- 
ularly and  artificially  shaped,  and  are  themselves  built  of 
squared  blocks  of  limestone.     In  common  with  the  primitive 


a  THE   PRIMEVAL   MOSHMENTa   OP  PEBU. 

and  typical  forma  of  the  same  class  of  mouiiineiits  already 
described,  these  also  have  an  iuuer  chamber,  vaulted  by  over- 
lapping stones,  after  the  fashion  of  the  earlier  approxima- 
tions towards  the  arch.  They  differ,  however,  in  having 
each  four  niches  in  the  chamber  or  vault,  placed  at  right 
angles  in  respect  to  each  other-  The  sides  of  these  niches 
converge  a  little  towards  their  tops,  as  do  most  of  the 
Tig.a.  Inca    niches, 

windows  and 
doorways.  In 
these  niches 
were  fastened 
the  bodies  of 
the  dead,  in 
sqnatting  or 
crouching 
postures. 

Figure  4  is 
a  view  of  a 
double-  sto- 
ried, square 
cJmlpa,  with 
a  jjMtwjo  or 
'  hill  fort  in  the 
distance,  oc- 
curring near 
Cbnlpa,  UUnUoma,  partly  rnined.  the     Bolivian 

town  of  Escoma,  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Lake  Titicaca. 
Figure  5  is  a  section  of  this  chulpa.  I  introduce  these 
cuts  to  show  some  of  the  variations  in  this  class  of  monu- 
ments. Escoma  is  on  the  same  side  of  Lake  Titicaca  with 
Quellenata,  but  sixty  miles  to  the  southward ;  and  it  is  a 
curious  fact,  that  while  at  the  latter  place  all  the  c/nilpas  are 
round,  at  the  former  they  are  all  square. 

The  sides  of  all  the  square  chulpai  appear  to  be  perfectly 
vertical,  and  near  their  summits  we  find  a  projecting  band  or 


THE   PRIMEVAI.   MONUMENTS  OF  PBBU.  7 

cornice.  Their  tops  seem  to  liuve  beeu  flat.  Ou  the  other 
hand  tho  rouud  c/tulj)as  here  swell  out  leguluily  up  to  the 
orimmental  Imiid  or  foriiice,  aud  teriuiimte  iu  a.  dome. 

These  features,  however,  are  still  better  marked  in  the 
ruins  of  Sillustiuii,  where  the  chuljms,  iu  respect  of  size, 
elaboration  of  design  and  workmanship,  take  their  highest 
form.  Here  we  find  them  built  of  great  blocks  of  trachyte 
and    other   hard  stones,  tilted  together  with  unsurpassable 

Fig*. 


Square  Ctnilpa.  EBComs,  BoIItIb. 

accuracy,  the  structure  nevertheless  preserving  some  of  the 
characteristic  features  of  the  fii-st  and  rudest  form  of  the 
chulpa  {Fig.  C).  The  lower  course  of  sttmes  is  almost  inva- 
riably composed  of  great  blocks  of  which  the  unhewn  por- 
tions are  set  in  tlie  ground,  and  these  support  a  scrips  of 
layers,  uot  always  regular  in  respect  of  thickness,  nor  uni- 
form iu  respect  of  size,  but  which  have  their  sides  cut  on 
exact  radii  of  the  circle,  and  their  faces  out  with  an  accu- 
rate bevel  upward  to  coirespond  witli  the  swell  of  tho  tower. 


8  THE   PKIMEVAL   MONUMENT!*   OP   PEEU. 

The  Btoues  forming  the  iluine  ore  Dut  ouly  cut  on  accurate 
radii,  but  the  curve  of  the  dome  is  preserved  iu  each,  and 
they  are  fuitbermore  eo  cut  that  thehpush  or  plunge  is  in- 
ward towardd  the  centre  of  the  structure,  thereby  tending  to 
give  it  compactness  and  cousequeut  strength.  There  are 
tnuny  other  interesting  architectural  features  connected  with 
these  i-emuins  of  Sillustani,  the  enumeration  of  which  is 
not  necessary  in  order  to  illustrate  the  particular  question 
before  us,* 

Some  of  the  c/tulpas  of  Sillustani  have  double  vaults  or 

*■'«  '■  chumbcrs,    oue  above  the  other,   and 

others  have  a  double  row  of  niches,  in 
a  single  chamber,  witii  a  cist,  carefully 
walled   up,  sunk   iu    the   earth  below. 
There  are  a  few  built  of  rough  stones 
plastered  and  stuccoed  over,  and  paint- 
ed, with  inner  clmmbei's  also  stuccitcd. 
Now,    in   all   tliesc   vuricfies  of  the 
burial    monument    culled    the    chulpa, 
from  the  rude  pile  of  rough  stones  at 
Acora,  so  much  resembling  the  Euro- 
peau_  cromlech,  through   every   variety 
of  form  and  phase  of  skill  to  the  tine 
Bectiao of  ctaDipa (flg.  4).    towers  of  SJllustani  we  discover  com- 
mon features,  a  common  design,  and  many  evidences  that 
all  were  equally  Uie  work  of  the  same  people.     If  so,  do 
the   ruder   monuments   mark   an  earlier  and  possibly  very 
remote  period  in  the  history  of  that  people?     And  do  the 
various  stages  of  development  which  we  observe  in  this  class 
of  monuments,  correspond  with  like  stages  iu  the  develo^v 
nient  of  their  builders?     Or  did  they  build  the  rough  tomb 

•ForpiirpuBpi'  of  Fomparienn,  I  Introdnco  a  reduction  from  a  ]rtinloj(Tsi]h.  of  a  riew 
or  a  8"  calle.l  Pslunglc  round  tmvpr.  BTncing  (he  nilns  of  Alatrl.  \laly  IFIg.  7).  T6o  re 
Mmblanro  belHPpn  Ihe  etjie  and  workmanahip  of  (he  SilluF(nni  monuments  and  [ho»e 
of  AlJ(rl  In  Btronit,  except  tha(  the  stones  of  (he  former  arc  mnrh  (he  Xnnenl.  and  are 
cut  and  IKtecl  with  miirh  greater  accniaoy.  In  no  part  of  tho  world  havn  I  *een  the  art 
nf  stoueK-ntting  and  dUiug  carrted  to  the  point  of  pcrt^Uon  It  was  by  the  anelents  of 


THE   PRIMEVAL   MONUMENTS   OF   PERU. 


Fig.  6. 


for  the  poor  and  insignificant,  and  the  grander  and  more 
elaborate  monument  for  the  rich  and  the  powerful,  as  we  do 

today  ? 

I  incline,  for  reasons  not  altogether  dmwn  from  an  in- 
vestigation of  this  single  class  of  monuments,  to  the  opinion 
that  the  various  formsi  of  the  chulpa  are  indices  of  different 
eras.  I  doubt  if  monuments  were  ever  raised,  whether  rude 
or  imposing,  except  over  important  persons.  I  believe  that 
anciently  as  now,  the  common  Indian,  the  patient  servant  of 
the  chief  or  curaca  of  old, 
as  of  the  gobemador  of  our 
age,  received  few  burial  hon- 
ors. His  grave  was  unmark- 
ed  by  stone  or  symbol.  The 
chulpas  probably  signalize  the 
graves  of  individuals  distin- 
guished in  their  periods, 
upon  which  contemporaneous 
skill  and  effort  were  expended. 
If  the  monument  was  rude, 
it  was  because  the  people 
who  raised  it  were  aFso  rude. . 
At  the  time  it  was  erected ' 
the  cromlech  or  chulpa  of 
Acora   cost,    it   may  be,  an 


Cbulpa,  or  Burial  Tower,  Sillastanl. 


effort  as  great  or  greater  than  was  exhausted,  at  a  later  pe- 
riod, on  the  elaboratie  and  imposing  towers  of  Sillustani. 
And,  altogether,  I  am  convinced,  speaking  for  the  present 
only  in  view  of  sepulchral  monuments,  that  their  develop- 
ment in  Peru  may  be  traced  from  their  first  and  rudest  form 
up  to  that  which  prevailed  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest, 
preserving  throughout  the  same  essential  features. 

But  it  is  not  in  the  early  sepulchral  monuments  of  Peru, 
that  we  have  absolute  coincidences  with  the  remains  which 
are  now  accepted  as  among  the  primitive  monuments  of 
mankind.     As  we  find  in  both  Europe  and  Asia  the  rude 

AMER.   NATURAUST,   VOL.  IV.  2 


10  THE   PKIMEYAL   MONUMENTS   OF   PERU. 

monuments  of  religion  existing  side  by  side  with  those  of 
sepulture,  so  we  find  in  Peru  the  Sun-circle,  or  primitive, 
open,  symbolical  temple,  side  by  side  with  the  Peruvian 
chtdpa.  In  many  places  we  discover  circles  defined  by  rude 
upright  stones,  and  surrounding  one  or  more  larger  upright 
stones  placed  sometimes  in  the  centre  of  the  circle,  but 
oftener.  at  one-third  of  the  diameter  of  the  circle  apart,  and 
on  a  line  at  right  angles  to  another  line  that  might  be  drawn 
through  the  centre  of  the  gateway  or  entrance  on  the  east. 

In  connection  with  the  group  of  chulpas  at  Sillustani,  or 
rather  on  the  same  promontory  on  which  these  occur,  are 
found  a  number  of  such  Sun-circles,  which  seem  strangely 
to  have  escaped  the  notice  of  travellers.  The  tradition  of 
their  original  purpose  is  preserved  in  the  Quichua  name 
they  still  bear  of  Intihuataruiy  '*  where  the  sun  is  tied 
up."* 

Some  of  these  circles  are  more  elaborate  than  others,  as 
shown  in  the  engraving  (Fig.  8),  from  which  it  will  be  seen 
that  while  the  one  nearest  the  spectator  is  constructed  of 
simple  upright  stones,  set  in  the  ground ;  the  second  one  is 
surrounded  by  a  platform  of  stones  more  or  less  hewn  and 
fitted  together.  The  first  circle  is  about  ninety  feet  in  di- 
ameter; the  second  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  and 
has  a  single  erect  stone  standing  in  the  relative  positicm 
I  have  already  indicated.  A  remarkable  feature  in  the 
larger  circle  is  a  groove  cut  in  the  platform  around  it,  deep 
enough  to  receive  a  ship's  cable. 

""  I  am  well  aware  that  many  of  the  smaller  so  called  Sun- 
circles  of  the  old  world  are  rather  grave-circles,  or  places  of 
sepulture ;  but  that  in  no  way  bears  on  the  point  I  am  at 
present  illustrating,  namely :  the  close  resemblance  if  not 
absolute  identity  of  the  primitive  monuments  of  the  great 
Andean  plateau,  elevated  thirteen  thousand  feet  above  the 

*  /fiK,  In  the  Quichna  language,  BlgniileB  the  Sun,  and  huatcma^  the  place  where  or 
the  thing  with  which  anything  i£  tied  up.  The  compound  word  is  still  applied  by  the 
Indiana  to  dials  and  chnrch  clocks.    Huata  signifies  a  year. 


THE   PRIMEVAL   MONUMENTS   OF   PERU. 


11 


Fig.  7. 


sea,  aud  fenced  in  with  high  mountains  and  frigid  deseils, 
with  those  of  the  other  continent.* 

Peru  has  many  examples  of  that  kind  of  stone  structures 
called  Cyclopean,  in  which  stones  of  all  shapes  aud  sizes  are 
fitted  accurately 
together,  with- 
out cement,  so 
as  to  form  a 
solid  whole. 
The  great  Inca 
fortress  of  the 
Sacsahuaman, 
dominating  the 
city  of  Cuzco, 
the  old  Inca 
capit-al,  is  one 
of  the  most  im- 
posing monu- 
ments of  this 
kind  in  America 
or  the  world, 
and  claims  to 
rank  with  the 
pyramids  them- 
selves as  an  il- 
lustration of 

human      power .  "  Pelasgic  "  tower,  Alatri,  Italy.    (See  foot  not©  p.  8.) 

But  apart  from  remains  of  this  kind,  which  characterize 
comparatively  late  eras,  we  find  remains  of  similar  design, 
often  imposing,  but  rude,  and  on  the  stones  of  which  we 
look  in  vain  for  the  traces  of  tools  of  any  kind. .   In  con- 

^Cremlechs  and  Megalithin  monnment.'i  appear  to  hare  lieen  nnder  di8ciif>8)on  in  the 
Ethnological  Society  of  London  during  the  pa^t  year  (1869).  Mr.  Hodder  M.  West- 
ropp.  while  indicating  their  wide  range  IVom  Etruna  to  Malabar,  fVom  the  f>teppc8  of 
Tartary,  to  the  centre  of  Arabia,  and  from  Scandinavia  to  the  Pacific  Inlands,  insisted 
on  their  purely  sepulchral  character,  and  regarded  them,  even  when  taking  the  fonn 
of  great  cli-cles,  dimply  as  tombs,  indicative  of  a  ver>'  early  and  low  phaite  of  civiliza- 
tion.   He  s^ems  to  have  supported  his  views  (of  which  I  have  only  an  abstract  in 


12  THE   FRIMEYAL   MONUBfENTS   OF  PERU. 

sti'uctidn  they  somewhat  resemble  the  works  uncritically 
knowu  as  Pdasgic.  A  notable  example  may  be  named  in 
the  ruins  of  Quellenata,.  already  mentioned,  situated*  on  a 
mountain  dominating  the  town  of  Vilcachico,  and  overlook- 
ing Lake  Titicaca  (Fig.  2).  Still  another,  but  less  rude,  is 
the  great  fortress  of  Chaucayillo  or  Calaveras,  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  valley  of  Casma. 

Tradition  affirms  that  these  ^Mcarcw,  or  strongholds,  were 
reared  long  ago,  when  the  inhabitants  of  Peru  were  divided 
up  into  savage  and  warlike  tribes,  *^  before  the  sun  shone,"  or 
the  Incas  had  established  their  benignant  rule.  They  are 
held  in  a  certain  veneration  as  the  works  of  giants,  whose 
spirits  still  haunt  them,  and  require  to  be  propitiated  with 
offerings  of  chicha  and  coca.  Hundreds  of  these  remains, 
often  of  great  extent,  crown  the  bare  mountain  tops  of  Cen- 
tral and  Southern  Peru  and  Bolivia,  and  are  scattered  all 
through  the  grand  Andean  plateau.  Looking  upon  them  in 
their  obvious  character,  expressed  also  in  their  name  of 
pucaraSy  as  strongholds  or  fortresses,  we  find  them  to  be  but 
rude  types  of  the  extensive  and  elaborate  defensive  works 
constructed  by  the  Incas,  and  in  which  were  introduced 
parapets,  salient  and   reentering  angles,  and  many  of  the 


French)  by  the  circumstance  that  human  bones,  and  other  evidences  of  sepulture,  are 
found  in  all  or  nearly  all  of  these  monuments.  But  we  know  that  the  temple  and  the 
tomb  have  gone  together  ftH>m  time  immemorial,  lending  to  each  other  reciprocal  sanc- 
tity and  reverence.  Will  the  antiquaries  of  the  fhture  quarrel  over  the  question 
whether  Westminster  Abbey  and  the  Church  of  St.  Denis  were  tombs  or  temples,  one 
or  both  ?  In  this  discussion  Mr.  Lane  Fox  (and  I  am  still  confined  to  the  abstract 
alluded  to),  after  indicating  a  still  wider  area  for  megalithic  monuments  than  Mr.  West- 
ropp,  including  the  Canary  Islands,  Algeria,  Palestine,  Persia,  the  Fet)ee  Islands  and 
the  Ladrones,  leans  to  the  hypothesis  that  they  were  the  work  of  one  people  that  spread 
east  and  west,  between  barriers  of  seas  like  the  MediteiTanean  on  the  south  and 
eternal  snows  on  the  north,  and  that  civilization  was  developed  on  the  line  of  their  oc- 
currence. And  that,  the  vast  regions  in  which  they  are  not  found  (in  which  America  is 
enumerated),'*'  are  precisely  those  where  civilization  never  penetrated."  Civilization 
is,  of  course,  a  relative  term,  and  one  to  which  nations  who  in  this  age  go  to  war  with 
one  another  may  doubtftilly  aspire,  but  to  which  the  beneficent  Incas,  to  say  nothing 
of  the  Arcadian  inhabitants  of  New  Mexico  might  lay  good  claim.  Still,  if  megalithic 
monuments  of  any  kind  are  evidences  of  civilization,  or  even  of  its  first  stages,  Pern, 
fk'om  what  has  been  Inserted  in  tibe  text,  can  no  longer  '*  be  left  out  in  the  cold ;"  and  if 
civilization  took  the  route  of  these  monuments  it  certainly  spread  **  laterally"  past  the 
Riciflc  Islands  to  Ameiica,  or—vicever»a. 


THE   PRIMEVAL  MONUMENTS   OF   PEBO.  13 

most  importiuit  features  of  modern  fortificatioiia.  In  short, 
as  we  find  in  the  rude  cJiulpaa  of  Acora,  the  essential  fea- 
tures of  the  imposing  and  skilfully  constructed  burial  towers 
of  SillusUni,  so  we  find  iu.  these  primitive  defenses  the 
fuudameuUl  ideas  eubaequentlji  elaborated  in  the  gigantic 
fortresses  of  Suusahiianiau,  Pisac,  and  OUautaytambo.  Some 
instances  fell  under  my  notice  in  Peru,  of  single  rough 
upright  stoues,  occasionaUy  of  great  size,  which  were  huaca 
or  sacred,  and  to  which  great  reverence  is  still  paid  by  the 
Indians.     A  notable  instance  is  to  be  observed  on  the  sum- 


lollliiiUaniiB  at  Sillast 

mit  of  a  hisfh,  bare  hill,  on  the  r 
Simanco  and  the  town  of  Nepefla, 
interesting  ruins  of  Huaca-Tambo. 
stones  were  set  up  by  hand  of 
occupy  natural  positions." 

The  celebrated  ruins  of  Tiahuan 
be  called  the  Stonchenge  or  Carna 
a  striking  example  of  the  artificial 
well  as  upright  stones,  in  the  form 


*Tbe  ladlana  of  the  iraiut  of  Pern  ralseil  larf 
ealtlTftled  HbMs.  which  tbty  Milled  eftfcfcx  or  T 
ehacra.    Thli  stone  recelTed  eapeclol  reTerenoe  a 


I 


14  THE   PRIMEVAL  MONUMENTS   OF   PERU. 

and  on  parallel  lines.  Here  we  find  quadrangles  defined  by 
huge,  unhewn  stones,  worn  and  frayed  by  time,  and  having 
every  evidence  of  highest  antiquity,  by  the  side  of  other 
squares  of  similar  plan,  but  defined  by  massive  stones  cut 
with  much  elaboration,  as«if  they  were  the  work  of  later 
generations,  better  acquainted  with  the  use  of  tools  fit  for 
cutting  stones,  who  nevertheless  retained  the  notions  of  their 
ancestors,  bringing  only  greater  skjil  to  the  construction  of 
their  monuments.  The  megalithic  remains  of  Tiahuanaco 
rank  second  in  interest  to  none  in  the  world. 

Fig.  9  is  of  a  singular  monument,  in  the  ancient  town 
of  Chicuito,  once  the  most  important  in  the  Collao.  It  is 
in  the  form  of  a  rectangle,  sixty-five  feet  on  each  side, 
and  consists  of  a  series  of  large,  roughly  worked  blocks  of 
stone,  placed  closely  side  by  side  on  a  platform,  or  rather  on 
a  foundation  of  stones,  sunk  in  the  ground,  and  projecting 
fourteen  inches  outward  all  around.  The  entrance  is  from 
the  east,  between  two  blocks  of  stones,  higher  than  the  rest. 
This  may  be  taken  as  a  type  of  an  advanced  class  of  mega- 
lithic. monuments  by  no  means  uncommon  in  the  highlands 
of  Peru.  The  features  I  seek  to  illustrate  would  be  made 
more  apparent  by  a  greater  number  of  views,  plans,  and  sec- 
tions than  I  am  now  able  to  present,  as  may  be  inferred  from 
the  few  accompanying  this  paper.  When  they  shall  come  to 
be  fully  illustrated,  I  think  all  students  will  coincide  with  me 
in  ray  already  matured  opinion  that  there  exist  in  Peru  and 
Bolivia,  high  up  among  the  snowy  Andes,  the  oldest  forms 
of  monuments,  sepulchral  and  otherwise,  known  to  mankind, 
exact  counterparts  in  character  of  those  of  the  ''old  wotld,'* 
having  a  common  design,  illustrating  similar  conceptions, 
and  all  of  them  the  work  of  the  same  peoples  found  in  occu- 
pation of  the  country  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest,  and  whose 
later  monuments  are  mainly  if  not  wholly  the  developed 
forms  of  those  raised  by  their  ancestors,  and  which  seem  to 
have  been  the  spontaneous  productions  of  the  primitive  man 
in  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  not  necessarily  nor  even  prob- 
ably derivative. 


16  THE   PRIMEVAL   MONUMENTS   OF   PERU. 

I  have  only  to  add  one  word  hi  respect  to  caverns.  There 
are  many  of  these  in  the  sierras  of  Peru,  in  which  the  mod- 
em traveller  is  often  ghid  to  find  refuge,  as  was  the  Indian 
voyager  before  him.  But  few  of  these  however,  seem  to 
have  been  inhabited.  Generally  they  appear  to  have  been 
used  as  burial  places,  and  abound  in  desiccated  humau  bodies, 
human  bones,  objects  of  human  art,  and  the  bones  of  indige- 
nous animals,  oft'jn  cemented  together  with  calcareous  de- 
posits. Some  of  the  many  Peruvian  traditions  affirm  that 
the  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  country  emerged  from  the 
limestone  caverns  in  the  frontier  Amazonian  valley  of  Pau- 
cartambo.*  The  best  accepted  perhaps  of  the  Peruvian  tradi- 
tions assigns  to  the  Sun-born  Manco  Capac,  his  birth-place 
and  early  residence  in  a  shallow  cavern  on  the  island  of 
Titicaca,  out  of  which  the  sun  rose  to  illuminate  the  earth, 
and  which  was  regarded  as  the  most  sacred  spot  in  the  Inca 
Empire.  That  man  should  first  seek  shelter  in  caverns,  in  a 
cold  and  arid  region  like  the  plateau  of  Peru,  where  wood  is 
scarce  or  unknown,  is  equally  natural  and  probable ;  but 
the  evidences  of  such  a  practice  do  not  exist,  or  rather  have 
not  yet  been  discovered. 

That  considerable  aboriginal  Peruvian  tribes  once  lived  in 
houses  built  on  piles,  or  on  floats,  in  the  shallow  waters  of 
the  Andean  lakes,  is  not  only  probable  but  certain.  The 
remnants  of  such  a  tribe,  bearing  the  name  of  Antis,  still 
live  in  this  manner  in  the  reedy  lakes  formed  by  the  spread- 
ing out  or  overflow  of  the  Rio  Desaguadero,  the  outlet  of 
Lake  Titicaca.     These  people  spoke  and  still  speak  a  lau- 

*The  old  Jesuit,  Atriago,  in  his  rare  and  valuable  work  Extirpacion  de  la  Idolatria 
del  Peru  (1621),  tells  us  not  only  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  coast  of  Pern  reverenced 
the  ffuarit,  "who  were  their  ancestors  and  also  giants,  bat  the  buildings  erected  by 
them."  He  adds :  **  They  reverence  also  their  Pacarinaa^  or  places  of  ancient  residence, 
to  the  degree  of  preferring  to  live  in  them,  notwithstanding  that  they  are  bnllt  in  lolly, 
rocky,  arid  places,  often  a  league  fh>m  water,  and  only  possibly  to  be  reached,  and  even 
then  with  difficulty,  on  foot." 

The  word  Pacarinay  as  given  by  Arriaga,  is  embodied  in  that  of  Pancartambo,  the 
name  of  one  of  the  upper  Amazonian  Valleys,  running  parallel  to  that  of  Tncay,  near 
Cu2COy  whence,  one  of  the  traditions  of  the  Incas  derives  the  founders  of  their  civUiaa^ 
tion  and  empire.  The  name  is  only  a  corruption  of  Paeari,  to  be  bom ;  and  tampu,  a 
dwelling  or  stopping  place— the  whole  being  equivalent  to  birth-place  or  homestead. 


REMARKS   ON   SOME   CURIOUS   SPONOES.  17 

« 

guage  differing  equally  from  the  Aymara  and  Quiehua,  called 
Puquina,  and  the  early  chroniclers  speak  of  them  as  ex- 
tremely savage,  so  much  so  that  when  asked  who  they  were, 
they  answered,  they  were  not  men  but  Uros^  as  if  they  did 
not  belong  to  the  human  family.  Whole  towns  of  them,  it 
is  said,  lived  on  floats  of  totora  or  reeds,  which  they  moved 
from  place  to  place  according  to  their  convenience  or  neces- 
sities. 


REMARKS  ON  SOME  CURIOUS   SPONGES. 

BY  PROFESSOR  JOSEPH  LEIDT. 

Among  the  many  remarkable  marine  productions  which 
puzzle  the  naturalist  as  to  their  relationship  in  the  animal 
kingdom,  is  the  Hyalonema  mirabilis  of  the  Japan  seas. 
First  described  and  named  by  Dr.  John  E.  Gray,  of  the 
British  Museum,  this  distinguished  zoologist  viewed  it  as  a 
coral  related  with  Oorgonia,  or  the  Sea  Fan. 

The  specimens  of  Hyalonema,  as  ordinarily  preserved, 
appear  as  a  loosely  twisted  bundle  of  threads  converging 
to  a  point  at  one  extremity  of  the  fascicle  and  more  or  less 
divergent  at  the  other.  The  threads  bear  so  much  resem- 
blance to  spun  glass  that  the  production  has  received  the 
name  of  the  Glass  Plant.  They  are  mainly  composed  of 
silex  and  are  translucent,  shining,  and  highly  flexible.  The 
fascicle  is  upwards  of  a  foot  and  a  half  in  length  and  near 
half  an  inch  thick.  The  threads  range  from  the  thickness 
of  an  ordinary  bristle  to  that  of  a  stout  darning  needle. 

Specimens  of  the  Hyalonema  fascicle,  as  they  have  been 
brought  to  us,  almost  invariably  present  some  portion  in- 
vested with  a  brown  warty  crust;  the  wart-like  elevations 
terminating  in  a  cylindrical  ring  with  radiating  ridges.  These 
elevations  are  the  individual  polyps,  continuous  through  the 

AMKR.  Kj^TURALIST,  VOL.  IV.  8 


18  REMARKS  ON   SOME   CURIOUS   SPONGES. 

intervening  crust,  of  which  Dr.  Gray  views  the  fascicle  as 
the  central  axis. 

In  some  specimens  of  the  Hyalonema  fascicle  the  narrow 
end  is  enveloped  in  a  spongy  mass,  or  as  Dr.  Gray  observes, 
"a  species  of  sponge."  He  supposes  the  sponge  to  be  inde- 
pendent of  the  fascicle  or  "coral,"  though  necessary  to  it 
as  a  means  of  attachment  in  its  habitsitiou.  According  to 
this  view  the  fascicle  with  its  warty  crust,  is  a  parasite  of 
the  sponge  into  which  the  fascicle  is  inserted.  Dr.  Gray 
remarks  that  ''in  general  the  specimens  are  withdrawn  from 
the  spongy  base  and  the  lower  part  of  the  axis  is  cleaned ; 
but  it  is  evident  that  they  all  are  attached  to  such  a  sponge 
in  their  natural  state." 

When  the  writer  first  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  a 
specimen  of  Hyalonema,  consisting  of  a  fascicle  partially  in- 
vested with  a  warty  crust,  presented  to  the  Academy  of  Nat- 
ural Sciences  of  Philadelphia  in  1860,  and  before  he  had 
seen  an  account  of  the  remarkable  production,  his  impression 
was  that  it  was  a  silicious  fascicle  of  a  sponge,  upon  which 
a  parasitic  polyp  bad  found  a  convenient  and  secure  resting- 
place.  M.  Valenciennes  had  previously  expressed  a  similar 
opinion,  as  observed  in  the  introduction  to  Professor  Milne 
Edwards'  work  on  British  Fossil  Corals. 

Notwithstanding  the  frequency  of  silicious  threads  enter- 
ing into  the  composition  of  many  sponges,  Dr.  Gray  re- 
marks, in  referring  the  Hyalonema  fascicle  to  a  coral,  that 
this  is  peculiar  ''as  being  the  only  body  the  animal  nature  of 
which'  is  undoubted  that  is  yet  known  to  secrete  silica ;  the 
spicules  and  axis  of  all  the  corals  which  had  fallen  under  his 
observation  being  purely  calcareous." 

Professor  Brandt  of  St.  Petersburg  views  the  fascicle  and 
its  warty  crust  as  parts  of  a  polyp,  and  the  sponge  mass  as 
a  parasite  which  attaches  itself  to  the  polyp,  gradually  pen- 
etrating its  silicious  axis,  and  finally  killing  it. 

Dr.  Bowerbank  who  has  so  extensively  investigated  the 
sponges  in  general,  regards  all  thi*ee  of  the  elements  of  the 


KEMAKKS   ON   SOME   CURIOUS   SPONGES.  19 

Hyalonema — the  fascicle,  the  warty  iuvestmeut  and  the 
sponge  mass — as  parts  of  one  sponge.  The  wart-like  eleva- 
tions of  the  crust  he  views  as  oscules  of  the  sponge. 

Professor  Max  Schultze  of  Bonn,  has  published  an  elabo- 
rate memoir  on  the  Hyalonema,  accompanied  by  beautiful 
plates  of  perfect  specimens  preserved  in  the  Museum  at 
Leyden.  .  He  represents  the  fascicle  and  the  sponge  mass 
attached  to  one  end  as  belonging  together,  while  the  warty 
crust  is  referred  to  a  polyp,  to  which  the  author  has  given 
the  name  of  Polythoa  fatua. 

To  conclude  these  discordant  views,  we  may  add  that  of 
the  distinguished  micrologist  Ehrenberg,  who  considers  the 
fascicle  as  an  ''artificial  product  of  Japanese  industry." 

The  Hj'alonema  in  Professor  Schultze's  work,  is  repre- 
sented as  a  sponge  mass  of  conical  or  cylindrical  form  with 
rounded  summit,  from  which  the  rope  of  silicious  threads 
projects.  The  sponge  mass  measures  five  inches  long  and 
three  in  diameter ;  the  fascicle  projects  a  foot  and  two  inches. 
The  sponge  mass  is  described  as  composed  of  loosely  inter- 
woven cords  of  fine  silicious  needles.  The  entire  surface, 
except  the  end  opposite  to  the  fascicle,  is  provided  with 
numerous  orifices  about  one  line  in  diameter.  The  flattened 
end  of  this  sponge  mass  is  furnished  with  six  orifices  half 
an  inch  in  diameter,  communicating  by  canals  in  the  interior 
with  a  system  of  interspaces  finally  ending  in  the  smaller 
orifices  of  the  surface  generally. 

The  long  silicious  threads  of  the  fascicle  are  composed  of 
delicate  concentric  layers  enclosing  a  fine  central  canal.  The 
external  layer  appears  to  be  composed  of  imbricating  rings, 
most  conspicuous  toward  the  free  end  of  the  thread  and 
almost  or  quite  disappearing  toward  the  other  end.  The 
arrangement  reminds  one  of  the  appearance  of  the  cuticle 
on  the  hairs  of  mammals.  The  projecting  edges  of  the  ring 
toward  the  free  ends  of  the  thread  are  most  prominent  and 
also  form  reversed  booklets. 

Professor  Schultze  regards  the  sponge  mass  as  situated  at 


20  REMARKS   ON   SOME   CURIOUS   SPONGES. 

the  bottom  of  the  fascicle,  and  its  flattened  extremity  with 
the  large  oscules  at  the  base.  This  appears  to  be  the  general 
view,  hut  it  has  occurred  to  me  that  the  sponge  mass  in  its 
natural  position  was  uppermost,  and  was  moored  by  its 
glassy  cable,  or  rope  of  sand,  to  the  sea  bottom,  perhaps  to 
marine  algae.  This  opinion  is  founded  on  the  circumstance 
that  in  sponges  generally  the  large  oscules  from  which  flow 
the  currents  of  effete  water  are  uppermost.  The  ends  of  the 
threads  of  the  fascicle,  with  their  reversed  booklets,  are  also 
well  adapted  to  adhere  to  objects. 

The  equally  wonderful  and  still  more  beautiful  Euplectella 
of  the  Philippines  was  also  at  first  represented  upside  down, 
as  seen  in  the  figure  of  Professor  Owen  in  the  "Zoological 
Transactions  of  London,*'  the  reverse  of  the  position  now 
assigned  to  it  as  represented  in  figure  76  of  the  third  volume 
of  the  Naturalist.  In  the  same  manner  Euplectella  and 
Hyalonema  appear  to  me  to  be  alike  constructed  so  as  to  be 
anchored  in  position  by  the  silicious  threads,  with  their  re- 
versed booklets.  It  may  be  that  Hyalonema,  in  its  home, 
is  suspended  by  means  of  its  glossy  cable,  but  I  think  it 
highly  improbable  that  it  should  either  sit  or  be  attached  by 
the  base  of  the  sponge  mass  in  which  the  large  oscules  are 
placed. 

In  the  Proceedings  of  the  Zoological  Society  of  London 
for  1867,  Dr.  Gray  observes  that,  according  to  Dr.  William 
Lockart,  "the  Japanese  Hyalonema  is  found  growing  on  the 
rocks  of  the  island  of  Enosima  not  far  from  Yokohama. 
The  fishermen  oflTer  the  sponges  with  their  silicious  fibres  for 
sale  to  visitors  at  the  temples  of  Enosima." 

An  entirely  diflTerent  sponge,  apparently  intermediate  in 
character  with  Hyalonema  and  Euplectella,  recently  de- 
scribed in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sci- 
ences of  Philadelphia,  under  the  name  of  Pheronema^  would 
appear  to  throw  some  light  upon  the  question  of  what  be- 
longs to  Hyalonema.  The  specimen,  obtained  from  the 
island  of  Santa  Cruz,  W.  I.,  is  preserved  in  the  Museum  of 


EEMABK8  ON   SOME   CURIOUS   8PONOEB.  21 

the  Academy,  It  ia  represeuted  iu  the  acconipiuiyiug  figure 
{Fig.  10),  one-halt'  the  uatural  size.  The  hotly  of  the 
spuDge  is  obloiig  ovoidal,  with  oue  side  more  protuberuiit  than 
the  other.  The  uarrower  extremity,  which  I  suppose  to  bo 
tUe  upper,  is  conical,  and  its  truncated  apex  pi-esent^  a  single, 
ciixiular  orifice,  the  third  of  rtu  inch  iu  Uiumetcr.  The  oppo- 
site extremity  is  ratlier  cylindrical  with  a  hroad,  slightly 
rounded  extremity,  from  which  project  uu-  Fig.io. 

nierous  fascicles  of  silicious  threads. 

The  sponge  body  is  of  a  light  hrown  hue, 
aod  rigid  to  the  feel.     Its  surface  exbibitii 
j^  ^^  an  intricate  interlacement 

of  the  sponge  tissue,  which 
appears  mainly  composed 
of  stellate,  silicious  spic- 
ules of  various  sizes.    The 
coarser  spicules  of  the  sur- 
face, of  which  oue  is   i-ep- 
reseuted  in  Fig.  11,  three 
times  the  diameter  of  na- 
re,  have  five  rays.    Four 
"  of  these   together  are  ir- 
regularly cruciform,  while 
the  fitlb  projects  iu  a  di- 
rectiim  opposed  to  all  the 
others.      They  appear   to 
be  so  arranged  that  the  crucial  rays  interlace 
with  those  of  the  contiguons  spicules,  form- 
ing a  lattice  work  ou  the  surface  of  the 
sponge,  while  the  odd  ray  opposed  to  the  othei-s  penetrates 
the  interior  of  the  sponge.     The  finer  tissue,  seen  through 
the  intervals  of  the  latticed  arnuigenicnt  on  the  surface  of 
the  sponge,  appears  to  be  made  up  in  the  same  manner  of 
finer  stellate  spicules.     Some  of  the  largest  stellate  spicules 
of  the  surface  have  a  spread  of  half  an  inch. 

The  fascicles  of  silicious  threads  projecting  from  the  body 


22 


REMARKS   ON   SOME   CURIOUS   SPONGES. 


of  the  sponge  are  upwards  of  twenty  in  number  and  over 
two  inches  in  length.  They  resemble  in  appearance  tufts  of 
blonde  human  hair.  The  individual  threads  are  nearly  like 
those  proceeding  from  the  lower  end  of  Euplectelbi.  Where 
thickest  they  are  less  than  the  ^ou  of  an  inch  in  diameter, 
Fig.  12.  and.  become  attenuated  towards  the  extremities. 
At  first,  as  they  proceed  from  the  body  of  the 
sponge,  they  are  smooth  and  then  finely  tuber- 
culatc.  The  tubercles  are  gradually  replaced  by 
minute  recurved  hooks,  which  become  better 
developed  approaching  the  free  end  of  the 
threads  which  finally  terminate  in  a  pair  of 
longer  opposed  hooks,  reminding  one  of  the  arms 
of  an  anchor,  as  seen  in  Fig.  12.  The  object  of 
the  tufts  of  threads,  with  their  lateral  booklets 
and  terminal  anchors,  would  appear  to  be  to 
maintain  or  moor  the  sponge  in  position  in  its 
ocean  home. 

The  singular  sponge  thus  described,  the  author 
has  attributed  to  a  genus  distinct  from  Hyalo- 
nema  and  Euplectella,  and  has  dedicated  the 
species  in  honor  of  his  wife,  under  the  name  of 
Pheronema  Annas. 

Of  the  specimens  of  Hyalonema  in  the  Mu- 
seum of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of 
Philadelphia,  there  is  one  which  appears  to  the 
writer  as  somewhat  significant.  The  fascicle  would  appear 
to  have  been  withdrawn  from  its  sponge  body  and  lain 
sometime  in  the  sea  before  it  was  found.  This  is  inferred 
from  the  fact  that  the  Polythoa  crust  reaches  to  within  an 
inch  and  a  half  of  the  end,  which  in  the  natural  condition  is 
inserted  in  the  sponge  mass.  Two  sharks  eggs  are  also  at- 
tached to  the  fascicle  by  their  tendrilled  extremities,  and 
one  of  the  tendrils  clasping  the  fascicle  is  included  in  the 
polyp  crust. 


THE  FRESH-WATER  AQUARIUM. 

BT  CHARLES  B.  BIUGHABC. 
[Concluded  from  page  480,  of  Vol.  Ul.] 


■  Ot 


A  VERY  valuable  addition  to  the  specimens  of  an  aquarium 
may  be  found  in  what  are  called  the  cray-lishes  or  fresh- 
water lobsters.  These  little  animals  so  closely  resembling 
their  salt-water  relations  can  be  kept  without  much  trouble 
in  the  general  collection.  They  are  natives  of  most  parts  of 
the  country,  though  rare  or  limited  in  their  habitat  in  New 
England.  In  New  York  they  are  abundant  in  the  gravelly 
brooks  and  streams,  especially  in  those  near  Trenton  Falls.  A 
careful  observer  will,  as  wading  into  the  water  he  searches  for 
them,  see  two  claws  just  visible  in  a  hole  in  the  sand  or  under 
the  edge  of  a  rock ;  and  if  he  can  hedge  the  hiding  place  around 
with  his  net,  and  also  possibly  his  straw  hat,  and  then  give 
the  desired  specimen  a  slight  stimulus  with  his  hand,  he  will 
find  of  a  sudden  his  cray-fish  resting  quietly  in  the  trap  he 
has  set.  So  quick  are  their  motions  that  one  has  to  keep  a 
sharp  lookout  for  them  or  they  will  escape ;  the  average 
length  of  those  found  near  Trenton  Falls  is  about  two 
inches.  They  are  quite  hardy,  with  this  exception  that  they 
cannot  bear  water  which  is  much  above  the  normal  tempera- 
ture. In  the  summer  time  if  the  tank  is  so  placed  that  the 
sun  shines  upon  it  too  forcibly,  or  for  too  long  a  time,  we 
shall  probably  find  the  cray-fish  resting  motionless  upon  the 
gravel  with  its  claws  and  tfiil  extended  and  its  body  some- 
what swollen.  If  this  state  of  things  has  not  existed  too 
long  a  time,  immediate  removal  to  cold  water  may  revive 
the  unfortunate  victim  by  degrees.  Some  day,  after  the 
cray-fish  has  been  a  quiet  inmate  of  the  aquarium  for  some 
time,  we  shall  be  astouished  in  finding  apparently  two  cray- 
fishes instead  of  one.  Closer  examination  will  disclose  the 
fact  that  one  of  them  is   merely  the  cast-off  shell  of  the 

(28) 


24  THE  FRESM-WATE&  AQUABIUH. 

other ;  and  now  the  uew]y  clad  ci-ay-fish  appears  in  a  coat 
of  a  pinker  hue  than  before,  and  tries  to  keep  under  the 
plants  and  conceal  itself,  until  accustomed  to  its  new  gar- 
ment it  can  venture  foi*th  once  more  into  its  little  world. 
Cray-fishes  eat  small  pieces  of  raw  beef  eagerly.  We  shall 
have  to  be  careful  that  they  do  not  crawl  out  of  the  tank, 
for  if  even  a  tassel  of  a  curtain  is  left  so  near  the  water 
that  it  can  be  reached,  we  shall  find  our  much  prized  spec- 
imen some  morning  dried  up  and  lifeless  in  a  corner  of  the 
room  upon  the  floor. 

Frogs  are  interesting  objects  of  study,  and  to  many  are 
great  favorites ;  they  are  best  kept  in  a  tank  with  an  inch  or 
two  of  water,  with  a  number  of  islands  or  resting-places 
above  the  water  for  them.  A  wire  screen  over  the  top  of 
the  tank  will  be  necessary  to  keep  the  specimens  together. 

Two  of  the  most  useful  and  instructive  sets  of  specimens 
which  the  aquarium  contains  are  its  snails  and  mussels ;  use- 
ful, because  they  act  as  the  scavengers  of  the  tank,  and  from 
what  would  otherwise  be  the  refuse  matter  make  their  living 
from  day  to  day ;  instructive,  because  they  serve  to  illustrate 
in  a  small  way  the  great  principle  by  wliich  the  health  and 
purity  of  all  our  larger  ponds  and  lakes  is  maintained.  The 
snails  live  upon  the  bits  of  decayed  plants  and  the  confervoid 
growths  in  the  tank,  and  the  mussels  by  filtering  the  water 
act  as  constant  purifiers.  There  are  three  kinds  of  snails 
common  in  our  ponds  and  streams,  the  Planorbis  trivolvis 
the  Paludina  decisa,  and  the  Lymn(Ba  desidiosa.  Of 
these  the  best  is  the  Planorbis,  a  snail  with  a  shell  coiled  like 
a  modem  chignon ;  it  is  hardy  and  of  clean  habits,  and  does 
almost  as  much  work  as  its  neighbor,  the  Paludina;  it  is 
found  chiefly  in  ponds  or  large  streams,  while  the  Paludina 
can  be  obtained  in  great  numbers  in  small  brooks  or  pond 
holes.  The  Lymnasa  is  found  near  the  gravelly  beaches  of 
the  larger  ponds;  it  is  a  beautiful  snail,  but  does  not  confine 
itself  to  the  refuse  matter,  and  is  apt  to  eat  eagerly  the  most 
delicate  plants  in  the  tank;   it  is,  therefore,  generally  an 


THE   FBE8H-WATER   AQUARIUM.  25 

unwelcome  visitor.  Of  the  mussels,  those  found  in  ponds 
with  their  many  rayed  shells,  and  those  river  mussels  with 
their  thick,  imattractive  coverings,  are  alike  useful;  they 
move  from  one  side  of  the  tank  to  the  other  with  ease,  and 
we  must  not  expect  to  find  them  always  in  one  position ;  the 
number  of  snails  which  may  be  kept  to  advantage  in  a  tank 
is  very  large ;  they  are  so  apt  to  perish  during  the  winter 
that  it  will  be  well  to  begin  the  season  with  as  large  a  stock 
as  two  hundred  for  a  medium  sized  tank ;  a  dozen  mussels 
of  a  size  proportioned  to  the  tank  will  be  sufficient. 

There  are  many  specimens,  such  as  fishes  at  the  time  of 
spawning,  or  those  particularly  fierce,  or  ceilain  larvae,  which 
would  either  be  destroyed  or  seen  to  disadvantage  in  the 
general  collection.  For  each  of  these  a  separate  tank  is  in- 
dispensable ;  some  glass  jars  of  strong  clear  material  holding 
about  two  quarts,  will  answer  every  purpose,  and  the  contents 
can  be  arranged  precisely  as  if  they  were  large  aquaria.  After 
one  has  had  an  aquarium  in  operation  for  some  time  extra 
tanks  of  this  sort  will  be  found  very  useful  and  necessary ; 
for  if  a  specimen  gets  injured  or  is  in  poor  condition,  a  few 
weeks  recruiting  in  a  separate  tank  will  often  save  its  life ;  or, 
if  we  have  a  larger  stock  of  plants  than  the  large  tank  will 
accommodate  at  the  time,  when  later  in  the  winter  the  plants 
die  off,  then  we  shall  wish  to  replace  them  from  specimens 
in  the  reserve  stock. 

The  instruments  used  for  aquarial  purposes  are  few  in 
number  and  simple.  We  need  a  good  net  a  foot  or  two  in 
diameter,  with  very  fine  meshes,  and  a  flat  basket  so  par- 
titioned off  that  it  will  hold  four  good  sized  jars ;  these  jars 
may  be  of  earthen-ware  or  of  strong  glass,  the  latter  mate- 
rial being  perhaps  better,  as  we  can  then  see  how  many 
specimens  each  jar  contains  without  trouble.  Most  of  the 
plants  can  be  taken  home  (if  the  distance  is  not  too  great) 
rolled  up  in  the  net,  while  the  mussels  can  occupy  the  room 
between  the  jars.  It  is  very  necessary  to  keep  the  planta 
moist,  as  they  are   much   blighted  if  allowed  to  dry;    if 

AMF.R.  NATURAUST,   VOL.  IV.  4 


26  THE   FRESH- WATER   AQUARIUM. 

* 

covers  for  the  jars  are  used  at  all  they  should  be  caps  of 
mosquito  netting  held  on  by  India-rubber  rings. 

For  the  tank  a  glass  rod  about  a  foot  iu  length  and  a 
quarter  of  an  inch  in  thickness  will  be  of  use  in  moving  the 
specimens  into  place  when  disarranged.  Too  much  cannot 
be  said  against  unnecessarily  meddling  with  the  specimens  in 
the  aquarium ;  a  slender  rod  with  a  sponge  attached  to  the 
end  of  it  will  be  useful  in  removing  the  confervsB  from  the 
sides  of  the  tank ;  a  small  gauze-net  three  or  four  inches .  iu 
diameter  is  often  needed  to  remove  dead  or  objectionable 
specimens ;  an  India-rubber  pipe  several  feet  in  length  af- 
fords the  simplest  method  of  drawing  off  the  water  of  the 
tank ;  a  fine  gauze  should  be  placed  over  that  end  of  the 
pipe  which  is  in  the  tank,  otherwise  the  specimens  may 
pass  through  it  and  be  lost. 

Should  the  water  in  the  tank  become  impure  by  any  means 
it  can  often  be  purified  by  the  following  simple  method  :  take 
a  small  earthen  flower-pot  holding  about  a  pint,  and  insert  a 
piece  of  sponge  tightly  in  the  opening  at  the  base  so  that 
when  the  water  is  placed  in  it  it  will  pass  through  the  sponge 
only  drop  by  drop  ;  the  pot  being  filled  with  one-third  pow- 
dered charcoal  and  two-thirds  water,  place  it  over  the  tank 
and  let  it  empty  itself  into  the  aquarium.  The  effect  of  this 
simple  contrivance  is  astonishing  and  it  will  often  save  one 
the  trouble  of  arranging  the  aquarium  anew. 

The  time  of  feeding  and  the  amount  of  food  may  depend 
somewhat  upon  the  kind  of  stock  in  the  aquarium.  As  a 
general  rule  it  is  better  to  keep  the  specimens  under  than 
over-fed,  for  they  do  not  then  by  wasting  their  food  make 
the  water  impure.  Twice  a  week  is  often  enough  to  feed 
them,  and  then  very  small  pieces  of  raw  beef  will  be  found 
the  best  food ;  gold-fishes  will  not  always  eat  the  beef,  and 
for  them  crumbs  of  bread  are  necessary ;  should  we  find  that 
they  do  not  eat  all  that  is  given  we  must  stop  the  feeding 
.at  once  and  remove  with  the  glass  rod  the  neglected  portion. 

The  process  of  accustoming  certain  salt-water  fishes,  such 


THE   TRUGKEE   AND   HUMBOLDT   VALLEYS.  27 

as  minnows  and  stickle-backs,  to  fresh  water  must  be  done 
gradually  if  we  wish  a  happy  result ;  in  this  process  we  have 
an  example  to  follow,  set  by  nature  herself,  for  there  are  in- 
stances of  bodies  of  what  were  once  salt  waters,  so  freshen- 
ing by  degrees  that  they  still  retain  seals  and  certain  marine 
animals.  We  may  find  crabs  in  the  Charles  Eiver  at  some 
distance  above  Cambridge,  and  they  may  be  kept  alive  and 
in  health  for  a  length  pf  time  in  the  fresh-water  aquarium. 

The  system  of  artificial  aeration  and  that  of  producing  an 
ebb  and  flow  in  the  marine  aquarium  have  been  practiced 
with  success  in  large  collections  of  aquaria. 

The  value  of  the  aquarium  as  a  means  of  instruction  can- 
not be  overestimated,  affording  as  it  does  the  opportunity 
of  studying  the  habits  of  aquatic  animals  in  a  manner  attain- 
able by  no  other  means,  and  giving  to  all  an  inducement  to 
pursue  further  the  study  of  natural  history  which  will  be  a 
pleasure  throughout  life. 


A  SKETCH  OF  THE  TRUCKEE  AND  HUMBOLDT 

VALLEYS. 


BY    W.     W.     BAILKY. 


Since  the  opening  of  the  Pacific  Railroad  all  have  had 
their  attention  more  or  less  turned  to  that  vast  region  lying 
between  the  Sierra  Nevada  and  the  Rocky  Mountains.  It  is 
known  as  the  Great  Basin ;  but  if,  misled  by  the  name,  we  con- 
ceive merely  of  a  boundless  valley,  more  or  less  desolate,  we 
shall  arrive  at  a  somewhat  erroneous  conclusion.  It  is  indeed 
£l  depression  between  the  two  giant  ranges  of  the  continent, 
but  traversing  this  are  successive  parallel  mountain  chains 
with  a  north  and  south  trend,  and  only  inferior  in  altitude  to 
the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Sierra.  Indeed,  according  to 
our  eastern  notions,  the  whole  so-called  basin  is  but  a  broad 


28  TME  TRUCKEE   AND   HUMBOLDT   VALLEYS. 

mountain  top,  as  no  portion  of  it  is  below  four  thousand  feet. 
Notwithstanding  the  general  sterility  of  the  soil  it  will  be 
seen,  as  I  proceed,  that  it  sustains  quite  an  extensive  and 
peculiar  flora.  With  the  belief  that  a  brief  sketch  of  this 
unique  region  will  be  of  interest  to  natui'alists  I  have  ven- 
tured to  present  the  results  of  my  observations. 

My  first  botanical  rambles  were  along  the  banks  of  the 
Truckee  River,  which  has  its  source  in^Lake  Tahoe,  a  lovely 
sheet  of  pure,  cold  and  clear  water,  situated  on  the  eastern 
boundary  of  California.  From  this  Alpine  lake  the  little 
river  flows  into  the  Great  Basin  and  waters  some  of  the  best 
farming  lands  in  Nevada.  It  is  a  narrow  and  rapid  stream, 
mostly  shallow,  and  with  a  rocky  or  sandy  bottom.  At 
intervals  nature  has  adorned  its  banks  with  groves  of  cotton- 
wood  {Populxis  monilifera).  It  is  sincerely  to  be  hoped  that 
these  noble  trees  will  be  spared  by  the  rapacious  wood-chop- 
pers, as  in  a  country  so  meagre  in  its  sylva,  a  green  thing, 
if  it  be  but  a  shrub,  is  cheering  to  the  spirit,  and  a  full-sized 
tree  is  a  positive  delight.  The  size  of  these  poplars,  and  the 
wide  spread  of  their  branches,  render  them  especially  wel- 
come to  the  traveller,  who,  parched  and  weary,  seeks  refuge 
within  their  shade. 

In  speaking  of  the  plants  of  Nevada  it  is  convenient  to 
classify  them  much  as  they  are  distributed  in  nature,  and  we 
find  that  according  to  their  location  they  naturally  fall  into 
three  grand  divisions : 

1st.  The  plants  of  the  river  bottoms  and  margins  of  irri- 
gating canals. 

2d.  Those  found  on  the  desert  plains  at  a  distance  from 
water. 

3d.    Those  of  the  mountains. 

These  main  divisions  for  ease  in  study  may  again  be  sub- 
divided into  sections  almost  as  naturally  marked,  namely  : 

A  marginal  section  immediately  contiguous  to  the  rivers 
or  lakes. 

A  meadow  tract,  moistened  generally  by  artificial  irriga- 


THE   TRUCKBE   AND   HUMBOLDT   VALLEYS.  29 

tion  or  by  streams  descending  from  the  mountains,  and  usu- 
ally dry  in  the  summer  months. 

A  desert  section  proper  and  one  more  particularly  per- 
taining to  the  alkaline  flats  and  vicinity  of  saline  springs. 

Lastly,  the  flora  of  the  mountains  is  naturally  divided  into 
two  distinct  fields,  according  as  the  plants  grow  in  the  canons 
in  the  vicinity  of  Water,  or  flourish  on  the  higher  and  more 
exposed  regions  where  in  the  summer  months  little  or  no 
moisture  is  obtained,  unless  from  an  accidental  shower,  or  by- 
direct  condensation  from  the  atmosphere.  Of  course  these 
divisions  are  more  or  less  arbitraiy  and  shade  the  one  into 
the  other.  Following  the  above  order  we  observe  that  on 
the  Truckee  there  are  a  few  plants  immediately  bordering 
the  river  and  small  streams  which  have  apparently  been 
drifted  from  above  with  soil  and  debris  swept  oflf  by  floods. 
The  original  habitat  of  some  of  these  plants,  I  presume  to  be 
the  neighborhood  of  Lake  Tahoe,  although  no  definite  data 
can   be  given   in   support  of  such   an   opinion  without  an 

• 

examination  of  the  flora  near  the  source  of  the  stream. 
Still,  certain  plants  which  I  always  found  on  sandy  shoals 
and  islands  in  the  Truckee,  and  nowhere  else,  lead  me  to 
this  conclusion.  Seeds,  too,  have  undoubtedly  been  trans- 
ferred from  place  to  place  through  the  same  medium ;  but 
whether,  with  the  exceptions  just  mentioned,  the  prevalent 
plants  have  advanced  from  the  east  or  the  west,  I  am  not 
prepared  to  say.  It  would  require  for  the  study  more  time 
and  larger  experience  than  it  was  my  lot  to  bestow  upon  it. 
The  species  of  plants  found  along  the  Truckee  at  one  camp 
differed  but  slightly  from  those  discovered  at  another,  pre- 
serving a  close  resemblance  to  each  other  as  far  as  Wads- 
worth,  the  limit  of  my  investigations.  It  would  be  tedious  and 
uninteresting  to  read  a  list  of  the  plants  found  in  this  region, 
a  more  correct  account  of  which  will,  I  hope,  soon  be  given 
to  the  public  by  one  more  competent  to  treat  of  them,  and 
I  shall  therefore  only  mention  such  as  are  conspicuous  to 
the  traveller  as  he  passes  by,  or  such  as  have  a  positive  or 


30  THE   TRUCKEE   AND   HUMBOLDT   VALLEYS. 

possible  industrial  value.  Among  the  smaller  plants  a  spe- 
"cies  of  mint  is  common,  and  a  hemp  from  which  the  Pi-Ute 
Indians  make  their  bow  strings.  There  is  also  a  highly  or- 
namental species  of  sunflower  (Helianthus)  ^  well  worthy  of 
cultivation,  as  its  smaller  and  more  brilliant  flowers  render  it 
more  attractive  than  the  grosser  garden  form.  The  Mexican 
Poppy  {Argemone  Mexicana)^  is  occasionally  seen,  and  a 
thistle,  which  1  consider  unequalled  in  beauty.  The  deli- 
cately cut  leaves  look  as  if  formed  of  silver,  and  the  flower 
resembles  a  paint-brush  charged  with  scarlet  lake.  I  have 
before  mentioned  the  fine  groves  of  cotton  woods,  but  in 
addition  to  these  a  fringe  of  willows  is  often  found  along  the 
stream,  and  a  mingled  thicket  of  "Buflalo  beriy"  {Shep^ 
hei^dia  argentea)^  Roses  {Rosa  blanda),  and  other  shrubbery. 
The  bright  berries  of  the  Shepherdia  and  scarlet  lips  of  the 
rose  present  a  pleasing  appearance,  contrasted,  as  they  are, 
with  the  silvery  leaves  of  the  former  plant.  When  the  roses 
are  in  bloom  the  eflTect  must  be  even  more  charming. 

Near  Hunter's  Station  the  river  flows  through  exten- 
sive meadows  producing  abundance  of  hay  and  vegetables. 
The  native  grasses  are  mostly  grown,  but  our  own  well- 
known  "Timothy"  (Phleum  pratemse)^  has  been  introduced 
to  some  extent,  and  is  always  much  prized.  This  valley  and 
that  of  the  Carson  form  decidedly  the  richest  portion  of  the 
stiite.  The  meadows  are  bounded  by  Washoe  Peak,  an  out- 
lying spur  of  the  Sierra,  by  the  Pea-vine  mountains  (so-called 
from  the  frequency  with  which  the  hipines  or  wild  peas  are 
met  with  on  its  sides) ,  and  a  range  lying  to  the  east  on  which 
is  situated  Virginia  City.  That  town,  however,  is  not  visi- 
ble from  the  river.  Washoe  Peak  is  of  very  great  height, 
and  frequently  shows  snow  upon  its  summit  even  in  mid- 
summer. It  is  a  splendid  mountain  in  form  and  color,  and 
is  especially  admirable  when  the  clouds  which  droop  over  its 
snowy  sides,  are  suffiised  with  California's  own  golden  tints. 
After  leaving  this  fertile  valley,  the  Truckee  enters  a  narrow 
gorge  between  high  rocky  hills,  often  beautiful  in  the  colors 


THE   TRUCKEE   AND   HUMBOLDT   VALLEYS.  31 

of  their  exposed  strata  aud  always  in  the  graceful  outline 
of  their  summits.  Upou  the  higher  portions  only  of  these 
hills  grows  the  juniper  (Juntpenis  occidentalis)  ^  the  chief 
aud  best  firewood  of  this  region,  where  fuel  is  so  scarce  that 
during  the  winter  of  my  sojourn,  wood  sold  as  high  as  thirty 
dollars  in  gold  in  Virginia  City.  The  cottonwoods  are  also 
sometimes  used  for  fuel  by  those  residing  near  the  river,  to- 
gether with  drift  wood  brought  down  from  the  Sierra.  The 
lower  slopes  inclining  to  the  stream  support  only  the  scraggy 
sage  brush  {Artemisia).  Yet  even  in  this  narrow  defile  the 
farming  lands  are  excellent,  and  are  occupied  and  cultivated 
by  thrifty  settlers.  The  Truckee  after  flowing  in  a  general 
easterly  direction  as  far  as  Wadsworth,  suddenly  bends  and 
following  a  north-west  course  empties  into  Pyramid  Lake. 
This  is  a  sheet  of  water  about  thirty-five  miles  in  length  and 
ten  or  twelve  in  width  at  the  widest  part.  There  are  many 
small  and  steep  rocky  islands  in  the  lake,  some  of  them  cov- 
ered with  an  arborescent  tufa  resembling  coral  in  its  appear- 
ance. One  very  abrupt,  pyramidal  island  gives  its  name  to 
the  lake  which  was  discovered  and  partially  explored  by 
Fremont.  The  islands  are  the  temporary  home  of  pelicans 
and  other  sea  fowl,  who  frequent  them  in  the  breeding  sea- 
son, and  share  the  rocky  soil  with  numerous  rattlesnakes  and 
lizards.  Near  the  mouth  of  the  river  the  land  is  good 
though  subject  to  overflows,  which  while  they  fertilize  the 
soil  for  future  growth,  often  jeopardize  the  present  crops. 
This  land  is  held  as  a  reservation  by  the  Pi-Ute  Indians,  but 
even  this  remnant  of  their  once  broad  acres  is  coveted  by 
the  neighboring  whites.  The  lake  is  surrounded  by  moun- 
tains, and  the  lands  removed  from  the  water  are  of  little  or 
no  value  unless  artificially  irrigated. 

Just  before  its  embouchure  the  Truckee  throws  off  a 
branch  which  supplies  Winnemucka  Lake,  parallel  to  Pyra- 
mid, but  separated  from  it  by  a  narrow  strip  of  highlands 
and  mountain  ridges.  This  lake  is  rarely  found  on  any  but 
the  most  recent  maps  and  we  are  led  to  wonder  how  it  could 


32  THE   TRUCKEB   AND   HUMBOLDT   VALLEYS, 

have  been  overlooked.  The  fact  that  it  is  increasing  in  depth 
while  Pyramid  is  said  to  be  decreasing,  seems  to  indicate 
that  it  is  of  recent  origin  and  occasioned  by  some  accidental 
deflection  of  the  Truckee  from  its  legitimate  course.  The 
fresh  water  of  the  river  is  soon  deteriorated  by  admixture 
with  that  of  the  lake,  which  like  all  similar  sheets,  devoid  of 
outlets,  is  brackish  and  unpleasant  to  the  taste.  The  most 
showy  plants  of  the  Truckee  Valley,  in  addition  to  those 
already  mentioned,  were  a  gigantic  Thelypodium  often  ris- 
ing to  a  height  of  six  feet,  two  species  of  Mentzelia  {Ictvicau- 
lis  and  albicaulis)  a  species  of  Hosackia,  and  two  of  Cleome, 
and  Sida.  Near  the  mouth  of  the  river  occurs  a  remarkable 
deposit  of  infusorial  earth.  It  is  found  encased  in  the  cal- 
careous tufa  so  prevalent  in  this  vicinity.  Under  this  lies 
the  basaltic  rock.  The  ''chalk,"  as  it  is  here  called,  is  one 
hundred  feet  in  width  and  forms  a  perpendicular  blufi^  nearly 
forty  feet  in  height  from  the  stream,  which  at  this  point  is 
very  deep.  The  whole  deposit  is  very  free  from  impurities 
and  upon  microscopical  examination,  by  my  brother,  proved 
to  be  composed  entirely  of  fresh-water  forms. 

From  the  Truckee  to  the  Humboldt  Valley  there  is  about 
a  day's  hard  riding  through  deep  sands  and  deserts  devoid 
of  water,  where  only  grows  a  depauperate  form  of  sage 
brush  {Artemisia)  y  or  the  .equally  dreary  grease  wood 
(  Obione) ,  The  hills  in  sight  are  of  volcanic  origin,  and  are 
covered  with  loose  and  blackened  scoriaceous  rocks,  occa- 
sionally encased  in  tufa.  There  is  not  a  vestige  of  a  tree, 
shrub  or  herb,  with  the  exception  of  the  ashy  colored  sage  or 
the  singular  Effedra  (anti-si/pkilitica) .  The  first  and  only 
object  that  awakens  any  interest  is  the  group  of  hot  springs. 
There  are  some  fifteen  or  twenty  of  these  presenting  dififer- 
ent  degrees  of  temperature.  One  spring  indicated  201° 
Fah.,  while  others  were  positively  cool.  The  water  is  beau- 
tifully clear,  but  contains  salts  in  solution  which  render  it 
unpalatable.  It  is,  when  cooled,  however,  preferable  to  most 
of  the   villainous   decoctions  of  the   sixty-three   elements, 


THE   TRUCKEE   AND   HUMBOLDT   VALLEYS.  33 

which,  in  the  absence  of  the  genuine  article,  pass  in  this  re- 
gion for  water.  It  is  often  in  a  state  of  violent  ebullition, 
and  is  thrown  up  in  intermittent  jets,  especially  when  ex- 
traneous substances  are  introduced.  Some  of  the  springs 
of  this  region,  highly  saturated  with  mineral  ingredients, 
build  for  themselves  a  conical  chimney,  as  it  were,  by  the 
deposition  of  their  dissolved  constituents.  Coarse  and  wirj', 
but  verdant  grasses  spring  up  around.  Sometimes  living 
fish  make  their  abode  in  these  boiling  springs,  though  not 
found  in  the  particular  group  in  question.  I  have  seen  them 
from  similar  wells  where  the  surface  of  the  water  marked 
70°.  This  statement  is  consistent  with  that  of  other  obser- 
vers in  various  parts  of  the  world.  Carpenter  says  "we 
have  examples  of  the  compatibility  of  even  the  heat  of  boil- 
ing water  with  the  preservation  of  animal  life.  Thus  in  a  hot 
spring  at  Manilla,  which  raises  the  thermometer  to  187°,  and 
in  another  in  Barbary,^  whose  usual  temperature  is  172°, 
fishes  have  been  seen  to  flourish.  Fishes  have  been  thrown 
up  in  very  hot  water  from  the  crater  of  a  volcano,  which 
from  their  lively  condition,  was  apparently  their  natural 
residence."  Various  confervce  and  animalculce  are  known  to 
occur  in  similar  situations,  and  indeed,  were  noticed  in 
these  identical  springs.  Carpenter  adds,  "small  caterpillars 
have  been  found  in  hot  springs  of  the  temperature  of  205°, 
and  small  black  beetles,  which  died  when  placed  in  cold 
water,  in  the  hot  sulphur  baths  of  Albano."  After  these 
quotations  I  hope  no  one  will  charge  me  with  Munchausen- 
ism.  In  apparent  extravagance  they  certainly  far  surpass 
my  statement. 

A  few  hours  after  leaving  the  springs  the  road  begins  to 
descend,  and  soon  a  view  is  obtained  of  the  basin  into  which 
both  the  Humboldt  and  Carson  Rivers  enter  and  "sink,"  or 
disappear  in  the  sands.  A  broad,  barren  valley  is  stretched 
out  before  us,  through  which  the  course  of  the  river  is  indi- 
cated by  the  fringe  of  green  tules  which  border  it.  Occa- 
sionally the  plain  is  marked  by  a  tract  of  white  alkaline 

AMER.  NATURALIST,  VOL.   IV.  6 


34  THE   TRUCKEE  AND   HUMBOLDT   VALLEYS, 

salts,  looking  like  a  snow  field  as  it  glistens  in  the  sunlight. 
The  mountains,  most  fantastic  in  outline,  which  border  the 
valley,  are  enveloped  in  a  gauze-like  mist  which  seems  to 
preclude  all  further  inquiry  into  the  features  of  the  anom- 
alous landscape.  There  is  no  live  color  in  the  scene.  Even 
the  greens  with  which  nature  usually  relieves  her  more 
rugged  details,  are  here  wanting,  except  in  the  case  of  the 
tules  above  mentioned.  Still  there  is  a  strangely  fascinating 
and  weird  beauty  in  the  view  peculiar  to  these  deserts. 
Here  the  Humboldt  which  begun  its  course  far  away  as  a  fair 
young  stream,  expands  into  a  lake,  and  becoming  disgusted 
with  its  vitiated  life  commits  suicide  by  self-burial.  Hence 
the  spot  is  known  as  the  Sink  of  the  Humboldt.  At  the 
sink  proper,  the  water  is  intensely  alkaline  and  disgusting 
to  the  taste,  and  the  atmosphere  is  filled  with  noxious  vapors 
and  miasms.  The  legions  of  mosquitoes  which  infest  the 
tulcs  arc  the  food  of  numerous  water-fowl,  to  whom  I  can- 
didly wish  all  success  in  their  warfare  upon  the  insects. 
Among  the  birds  a  black  swan  is  said  to  appear  at  times, 
but  I  did  not  have  the  fortune  to  see  one  if  any  such  occur. 
Above  the  lake  the  Humboldt  is  a  narrow,  sluggish  and  ser- 
pentine stream,  hardly  wider  than  an  eastern  creek  and 
totally  lacking  its  vivacity.  The  water  is  turbid  and  un- 
pleasant to  the  taste.  The  fish  which  frequent  it  are  when 
cooked  soft  and  tasteless.  Not  a  tree  adorns  the  last  hun- 
dred miles  of  the  stream,  low  willows  and  Shepherdia  being 
the  nearest  approach  to  arborescent  growth.  The  lofty 
range  of  West  Humboldt  mountains  are  now  in  sight,  whose 
highest  point.  Star  Peak,  rises  to  an  altitude  of  nine  thou- 
sand nine  hundred  and  sixty  feet  above  the  sea.  From  the 
great  height  of  the  range,  its  direction  north  and  south  in 
conformity  with  the  trend  of  the  other  ridges,  its  frequent 
water  courses  giving  life  and  beauty  to  narrow  belts  of  lux- 
uriant vegetation,  and  the  wide  prospect  to  be  obtained  from 
its  many  commanding  points,  it  affords  numerous  subjects 
for  consideration.     Many  deep  canoBs  channel  its  rugged 


THE   TRUCKEE   AND   HUMBOLDT    VALLEYS.  35 

sides,  most  of  which  contain  clear  water.  A  sti'unge  fact  in  re- 
gard to  these  streams,  is  that  they  run  freely,  even  boister- 
ously, during  the  night  and  early  morning,  and  dry  up  utterly 
in  the  lower  part  of  their  course  toward  noon.  The  power 
of  the  sun  is  such  as  to  totally  evaporate  the  water  before 
it  reaches  the  plains,  while  the  powerful  radiation  during  the 
night  allows  the  stream  to  resume  its  proper  dimensions. 
If  a  handkerchief  be  saturated  with  water  at  noonday  and 
then  flirted  in  the  air,  it  becomes  dry  in  a  moment,  thus  in- 
dicating the  wonderful  absorptive  power  of  the  atmosphere. 
Rains  are  so  infrequent  in  summer  that  it  becomes  a  cause 
of  wonders,  not  that  the  rills  should  fail,  but  that  they 
should  ever  flow.  Along  these  little  streams  willows, 
aspens  (Populus  tremuloides) ,  Cornus,  Shepherdia  and  elders 
(jSambucus)  grow  most  abundantly,  and  Clematis  with  its 
feathery  plumes  waves  over  all.  The  herbage  is  peculiarly 
interesting  also,  columbines  {Aquilegiaformosa),  asters  and 
solidagos,  leading  us  away  in  spirit  to  where  their  beauteous 
kindred  smile  upon  the  New  England  autumn,  while  the 
gilia  ((r.  pulchella)  and  lupines  are  equally  lovely  though 
less  familiar.  Away  from  the  streams  the  wild  sage  only 
thrives,  if  so  wretched  a  specimen  of  vegetable  life  can  be 
said  to  flourish.  By  far  the  greater  mass  of  the  mountains  is 
desert,  like  the  plains  they  overlook.  The  great,  brown 
earth  waves  roll  down  into  the  valleys  unrelieved  by  a  dash 
of  green,  except  where  some  sombre  juniper  fights  its  hard 
battle  for  life.  Variously  colored  lichens  occur  on  all  the 
rocks,  and  an  occasional  tuft  of  moss  on  those  exposed  to 
the  streams,  but  ferns  are  nowhere  seen.  High  up  on  the 
range  is  found  a  luxuriant  growth  of  a  species  of  Ceanothus, 
and  at  seven  thousand  feet  or  thereabouts,  the  sage  yields  to 
the  western  juniper  {Juniperus  occidentalis)  and  mountain 
mahogany  (Cercocarpus  ledifolius).  The  latter  is  a  hand- 
some tree,  averaging  twenty  feet  in  height,  with  bright 
glossy  leaves,  whose  re  volute  margins  conceal  the  bi'own 
scurf   of   their   inferior    surfaces.      Its    silvery   bark,    the 


36  THE   TRUCKEE    AND   HUMBOLDT  VALLEYS. 

strangely  plumose  fruit  and  shining  leaves  render  it  very 
conspicuous.  As  in  the  case  of  the  manzanita  (ArctostaphyUa 
glauca)  of  California,  the  wood  is  susceptible  of  a  high  polish 
and  is  used  for  many  ornamental  purposes.  This  tree  and 
the  juniper  form  th^  only  respectable  fuel  which  the  country 
affords,  and  the  traveller  may  consider  himself  especially 
blessed  if  he  lights  upon  either  when  frantically  searching 
for  the  wherewithal  to  kindle  a  blaze.  The  juniper  is  the 
more  common  tree,  and  is  sometimes  twenty  or  more  feet  in 
height.  The  wood  is  lighter  colored  and  appears  scarcely  so 
compact  as  our  eastern  red  cedar,  which  in  other  respects  it 
closely  resembles. 

The  character  of  the  vegetation  is  quite  different  on  oppo- 
site sides  of  the  same  range,  man}'  plants  being  found  on  one 
side  which  are  not  at  all  represented  -on  the  other.  As  a 
rule  the  eastern  exposure  is  the  more  fertile.  Instances  of 
this  peculiar  distribution  are  the  little  alpine  potentilla 
{Ivesia  Newbem'yi)  found  in  chinks  and  crevices  of  high  ex- 
posed granite  bluffs  on  the  western  side,  and  a  curious  moss- 
like Spiraea  (tomentosa)  only  found  in  somewhat  similar 
locations  on  the  eastern  side.  A  few  eastern  weeds  thrive 
about  the  houses  in  Unionville,  and  I  also  found  Ranumm- 
lus  cymbalaria  at  quite  an  altitude  in  the  canons.  This  fact 
does  not  speak  well  for. the  soil,  as  this  little  plant  generally 
favors  the  searshore  or  neighborhood  of  saline  springs.  A 
wild  tobacco  (Nicotiana)  is  common,  which  the  Indians 
called  "pah!  monhl"  pronounced  as  two  interjections,  and 
with  much  the  sound  of  a  person  vigorously  smoking  an  ob- 
durate pipe.  They  informed  us  that  it  was  formerly  much 
used  by  their  tribe,  until  superseded  by  the  superior  article 
of  the  white  men.  The  fleshy  roots  of  a  Phelipaea  they 
told  me  they  employed  as  food  in  the  month  of  October. 

The  view  from  the  West  Humboldt  Mountains  is  very  ex- 
tensive and  remarkable.  The  atmosphere  is  so  pure  in  this 
region  that  it  is  possible  to  see  a  distance  of  sixty  miles  as 
readily  as  one  could  twenty  at  home.      From  this  great 


THE   TRUCKEE   AND  HUMBOLDT   VALLEYS.  37 

height  range  beyond  range  is  seen  both  east  and  west,  and 
there  seems  to  be  no  limit  to  our  vision.  No  positive  colors 
enliven  the  landscape,  giving  it  the  pleasing  variety  of  our 
eastern  scenery,  but  there  are  only  varying  tints  of  brown 
in  the  foreground  and  light  azure  in  the  distance.  The  re- 
mote hills  look  .as  if  merely  outlined  in  blue.  The  vrflleys 
are  dreary  wastes,  through  which  the  roads  may  be  seen 
winding.  From  these  clouds  of  dust  often  rise  a  thousand 
feet  into  the  still  air.  The  dreary  monotony  of  the  deseii; 
is  relieved  at  this  distance  by  the  broad  plains  of  snow- 
white  alkali,  which  it  is  well  to  view  afar  oflF.  They  have 
no  fascination  for  the  unfortunate  traveller  who  inhales  their 
smarting  dust,  penetrating  as  it  does  the  eyes,  nose  and  ears, 
and  imparting  a  nauseous  soapy  taste  to  the  mouth.  These 
deposits  often  contain  embedded  crystals  of  rock-salt  of 
great  beauty. 

About  sunset  is  the  proper  time  to  really  enjoy  the  weird 
prospect,  for  the  coloi's  the  mountains  then  assume  are  most 
charming.  The  main  masses  look  as  if  dusted  with  gold, 
while  each  canon  and  ravine  is  filled  with  purple  shadows. 
The  delicate  tints  change  rapidly,  deepening  and  blending 
until  finally  night  drops  its  curtain  on  the  scene.  Still 
the  act  is  not  closed,  for  the  stars  twinkle  above  the  serrated 
outline  of  the  mysterious  mountains,  or  the  moonlight  trans- 
figures their  barren  slopes. 

When  we  study  each  detail  of  this  anomalous  scenery  in 
its  hon'ible  individuality  it  seems  unreasonable  that  the 
whole  should  in  any  way  delight  us,  yet  that  it  is  fascinat- 
ing is  most  certain.  There  is  a  peculiar  coloring,  or  rather 
tinting,  seen  nowhere  else,  and  never  to  be  forgotten.  I  do 
not  mean  to  say  that  the  land  is  anything  but  a  desert — a  lit- 
eral ^'howling"  wilderness,  nor  do  I  maintain  with  many  of 
the  settlers  that  earth  has  no  fairer  habitations.  It  is  an  in- 
sult to  a  forest  to  call  it  a  wilderness  in  the  above  sense, 
teeming  as  it  is  with  myriad  forms  of  life  and  beauty,  but 
here  where  nothing  interrupts  the  view  but  bare,  treeless 


38  REVIEWS. 

mountains,  is  solitude  complete  and  unbroken.  Whatever 
be  the  charm,  it  is  yet  certain  that  having  gazed  once  we 
admire  the  strange  picture  ever  after. 


REVIEWS. 


Report  upon  Deep  Sea  Dkedginos  in  the  Gulp  Stream.* —This 
number  of  the  Bulletin  sums  up  the  results  of  the  different  expeditions, 
and  Is  also  especially  valuable  for  many  novel  and  interesting  observa- 
tions upon  geological  and  zoological  questions.  According  to  Professor 
Agasslz,  the  fauna  of  the  reef,  consisting  mainly  of  corals,  extends  to  ten 
fathoms  only.  The  second  zone,  **a  muddy  mass  of  dead  and  broken 
shells,  broken  corals,  and  coarse  coral  sand,  Is  chiefly  Inhabited  by 
worms,  and  such  shells  as  by  their  nature  seek  soil  of  this  character, 
with  a  few  small  species  of  living  corals,  some  Halcyonarians,  and  a  good 
many  Algoe.*'  This  extends  seaward  "from  a  few  miles"  off  Cape  Florida 
to  "twenty  miles  and  more  off  Cape  Sable."  "A  third  region,  or  zone, 
beginning  at  a  depth  of  about  fifty  or  sixty  fathoms,  and  extending  to  a 
depth  of  fk'om  two  hundred  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  fathoms,  constitutes 
a  broad  slanting  table  land,  beyond  which  the  sea  bottom  sinks  abruptly 
into  deeper  waters.  The  floor  of  tlils  zone  Is  rocky;  It  Is,  in  fact,  a  lime- 
stone conglomerate,  a  kind  of  lumachelle,  composed  entirely  of  the  re- 
mains of  organized  beings,  animals  now  living  upon  Its  surface."  Algee 
are  but  sparsely  represented  upon  the  plateau,  and  though  the  animals  are 
abundant,  the  species  are  generally  of  small  size  and  belong  to  genera 
either  identical  or  closely  allied  to  those  of  the  Cretaceous  period.  The 
deep  sea  proper  beyond  this  zone  lies  upon  "a  uniform  accumulation  of 
thick,  adhesive  mud,  with  a  variety  of  worms  and  such  shells  as  seek 
muddy  bottoms."  Professor  Agassiz  thinks  that  If  the  bottom  In  these 
depths  was  rocky,  animal  life  would  be  "as  varied  and  as  numerous  com- 
paratively as  are  the  Alpine  plants  on  the  very  limits  of  perpetual  snow." 

With  reference  to  geology.  Professor  Agassiz  says  that  he  Infers  from 
the  character  of  the  sea  bottom  that  probably  none  of  the  layers  of  strati- 
fied rock  on  the  surface  of  the  globe  "have  been  formed  in  very  deep 
waters,*'  but  around  the  shore  lines  of  the  ancient  continents,  which  have 
been  subject  only  to  comparatively  slight  changes  of  level  after  they 
were  once  elevated  above  the  primeval  ocean. 

In  the  main  bearing  of  this  conclusion  Professor  Agassiz  agrees  with 

*  Bulletin  of  the  Museum  of  CoiDparatlre  Zoologj.  No.  13.  Report  upon  Deep  Sea  Dredg- 
Ings  in  the  Gulf  Stream  during  the  Thlixl  Cruise  of  the  U.  S.  Steamer  Bibb;  addressed  to  Pro- 
fessor B.  Peirce,  Supt.  U.  S.  Coast  Suryejr.    By  Louis  AgHSslz.  pp.  863-^86.   Cambridge,  1869. 


REYIEWS.  39 

Dana's  theory  of  the  gradual  development  of  continents,  a  view  which 
of  late  has  been  steadily  gaining  in  adherents,  especially  in  this  country. 
The  statement,  however,  that  probably  no  stratified  rock  has  been  formed 
in  deep  water  is  open  to  serious  objections.  The  Chalk,  the  Nummulltic 
limestone,  the  Eozoonal  limestone  and  others  of  like  constitution  are 
composed  in  great  part  of  Foraminiferous  animals  especially  fitted  to 
flourish  at  great  depths,  and,  probably,  so  far  as  we  can  judge  f^om 
soundings  and  dredgings,  covering  at  the  present  day  a  large  portion  of 
the  Atlantic  bottom. 

The  description  of  the  physical  contrast  between  the  shelving  of  the 
Florida  shore  and  the  abruptness  of  the  Cuban  side  and  Bahama  reef^, 
with  the  minute  analysis  of  the  formation  and  disintegration  of  the  rocks 
of  the  Double  Headed  Shot  Key,  Salt  Key,  and  others,  will  be  read  with 
the  greatest  interest  by  all  geologists.  We  could  not  do  Justice  to  this 
part  of  the  publication  without  quoting  several  entire  pages,  and  this  we 
have  not  space  for. 

Generally  speaking  the  Keys  are  formed,  accoixiiug  to  Professor 
Agassiz,  of  fine  coral  sand,  which  is  washed  up  on  to  the  higher  shal- 
lower parts,  and  form  banks,  upon  which  accumulate  a  conglomerate  of 
broken  shells,  corals  and  coarse  o61ithcs  to  the  height  of  high  water 
mark.  Upon  this  foundation  rock  reposes  another  accumulation  of  simi- 
lar material,  distinguished,  however,  by  th^  steep  inclinations  of  the  beds 
which  rise  to  the  height  of  twelve  or  fifteen  feet.  These  last  fUrnish 
the  fine  material  which  is  swept  away  by  the  wind  to  form  sand  dunes. 

The  more  homogeneous  limestones  are  formed  in  the  less  exposed 
places,  and  Professor  Agassiz  mentions  that  these  are  ''frequently  as 
hard  as  the  hardest  limestone  of  the  secondary  formation." 

The  author  then  passes  to  the  consideration  of  the  development  of 
Corals,  and  states  that  these  investigations  have  led  him  to  regard  the 
Actinians  as  the  lowest ;  the  Madreporarians  next ;  and  the  IlaJcyonanans 
as  the  highest  among  the  corals.  Among  the  Madrepores  the  sequence 
of  the  genera  is  Turbinnlia,  Fungia,  Astrcea  and  Madrepora.  "Young 
Astreeans,  before  assuming  their  solid  frame,  are  Actinia-like;  their  first 
coral  frame  is  Turbinolia-like,  and  from  that  stage  they  pass  into  a 
Fungia-like  condition,  before  they  assume  their  characteristic  Astrssan 
features."  It  is  next  proved,  that  the  succession  of  types  in  geological 
times,  and  their  bathymetrical  distribution  from  the  deepest  water  to  the 
shallow,  corresponds  so  far  as  the  Madreporarians  are  concerned  to  the 
succession  in  rank  of  the  adult  types  as  determined  by  diflfercnt  phases 
of  their  development.  Thus  both  as  regards  rank  in  classification,  and 
the  succession  of  the  difiierent  phases  of  development,  as  well  as  the 
successive  appearance  of  types  in  the  progress  of  geological  time,  and 
the  vertical  distribution  of  these  types  on  the  seashore,  the  Turblnollan 
type  Is  found  first  and  Is  followed  in  succession  by  the  Funglan,  the 
Astrsean.  and  the  Madreporinn  types.  These  views  also  seem  to  be  in 
accord  with  those  of  Alexander  Agassiz,  who,  as  previously  cited,  com- 


40  EEYIEWS. 

pares  the  deep  water  Echinoids  to  the  Cretaceoas,  and  those  of  inter- 
mediate depths  to  Tertiary  genera.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  if  the 
latter  be  true,  that,  a  priori,  the  former  would  acquire  a  still  higher  de- 
gree of  probability,  so  far  as  the  agreement  of  the  succession  in  time  and 
depth  is  concerned. 

Tkansactions  of  thb  Chicago  Academy  op  Sciencks.*— This  part 
completes  the  first  volume  of  ** Transactions'*  and  in  interest  and  value, 
and  the  beauty  of  the  plates,  Ailly  maintains  the  high  standard  of  the  pre- 
ceding part.  The  plates,  which  are  costly,  are  presented  by  the  Trus- 
tees of  the  Academy,  an  evidence  of  their  immediate  interest  in  the 
scientific  and  literary  reputation  of  their  city.  Nearly  half  of  the  volume 
is  devoted  to  a  biography  of  Robert  Kennicott,  the  first  Director  of  the 
Academy,  fi'om  the  pen  of  Dr.  Stimpson,  his  successor,  and  the  editor  of 
the  present  volume.  It  will  be  read  with  great  interest  as  the  record  of 
a  daring  explorer  and  admirable  field  naturalist. 

Dr.  J.  W.  Foster  contributes  an  exceedingly  interesting  paper  **  On  the 
Antiquity  of  Man  in  North  America."  Among  the  proofs  of  his  great 
antiquity  he  claims  that  "the  discovery  (by  Professor  Whitney)  of  a  hu- 
man skull  in  California  during  the  past  season,  buried  deep  in  the  gold 
drift,  and  covered  with  five  successive  overfiows  of  lava,  carries  back 
the  advent  of  man  to  a  period  more  remote  than  any  evidences  thus  far 
afibrded  by  the  stone  implements  in  the  drift  of  Abbeville  and  Amiens,  in 
the  valley  of  the  Somme,  or  the  human  skeleton  in  the  loess  of  the  Rhine; 
and  although  the  fossil  elephant  {E.  primigenius)  existed  in  Europe  dur- 
ing the  glacial  epoch,  and  survived  through  the  valley-drift  and  loess 
(which  I  think  may  be  regarded  as  contemporary,  though  difi*erent  in  the 
form  of  the  materials,  and  indicating  a  difi*erence  in  the  transporting 
power  of  the  current),  this  association  of  the  remains  of  the  elephant 
and  man  has  not  thus  far  been  found  to  exist  in  the  purely  glacial  de- 
posits." He  also  cites  the  statement  of  the  late  Dr.  Koch,  that  in  connec- 
tion with  the  remains  of  the  Mammoth  found  in  the  Osage  valley  of 
Missouri,  "were  found  flint  arrowheads  and  remains  of  charcoal,  as 
though  the  aborigines  had  attacked  and  destroyed  the  animal  when 
mired.  This  statement  was  received  at  the  time,  by  the  scientific  world, 
with  a  sneer  of  contempt.  Last  spring  I  questioned  him  as  to  tlie  possi- 
bility of  his  having  been  mistaken,  when  he  assured  me,  in  the  most  sol- 
emn and  emphatic  manner,  that  it  was  true." 

He  describes  the  remains  of  the  mound  builders,  figuring  various  im- 
plements, and  recapitulates  the  evidence  of  their  "advance  in  civilization 
beyond  a  mere  barbaric  race,"  as  drawn  ft-om  their  textile  fabrics,  com- 
prising cloth  "possessing  an  uniform  and  well  twisted  thread,  coarse, 
and  of  a  vegetable  fibre,  allied  to  hemp,"  and  "  regularly  spun  with  an  uni- 
form thread,  and  woven  with  a  warp  and  woof."    It  was  taken  from  two 

*  Vol.  i.  Part  II.  Chicago,  1869.  Royal  8vo,  pp.  133  to  337.  With  a  portrait  and  th!r> 
teen  plates,  mostly  colored. 


REVIEWS.  41 

mounds  in  Ohio.  He  closes  with  a  chapter  on  the  *' Parallelism  us  to  the 
Antiquity  of  man  on  the  two  Hemispheres."  The  remaining  articles  are 
"Descriptions  of  certain  Stone  and  Copper  Implements  used  by  the 
Mound  Builders,"  by  J.  VV.  Foster,  LL.  D.  **  List  of  the  Birds  of  Alaska, 
with  Biographical  Notes,"  by  W.  H.  Dall  and  H.  M.  Bannister.  "On 
Additions  to  the  Bird  Fauna  of  North  America,  made  by  the  Scientific 
Corps  of  the  Russo- American  Telegraph  Expedition,"  by  S.  F.  Baird,  and 
"A  preliminary  List  of  the  Butterflies  of  Iowa,"  by  S.  H.  Scudder. 

Gbolooy  of  the  Missoum  Rivkr  Valley.* — This  is  the  final  report 
of  the  interesting  series  from  the  able  hands  of  Drs.  Meek  and  Hayden, 
which  have  been  already  published.  This  Report  also  Includes  one 
made  by  Dr.  Hines  on  a  portion  of  the  route,  and  another  by  Professor 
Newberry,  on  the  Cretaceous  and  Tertiary  plants,  already  reviewed  in 
the  Naturaust.  A  careful  perusal  of  the  latter,  and  of  Dr.  Hayden*s 
chapter  on  the  Physical  Geography  of  the  region  surveyed  would  give 
many  of  our  readers  new  ideas  with  regard  to  their  own  country.  The 
typographical  errors  in  the  work  are  numerous,  since  it  was  printed  dur- 
ing the  absence  of  the  author,  who  read  no  proof  of  it.  The  historical 
introduction  reviews  the  labors  of  previous  explorers,  and  contains  in- 
teresting remarks  with  regard*  to  maps.  These  are  especially  opportune 
as  drawing  attention  to  the  very  fine  specimen  of  map  printing  which  is 
attached  to  the  present  report.  The  colors  are  excellent  and  its  size  and 
variety  of  details  gives  one  a  very  clear  idea  of  the  geological  structure 
of  the  Great  Missouri  Valley. 

The  chapter  on  physical  geography  contains  a  resum6  of  the  results  of 
the  barometrical  profiles  run  by  the  diflerent  western  government  expe- 
ditions, showing  the  general  rise  of  the  country  west  of  St.  Louis,  to  the 
base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Dr.  Hayden  regards  the  whole  country 
west  of  the  Mississippi  as  a  vast  plateau,  which  was  gradually  elevated  to 
its  present  height,  the  strain  bursting  the  central  axis  of  the  plateau  and 
giving  birth  to  the  numerous  chains  or  parallel  ranges  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  Dr.  Hayden  describes  only  two  types  of  these  mountains, 
those  having  a  granite  nucleus  and  regular  outline,  and  those  composed 
of  erupted  rocks,  which  **are  very  rugged  in  their  outlines  and  irregular 
in  their  trend."  The  author  regards  the  Black  Hills  as  an  example  of  the 
regular  type,  and  describes  the  stratified  rocks  as  lying  against  the  nucleus, 
or  kernel,  of  granite  without  a  break  or  any  unconformability  on  either 
side  of  the  axis  of  elevation  to  the  latest  period  of  the  Cretaceous  for- 
mation." From  these  facts  we  draw  the  inference  that  prior  to  the  ele- 
vation of  the  Black  Hills,  which  must  have  occurred  after  th&  deposition 
of  the  Cretaceous  rocks,  all  of  these  formations  presented  an  unbroken 
continuity  over  the  whole  area  occupied  by  these  mountains.    This  is  an 


*  Geological  Report  of  the  Exploration  of  the  Yellowstone  and  Missouri  Rivers,  by 
Dr.  F.  v.  Hayden,  assistant  under  the  direction  of  Captain  (now  Lieut.  Col.,  and 
Bi-evet  Brig.  General)  W.  F.  Baynolds.    1859-60.    Washington.  1869.    8vo,  pp.  174. 

AMER.  NATURALIST,  VOL.  IV.  6 


42  EEVIEW8. 

important  conclusion,  and  we  shall  hereafter  see  its  application  by  other 
ranges,  and  also  to  the  Rocky  Mountain  range  taken  in  the  aggregate.*' 

From  evidence  of  a  similar  nature  the  Laramie  Mountains,  the  Big 
Horn  and  Wind  Klver  Mountains  are  shown  to  have  been  elevated  at 
some  time  during  the  Tertiary  period. 

**  In  this  connection  I  Xmye  thought  It  best  to  remark  more  aystematleally  In  regard  to  the 
principal  rivers  that  drain  this  Immense  area  of  country.  The  Missouri  River  and  Its  tributa- 
ries form  one  of  the  largest  as  well  as  mokt  important  liydrographical  basins  in  America.  It 
drains  an  area  of  nearly  or  quite  1,000,000  square  miles,  Taking  its  rise  in  the  loftiest  portion 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  near  latitude  44%  longitude  118^,  it  flows  northward  in  three  principal 
branches,  Madison,  Gallatin,  and  JeflCerson  forks,  to  their  Junction,  and  then  proceeds  onward 
until  it  emerges  ttom  the  gate  of  the  mountains,  a  dl&tance  of  nearly  200  miles;  it  then  bends 
to  the  westward,  flowing  In  this  direction  to  the  entrance  of  White  Earth  River,  a  distance  of 
nearly  fiOO  miles;  it  then  gradually  bends  southward  and  westward  to  its  Junction  with  the  Mis- 
sissippi, a  distance  of  1,SOO  to  2,000  miles.  The  branches  which  form  the  sources  of  the  Missouri 
rise  in  the  ccntrul  portions  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  range,  flowing  througli  granitic,  basaltic, 
and  the  older  sedimentary  rocks  until  it  emerges  from  the  gate  of  the  mountains,  when  the 
triasslc  and  (uraaslc  are  shown.  The  foils  of  the  Missouri,  extending  for  a  distance  of  20  or  ao 
miles,  cut  their  way  through  a  great  thickness  of  compact  trlasslc  rocks.  Below  the  fklls  the 
channel  makes  its  way  through  the  soft  yielding  clays  and  sands  of  the  Cretaceous  beds  for 
about  250  miles,  with  the  exception  of  the  Judith  tertiary  basin,  which  is  about  40  miles  in  length. 
The  Cretaceous  beds  continue  extending  nearly  to  tlie  mouth  of  Milk  River,  where  the  lignite 
tertiary  formations  commence.  These  are  also  composed  of  sands,  marls  and  days,  as  the 
character  of  th<*  valley  will  show.  The  river  flows  through  these  t«rtlary  rocks  to  the  mouth 
of  Heart  River  below  Fort  Union,  a  distance  of  nearly  2a0  miles,  where  the  Cretaceous  rocks 
come  to  the  surface  again.  These  latter  rocks  extend  nearly  to  CouncU  BlulTs,  a  distance  of 
over  600  miles.  I  have  estimated  the  distances  in  a  straight  line  as  nearly  as  possible.  Just 
above  Council  Bluffs  the  coal  measure  limestones  commence,  and  the  valley  of  the  Missouri 
gradually  becomes  more  restricted,  though  it  is  of  moderate  width  even  below  the  mouth  of 
the  Kansas. 

^'  The  Yellowstone  River  is  by  far  the  largest  branch  of  the  Missouri,  and  for  400  miles  ttom 
Its  mouth  up  it  seems  to  be  as  large  as  the  Missouri  Itself  from  Fort  Union  to  Fort  Pierre.  It 
Is  navigable  for  large  steamers  during  the  spring  and  early  summer  for  SOO  to  400  miles  above 
Its  Junction  with  the  Missouri.  This  river  also  takes  its  rise  In  the  main  divide  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  near  latitude  44  1-2°  and  longitude  110°,  in  a  lake,  as  some  suppose,  called  Yellow- 
stone lake,  wlilch  Is  about  60  miles  long  and  10  to  20  wide.  Its  channel  is  formed  in  rocks  simi- 
lar to  that  of  the  Missouri,  about  400  miles  of  Its  course  ])asslng  through  lignite  tertiary  beds. 
Tlie  character  of  its  valley  Is  very  similar  to  tiiat  of  the  Missouri.  Most  of  the  Important 
branches  of  this  river  I  have  alluded  to  in  the  preceding  portion  of  this  chapter.  Tongue  and 
Powder  Rivers,  which  are  quite  long  branches,  have  their  origin  In  the  Big  Horn  Mountains, 
tlielr  channels  cutting  through  the  different  rocks  that  surround  the  Big  Horn  range.  Tongue 
River  is  nearly  150  miles  in  length,  and  flows  for  the  most  part  through  the  soft  yielding  rocks 
of  the  lignite  tertiary.  Powder  River  is  f^om  250  to  800  miles  In  length,  and  also  flows  nearly 
all  Its  course  through  the  same  tertiary  beds  as  Tongue  River. 

Chapter  II.  on  the  "  System  of  Geological  Formations  in  the  North- 
west." Chapter  XII.  on  Geological  Explorations  in  Kansaft,  and  Chapter 
XIII.  "Tour  to  the  Bad  Lands  of  Dakota,"  In  1866,  will  be  found  of  es- 
pecial value  to  the  student  of  American  Geology. 

Petites  Nouvblles  Extomologiques.* — This  entomological  news- 
paper published  on  the  1st  and  18th  of  each  month,  contains  a  r6sum6 
of  news  interesting  to  entomologists,  and  will  be  useful  to  all  who  wish 
to  keep  themselves  informed  in  current  entomological  Information. 

*  Subscription  (for  North  America)  $1.20  a  year  post  free.  All  communications  to  be  ad- 
dressed to  Mr.  E.  Deyrolle,  flls,  19  Rue  de  la  Monnale,  Paris.  American  subscribers  can  remit 
in  two  or  three  cent  postage  stamps. 


NATURAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 


BOTANY. 

LAROEit  Bur-Marigold.  — In  the  last  edition  of  the  "Manual,"  Prof. 
Gra^  ascribes  to  Bidens  chi'ysanthemoides  a  maximum  height  of  two  and  a 
half  feet.  The  writer  has  recently  observed  this  species  growing  to  the 
prodigious  height  of  from  six  to  eight  and  two-thirds  feet.  The  locality 
of  these  large  specimens  is  near  a  spring  in  Pratt  Co.,  Illinois.  We  tried 
to  trace  in  these  overgrown  plants  evidences  of  hybridization  with  B, 
frondosa,  which  was  growing  in  the  same  spot,  but  could  detect  none  in 
either  leaves,  flowers  or  f^ult.  Lest  the  mere  record  of  such  a  remarkable 
growth  should  seem  incredible  to  some,  we  preserved  a  specimen  meas- 
uring eight  feet  eight  inches ;  stripping  it  of  its  branches,  of  course,  ex- 
cept a  few  terminal  ones  bearing  leaves  and  flowers  suflflcicnt  for  identi- 
fication. The  species  In  question  almost  always  surpasses  in  this  district 
the  maximum  size  allowed  it  by  our  authors,  as  indeed  do  many  other 
plants.  I  should  add  that  the  specimens  of  B.  frondosa  of  the  locality 
referred  to  were  equally  as  tall  but  not  taller  than  those  of  B.  chrysantke- 
moides.  Panicum  crua-galli  Linn,  grows  in  our  low  prairies  (apparently 
indigenous)  to  the  height  of  six  or  seven  feet;  and  Lysimachia  ciliata  to 
from  three  to  five,  rather  than  **  two  to  three,**  as  Professor  Gray  says. 
But  scores  of  other  species  might  be  mentioned  which  seem  constantly 
to  outgrow  themselves  on  our  western  soils.  The  flora  of  the  United 
States  as  it  is  now  known  seems  remarkable  for  various  forms  of  the 
same  species;  and  although  fhture  studies  will  probably  identity  as  dis- 
tinct species  many  forms  now  regarded  as  only  varieties,  yet  remarkable 
differences  In  the  size  of  the  same  species  in  different  localities  will  be  a 
more  notable  feature  of  our  flora  when  the  plants  of  the  east  and  the 
west,  the  north  and  the  south,  shall  have  been  more  thoroughly  studied 
and  more  diligently  compared.  —  Edward  L.  Greene,  Decatur,  Illinois, 

TiiK  Yellow-flowered  Sarracenli.  purpurea. — The  remarks  of  Mr. 
Tracy,  on  page  327  of  the  Naturalist,  have  somewhat  surprised  me,  as 
the  form  of  Sarracenia  purpurea  L.,  there  described,  though  rather  rare, 
has  been  long  and  well  known.  (See  Gray's  Manual,  etc.)  This  is,  I  pre- 
sume, no  other  than  the  S.  heterophylla  Eaton,  and  S,  purpurea,  var.  hete- 
rophylla  Torr.  Under  the  latter  name,  Wood,  In  describing  it  says  it  has 
been  found  at  Northampton,  Mass.  It  may  be  interesting  to  state  in  this 
connection,  as  showing  its  distribution,  that  I  collected  this  form  (a 
specimen  of  which  I  preserve  in  my  herbarium)  more  than  two  years  ago, 
on  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Superior,  about  thirty  miles  east  of  Marquette, 
Michigan.  It  grew  with  the  common  form.  In  my  plant  the  leaves  were 
without  purple  veins,  or  had  them  but  very  few  and  pale. 

(48) 


44  NATURAL   HISTORY   BflSCELLANY. 

As  to  its  being  a  transition  state,  on  its  way  to  fUll  whiteness,  that  is  a 
point  open  to  question.  I  do  not  know  that  the  flower  has  ever  been 
foand  white. 

Those  who  so  strongly  insist  on  the  relation  of  vital  force  to  color 
would  seem  to  be  sustained  in  this  one  fact,  that  In  almost  all  white  vari- 
eties (white  being  taken  us  absence  of  color)  the  foliage,  stem,  sepals, 
etc.,  appear  to  sympathize,  and  are  at  least  much  paler  than  usual.  But 
this  will  not  be  admitted  as  conclusive.  —  Henry  Gillman,  Detroit,  Mch. 

Arkas  of  Prkservatiox.  —  Although  distribution  is  one  of  the  strong- 
est points  of  the  derivative  doctrine,  yet  it  is  wonderftil  to  see,  in  the 
light  of  this  sober  and  impartial  survey  [Bentham's  address  on  Geographi- 
cal Biology  to  the  Llnna^an  Society,  1869],  how  entirely  the  whole  aspect 
of  philosophical  natural  history  in  this  regard  has  changed  within  two 
decades.  "Centres  of  creation"  and  the  like  are  of  thie  language  of  the 
past,  here  replaced  by  Bentham's  happy  term  of  **  Areas  of  Preservation." 
And  the  conclusion  tardily  reached  *'  that  the  present  geographical  dis- 
tribution of  plants  was  in  most  instances  a  derivative  one,  altered  from  a 
very  different  former  distribution,"  has  been  followed  by  the  conviction 
that  the  present  species  themselves  are  equally  derivative,  and  have  a 
changeAil  history,  some  steps  in  which  may  be  dimly  surmised  by  the 
study  of  cognate  forms,  extant  or  fossil.  At  the  point  now  reached,  if 
not  by  general  yet  by  large  consent,  the  problems  we  are  led  to  consider 
are  such  that  It  Is  Indispensable  to  have  a  term  of  wider  application  than 
''species'*  technically  means;  and  Mr.  Bentham  here  appropriates  to  this 
use  the  word  Hace,  to  denote  either  permanent  variety  (the  old  meaning 
of  the  word  when  definitely  restricted),  or  species,  or  groups  of  two  or 
more  near  and  so-called  representative  species,  i.  e.,  for  those  collections 
of  individuals,  or  resembling  groups  of  Individuals,  whose  association  In 
the  way  of  Uncage  is  taken  for  granted  by  this  class  —  or  rather  by  these 
classes  —  of  naturalists.  As  the  term  was  only  beginning  to  get  fixity  In 
its  restricted  sense.  It  wllLtalce  the  wider  sense  without  confusion  or  diffi- 
culty, and  with  the  advantage  of  a  vernacular  Instead  of  a  newly  coined 
purely  technical  word.  —  A.  Gray,  in  American  Journal  of  Science, 

Lkavks  of  CoMFERiE. — At  the  meeting  of  the  Philadelphia  Academy 
of  Natural  Sciences  on  the  5th  of  January,  Thomas  Meehau  referred  to 
his  original  observations  that  the  so-called  leaves  of  pines  were  rather 
branchlets  than  leaves,  and  that  the  true  leaves  existed  in  the  shape  of 
scales  which  were  adnate  to  the  stem ;  and  that  these  aduate  leaves  were 
partially  free  or  adherent  in  proportion  to  the  axial  vigor  of  the  tree.  In 
some  CoulfersB,  the  larch  being  a  good  Illustration,  the  adherent  leaves  or 
tcales,  had  the  power  of  producing  long  follaccous  awns,  which  ap- 
peartfd  as  true  leaves.  Nothing  of  this  kind  had  been  found  In  Plnus 
except  in  the  one-year-old  or  seedling  state.  He  now  exhibited  a  spec- 
imen of  Pinns  serotina,  which  had  been  sent  him  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Ravenel,  of 
Aiken,  South  Carolina,  In  vshich  foliaceous  awns,  two  inches  long^  had  been 


NATURAL   HISTORY  MISCELLANY.  45 

developed  from  these  adnate  leaves,  ui\,der  each  fascicle  of  branchlcts  (form- 
iog  S-leaved  fascicles).  This  he  thought  demonstrated  in  a  more  remark- 
able manner  than  any  observations  he  had  yet  made,  the  soundness  of 
his  former  deductions. 

He  called  attention  to  the  value  of  these  adnate  leaves  in  affording  spe- 
clflc  characters.  They  differed  in  form  and  other  points  nearly  as  much 
ft'om  one  another  as  the  leaves  of  other  tribes  or  plants.  He  exhibited 
living  specimens  of  Pinus  Austriaca^  P.  sylvestris,  P.  maritimay  P.  rigida, 
P.  pungenSy  P.  mitis  and  P.  glabra  Walk.,  to  illustrate  this.  Some  were 
costate,  some  regularly  plane,  others  elongated,  linear,  ovate,  obtuse, 
acute,  regular,  oblique,  spathulate,  gibbous,  etc.,  etc.  Pinus  glabra,  which 
had  been  confused  witli  P.  mitis,  could  readily  be  distinguished  by  these 
adnate  leaves ;  and  any  pine  could  be  as  readily  known  and  in  some  in- 
stances better  known,  by  the  adnate  leaves,  than  the  minute  and  often 
almost  inappreciable  difference  founded  on  the  old  time  leaves  (fascicled 
branchlets)  and  cones. 

Nqtes  from  Chicago.  —  Chicago  has  a  flourishing  young  botanical 
society,  the  members  of  which  meet  on  the  first  and  third  Saturday  of 
each  month.  They  have  engraved  upon  their  official  seal  the  Dioscorea 
villosa,  considering  it  the  prettiest  native  twiner  In  this  part  of  the 
country. 

The  flowers  of  the  prairies  are  no  prettier  than  the  flowers  of  New 
York  and  Massachusetts.  The  variety  is  not  so  great;  but  on  account  of 
the  absence  of  trees  and  shrubs  some  species  are  represented  by  very 
large  numbers  of  specimens,  making  a  grander  display  which  is  noticed 
by  everybody.  —  W.  J.  B. 

Photography  in  Botany.  —  To  illustrate  venation  and  the  nature  of 
the  surface  of  foliage  photography  may  be  turned  to  good  account,  far 
more  than  is  now  commonly  thought  of.  We  have  seen  a  photograph 
from  a  specimen  of  one  of  the  coriaceous-leaved  oaks  of  the  Dutch  Indies 
which  was  truly  wonderful  in  its  rendering.  —  A.  Gray,  in  American 
Journal  of  Science, 

[Photography  in  Entomology  will  prove  of  great  benefit,  especially  in 
representing,  with  accuracy,  the  venation  of  the  wings  of  the  Hymenop- 
tera,  Lepldoptera  and  Diptera.  We  value  very  highly  certain  photographs 
taken  for  us  several  years  ago  by  Professor  A.  £.  VerrlU ;  and  Mr.  Carl 
Meinerth  of  Newbury  port,  Mass.,  has  taken  some  exceedingly  good  pic- 
tures of  Hymenoptera  and  Moths.  The  venation  of  insects  is  exceed- 
ingly difficult  to  represent  by  the  pencil,  even  of  a  facile  and  skilled 
entomologist. — Editors.] 

Transformations  of  Parts  of  Flowers.  —  Professor  Koch  has  found 
that  in  a  flruit  of  Solanum  melongena,  the  five  anthers  have  been  trans- 
formed into  five  smaller  capsules.  A  capsule  of  poppy  offers,  in  the  cen- 
tre of  its  cavity,  a  small  elevation  (the  continuation  of  the  axis),  bearing 
a  number  of  smaller  capsules.  —  Nature, 


46  NATURAL   HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 

Fertilization  of  Plants.  —Professor  Hildebrnnd  states  that  plants 
inter  mediate  between  the  Papaveracese  and  the  Fumarise  gave  the  greatest 
quantity  of  seeds  when  impregnated  with  the  pollen  of  another  individ- 
ual of  the  same  species ;  less  when  the  pollen  was  taken  from  another 
flower  of  the  same  individual,  and  least  when  the  Impregnation  took  place 
within  the  flower  itself.  For  EschschoUzia  Californica,  the  proportion  of 
seeds  in  these  three  cases  was  as  twenty-four  to  nine  to  six.  Professor 
Fewzl  says  that  he  obtained  abundance  of  seeds  from  two  species  of 
Abutilon  by  fecundation  with  pollen  from  other  individuals^  and  that 
these  operations  are  best  performed  between  eight  and  nine  a.m. — 
Nature, 

In  Fours. — In  the  September  number  of  the  Naturalist,  G.  F.  M. 
mentions  a  Trillium  erythrocarpum  having  its  parts  in  fours.  I  have  in 
my  collection  a  similar  specimen  of  T,  sessile,  found  on  the  Salamonie. 
Also  a  specimen  of  T.  recnrvatum  from  the  same  locality,  having  its  parts 
in  twos;  two  leaves,  sepals,  petals  and  stigmas,  and  four  stamens. 

In  the  November  number,  C.  J.  S.  speaks  of  a  specimen  of  Zea  Mays, 
where  the  floral  organs  have  changed  offices.  I  have  often  observed  this 
ft*eak  in  the  flelds ;  grains  among  the  staminate  flowers,  and  staminate 
flowers  surmounting  the  rachis.  I  have  also  seen  the  entire  fascicle  of 
staminate  flowers  transformed  into  a  tuft  of  little  green  blades.  —  K.  H. 
Fisher,  Arbay  Indiana. 

Androgynous  Inflorescence.  —  Such  inflorescences  have  been  found 
on  Zea,  Populus,  Fagus,  Carpinus,  Betula  humilis  and  B.  alba^  as  also  on 
Pinus  nigra;  the  small  scale,  considered  as  a  part  of  the  female  blossom, 
developing  Itself  into  an  anther.  —  Nature. 


ZOOLOGY. 

Relation  op  the  Physical  to  the  Biological  Scienceb.— With 
reference  to  those  branches  of  science  in  which  we  are  more  or  less 
concerned  with  the  phenomena  of  life,  my  own  studies  give  me  no  right 
to  address  you.  I  regret  this  the  less  because  my  predecessor  and  my 
probable  successor  in  the  presidential  chair  are  both  of  well-known 
eminence  in  this- department.  But  I  hope  I  may  be  permitted,  as  a 
physicist,  and  viewing  the  question  ft'om  the  physical  side,  to  express  to 
yon  my  views  as  to'  the  relation  which  the  physical  bear  to  the  biological 
sciences. 

No  other  physical  science  has  been  brought  to  such  perfection  as 
mechanics ;  and  in  mechanics  we  have  long  been  familiar  with  the  Idea 
of  the  perfect  generality  of  its  laws,  of  their  applicability  to  bodies 
organic  as  well  as  inorganic,  living  as  well  as  dead.  Thus  in  a  railway 
collision,  when  a  train  is  suddenly  arrested  the  passengers  are  thrown 
forward,  by  virtue  of  the  inertia  of  their  bodies,  precisely  according  to 
the  laws  which  regulate  the  motion  of  dead  matter.    So  trite  has  the  idea 


NATURAL   HISTORY  MISCELLANY.  47 

become  that  the  reference  to  It  may  seem  childish ;  bat  from  mechanics 
let  us  pass  on  to  chemistry,  and  the  case  will  be  found  by  no  means  so 
clear.  When  chemists  ceased  to  be  content  with  the  mere  ultimate 
analysis  of  organic  substances,  and  set  themselves  to  study  their  proxi- 
mate constituents,  a  great  number  of  definite  chemical  compounds  were 
obtained  which  could  not  be  formed  artificially.  I  do  not  know  what  may 
have  been  the  usual  opinion  at  that  time  among  chemists  as  to  their  mode 
of  formation.  Probably  it  may  have  been  imagined  that  chemical  afilni- 
ties  were  indeed  concerned  in  their  formation,  but  controlled  and  modi- 
fied by  an  assumed  vital  force.  But  as  the  science  progressed  many  of 
these  organic  substances  were  formed  artificially,  in  some  cases  from 
other  and  perfectly  distinct  organic  substances,  in  other  cases  actually 
from  their  elements.  This  statement  must  indeed  be  accepted  with  one 
qualification. 

It  was  stated  several  years  ago  by  M.  Pasteur,  and  I  believe  the  state- 
ment still  remains  true,  that  no  substance,  the  solution  of  which  possesses 
the  property  of  rotating  the  plane  of  polarization  of  polarized  light  had 
been  formed  artificially  from  substances  not  possessing  that  property. 
Now  several  of  the  natural  substances  which  are  deemed  to  have  been 
produced  artificially  are  active,  in  the  sense  of  rotating  the  plane  of 
polarization,  and  therefore  in  these  cases  the  inactive  artificial  substances 
cannot  be  absolutely  identical  with  the  natural  ones.  But  the  inactivity 
of  the  artificial  substance  is  readily  explained  on  the  supposition  that  the 
artificial  substance  bears  to  the  natural  the  same  relation  as  racemic  acid 
bears  to  tartaric;  that  It  is,  so  to  speak,  a  mixture  of  the  natural  sub- 
stance with  its  image  in  a  mirror.  And  when  we  remember  by  what  a 
peculiar  and  troublesome  process  M.  Pasteur  succeeded  in  separating 
racemic  acid  into  the  right-handed  and  left-handed  tartaric  acids,  it  will 
be  at  once  understood  how  easily  the  fact,  if  it  be  a  fact,  of  the  existence 
in  the  natural  substance  of  the  mixture  of  two  substances,  one  right- 
handed  and  the  other  left-handed,  but  otherwise  Identical,  may  have 
escaped  detection.  This  is  a  curious  point,  to  the  clearing  up  of  which 
it  is  desirable  that  chemists  should  direct  their  attention.  Waiving  then 
the  difference  of  activity  or  inactivity,  which,  as  we  have  seen,  admits  of 
a  simple  physical  explanation,  though  the  correctness  of  that  explanation 
remains  to  be  Investigated,  we  may  say  that  at  the  present  time  a  consid- 
erable number  of  what  used  to  be  regarded  as  essentially  natural  organic 
substances  have  been  formed  in  the  laboratory.  That  being  the  case  it 
seems  most  reasonable  to  suppose  that  in  the  plant  or  animal  from  which 
those  organic  substances  were  obtained  they  were  firmed  by  the  play  of 
ordinary  chemical  afiUnity,  not  necessarily  nor  probably  by  the  same  series 
of  reactions  by  which  they  were  formed  in  the  laboratory,  where  a  high 
temperature  Is  commonly  employed,  but  still  by  chemical  reactions  of 
some  kind,  under  the  agency  in  many  cases  of  light,  an  agency  sometimes 
employed  by  the  chemist  in  his  laboratory.  And  since  the  boundary  line 
between  the  natural  substances  which  have,  and  those  which  have  not, 


48  NATURAL  HISTORY   MISCELLANY. 

been  formed  artiflciallj  Is  one  which,  so  far  as  we  know,  simply  depends 
upon  the  amount  of  our  knowledge,  and  is  continually  changing  as  new 
processes  are  discovered,  we  are  led  to  extend  the  same  reasoning  to  the 
various  chemical  substances  of  which  organic  structures  are  made  up. 

But  do  the  laws  of  chemical  affinity,  to  which,  as  I  have  endeavored  to 
infer,  living  beings,  whether  vegetable  or  animal,  are  In  absolute  subjec- 
tion, together  with  those  of  capillary  attraction,  of  diSlision,  etc.,  account 
for  the  formation  of  an  organic  structure,  as  distinguished  from  the  elab- 
oration of  the  chemical  substances  of  which  it  is  composed  ?  No  more,  it 
seems  to  me,  than  the  laws  of  motion  account  for  the  union  of  oxygen 
and  hydrogen  to  form  water,  though  the  ponderable  matter  so  uniting  is 
subject  to  the  laws  of  motion  during  the  act  of  union  Just  as  well  as 
before  and  after.  In  the  various  processes  of  crystallization,  of  precipi- 
tation, etc.,  which  we  witness  in  dead  matter,  I  cannot  see  the  faintest 
shadow  of  an  approach  to  the  formation  of  an  organic  structure,  still  less 
to  the  wonderful  series  of  changes  which  are  concerned*  in  the  growth 
and  perpetuation  of  even  the  lowliest  plant.  Admitting  to  the  fViU  as 
highly  probable,  though  not  completely  demonstrated,  the  applicability  to 
living  beings  of  the  laws  which  have  been  ascertained  with  reference  to 
dead  matter,  I  feel  constrained,  at  the  same  time,  to  admit  the  existence 
of  a  mysterious  something  lying  beyond  —  a  something  svi  generis,  which 
I  regard,  not  as  balancing  and  suspending  the  ordinary  physical  laws,  but 
as  working  with  them  and  through  them  to  the  attainment  of  a  designed 
end. 

What  this  something^  which  we  call  life,  may  be,  is  a  profound  mystery. 
We  know  not  how  many  links  in  the  chain  of  secondary  causation  may 
yet  remain  behind;  we  know  not  how  few.  It  would  be  presumptuous 
indeed  to  assume  in  any  case  that  we  had  already  reached  the  last  link, 
and  to  charge  with  irreverence  a  fellow-worker  who  attempted  to  push 
his  Investigations  yet  one  step  farther  back.  On  the  other  hand,  if  a 
thick  darkness  enshrouds  all  beyond,  we  have  no  right  to  assume  It  to  be 
impossible  that  we  should  have  reached  even  the  last  link  of  the  chain ;  a 
stage  where  farther  progress  is  unattainable,  and  we  can  only  refer  the 
highest  law  at  which  we  stopped  to  the  flat  of  an  Almighty  Power.  To 
assume  the  contrary  as  a  matter  of  necessity.  Is  practically  to  remove  the 
first  cause  of  all  to  an  Infinite  distance  from  us.  The  boundary,  how- 
ever, between  what  is  clearly  known  and  what  is  veiled  In  Impenetrable 
darkness  Is  not  ordinarily  thus  sharply  defined.  Between  the  two  there 
lies  a  misty  region.  In  which  loom  the  ill-discerned  forms  of  links  of  the 
chain  which  are  yet  beyond  us.  But  the  general  principle  is  not  afllectcd 
thereby.  Let  us  fearlessly  trace  the  dependence  of  link  on  link  as  far  as 
it  may  be  given  us  to  trace  It,  but  let  us  take  heed  that  in  thus  studying 
second  causes  we  forget  not  the  first  cause,  nor  shut  our  eyes  to  the 
wonderful  proofis  of  design  which.  In  the  study  of  organized  beings  es- 
pecially, meet  us  at  every  turn.  —  President  Stoket'  Address  to  the  British 
Association.    Sgibntific  Ofiniox. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   MI80ELLANT.  49 

Notes  on  the  Ducks  found  on  the  Coast  of  Massachusetts  in 
Winter.  —  [A  sporting  ft-iend  In  Salem  sends  the  followiog  Interesting 
notes  on  oar  winter  ducks,  which,  though  diifering  somewhat  A'om  the 
published  opinions  of  some  writers,  accord  in  the  main  with  notes  in  pre- 
vious lists  of  the  birds  of  Massachusetts.  While  adding  to  our  ornitho- 
logical record  many  facts  of  special  Interest  in  respect  to  the  distribution 
of  our  dncks  in  winter,  they  are  also  important  as  confirmatory  in  the 
main  of  what  has  been  previously  written]  :  On  looking  over  th^  ''  List 
of  New  England  Birds'*  I  find  some  statements  that  are  not  in  accord- 
ance with  my  own  experience  as  a  sportsman. 

M9l\ATd(Ana8bo8cha8  Linn,),  '*  Winter  resident;  not  abundant.*'  This 
is  not  a  diving  duck,  but  feeds  the  same  as  our  tame  ducks,  and  is  usually 
found  in  fresh  waters.  I  have  never  seen  it  here  in  winter.  Perhaps  a 
.bird  wounded  in  the  fall  may  stay  over,  but  /  never  saw  any  in  winter. 
They  are  not  plenty  even  on  the  Chesapeake  waters  after  the  last  of 
November,  but  go  still  farther  south.  A  few  may  be  shot  on  the  Jersey 
marshes  in  winter. 

Pintail  Duck  {Dc^a  acuta  Jenyns).  **  Chiefly  along  the  coast.  Win- 
ter resident;  not  abundant.*'  I  have  never  found  one  of  these  ducks 
here  in  winter.  This  is  also  not  a  duck  that  dives  for  its  food  (and  hence 
cannot  feed  in  deep  water).  It  is  usually  a  very  timid  duck,  and  con- 
stantly on  the  watch.  On  the  Delaware,  In  spring,  considerable  numbers 
are  shot.    By  some  it  is  called  Spring-tail. 

Scaup  Duck  (Fulix  marila  Baird).  **  Winter  resident."  I  never  saw  one 
of  these  here  in  winter.  Some  are  found  at  that  season  in  Long  Island 
Sound  and  on  the  south  side  of  Long  Island.  A  few  also  winter  on  the 
south  side  of  Cape  Cod. 

Red  Head  (Aythya  Americana  Bon.).  **  Winter  resident."  None  to 
my  knowledge  winter  here.  They  are  a  strong  diver,  and  can  get  their 
food  even  in  winter,  if  they  will  eat  the  same  kind  of  food  that  our  Coot 
and  Old  Squaw. live  on. 

l!anvasback  (Aythya  tallianeria  Bon.).  "Chiefly  winter  resident;  not 
abundant.**  Very  seldom  if  ever  seen  in  our  waters.  A  very  few  have 
been  shot,    A  few  may  be  found  in  the  waters  near  New  York. 

Golden  Eye  {^Bucephala  Americana  Baird).  "  Common  winter  resident." 
Winters  from  Florida  to  Maine.  There  are  always  large  numbers  to  be 
seen  any  calm  day  in  winter  fk'om  our  lower  gunning  house  on  Rowley 
River. 

Bufl'el  Head  (JBucephala  albeola  Baird).  <*  Abundant  winter  resident." 
Stay  late  in  fall  and  come  early  in  spring;  but  few,  if  any,  winter  here. 

Black  Duck  {Anas  ohscura  Gm.).  *•  Resident."  There  is  a  small  vari- 
ety of  this  duck  that  always  winters  with  us  and  can  be  procured  at  any 
time  when  the  weather  is  favorable,  ft-om  September  to  April.  But  in 
early  spring  the  more  southern  ducks  of  this  species  come  north  and  stop 
a  little  time  here.  They  are  considerably  larger  than  those  that  winter 
in  our  bays.    The  ducks  of  this  species  usually  spend  the  day  at  sea  ond 

AMER.  naturalist,  VOL.  IV.  7 


50  NATUKAL  HISTORY   MISCELLANY. 

re  tarn  .towards  evening  to  the  flats  and  marshes  to  feed,  for  they  are  not 
a  duck  that  dives  for  its  food,  bat  ttlt  up  as  our  puddle  ducks  do  when 
feeding. 

All  the  species  here  mentioned  may  have  been  seen  and  shot  by  others, 
but  so  far  as  I  have  observed  only  Coots,  Eiders,  Black  Ducks,  Velvet 
Ducks  aud  Scoters  winter  here.  Since  most  ducks  are  strong  fliers, 
capable  of  travelling  forty  to  sixty  miles  an  hour,  it  would  take  but  about 
one  night*s  flight  for  them  to  reach  us  tvom  Long  Island  Sound  or  even 
the  Delaware  waters,  and  a  few  warm  days  may  be  sufficient  to  tempt 
some  here,  now  and  then,  that  are  not  probably  winter  residents,  a  fact 
that  may  have  been  overlooked  by  some  who  may  have  observed  certain 
of  them  here  in  winter. 

Is  Huxley's  Bathybius  an  Animal? — In  the  "Microscopical  Joumar* 
for  October,  1868,  is  a  memoir  by  Professor  Huxley,  "  On  some  organ- 
isms living  at  great  depths  in  the  North  Atlantic  Ocean,"  in  which  he 
states  that  the  stickiness  of  the  deep-sea  mud  is  due  to  "innumerable 
lumps  of  a  transparent  gelatinous  substance,"  each  lump  consisting  of 
granules,  coccoliths,  a,nd  foreign  bodies^  embedded  in  a  transparent,  color- 
less, and  structureless  matrix."  The  granules  fonn  heaps  which  are 
sometimes  the  one- thousandth  of  an  inch  or  more  in  diameter.  The 
"granule"  is  a  rounded  or  oval  disc,  which  is  stained  yellow  by  iodine, 
and  is  dissolved  by  acetic  acid.  "  The  granule  heaps  and  the  transpa- 
rent gelatinous  matter  in  which  they  are  embedded,  represent  masses 
of  protoplasm."  One  of  the  masses  of  this  deep-sea  "  urschleim,"  may 
be  regarded  as  a  new  form  of  the  simplest  animated  beings  (Moner), 
and  Huxley  proposes  to  call  it  Bathybius.  The  "  Discolithi  and  the  Cya- 
tholithi"  some  of  which  resemble  the  "  granules,"  are  said  to  bear  the 
same  relation  to  the  protoplasm  of  Bathybius  as  the  spicula  of  sponges 
do  to  the  soft  parts  of  those  animals;  but  it  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  the  spicula  of  sponges  are  embedded  in  a  matrix,  which  is  formed 
by  and  contains,  beside  the  spicula,  small  masses  of  living  or  germinal 
matter.  As  in  other  cases,  this  matrix,  with  the  living  matter  iucludid, 
constitutes  the  "protoplasm"  of  Mr.  Huxley.     • 

Dr.  Wallich  has,  however,  arrived  at  a  very  different  conclusion.  In 
a  paper  "  On  the  Vital  Functions  of  the  Deep-sea  Protozoa,"  published 
in  No.  1  of  the  "Monthly  Microscopical  Journal,"  January,  1869,  this 
observer,  who  has  long  been  engaged  in  this  and  kindred  studies,  states 
that  the  coccoliths  and  the  coccospheres  stand  in  no  direct  relation  to 
the  protoplasm  substance  referred  to  by  Huxley,  under  the  name  of 
Bathybius,  The  former  are  derived  from  their  parent  coccospheres, 
which  are  independent  structures  altogether.  " Bathybius"  instead  of 
being  a  widely  extending  living  protoplasm  which  grows  at  the  expense 
of  inorganic  elements,  is  rather  to  be  regarded  as  a  complex  mass 
of  slime  with  many  foreign  bodies  and  the  debris  of  living  organisms 
which  have  passed  away.  Nameroas  living  forms  are,  however,  still 
found  on  it. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   MISCELLANY.  51 

Dr.  Wallich  is  of  opinion  that  each  coccosphere  is  Just  as  much  an 
independent  structure  as  Thalaaaicolla  or  CoUosphaBra^  and  that,  as  in 
other  cases,  **  nutrition  ts  effected  by  a  vital  act,"  which  enables  the 
organism  to  extract  fVom  the  surrounding  medium  the  elements  adapted 
for  its  nutrition.  These  are  at  length  converted  into  its  sarcode  and 
shell  material.  In  fact,  In  these  lowest,  simplest  forms  we  find  evidence 
of  the  working  of  an  inherent  vital  power,  and  in  them  nutrition  seems 
to  be  conducted  on  the  same  principle  as  in  the  highest  and  most  com- 
plex beings.  In  all  cases  the  process  involves,  besides  physical  and 
chemical  changes,  purely  vital  actions,  which  cannot  be  Imitated,  and 
which  cannot  be  explained  by  physics  and  chemistry.  —  Lionel  Bbal, 
in  Monthly  Microscopical  Journal, 

Rrason  and  Instinct. — Under  this  title  Sir  S.  W.  Baker,  devotes  a 
chapter  of  his  **  Eight  Year's  Wanderings  in  Ceylon,"  to  symptoms  of 
the  reasoning  faculty  in  animals,  and  narrates  a  story  of  his  hound  '*BIuc- 
beard,"  which  was  called  to  mind  by  your  account  of  the  Spider  and  Mud- 
wasp  on  page  391  of  the  September  Naturalist.  To  condense  a  little, 
the  facts  were  these:  **Sir  Samuel  was  hunting  in  a  rolling  country 
divided  by  Jungles  into  so-called  patinas,  with  a  large  and  deep  river  flow- 
ing through  the  centre.  The  pack  had  disappeared,  but  after  a  long  time 
spent  in  searching  for  them,  Sir  Samuel  saw  from  one  of  the  grassy 
knolls  that  commanded  the  patina,  an  elk  swimming  out  fk-om  the  Jungle, 
and  succeeded  with  the  gray  hounds,  remaining  by  him,  in  running  her 
down  shortly  after  she  landed : 

**  We  were  cutting  up  the  elk,  when  we  presently  heard  old  Bluebeard^s  voice  fhr  away  In 
the  Jungle,  and,  thinking  he  might  perhaps  be  running  an6ther  elk,  we  ran  to  alilll  which  over- 
looked the  river,  and  kept  a  bright  lookout.  We  soon  discovered  that  he  was  true  upon  the 
same  game,  and  we  watched  his  plan  of  hunting,  being  anxious  to  see  whether  be  could  hunt 
upon  an  elk  that  had  kept  to  water  for  so  long  a  time. 

On  his  entrance  to  the  patina  by  the  rlver*s  bank,  he  Immediately  took  to  water  and  swam 
across  the  stre.tm;  here  he  carefully  hunted  the  edg^e  for  several  hundred  yards  down  the 
river,  but,  finding  nothing,  he  returned  to  the  Jungle  at  the  point  ftom  which  the  river  flowed. 
Here  he  again  took  to  water,  and.  swimming  back  to  tlie  bank  fVom  which  he  had  at  first 
stkrted,  he  lande<l  and  made  a  vain  cast  down  the  hollow.  Back  he  retamed  after  his  fHiltless 
search,  and  once  more  he  took  to  water.  I  began  to  dlspalr  of  the  possibility  of  his  finding; 
but  the  true  old  hound  was  now  swimming  steadily  down  the  stream,  crossing  and  recrossing 
f^ra  either  bank,  and  still  pursuing  his  course  down  the  river.  At  length  he  reacht^  the  spot 
where  I  knew  that  the  elk  had  landed,  and  we  eagerly  watched  to  see  If  he  would  pass  the 
scent,  as  he  was  now  several  yards  fW)m  the  bank.  He  was  nearly  abreast  of  the  spot,  when  he 
turned  sharp  In  and  landed  in  the  exact  place ;  his  deep  and  Joyous  note  rung  across  the  patinas, 
and  away  went  the  gallant  old  hound  In  ftall  cry  upon  the  scent,  while  I  could  not  help  shouting, 
*  Hurrah  for  old  Bluebeard!  *  In  a  few  mlnntes  he  was  by  the  side  of  the  dead  elk  — a  speci- 
men of  a  true  hound,  who  certainly  had  exhibited  a  large  share  of  reason.*  **  —  P. 

Malformations  in  Insrcts.  — In  the  summer  of  1868  I  observed  on 
several  occasions  along  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Superior,  specimens  of 
the  Dragon-fly  with  a  curious  malformation,  or  arrest  of  development  of 
the  wing.  In  an  individual  I  specially  observed,  the  skin  had  Just  been 
cast,  and  the  wings,  not  having  yet  hardened,  were  quite  soft  and  delicate 
to  the  touch.  In  one  of  the  wings  was  a  lump-like  unexpanded  portion 
reducing  the  size  of  the  limb  nearly  one-half.    The  malformation  was 


62  NATURAL   HISTORY  MISGELLAKT. 

similar  in  each  of  the  instances  noticed  by  me,  and  was  so  serious  a^  to 
prevent  the  flight  of  the  insect,  it  invariably  fallinjp^  to  the  ground  on 
being  thrown  into  the  air,  and  being  qnite  unable  to  raise  Itself. 

A  like  deformity,  with  liice  results,  I  had  previously  found  to  be  not 
uncommon  in  the  Ephemera,  which  is  produced  in  such  countless  multi- 
tudes in  the  lake  region.  The  only  wonder  is  that  creatures  so  fhigile 
that  almost  the  touch  of  a  flnger  injures  them,  should  be  brought  into 
existence  in  such  myriads,  generally  unharmed  and  perfect. 

I  saw  two  examples  of  a  more  singular  case  of  malformation  in  the 
beautiful  pale  green  Moon-moth  (Actios  Luna),  The  wing  was  similarly 
dwarfed  or  contracted,  a  large  portion  towards  the  extremity  being  unex- 
panded  and  hardened.  The  coloring  matter  and  fluids  which  should  have 
passed  down  to  perfect  the  development  remained  above  in  greenish 
blisters,  protruding  the  skin  of  the  wing  on  each  side.  On  breaking  this 
the  contents  escaped.  By  pressing  those  blisters  it  was  possible  to  pro- 
ject the  colored  fluid  in  any  direction  within  the  wing;  the  motions  being 
quite  perceptible  in  the  increased  brilliancy  of  color  of  the  parts  whel'e 
the  fluid  passed.  —  Hbnrt  Gillman,  Detroit  Michigan. 

The  Cotton  or  Army  Worm  op  thb  South.  —  The  Secretary  (of  the 
Entomological  Society  of  London)  read  a  communication  respecting  the 
injury  done  to  the  cotton  crop  in  Louisiana  by  the  **  Array  Worm,"  the 
larva  of  HeUothia  armigera  (undoubtedly  the  Anomis  xylina,  Eds.) 

**  It  stated  that  the  crop  was  In  danger  of  being  entirely  eaten  up.  Some  years  ago  the  plan- 
ters of  Louisiana,  tempted  by  the  high  price  of  cotton,  which  was  then  selling  at  fifteen  pence  a 
p.'>und,  began  to  cultivate  cotton,  which  had  been  almost  abandoned.  The  sugar-cane  became 
of  secondary  importance;  but  the  caterpillars  arrived,  and  swept  away  the  hopes  of  the  plant- 
ers in  a  few  days  The  noise  made  by  the  multitudes  of  the  voracious  Insects  was  described  as 
audible  at  the  distance  of  a  mile,  and  to  resemble  the  crackling  of  a  house  on  fire.  It  was 
thrmglit  for  a  long  time  that  the  Army  worm  only  visited  Lower  Louisiana,  but  tills  was  an 
error:  in  1786,  these  insects  de.6troyed  two  hundred  and  eighty  tons  of  cotton  in  the  Bahamas; 
they  caused  the  cultivation  of  cotton  to  be  given  up  In  many  of  the  West  Indian  Islands,  and 
the  case  was  almost  the  same  in  Egypt;  in  1793  this  insect  visited  Georgia,  and  in  1800  It  ravaged 
South  Carolina;  four  years  later  they  descended  on  the  whole  of  Louisiana;  and  iq  1825  they 
ravaged  the  whole  of  the  Southern  States,  and  it  was  very  difllcult  even  to  get  seed  for  the  fol- 
lowing year.  The  last  general  visitation  was  In  1845.  The  Army  worm  appears  often  In 
Gniana  and  other  parts  of  South  America." 

Blackbirds  in  Winter.  —Since  the  first  week  in  December  there  have 
been  two,  and  part  of  the  time  three,  Rusty  Blackbirds  constantly  about 
one  of  my  barns.  At  the  same  locality  a  number  of  Cow  Blackbirds  were 
seen  last  winter  and  the  winter  before.  They  appeared  about  the  middle 
of  November,  and  left  the  last  of  March.  Sometimes  only  three  or  four 
were  observed,  but  the  highest  number  seen  was  nineteen.  They  were 
usually  very  tame,  allowing  one  to  approach  within  eight  or  ten  feet  of 
them.  Their  only  note  was  a  sort  of  a  whistle,  uttered  while  sitting  on  the 
top  of  an  apple-tree.  The  Cow  Blackbirds  were  usually  very  active,  but 
the  Rusty  Blackbirds  seemed  much  pinched  with  cold,  and  in  cold  days 
sat  crouched  down  on  their  feet.  —  Robert  Howell,  Nichols,  Tioga 
County,  K  T.,  Jan.  11,  1870. 


NATURAL  HI6TOBY  MIBGELLAKr.  53 

How  TUK  ScuLPi'uuED  TURTLE  (^Qlyptemys  inscuXpta  Ag.)  deposits  ueb 
EGGS. —  [The  following  was  given  to  me  by  Mr.  Frank  Gammons,  of 
West  Newton.  I  think  it  exceedingly  interesting,  and  send  it  for  publi- 
cation. —  C.  J.  M.] 

I  was  passing  through  a  cornfield  in  Weston,  when  I  observed  a  turtle 
scratching  about  a  hill  of  corn  with  one  of  her  forefeet.  I  paused  and 
watched  her  movements.  She  went  to  half  a  dozen  or  more  hills,  and 
seemed  to  try  them,  but  for  some  reason  they  did  not  suit  her ;  finally  she 
came  to  one  where  she  began  to  dig  in  earnest  with  both  forefeet;  turning 
around  with  her  hind-feet  acting  as  a  pivot  she  continued  to  dig  antii  she 
had  formed  a  complete  circle  with  the  dirt  thrown  In  the  centre.  She 
then  reversed  her  position  by  placing  her  forefeet  in  the  centre  and 
supporting  herself  by  these  alone,  she  with  her  hind-feet  threw  out  the 
earth;  at  the  same  time  turning  around  until  the  hole  was  about  six 
inches  deep  and  about  thirteen  Inches  in  diameter.  She  then  began  to 
tread  it  down  hard  on  the  bottom.  She  then  came  out  to  the  edge  and 
immediately  deposited  eighteen  eggs,  with  the  space  of  about  a  minute 
between  each  deposit.  Sometimes  two  would  come  out  very  nearly 
together.  When  she  had  finished  laying  she  filled  the  hole  by  standing 
on  her  forefeet  as  before,  and  using  her  hind  ones  as  shovels.  When 
about  one  inch  of  earth  was  thrown  in,  she  would  get  in  and  tread  it 
solid.  This  continued  until  the  hole  was  filled,  when,  after  smoothing 
and  treading  carefully,  she  crawled  away.  She  measured  nine  Inches 
wide  by  twelve  long.    The  soil  where  she  dug  was  very  sandy. 

Anecdote  of  the  Sparijow-hawk.  —  An  old  gentleman  once  told  me 
the  following  incident  of  this  bird  and  I  can  vouch  for  its  truth:  **One 
day  as  I  was  sitting  by  mv  window  looking  over  the  thriving  little  town 
of  D ,  my  attention  was  turned  towards  a  tame  cat  which  was  cross- 
ing the  street,  and  bearing  a  large  mouse  in  her  mouth,  evidently  a  treat 
for  her  young.  But  she  came  well  nigh  losing  it,  for  a  sparrow-hawk 
came  flying  over,  and  seeing  the  mouse  in  her  month,  made  a  sudden 
swoop  and  tried  to  seize  it  with  its  talons,  but  did  not  succeed.  The 
hawk  continued  its  attempts  until  they  reached  the  opposite  side  of  the 
street,  when  the  cat  disappeared  under  the  sidewalk,  and  the  hawk  fiew 
off  into  the  forest." — T.  Allison,  DeWitt,  Iowa, 

Hybiud  Fowls.  —  By  chance  I  have  had  in  my  possession  for  two  or 
three  years  a  pair  of  hybrid  fowls,  bred  firom  an  ordinary  dung-hill  cock 
and  a  guinea  hen.  Not  having  had  the  means  of  ascertaining  whether 
this  is  an  isolated  instance  worthy  of  note,  I  have  addressed  these  few 
lines  to  you,  since  If  the  case  is  worthy  of  attention  I  shall  be  pleased  to 
give  you  any  Information  concerning  them  that  is  in  my  power.  —  Ward 
Bachelor,  Waverly,  Pa, 

[If  not  too  late  we  should  be  pleased  to  have  a  description  of  the  fowls. 
Will  our  readers  inform  us  of  any  similar  cases  they  may  have  authentic 
knowledge  of.  —  Eds.] 


54  NATURAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 

The  Ruby-crowned  KiNGLRT. — AH  oar  standard  works  on  American 
ornithology  describe  the  Ruby-crowned  Kinglet  as  presenting  little  or 
no  sexual  differences  in  color,  both  males  and  females  being  said  to  pos- 
sess the  red  crest  when  mature;  those  without  it  being  regarded  as 
young  or  Immature  birds.  I  have  long  questioned  whether  this  is  so,  but 
have  not  of  late  had  an  opportunity  of  arriving  at  a  satisfactory  conclu- 
sion. Mr.  Jillson,  writing  to  me  recently  about  them,  says  he  thinks 
there  Is  some  mistake  about  them.  He  says  ''as  far  as  I  know,  all  nat- 
uralists describe  the  female  as  having  the  red  on  the  head.  I  have  taken 
from  three  to  a  dozen  every  season  In  May ;  have  dissected  most  of  them 
but  have  never  found  one  that  had  the  red  that  was  not  a  male.  I  have 
never  taken  any  without  the  red  until  after  the  former  had  all,  or  nearly 
all,  gone  north.  Those  without  the  red  have  always  proved  to  be  females, 
and  I  have  never  heard  one  of  them  sing ;  but  I  do  not  think  I  ever  shot 
one  with  the  red  crown  but  that  I  had  heard  it  sing.*' 

What  now  is  the  experience  of  others?  Does  the  female  ever  have  the 
red  crown? — J.  A.  Allen. 

The  Crocodile  in  Florida.  —  Professor  Wyraan  describes.  In  the 
**  American  Journal  of  Science"  for  January,  the  skull  of  a  true  Croco- 
dile shot  near  the  mouth  of  the  Miami  River,  Florida.  He  remarks  that 
**  It  has  been  shown  by  different  paleontologists,  especially  by  Dr.  Leidy 
and  Professor  Cope,  that  several  species  of  Ciocodlllans  existed  In  North 
America  during  the  Cretaceous  and  Miocene  periods,  all  of  which  became 
extinct.  At  the  present  time  two  living  species  of  true  Crocodiles,  viz : 
C.  aeutus  and  C  rhombifer,  are  known  in  South  America,  and  both  range 
as  fBir  north  as  Cuba  and  San  Domingo,  but  we  have  not  been  able  to  find 
a  record  of  the  presence  of  either  of  them  within  the  limits  of  the  United 
States,  the  Alligator  being  the  only  representative  of  the  family  to  which 
it  belongs."    He  considers  the  Florida  specimen  as  the  GrocodUus  actUvs, 

House  Sparrow  (Passer  domesticus).  —  The  recent  introduction  of  this 
interesting  and  usefiil  little  foreigner  to  Boston,  with  a  view  to  his 
naturalization  and  domestication  throughout  our  New  England  States, 
appears,  I  opine,  In  a  fair  way  of  accomplishment,  and  to  call  for  some 
notice  and  gratulatlon.  Although  we  cannot  restrict  him  to  city  life, 
it  Is  certain  that  he  will  instinctively  discover  for  himself  locations 
suitable  to  his  peculiar  habits  and  economy.  Already  he  has  appeared  in 
some  of  the  suburban  towns.  In  passing  a  few  days  since  through  one 
of  the  most  frequented  streets  of  this  village,  I  was  unexpectedly  sur- 
prised and  gratified  in  recognizing  a  merry  party  of  six  of  our  new 
English  triends  of  both  sexes;  some  picking  out  the  half  digested  grain 
among  the  horse  droppings  on  the  road ;  others,  merrily  chirping  and  ar- 
ranging their  toilets  on  the  trees  of  an  adjacent  pear  orchard,  among 
which  a  quantity  of  loose  stable  litter  had  been  strewn ;  in  such  circum- 
stances they  appeared  to  be  quite  at  home  and  vastly  enjoying  themselves. 
He  is  a  social,  bold,  cunning  and  gregarious  bird;  domestic,  yet  impatient 


NATUBAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY.  55 

of  restraiaty  and  his  loquacity  and  pugnacious  disposition  are  at  times  quite 
amusing,  and  if  successftillj  acclimated,  we  may  expect  eventually  to  find 
him  generally  dispersed  among  our  viilages  and  farmsteads,  as  well  as 
on  the  crowded  streets  of  our  cities,  where  his  presence  may  be  encour- 
aged and  his  person  protected  by  wise  and  salutary  laws.  Some  little 
attention  to  his  natural  wants  during  our«  usually  severe  and  protracted 
winters,  when  the  earth  is  bound  by  frost  or  enveloped  with  snow,  In  the 
shape  of  a  few  dally  handfUls  of  grain  and  a  snug  shelter  under  the  eaves 
of  the  barn  or  outhouse,  would,  I  appi%hend,  be  the  extent  of  his  de- 
mands on  our  sympathies,  and  with  his  cheerful  company  and  active  ser- 
vice during  the  ensuing  season  In  exterminating  those  Insectivorous  pests 
of  the  garden  and  orchard,  the  curcullo,  canker  worm  (Et  sui  generis)  j 
would  be  found  an  ample  remuneration,  and  a  more  plentifVil  supply  of 
sound  apples  and  luscious  plums  we  might  expect  as  one  of  many  other 
beneficial  results.  —  J.  R.  Collets,  Somerville,  Mass, 

Dimorphism  in  the  Higher  Worms.— The  distinguished  Swiss  nat- 
uralist, M.  Clapar^de,  in  a  recent  article :  **  Researches  on  the  Annelids,** 
published  In  the  **Blblloth5qne  Unlverselle,  Archives  des  Sciences  Phys- 
iques et  Naturelles,'*  gives  an  abstract  of  his  studies  of  the  annelids  of  the 
Gulf  of  Naples,  In  which  he  confirms  the  discovery  of  Malmgren  (noticed 
In  the  Naturalist,  Vol.  ill,  p.  494)  that  Heteronerels  Is  a  form  of  the  old 
genus  Nereis.  He  states  that  Ehlers,  In  1867,  In  his  *'  Die  Borstenwiirmer,** 
a  work  on  the  higher  annelids,  has  shown  the  undoubted  specific  unity  of 
Nereis  cuUrifera  and  Heteronerels  lobulata ;  of  Nereis  pelagica^  and  Heteron- 
ereis  grandifolia ;  of  Nereis  Dumerilii  and  Heteronerels  fucicola;  of  Ne- 
reis vezillosat  and  Heteronerels  Middendorfil ;  of  Nereis  fucata  and  Hetero- 
nereis  glaucopis,  and  ai^other  Heteronerels  form  to  Nereis  Agassizii  and 
Nereis  virens.  He  thinks  the  Nereids  are  transformed  into  Heteronerelds 
at  the  time  of  sexual  maturity.  Clapardde  states,  however,  that  all  the 
species  of  Nereis  do  not  have  a  Heteronereld  form,  as  the  species  of  Ne- 
reis far  exceed  In  number  those  of  the  so-called  genus  Heteronerels. 

He  thus  concludes :  **The  fact  of  animals  presenting  two  sexual  forms 
Is  not  entirely  new.  The  beautiful  observations  of  M.  M.  Leuckart  and 
Mecznlkow,  and  those  of  M.  Schneider  on  the  Ascaris  nigrovenosa,  have 
made  us  acquainted  with  analogous  cases  among  the  Nematodes,  where 
one  of  the  generations.  It  Is  tVue,  Is  heimaphrodlte,  and  the  other  presents 
separate  sexes.  But,  among  the  Acalephs,  certain  OeryonldaB  (Carmci- 
rlna),  according  to  M.  Haeckel,  and  among  the  Nematodes,  the  Leptodera 
appendlculata,  according  to  M.  Clans,  present  two  sexual  forms,  for  each 
of  which  * gonochorisme'  is  the  rule.  The  history  of  the  Axolotls,  which 
M.  Dumerll  has  acquainted  us  with,  offers  certain  points  of  analogy  with 
that  of  Nereis  Dumerilii." 

The  bearing  of  these  remarkable  discoveries,  as  well  as  those  of  tlie 
dimorphic  forms  of  Insects,  on  Darwinism,  and  especially  Professor 
Cope's  theory  of  the  origin  of  genera.  Is  startling,  and  strongly  con- 
firmatory of  the  latter  phase  of  the  theory  of  evolution. 


56  NATUEAIi  HISTORY  MISCELLANT. 

Disposal  of  thk  Placenta. — Noticing  in  the  Naturalist  passing  al- 
lusions to  this  subject,  I  desire  to  add  my  testimony  in  the  case.  I  have 
closely  observed  cats  and  dogs  in  the  act  of  parturition,  and  am  in  posi- 
tion to  affirm  that  these  animals  devour  the  afterbirth.  It  would  ration- 
ally be  inferred  ttom  the  fact  that  a  cat's  bed,  no  matter  how  numerous 
her  progeny,  shows  nothing  but  a  few  blood  stains,  and  those  made  by  the 
liquor  amnii.  The  lying-in  of  a  bitch  that  I  watched  through  the  whole 
process,  and  had  under  observation  for  some  days  afterward,  Airnished 
sonae  other  Interesting  partlculftrs.  The  uterus  expelled  its  contents  at 
short  intervals,  one  foetus  at  a  time,  each  emerging  entire,  without  rup- 
ture of  the  membranes,  and  so  of  course,  accompanied  by  the  secundlnes 
intact.  The  mother  at  once  seized  the  fluctuating  mass  with  her  teeth,  • 
tore  it  open,  spilt  the  water,  and  shook  out  the  puppy.  She  then  hastily 
took  the  placenta  and  membranes  In  her  mouth,  chewing  and  swallowing 
convulsively  until  the  whole  mass  was  In  her  throat,  the  Ainls  meanwhile 
hanging  out  of  her  mouth  with  the  puppy  still  attached,  its  abdomen 
touching  her  muzzle.  At  this  point  she  began  to  bite  the  cord,  about  an 
inch  from  the  umbilicus,  and  chewed  It  off,  using  not  the  incisor,  but 
the  canine  teeth.  A  few  drops  of  blood  followed  the  severing  of  the 
cord ;  the  puppy  was  left  to  its  own  resources,  while  the  mother  restedi 
apparently  asleep,  after  her  pain  and  fatigue.  The  process  was  substan- 
tially repeated  in  each  instance.  In  this  accouchment  there  were  nine 
puppies ;  consequently  some  Idea  of  the  amount  of  flesh  taken  into  the 
mother's  stomach  may  be  formed. 

Here  are  two  points  for  consideration.  In  the  mode  of  severing  the 
cord  we  have  a  flue  example  of  the  instinct,  or  perhaps  rather  necessity, 
that  effects  laceration,  instead  of  clean  cutting,  and  thus  obviates  hemor- 
rhage ;  for  lacerated  vessels  do  not  bleed.  It  raises  a  question  now  ex- 
tensively discussed  by  obstetricians;  and.  Indeed,  one  might  ask  with 
propriety,  was  Cain's  navel-string  tied?  Secondly,  It  Is  probable  that  the 
secundines  are  not  wasted,  but  on  the  contrary  fUrnlsh  sustenance  to  the 
mother  for  a  time.  In  the  case  to  which  I  have  special  reference  the 
mother  did  not  leave  her  bed  for  forty-eight  hours,  nor  could  she  be  In- 
duced to  take  food  brought  to  her  during  that  time.  The  mass  was  cer- 
tainly digested,  and  its  nourishment  assimilated,  as  was  evident  from  the 
appearance  of  what  was  voided  on  the  third  day.— Elliott  Cours. 

Summer  Rkd  Bird.— I  have  just  learned,  through  Mr.  Winfleld  Steams, 
of  Amherst  (in  a  letter  to  the  Naturalist),  that  a  specimen  of  the  Sum- 
mer Red  Bird  (Pyranga  cestiva),  was  shot  in  August,  1867,  in  that  town, 
this  making  the  third  instance  now  known  of  the  capture  of  this  southern 
bird  In  this  state. 

Much  is  doubtless  still  to  be  learned  respecting  our  Massachusetts 
birds,  especially  in  regard  to  the  frequency  of  occurrence  of  many  of  the 
rarer  species.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  those  having  facts  of  interest  re- 
specting such  species  will  see  fit  to  report  them  in  the  Naturalist.  —  J. 

At   A LLlUv • 


NATUKAL   HISTORY   MISCELLANY.  57 

TiiK  OsPRKY  (Pandion  haliaiius). — Mr.  Allen,  on  page  569  of  Vol.  iii 
of  the  Naturalist,  refers  to  the  desertion  of  the  seaboard  of  Massachu- 
setts by  this  biixl.  I  will  relate  an  incident  which  came  under  uiy  observa- 
tion some  time  since  showing  that  the  Osprey  is  still,  or  recently,  a  very 
near  neighbor  and  affording  some  expectation  of  his  return  to  our  coasts 
where  conditions  suitable  to  his  peculiar  habits  still  exist. 

Walking  from  Bristol  to  Warren,  K.  I.,  In  May,  18G8, 1  noticed  with  a 
pleiisant  surprise  an  eyrie  of  a  pair  of  these  birds  on  the  denuded  top  of 
a  stunted  oak  or  butternut,  at  an  elevation,  Judging  ttom  my  distance,  of 
less  than  twenty  feet  fk'om  the  ground,  located  near  a  solitary  farmstead, 
about  half  a  mile  distant  on  the  right  of  the  turnpike,  and  with  but  few 
oiher  trees  of  dwarfish  growth  scattered  at  Intervals  around.  The  female 
bli*d  appeared  to  be  busily  engaged  In  collecting  material  and  repairing 
her  nest ;  the  male  meanwhile  sedulously  pursuing  his  piscatory  avoca- 
tion over  the  adjacent  bay.  I  presume  I  could  not  have  been  mistaken  In 
identifying  the  species  on  this  occasion,  having  had  some  years  previous 
a  fair  opportunity  of  studying  the  habits  of  these  birds  on  the  estate  of 
my  friend.  Dr.  Parmley,  near  Shrewsbury  Inlet,  New  Jersey.  —  J.  R.  Col- 
LBTB,  Somerville,  Mass, 

The  Great  Auk.  —  The  statement  (Amer.  Nat.,  Hi,  p.  539)  that  **the 
Great  Ank  or  Gare-fowl,  fortunately  for  itself  did  not  live  long  enough  to 
receive  more  than  one  scientific  name  "  Is  incorrect.  I  give  several  (Pro- 
ceedings of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  Phlla.,  1866),  and  believe 
others  might  be  found.  The  tips  of  the  wlugs  are  not  white,  as  stated 
(1.  c),  the  primaries  not  being  thus  marked.  I  should  judge  **loss  than 
thirty  specimens  of  the  egg  ....  now  preserved"  (op.  cit.  p.  550),  to 
be  an  underestimate.  Mr.  Robert  Champley  (Annals  Mag.  Nat.  Hist., 
1864,  p.  235— fide  Hartl.  Jahrest.  1864,  p.  27),  records  fifty-three.  Those 
who  hesitate  to  credit  comparatively  southern  localities  for  the  species 
should  consult  the  paper  of  one  of  the  highest  authorities  upon  the  sub- 
ject. Professor  A.  Newton.  (Ibis,  Oct.,  1862).  Some  of  Nuttairs  obser- 
vations are  more  poetical  than  reliable.  Lastly,  we  have  no  proof  that 
the  Great  Auk  Is  extinct;  the  negative  evidence  In  the  case  is  not  so 
weighty  that  Professor  Newton  conld  not  say  with  propriety  "I  think 
there  is  yet  a  chance  of  the  Great  Auk  still  existing"  (Ibid.,  p.  28). — 
Elliott  Coues. 

A  Rare  Visitor.  —  A  specimen  of  Pomarine  Jager  (Lestris  Pomarina), 
was  obtained  by  Mr.  Vincent  Barnard  on  the  fourth  of  July  last,  on  the 
Susquehanna  River  at  Peach  Bottom,  Lancaster  County,  Penn.  An  adult 
bird  of  the  same  species  was  procured,  during  the  summer  of  1840,  at 
Harrisbnrg  on  the  same  river  by  Professor  Balrd.  When  it  Is  remem- 
bered that  adults  of  this  species  seldom  come  withio  the  limits  of  the 
United  States,  even  In  the  severest  winters,  young  birds  only  making 
their  appearance  along  the  New  England  Coast,  their  occurrence  In  mid- 
summer may  well  be  considered  as  quite  remarkable.  «'^« 

amer.  naturalist,  vol.  IV.  8 


58'  NATURAL  HI8TOBT  MISCELLANY. 

The  Cow  Bird.— In  the  second  number  of  **  Nature,"  Professor 
Newton  has  an  nncommonly  interesting  and  suggestive  article  on  the 
yariatiou  observed  in  Cuckoos'  eggs,  which  seems  to  depend  upon,  or  to 
be  in  some  way  connected  with  the  characters  of  the  eggs  of  the  birds  se- 
lected by  the  parasite  as  the  foster-parents  of  its  offspring.  Has  anything 
of  the  sort  been  determined  regarding  the  eggs  of  the  Cow-bird?  Do 
they  vary,  in  the  first  place,  to  anything  like  the  extent  that  the  Cuckoo's 
do;  and  secondly,  do  they  ever  tend  unmistakably  to  assimilate  in  marking 
to  the  eggs  of  birds  usually  selected  by  the  Cow-bird  as  its  dupes?  Or, 
again  are  the  birds  so  chosen,  those  whose  eggs  have  any  special  resem- 
blance to  a  Cow-bird's?  It  is  not  always  so,  I  know;  but  is  it  so  some- 
times, frequently,  or  usually?  The  subject  is  worthy  of  the  attention  of 
our  ornithologists,  from  whom  It  would  be  well  to  hear.  — Eluott  Cou£S. 

OccuuiticNCE  OF  THE  Brown  Pelican  IN  MASSACHUSETTS.  —Sluce  Writ- 
ing **  Notes  on  Some  of  the  Rarer  Birds  of  Massachusetts,"  I  have  re- 
ceived, through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Martin,  ftirther  information  respecting 
the  Pelicans  mentioned  in  the  February  number  of  the  Naturalist.  The 
gentleman  who  saw  the  llock  referred  to  there,  and  who  fired  at  them, 
writes  that  the  number  was  five  Instead  of  thirteen,  as  at  first  errone- 
ously reported,  and  that  they  were  the  amaller  broion  species  (^Pelecanus 
fuscus)  instead  of  White  Pelicans.  They  came  in  from  the  sea,  appar- 
ently much  fatigued,  and  alighted  on  the  beach  near  the  Saukaty  Ucad 
lighthouse,  where  tliey  remained  till  driven  away  by  being  fired  at.  A 
White  Pelican  seems,  however,  to  have  been  recently  killed  on  Brant 
Polut,  Nantucket,  as  previously  stated.  The  Brown  Pelican  I  have  not 
known  to  occur  previously  so  far  north.  —  J.  A.  Allen. 

The  Chipmunk.  ~  One  of  our  chipmunks  was  noticed  a  few  days  ago 
busily  nibbling  at  a  snake  that  had  been  recently  killed.  lie  could  hardly 
be  driven  aw.iy,  and  soon  returned  to  his  feast  when  his  tormentors  had 
withdrawn  a  short  distance.  Does  the  Tamias  striatus  in  other  regions 
possess  such  carnivorous  propensities? — A.  J.  Cook,  Lansing.,  Mich, 

Albino  Rodents. — In  the  back  yard  of  a  small  restaurant  in  this  city 
is  kept  a  beautiful  albino  squirrel,  of  the  black  and  gray  species  {SHurus 
Carolinensis  Gm.).  It  was  taken  in  Central  W^isconsin,  where  another 
was  killed  at  the  same  time.  There  is  an  albino  rat  at  a  bird-store  In 
town.  —  W.  J.  Beal. 

Conchological  Section  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences, 
Philadelphia,  Nov.  4th,  1869.  —  Mr.  Tryon  called  the  attention  of  the 
members  to  specimens  of  Amnicola  grana  Say,  from  Carter  County.  Mis- 
Kouri,  presented  this  evening.  This  very  minute  species  was  apparently 
unknown  to  Professor  Haldeman,  who  in  his  monograph  of  the  genus, 
merely  quotes  Say's  original  description  and  citation  of  locality  and  does 
not  figure  it.  The  species  was  for  years  considered  a  doubtful  one,  until 
Mr.  Tryon  had  discovered  it,  six  or  eight  years  ago,  existing  in  consider- 
able numbers  in  ditches  in  the  southern  part  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   MISCELLANY.  59 

Mr.  T.  distributed  specimens  to  many  of  the  American  Conchologists, 
most  of  whom  informed  him  that  it  was  new  to  their  collections.  The 
donation  this  evening  (Nov.  4)  indicates  that  the  species  has  a  large  area 
of  distribution,  and  has  probably  been  overloolsed  by  collectors  under  the 
supposition  that  it  was  merely  the  3'oung  of  some  larger  species. 

At  the  meeting  held  December  2d,  Mr.  W.  L.  Mactier  called  attention 
to  a  specimen  of  Dolium  melanostoma  Jay,  presented  by  him  this  evening. 
The  locality  of  this  shell  still  remains  a  mystery,  although  it  has  been 
recently  assigned  to  Japan.  Mr.  M.  also  presented  a  nearly  perfect  speci- 
men of  Voluta  Junonia  and  remarked  that  it  was  the  rarest  of  American 
VoltUidas,  and  was  found  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

Mr.  Tryou  referring  to  his  remarlvs  made  at  a  former  meeting  in  refdta* 
tion  of  Dr.  Gray*s  opinion  that  Crepidula  plana  Say,  is  identical  with 
C.fornicata  Linn.,  stated  that  additional  evidence  of  their  non-identity 
had  recently  been  presented  by  Mr.  George  H.  Perkins,  who  in  a  recent 
paper  states  '*  that  the  ovi-capsules  of  plana  are  broader,  shorter,  and 
thinner  than  those  of  fomicata^  and  the  ova  are  differently  situated." 


GEOLOGY. 

Further  Evidence  of  the  Affinity  between  the  Dinosauriam 
Reptiles  and  Birds.  —  Professor  Huxley  reviewed  the  evidence  already 
cited  by  himself  and  others  (especially  Prof.  E.  D.  Cope),  in  favor  of  the 
ornithic  affinities  presented  by  the  Dinosauria;  and  discusscM  at  length 
the  recently  ascertained  facts  which  bear  upon  this  question,  some  of 
the  most  important  of  which  are  derived  from  the  species  described 
by  him  in  the  preceding  paper  under  the  uAme  of  Hypsilophodon  Foxit 
He  summed  up  his  paper  by  a  comparison  of  the  difl'ercnt  elements  of 
the  pelvic  nrch  and  hinder  limb  in  the  ordinary  reptiles,  the  Dlnosauria 
and  Birds,  and  maintained  that  the  structure  of  the  pelvic  bones  (espec- 
ially the  form  and  arrangement  of  the  ischium  and  pubis),  the  relation 
between  the  distal  ends  of  the  tibia  and  the  astragalus  (which  is  per- 
fectly ornithic),  and  the  strong  cnemial  crest  of  the  tibia  and  the  direc- 
tion of  its  twist,  furnishes  additional  and  Important  evidence  of  the 
affinities  between  the  Dlnosauria  and  Birds. 

Sir  Roderick  Murchlson,  who  had  taken  the  chair,  enquired  as  to  the 
habits  of  the  Hypsllophodon.  Mr.  Ilulke  mentioned  that  Mr.  Fox  had 
several  blocks  containing  remains  of  a  large  portion  of  the  Hypsllopho- 
don, all  procured  ft'om  a  thin  band  of  sandstone  near  Cowleaze  Chine. 
On  one  the  pelvis  is  almost  entire,  as  well  as  the  right  femur,  the  tibia, 
which  is  longer  than  the  femur,  four  long  metatarsal  bones,  and  an  astra- 
galus. All  the  long  bones  are  hollow.  Portions  of  at  least  eight  indi- 
viduals have  been  found  In  the  same  bed.  Mr.  Seeley  doubted  whether 
these  animals  should  be  called  reptiles  at  nil,  as  they  seemed  to  him  to 
form  a  group  distinct  alike  flrom  reptiles,  birds,  and  mammals,  but  occn- 


60  NATURAL  HISTORY  MISOfiLLANT. 

pying  an  intermediate  position.  In  the  hinder  limbs  of  Pterodactylus  the 
analogies  were  closer  with  mammals  than  with  birds.  He  thought  It 
possible  that  the  pecnliar  structure  of  the  hinder  limbs  of  the  Dinosauria 
was  due  to  the  functions  the}'  performed  rather  than  to  any  actual  affinity 
with  birds.  The  President,  in  reply,  stated  that  Hypsilophodon,  fVom  the 
character  of  its  teeth,  probably  subsisted  on  hard  vegetable  food.  He 
expressed  a  hope  that  Mr.  Fox  would  allow  a  closer  examination  of  his 
specimens  to  be  made.  He  was  unable  to  agree  with  Mr.  Seeley^s  views. 
He  was  inclined  to  think  that  the  progress  of  knowledge  tended  rather 
to  break  down  the  lines  of  demarcation  between  groups  supposed  to  be 
distinct  than  to  authorize  the  creation  of  fresh  divisions.  —  Nature,  Loti' 
don. 

Fossil  Horse  in  Missocui.  —  In  the  Transactions  of  the  St.  Louis 
Academy  of  Science  (Vol.  ii,  p.  418),  Professor  Swallow  announced  the 
discovery  of  horse  remains  in  the  altered  drift  of  Kansas. 

I  have  now  the  honor  to  announce  that  simihir  remains  have  recently 
been  discovered  in  a  well  at  Papinville,  Bates  County,  Missouri.  Mr.  O. 
P.  Ohlinger  procured  a  tooth  at  the  depth  of  thirty-one  feet  fk'om  the  sur- 
face, resting  in  a  bed  of  sand  beneath  a  four  inch  stratum  of  bluish  clay  and 
gravel.  Above  the  last  was  thirty  feet  ten  inches  of  yellowish  clay  reach- 
ing to  the  surface.  Beneath  the  sand,  containing  the  tooth,  was  a  gravel 
bed  live  feet  in  thickness,  consisting  mostly  of  rounded  pebbles  resembling 
river  gravel,  generally  hornstone,  many  partially,  and  some  firmly  adher- 
ing together.  Other  pebbles  shown  me  from  the  same  bed  were  of  iron 
ore,  coal  and  micaceous  sandstone.  I  was  farther  informed  that  some  re- 
mains of  fiuviatile  shells  were  found.  I  sent  the  tooth  to  Professor 
Joseph  Leidy  of  Phlladelph^^,  and  he  pronounced  it  to  be  the  last  upper 
molar  of  a  horse,  probably  an  extinct  species. 

From  a  similar  gravel  bed  on  the  banks  of  Marais  des  Cygne,  a  fk'agment 
of  a  tusk  was  given  me  resembling  very  much  that  of  a  mammoth.  Its 
whole  length  was  said  to  be  seven  feet  four  Inches.  About  ten  miles 
above  Paplnvllle,  the  banks  of  Marais  des  Cygne  River  appear  to  be  of  a 
similar  formation  to  the  well  of  Ohlinger,  consisting  of  about  twelve  feet 
of  brown  sandy  clay  resting  on  ten  feet  of  blue  clay  with  many  pebbles 
of  worn  gravel  at  the  lower  part. 

These  gravel  beds  I  consider  as  of  more  recent  age  than  the  drift,  but 
older  than  the  bluff  or  loess,  and  regard  them  as  altered  drift.  They  seem 
rather  to  abound  on  the  Osage  and  its  tributaries,  and  are  often  reached 
in  digging  wells. 

The  tooth  from  Maysville,  Kansas,  was  found  in  altered  drift  at  a  depth 
of  forty-five  feet  ft-om  the  surfaces. 

Dr.  Albert  Koch  exhnmed  the  famous  Missourium  {Mastodon  gigante^is)^ 
from  a  bed  of  gravel  and  clay  on  Pomme  de  Terre  Ulver,  twenty  feet  be- 
low the  surface.  In  these  beds  of  altered  drift  we  may  therefore  expect 
to  find  many  Interesting  remains  of  mammals.  —  G.  C.  Bkoadiiead  {Bead 
before  the  St.  Louis  Academy  of  Science,  Nov,  16,  1869). 

I 


NATURAL  HISTORY  MISGELLANT.  61 

Sudden  Drying  up  of  Streams  in  Nevada.  —  In  my  article  on  the 
'•Truckee  and  Humboldt  Valleys,"  I  casnally  call  attention  to  the  inter- 
mittent character  of  the  mountain  streams  In  that  region.  I  state  that 
they  **  run  IVeely,  even  boisterously,  during  the  night  and  early  morning, 
but  dry  up  totally  in  the  lower  part  of  their  course  by  noon."  My  offered 
explanation  was  rather  a  surmise  than  a  conclusion.  I  had  at  that  time 
seen  no  other.  I  have  Just  observed,  however,  a  statement  of  the  fact 
and  a  theory  to  account  for  it.  I  refer  to  an  article  by  Mr.  Robert  Brown 
in  the  January  number  of  the  "Country  Gentleman,"  upon  **The  Forest 
Trees  and  Forest  Life  of  North-west  America."  He  says  **  these  streams 
are  hid  in  high  mountains,  and  the  sun  is  not  of  sufficient  power  to  melt 
the  snow  which  forms  their  volume  until  late  in  the  day,  when  they 
gather  force,  and  again  decrease  after  sunset  until  they  are  almost 
dry." 

This  solution  of  the  mystery  is  very  plausible  and  doubtless  correct  as 
regards  the  streams  which  came  under  Mr.  Brown's  observation.  It  will 
not  apply  so  well,  however,  to  those  of  the  West  Humboldt  Mountains, 
of  which  I  wrote.  At  the  time  my  attention  was  drawn  to  the  sub- 
ject there  was  no  snow  upon  the  range,  even  the  high  summit  of  Star 
Peak  being  perfectly  bare.  Had  there  been  snow,  I  think  the  heat  of  the 
sun  in  August  was  sufficient  to  melt  it  nny  time  in  the  day.  I  confess 
that  my  own  offered  explanation  does  not  account  for  the  great  volume 
of  water  in  the  streams.  Although  the  snliject  has  no  direct  connection 
with  natural  history,  I  have  ventured  to  call  your  attention  to  it  in 
order,  if  possible,  to  draw  out  a  theory  which  will  meet  the  facts. — 
W.  W.  Bailey. 

Quaternary  Deposits.  —  During  the  summer  of  1865,  whilst  digging  a 
pit  for  the  foundation  of  a  bridge  abutment  on  the  Pacific  Railroad,  four 
miles  north  of  Pleasant  Hill,  Missouri,  after  passing  through  soil  and 
dark  clays  at  the  depth  of  twelve  feet,  a  bed  of  gravel  and  decomposing 
remains  of  fresh-water  shells  was  reached,  from  which  I  obtained  the 
tooth  of  an  extinct  species  of  ox. 

In  the  year  1868,  whilst  prosecuting  some  geological  examinations  in 
Moultrie  County,  Illinois,  I  found  in  the  bank  of  Kaskaskia  River,  the 
skull,  with  part  of  the  vertebral  column  of  an  ox  (probably  Bos  lati- 
frons).  The  distance  across  the  skull  between  the  roots  of  the  horns 
measured  twelve  Inches,  and  the  same  between  the  eyes.  The  horns  were 
short,  thick,  and  but  slightly  curved  forward  and  upward.  On  the  bank 
above  there  were  trees  growing  two  feet  in  diameter.  The  bones  were 
surrounded  by  dark  clays  and  debris. 

Besides  remains  of  mammalia,  bones  and  sticks  of  wood  have  often 
been  found  in  modified  drift  at  twenty  feet  or  more  beneath  the  surface. 
In  North  Missouri,  sticks  of  wood  have  been  found  at  a  depth  of  seventy- 
five  feet,  part  of  a  grape-vine  at  forty  feet,  and  in  Illinois  a  piece  of 
cedar  has  been  obtained  from  more  than  a  hundred  feet  beneath  the  sur- 
face.   In  Nevada,  Missouri,  a  walnut  log  two  feet  thick  was  dug  up  from 


62  NATURAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 

a  depth  of  sixteen  feet ;  and  four  miles  north,  charred  wood  and  a  bivalve 
Bhell  fk*om  a  depth  of  nineteen  feet. 

It  may  not  be  improper  here  to  state  that  boulders  and  many  rounded 
pebbles  of  granite,  sienite,  greenstone,  etc..  with  accumulations  of  drift 
sands,  abound  along  the  north  line  of  Missouri,  and  are  even  abundant 
near  the  line  of  the  Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph  Railroad;  farther  south  they 
are  more  rare,  being  scarce  near  the  Missouri  River.  In  Sullivan  County, 
Missouri,  I  have  observed  a  granite  boulder  twenty-five  feet  in  diameter; 
in  Monroe  County,  a  greenstone  boulder,  three  feet  in  diameter.  Near 
tlie  Missouri  River  one  is  rarely  found  more  than  a  foot  In  diameter.  In 
Osage  County,  Missouri,  I  have  only  found  one  small  granite  boulder,  and 
found  none  in  the  upper  river  counties  on  the  south.  The  Missouri  River 
sandbars  abound*  In  small,  rounded  pebbles  of  mostly  granite,  slenlte, 
hornstone,  greenstone,  lignite  and  quartz  rock,  with  pebbles  fh>m  neigh- 
boring rocks ;  ail  the  first  named  pebbles  are  borne  down  from  far  up  in 
the  mountains. 

The  absence  of  granitoid  rocks  in  the  accumulations  along  the  Osage 
and  its  tributaries  may  be  sufficient  evidence  to  place  the  era  of  these  de- 
posits in  a  more  recent  period  than  that  of  the  modified  drift  of  North 
Missouri.  They  may  belong  to  the  older  loess  or  bluif,  and  we  may  con- 
clude the  horse,  ox,  mammoth  and  mastodon  to  be  coexistent.  It  is  even 
probable  that  they  may  have  roamed  America  during  the  epoch  of  the 
mound  builders.  —  G.  C.  Broadhead,  St.  Louis,  Mo. 

New  MosASAUitoiD  Reptiles. — Professor  Marsh  has  recently  published 
in  the  "American  Journal  of  Science,"  a  notice  of  four  new  reptiles, 
belonging,  or  allied,  to  Mosasaurus,  trom  the  Qreensand  of  New  Jersey. 
He  remarks  that  "  a  striking  difference  between  the  reptilian  fauna  of  the 
Cretaceous  of  Europe  and  America  is  the  prevalence,  in  the  former,  of  re- 
mains of  Ichthyosaurus  and  Plesiosaurus,  which  here  appear  to  be  en- 
tirely wanting;  while  the  Mosasauroids,  a  group  comparatively  rare  in 
the  Old  World,  replace  them  in  this  country,  and  are  abundantly  repre- 
sented by  several  genera  and  numerous  species. 

ScoLiTHUS  A  Sponge.  —  Mr.  E.  Billings  has  referred  the  supposed  casts 
of  worm  burrows,  named  Scolithus  and  ArenicoUtes,  and  found  In  Silu- 
rian rocks,  to  the  sponges.  He  believes  that  these  ancient  sponges,  at 
least  many  of  them,  lived  in  the  sand  or  soft  ooze  of  the  ocean*s  bottom, 
with  their  sometimes  wide  and  trumpet-shaped  mouths,  Just  even  with  or 
a  little  elevated  above  the  surftice.  —  Scientific  Opinion. 


ANTHROPOLOGY. 

Relics  from  the  Orkat  Mound.  — I  send  in  this  letter  a  perforated 
shell  disk  and  an  oblong  bead.    They  were  found  with  many  others  in 

*Qnailt«  Mi4  other  igneoaa  pebbles  are  ft>aiid  Airther  to  the  eonth  than  lUlnols. 


NATURAL  HISTORY  MISGELLANT.  63 

removing  the  "big  monnd**  in  this  city.  The  grave  was  seventy  feet 
long,  eighteen  feet  wide,  and  twenty-five  feet  below  the  surface;  the 
bodies  were  in  a  sitting  attitude  facing  the  east;  the  bones  are  nearly 
decayed  and  will  cramble  when  exposed  to  the  air.  I  have  a  lock  of  long 
black  hair  which  was  on  one  of  the  skulls ;  I  also  obtained  from  the  same 
head  two  copper  ornaments,  shaped  alike,  which  were  behind  the 'ears 
and  beneath  which  were  the  oblong  beads,  one  of  which  is  enclosed ;  the 
copper  ornaments  are  shaped  like  the  bowl  of  a  large  tablespoon,  from 
the  convex  surface  of  which  extends  a  long,  sharp  horn.  Two  large 
conch  shells  were  also  found  which  are  in  my  possession. — T.  T.  Rich- 
ards, St.  LouiSy  Mo. 

[On  page  256,  Vol.  i,  of  the  Transactions  of  the  Chicago  Academy  of 
Science^  Colonel  Foster  mentions  the  finding  of  the  "disks,"  "beads,** 
etc.,  in  the  grave  on  the  mound,  and  figures  one  of  the  "  disks,"  which  on 
the  authority  of  Dr.  Stimpson  he  considers  as  made  from  the  shell  of 
Busycon  pervenum,  often  found  in  connection  with  the  mounds.  Colonel 
Foster  also  states  that  a  quantity  of  small  shells  Marginella  apicina,  from 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico  were  also  found.  The  ear  ornaments  of  copper  men- 
tioned by  Mr.  Richards,  are  probably  the  same  as  those  mentioned  by 
Colonel  Foster  as  "two copper  vessels,  formed  like  a  spoon-bowl." 

We  have  also  received  a  number  of  the  disks  (all  with  holes  through 
the  centre)  A*om  Mr.  Joseph  F.  Tucker,  of  Chicago,  who  states  that  they 
were  found  as  described  by  Mr.  Richards.  We  would  like  to  publish 
carefblly  made  figures  of  the  ear  ornaments  in  the  Naturalist. 

Can  any  one  inform  us  whether  the  skulls  found  in  this  grave  on  the 
"Great  Mound"  have  been  compared  with  those  of  undoubted  mound 
skulls?  For  there  seems  to  be  much  uncertainty  relating  to  this  mound. 
Was  it  really  formed  by  the  mound  builders,  or  even  used  by  them, 
or  were  the  skeletons  found  there  of  the  present  Indian  race  ?  It  will  be 
remembered  that  Professor  Smith,  of  St.  Louis,  who  watched  the  level- 
ing of  the  mound,  was  satisfied  that  it  was  a  river  deposit,  and  not  an 
artificial  mound.— F.  W.  P.] 


The  Death  of  Michael  Sars,  the  distinguished  Naturalist  and  Pro- 
fessor at  the  Royal  University  at  Christiana,  Norway,  was  noticed  In  the 
last  number  of  the  Natitralist.  Since  that  notice  was  written  we  have 
learned  with  sincere  regret  that  Professor  Sars  leaves  a  family  of  six 
children  In  very  Impoverished  circumstances.  In  view  of  the  fact  that 
American  zoologists  are  deeply  indebted  to  Professor  Sars  for  the  light 
he  has  thrown  upon  many  of  the  lower  forms  of  animals  In  the  unri- 
valled Investigations  embodied  in  his  publications,  we  feel  It  a  duty  to 
solicit  aid  for  his  family.  Any  remittance,  however  small,  will  be  wel- 
come and  acknowledged,  and  will  be  forwarded  to  his  family  through  the 
Norwegian  minister.  —Editors  Naturalist. 


64  BOOKS   RECEIVED. 

Grorgk  Prabodt.  —  We  have  received  tVoin  Mr.  Carl  Melnerth*  of 

Newburyport,  the  finest  photograph  we  have  yet  seen  of  Mr.  Peabody. 

It  is  done  by  the  new  form  of  Mezzo-tint,  invented  by  Mr.  Meinerth,  and 

is  a  copy  of  the  last  portrait  taken  of  Mr.  Peabody  by  Mayall  of  London 

in  1869. 

CoKBEcnow.— A  slij^t  correction  needs  to  be  made  In  the  article  on  "  Shavings  **  in 
the  January  nnmber.  The  **  Larg«  openings ''  in  the  llgaro  of  the  oak'Section  spoken  of 
on  page  566,  aie  not  sections  of  " spiral  ducts,"  of  which  there  is  none  in  the  body  of 
such  wood,  but  of  the  very  different  dotted  ducts.  The  shaving  figured,  moreover, 
must  have  been  taken  from  an  uncommon  stick  of  oak,  not  to  show  the  great  accumu- 
lation  of  these  ducts  at  the  inner  margin  of  each  annual  zone.  The  figure  shows  them 
only  in  the  second  layer  and  a  part  of  the  third. 


BOOKS    RECEIVED. 

Archiv  fur  AiUhropologU.    Vol.  HI,  Parts  1-3.    Braunschweig,  1869. 

Philo*ophirat  Tramacliotu  of  the  Royal  Society  o/  London.  4to.  Vol.  elvlll.  Parts  1  and  9 
1868.    Vol.  ctix.  Parti.    186U. 

Proceeding*  of  the  Royal  Society  of  London,  8vo.  Vol.  xvfl.   (1868-8).  Vol.  zvUl,  Pt.  1.   1869. 

Li^t  of  Feltowt  etc,  o,f  the  Royal  Society  oj  London,    4to.    1868. 

Trantattantic  Longitude^  a»  determined  by  the  Coast  Survey  Expedition  qf  1866.  A  Report  to 
the  Sup't  of  the  U,  S.  Coa»t  Sur.    By  Dr.  B.  A.  Gould  CSniltiiaunian  Contributions].    4to.    1869. 

Quarterly  Journat  of  Science.    Jan.,  1870.    8vo.    London. 

Memoirs  de  la  Soeiete  de  Physique  et  d'Uistoire  Natiirelle  de  Oeneve.  Tome  xlx,  Pt.  S.  1868. 
Tonic  XX.  Pt.  1.    186U.    4to. 

The  Anatomy  of  a  Mushroom.    By  M.  C.  Cooke.    [From  Popular  Science  Review,  Oct.,  1869.J 

Le  Naturatitte  Canadien.    Quebec.    Vol.  11,  No.  2.    Janunrv. 

Botanirat  Notes.    By  D.  A.  I'.  Wiitt.    TFrom  tiif  C'nnadlaii  Nittnrallst.J 

American  Journal  <if  the  Medical  Sciences.  Jan..  IbTO.  8vn  (quartiTly).   H.  C.  Lea.    Phlla. 

IMf  Yearly  Abstract  of  the  Medical  Sciences.   Vol.  50.    Jan.,  1870.    H.  C.  Lea.    Philadelphia. 

An  Address  on  the  occasion  of  the  Hundredth  Anniversary  of  the  Birth  of  Alexander  Von  uum- 
boldt.    By  Jaiues  P.  Luse.    Ruad  before  the  New  Albanv  (Md.)  Natural  History  Society. 

Petites  Novelles  Entomologiques.    Nos.  18- lA.    Jan..  1870.    Paris. 

American  Entomologist.    Vol.  11,  No.  2.    Dec.  and  Jan.    Stud  Icy  A  Co.    St.  Louis. 

Scientific  Opinion.    January  12-26.    Loudon. 

Canadian  Entomologist,    Ttironto.    Vol.  11,  No.  4.    January. 

Stanley^s  Microscopic  Catalogue.    I^ondon. 

Preliminary  Field  Report  nf'th«  United  Stales  Geological  Survey  of  Colorado  and  Ifew  Mexico^ 
conducted  Onder  the  authority  qf  Hon,  J.  D,  Cox^  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  By  F.  V.  Hayden. 
8vo.    Washlnfrton.    1S68. 

Contributiom  to  Zoology^  published  by  the  Royal  Zoological  Society  {Natttra  Artis  Magisfra)^ 
Amsterdam.  18a9,  I8H9.  Folio.  Notice  sur  des  Debris  de  Chelonlens  fhisant  partle  des  CoHec- 
tlonadu  ACusee  royal  d'Hlstolre  Naturelleet  provenant  des  Terrains  Tertlalres  des  Environs  de 
Bruxollos;  par  M.  A.  Prendliommc  de  Borre.    8vd,  pp.  8. 

Htirdvicke^s  Science  Oossip,    January,  February.    London.    Also  bonnd  volume  for  1868. 

Land  and  Water  {wcc'kX)').    Nos.  202*207.    Dec.  4— Jan.  8.    Loudon. 

News  List  and  Index.    Jan,  Ist.    London. 

The  Academy.    No.  4.    January  8.    London. 

The  European  Mail  {leeekly).    No.  6162.    January  18.    London. 

Illustrated  Bee  Journal.    Vol.  1,  No.  2.    Indianapolis.    $2  00  a  year. 

Transactions  of  the  Chicago  Academy  of  Science.    Vol.  1.  Piirt  9.    1869.    Royal  8vo.    1880. 

Third  Report  of  the  CommisHoner  of  Fisheries  of  the  State  of  Maine.  1869.  By  Charles  G. 
Atkins,    8vo,  pp.  48,  ami  lltlioKraph  of  Black  Bass.    Auxusta,  1870. 

American  Journal  of  Conehology.    Vol.  v.  No.  8.    Phlladplpbla.    (10  per  annum.) 

The  Molluscan  Fauna  of  Netr  Ilaven.  By  Ueorge  H.  Perkins.  8vo  pamphlet.  [Fi'om  Pro- 
cectllngs  of  Boston  Soc  Nat.  Hist.,  Oct.  and  Nov..  1869.J 

Current  Numbers  of  The  Atlantic  Monthly,  Overland  Monthly^  Putnam^s  Monthly,  Avpleton^s 
Journal^  Packard's  Monthly,  Phrenological  Journal,  Eoery  Saturday,  Voung  Folks.  Mpersi<(e 
Manatine,  Old  and  A>«».  Harper^*  Hatar,  Prank  Leslie's  Illustrated  Paper,  Practical  Farmer.  The 
Nation,  The  Cititen  and  Round  Ta/>le.,  College  Courant,  New  Fork  Independent,  New  York  Mail. 
Baltimore  Gatette,  New  Jerusalem  Messenger,  Christian  Union^  American  Jiee  Journal,  Journal 
of  the  New  York  .State  Agricultural  Society^  Moore'^s  Rural  Netc- Yorker,  Every  Saturday^  Boston 
Culticator^  The  United  Presbyterian,  Newburyport  Herald.  Salem  Oatette,  Hearth  and  Home, 
The  Fireside  Favorite,  Amerirau  Agriculturist^Westem  Monthly,  American  Journal  of  Dental^ 
Science,  Boston  Medical  and  Surtjical  Journal,  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy^  Dental  Cosmos^ 
Maine  Journal  of  Education^  Chicago  Medical  Examiner,  The  Rural  Carolinian,  Southern  Far' 
mer,  San  Francisco  Sdentiflc  Press.  St.  Louis  Journal  of  Agriculture,  Maine  Farmer^  Medical 
Gazette,  American  Stock  Journal,  Michigan  Teacher,  Journal  of  Materia  Medica^  Haverhill  Ga- 
tette^  Manufacturer  and  Builder,  Chemical  News^  Albany  Cultitator^  Scientific  American^  Lit" 
teirs  Living  A<re,  American  Journal  of  Numismatics^  St.  Louis  Weekly  Mail^  Journal  of  the 
Franklin  Institute,  York  County  Independent^  Louisville  Courier-Joumat,  Wisconsin  State  Jour^ 
nal.  The  People,  Prairie  Farmer^  The  Horticulturist^  Salem  Register.  New  Jersey  Enterprise^ 
Medical  Gatette.  Medical  News^  Medical  Investigator,,  Pacific  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal^ 
California  Medical  Gatette,  American  Educational  Monthly. 


7  ZX  S 

AMERICAN   NATURALIST. 

Vol  IV.— APRIL,  1870. -Wo.  2. 
THE    SEA    OTTERS.* 

BT  CAFT.  O.  M.   8CAMM0X. 

The  most  valuable  fur-bearing  animals  inhabiting  the 
waters  of  the  north-west  coast  of  North  America  are  the 
sea  otters ;  they  are  found  as  far  south  as  twenty-eight  de- 
grees of  north  latitude,  and  their  northern  limits  include  the 
Aleutian  Islands. f  Although  never  migrating  to  the  south- 
ern hemisphere,  these  peculiar  amphibious  animals  are  found 
around  the  isolated  points  of  southern  Kamtschatka  and  even 
to  the  western  Kuriles,  a  chain  of  islands  that  separate  the 
Okhotsk  Sea  from  the  north-eastern  Pacific. 

The  length  of  the  matured  animals  may  average  five  feet 
including  the  tail,  which  is  about  ten  inches;  the  head  re- 
sembles that  of  the  fur  seal  of  the  coast,  having  full,  black, 
sharp  eyes,  exhibiting  much  intelligence.  The  color  of  the 
females  when  in  season  is  quite  black,  at  other  periods  of  a 
dark  brown.  The  males  usually  are  of  the  same  shade,  al- 
though in  some  instances  they  are  of  a  jet  shining  black  like 
their  mates.  The  fur  is  of  a  much  lighter  shade  inside  than 
upon  the  surface;  and  extending  over  all  are  long,  black, 
glistening  hairs,  which  add  much  to  the  richness  and  beauty 
of  the  pelage.     Some  individuals,  about  the  nose  and  eyes, 

•FnrnlBhed  for  pnblioation  by  the  Smtthsokian  Institutzon. 
fThe  moBt  northern  limit  we  can  rely  npon  1b  sixty  degrees  north. 

Xntered  acoordln/r  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1870,  by  the  Psabodt  Aoadsmt  or 
Somicx,  In  the  Clerks  Offloe  of  the  Dlstrlot  Court  of  the  District  of  Hasssehusetts. 

AXOBR.  NATURALIST,  VOL.  IV  9  (66) 


66  '  THE   SEA  OTTEBS. 

are  of  a  light  brown  or  dingy  white.  The  ears  are  less  than 
an  inch  in  length,  quite  pointed,  standing  nearly  erect,  and 
are  covered  with  short  hair. 

Its  hind  flippers,  or  feet,  are  long  and  webbed  much  like  a 
seal's.  Its  forelegs  are  short ;  the  fore  paws  resemble  those 
of  a  cat,  and  are  furnished  with  five  sharp  claws,  each  meas- 
uring half  an  inch  in  length ;  the  hind  feet,  or  flippers,  are 
furnished  likewise. 

^  Occasionally  the  young  are  of  a  deep  brown,  with  the 
ends  of  the  longest  hairs  tipped  with  white,  and  about  the 
nose  and  eyes  of  a  cream  color. 

The  mating  season  of  the  sea  otter  is  not  known,  as  the 
young  are  met  with  in  all  months  of  the  year ;  hence  it  is 
reasonable  to  suppose  they  difier  from  most  other  species  of 
marine  mammalia  in  this  respect.* 

The  hunters  about  Point  Granville  say  that  the  males  are 
less  shy,  and  run  more  in  shore  during  May  and  June,  and 
appear  to  be  in  search  of  the  females ;  while  on  the  other 
hand,  the  latter  make  every  eflfort  to  avoid  them.  The  time 
of  gestation  is  supposed  to  be  eight  or  nine  months. 

The  oldest  and  most  observing  hunters  about  Point  Gran- 
ville aver  that  the  sea  otter  is  never  seen  on  shore  unless  it  is 
wounded.  (Nevertheless  we  have  accounts  of  their  coming 
on  shore  upon  the  Aleutian  Islands,  which  will  be  spoken  of 
hereafter.) 

It  is  possessed  of  much  sagacity,  has  great  powers  of 
scent,  and  is  exceedingly  imbued  with  curiosity. 

Its  home  is  nearly  as  much  in  the  water  as  some  species 
of  whales;  and  as  whalers  have  their  favorite  *' cruising 
grounds,  so  likewise  do  the  otter  hunters  have  their  favorite 
hunting  grounds^  or  points  where  the  objects  of  pursuit  are 
found  in  greater  numbers  than  along  the  general  stretch  of 
the  coast.  About  the  seaboard  of  Upper  and  Lower  Cali- 
fornia, Cerros  St.  Gerimmo,  Guadalupe,  St.  Nicholas  and 

•Thii  remark  in  relation  to  finding  the  young  at  all  seasons  of  the  year  is  based 
upon  obserrations  made  at  Point  Granyille. 


THE   SEA  OTTERS.  67 

St.  Miguel  Islands,  have  been  regarded  as  choice  places  to 
pursue  them ;  farther  northward,  off  Cape  Blanco  on  the 
Oregon  coast,  and  Point  Granville  and  Gray's  Harbor,  along 
the  coast  of  Washington  Territory.  At  the  present  day  con- 
siderable numbers  are  taken  by  whites  and  Indians  about 
these  northern  grounds. 

Thence  to  the  northward  and  westward  comes  a  broken 
coast  and  groups  of  islands  where  the  animals  were  in  former 
days  hunted  by  the  employees  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company, 
Russian  American  Company,  and  the  natives  inhabiting  those 
broken  shores. 

These  interesting  animals  are  gregarious,  and  frequently 
may  be  seen  in  bands  numbering  from  fifty  up  to  hundreds. 
When  in  rapid  movement  they  make  alternate,  undulating 
leaps  out  of  the  water,  plunging  again  as  do  seals  and  por- 
poises. When  in  a  state  of  quietude  they  are  much  of  the 
time  on  their  backs.  They  are  frequently  seen  in  this  post- 
ure with  the  hind  flippers  extended  as  if  catching  the  breeze 
to  sail  or  drift  before  it.  They  live  on  clams,  as  well  as 
crabs  and  other  species  of  crustacea;  sometimes  small  fish. 
When  the  otter  descends  and  brings  up  any  article  of  food, 
it  instantly  resumes  its  habitual  attitude  on  the  back  to  de- 
vour it.  In  sunny  days,  when  looking,  it  sometimes  shades 
its  eyes  with  one  forepaw,  much  in  the  same  manner  as  a 
person  does  with  the  hand. 

The  females  usually  have  but  a  single  young  one  at  a 
birth,  never  more  than  two,  which  are  brought  forth  on  the 
kelp  (say  the  white  hunters),  which  abounds  at  nearly  all 
points  known  as  their  favorite  resorting  places.* 


*  That  the  otters  have  their  yonng  in  the  water,  or  on  the  kelp,  appears  improbable; 
howeveri  may  it  not  bo  possible  ?  We  have  it  flrom  pretty  reliable  authority  that  they 
do  come  on  the  beaches  about  the  Aleutian  Islands.  Is  it  probable  that  the  habits  of  the 
animals  change  in  this  respect  in  different  latitudes  ? 

By  expressing  doubts  as  aboye,  no  reflection  is  cast  on  the  hunters  with  whom  I  hare 
oonversed ;  on  the  contrary,  those  men  who  have  kindly  Aimished  me  with  much  valu- 
able data,  I  know  to  be  of  undoubted  veracity,  and  they  seem  positive  that  '*  sea  otters 
never  come  on  shore  unless  in  some  way  disabled."  This  is  the  belief  of  Mr.  Blodget, 
a  very  sucoessftil  hunter  at  Point  Granville.   He  assures  me  that  he  has  searched  dill- 


68  THE   SEA  OTTERS. 

The  mothers  caress  and  suckle  their  oflTspring  seemingly 
with  much  affection,  fondling  them  with  their  forepaws,  re- 
clining in  their  usual  manner,  and  frequently  uttering  a 
plaintive  strain,  which  may  have  given  rise  to  the  saying  that 
"sea  otters  sing  to  quiet  their  young  ones."  But  when 
startled  they  rise  perpendicularly  nearly  half  their  lengths 
out  of  the  water ;  and  if  their  quick,  sharp  eyes,  discover 
aught  to  cause  alarm,  the  cubs  are  seized  with  the  mouth, 
and  instantly  all  will  disappear  under  water.  Both  males 
and  females  are  sometimes  seen  curled  up  in  such  shapeless- 
ness  as  to  present  no  appearance  of  animal  form ;  when  in 
this  position  they  are  said  to  be  sleeping.  The  perpendicular 
attitude  is  likewise  often  adopted  during  the  mating  season. 

The  sea  otter  is  rarely  seen  far  from  land,  its  home  being 
in  the  thick  beds  of  kelp  near  the  shore,  or  about  outlaying 
rocky  reefs. 

Point  Granville  seems  to  be  an  exception,  as  there  is  no 


gently  for  their  tracks  along  the  sandy  beach  lying  between  the  above-named  point 
and  Gray's  Harbor,  but  iiever  found  the  least  indication  of  them. 

Captain  Williams,  who  has  long  been  a  successful  sea  otter  hunter  on  the  California 
coast,  corroborates  Mr.  Blodget's  statement  as  to  sea  otters  coming  on  shore  on  that 
coast. 

Coxe,  in  his  work  published  in  1780,  writes  the  following  in  relation  to  the  sea  otter: 
'*Of  all  these  fhrs,  the  skins  of  the  sea  otter  are  the  richest  and  most  valuable.  Those 
animals  resort  in  great  numbers  to  the  Aleutian  and  Fox  Islands ;  they  arc  called  by 
the  Russians  *Boahry  Morfki,  or  sea  beavers,  and  sometimes  Kamtchadal  beavers,  on 
account  of  the  resemblance  of  their  fhr  to  that  of  the  common  beaver.  From  these 
circumstances  several  authors  have  been  led  into  a  mistake,  and  have  supposed  that 
this  animal  is  of  the  beaver  species,  whereas  it  is  the  true  sea  otter. 

The  females  are  called  Matka,  or  dams;  and  the  cubs,  till  Ave  months  old,  MtdvUdJd, 
or  little  bears,  because  their  coat  resembles  that  of  a  bear;  they  lose  that  coat  after 
five  months,  and  then  are  called  Kofchloki. 

The  ftir  of  the  finest  sort  is  thick  and  long,  of  a  dark  color,  and  flue  glossy  hue* 
They  art  taken  four  ways  i— struck  with  darts  as  they  are  sleeping  on  their  backs  in  the  sea, 
followed  in  boats  and  hunted  down  till  they  are  tired,  surprised  in  cavemSf  and  taken  in 
nets. 

Their  skins  ftetch  different  prices  according  to  their  quality. 

At  Kamtschatka,  the  best  sell  for,  per  skin,  flrom  thirty  to  forty  roubles;  middle  sort, 
twenty  to  thirty;  worst  sort,  fifteen  to  twenty-five.  At  Kiachta,  the  old  and  middle- 
aged  sea  otter  skins,  are  sold  to  the  Chinese  per  skin,  firom  eighty  to  one  hundred;  the 
worst  sort  fVom  thirty  to  forty. 

As  these  ftars  fetch  so  great  a  price  to  the  Chinese,  they  are  seldom  brought  into 
Russia  fbr  sale;  and  several,  which  have  been  carried  to  Moscow,  as  a  tribute,  were 
purchased  fbr  thirty  roubles  i«er  skin;  and  sent  fVom  thence  to  the  Chinese  f^ntiers, 
where  they  were  disposed  of  at  a  very  high  interest." 


THE   8BA  OTTEBS.  69 

kelp  in  sight  from  the  shore,  but  the  Indians  say  that  there 
is  kelp  in  large  patches  about  ten  miles  seaward,  where  the 
animals  resoi*t  as  a  breeding  place.* 

About  the  period  of  the  establishing  of  Fort  Astoria,  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  and  for  many  years  following, 
the  sea  otter  hunters,  along  the  coasts  of  California  and 
Oregon,  were  made  up  from  nearly  all  the  maritime  nations 
of  Europe  and  America,  as  well  as  from  among  the  different 
tribes  of  natives  that  dwelt  near  the  seashore.  Those  of  the 
former  were  hardy  spirits,  who  preferred  a  wild  life  and  ad- 
venturous pursuits,  rather  than  civilized  employment.  The 
distance  coasted  in  their  lightly  constructed  boats,  the 
stealthy  search  for  the  game,  and  when  discovered,  the 
shai*pshooting  pursuit,  gave  these  hunting  expeditions  a 
pleasant  tinge  of  venture ;  moreover,  the  taking  of  sea  ot- 
ters on  the  coasts  of  the  Californias  by  foreigners,  was  pro- 
hibited by  the  Mexican  government ;  and  the  hunters  were 
aware  that,  if  detected,  the  penalty  would  be  severe ;  hence 
they  ever  kept  a  watchful  eye  on  all  vessels  seen,  which 
were  carefully  avoided,  or  cautiously  approached. 

An  •* otter  canoe"  is  fifteen  feet  long,  nearly  five  wide,  and 
eighteen  inches  deep.  It  is  sharp  at  both  ends,  with  flaring 
sides,  and  but  little  shear.  Still  these  boats  are  admirable 
sea-goers,  and  regarded  as  unsurpassed  for  landing  through 
the  surf.  Its  shape  is  peculiar ;  so  likewise  are  the  paddles 
for  propelling  it,  which  are  short  with  very  broad  blades, 
being  better  adapted  for  use  in  the  thick  beds  of  kelp. 

The  outfit  when  going  on  a  cruise  is  limited  nearly  to  the 
barest  necessities.  Two  men  usually  hunt  in  one  boat,  each 
taking  his  favorite  rifle,  with  a  supply  of  ammunition.  A 
little  tea,  coffee,  sugar,  flour,  or  ship-bread,  aie  provided, 
adding  pipes  and  tobacco,  and,  as  a  great  luxury,  perhaps  a 
keg  of  spirits  completes  their  equipment. 

All  being  in  readiness,  they  leave  the  quiet  waters  of  the 

•Within  the  last  four  years  I  have  passed  frequently  oyer  this  locality  assigned  by 
the  IwUan$  as  prodacing  thick  beds  of  kelp,  bat  hare  never  found  any.— C.  M.  S. 


70  THE  8EA  OTTEBS. 

harbor  and  put  to  sea,  following  the  trend  of  the  land,  but 
occiisionally  making  a  broad  deviation  to  hunt  about  some 
island,  miles  from  the  main. 

When  an  otter  is  seen  within  rifle-shot  instantly  the 
hunter  fires,  and  if  only  wounded  the  animal  dives  under 
water  but  soon  reappears  to  be  repeatedly  shot  at  till  cap- 
tured. Sometimes  three  boats  will  hunt  together ;  then  they 
take  positions  one  on  each  side,  but  in  advance  of  the  third, 
and  all  three  in  the  rear  of  where  the  animal  is  expected  to 
be  seen.  It  is  only  the  practised  eye  of  experienced  men 
that  can  detect  the  tip  of  the  animal's  nose  peering  above 
water  disguised  by  a  leaf  of  kelp. 

Thus  they  cruise  in  search  of  the  game  landing  to  pass 
the  nights,  at  different  places  well  known  to  them,  behind 
some  point  or  rock  that  breaks  the  ocean  swell.  The  land- 
ings are  ^^made**  by  watching  the  successive  rollers  as  they 
undulate  upon  the  beach,  and  when  a  favorable  time  comes 
the  boat  with  dexterous  management  glides  over  the  surf 
with  safety  to  the  shore.  It  is  then  hauled  up  clear  of  the 
water  and  turned  partially  over  for  a  shelter ;  or  a  tent  is 
pitched,  a  fire  is  made  of  drift  wood,  or  if  this  fail,  the  dry 
stalks  of  the  cactus,  or  a  bunch  of  dead  chapperel  serves 
them ;  the  evening  meal  is  soon  partaken  of  with  hearty 
relish ;  then  come  the  pipes,  which  are  enjoyed  intensely. 
Freed  from  all  care  these  hardy  men  talk  of  past  adventures 
and  frolics,  and  when  inclined  roll  themselves  in  their  blank- 
ets for  a  night's  invigorating  sleep  in  the  open  air ;  awaking 
at  day-break  to  the  screams  of  sea-birds  and  the  barking  of 
coyotes  attracted  by  the  scent  of  the  encampment. 

The  morning  repsist  over  they  again  embark  in  their 
cockle-shell  boats,  launch  through  the  surf,  gain  the  open 
sea,  and  paddle  along  shore,  ever  on  the  watch  for  "otter 
sign." 

From  San  Francisco  northward  as  far  as  Juan  de  Fuca 
Strait,  the  hunting  is  chiefly  prosecuted  by  shooting  them 
from  the  shore,  the  most  noted  grounds  being   between 


THE   SEA  OTTERS.  71 

Gray's  Harbor  aud  Point  Granville,  a  belt  of  low  coast  lying 
between  the  parallels  of  46^  and  48^  north  latitude. 

The  white  hunter  builds  his  two  log  cabins,  one  near  the 
southern  limits  of  his  beat  and  the  other  at  its  northern 
terminus  near  Point  Granville.  During  the  prevalence  of 
southerly  winter  gales  he  takes  up  his  quarters  at  the  last 
named  station,  as  the  game  is  found  there  more  frequently  ; 
but  when  the  summer  winds  sweep  down  from  the  north  he 
changes  his  habitation  and  pursues  the  animals  about  the 
breakers  of  Gray's  Harbor.  From  early  dawn,  till  the  sun 
sinks  below  the  horizon,  the  hunter  with  rifle  in  hand  and 
ammunition  slung  across  his  shoulder,*  walks  the  beach  on 
the  lookout  for  a  shot;  the  instant  one  is  seen,  crack  goes 
the  rifle,  but  it  is  seldom  that  the  animal  is  secured  by  one 
fire.  A  sea  otter's  head  bobbing  about  in  the  restless  swell 
is  a  very  uncertain  mark ;  and  if  instantly  killed  the  reced- 
ing tide  or  adverse  wind  might  drift  the  animal  seaward,  so 
that  even  if  it  eventually  drifts  to  shore  it  may  be  far  out  of 
sight  from  the  hunter  by  day,  or  is  thrown  on  the  rocks  by 
the  surge  during  the  night,  and  is  picked  up  by  some  one  of 
the  strolling  Indians,  who  "^run  the  beach"  in  quest  of  any 
dead  seal,  or  otter,  that  may  come  in  their  way. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  best  shooters  average  at  least 
twenty-five  shots  to  every  otter  killed ;  and  only  about  one- 
half  the  number  shot  are  secured  by  the  rightful  owners. 
But  when  once  in  his  possession,  it  is  quickly  fleeced  of  its 
valuable  skin,  and  stretched  on  the  wall  of  the  cabin  to  dry. 

It  is  no  unusual  occurrence  for  the  hunter  to  pass  a  week 
travelling  up  and  down  the  beach,  and  he  may  shoot  sixty  or 
more  rounds,  perhaps  kill  several,  but  owing  to  bad  luck^  not 
one  is  secured,  all  either  drifting  to  sea,  or  to  shore,  possibly 


*I  am  informed  by  Mr.  Ford,  a  resident  near  ttie  banting  grounds,  that  the  hunters 
now  use  a  kind  of  a  ladder,  or  it  might  be  termed  two  ladders  Joined  near  the  upper 
ends  by  a  hinge,  opening  at  the  lower  ends.  It  is  made  of  very  light  material  and  can 
be  easily  carried  by  hand;  when  required  for  use  it  is  opened  and  placed  on  the  beach 
and  mounted  by  the  hunter  when  an  elevation  Is  desired,  which  is  considered  a  great 
advantage  under  some  circumstances. 


72  THE   SEA   OTTEB8. 

with  the  flowing  night-tide ;  and  the  object  bo  eagerly  and 
patiently  sought  for  is  at  last  stealthily  appropriated  by  some 
skulking  savage. 

Notwithstanding  their  propensity  to  purloin,  the  Indians 
of  the  north-west  coast  not  only  occasionally  shoot  the  sea 
otter  as  do  the  whites,  but  in  the  months  of  July  and 
August,  when  calm  weather  prevails,  they  capture  them  by 
night.  A  small  canoe  is  chosen  for  the  purpose  and  the 
implement  used  is  a  spear  of  native  make  composed  of  bone 
and  steel,  fitted  to  a  long  pole  by  a  socket.  Four  chosen 
men  make  the  crew  for  the  canoe. 

Near  the  close  of  the  day  a  sharp  watch  is  kept  on  any 
band  of  the  animals  that  may  have  been  in  view  from  the 
shore  and  their  position  accurately  defined  before  beginning 
the  pursuit.  All  being  in  readiness,  as  the  shade  of  evening 
approaches,  they  launch  upon  the  calm  sea,  and  three  men 
paddle  in  silence  toward  the  place  where  the  objects  of  pur« 
suits  were  seen,  while  the  fourth  takes  his  station  in  the  bow 
—who  is  either  a  chief  or  some  one  distinguished  in  the 
chase — watches  intently  for  the  sleeping  otters.  As  soon 
as  one  is  descried  the  canoe  is  headed  for  it,  and  when  within 
reach  the  spear  is  launched  into  the  unwary  creature,  which, 
in  its  efibrts  to  escape,  draws  the  spear  from  the  pole,  but  is 
not  freed  yet  (as  there  is  a  small  strong  line  connecting  the 
spear  and  pole  together,  although  permitting  them  to  sepa- 
rate a  few  feet).  It  dives  deep,  but  with  great  effort,  as  the 
unwieldly  pole  greatly  retards  its  progress.  The  keen-eyed 
savage,  however,  traces  its  course  in  the  blinding  darkness 
by  the  phosphorescent  light  caused  by  the  animal's  transit 
through  the  water,  and  when  it  rises  upon  the  surface  to 
breathe  is  beat  with  clubs,  paddles,  or,  perhaps  another 
spear,  and  is  finally  despatched  after  repeated  blows  or 
thrusts.  The  conflict  arouses  the  whole  band  which  instantly 
disappear,  so  that  it  is  seldom  that  more  than  one  is  secured. 

As  soon  as  the  hunt  is  over  the  animal  is  brought  on 
shore,  the  skin  taken  off  and  stretched  to  dry,  and  when 


THE   SEA  OTTERS.  73 

• 

ready  for  market  the  lucky  owner  considers  himself  en- 
riched to  the  value  of  ten  or  fifteen  blankets.  The  flesh  of 
the  otter  is  eagerly  devoured  by  the  Indians  as  a  choice 
article  of  food.  The  mode  of  capture  between  Point  Gran- 
ville and  the  Aleutian  Islands  varies  with  the  diflTereut 
native  tribes  inhabiting  that  coast. 

About  the  Aleutian  Islands,  the  natives,  dressed  in  their 
water-proof  garments  made  from  the  intestines  of  seals, 
wedge  themselves  into  their  bidarkas  (which  are  constructed 
with  a  light  wooden  frame,  and  covered  with  walrus  or  seal 
skins*),  and  as  it  were  plunge  through  the  surf  that  dashes 
high  among  the  crags,  and  with  almost  instinctive  skill  reach 
the  less  turbulent  ground  swell  that  heaves  in  every  direction. 

Once  clear  of  the  rocks,  however,  the  hunters  watch  in- 
tently for  the  otters.  The  first  man  that  gets  near  to  one 
darts  his  spear,  then  throws  up  his  paddle  by  way  of  signal ; 
all  the  other  boats  form  a  circle  around  him  at  some  distance  ; 
the  wounded  animal  dives  deeply,  but  soon  returns  to  the 
surface  near  some  one  of  the  boats  forming  the  circle ;  again 
the  hunter  that  is  near  enough  hurls  his  spear  and  elevates 
his  paddle,  and  again  the  ring  is  formed  as  before.  In  this 
wise  the  chase  is  continued  till  the  capture  is  made.  As  soon 
as  the  animal  is  brought  on  shore  the  two  oldest  hunters  ex- 
amine it,  and  the  one  whose  spear  is  found  nearest  its  head 
is  entitled  to  the  prize.  The  number  of  sea  otters  taken  an- 
nually is  not  definitely  known,  but  from  the  most  authentic 
information  we  can  obtain  the  aggregate  is  two  thousand  six 
hundred;  valuing  the  skins  at  fifty  dollai*s  each,  amounts  to 
the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  dollars. 

Whether  these  most  valuable  fur  animals  have  decreased 
in  numbers  within  the  few  past  years  is  questionable.  The 
hunting  of  them  on  the  coast  of  California  is  no  longer 


*  These  "bidarkas,  or  skln-boats,''  are  from  twelve  to  eighteen  f^t  long,  according 
as  they  may  be  made  for  one  or  two  persons,  the  greatest  width  being  about  thirty 
Inches,  and  depth  seventeen  inches.  In  these  frail  crafts  the  natives  go  from  OnUaskl 
to  Sanak  Islands  to  hunt  the  sea  otter,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles. 

▲MER.  NATURALIST,  VOL.  IV.  10 


74  FALOONBT. 

profitable  for  more  than  two  or  three  hunters,  and  we  believe 
of  late,  some  seasons  have  passed  without  any  one  engaging 
in  the  enterprise ;  notwithst^^nding  off  Point  Granville, 
which  is  an  old  hunting  ground,  sixty  otters  were  taken  by 
only  three  hunters  during  the  summer  of  1868,  a  great  an* 
nual  increase  over  many  past  years. 

It  is  said  that  the  Russian  American  Company  restricted 
the  number  taken  yearly  by  the  Aleutian  Islanders — from 
whom  the  chief  supply  was  obtained — in  order  to  perpetuate 
the  stock.  Furthermore  may  it  not  be  that  these  sagacious 
animals  have  fled  from  those  places  on  the  coasts  of  the 
Californias,  where  they  were  so  constantly  pursued,  to  some 
more  isolated  haunt,  and  now  remain  unmolested. 


FALCONRY. 

BT  WILLAM  WOOD,  M.D. 

As  Falconry,  before  the  discovery  of  gunpowder  and  fire- 
arms, was  a  favorite  amusement  of  the  kings  and  nobles  all 
over  Europe,  and  as  it  is  even  to  the  present  day  among  the 
Turks  in  some  parts  of  Asia  Minor ;  among  the  Persians, 
the  Circassians,  the  wandering  hordes  of  Tartars  and  Tur- 
comans, and  as  it  forms  one  of  the  chief  6poi*ts  of  some  of 
the  native  princes  of  India,  and  is  not  unknown  in  the 
northern  provinces  of  China,  and  among  several  other  bar- 
barous or  half-civilized  countries,  it  may  not  be  uninterest- 
ing to  my  readers  to  know  in  what  estimation  it  has  been 
held.  I  will  not  in  this  article  give  any  account  of  the 
manner  of  training  falcons ;  sufiSce  it  to  say  that  they  were 
taught  to  fly  at  the  game  and  capture  it,  and  come  at  call. 
It  required  months,  and  sometimes  years,  to  train  them 
properly. 

Hawking  was  not  unknown  to  the  Romans  in  the  early 


FALGONBT.  75 

part  of  the  christian  era,  but  was  firat  introduced  into  Eng* 
laud  from  the  north  of  Europe  duriug  the  fourth  century. 
In  920  the  Emperor  Heury  was  called  the  fowler  on  account 
of  his  great  fondness  for  the  sport.  In  the  eleventh  century 
wheu  Canute,  king  of  Denmark  and  Norway,  ascended  the 
English  throne,  the  amusement  became  more  and  more  prev- 
alent. After  the  ascension  of  William  of  Normandy  to  the 
English  throne,  none  but  persons  of  the  highest  rank  were 
allowed  to  keep  hawks.  The  killing  of  a  deer,  or  boar,  or 
even  a  hare  by  a  serf,  was  punished  with  the  loss  of  the 
delinquent's  eyes,  when  the  killing  of  a  man  could  be  atoned 
for  by  paying  a  moderate  sum.  In  the  twelfth  century  this 
was  the  favorite  recreation  of  all  the  kings  and  nobles  of 
Europe.  '*It  was  thought  sufficient  for  noblemen's  sons  to 
wind  the  horn,  and  to  carry  their  hawk  fair,  and  leave  study 
and  learning  to  the  children  of  meaner  people."  A  German 
writer,  about  the  year  1485,  complains  that  **the  gentry  used 
to  take  the  hawks  and  hounds  to  church  with  them,  disturb* 
ing  the  devotions  of  those  religiously  inclined,  by  the 
screams  and  yells  of  the  birds  and  beasts."  This  diversion 
was  in  so  high  esteem  all  over  Europe,  that  Frederic,  one  of 
the  emperors  of  Germany,  thought  it  not  beneath  him  to 
write  a  treatise  on  hawking.  In  1481,  in  the  reign  of  Rich- 
ard m,  Juliana  Berners,  sister  of  Lord  Berners,  and  prior- 
ess of  the  nunnery  of  Sapewell,  wrote  a  tract  on  falconry, 
which  was  loudly  applauded  by  her  cotemporaries,  and  be- 
came what  Hoyle  has  on  games, — a  standard  treatise.  In 
1615  and  1619,  two  works  on  the  same  subject  were  pub- 
lished in  London,  the  former,  by  Gervase  Markham,  the 
latter,  by  Edmund  Bert. 

In  the  thirteenth  century  the  arbitrary  law  of  William, 
then  Duke  of  Normandy,  was  somewhat  modified  by  King 
John,  ** allowing  every  freeman  to  have  his  eyries  of  hawks, 
falcons,  etc.,  in  bis  own  woods."  In  the  fourteenth  century, 
Edward  III,  of  England,  made  it  felony  to  steal  a  hawk,  or 
take  the  eggs,  and  '* punished  the  offender  by  imprisonment 


76  FALOONBT. 

for  one  year  and  one  day,  together  with  a  fine,  at  the  king's 
pleasure."  Any  person  finding  a  hawk  was  to  carry  it  to 
the  sheriff  of  the  county,  who  was  immediately  to  cause  a 
proclamation  to  be  made  in  all  the  principal  towns  in  the 
county  (each  falcon  had  a  ring  put  around  his  leg  with  the 
owner's  name  engraved  on  it,  and  a  small  bell  was  sus- 
pended from  the  neck  of  the  bird  so  that  it  might  be  discov- 
ered when  lost  in  the  chase) .  Any  attempt  of  the  finder  to 
conceal  or  appropriate  it  was  to  be  punished  the  same  as 
stealing.  In  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth  the  imprison- 
ment was  reduced  to  three  months,  but  the  culprit  was  to 
lie  in  prison  'Uill  he  got  security  for  his  good  behavior  for 
seven  years." 

The  dignitaries  of  the  church  even  indulged  in  the  spoi*t, 
and  the  poet  Chaucer  represents  them  as  being  more  learned 
in  hunting  than  in  divinity.  During  the  middle  ages  a  Eu* 
ropean  showed  his  rank  by  having  a  hawk  on  his  fist,  and 
when  he  died  the  bird  was  generally  carved  on  his  monu- 
ment. Among  the  Welsh  princes  the  king's  falconer  was 
the  fourth  officer  in  the  state;  yet  he  was  "forbidden  to 
take  more  than  three  drams  of  beer  from  his  horn  lest  he 
should  get  drunk  and  neglect  his  duty."  The  grand  fal- 
coner of  France  had  four  thousand  florins  per  annum,  was 
allowed  three  hundred  hawks,  and  had  fifty  gentlemen  and 
fifty  attendants  to  follow  him.  He  rode  out  with  the  King 
on  all  gi*eat  occasions. 

The  prices  paid  for  falcons  were  enormous.  Sir  Thomas 
Monson  paid  five  thousand  dollars  for  a  pair.  In  Persia  the 
gerfalcon  of  Russia  is  not  allowed  to  be  kept  by  any  per- 
son except  the  king,  and  each  bird  is  valued  at  fifteen  hun- 
dred crowns.  Hawks  were  sent  as  royal  tokens  from  kings 
to  kings,  and  formed  a  customary  present  from  the  sovereign 
to  the  embassador  of  a  friendly  power.  In  more  ancient 
times  they  were  bequeathed  as  valuable  and  honorable  lega- 
cies, with  the  injunction,  ^^  that  the  legatee  should  behave 
kindly  and  dutifully  by  the  said  bird." 


TALOONBT,  77 

The  sport  suffered  no  decline  on  the  accession  of  the 
Tudors.  Henry  YII.  made  laws  about  hawking  as  did  also 
Queen  Elizabeth,  who  occasionally  indulged  in  the  amuse- 
ment with  the  ladies  of  her  court.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  allud- 
ing to  her  sylvan  sports,  compares  her  and  her  retinue  to  the 
goddess  Diana  and  her  nymphs.  John  of  Salisbury,  who 
wrote  in  the  thirteenth  century,  said,  ''that  the  women  even 
excelled  the  men  in  the  knowledge  and  practice  of  falconry.'' 
Henry  the  YHI.  followed  the  sport  until  he  grew  so  fat  and 
unwieldy,  that  in  attempting  to  vault  a  ditch,  he  fell  in 
where  the  ''bottom  had  fallen  out,"  and  would  have  drowned 
but  for  the  assistance  of  a  John  Moody.  Says  Hall,  "God 
in  his  goodnesse  preserved  hym.** 

In  1531,  Sir  Thomas  Elyot  "lamented  that  providing  the 
numberless  hawks  then  kept  by  the  English  gentry,  with 
their  customary  food  of  hens,  almost  threatened  the  total 
extinction  of  the  valuable  race  of  domestic  poultry."  In 
1536,  in  the  twenty-seventh  year  of  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII, 
owing  to  the  inroads  made  upon  the  game,  he  issued  a  pro- 
clamation to  protect  them,  and  made  it  imprisonment,  and 
such  other  punishment  as  should  seem  meet  to  his  highness 
the  King,  for  "any  person  of  whatever  rank  who  should  kill, 
or  in  any  way  molest  herons,  partridges  and  pheasants  from 
his  palace  at  Westminster  to  St.  Gilcs's-in-the-Fields,  and 
from  thence  to  Islington,  Hampstead,  Highgate  and  Homsey 
Park." 

Falconry  had  in  a  gi*e^t  measure  Ipst  its  prestige  in  Eng- 
land by  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century.  Hawking 
was  then  classed  among  "the  amusements  of  squires  and 
country  gentlemen  generally."  In  a  book  of  advice  which 
James  I.  wrote  for  the  benefit  of  his  eldest  son  Henry,  Prince 
of  Wales,  after  recommending  manly  exercises,  hunting,  etc., 
he  adds,  "as  for  hawking,  I  condemn  it  not,  but  I  must 
praise  it  more  sparingly,  because  it  neither  resembleth  the 
warres  so  near  as  hunting  doeth,  in  making  a  man  bardie  and 
skilfully  ridden  in  all  grounds,  and  is  more  uncertain  and 


78  FALOONRT. 

subject  to  mischances;  and  which  is  worst  of  all,  is  there 
through  an  extreme  stirrer-up  of  the  passions." 

The  greatest  falconer  of  modern  times  was  one  of  the 
Lord  Orfords  who  died  toward  the  close  of  the  last  century. 
This  nobleman  spent  a  princely  fortune  in  attempting  to  re- 
vive an  obsolete  taste.  He  had  a  large  number  of  hawks 
and  a  regular  establishment  of  falconers.  Each  hawk  had 
its  separate  attendant;  ^they  were  all  sent  on  occasional 
voyages  to  the  continent  for  the  sake  of  a  more  congenial 
atmosphere  during  their  time  of  moulting." 

Having  now  traced  falconry  through  the  English  dynasty, 
and  as  they  confined  it  mostly  to  the  smaller  game,  I  will 
give  some  account  of  it  among  other  nations  who  have  car- 
ried it  to  a  greater  degree  of  perfection.  There  was  no 
nation  in  Europe  prior  to  the  fifteenth  century  but  what  the 
emperor,  kings  and  nobles  indulged  in  this  sport,  and  it 
was  considered  "as  the  exclusive  attribute  of  noble  blood." 
Even  in  China  and  Tartary  in  the  thirteenth  century,  it  was 
strictly  forbidden  "to  every  tradesman,  mechanic  or  hus- 
bandman throughout  his  Majesty's  dominions  to  keep  a 
hawk,  or  any  other  bird  used  for  the  purpose  of  game,  or 
any  sporting  dog."  In  China,  Tartary,  India,  and  some 
other  eastern  nations,  they  capture  the  stork,  swan,  heron 
and  hubara  with  their  falcons  and  train  dogs  to  act  in  con- 
cert with  them,  so  that  they  pursue  and  take  hares,  foxes, 
wolves,  deer  and  antelopes. 

Father  Rubruquis  and  Marco  Polo  make  frequent  mention 
of  the  practice  of  hawking  during  the  thirteenth  century 
among  the  wandering  Tartars.  A  sport  which  Marco  was 
excessively  fond  of,  and  frequently  indulged  in.  The  old 
Venetian  informs  us,  that  the  grand  Khan  (Kublai),  who 
was  at  once  Emperor  of  Tartary  and  China,  kept  at  one 
place,  where  he  was  accustomed  to  resort  for  the  purpose  of 
hawking,  two  hundred  falcQUS,  which  during  his  stay  there 
"he  always  visited  and  inspected  in  person,  at  least,  once  a 
week." 


FALCONRY.  79 

The  Emperor  after  residing  the  usual  time  in  China, 
always  proceeded  to  enjoy  the  field  sports  in  the  plains  of 
Tartary,  attended  by  full  ten  thousand  falconers,  who  carried 
with  them  a  vast  number  of  gerfalcons,  peregrine  falcons 
and  sakers.  He  has  also  with  him  ten  thousand  men  who  are 
called  ta»kaol,  distributed  all  over  the  country,  whose  busi- 
ness it  is  to  watch  the  hawks,  assist  them  when  necessary, 
and  secure  the  falcon  when  he  has  captured  the  game. 
Marco  tells  us,  that  the  Grand  Khan  takes  his  wives  and  the 
ladies  of  the  court  with  him  on  these  expeditions,  who  have 
their  own  hawks  and  join  in  the  sport.  These  with  their 
attendants,  physicians,  astrologers,  courtiers,  slaves  and  fal- 
coners formed  an  immense  retinue.  Dividing  up  into  par- 
ties of  one  hundred  and  two  hundred,  they  proceed  to  the 
lakes  and  river,  where  they  capture  great  numbers  of  storks, 
herons,  swans,  ducks  and  smaller  game.  Each  bird  belong- 
ing to  his  Majesty,  or  to  any  of  his  nobles,  has  a  small  silver 
label  fastened  to  his  leg,  on  which  is  engraved  the  name  of 
the  owner  and  the  name  of  the  keeper  so  that  it  can  be 
readily  restored.  The  manner  of  taking  the  prey  shows 
great  skill  and  sagacity,  the  falconer  usually  carries  his 
hawk  to  the  field  on  his  fist  protected  by  a  glove,  and  on 
seeing  game,  removes  the  head-gear  (a  hood  to  cover  the 
head  and  eyes  of  the  bird)  and  casts  the  bird  ofi*  with  a  loud 
whoop  to  encourage  her.  If  the  bird  flushed  is  a  duck, 
partridge,  pheasant,  or  any  bird  that  does  not  soar  high, 
the  hawk  quickly  strikes  and  brings  it  down,  but  if  it  is  a 
heron,  or  some  bird  strong  on  the  wing,  it  will  attempt  to 
keep  above  the  hawk.  Now  comes  the  tug  of  war,  each 
trying  to  mount  above .  the  other  until  nearly  out  of  sight, 
when  the  falcon  by  performing  a  succession  of  spiral  circles 
rises  above  the  game,  and  darts  down  upon  it  with  all  her 
force  and  velocity,  when  both  tumble  from  the  sky  together, 
the  sportsman  hastening  to  the  spot  with  all  possible  dis- 
patch assists  the  hawk  in  her  struggle  with  the  prey.  Marco 
informs  us  that  ^the  Emperor  had  reclaimed  eagles  which 


80  TALOONBT. 

were  trained  to  swoop  at  wolves,  and  such  was  their  strength 
that  none,  however  large,  could  escape  from  their  talons." 

The  accounts  given  by  Father  Rubruquis  and  Marco  Polo 
would  seem  incredible  were  not  their  statements  fully  con- 
firmed by  other  writers.  The  description  given  by  Johnson 
of  the  number  and  magnificence  of  the  hunting  retinue  of 
the  Nabob-vizir  of  Lucknow  makes  it  nearly,  if  not  quite, 
equal  to  that  of  the  Emperor  of  Tartary  and  China  as  de- 
scribed above. 

The  Persians,  on  some  occasions  when  hunting  hares  and 
other  four  legged  animals,  dress  their  hawks  with  leather 
breeches.  I  will  give  the  language  of  Sir  John  Malcolm 
respecting  it.  "When  at  Shiraz  the  Elchee  had  received  a 
present  of  a  very  fine  Shah-Baz  or  royal  falcon.  Before  go- 
ing out  I  had  been  amused  at  seeing  Nutee  Beg,  our  head- 
falconer,  a  man  of  great  experience  in  his  department,  put 
upon  this  bird  a  pair  of  leathers  which  he  fitted  to  its  thighs 
with  as  much  care  as  if  he  had  been  the  tailor  of  a  fashion- 
able horseman.  I  inquired  the  reason  of  so  unusual  a  pro- 
ceeding. *  You  will  learn  that,'  said  the  consequential  master 
of  the  hawks,  'when  your  see  our  sport;'  and  I  was  con- 
vinced at  the  period  he  predicted  of  the  old  fellow's  knowl- 
edge of  his  business." 

"The  first  hare  seized  by  the  falcon  was  very  strong,  and 
the  ground  rough.  While  the  bird  kept  the  claws  of  one 
foot  fastened  in  the  back  of  his  prey,  the  other  was  dragged 
along  the  ground  till  it  had  an  opportunity  to  lay  hold  of  a 
tuft  of  grass,  by  which  it  was  enabled  to  stop  the  course  of 
the  hare,  whose  efix)rts  to  escape  I  do  think,  would  have 
torn  the  hawk  asunder  if  it  had  not  been  provided  with  the 
leathern  defences  which  have  been  mentioned." 

The  account  given  by  Marco  of  the  training  of  eagles  for 
the  chase  is  fully  substantiated  by  a  later  writer,  Thomas 
Witlam  Atkinson.  The  following  account  of  hunting  with 
the  eagle  in  Chinese  Tartary  is  related  by  him  in  his  "Seven 
Years  Explorations  and  Adventures  in  Siberia,  Mongolia,  the 


FALCONRY.  81 

Kirgfais  Steppes,  Chinese  Tartary  and  a  part  of  Central 
Asia.''  "A  well-nioiinted  Kirghis  held  the  bearcoote, 
chained  to  a  perch,  which  was  secured  into  a  socket  on  his 
saddle.  The  eagle  had  shackles  and  a  hood  and  was  per- 
fectly quiet,  he  was  under  charge  of  two  men.  "We  had 
not  gone  far  when  several  large  deer  rushed  past  a  jutting 
point  of  the  reeds  and  bounded  over  the  plain  about  three 
hundi-ed  yards  from  us.  In  an  instant  the  bearcoote  was 
unhooded  and  his  shackles  removed,  wl^en  he  sprung  from 
his  perch  and  soared  up  into  the  air.  I  watched  him  ascend 
as  he  wheeled  round,  and  was  under  the  impression  that  he 
had  not  seen  the  animals ;  but  in  this  I  was  mistaken.  He 
had  now  risen  to  a  considerable  height  and  seemed  to  poise 
himself  for  about  a  minute.  After  this  he  gave  two  or  three 
flaps  with  his  wing  and  swooped  off  in  a  straight  line  towards 
his  prey.  I  could  not  perceive  that  his  wings  moved,  but 
he  went  at  a  fearful  speed.  There  was  a  shout,  and  away 
went  his  keeper  at  full  gallop  followed  by  many  others. 
When  we  were  about  two  hundred  yards  off  the  bearcoote 
struck  his  prey.  The  deer  gave  a  bound  forward  and  fell ; 
the  bearcoote  had  struck  one  talon  into  his  neck,  the  other 
into  his  back,  and  with  his  beak  was  tearing  out  his  liver. 
The  Kirghis  sprang  from  his  horse,  slipped  the  hood  over 
the  eagle's  head,  and  the  shackles  upon  his  legs,  and  removed 
him  from  his  prey  without  difliculty.  The  keeper  mounted 
his  horse,  his  assistant  placed  the  bearcoote  on  his  perch, 
and  he  was  ready  for  another  flight.  No  dogs  are  taken  out 
when  hunting  with  the  eagle,  they  would  be  destroyed  to  a 
certainty ;  indeed,  the  Kirghis  asserts  that  he  will  attack  and 
kill  the  wolf.  We  had  not  gone  far  before  a  herd  of  small 
antelopes  were  seen  feeding  on  the  plains.  Again  the  bird 
soared  up  in  circles  as  before,  and  again  he  made  the  fatal 
swoop  at  his  intended  victim,  and  the  animal  was  dead  before 
we  reached  him.  The  bearcoote  is  unerring  in  his  flight ; 
unless  the  animal  can  escape  into  holes  in  the  rocks,  as  the 
fox  does  sometimes,  death  is  his  certain  doom."    In  another 

▲M^.  KATUKALI8T,  VOL.  FV.  11 


82  rALOONRT. 

place  he  says  '*next  morning  before  starting,  I  sketched 
Sultan  Beck  and  his  family.  He  is  feeding  his  bearcoote — 
hunting  with  the  king  of  birds  being  his  favorite  sport." 

The  Persians  have  a  peculiar  kind  that  they  train  to  fly  at 
antelopes  and  to  act  in  concert  with  dogs.  The  huutsmen 
proceed  to  a  plain,  or  rather  desert,  near  the  seaside  with 
hawks  on  their  hands  and  greyhounds  led  in  a  leash.  When 
an  antelope  is  seen  they  endeavor  to  get  as  near  as  possible, 
but  the  animal  the  moment  that  it  observes  them  go^s  off  at 
a  rate  that  seems  swifter  than  the  wind ;  the  horsemen  are 
instantly  at  full  speed,  having  slipped  the  dogs.  If  it  is  a 
single  deer  they  at  the  same  time  fly  the  hawks,  but  if  a 
herd  they  wait  till  the  dogs  have  fixed  upon  a  particular 
antelope.  The  hawks  skimming  along  near  the  ground  soon 
reach  the  deer,  at  whose  head  they  pounce  in  succession,  and 
with  so  great  violence  as  to  confuse  the  animal  so  much  as  to 
stop  his  speed  in  such  a  degree  that  the  dogs  can  come  up 
and  in  an  instant,  men,  horses,  dogs  and  hawks  surround  the 
unfortunate  deer  and  capture  it.  The  antelope  is  supposed 
to  be  the  fleetest  quardruped  on  earth,  and  the  rapidity  of 
the  chase  is  said  to  be  wonderful  and  astonishing,  the  dis- 
tance run,  generally,  not  exceeding  three  or  four  miles. 

In  the  spring  of  1861,  on  the  return  from  Russia  of  our 
late  Ex-Governor,  Thomas  H.  Seymour,  who  had  been  min- 
ister to  that  country  for  several  years,  in  conversation  with 
him,  I  learned  that  falconry  was  still  a  favorite  sport  in  the 
East,  and  that  he  had  joined  in  the  chase  several  times ;  that 
eagles  were  trained  as  formerly,  and  that  he  had  seen  falcons 
with  their  leathern  breeches  on  catch  hares  and  hold  them 
by  inserting  one  talon  into  the  game  and  holding  on  to  the 
turf,  or  anything  that  came  in  the  way  with  the  other,  and 
that  they  held  on  with  such  tenacity  that  their  limbs  would 
be  dislocated  or  torn  from  their  bodies  were  they  not  thus 
protected. 


CERTAIN  PARASITIC  INSECTS. 

BT  A.  8.  PACKARD,  JB. 


■•o*- 


The  subject  of  our  discourse  is  not  only  a  disagreeable 
but  too  often  a  painful  one.  Not  only  is  the  mere  mention 
of  the  creature's  name  of  which  we  are  to  speak  tabooed  and 
avoided  by  the  refined  and  polite,  but  the  creature  itself  has 
become  extinct  and  banished  from  the  society  of  the  good 
and  respectable.  Indeed  under  such  happy  auspices  do  a 
large  proportion  of  the  civilized  now  live  that  their  knowl- 
edge of  the  habits  and  form  of  the  louse  may  be  represented 
by  a  blank.  Not  so  with  some  of  their  great-great-grand- 
fathers and  grandmothers  if  history,  sacred  and  profane,  po- 
etry, and  the  annals  of  literature  testify  aright ;  for  it  is  com- 
paratively a  recent  fact  in  history  that  the  louse  has  awakened 
to  find  himself  an  outcast  and  an  alien.  Among  savage  na- 
tions of  all  climes,  some  of  which  have  been  dignified  with 
the  apt,  though  high  sounding  name  of  Phtbiriophagi,  and 
among  the  Chinese  and  other  semi-civilized  peoples,  these 
lords  of  the  soil  still  flourish  with  a  luxuriance  and  rankness 
of  growth  that  never  diminishes,  so  that  we  may  say  without 
exaggeration  that  certain  mental  traits  and  fleshly  appetites 
induced  by  their  consumption  as  an  article  of  food  may  have 
been  created,  while  a  separate  niche  in  our  anthropological 
museums  is  reserved  for  the  instruments  of  warfare,  both 
offensive  and  defensive,  used  by  their  phthiriophagous  hun- 
ters. Then  have  we  not  in  the  very  centres  of  civilization 
the  poor  and  degraded,  which  are  most  faithfully  attended 
by  these  revolting  satellites  1 

But  bantering  aside,  there  is  no  more  engaging  subject 
to  the  naturalist  than  that  of  animal  parasites.  Consider 
the  great  proportion  of  animals  that  gain  their  livelihood 
by  stealing  that  of  others.  While  a  large  proportion  of 
plants  are  more   or  less  parasitic,   they  gain  thereby  in 

(83) 


84  CERTAIN  PARASITIC   INSECTS, 

interest  to  the  botanist,  and  many  of  them  are  eagerly  sought 
Hs  the  choicest  ornaments  of  our  conservatories.  Not  so  with 
their  zoological  confreres.  All  that  is  repulsive  and  uncanny 
is  associated  with  them,  and  those  who  study  them,  though 
perhaps  among  the  keenest  intellects  and  most  industrious 
observers,  speak  of  them  without  the  limits  of  their  own 
circle  in  subdued  whispers  or  under  a  protest,  and  their 
works  fall  under  the  eyes  of  the  scantiest  few.  But  the 
study  of  animal  parasites  has  opened  up  new  fields  of  re- 
search, all  bearing  most  intimately  on  those  two  questions 
that  ever  incite  the  naturalist  to  the  most  laborious  and 
untiring  diligence — what  is  life  and  its  origin?  The  sub- 
jects of  the  alternation  of  generations,  or  parthenogenesis, 
of  embryology  and  biology,  owe  their  great  advance,  in  large 
degree,  to  the  study  of  such  animals  as  are  parasitic,  and  the 
question  whether  the  origin  of  species  be  due  to  creation 
by  the  action  of  secondary  laws  or  not,  will  be  largely  met 
and  answered  by  the  study  of  the  varied  metamorphoses  and 
modes  of  growth,  the  peculiar  modification  of  organs  that 
adapt  them  to  their  strange  modes  of  life,  and  the  conse- 
quent variation  in  specific  characters  so  remarkably  charac- 
teristic of  those  animals  living  parasitically  upon  others.* 

With  these  considerations  in  view  surely  a  serious,  thought- 
ful, and  thorough  study  of  the  louse,  in  all  its  varieties  and 
species,  is  neither  belittling  nor  degrading,  nor  a  waste  of 
time.  We  venture  to  say,  moreover,  that  more  light  will  be 
thrown  on  the  classification  and  morphology  of  insects  by  the 
study  of  the  parasitic  species,  and  other  degraded,  wingless 
forms  that  do  not  always  live  parasitically,  especially  of  their 
embryology  and  changes  after  leaving  the  egg,  than  by  years 
of  study  of  the  more  highly  developed  insects  alone.  Among 
Hymenoptera  the  study  of  the  minute  Ichneumons,  such  as 
the  Froctotrupids  and  Chalcids,  especially  the  egg-parasites; 


*  We  notice  whUe  preparing  this  article  that  a  Jonmal  of  ParoBltologj  has  fbr  some- 
time been  Issued  in  Germany— that  fayored  land  of  specialists.  It  is  the  **  Zeitschrift 
fllr  Parasitenkunde,''  edited  by  Dr.  B.  Hallier  and  Dr.  F.  A.  ZOm.   8vo,  Jena. 


CERTAIN   PARASITIG   INSECTS.  85 

among  moths  the  study  of  the  wiugless  caiiker-worm  moth 
and  Orgyia;  among  Diptem  the  flea,  bee-louse  (^Braula)^ 
sheep  tick,  bat  ticks,  and  other  wingless  flics ;  among  Cole- 
optera,  the  Meloe,  and  singular  Sty  lops  and  Xenos ;  among 
Ncuroptera  the  snow  insect,  Borcus,  the  Podui*a  and  Lep- 
isma,  and  especially  the  hemipterous  lice,  will  throw  a  flood 
of  light  on  these  prime  subjects  in  philosophical  entomology. 

Without  farther  apology,  then,  and  very  dependent  on  the 
labor  of  others  for  our  information  we  will  say  a  few  words 
on  some  interesting  points  in  the  natural  history  of  lice.  In 
the  first  place,  how  does  the  louse  bite  ?  It  is  the  general 
opinion  among  physicians,  supported  by  able  entomologists, 
that  the  louse  has  jaws,  and  bites.  But  while  the  bird  lice 
(Mallqphaga)  do  have  biting  jaws,  whence  the  Germans 
call  them  skin-eatei*s  (pelzfresser)  y  the  mouth  parts  of  the 
genus  Pediculus,  or  true  louse,  resemble  in  rig.  is. 
their  structure  those  of  the  bed-bug  (Fig.  13, 
from  the  author's  "Guide  to  the  Study  of  In-  y 
sects")  and  other  Hemiptera.  In  its  form  the  [' 
louse  closely  resembles  the  bed-bug,  and  the 
two  groups  of  lice,  the  Pcdiculi  and  Mallo- 
phaga,  should  be  considered  as  families  of  Bedbug. 
Hemiptei-a,  though  degraded  and  at  the  base  of  the  hemip- 
terous series.  The  resemblance  is  caiTied  out  in  the  form 
of  the  eggy  the  mode  of  growth  of  the  embryo,  and  the  meta- 
morphosis of  the  insect  after  leaving  its  egg. 

Schiodte,  a  Danish  entomologist,  has,,  it  seems  to  us, 
forever  settled  the  question  as  to  whether  the  louse  bites 
the  flesh  or  sucks  blood,  and  decides  a  point  interesting 
to  physicians,  i.e.  that  the  loathsome  disease  called  phthiii- 
asis,  from  which  not  only  many  living  in  poverty  and  squalor 
are  said  to  have  died,  but  also  men  of  renown,  among 
whom  Denny  in  his  work  on  the  Anoplura,  or  lice,  of  Great 
Britain,  mentions  the  name  of  "Pheretima,  as  recorded  by 
Herodotus,  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  the  Dictator  Sylla,  the 
two  Herods,  the  Emperor  Maximian,  and  Phillip  the  Sec- 


86  GEBTAIN  PABASITIG  IK8EGTS. 

oud,"  is  a  nonentity.     Schiodte,  in  his  essay  *^0n  Phthirius, 

and  on  the  Structure  of  the  Mouth  in  PedicuUis"  (Annals 

and  Magazine  of  Natural  History,  1866,  page  213),  says 

that  these  statements  will  not  bear  examination,  and  that  tMs 

disease  should  be  placed  on  the   ^*  retired  list,"   for  such  a 

malady  is  impossible  to  be  produced  by  simply  blood-sucking 

animals,  and  that  they  are  only  the  disgusting  attendants  on 

other  diseases.     Our  author  thus  describes  the  mouth  parts 

of  the  louse. 

''Lice  are  no  doabt  to  be  regarded  as  bogs,  simplified  in  strnctnre  and 
lowered  in  animal  life  in  accordance  with  their  mode  of  living  as  para- 
sites, small,  flattened,  apterous,  myopic,  crawling  and  climbing,  with  a 
conical  head,  moulded  as  it  were  to  suit  the  rugosities  of  the  surfoce  they 
inhabit,  provided  with  a  soft,  transversely  furrowed  skin,  probably  en- 
dowed with  an  acute  sense  of  feeling,  which  can  guide  them  in  that  twi- 
light in  which  their  mode  of  life  places  them.  The  peculiar  attenuation 
of  the  head  in  ttont  of  the  antennae  at  once  suggests  to  the  practised  eye 
the  existence  of  a  mouth  adapted  for  suction.  This  month  differs  ftom 
that  of  Rhjmchota  [Hemiptera,  bed-bug,  etc.]  generally  in  the  circum- 
stance that  the  labium  is  capable  of  being  retracted  into  the  upper  part 
of  the  head,  which  therefore  presents  a  little  fold,  which  is  extended 
when  the  labium  is  protruded.  In  order  to  strengthen  this  part,  a  flat 
band  of  chitine  is  placed  on  the  under  surface.  Just  as  the  shoemaker  puts 
a  small  piece  of  gutta-percha  into  the  back  of  an  India-rubber  shoe ;  as, 
however,  the  chitine  is  not  very  elastic,  this  band  is  rather  thinner  in  the 
middle,  in  order  that  it  may  bend  and  fold  a  little  when  the  skin  is  not 
extended  by  the  lower  lip.  The  latter  consists,  as  usual,  of  two  hard 
lateral  pieces,  of  which  the  fore  ends  are  united  by  a  membrane  so  that 
they  form  a  tube,  of  which  the  interior  covering  is  a  continuation  of  the 
elastic  membrane  In  the  top  of  the  head ;  inside  its  orifice  there  are  a 
number  of  small  hooks,  which  assume  diflferent  positions  according  to  the 
degree  of  protrusion;  if  this  is  at  its  highest  point  the  orifice  is  turned 
inside  out,  like  a  collar,  whereby  the  small  hooks  are  directed  backwards, 
so  that  they  can  serve  as  barbs.  These  are  the  movements  which  the 
animal  executes  after  having  first  inserted  the  labium  through  a  sweat- 
pore.  When  the  hooks  have  got  a  firm  hold,  the  first  pair  of  setse  (the 
real  mandibles  transformed)  are  protruded;  these  are,  towards  their 
points,  united  by  a  membrane  so  as  to  form  a  closed  tube,  flrom  which, 
again,  is  exserted  the  second  pair  of  setas,  or  maxiUs,  which  in  the  same 
manner  are  transformed  into  a  tube  ending  in  four  small  lobes  placed 
crosswise.  It  follows  that  when  the  whole  instrument  is  exserted,  we 
perceive  a  long  membranous  fiexible  tube  hanging  down  fi-om  the  lab- 
ium, and  along  the  walls  of  this  tube  the  setiform  mandibles  and  maxiUsB 
in  the  shape  of  long  narrow  bands  of  chitine.    In  this  way  the  tube  of 


CEBTAIN  PABASITIC  INSECTS.  87 

sDctlon  can  be  made  lonjfer  or  sLorter  its  reqaired,  and  easily  adjusted  to 

ttie  tliickuess  of  the  ttklo  iu  the  particular  place  where  the  UDimal  in 

sacking,  wbereb;  access  to  the  capillary  systcni  is  secured  at  any  part  of 

tbc  body.    It  ia  apparent,  from  tlie  whole  struct-  Fig.u.* 

nre  of  the  Instrnment,  that  It  Is  bj  no  meaiis  cal- 

CDlated  on  being  used  aa  a  sting,  but  Is  ratlier  to 

be  compared  to  a  delicate  elastic  probe.  In  the  uao 

of  which  the  terminal  lobes  probably  serve  as  feel- 
ers.   As  soon  OS  the  capillary  system  Is  reactied, 

the  blood  wilt  at  once   ascend  Into  the  narrow 

tube,  after  wlilcb  the  current  Is  continued  with 

Increasing  rapidity  by  means  of  the  pulsation  of 

the  pnmplng  ventricle  and  the  powerful  peristaltic 

movement  of  the  digestive  tube." 

If  WO  compare  the  form  of  the  louse 

(Fig.  15,  Pediculus  capitis,  the  head  louse ; 
Fig.  IB.        Fig.  16,  P.  vestimenli, t\ie  body 
louse)  with  tb«  young  bed- 
l)ug  as  figured  by  Westwood 
'  (Modem  Classification  of  In- 
'  sects,  ii,  p.  475)  we  shall  seo 
a  very  close  resemblance,  the 
head  of  the  young  Cimex  be- 
ing proportionally  larger  than 
in  the  adult,  while  the  thorax 

is  smaller,  and  the  abdomen  is  more  ovule, 

less  rounded ;  moreover  the  body  is  white 

and  partially  transparent.     The  beak  of 

the  bed-bug  we  have  studied  from  some 

admirable  prepai-atioiis  made  by  Mr.  E. 

Bicknell  for  the  Museum  of  the  Feabody 

Academy. 
Under  a  high  power  of  the  microscope     Mnwhof  iheLonw. 

specimens  treated  with   diluted   potash  show  that  the  man- 

•Flgure  14  represents  tdo  parts  of  [ho  month  In  a  lanje  spocimeD  of  Ptdtatlui  rati- 
vKnti,  eatlrel;  vrotrnctlng.  and  aeen  from  above,  magoilled  one  handred  and  elxty 
times;  aa,  the  enmmltaf  the  head,  wtth  taar  bristles  on  each  Bide;  bb.  the  chitlnous 
band,  and  c,  the  hind  part  of  thfi  lower  li|>  —  8ui-h  ns  they  appear  throiifth  the  akin  bj 
■trong  liansmltted  tl^t;  M.  the  foremost  protruding  part  of  the  lower  lip  (the  bana- 
tellam);  «,  [he  hooka  tomed  outwards; /,  the  Inner  tnbe  of  gactlon,  aliRhUy  bent  and 
twisted;  the  two  pairs  of  Jawi  are  perceived  on  the  outside  as  tbla  lines;  a  few  btood 
globolea  are  seen  in  the  Interior  of  the  tube. 


OS  CEBTAIN   PAOASITIC   INSECTS. 

diblea  aud  luaxillee  arise  iiear  eacb  other  iu  the  middle  of 
the  bead  opposite  the  eyes,  theii-  bases  slightly  divei;gii)g, 
Theuce  tbey  couverge  to  the  muuth  over  which  they  meet 
and  beyoud  ai-e  free,  beiug  hollow,  thiu  bauds  of  chitiiie, 
meeting  like  the  maxillee,  or  tongue,  of  buttei-flies  to  fonu 
a  hollow  tube  for  suction.      The  mandibles  each  suddenly 
end  in  a  curved,  slonder  filament,  which  is  probably  used 
as  a  tactile  oi^un  to  explore  the  best  sites  in  the  flesh  of 
their  victim    for   drawing   hlood.     On  the  other  band  the 
maxillae,  which  are  much  narrower  than  the  mandibles,  be- 
come rounded  towards  the  end,  bristle-like,  and  tipped  with 
rig.  10.        numerous  exceedingly  fine  barbs,  by  which  the 
bug  anchors  itself  in  the  flesh,  while  the  blood 
is   pumped  through  the  mandibles.     The  base 
of  the  large,  tubular  labium,  or  beak,  which 
cusheathes  the  mandibles  and  maxillfe,  is  op- 
posite the  end  of  the  clypeus  or  front  edge  of 
the  upper  side  of  the  head,  and  at  a  distance 
beyond  the  mouth  equal  to  the  breadth  of  the 
Bod)fLoQM.    labium  itself.     The  labium,  which  is  divided 
into  three  joints  becomes  flattened  towards  the  tip,  which 
is  square,  and  ends  in  two  thin   membranous  lobes,  prob- 
ably endowed  with  a  slight  sense  of  touch.     On  compaiiug 
these  parts  with   those  of  the   louse   it  will  be  seen  how 
much  alike  they  are,  with  the  exception  of  the  labium,  a 
very  variable  organ  in  the   Hemiptera.      From  the  long 
sucker  of  the  Pediculus,  to  the  stout  chitinous  jaws  of  the 
Mallophuga,  or  bird  lice,  is  a  sudden  transition,  but  on  com- 
paring the  rest  of  the  head  and  body  it  will  be  seen  tliat  the 
distinction  only  amounts  to  a  family  one,  ^ough  Burmeister 
placed  the  Mallophaga  in  the  Orthoptera  on  account  of  the 
mandibles  being  adapted  for  biting.     It  has  been  a  common 
source  of  error  to  depend  too  much  on  one  or  a  single  set  of 
oi^ans.     Insects  have  been   classified  on   characters  drawn 
from  the  wings,  or  the  number  of  the  joints  of  the  tarsi,  or 
the  form  of  the  mouth  parts.     We  must  take  into  account  in 


CERTAIN   PARASITIC   INSECTS.  89 

endeavoring  to  ascertwn  the  limita  of  natural  groups,  all  the 
organs  collectively,  as  well  as  the  internal  anatomy  and  the 
embryology  and  metamorphoaiB  of  insects,  before  we  can 
hope  to  obtain  a  natural  classification. 

The  family  of  bird  lice  is  a  very  extensive  one,  embracing 
mauy  genera,  and  several  hmidred  species.     One  or  more 
species  infest  the  skin  of  all  our  domestic  and  wild  mammals 
and  birds,  some  birds  sheltering  be-        »       *"«-  "■ 
neath  their  feathers  four  or  five  spe- 
cies of  lice.     Before  giving  a  hasty 
account  of  some  of  our  more 'com- 
mon species,  we  will  give  a  sketch 
of  the  embiyological  histoiy  of  the 
lice,*  with  especial  reference  to  the 
structure  of  the  mouth  parts. 

The  eggs  (Fig.  17,  egg  of  Pedicu- 
lua  capitis)  are  long,  oval,  somewhat 
pear-shaped,  with    the    hinder  end 
somewhat  pointed,   while  the  ante- 
rior end  is  flattened,  and  bears  little 
conical  micropyles   (m,   minute  ori- 
fices for  the  passage  of  the  sperma- 
tozoa into  the  egg),  which  vary  in 
form  in  the    different    species  and        Bmbiro  or  ibe  LaDB«. 
genera ;  the  opposite  end  of  the  egg  is  provided  with  a  few 
bristles.     The  female  attaches  her  eggs  to  the  hairs  or  feath- 
ers of  her  host. 

After  the  egg  has  been  fertilized  by  the  male,  the  blasto- 
derm, or  primitive  skin,  forms,  and  subsequently  two  layers, 
or  embryonal  membranes,  appear ;  the  outer  is  called  the 
amnion  (Fig.  17,  am)  (though  as  Melnikow  states,  it  is  not 
homologous  with  the  amnion  of  vertebrates),  while  the  inner 

■  For  mj  iafarmBtlon  on  tho  dSTelopineiit  of  the  line  I  am  Indebted  to  Froreaaor  Nlco- 
Ibiu  Helnliinff'e  "  Treatiee  un  Che  Bmbryonal  DeTelopment  or  lasecCa  "  lu  Wlegmiuu'i 
AreblT  fUr  Nsnirgeacblchte,  issa,  p.  13s. 

AMRR.  MATUItAIJST,    VOL.    IV.  13 


90  OEBTAIN  PABA8ITI0  INSECTS. 

is  called  the  *^  visceral  membrane"  (Fig.  17 ^db).     Melnikow 
remarks  that 

''In  all  the  Infiects  whose  embryology  has  been  studied,  and  In  which 
the  ventral  primitive  streak  is  developed,  neither  does  the  amnion  nor  the 
visceral  membrane  take  any  part  in  building  up  the  body  of  the  embryo, 
since  they  are  provisional  structures  in  a  peculiar  sense  of  the  word. 
Quite  different  relations  exist  in  the  lice.  The  origin  of  the  embryonal 
membranes  of  the  Ipuse  occurs  at  the  time  of  the  formation  of  the  prim* 
itive  streak.  The  thickened  blastoderm  of  the  end  of  the  egg  on  which 
the  hairs  are  situated  folds  in,  and  this  fold  is  the  beginning  of  the  primi- 
tive streak  and  of  the  visceral  membrane.  The  layer  of  this  fold  facing 
the  ventral  side  of  the  egg,  is  transformed  into  the  visceral  membrane, 
while  the  other  layer,  opposite  to  the  other  side  of  the  egg,  becomes  thick- 
ened and  forms  the  primitive  streak.  The  remaining  portion  of  the  blas- 
toderm, with  the  exception  of  the  primitive  streak,  which  forms  the  fore- 
head (in  the  more  extended  sense  of  the  word)  consists  of  the  so-called 
amnion. 

In  contradistinction  to  those  Insects  [Slmullum,  Chlronomus,  Donacia 
and  Phryganldae]  In  which  a  ventral  primitive  streak  Is  developed,  neither 
do  the  amnion  nor  visceral  membrane  form  a  capsule  surrounding  the  con- 
tents of  the  egg.  The  amnion  Is  intimately  connected  with  the  cephalic 
portion  of  the  embryo  as  also  with  the  visceral  membrane.  This  latter 
Is  connected  only  with  the  abdominal  part  of  the  primitive  streak,  and 
the  edges  of  the  side,  i.  e.  the  continuation  of  the  amnion.  In  opposition 
to  those  above-mentioned  Insects  which  have  a  ventral  primitive  streak, 
In  the  lice  the  visceral  membrane  and  amnion  share  In  building  up  the 
body  of  the  embryo  while  they  pass  upon  the  dorsal  side  of  the  embryo. 

It  appears  from  these  facts  that  the  differences  which  we  see  in  the  em- 
bryonal membranes  of  Insects,  are  Indirect  relation  to  the  mode  In  which 
the  primitive  streak  Is  formed.  It  seems,  therefore,  that  the  mode  of 
origin  of  the  primitive  streak,  or  Its  position  In  relation  to  the  yolk  \a 
concerned  In  the  above-mentioned  differences  of  the  embryonal  mem- 
branes.* 

*  Melnikow  does  not  consider,  as  his  fellow  countryman,  Metznikow,  does,  that  the 
embryonal  membranes  of  insects  are  homologous  with  those  of  vertebrates.  He  says. 
"  the  mode  of  origin  in  all  vertebrates  is  the  Same.  The  formation  of  the  visceral 
membrane  and  amnion  of  insects  varies  in  different  groups,  with  different  modes  of 
formation  of  the  primitive  streak.  The  embryonal  membranes  of  vertebrates  have  a 
certain  relation  to  the  allantols,  but  the  embryonal  membranes  of  insects  are  corre- 
lated .to  the  peculiar  embryo  of  these  animals.  The  reciprocal  relations  of  the  embry- 
onal membranes;  their  relation  to  the  whole  egg  and  embryo  are  the  same  in  all  vert^ 
brates ;  but  in  insects  differences  arise,  which  become  noticeable  in  the  position  of  the 
primitive  streak  in  relation  to  the  yolk.  Finally,  these  embryonal  membranes  in  aU 
vertebrates  are  provisional,  but  in  insects  this  is  not  the  case.  They  are  provisional 
only  in  those  which  have  a  ventral  primitive  streak,''  (Melnikow).  We  see,  therefore, 
that  Immediately  after  the  fertilization  of  the  egg.  great  and  radical  differences  exist 
between  the  eggs  of  vertebrates  and  articulates,  and  even  between  different  groups  of 
the  latter.  Those  who  in  popular  lectures  and  books  make  the  sensational  statement  that 


CEBTAIN   FARAemC   INSBCTa.  91 

Agiuu,  looking  at  the  louse's  egg  &ud  ita  genu  (Fig-  17) 
we  Bee  the  amuion  (am)  siuToundlng  the  yolk  mass,  and  the 
visceral  membrane  (db)  within,  partially  wruppiug  the  rude 
form  of  the  embryo  in  its  folds.  The  head  (vk)  of  the  em- 
bryo is  now  directed  towards  the  end  of  the  egg  on  which 
the  hairs  are  situated ;  afterwards  the  embryo  revolves  on  its 
axis  and  the  head  lies  next  to  the  opposite  end  of  the  egg. 
Our  embryo  previous  to  this  important  change  of  position 
may  be  compared  with  the  embryo  of  the  dragon  fly  (Figs. 

Fig.  IB.  Fig.  IB. 


EmbiTO  nf  (he  Drsgon-ll]',   Mt 
"riK.  I»,  i™'ir^iew  of  the  um«. 

18, 19).  Eight  tubercles  bud  out  from  the  under  side  of  the 
head,  of  which  the  foremost  and  longest  are  the  antennte  {as) , 
those  succeeding  are. the  mandibles,  maxillie,  and  second 
maxillee,  or  labium.  Behind  them  arise  six  long,  slender 
tubercles  forming  the  legs,  and  the  primitive  streak  rudely 
marks  the  lower  wall  of  the  thorax  and  abdomen,  not  yet 
formed.  Figure  20  represents  the  head  and  mouth  parts  of 
the  embryo  of  the  same  louse  ;  vk  is  the  forehead,  or  clypeus ; 
arU,  the  antennfe ;  mad,  the  mandibles ;  max',  the  first  pair 

■t  Brat  the  cgs*  of  bU  anlmsli.ngirell  ■■  thi  early  Blades  of  tlie  embryo,  are  alike,  hnve 
not  regarded  tbe  Important  dlfferencee  preaented  at  tbe  first  sketching  ant  of  ttae  em- 
bryo, Tbe  groat  dlini«Dcea  between  Lhe  two  broDCheB  of  vertebrateB  and  artlcnlalea 
ariae  betare  the  moat  rudlmentacy  fbrm  of  ttae  embryo  la  Indlotited ;  Indeed  It  niay  be 
■aid  with  truth,  at  tbe  Qmt  beglnnlngB  of  lUie,  Those  also  nho  Indulge  in  glittering 
genBrelltioB  regarding  (be  Identity  In  tbe  etroctDre  of  the  enta  of  animals,  and  tbe  ptt»- 
toplaamic  matter  of  which  they  are  oompoaeO,  should  also  take  Into  account  tberatUcal 
dlSerencea  of  the  mode  of  action  of  this  proto|ilaam  ((.  e.  eg(M»iitenta.  yolk  and  albn- 
nwn)  In  the  eggs  of  vertebialea  and  tnaocta  at  the  dawn  of  life,  whether  they  be  due  to 
the  ■' vital  force,"  or  to  aome  chemical  force  coneerred  and  metamorpboaed  Into  a 
li(lB.giTlDg  power. 


92 


OEBTAIN   PARASITIC  INSECrrs. 


of  maxillffi  and  max*,  the  second  pair  of  maxillae,  or  labium. 
At  this  time  the  embryo  may  be  compared  with  that  of  the 
dragon  fly  of  the  Bame  period  of  growth  (Fig.  24  c,  clypeiis ; 
1,  aatennee;  2,  mandibles;  3,  maxillse ;  4,  labium;  5,  6,  7, 
legs.)  We  see  that  the  mouth  parts  of  the  louae,  so  unlike 
those  of  other  adult  insects,  are  originally  similar  to  them. 
Figure  2 1  represents  the  mouth  parts  of  the  same  insect  a 


little  farther  advanced,  with  the  jaws  and  labium  elongated 
and  closely  folded  together.  Figui-e  22  represents  the  same 
still  farther  advanced;  the  mandibles  {mad)  arc  sharp,  and 
resemble  the  jaws  of  the  Mallophaga ;  and  the  maxitlte 
(max^)  and  labium  (maic')  are  still  large,  while  afterwards 
the  labium  becomes  nearly  obsolete.  Figure  23  represents 
tho  mouth  parts  of  a  bird  louse,  Oouiodes;  lb,  is  the  upper 


CEETAIN   PABASmC   INSECTS. 


93 


lip,  or  labnim,  lying  under  the  clypeus  ;  mad,  the  mandibles ; 
max,  the  maxillie ;  /,  the  lyre-formed  piece  ;  pi,  the  "plate," 
and  V,  the  beak  or  tongue.  (This,  and  Figs.  20,  21,  22,  are 
from  Melnikow). 

We  will  now  describe  some  of  the  common  species  of  lice 
■found  on  a  few  of  our  domestic  animals,  and  the  mallopho^ 
gous  parasites  occurring  on  certain  ^         ^  ^ 

mammals  and  birds.  The  family 
Pediculiiia,   or   true   lice,  is  higher 

than  the  bird  lice,  their  mouth  parts,  . 

as  well  as  the  structure  of  the  head, 
resembling  the  true  Hcmiptera,  es- 
pecially the  bed  bug.  The  clypeus, 
or  front  of  the  head,  is  much  smaller  '  *      *      tie 

than  in  the  bird  lice,  the  latter  retaining  the  enlai^d  fore- 
head of  the  embiyo,  it  being  in  some  species  half  as  large  as 
the  rest  of  the  bead. 

All  of  our  domestic  mammals  and  birds  are  plagued  by 
one    or  more   species  of  lice.      Figure  25  represents  the 
Hcemataptnus  vituli   (Linn.),   which  is 
brownish  in  color.     As  the  specimen  fig- 
ured came   trom  the   Burnett  collection 
of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History, 
together  with  those  of  the  goat  louse, 
)  the  louse  of  the  common  fowl,  and  of 
'  the  cat,  they  are  undoubtedly  naturalized 
here ;  the  other  specimens  were  collected 
by  Mr.  C.  Oooke,  and  are  in  the  Museum 
of  the  Peabody  Academy  of  Science. 

The  remaining  parasites  belong  to  the 
akin-biting  lice,  or  Mallophaga,  and  I 
will  speak  of  the  several  genera  referred 
to  here  in  their  natural  order,  beginning  with  the  highest  one 
and  that  which  is  nearest  allied  to  Pediculus.  The  species 
of  Docophoma.  figured  on  PI.  I,  fig.  3,  appears  to  be  unde- 
scribed,  and  may  be  called  D.  buleonis.     It  lives  beneath  the 


FIs.U. 


Loufl  olCow, 


94  CEEiTAiy  PABAsrnc  iwsectb. 

feathers  of  the  Eed-ehouldered  Hawk.  It  is  honey-yellow, 
and  the  abdomen  U  whitish,  with  triangulur  chitiuouB  plates 
on  each  segment,  the  two  on  the  segment  next  to  the  last 
forming  a  continuous  band.  The  head  is  longer  than  broad, 
with  the  trabeculfe  {or  movable  homy  process  just  in  front 
of  the  antennie),  as  long  as  the  two  basal  joints  of  the  anten-' 
niB,  and  extending  to  the  middle  of  the  second  joint;  the 
basal  joint  of  the  antennie  is  rather  thick,  and  the  second 
joint  is  as  long  as  the  two  terminal  ones. 

Another  species  (Docophorus  hamatua  n.  sp.,  PI.  I,  fig,  1), 
taken  from  the  Snow  Bunting  ( Plectrophanes  nivalis')  by 
Mr.  C.  A.  Walker,  Feb.  10,  18G!),  is  white  and  has  a  large 
triangular  head,  with  a  very  narrow 
prothorax,  not  much  more  than  one- 
half  as  wide  as  the  head ;  the  abdo- 
men is  rounded  oval,  while  tlic  trabe- 
culfe are  very  long  and  hooked. 

An  undescribed  species  of  Nirmus 
(JT.  tkoracicus,  PI.  I,  fig.  5)  found  on 
the  Snow  Bunting,  is  a  large  white 
'  form  with  the  prothorax  remarkably 
large,  and  but  slightly  narrower  than 
the  head,  which  is  triangular.    A  nar- 
row dark  line  extends  along  each  side 
Loom  of       eitti  owl.       ^^  ^^  head  and  body.     The  trabe- 
culse  are  large,  placed  near  the  front  of  the  head,  and  the 
antennee  in  our  specimens  appear  to  he  remarkably  short, 
being  only  one-half  as  large  as  the  trabeculse  and  not  reaching 
to  the  outer  edge  of  the  head.     The  abdomen  is  long,  ovate. 
The  common  barn-yard  fowl  is  infested  by  a  louse  that  we 
may  call  Goniocoiea  Bumettii  (Fig.  27),  in  honor  of  the  late 
Dr.  W.  I.  Burnett,  a  young  and  talented  naturalist  and  phys- 
iologist, who  paid  more  attention  than  any  one  else  in  this 
country  to  the  study  of  these  parasites,  and  made  a  large 
collection  of  them,  now  in  the  museum  of  the  Boston  Society 
of  Natural   History.     It  differs  from  the  O.  hohffaater  of 


CEBTAIN   PARASmO   INSECTS.  95 

Europe,  which  lives  on  the  same  bird,  in  the  short  second 
joint  of  the  antennae,  which  are  also  stouter;  and  in  the 
long  head,  the  clypeus  being  much  longer  and  more  acutely 
rounded ;  while  the  head  is  less  hollowed  out  at  the  insertion 
of  the  antennffi.  The  abdomen  is  oval,  and  one-half  as  wide 
as  long,  with  transverse,  broad,  irregular  bands  along  the 
edges  of  the  segments.  The  mandibles  are  short'  and  straight, 
two  toothed.  The  body  is  slightly  yellowish,  and  variously 
streaked  and  banded  with  pitchy  black. 

Of  three  species  of  Lipeurus,  figured  on  the  plate,  fig.  2 
represents  a  male  of  the  louse  of  a  crow,  L.  corvi^  a  new  spe- 
cies. Its  body  is  unusually  broad,  and  is  white,  with  pitchy 
black  lines  along  the  side  of  the  head  and  thorax,  a  row  of 
small  blackish  oval  spots  along  the  abdomen,  and  a  pair  of 
narrow  black  bands  on  each  thoracic  ring.  The  head  is 
broad  and  triangular,  with  large,  curved,  long  trabeculsd,  and 
a  prominence  just  behind  the  antennsB.  The  latter  are  slen- 
der and  simple,  with  the  two  basal  joints  moderately  large, 
and  of  equal  size  and  length ;  the  three  terminal  ones  are 
slenderer ;  the  third  and  fifth  are  of  nearly  the  same  length ; 
the  fourth  is  shorter,  and  the  fifth  ends  in  a  rather  sharp 
point.  The  mandibles  are  slender,  acute,  and  much  ciu^ed. 
The  legs  are  rather  stout,  with  two  very  small  claws,  and  a 
small  thumb-like  tubercle  opposed  to  them. 

Another  species  (L.  elongatus^  n.  sp.,  PI.  I,  fig.  4,  9  ) 
is  allied  to  the  L.  baculus  and  squalidus  of  Europe.  It  is 
white,  with  pitchy  black  patches  along  the  sides  of  the  abdo- 
men, and  at  the  base  of  the  legs.  The  head  is  pitchy  black 
along  each  side.  The  two  basal  joints  of  the  antennsB  are 
of  the  same  length;  the  third  joint  is  a  little  larger  and 
longer  than  the  fourth,  while  the  fifth  is  a  third  longer  than 
the  fourth,  and  is  barrel-shaped.  The  third  species  (X.  gra- 
cilis^ n.  sp.,  PI.  I,  fig.  6,  ^)  has  a  longer  and  narrower  head 
with  the  clypeus  more  expanded  and  larger,  and  the  edge 
of  the  body  is  dark,  but  the  band  is  not  so  wide  as  in  L. 
dongatus.    There  are  two  conical  trabeculee,  and  the  antennse 


96 


CERTAIN  PARASITIC   INSECTS. 


Fig.  27. 


are  as  long  as  the  head  is  broad  at  the  place  of  their  inser- 
tioii ;  the  second  joint  is  much  longer  than  the  first ;  the  third 
and  fourth  are  together  as  long  as  the  second,  while  the  fifth 
is  a  quarter  longer  than  the  fourth  joint.  The  mandibles  are 
narrow,  acute,  with  two  unequal  fine  teeth. 

To  the  genus   Trichodectes   belongs  the  T.  mbrostratus 
Nitzsch?  (Fig.  27)  identified  by  Dr.  Burnett  as  probably 

the  same  as  the  European  species.  It  is  a 
parasite  of  the  common  cat.  The  front  of 
the  rather  square  head  is  elongated  trian- 
gularly, with  the  apex  ending  in  two  acute 
spines  on  the  under  side  of  the  head.  The 
antennsB  are  three-jointed,  with  the  middle 
joint  a  little  longer  than  the  last.  The 
abdomen  is  oval,  and  the  animal  is  whitish, 
with  the  head  and  thorax  pale  honey- 
yellow.  The  other  species  lives  on  the 
goat ;  it  seems  to  be  undescribed,  and  may 
be  called  the  Trichodectes  caproR  (Fig.  28)  ; 
it  is  closely  allied  to  T.  longicomis  of 
Europe,  but  the  head  is  not  hollowed  so  much  m  front  and  is 
rather  broader,  while  the  third  joint  of  Fig.  as. 

the  antennaa  is  more  slender  than  in  that 
species.  It  is  reddish  yellow,  while  the 
abdomen  is  edged  with  red,  and  is  barred 
transversely  with  reddish  brown. 

The    Saddle-back    Gull    (Larus    ma- 
rinus)    is    infested    by   an    undescribed 
species  of  louse  which  we  may  call  CoU 
pocephalum  lari,  PI.  I,  fig.  1.    It  is  dark 
brown  and  oval  in  form,  with  the  head 
deeply  indented  in  the  middle ;  the  an- 
terior lobe,  or  clypeus  (made  too  small       ^^^of^^^onnt 
in  the  figure),  is  twice  as  broad  as  long,  with  the  basal  half 
of  che  head  a  little  wider  than  the  head  is  long.     The  slen- 
der filiform  antennse  are  three-jointed,  the  last  joint  some-^ 


Loom  of  the  Cat. 


CERTAIN  PARASITIC   INSECTS.  97 

what  pointed.  The  third  segment  of  the  thorax  is  as  wide 
as  the  head,  and  the  legs  are  thick,  the  femom  being  broad. 
It  is  allied  to  (7.  piceum  Denny,  which  in  Europe  lives  on 
the  Sandwich  Tern. 

The  most  degraded  genus  is  Gyropus,  of  which  Mr.  C. 
Cook  has  found  G.  ovalis  of  Europe  abundant  on  the  Guinea 
pig.  A  species  is  also  found  on  the  porpoise ;  an  interesting 
fact,  as  this  is  the  only  insect  we  know  of  tiiat  lives  parasit- 
ically  on  any  marine  animal. 

The  genus  Goniodes  is  of  great  interest  from  a  morpho- 
logical and  developmental  point  of  view,  as  the  antennas  are 
described  and  figured  by  Denny  as  being  ''in  Fig.a». 
the  males  cheliform  (Fig.  29,  a,  male;  6,  fe- 
male) ;  the  first  joint  being  very  large  and 
thick,  the  third  considerably  smaller,  recurved 
towards  the  first,  and  forming  a  claw,  the 
fourth  and  fifth  very  small,  arising  from  the 
back  of  the  third."  He  farther  remarks,  ''the 
males  of  this  [  G.  atylifery  which  lives  on  the 
Turkey]  and  all  the  other  species  of  Goniodes, 
use  the  first  and  third  joints  of  the  antennae 
with  great  facility,  acting  the  part  of  a  finger 
and  thumb*'  (Denny's  Monographia  Anoplu-  Antemi»ofGoniode«. 
rorum  Britannice,  1842,  p.  155  and  157).  The  antennae  of 
the  females  are  of  the  ordinary  form.  This  hand-like  struc- 
ture, is  so  far  as  we  know,  without  a  parallel  among  insects, 
the  antennae  of  the  Hemiptera  being  uniformly  filiform,*  and 
from  two  to  nine-jointed.  The  design  of  this  structure  is 
probably  to  enable  the  male  to  grasp  its  consort  and  also 
perhaps  to  cling  to  the  feathers  and  hairs,  and  thus  give  it  a 
superiority  over  the  weaker  sex  in  its  advances  during  court- 
ship. Why  is  this  advantage  possessed  by  the  males  of  this 
genus  alone  ?  The  world  of  insects,  and  of  animals  generally 
abounds  in  such  instances,  though  existing  in  other  organs, 

*  Except  in  Banatra  and  Belostoma  where  they  are  disposed  to  be  flabellate,  f  .4l 
mdely  pectinated  on  one  side. 

AMRR.  KATURAU8T,   VOT..  IV.  18 


98  CERTAIN  VASASSTIQ  INSECTS. 

and  the  developmentist  dimly  perceives  in  such  departures 
from  a  normal  type  of  structure,  the  origin  of  new  generic 
forms,  whether  due  at  first  to  a  "sport"  or  accidental  varia- 
tion, or,  as  in  this  instance  perhaps,  to  long  use  as  prehensile 
organs  through  successive  generations  of  lice  having  the 
antennae  slightly  diverging  from  the  typical  condition,  until 
the  present  form  has  been  developed.  Another  generation 
of  naturalists  will  perhaps  unanimously  agree  that  the  Cre- 
ator has  thus  worked  through  secondary  laws  which  many  of 
the  naturalists  of  the  present  day  are  endeavoring,  in  a  truly 
scientific  and  honest  spirit  of  inquiry,  to  discover. 

In  their  claw  or  leg-like  form  these  male  antennsd  also 
repeat  in  the  head,  the  general  form  of  the  legs,  whose  pre- 
hensile and  grasping  functions  they  assume.  We  have  seen 
above  that  the  appendages  of  the  head  and  thorax  are  alike 
in  the  embryo,  and  the  present  case  is  an  interesting  example 
of  the  unity  of  type  of  the  jointed  appendages  of  insects, 
and  articulates  generally. 

Another  point  of  interest  in  these  degraded  insects  is, 
that  the  process  of  degradation  begins  either  late  in  the  life 
of  the  embryo  or  during  the  changes  from  the  larval  to  the 
adult,  or  winged  state.  An  instance  of  the  latter  may  be 
observed  in  the  wingless  female  of  the  canker  worm,  so  dif- 
ferent from  the  winged  volant  male ;  this  difference  is  created 
after  the  larval  stage,  for  the  caterpillars  of  both  sexes  are 
the  same,  so  far  as  we  know.  So  with  numerous  other  ex- 
amples among  the  moths.  In  the  louse,  the  embryo,  late  in 
its  life,  resembles  the  embryos  of  other  insects,  even  Corixa, 
a  member  of  a  not  remotely  allied  family.  But  just  before 
hatching  the  insect  assumes  its  degraded  louse  physiognomy. 
The  developmentist  would  say  that  this  process  of  degrada- 
tion points  to  causes  acting  upon  the  insect  just  before  or 
immediately  after  birth,  inducing  the  retrogression  and 
retardation  of  development,  and  would  consider  it  as  an 
argument  for  the  evolution  of  specific  forms  by  causes  act- 
ing on  the  animal  while  battling  with  its  fellows  in  the 


I 


FBESH-WATEB  FISHES  OF  NEW  JERSEY.  99 

struggle  for  existence,  and  perhaps  consider  that  the  meta- 
D3orpho9es  of  the  animal  within  the  egg  are  due  to  a  reflex 
action  of  the  modes  of  life  of  the  ancestors  o^  the  animal  on 
the  embryos  of  its  descendants. 

EXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  1. 

Fig.  1.  Colpocephalum  laH  Pack,    la,  antenna.    The  short  line  by  the  side 

gives  the  length  of  the  insect. 
Fig.  2.  Lipeunts  corvi  Paclc.    2a,  antenna.    . 

**  8.  Docophorua  buteonis  Pack.    Sa,  antenna, 

"  4.  lApeurus  elongatua  Pack.    4a,  antenna. 

*'  5.  NirmuB  thoradcus  Pack. 

"  6.  LipeuruB  gracilis  Pack. 

*'  7.  Doeophorus  hamatua  Pack. 


NOTES  ON  FRESH-WATER  FISHES  OF  NEW  JERSEY. 

BT  GHARLBS  C.  ABBOTT,  X.  9. 

The  character  of  the  Delaware  River,  in  the  vicinity  ot  • 
Trenton,  New  Jersey,  the  head  of  navigation,  is  quite  varied ; 
the  bed  is  stony,  with  scattered  large  rocks  above  the  rapids, 
and  sandy,  with  some  vegetation  below  the  falls ;  the  current 
is  swift  to  the  rapids,  but  less  so,  being  tide  water,  below 
them ;  these  conditions,  with  that  of  the  varied  character  of 
the  tributaries  at  and  near  Trenton,  make  it  an  excellent 
point  at  which  to  examine  the  ichthyology  of  this  river  basin. 
This  has  been  done  partly  by  those  who  have  received  col- 
lections therefrom ;  but  there  is  nothing  in  the  publications 
of  their  studies  giving  any  knowledge  of  the  habits  of 
these  fish,  but  simply  the  fact  of  their  presence  in  tliese 
waters. 

The  ichthyic  fanna  is  quite  large,  as  some  streams  are  cold 
and  swift,  that  until  lately  harbored  trout;  and  other 
streams,  sluggish  and  thick,  that  are  paradisiacal  to  the  mud- 
fish {Mdanura)^  and  the  sucker  (Hylomyzon). 


100  FRESH-WATEB  FISHES  OF  NEW  JERSEY. 

In  the  present  paper  we  propose  not  only  to  mention  the 
results  of  the  study  of  the  habits  of  the  species  particular- 
ized, but  to  refer  also  to  observations  we  have  made,  that 
apply  to  the  fishes  of  these  waters  as  a  class,  rather  than  to 
any  single  species.  These  observations  we  will  give  first, 
and  then  notice  separately  the  more  interesting  species,  in 
conclusion. 

We  would  first  call  attention  to  alterations  in  circum" 
scribed  faunxB.  These  changes  are  what  have  occurred  lately 
in  the  small  brooks,  either  emptying  into  the  river  directly, 
or  tributary  to  the  two  large  creeks,  the  Assunpink,  and 
Crosswicks.  We  give  only  such  instances  as  have  occurred 
under  our  own  notice.  In  the  month  of  June,  1867,  we 
fished  the  entire  length  of  a  never  failing  spring-brook,  re- 
markable always  for  the  number  of  specimens,  if  not  of 
species.  The  fauna  consisted,  as  usual,  of  chubs  {Semotilus 
rhotheus  and  8>  corporalis)  ;  dace  (Argyreus  atronasus),  and 
minnows  {I^undulus  muUifasciatus) .  The  abundance  of  these 
species  was  relatively  as  named.  During  the  first  week  of 
July  following,  a  heavy,  sudden  fall  of  rain  caused  a  consid- 
erable rise  in  the  brook,  and  the  extra  bulk  of  water  rushing 
over  the  narrow  bed,  altered  the  character  of  the  brook  so 
slightly,  that  it  attracted  no  notice  from  those  accustomed  to 
seeing  it  daily.  On  the  subsidence  of  the  water,  no  cypri- 
noids,  or  in  fact  other  fish,  could  be  found,  although  we  lefb 
hundreds  in  the  stream.  A  week  later  we  found  a  few 
roach  (Stilbe  Americana)  ;  they  were  never  seen  by  us  pre- 
viously, in  this  stream,  and  still  later,  young  mullet  (MoxoS' 
toma  oblongum).  No  chub  have  since  been  seen  in  this  brook, 
which  during  the  summer  past  (1869),  was  well  tenanted 
with  the  species  substituted  in  1867,  for  them.  During  the 
last  summer  a  few  red-fins  {Hypsilepis  comuius),  and  shiner 
{Hypsilepis  Kentuckiensis) ,  made  their  appearance.  In  a 
similar  instance,  happening  in  1868,  a  familiar  creek,  teem- 
ing with  cyprinoids,  but  with  representatives  of  no  other 
family,  was  found  after  a  freshet  to  have  lost  a  large  number 


FRE8H-WAT£B  FISHES   OF  NEW  JERSEY.  101 

of  its  species,  and  those  remaining,  repi-esented  by  but  few 
individuals ;  while  percoids,  heretofore  wanting,  appeared  in 
the  shape  of  Banded  Sunfish  {Bryttua  chcelodon)  ^  and  Spot- 
ted-finned Sunfish  (B.  pundatus)  ;  also  a  few  specimens  of 
the  Pirate  (Aphrodedeitts  Sayanus)  were  met  with. 

A  third  instance  of  alteration  in  the  fauna,  with  no  change 
in  the  bulk  of  water,  occurred  in  the  Shabbaconk  Creek,  a 
creek  flowing  into  the  Assunpiuk,  which  latter  is  dammed 
at  its  mouth,  effectually  preventing  fish,  leaving  this  creek, 
from  returning  to  it.  In  this  instance,  the  Aphrodederus 
Sayanus^  which,  for  several  seasons  previous  to  1867,  had 
been  abundant,  suddenly  disappeared.  We  have  searched 
for  them  repeatedly  since,  but  never  have  taken  a  single 
specimen.  In  the  Assuupink  Creek,  where  these  ^'pirates'* 
it  would  seem  must  have  gone  to,  we  have  also  carefully 
searched,  but  its  extensive  basin  has  not  yet  furnished  a 
single  specimen. 

Such  experiences  of  one  familiar  with  these  waters  for  fif-" 
teen  years,  explain  why  it  is  that  different  visitors  in  a  few 
years  examination  of  a  stream  or  neighborhood,  will  in  their 
reports  differ  considerably.  One's  own  notes  may  be  very 
inconsistent,  on  comparing  those  of  any  year  with  that  o£  the 
preceding  or  following  season.  £ven  to  the  smaller  cypri- 
noids,  that  are,  we  would  suppose  indisposed,  if  able,  to 
migrate,  we  have  applied  the  terms  •'abundant,**  '•rare," 
••numerous,"  ••scarce,"  at  different  times.  More  frequently 
these  contradictory  ••remarks"  were  jotted  down  with  ref- 
erence to  the  occupants  of  small  streams,  but  not  altogether 
so.  It  is  our  custom  now  to  look  upon  the  contents  of 
any  one  stream  as  but  very  imperfectly  showing  the  fauna 
of  that  neighborhood,  for  two  water-coui*ses  similar  in  all 
respects  to  the  eye,  may  have  no  species  common  to  each, 
although  but  two  or  three  miles  distant.  In  concluding 
what  we  have  to  say  under  this  head  —  of  changes  in 
faunsB — we  would  call  attention  to  our  experience  in  find- 
ing ourselves  apparently  or  really  in  error.      Frequently 


102  FBESH-WATEB  FISHES  OF  NEW  JEBSET. 

we  have  failed  to  produce  for  visitors  what  we  claimed 
in  publications  as  easily  obtainable ;  so  we  have  been  forced 
to  the  conclusion  that  only  a  series  of  examinations,  cov- 
ering three  or  four  years,  will  waiTant  one  in  asserting 
positively i  that  this  or  that  species  is  a  denizen  of  such  and 
such  waters.  An  instance  of  this  presents  itself  forcibly 
now  in  the  fact  that  during  the  past  summer  a  few  speci- 
mens  of  Pomoxia  hexacanthus  were  caught  m  the  Delaware 
River.  They  were  not  caught  here  before  1869,  and  fnay 
not  be  here  during  the  coming  summer.  Through  canals  a 
few  specimens  might  have  strayed  into  the  Delaware,  or  it 
may  be  they  were  the  pioneers  of  the  species  hereafter  be- 
come resident,  but  the  fact,  as  it  now  stands,  goes  for  noth- 
ing in  deciding  the  geographical  range  of  that  species. 

Recently  discovered  tpecies.  Professor  S.  F.  Baird,  during 
the  summer  of  1854,  discovered,  in  New  Jersey,  three  fresh- 
water percoids,  the  Banded  Suufish  {Bryttus  chcetodon)  ^  the 
Spotted  Olive  Sunfish  (Bryttus  obesus)  ^  and  the  Mud  Sunfish 
{AiTibloplites  pomotis) .  Sometime  later  Dr.  Cheston  Morris 
discovered  in  the  Delaware,  near  Philadelphia,  the  Pomotia 
{Bryttus)  punctatuSj  which  we  now  believe  to  be  distinct 
from  B.  obesus.  With  reference  to  the  three  latter  species, 
we  have  only  to  say  that  their  dull  coloring  and  general  sim- 
ilarity to  other  species  may  have  caused  them  to  be  over- 
looked ;  but  we  very  much  question  if  they  were  any  way 
near  as  abundant  before  detected  by  Baird  and  Morris,  as 
they  now  are.  With  the  Bryttus  chcetodon  the  case  is  dif- 
ferent. A  year  later  than  the  date  of  Baird's  discovery  of 
this  species,  in  Atlantic  County,  it  appeared  sparingly  in 
Watson's  Creek  (Mercer  County),  a  tributary  of  the  Dela- 
ware. Since  then  it  has  been  crowding  out  the  old  time 
'* Sunny"  (Pomotis  aureus) ,  although  never  reaching  over 
one-third  the  size  of  that  sunfish. 

This  fish  (J5.  chcetodon)^  considering  its  clear  silvery  and 
jet  black  markings  could  never  have  been  overlooked. 
Wherever  it  was  previously  to  1855  it  then  became  an  addi- 


FRESH-WATER  FISHES   OF  NEW  JERflET.  103 

tioQ  to  the  fauna  of  Mercer  County,  and  of  New  Jersey,  about 
the  time  of  its  discovery  by  Baird  we  believe.  Few  in 
numbers  at  first,  it  has  steadily  multiplied  until  now  it  is 
fully  as  common  in  a  few  streams  as  the  JP.  aureus  is  in 
many  others. 

To  pass  now  from  quiet  shady  waters  to  the  rapid  hill-side 
brooks,  let  us  discuss  the  active  little  cyprinoid,  called,  by 
Girard,  Oj/prinella  analostana^  and  shown  by  Professor  Cope 
to  be  the  Hypsilepis  analostanua.  This  little  fish,  we  know, 
was  not  a  common  species,  we  doubt  if  it  was  an  inhabitant 
of  our  waters  at  all  twelve  years  ago ;  and  now  four-fifths  of 
the  streams,  besides  the  shallow  rapid  waters  above  the  falls 
in  the  river,  are  literally  full  of  them.  Discovered  by  Kirt- 
land  in  1845,  in  the  Ohio,  did  they  work  their  way  from 
there  to  here,  or  how  became  they  so  abundant  in  New  Jer- 
sey, we  might  say,  suddenly?  If  they  were  throughout  the 
past  century,  say,  a  resident  of  our  waters,  with  so  few  indi- 
viduals of  their  species  in  existence  as  to  escape  detection 
or  to  be  confounded  with  others,  what  caused  their  numbers 
so  suddenly  to  increase,  that  now  they  are  taking  the  place 
of  the  old-fashioned  Red-fin  {Hypailepis  comutus)  ? 

In  the  absence  of  any  facts  to  the  contrary  we  have 
jumped  at  the  conclusion,  that  these  *'newer  species^  were 
to  U8^  "newer  creations."  If  created  of  old  then  some  un- 
detected alterations  in  our  waters  must  be  going  on  that 
some  few  years  since  gave  them  an  impregnable  advantage 
in  the  struggle  for  existence,  and  which  will  give  other  spe- 
cies now  overlooked,  ultimately,  a  similar  advantage.  Grant- 
ing this  why  do  we  not  come  across  the  few  specimens  that 
are  now  merely  preserving  their  kind  until  the  favorable 
moment  arrives  for  their  assuming  a  multitudinous  existence? 
As  far  as  we  know  the  "rare"  species  of  the  present  have 
somewhere  localities  where  they  are  abundant,  and  those 
with  us  are  those  that  are  "pioneering,"  and  are  always  in 
direct  communication  with  the  river  basin  where  the  mass  of 
their  species  dwell. 


104  FR£6H*WAT£B  FI8HB8  OF  NEW  JERSET. 

Habits  of  fresh'Water  fish.  We  have  never  met  with  any 
elaborate  treatise  upon  this  subject ;  and  have  been  surprised 
that  it  should  be  so  little  referred  to  by  those  who  have  so 
carefully  described  the  fish  themselves,  unless  it  is  that 
the  describer  has  not  generally  been  the  collector.  ^* Clear 
water,"  "muddy  streams,"  "rapid  creeks,"  "sluggish  brooks," 
and  such  phrases  cover  the  whole  ground,  frequently,  of  the 
habits  of  the  species,  unless  like  the  stickle-backs  they  do 
something  so  marked  that  it  cannot  well  be  overlooked.  The 
introduction  of  aquaria  has  not  done  much  to  elucidate  the 
subject,  in  consequence  of  the  meagre  dimensions  of  the 
tanks  and  carelessness  to  imitate  nature.  To  what  we  pro- 
pose to  refer  now,  more  particularly,  is  that  the  habits  of 
the  same  fish  vary  much  in  accordance  with  their  surround- 
ingSj  and  that  the  various  species  are  not  as  confined  to 
certain  kinds  of  streams  as  is  usually  supposed. 

We  make  these  two  statements  after  a  careful  resume 
of  our  many  notes,  giving  them  as  the  result  of  eleven 
years  study  of  the  habits  of  the  forty-nine  species,  that 
are  found  in  the  Delaware  River  or  its  tributaries,  within 
five  miles  of  Trenton,  in  one  direction  or  another.  Take 
the  ten  percoids  as  an  example.  We  have  found  them  in 
every  variety  of  water  the  neighborhood  produced,  even  to 
the  little  rivulets,  where  young  Pomotes  and  Brytti  hovered 
behind  rocks,  in  the  stiller  water,  but  dashed  up  stream  on 
being  disturbed.  Now  these  "sun-fish"  as  a  class,  are  deni- 
zens of  still  water ;  but  the  exceptions  are  not  so  few,  as  to 
be  put  uuder  the  head  of  "merely  accidental."  In  sluggish, 
gloomy  water,  we  have  found  many  a  school  of  White-perch 
(^Morone  Americana) ,  that  had  but  to  swim  a  thousand  yards 
to  join  their  fellows  in  the  swift  waters  of  the  river  and  like 
them  prey  upon  the  cyprinoids  there  abundant,  but  scarce 
in  the  muddy,  quiet  creek  we  mentioned.  Often  when  fish- 
in^:  for  pout  and  the  larger  Pike  {Esox  reticulatus)  ^  we  have 
foun<l  these  schools  of  White-perch,  occasionally  having  the 
Rock-fish  {^lioccus  lineatus)  associated  with  them. 


FRE8H-WATEB  FISHB8  OF  NEW  JEB8ET.  105 

The  Aphrodederua  8ayanu8^  once  abundant  in  a  clear 
pebbly-bedded  creek »  is  now  occasionally  found  in  deep 
waters  with  little  currents »  where  the  banks  overhang  suffi- 
ciently to  give  them  a  safe  retreat. 

The  Bill-fish  {Bdone  longirontHs)  ^  is  not  sufficiently  abund- 
ant in  the  river,  to  give  one  good  opportunities  of  thoroughly 
studying  it.  During  the  summer,  or  autumn,  numbers  of 
them  occasionally  enter  the  Delaware  and  Eariton  Canal  at 
Bordentown,  New  Jersey,  and  thence  come  into  the  canal 
basins.  When  the  water  is  let  out  of  the  canal  in  De- 
cember these  fish  are  sometimes  caught  in  the  basins  which 
are  a  little  deeper  than  the  canal.  In  these  puddles,  if  not 
discovered  by  boys,  they  will  remain  during  the  winter,  half 
buried  in  the  mud,  and  semi-torpid.  On  the  opening  of 
navigation  in  March  they  seem  to  be  wholly  revivified,  and 
frequent  this  artificial  water-course  during  much  of  the  sum- 
mer, but  finally  disappear.  An  accident  brings  them,  but 
they  adapt  themselves  to  the  surroundings,  as  their  remain- 
ing during  the  summer  shows.  Occasionally  seeing  quanti- 
ties of  young  about  two  inches  long  seems  to  show  that  they 
spawned  in  the  canal.  The  common  Barred  Minnows,  JP\in- 
dulua  muUifa8ciatu8,  have  occasionally  been  seen  by  the  author 
in  spring-basins,  at  a  considerable  elevation  from  the  brook 
into  which  its  waters  emptied.  How  they  got  there  was  a 
question  it  was  found  difficult  to  answer.  To  pass  from  the 
brook  to  the  spring  head  it  was  necessary  to  pass  up  little 
perpendicular  falls  of  twelve  and  fifteen  inches.  Within  a 
short  time  we  came  across  a  large  number  in  a  little  pool 
about  a  yard  in  diameter,  fed  by  a  full  of  just  thirteen  inches, 
and  very  nearly  perpendicular.  With  a  sudden  onset,  we 
forced  them  from  their  quarters  and  saw  severed  mourU  Uie 
falL  The  power  of  this  fish  to  swim  against  the  current  is 
very  great,  and  by  exercise  of  it  only  could  we  explain  their 
presence  at  fountain  heads.  The  mass  of  these  fish  arefownd 
in  the  river  and  tide  water  creeks^  but  in  some  numbers 
everywhere  that  it  is  possible  for  any  fish  to  live. 

AMBR.  NATURAU8T,   VOL.  FV.  14 


106  FRESH-WATER  FISHES   OF  NEW  JERSET. 

Many  mote  instances  might  be  given  showing  the  wide 
range  of  territory  and  difference  in  habit  in  different  local- 
ities, which  these  fish  have ;  and  how  unsafe  it  is  to  judge 
from  a  casual  circumstance  or  two,  what  may  be  the  peculi- 
arities of  any  species. 

Under  the  headings  of  certain  species  we  propose  now  to 
call  attention  to  peculiarities  that  are  specific  in  their  nature, 
especially  breeding  habits  of  some  of  the  less  numerous 
residents. 

Banded  Sunfish  {Bryttus  ckcetodon).  In  the  "Geology 
of  New  Jeraey,"  page  807,  the  author  under  the  above  head- 
ing, says  "this  interesting  species  is  a  lover  of  weedy,  slug- 
gish streams  and  ponds,  and  is  never  met  with  in  tide- 
water." We  now4  at  this  writing,  are  confident,  that  there 
is  no  fish  in  New  Jersey  found  in  other  water  not  some- 
times met  with  in  tide  water.  Since  the  above  quotation 
was  put  in  print  we  have  taken  this  sunfish  from  the  "bel- 
lies" of  shad-nets,  which  were  drawn  in  decided  tide  waters, 
the  Delaware  and  Cross  wick's  Creek.  The  breeding  habits 
of  this  species  have,  during  the  past  two  summers,  puzzled  us 
considerably.  That  the}*^  occasionally  scoop  out  a  little  basin 
in  the  sand,  and  there  deposit  the  ova,  is  undoubtedly  true; 
but  not  always  is  this  the  case  we  judge,  as  during  April  of 
1868-69,  we  found  them  in  all  sorts  of  out-of-the-way 
places,  the  females  heavy  with  eggs,  and  in  some  instances, 
a  female  with  a  male  at  her  side,  were  hidden  at  the  foot  of 
a  tussock,  with  scarcely  enough  water  to  cover  them.  Two 
months  later  the  ground  over  which  they  swam  was  perfectly 
dry.  Was  a  severe  battle  going  on  between  this  species  and 
the  Poniotis  aureus^  that  they  were  forced  to  hide  themselves 
to  preserve  their  ova  from  destruction  ?  We  did  see  some 
"nests"  like  those  of  P.  aureus^  but  they  were  not  abundant, 
as  we  had  seen  them  previously.  The  other  Bryttus  is  simi- 
lar in  his  habits  to  the  PomotiSi  and  is  not  so  peaceable  as 
the  B.  chcetodon;  but  preferring  localities  not  favorites  of 
other  "sunfish,"  it  does  not  interfere  much  with  them.     The 


FBE8H-WATEB  FISHBS  OF  NEW'jEBSET.  107 

coloration  of  both  B.  choetodon  and  B.  obesus  is  very  vari- 
al>le.  On  removing  them  from  the  water  the  black  stripes 
of  the  former,  and  brilliant  spots  of  the  latter,  are  very  dis- 
tinct, but  they  soon  fade  even  if  replaced  in  water.  In  an 
aquarium,  when  first  placed  in  it,  they  are  dull,  yellowish 
brown,  with  no  distinct  bars  or  spots,  but  in  a  short  time 
they  resume  that  coloring  which  easily  distinguishes  them 
from  other  sunfish;  the  choBtodon  becoming  silvery,  the 
obesusy  deep  olive. 

Pirate  Perch  {Aphrodederus  Sat/anus).  In  the  "Geology 
of  New  Jersey,"  page  808,  we  make  the  following  statement : 
'^The  *  pirate'  makes  a  nest  after  the  manner  of  the  sunfish, 
and  with  the  female  guards  it  and  afterwaixls  the  young,  till 
they  reach  a  size  of  one-third  of  an  inch,  when  they  ai'e  left 
by  their  parents,  etc."  Since  the  above  was  written  (1866) 
we  have  had  some  opportunities  of  farther  studying  the 
habits  of  this  peculiar  fish.  We  believe  that  they  occupy 
the  nests  made  by  sunfish,  but  do  not  scoop  them  out  for 
themselves.  Furthermore  this  is  not  the  only  manner  of 
breeding,  but  like  many  other  fish  they  seek  out-of-the-way 
places,  as  deserted  burrowings  of  the  musk-rats  {JPiber 
zibethicua)^  and  here  the  pair  will  remain  several  days,  and 
when  the  young  appear  they  are  attended  by  the  parents,  or 
at  least  an  adult  pair,  until  they  are  about  one-third  of  an 
inch.  When  young  the  Aphrodederus  is  very  black,  with  a 
few  pal6,  yellowish  dots.  The  tail  is  margined  with  white, 
which  disappears  on  the  fish  reaching  an  inch  or  more  in 
length.  The  adult  fish,  measuring  five  inches  in  length,  has 
been  seen  frequently  to  swallow  one  of  its  own  kind  meas- 
uring an  inch. 

Mud  Minnow  {Melanura  limi).  It  would  be  an  interest- 
ing question  to  solve  in  how  little  water  and  how  compact 
mud  this  fish  can  survive.  Its  gills  present  nothing  pe- 
culiar in  themselves,  and  certainly  are  not  powerful  enough 
to  squeeze  water  out  of  the  mud  in  which  we  have  found 
them  buried,  two  (and  one  four)  inches  deep.     On  closely 


108  FUEBH-WATBB  FISHES   OF   HEW  JERSEY. 

exaiuiDiiig  the  bottuai  of  any  ditch  one  axu  easily  detect  the 
Melanura  lying  close  upon  tbe  mud  as  quietly  as  an  Etheo- 
■  Btomoid,"  but  if  at  all  disturbed  they  imuiediutely  dart  olT, 
and  with  a  rapid  twirl  and  twist  of  their  whole  body  will 
bury  themselves  entirely  out  of  sight  at  about  au  augle  of 
forty-five  degrees,  tail  down.  We  have  ofteu  tried  this  in  a 
shallow  aquarium  with  mud  on  the  bottom,  and  always  with 
the  same  result.  The  movement  is  too  rapid  to  be  learned 
in  detail,  but  they  always  bury  themselves  in  a  hole  scooped 
out  with  tlicir  tail,  which  is  the  most  deeply  buried  portioa 
of  their  body. 

A  peculiarity  of  this  fish  worthy  of  note  is  the  length  of 

time  at  which  it  will  matntaiu  one  posittua,  especially  a  per- 

Fig.ao. 


pendicular  one,  head  up  and  tail  down.  In  an  aquarium  we 
have  bad  them  remain  so  four  minutes,  while  we  held  just 
above  the  water  a  worm  or  fly.  On  slowly  lowering  these 
luitil  they  touched  the  water  the  fish  would  then  seize  them 
with  a  rapidity  of  movement  equal  to  that  of  the  trout.  We 
have  likewise  seen  them  leap  from  the  water  a  distance 
greater  than  their  length,  and  seize  insects  that  were  upon 
blades  of  grass  overhanging  the  ditch.  The  largest  speci- 
men of  Melanura  limi  ever  seen  by  the  writer  measured 
seven  inches. 

Frost-fish  {Osmerus  mordax).     We  desire  to  record  here 

•  In  mpntlonlng  the  nnmber  of  flsh  in  tliis  neiRhborhood  (Trenton.  N.  J.)  ■■  IVirty- 
Dfne.  we  did  not  inclado  Ihe  Elhamlontoida,  and  llie  few  sltckle- bucks  Hint  come  nnd 
go.  Both  these  niniilies  ai  reprewoLed  In  Uio  Delaware  will  be  Mudlod  and  i)UbliBhed 
in  a  lepante  paper- 


FBESH-WATEB    FISHES    OF    NEW   JEBSBr.  109 

the  fact  of  the  presence  of  this  fish  id  a  few  numbers  during 
ahuust  every  month  of  the  year.  In  August  when  the  young 
shad  are  going  down  the  river,  we  have  seen  single  speci- 
mens of  "smelt,"  or  "frost-fish,"  as  they  are  generally 
called.  Occasionally  also  when  fishing  for  White-peitrh 
{Morone  Amencana)  we  have  caught  them.  la  April  there 
U  very  generally  a  freshet  that  submerges  the  tract  of  mead- 
ows bordering  on  the  river  south  of  Trenton.  On  the  sub- 
sidence of  this  water  the  frost-fish  are  occasionally  seen 
with  a  few  herring  in  the  small  ditches,  and  are  known  then 
by  juvenile  anglers  as  the  "silver  pilte."  Hearing  frequent 
mention  of  silver  pike,  I  found  this  to  be  the  fish  referred 
to.  Herring  that  are  thus  caught  in  ditches  and  cut  off  from 
the  creeks  do  not  live,  but  the  Osmerua  appears  to  thrive  very 
well. '  The  herring  is  the  "Alewife"  {Alosa  tyrannus). 

Gizzard  Shad  {Dorosoma  Cepedianum) .    We  gave  a  short 
notice  of  this  species  in  the  "  Geology  of  New  Jersey,"  page 


OInard  Bhkd,  Dereioma  CiptdliMum, 

832,  which  we  will  quote  and  speak  of  more  particularly. 

"Occasionally  the  'gizzard  shad'  is  carried  by  a  freshet  into 
uland  streams  usually  having  very  small  outlets,  and  thus 
mpi-isoned  they  thrive  very  well,  A  pond  near  Trenton  was, 
n  1857,  stocked  with  them,  and  is  now  full  nf   specimens, 

some   weighing   five   pounds   apiece."      Besides    this    pond 


UO  Fft£8H-WATEB  FISHES   OF  NEW  JERSEY. 

spoken  of  we  know  of  one  or  two  creeks  that  are  annually 
visited  by  a  few  of  these  herring,  and  have  occasionally  seen 
several  bushels  hauled  from  the  deep  holes  in  the  creeka  they 
had  entered.  They  appear  in  the  Delaware  early  in  March, 
before  the  other  representatives  of  the  Clupeide  do,  and  as 
they  are  not  ever  taken  in  very  great  numbers,  as  are  the 
other  herring  in  the  river,  we  judge  that  the  immense  quan- 
tities occasionally  taken  in  creeks,  is  to  be  explained  in  the 
suggestion  that  those  that  come  in  the  spring  do  not  return. 
We  have  seen  them  in  mid-winter  frozen  to  death,  appar- 
ently, and  have  reason  to  believe  that  they  bury  themselves 
in  the  mud  when  they  take  up  their  winter  quaiters  in  creeks 
and  ponds. 

The  specimens  we  first  met  with,  and  described  as  Oha- 
toessus  insociabiliSj  were  from  the  pond  referred  to,  stocked 
in  1857.  They  were  different  in  coloration  from  the  same 
fish  as  found  on  the  coast  and  in  the  Delaware,  and  appeared, 
to  be  distinct.  If  these  DorosomcB  are  left  to  themselves,  un- 
visited  by  others  later  from  the  coast,  will  they  in  time  be- 
come so  far  changed  by  the  change  in  their  surroundings  as 
to  be  a  difierent  species  ?  We  thought  them  distinct  in  1860, 
and  the  Dorosoma^  from  this  same  pond,  is  a  different 
looking  fish  now^  in  1870,  from  what  it  was  then.  The  dif- 
ference being  one  of  color  only  it  suggests  the  question  as 
to  whether  the  character  of  the  water  influences  the  charac- 
teristic coloring  of  species  ? 

The  Chub  {Semotilus  rhotheus  and  S.  corporalis).  In  all 
the  tributaries  of  the  Delaware,  as  well  as  in  the  river  itself, 
**chub"  abound.  There  are  several  points  in  their  history  that 
we  cannot  fully  understand  when  reading  what  has  been  pub- 
lished of  the  two  species,  especially  ** Cope's  Monograph  on 
the  CyprinidsB  of  Pennsylvania."  This  author  very  correctly 
gives  the  Delaware  as  the  locality  of  the  Semotilus  rhotheuSy 
and  admits  the  presence  of  8.  corporalis.  Now  in  the  Del- 
aware, at  Trenton,  "chub"  are  very  abundant,  as  we  de- 
scribed them  in  1861,  which  description  Cope  says  is  his  S. 


FRBSH-WATBn    FISHES    OP    KEW   JERSBT.  Ill 

rkotheua,  and  we  agree  with  iiim ;  but  in  addition  he  says 
the  Oyprinus  atromaculatua  is  the  young  of  the  S,  corporalix. 
If  Buch  were  the  case  then  why  are  not  the  adult  8.  corpo- 
ralis  abundant  in  the  rivei*  in  proportion  to  the  presence  of 
the  young  in  the  smaller  streams?  The  tnie  corporalis  is 
scarce,  very  scarce,  yet  the  atro/naculatua  is  abundant.  This, 
of  course,  is  an  absurdity ;  but  theae  alromaculati  are  not 
young  rhothei;  that  fish  when  young  is  wholly  different  in 


color,  being  wholly  silvery  on  the  sides  and  belly,  the  silver 
becoming  roseate  near  the  back,  which  is  "deeply,  darkly, 
beautifully  blue." 

We  have  endeavored  for  several  years  to  collect  specimens 
of  alromaculatua  of  all  sizes,  and  so  see  where  and  when 
they  cease  to  be  atromaculatua  and  become  true  corporalis. 
We  have  as  yet  failed  to  do  so,  and  have  been  somewhat 
disposed  to  consider  it  not  the  young  of  any  species  for  these 
reasons.  It  is  a  peculiarly  brook-loving  species,  hovering 
about  deep  holes,  and  most  ingenious  in  its  mode  of  eluding 
the  pursuit  of  collectors.  They  are  never  found  (that  is, 
have  not  been  by  us)  associated  with  the  young  of  true 
"chub"  as  that  fish  is  known.  Their  peculiar  markings  ren- 
der them  at  once  distinguishable  from  the  young  of  S, 
rkotheua,  and  the  two  love  very  different  waters,  the 
8.    atromaculatus  loving  muddy  bottoms,   in  which  they 


112  FRE8H-WATEB  FISHES   OF  NEW  JERRET. 

half  bury  themselves,  while  the  young  of  8.  rhothetia  are 
fond  of  and  frequent  always  pebbly-bottomed,  rapid  brooks. 
To  recapitulate,  we  have,  in  the  Delaware  River  and  its 
tributaries,  the  Semotihis  rhotheus  in  abundance,  likewise 
the  young  in  the  directly  tributary  streams,  equally  nu* 
merous  —  and  in  certain  streams,  some  cut  off  from  the 
river  by  dams,  the  fish  described  by  Mitchell  as  Ot/prinus 
atromajcidatus^  which  reaches  a  length  of  six  and  seven 
inches,  and  presents  a  coloration  of  black,  yellow,  reddish 
and  silvery,  like  no  other  fish  of  our  waters.  If  these  are 
the  young  of  the  Cyprinus  corporalis  of  the  same  author, 
why  have  we  not  this  latter  fish  in  abundance  also?  But 
we  have  not.  Again,  in  streams,  as  the  Assunpink  and 
Shabbaconk,  which  are  cut  off  from  the  Delaware  by  dams, 
and  in  the  Stony-brook  and  Mill-stone,  which  are  cut  off 
from  the  Rariton,  we  have  Seinotilus  alromaculatua  which 
never  cease  to  be  such.  Do  they  die  fo;*  want  of  the  rivers 
to  become  the  8.  corporalis?  If  not,  where  are  these  larger  > 
chub  ?  In  Stony-brook  and  the  Mill-stone  we  have  also  the 
8.  rhotheus^  from  half  an  inch  to  nearly  half  a  yard  in 
length.  The  difference  in  the  scales  of  these  two  species  of 
^chub"  render  them  distinguishable  without  reference  to 
color;  and  the  8,  atromaculatiis  agree  with  the  size  and 
number  of  scales  of  8.  corporalis^  as  given  in  the  "Mono- 
graph of  the  CyprinidsB  of  Pennsylvania,'*  by  E.  D.  Cope. 
We  are  not  yet  satisfied,  however,  that  the  atromaculated 
chub  of  the  Delaware  basin  is  the  young  of  any  other 
species. 

Roach  (8tilbe  Americana).  Professor  E.  D.  Cope  in  his 
Monograph  says  of  this  fish :  "This  Stilbe  rarely  exceeds 
seven  inches  in  length."  In  the  various  streams  in  which  we 
find  the  "roach,"  it  is  so  frequent  an  occurrence  to  meet  with 
them  eight,  nine,  and  nine  and  a  half  inches  in  length,  that 
we  are  surprised  at  the  figure  mentioned  by  Cope  as  the 
maximum  length.  Otherwise  his  remarks  accord  with  our 
observations.      These  large  specimens  have  the  pectoral, 


FRESH-WATER  FISHES   OF  NEW  JERSEY.  113 

ventral  and  anal  fins  brilliant  orange,  during  the  spring  and 
early  summer,  and  later  the  color  is  dimmed  but  not  lost. 
The  color  of  the  body  is,  as  given  by  him,  of  **a  greenish, 
brassy,  or  golden  lustre."  Smaller  specimens  even  during 
the  spring  have  the  fins  black  and  the  general  coloration  sil- 
very ;  duller  upon  the  back  than  the  sides.  This  species  is 
not  Jis  much  annoyed  by  the  approach  of  winter  as  are  many 
of  the  cyprinoids,  merely  seeking  deeper  waters.  By  cutting 
a  hole  in  the  ice  and  letting  down  a  well-baited  hook  they 
are  readily  taken,  and  the  larger  ones  at  this  season  are  ex- 
cellent eating  to  those  who  are  not  incommoded  by  the  mul- 
tiplicity of  small  bones.  The  largest  "roach"  we  have  ever 
seen  measured  exactly  nine  and  seven-eighths  inches. 

The  Mud-sucker  {Hylomyzon  nigricans).  In  a  tortuous 
tide-water  creek,  with  unobstructed  access  to  the  Delaware, 
there  are  to  be  found  at  all  seasons  of  the  year  where  the 
water  is  deepest  and  the  mud  almost  nnfathomable,  myri- 
ads of  these  "suckers" — old,  young  and  middle-aged.  Lazy, 
limp,  almost  lifeless,  with  a  net  they  can  be  scooped  up, 
offering  no  resistance,  scarcely  flapping  their  tails.  As  we 
follow  up  the  course  of  this  stream  (Crosswick's  Creek, 
Burlington  Co.,  N.  J.)  we  still  find  them  tucked  in  under 
the  overhanging  banks,  and  so  listless  that  on  the  receding 
of  the  water,  at  the  turn  of  the  tide,  they  sometimes  are  left 
high  and  dry  before  they  are  aware  of  it.*  In  other 
streams  of  New  Jersey  the  fish  is  less  abundant,  and  found 
usually  with  the  "mullet"  (Moxostoma  oblongum).  As  an 
article  of  food  they  are  good  from  December  until  April, 
and  from  then  until  winter  are  as  near  worthless  as  any  fish 
well  can  be.  We  once  saw  a  large  specimen  in  the  jaws  of 
a  Water-snake  {Tropidonotus  sipedon)^  which  squealed  like 

*  A  Blmllar  instance  of  this  is  very  well  shown  by  a  ftir  different  llsh,  the  Tessellated 
Darter  (^Boieosoma  Olnutedii)^  which,  In  the  same  stream,  follows  the  waters  encroach- 
ing on  the  meadows  at  high  tide,  and  settling  in  little  hollows  about,  are  not  aware  of 
the  recession  of  the  water  nntil  too  late.  Between  tides  we  haye  gathered  aver  one 
hundred  in  a  space  not  oyer  twenty  yards  square.  Nothing  in  their  stomachs  showed 
what  particular  article  of  food  they  Mooght. 

AMKR.  NATURALIST,  TOL.  IV.  15 


114 


RESH-WATER  FISHES   OF   NEW  JERSBT. 


a  young  pig,  more  so  than  cat-fish  have  been  known  to  do 
under  similar  circumstances,  and  showing  greater  indications 
of  "a  voice"  than  does  the  chub,  which  Cope  says  "utters  a 
chirruping  and  croaking  noise." 

The  Gar  (^Lepidosteus  osseus).  During  the  past  summer 
while  walking  on  the  banks  of  Crosswicks  Creek,  we  were 
attracted  by  a  decided  commotion  in  the  water,  and  on  near- 
ing  the  spot  found  a  young  gar,  probably  eighteen  inches 
long,  surrounded  by  and  evidently  harrassed  by  a  dozen  or 
more  Bill-fish  (Belone  longirostris) ,  It  soon  disappeared  by 
sinking  out  of  sight,  but  reappeared  soon  near  the  shore, 
giving  us  an  opportunity  of  watching  it.     It  remained  as 

Fig.  33. 


:?^- 


Gar  pike,  LepOotteui  ot$eu$, 

motionless  as  an  Esox  for  several  minutes,  and  on  the  ap- 
proach of  a  minnow  would  come  as  near  the  shore  as  possi- 
ble, moving  steadily  backwards.  If  the  fish  came  to  about 
where  the  gar  previously  had  been,  it  was  seized  in  an 
instant,  and  the  Lepidosteus  would  remain  motionless  until 
the  approach  of  another  Minnow  would  cause  it  to  again 
draw  back.  We  finally  interrupted  this  "play"  in  an  attempt 
to  shoot  the  specimen.  This  fish  we  should  judge  was  yearly 
becoming  more  scarce  in  the  basin  of  the  Delaware. 

The  Darters  (Etheostomoidce)  as  a  class  have  been  the 
most  difficult  to  collect  and  study.  They  are  with  us  in 
most  streams  exceedingly  abundant,  as  also  in  the  river 
itself.  Lying  motionless  upon  the  flat  stones  or  compact 
sand  they  readily  escape  detection,  except  by  experts.  As 
yet  we  have  not  made  as  elaborate  a  collection  as  we  desire, 
but  are  satisfied  we  can  show  in  this  family  some  instances 
of  wide  geographical  range,  and  one  or  more  undescribed 
species. 


rKESH-WATBB  FISHES   OP   NEW  JERSEY.  115 

Another  family,  the  stickle-backs  (Gasterostei)j  is  one  of 
much  interest  as  found  with  us,  but  they  are  so  uncertain  in 
their  stay  in  any  stream  that  we  have  concluded  to  wait  until 
another  season's  out-door  work  shall  have  given  us  farther 
opportunities  to  study  them.  The  four-spined  Stickle-back 
(Apeltes  quadracus)  as  an  instance,  for  several  summers  was 
quite  abundant  in  several  streams,  and  is  now  not  seen  in 
any  of  them.  In  Watson's  Creek,  in  1865,  they  were  very 
abundant,  and  the  writer  found  several  nests ;  in  later  seasons 
they  were  still  present  but  in  fewer  numbers,  and  during  the 
summers  of  1868-69  they  had  disappeared.  We  were  ac- 
customed to  collect  them  from  the  "bellies"  of  nets  drawn 
in  the  river,  and  lately  have  been  very  unsuccessful  in  find- 
ing them. 

During  the  present,  almost  completed  winter,  the  Dela- 
ware River  has  not  been  closed  by  ice,  and  judging  from 
appearances  at  the  time  of  writing  (Feb.  18,  1870),  it  is  not 
likely  to  be  so  closed.  The  fishermen  have  been  steadily 
engaged  in  their  pursuit,  and  with  draw  and  gill  nets  have 
captured  in  very  unusual  abundance  the  commoner  resident 
species,  and  also  single  specimens  of  rare  fish,  rare  either 
for  the  time  of  year,  or  for  the  locality.  Some  of  these 
instances  are  sufficiently  of  interest  to  warrant  recording 
them. 

On  the  20th  of  January,  the  weather  warm  and  water 
wholly  free  from  ice,  a  Shad  {Aloaa  prcestabilis)  ^  weighing 
four  and  one-half  pounds,  was  taken  a  short  distance  from 
the  city.  It  was  supposed  to  have  been  a  sickly  fish  that 
had  not  "gone  out"  in  August  of  the  preceding  summer. 
Such  was  proved  not  to  be  the  case  however,  by  an  examina- 
tion of  the  contents  of  the  stomach,  which  demonstrated 
that  it  had  come  directly  from  salt  water.  Among  the  mass 
of  marine  food  was  a  partially  digested  Killi-fish  {Hydrar-- 
gyra  flavula) .  The  Shad  was  a  female,  with  ova  apparently 
as  fully  matured  as  in  May.  Two  or  three  specimens  of 
other  representatives  of  the  Herring  tribe  were   captured 


116  FRESH-WATER  FISHES   OF  NEW  JERSET. 

about  this  time,  but  to  what  genus  they  belonged,  the  writer 
could  not  determine  from  what  he  heard.  He  did  not  see 
the  specimens.  The  Gizzard  Shad  (^Dorosoma  Cepedianum)^ 
has  been  met  with  by  single  specimens  and  pairs,  while  fish- 
ing for  "suckers"  (Oatostomits)  and  "chub"  {Semotiltia) . 
The  date  is  much  earlier  than  any  previous  one,  and  prob- 
ably more  specimens  have  been  taken.  They  were  usually 
largo,  but  were  thin,  sickly  and  sluggish  in  their  movements. 
Probably  but  few  of  this  species  enter  the  river,  or  at  least, 
come  up  as  far  as  Trenton.  When  once  they  have  wandered 
into  deep  ponds  they  will  remain  and  breed.  One  pond, 
that  has  been  stocked  with  them  since  1833,  contains  now 
larger  specimens  than  the  writer  has  ever  elsewhere  seen. 

On  the  23d  or  24th  of  January  a  healthy,  strong,  active 
Cod-fish  (^Moi*rhua  Americana)  j  weighing  nearly  four  pounds, 
was  taken  in  a  draw-net.  The  stomach  of  this  fish  showed 
it  had  been  in  river-water  for  several  days.  The  fisherman 
who  took  this  specimen  considered  it  the  first  instance  of  the 
kind  on  record,  but  such  is  not  the  case.  Several  have  been 
taken  about  Philadelphia  during  the  past  twenty  years.  A 
unique  occurrence,  however,  we  believe  to  be  the  capture  of 
a  large  Sturgeon  in  January.  The  Sturgeon  is  sensitive  to 
the  cold,  but  it  would  seem  that  the  water  had  not  been 
greatly  chilled,  considering  the  presence  of  this  fish,  which 
was  fully  as  active  as  the  species  is  during  the  summer 
months. 

Of  the  resident  fish  that  are  to  be  taken  in  variable  quan- 
tities during  the  winter,  when  the  ice  is  not  abundant,  the 
sucker  tribe  and  the  Delaware  chub  are  the  principal.  Dur- 
ing the  past  few  days  the  abundance  of  these  fish  has  been 
remarkable,  and  in  one  day  several  bushels  were  taken. 
The  number  of  chubs  was  very  large  and  afibrded  excellent 
opportunities  of  examining  their  distinctive  characters. 
They  were  all  the  Semotilus  rhotheus  Cope.  None  measured 
less  than  eight  inches  in  length,  and  every  specimen^  male 
and  female^  had  the  brilliant  rosy  and  blue  lints  mentioned 


FKESH-WATEB  FISHES   OP   NEW   JERSEY.  117 

by  the  wnter  in  describing  this  species  in  1861.  Mr.  Cope 
has  stated,  iu  bis  Monograph  ou  the  CypriniduB  of  Penn- 
sylvania (Transactions  American  Philosophical  Society),  that 
the  coloration  given  by  the  writer,  was  that  of  the  male 
in  spring.  The  description  he  alludes  to  was  drawn  up  in 
the  summer.  Mr.  Cope  is  correct  as  to  the  coloration  being 
that  of  the  breeding  season,  but  the  tints  do  not  grow  less 
distinct  after  spawning,  and  the  female  is  very  nearly^  if 
not  quite,  as  highly  colored  during  February,  March  and 
April.  Later,  the  female  becomes  silvery,  but  the  male,  in 
dear  water's,  retains  his  high  coloring.  In  muddy,  sluggish 
waters,  the  bright,  rosy  hue  becomes  a  reddish  brown ;  the 
blue  tints  become  leaden.  Of  the  smaller  specimens  none 
exhibited  the  peculiar  cloudy  markings  of  the  Cyprinus 
atromaculatus^  Mitchell.  The  largest  specimen,  a  female, 
measured  foui-teen  inches  in  length,  and  exceeded  all  the 
others  in  the  magnificence  of  its  coloring.  The  examination 
of  nearly  three  hundred  specimens  indicated  clearly  that 
the  beauty  of  this  species  was  in  proportion  to  the  size,  and 
that  the  sex  could  not  be  determined  by  the  color  of  the 
specimen.  ^^ 

Among  this  enonnous  quantity  of  specimens  not  a  single 
Semotilus  corporalis  was  found. 

Note.  — Early  In  Uie  month  of  Februarj  of  this  year,  the  writer  received  a  number 
of  "  frost-fish  **  or  "  smelt/'  firom  the  Raritan  Biver,  N.  J.  Among  these  flsh  ( OsmeruM 
mordax)  was  a  single  specimen  of  a  c3rprinoid,  which  was  new  to  the  waters  of  New 
Jersey,  and  was  considered  at  the  time  as  undescribed.  The  specimen  was  submitted 
to  Professor  £.  D.  Cope,  and  has  since  been  described  by  him  in  MSS.,  aa  Hyhognatku* 
o*merinut  Cope.  The  paper  containing  the  description  will  be  issued  soon  in  the 
"  Transactions  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society  of  Philadelphia.'' 

This  is  the  only  species  of  this  genus  found  in  the  state,  and  is,  we  believe,  the 
third  genuine  species  of  Hyhognathxu  of  Girard,  who  has  described  many  species  as 
belonging  to  this  genus,  which  have  been  found  since  not  to  be  true  Hyhognathi.  This 
makes  the  total  number  of  Cyprinidm,  belonging  to  the  Annua  of  New  Jersey,  fourteen. 

In  our  report  of  the  Zoology  of  New  Jersey,  we  mentioned  but  three  species  of 
**  suckers,"  as  found  In  the  state.  Wo  omitted  the  large  scaled  sucker,  Teretribus  mac- 
roltpidottLty  w^hich  is  very  abundant  in  the  Delaware  River,  about  and  south  of  Phila- 
delphia, but  it  does  not  occur  in  numbers  much  north  of  the  city  named. 


REVIEWS. 


VoiXANOES  AND  EARTHQUAKES. *  — Professor  Hunt  has  said  more  in  the 
ten  pages  of  this  little  pamphlet  than  would  suffice  to  fill  an  ordinary  vol- 
ume. After  a  description  of  volcanoes,  volcanic  products  and  the  various 
zones,  or  regions  of  the  earth  in  which  volcanoes  are  found  most  abund- 
antly, the  author  sums  up  the  different  theories  which  have  been  advanced 
in  the  endeavors  to  account  for  these  phenomena.  He  rejects  entirely, 
and  with  crushing  force,  the  theory  which  attempts  to  account  for  volca- 
noes by  supposing  that  they  are  the  vents  of  a  liquid  nucleus,  and  gives  a 
summary  of  his  reasons  for  doing  so  from  which  we  quote  the  following 
paragraphs : 

**  Judging  ttomr  the  known  properties  of  the  rocks  with  which  we  are  acquidnted,  soUdlflcsi- 
tlon  should  commence  not  at  the  surface,  but  at  the  centre  of  the  liquid  globe,  a  process  which 
would  moreoTer  be  fkvored  by  the  Influence  of  pressure.  This  augments  the  melting  temper- 
ature of  matters,  which,  like  the  rocks  and  most  other  solids,  become  less  dense  when  melUMl, 
while  on  the  other  hand  It  reduces  the  melting  point  of  those  which,  like  Ice  [or  bismuth],  be- 
come more  dense  by  flislon.  Pressure,  moreover.  It  may  be  mentioned  In  this  oounectlou,  in- 
creases the  solvent  power  of  water  for  most  bodies,  whoso  solution  may  be  described  as  a  kind 
of  melting  down  with  water  Into  a  compound  whose  density  Is  greater  than  tliat  of  the  mean 
of  Ittf  constituents;  the  Importance  of  this  point  will  appear  farther  on.  Tlie  theory  deduced 
ttom  the  above  considerations,  and  adopted  by  Hopkins  and  by  Scrope,  Is  briefly  as  follows: 
the  earth^s  centre  is  solid,  though  still  retaining  nearly  the  high  temperature  at  which  It  be- 
came solid.  At  an  advanced  stage  in  the  solidifying  process  Uie  remaining  envelope  of  fUsed 
matter  became  viscid,  so  that  the  descent  fVom  the  surface  of  the  heavier  particles,  cooled  by 
radiation,  was  prevented,  and  a  crust  formed,  through  which  cooling  has  since  gone  on  very 
slowly.  There  were  thus  left  between  this  crust  and  the  solid  nucleus,  portions  of  yet  unsoUd- 
Ifled  matter  (or  even  perhaps,  as  suggested  by  Scrope,  a  continuous  sheet),  and  It  Is  In  the  ex- 
tdtence  of  this  stratum,  or  of  lakes  of  uncongealed  matter,  that  we  are  to  find  an  explanation 
of  all  the  phenomena  of  volcanoes  and  earthquakes,  of  elevation  and  subsidence,  and  of  the 
movements  which  result  In  the  formation  of  mountain  chains,  as  Ingeniously  set  forth  by  Mr. 
Bbaler.  The  slow  contraction  of  the  gradually  cooling  globe,  a  most  important  agency  In  Uia 
latter  phenomena.  Is  evidently  not  excluded  by  this  hypothesis.  It  may  be  added  that  a  sim- 
ilar structure  of  the  globe,  viz.,  a  solid  nucleus  and  a  solid  crust  separated  ttom  each  other  by 
a  liquid  stratum,  was  long  ago  suggested  by  Halley  In  order  to  explain  the  phenomena  of  ter- 
restrial magnetism.  Scrope  has  completed  this  hypothesis  by  the  suggestion  that  variations  In 
tension  or  pressure  may  cause  portions  of  matter  beneath  the  surikce  to  pass  ttom  solid  to 
liquid,  or  ttom  a  liquid  to  a  solid  state,  and  in  this  way  helps  us  to  explain  the  local  and  the 
temporary  nature  of  volcanic  activity. 

This  theory  of  Hopkins  and  Scrope  apparently  so  complete  in  Itself,  Is  an  approximation  to 
the  one  which  I  adopt,  though  differing  nrom  it  in  some  most  important  particulars.  While 
admitting  with  them  the  existence  of  a  solid  nucleus  and  a  solid  crust,  with  an  Interposed 
stratum  of  semi-liquid  matter,  I  consider  this  last  to  be,  not  a  portion  of  the  yet  unsolldlfled 
igneous  matter,  but  a  layer  of  material  which  was  once  solid,  but  Is  now  rendered  liquid  by  the 
intervention  of  water  under  the  Influence  of  heat  and  pressure.  When,  in  the  process  of  re- 
fHgeration,  the  globe  had  reached  the  point  Imagined  by  Hopkins,  where  a  solid  crust  was 
formed  over  the  shallow  molten  layer  which  covered  the  solid  nucleus,  the  fkrther  cooling  and 
contraction  of  this  crust  would  result  In  Irregular  movements,  breaking  it  up,  and  causing  the 
extravasation  of  the  yet  liquid  portions  conllned  beneath.  When  at  length  the  reduction  of 
temperature  permitted  the  precipitation  of  water  ttom  the  dense  primeval  atmosphere,  the 
whole  cooling  and  disintegrating  mass  of  broken-up  crust,  and  poured  out  igneous  rook  would 

*  Abstract  of  a  Lecture  by  Professor  T.  Sterry  Hunt,  LL.  D.,  F.  R.  8^  delivered  before  the 
American  Geographical  and  SUtlstlcal  Society,  April  23, 1869.    Pamph.,  pp.  10. 

(118) 


REVIEWS.  119 

beoome  eicposed  to  tbe  action  of  air  and  water.  In  thla  way  the  solid  nndeua  of  Igneous  rook 
became  snrrounded  with  a  deep  layer  of  disintegrated  and  water-impregnated  material,  the 
mlns  of  its  former  envelope,  and  the  chaotic  mass  fl*om  wliicb,  onder  the  influence  of  heat  trom 
below  and  of  air  and  water  (ti>m  above,  the  world  of  geologic  and  of  human  history  was  to  be 
evolved. 

It  must  be  borne  In  mind  that  water  ander  pressure  and  at  higli  temperatures,  develops  ex- 
traordinary solvent  powers;  while  ttom  what  has  already  been  said  of  tlie  influence  of  pres- 
sure in  fkvorlng  solution,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  weigtit  of  the  overlying  mass  becomes  an  efll-' 
cieut  cause  of  the  liquefkctlon  of  the  lower  portions  of  the  sedimentary  material.  Time  is 
wanting  to  discuss  the  great  forces  which  ft-om  early  geologic  periods  have  been  active  in  trans- 
ferring sediments,  alternately  wasting  and  building  up  continents.  By  the  depression  of  the 
yielding  crust  beneath  regions  of  great  accumulation  there  follows  a  softening  of  the  lower  and 
of  the  more  fUsible  strata,  while  tbe  great  mass  of  more  sillclous  rocks  becomes  cemented  into 
comparative  rigidity,  and  finally,  as  the  result  of  the  earth's  contraction,  rises  a  hardened  and 
corrugated  mass,  from  whose  irregular  erosion  results  a  mountainous  region. 

Those  strata,  which  from  their  composition  yield  under  these  conditions  the  most  Uqold 
products,  are,  it  is  conceived,  the  source  of  all  plutonio  and  volcanic  rocks.  Accompanied  by 
water,  and  by  diflicultly  coercible  gases,  they  are  either  extravasated  among  the  fissures 
which  form  in  Uie  overlying  strata,  or  llnd  their  way  to  the  surface.  The  vaiiations  in  the  com- 
position of  lavas  and  their  accompanying  gases  in  dlflTereut  regions,  and  even  from  the  same 
vent  at  dlflTereut  times,  are  strong  confirmations  of  the  truth  of  tills  view,  to  which  may  be 
added  the  fkct  that  all  the  varlotis  types  of  lava  are  represented  among  aqueous  sedimentary 
rocks,  which  are  capable  of  yielding  these  lavas  by  tbe  process  of  fUsion.** 

G£OLOGY  OF  CoLOiiADO  AND  New  Mexico.*  —  With  the  small  appropri- 
ation of  ten  thousand  dollars,  Dr.  Hayden  appears  to  have  travei'sed  in 
one  season  a  very  large  territory,  made  extensive  collections  and  a  series 
of  valuable  and  minute  observations  upon  the  geological  structure  of  the 
country.  The  report  of  these  Is  accompanied  by  a  report  upon  **The 
Mines  and  Minerals  of  Colorado/'  by  Professor  Frazcr,  which  gives  a  fair 
and  candid  statement  of  the  mineral  wealth  of  Colorado  and  New  Mexico ; 
and  by  a  report  upon  the  Agricultural  llesources  of  Colorado. 

These  various  reports  cannot  fail  of  attaining  the  object  for  which  they 
were  written,  since  In  them  every  one  interested  in  the  future  develop- 
ment of  these  territories  may  find  reliable  and  unprejudiced  information 
with  regard  to  their  natural  resources.  The  sum  of  money  appropriated 
for  this  purpose  was  so  small  that  Dr.  Hayden  could  not  have  accom- 
plished a  large  portion  of  his  explorations  without  their  assistance.  The 
appropriation  of  ten  thousaud  dollars,  by  the  central  government,  to  ex- 
plore two  territories,  while  a  state  is  spending  annually  more  than  twice 
that  amount,  per  annum,  upon  a  single  institution,  might  excite  some 
surprise  and  confusion  in  the  minds  of  a  foreigner. 

The  route  lay  along  the  eastern  foot  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  from 
Cheyenne,  in  Wyoming  Territory,  to  Santa  FS,  the  Middle  Park  having 
been  explored  by  a  lateral  excursion  from  Denver  City.  Returning  from 
Saute  Fh  they  returned  to  Denver  by  passing  up  the  Rio  Grande  and 
crossing  the  Rocky  Mountains  through  the  South  Park.  The  explorer's 
remarks  with  regard  to  the  superficial  deposits  are  very  Interesting,  and 
their  general  importance  as  an  explanation  of  the  ori«:ln  of  some  of  the 
most  Interesting  localities  is  our  Justification  for  the  following  extract: 

*  Preliminary  Field  Report  of  the  U.  S.  Geological  Survey  of  Colorado  and  New  Mexico. 
By  Dr.  r.  V.  Hayden.     Washington,  D.  G.   8vo.   1889. 


120  BEYIEWS. 

**  With  the  commencement  of  the  tertiary  was  ushered  In  the  dawn  of  the  great  lake  period 
of  the  West.  The  evidence  seems  Co  point  to  the  conclusion  that  from  the  dawn  of  the  tertiary 
period,  even  up  to  the  commencement  of  the  present,  there  was  a  continuous  series  of  fWssh- 
water  lakes  all  over  the  continent  west  of  the  M/sslsslppl  River.  Assuming  the  position  that 
all  the  physical  changes  were  slow,  progressive,  and  long-continued,  and  that  the  earlier  sedi- 
ments of  tlie  tertiary  were  marine,  then  brackish,  then  purely  fresh  water,  we  have  through 
them  a  portion  of  the  consecutive  history  of  the  growth  of  the  western  continent,  step  by  step, 
Qp  to  the  present  time.  The  earliest  of  these  great  lakes  marked  the  commencement  of  the 
tertiary  period,  and  seems  to  have  covered  a  very  large  portion  of  the  American  oontlueni 
west  of  the  Mississippi,  from  the  Arctic  Sea  to  Uie  Isthmus  of  Darlen. 

AlK>ut  the  middle  of  tlie  tertiary  period  tlie  second  extensive  lake  commenced  In  tha  West, 
wliich  we  have  called  the  Wliite  River  tertiary  basin.  We  believe  tliat  It  commenced  Its 
growth  near  the  south-eastern  base  of  the  Black  Hills,  and  gradually  enlarged  Its  borders.  I 
am  Inclined  to  think  that  this  lake  has  continued  on,  almost  or  quite  up  to  the  commencement 
ot  the  present  period;  that  the  light  colored  arenaceous  and  marly  deposits  In  tlie  Park  of  the 
Upper  Arkansas,  In  the  Middle  Park,  among  the  mountains  at  the  source  of  the  Missouri 
River,  In  Texas  and  California,  and  Utah,  are  all  later  portions  of  this  great  lake.  Tlie  upper 
mlocene  or  pliocene  deposits  in  the  Wind  River  Valley,  near  Fort  Bridgcr,  and  on  the  divide 
between  the  Platte  and  the  Arkansas  Rivers,  were  undoubtedly  synchronous,  though  perhaps 
not  connected  with  this  great  basin.  Every  year,  as  the  limits  of  my  explorations  are  ex- 
tended In  any  direction,  I  find  evidences  of  what  appear  to  be  separate  lake  basins,  covering 
(rreater  or  less  areas,  and  bearing  intrinsic  proof,  more  or  less  conclusive  of  the  time  of  their 
existence.  I  have  given  in  this  place  the  above  brief  description  of  the  various  geological 
formations  as  I  have  studied  them  In  the  West,  In  order  that  my  subsequent  remarks  on  these 
formations  in  their  southern  extension  may  be  more  clearly  understood.  Constant  reference 
will  be  made  to  rocks  as  they  have  been  seen  in  the  fkr  North  and  West,  In  order  that  the  story 
of  their  geological  extension  may  be  linked  together.** 

Dr.  Ilayden  also  speaks  of  having  met  with  vast  quantities  of  true  drift 
material  which  he  regards  as  originating  from  the  neighboring  mountains. 
*'  The  superficial  deposits  at  the  very  margins  of  the  mountains  is  com- 
posed of  very  coarse  materials,  sometimes  immense  quantities  of  all 
kinds,  but  slightly  worn ;  but  proceeding  f^om  the  base  of  the  mountains, 
the  rocks  become  smaller  and  more  rounded,  until  they  pass  into  small 
pebbles,  mingled  with  loose  sand.  The  phenomena  of  erosion,  as  seen  at 
the  present  time,  all  along  the  flanks  of  the  mountains,  in  the  plains,  in 
the  channels  of  streams,  point  clearly  to  a  vastly  greater  quantity  and 
force  of  water  than  exist  anywhere  at  the  present  time.'*  A  page  is  de- 
voted to  an  account  of  the  general  structure  of  the  mountains  which  Dr. 
Hayden*8  long  familiarity  with  them  enables  him  to  condense  Into  so 
brief  a  space : 

"  It  is  now  well  known  that  the  great  Rocky  Mountain  system  is  not  composed  of  a  slnglts 
range,  but  a  vast  series  of  ranges,  covering  a  width  of  six  hundred  to  one  thousand  miles. 
There  are  also  two  kinds  of  ranges,  one  with  a  granitoid  nucleus,  with  long  lines  of  fracture, 
and  In  the  aggregate  possessing  a  specific  trend ;  the  other  has  a  basaltic  nucleus,  and  is  com- 
posed of  a  series  of  volcanic  cones  or  outbursts  of  Igneous  rocks.  In  many  cases  fbrnilng  those 
saw-like  ridges  or  sierras,  as  the  Sierra  Nevada,  Sierra  Madre,  etc.  Along  the  eastern  portion 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  from  the  north  line  to  New  Mexico,  the  ranges  with  a  granitoid  nu- 
cleus prevail.  Each  one  of  the  main  ranges  Is  sometimes  spilt  up  Into  a  number  of  fragments, 
wlilch  locally  may  vary  somewhat  from  a  definite  direction,  but  the  aggregate  trend  will  be 
about  north-west  and  southeast. 

As  I  have  before  stated,  each  one  of  the  main  ranges  seems  to  me  to  form  a  gigantic  anti- 
clinal with  a  principal  axis  of  elevation,  and  the  lower  parallel  ranges  descending  like  steps  to 
tlie  plalujl,  or  to  the  synclinal  valley.  If,  for  example,  we  were  to  study  carbtUlly  one  of  the 
minor  mountain  ranges,  as  the  Black  Hills  of  Dakota,  or  the  Laramie  range,  where  the  system 
Is  very  complete  and  regular,  we  should  find  a  central  granitic  axis,  and  on  each  side  a  series 
of  granitic  ridges  paraUel  with  It,  and  in  the  aggregate  trending  nearly  north  and  south.    And 


REVIEWS.  121 

oo  the  eMtern  portion  of  Uie  atitteUnal,  the  eMt  side  of  the  minor  ridges  slopes  fently  down, 
while  the  west  side  Is  abrupt;  and  on  the  western  portion  We«  ver$a.  Bat  If  we  take  the  ridges 
singly  and  exainiue  them,  we  shall  And  In  most  cases  that  the  aggregate  trend  is  nearly  north- 
west and  soutli-«ast.  The  consequence  Is,  that  as  we  pass  along  under  the  eastern  flanks  of  the 
mountain  flnim  north  to  south,  these  minor  ranges  or  ridges  present  a  sort  of  **  tn  echelon**  ap- 
pearance; that  Is,  they  run  out  one  aOer  the  other  ha  the  prairies,  presonrlng  the  nearly  north 
and  Moulh  course  of  the  entire  system.  Not  unHrequently  a  group  or  several  of  these  ridges 
will  run  out  at  tlie  same  time,  fbrmliig  a  huge  notch  In  the  main  range.  This  notch  in  most 
eases  forms  a  yast  depression  with  a  great  number  of  side  depressions  or  rifts  In  the  mountains, 
which  give  birth  to  a  water  system  of  greater  or  less  extent.  Such,  for  example,  is  the  notch 
at  Cache  a  la  Poudre,  Colorado  City,  Canon  City,  on  the  Arkansas  River,  and  other  localities. 
If  we  were  to  examine  th^  excellent  topographical  maps  Issued  by  the  War  Department,  which 
are  beyond  comparison  the  most  correct  and  most  solentlflc  of  our  Rocky  Mountain  region  In 
existence,  we  should  at  once  note  the  tendency  of  all  the  minor  ranges,  with  a  continued  line 
of  fracture  and  a  granitic  nucleus,  to  a  south-east  and  north-west  trend;  sometimes  It  Is  nearly 
north  and  south,  and  then  these  ranges  pabs  out  or  come  to  an  end  without  producing  any 
marked  inflnence  on  the  topography,  except,  perhaps,  some  little  stream  will  flow  down  into  the 
plain  tlirough  tlie  monocUnal  rift.  But  when  several  of  these  minor  ranges  come  to  an  end  to- 
getlier,  an  abrupt  jog  of  several  miles  towards  the  west  Is  caused.  Then  frequently  as  the  range 
dies  out,  a  local  anticlinal  or  a  seml-quaquaversal  dip  Is  given  to  the  sedimentary  beds.  Be- 
tween the  notches  or  breaks  In  the  mountains,  the  belt  of  ridges  or  ^*  hog-backs"  becomes  very 
narrow,  sometimes  even  hardly  visible,  and  sometimes  entirely  concealed  by  superficial  de- 
posits. But  at  these  breaks  the  series  of  ridges  split  up  and  spread  out  so  as  to  cover  an  area 
from  half  a  mile  to  ten  or  fifteen  miles  In  width.  It  is  in  tliese  localities  that  the  complete  geo- 
logical structure  of  the  country  can  be  studied  in  detail.  I  do  not  know  of  any  portion  of  the 
West  where  there  is  so  much  variety  displayed  in  the  geology  as  within  a  space  of  ten  miles 
sqnare  around  Colorado  City.  Nearly  all  the  elements  of  geological  study  revealed  In  the 
Bocky  Mountains  are  shown  on  a  unique  scale  in  this  locality." 

In  studying  the  mines  of  Colorado  the  explorer  noticed  that  the  lodes 

are  almost  invariably  parallel,  running  north-east  to  south-west.    This 

and  the  two  cleavage  planes,  one  north-east  to  south-west,  and  the  other 

north-west  to  south-east,  which  he  found  to  be  peculiar  to  all  the  Azoic 

rocks,  leads  to  an  important  and  highly  interesting  generalization : 

**  I  am  Inclined  to  believe  that  the  problem  of  the  history  of  tlie  Rocky  Mountain  ranges  Is 
closely  connected  with  these  two  great  sets  of  cleavage  lines.  As  I  have  before  stated,  ray  own 
observations  point  to  tlie  conclusion  that  the  general  strike  of  the  metamorphio  ranges  of 
mountains  Is  north-west  and  south-east,  and  that  the  eruptive  trend  north-east  and  south- 
west. The  dikes  that  sometimes  extend  long  distances  across  the  plains.  In  all  cases  trend 
north-east  and  souih-west,  or  occasionally  east  and  w<.*st.  The  purely  eruptive  ranges  of  the 
northern  portion  of  the  San  Luis  Valley  seemed  to  be  composed  of  a  series  of  minor  ranges 
**en  echelon  "  with  a  trend  north-east  and  south-west.  But  as  soon  as  this  range  Joins  on  to  a 
range  with  a  metamorphic  or  granitic  nucleus,  the  trend  changes  around  to  north-west  and 
south-east.  Many  of  the  ranges  have  a  nucleus  of  metamorphio  rooks  though  the  central  and 
higliest  portions  may  be  composed  of  eruptive  peaks  and  ridges.  In  this  case  the  Igneous  ma- 
terial is  thrust  up  in  lines  of  the  same  direction  as  the  trend.  It  becomes  therefore  evident 
that  all  the  operations  of  the  eruptive  forces  were  an  event  subsequent  to  the  elevation  of  the 
metamorphic  nucleus.  This  Is  shown  In  hundreds  of  Instances  in  Southern  Colorado  and  New 
Mexico,  where  the  eruptive  material  is  oftentimes  forced  out  over  the  metamorphic  rocks,  con- 
cealing them  over  large  areas." 

A  Oeographical  Handbook  of  all  known  Ferns,  is  the  title  of  the 
latest  and  of  the  most  praiseworthy  of  Fern-books,  now  so  popular  in 
England.  This  neat  volume  is  by  E.  M.  Lyell  (Mrs.  Col.  Lyell),  and  Im 
Just  published  by  Murray ;  a  small  octavo  of  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  pages.  It  gives  in  order,  under  the  principal  <;ountries,  a  list  of  all 
their  Ferns,  with  range  and  localities,  and  then  a  fdll  series  of  tables 
exhibiting  the  geographical  distribution  of  each  species  through  the  sev- 
eral regions. 

AMER.   NATURALIST,  VOL.  IV.  16 


122  REVIEWS. 

Rrcbnt  works  on  thb  Embryoloot  of  Articulates.  —  Besides  the 
very  valuable  paper  of  Melnikow  on  the  embryology  of  the  lice  and  other 
insects  already  noticed  and  quoted,  we  have  to  enumerate  several  others 
of  great  importance,  and  which  we  hope  to  find  room  to  notice  at  greater 
length  hereafter.  Professor  Clapar^de  has  published  a  paper,  richly  illus- 
trated, on  the  embryology  of  worms,  especially  Spirorbls,  in  Siebold  and 
Kolliker*s  "Journal."  Melnikow  writes  in  "Wiegraanu's  Archiv"  **0n 
the  early  stages  of  Tcenia  cucumerina,  with  a  few  figures.  Dr.  Rlchaixl 
Greef  publishes  In  the  same  number  of  the  "Archlv"  some  most  inter- 
esting researches  on  certain  remarkable  forms  of  Arthropoda  and  worm- 
types,  illustrated  by  four  plates. 

Dr.  Anton  Dohrn  has  lately  published  the  first  part  of  his  "Researches 
on  the  Structure  and  Development  of  Arthropoda"  (Insects  and  Crusta- 
cea) with  nine  excellent  plates.  It  is  extracted  f^om  Siebold  and  Kol- 
iiker*s  "Journal."  He  here  records  his  observations  on  the  embryology 
of  Cuma  and  allied  genera,  of  certain  sea  spiders  (Pycnogonlds),  and 
thinks  that  embo'ology  shows  that  these  curious  animals,  classified 
by  many  naturalists  with  the  Arachnlda,  are  really  Crustacea;  and  of 
Daphnia,  Pranlza,  and  Paranthura  Costana. 

A  paper  of  the  greatest  interest  to  entomologists  Is  M.  Ganlu*s  "  Con- 
tribution to  a  Knowledge  of  Developmental  History  In  Insects "  in  Sie- 
bold and  Eolllker's  "  Journal."  It  Is  fhlly  Illustrated,  and  some  of  the  em- 
bryoes  and  larvos  of  certain  Ptcromali,  Platygasters  and  Polynemas  are 
of  such  startling  Interest,  from  their  resemblance  to  the  zoeas  of  crabs 
and  to  certain  low  worms,  that  we  must  defer  any  farther  notice  for  an- 
other number,  when  we  can  insert  cuts  to  illustrate  our  review. 

Thk  Bowdoin  Scientific  Review.*  —  Two  numbers  have  appeared  of 
this  fortnightly  paper,  which  Is  conducted  by  Professors  Brackett  and 
Goodale  of  Bowdoin  College.  It  Is  devoted  mostly  to  chemistry  and 
physiology,  and  the  editors  say  in  their  announcement  that  "  It  was  orig- 
inally their  design  to  communicate  to  their  fellow  physicians  in  Maine 
recent  intelligence  in  physiology,  and  chemistry  applied  to  therapeutics. 
This  design  has  not  been  relinquished,  but  It  has  been  somewhat  modified 
at  the  suggestion  of  many,  and  the  scope  of  the  Journal  has  been  widened 
without  trespassing  upon  the  field  now  so  well  occupied  by  our  American 
journals  of  natural  history,  physical  science,  and  medicine.  It  Is  believed 
that  much  of  the  work  now  accomplished  by  many  of  our  domestic  and 
foreign  periodicals  may  be  made  more  directly  available  by  the  regular 
publication  of  a  review  which  shall  call  attention  to  the  best  scientific 
labor  wherever  done.  From  the  nature  of  the  case,  the  range  of  the 
journal  will  approach  that  of  "Cosmos"  and  "Les  Mondes,"  but  more 
prominence  will  be  given  to  the  results  of  English  and  American  study." 
We  trust  that  this  enterprising  and  ably  conducted  journal  will  meet  with 
every  possible  encouragement.    We  quote  the  conclusion  of  M.  Mayer's 

*  A  Fortnightly  Review.   Bramwlek,  Maine.   8to,  pp.  82.    $2.00  «  year. 


i 


NATURAL  HISTOBr  MISGELLANT.  123 

discoarse  before  the  Scientific  Beunion  of  Insbnick,  on  Matter,  Force  and 
tlie  Soul : 

**The  French  pbyslolst,  Adolplie  Hlrn,  who,  at  the  Bftme  time  with  Joule,  Goldlng,  Holtman 
and  HemboIU,  discovered  the  mechanical  equivalent  of  heat,  arrived  at  the  conclusion,  which 
I  And  as  beautUhl  as  true,  that  there  are  three  categories  of  exlstouce;  first,  matter;  second, 
force;  third,  the  soul,  or  the  spiritual  principle.  When  once  we  have  succeeded  in  realizing 
that  there  are  not  only  material  objects,  but  also  forces,  aud  forces  in  the  definite,  accurate 
sense  of  modem  science,  as  indestructible  as  the  substances  of  the  chemist,  we  have  but  one 
step  farther  to  take,  and  tliat  perfectly  natural,  to  recognize  and  admit  spiritual  existences.  In 
inanimate  nature  we  speak  of  atoms;  in  the  living  world  we  find  individuals.  The  body  of  the 
living  being,  as  we  now  know  It,  is  not  only  formed  of  material  elements,  but  force  plays  also  an 
essential  part.  But  neither  matter  nor  force  can  think,  feel  snd  will.  Man  thinks.  For  a  long 
time  we  have  generally  suppostrd  that  the  nervous  substance,  and  especially  the  brain  matter, 
contained  flree  phosphorus,  and  the  imagination  attributed  to  th\B  free  photphoru*  an  important 
part  in  Intellectual  operations.  But  new  and  more  exact  researches  In  organic  chemistry  have 
proved  that  no  living  organ,  and  of  course  the  brain,  contains  tree  phosphorus.  If,  on  one  side, 
similar  illusions  must  vanish  before  the  data  of  an  exnot  science.  It  is  none  the  less  true,  never- 
theless, that  there  are  continually  produced  In  the  living  brain,  material  modlflcatious,  which 
are,  as  It  were,  the  consequences  of  a  sort  of  molecular  activity,  and  that  the  intellectual  acta 
of  the  individual  are  intimately  connected  with  this  material  cerebral  action.  But  It  is  a  great 
error  to  identify  these  two  activities  which  proceed  parallel  to  each  other.  An  illustration 
will  render  my  thought  clearer.  We  know  that  there  can  be  no  telegraphic  communication 
without  a  concomitant  chemical  action.  But  what  the  telegraph  says,  the  contents  of  the  des- 
patch, could  never  be  regarded  as  a  function  of  the  electro-chemical  action.  That  is  still  truer 
fbr  the  brain  and  thought.  The  brain  is  only  the  machine,  it  is  not  thought.  Intelligence, 
which  is  not  a  part  of  sensible  things  canutit  be  submitted  to  the  investigations  of  the  physicist 
and  the  anatomist.  What  is  true  subjectively  is  also  true  otO^ctively.  Without  this  harmony, 
eternally  pre-established  by  God,  between  the  subjective  and  objective  worlds,  all  our  thoughts 
would  be  sterile.  Logic  is  the  statics  of  Intelligence,  grammar  Is  its  mechanics,  and  language 
Its  dynamics.  I  finish  in  saying  to  you  with  deep  conviction:  an  exact  philosophy  should  and 
can  be  nothing  but  an  introduction  to  the  Christian  religion." 

Nature.*  —  During  the  last  year  we  expressed  a  very  favorable  opinion 
of  *'  Scientific  Opinion,"  a  weekly  scientific  newspaper,  and  have  now  to 
express,  after  a  careftil  reading  for  several  months,  our  equally  strong  re- 
gard for  **  Nature."  It  is  in  royal  8vo  form,  well  printed,  containing  ex- 
cellent articles  by  the  leading  scientists  of  Great  Britain,  aud  much  valu» 
able  weekly  intelligence.  Everybody  who  can  afford  to  do  so  would  do 
well  to  subscribe  to  it. 


i^*^l^tf^^^^^^f^^^^^^^»0^l*0^m 


NATURAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 


BOTANY. 

Edible  Fungi.  —  During  the  last  few  years  great  attention  has  been 
paid,  by  botanists  on  the  one  hand  and  epicures  on  the  other,  to  the  edible 
qualities  of  certain  ftingi.  Notwithstanding  the  prejudice  generally  en- 
tertained against  this  class  of  vegetable  productions,  extending  in  Scot- 
land, Wales  and  some  parts  of  England,  even  to  the  common  mushroom, 

JVUurs,  a  weekly  illustrated  journal  of  science.  Royal  8vo,  two  columns,  pp.  82.  Twelve 
eents  a  number.    McMillan  A  Oo.   New  York,  fid  Sleeker  street. 


124  NATURAL  HI8T0BY  MISCEIXANY. 

there  Is  no  question  that  a  considerable  number  of  species,  very  abundant 
in  this  country,  are  not  only  wholesome,  but  delicious  articles  of  diet, 
and  are  at  least  as  easily  distinguished,  with  a  little  practice,  fh)m  the 
poisonous  or  suspicious  species,  as  are  berries  or  other  wild  fruits.  Con- 
taining a  larger  portion  of  nitrogen  than  any  other  family  of  the  vegetable 
kingdom,  they  Airnish  an  abundant  supply  of  nourishment  at  a  period  of 
the  year  when  very  little  else  is  to  be  obtained.  It  is  calculated  that 
there  is  scarcely  a  parish  in  England  where  tons  of  wholesome  food  are 
not  allowed  to  waste  every  year,  to  say  nothing  of  the  facilities  for  their 
artificial  culture.  Berkeley  reckons  that  there  are  at  least  thirty  distinct 
English  edible  fungi ;  Dr.  Curtis  has  partaken  of  forty  in  North  Carolina, 
and  enumerates  one  hundred  and  eleven  species  in  that  state  alone  re- 
puted to  be  edible.  Fries,  the  greatest  living  ci^ptogami^t,  is  publishing 
a  large  work  on  the  edible  and  poisonous  flingi  of  Sweden ;  several  works 
of  a  similar  character  have  recently  been  brought  out  in  Italy;  in  our 
own  country  the  Rev.  M.  J.  Berkeley,  Mr.  Worth Ington  G.  Smith  and  Dr. 
Bull  of  Hereford,  may  be  mentioned  as  having  paid  special  attention  to 
the  subject.  —  Quarterly  Journal  of  Science, 

Largb  Tbbiss  in  Australia.  —  On  this  subject  the  government  director 
of  the  Botanic  Garden  at  Melbourne  furnishes  some  interesting  details, 
as  follows: — *'The  marvellous  height  of  some  of  the  Australian  (and 
especially  the  Victorian)  trees  has  become  the  subject  of  closer  investi- 
gation since  of  late  (particularly  through  the  miner's  tracks)  easier 
access  has  been  afibrded  to  the  back  gullies  of  our  mountain  system. 
Some  astounding  data,  supported  by  actual  measurements,  are  now  on 
record.  The  highest  tree  previously  known  was  a  Karri  Eucalyptus 
(Eucalyptus  colossea)^  measured  by  Mr.  Pemberton  Walcott,  in  one  of  the 
delightful  glens  of  the  Warren  River,  in  Western  Australia,  where  it  rises 
to  approximately  four  hundred  feet  high.  Into  the  hollow  trunk  of  this 
Karri,  three  riders,  with  an  additional  pack-horse,  could  enter  and  turn  in 
it  without  dismounting.  At  the  desire  of  the  writer  of  those  pages  (Dr. 
MQller),  Mr.  D.  Bogle  measured  a  fallen  tree  of  Eucalyptus  amygdalina^  in 
the  deep  recesses  of  Daudenong  (Victoria),  and  obtained  for  it  the  length 
of  four  hundred  and  twenty  feet,  with  proportionate  width ;  while  Mr. 
G.  Klein  took  the  measurement  of  a  Eucalyptus  on  the  Black  Spur,  ten 
miles  distant  from  Healesville,  four  hundred  and  eighty  feet  high.  .  .  ,  . 
It  is  not  at  all  likely  that,  in  these  isolated  inquiries,  chance  has  led  to 
the  really  highest  trees,  which  the  most  secluded  and  the  least  accessible 
spots  may  still  conceal.  It  seems,  however,  almost  beyund  dispute  that 
the  trees  of  Australia  rival  in  length,  though  evidently  not  In  thickness, 
even  the  renowned  forest  giants  of  California,  Sequoia  Wellingtonia^  the 
highest  of  which,  as  far  as  the  writer  is  aware,  rises,  in  their  favorite 
haunts  at  the  Sierra  Nevada,  to  about  four  hundred  and  tifty  feet.  .  .  . 
Thus  to  Victorian  trees  the  palm  must  be  conceded  for  elevation."  — 
Mossman*s  Origin  of  the  Seasons,  p.  867.  [And  see  more  at  length,  **  Silll- 
man's  Journal"  for  November,  1867,  p.  422.] 


NATURAL  HTSTORr  MISGELLANT.  125 

Tendency  of  Floral  Organs  to  Exchange  Ofttces.  —  In  the  No- 
vember Naturalist,  p.  494,  *'  C.  J.  S./'  speaks  of  flDdiDg  a  little  ear  on 
the  apex  of  a  staininate  spike  of  Indian  Corn.  This  is  something  new  to 
me ;  but  I  have  several  times  seen  stamiuate  organs,  produced  on  the  ear. 

When  the  rains  came  after  the  past  dry  summer  many  plants  seem  to 
have  made  haste  to  produce  new  organs  even  though  out  of  place,  rather 
than  to  go  on  with  the  development  of  organs  formed  at  the  natural 
time.  This  tendency  gives  us  ears  of  com  on  the  tassel,  as  C.  J.  8.  has 
observed,  and  tassels  formed  upon  the  ear  and  many  abortive  ears  in  a 
single  husk,  ns  I  have  observed  this  fall.  I  have  noticed,  also,  a  few 
heads  of  Timothy  which,  Instead  of  producing  seed,  have  produced  a 
growth  of  little  leaves,  and  are  scarcely  recognizable  as  Timothy-heads. 
—  D.  Millikin. 

Monstrosity  in  Trillium.  —  April  28,  1866,  while  botanizing  at  Le 
Roy,  N.  Y.,  I  fo\ind  a  Trillium  with  two  stems  arising  from  a  common 
rootstock,  each  stem  bearing  a  flower  unlike  the  other  and  neither  perfect. 
The  petals  of  one  could  hardly  be  distinguished  from  its  sepals,  the  only 
perceptible  difference  being  a  minute  white  margin  surrounding  the  apex 
of  each  petal.  The  floral  envelopes  In  this  case  appear  to  have  reverted 
to  the  form  and  color  of  the  leaves  much  more  nearly,  than  in  the  other 
terminal  flower  where  the  petals  are  oblong  and  pure  white,  having  a  nar- 
row green  stripe  running  through  the  centre  of  each.  Though  monstros- 
ities among  the  Trllllums  may  not  be  rare,  I  have  never  seen  a  similar 
one.  —  C.  8.  Osborne,  Hochesterj  N.  T. 

Notices  of  Botanical  Monstrositif^,  such  as  the  above,  we  are  glad 
to  receive  from  our  various  coiTespondents.  But  they  must  not  be  dis- 
appointed If  they  should  not  appear  at  once.  When  they  have  accumu- 
lated a  little  so  as  to  throw  interest  upon  each  other,  we  will  print  them 
all.  or  the  most  interesting  ones,  with  some  remarks  on  their  classification 
and  bearing,  as  illustrated  in  connection  with  a  recent  work  upon  Vege- 
table Teratology,  by  Dr.  Masters  of  London,  published  by  the  Ray  Soci- 
ety. If  our  correspondents  will  send  us  the  specimens  themselves,  or 
drawings  of  them,  it  would  in  many  cases  be  advantageous.  As  to  the 
monstrosity  in  Indian  corn,  the  attempt  to  produce  ears  on  the  staminate 
spike  Is  common  enough ;  the  production  of  male  flowers  on  the  ear  Is  so 
unusual  that  we  shonld  be  very  glad  to  see  specimens.  Chlorosis  (as  it  Is 
termed)  in  Trillium  grandiflorum  Is  rather  common,  and  we  flnd  that  the 
plant  so  affected  goes  on  year  after  year  producing  such  blossoms. — Eds. 

Arctic  Flora.  —  Dr.  Berthold  Seeman  discusses  in  the  *'  Journal  of 
Botany,"  the  question  whether  vegetation  extends  to  the  North  Pole, 
supposing  land  exists  there.  He  answers  the  question  In  the  aflSrmatlve, 
maintaining  that  excessive  cold  In  winter  exercises  but  a  limited  Influence 
upon  a  vegetation  which,  like  the  Arctic,  enjoys  the  protection  of  a  thick 
covering  of  snow,  and  is  besides  in  a  state  of  Inactivity.  The  tempera- 
tare  of  the  summer  daring  the  months  of  July  and  August  has  by  far  the 


126  NATURAL   HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 

greatest  share  In  the  distrlbation  of  vegetable  life  in  the  northern  regions, 
and  the  lowest  temperature  during  those  months  is  not  found  in  the 
most  northerly  point  yet  reached  by  any  exploring  expedition,  but  in 
Winter  Island,  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Melville  Peninsula,  where  the 
mean  temperature  during  July  and  August  ranges  between  84^  and  AG^  F. 
That  spot,  which  may  be  called  the  phytological  pole,  is  nevertheless  cov- 
ered with  vegetation,  and  knowing  as  we  do,  that  plants  do  grow  not  only 
on  a  ft'ozen  soil,  but  even,  as  in  Eotzebue  Sound,  on  the  tops  of  icebergs, 
there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  terrestrial  pole  is  destitute  of  vege- 
tation. The  most  northerly  berry-bearing  plant  yet  recorded  is  Vaccinium 
VUiS'IcUeat  or  the  cranberry,  gathered  in  Bushman  Island,  on  the  north- 
west shore  of  Greenland,  by  Captain  W.  Penny,  or  in  latitude  76^  N., 
and  longitude  66®  W.  The  most  northerly  berry-bearing  genera  are  Vac- 
dniumt  Oxycoc^uSy  SubuSy  Comus  and  Empetrum.  It  is  stated  that  occa- 
sionally berries  ripen  in  Lapland.  — Quarterly  Journal  of  Science, 

[We  should  think  so  I  See  Linnseus's  '*  Lapland  Flora,"  and  his  inter- 
esting **Tour  in  Lapland."  In  the  former  almost  thirty  baccate-fk*uited 
plants  are  enumerated,  and  at  least  half  of  these  ripen  edible  berries.  — 
Editors.] 

Thb  Fertilization  of  Wikter-flowerino  Plants. —  Mr.  A.  W.  Ben- 
nett contributes  to  the  first  number  of  the  new  scientific  magazine, 
**  Nature,"  the  results  of  some  observations  on  the  fertilization  of  those 
plants  which  habitually  fiower  in  the  winter,  when  there  are  few  or  no 
insects  to  assist  In  the  distribution  of  the  pollen.  He  finds  that  in  those 
wild  plants  which  fiower  and  produce  seed-bearing  capsules  throughout 
the  year,  as  the  white  and  red  dead-nettles,  shepherd^s  purse,  chlckweed, 
groundsel,  etc.,  the  pollen  Is  uniformly  discharged  In  the  bud  before  the 
fiower  opens.  Many  garden-plants,  on  the  other  hand,  natives  of  warmer 
countries,  but  which  still  fiower  with  us  in  the  depth  of  winter,  never 
bear  fruit  In  this  climate,  and  in  them  the  pollen  Is  not  discharged  till  the 
fiower  Is  fblly  open.  Of  this  class  are  the  yellow  Jasmine  and  the  Chi- 
monanthus  fragrans,  or  all-splce  tree ;  In  the  latter  species  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  pistil  and  the  stamens  Is  such  as  to  render  self-ferttllzatlon 
impossible.  —  Quarterly  Journal  of  Science, 

ZOOLOGY. 

A  Rare  Duck.  —  A  specimen  of  the  Brown  Tree  Duck,  Dendroeygna 
fulvay  was  killed  in  New  Orleans  on  the  22d  of  January,  1870,  and  pre- 
sented by  Mr.  N.  B.  Moore  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution.  This  is  the 
first  instance  on  record  of  the  occurrence  of  this  species  so  far  to  the 
east,  although  It  has  been  known  for  some  time  as  an  Inhabitant  of  Cali- 
fornia; In  the  first  place,  fh)m  specimens  found  by  Mr.  Ilanters  at  Fort 
Tejou.  The  species  occurs  sparingly  throughout  Mexico  and  Central 
America  and  the  eastern  parts  of  South  America,  and  Is  said  to  have  been 
found  nesting  near  Galveston,  Texas,  by  Mr.  Dresser.  ^1% 


NATURAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY.  127 

ExTKiiNAL  Gills  in  Gvnoid  Fiwiks. — Stelndachner  has  discovered  that 
in  the  two  species  of  Ganoid  fishes  Polypterus  Lapradei  u.  sp.,  and  Polyp- 
terus  Senrgalus  external  branchiss  occur  when  they  are  young.  In  his  new 
species,  P.  Lapradei,  the  branchiss  persist  in  individuals  nineteen  inches 
long.  They  consist  of  a  long,  flattened  band,  with  fringed  edges,  very 
like  the  external  branchiae  of  the  axolotls ;  there  is  a  single  one  on  each 
side  behind  the  operculum,  and  it  does  not  pass  the  posterior  margin 
of  the  pectoral  fin.  In  P.  Senegalua  this  transitory  organ  disappears 
sooner,  and  is  no  longer  to  be  found  in  specimens  measuring  three  and  a 
half  to  four  inches  in  length.  That  these  are  respiratory  organs  has  been 
proved  by  the  anatomical  investigations  of  Professor  Hyrtl. — Annal8 
and  Magazine,  of  Natural  History. 

Thk  Limbs  ok  Ichthyosaurus  and  Plesioaaurus.  —  Dr.  Gegenbaur  of 
Jena,  has  recently  published  an  essay  on  the  nature  of  the  limbs  of  Ich- 
thyosaurus and  Plesiosaurus.  He  indicates  that  the  homologies  of  the 
paddle  of  the  former  are  best  understood  by  reference  to  the  fin  of  the 
Selachians,  especially  of  the  sharks,  a  most  important  point.  He  accepts 
the  view  of  the  great  importance  of  the  diflferences  between  its  limb 
and  that  of  Plesiosaurus.  (In  the  American  genus  Polycotylus,  though 
the  type  of  limb  is  that  of  the  Plesiosauroid,  the  ulna  and  radius  are 
those  of  Ichthyosaunis ;  the  vertebra  resemble  also  those  of  the  latter.) 
He  indicates  that  the  serial  relationship  of  the  carpals,  metacarpals  and 
phalanges  is  to  be  traced  to  the  corresponding  segments  of  a  primary  — 
the  radial  —  series,  or  ray.  He  thus  lays  the  basis  of  the  homology  of 
subordinate  radii  of  Protopherus  and  Bregmacerus,  and  of  the  fUlcra  of 
sauroid  fishes,  and  therefore  a  basis  for  the  estimation  of  the  origin  ot 
the  distal  portions  of  limbs  fVom  the  simplest  form  —  the  simple  ray.  — 

E.  D.  COFB. 

The  Groans  of  Hearing  and  Smell  in  Insects.  —  Mr.  Lowne,  in  a 
recent  work  on  the  anatomy  and  physiology  of  the  flesh  fly,  states  his 
belief  that  the  organ  of  smell  is  located  in  the  third  joint  of  the  antennas, 
which  are  remarkably  dilated,  and  are  covered  with  minute  openings 
communicating  with  little  sacs  in  the  interior.  The  halteres  he  regards 
as  the  organ  of  hearing,  their  cavity  being  filled  by  a  very  large  nerve 
terminating  In  nerve  cells,  which  is  connected  with  a  number  of  small, 
highly  refracting  bodies,  regularly  arranged  around  the  base  of  the  organ. 
—  The  Academy, 

Albino  Barn  Swallow. —  In  the  month  of  July  of  last  year,  near 
Saco,  Maine,  I  observed  a  fiock  of  Barn  Swallows  {Hirundo  korreorum 
Barton),  one  of  the  Individuals  of  which  was  pure  white  or  nearly  so.  — 

F.  P.  Atkinson. 

■ 

The  Sars  Fund.  —  At  a  parlor  lecture  delivered  In  Salem  by  Mr.  E.  S. 
Morse,  the  sum  of  twenty-nine  dollars  and  fifty  cents  ($29.50)  was  raised 
for  the  family  of  the  late  Professor  Michael  Sars,  of  Chrlstlanla. '  Liberal 
sums  have  already  been  subscribed  in  London  and  Paris. 


128  CORRESPONDENCE. 


GEOLOGY. 

Discovery  of  a  buqr  Whalb  in  North  Carolina.  —  Professor  Kerr 
has  discovered  recently  in  North  Carolina  the  remains  of  a  hnge  whale 
some  eighty  feet  in  length,  which  I  have  recently  studied.  It  is  near 
Baleena,  and  very  different  from  anything  hitherto  found.  It  has  an  ex- 
traordinary development  of  the  snpercilla.  The  ear  bone  is  preserved. 
I  have  named  it  Mesoteras  Kerrianu8.  —  E.  D.  Cope. 

The  Geology  ok  Brazil.  —  Professor  C.  F.  Hartt  of  Cornell  Uni- 
versity, who  has  for  several  years  been  studying  the  geology  of  the  coast 
region  of  Brazil,  and  has  published  two  papers  on  the  subject  in  the  Nat- 
URAUST,  Vol.  I,  and  a  general  r^sum^  of  his  explorations  in  the  **  Pro- 
ceedings of  the  American  Geographical  Society/'  and  has  an  extensive 
work  on  the  subject  nearly  printed,  entitled  '*The  Geology  and  Physical 
Geography  of  the  Coast  Provinces  of  Brazil,"  proposes  to  make  a  third 
trip  to  Brazil  next  summer.  He  will  take  with  him  several  students  from 
Cornell  University,  and  the  expedition  will  be  one  that  in  its  results  will, 
we  doubt  not,  do  credit  to  that  institution  which  has  already  done  so 
much  in  introducing  taW  courses  of  scientific  studies  into  college  curricu- 
lums.  The  geology  and  natural  history  of  Brazil  have  been  largely  studied 
out  by  university  professors  ft'om  America  and  Europe.  Professor  Hartt 
proposes  to  study  especially  the  Amazonian  drift,  and  doubts  having  been 
thrown  on  Professor  Agassiz's  theory  of  a  great  Amazonian  glacier  by 
several  eminent  geologists,  we  trust  that  this  vexed  question  will  he  ftilly 
settled. 

Professor  Ward's  Museum. — It  will  be  gratifying  to  many  of  our 
readers  to> learn  that  the  late  fire  has  not  proved  an  unconquerable  ob- 
stacle to  the  indomitable  energy  of  Professor  Ward.  Our  own  Museum 
has  lately  been  augmented  by  the  addition  of  a  small  collection  of  his 
valuable  casts  of  unattainable  European  fossils,  and  we  understand  that 
he  will  continue  to  furnish  casts  and  collections  to  colleges  and  institu- 
tions as  freely  as  before  the  fire.  Professor  Ward  also  informed  us  that 
he  was  upon  the  point  of  departing  again  for  Europe,  where  he  expects 
to  renew  and  add  to  his  collections,  both  of  actual  fossils  and  of  casts. 
His  museum  was  fhlly  Insured,  and  as  this  has  been  paid,  the  losses  can 
be,  in  a  great  measure,  repaired,  especially  among  the  moulds,  only  one- 
third  of  the  whole  of  these  having  been  destroyed. — Editors. 


-•o*- 


ANSWERS  TO  CORRESPONDENTS. 

• 

8.  L.  W.,  New  York.— Lichen B,  Nos.  1  and  8,  Leptogium  iremtlloide*  i  No.  3,  Pannaria 
mieropkyllat'So,  i,  Endocarpon  miniatuniy  two  epecimens,  one  of  which  ie  E.  glaueum 
Ach.,  bnt  only  a  variety;  Kos.  6  and  6,  CetraHa  lacunosa ;  Ko.  7,  Urceolnria  8cruposai 
No.  8,  Parmelia  BoxatUU.  The  UBtiea  without  a  number  la  U»nea  rubiginota  Mx.,  a 
variety  of  U,  barbata,  -~  J.  L.  B. 


INDEX    TO    VOLUME    ONE. 


^schna,  seyeral  species  of.  311. 

Agency  of  Insects  in  Fertilizing  Plants,  155, 

254,403. 
Agricoltnrist,  American,  821. 
Agrlon  saucium,  308. 
Alaslca,  205. 
Alee  Americanns,  063. 
Alexia  myoRotis,  (>71. 

American  Aborigines,  Cranial  Foi*nis,  152. 
American  Acad,  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  55. 
American  Association  for  the  Advancement 

of  Science,  160,  442,  408,  550,  018,  074. 
Amorpba  canescens,  406.    A.  fi*uticosa,  405. 
Aropniex  Siblrica,  213. 
Analogy,  438. 
Andrena  vicfna,  590. 
Andromeda  floribunda,  256. 
Annual  Increase  In  the  Circtunftrcnce  of 

Trees,  155. 
Annelids,  yonng  stages  of,  60. 
Antilocapra  Americana,  537. 
Anther  of  Flowers,  Origin  of,  61. 
AntrozouB  pallldus,  28i. 
Apathas,  3u9. 
Apple  Tree  Borer,  110. 
Aquarium,  438. 
Aqtiilla  Canadensis,  41. 
Arctomys  monax,  060. 
Arizona,  Ornithology  of,  200;  Quadrupeds 

of,  281,  351,  393,  531. 
Artlculata,  Motions  of,  83. 
Asclepias  obtusifolia,  71. 
Asteiids,  126,  470. 
Asttir  atricapillus,  40. 
Aurelia,  250. 
Awakening  of  the  Birds,  401. 

Bald  Engle.  41. 

Basin  of  Minas,  Bird  Tracks  of,469, 234. 

Bassaris  astuta.  351. 

Bat  Brown,  284. 

Bats,  283. 

Bears,  863, 657. 

Beaver,  302, 660. 

Bee  Journal,  American,  888. 

Bees.  The  Home  of,  364, 696. 

Beetles,  163. 

BcU  flower,  406. 

Birds,  Awakening  of,  401. 

Birds,  Errors  regarding  the  habits  of,  113. 

Birds,  Gigantic,  of  the  Muscareue  Islands, 

615. 
Birds,  Nests  of,  811. 
Bii'ds  of  Spring,  141. 

Bird  Tracks  of  the  Basin  of  Minas,  169, 234. 
Biscuit  made  of  Fish,  323. 
BittoiTi,  325,  434. 
Binck-poU  Warbler,  120. 
Blueberry,  2MI. 
Blue  Flag,  256. 
Blue  Jay,  46. 
Bobolink,  143. 
Bolina,  248. 
Bos  Americanus.  640. 
Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  66,  112, 

164.  280,  444,  022. 

AMER.   NATURALIST,   VOL.   I. 


Botanical  Excursions  m  my  Office,  617. 
Botany.  51, 154,  210, 271,  322,  432,  493,  678. 
Botany,  Manual  ol;  491. 
Brazil,  A  Vacation  Trip  to,  642. 
Brachyotus  Cnt'sinii,  41. 
Breeding  Habits  of  Birds,  496. 
Bubo  Virginianns,  41. 
Bucephala  Americana,  46. 
Bufo  Americanus,  106. 
BuflTnlo,  5(0. 
Bull  Frog,  109. 

Bunting,  Black-throated,  118. 
Buf^h  Kat,  399. 
Bntco  borealis,  41. 

Baiterflics.  Flights  of,  104;  Mimetic  Forms 
among,  52. 

Calabar  Bean,  Physiological  Effects  of,  61. 

Califoruia  Academy  of  Sciences,  334, 569. 

Callosamia  angrnlilera,  and  Promethea,  81. 

Campanula  rapunculoides,  406. 

Canis  Intrans,  289.    C.  occidentalis,  668. 

Cardnelis  tristis,  115. 

Caribou,  666. 

Carnivora,  285. 

Carpenter  Bees,  167,  869. 

Carpocapsa  pomnella,  110. 

Carychium  exiguum,  670. 

Castor  Canadensis,  362, 660. 

Caterpillar.  A  Snake-like,  436. 

Cathartes  Californianus,  114. 

Cephalapods,  Tetrabranchiate,  270. 

Cephallzatlon  among  Crustacea,  77. 

Ceratlna  dupla,  371. 

Cervus  macrotis.  635.    C.  Virginianns,  606. 

Chalk  in  Colorado  and  Dacota,  53. 

Chicago  Academy  of  Science,  66, 447. 

Chickadee,  584. 

Chiroptera,  283. 

Chignon  Fungus,  870. 

ChlccOn,  Development  of,  428. 

Chrysomitris  tristis,  43.    C.  pinuB,  44, 

Circus  Hudsonius,  41. 

Civets,  351. 

Clothes'  moths,  110,  423. 

Cocki'oach  and  its  Enemy,  283. 

Coddling  moth,  110, 163. 

Ccolebogyne,  72. 

Collyrio  borealis,  43. 

Coleoptera,  163. 

Common  objects  of  the  Country,  649. 

Compositxe,  126. 

Concnology,  American  Journal  of,  102. 

Correspondents,  Answers  to,  63,  106,  160, 

214,  326,  441. 
Corvus  Americanus,  46. 
Corydalis,  71.    C.  aurea,  72.    C.  cava,  72. 
Cougar,  285. 
Crab,  Edible.  62. 

Cretaceous  Formation.  .320.  [554. 

Crinoidal  Banks  of  Crawfordsville,  Ind., 
Cristatella,  184.    C.  ophidioidea,  186. 
Orow,  45. 

Cnistacea  Living  In  Ascidia,  49. 
Curvlrostra  Americana,  44.    G.  leucopten, 

46. 


87 


(689) 


690 


INDEX. 


CnBcuta  Americana.    C.  epllinum,  100.    C. 

GronoTii,  192. 
Cyanea,  250. 
Cyanura  cristata,  45. 
CynomvB  Gonnisoniif  302.    C.  Lndovicia* 

HUB,  362. 

Dandelion,  i05. 

Deer.  666. 

Dendroica  striata,  120. 

Desmids  and  Diatoms.  505, 687. 

Devil's  Darning  Needle,  310. 

DiatomaceaB,  Movements  of,  441. 

Diatoms,  158,  505, 587. 

Digitalis  pnpurea,  258. 

Dimorphic  Plants,  67. 

Diplax  Berenice,  311.     D.  Elisa,  311.     D. 

rubicundula,  311. 
Dipodomys  Philippil,  385.    D.  Ordil,  306. 
DiscophorsB,  250. 
Dodo,  614. 

Dragon-fly,  304;  Eggs  of,  391. 
Drying  Flowers  by  Heat,  103. 
Duck  Hawk,  39. 
Duck,  Golden-eyed,  46. 

Eagle,  Bald,  41,  615;  Golden,  41. 
Eagles,  Novel  way  of  Siiooting,  439. 
Earliest  races  of  Men  in  Europe,  272. 
,  Educational  Montiily,  American,  271. 
Empldonax  Acadicus  and  minimus,  119. 
Encampment  of  the  Herons,  343. 
Entomological  Society  of  Philadelphia,  168. 
Entomological  Society  of  Canada,  167,  280. 
EozoOn  in  Austria,  lOo. 
Ephemera,  80. 
Ephyra.  252. 
Epigea  repens,  154. 
Erethizon  dorsatus,  663.  E.  epixanthus,  531. 
Esph-itu  Santo,  Flor  del,  155. 
Essex  Institute,  Proceedings  of,  65, 112, 165, 

224,680. 
Enspiza  Americana,  118. 
Evening  Primrose,  259. 
Expedition  of  Williams  College,  213. 

Falco  anatum,  30.     F.  candicans,  40.     F. 

columbarius.  1^. 
False  Indigo,  405. 
Felis  concolor,  285,  662.    F.  onza,  285.    F. 

pardalis,  286. 
Fern,  New,  4.32. 
Fiber  zibethicus,  400, 663, 
Field  Sparrow,  variety  of,  614. 
Fish,  change  of  color  in,  391, 497;  Gestation 

of,  324;  Culture,  296, 322. 
Fisher-cat,  656. 
Flax,  66. 

Flax  Dodder,  190. 
Flowers,  change  of  color  in,  890. 
Fly,  larva  of,  73. 

Fossil  Neuropterons  Insects,  268. 
Foxfflove,  258. 
Fredericella,  58. 
Fruits,  Rottenness  of,  271. 

Gasterosteus  biacnleatus,  238. 

Generic  and  Specific  Names,  438. 

Geological  Science,  Advance  of,  212. 

Geology,  53, 104, 157,  212,  272,  825, 654. 

Geysers  of  California,  337. 

Gila  Chipmunk,  358.  [610. 

Glacial  Phenomena  of  Labrador  and  Maine, 

Glossary*  681. 

Golden  c:agle,  41. 

Goldfinch,  American,  116. 


Gorilla,  Habits  of,  177. 

Goshawk,  40. 

Grape,  Southern  Muscadine.  638. 

Grattsnopper,  Bed-legged,  271. 

Gray  Fox,  292. 

Gray  Wolf,  288. 

Great  Gray  Owl,  41.    ■ 

Green  Frog,  109. 

Guillemot,  Black,  63. 

Gulo  luscus,  352. 

Gymnolaemata,  58. 

Haliaetus  leucocephalas,  41, 616. 

Halictns  parallelus,  602. 

Hand  as  an  Unruly  Member,  414, 482, 681. 

Hares,  531. 

Harvest  Mouse,  398. 

Hawaiian  Plants,  647. 

Hawk  Owl,  42. 

Helix  albolabris,  6, 95, 06, 316.  H.  altemata, 
187, 315.  H.  arborea,  542.  H.  asteriscus, 
646.  H.  Binneyana,  542.  H.  chersina,  544. 
H.  cillaria,  541.  H.  concava,412.  H.  den- 
tifera,  99.  H.  electrina,  542.  H.  exigua, 
543.  H.  ferrea,  644.  H.  fnliginosis,  315. 
H.  hirsuta,  151.  H.  hortensls,  186.  H.  in- 
dentata,  413.  H.  inomata,  314.  H.  laby- 
rinthica,  515.  H.  lineata,  546.  H.  milium, 
543.  H.  minuscula,  643.  H.  minuta,  644. 
H.  minutissima,  646.  H.  monodon,  151, 
315.  H.  multidentata,  543.  H.  palliata, 
150.  H.  Sayi,  98.  H.  striatella,  546.  H. 
suppressa,  411.  H.  thyroides,  98.  H.  tri- 
dentata,  150. 

Herons,  Encampment  of,  343. 

Hesperomys,  Arizonian  species  of,  388. 

High  Mallow,  407. 

Honey  Bees,  Fertile  Workers,  62;  Queen, 
ft*om  worker  Grubs,  439. 

Hooded  Merganser,  w. 

Homology,  438. 

Homed  Corydalus,  436. 

Human  Jaw,  Fossil,  63. 

Hydroids,  252. 

Hyla  Pickeringii,  108.    H.  versicolor,  109. 

Hypotriorchis  columbarius,  89. 

Ice-marks  «and  Ancient  Glaciers  in   the 

White  Mountains,  260. 
Ichneumon  Parasite,  89. 
Idyia.  249. 

Illinois  Natural  History  Society,  66. 
ludigo  Bird,  117;  Eggs  of,  436. 
Insect  Box,  156. 
Insectivora,  285. 

Insectivcrous  Birds,  Nests  of,  211. 
Insects  Injurious  to  Vegetation,  163. 
Insects  or  Early  Spring,  110;  of  May,  102; 

of  June,  220;  of  Ju^r>  277;  of  August, 

327;  of  September,  391. 
Insects  and  their  Allies,  73. 
Insects  of  Ancient  America,  625. 
Iris  pscudocarus,  256.    I.  versicolor,  256. 
Istiophora,  283. 

Jaculus  Hudsonius,  387. 
Jaguar,  286. 

Jelly  Fishes,  Something  about,  244. 
Jumping  Mouse,  397. 

Ealinia,  66, 257.  K.  angnstifolia,  267.  K.  la- 

tifolia,  257. 
Kilauea,  The  Volcano  of,  16. 
Kinglet,  Golden  crested,  42. 
EJookkenmoBddings.  or  Shell-heaps  in  Maine 

and  Massachusetts,  661. 


INDEX. 


691 


Land  SnaUs,  5, 95, 150, 186, 813, 411, 541,  606, 

666. 
Laurel,  66, 257. 
Lead  Plant,  405. 
Leaf-nosed  Bats,  283. 
LegurainoBflB,  259. 
Lepidopterologlcal  Notoa,  820. 
Lepus  artemiBia,  534.    L.  Califomicus.    L. 

callotis.    L.  campestria,  531. 
Leticochila  armifera,  667.   L.  contracta,  666. 

L.  pentodon,  667. 
Libellula  auriponnia,  306.    L.  quadrimac- 

ulatu,  310.    L.  trimaculata,  310. 
Lichens,  Chemical  Test,  434. 
Llniax,  10. 
Linum,  66. 

Lizard-like  Serpent,  Arom  the  Chalk  forma- 
tion of  England,  53. 
Long-eared  Bat,  283. 
Long-eared  Owl,  41. 
Loosestrife,  Spiked,  68. 
Lophodytes  cacuUatns,  40. 
Lophopus,  181. 
LotuB,  210. 

Lupus  occideutalls,  288. 
Lutra  Canadensis,  666. 
Lyceum  of  Natural  History  of  New  York, 

166,  330,  623. 
Lynx  Canadensis.  652.    L  rufkis,  287, 653. 
Lysianassa  Magellanica  and  Crustacea  on 

the  Coast  of  Sweden  and  Norway,  48. 
Lythrum  salicaria,  68. 

MacrotuB  Califomlcns,  283. 

Malva  sylvestris,  407. 

Man,  Earliest  races  of,  272. 

Marsupials,  354. 

Marsh  Hanier,  41. 

Martins,  352. 

Mason-bee,  375. 

May  Flower,  154. 

May  Fly.  80. 

Megachile,  373. 

Melampus  bidentatus,  671. 

Mephitis  mephitica,  657. 

Mergus  Americanns,  46. 

Microscopical  Society,  American,  167. 

Microscopy,  158, 213, 276, 325, 440, 555, 616. 

Milk-weeks,  60. 

Mimetic  Forma  among  Insects,  52, 155. 

Mink,  666. 

Miocene  Flora  of  North  Greenland.  825. 

Modem  Scientific  Investigation,  449. 

Monstrous  Boses,  433. 

Moose,  063. 

Moss-animals,  or  Polyzoa,  57, 131, 180. 

Mottled  Owl,  41. 

Mud-dauber,  293. 

Mule  Deer.  535. 

Museum  oi  Comparative  Zoology,  387. 

Musk-rat,  400,  663. 

Mustela  Americana,  656.  M.  Pennantii,  656. 

MustUidos,  852. 

Mygale  Hentzii,  139,  409. 

Myriapoda  of  North  America,  49. 

Nannophva  bella,  811. 

Nardosmia,  406. 

Natural  History  of  Animals,  50. 

Natural  History  Calendar,  107, 160, 220, 277, 

827,391. 
Naturalist's  Note  Book,  618. 
Neotoma  Mexicana,  899. 
Nests  of  Insectiverous  Birds,  211. 
Neuroptera,  Fossil,  269. 
New  England  Beptiles  in  April,  107. 


New  England,  The  Land  Snails  of,  5, 96,  ISO, 

186.  313,  411.  541,  (KM,  Cm. 
New  Jersey,  The  Fossil  Iteptiles  of,  23. 
Night  Heron,  343. 
Nociiluca,  316. 
Northern  Shrike.  42. 
Notes  of  a  Fur  Hunter,  052. 
Note  from  the  Far  North,  206. 
Nyctea  nivea,  41. 
Nyctiardea  Garden  ii,  343. 

Object  Teachhig,  159. 

Ooulot,  286. 

Oenothera.  259. 

Oldenlandia,  67. 

Ophion  macrurnm,  89. 

Origin  of  Life  on  our  Globe,  439. 

Ornithological  Calendar  for  May,  IGO. 

Oniithologist,  Winter  Notes  ol,  :i».         [318. 

Ornithology  and  Oology  of  New  England, 

Ornithology  of  Arizona,  209. 

Osmia  leucomelana,  375.    O.  llgnivora,  376. 

O.  pacifica,  877.     O.  paretina,  375.     O. 

simillima,  377. 
Otter.  656. 

OlUB  Wiisonianus,  41. 
Ovis  Montana,  540. 
Owl,  Barred,  41. 
Owl  Cat.  41. 

Oxalis  acetosella,  71.  i 

Oyster  Culture,  196,  346. 
Oysters,  Enemies  of,  200. 

Pale  Bat,  283. 

Pandalus  annulicornis,  76. 

Panther,  652. 

Parallelism  between  the  different  stages  of 

Life  in  the  Individual,  and  those  in  the 

order  Tetrabranchiata,  270. 
Parasites  of  the  Humble  Bee,  157. 
Parasitic  Pianto,  188. 
Parns  atricapillus,  584. 
Parthenogenesis  In  Weeping  Willow,  154. 
PasBaflora  racemosa,  09. 
PasBion  Flower,  69. 
Pcctinatella,  182.    P.  magniflca,  136. 
Pelican,  Breeding  Place  of,  436:  in  Cayuga 

Co.,  323. 
PelopcBUS,  203. 
Peregrine  Falcon,  89. 
Perognathus  in  Arizona,  897. 
Philadelphia,  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences 

of,  168,  224,  279,  447. 
Philanthus  ventilabris,  77. 
Phosphorescence  of  the  Sea,  316. 
Phosphorescent  Entomostraca,  825. 
Phylactolasmata,  58. 
Pigeon  Hawk,  89. 
Pipicola  Canadensis,  46. 
Pine  Finch,  44. 
Pine  Grosbeak,  45. 

Plantago  lanceolata,  404.   P.  major,  406. 
Plantain,  404.  [403. 

Plants,  Fertilization  by  Insects,  64, 156, 254, 
Plants,  Parasitic,  188. 
Plants,  Royal  Families  of,  126. 
Platysamia  Cecropia,  81.    P.  Columbia,  81. 

P.  Euryale,  31. 
Plectropnanes  nivalis,  43. 
Pleurobrachia,  247. 
PlumatellsB,  181. 
Polioptila  coerulea,  110. 
Polycystina,213. 
Polyps  and  Echinoderms,  49. 
Polyzoa,  Fresh-water,  57, 181,  180. 
Pomology,  American,  321. 


692 


INDEX. 


PompilDB,  203.    P.  formoBiis,  187. 
Porcupine,  663 ;  Tellow  liaired,  631. 
Portland  Society  of  Natural  Hlstoryi  168. 
Pouched  Kangraroo  Bat,  885. 
Pouched  Rats,  893. 
Prairie  Dog,  short-tailed,  868. 
Pi^ocyon  lotori  657. 
Prong-horned  Antelope,  537. 
PnpiUa  badia,  609.    P.  flnllax,  609. 
Putorius  yison.  656. 
Pyramids  of  Egypt;  Remains  of  Plants, 
etc.,  in  a  Brick  from,  822. 

Quadrupeds  of  Arizona.  281, 361,  893, 531. 
Quarterly  Journal  of  Science,  611. 

Raccoon,  657. 

Rana  Catesbyana,  109.    R.  clamitans,  100. 

R.  halecina,  109.    R.  palustrls,  109.     R. 

sylTatica,  108. 
Raneifer  Caribou,  666. 
Rank  among  Insects,  70. 
Rats,  New  world.  307. 
Recent  Bird  Tracks,  234. 
Red  Crossbill,  44. 
Red  Fox,  653. 

Red-legged  Grasshopper,  271. 
Red  Sand-rat,  894. 

Red  Squirrel,  G59;  Black  Variety  of,  63. 
•  Regiilus  satrapa,  43. 
Reithrodon  humilis,  806. 
Reptiles  of  New  England,  107;  Fossil,  of 

Kew  Jersey,  23. 
Reviews.  48,  101,  152,  200,  260,  318,  887,  428, 

491, 547. 610,  672. 
Robinia  Hisplda,  674. 
Rocky  Mountain  Sheep,  640. 
Rodentia,  354. 
Rottenness  of  Fruits,  271. 

Sable,  655. 
Saccomyidae,  303. 
'Sage  Rabbit,  534. 
Salsola  Kali  growing  Inland,  674. 
Samia  Cynthia,  31. 
Saperda  birittata,  110. 
Scaphiopus  Holbrookii,  108. 
Scinrus  Abertil,  355.    S.  Hudsonius,  63, 658. 
Scops  asio,  41. 
Scorpion  of  Texas,  203. 
Sea  Horse  and  its  young,  226. 
Sea  Urchin,  Food  of,  124. 
Sheldrake,  40. 

Shellheaps  in  Maine  and  Massachusetts,  561. 
Short  Eared  Owl,  41. 
Slirimp,  76. 

Silk-worm,  American,  SO,  85, 145. 
Silk- worm,  Eggs  of,  92;  Enemies  of,  89. 
Stceleton  Leaves,  51. 
SIcunk,  657. 

Smithsonian  Institution,  101. 
Snails  of  New  England,  5,  95,  150,  186,  313, 

411. 541,  606,  666. 
Snails^  Tongues,  Preparation  of,  440. 
Snowy  Owl,  41. 
Snow  Bunting.  43. 
Spade-footed  Toads,  106. 
Sparrow  Hnwk,  89.  [tailed,  361. 

Spcrmophiie,  Line-tailed,  860.     S.  Round- 
Spcrmophilus  Beecheyi,  359.     S.  grammii- 

ni8,.560.    S.  Harrisii,  350.    S.  tcreticauda, 

361. 
Sphingidaa  of  Cuba,  820. 
Spiza  cyanea,  117. 
Spotted  Fi-og,  109. 
Spring  Beauty,  67. 


Squirrel,  Califomian  Ground,  850;  Striped, 

660;  Tuft-eared,  855. 
Succinea  avara,  007.     S.  ovalis,  607.     S. 

Totteniana,  606. 
Surface  Fauna  of  Mid-ocean,  565. 
Sweet  Coltsfoot,  406. 
Symia  ulula,  42. 
Syminm  cinereum,  41.    S.  nebulosum,  41. 

Tacsonia  mollissima,  68. 

Tailor-bee,  373. 

Tamias  dorsalis,  858.    T.  striatus,  060. 

Tarantula,  409. 

Tarantula  Killers  of  Texas,  137. 

Taraxicum  dens-leonis,  405. 

Taxidermists  Manual,  321. 

Telea  Polyphemus,  31,  83.  85,  87,  91, 92. 

Tenacity  of  Life  among  Higher  Plants,  82K. 

Terebella,  74. 

Tertiary  Flora  of  Brognon,  10:). 

Test  objects  for  the  Microscopes,  158. 

Thereva,  Larva  of,  73. 

Thomomys  fblvus,  391. 

Thomless  Form  of  Honey  Locust  Tree,  438. 

Tinnunculus  sparverius,  39. 

Tinea,  110.    T.  flaviflrontella,  426. 

Tortricidfl},  110. 

Tree-toads,  107.  [of,  156. 

Trees,  Annual  Increase  in  circumference 

Trichina  spiralis,  214. 

Tropsea  Luna,  Caterpillar  of,  31. 

0ria  grylle,  63. 

Ursidao,  853. 

Ursus  Americanus,  657. 

Vaccinium,256. 

Vertigo  Bollosiana,  669.  V.  decora,  670.  V. 
Gouldii,  669.  V.  milium,  G69.  V.  ovata, 
668.    V.  simplex,  670.    V.  ventricosa,  669. 

Vespa,  293. 

Vespcvtillo  macropus,  281.  V.  6ubulatus,284. 

Vitrlna  limpida,  814. 

ViverridsB,  351. 

Volcano  of  Kilauea,  16. 

Volvox  and  its  Parasite,  276. 

Vulpes  fulvus,  653.    V.  Virginianus,  292. 

Vulture,  Califomian,  114. 

Wasps  as  Marriage  Priests  to  Plants,  106. 

Wavy -leaved  Milkweed,  71. 

Weasel,  656. 

Whale,  stuffed  in  the  Swedish  Museum,  890. 

White  Hawk,  40. 

White  Mountains,  Ice  Marks  and  Ancient 

Glaciers  of,  260. 
White  Winged  Cross-bill,  44. 
Wild-cat,  653. 

Winter  Notes  of  an  Ornithologist,  88. 
Wolf,  063. 
Wolf,  Barking,  289. 
Wolverine,  852. 
Woodchnck,  660. 
Wood  Frogs,  108. 
Wood  Wasp,  77. 
Worms,  breathing  apparatus  of,  74. 

Xylocopa  Virginica,  869. 

Yellow  Bird,  43. 

York  Institute  of  Saco,  Me.,  168. 

Zotigenetes  harpa,  608.  [496, 649, 614. 

Zoology,  52,  104,  155,  211,  271,  822,  890, 434, 
Zua  lubricoides,  607. 
ZygrenidsB  of  Cuba,  820. 


AMERICAN   NATURALIST. 

Vol.  rV.— HAT,  1870.— Ho.  8. 


THE  INDIANS   OF  CALIFORNIA." 

BT   EDWARD   R.    CHKVBH. 


The  name  "Digger,"  which  Fremont  gave  to  the  Indians 
that  he  found  on  the  eastern  elnpe  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  a 

•Read  before  (he  Essex  Institute.  Fetirnarj-Sl,  IBTO,  An  sljElrnct  vlll  be  rnnnd  fn 
the  "  BDllellD  of  the  Essex  Institiilo  "  unci  a  Toc-ibiilaiy  or  such  fmnillar  irorde  as  Mr. 
Cherer  wu  able  to  reoall.  It  Ig  but  JuBlloe  to  our  ontbor  to  EUte  lUnt  his  rnmlltnrity 
wllb  the  bingnsse  of  tbe  tribes,  during  Ave  jemt  of  IVIendlf  i<eriinnal  Intercourse, 
bu  gijen  htin  a  rare  oppoTiun[t>-  of  forming'  a  correct  Juilgmcnt  of  wliat  tliese  Indians 
imtlr  were  before  they  were  ilerncirsllied  by  rontnct  witb  Hie  wliites,  anil  that  he  has 
conDned  himself  to  sacb  slat«piciitj  ss  he  remembered  clesr])'  and  knew  to  lie  correct. 
-£m. 

ZnterH  nceorflni  to  Aet  of  Conim^  In  the  jenr  1R70.  hv  the  PFAimny  AcadihY  of 
SciKxCM,  In  Uie  Cleik*  OtBoe  of  the  Dlurlct  Court  oT  tin-  Dliirlel  of  MusnchoHltii. 

AIIEH.  KATtJRALIST,  VOL.  IV.  17 


130  THE   INDIANS   OF   CALIFORNIA. 

people  who  obtained  a  precarious  subsistance  in  winter  by 
digging  through  the  snow  for  roots,  and  searching  the  rocks 
for  lizards,  and  who  had  neither  villages  or  numerical  force, 
has  been  applied  by  the  readers  of  Fremont's  work  to  all 
the  Indians  of  California.* 

The  name  was  really  applicable  to  those  whom  he  first 
met  with,  but  not  to  the  Indians  living  on  the  other  side  of 
the  mountains,  who  spoke  a  different  language  and  were 
more  provident  than  those  living  on  the  great  plains  east  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  latter  hav^  been  much  more 
destructive  to  the  whites  in  battle,  having  procured,  at  an 
early  date,  firearms  from  Indian  traders.  The  gold  excite- 
ment, however,  settled  California  so  rapidly  that  the  Indians 
were  in  a  hopeless  minority  after  the  first  immigration 
crossed  the  continent,  and  excepting  where  their  villages 
were  attacked  they  had  no  wish  to  fight,  for  they  had  no 
surplus  population  to  lose. 

That  these  same  Indians  were  not  wanting  in  courage 
or  spirit  I  have  had  repeated  proofs. 

They  would  attack  the  sturgeon  when  under  water  and 
drsg  him  to  the  shore  with  their  limbs  bleeding  from  the 
sharp  spikes.  I  have  also  seen  Indians  bearing  the  scars  of 
conflicts  with  grizzly  bears,  and  the  frequent  instances  of 
white  men  scarred  with  wounds  made  by  their  arrows,  shows 
that  they  contended  courageously  with  the  early  settlers. 

The  Indians  of  California,  in  1849,  were  the  more  inter- 
esting to  the  ethnologist  from  the  manner  in  which  that 
country  had  been  settled.  The  Jesuits,  it  is  true,  had  been 
in  Lower  California  for  many  years,  and  had  established 
mission  schools  there,  and  a  few  Europeans  had  a  short  time 
before  made  scattered  settlements  in  the  Sacramento  Valley, 
but  the  whole  country  was  so  remote  from  our  frontiers,  and 
inclosed  by  the  intervening  barriers  of  the  Rocky  Mountains 


*  The  lodian  tribes  of  the  section  I  am  describing,  called  ^mselyes  respecthrely, 
Sesnm,  Hocktem,  Tnbnm,  Hololipi,  Willem,  Tanknm,  and  inhabited  the  valley  of  north- 
ern California,  between  the  Sierra  Nevada  and  the  Coast  Bange. 


THE   INDIANS   OF   CALIFORNIA.  131 

and  the  snows  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  Range,  that  it  had  l>ecn 
but  little  changed  since  its  discovery  by  the  whites.  Many 
Indian  tribes  were  living  in  as  perfect  a  state  of  nature^ as  the 
elk,  deer  or  antelope,  which  furnished  them  with  food.  A 
head-dress  of  feathers  with  a  scanty  coat  of  paint  on  his  ftice 
was  the  full  dress  of  a  brave,  while  a  fringe  made  of  gi*ass, 
or  fine  strips  of  bark,  from  the  waist  to  the  knee,  was  the 
costume  of  the  girls  or  women.  The  Indians  had  but  lit- 
tle beard  naturally,  and  excepting  in  a  few  cases  where  old 
men  had  grown  careless  of  appearances  the  hairs  were  pulled 
out ;  sometimes  a  pair  of  muscle  shells  were  used  as  tweezers, 
although  I  have  seen  a  squaw  dip  her  fingers  in  ashes  and 
pull  out  her  husband's  beard,  and  draw  tears  at  the  same 
time  from  his  eyes.  Both  sexes  wore  ornaments  in  the 
ears,  but  not  rings.  The  children  had  their  ears  bored 
when  quite  young  and  small  sticks  inserted ;  these  were  ex- 
changed from  time  to  time  for  larger  sticks,  until  a  bone 
ornament,  made  from  one  of  the  larger  bones  of  a  pelican's 
wing  carved  in  rude  style,  and  decorated  at  the  end  with 
crimson  feathers,  could  be  worn  permanently.  This  bone 
was  about  five  or  six  inches  long  and  larger  in  size  than 
my  little  finger.  The  back  hair  of  the  men  was  fastened 
up  in  a  net,  and  this  was  made  fast  by  a  pin  of  hard  wood 
pushed  through  both  hair  and  net,  the  large  end  of  the 
pin  being  ornamented  with  crimson  feathers,  obtained  from 
the  head  of  a  species  of  woodpecker,  and  sometimes  also 
with  the  tail  feathers  of  an  eagle.  The  women  used  no  nets 
for  their  hair,  nor  wore  feathers  as  ornaments,  excepting  in 
the  end  of  the  bones  used  by  both  sexes  for  the  ears,  which 
I  have  already  described.  The  children  were  naturally 
frank  and  the  girls  gentle  and  confiding,  not  much  more  so, 
perhaps,  than  yoimg  grizzlies,  but  then  I  doubt  whether  the 
cub's  mother  threatens  to  give  it  to  a  white  man,  if  it  proves 
disobedient,  and  a  white  man  was  the  Bugbear  used  to 
frighten  papooses  into  good  behavior.  They  were  allowed 
much  freedom,  however,  in  seeking  amusement  or  instruc- 


132  THE   INDIANS   OF   CALIFORNIA. 

tion ;  the  girls  acting  as  nurses  to  the  younger  children, 
and  taking  them  off  in  the  woods  or  to  the  river  where  they 
bathed,  and  the  babies  allowed  to  crawl  in  the  water  before 
they  could  walk  on  land.  An  Indian  could  no  more  remem- 
ber when  he  learned  to  swim  than  when  he  first  stood  on  his 
feet.  When  the  children  were  disposed  to  be  good  natured 
the  girls  petted  them  as  kindly  as  our  children  tend  dolls, 
but  if  they  were  cross,  in  spite  of  their  caresses,  they  threw 
cold  water  in  their  faces  until  their  tempers  cooled.  The 
girls  fully  equalled  the  boys  in  swimming  or  diving,  and  also 
used  the  paddle  with  skill,  sometimes  even  beating  the  boys 
in  their  canoe  or  foot  races.  The  boys,  however,  soon  took 
to  their  bows  and  arrows,  wandering  off  to  hunt,  and  the 
girls  learned  at  home  the  art  of  weaving  baskets  and  making 
bread  of  acorns.  Familiar  with  the  points  of  the  compass 
from  infancy,  they  use  their  knowledge  on  all  occasions ;  even 
in  play,  if  a  ball  or  an  arrow  is  being  searched  for,  the  one 
who  saw  it  fall  will  guide  the  seeker  thus,  *'to  the  east,"  ''a 
little  north,"  "now  three  steps  north-west,"  and  so  on.  In 
the  darkest  night  I  have  known  an  Indian  go  directly  to  a 
spring  of  water  from  a  new  camp  by  following  the  directions 
of  a  companion,  who  had  been  there  previously,  given  perhaps 
as  follows  :  *Hhree  hundred  steps  east  and  twenty  steps  north." 
This  early  training  in  woodcraft  gives  that  consummate 
skill  and  confidence  which  are  rarely  acquired  by  those  who 
learn  them  later  in  life.  In  tracking  game  they  know  the 
'"signs,"  as  our  hunters  call  them,  of  the  various  animals 
and  birds  as  well  as  they  know  the  kind  of  game  that  made 
tbem,  and  experience  teaches  them  when  the  animals  moved 
away.  In  tracking  white  men  they  cannot  make  mistakes. 
The  white  man's  foot  is  deformed,  made  so  by  the  shape  of 
his  boots  or  shoes,  and  even  when  he  is  barefooted  his  toes 
are  turned  inwards.  The  Indian's  foot,  never  having  been 
compressed,  has  the  toes  naturally  formed  and  straight  a^ 
our  fingers  are,  and  he  can  even  use  them  to  hold  arrows 
when  he  is  making  them.     When  he  walks  therefore,  each 


THE  INDIANS   OF   OALIFORNIA.  133 

toe  leaves  its  impress  on  the  dust  or  sand,  the  imprint  of 
the  little  toe  beiug  as  straight,  perfect  and  distinct  as  that 
of  the  largest.  In  summer  the  Indians  are  fond  of  travelling 
from  place  to  place  as  iSsh  or  game,  sunny  nooks,  or  shady 
glens  offer  their  attractions  in  turn,  and  this  living  in  differ- 
ent places  accounts  in  part,  for  the  intimate  knowledge  they 
possess  of  localities  and  also  of  trails  leading  from  one  sec- 
tion to  another. 

In  the  event  of  exposure  to  a  severe  storm  wheu  out  hunt- 
ing, or  on  a  journey,  the  Indian  does  not  risk  his  life  by  ex- 
hausting his  strength.  He  selects  the  best  shelter  near  him 
while  he  is  comparatively  fresh,  and  with  bark  or  boughs,  or 
under  an  overhanging  rock,  seeks  protection  from  the  wind. 
A  hole  sunk  in  the  ground,  and  a  small  fire  kept  burning  by 
an  armful  of  sticks,  will  keep  him  warm  till  he  can  resume 
his  journey.  The  Indians  use  great  skill  in  their  selection 
of  fuel,  and  also  in  the  disposition  of  the  sticks  in  burning. 
They  say  of  the  white  man  ''big  fool,  make  heap  fire  and 
smoke,  stand  far  off,  look  at  him  burn,  while  freeze."  The 
Indian  rejects  green  or  wet  wood  and  puts  a  few  dry  sticks 
together,  with  the  ends  towards  a  centre.  This  gives  a  free 
circulation  of  air  between  the  brands,  with  but  little  smoke, 
and  a  large  proportion  of  heat  for  the  size  of  the  fire.  Their 
winter  quarters  are  dry  and  wai'm,  but  are  rarely  free  from 
smoke,  which  the  Indians  do  not  seem  to  regard  as  an  incon- 
venience. The  outside  is  covered  with  earth  and  at  least  a 
half  of  the  hut  is  below  the  surface  of  the  ground.  The  in- 
side shows  strong  posts  supporting  an  arched  roof  made  of 
poles  bound  with  grapevines,  and  these  covered  with  reeds 
and  coarse  grass  secured  by  cords.  A  small  hole  in  the  roof 
serves  as  a  chimney,  and  a  low  door,  usually  on  the  south 
side,  is  kept  open  excepting  in  stormy  weather.  A  raised 
platform  of  poles  and  reeds  holds  the  skins  and  blankets 
used  for  bedding.  These  blankets,  made  from  geese  feathers 
woven  so  as  to  bring  the  feathers  overlapping  each  other,  are 
ingeniously  made,  and  are  a  protection  from  wet  or  cold. 


134  THE  INDIANS  OF   OALIFOBNIA. 

When  the  Indians  leave  their  houses  a  branch  is  left  in  the 
door  to  show  that  no  one  is  at  home.  The  California  Indians 
were  more  provident  than  most  of  the  aborigines  of  this 
country.  Large,  round,  upright  cribs,  made  of  poles  and 
reeds,  perhaps  eight  or  nine  feet  high,  contained  their  sup- 
plies of  acorns.  These  cribs  were  neatly  made  and  had  a 
floor  of  loose  reeds  to  keep  the  acorns  from  contact  with  the 
ground ;  they  were  estimated  to  hold  two  years  supply,  of 
breadstuff,  and  were  filled  when  acorns  were  abundant  to 
provide  for  a  short  crop  if  the  next  year  should  prove  un- 
fruitful. The  whole  tribe,  men,  women  and  children, 
worked  together  in  gathering  acorns  in  the  fall  for  these 
public  granaries.  The  hunting  and  fishing  were  done  wholly 
by  men,  and  some  of  the  fishing  was  done  at  night  when  the 
women  were  sleeping  at  home.  Much  of  the  drudgery  came 
to  the  women  and  seemingly  with  their  consent..  They  said 
tliat  a  hunter  needed  a  keen  eye,  a  firm  hand  and  a  fleet  foot ; 
if  he  became  stiff  from  hard  work  or  lost  his  skill,  his  wife 
must  suffer  with  him  in  his  misfortunes,  and  it  was  best  for 
each  to  do  what  each  could  do  best. 

The  position  of  honor  among  the  Indians  is  the  recogni- 
tion of  excellence  in  some  quality  or  acquirement.  This 
induces  every  young  man  to  improve  himself  by  eveiy 
opportunity  offered,  so  that  he  may  become  the  first  in  use- 
fulness and  be  called  on  to  meet  chiefs  iu  council.  When 
the  customs  of  the  Indians  are  learned  the  charge  of  indo- 
lence, as  often  made  against  them,  does  not  seem  wholly 
merited.  One  of' the  early  settlers  in  New  York  asked  a 
chief  why  he  did  not  work  and  lay  up  money.  The  chief 
replied  that  he  wanted  one  good  reason  given  him  why  he 
should  make  a  slave  of  himself  all  of  his  life  to  make  his 
children  lazy  for  the  whole  of  theirs.  The  labor  performed 
is  often  great  and  exhaustive  and  must  be  shared  by  many. 
As  no  one  gains  any  advantage  over  his  fellows,  excepting  as 
he  may  prove  himself  more  useful  to  them  by  the  exercise 
of  superior  skill,  he  has  less  inducement  to  work  alone,  as  a 


THE   INDIANS   OF   CALIFORNIA.  135 

public  servant.  The  Iiidiau  again  has  a  desire  to  have  gnme 
abuiidaut,  and  to  have  the  ti'ees  preserved  for  his  gicorus  and 
fuel.  It  would  seem  folly  to  kill  game  faster  thaa  needed 
for  food  from  year  to  year,  and  cutting  down  the  oak  that 
brought  him  acorns,  would  be  killing  the  goose  that  laid 
the  goldeu  egg.  An  Indian  to  be  judged  fairly  must  be  re- 
garded as  au  Indian.  Custom  with  them,  as  with  civilized 
people,  is  law,  and  many  of  their  customs  have  probably 
been  transmitted,  with  but  little  change,  from  remote  ages. 


There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  Indians  wei*  very 
numerous  in  California  at  some  former  time.  Deserted 
mounds,  showing  the  sites  of  former  villages,  are  seen  along 
the  banks  of  the  rivers,  and  a  few  tribes,  speaking  dialects 
of  their  own  and  yet  living  separately  as  nations,  only  consist 
of  a  dozen  families  each.  One  of  these  removed  to  a  large 
tribe  while  I  lived  near  them  and  remained  as  a  part  of  the 
more  powerful  tribe  for  a  year  or  more ;  but  they  became 
discontented  or  homesick,  and  returned  to  the  village  con- 


136  THE   INDIANS   OF   CALIFORNIA. 

tainiiig  the  dust  of  their  ancestors.  Here  they  kept  up  the 
traditions  of  their  fathers,  and  related  tales  of  former  glory, 
and  prayed  to  the  Great  Spirit  for  success  and  for  abundant 
blessings.  It  is  worth  our  time  perhaps  to  consider,  while 
speaking  of  the  mounds  that  indicate  the  sites  of  villages, 
how  much  of  the  elevation  is  due  to  natural  deposits,  and 
whether  it  may  not  in  many  cases  be  entirely  so. 

The  streets  in  the  city  of  Chicago  have  risen  from  eight 
to  ten  feet  above  the  old  level  during  the  past  twenty-five 
years  from  the  soil  obtained  from  cellars,  ashes,  sweepings, 
etc.  Even  the  villages  (so  called)  of  pmirie  dogs  are  made 
higher  by  their  occupation.  The  ground  used  as  a  permanent 
home  by  human  beings  is  constantly  receiving  additions  from 
the  wood  used  as  fuel,  bones  of  animals,  shells  of  various 
kinds,  and  even  the  bodies  of  the  California  Indians  were 
buried  near  their  houses,  with  their  baskets  and  implements 
used  in  hunting  and  housekeeping.  I  am  aware  that 'else- 
where mounds  seem  to  have  been  heaped  up  by  another  race 
of  people,  but  the  highest  that  I  have  met  with  in  Califor- 
nia I  think  were  owing  to  the  gradual  accumulations  from 
centuries  of  occupation. 

The  traditions  of  the  Indians  are  so  fanciful,  when  they 
get  beyond  the  history  known  to  the  living,  that  they  difier 
but  little  from  printed  fictions. 

Their  religion  is  probably  little  changed  from  that  of  an 
earlier  age.  A  Good  Spirit  is  invoked  to  provide  food  and 
give  prosperity,  and  evil  spirits  are  to  be  propitiated.  The 
oldest  chief  prays  at  certain  seasons,  morning  and  evening, 
outside  of  the  council  lodge,  and  sings  in  a  monotone  a  few 
sentences  only.  This  is  not  in  words  taken  from  their  lan- 
guage, but  is  supposed  to  be  intelligible  to  the  Great  Spirit. 
When  special  prayei-s  are  made  for  success  in  fishing  or  hunt- 
ing, the  request  is  made  in  plain  Indian.  Although  he  prays 
constantly  for  success,  he  uses  wonderful  craft  and  skill  to 
ensure  it.  The  antelope  could  not  be  approached  in  the 
short  dry  grass  on  the  plains  even  by  crawling,  but  the  In- 


THE   INDIANS   OF   CALIFORNIA.  137 

dian  whitens  the  sides  of  his  body  with  clay,  and  puts  a  per- 
fect decoy  antelope's  head  on  top  of  his  own.*  With  a  short 
stick  in  his  left  hand  to  give  length  to  the  pretended  foreleg, 
aud  carrying  his  bow  and  arrows  in  his  right,  he  pretends 
to  feed  contentedly  on  the  grass  until  the  antelope  approaches 
sufficiently  near  for  him  to  kneel  and  shoot.  The  hunter, 
when  standing  or  walking,  supports  himself  on  the  short 
stick  held  in  the  left  hand,  like  an  animal  standing  on  three 
legs  (Fig.  34).  I  found  by  adopting  this  decoy  head,  and 
wearing  knit  clothing,  that  the  antelope  would  come  to  me 
readily  if  I  would  remain  in  one  place  and  hold  the  head 
near  the  ground,  as  if  feeding.  It  was  more  difficult  to  walk 
far  in  this  way,  and  the  antelopes  would  come  to  me  at  times 
when  if  I  had  attempted  to  go  to  them,  they  would  have 
become  alaimed. 

To  illustrate  the  ease  with  which  an  Indian  can  provide 
food  for  himself,  I  saw  one  come  to  the  bank  of  Feather 
River  one  afternoon  and  start  a  fire.  Turning  over  the  sod 
and  searching  under  the  logs  and  stones  he  found  some 
grubs.  Pulling  up  some  light  dry  reeds  of  the  last  year's 
growth  he  plucked  a  few  hairs  from  his  own  head  and  tied 
the  gmbs  to  the  bottom  of  the  reeds,  surrounding  the  bait 
with  a  circle  of  loops.  These  reeds  were  now  stuck  lightly 
in  the  mud  and  shallow  water  near  the  edge  of  the  river,  and 
he  squatted  and  watched  the  tops  of  his  reeds.  Not  a  sound 
now  broke  the  quiet  of  the  place  ;  the  Indian  was  as  motion- 
less as  the  trees  that  shaded  him.  Presently  one  of  the  reeds 
trembled  at  the  top  and  the  Indian  quietly  placed  his  thumb 
and  finger  on  the  reed  and  with  a  light  toss  a  fish  was  thrown 
on  the  grass.  The  reed  was  put  back,  another  reed  shook 
and  two  fish  were  thrown  out;  then  still  another  and  the 
fellow  was  soon  cooking  his  dinner. 

The  spearing  of  salmon  by  torch-light,  is  very  exciting. 

*Thi8  is  the  real  skin  of  an  antelope's  head  with  artificial  homa  made  fh)in  tu]^ 
eovered  with  a  paste  composed  of  the  bulb  of  the  soapweed  pounded  with  charcoal; 
the  eyes  are  made  of  the  skin  stripped  flrom  the  back  of  a  woodpecker,  with  the  purple 
black  feathers  attached. 

AMER.  NATURALIST,  VOL.  IV.  18 


138  THE  INDIANS   OF  GAUFOBNIA. 

It  is  done  on  moonless  nights  and  usually  in  parties  of  three 
to  each  canoe.  One  Indian  goides  the  boat,  a  boy  kneels  in 
front  with  a  blazing  torch  held  near  the  surface  of  the  water, 
while  the  one  with  the  spear  watches  for  the  flash  of  the 
salmon  as  he  darts  toward  the  light.  The  spear  is  a  loose 
point  of  bone  with  a  hole  through  the  centre,  and  one  end 
fitted  in  a  socket  at  the  end  of  a  light  strong  pole,  and  se- 
cured to  the  staff  by  a  cord  through  the  centre  of  the  bone. 
When  a  fish  is  struck  the  bone  is  drawn  out  from  its 
socket  and  left  in  the  fish,  making  what  sailors  call  a 
"toggle,"  the  cord  holding  it  in  spite  of  its  struggles. 
When  the  Indian  is  about  to  spear  the  salmon,  you  see  him 
to  advantage,  and  he  gives  his  orders  full  of  earnestness. 
**Hoddom  1  Hoddom  1  Pue-ne  1  Pue-ne  1  Hon-de  1  Hip-pe-ne  1 
Mipl  Mip  I  Wedem-poul''  as  the  struggling  fish  is  drawn 
to  the  canoe.  These  words  translated  are :  There,  there  1 
East,  east  I  Lower  I  Higher  I  Hold,  hold  I  The  last  word 
is  an  exclamation  of  surprise. 

No  christian  has  stronger  faith  that  his  Father  will  provide 
for  his  wants,  than  these  Indians  had  that  the  Great  Spirit 
would  send  the  salmon  into  their  nets,  or  the  grasshoppers  to 
vary  their  bill  of  fare.  Although  grasshoppers  are  regarded 
with  dread  by  the  white  settlers  in  some  sections,  the  Indians 
go  out  to  meet  them  rejoicing.  They  pile  up  the  dry  bunch 
grass  for  a  centre  and  then  forming  a  wide  circle,  and  swing- 
ing branches  of  trees,  they  advance  driving  the  swarms  of 
grasshoppers,  until  thej"  take  refuge  under  the  pile  of  hunch 
grass.  The  grass  at  every  point  is  set  on  fire  simultane- 
ously, and  burns  like  gunpowder.  When  the  smoke  has 
rolled  away  the  roasted  grasshoppers  are  picked  up  by  the 
basket  full. 

The  division  of  fish  and  game  was  made  generally  by  a 
chief,  who  counted  out  as  many  portions  as  there  were  fami- 
lies to  eat.  If  no  objection  was  made  to  the  size  of  any  por- 
tion, one  of  the  number  turned  his  back  and  called  out  some 
name  as  each  lot  was  pointed  out  by  the  chief,  the  Indians 


THE  IMDIAKS   OF  OALD!X>BNIA.  139 

removing  their  share  as  fast  as  called  for.  No  complaint 
was  lUEide  if  some  were  sharers  who  hud  not  been  workera, 
and  hospitality  to  those  eDtering  their  lodges  was  uuiversal. 
The  Indians  hunt  for  one  kind  of  game  ouly  at  a  time, 
and  each  kind  when  they  can  be  takeu  most  advantageously. 
Fig.  as. 


When  I  saw  every  kind  of  game  represented  together  at 
the  Indian  encampment  in  Biei-stadt's  celebrated  piiintJng 
of  the  Yosemite,  I  knew  the  camp  had  been  introduced  for 
effect,  from  this  evident  ignorance  of,  or  disregard  for  the 
habits  of  Indians. 

The  Indian  bow  (Fig.  3())  is  made  of  the  tough  monntain 
cedar,  with  a  thick  back  of  sinew.  A  string  of  sinew  also 
enables  him  to  draw  an  arrow  nearly  to  its  head  before  it  is 
sent  hnmmiiig  through  the  air.  The  aiTOWS  are  of  two 
kinds,  those  with  a  head  of  hard,  pointed  wood  for  common 
use  and  those  (Fig.  366)  reserved  Fig.n. 

for  extreme  cases  of  attack  or 
defence,  having  points  of  agate 
or  obsidian,  which  are  oirefnlly 
kept  in  the  skin  of  a  fox,  wild 
cat  or  otter.  The  stone  arrow- 
heads (Fig.  37)  are  made  with 
great  care,  and  the  materials 
from  which  they  are  made  are 
often    brought    from    long    dis-     ^^        *  a 

rti     -1-  1  a  Arww-htiul  nf  ot..M1in,  from  ll>e  Ho- 

tances.     Ubsidian  and  agate  are   ,  i,,^^,',;;^,^;;;^'*™,'^,^  ^If '*Ka,, 
probably   selected   not  so  much   '  smiii™  or  iiw  mibs. 
for  beauty  of  coloring  asfuf  their  close  grain,  which  admits 
nf  more  careful  shaping.     They  use  n  tool  wJlh  its  working 
edge   shaped  like    the   side   of  a   glaziei-'s   diamond.     The 


140  THE    INDIAKS   OF   CALIFORNIA. 

arniwhcad  is  held  in  the  left  hand,  while  the  nick  id  the 
side  of  the  tool  is  used  as  a  nipper  to  chip  off  small  frag- 
ments. An  Indian  usually  has  a  ponch  of  treasures  consist- 
ing of  unfinished  arrowheads  or  unworked  stones,  to  be 
slowly  wrought  out  wheu  industriously  inclined.  The  feath- 
ers are  so  placed  on  the  arrow  as  to  give  it  a  spiral  motion 
ill  its  flight,  proving  that  the  idea  of  sending  a  missile  with 
rotary  motion  is  older  than  the  rifling  of  our  gnus. 
.  It  wonld  consume  too  much  space  to  describe  all  their  im- 
plements, and  many  of  them  do  not  differ  materially  from 
■FiR-m  those  that  were  used  by  Indians  in  this 

O/  section ;  among  them  were  awls  of  boue, 

thread  of  deer  sinews,  and  coid   which 
they  used  for  their  nets,  bird  traps,  aud 
blankets;  —  this  coi-d  was  spun   from  the 
-  inner  fihi-e  of  a   species   of  milk-weed. 
Their  cooking  utensils  were  made   from 
tlie  roots  of  a  coarse  grass.     These  roots 
grow  near  the  surface  of  tho  ground,  aud 
:  in  sandy  soil  can  he  pulled  up  in  long 
pieces.      The  pulpy  outside   skin   is  I'e- 
moved  and  the  inside  is  a  woody  libre, 
imw'ihe'bllnnnlll'^'uiB  ctremely  tough  when  green,  and  dui-able 
biukcu ■« ibrnied.'       when   made   into   articles  for  daily  use. 
The  Indian  women  split  these  roots  into  thin  strii>s,  keep  them 
in  water  when  they  are  making  baskets,  and  take  them  out 
one  at  a  time,  as  needed.     The  water  basket  is  fii'st  started 
from  a  centre  at  the  bottom,  and  is  added  to  stitch  by  stitch, 
without  a  skeleton  frame  to  indicate  the  intended  size  (Fig. 
38).     A  loose  strip  of  grass  root  is  added  constantly  as  a 
new  layer  to  the  last  rim,  and  this  is  sewed  on  with  another 
strip  of  the  same  fibre  to  the  iiiiished  work  beneath,  a  boue 
awl  being  used  to  bore  holes  through  the  basket  portion.    Tho 
last  rim  or  complete  edge  of  a  basket  has  a  larger  filling,  con~ 
sisting  of  several  strips  of  split  grass  roots,  or  sometimes  a 
willow  stick  is  used.    The  larger  baskets  are  ornamented  with 

■ThDrwUitliiglineiluihlpSgureare  incorrect. 


THE   INDIANS   OP   CALIFORNIA.  141 

figures  woven  in  of  a  darker  color ;  the  girls  sometimes  add 

beada  aiid  feathers  for  smaller  baskets  (Fig.  39).  The  con- 
ical   baskets  used  for  carrying  Fig.ss. 

burdens   is   woven    instead    of 

being  sewed  together,  and  is  of 

looser  texture  and  lighter  in 

weight   (Fig.  40).     They  are 

quite  durable,  however,  and  arc 

used  to  carry  wood,  acorns,  or 

household  goods  on  a  journey. 

The   water   baskets   were   also 

durable    and    would   hold   hot  < 

water.*     Water   was  made  to  ' 

boil  in  them  by  dropping  in  , 

stones  previously  heated.     The       — -  •  ---  ---  -.     -  -^-  - 

wpmen     ektlfiilly      used     two      «"""di  m  aw  outtine. 

sticks  in  handling  hot  stones  or  conls  as  we  would  tonga. 
^e-^-  In  bread  making  the  women  pounded 

the  acorns  between  two  stones,  a  hol- 
lowed one  serving fqr  a  mortar  (Fig.  41), 
until  it  was  reduced  to  a  powder  as  fine 
as  our  corn  meal.  They  removed  some 
of  the  bitterness  of  the  meal  l>y  scraping 
hollows  in  the  sand  and  leaching  it,  by 
causing  water  to  percolate  slowly  through 
it.  To  prepare  it  for  cooking  the  dough 
was  wrapped  in  green  leaves  and  these 
balls  were  covered  with  hot  stones.  It 
comes  out  dark  colored  and  not  appetiz- 
.  ing,  but  it  is  nutritious  and  was  eaten 

with'  gi-atitude    by    Fremont's   men    in 

^tai'tM.'"'^"*  """*™    1844.     Fish  and  meat  were  sometimes 

cooked  in  this  way.     A  salmon  rolled  in  grape  leaves  and 

euiTOUDded   with   hot   stones,   the  whole  covered  with  dry 

le  Bfnaenm  caUecUon  Ibryeart, 


142  THE   INDIANS  OP  CALIFOBKIA. 

earth  or  ashes  over  night  and  takeu  out  hot  for  breakfast, 
does  not  need  a  hunter's  appetite  for  its  appreciatioD. 

MaiTiage  among  the  Calilornia  Indians  was  similar  to  that 
of  other  tribes  in  other  parts  of  the  country.  Presents  of 
sufficient  value  were  given  by  the  man  to  the  girl's  pareuts, 
and  the  bride  might  be  given  away  without  her  knowledge 
or  consent.  From  my  own  observation  I  know  that  the 
Indian  uses  the  best  of  his  judgment  in  making  a  selection, 
and  desires  neither  family  strife  or  misery  in  his  lodge. 
Girls  are  married  at  thirteen  or  fourteen  years  of  age,  and 
Fig.  II.  DO  woman  of  marriageable  age 

remains  single  long.  Most  of 
the  Indiana,  who  became  per- 
sonally well  known  to  me,  were 
very  happy  in  their  iamily  rela- 
tions, and  tiie  custom  of  dividing 
food  equally  among  them,  al- 
lowed no  fiimily  to  suffer  from 
want. 
8t™«mor..rnMdp«.i<..fr™,ii,eMP«am  When  the  whitcs  first  came 
■.Hod)   radcmr,  .^j^    ^.j^^    country    the    Indians 

were  virtuous  and  happy,  and  if  whiskey  had  not  demora- 
lized them  they  would  have  retained  much  of  their  original 
independence  and  self-respect.  They  were  naturally  cheer- 
ful and  attached  to  each  other,  and  although  polygamy  was 
peiTnitted  I  knew  only  one  chief  who  had  two  wives. 
These  seemed  to  agree,  although  Waketo  said  of  his  family 
that  it  had  "too  much  tongue." 

In  earlier  days  dancing  among  them  was  confined  to  cere- 
monies of  different  kinds.  In  some  of  these  the  women 
joined,  forming  themselves  into  a  circle;  but  as  only  one 
step  was  used  in  a  solemn  way,  accompanied  b}'  a  half  turn- 
ing of  the  body,  a  stranger  might  be  in  doubt  whether 
it  was  rejoicing  or  mourning.  Within  this  circle  the  men 
danced  with  great  activity,  leaping  across  a  fire  burning 
in  the  centre,  and  yelling  and  singing  whilst  the  women 


THE   INDIANS   OF  CALIFORNIA.  143 

continued  their  solemn  dancing,  singing  a  low  monotonous 
chant. 

Running  of  races  was  confined,  after  childhood,  to  the  men, 
and  endurance  rather  than  speed  sought  for.  A  race  was 
for  three  or  five  miles  at  least,  and  a  good  runner  would 
follow  a  runaway  horse  or  mule  that  had  started  off  with 
greater  speed,  but  in  a  few  hours  would  return  with  the 
animal  in  his  possession. 

The  Indians  were  inveterate  gamblers,  and  parties  from 
one  tribe  would  visit  another  for  several  days  at  a  time  and 
play  day  and  night.  The  game  was  a  sort  of  an  **odd  and 
even,"  as  played  by  white  children,  the  parties  guessing 
as  to  the  number  and  position  of  the  sticks  used  in  the  game. 
The  playing  was  accompanied  by  singing,  and  beads  were 
principally  used  for  stakes. 

In  the  treatment  of  diseases  the  Indians  succeeded  in  a 
certain  class  of  them,  but  failed  altogether  in  others.  The 
pain  from  a  spmin  or  rheumatism  would  be  drawn  to  the  sur- 
face by  burning  the  skin  with  fire.  I  can  testify  to  a  cure 
from  this  remedy.  A  severe  sprain  of  an  ankle,  followed  by 
two  months  use  of  crutches,  resulted  six  months  later  in 
rheumatism  in  one  of  my  feet.  The  assertion  of  a  chief 
that  fire  would  cure  it  in  an  Indian,  but  for  a  white  man — 
and  here  he  shrugged  his  shoulders  as  if  words  were  unnec- 
essary— induced  me  to  try  the  experiment,  and  show  him 
that  white  men  could  bear  pain.  I  placed  a  live  coal  on  the 
top  of  my  instep,  and  before  the  bum  was  healed  my  rheu- 
matism was  gone.  For  headaches  they  pressed  their  hands 
on  the  head  of  the  sufferer  and  sometimes  cured  it  by  gentle 
pressure.  For  other  diseases  they  tried  steam  baths,  especi- 
ally for  colds.  When  any  internal  disorder  defied  their 
treatment,  they  immediately  begged  medicine  from  the 
whites. 

In  burying  the  dead  a  circular  hole  was  dug  and  the  body 
placed  in  it,  in  a  sitting  posture,  with  the  head  resting  on 
the  knees.     If  a  man  his  nets  were  rolled  about  him  and  his 


144  THE   INDIANS  OP   CALIFORNIA. 

weapons  placed  by  his  side.  If  a  woman  her  blanket  en- 
closed her  body,  and  a  conical  shaped  basket,  such  as  they 
carry  burdens  in,  was  put  in  the  grave  also,  with  the  peak 
upwards.  The  widow  of  an  Indian  cut  her  hair  short  and 
covered  her  head  with  ashes,  and  in  the  mountains  they  used 
tar  for  that  purpose.  Every  night  for  weeks,  after  their  be- 
reavement, the  wails  of  these  women  were  distracting.  I 
do  not  know  the  exact  time  prescribed  for  mourning  but  I 
do  not  think  it  lasted  more  than  six  months. 

The  language  of  the  California  Indians  is  composed  of 
gutteral  sounds,  difficult  to  separate  into  words  when  spoken 
rapidly,  and  hard  to  pronounce  or  remember.  The  count- 
ing is  done,  as  with  all  primitive  people  I  have  met,  by  deci- 
mals. Children  in  reckoning  call  off  the  fingers  and  toes 
of  both  hands  and  feet  as  twenty,  when  wishing  to  express  a 
large  number.  In  counting  ten  the  following  words  are  used  : 
Weekum,  Paynay,  Sarpun,  Tchuyum,  Marctem,  Suckanay, 
Penimbom,  Penceum,  Peleum,  March ocom.  If  eleven  is  to 
be  expressed  it  is  Marchocum  Weekum,  or  Ten  one ;  Marcho- 
cum  Paynay,  ten  two,  and  so  on  to  twenty  which  is  Mide- 
quekum.  The  general  term  for  man  is  Miadim,  and  for 
woman  Killem,  and  for  a  child  Collem.  A  boy  is  Miadim 
collem  and  a  girl  Killem  collem.  Although  this  seems  to 
indicate  a  poverty  of  distinctive  terms,  yet  when  it  is  found 
that  every  animal,  bird,  insect  and  plant  has  its  own  name, 
it  will  be  seen  that  there  is  no  want  of  materials  to  supply  a 
stranger  with  words  for  book  making,  if  his  tastes  lead  him 
in  that  direction. 

After  many  years  passed  with  these  Indians,  and  having 
every  opportunity  to  study  their  customs  and  character,  I 
entertain  pleasant  recollections  of  their  friendship  which  was 
never  broken,  and  feel  sadly  when  I  realize  that  the  im- 
provements of  the  white  men  have  been  made  at  the  sacrifice 
of  Indian  homes  and  almost  of  the  race  itself. 

Feather  River  (Rio  de  Plumas),  before  its  mines  were 
washed  for  gold,  was  so  clear  that  the  shadows  reflected  on* 


THE   INDIANS   OP   CALIFORNIA.  *    145 

its  surface  seemed  brighter  than  the  real  objects  above.  The 
river  abounded  in  fish,  as  did  the  plains  on  either  side  in 
antelope,  deer,  elk  and  bear.  The  happy  laughter  of  chil- 
dren came  from  the  villages,  the  splash  of  salmon,  leaping 
from  the  surface,  sent  ripples  circling  to  the  shore,  and  the 
blue  dome  of  heaven  was  arched  from  the  Sierra  Nevada 
with  its  fields  of  snow  on  the  cast,  to  the  distant  Coast  Range 
that  shut  out  the  Pacific  on  the  west.  Grand  oaks,  with  far 
spreading  shade,  dotted  the  plains  that  stretched  for  miles  on 
either  side,  and  in  spring  time  tJie  valley  was  brilliant  with 
flowers.  This  was  the  possession  and  home  of  the  Indians, 
whose  ancestors  bad  lived  and  hunted  without  patent  or  title 
obtained  from  deeds,  long  before  the  first  sailor  phinted  his 
flag  on  the  sea-coast  and  claimed  the  country  by  right  of  dis- 
covery. It  could  not  be  expected  that  the  Indian  would 
see  his  trees  cut  down  and  game  destroyed,  and  the  clear 
rivers  turned  into  muddy  streams,  without  regret.  That 
they  refrained  from  seeking  satisfaction  for  what  they  re- 
garded as  intentional  wrong  is  more  surprising. 

A  white  woman  told  me  one  day  of  her  spirit  in  driving 
an  Indian  from  her  tent,  by  getting  out  her  husband's  pistol 
and  ordering  him  to  "vamose."  The  Indian's  story  was 
heard  in  this  particular  case,  and  never  having  seen  a  white 
woman  before  he  was  astonished  at  her  hostile  intentions, 
and  indignant  at  having  been  threatened  when  he  intended 
no  wrong.  He  added  that  he  knew  now  "  why  so  few*  of 
the  white  men  in  California  were  married." 
.  The  Indians  are  philosophical  by  natui*e  and  accept  either 
death  or  suffering,  when  regarded  as  inevitable,  with  com- 
posure. On  one  occasion,  when  talking  with  a  chief,  and 
slapping  mosquitoes  with  considerable  energy,  killing  them 
when  I  could,  the  Indian  remained  cool  and  serene,  quietly 
brushing  the  little  torments  from  his  limbs,  and  observing 
my  impatience,  said,  "what  good  comes  of  killing  a  few, 
the  air  is  full  of  them."  When  the  first  steamboat  passed 
the  Indian  villages  I  watched  the  Indians  to  see  what  effect 

AMKR.   NATUnAlJST,    VOL.    IV.  19 


146  THE   INDIANS   OF   CALIFORNIA. 

it  would  produce,  but  to  my  disnppoiutment  it  did  not  excite 
them  or  elicit  any  expression  of  wonder.  Even  the  steam 
whistle  failed  to  move  them  ;  they  did  not  understand  it  and 
would  not  exhibit  surprise*  Two  years  later  a  brig  sailed 
up  the  river  and  the  Indians  were  full  of  excitement.  The 
size  of  the  sails  and  the  strength  of  the  ropes  came  within 
their  comprehension,  tilling  them  with  wonder.  The  task  of 
gathering  fibre  enough  to  weave  so  much  cloth,  and  such 
ropes,  made  the  white  man  a  wonderful  worker  in  their 
estimation. 

It  has  been  customary  to  attribute  certain  general  qualities 
to  whole  tribes  of  Indians,  and  this  has  been  done  to  those 
of  whom  I  have  written.  I  can  only  say  that  no  two  In- 
dians of  my  acquaintance  were  alike,  and  their  mode  of  life 
would  naturally  develop  individuality  of  character. 

The  charges  of  lying  and  stealing,  as  urged  against  them, 
have  some  foundation  in  fact,  although  the  Indian  might 
make  some  such  defence  as  our  soldiers  made  to  the  accu- 
sation of  theft  of  honey  and  chickens  while  marching 
through  the  South  during  our  late  war.  They  did  not  steal, 
they  took  what  they  wanted  and  expected  to  live  on  the  enemy. 
No  Indian  can  steal  from  his  tribe,  however,  without  los- 
ing his  character,  and  their  desire  to  have  position  in  the 
tribe  makes  both  men  and  women  as  careful  of  their  reputa- 
tions as  those  in  civilized  life.  Indians  and  white  men  can- 
not* live  side  by  side  happily,  nor  without  fighting  till  the 
white  man  is  acknowledged  master.  The  Indian  is  cat-like, 
attached  to  localities,  and  kills  only  such  game  as  he  needs 
for  food ;  he  is  stealthy  by  nature,  and  patiently  waits  his 
opportunity  to  strike.  The  white  man  is  migratory  and 
carries  his  attachments  to  strange  lands,  making  his  home 
where  his  ambition  or  nature  attracts  him,  and  is  destructive 
alike  to  game  or  forests.  The  Indian,  if  he  become  an  ob- 
stacle, is  classed  with  wild  animals,  and  is  hunted  to  the 
death;  this  antagonism  becomes  mutual  and  is  perhaps  as 
natural  as  the  antipathies  of  cats  and  dogs. 


THE   INDIANS   OF   CALIFORNIA.  147 

The  early  settlement  of  New  England  was  attended  by 
the  horrors  of  Indian  warfare,  and  this  struggle  is  the  same 
to-day  as  then,  but  farther  west  on  the  plains  of  Colorado 
and  Arizona.  The  Indians  of  California  are  now  fed  oii  gov- 
ernment rations,  and  instead  of  elk  and  antelope  the  land  is 
grazed  by  herds  and  flocks  of  domestic  animals  owned  by 
the  white  men,  and  enumerated  and  taxed  as  one  of  the 
largest  items  of  wealth  in  a  rich  state.  The  present  policy 
of  the  government  of  removing  Indians  from  disputed  lands, 
and  settling  them  upon  reservations,  is  perhaps  the  best 
thing  that  can  be  done,  but  much  of  the  maiiagement  of 
Indians  in  the  past  has  been  a  shameful  record  of  fraud,  by 
the  agents  of  our  government  who  represented  the  public 
money-bag,  and  of  outrages  committed  on  •emigrants  by  the 
Indians. 

Many  of  the  Indian  agents,  in  their  greed  for  gain,  sn}> 
plied  hostile  tribes  with  rifles,  ammunition  and  whiskey 
in  exchange  for  furs  and  even  property  captured  from  the 
white  settlers.  Whisky  that  may  only  make  a  fool  of  the 
white  man  converts  an  Indian  into  a  fiend,  and  when  drunk 
he  may  kill  friend  or  foe.  The  individual  settler,  exposetl 
to  attack,  regards  the  Indians  as  brutal  a<nd  dangerous,  and 
loses  faith  in  his  government  if  it  rewards  with  presents  the 
wretch  who  has  murdered  his  companions,  and  may  at  any 
time  attack  him  by  surprise  and  butcher  his  wife  and  children. 

Our  government  is  now  powerful  enough  to  warrant  the 
exercise  of  authority  and  mercy.  It  is  folly  to  purchase 
peace  of  such  a  people  by  paying  them  tribute,  as  the  In- 
dians themselves  seek  to  propitiate  evil  spirits  by  gifts  of 
beads;  and  it  cannot  be  right  to  make  ^* Black  "Kettle^  a 
present  of  a  Colt's  revolver,  after  he  has  already  used  his 
rifle  and  knife  on  more  white  victims  than  any  brave  of  bis 
tribe. 

The  Indians  whom  I  have  particularly  described  in  this  pa- 
per, have  been  shown  to  possess  the  virtues  of  generosity  and 
hospitality  without  the  least  knowledge  of  Christianity,  and 


148  THE   TIME   OF   THE   MAMMOTHS. 

it  is  a  mortifying  fact  that  the  early  explorers  in  this  country 
generally  found  welcome  and  hospitality  among  the  Indians 
before  the  white  traders  had  corrupted  them.  Now  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  find  a  tribe  that  a  white  man  cares  to  visit  unless 
with  the  balance  of  power  on  his  side.  Indian  cunning  even 
has  not  proved  equal  to  the  duplicity  of  the  white  man.  You 
may  have  heard  of  the  Indian  who  offered  his  beaver  skins 
for  sale  to  a  trader  in  olden  times  in  one  of  our  Puritan  vil- 
lages, when  the  trader  was  on  his  way  to  church.  The  trader 
would  not  purchase  then,  but  in  a  whisper  stated  a  price. 
When  the  church  was  dismissed  the  Indian  followed  the 
trader. home  and  demanded  payment  for  his  skins,  but  was 
forced  to  accept  a  less  price  than  was  first  named.  The 
Indian  took  the  money  but  told  an  acquaintance  that  he  had 
discovered  the  use  of  the  big  meeting  at  the  church, — ''it 
was  to  lower  the  price  of  beaver  skins." 

As  a  white  man  I  take  the  side  of  the  pioneer  in  defence 
of  his  family,  but  I  wish  the  Indians  could  have  been  spared 
much  of  the  degradation  brought  upon  them  by  bad  white 
men  that  must  eventually  end  in  complete  subjection,  or 
extermination. 

NoTB.   All  the  flgnres  not  otherwise  designated,  are  drawn  from  memorj.  —  Eds. 


THE  TIME  OF  THE  MAMMOTHS. 

BT  PROF.  V.  8.   8HALER. 

s 

We  must  ask  the  reader  to  go  with  us  into  the  remote 
past ;  back  beyond  the  time  when  man  invaded  the  primitive 
forests  and  disturbed  the  abundant  life  which  covered  the 
prairies  around  the  great  inland  seas  of  our  continent ;  still 
farther  back  until  we  come  to  a  time  when  very  different 
animals  from  those  now  living  there,  roamed  those  woods 
and  fields.     We  thus  come  to  a  time  remote  when  measured 


THE   TIME   OF  THE   MAMMOTHS.  149 

« 

by  the  usual  standards  of  duration,  yet  only  a  geological 
yesterday.  Once  such  journeys  as  we  propose  making  were 
very  difficult,  and  attended  with  dangers  to  soul,  if  not  to 
body,  which  might  well  make  any  but  the  stout  heai*ted  in- 
vestigator hesitate.  But  now  that  the  wall,  which  once  di- 
vided the  preadamic  time  from  the  present,  has  been  so 
frequently  breached  and  trodden  over  by  those  bound  on 
expeditions  into  an  even  more  remote  past  than  that  to 
which  we  seek  to  penetrate,  we  may  set  out  on  our  journey 
without  fear  of  meeting  with  a  reception,  on  our  return, 
which  might  make  us  wish  that  we  had  stayed  among  the 
monsters  of  that  ancient  time. 

We  will  not  strain  the  imagination  of  the  reader  by  asking 
him  to  conjure  up  a  picture  of  land  and  sea  unlike  that  given 
by  our  present  continents  and  oceans.  He  need  not  flatten 
out  mountain  chains,  or  dry  up  river  systems,  in  order  to 
represent  to  himself  a  true  picture  of  the  theatre  which  bore 
the  actors  of  the  scenes  we  are  about  to  describe.  Our  good 
old  continent  was  much  the  same  then  as  now.  All  the 
changes  which  have  taken  place  would  fall  within  the  limits 
of  error  of  the  maps  of  the  past  few  decades.  The  unceas- 
ing agents  of  change  operating  through  water,  have  done 
much  work;  but  a  little  longer  delta  to  the  Mississippi,  a 
somewhat  greater  projection  of  Florida  to  the  southward, 
a  lessened  area  of  the  great  lakes  of  the  north-west,  are 
about  all  the  more  impoi*tant  changes  which  have  been  ac- 
complished since  the  time  of  which  we  speak. 

In  order  to  come  in  contact  with  living  elephants  and 
mastodons,  we  need  not  go  so  far  into  the  history  of  our 
continent  as  to  traverse  the  glacial  period.  Long  after  the 
time  when  this  great  ice  envelope  shrouded  the  northern  half 
of  this  continent,  the  great  pachyderms  continued  to  form 
the  most  important  feature  in  the  life  of  our  continent.  If 
we  wish  to  go  back  to  the  time  when  these  great  animals 
first  came  into  our  fields  and  forests  we  must  ascend  much 
farther  into  the  past,  beyond  two  or  more  glacial  periods. 


150  THE   TIME   OF   THE   MAMMOTHS. 

with  the  long  intervals  of  repose  between  them.  During  the 
middle  and  later  tertiary  periods  elephantine  life  had  its 
highest  development ;  a  half  a  dozen  or  more  species  lived 
then  on  the  surface  of  the  European  continent,  and  only  a 
portion  of  the  then  existing  forms  may  be  known  to  us. 
The  importance  of  the  elephant  life  of  this  time  may  be 
better  estimated  by  comparing  the  number  of  large  mammals 
belonging  to  any  one  family  now  existing  in  the  same  area. 
Only  three  or  four  s[>ecies  of  the  family  of  cervid®,  to  which 
the  common  deer  belongs,  have  existed  in  Europe  since  the 
glacial  period.  Among  the  bulls  not  more  than  two  species 
are  known  to  have  lived  during  the  same  time.  Nor  among 
the  large  earuivora,  the  bears  or  wolves,  have  the  species 
been  more  numerous.  We  must  seek  among  the  smaller  of  the 
existing  mammals,  among  the  squirrels  or  mice,  for  the  same 
richness  in  specific  representation  as  we  find  among  the  ele- 
phants of  the  tcFtiaries.  The  variety  in  size  and  form  seems 
to  have  been  very  great;  the  smallest  species  was  not  over 
thi-ee  or  four  feet  high,  while  the  largest  stood  as  high  as 
any  of  onr  living  elephants,  towering  to  the  height  of  ten  or 
twelve  feet.  We  know  too  little  of  the  geology  of  the  other 
continents  of  the  oM  world  to  say  whether  this  exceeding 
richness  in  large  elephants  at  this  stage  of  the  earth's  history 
was  also  found  there.  We  know^  however,  that  India, 
where  one  of  the  two  remaining  species  of  elephants  lives, 
was  thronged  with  these  animals  at  this  time,  and  although 
Africa  was  probably  then  separated  from  the  other  continents 
with  which  it  is  now  closely  united  by  seas  of  considerable 
width,  it,  too,  probably  bore  an  abundance  of  the  same  life. 
We  do  not  know  the  character  of  the  life  of  the  middle  ter- 
tiary time  in  North  America  with  anything  like  the  accuracy 
that  we  do  that  of  Europe  during  the  same  time.  The  in- 
vestigations which  are  to  enable  us  to  form  a  clearly  defined 
picture  of  the  life  of  that  time,  on  our  own  continent,  are  yet 
to  be  made.  It  seems  likely,  however,  that  during  the  time 
when  elephants  were  so  remarkable  a  feature  in  the   life 


THE  TIME   OF  THE  MAMMOTHS.  151 

of  the  old  world,  the  new  world  was  inhabited  by  quite  dif- 
ferent forms  of  pachyderms.  The  beds  of  the  Mauvaises 
Terres,  and  neighboring  country  so  astoundingly  rich  in  ani- 
mal remains,  have  supplied  us  with  more  species  of  fossil 
horses  than  are  known  from  all  the  rest  of  the  beds  of  that 
period.  Altogether  the  middle  and  later  tertiurios  of  North 
America  have  supplied  us  with  the  remains  of  at  least  ten 
species  of  fossil  horse-like  animals;  so  that  the  compara- 
tively unexplored  regions  of  North  America  have  yielded 
more  tertiary  horses  than  all  of  every  age  and  formation 
which  have  been  found  in  other  re^fions. 

When  we  come  down  to  dates  nearer  to  our  own  time,  and 
only  separated  therefrom  by  the  last  ice  period,  we  find  evi- 
dences that  the  European  elephantine  life  still  continued, 
though  the  species  had  changed,  there  being  no  longer  so 
considerable  a  number  of  distinct  forms  as  then  existed. 
We  are  not  yet  quite  certain  whether  the  elephant  remains 
of  Siberia  come  down  to  us  from  a  period  anterior  to  the 
glacial  epoch,  or  whether  they  wei*e  stored  away  in  that 
frozen  soil  during  or  since  that  time  of  extreme  cold.  All 
analogy  with  the  remains  found  in  other  regions,  lead  us  to 
conclude  that  these  herds  of  elephants,  whose  remains  are 
found  in  such  abundance  around  the  mouths  of  the  crrcat 
rivers  of  northern  Asia  which  empty  into  the  Arctic  Ocean, 
are  contemporaneous  with  those  of  the  closely  allied,  if  not 
identical,  species  found  in  the  peat  swamps  and  morasses  of 
North  America.  The  number  of  these  fossil  elephants  which 
are  to  be  found  in  northern  Asia  is  as  remarkable  as  the 
condition  in  which  they  have  been  preserved.  The  ivory 
which  they  have  left  strewn  over  this  region  has  been  for 
centuries  an  important  article  of  commerce,  a  large  portion 
of  the  Chinese  supply  being  probably  derived  from  this 
source.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  elephant  life  of 
this  region  was  once  as  abundant  as  that  which  now  exists  in 
the  jungles  of  Ceylon,  or  the  southern  part  of  Africa. 

The  peculiar  circumstances  under  which  many  of  the  bod- 


152  THE   TIME   OF  THE   MAMMOTHS. 

ies  of  the  Siberian  elephants  have  been  preserved,  enables  us 
to  form  an  idea  of  the  external  form  and  habits  of  the  crea- 
ture far  more  satisfactory  in  its  character  than  that  which 
tve  have  of  any  other  extinct  animal,  except  a.  few  which 
have  been  exterminated  by  the  hand  of  man. 

Generally  the  geologist  is  compelled  to  effect  the  restora- 
tion or  rebuilding  of  the  form  of  the  extinct  animal  from 
fragments  of  a  skeleton,  the  gaps  of  which  he  must  fill  by 
iuferencc,  and  this  conjectural  framework  is  afterwards  to  be 
thrown  into  a  more  or  less  imaginary  outline  of  soft,  envel- 
oping parts.  He  is  only  too  thankful  if  he  finds  that  decay 
has  left  him  a  tolerably  fair  basis  which  he  may  build  his 
labor  upon.  But  in  the  case  of  many  of  the  Siberian  ele- 
phants the  preservation  is  perfect;  not  only  the  skeleton, 
but  the  whole  mass  of  the  soft  parts ;  the  external  envelope 
of  skin,  with  its  protecting  covering  of  hair ;  even  the  deli- 
cate and  perishable  structures  of  the  eye,  an  organ  which  so 
quickly  perishes  when  decay  begins  to  work,  are  all  in  an 
unchanged  condition,  ^or  is  the  ^preservation  that  of  form 
alone ;  the  chemical  condition  of  the  body  is  unchanged,  it  is 
still  flesh  and  blood ;  its  imprisonment  in  the  ice  of  the 
frozen  soil  of  the  Lena  delta  for  an  hundred  thousand  years, 
more  or  less,  has  not  perceptibly  changed  its  constitution ; 
animals  feed  greedily  on  this  flesh  which  has  endured  twenty 
times  as  long  as  the  historical  record.  The  dogs  and  wolves 
gather  from  afar  to  the  feast  whenever  one  of  these  bodies 
is  uncovered,  and  there  seems  no  good  reason  why  those 
abnormal  appetites  of  Paris,  which  find  a  new  titillation  of 
the  palate  in  every  monstrosity  of  diet,  should  not  get  a 
sweeter  morsel  from  these  preadamic  elephants  than  they 
have  obtained  from  their  choice  pieces  of  the  knackers  yard. 
Fortune  certainly  awaits  the  next  rival  of  the  hois  irei^es 
Provenceaux,  if  he  will  bid  for  it  with  elephant  steaks  from 
Siberia.  The  many  ingenious  inventors,  who  seek  to  find  a 
means  of  preserving  substances  liable  to  perish  by  decay, 
who  are  constantly  endeavoring  to  solve  the  problem  of  how 


THE   TIME   OF  THE   MAMMOTHS.  153 

to  bring  the  surplus  food  of  South  America  to  the  hungry 
mouths  of  Europe,  may  take  a  profitable  lesson  from  these 
Lena  elephants.  Freeze  the  object  to  be  preserved  from 
decay  in  a  block  of  ice ;  retain  this  in  a  frozen  state  and  the 
entrance  of  the  dreaded  agents  of  change  is  at  once  barred. 
The  conditions  of  permanent  preservation  are  obtained ;  air 
is  excluded ;  that  which  is  within  the  substance  is  locked 
with  the  water  and  can  act  no  farther.  These  are  the  simple 
conditions  which  have  kept  the  Lena  elephants  unchanged, 
while  the  very  vegetation  which  supported  them  has  been 
swept  away ;  and  by  observing  these  conditions  we  might 
have  preserved  the  body  of  Csesar  himself  unchanged  to  the 
present  day.  Who  knows  but  that  following  the  simple 
method  here  indicated,  the  forms  of  the  illustrious  dead  may 
yet  be  preserved  from  generation  to  generation,  giving  a 
tangible  chain  to  connect  the  too  forgetful  present  with  the 
past.  What  could  so  preserve  the  memory  of  a  time  as  one 
of  its  chief  actors  sleeping  before  our  eyes  cased  in  crystal 
ice?  Would  not  the  world  be  richer  if  we  could  have 
before  us  the  eartlily  habitations  of  a  Dante,  a  Shakspeare, 
or  an  Humboldt,  as  they  were  left  by  their  immortal  selves  ? 
He  who  entered  the  cold  depositaries  of  such  precious  relics 
could  not  come  forth  without  feeling  that  he  was  closer 
wedded  to  a  distant  past  than  ever  before.  The  author  does 
not  feel  free  to  advise  this  Siberian  treatment  of  our  ances- 
tors, as  he  is  not  sure  but  death  should  be  followed  by  decay  ; 
but  to  those  who  think  that  the  closer  our  relation  to  the 
past  the  better  fitted  we  are  for  the  work  of  the  present,  it 
must  commend  itself. 

But  to  return  to  our  elephants.  The  peculiar  interest 
which  is  attached  to  the  discovery  of  the  well  preserved  re- 
mains of  the  only  one  of  these  animals  which  has  come  under 
the  eye  of  a  naturalist,  warrants  the  transcription  of  the 
whole  statement  of  the  circumstances  of  its  discovery. 

This  important  discovery  was  made  by  the  Chief  Schuma- 
choff,  of  the  wandering  tribe  of  Tunguzes,  near  the  mouth 

AMRR.  NATUKALIST,  VOL.  IV.  20 


154  THE   TIME   OF  THE  MAMMOTHS. 

of  the  river  Lena.  The  following  account  is  translated  and 
condensed  from  the  description  published  in  the  **Memoir8 
of  the  St.  Petersburg  Academy  of  Sciences."  • 

"In  1799  he  built  a  cabin  for  his  wife  on  the  borders  of  the  Lake 
OdcouI,  and  then  went  to  search  on  the  shore  of  the  northern  sea,  hoping 
to  find  some  elephants  tusks.  One  day  he  perceived  in  the  midst  of  the 
ice  cliffs  a  shapeless  mass,  which  did  not  look  like  the  heaps  of  drift  wood 
which  are  often  found  there.  In  order  to  examine  It  more  nearly,  he 
came  ashore  and  observed  the  object  on  all  sides,  but  could  not  recognize 
what  it  was. 

The  following  year  he  discovered  at  this  point  a  sea  cow,  and  saw  at 
the  same  time  that  the  mass  which  he  had  seen  before  was  farther  sepa- 
rated flrom  the  ice,  and  showed  two  long  projections,  but  he  could  not  yet 
determine  what  it  was.  Towards  the  close  of  the  following  summer  the 
whole  side  of  the  animal  and  one  of  the  tusks  projected  beyond  the  ice 
wall  of  the  cliff.  On  his  return  to  the  shores  of  Lake  Oncoul  he  commu- 
nicated the  result  of  this  discovery  to  his  wife  and  to  some  of  his  friends ; 
but  their  way  of  looking  at  the  matter  gave  him  much  distress.  The  old 
men  told  him  that  they  had  heard  their  fathers  say  that  once  before  a 
similar  monster  had  shown  itself  on  the  same  peninsula,  and  that  the  dis- 
coverer and  all  his  family  perished  soon  afterwards.  The  mammoth  was 
consequently  looked  upon  as  an  augury  of  a  dire  calamity,  and  the  Chief 
was  so  much  affected  that  he  fell  very  111;  but  at  last,  being  a  little  con- 
valescent, his  first  idea  was  of  the  profits  he  might  gain  by  selling  the 
tusks,  which  were  of  extraordinary  beauty  and  size.  He  gave  orders  to 
have  the  locality  careftiUy  concealed,  and  all  strangers  turned  away  on 
some  pretext,  charging  at  the  same  time  some  of  his  people  to  watch 
carefully  that  no  one  should  steal  his  treasure. 

But  the  summer  was  less  warm  than  the  preceding,  and  the  mammoth 
remained  buried  In  the  ice  which  scarcely  melted  at  all.  At  last,  towards 
the  close  of  the  filth  year,  the  ardent  desires  of  Schumachoff  were  happily 
accomplished.  Por  that  part  of  the  ice  which  was  between  the  ground 
and  the  mammoth  having  melted  more  rapidly  than  the  rest,  the  surface 
became  sloping,  and  this  enormous  mass,  pushed  by  its  own  weight,  slid 
down  and  sorted  on  a  bank  of  sand  upon  the  shore. 

In  the  month  of  March,  Schumachoff  came  to  his  mammoth,  and  having 
cut  off  his  tusks  sold  them  to  a  merchant  for  goods  worth  fifty  roubles. 

Two  years  afterwards,  consequently  soon  after  the  discovery  of  the 
mammoth,  and  fortunately  in  travelling  through  this  country  I  was  able 
to  establish  these  facts  which  one  would  have  believed  so  improbable.  I* 
found  the  mammoth  still  In  the  same  place,  but  entirely  mutilated.  The 
Jacutes  of  the  neighborhood  had  cut  up  the  fiesh  and  fed  it  to  their  dogs 
during  a  period  of  scarcity,  and  the  wild  animals,  white  bears,  wolves, 

*I>e  Skeieto  Mamonteo  Siberico  ad  maris  glaciales  littora  aono  1797  efosso,  Anctore 
Tilesio.    Hem.  Acad.  Imp.,  St.  Petcrsbnrg.    Tomo  v. 


THE  TIME  OF  THE  MAMMOTHS.  155 

gluttons  and  foxes  had  picked  the  bones.  The  skeleton,  almost  entirely 
stripped  of  the  flesh,  was  still  entire  with  the  exception  of  one  forefoot. 
The  spine  Arom  the  head  to  the  coccyx,  a  shoulder  blade,  the  pelvis  and 
the  remains  of  the  three  extremities  were  still  attached  by  cartilage.  The 
head  was  covered  with  a  dry  skin.  One  of  the  ears  was  very  well  pre- 
served, and  furnished  with  a  tuft  of  hair.  All  these  parts  have  naturally 
suffered  by  transportation  for  a  distance  of  eleven  thousand  werst.  Still 
the  eyes  have  been  preserved,  and  In  the  left  the  ball  is  still  visible.  The 
brain  remained  in  the  skull,  but  seemed  somewhat  dried.  The  parts  the 
least  injured  are  one  front  and  one  hind  foot;  they  were  covered  with 
hair,  and  had  still  the  soles.  According  to  the  assertion  of  the  Chief  the 
creature  was  so  tut  that  the  belly  hung  down  to  below  the  knees.  T?i€ 
neck  bore  a  long  mane.  The  skin,  of  which  I  collected  about  three-quarters, 
is  of  a  dark  gray  color,  covered  with  wool  and  black  hair. 

The  escarpment  Arom  which  the  mammoth  had  slid  had  a  height  of  Arom 
two  hundred  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  and  is  composed  of  clear, 
pure  ice.  It  slopes  towards  the  sea  and  its  summit  is  covered  with  a 
coating  of  moss  and  triable  earth  about  eight  inches  thick.  During  the 
heat  of  summer  a  part  of  the  crust  melts,  but  the  rest  remains  firozen. 
Curiosity  caused  me  to  climb  two  other  hills  somewhat  away  firom  the 
shore.  They  were  composed  of  ice  also,  and  less  covered  with  moss. 
At  various  points  one  saw  fragments  of  wood  of  great  size,  and  many 
tusks  of  mammoths  imbedded  in  the  ice  precipices." 

The  peculiarities  of  the  geographical  distribution  of  or- 
ganic life  makes  us  associate  certain  animals  and  plants  with 
certain  features  of  climate.  So  that  the  inference  was  natu- 
rally made  that  the  remains  of  elephants  and  rhinoceroses 
indicated  a  climate  of  a  tropical  character  in  the  region 
where  they  are  found  at  a  time  when  these  extinct  species 
were  living.  That  this  is  entirely  fallacious  is  sufficiently 
proven  by  the  fact  that  our  Lena  elephant  is  fitted  to  resist 
just  such  a  temperature  as  now  prevails  in  the  regions  where 
his  remains  are  found.  The  hairy  envelop  afforded  a  non- 
conductor such  as  does  not  exist  on  the  skin  of  any  living 
animal  outside  of  the  Arctic  circle.  In  place  of  the  imper- 
fect hairy  covering  of  hairy  pachyderms,  or  the  bare  skin  of 
his  living  congeners,  this  elephant  was  provided  with  three 
distinct  suits  of  hair  and  wool,  the  longest  bristle-like  hairs 
having  various  lengths  up  to  a  foot  and  a  half,  and  serving  the 
ruder  purposes  of  defence ;  the  next  and  shorter  coat  was  a 
close  set,  tolerably  fine  hair,  three  or  four  inches  long ;  within 


156  THE   TIME   OF   THE   MAMMOTHS. 

this,  in  itself  a  cousidemble  protection  against  the  weather, 
lay  a  coating  of  wool,  fitting  the  intervals  between  the  other 
hairs,  and  enabling  the  animal  to  withstand  the  greatest  rigor 
of  the  olimate,  which  now  prevails  in  this  part  of  Asia.  Acute 
observation  has  supplied  us  with  another  evidence  of  the 
fitness  of  this  elephant  to  live  in  the  ordinary  conditions  of 
high  latitudes.  In  the  tooth  of  the  specimen,  before  de- 
scribed, was  found  a  morsel  of  wood,  the  remains  of  the  last 
meal  made  by  the  creature ;  the  microscope  of  the  botanist 
showed  this  fragment  to  belong  to  a  coniferous  tree,  so  that 
the  stunted  furs  of  the  high  north  might  have  supplied  food 
for  herds  of  these  mammoths.  It  is  not,  however,  quite  cer- 
t'lin  that  these  animals  ever  came  down  to  the  borders  of  the 
northern  sea,  though,  as  we  have  seen,  they  were  fitted  for 
such  a  climate  as  now  prevails  there ;  so  far  as  we  know 
the  remains  which  are  found  around  the  mouths  of  the 
great  rivers  of  Siberia  are  always  in  a  position,  which 
seems  to  indicate  that  they  have  been  swept  into  their  places 
by  the  river,  and  may  thus  have  come  from  any  point  on 
its  course.  The  fact  that  spring  overtakes  the  stream  at  its 
headwaters,  filling  its  channel  with  the  floods  of  the  annual 
melting,  while  the  region  near  the  estuary  may  be  still  fro- 
zen solid,  renders  these  Siberian  rivers,  as  all  other  streams 
which  flow  towards  higher  latitudes,  peculiarly  liable  to  de- 
structive overflows.  Overtaken  by  these  inundations  these 
clumsy  inhabitants  of  this  region  were  swept  down  towards 
the  sea  and  stranded  on  the  perpetually  frozen  soil  of  the 
shore ;  here  buried  in  the  mud  and  ice  they  soon  became 
frozen,  and  each  successive  inundation  thickened  the  sheet 
of  ice  and  frozen  soil  which  sealed  them  from  decay.  Noth- 
ing but  a  change  of  climate  or  an  altemtion  in  the  course  of 
the  stream  in  such  fashion  as  to  disinter  the  remains  can 
ever  disclose  the  innumerable  bodies  of  these  ancient  mon- 
sters which  lie  stark  and  stift*  along  the  waters  of  that  frozen 
sea.  When  the  frequent  disinterment  of  these  valuable  fos- 
sils, by  the  falling  of  the  frozen  clifis  of  the  rivers  of  Siberia, 


THE   TIME   OF  THE   MAMMOTHS.  157 

are  more  closely  watched,  we  will  doubtless  obtain  similarly 
preserved  bodies  of  the  other  large  mammals  which  were 
contemporaneous  with  these  elephants.  It  would  be  contrary 
to  all  analogy  to  find  that  these  great  pachyderms  held  these 
vast  steppes  of  Siberia  unassociated  with  other  large  mam- 
mals. We  may  re:isonably  expect  to  find  a  whole  fauna  of 
creatures  fitted  to  the  rude  conditions  to  which  we  have  seen 
this  elephant  is  adapted. 

Unfortunately  we  know  too  little  concerning  the  fossils  of 
the  extreme  northern  part  of  North  America  to  be  able  to 
say  whether  the  Siberian  elephants  were  peculiar  to  the  Asi- 
atic border  of  the  Arctic  Ocean,  or  extended  over  the  norths 
em  part  of  this  continent.  All  analogy  in  the  distribution 
of  life  around  that  sea,  at  the  present  day,  would  lead  us  to 
expect  that  the  same,  or  allied  species,  ranged  all  along  our 
northern  shore.  The  Mackenzie  River  being  subject  to  just 
such  a  peculiar  overflow  as  has  embedded  the  elephauts  of 
Siberia  in  ice,  we  can  hope  that  when  its  shores  are  better 
known  there  will  be  similar  fossils  found  there.  There 
seems  to  have  been  an  obscure  tradition  among  some  portions 
of  the  Indians  of  eastern  North  America,  that  on  the  unex- 
plored and  distant  recesses  north  of  Lake  Ontario  and  the 
St.  Lawrence,  there  dwelt  some  great  mammals  which  had  a 
size  like  that  of  the  elephant.  With  the  early  voyjigcrs  this 
was  accepted  as  proof  that  the  manunotli  still  lived  in  the 
western  part  of  Labrador;  and  on  some  of  the  first  maps 
this  territory  was  laid  down  as  the  habitation  of  these  sur- 
viving members  of  the  giant  race  whose  bones  strewed  the 
surface  of  so  large  a  portion  of  the  continent.  It  is  to  be 
expected  that  the  Indians,  who  must  from  time  to  time  have 
encountered  skeletons  of  the  mastodon  and  elephant  where 
they  had  been  unearthed  by  the  changes  of  river  courses,  or 
brought  to  light  in  their  efibits  to  free  the  obstructed  course 
of  large  springs,  such  as  those  at  Saratoga  or  Big  Bone  Lick, 
would  have  believed  the  species  still  living,  and  have  assigned 
it  a  home  in  some  distant  region.     A  savage  conceives  with 


158  THE   TIME   OF   THE   BfAMMOTHS. 

difficulty  the  extinction  of  any  species  of  large  animal,  but  if 
it  fails  to  cross  bis  patb  is  disposed  to  assign  it  a  home  in  the 
region  least  known  to  him. 

So  far  as  is  known  to  the  author  no  remains,  either  of 
elephants  or  mastodons,  have  been  found  north  of  the  parallel 
of  forty-eight  degrees  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  South 
of  this  line  the  remains  are  found  in  tolerable  abundance 
over  the  whole  surface  of  the  eastern  United  States  as 
far  south  as  middle  Alabama.  We  have  not  sufficient  evi- 
dence of  the  distribution  of  the  remains  of  these  animals  to 
determine  just  what  range  they  had.  New  England  has 
given  us  the  fewest  remains,  only  rare  traces  of  the  presence 
of  this  species  having  been  found.  In  the  valley  of  the 
Hudson  they  are  tolerably  abundant.  In  New  Jersey,  where 
the  conditions  favorable  for  their  preservation  are  frequently 
found,  some  of  the  most  perfect  skeletons  have  been  disin- 
terred. All  over  the  middle  states  we  come  across  traces  of 
this  species ;  and  in  the  West,  they  are  themost  abundant  of 
mammal  remains.  On  the  Pacific  coast,  the  fossil  elephants 
were  as  numerous  as  in  the  Mississippi  Valley ;  on  this  side 
of  the  continent  they  seem  to  have  a  greater  northern  range. 
The  explorations  of  Mr.  Dall  revealed  the  existence  of  these 
remains  as  far  north  as  Alaska ;  so  that  on  the  west  coast 
at  least,  we  have  the  remains  of  American  elephants  as  far 
north  as  those  of  Siberia.  The  existence  of  tliese  remains 
in  Alaska  makes  it  exceedingly  probable  that  we  shall  find 
the  similar  fossils  throughout  British  America,  and  that  our 
mammoth  is  specifically  identical  with  that  of  Asia.  It  is  re- 
markable that  the  buffalo,  which  once  ranged  far  east,  and 
covered  the  whole  of  the  plain  region  of  the  Ohio  basin  with 
innumerable  herds,  has  not  left  as  many  traces  of  his  pres- 
ence as  the  elephants.  The  remains  of  the  mastodon  seem 
even  more  plentiful  than  those  of  the  red  deer.  Something 
must,  no  doubt,  be  attributed  to  the  greater  size  and  solidity 
of  the  bones  of  these  pachyderms  over  those  of  bison  and 
deer.     Still  the  remarkable  abundance  of  the  elephant  re- 


THE   TIME   OF   THE   MAMMOTHS.  159 

mains  is  indubitable  proof,  not  so  much  perhaps  of  the  abun- 
dance of  the  individuals  at  any  one  time,  as  of  the  long  con- 
tinuance of  the  species  on  the  soil.  The  buffalo  was  a 
temporary  race  on  the  Ohio  Valley ;  he  had  probably  been 
here  only  a  few  thousand  years  at  most,  possibly  but  a  few 
hundreds,  when  the  coming  of  the  white  man  drove  him 
beyond  the  Mississippi.  He  was  not  there  at  the  time  of 
the  mound  builders.  His  bones  are  not  found  among  their 
remains.  His  striking  form  is  not  copied  in  their  pottery, 
as  are  those  of  all  other  remarkable  mammals  of  the 
valley.  Nor  do  we  find  him  delineated  in  the  great  figure 
mounds  of  the  north-west;  although  if  he  existed  in  the 
regioA  at  the  time  when  these  people  made  these  earthern 
monuments,  he  would  have  been  sure  of  a  prominent  place 
among  them.  The  elephants  and  mastodons,  on  the  other 
hand,  had  a  life  which  may  possibly  be  reckoned  by  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  years.  A  species  was  probably  here  before 
the  glacial  period  ;  and  since  that  time  up  to  about  the  com- 
ing of  man,  possibly  after  his  advent  on  the  continent,  they 
were  continually  present.  The  consequence  is  that  their  re- 
mains are  found  in  about  every  spot  where  the  conditions 
of  their  preservation  exist.  Almost  any  swampy  bit  of 
ground  in  Ohio  or  Kentucky  where  these  huge  creatures 
would  have  gotten  mired  in  their  elTorts  to  get  to  water  in 
dry  seasons,  or  where  the  too  yielding  mud  could  have  swal- 
lowed them  up  when  they  endeavored  to  cool  themselves  by 
wallowing  in  the  mire,  as  is  the  habit  of  all  elephants,  con- 
tains more  or  less  evidence  of  the  presence  of  these  animals. 
Sometimes  a  single  tooth  or  tusk  onlj-  has  survived  decay ;  at 
other  times  many  skeletons  are  packed  together  in  the  bog. 
The  numerous  salt  springs  of  the  West,  commonly  called 
licks,  are  peculiarly  rich  in  these  remains.  Like  many 
other  mammals  these  elephants  were  in  the  habit  of  seeking 
once  a  year,  or  oftener,  some  place  where  they  could  supply 
the  hunger  for  salt.  The  saline  waters,  such  as  pour  from 
Big  Bone  Lick,  the  upper  and  lower  Blue  Licks  of  Kentucky, 


160  THE   TIME   OF  THE   MAMMOTHS. 

or  other  similar  localities  in  the  West,  supplied  this  need,  and 
here  came,  on  an  annual  pilgrimage,  all  the  large  animals  of 
the  country.  When  this  region  was  first  occupied  by  the 
whites  the  bones  of  elephants  and  mastodons  were  found  in 
abundance  upon  the  surface,  or  buried  beneath  a  thin  covering 
of  mould  around  the  various  springs  of  the  first  of  these 
localities.  For  nearly  half  a  century  they  supplied  every 
strolling  curiosity  hunter  with  relics,  besides  furnishing  the 
remarkably  perfect  specimen  in  the  British  Museum,  as  well 
as  half  a  dozen  less  complete  skeletons.  There  remain  to 
this  day  traces  of  the  ancient  paths  on  which  at  the  time  the 
country  was  settled  the  deer  and  bufifalo  thronged  to  their 
favorite  watering  place.  These  traces,  broader  than  A  wide 
bridle  path  and  worn  to  the  depth  of  several  feet,  were  fifty 
years  ago  the  natural  roads,  leading  from  great  distances, 
dowu  to  the  springs.  The  buffalo  evidently  fell  into  the 
paths  made  by  their  predecessors,  the  elephants ;  for  along 
the  courses  of  these  paths  the  mammoth  remains  seem  most 
abundant.  Although  some  of  the  remains  of  the  Elephas 
primigenius  give  evidences  of  extreme  antiquity,  others 
seem  comparatively  very  recent.  The  author  has  a  tooth  bf 
this  species  which  came  from  the  uppermost  terrace  of  the 
alluvial  plain  opposite  Cincinnati,  at  a  point  over  sixty  feet 
from  the  surface.  This  tooth  could  not  have  been  placed  in 
its  position  less  than  fifty  thousand  years  ago.  Since  the 
deposition  of  the  beds  where  it  lay  the  Ohio  has  deepened 
its  rock  channel  over  fifty  feet,  and  shrunk  to  the  mere 
shadow  of  the  mighty  stream  which  flowed  through  its  valley 
when  it  bore  the  melting  ice  of  the  drift  period.  On  the 
other  hand  some  of  the  remains  of  the  same  species,  such 
as  those  which  lie  upon  the  surface  at  Big  Bone  Lick,  are  so 
well  preserved  tis  to  seem  not  much  more  ancient  than  the 
buffalo  bones  which  are  found  above  them.  There  is  a  great 
difliculty  in  determining  the  relative  antiquity  of  the  two 
elephants  which  have  existed  in  the  United  States  since  the 
glacial  period.     The  JElephaa  primigeniua  (if  the  species 


THE   TIME   OF   THE   MAMMOTHS.  161 

be  identical  with  the  European  representatives)  seems  on  the 
whole  to  be  more  ancient  than  the  Mastodon  Ohioticus.  It 
was  beyond  all  question  in  existence  when  the  upper  terraces 
of  our  river  bottoms  were  being  formed,  which  must  have 
been  just  as  the  ice  sheet  was  passing  away  from  the  Alle- 
ghanies  and  was  flooding  our  Western  streams  with  its  waters. 
This  mastodon  on  the  other  hand  seems  never  to  be  found 
under  circumstances  which  indicate  such  great  antiquity ;  it 
seems  to  have  come  in  after  the  details  of  the  river  courses 
were  about  complete  and  all  the  terraces  formed.  There  can 
be  no  doubt,  however,  that  these  two  giants  were  associated 
during  the  latter  part  of  their  history.  Although  it  is  quite 
unusual  for  two  allied  animals  of  very  great  size  to  exist  to- 
gether in  the  same  field,  there  is  no  reason  why  the  Western 
world  could  not  have  been  broad  enough  for  both.  There  is 
sufficient  difference  in  the  structural  features  of  these  two 
races  to  warrant  the  supposition  that  they  must  have  been 
characterized  by  considerable  difference  of  habit  and  instinct 
such  as  would  lead  them  to  choose  dififerent  fields  of  activity. 
It  seems  not  unlikely,  though  the  evidence  is  hardly  suffi- 
cient to  support  the  assertion,  that  the  mastodon  was  most 
given  to  wandering  in  the  swamps,  while  the  elephant  ranged 
on  higher  grounds. 

The  Elephas  primigeniua^  or  mammoth,  was  consider- 
ably taller  than  the  Indian  elephants  of  to-day,  though  not 
much  exceeding  them  in  length.  The  most  striking  dif- 
ferences of  form  were  to  be  foimd  about  the  head,  which 
was  considerably  higher  and  more  pointed  than  that  of 
the  Indian  elephant,  and  provided  with  tusks,  which  in- 
stead of  projecting  downward  and  forward,  curved  quite 
abruptly  outward  and  backward.  The  size  of  these  tusks 
far  exceeds  those  of  any  living  elephant  the  author  has 
measured;  tusks  of  our  North  American  mammoths  have 
been  found  having  a  length  on  the  outside  of  the  curve 
of  over  ten  feet,  yet  wanting  both  tips  and  bases.  The 
perfect  tusk   must  have   been  over  eleven  feet  long.     In 

▲MBR.   NATUBAUST,  VOL.   IV.  21 


1G2  THE   TIME   OF   THE   MAMMOTHS. 

addition  to  the  greater  length  of  the  tusks  the  mammoth  was 
distinguished  from  the  elephants  of  to-day  by  the  long  hair 
which  hung  in  a  coarse  mane  from  the  neck  and  along  the 
belly,  nearly  dragging  on  the  ground.  This  shaggy  envelope 
of  hair  must  have  added  greatly  to  the  apparent  size  and 
formidable  appearance  of  this  giant. 

We  know  less  about  the  appearance  of  the  mastodon  than 
the  elephant  proper.  Their  proportions  were  evidently  not 
more  widely  different  than  those  of  our  domesticated  bull  and 
the  bujlalo.  The  mastodons  were  probably  never  over  eleven 
feet  high.  They  had  straight  tusks,  as  have  our  modern 
elephants,  their  grinding  teeth,  which  exhibit  the  most  char- 
acteristic differences,  separating  them  from  their  larger  rela- 
tives, were  fitted  for  the  grinding  of  rougher  food.  From 
the  extreme  frequency  of  the  occurrence  of  the  remains  of 
the  mastodon  in  the  swamps  of  the  West,  it  seems  likely  that 
this  form  of  elephant  was  peculiarly  suited  to  exist  in  such 
regions. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  a  few  thousand  years  ago  these 
companion  giants  roamed  through  the  forests  and  along 
the  streams  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  They  fed  upon  a  veg- 
etation not  materially  different  from  that  now  existing  there. 
Replace  them  in  the  primeval  forests  of  that  region  and 
their  wants  would  be  as  well  supplied  as  when  they  were 
lords  of  the  domain.  The  fragments  of  wood  which  one 
finds  beneath  their  bones  seem  to  be  of  the  common  species 
of  existing  trees ;  even  the  reeds  and  other  swamp  plants 
which  are  imbedded  with  their  remains  are  apparently  the 
same  as  those  which  now  spring  in  the  soil.  The  naturalist, 
accustomed  as  he  is  to  behold  the  mysterious  changes  of  life, 
where  races  sink  at  once  into  a  common  grave,  and  the  face 
of  earth  prepared  for  other  actors  in  the  great  tragedy  of 
existence,  cannot  but  feel  more  keenly  than  before  the  tem- 
porary character  of  all  life  when  he  opens  to  the  light  of 
day  the  resting  place  of  one  of  those  species  of  gigantic  ani- 
mals.    What  could   have  been  the  nature  of  these  agents 


THB  TIME   OF  TH£   MAMMOTH8.  163 

which  at  one  stroke  drove  from  the  face  of  earth  two  of  the 
most  powerful  races  of  its  inhabitants,  sweeping  with  them 
many  smaller  forms,  such  as  the  extinct  deer  and  bulls  which 
we  find  buried  with  them.  The  unchanged  geography  of  the 
country  assures  us  that  no  great  convulsion  of  nature 
brought  it  about.  The  similarity  of  the  vegetation  of  the 
elephant  period,  with  that  now  growing  on  the  same  soil, 
shows  pretty  conclusively  that  it  was  not  due  to  great  geo- 
graphical changes  of  other  regions  reacting  on  the  climate 
of  the  region  they  inhabited.  It  is  not  meant  to  assert  that 
no  changes  of  climate  have  taken  place ;  on  the  contrary, 
such  changes  have  most  likely  come  about ;  but  they  have 
hardly  been  sufficient  to  extinguish  animals  so  well  adapted  as 
the  Elephas  primigenitis  undoubtedly  was  to  brave  climatic 
irregularities.*  There  seems  but  one  other  way  to  explain 
the  extirpation  of  these  races  and  that  is  through  the  action 
of  man.  There  is  no  longer  any  doubt  that  our  ancestors 
of  the  stone  age,  on  the  European  continent,  were  ushered  on 
to  earth  in  the  midst  of  the  gigantic  animals  of  the  elephant 
period.  It  is  now  over  thirty  years  since  Schmerling  of  Liege 
presented  the  evidence  of  the  contemporaneity  of  the  remains 
of  man  with  those  of  the  cave  bear  and  other  extinct  ani- 
mals. Step  by  step  the  evidence  has  accumulated,  over- 
whelming the  determined  opposition  of  those  who  think  that 
the  truth  they  have  is  necessarily  damaged  by  all  new  dis- 
coveries. It  is  impossible  to  present  here  the  evidence 
which  supports  what  may  seem  to  many  a  too  confident  as- 
sertion ;  its  character  is  known  to  most  readers.  Bones  of 
these  extinct  animals,  split  for  marrow  and  worked  for  tools, 
are  probably  the  most  important  part  of  the  evidence.  But 
the  most  unquestionable  bit  of  proof  is  that  which  is  fur- 
nished by  a  fragment  of  a  tusk  of  an  elephant  in  the  collec- 

*  So  fkr  ih>m  a  change  ft*oin  warmtti  to  cold  having  been  the  cause  of  the  extinction 
of  the  fossil  elephants  which  have  recently  disappeared  ft-om  the  Mississippi  Valley, 
all  the  eridence  would  warrant  the  eonclasion  that  if  change  of  climate  was  the  agent 
at  all,  it  likely  acted  by  an  alteration  flrom  cold  to  warmth,  giving  a  climate  too  hot  for 
a  ereafenre  probably  clothed  as  we  know  the  Lena  elephant  to  have  been. 


164  THE   TIME   OF  THE   MAlfMOTHS. 

tion  of  M.  Lartet,  of  Paris.  Some  artistic  spirit  of  the 
stone  a,ge  has  commemoi'ated  an  incident  of  the  chase  by 
graving  upon  this  fragment  a  rude,  but  spirited  representa- 
tion of  the  animal  to  whom  the  tusk  belonged.  The  form 
is  very  characteristic ;  the  shape  of  head,  such  as  the  species 
is  known  to  have  had,  diiSTering  considerably  from  that  of  the 
African  elephant,  is  clearly  shown.  But  one  feature  alone  is 
sufficient  to  show  that  the  savage  meant  to  represent  a  mem- 
ber of  the  race  to  which  the  Lena  elephant  belonged ;  it  is 
the  long,  shaggy  hair,  falling  like  a  mane  from  the  shoulders 
and  neck  and  fringing  the  belly ;  this  is  clearly  indicated  in 
the  engraving.  But  for  the  preservation  of  the  Siberian 
elephants  in  ice  we  would  have  failed  to  perceive  the  meaning 
of  this  feature  in  the  drawing ;  as  it  is  it  leaves  no  doubt 
that  he  who  drew  it  had  an  Eleplias  primigenius  in  bis 
mind's  eye. 

It  was  probably  for  the  best  that  man  should  have  come 
upon  earth  while  these  giants  still  lived.  They  were  his 
teachers'  in  the  first  arts  of  craft  and  courage.  Having  to 
dispute  the  possession  of  his  primitive  home,  the  caverns, 
with  the  gigantic  cave  bear,  and  the  mastery  of  the  forests 
with  the  formidable  elephants,  he  was  compelled  to  contrive 
weapons  and  use  them  with  well  concerted  bravery.  The 
magnitude  of  the  dangers  which  surrounded  him  compelled 
him  to  associate  himself  with  his  fellow  men,  and  his  tri- 
umphs in  struggles,  where  skill  and  valor  prevailed  against 
animal  strength,  gave  him  the  first  rude  education  of  the 
combat. 

If  we  must  seek  a  reason  for  the  death  of  the  elephants  in 
external  influences  we  may  well  find  it  in  the  coming  of  man, 
though  it  would  be  quite  as  reasonable  to  suppose  that  their 
race  already,  as  we  have  seen  very  ancient,  passed  away 
because  it  had  lived  its  time  and  done  its  appointed  work. 
We  have  no  such  evidence  of  the  contact  of  man  with  this 
ancient  race  of  giants  on  the  continent  of  North  America  as 
European  discoveries  have  afiTorded.     No  one  who  has  ex- 


THE  TIME  OF  THE  MAMMOTHS.  165 

amined  the  conditions  of  entombment  of  the  extinct  peoples 
of  the  Western  states,  the  preservations  of  their  remains, 
and  the  changes  which  have  taken  place  since  their  deposi- 
tion, can  believe  that  the  disappearance  of  the  elephants,  and 
the  coming  of  the  North  American  man  were  separated  by 
any  great  length  of  time.  When  the  fields  of  the  West,  rich 
in  the  remains  of  these  ancient  animals  and  ancient  men,  are 
studied  as  they  will  be  by  the  rising  generation  of  investi- 
gators of  that  region,  the  precise  relation  will  be  easily 
established.  It  is  not  likely  that  it  will  be  found  that  the 
highly  organized  mouiul  building  nations  were  instrumental 
in  driving  the  extinct  elephants  from  the  soil  of  North 
America.  Had  they  come  in  contact  with  these  large  crea- 
tures we  should  have  had  some  representation  of  them  in 
their  pottery  sculpture,  where  we  find  figures  of  all  the  com- 
mon large  mammals  of  the  West,  except  as  before  remarked, 
the  bison,  as  well  as  other  forms  like  the  manatee  which 
could  not  have  been  personally  known  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Ohio  Valley.  It  is  more  likely  to  have  been  some  rude 
dweller  in  caves  of  the  stone  age  who  slew  the  last  mammoth 
of  America. 

The  history  of  the  changes  in  the  elephant  life,  a  little 
while  ago  so  abundant,  on  three  at.  least  of  the  five  conti- 
nents, is  not  unlike  what  we  find  among  other  types  of  ani- 
mals and  plants  which  have  passed  the  full  meridian  of  their 
existence  and  are  hastening  to  their  setting.  While  the  type 
is  in  its  full  vigor  it  spreads  its  diversified  species  far  and 
wide  over  northern  as  well  as  southern  lauds ;  when  it  begins 
to  wane  the  northern  species  fall  first  in  the  struggle,  and 
the  last  remnants  of  the  type  are  found  beneath  the  torrid 
sun  where  easier  conditions  permit  them  to  protract  a  senile 
life.  Among  the  plants  the  palm  and  tree  ferns ;  among  the 
animals  the  large  reptiles  like  the  crocodiles  and  alligators, 
the  rhinoceros,  the  hippotamus,  the  tapirs,  the  monkeys,  and 
many  other  types  find  in  the  tropical  forests  the  conditions 
of  existence  which  the  ruder  climes  of  the  north  long  since 


166  THE  MOLLUSKS  OF  OUR  OELLABS. 

denied  them.  Our  speculative  friend  asks,  **may  it  not  be 
that  man,  driven  from  the  uoilhem  lauds  by  the  coming  of 
his  higher  successor  ou  the  stage  of  life,  is  to  finally  end  his 
race  on  earth  within  the  recesses  of  the  gloomy  forests  of 
Brazil  or  Borneo?" 


THE  MOLLUSKS  OF  OUR  CELLARS. 

BY  W.  O.  BIN17ET. 

• 

Most  of  the  readers  of  the  Naturalist,  who  teside  in  the 
cities  of.  our  Atlantic  coast,  are  aware  that  the  cellars  of  their 
houses  are  infested  with  slugs  and  snails.  They  have  seen 
or  heard  of  the  glistening  tracks  made  by  their  slime,  and 
have  heard  dreadful  stories  of  the  ugly  creatures  who  left 
them  when  escaping  from  their  nocturnal  depredations.  But 
as  few  of  our  readers  have  met  them  face  to  face,  we  pro- 
pose giving  a  short  description  of  each  with  a  portrait  of 
sufficient  accuracy  to  enable  any  one  to  identify  the  separate 
species. 

A  word  first  about  their  characters  and  habits.  They  all 
belong  to  the  great  division  of  mollusks  which  are  called 
Pulmonaia^  from  the  fact  of  their  breathing  with  lung-like 
vessels.  Furthermore,  they  all  belong  to  that  group  of  Pul- 
monata  which  are  called  Gecphila^  or  lovers  of  dry  land*, 
from  the  fact  of  their  habits  being  terrestrial  in  distinction 
from  those  which  are  adapted  to  living  in  fresh-water,  or  in 
the  sea.  These  Geophila  are  distinguished  in  addition  to 
their  breathing  with  lung-like  vessels  by  their  having  their 
eyes  at  the  end  of  long,  slender,  cylindrical  feelera.  Thus 
far  most  authors  agree,  but  in  subdividing  these  Geophila 
into  natural  groups  there  is  so  little  accord  among  naturalists 
that  we  do  not  carry  our  readers  farther  in  classification. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  literally  from  head  to  tail  almost  every 


THE  HOLLU8KS  OF  OUB  CGLLABS.        167 

character  has  been  seized  to  found  families  upon,  and  thus 
far  the  conchologiual  world  is  bnt  little  the  wiser  for  it. 

Our  cellar  molliisks  are  all  nocturnal  in  their  babite.  They 
lie  quietly  stowed  away  in  some  crack  or  crevice  of  the  walls 
during  the  day.  At  night  they  sally  forth  in 
pursuit  of  food  and  to  enjoy  the  company  of 
their  kind.  They  feed  on  vegetable  matter — 
refuse  fi-om  the  kitchen,  decaying  vegetables  '■■ 
or  fruits — or  on  Indian  meal,  flour,  or  anything  they  are 
lucky  enough  to  find.  They  even  devour  animal  food,  and 
in  confinement  have  even  been  accused  of  cannabalism. 
When  one  comes  to  know  how  well  adapted  their  mouth  is 
to  eating,  it  becomes  a  wonder  that  our  mullusks  leave  suiy- 
thiug  uneaten.     For  the  rot>uth  of  each  individual  mollusk  is 


HiUr  row  of  iBeik  at  Limait  fiatui. 

anned  at  its  entrance  with  a  sharp,  stout,  pointed  process, 
called  a  jaw,  fi»r  want  of  a  better  term.  This  falls,  purtcntiis- 
like,  on  the  food  of  the  animal,  and  cuts  off  pieces  into  his 
mouth.  We  give  here  a  figure  of  the  jaw  of  Limax  flavus 
one  of  the  species  mentioned  below  (Fig,  42).  Once  in  the 
month  the  food  is  taken  hold  of  by  a  long,  broad,  ril>bon-]ike 
membrane,  generally  called  a  tongue.  The  Avhole  surfaeeof 
this  tongue  is  covered  with  sharp,  tooth-like  proccgses  run- 
ning in  transverse  rows.  These  small,  sharp  teeth  rasp 
quickly  the  food  and  carry  it  forw.nrds  towards  the  stomach. 
Short  work  they  must  make  of  it,  for  the  number  of  these 
tooth-like  processes  is  very  great,  counting  as  high  as  eighty 
thousand  in  some  species.  We  give  here  a  figure  of  one- 
half  of  one  transverse  row  of  teeth  on  the  tongue  of  the  same 
species  whose  so-called  jaw  is  already  figured  (Fig.  43).    To 


168  THE   HOLLU8K8   OF  OUB  GELLABfi. 

understand  the  figure  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the 
remaining  half  of  this  tmnsverse  row  is  similar  to  the  half 
figured,  and  that  all  the  transverse  rows  are  alike.  Thus 
our  figure  gives  as  good  an  idea  of  the  tongue  as  if  the 
whole  hundred  rows  of  eighty-five  teeth  each  were  given. 
No  wonder  the  possessors  of  all  these  teeth  have  a  reputa- 
tion for  voracity  and  that  their  presence  is  dreaded  in 
kitchen  gardens. 

Our  cellar  moUusks  are  active  all  the  year  round,  owing 
to  the  milder  and  more  equal  climate  of  their  abode.  They 
do  not  hihernate  like  their  brethren  of  this  fields  and  woods. 
Their  soft  shell-less  body  gives  them  little  protection  from 
their  enemies.  Like  all  animals  so  defenceless  they  would 
soon  l.ecome  exterminated  had  Jthey  not  great  powers  of 
reproduction.  They  lay  eggs  several  times  during  the  year, 
and  in  such  numbers  that  a  couple  of  them  will  lay  as 
many  as  six  hundred  in  a  year.  These  eggs  are  gelatinous, 
semitransparent  and  globular,  sometimes  attached  together 
like  a  rosary.  They  are  remarkably  tenacious  of  vitality, 
so  much  so  that  they  resist  the  greatest  extremes  of  temper- 
ature. They  have  even  been  shrunk  and  dried  in  a  furnace 
and  kept  for  years  in  this  state,  yet  still  have  developed  their 
youuir  upon  being  restored  to  moisture.  The  young  animal 
emerges  from  the  egg  in  about  a  month,  and  when  two 
months  old  begins  to  reproduce  its  kind,  though  not  itself 
arrived  at  more  than  half  its  greatest  size. 

Only  one  species  of  our  cellar  mollusks  is  furnished  with 
Mil, external  well  developed  shell.  The  others  are  what  are 
commonly  '  nown  as  slugs.  They  have,  however,  under  the 
skin  of  the  forepart  of  their  body,  called  the  mantle,  a  rudi- 
mentary shell,  either  in  grains  of  calcareous  matter  or  in  a 
regular  calcareous  plate.  This  plate  was  formerly  supposed 
to  have  great  medicinal  properties,  and  has  been  said  to  be  a 
sovereign  remedy  for  almost  all  the  ills  that  flesh  is  heir  to. 

The  whole  surface  of  their  body  is  constantly  lubricated 
by  a  watery  fluid.     They  also  have  the  power  of  secreting  a 


THE   MOLLUSKS   OF  OUR   CELLARS.  169 

milk-like  mucus  at  any  part  of  their  body  which  may  require 
protection  from  auy  foreigu  substance.  This  secretion  of 
mucus  is  their  only  meaus  of  defence  against  their  enemies. 
It  also  is  used  us  a  thread  like  the  spider's  web  to  enable 
them  to  descend  to  the  earth. 

All  the  species  mentioned  below  are  of  foreign  origin. 
They  were  imported  from  England.     They  are  found  only 
in  close  proximity  to  man  around  his  habitation,  either  in 
cellars  or  gardens.     Most  of  them  were  noticed       pj^  ^ 
more  thun  half  a  century  ago,  as  early  as  moUusks 
became  to  be  studied  in  our  country.     They  have 
also  been  imported  into  other  colonies  of  England, 
and  probably  are  destined  to  become  the  most 
cosmopolitan  of  mollusks. 

^  .  .  ShvlX  of  hyalina 

We  will  now  describe  the  various  species  found    <^««a'^«- 
in  our  cellars,  commencing  with  the  only  one  which  bears  a 
well  developed  external  shell  (Fig.  44).     This  is  the  Ilyalina 
cdlaria,  a  thin,  horn  colored,  glistening,  flattened  shell  of  five 
whorls,  and  less  than  half  an  inch  in  diam-  p.    ^^ 

eter.  The  edge  of  the  aperture  is  sharp,  not 
reflected,  or  thickened  by  a  border  of  testa- 
ceous matter.  It  is  a  common  European  shell  AiaHTai  of  j^na 
of  which  a  single  specimen  was  first  noticed 
by  a  gentleman  in  Philadelphia  on  a  wharf  near  the  foreign 
shipping.  It  was  shown  to  Mr.  Say,  who  described*  it  as  a 
new  species.  Of  late  years  it  has  not  been  seen  in  that 
city,  but  from  Astoria,  Long  Island,  to  Halifax,  it  exists  in 
almost  every  Atlantic  port.  It  is  found  only  in  cellars  and 
gardens.  It  used  to  be  very  common  under  the  bricks  of 
the  inner  edge  of  the  sidewalk  on  the  north  side  of  Mount 
Vernon  street,  Boston,  between  Walnut  street  and  Louisberg 
Square. 

Liniax  maximus  is  the  largest  of  our  cellar  slugs  (Fig.  45). 
It  seems  to  be  a  more  recent  importation  than  the  other  spe- 
cies, having  first  been  noticed  in  Philadelphia  in  1867.  It 
appeared  almost  simultaneously  at  Brooklyn,  New  York,  and 

AMRK.   NATURAUST,  VOL.  IV.  22 


170  THE   M0LLUBK8   OP  OUR  CELLARS. 

at  Newport,  R.  I.     The  iudividual  figui-ed  was  fouDd  in  a 
gaixleQ  iu  Pelham  street  of  the  last  named  city.     Some  iudi- 

Ftg.W. 


viduuls  placed  in  n  gaHen  in  Burlington,  New  Jersey,  were 
shortly  after  found  iu  an  adjoining  cellat.     This  species  is 
readily  distinguished   by  the  rich  brown  or  black  stripes 
Pij_4B_  running    lengthwise 

down  its  back,  giv- 
ing it  a  leopurd-like 
appearance.  It  is 
about  four  inches 
long. 
Ltmax  Jiavua, 
Ltmaifiavu$.  whose    tongue    and 

jaw  are  figured  above,  grows  about  three  inches  lung  (Fig. 
46).  It  is  characterized  by  a  brownish  color,  with  oblong- 
oval  ulicolored  spots;  body  cylindrical,  elongated,  termin- 
ating in  a  short  Fig.  11. 
prominent  keel ; 
mantle  oval, 
rouiuled  at  both  ^ 
ends,  with  round- 
ed spots  ;  base  of  *'^'"  ■'"'""■ 
foot  sallow  white.  It  has  been  noticed  for  mure  than  forty 
years  in  the  cities  of  our  Atlantic  coast,  mid  probably  has 
followed  the  white  man  over  the  whole  country. 

Arion  fuscua  belongs  to  a  different  genus  from  the  last 
mimed  slugs  (Fig.  47).     It  is  readily  diistinguished  by  its 


BEYIEWS.  171 

• 

jaw  which  has  no  median  beak-like  projection  to  its  cutting 
edge,  but  has  rib-like  processes  on  its  anterior  face,  cren- 
ulatiug  the  margin.  Its  tongue  differs  also  in  the  form  of 
the  teeth.  In  the  forepart  of  its  body,  under  the  rounded 
shield-like  process  of  the  skin,  there  are  calcareous  grains 
instead  of  a  well  formed  plate.  And  finally  at  its  tail  is  a 
decided  triangular  perpendicular  mucus  pore.  It  grows 
about  one  inch  long.  The  color  is  whitish,  grayish  or 
brownish ;  upper  surface  marked  with  elongated  crowded 
glands  ;  mantle  oval,  granulated  ;  tail  obtuse,  not  carinated  ; 
the  sides  marked  with  an  obscure  brownish  line.  It  is  of 
European  origin  and  thus  far  has  only  been  noticed  in 
Boston  and  vicinity.  It  is  not  properly  a  cellar  snail,  but 
is  found  with  the  preceding  species  around  kitchens  and 
gardens. 


REVIEWS. 


CHALCHiHurrLS.  *  —  [Mr.  Sqnier  has  in  this  commnnlcation  to  the  Ly- 
ceam  given  a  very  important  and  interesting  summary  of  what  is  known 
relating  to  the  carved  **  green  stones  "  from  Mexico  and  Central  America, 
and  as  lie  has  kindly  placed  the  original  cuts  of  the  article  in  oar  hands, 
we  make  this  review  in  the  form  of  extracts  ftom  his  commnnlcation. 
In  a  ftiture  number  we  shall  give  figures  of  a  few  similar  carved  stones 
collected  by  Mr.  McNlel  in  Nicaragua.] 

*'  Among  the  articles  of  ornament  used  by  the  aboriginal  inhabitants 
of  Mexico  and  Central  America,  those  worked  from  some  variety  of  green 
stone  resembling  emerald,  and  called  by  the  Nahuatl  or  Mexican  name 
chalchiuUlf  chalchihuith  or  chalchiuUe^  f  were  most  highly  esteemed,  and 
are  oftenest  mentioned  by  the  early  explorers  and  chroniclers.  The  word 
chalckiuiU  is  defined  by  Molina,  in  his  Vocahulario  Mexicano  (1571),  to 
signify  esmeralda  haja,  or  an  inferior  kind  of  emerald.  The  precious  em- 
erald, or  emerald  proper,  was  called  quetzalitztli^  from  the  quetzal^  the 
bird  known  to  science  as  the  Trogon  resplendens  (the  splendid  plumes  of 
which,  of  brilliant  metallic  green  were  worn  by  the  kings  of  Mexico  and 


*  ObserrsUoiu  on  a  CoUeetlon  of  OhalchllraltU  from  Mexico  and  Central  Ameriea.  By  E.  Q, 
Squler.   From  the  Annals  of  the  Lyoenm  of  Natural  History  of  New  York.   1869. 

1 1  bare  followed  the  ortliography  of  the  word  throughout,  as  given  by  the  varloos  authors 
quoted. 


1 72  KBVIEWS. 

Central  America  rh  ngeX  Inslgatft),  and  iuli,  Btoae;  i.e.  tUe  stone  of  the 

SahaguD  mcntioDB  four  of  the  Mexican  gods  who  were  the  especial 
patrons  of  tlic  lapidaries,  and  honored  as  the  luveotors  of  the  art  *of 
working  stones  and  ehaUMuUes,  and  of  dillllng  and  polislilng  tliem.'  Ue 
does  not,  however,  describe  the  process  made  nse  of  by  the  Indians  in 
cutting  precious  stoues,  'because,'  he  i>ays,  'It  Is  so  common  and  well  nu- 
derstuud;'  uu  omisalon  which  his  editor,  Bustamente,  regrets,  'since  the 
art  Is  now  entirely  lost.' 

QueUalcoirtl,  the  lawgiver,  high-priest,  and  Instnictor  of  the  Mexicans 
in  the  arts.  Is  said  to  liave  taught  not  only  the  working  of  metals,  but 
j.|^  ^  'particularly   the   art  of  cut- 

ting precious  stoues,  such  ns 
chalchiuilea,  which  are  green 
stones,  much  esteemed,  and  of 
great  raluc'  (  Torqurmioda, 
lib.  vl.,  cap.  xxlv.)  Quetzol- 
coatl  hlmseif,  according  to  cer- 
tain traditions,  was  begotten 
by  one  of  these  stunes,  wliich 
the  goddess  Ckimalma  had 
placed  in  her  bosom.  Indeed, 
both  among  the  Mexicans  aud 
the  nations  forther  tn  the 
southward,  the  chalfhihuiU 
seems  to  have  represented 
everything  that  was  excellent 
in  Its  Itlnd.  Us  name  was 
used  in  compounding  desig- 
nations of  distinction  and 
honor,  and  was  applied  both 
to  heroes  and  divinities.  The 
goddess  of  WQter  bore  tho 
name  of  Chahkiuitlcmjf,  the 
women    of    the    chnlrbiuius; 

Jinn  was  otlen  applied  to  the 
city  of  Tlaxcolla,  from  a  beantimi  fountain  of  water  near  It,  the  color 
of  which,  according  to  Torquemada.  'was  between  blue  and  preen." 
Coitez,  according  to  the  same  anthoiHy,  was  often  called  '  ClialeMiiill, 
which  Is  the  same  as  captain  of  great  valor,  because  rhalchiiiUl  Is  the 
color  of  emerald,  and  thi;  emeralds  are  held  tn  high  estimation  among 
the  nations.'  {Slonarrhia  Indiana,  vol.  1,  p.  «6.)  When  a  great  digni- 
tary died  his  corpse  was  richly  decorated  for  bnrlul  with  gold  and  plumes 
of  feathers,  and  '  they  put  In  his  mouth  a  flne  stone  rcsombUng  emerald, 
which  they  call  chnlchihuill,  and  which,  they  say,  they  place  as  a  heart.' 
{lb.,  vol.  ii.  p.  621.) 


REVIEWS. 


173 


Sahagan,  In  one  place  describes  the  chalchihuitl  as  '  a  jasper  of  very 
green  color,  or  a  common  emerald.'  Elsewhere  he  goes  Into  a  very  fUll 
description  of  the  various  kinds  of  green  stones  which  the  Mexicans  held 
in  esteem,  and  as  his  account  may  materially  aid  in  identifying  the  chal- 
chihuitl f  It  Is  subjoined  entire : 

*  The  emerald  which  tlie  Mexicans  call  quetzalitztli  Is  precious,  of  great 
value,  and  Is  so  called,  because  by  the  word  quetzalli  they  mean  to  say  a 


Fig.  49. 


very  green  plume,  and  by 
itztliy  flint.  It  Is  smooth, 
without  spot;  and  these 
peculiarities  belong  to 
the  good  emerald ;  name- 
ly. It  Is  deep  green  with 
a  polished  surface,  with- 
out stain,  transparent, 
and  at  the  same  time  lus- 
trous. There  is  another 
kind  of  stone  which  is 
called  quHzalchalchivitly 
so  called  because  It  Is 
very  green  and  resem- 
bles the  ehalchivitl ;  tho 
best  of  these  are  of  deep 
green,  transparent,  and 
without  spot ;  those 
which  are  of  Inferior 
quality  have  veins  and 
spots  intermingled.  The 
Mexicans  work  these 
stones  Into  various 
shapes;  some  are  round 
and  pierced,  others  long, 
cylindrical,  and  pierced ; 
others  tiiangular,  hexag- 
onal or  square.  There 
are  still  other  stones 
called  rhalchivitea,  which 

are  green  (bat  not  trans-    Chalohihultl,  or  engravrd  precloui  itone,  from  Ocosingo, 

.       .  .  .  ,         Central  America.    Fall  size, 

parent),     mixed     with 

white;  they  are  much  used  by  the  chiefs,  who  wear  them  fastened  to 

their  wrists  by  cords,  as  a  sign  of  rank.    The  lower  orders  (maceguales) 

are  not  allowed  to  wear  them.    .    .    .    There  is  yet  another  stone  called 

tlilaiotiCj  a  kind  of  chalchuitey  In  color  black  and  green  mixed.   .   .  .  And 

among  the  jaspers  is  a  variety  in  color  white  mixed  with  green,  and  for 

this  reason  called  iztacchalchiuitl.*    Another  variety  has  veins  of  clear 


•  iMtac  slgnlllea  white ;  1.  e.  tehiU  chalchihuitl. 


174  REVIEWS. 

green  or  blae,  with  other  colors  interspersed  with  the  white.  .  .  .  And 
there  is  yet  another  kind  of  green  stone  which  resembles  the  chdlchiuUies, 
and  called  zoxouhquUeqxitL*  It  is  known  to  the  lapidaries  as  teceliCj  fcr 
the  reason  that  it  is  very  easy  to  work,  and  has  spots  of  clear  blue.  The 
wrought  and  curions  stones  which  the  natives  wear  attached  to  their 
wrists,  whether  of  crystal  or  other  precious  stones,  they  call  chopilotl — 
a  designation  that  is  given  to  any  stone  curiously  worked  or  very  beauti- 
tuV  {Bistoria  de  Nueva  Espana,  lib.  xi.,  cap.  vlli.)  The  same  author, 
describing  the  ornaments  which  the  Mexican  lords  used  in  their  festivals, 
speaks  of  a  *  head-dress  called  quetzalalpitoai^  consisting  of  two  tassels  of 
rich  plumes,  set  in  gold,  and  worn  suspended  from  the  hair  at  the  crown 
of  the  head,  and  hanging  down  on  each  side  towards  the  shoulders. 
They  also  wear  rings  of  gold  around  the  arms  and  in  their  ears,  and 
round  their  wrists  a  broad  band  of  black  leather,  and  suspended  to  this 
a  large  bead  of  chalchittitl  or  other  precious  stone.  They  also  wear  a 
chin  ornament  (barbote)  of  chalchiuitl  set  in  gold,  fixed  in  the  beard. 
Some  of  these  barbotes  are  large  crystals,  with  blue  feathers  put  in  them, 
which  give  them  the  appearance  of  sapphires.  There  are  many  other 
varieties  of  precious  stones  which  they  use  for  barbotes.  They  have 
their  lower  liptf  slit,  and  wear  these  ornaments  in  the  openings,  where 
they  appear  as  if  coming  out  of  the  flesh ;  and  they  wear  in  the  same 
way  semilunes  of  gold.  The  noses  of  the  great  lords  are  also  pierced, 
and  in  the  openings  they  wear  fine  turquoises  or  other  precious  stones, 
one  on  each  side.  They  wear  strings  of  precious  stones  around  their 
necks,  sustaining  a  gold  medal  set  round  with  pearls,  and  having  in  its 
centre  a  smooth  precJous  stone.'    (/d.,  lib.  vlii.  cap.  ix.) 

In  these  descriptions,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  chalchihuiUs  are  spoken 
of  as  ornaments,  round  or  oblong  beads,  which  conforms  with  the  repre- 
sentations in  the  paintings.  But  these  or  similar  green  stones  were  used 
for  other  purposes.  The  chronicler  Villagutierre,  in  his  account  of  the 
conquest  of  the  Itzaes  of  Yucatan,  speaks  of  idols  in  their  temples  'of 
precious  Jasper,  green,  red,  and  of  other  colors ;'  and,  in  describing  the 
great  temple  of  Tayasal,  mentions  particularly  an  idol  which  was  found 
in  it,  *  a  span  long,  of  rough  emerald  (eameralda  bruta),  which  the  infidels 
called  the  god  of  Battles,'  and  which*  the  conquering  general,  Ursua,  took 
as  part  of  his  share  of  the  spoil. 

The  Mexicans  nevertheless  had  true  emeralds,  of  which  we  have  left  to 
us  the  most  glowing  descriptions.  Gomara  describes  particularly  five 
large  ones  which  Cortez  took  with  him  from  Mexico  to  Spain  at  the  time 
of  his  first  visit,  and  which  were  regarded  as  among  the  finest  in  the  world. 
They  were  valued  at  100,000  ducats,  and  for  one  of  them  the  Genoese 
merchants  offered  40,000  ducats,  with  the  view  of  selling  it  to  the  Grand 
Turk.  Cortez  had  also  the  emerald  vases,  which  the  padre  Mariana  as- 
sures us,  in  the  supplement  of  his  History  of  Spain,  were  worth  300,000 

ducats.    They  are  reported  to  have  been  lost  at  sea.    All  th^se  emeralds 



*  From  xoximhqvit  eota  Mnfc,  something  green,  and  tecpaa^  stone;  i. «.  greoi  stone. 


rig,  w. 


KEVIEWS.  175 

were  cat  In  Mexico  by  Indiaa  lapldnrles  ander  tbe  orders  of  Coitez,  and 
were  most  elaborately  worked.  One  was  wroDgbt  In  tbe  form  of  a  little 
bell,  with  a  fine  pearl  for  a  clapper,  and  bad  on  Its  lip  tbls  inscription  in 
Spauisli,  Bendito  quien  te  erid  I  Blessed  he  who  made  thee  I  The  one 
valned  most  highly  was  In  the  shape  of  a  cap,  with  a  foot  of  gold.  All 
of  them  were  pres- 
ented by  Cortei  to  his 
secood  wife,  who  thus, 
says  Gomnrn,  became 
possessed  orHiiCL  jew- 
els tbnn  any  other 
woman  in  Spain.  Re- 
markable as  were 
these  emernlds,  Peter 
Martyr  mentions  one, 
of  which  Cortcz  was 
robbed  by  tbe  French 
pirates,  that  mnst  have 
surpassed  any  of  them 
Id  size  and  valae. 

Coming  down  to 
later  times,  we  And 
Professor  P.  Blake 
(Amer.  Jour,  of  Scl. 
and  Arts,  March, 
1BS8),  tn  an  interest- 
ing article  on  'The 
Cbalcblhuitll  of  the 
Mexicans,'  informing 
ns  that  the  Navajo 
Indians  In  the  north- 
ern and  western  por- 
tions of  New  Mexico 
wear  small  ornaments 
and  trinkets  of  a  hard, 
f^recn  stone,  which 
they  call  by  the  Mex- 
ican name,  and  which  they  regard  as  of  great  valae ;  '  a  string  of  frag- 
ments large  enough  for  an  ear-ring  being  worth  as  mnch  as  a  mnle.' 
Mr.  Blake,  suspecting  this  stone  to  be  turqnolse,  and  learning  that  it  was 
yet  procured  in  small  quantity  by  tbe  Indians  among  tbe  mountalDS  about 
twenty  miles  from  Santa  F&,  visited  tbe  spot,  where  be  foand  an  Im- 
mense pit  excavated  in  grannlar  porphyry,  '200  feet  In  depth  and  800  or 
more  In  width,'  besides  some  smaller  excavations.  He  obtained  many 
fragments  of  the  so-called  tkahhlhu&U  'of  npplefcreen  and  peagreen, 
passing  lnt6  blnish-green,  capable  of  a  Bne  polish,  and  of  a  hardness 


Bu«o-BeUero  or  (he  god  Cnenlou,  tctim  Fmlenqne. 


17G  REVIEWS. 

little  less  than  that  of  feldspar.'  The  rragmentB  foand  were  small,  not 
exceeding  three-qaartcrs  of  an  Inch  In  length  and  one-quarter  of  an  Inch 
In  tbtckneBS,  and  the  material  'appeared  to  have  formed  crusts  npou  the 
snrfaces  of  cavities  or  flsaurea  In  the  rock,  or  to  have  extended  through 
It  In  relDS.' 

Mr.  Blake's  description  applies  to  the  specimens  exhibited  to  the  Lv- 
ceam  not  long  ago  by  Professor  Nenberry,  and  there  Is  no  doubt  that  the 
material  was,  or  mther  Is.  a  variety  of  the  turquoise.  Bnt  I  donbt  If  It 
be  the  true  chalchlhuitt  of  the  Mexicans  and  Central  Americans.  That 
they  used  the  atone  deacrlbed  by  Mr.  Blake  fbr  certain  purposes,  I  know; 
Fig.  U. 


Cliilehlhalll  from  OooalDgo.    Two-ttalrdi  letnil  ilie. 

fbr  there  exists  la  the  museum  of  the  late  Mr.  Henry  Christy,  In  London, 
a  hnman  skuil  completely  encragted  with  a  mosaic  of  precisely  this  stone, 
and  a  flint  knife  with  Its  handle  elaborately  Inlaid  with  It,  in  small  frng- 
roents.  Of  the  first  of  these  relics  I  present  a  drawing  made  by  Waldeck 
and  publbhed  by  the  French  Oovemmeat.    See  Fto.  18.* 

The  weight  of  evidence,  In  my  opinion,  goes  to  show  that  the  atone 
properly  called  cAalehihuUl  Is  that  which  Molina  defines  to  be  '  baja  etme- 
ralda,'  or  possibly  nephrite,  'a  Jasper  of  very  green  color,'  as  Sahagnn, 
already  quoted,  avers.  I  shoold  therefore  object,  on  strictly  critical  and 
historical  grounds,  to  the  Nuggestion  of  Mr.  Blake,  that  the  variety  of 
tnrqnolse  found  by  him  should  be  '  known  among  mineralogists  as  rhal- 
chihuitJ.' 

But  apart  fl-om  any  speculations  on  the  subject,  I  have  to  lay  befbre  the 
Lyceum  a  most  Interesting  series  of  green  stones,  unrivalled,  in  their 

*ID  Mr.  ChrliiT'i  Mdkiiiii  laalui  wooden  muk  ctienmtcd  In  Uke  mmnner,  with  tangnolK*, 
malichlte,  inrl  white  ini  rol  thcLla.  The  predomlnint  glone  In  ill  ll  tha  InrqiiolH.  The  hark 
of  the  (knil  In  the  ipKlmeD  FngriTid  I)  nit  lyi.y,  aa  »  Co  adnilE  the  rkoo  In  be  hung  hr  lealh* 
em  Oinnin  (wbleh  ttlll  remilnl  over  tlw  tint  of  an  Idol,  la  wia  the  cuatom  In  Mrilco.  The 
tnn*««whlicktiandalnIh<^<nitimornhaMlnnlnthe  oriftnal.  Tha  ortballa  an  nodale*  at 
Iron  pjriilM,  aul  btnilaph*rloallr  and  bigblr  poUahed. 


REVIEWS.  177 

nay,  In  the  world,  whicli  were  found  amoDg  the  rulna  of  Ocoslngo,  In  the 
(lepartmeut  of  Quesaltenango,  Guateinalu,  on  the  borders  of  Cblupas,  aiiil 
not  remote  from  the  more  famous  but  hurilly  less  Imposing  mounmeuts 
or  Palenqoe.  I  must  not  omit  to  soy  that,  in  tomraou  with  similar  stones, 
tliey  were  designated  by  tlie  people  of  the  region  where  they  were  found 
as  chalchtchuilet. 

yio.W.— Tlie  flnt  and  mosl  1nt*r»llng  of  Owe  liprcelKiT  (bur  ImIim  long  by  iwn  and 
Ilirec-teiitUi  liroiul.  una  about  bilf  no  Inch  In  trcraiK  Ihlckueu.  Tliii  Diet  li  sculplurcO  iu  low 
relief,  wilh  tlie  flgun  or  k  dlvlnlly  aeated,  crDM-leggcd,  un  ■  kbul  of  cnrreil  tent,  wltli  lils  Irll 

lion.    Anmml  hli  loliu  1>  m  ornuninlil  glrd]i'.  uhI  dcpcndlpg  i>diii  his  neck  and  Teatlng  do 

h1i  breut  la  an  obloni  rceluipilai  plate  or  cliartn,  not  unJlke  Uiat  lalil  to  Lave  been  *oni  by 

Ibe  Jeirtah  hlgh-prlesta.    Tlie  net  la  In  profllt,  sbow. 

lUK  (he  •all^nl  no»  and  eoi.vrntlonal  rtcedlug  fOre-  ^<3'  '^■ 

iKad  thai  oharacwnie  mo.l  Central  American  acolp- 

on  tlic  Paler»[Un   monumenta  and  In  Ihe  paliillngs. 
larjte  bas-<fHff  (Imnd  by  Mr.  Steplicna  In  an  Inner 


Willi  a'all(1iily  dlmlul 


»  rierced  dlaironally.  sa  If  lo  alTDnl  mc 
I  tt  lo  Clolli  or  olber  mnlerial,  wllb 

-Tlie  nrxl  relle  In  Importance  li  of  a  al 
B  opaque  material,  whicb.  were  II  not  lb 


viihin  Imir  nil  tncli.  wlien  tbc  tiilermo 
riearly  polltJicd  oul.    Tlili  «ns  clearly 


I  block  to  which  I  bare  allndeil  In  do«rlbiiig  Fio.  61.    Tlie  f*ont  appears  aa  IT  of 
n  enamel.  e«hlbllln([  a  full  hnnau  hee  with  a  lar»e  and  elaborate  fralher  belmel 

ie  original,    Thla,  too,  U  pierced,  like  that  laat  described,  from  edge  to  edge,  neai 

lo.  G3. — TMi  li  a  conparatlTcly  gmall  fk'agnienl  of  Identical  material  with  Fic.  £ 

A»ER.    NATL'BAUST,    VOL.    IV.  33 


u  ttitntit  lu  ahipe,  » 
rnngh  TcrllcuJlr  and 


!  DD  Uit  tkBt,  whwe  l>  emnr«d  In  proUc  i  liiiin*n  brad, 

H  portion  ot  the  di*s«  or  the  wemrer.    It  li  pollilin] 
irve-l«nlli«  laches  by  odq  md  ulne-tvuthi.    IE  hu  Ita 
Airmerly  Mayer,  MuHum.  of  Loudoh. 
ind  Ttry  InwrstUnj.   It  li  ■  »llghlly  lrrt«nl.r  (lobe, 
er«ed  tTvm  top  to  bottom  by  ■  perftctir  circulu  hole 


CDgnied  IderoglyphJei. ' 
to  be   •yllmbo-phoDetlc 


a  Inch  li 


tomOeoiIn^.    Fall  gl 


■lenls.  witli  DO  >p«liU  ■JgnlAciuHW. 

■  IderoglFpldMl  •IgslflciDce.  Tlie  Utter 
(Flo.  61)  1)  1  ftifmeiit  of  ■  UiId  plile,  of 
tbe  UDie  (tone  nllli  tbe  objocu  ulrculy 
deKribed,  two  iDCbci  uid  elght-tentlii  \a 


Meileo,  Ceiiii»l  Amer] 


I  aborlglnil  point 


iD  Inch  In  dlUDttfi 


Tbe  relics  above  described  are  Ihir  types  or 
the  cbalchlbultls  foDDd  at  DcoslDgo;  bnt  I  pos- 
sess some  other  worked  and  engraved  green- 
stones, worth  mentioning,  perbi^>B,  tn  thts  con- 
nection-   The  flrat  of  these, 

Fig.  O.  bu  BBie  membluiee  to  the  engraTcd  Aufrlu 


uthey  t 


rltef), 

EfrpU»n  Kholim 

•^od  or  I>FM1i*), 


1. 1i  pre«Bied  a. 

I  on  a  projectjoi 

1>  tnldlT  ud  ihmrplr 


mCbalcIilhiim  globe.    Tall 


FiQ.  «4  Ji  an  engnTlnit  or  ■  ato 

rcaembllnK  quarli,  flTC  iDcbei  k» 
II  H  blcUr  pollihRt  OB  Iha  lux,  I 


dilllfd  eiillrtlr  tbrouih  tin  ttono. 
IHiralL*!  wlUi  lla  lace.  Tbe  loirep  or 
cnlllnr  v\ge  l>  illghtlr  onrrcd  out- 
wird,  Implying  that.  If  Intended  for 
pnctlca]  Krrleei  It  wmi  u  adio.  But  It  la 


>.    Balfalu. 

m  iTmboUcallT,  li 


*  In  OnM«  *toM  weapona  oT  jar 


pnlDird  at  oM  eniLwitb  a  broad  catting 
inentlTe  junlnat  llilitnlDf .   Another  eor- 

._.  , nd(ilm11ir'>l)lectlnJamiilci  tortjye^ta 

undertinit.    ItwM  kept  In  Ml  ■■rtbtrn  Jar  OlUd  irlUi  wu«,  a&d  ni  »p- 


>r.  and  reinnlMl  hy  the  na 


r  orlglmJ)  !•  Uis  cutlr  Teeogalitble  agnrc  of  i  frog.  In  *  UDd  of  malaclille 

lolcpcc,  Luke  Nlcvagut. 

jioUier  ud  Lsrdvr  iirlelr  orgreeu  iloae,  n-om  ■  mouiHl  our  Nnlclwi, 


Itag.  Hltli  (Ik  liuman  hod;.   II  Is  alio  plcrtPd  lalcraJI]',  Itkc  Ibne  alrcudy  dcMHb«d,  itoublleu 

I  do  Dot  present  FiGS-  G3,  64. 65,  and  66  as  Bpeclmena  of  tbe  ehalchibuitt. 
but  as  stioning  the  regard  paid  to  green  stones  generally.  It  Is  one  that 
pervades  both  eontlncnts  and  many  nations,  from  the  advanced  Chinese, 


Ctrrcd  Kttea  atone  Ibnnd  neir  If^teliet. 

Sculplund  IVo;,  NIcangoL 

to  whom  the  green  jade  Is  sacred,  to  the  savage  dwellers  on  the  banks 
or  the  Orinoco,  among  whom  Hnmboldt  Tonnd  ejllnders  or  bard  green 
stones,  the  most  highly  prized  objects  of  the  several  tribes,  snd  some  of 
which  It  must  have  required  a  lifetime  to  work  Into  shape. 


KEVIEWS.  181 

or  the  carved  chalchlhultls,  like  those  described  ft-om  Fio.  48  to  Fio.  62, 
I  have  seen  bat  three  specimens  outside  of  my  own  collection :  one  al- 
ready alladed  to  in  the  Christy  Maseum  of  London,  another  in  the  late 
Uhde  Museam  near  Heidelberg,  and  a  third  in  the  Waldeck  collection  in 
Paris. 

The  qaestion  how  these  obdurate  stones  were  engraved,  drilled,  and 
sawn  apart,  or  Arom  the  blocks  of  which  they  once  formed  a  portion,  is 
one  likely  to  arise  in  most  minds.  It  is  one  that  has  puzzled  many  in* 
quirers ;  nor  do  I  pretend  to  give  an  answer,  except  that  the  drilling  was 
probably  performed  by  a  vibiatory  drill,  composed  of  a  thin  shaft  of  cane 
or  bamboo,  the  silica  of  which  was  reinforced  by  very  fine  sand,  or  the 
dust  of  the  very  article  under  treatment.  The  stria:  shown  in  the  orifices 
are  proof  of  something  of  the  kind,  and  the  esteem  attached  to  these 
stones  by  the  aborigines  proves  that  their  value,  like  that  of  the  main- 
spring of  a  watch,  was  due  mainly  to  the  amount  of  labor  expended  in 
their  production. 

As  regards  the  sawing,  of  which  the  backs  of  Fias.  51, 52,  and  64,  afford 
striking  examples,  we  may  find  a  clue  in  the  accounts  of  the  early  chron- 
iclers, who  relate  that  they  saw,  in  Santo  Domingo  and  elsewhere,  the 
natives  use  a  thread  of  the  ccAuya  (or  agave),  with  a  little  sand,  hot  only 
in  cutting  stone,  but  iron  itself.  The  thread  was  held  in  both  hands,  and 
drawn  right  and  left  until  worn  out  by  attrition,  and  then  changed  for  a 
new  one,  fine  sand  and  water  being  constantly  supplied. 

Not  a  few  inquirers  entertain  the  hypothesis  that  most  of  the  raised 
and  sunken  figures  on  various  stones  in  Mexico,  Central  America,  and  the 
mounds  of  the  United  States,  were  produced  by  persistent  rubbing  or 
abrasion— a  general  hypothesis  which  I  shall  not  dispute.  But  in  objects 
fjrom  the  mounds,  as  well  as  ft-om  other  points  on  the  continent,  we  have 
distinct  evidence  of  the  use  of  graving  or  incisive  tools  of  some  kind  — 
as  for  instance  in  the  hieroglyphics  In  Fio.  54,  which  are  cut  in  a  stone  so 
hard  that  the  blade  of  a  knife  produces  scarcely  any  impression  on  its 
polished  surface. 

The  Record  of  Zoological  Literaturb  for  1868.*  — We  have  before 
alluded  to  the  great  and  Increasing  value  of  this  work,  and  again  urge  Its 
Importance  to  American  naturalists  situated  as  many  of  them  are  away 
from  libraries.  We  cannot  understand  how  any  entomologist  can  do  with- 
out the  part  on  insects ;  or  the  conchologist  without  that  on  shells ;  or  the 
ornithologist  be  at  all  informed  on  the  progress  of  his  speciality  unless 
he  has  this  work  to  refer  to.  Its  prepanitlon  is  a  labor  of  love  by  the 
editors  and  Its  liberal  minded  publisher,  Mr.  Van  Voorst;  and  the  work  is 
a  credit  to  their  heads  and  hearts. 


*yoL  y.  Edited  by  Dr.  A.  Guutlier.  London.  Van  Voorst,  18G9.  8vo,  pp.  fi03.  Price  re- 
dueed  to  $10 a  rol,  Tlie  Record  fbr  1867  and  IflSS,  also  in  parts:  Part  1,  Vertebrate*^  tAM;  Part 
2,  Bntomologfj  f  UX);  Part  8,  Mottuik*^  Crustacea  and  the  Lower  AnimaU^  t3JM).  For  sale  at  the 
Natarallit*s  Book  Agenej. 


182  BEYIEWS. 

The  Kbcord  of  Amibrican  Entomoloot  fob  1869  will  be  published  late 
in  May.  It  will  contain  chapters  by  Messrs.  Scndder  and  Uhler,  Drs. 
Horn  and  Packard,  and  Baron  Osten  Sacken.  Price,  $1.00,  which  does 
not  cover  the  cost  of  printing.  We  tmst  lovers  of  entomology  will  evince 
their  zeal  for  the  science  by  promptly  subscribing  to  this  useful  publica- 
tion. We  hope  that  it  will  meet  with  better  support  than  last  year,  as 
the  publlHhers  are  sadly  out  of  pocket  In  consequence  of  the  small  sale  of 
the  work  for  1868. 

The  Weeds  of  Maine.*  —  This  pamphlet,  issued  Arom  the  State  Print- 
ing 0£Qce,  consists  of  a  few  forms  taken  from  the  recent  report  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Maine  Board  of  Agriculture.  The  young  man  whose 
name  appears  as  the  author,  has  certainly  shown  a  remarkable  taste  for 
botanical  study.  Wholly  unassisted,  even  by  fHendly  advice,  he  com- 
menced the  study  of  botany  under  great  disadvantages  and  he  has  zeal- 
ously prosecuted  his  herborizing  during  the  too  scanty  leisure  afforded  by 
a  Maine  farm.  The  extraordinary  power  of  diagnosis,  which  the  author 
possesses,  leads  us  to  hope  that  be  will  devote  the  next  few  years  to 
rigid  disciplinary  study,  and  then  resume  botanical  work  for  which  he 
seems  to  be  so  well  fitted.  The  pamphlet  itself  Is  not  to  be  criticised  as 
a  botanical  work,  and  therefore  we  shall  take  the  present  opportunity  to 
make  it  the  text  for  a  few  very  brief  remarks.  It  is  so  easy  to  learn  the 
names  of  plants  and  associate  the  two  together,  and  so  very  difficult  to 
learn  the  plant  itself,  that  too  many  of  our  young  botanical  students  are 
devoting  their  time  simply  to  collecting,  preserving,  and  naming  speci- 
mens. In  view  of  the  many  great  questions  in  plant-physiology  which 
are  now  being  asked,  it  seems  to  be  a  sort  of  botanical  dissipation  to  give 
up  to  the  name  what  is  due  to  the  plant.  These  questions  arise  every 
week.*  The  January  8d  number  of  *'  Comptes  rendus,"  contains  a  very  in- 
teresting note  by  M.  Prillieux  upon  the  movements  of  chlorophyl  grains 
under  the  Influence  of  light.  It  is  obvious  that  such  a  subject  of  study 
as  this,  one  dealing  with  forces  and  with  life  itself,  is  more  difficult  than 
that  of  guessing  at  the  names  of  all  the  Solldagos  and  half  the  Carlces, 
but  it  is  plain,  too,  that  the  thinkers  of  our  time  are  asking  that  the 
former  kind  of  work  shall  be  done  and  fatthftiUy  done.  Our  plants  are 
well  named,  and  therefore  we  are  Justified  in  suggesting  that  our  young 
botanical  friends  devote  less  time  to  mere  "  botanizing,"  as  it  is  absurdly 
called,  and  give  more  time  and  better  work  to  the  study  of  the  plant. 

The  Geology  of  the  New  Haven  REOiON.f  —  Professor  Dana  de- 
scribes the  geology  of  New  Haven  and  vicinity,  with  especial  reference  to 
the  origin  of  Its  topographical  features ;  showing  by  special  flicts.  Chat 
the  region,  in  the  glacial  era,  like  that  of  New  England  to  the  North,  was 
moulded  by  ice,  and  that  icebergs  had  no  part  In  the  matter,  and  the  sup- 
posed iceberg  sea  over  New  England  no  existence. 

'ByF.  L.  Serlbner. 

t  From  the  TransaoUooi  of  tbe  Oonneotloot  Aoademy.   1870.  Sro,  pp.  IIS. 


NATURAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 


lOh 


BOTANY. 

COLLECnCD  NOTBS  ON  TUB  HiSTORT  OF  THE  AMERICAN  OaKS.  —  The  first 

American  oak  noticed  in  botanical  works  is  the  white  oak,  mentioned  by 
Parkinson  in  "Theatmm  Botanicnm,*'  1640,  as  Querctu  alba  Virginiana. 
Banister,  1686,  in  "Catalogas  Plantarum  In  Virginity  Observataruro  *'  (in 
Rayi  Historia)  mentions  Quereus  alba  virens  (as  Virginiana  aempervirens), 
Phellos  (as  Ilex  Marilandica)  with  a  drawing  by  Ray,  and  Uicifolia  Wg« 
(as  Q,  pumild). 

Piuckenet  In  **  Amagestnm  Botanicnm,"  1696,  enumerates  Quercu8  etcuH 
divUuraf  wliich  is  Q,  rubra  L.,  Q,  Americana  rubris  venia  (Q,  coccinea  Wg.)* 
var.  r  (I>C.)»  Q.  Virifiniana  salieis  longiore  folio  (Q.  Phelloa  L.),  Q*  Vir- 
giniana  iempervirena  (Q.  virens  Ait.)»  Q.  castane<B  folio  (  Q.  prtnue  palustris 
Michx.)t  Q'  pumila  caHanece  folio  VirginienHe  (Q.  prinus  pumila  Michx.)t 
Q.  mbra,  Phelloe  and  Prinus  palustris,  are  Illustrated. 

Catesby  in  his  "  Natural  History  of  Carolina,**  1731,  names  Q.  alba,  Pri- 
nus palustrle  and  virens.  Q.  nigra  L.,  he  calls  Q.  MarUandica ;  Q,  aquatica 
Walt.,  he  knows  under  the  name  Quereus  folio  non  serrato;  his  Q,  esculi 
divisura  is  Q.  Catesbcei  Mlchz.,  and  his  Q,  humilis  salicis  folio  breviore  is 
Q.  cinerea  Michx.;  all  except  the  latter  are  illustrated. 

Charlevoix  in  ''Hlstoire  et  description  g£u6rale  de  la  Nonvelle  France,** 
Paris,  1744,  knows  Q,  prinus  palustris  Michx.,  Q,  alba  L.,  Q.  viretis  Ait., 
and  Q,  nigra  L. ;  he  gives  drawings  of  the  three  latter. 

In  Gronovlus'  **  Flora  Virginlca,*'  1748,  containing  the  plants  which  John 
Clayton  observed  in  Virginia,  we  find  Q.  Pkellos,  nigra,  aquatica,  Prinus 
palustris,  ilidfolia,  which  he  calls  Q,  pumila  bipedalis,  Q.  stellata  Wg.  (to 
him  Q,  alba)  andfalcata  Michx.,  which  he  calls  rubra  seu  hispanica, 

Kalm  in  his  travels,  or  rather  in  his  **  Preliminary  Report  on  his  Bo- 
tanical Collections,"  1751,  mentions  only  four  oaks.  Q,  rubra  and  alba, 
the  Spanish  oak  (Q.  falcata  Michx.)  and  another  one  with  three  lobes  at 
the  apex  of  the  leaves,  which  is  perhaps  the  var.  triloba  of  the  latter  (  Q. 
triloba  Michx.).  These  are  the  American  oaks  known  at  the  time  when 
LinniBus*  **  Species  Plantarum/'  1758,  was  published.  Llnn6  established 
five  species,  Q.  Phellos,  comprising  Q.  virens  and  cinerea  as  varieties  p  and 
T'  Q*  nigra  z  and  fi  (x  being  aquatica  Walt.),  Q,  rubra,  comprising  rubra, 
coccinea  and  Catesbtei,  Q.  prinus  {Q.  prinus  palustris  Michx.)  and  Q.  alba. 

Dn  Roi  published  (in  **  Harbke'she  wllde  Baumzncht,**  Braunschweig, 
1771)  a  new  species^  Q.  palustris. 

Marshall  published  his  '*  Arbustum  Amerlcanum,**  In  1785,  in  which  he 
described  the  following  oaks :  Q.  alba,  Q.  alba  minor^atellata  Wg.,  Q. 
alba  palustriSf  which  is  apparently  Q,  Prinus  tomentosa  Michx.,  not  Q. 

(183) 


184  NATURAL   HISTORY   MISCELLANV. 

alha,  as  Michaux  says;  Q.  nigra=^coccinea  (Q.  tinctoria  Bartr.)t  Q-  nigra 
(Ui/itata,  Q.  nigra  trijida,  Q.  nigra  integrifoUay  the  two  latter  certainly  fall- 
ing under  Q,  nigra  L.  var.  ^9,  Q,  nigra  pumila=Q.  Uicifolia  Wg.,  Q,  rubra; 
(^.  rubra  ramosissima^Q.  palustris  Du  Roi;  Q,  rubra  montana^'Q.  falcata 
Micbx. ;  Q.  i^bra  nana=Q,  CatcsboBi  Michx. ;  Q.  Phellos  angustifolia  and 
latifolia=^Q.  Phellos  L.  {silvatica  Michx.);  Q.  Phellos  8empei'virens=^Q. 
virens  Ait.;  Q.  Pi^nus=Q.  Prinus  monticola  Michx.;  Q,  Prinus humili8=^ 
Q  Prinm  pumila  Michx. 

Wungeuheim  in  his  work  on  the  **  Americauische  Holzarten,"  1787|  pro- 
posed some  new  species,  of  which  three  are  acknowledged  to-dt^y :  Q. 
utellata  (the  Q,  alba  minor  of  Marshall),  Q,  Uicifolia  (the  Q.  pumila  of 
Banister),  and  Q.  coccinea  (Q.  rubra  L.,  Tar.  a).  His  Q.  cuneata  is  Q. 
falcata  Michx.,  var.  y  triloba^  and  his  Q.  uliginosa  is  the  Q.  aquatica 
Catesby. 

Walter  in  *'  Flora  Caroliniana,"  published  in  the  year  1788,  enumerated 
thirteen  oaks :  1,  Q.  sempervirens  (virens  Ait.)  ;  2,  Q,  Phellos;  8,  Q,  humilis 
(cineiea  Michx.,  var.  y,  humilis);  4,  Q,  pumila  {cinerea  Michx.,  var. 
pumila);  5,  Q.  PHnus;  6,  Q.  nigra;  7,  Q.  aquatica  (nigra  L.,  a);  8,  Q. 
rubra  (glandibus  parvis  globosiSy  perhaps  Q.  Uicifolia  Wang.  ?) ;  9,  Q.  loivis 
(Catesbeei,  Michx.?);  10,  Q.  alba;  11,  Q,  lyrata,  which  he  first  describes; 

12,  Q.  sinuata,  from  the  description  of  which  it  is  not  plain  what  it  means ; 

13,  Q.  villosa  already  described  by  Wangenhelm  as  Q.  stellata,  Micfaaux 
gives  Catesby,  who  indeed  described,  but  did  not  name  it,  the  authorship 
of  Qnercus  aquatica.  De  Candolle  makes  Walter  the  author  of  it;  the 
latter  published  his  Flora  one  year  after  the  publication  of  Wangenheim's 
work,  in  which  the  species  is  described  and  called  uliginosa.  The  de- 
scriptions  of  both  the  authors  are  as  poor  as  possible ;  both  the  names 
derived  from  the  hygrophile  nature  of  the  tree  are  good  enough,  only  that 
the  right  of  priority,  acknowledged  as  a  general  rule  by  the  international 
Botanical  Congress  at  Paris,  is  in  favor  of  Wangenheim*s  name.  But 
the  name  aquatica  is  indeed  older,  and  was  first  used  by  Clayton  in  Gro- 
noviusy  so  his  name  should  be  added.  By  the  way,  Walter  is  noteworthy 
for  his  modesty,  which  should  be  imitated  by  many  an  eager  species- 
maker.  His  work  is  full  of  ** Anonymos,*'  and  in  the  preface  he  says: 
''  Lihertatem  appellative  assignandi  paucis  tantum  concedendam  sentit, 
quamobrem  iis,  qui  in  hac  scientia  merito  duces  sunt,  Jus  reliquit  dicendi 
qftwnam  sint  nomina  plantis  nunc  primum  descriptis.**  If  so  many  botanists, 
who,  overrating  the  doubtflil  merit  of  having  created  a  new  species,  fill 
our  botanical  books  with  names,  would  follow  modest  old  Walter,  a  good 
deal  of  wasted  paper  could  be  saved,  and  a  good  deal  of  unnecessary 
work.  Indeed,  it  is  much  easier  to  make  new  species,  than  to  clean  those 
Augean  stables  of  synonyms. 

Alton  in  '^  Kew  Garden,"  1789,  calls  the  long-known  Q.  sempervirens  of 
Catesby  Q.  virens;  the  latter  name  is  adopted. 

William  Bartram,  in  his  ''Travels  throngh  North  and  South  Carolina," 
Phil.  1791,  proposes  the  new  species  Q.  tinctoria,  which  De  Candolle  in 


NATURAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY.  185 

his  Prodromos  reunites  with  Q.  cocdnea  Wg.,  as  var.  T  tinctoria,  Bart- 
ram's  Q.  hemisj^rica  and  dentata  are  both  varieties  of  Q.  aquatica, 

Luis  N6e  Joined  the  expedition  of  Malaspina  from  1789  to  1794;  he 
visited  South  America,  Mexico  and  the  Paciflc  Islands,  and  brought 
in  his  rich  botanical  collections  to  Europe,  the  first  specimens  of  oak 
ft*om  those  countries,  which  have  been  published  in  **  Annales  de  Cien- 
cias  Nutnrales  **  by  Cavauilles,  1798.  Amongst  these  oaks  are  two  Cali- 
fornia species,  Q.  lobata  and  agrifolia ;  the  latter  was  already  known  to 
Flucknet  as  Ilex  foliia  agrifolii  Americana  (in  *'Pbytographia,'*  London, 
IG91-93,  with  a  drawing,  but  without  fiower  or  fVuit) ;  the  others  are  Mex- 
ican, Q.  circinata,  magnoliaefoUa^  saltcifoUa^  microphyUaj  splendens,  aeuti- 
folia,  elliptica,  castanea,  and  candicans,  all  considered  yet  to  be  "  good 
species."  His  Q.  lutea  and  macrophylla  come  under  magnoUa/olia ;  his 
diversifolia  is  a  variety  of  Q.  peduncularis  N^e,  changed  by  Willdenow  into 
Q.  tomerUosa,  because  the  character  Nee  took  the  name  from  is  variable, 
and  Ne^*s  specimen  is  defective;  Q,  rugosa  Humboldt  and  Bonpland 
changed  into  Q.  crassifolia,  N^e's  unique  specimen  being  very  defective 
and  doubtAil. 

Andr^  Michaux  explored  flrom  1785  to  1796  the  forests  of  Eastern  North 
America.  He  published  in  1801  his  "Histolre  des  Chines  TAm^rique 
Septentrionale,"  in  which  for  the  first  time  is  pointed  out  a  character,  very 
important  to  the  methodical  arrangement  of  the  oaks,  the  time  of  matura- 
tion.   His  arrangement  is  the  following : 

I.  The  leaves  of  the  old  tree  not  bristle-pointed :  fhiit  peduncled,  annual. 

1.  Leaves  lobed.    Q.  obtusiloba  (stellata  Wg.),  macrocarpa  (n.  sp.) 

lyrata  Walt.,  alba  L. 

2.  Leaves  toothed.     Q.  Pi'inus,  with  5  varieties:  palustria,  monti- 

cola,  acuminata,  pumila  and  tomentosa. 
8.  Leaves  entire.     Q,  virens,  but  the  fhiits  are  according  to  him 
biennial; 

II.  Leaves  of  the  old  tree  bristle-pointed :  fknilt  sessile,  biennial. 

1.  Leaves  entire.     Q.  Phellos,  with  three  varieties,  silvatica,  mari' 

tima,  and  pxtmila,     Q.  cinerea,  Q,  imbricaria  (n.  sp.),  Q,  latiri' 
folia,  with  the  variety  obtusifoUa, 

2.  Leaves  with  short  lobes.     Q.  aquatica,  Q,  nigra,  Q.  tinctoria, 

with  two  varieties  (angulosa  and  sinuosa),  Q.  triloba. 
8.  Leaves  deeply  lobed.     Q,  Banisteri  (ilidfolia  Wg.),  Q.  falcata 
(hispanica  Clayton,  discolor  Ait.,  elongata  WiUd.),  Q,  Cateabcsi, 
Q.  coccinea  Wg.,  Q,  palustris  Du  Roi  and  Q.  rubra  L. 
The  same  species  are  enumerated  in  his  **  Flora  Americana,"  published 
by  L.  C.  Richard,  but  without  this  arrangement.    The  ripening  of  fhiit 
is  not  there  mentioned  at  all. 

Willdenow  in  "Species  Plantarum,"  1797-1810,  enriched  (?),  the  genus 
Quercus  by  new  species,  making  out  of  the  five  varieties  of  Prinus, 
five  species :  PrinuB,  montana,  bicolor  (tomentosa),  castanea  (acuminata) 
and  Prinoides  (pumila) ;  the  varieties  of  Phellos,  maritima  and  pumila  he 

AMKR.  NATURALIST,   VOL.  IV.  24 


186  NATURAL  mSTORT  HISGELLANT. 

changed  into  two  species  of  the  same  name ;  tinctoria  var.,  tinuoia  into 
discolor,  and  hiif  Q,  myrttfolia  is  probably  a  variety  of  Q.  aquatiea. 

Persoon  in  *'  Synopsis  Plantarum,"  1805  enumerates  eighty-flve  oalcs,  of 
which  forty-six  are  American;  thirty  Arom  the  eastern  part  of  North 
America,  two  Califomian  and  fourteen  Mexican ;  all  mentioned  above. 

F.  A.  Michanx,  the  son,  published  his  **  Arbres  for^sti^res,"  1810-18. 
He  calls  Q.  Prinus  tomentoaa  of  his  father  Q,  Frinus  discolor,  and  proposed 
five  new  species :  Q,  heterophylla,  which  proves  to  be  an  hybrid ;  ambigua 
and  borealis,  which  fall  under  Q,  cocdnea ;  femtginea,  which  is  Q.  nigra 
L.  p, ;  and  olivorformis,  which  is  m<icrocarpa, 

Humboldt  and  Bonpland  collected  (1799-1804)  twenty-three  new  spe- 
cies, of  which  thirteen  are  now  considered  as  good  ones :  Q.  confertifolia, 
crassifolia,  craasipes,  depresaa,  Humholdtii,  lanceolata,  laurina,  obtueata, 
pulchella,  repanda,  reticulata,  Tolimensia,  Xalepensis;  four  are  dubious: 
Q,  Amalguerensis,  chrysophylla,  glaucescena  and  Hderoxffla  ;  three  had  been 
described  already  by  N6e :  Q.  stipulariS'sisplendefis  N6e ;  tridens  a  castanea 
N6e  var.  y,  and  Mexicana=s  Castanea  N6e  var.  £;  three  are  the  same  as 
other  species  of  the  same  authors :  Q,  spicata  is  reticulata  H.  B. ;  pan* 
durata  and  ambigua  are  obtusata  H.  B.,  var.  fi  and  y.  They  are  all  Mexi- 
can, except  three  from  New  Granada :  Humboldtii,  Tolimensis  and  Almagu- 
erensis.    They  are  described  in  "Plantffi  .£qulnoctiales/'  1805-1818. 

In  Pursh*s  ** Flora,"  1814,  are  mentioned  thirty-four  species;  except 
agrifolia,  all  are  eastern  and  comprising  all  the  species  of  Michaux,  with 
the  additions  of  the  younger  Michaux  and  Willdenow.  In  his  arrange- 
ment the  ripening  o  the  fruit  talses  the  first  place  as  a  diagnostic  char- 
acter, the  second  the  presence  or  absence  o  the  bristles  of  the  leaves ; 
the  third  the  form  of  the  leaves. 

Nuttall  in  «*  Genera  of  North  American  Plants,"  1818,  follows  the  same 
disposition,  but  the  number  of  his  species  is  thirty-two.  He  calls  Q. 
Frinus  discolor  Mich.  fll.  Q.  Michauxii,  but  at  the  same  time  he  keeps  Q, 
bicolor  WiUd.  as  a  species  with  the  variety  mollis  (probably  Q,  velutlna 
Lam.,  which  he  believes  is  Q.  flliformis  Muhl.).  Afterwards  he  proposes 
three  more  species :  Q.  Oambelli,  Leana  (a  hybrid)  and  dtimosa  (In  *'  Silva 
Americana,*')  a  doubtfkil  species.  Of  Mexican  species  he  knew  only  fif- 
teen. 

Elliott  in  a  "  Sketch  of  the  Flora  of  Georgia,"  1824,  enumerating 
twenty-six  oaks,  adds  to  those  already  known,  a  variety  of  falcata  Michx. 
(var.  pagodmfoUa). 

Chamisso  and  Schlechtendal,  1880,  in  '^Linnica,"  v.,  described  some 
new  Mexican  oaks  ft-om  specimens  collected  by  Schiede  and  Deppe :  Q. 
calophylla,  polymorpha,  laurifolia,  germana  and  oleoides,  the  latter  being 
Q.  virens  Ait.    These  make  the  western  species  amount  to  thirty-six. 

Hooker  and  Arnott  published  in  1841,  the  "Botany  of  Capt.  Beechey*s 
Voyage,"  comprising  the  plants  which  Lay  and  Collie,  1825-28,  collected. 
We  find  amongst  them  three  oaks,  two  Callfornian  :  Douglasii  and  devsi- 
flora,  and  one  Mexican :  ariatata.   In  **  Hooker's  Flora  boreall  Americana/' 


NATURAL  HISTORT  HISCELUINT^  187 

1888-40,  is  described  as  new  Q,  Garryana  by  Mensies  and  Doaglas,  found 
in  Oregon ;  and  in  '*  Icones,"  1887-46 ;  i^tmous  eorrugata  Arom  Guatemala. 

Bentbam  describes  in  the  Botany  of  the  voyage  of  the  Sulphnr,  under 
command  of  Capt.  Belcher,  the  collections  of  Barclay,  Hinds  and  Sin- 
Clair.  He  proposes  a  new  species  of  oak,  Quercus  Hindaiit  tcom  Call* 
fomia  which  is  nothing  else  than  Q.  lobata  N^. 

From  the  same  author  are  the  *'PlantiB  Hartwegiann,"  1888-42,  contain- 
ing the  plants  which  Hartweg,  1886-40,  collected  in  Mexico,  etc.  There  we 
find  a  number  of  new  species :  Q,  harbinervis,  gidbrescens,  Grahamif  Skin' 
nerit  Sonamenaia,  dyaophylla,  undtUata,  aalicifoliat  the  two  latter  names,  as 
already  used,  De  CandoUe  changed  into  Benthami  and  Tlapuxahuensia* 
Others  had  already  been  described :  Q.  Mexicana  is  crasHpeB  H.  B.,  Alamo 
^  callophylla,  Cham,  and  Schl.,  Hartwegi  =  obtuaata  H.  B.,  petiolaris^ 
polymarpha  Cham,  and  Schl.,  callosa  ^  tomentoaa  Willd.  Others  are 
varieties;  tafnenlosar^tomerUosa  Willd.,  var.,  compressa  =  actUifoUa  var., 
laurffolia  ^denaiflora  Hook,  Am.  var.  fi.  Hartwegi ;  Douglasii  =»  Dottglaai. 
Hook.  Am.  var. ;  one  proposed  as  a  variety  was  afterwards  taken  as  a  spe- 
cies by  Liebmann :  Q.  obtuaata  var. »»  Q,  laeta  Liebm.  At  the  same  time 
two  Belgian  botanists,  Galeottl  and  Ghiesbreght,  travelled  In  Mexico,  and 
collected  many  oaks,  which  have  been  published,  1848,  in  **  Bulletin  of 
the  Acadtole  des  Sciences  of  Braxelles,'*  by  Galeotti  and  Martens:  Q, 
lanigera^  ItUeacenat  QhUabreghtiij  niUna^  inaignia,  ruguloaa^  glaucoidea,  cat' 
loaa  (the  latter  described  by  Liebmann  as  Q,  laxa^  ;  Q.  ChtleoUH,  cordata, 
jmbinervia  (not  in  Prodromus,  perhaps  atrompocarpa  Liebm.),  moUia  (per- 
haps craaaifolia),  are  doubtful.  Such  as  were  already  described  are  Q. 
variana=  polymarpha  Ch.  and  Schl.,  nitida  ~  aetUifolia  N6e,  acuminata 
and  intennedia  —  calophylla  Ch.  Schl.,  tpinuloaa  =  craaa^folia  H.  B.,  affinia 
^obtuaata  H.  B.,  decipiena ^  reticulata  H,  B.,  laurina^  depreaaa  Bth.,  lan- 
eeolata  (not  H.  B.)=  Oaxaeana  Liebm. 

Liebmann  travelled  in  Mexico  in  1841-48.  His  own  collection  and  those 
of  Oerstedt  and  of  Seemann  fumished  the  material  for  his  great  work  on 
*'  American  Oaks.'*  The  new  species  are  Q.  granulata,  linguctfolia,  nee- 
tandroBfolia,  berberidifolia,  cUrifoliaf  Coataricenaia^  Seemanni,  Sartarii,  Cor^ 
teaii,  IcUa^  Drummondii,  atrompocarpa^  grandia^  Waracevsiczii^  chryaolepia. 
Species  already  described  are  Q.  Fendleri=undulaia  Torr.  (in  Annals  Ly- 
ceum of  New  York,  1827),  furfurarea^^acutifoUa  H  B.,  commutata^nitena 
M.  G.,  triatia==caatanea  N^e,  tubereulata^^polymorpha  Cham.  &  Schl.,  r^tiMa 
^^virena  Alt. ;  varieties  of  described  species  are  Q.  reainoaa=magnolictfolia 
N6«*,  ^  rudinervia^obtuaata  H.  B.  T,  Necsi^Douglaaii  var.  T',  longifolia'^ 
acutifolia  var.  ocotasf<dia?=nUena  var.  Xy  peraeatfolia  and  microcarpa^^elliptica 
N6e  var.  His  Q.  oocarpa  is  the  same  as  his  Warczevficzii\  what  he  took 
for  laurina  Is  lanceolata  H.  B.,  var.  ^9. ;  Q,  Qrahami  Bth.,  is  acutifolia  N6e, 
his  lancifolia  is  a  new  species  by  A.  DeCandoUe  changed  into  Uiophylla;- 
Q,  bumelioideay  cuneifolia  {Chinantlenaia),  excelaa,  eugeniaefolia,  Jlavida^ 
floccoaa,  fulva,  jurgenaeniif  Oaxaeana,  Orizabae,  aapotaefolia,  Segovienaia^ 
aerra,  aororia,  acytophyllay  turbinata  (by  A.  DC,  changed  into  OuatimaUn* 


188 


NATURAL   HISTORY   1U6CELLANT. 


8i8)y  Are  donbti\il  species.  From  Wright's  collection  he  described  Q. 
pungena,  haaiata  and  grisea,  already  published  by  Torrey,  the  two  former 
as  Q.  Emoryi  (in  Emory's  Report)  the  latter  as  Q,  oblongifolia  in  Sit- 
grcaves'  Zuui  Expedition.  Olher  species  of  Torrey  had  been  already 
named,  when  he  published  them  :  Q.  crassipocula  (in  Williamson's  Report) 
is  chrysolepis  Llebm.,  described  in  **  Plants  Hartwegianse ;"  Q.  tinctoria 
var.  Califomica  (in  Whipple's  Report)  is  Sonomensia  Bth. ;  longiglanda  in 
**  Frem.  Geogr.  Mem.  of  Cal.,"  is  lobata  N6e;  echinacea  (\u  Whipple's 
Rep.)  is  densiflot^a,  oxgadenia  (in  Sitgreavcs'  Report)  is  agrifolia  N€e. 
In  "Mexican  Boundary  Survey"  (1868),  is  a  new  species  described  as  Q. 
acutidens  ftom  California,  omitted  by  De  Candolle;  another,  oltuaifolia, 
falls  under  undulata  Torr.,  as  a  variety ;  another  variety  is  there  mentioned, 
Q,  coccinea  \fiT,  microcarpa,  Kellogg  publis<hed  in  the  **  Proceedings  of 
the  California  Academy  of  Sciences,"  vol.  i,  some  new  species,  which  are 
not  new :  Q.  fulvescens  is  chryaolepis  Lbm. ;  acvtiglandia  Is  agi'ifolia  N^e ; 
Bansomi  is  lobata  Nee.  His  Q.  Morchua  (Proc.  Cal.  Acad.  Sci.  ii)  is 
doubt  All.  Newberry  proposed  what  Torrey  took  for  a  variety  of  tinctoria 
({.  e.  coccinea) J  as  a  new  species,  Q.  Kelloggii,  which  falls  under  Sono- 
menaia  Benth.  Curtis,  1849,  proposed  a  new  eastern  species,  Q.  Georgiana, 
Shuttle  worth's  Q.  Floridana  is  the  var.  ^5.  Floridana  of  Q.  atellata  ac- 
cording to  De  Candolle,  perhaps  Chapman's  var.  parrifoUaf  Endlichcr  in 
**  Genera  Piantarum,"  Suppl.  iv,  2,  1847,  enumerates  one  hundred  and 
ninety-seven  described  oaks,  of  which  one  hundred  and  one  are  American. 
—  FREa  Brendel,  Peoria^  III.    {To  be  conclwled,) 


••o*- 


ZOOLOGY. 

Spike  Horns.  — The  article  in  the  December  number  of  the  Natura- 
list seems  to  me  to  be  the  result  of  careless  observation.  The  *  Common 
Deer,"  Cervua  Virginianua,  *  begins  growing  his  first  pair  of  horns  wlien 

about  one  year  old ;  these  horns  are 
*  firom  four  to  nine  inches  long  and 

sometimes  one  of  them  will  have 
a  single  branch  of  an  inch  or  two 
long;  these  horns  are  shed  when 
the  animal  is  about  two  years  old 
(Fig.  67).  At  this  age  I  have  seen 
deer  that  had  attained  their  flill 
growth  in  height,  and  to  an  ordin- 
ary observer  would  be  thought  old 
animals. 

The  number  of  persons  hunting 
in  the  Adirondacks  increases  very 
rapidly,  and  every  hunter  is  bent  on  procuring  a  fine  pair  of  horns  as  a  tro- 
phy, and  as  it  takes  at  least  six  or  eight  years  for  a  buck  to  grow  a  fine 


NATURAL  HISTOET   MISCELLANY.  189 

pair  of  anilcrs,  yoa  can  see  that  the  chances  for  a  deer  to  attain  a  full  de- 
velopment Is  growing  more  unfavorable  every  year.  The  reason  why  Sitike 
horns  seem  to  be  more  numerous  than  formerly,  is  that  there  arc  more 
hunters  and  fewer  old  deer.  If  any  one  can  show  me  a  spil^e  horn  of  a 
deer  that  is  three  or  more  years  old,  that  is  not  the  result  of  acciilcnt,  I 
would  like  to  get  it. 

The  same  difficulty  exists  with  the  moose  and  carraboo.  It  is  now 
almost  impossible  to  procure  a  large  and  well  developed  pair  of  moose 
or  carraboo  horns,  while  some  years  ago  they  were  plenty.  —  W.  J.  Hays. 

Adirondack's  Reply.  —  In  replying  to  the  criticism  of  Mr.  Hays,  I  can, 
unless  I  can  take  time  to  collect  testimony,  only  reiterate  my  former 
statements,  that  I  shot  on  Louis  Lake  a  buck  With  spfke-homs,  which 
was  not  a  yearling,  nor  a  two  years  old,  nor  a  three  years  old  even,  but  a 
large  buck,  of  ftiU  age  and  size ;  and  that  I  afterwards  shot  on  Cedar 
Lakes  a  buck  with  spike-horns,  which  was  pronounced  to  be  a  "three 
year  old."  I  will  add  that  I  have  conversed  on  the  subject  of  **  spike- 
horn  bucks"  with  a  number  of  hunters  and  guides,  some  born  in  the 
Adirondacks,  others  who  have  lived  there  many  years,  and  that  the  tes- 
timony of  all  agreed  that  spike- horn  bucks  are  of  all  ages  and  sizes,  and 
that  they  are  slowly  increasing  in  the  southern  part  of  the  Adirondack 
region. 

When  I  shot  the  large  buck  on  Louis  Lake,  Silas  Call,  then  a  noted  and 
most  intelligent  guide,  now  keeper  of  the  inn  at  Northville,  was  with  me. 
He  will  undoubtedly  remember  the  facts  and  testify  to  them  if  called  upon. 
When  I  shot  the  smaller  spike-horn.  William  S.  Robinson,  Esq.,  of  Mai- 
den, Mass.,  stood  by  my  side.  Hon.  F.  W.  Bird,  of  Walpole,  was  of  the 
party,  and  saw  the  deer  at  the  shanty.  I  do  not  know  that  either  of  these 
gentlemen  has  ever  given  attention  to  the  subject  of  spike-horn  bucks ; 
but  Mr.  Bird  has  hunted  a  good  many  years  in  the  southern  Adirondacks, 
and  I  think  must  know  something  about  them.  [I  beg  pardon  of  these 
gentlemen  for  using  their  names  without  their  consent,  but,  living  at  a 
place  reached  only  by  InfVequent  mails,  I  have  no  time  to  procure  it.] 
David  Sturges,  the  keeper  of  the  inn  at  Lake  Pleasant,  born  there,  and 
one  of  the  best  and  most  successftil  guides  and  hunters  of  the  Adiron- 
dack?, could  give  valuable  testimony  on  the  question.  He  has  been  upon 
the  lookout  all  through  the  past  autumn  and  early  winter,  for  the  head  of 
a  large  spike-horn  buck  for  you,  but  has  not  succeeded  in  procuring  one. 
Bucks  have  now  lost  their  horns,  and  a  head  cannot  be  procured  unless 
with  horns  "in  the  velvet,"  before  next  September.  I  hope  then  Mr. 
Stnrgis  will  be  more  successful.  But  spike-horn  bucks,  of  fbll  age  and 
size,  are  not  yet  common,  and  a  young  one  will  not  answer  your  purpose. 

Of  the  figures  of  "  spike-horns  "  (Fig.  67)  by  Mr.  Hays,  neither  resembles 
very  closely  the  true  spike-horn.  I  have  the  pair  ftom  the  young  spike- 
horn  buck  shot  by  me,  and  will  send  them  to  you  whenever  I  go  to  a  place 
reached  by  the  express.  I  will  send  with  them  the  antlers  of  a  common 
**  two  year  old  "  buck.  You  will  at  once  see  the  difference.  You  will  see 
too,  what  was  the  fact,  that  the  spike-horns  came  from  the  larger  deer. 


190  NATURAL  HISTORT   MISCELLANY. 

The  distance  between  the  horns  shows  this.  The  spike-horns  are  about 
half  an  inch  farther  apart  than  the  others,  showing  the  spike-horn  back 
to  have  been  probably  a  year  older  than  the  other.  The  hair  on  the  sknll 
of  the  spike-horn  buck  is  shorter  than  that  on  the  other;  the  spike-horn 
was  shot  Just  as  deer  were  attaining  the  **  blue  coat ;"  the  other  was  shot 
a  month  or  six  weeks  later.    This  Is  the  reason  of  the  difference. 

Notwithstanding  what  Mr.  Hays  says,  I  never  saw  a  yearling  buck 
(that  is  a  buck  in  his  second  year,  wearing  his  first  pair  of  horns)  that 
could  be  said  to  have  **  attained  taW  growth,"  in  *' height,"  or  anything 
else.  I  never  saw  a  **  two  years  old"  (in  his  third  year)  that  had  attained 
full  growth  in  all  respects  —  nor  yet  **  a  three  years  old."  The  saddle  of  a 
two  years  old  will  never  exceed  forty  or  fifty  pounds  in  weight.  I  doubt 
whether  the  saddle  of  a  yearling  ever  reaches  the  smaller  weight,  while 
I  have  seen  ftiU  grown  antlercd  bucks,  whose  saddles  weighed  over 
seventy  pounds ;  and  I  have  the  head  of  one  whose  saddle  weighed  a  little 
over  eighty  pounds.  I  have  heard  of  bucks  still  heavier.  Without  the 
antlers,  there  may  in  some  cases  be  difficulty  in  distinguishing  between  a 
two  years  old  and  a  three  years  old ;  but  there  is  never  any  difficulty  in  dis- 
tinguishing between  either  of  these  and  a  buck  of  six  or  seven  years.  A 
yearling  (in  his  second  year)  can  always  be  known  by  his  size.  A  buck 
in  the  spring,  when  he  attains  the  fUll  age  of  two  years,  never  has  horns, 
and  has  had  none  for  some  time.  While  his  first  pair  of  horns  lasts  surely 
he  can  never  be  said  to  have  **  attained  ftill  growth  "  in  any  respect.  Shot 
in  the  fall  previous,  his  youth  is  very  manifest.  Yet  it  Is  the  first  pair  of 
horns  only  that  are  ever  **  spikes  "  in  a  common  C.  Virginianus. 

Did  Mr.  Hayes  ever  hunt  south  of  Raquette  Lake,  or  ever  south  of 
Long  Lake?  I  think  It  probable  that  he  enters  the  Adirondacks  over  the 
more  common  route  by  way  of  Keesville  and  the  Saranac  Lakes,  and 
hunts  in  the  Raquette  River  country,  north  of  Long  Lake.  I  have  hunted 
through  the  whole  region  ftrom  the  Saranac  Lakes  south  to  Saratoga  and 
Fulton  counties,  and  west  into  Herkimer  county  and  the  "  Brown  tract." 
But  I  have  visited  the  country  north  of  Long  Lake  only  once. 

The  writer  in  the  **  Saginaw  Republican  "  apparently  knows  little  of  deer. 
A  yearling  buck  (in  his  second  year,  with  his  first  pair  of  horns)  has 
spike-shaped  horns;  but  at  the  rutting  season  he  Is  scarcely  eighteen 
months  old,  and  is  quite  too  young  and  small  to  be  a  rival  of  a  Aill-grown 
buck,  while  a  two  years  old  buck  (in  his  third  year  with  his  second  pair 
of  horns)  has  antlers  which  are  scarcely  more  formidable  weapons  than 
the  antlers  of  a  ftill-grown  buck.  In  point  of  fact  I  believe  the  Aill- 
grown  bucks  have  altogether  the  advantage  with  the  does.— Adirondack. 

GEOLOi&Y. 

Nkw  Animal  Remains  from  thb  Carronifbrous  *and  Dkvonian 
Rocks  of  Canada.  —  Principal  Dawson  has  discovered  another  species 
of  amphibian  from  the  Joggins  Coal  Mine,  the  Bapfietes  minor ;  the  remains 
consisting  of  a  lower  Jaw  six  inches  long.    The  author  also  noticed  some 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   SCIENTIFIC  SOCIETIES.  191 

Insect  remalna  found  by  hlro  in  slabs  containing  Sphenophyllum.  They 
were  referred  by  Mr.  Scudder  to  the  Blattarie.  From  the  Devonian  beds 
of  Gaspd  the  author  stated  that  he  had  obtained  a  small  species  of  Ceph- 
alaspis,  the  llrst  yet  detected  in  America.  Mr.  Etheridge  remarked  that 
the  Cephalaspis  differed  materially  in  its  proportions  Arom  any  In  either 
the  Russian  or  British  rocks.  —  Nature, 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  SCIENTIFIC  SOCIETIES. 


Maryland  Acadkmt  of  Sciencbs.  —  By  this  title  we  announce  the  or- 
ganization of  a  Natural  History  Society  in  the  city  of  Baltimore.  We  are 
glad  that  the  long  continued  efforts  of  the  gentlemen  who  are  its  present 
officers  have  at  length  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  a  society  regularly 
chartered,  and  with  some  fifty  members.  They  have,  as  it  appears  ftrom  an 
official  commanlcation  to  the  Director  of  the  Peabody  Academy,  already 
secured  proper  apartments,  centrally  located,  and  received  donations  of 
collections  of  books  and  specimens,  and  began  the  regular  scientific 
work  of  the  society.  The  circular  which  the  academy  has  published  cer* 
tainly  states  their  case  very  fairly  and  modestly  to  the  citizens  of  Balti- 
more, and  we  do  not  see  how  they  can  do  otherwise  than  sustain  the  new 
society  if  they  care  at  all  for  the  completion  of  their  system  of  public  in- 
straction. 

Such  societies  devoted  to  the  exposition  of  the  natural  resources  of 
the  country  have  a  recognized  value  in  Europe  and  in  some  of  the  cities 
of  this  country.  But  their  refining  Influence  upon  society,  the  cultivation 
which  results  ftom  their  publications  and  teachings,  especially  If  they 
become  sufficiently  well  endowed  to  institute  lectures  to  teachers  and  ad- 
vanced students  of  the  public  schools,  as  the  Boston  Society  has  done,  is 
not  at  all  appreciated  or  even  understood. 

The  basis  of  the  new  academy,  as  announced  in  article  two,  Is  broad  and 
effective,  and  ought  to  Insure  Its  members  the  moral  and  material  support 
of  the  community  which  is  to  be  benefited  by  the  labor  of  Its  members. 
As  stated  In  this  article  *'  its  object  shall  be  to  promote  scientific  re- 
search, and  to  collect,  preserve  and  difiUse  Information  relating  to  the 
sciences,  especially  those  connected  vfith  the  natural  history  of  Maryland." 

The  officers  of  the  academy  are  Philip  T.  Tyson,  president ;  John  G. 
Morris,  D.D.,  vice-president;  Edwin  A.  Dalrymple,  D.D.,  corresponding 
secretary;  Charles  C.  Bombaugh.  M.D.,  recording  secretary;  John  W. 
Lee,  treasurer;  P.  B.  Uhler,  curator;  A.  Snowden  Piggott,  M.D.,  Libra- 
rian ;  J.  B.  Uhler,  J.  DeRosset,  M.D.,  and  F.  E.  Chatard,  Jr.,  M.D.,  as- 
sistant curators. 


192 


BOOKS  RECEIVED. 


BOOKS     RECEIVED. 


D€8eripti<m  d*  un  Jeune  Individu  de  la  Dermatempt  Mawii  eneee  AmeHcaitu  ds  lafamiUe  det 
Elodites,    Par.  M.  Alf.  PreiidhoDime  de  Borre.    firussells,  1SG9.   8vo.    pp.  7. 

Dticription  cT  une  nouvelle  e»pece  Amerieairus  du  genre  Caiman  Alligator,  Par.  M.  Alf. 
Preadbomme  de  Borre.    BruMelis,  1869,   8vo.    pp.  8. 

Bulletin  de  la  Societe  det  Scienees  Naturellet.  Neucbatel,  Swltserlaod.  Tom.  ly-ylU,  18U- 
69.    8vo. 

Annalet  Aeademiei,lSl(i''Q5,    Leiden.    43  vols.   4to.  [1867.    8to. 

Tor$lag  til  en  Forandret  Ordning  af  det  hoiere  Skolevaeten.    D**!.  1-8.    8ro.    Clirlstiania, 

J)et  K.  Norske  Fred.  Univ.  Aar$beretningtor  Aaret,  1866.    8vo.    Cbrlstlaula,  1869.    8vo. 

Index  Seholarum     4to.    Chrlstlania,  1869.    4to. 

Le  Glacier  de  Boium  en  Juillet^  1868.    Par  S.  A.  Si'xe.    Clirfstiaula,  1869.    4to.    pp.  40. 

En  Anatomink  Be»kritel»e  af  de  ptM,  Over  og  Un>*erextremiteteme/orelommede.  BursieMa- 
eoMe.   A.  8.  D.  Srnnestvcdt.    Uaiirivet  red  Dr.  J.  Voss.    Christ Imiia,  1869.    4to.    pp.  H8. 

The  Mammal*  of  lova.  By  J.  A.  Alien.  TFrom  l*roc.  Bost.  Soc.  Nat.  Hint.,  Vol.  xllf,  Dec.  1869.J 

Note*  on  the  Rarer  Birds  of  Jifassachusettx.    By  J.  A.  Allen.    [Froiu  Am.  Nat..  Vol.  ill.] 

Contributiotu  to  the  A'eUural  History  of  Nova  Scotia,  Part  l,  Coleoptera.  By  J.  Matthew  Jones. 
[From  tlie  Trans.  N.  S.  Inst.  Nat.  Sel..  1870.J 

Abstract  of  Some  Remarks  on  the  Relation*  of  the  Rocks  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston,  By  N.  S. 
Shnlcr.    [From  l>roc.  Bost.  Soc.  Nat.  Hist.,  xlll,  Dec.«  1869.] 

Proceedings  and  Transaction*  of  the  Nova  Srotian  Institute  of  Natural  Science.  Vol.  11,  Pt.  3. 
186H-!l.    8vo.    Haliflix,  1870. 

The  West  Coast  Fresh-vater  Univalves^  No.  1.  By  J.  O.  Cooper.  [From  Proc.  Cal.  Acnd.  ?cl., 
Ir,  Feb.,  1870.] 

The  Fauna  of  California  and  it*  Geographical  Distr&nttion,  By  J.  G.  Cooper.  [From  Proc. 
Cal.  Acad,  hcl.,  Iv,  ITeli.  1870.J 

Contributions  to  Zoology  from  Museum  of  Yale  College.  No.  6.  Descriptions  of  Shells  trora 
Oulf  of  California.    By  A.  £.  VerHli.    [Froin  Am.  Jour.  bcl.  and  ArU,  Mch.,  1S7U.] 

Transactions  of  the  American  Entomological  Society.    Vol.  11,  No.  4. 

Proceedings  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia^  No.  8.    Aug  -Nor.,  1869. 

The  Arts.  Vol.  1.  No.  1.  Marah.  1870.    (Iilcago.    .1.  .M.  Uursli  ft  Co.    $1.00  a  year. 

The  Game  Birds  of  America.  By  D.  Darwin  Huf^bes.  (Contained  hi  several  numbers  of  tira 
••Detroit  Free  Pn-ss **  for  Feb.  and  followhifr.) 

Address  of  the  President  of  the  Peattody  Institute  to  the  Board  of  Trtutee*  on  the  Organiiation 
and  Oovertiment  of  the  Institute,    Feb.  12.  1870.    Baltimore. 

Third  Biennial  Report  of  Trustees  of  lotea  Agricultural  College.    I>e«  Moines,  1870. 

Seventh  Annual  Report  of  Tru*tee*  of  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College.    Boston,  1870. 

Annual  Report  of  Superintendent  of  Education  of  Ontario  fw  1868.    Toronto,  1889. 

Annual  Report  of  Adjutant  Oeneral  of  Maryland  for  1«69. 

Fourth  Report  of  the  Massachusetts  Commissioners  of  Fisheries  for  the  year  1869.    Boston,  1870, 

Catalogue  of  Omcers  and  Students  of  University  of  Michigan,    Ann  Arbor,  1870. 

Circular  and  Catalogue  of  Union  College.    Albany.    1870. 

Meteorological  Observation*  for  1869  at  lotra  City,    By  T.  S.  Parrin. 

Prairie  farmer  Annual  (No.  8.    80  cts.)  Cbicairo. 

Monthly  Report  of  Department  of  Agriculture  for  Jan.,  1870. 

Bulletin  of  the  Torrey  Botanical  Club,  New  York.  Nos.  1, 2, 8,  Jan.,  Feb.,  March,  1870.  8to. 
4  pacres  ench.    ($1.00  a  year.    W.  H.  L«'frgett.  224  £.  10th  8t.,  N.  Y.) 

Bovdoin  Scientific  Review.  Nos.  1,  2, 8,  Feb.,  March,  April,  1870.  8ro,  pp.  16.  (Fortnightly, 
$2.00  a  year.    Professors  Brackctt  and  Qoodale,  Brunswick,  Me.) 

The  Academy.    Nos.  b,  6,  7,  Feb..  March,  April.    Loudon. 

ScientiJIe  Opinion.    Nos.  (i6-72,  Feb.,  March.    London. 

Nature.   Nos.  1-9.   Nov.,  Dec..  ia«»:  Feb.  10, 17;  Mch.8, 10,17,1870.   London.   McMillan  A  Co. 

The  Field.    June,  1869,  to  March  5, 12, 19,  24,  April  2. 1870.    London. 

land  and  Water.    Jan.  15,  22,  29,  Feb.  6, 12. 19,  26.    London. 

Prtites  Noxelles  Entomologiaues.    Nos.  16, 17.    Feb.,  Harcli    Paris. 

he  Naturaliste  Canadien.    II,  No».  .S.  4.    Feb.,  March.    Onebec. 

Bulletin  de  la  Societe  Jmperiale  d* Acclimation,  vl.  No.  12.  Dec,  1869.  vll.  No.  1,  Jan.,  1870. 
Paris. 

Notes  on  the  Later  EiUnet  Floras  of  North  America  u^ith  description*  of  Nete  Species  of  Creta- 
ceous and  Tertiary  Plants.    By  J.  S.  Newl>erry.    (Fn)m  Ann.  Lye.  N.  Y.  Ix,  1868.) 

Verhandlungen  der  k.  k.  geologischen  Reichsanstalt.  Vols,  for  1867  and  1868,  and  Nos.  1-l.H  of 
18fi».    WIen.    Large  8vo. 

Jahrbuch  der  k.  k.  geologischen  Reich*an*talt.  Vols.  A>r  1867  and  1868,  and  Nos.  1, 2, 8,  of  1869. 
"Wlcn.    Largi*  8vo. 

Jahreshericht  der  Naturfor*chenden  Oesellschaft  in  Emden.    1868.    12nio. 

Science  Gossip.    March.  April.    London. 

Hov  Crops  Feed :  a  Treatise  on  the  Atmosphere  and  the  Soil  as  re'ated  to  the  Nutrition  of  Agri- 
cultural Plants.  With  illustrations.  By  8.  W.  John.soii  ( Professor  iii  Sheffield  Scientitlc  School ) . 
N»w  York.    Orange  Judd  St  Co.    12mo,  pp.  875.    1870. 

Naturalises  Note  Book.    March,  1870.    New  Series.    London.    Bemrose  and  Sons. 

On  the  Graphite  qf  the  Laurentian  of  Canada.  By  J.W.  Dawson.  [From  the  Proceedings 
of  the  Oeoloirlcal  Society.    London.  1869.] 

Canadian  Naturalist  and  Geologist.    Vol.  Iv,  No.  4.    Dec.,  1869.    ^fontreal. 

The  Canadian  Entomologist.    Vol.  11.  Nos.  A,  6.    March,  April.    Toronto. 

Annals  of  the  Lyceum  of  Natural  History  of  New  York.    vol.  9,  No.  9.    March,  1870. 

Second  List  of  Birds  collected  at  Conchtas.  Argentine  Republic.  By  Wm.  Hudson.  With 
Notes  upon  another  Collection  from  the  same  Locality.  Bv  P.  L.  Sclater  and  Osbert  Salvliu 
[From  I*roceedlng8  Zoological  Society,    f^ondon.    March,  )869.] 

The  Annals  of  lotra.    By  the  State  Historical  Soc.    Jan..  1870.    8vo.  (qnarterly).    Iowa  Cltv. 

Notice  of  Fossil  Birds  from  the  Cretaceous  and  Tertiary  Formations  of  the  United  States.  By 
O.  C.  Marsh.    [From  the  American  Journal  of  Science  and  Arts.    March,  1870.] 

Notes  on  llarper'*s  WtllsonU  Reader*.    By  6.  S.  Haldemann.    1870.    12iuo,  pampb. 

American  Entomologiet.    March,  1870. 


a?ia:s 


AMERICAN   NATURALIST. 


Vol.  IV.— JUITB,  1870.— Wo.  4. 


THE  SURFACE  GEOLOGY  OF  THE  BASIN  OF  THE 
GREAT  LAKES  AND  THE  VALLEY  OF  THE 

MISSISSIPPI. 

BT  PROFESSOR  J.  8.  NEWBERRY. 

The  area  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  Eozoic  highlands 
of  Canada,  on  the  east  by  the  Adirondacks  and  the  AUegha* 
nies,  and  on  the  west  by  the  Rocky  Mountains,  though  now, 
and  apparently  always,  drained  by  two  systems  of  water- 
courses, may  be  properly  considered  as  one  topographical 
district ;  since  much  of  the  water-shed  which  separates  its 
two  river  systems  is  of  insignificant  height,  is  composed  of 
unconsolidated  ^^Drilt"  materials,  has. shifted  its  position 
hundreds  of  miles,  as  the  water  level  in  the  great  lakes  has 
varied,  and  was  for  a  long  interval  submerged  beneath  a 
water  connection  imiting  both  drainage  systems  in  one. 

In  this  great  hydrographic  basin  the  surface  geology  pre- 
sents a  series  of  phenomena  of  which  the  details,  carefully 
studied  in  but  few  localities,  still  offer  an  interesting  and 
almost  inexhaustible  subject  of  investigation,  but  which,  as 
it  seems  to  me,  are  already  sufficiently  well  known  to  enable 
us  to  write  at  least  the  generalities  of  the  history  which  they 
record. 

The  most  impoi'tant  facts  which  the  study  of  the  *^  Drift 

■  -    ■      ■    ■  f  ,        ■     I 

Entered  aeeordliifr  to  Aet  of  Conffreee,  In  the  year  1870,  by  the  Pkabodt  Acadsmt  Of 
SCIXMCX,  In  the  Clerk*s  Ofltoe  of  the  District  Coart  of  the  Diitrlct  of  HMsacbosette. 

AMER.  NATURAUST,  VOL.  TV,  25 


194  SURFACE   GEOLOGY. 

phenomena"  of  this  region  have  brought  to  light  are  briefly 
as  follows : 

1st.  In  the  northern  half  of  this  area  down  to  the  paral- 
lels of  38^-40°,  we  find,  not  everywhere,  but  in  most  local- 
ities where  the  nature  of  the  underlying  rocks  is  such  as  to 
retain  inscriptions  made  upon  them,  the  upper  surface  of 
these  rocks  planed,  furrowed  or  excavated  in  a  peculiar  and 
striking  manner,  evidently  by  the  action  of  one  great  de- 
nuding agent.  No  one  who  has  seen  glaciers  and  noticed  the 
effect  they  produce  on  the  rocks  over  which  they  move, 
upon  examining  good  exposures  of  the  markings  to  which  I 
have  referred,  will  fail  to  pronounce  them  the  tracks  of  gla- 
ciers.* 

Though  having  a  general  north-south  direction,  locally  the 
glacial  furrows  have  very  different  bearings,  conforming  in  a 
rude  way  to  the  present  topography,  and  following  the  direc- 
tions of  the  great  lines  of  drainage. 

On  certain  uplands,  like  those  of  the  Wisconsin  lead  re- 
gion, no  glacial  furrows  have  been  observed  (Whitney),  but 
on  most  of  the  highlands,  and  in  all  the  lowlands  and  great 
valleys,  they  are  distinctly  discernible  if  the  underlying  rock 
has  retained  them. 

2d.  Some  of  the  valleys  and  channels  which  bear  the 
marks  of  glacial  action — evidently  foimed  or  modified  by 
ice,  and  dating  from  the  ice  period  or  an  earlier  epoch — are 
excavated  far  below  the  present  lakes  and  water-courses  which 
occupy  them. 

These  valleys  form  a  connected  system  of  drainage,  at  a 
lower  level  than  the  present  river  system,  and  lower  than 
could  be  produced  without  a  continental  elevation  of  several 
hundred  feet.  A  few  examples  will  sufiice  to  show  on  what 
evidence  this  assertion  is  based. 

•From  my  own  obseirationa  on  the  action  of  glaciers  on  rock  surfaces  In  the  Alps 
and  in  Oregon  and  Washington  Territory,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  assert  that  no  ottier  agent 
eould  have  produced  such  effects.  A  different  view  Is  taken  of  this  subject,  it  is  tmOi 
but  only  by  those  who  either  have  never  seen  a  glacier  or  have  never  seen  the  markings 
in  question.   The  track  of  a  glacier  is  as  unmistakable  as  that  of  a  man  or  a  bear. 


SURFACE   GEOLOGT.  195 

Lake  Michigan,  Lake  Huron,  Lake  Erie,  and  Lake  Onta- 
rio are  basins  excavated  in  undisturbed  sedimentary  rocks. 
Of  these  Lake  Michigan  is  six  hundred  feet  deep,  with  a 
surface  level  of  five  hundred  and  seventy-eight  feet  above 
tides ;  Lake  Huron  is  five  hundred  feet  deep,  with  a  surface 
level  of  five  hundred  and  seventy-four  feet;  Lake  Erie  is 
two  hundred  and  four  feet  deep,  with  a  surface  level  of  five 
hundred  and  sixty-five  feet ;  Lake  Ontario  is  four  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  deep,  with  a  surface  level  of  two  hundred  and 
thirty-four  feet  above  the  sea. 

An  old,  excavated,  now-filled  channel  connects  Lake  Erie 
and  Lake  Huron.  At  Detroit  the  rock  surface  is  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty  feet  below  the  city.  In  the  oil  region  of 
Bothwell,  etc.,  from  fifty  to  two  hundred  feet  of  clay  overlie 
the  rock.  What  the  greatest  depth  of  this  channel  is,  is  not 
known. 

An  excavated  trough  runs  south  from  Lake  Michigan — 
filled  with  clay,  sand,  tree  trunks,  etc. — penetrated  at 
Bloomington,  Illinois,  to  the  depth  of  two  hundred  and 
thirty  feet. 

The  rock  bottoms  of  the  troughs  of  the  Mississippi  and 
Missouri,  near  their  junction  or  below,  have  never  been 
reached,  but  they  are  many  feet,  perhaps  some  hundreds, 
beneath  the  present  stream-beds.  * 

The  borings  for  oil  in  the  valleys  of  the  Western  rivers 
have  enabled  me  not  only  to  demonstrate  the  existence  of 
deeply  buried  channels  of  excavation,  but  in  many  cases  to 
map  them  out.  Oil  Creek  flows  from  seventy-five  to  one 
hundred  feet  above  its  old  channel,  and  that  channel  had 
sometimes  vertical  and  even  overhanging  cliflTs.  The  Beaver, 
at  the  junction  of  the  Mahoning  and  Shenango,  runs  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  bottom  of  its  old  trough. 

The  Ohio  throughout  its  entire  course  runs  in  a  valley 
which  has  been  cut  nowhere  less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  below  the  present  river. 

The  Cuyahoga  enters  Lake  Erie  at  Cleveland,  more  than 


196  SURrACE   GEOLOGY. 

one  hundred  feet  above  the  rock  bottom  of  its  excavated 
trough.  The  Chagrin,  Vermilion,  and  other  streams  running 
into  Lake  Erie  exhibit  the  same  phenomena,  and  prove  that 
the  surface  level  of  the  lake  must  have  once  been  at  least 
one  hundred  feet  lower  than  now. 

The  bottom  of  the  excavated  channel  in  which  Onondaga 
Lake  is  situated,  and  the  Salina  salt-wells  bored,  is  at  least 
four  hundred  and  fourteen  feet  below  the  surface  level  of  the 
lake  and  fifty  feet  below  the  sea  level.  (Geddes,  Trans. 
New  York  Stale  Agricultural  Society,  1859.) 

The  old  channel  of  the  Genesee  River  at  Portage,  de- 
scribed by  Professor  Hall  in  the  Geology  of  the  Fourth  Dis- 
trict of  New  York ;  the  trough  of  the  Hudson,  traceable  on 
the  sea  bottom  nearly  one  hundred  miles  from  the  present 
river  mouth;  the  deeply  buried  bed  of  the  Lower  Missis- 
sippi, are  additional  examples  of  the  same  kind ;  while  the 
depth  to  which  the  Golden  Gate,  the  Straits  of  Carquinez, 
the  channel  of  the  lower  Columbia,  the  Canal  de  Haro, 
Hood's  Canal,  Puget  Sound,  etc.,  have  been  excavated,  indi- 
cates a  similar  (perhaps  simultaneous)  elevation  and  erosion 
of  the  Western  coast  of  America. 

The  falls  of  the  Ohio — formed  by  a  rocky  barrier  across 
the  stream — though  at  first  sight  seeming  to  disprove  the 
theory  of  a  deep  continuous  channel  in  our  Western  rivers, 
really  afiford  no  argument  against  it,  for  here,  as  in  many 
other  instances,  the  present  river  does  not  follow  accurately 
the  line  of  the  old  channel  below,  but  runs  along  one  or  the 
other  side  of  it.  In  the  case  of  the  Louisville  falls  the  Ohio 
runs  across  a  rocky  point  which  projects  into  the  old  valley 
from  the  north  side,  while  the  deep  channel  passes  under  the 
lowland  on  the  south  side,  on  part  of  which  the  city  of 
Louisville  is  built. 

The  importance  of  a  knowledge  of  these  old  channels  in 
the  improvement  of  the  navigation  of  our  larger  rivers  is  ob- 
vious, and  it  is  possible  it  would  have  led  to  the  adoption  of 
other  means  than  a  rock  canal  for  passing  the  Louisville 


SURFACE   GEOLOGY.  197 

falls,  had  it  been  possessed  by  those  concerned  in  this  en- 
terprise. 

I  ventured  to  predict  to  General  Warren  that  an  old  fiUed- 
up  channel  would  be  found  passing  around  the  Mississippi 
rapids,  and  his  examinations  have  confirmed  the  prophecy. 
I  will  venture  still  farther,  and  predict  the  discovery  of 
buried  channels  of  communication  between  Lake  Superior 
and  Lake  Michigan — probably  somewhere  near  and  east  of 
the  Grand  Sable^ — at  least,  between  the  Pictured  Rocks  and 
the  St.  Mary's  River — between  Lake  Erie  and  Lake  Ontario 
through  Canada, — between  Lake  Ontario*  and  the  Hudson 
by  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk,  —  between  Lake  Michigan  and 
the  Mississippi,  somewhere  along  the  line  I  have  before  indi- 
cated. I  also  regard  it  probable  that  a  channel  may  be  found 
connecting  the  upper  and  lower  portions  of  the  Tennessee 
River,  passing  around  the  Mussel  Shoals.  This  locality  lies 
outside  of  the  area  where  the  Northern  Drift  deposits  were 
laid  down  to  fill  and  conceal  ancient  channels,  but  the  exca- 
vation and  the  filling  up  of  the  channel  of  the  Tennessee — 
like  that  of  the  Ohio — were  determined  by  the  relative  alti- 
tude of  the  waters  of  the  Gulf.  The  channel  of  the  Lower 
Tennessee  must  have  been  excavated  when  the  southern  por- 
tion of  the  Mississippi  valley  was  higher  above  the  Gulf  level 
than  now,  and  Professor  Hilgard  has  shown  that  at  a  subse- 
quent period,  probably  during  the  Champlain  epoch,  the 
Gulf  coast  was  depressed  five  hundred  feet  below  its  present 
relative  level.  This  depression  must  have  made  the  Lower  ' 
Mississippi  an  arm  of  the  sea,  by  which  the  flow  of  the  Ohio 

•When  the  water  in  the  lake  basin  had  sabalded  to  near  its  present  level,  its  old 
avenaes  of  escape  being  all  silted  up  by  the  Drift  clays  and  sands,  the  surplus  made  its 
exit  by  the  line  of  lowest  levels  wherever  that  chanced  to  run.  As  that  happened  to  lie 
over  the  rocky  point  that  projected  ftx>m  the  northern  exti-emity  of  the  Alleghanies  into 
the  lake  basin,  there  the  line  of  drainage  was  established  In  what  Is  now  known  as  Ni- 
agara River. 

Though  among  the  most  recent  of  the  events  recorded  in  our  snrfhce  geology,  this 
choice  of  the  Niagara  outlet  by  the  lake  waters  was  made  so  long  ago  that  all  the  ero- 
sion  of  the  gorge  below  the  falls  has  been  accomplished  since.  The  excavation  of  the 
basin  into  which  the  Niagara  flows  —  the  basin  of  Lake  Ontario,  of  which  Queenstown 
Heights  form  part  of  the  margin— belongs  to  an  epoch  long  anterior. 


198  SURFAOE   GEOLOOr. 

and  Tennessee  was  arrested,  their  channels  filled,  terraces 
formed,  etc.  If  the  Upper  Tennessee  has,  as  appears,  a 
channel  lower  than  the  Mussel  Shoals,  it  must  be  somewhere 
connected  with  the  deep  channel  of  the  lower  river. 

It  should  be  said,  however,  that  it  by  no  means  follows 
that  where  an  old  earth-filled  channel  passes  around  the 
rocky  barrier  by  which  the  navigation  of  our  rivers  is  im- 
peded, it  will  be  most  convenient  and  economical  to  follow 
it  in  making  a  canal  to  pass  the  obstacle,  as  the  course  of 
the  old  channel  may  be  so  long  and  circuitous  that  a  short 
rock  cutting  is  cheaper  and  better.  The  question  is,  how- 
ever, of  sufficient  importance  to  deserve  investigation,  before 
millions  of  dollars  are  expended  in  rock  excavation. 

If  it  is  true  that  our  great  lakes  can  be  connected  with  each 
other  and  with  the  ocean,  both  by  the  Hudson  and  Mississippi, 
by  ship  canals, — in  making  which  no  elevated  summits  nor 
rock  barriers  need  be  cut  through, — the  future  commerce  cre- 
ated by  the  great  population  and  immense  resources  of  the 
basin  of  the  great  lakes  may  require  their  construction. 

3d.  Upon  the  glacial  surface  we  find  a  series  of  unconsoli- 
dated materials  generally  stratified,  called  the  "Drift  de- 
posits." 

Of  these  the  first  and  lowest  are  blue  and  red  clays  (the 
Erie  clays  of  Sir  William  Logan),  generally  regularly  strati- 
fied in  thin  layers,  and  contsiining  no  fossils,  but  drifted 
coniferous  wood  and  leaves.  Over  the  southern  and  eastern 
part  of  the  lake  basin,  these  clays  contain  no  boulders,  but 
towards  the  North  and  West  they  include  scattered  stones, 
often  of  a  large  size ;  while  in  places  beds  of  boulders  and 
gravel  are  found  resting  directly  on  the  glacial  surface. 

In  Ohio  the  Erie  clays  are  blue,  nearly  two  hundred  feet 
in  thickness,  and  reach  up  the  hill-sides  more  than  two  hun- 
dred feet  above  the  present  surface  of  Lake  Erie.  On  the 
shores  of  Lake  Michigan  these  clays  are  in  part  of  a  red 
color,  showing  .that  they  have  been  derived  from  different 
rocks,  and  they  there  include  great  numbers  of  stones. 


8X7BFAGE   GEOLOGY.  199 

On  the  peniusula  between  Lake  £rie  and  Lake  Huron  the 
Erie  clays  fill  the  old  channel  which  formerly  connected 
these  lakes,  having  a  thickness  of  over  two  hundred  feet, 
and  containing  a  few  scattered  stones, 

4th.  Above  the  Erie  clays  are  sands  of  variable  thickness 
and  less  widely  spread  than  the  underlying  clays.  These 
sands  contain  beds  of  gravel,  and,  near  the  surface,  teeth  of 
elephant  have  been  found,  water-worn  and  rounded. 

5th.  Upon  the  stratified  clays,  sands,  and  gravel  of  the 
Drift  deposits  are  scattered  boulders  and  blocks  of  all  sizes, 
of  granite,  greenstone  (diorite  and  dolerite),  silicious  and 
mica  slates,  and  various  other  metamorphic  and  eruptive 
rocks,  generally  traceable  to  some  locality  in  the  Eozoic 
area  north  of  the  lakes.  Among  these  boulders  many 
balls  of  native  copper  have  been  found,  which  could  have 
come  from  nowhere  else  than  the  copper  district  of  Lake 
Superior. 

Most  of  these  masses  are  rounded  by  attrition,  but  the 
large  blocks  of  Corniferous  limestone  which  are  scattered 
over  the  southern  margin  of  the  lake  basin  in  Ohio  show 
little  marks  of  wear.  These  masses,  which  are  often  ten  to 
twenty  feet  in  diameter,  have  been  transported  from  one 
hundred  to  two  hundred  miles  south-eastward  from  their 
places  of  origin,  and  deposited  sometimes  three  hundred  feet 
above  the  position  they  once  occupied. 

6th.  Above  all  these  Drift  deposits,  and  more  recent  than 
any  of  them,  are  the  ''lake  ridges," — embankments  of  sand, 
gravel,  sticks,  leaves,  etc.,  which  run  imperfectly  parallel 
with  the  present  outlines  of  the  lake  margins,  where  high- 
lands lie  in  the  rear  of  such  margins.  Of  these,  the  lowest 
on  the  South  shore  of  Lake  Erie  is  a  little  less  than  one 
hundred  feet  above  the  present  lake  level ;  the  highest,  some 
two  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  In  New  York,  Canada,  Michi- 
gan, and  on  Lake  Superior,  a  similar  series  of  bridges  has 
been  discovered,  and  they  have  everywhere  been  accepted  as 
evidence  that  the  waters  of  the  lakes  once  reached  the  points 


200  SURFACE  GEOLOGY. 

which  they  mark.  That  they  are  nothing  else  than  ancient 
lake  beaches  we  shall  hope  to  prove  farther  on. 

In  the  southern  half  of  the  Mississippi  valley  the  evidences 
of  glacial  action  are  entirely  wanting,  and  there  is  nothing 
corresponding  to  the  wide-spread  Drift  deposits  of  the  north. 
We  there  find,  however,  proofs  of  erosion  on  a  stupendous 
scale,  such  as  the  valley  of  East  Tennessee,  which  has  been 
formed  by  the  washing  out  of  all  the  broken  strata  between 
the  ridges  of  the  Alleghanies  and  the  massive  tables  of  the 
Cumberland  Mountains, — the  cafLons  of  the  Tennessee,  one 
thousand  six  hundred  feet  deep,  etc.  Here  also,  as  in  the 
lake  basin,  the  channels  of  e^ccavation  pass  far  below  the 
deep  and  quiet  waters  of  the  lower  rivers ;  proving  by  their 
depth  that  they  must  have  been  cut  when  the  fall  of  these 
rivers  was  much  greater  than  now. 

The  history  which  I  derive  from  the  facts  cited  above  is 
briefly  this : 

IsT. — That  in  a  period  probably  synchronous  with  the 
glacial  epoch  of  Europe,  — at  least  coiTCspondiug  to  it  in  the 
sequence  of  events, — the  northern  half  of  the  continent  of 
North  America  had  a  climate  comparable  with  that  of  Green- 
land ;  so  cold,  that  wherever  there  was  a  copious  precipita- 
tion of  moisture  from  oceanic  evaporation,  that  moisture  was 
congealed  and  formed  glaciers  which  flowed  by  various  routes 
towards  the  sea. 

2nd. — That  the  courses  of  these  ancient  glaciers  corres- 
ponded in  a  general  way  with  the  present  channels  of  drain- 
age. The  direction  of  the  glacial  furrows  proves  that  one 
of  these  ice  rivers  flowed  from  Lake  Huron,  along  a  channel 
now  filled  with  drift,  and  known  to  be  at  least  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  deep,  into  Lake  Erie,  which  was  then  not  a 
lake,  but  an  excavated  valley  into  which  the  streams  of 
Northern  Ohio  flowed,  one  hundred  feet  or  more  below  the 
present  lake  level.  Following  the  line  of  the  major  axis  of 
Lake  Erie  to  near  its  eastern  extremity,  here  turning  north- 
east, this  glacier  passed  through  some  channel  on  the  Cana- 


8UBFACB  GEOLOGY.  201 

dian  side,  now  filled  up,  into  Lake  Ontario,  and  thence  found 
its  way  to  the  sea  either  by  the  St.  Lawrence  or  by  the  Mo- 
hawk and  Hudson.  Another  glacier  occupied  the  bed  of 
Lake  Michigan,  having  an  outlet  southward  through  a  chan- 
nel-^ now  concealed  by  the  heavy  beds  of  drift  which  occupy 
the  surface  about  the  south  end  of  the  lake— passing  near 
Bloomington,  Illinois,  and  by  some  route  yet  unknown 
reaching  the  trough  of  the  Mississippi,  which  was  then  much 
deeper  than  at  present. 

3d. — At  this  period  the  continent  must  have  been  several 
hundred  feet  higher  than  now,  as  is  proved  by  the  deeply  ex- 
cavated channels  of  the  Columbia,  Golden  Gate,  Mississippi, 
Hudson,  etc.,  which  could  never  have  been  cut  by  the 
streams  that  now  occupy  them,  unless  flowing  with  greater 
rapidity  and  at  a  lower  level  than  they  now  do. 

The  depth  of  the  trough  of  the  Hudson  is  not  known,  but 
it  is  plainly  a  channel  of  erosion,  now  submerged  and  be- 
come an  arm  of  the  sea.  As  has  been  before  stated  this 
channel  is  marked  on  the  sea-bottom  for  a  long  distance  from 
the  coast  and  far  beyond  a  point  where  the  present  river 
could  exert  any  erosive  action,  and  hence  it  is  a  record  of  a 
period  when  the  Atlantic  coast  was  several  hundred  feet 
higher  than  now. 

The  lower  Mississippi  bears  unmistakable  evidence  of  be- 
ing— if  one  may  be  permitted  the  paradox — a  half-drowned 
river ;  that  is,  its  old  channel  is  deeply  submerged  and  silted 
up,  so  that  the  ^father  of  waters,"  lifted  above  the  walls  that 
formerly  I'estrained  him,  now  wanders,  lawless  and  ungov- 
ernable, whither  he  will  in  the  broad  valley. 

The  thickness  of  the  delta  deposits  at  New  Orleans  is  va- 
riously reported  from  fifteen  hundred  feet  upwards,  the  dis- 
crepancies being  due  to  the  difficulty  of  distinguishing  the 
alluvial  clays  from  those  of  the  underlying  Cretaceous  and 
Tertiary  formations.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  the  bottom 
of  the  ancient  channel  of  the  Mississippi  has  never  been 
reached  between  New  Orleans  and  Cairo  ;  the  instances  cited 

▲MBR.  NATURALIST,  VOL.  IV.  26 


202  8UBFACE   QEOLOOY. 

by  Humphreys  and  Abbot  in  their  splendid  study*  of  this 
river  being  but  repetitions  of  the  phenomena  exhibited  at 
the  falls  of  the  Ohio — the  river  running  over  one  side  of  its 
ancient  bed. 

The  trough  of  the  Mississippi  is  not  due  to  synclinal  struc- 
ture in  the  underlying  rocks,  but  is  a  valley  of  erosion  sim- 
ply. Ever  since  the  elevation  of  the  Alleghanies — i.e.  the 
close  of  the  Carboniferous  period — it  has  been  travei*sed  by 
a  river  which  drained  the  area  from  which  flow  the  upper 
Mississippi,  the  Ohio,  the  Tennessee,  etc.  Since  the  Mio- 
cene period,  the  Missouri,  Arkansas,  and  Red  rivers  have 
made  their  contributions  to  the  flood  that  flowed  through  it. 
The  depth  to  which  this  channel  is  cut  in  the  rock  proves 
that  at  times  the  river  must  have  flowed  at  a  lower  level  and 
with  a  more  rapid  current  than  now ;  while  the  Tertiary  beds 
formed  as  high  as  Iowa  and  Indiana  in  this  trough,  and  the 
more  modern  Drift  clays  and  boulders  which  partially  fill  the 
old  rock  cuttings,  show  that  the  mouth  and  delta  of  the  river 
have,  in  the  alternations  of  continental  elevation,  travelled 
up  and  down  the  trough  at  least  a  thousaud  miles  ;  and  that 
not  only  is  it  true,  as  asserted  by  EUet,  that  every  mile  be- 
tween Cairo  and  New  Orleans  once  held  the  river's  mouth, 
but  that  in  the  several  advances  and  recessions  of  the  waters 
of  the  Gulf  the  mouth  has  been  more  than  twice  at  each 
point.  The  change  of  place  of  the  delta  has  been  caused, 
however,  for  the  most  part,  by  oscillations  of  the  sea  level, 
and  not,  as  EUet  supposed,  by  the  filling  of  the  channel  by 
the  materials  transported  by  the  river  itself. 

Drift  Deposits.  The  Drift  deposits  which  cover  the  gla- 
cial surface,  consisting  of  fine  clays  below,  sands  and  gravel 
above,  large  transported  boulders  on  the  surface,  and  the 
series  of  lake  ridges  (beaches)  over  all,  form  a  sequence  of 
phenomena  of  which  the  history  is  easily  read. 

Sine  Clays.  The  lower  series  of  blue  or  red  clays — the 
"Erie  clays"  of  Sir  William  Logan — over  a  very  large  area, 
rest  directly  on  the  plain  and  polished  rock  surfaces.     These 


SURFACE   GEOLOOT.  203 

clays  are  often  accurately  stratified,  were  apparently  depos- 
ited in  deep  and  generally  quiet  water,  and  mark  a  period 
when  the  glacial  ice-masses,  melted  by  a  change  of  climate, 
retreated  northward,  leaving  large  bodies  of  cold  fresh- 
water* about  their  southern  margins,  in  which  the  mud 
produced  by  their  grinding  action  on  the  paleozoic  rocks  of 
the  Lake  District  was  first  suspended  and  then  deposited. 

On  the  shores  of  Lake  Erie  these  clays  contain  no  boul- 
ders and  very  few  pebbles,  while  farther  North  and  West 
boulders  are  more  abundant.  This  is  precisely  what  might 
be  expected  from  the  known  action  of  glacial  masses  on  the 
surfaces  over  which  they  pass.  Their  legitimate  work  is  to 
grind  to  powder  the  rock  on  which  they  rest;  an  efifect 
largely  due  to  the  sand  which  gathers  under  them,  acting  as 
emery  on  a  lead  wheel.  The  water  flowing  from  beneath 
glaciers  is  always  milky  and  turbid  from  this  cause.  Rocks 
and  boulders  are  sometimes  frozen  into  glaciers,  and  thus 
transpoiled  by  them,  but  nearly  all  the  boulders  carried  along 
by  a  glacier  are  such  as  have  fallen  from  above ;  and  a  mo- 
raine can  hardly  be  formed  by  a  glacier  except  when  there 
are  cliffs  and  pinnacles  along  its  course. 

In  a  nearly  level  country,  composed  of  sedimentary  rocks 
passed  over  by  a  glacier,  we  should  have  very  little  debris 
produced  by  it,  except  the  mud  flour  which  it  grinds. 

The  Erie  clays  would  necessarily  receive  any  gravel  or 
stones  which  had  been  frozen  into  the  ice,  either  as  scattered 
pebbles  or  stones,  distributed  to  some  distance  from  the  gla- 
cial mass  by  floating  fragments  of  ice,  or  as  masses  of  frozen 
gravel,  or  larger  and  more  numerous  boulders  near  the  gla- 
cier. In  some  localities  torrents  would  pour  from  the  sides 
and  from  beneath  the  glacier,  so  that  here  coarse  material 
would  alone  resist  the  rapid  motion  of  the  water,  and  the 
stratification  of  the  sediments  would  be  more  or  less  confused. 


•  Cold,  because  oomlng  fVom  the  melting  glacier,  and  depositing  with  its  sediments 
no  evidences  of  life; /V^^*  because  no  marine  shells  are  found  In  it— only  drift-wood— » 
while  the  equiralent  *'  Champlain"  clays  on  the  coast  are  fbll  of  Marine  Arctic  sheila. 


204  SUBFAGE  GEOLOGY. 

In  regard  to  the  cause  of  the  gradual  amelioration  of  the 
climate  of  the  glacial  epoch,  by  which  the  great  glaciers  of 
the  lake  basin  were  driven  northward  and  finally  altogether 
dissolved,  we  are  not  left  entirely  to  conjecture. 

Cosmical  causes  possibly  and  probably  had  the  chief  agency 
in  producing  this  result,  but  we  have  unmistakable  evidence 
of  at  least  the  cooperation  of  another  and  perhaps  no  less 
potent  cause,  namely,  continental  depression. 

If  a  cosmical  cause  had  simply  increased  the  annual  tem- 
perature till  the  glaciers  were  all  melted,  without  the  action 
of  any  other  agent,  we  should  never  have  had  the  accumula- 
tion of  drift  deposits  which  now  occupy  all  the  glacial  area ; 
but  the  drainage  streams,  changed  in  all  their  courses  from 
ice  to  water,  would  have  flowed  freely  and  rapidly  away 
through  their  deeply  cut  channels  to  deposit  their  abundant 
sediments  only  where  their  transporting  power  was  arrested , 
in  the  depths  of  the  ocean. 

Instead  of  this,  we  everywhere  find  evidence  that  this  flow 
was  checked,  and  a  basin  of  quiet  water  formed  by  an  ad- 
vance of  the  ocean  consequent  upon  a  subsidence  of  the  land. 
On  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  coasts  this  depression  progressed 
until  the  sea  level  was  more  than  five  hundred  feet  higher 
than  now.  The  effect  of  this  depression  was  to  deeply  sub- 
merge the  eastern  margin  of  the  continent,  and  cover  it  with 
the  **Champlain''  clays. 

It  is  evident  that  at  this  period  the  drainage  from  the  great 
water-shed  of  the  continent  must  have  been  met  by  the  quiet 
waters  of  the  ocean  almost  at  the  sources  of  the  present 
draining  streams,  and  as  the  *Mead  water"  gradually  crept 
up  the  valleys,  aiTCstiug  the  transporting  power  of  their  curr 
rents,  their  old  chaunels  would  be  silted  up  and  obliterated, 
and  their  valleys  partially  filled  with  materials  for  their  sub- 
sequent terraces.  In  the  advance  and  subsequent  recession 
of  the  line  of  "dead  water"  we  have  ample  cause  for  all  our 
terrace  phenomena. 

This  continental  depression  accounts  satisfactorily  for  the 


SURFACE   GEOLOGT.  205 

filling  of  the  old  channels  of  the  Mississippi  and  the  Ohio, 
as  a  depression  of  five  hundred  feet  would  bring  the  ocean 
nearly  to  Pittsburgh  on  the  Ohio,  to  St.  Paul  on  the  Missis- 
sippi. 

But  I  think  we  have  evidence  that  the  continent  did  not 
sink  uniformly  in  all  its  parts,  but  most  at  the  Ncn^th.  Not 
to  cite  any  other  proof  of  this, — northern  coast  fiords,  etc. 
— the  altitude  of  the  loess-like  deposits  of  the  upper  Missis- 
sippi and  Missouri  (the  lacustrine  non-glacial  sediments  of 
this  period  of  submergence),  the  upward  reach  of  the  Drift 
clays  of  the  lake  basin,  the  filling  of  the  valleys  of  the 
streams  flowing  into  the  Ohio  and  Lake  Erie,  the  old  lake 
beaches  marking  the  former  water-level  in  the  lake  basin — 
all  indicate  that  the  continental  subsidence  was  greatest  to- 
wards the  north.  To  this  subsidence  we  must,  as  I  think, 
attribute  the  accumulation  of  water  in  the  lake  basin  and 
Mississippi  valley  to  form  the  great  inland  sea  of  fresh-water, 
of  which  traces  eveiywhere  abound.  It  seems  to  me  scarcely 
necessary  to  suppose  any  other  ban*iers  by  which  this  sea 
was  enclosed  than  the  highlands  that  encircle  it — such  as  are 
roughly  outlined  by  the  light  tint  on  Professor  Guyot's  map 
of  North  America — and  the  sea- water  which  filled  the 
mouths  of  the  two*  straits  by  which  it  communicated  with 
the  ocean. 

Yellow  Sands  and  Surface  Boulders.  I  have  mentioned 
that  on  the  Erie  clays  are  beds  of  gravel,  sand,  and  clay, 
and  over  these  again  great  numbers  of  transported  boulders, 
often  of  large  size  and  of  northern  and  remote  origin. 

These  surface  deposits  have  been  frequently  referred  to  as 
the  direct  and  normal  product  of  glacial  action,  the  materials 
torn  up  and  scraped  off  by  the  great  ice  ploughs  in  their 


*ir  there  vere  two.  That  there  was  one  in  the  conrse  of  the  MlBsiBiiippi  we  know, 
and  that  so  long  that,  though  salt  at  one  end,  it  must  haye  been  firesh  at  the  other. 

The  eastern  outlet  of  the  lake  waters  may  not  haye  been  by  the  St.  Lawrence  but 
as  likely  through  the  gap  between  the  Adirondacks  and  the  Alleghanles.  The  shallow 
channels  between  the  Thousand  Islands  and  the  Lachlne  Rapids  seem  to  indicate  that 
the  St.  Lawrence  is  a  comparatlyely  new  line  of  drainage  for  the  lakes. 


206  SURFACE   GEOLOGT. 

long  journeys  from  the  North ;  in  fact,  as  some  sort  of  huge 
terminal  and  latera]  moraines.  I  have,  however,  disproved, 
as  I  think,  this  theory  of  their  transportation  in  a  paper  pub- 
lished some  years  since  (Notes  on  the  Surface  Geology  of 
the  Basin  of  the  Great  Lakes.  Proc.  Bost.  Nat.  Hist.  Soc. 
1863),  in  which  it  is  urged  that  the  continuous  sheet  of  the 
Erie  clays  upon  which  they  rest,  and  which  forms  an  un- 
broken belt  between  them  and  their  place  of  origin,  pre- 
cludes the  idea  that  they  have  been  transported  by  any  ice- 
current  or  rush  of  water  moving  over  the  glacial  surface ;  as 
either  of  these  must  have  torn  up  and  scattered  the  soft  clays 
below. 

There  is,  indeed,  no  other  conclusion  deducible  from  the 
facts  than  that  these  sands,  gravels,  granite  and  greenstone 
boulders- — masses  of  native  copper,  etc.,  which  compose  the 
superficial  Drift  deposits — have  been  floated  to  their  resting- 
places,  and  that  the  floating  agent  has  been  ice,  in  the  form 
of  icebergs;  in  short,  that  these  materials  have  been  trans- 
ported and  scattered  over  the  bottom  and  along  the  south 
shore  of  our  ancient  inland  sea,  just  as  similar  materials  are 
now  being  scattered  over  the  banks  and  shores  of  Newfound- 
land. 

If  we  restore  in  imagination  this  inland  sea,  which  we 
have  proved  once  filled  the  basin  ot  the  lakes,  gradually  dis- 
placing the  retreating  glaciers,  we  are  inevitably  led  to  a 
time  in  the  history  of  this  region  when  the  southern  shore 
of  this  sea  was  formed  by  the  highlands  of  Ohio,  etc.,  the 
northern  shore  a  wall  of  ice  resting  on  the  hills  of  crystalline 
and  trappean  rocks  about  Lake  Superior  and  Lake  Huron. 

From  this  ice-wall  masses  must  from  time  to  time  have 
been  detached, — just  as  they  are  now  detached  from  the 
Humboldt  Glacier, — and  floated  off  southward  with  the  cur- 
rent, bearing  in  their  grasp  sand,  gravel,  and  boulders — 
whatever  composed  the  beach  from  which  they  sailed.  Five 
hundred  miles  south  they  grounded  upon  the  southern  shore ; 
the  highlands  of  now  Western  New  York,  Pennsylvania  and 


SURFACE   GEOLOGY.  207 

Ohio,  or  the  shallows  of  the  prairie  region  of  Indiana,  Illi- 
nois, and  Iowa;  there  melting  away  and  depositing  their 
entire  loads, — as  I  have  sometimes  seen  them,  a  thousand  or 
more  boulders  on  a  few  acres,  resting  on  the  Erie  clays  and 
looking  in  the  distance  like  flocks  of  sheep, — or  dropping 
here  and  there  a  stone  and  floating  on,  east  or  west,  till  wholly 
dissipated. 

These  boulders  include  representatives  of  nearly  all  the 
rocks  of  the  Lake  Superior  country,  conspicuous  among 
which  are  gi'anites  with  rose-colored  orthoclase,  gray  gneiss, 
and  diorites,  all  chamcteristic  of  the  Laurentian  series; 
horublendic  rocks,  massive  or  schistose,  and  dark  greenish 
or  bluish  silicious  slates,  probably  from  the  Huronian ;  dolo- 
rites  and  masses  of  native  copper,  apparently  from  the 
Keweenaw  Point  copper  region. 

In  the  Drift  gravels  I  have  found  pebbles  and  small  boul- 
ders of  nearly  all  the  paleozoic  rocks  of  the  lake  basin,  con- 
taining their  characteristic  fossils,  namely,  the  Calciferous 
Sandrock  with  Madurea^  Trenton  and  Hudson  with  Ambony- 
chia  radiata^  Cyrtolites  ornatiis,  Medina  with  Pleurotomaria 
litorea^  Corniferous  with  Conocardium  tngonale,  Atrypa 
reticularis^  Favositea  polymorphay  Hamilton  with  Sjpirifer 
mucroncUuSy  etc. 

The  granite  boulders  are  often  of  large  size,  sometimes 
six  feet  and  more  in  diameter,  and  generally  rounded. 

The  largest  transported  blocks  I  have  seen  are  the  more 
or  less  angular  masses  of  corniferous  limestone  mentioned 
on  a  preceding  page. 

Along  the  southern  margin  of  the  Drift  area,  especially  on 
the  slopes  of  the  highlands  of  Northern  Ohio,  the  Drift 
sands  and  gravels  are  of  considerable  thickness,  forming 
hills  of  one  hundred  feet  or  more  in  height,  generally  strati- 
fied, but  often  without  any  visible  arrangement.  These  de- 
posits are  very  unevenly  distributed,  with  a  rolling  surface 
frequently  forming  local  basins,  which  hold  the  little  lakelets 
or  sphagnous  marshes  so  characteristic  of  the  region  referred 


208  SURFACE   GEOLOGY. 

to.  These  are  the  beds  to  which  I  have  alluded  as  constitu- 
ting, in  the  opinion  of  some  geologists,  a  great  glacial  mo- 
raine, but  from  the  fact  that  they  are  locally  stratified,  and 
overlie  the  older  blue  clays,  I  have  regarded  them  as  trans- 
ported not  by  glaciers,  but  by  icebergs. 

Possibly  some  part  of  this  Drift  material  may  have  accu- 
mulated along  the  margin  of  the  great  glacier,  moved  by  its 
agency ;  but  in  that  case  we  should  expect  to  find  in  it  abun- 
dant fragments  of  the  rocks  which  outcrop  in  the  region 
under  consideration,  whereas  I  have  rarely,  if  ever,  seen  in 
these  Drift  gravels  any  representatives  of  the  rocks  under- 
lying the  south  margin  of  the  lake  basin. 

By  whatever  agency  transported,  the  Drift  gravels  have, 
like  the  boulders,  for  the  most  part  come  from  some  remote 
point  at  the  North,  and  were  once  spread  broadcast  along  the 
southern  shore  of  the  inland  iceberg-bearing  sea. 

In  the  retreat  of  the  shore  line  during  the  contraction  of 
the  water  surface  down  to  its  present  area,  every  part  of  the 
slope  of  the  southern  shore  between  the  present  water  sur- 
face and  the  highest  lake  level  of  former  times,  i.e.  all 
within  a  vertical  height  of  three  hundred  feet  or  more,  must 
in  turn  have  been  submitted  to  the  action  of  the  shore  waves, 
rain,  and  rivers,  by  which  if,  as  is  probable,  the  retrograde 
movement  of  the  water  line  was  slow,  these  loose  materials 
would  be  rolled,  ground,  sorted,  sifted,  and  shifted,  so  that 
comparatively  little  would  be  left  in  its  original  bedding ;  the 
fine  materials,  clay  and  sand,  would  be  washed  out  and  car- 
ried farther  and  still  farther  into  the  lake  basin,  and  spread 
over  the  bottom,  to  form,  in  short,  the  upper  sandy  layers 
of  the  Drift. 

At  certain  points  in  its  descent  the  water  level  seems  to 
have  been  for  a  time  stationary,  and  such  points  are  marked 
by  terraces  and  the  long  lines  of  ancient  beaches  which  have 
been  referred  to.  A  similar  "lake  ridge"  now  borders  the 
south  shore  of  Lake  Michigan,  where  it  may  be  observed  in 
the  process  of  formation ;  and  this  seems  to  be  the  legitimate 


SURFACE   GEOLOGY.  209 

effect  of  waves  everywhere  on  a  sloping  shore  composed  of 
loose  material ;  storms  driving  up  sand  and  gravel  to  form  a 
ridge  which  ultimately  acts  as  a  barrier  to  the  waves  that 
built  it.  Winds,  also,  often  assist  in  building  up,  and  some- 
times alone  form  these  ridges,  by  transpoi-ting  inland  the 
beach  sand. 

In  other  localities,  where  hard  rock  masses  formed  the 
shore  of  our  inland  sea,  perpendicular  wave-worn  cliffs  were 
produced ;  and  many  of  these  now  stand  jbls  enduring  and 
indisputable  monuments  of  a  sea  whose  waves,  perhaps  for 
ages,  beat  against  them.  Such  cliffs  may  be  observed  on  Little 
Mountain,  in  Lake  county,  in  the  valley  of  the  Cuyahoga,  in 
Medina  and  Lorain  county,  Ohio,  along  the  outcrops  of 
the  Carboniferous  conglomerate  and  Waverly  sandstone. 

In  all  the  changes  through  which  the  valley  of  the  Missis- 
sippi passed  during  the  "Drift  Period,"  its  general  structure 
and  main  topographical  features  remained  the  same.  Yet 
the  character  of  its  surface  suffered  very  important  modifica- 
tions, and  such  as  deeply  affected  its  fitness  for  human  occu- 
pation. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  glacial  epoch  was  marked  by  erosion 
on  a  grand  scale. 

Then,  our  river  valleys  and  some  of  our  lakes — though 
mapped  out  long  before — were  excavated  to  a  much  greater 
depth  than  they  now  have. 

During  their  subsequent  submergence,  these  valleys  and 
lakes  were  partially  or  perfectly  filled  with  the  drift  deposits 
which  covered  all  the  surface  like  a  deep  fall  of  snow, 
rounded  its  outlines  and  softened  all  its  asperities. 

When  the  waters  were  withdrawn,  the  rivers  again  began 
clearing  their  obstructed  channels ;  a  work  not  yet  accom- 
plished, and  in  many  instances  not  half  done.  Numbers  of 
the  old  channels  were  wholly  filled  and  obliterated,  and  the 
streams  that  once  traversed  them  were  compelled  to  find 
quarters  elsewhere.  Examples  of  this  kind  have  been  al- 
ready cited,  and  they  could  be  multiplied  indefinitely. 

AMBR.  NATURALIST,  VOL.  IV.  27 


210  SURFACE   GEOLOGY. 

Origin  op  the  Great  Lakes. — The  question  of  the  ori- 
gin of  our  lakes  is  one  that  requires  more  observation  and 
study  than  have  yet  been  given  to  it  before  we  can  be  said  to 
have  solved  all  the  problems  it  involves.  There  are,  how- 
ever, certain  facts  connected  with  the  structure  of  the  lake 
basins,  and  some  deductions  from  these  facts,  which  may  be 
regarded  as  steps  already  taken  toward  the  full  understanding 
of  the  subject.  These  facts  and  deductions  are  briefly  as 
follows: — 

1st.  Lake  Superior  lies  in  a  synclinal  trough,  and  its  mode 
of  formation  therefore  hardly  admits  of  question,  though  its 
sides  are  deeply  scored  with  ice-marks,  and  its  form  and  area 
may  have  been  somewhat  modifled  by  this  agent. 

2d.  Lake  Huron,  Lake  Michigan,  Lake  Erie,  and  Lake 
Ontario  are  excavated  basins,  wrought  out  of  once  contin- 
uous sheets  of  sedimentary  strata  by  a  mechanical  agent,  and 
that  ice  or  water,  or  both. 

That  they  have  been  filled  with  ice,  and  that  this  ice 
formed  great  moving  glaciers  we  may  consider  proved.  The 
west  end  of  Lake  Erie  may  be  said  to  be  carved  out  of  the 
Corniferous  limestone  by  ice  action ;  as  its  bottom  and  sides 
and  islands — horizontal,  vertical,  and  even  overhanging  sur- 
faces— are  all  furrowed  by  glacial  grooves,  which  are  par- 
allel with  the  major  axis  of  the  lake. 

All  our  great  lakes  are  probably  very  ancient,  as  since  the 
close  of  the  Devonian  period  the  area  they  occupy  has  never 
been  submerged  beneath  the  ocean,  and  their  formation  may 
have  begun  during  the  Coal  Measure  epoch. 

The  Laurentian  belt,  which  stretches  from  Labrador  to  the 
Lake  of  the  Woods,  and  thence  northward  to  the  Arctic  sea, 
forms  the  oldest  known  portion  of  the  earth's  surface.  The 
shores  of  this  ancient  continent,  then  high  and  mountainous, 
were  washed  by  the  Silurian  sea,  where  the  debris  of  the 
land  was  -deposited  in  strata  that  subsequently  rose  to  the 
surface,  and  formed  a  broad  low  margin  to  the  central  moun- 
tain belt,  just  as  the  Cretaceous  and  Tertiary  strata  flank  the 
Alleghanies  in  the  Southern  States. 


SURFACE   GEOLOGY.  211 

In  the  lapse  of  countless  ages,  all  the  mountain  peaks  and 
chains  of  the  Laurentian  continents  have  been  removed  and 
carried  into  the  sea,  and  this  has  been  done  by  rivers  of 
water  and  rivers  of  ice.  That  these  mountains  once  existed 
there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt,  for  their  truncated  bases 
remain  as  witnesses,  and  it  is  scarcely  less  certain  that  gla- 
ciers have  flowed  down  their  slopes  of  sufficient  magnitude 
And  reach  to  deeply  score  the  plain  which  encircled  them. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  all  the  great  lakes  of  the  continent 
hold  certain  relations  to  the  curving  belt  of  Laurentian  high- 
lands. 

Some  of  them  are  embraced  in  the  foldings  of  the  Eozoic 
rocks,  and  fill  synclinal  troughs;  but  most  of  the  series, 
from  Great  Bear  Lake  to  Lake  Ontario,  exhibit  the  san^e 
geological  and  physical  structure,  are  basins  of  excavation 
in  the  paleozoic  plain  that  flanks  in  a  parallel  belt  the  Laur- 
entian area.  Few  of  us  have  any  conception  of  the  enor- 
mous general  and  local  erosion  which  that  plain  has  suffered. 
Those  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  examine  the  section 
across  Lake  Ontario,  from  the  Alleghanies  to  the  Laurentian 
hills  of  Canada,  and  compare  it  with  the  other  sections  in  the 
Lake  Winnepeg  district,  radial  to  the  Laurentian  arch,  given 
by  Mr,  Hind  in  his  report  on  the  Assiniboin  country,  will  be 
sure  to  find  the  comparison  interesting  and  suggestive  ;  sug- 
gestive especially  of  a  community  of  structure  and  history, 
and  of  an  inseparable  connection  between  the  lake  phe- 
nomena and  the  topographical  features  of  the  Laurentian 
highlands  flanked  by  the  paleozoic  plain. 

In  estimating  the  influences  that  might  have  afiected  the 
number  and  magnitude  of  glaciers  on  the  sides  of  the  Lau- 
rentian mountains,  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  the  Cre- 
taceous sea  swept  the  western  shore  of  the  Paleozoic  and 
Laurentian  continent  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  Arctic 
Ocean ;  and  whether  we  consider  this  sea  as  a  broad  expanse 
of  water  simply  dotted  with  islands,  or  a  strait  traversed  by 
a  tropical  current,  we  have  in  either  case  conditions  peculi- 


212  SURFAGE   GEOLOGY. 

arly  favorable  to  the  formation  of  great  glacial  masses  of  ice, 
t.  c.  a  broa<i  evaporating  surface  of  warm  water  swept  by 
westerly  winds  that  carried  all  suspended  moisture  immedi- 
ately on  to  a  mountain  belt,  which  served  as  a  sufficient  con- 
denser. 

This,  at  least,  may  be  positively  asserted  in  regard  to  the 
agency  of  ice  in  the  excavation  of  the  lake  basins,  that  their 
bottoms  and  sides  wherever  exposed  to  observation,  if  com- 
posed of  resistant  materials,  bear  indisputable  evidence  of 
ice  action,  proving  that  these  basins  were  filled  by  moving 
glaciers  in  the  last  ice  period  if  never  before,  and  that  part, 
at  least,  of  the  erosion  by  which  they  were  formed  is  due  to 
these  glaciers. 

No  other  agent  than  glacial  ice,  as  it  seems  to  me  is  capa- 
ble of  excavating  broad,  deep,  boat-shaped  basins,  like  those 
which  hold  our  lakes. 

K  the  elevation  of  temperature  and  retreat  northward  of 
the  glaciers  of  the  lake  basins  were  not  uniform  and  contin- 
uous, but  alternated  with  .periods  of  repose,  we  should  find 
these  periods  marked  by  excavated  basins,  each  of  which 
would  serve  to  measure  the  reach  of  the  glacier  at  the  time 
of  its  formation,  the  lowest  basin  being  the  oldest,  the  others 
formed  in  succession  afterwards.  Such  a  cause  would  be 
sufficient  to  account  for  any  local  expansions  of  the  troughs 
of  the  old  ice  rivers. 

Where  glaciers  flow  down  from  highlands  on  to  a  plain  or 
into  the  sea,  the  excavating  action  of  the  ice  mass  must  ter- 
minate somewhat  abruptly  in  the  formation  of  a  basin-like 
cavity,  beyond  which  would  be  a  rim  of  rock,  with  whatever 
of  debris  the  glacier  has  brought  down  to  form  a  terminal 
moraine. 

When  glaciers  reach  the  sea,  the  great  weight  of  the  ice 
mass  must  plough  up  the  sea  bottom  out  to  the  point  where 
the  gi'eater  gravity  of  water  lifts  the  ice  from  its  bed,  and 
bears  it  away  as  an  iceberg. 

If  it  is  true,  as  the  facts  I  have  cited  indicate,  that  our 


SURFACE   QEOLOOr.  213 

lakes  are  but  portions  of  great  excavated  channels  locally 
filled  with  drift  material,  the  fiords  of  the  northern  Atlantic 
and  Pacific  coast  present  remarkable  parallels  to  them ;  and 
I  would  suggest  Puget's  Sound,  Hood's  Canal,  and  other 
portions  of  that  wonderful  system  of  navigable  channels 
about  Vancouver's  Island,  as  affording  interesting  and  in- 
structive subjects  for  comparison.  Like  our  lakes  their 
channels  are  for  the  most  part  excavated  from  sedimentary 
strata  which  form  a  low  and  comparatively  level  margin  to 
the  bases  of  mountain  chains  and  peaks.  They  too  have 
their  depths  and  shallows,  their  basins  and  bars,  and  probably 
all  who  have  seen  them  will  assent  to  Professor  Dana's  view, 
that  they  are  the  "result  of  subaerial  excavation,"  in  which 
glaciers  peiformed  an  important  part. 

The  '"Loess"  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  The  "Bluff  form- 
ation" of  the  West,  sometimes  called  "Loess,"  from  its  re- 
> semblance  to  the  Loess  of  the  Rhine,  I  have  on  a  preceding 
page  designated  as  a  lacustrine  non-glacial  Drift  deposit.  It 
seems  to  be  the  sediment  precipitated  from  the  waters  of  our 
great  inland  sea  in  its  shallow  and  more  quiet  portions,  to 
which  icebergs,  with  their  gravel  and  boulders,  had  no  ac- 
cess, and  where  the  glacial  mud  was  represented  only  by  an 
impalpable  powder,  which  mingled  with  the  wash  of  the 
adjacent  land,  land  shells,  etc. 

It  is  evidently  one  of  the  most  recent  of  the  deposits 
which  come  into  the  series  of  Drift  phenomena,  and  was  ap- 
parently thrown  down  while  the  broad  water  surface  which 
once  stretched  over  the  region  where  it  is  found  was  narrow- 
ing by  drainage  and  evaporation,  till,  by  its  total  disappear- 
ance, this  sheet  of  calcareous  mud  was  lefb. 

It  underlies  much  of  the  prairie  region,  and  once  filled, 
often  to  the  brim,  the  troughs  of  the  Mississippi  and  Mis- 
souri, so  deeply  excavated  during  the  glacial  epoch.  When 
the  system  of  drainage  was  re-established  the  new  rivers  be- 
gan the  excavation  of  their  ancient  valleys  in  the  Loess. 
When  they  had  cut  into  or  through  this  stratum,  so  that  it 


214  OUB  NATIVE   TREES   AND   SHBUBS. 

stood  up  in  escarpments  on  either  side,  man  came  and  called 
it  the  Bluff  formation,  because  it  composed  or  capped  the 
bold  bluffs  of  the  river-banks.  It  is  often,  however,  only  a 
facing  to  the  rocky  cliffs,  which  are  the  true  walls  of  these 
valleys,  and  which  are  monuments  of  an  age  long  anterior 
to  the  date  of  its  deposition. — Annals  of  the  Lyceum  of 
Natural  History  of  New  Yorky  1869. 


OUB  NATIVE  TREES  AND  SHRUBS. 

BT  BEV.  J.  W.  CHICKEBING,  JB. 

It  has  long  been  a  favorite  aspiration  of  the  writer,  at 
some  time  in  life,  to  have  an  arboretum  collected  from  our 
woods  and  waysides.  But  despairing  of  that,  I  would  in  this 
article  give  a  list  of  those  native  shrubs  and  trees,  which 
seem  to  promise  to  repay  transplanting,  and  which  would  in 
beauty,  and  many  of  them  in  novelty,  to  any  but  the  bota- 
nist, vie  with  those  imported. 

Of  the  trees  of  early  spring,  it  is  a  pity  that  the  Silver 
Maple  {Acer  dasycarpum)  ^  and  the  Sugar  Maple  (A,  sac^ 
charinuni)^  were  not  more  generally  known  and  valued,  as 
flowering  trees.  The  former  is  the  earliest  tree  I  know  in 
this  latitude,  and  the  beauty  of  the  long,  yellow  tassels  of 
the  latter,  commends  itself  to  every  observer.  Then  for 
grounds  of  any  extent  the  different  Birches,  the  White  {Be- 
tula  alba)  J  the  Paper  (JB.  papyraced)^  the  Yellow  (JB.  ex- 
celsa)y  and  the  Black  (B.  lenta)^  are  in  early  spring  most 
attractive  ornaments,  for  the  grace  and  variety  of  the  spray 
of  their  delicate  catkins.  Then  the  Tulip  Tree  {Linoden- 
dron  tulipifera)^  and  the  Cucumber  Tree  {Magnolia  acum- 
tnato),  both  perfectly  hardy  in  New  York  and  New  England, 
should  be  seen  much  more  frequently  in  cultivated  grounds. 

The  Barberry  {Berberis  vulgaris)  forms  a  pleasing  clump 


OUB  NATIVE  TREES   AND  SHRUBS.  215 

whether  it  hang  out  its  bright  yellow  flowers  or  its  crimson 
berriies. 

Of  course  the  Sumachs  would  claim  a  place  with  their 
variety  of  flower,  fruit  and  leaf,  at  least  the  Staghorn  Sumach 
(lihus  typhina)^  with  its  red  velvety  branches ;  R.  glabra^  as 
smooth  as  the  last  is  shaggy,  and  R.  copallina^  with  its  leaves 
looking  as  if  varnished. 

The  New  Jersey  Tea  {Geaiiothua  Americanvs) y  with  its 
spikes  of  delicate  white  flowers,  demands  a  place,  as  well  as 
Hdmiration. 

Bittersweet  (Oelastrus  scandens)^  also  called  Roxbury 
Waxwork,  so  well  known  as  having  given  a  name  to  one  of 
the  most  charming  rural  poems  in  our  language,  is  a  hardy 
climber,  vigorous  and  luxuriant  in  summer,  and  very  con- 
spicuous in  autumn,  with  its  scarlet  seed  coverings  set  in 
orange  linings,  as  is  its  first  cousin  the  Waahoo  {Euonymus 
atropurpureus) ,  with  its  crimson  drooping  fruit,  not  uncom- 
mon in  cultivation. 

The  Red-bud,  or  Judas  Tree  (Oercis  Canadensis) y  with 
its  branches  all  aflame  in  early  spring,  is  a  small,  graceful 
tree. 

Spirasa  opuUfoliay  is  an  attractive  variety,  while  the 
Meadow  Sweet  (S.  salicifoUa)^  and  the  Hardback  {8.  to^ 
mentosa)y  so  valuable  as  a  medicine,  were  they  only  less 
common,  would  be  eagerly  sought  for  their  beauty. 

The  Shad-bush  (Amelanchier  Canadensis) ,  heralding  along 
the  Connecticut,  "the  first  run  of  shad,"  is  a  favorite  where- 
cver  known,  while  the  Witch  Hazel  (Hamamelis  Virginica)^ 
closing  the  floral  procession  of  the  season  with  its  weird, 
wrinkled  yellow  flowers  in  October,  and  even  November,  is 
not  to  be  neglected. 

The  Flowering  Dogwood  (  Comus  florida ) ,  beautiful  alike 
in  its  snowy  profusion  of  flowers  and  its  bright  red  berries, 
is  less  known  and  far  less  cultivated  than  its  merits  deserve. 
It  is  hardy,  with  bright  green  leaves,  and  ought  to  become 
common,  as  our  most  showy  shrub  or  small  tree. 


216  OUR  NATIVE  TBEES  AND  SHRUBS. 

Several  other  species  of  this  genus  are  worthy  a  place  in 
our  collections :  Cornus  cirdnata^  sericea^  stoloniferay  pani^ 
culaiay  aliernifolia^  all  of  which  may  be  found  either  in  thick- 
ets or  swampy  places. 

The  Honeysuckle  family  is  already  introduced,  but  some 
members  of  it  need  a  special  introduction. 

The  Snowberry  {Symphoricai'pus  racemosus),  with  its 
fruit  so  well  known  to  children  as  far  from'  liability  to  stain  ; 
and  the  Coral-berry  (S.  vulgaris)  y  are  in  general  cultivation, 
especially  the  former. 

The  Trumpet  Honeysuckle  (Lonicera  semperivtrens) ,  and 
the  delicate  little  Fly  Honeysuckles  (L.  ciliata  and  ccerulea)^ 
are  equally  as  charming  as  some  of  their  foreign  sisters.  The 
Viburnum  too  is  a  beautiful  genus.  The  Cranberry  Tree 
(  V.  Opulus) ,  whose  fruit  is  better  to  look  at  than  to  eat, 
and  the  Hobble-bush  (  V.  lantanoides) ,  so  called  from  the 
facility  with  which  its  procumbent  branches  trip  the  incautious 
traveller,  are  well  known  in  early  spring,  with  their  broad 
cymes  of  mainly  sterile  flowera ;  and  the  flower-buds  of  the 
latter  forming  in  early  autumn,  afford  a  beautiful  study  of 
nature's  care  in  affording  protection  against  the  winter's 
cold;  while  the  rusty  down  upon  the  leaf-stalks  affords 
under  the  microscope  a  most  beautiful  specimen  of  stellate 
hairs.  But  the  other  species,  Fl  nwrfwm,  pi'unifolium^  den* 
tatum^  pubescenSy  acerifolium^  and  especially  Lentaffo,  while 
by  no  means  rare  in  the  woods  and  copses,  are  very  beau- 
tiful, with  enough  of  variety  to  render  it  desirable  to  have 
them  all. 

The  Button-bush  (  Gephalanthus  occidentalis)  is  odd,  with 
its  buttons  of  white  flowers,  and  worthy  of  cultivation. 

Many  of  the  Uricacce  are  no  less  beautiful  than  unknown. 
The  Swamp  Blueberry  ( Vdccinium  corymbosum)  with  its 
great  variety  of  forms,  is  a  very  attractive  shrub,  with  pu- 
bescent leaves,  large  flowers,  and  conspicuous  and  delicious 
fruit.  The  Deerberrj'  (  Fl  stamineum)  is  very  peculiar  in 
its  habit  of  flowering,  and  would  be  very  ornamental.    Doubt- 


OUB  NATIVE  TREES  AND  SHRUBS.  217 

less  this  genus  will  eventually  be  taken  up  by  the  nurseiy- 
men,  as  have  the  different  species  of  Rubus. 

The  Leather  Jjenf  {Cassandra  calyculaia) ^  and  Andromeda 
polifolia,  are  both  worthy  of  attention.  White  Alder  (  Cle- 
thra  almfolia)  is  already  somewhat  known,  and  is  covered  in 
August  with  handsome  blossoms  so  fragrant  that  a  clump 
may  be  detected  at  many  rods  distance. 

Mountain  Laurel,  Calico-bush,  Spoon-wood  {Kalmia  latU 
folia)  y  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  shrubs  ever  created,  as 
seen  in  profusion  in  its  varying  shades,  in  parts  of  Massachu- 
setts, but  very  seldom  in  cultivation.  Kalmia  glavca^  or 
Pale  Laurel,  is  less  showy,  but  of  great  beauty.  The  Azaleas 
(A.  viscosa  and  nudifiora)  are  very  common,  very  beautiful 
and  frjigrant,  but  very  seldom  cultivated. 

The  Great  Laurel  {Rhododendron  maxim wm),  though  mag- 
nificent in  its  native  thickets,  cannot  probably  compete  with 
the  foreign  species,  now  so  generally  introduced,  but  Rhodora 
Canadensis^  with  its  rose-purple  blossoms,  covering  the  leaf- 
less branches,  is  one  of  the  pleasantest  sights  of  early  spring, 
and  Labrador  Tea  {Ledum  latifolium)  with  its  delicate  white 
clusters  and  leaves  rusty-woolly  beneath,  is  likewise  full  of 
beauty. 

The  Fringe-tree  (  Chionanthus  Virginicd)  with  its  delicate 
white  drooping  panicles,  ought  to  be  seen  much  more  fre- 
quently than  it  is. 

Sassafras  officicinale  with  its  curiously  lobed  leaves,  yellow 
racemes  of  flowers,  and  spicy  aroma;  Leather- wood  {Dirca 
jpalustiHs)  J  aIqo  called  Wicopy,  with  pale  yellowish  flowers  is 
a  curious  shrub,  its  wood  soft  and  brittle,  its  bark  so  tough 
that  it  can  be  used  for  thongs,  requiring  a  strong  man  to 
break  even  its  slenderest  twigs. 

From  this  list  have  been  omitted  very  many  trees  and 
shrubs  in  common  cultivation.  The  object  has  been  to  call 
attention  to  those  less  generally  known.  Many  of  these 
have  their  natural  station  in  swampy  ground;  many  resist 
attempts  at  transplanting.     But  a  little  care  in  choosing  from 

▲HER.   NATUKAUST,  VOL.  TV.  2S 


218  A  winter's  DAT  IN  THE   YUKON  TEBBITOBT. 

those  in  dryer  locations,  or  setting  out  in  moist  ground,  or 
better  yet,  propagating  from  seed,  would  doubtless  overcome 
these  difficulties,  reward  the  pains  taken,  and  introduce  some 
chr.rming  novelties  to  the  lovers  of  flowers. 

Such  an  arboretum,  shrubbery  or  lawn,  comprising  only 
native  species,  would  not  only  gratify  the  botanist  and  the 
naturalist,  but  would  surprise  and  delight  the  rapidly  in- 
creasing number  of  amateur  cultivators,  who  as  yet  have 
very  little  idea  of  the  wealth  of  floral  beauty  to  be  found  in 
our  swamps  and  woodlands. 


A  WINTER'S  DAY  IN  THE  YUKON  TERRITORY. 

BT  W.  H.  DALL. 


■  Ot 


Many  of  the  readers  of  the  Naturalist  when  they  hear 
Alaska  spoken  of,  picture  to  themselves  a  snow-covered 
country,  with  at  most  a  scanty  summer,  and  a  long  and  ex* 
tremely  cold  winter.  A  recent  "official"  report  for  instance, 
represents  the  island  of  St.  Paul  as  surrounded  in  winter  by 
"immense  masses  of  ice"  on  which  the  polar  bears  and  arctic 
foxes  sail  down  from  the  North  and  engage  in  pitched  battle 
with  the  wretched  inhabitants.  Such  romances  are  due 
solely  to  the  ardent  imagination  of  the  "official"  mind,  and 
have  no  basis  in  fact.  There  is  no  solid,  and  but  little  float- 
ing ice  near  St.  Paul  in  winter ;  the  arctic  foxes  found  there 
as  well  as  on  most  of  the  other  islands,  were  purposely  in- 
troduced by  the  Russians  for  propagation,  a  certain  number 
of  skins  being  taken  annually;  and  finally,  we  have  no 
authentic  evidence  that  the  polar  bear  has  ever  been  found 
south  of  Behring  Strait. 

The  country  of  Alaska  comprises  two  climatic  regions 
which  difier  as  widely  as  Labrador  and  South  Carolina  in 
their  winter  tempeiuture.     One  contains  the  mainland  north 


A  WINTBE'S  day  in  the  YUKON  TERRITORY.     219 

of  the  peninsula  of  Aliaska  and  the  islands  north  of  the  St. 
Matthew  group.  The  other  includes  the  coast  and  islands 
south  and  east  of  Kadiak,  while  the  Aleutian  Islands,  with 
the  group  of  St.  Paul  and  St.  George,  are  somewhat^inter- 
mediate,  being  nearly  as  warm  as  the  southern  or  Sitkan 
district,  and  much  less  rainy. 

This  article  will  refer  only  to  the  northern  district,  which 
I  have  called  the  Yukon  Territory.  This  is  the  coldest  and 
most  inhospitable  part  of  the  country,  yet  it  is  far  from 
resembling  Labrador  or  Greenland,  although  the  winter 
weather  may  occasionally  be  very  cold.  The  summers  are 
much  warmer  and  more  pleasant  than  in  Labrador,  and  may 
be  compared  to  those  of  the  Red  Kiver  district  of  the  Hud- 
son Bay  Territory. 

At  the  first  thought  one  would  hardly  suppose  that  a  natu- 
ralist would  find  much  to  do  in  the  depth  of  winter,  unless 
it  were  to  sit  by  his  great  Russian  oven  or  stove,  and  keep 
himself  warm.  I  would  invite  the  readers  of  the  Natu- 
ralist to  accompany  me  on  a  day's  tramp,  similar  to  many 
which  I  have  undertaken  without  such  pleasant  company, 
and  see  how  far  their  first  anticipations  will  be  realized. 

We  will  start  from  Ulokuk,  an  Indian  village  on  the  por- 
tage between  the  Yukon  and  Norton  Sound,  and  bring  up  at 
Unaloklik,  an  Eskimo  village  on  the  coast,  thirty  miles  away. 

We  clothe  ourselves  in  the  comfortable  costume  of  the 
country,  consisting  of  a  pair  of  warm  American  trousers ;  a 
deerskin  hunting  shirt  with  a  hood,  made  with  the  hair  on, 
trimmed  with  wolf  or  wolverine  skin,  and  fastened  by  a  belt 
around  the  waist ;  a  good  mink-skin  cap  with  ear-lappets ;  a 
pair  of  otter-skin  mittens ;  and  a  pair  of  long  Indian  deerskin 
boots  with  soles  of  sealskin,  tied  around  the  ankle  and  just 
below  the  knee,  and  having  a  bunch  of  straw  below  the  foot 
to  keep  it  warm,  dry,  and  safe  from  contusions.  0\ir  equip- 
ment will  consist  of  our  guns,  a  geological  hammer,  a  good 
sheath-knife,  a  small  axe,  teakettle,  bag  of  biscuit  and  dry 
salmon,  and  a  pair  of  long  snowshoes  apiece. 


220  A  winter's   day   in   the   YUKON  TERRITORY. 

We  start  at  ten  o'clock,  just  as  the  December  sun  emerges 
from  the  southern  hills  and  casts  its  welcome  beams  over  the 
broad  tundra  covered  with  snow,  fleckiug  the  green  spruce 
boughs  with  golden  touches  of  light,  and  giving  a  mellow 
tone  to  the  clear  blue  sky.  The  temperature  may  be  about 
twenty  below  zero,  but  in  our  warm  deerskin  dresses,  we 
feel  that  it  is  only  just  cold  enough  to  make  the  blood  leap 
and  the  nerves  thrill  with  the  excitement  of  a  brisk  walk, 
skimming  over  the  snow  with  our  light  snowshoes. 

We  just  clear  the  alder  bushes  around  the  village  when  a 
chirp  and  twitter  in  a  clump  of  willows  attract  our  attention. 
We  look,  and  see  a  flock  of  the  Pine  Grosbeaks  (Pinicola  enu-- 
deatx>r)^  brilliant  in  scarlet  and  yellow,  rifling  the  willows  of 
their  buds,  carefully  rejecting  the  scales  and  eating  only  the 
tender  green  hearts  of  the  young  buds.  They  look  so  pretty 
as  they  ruflie  their  scarlet  coats,  defying  the  winter  frost, 
fat  and  comfortable  with  abundance  of  food,  that  we  hesitate 
before  we  bring  our  guns  to  bear  on  them,  and  reluctantly 
add  half  a  dozen  members  of  the  happy  family  to  our  col- 
lecting bag,  with  a  single  shot.  They  have  the  large  bill 
which  has  been  thought  to  distinguish  the  European  form 
alone,  and  cannot  be  distinguished  from  typical  specimens 
of  the  enudeator.  They  are  among  the  most  common  of  the 
Yukon  birds  in  winter,  and  though  quite  small  are  usually 
fat  and  tender,  and  not  to  be  despised  in  a  pie.  Leaving 
the  banks  of  the  Ulokuk  River  we  strike  across  an  undu- 
lating prairie  called  tundra  by  the  Russians,  and  only  marked 
by  clumps  of  dwarf  willow  (Salix  Richardsonii) ^  which 
project  above  the  snow.  Here  and  there  a  larch  shakes  its 
myriads  of  little  cones  in  the  passing  breeze,  or  a  small 
spruce  shows  its  green  tips ;  but  the  large  spruce,  poplar, 
willow  and  birch,  prefer  the  vicinity  of  the  river.  The 
snow-covered  Ulokuk  Hills  smooth,  serene  and  beautiful, 
bear  up  the  reluctant  sun,  which  seems  loth  to  part  from  the 
horizon.  Does  the  snow  move?  or  what  is  that  by  yonder 
willow  brush?    We  are  answered  as  a  covey  of  the  exquisite 


A  winter's  day  in  the  YUKON  TERRITORY,     221 

Snow  Grouse  or  Ptarmigan  (Lagopus  albus)  rise  with  a 
whirr,  showing  their  black  tail-feathers  as  they  seek  a 
more  retired  spot.  Scarcely  to  bo  distinguished  from  the 
snoWy  nor  less  immaculate,  we  must  be  more  sharply  on  the 
lookout  if  we  would  secure  a  brace  next  time.  They  are 
better  to  look  at  than  to  eat ;  for  the  dark  colored  flesh  is 
dry  and  tasteless,  and  if  we  want  specimens  the  better  plan 
is  to  apply  to  the  next  Indian  girl  we  meet.  She,  for  a 
needle  apiece,  will  furnish  us  with  birds  caught  in  snares, 
without  a  feather  ruffled,  or  a  speck  on  their  shining  coats. 
Their  legs  and  feet  are  feathered  down  to  the  toes,  and  other 
stockings  would  be  superfluous  were  we  ourselves  so  warmly 
clad. 

As  we  near  a  clump  of  poplars  on  a  bend  in  the  river,  we 
see  that  the  bushes  are  alive  with  tiny  birds.  The  Black 
Cap  (Panis  atricapillus)  and  the  Hudson  Bay  Titmouse  (P. 
Hud&onicus) ,  chatter  to  each  other  from  the  swaj'ing  twigs 
of  alder,  and  a  little  farther  on  is  a  countless  flock  of  the 
Rosy  Crowned  Sparrow  (^giothus  linaria)  bold  and  saucy, 
with  their  crimson  crests  and  rosy  bosoms  setting  off  their 
graceful  shapes  and  lively  motions. 

Chip  I  chip  I  chee  1  cries  an  angry  Squirrel  {Sciurua  Hud- 
soniiLs)  from  yonder  poplar;  he  evidently  wants  to  know 
why  we  intrude  on  his  privacy  with  guns  and  things,  mak- 
ing ourselves  disagreeable.  A  look,  and  he  darts  behind  the 
trunk,  only  showing  his  head  and  ears,  repeating  his  angry 
cry  in  apparent  astonishment  at  our  obstinacy  in  remaining. 
Finding  us  unmoved  *'a  change  comes  o'er  the  spirit  of  his 
dreams"  and  he  seeks  refuge  in  the  deserted  nest  of  a 
Golden- winged  Woodpecker  {Colaptes  auratus),  and  waits 
for  better  times.  You  ask  what  is  yonder  broad  trail  in  the 
snow ;  too  small  for  a  bear,  too  broad  and  heavy  for  a  fox. 
It  is  the  track  of  a  Wolverine  (Gido  luscus)^  known  here  by 
the  more  euphonic  name  of  rossamorga.  The  Indians  tell 
strange  stories  of  his  cunning,  his  perseverence  in  desti'oying 
their  traps,  and  his  almost  human  powers  of  reflection.    The 


222       A  winter's  day  in  the  yukon  territory. 

Hudson  Bay  men  say  the  same,  but  between  you  and  I, 
I  don't  believe  half  of  it.  Mr,  Carcajou  is  very  intelligent^ 
no  doubt,  but  he  takes  the  place  of  snakes  in  the  legends  of 
the  northern  trapper,  and  we  all  know  what  stories  are  told 
about  snakes,  in  more  southern  latitudes. 

The  sun,  though  very  low,  is  at  his  noonday  elevation, 
and  a  short  time  will  be  devoted  with  satisfaction  to  lunch. 
One  takes  the  axe  and  starts  for  a  dead  dry  spruce  tree,  an- 
other scrapes  away  the  snow  from  a  hillock,  with  his  snow- 
shoe.  There  we  see  in  the  depth  of  winter  bright  green 
mosses  and  other  small  plants,  with  the  partridge  berrj'  and 
cranberry  vines  loaded  with  berries  beneath  the  snow.  The 
white  fleecy  covering  defends  them  from  the  frost,  and  when 
the  snow  melts  in  the  spring  they  have  only  to  put  forth 
their  blossoms  and  continue  to  grow,  under  the  warm  sun 
which  endures  almost  till  midnight  in  May  and  June. 

Here  comes  the  wood,  and  we  proceed  to  make  a  white 
man's  fire,  which  is  built  with  the  sticks  laid  i)arallel  in  layers 
which  are  at  right  angles  to  one  another.  This  makes  a  flat 
top,  and  taking  a  dry  stick  we  whittle  a  few  shavings,  which 
are  put  on  top  of  the  pile.  Then  with  a  flint  and  steel  (for 
matches  are  luxuries  in  the  Yukon  Territory)  wo  light  a  bit 
of  punk,  and  with  our  breath  as  a  bellows,  in  a  few  moments 
we  have  a  light  with  which  we  proceed  to  kindle  the  fire, 
putting  it  on  top  of  the  pile,  so  that  the  air  having  free 
access,  it  soon  produces  a  cheerful  blaze.  An  Indian  builds 
his  fire  conically,  which  is  much  less  convenient  and  takes 
much  longer  to  boil  the  kettle.  It  is  a  work  of  time  and 
difliculty  to  melt  enough  snow  to  fill  the  teakettle,  and 
taking  the  axe,  we  go  yonder  where  a  low,  smooth  depres- 
sion in  the  snow  indicates  the  position  of  what  was  a  pool  of 
water.  A  few  minutes  vigorous  chopping  and  the  welcome 
fluid  gushes  up  and  rapidly  overflows  the  surface  of  the  ice 
where  we  have  scraped  away  the  snow.  It  is  full  of  little 
red  crustaceans,  like  sand  fleas,  etc.,  among  which  we  may 
distinguish  members  of  the  genus  Cyclops,  giants  of  their 


A  winter's  day  in  the  YUKON  TERRITORY.     223 

kind,  carrying  two  pear-shaped  bunches  of  eggs,  one 
on  each  side  of  the  tail.  We  throw  a  double  handful  of 
snow  into  the  hole  to  filter  out  these  unbidden  guests,  and 
filling  the  teakettle  return  to  the  bivouac  where  the  others 
are  broiling  pieces  of  dry  salmon  on  sticks  by  the  fire.  As 
soon  as  the  kettle  boils  we  put  in  the  tea  and  let  it  boil  up 
once,  and  our  meal  is  ready.  Tin  cups  in  hand,  we  enjoy 
the  grateful  and  refreshing  beverage,  which  is  worth  more  to 
the  traveller  in  the  north  than  any  amount  of  whiskey.  In- 
deed the  latter  is  worse  than  worthless,  and  no  old  traveller 
would  wish  to  have  it  along  with  him.  After  tea,  biscuit 
and  salmon  are  discussed,  the  one  other  luxury  of  voyageur 
life  is  enjoyed,  namely,  a  cheerful  pipe  of  tobacco,  and  re- 
placing our  pipes  in  our  "fire-bags"  we  continue  on  our  way. 
By  keeping  a  sharp  lookout  it  is  more  than  probable  that  we 
shall  see  a  Marten  {Mustela  Americana)  seeking  refuge  in 
some  bushy  spruce  as  we  pass  by.  Their  tracks  are  every- 
where, and  they  often  disturb  the  traveller's  cache  of  dry 
salmon  used  for  dog  feed,  and  left  by  the  roadside  until  his 
return. 

We  keep  on  our  way  through  thick  spruce  groves  where 
the  trees  may  average  eighteen  inches  in  diameter  and  forty 
feet  high.  In  the  interior,  on  the  Yukon,  they  grow  much 
larger,  but  all  the  trees  diminish  in  size  and  abundance  as 
we  approach  the  coast,  where  there  are  none  at  all.  The 
Aspen  {Pcjyulus  tremuloides) ^  the  Spruce  (Abies  alba),  the 
Poplar  {Pqpulits  balsamifera) ,  and  the  Birch  {Betula  glan-- 
cZtxto^a),  are  the  largest  and  most  prominent  trees.  There 
are  no  true  pines,  though  the  settlers  call  the  spruce  "pine." 
Leaving  the  bank  as  we  reach  the  river  we  continue  on  our 
way  upon  the  ice.  Although  the  thermometer  may  have  been 
as  low  as  fifty  below  zero  since  August,  yet  you  will  always 
find  open  places  in  the  ice.  These  are  formed  by  the  rapid 
current  or  by  warm  springs.  At  Ulokuk  there  are  a  number 
of  the  latter,  which  keep  a  large  space  in  the  river  open  all 
the  year  round.     Over  this  water  a  cloud,  like  steam,  arises 


224       A  winter's  day  in  the  yukon  territory. 

in  very  cold  weather.  Myriads  of  fish,  particularly  a  delic- 
ious salmon-trout,  and  a  small  cyprinoid  fish,  frequent  such 
localities.  One  would  hardly  look  for  insects  in  this  winter 
weather,  yet  .by  watching  the  snow  on  the  river  while 
the  sun  shines  brightly,  a  small,  shining,  pointed  creature, 
like  a  Podura^  may  be  seen  gliding  between  the  particles  of 
snow,  and  immediately  disappearing  should  a  cloud  pass 
over  the  sun.  In  September  I  have  found  wooly  caterpillars, 
the  larvse  of  arctians^  crawling  on  the  snow,  while  the  at- 
mosphere was  even  below  zero ;  and  I  once  found  (October 
20th)  the  caterpillar  of  Vanessa  Antiopa  in  the  same  manner, 
alive ;  and  on  yet  another  occasion  I  shot  a  whiskey  jack,  or 
Canada  jay  {Perisoreus  Canadensis) yyv\i\i  one  just  killed,  in 
his  mouth.  A  little  way  farther  on,  a  bluff  of  dark  colored 
sandstone  fronts  the  river.  Here  our  hammers  may  well  be 
employed,  and  with  care  fine  specimens  of  fossil  leaves  may 
be  obtained.  These  are  usually  Sycamores  {Platanus)^  but 
others  can  be  found  by  searching  for  them,  and  in  Cook's 
Inlet  some  fifty  species  have  been  collected,  some  of  which 
are  common  to  Greenland,  Spitzbergen,  Northern  Europe 
and  Siberia,  showing  that  there  was  a  time  when  this  part  of 
the  world  was  covered  with  a  rich  and  verdant  forest,  and 
the  temperature  was  about  that  of  Virginia.  This  was  be- 
fore the  advent  of  the  hairy  elephant,  who  lived  in  colder 
times.  It  grew  at  last  too  cold  for  him,  however,  and  his 
bones  and  teeth  may  be  found  scattered  over  the  country,  on 
the  surface,  and  usually  much  decayed.  His  remains  have 
been  found  imbedded  in  the  masses  of  ice  (not  glaciers) 
which  fringe  the  Siberian  coasts,  and  in  a  perfect  state  of 
preservation,  as  if  he  had  wandered  into  an  enormous  re- 
frigerator and  been  frozen  into  it. 

You  will  look  in  vain  here  for  the  familiar  drift  boulders, 
so  common  in  the  stone  fences  of  New  England.  What  was 
going  on  during  the  glacial  period  in  the  Yukon  Territory 
is  a  mystery.  There  were  no  glaciers  there,  for  their  traces 
are  entirely  wanting. 


A   FEW   WORDS    ABOUT   MOTHS.  225 

The  sun  is  now  on  the  point  of  retiring  for  the  night,  al- 
though it  is  barely  three  o'clock,  and  the  sight  of  the  tall 
caches,  like  corncribs,  which  mark  the  position  of  the  village 
for  which  we  are  bound,  is  not  unwelcome ;  for  thirty  miles 
on  snowshoes  is  a  good  day's  tramp,  especially  for  the  first 
time.  In  a  few  minutes  we  are  seated  in  one  of  the  com- 
fortable underground  houses  and  enjoying  the  hospitality  of 
the  friendly  Eskimo.  Perhaps  some  summer's  day,  reader, 
we  will  try  our  luck  together  again. 


A  FEW  WORDS  ABOUT  MOTHS. 

BT  A.  S.   PACKARD,  JR. 

The  opportunity  of  copying  a  number  of  colored  figures  by 
Abbot,  hitherto  unpublished,  leads  me  to  say  a  few  words 
regarding  our  native  moths.  The  Lepidoptera,  both  butter- 
flies and  moths  (especially  the  former,  from  their  constant 
presence  by  day)  from  their  beauty  and  grace,  have  always 
been  the  favorites  among  amateur  entomologists,  and  the 
rarest  and  most  costly  works  have  been  published  in  which 
their  forms  and  gorgeous  colors  are  represented  in  the  best 
style  of  natural  history  art.  We  need  only  mention  the 
folio  volume  of  Madam  Merian  of  the  last  century,  Harris's 
Aurelian,  the  works  of  Cramer,  Stoll,  Drury,  Hiibner,  Hors- 
field,  Doubleday  and  Westwood,  and  several  others,  as  com- 
prising the  most  luxurious  and  costly  entomological  works. 

Near  the  dose  of  the  last  century,  John  Abbot  went  from 
London  and  spent  several  years  in  Georgia,  rearing  the 
larger  and  more  showy  butterflies  and  moths,  and  painting 
them  in  the  larva,  chrysalis  and  adult,  or  imago,  stage. 
These  drawings  he  sent  to  London  to  be  sold.  Many  of  them 
were  collected  by  Sir  James  Edward  Smith,  and  published 
under  the  title  of  "The  Natural  History  of  the  Rarer  Lepi- 

AMKR.  NATURALIST,  VOL.  rV.  29 


226  A  PEW  WORDS  ABOUT  MOTHS. 

dopterous  Insects  of  Georgia,  collected  from  the  Observa- 
tions of  John  Abbot,  with  the  Plants  on  which  they  Feed." 
London,  1797.  2  vols.,  fol.  Besides  these  two  rare  vol- 
umes there  are  sixteen  folio  volumes  of  drawings  by  Abbot 
in  the  Library  of  the  British  Museum.  The  plate  given  with 
this  article  is  selected  from  a  thick  folio  volume  of  similar 
drawings  presented  by  Dr.  J.  E.  Gray  of  the  British  Mu- 
seum to  Professor  Asa  Gray,  to  whose  kindness  we  are  in- 
debted for  an  opportunity  of  figuring  the  transformations 
before  unknown  of  over  a  dozen  moths,  whose  names  are 
given,  as  far  as  possible  in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge, 
in  the  explanation  of  the  plate. 

The  study  of  insects  possesses  most  of  its  interest  when 
we  observe  their  habits  and  transformations.  Catei^illars 
are  always  to  be  found,  and  with  a  little  practice  are 
easy  to  raise,  and  we  would  advise  any  one  desirous  of  be- 
ginning the  study  of  insects  to  take  up  the  butterflies  and 
moths.  They  are  perhaps  easier  to  study  than  any  other 
group  of  insects,  and  are  more  ornamental  in  the  cabinet. 
As  a  scientific  study  we  would  recommend  it  to  ladies  as 
next  to  botany  in  interest  and  the  ease  in  which  specimens 
may  be  collected  and  examined.  The  example  of  Madam 
Merian,  and  several  ladies  in  this  country  who  have  greatly 
aided  science  by  their  well  filled  cabinets,  and  thorough  and 
critical  knowledge  of  the  various  species  and  their  transform- 
ations, is  an  earnest  of  what  may  be  expected  from  their 
followers.  Though  the  moths  are  easy  to  study  compared 
with  the  bees,  flies,  beetles  and  bugs,  and  neuroptera,  yet 
many  questions  of  great  interest  in  philosophical  entomology 
have  been  answered  by  our  knowledge  of  their  structure  and 
mode  of  growth.  The  great  works  of  Herold  on  the  evolu- 
tion of  a  catei^illar;  of  Lyonet  on  the  anatomy  of  the 
Cossus;  of  Newport  on  that  of  the  Sphinx,  both  in  their 
various  stages;  and  of  Siebold  on  the  parthenogenesis  of 
insects,  especially  of  Psyche  hdix^  are  proofs  that  the  moths 
have  engaged  some  of  the  master  minds  in  science. 


A  FEW   WORDS   ABOUT  MOTHS.  227 

The  study  of  the  transformations  of  the  moths  is  also  of 
great  importance  to  one  who  would  acquaint  himself  with  the 
questions  concerning  the  growth  and  metamorphosis  and  ori- 
gin of  animals.  We  should  remember  that  the  very  words 
" metamorphosis*'  and  "transformation,**  now  so  generally  ap- 
plied to  other  groups  of  animals  and  used  in  philosophical 
botany,  were  first  suggested  by  those  who  observed  that 
the  moth  and  butterfly  attain  their  maturity  only  by  passing 
through  wonderful  changes  of  form  and  modes  of  life. 

The  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  all  animals  pass  through 
some  sort  of  a  metamorphosis  is  very  recent  in  physiology. 
Moreover  the  fact  that  these  morphological  eras  in  the  life 
of  an  individual  animal  accord  most  unerringly  with  the  gra- 
dation of  forms  in  the  tj-pe  of  which  it  is  a  member,  was  the 
discovery  of  the  eminent  physiologist  Von  Baer.  Up  to  this 
time  the  true  significance  of  the  luxuriance  and  diversity  of 
larval  forms  had  never  seriously  engaged  the  attention  of 
systematists  in  entomology. 

What  can  possibly  be  the  meaning  of  all  this  putting  on 
and  taking  off  of  caterpillar  habilaments,  or  in  other  words, 
the  process  of  moulting,  with  the  frequent  changes  in  orna- 
mentation, and  the  seeming  fastidiousness  and  queer  fancies 
and  strange  conceits  of  these  young  and  giddy  insects  seem 
hidden  and  mysterious  to  human  observation.  Indeed,  few 
care  to  spend  the  time  and  trouble  necessary  to  observe  the 
insect  through  its  transformations;  and  that  done,  if  only 
the  larva  of  the  perfect  insect  can  be  identified  and  its 
form  sketched  how  much  was  gained  I  A  truthful  and  cir- 
cumstantial biography  in  all  its  relations  of  a  single  insect 
has  yet  to  be  written. 

We  should  also  apply  our  knowledge  of  the  larval  forms 
of  insects  to  the  details  of  their  classification  into  families  and 
genera,  constantly  collating  our  knowledge  of  the  early 
stages  with  the  structural  relations  that  accompany  them  in 
the  perfect  state. 

The  simple  form  of  the  caterpillar  seems  to  be  a  concen- 


228  A   FEW  WORDS   ABOUT   MOTHS. 

tration  of  the  characters  of  the  perfect  insect,  and  presents 
easy  characters  by  which  to  distinguish  the  minor  groups ; 
and  the  relative  rank  of  the  higher  divisions  will  only  be 
definitely  settled  when  their  forms  and  methods  of  transform- 
ation are  thoroughly  known.  Thus,  for  example,  in  two 
groups  of  the  large  Attacus-like  moths,  which  are  so  amply 
illustrated  in  Dr.  Harris's  "Treatise  on  Insects  Injurious  to 
Vegetation ;"  if  we  take  the  diflTerent  forms  of  the  caterpillars 
of  the  Tau  moth  of  Europe,  which  are  figured  by  Godart  and 
Duponchel,  we  find  that  the  very  young  larva  has  four  horn- 
like processes  on  the  front,  and  four  on  the  back  part  of  the 
body.  The  full  grown  larva  of  the  Regalis  moth,  of  the 
Southern  states,  is  very  similarly  ornamented.  It  is  an  em- 
bryonic form,  and  therefore  inferior  in  rank  to  the  Tau  moth. 
Multiply  these  horns  over  the  surface  of  the  body,  lessen 
their  size,  and  crown  them  with  hairs,  and  we  have  our  lo 
moth,  so  destructive  to  com.  Now  take  off  the  hairs,  elong- 
ating and  thinning  out  the  tubercles,  and  make  up  the  loss  by 
the  increased  size  of  the  worm,  and  we  have  the  caterpillar 
of  our  common  Cecropia  moth.  Again,  remove  the  naked 
tubercles  almost  wholly,  smooth  off  the  surface  of  the  body, 
and  contract  its  length,  thus  giving  a  greater  convexity  and 
angularity  to  the  rings,  and  we  have  before  us  the  larva  of 
the  stately  Luna  moth  that  tops  this  royal  family.  Here  are 
certain  criteria  for  placing  these  insects  before  our  minds  in 
the  order  that  nature  has  placed  them.  We  have  here  cer- 
tain facts  for  determining  which  of  these  three  insects  is 
highest  and  which  lowest  in  the  scale,  when  we  see  the  larva 
of  the  Luna  moth  throwing  off  successively  the  lo  and  Ce- 
cropia forms  to  take  on  its  own  higher  features.  So  that 
there  is  a  meaning  in  all  this  shifting  of  insect  toggery. 

This  is  but  an  example  of  the  many  ways  in  which  both 
pleasure  and  mental  profit  may  be  realized  from  the 
thoughtful  study  of  caterpillar  life. 

In  collecting  butterflies  and  moths  for  cabinet  specimens, 
one  needs  a  gauze  net  a  foot  and  half  deep,  with  the  wire 


r   r 


A  FEW  WORDS   ABOC7T   MOTHS.  229 

frame  a  foot  iu  diameter;  a  bottle  coutaining  a  parcel  of 
cyanide  of  potassium  gummed  on  the  side,  in  which  to  kill 
the  moths,  which  should  at  once  be  pinned  in  a  cork-lined 
collecting  box  carried  in  the  coat  pocket.  The  captures 
should  be  spread  and  dried  on  a  grooved  setting  board,  and 
a  cabinet  formed  of  cork-lined  boxes  or  drawers ;  or  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  cork,  frames  with  paper  tightly  stretched  over 
them  may  be  used,  or  corn,  or  palm-pith.  Caterpillars  should 
be  preserved  in  spirits,  or  glycerine  with  a  little  spirits,  or 
strong  salt  and  water,  while  some  ingeniously  empty  the 
skins  and  inflate  them  over  a  flame  so  that  they  may  be 
pinned  by  the  side  of  the  adult. 


KXPLANATION  OF  PLATE  2. 

Fig.  1.  Eustixis  pupula  Habner,  female;   la,  larva,  1&,  pnpa.    Feeds  on 

Sideronytum  tenax. 
Fig.  2.  Ccslodasya  higuttatus  Pack.,  male;  2a,  larva;  8a,  pupa.    Feeds  on 

Ipomea  coccinea. 
Fig.  3.  DryopteriSy  probably  nndescribed,  female;  3a,  larva;  85,  pnpa. 

Feeds  on  Viburnum  nudum. 
Fig.  4.  Acontia  metallica  Grote,  male;   4a,  larva;  46,  pupa.    Feeds  on 

Hibiscus  palustris. 
Fig.  5.  Homqptera  edusa  (Drury).    5a,  larva;   56,  pupa.    The  plant  on 

which  it  feeds  is  not  named. 
Fig.  6.  Hyperetis,  species  not  known,  female;  6a,  larva;  66,  pupa.    Feeds 

on  a  species  of  Azalea. 
Fig.  7.  Boarmia,  species  not  known,  female;  76,  larva;  7a,  pupa.    Feeds 

on  Helenium. 
Ffg.  S.  Acidalia,  species  unknown.    8a,  larva;  86,  pupa.    Feeds  on  7Vi7- 

Hum. 
Fig.  9.  fferminia,   species    not    identified,  male;    9a,  larva;    96,  pupa. 

Feeds  on  Hhexia  mariana. 
Fig.  10.  Helia  cemulalis  (Habner)?  female;  10a,  larva;  106,  pupa.    Feeds 
•  on  Phlox  speciosa. 
Fig.  11.  An  unknown  species  of  PhalcenidaSt  male;  11a,  larva;  116,  pupa. 

Feeds  on  Coreopsis. 
Fig.  12.  A  species  of  Botys,  male;    12a,  larva;    126,  pupa.    Feeds  on 

Ipomea. 
Fig.  18.  A  species  of  Botys^  female ;  13a,  larva ;  186,  pupa.    Feeds  on  a 

species  of  Cfrotalaria. 


REVIEWS. 


Modern  Ideas  of  DEitrvATiON.*  —  This  felicitous  title  heads  an  equally 
expressive  and  concise  summary  of  the  various  theories  on  the  origin  of 
species,  treated  by  the  strong  hand  of  an  accomplished  and  veteran 
observer. 

Professor  Dawson  recognizes  that  Darwin  has  given  form  and  cohe- 
rency to  researches  upon  the  origin  of  species,  but  omits  one  very  impor- 
tant consideration,  to  which  we  think  the  greatest  effect  of  his  book  is  due. 
The  novel  and  exact  methods  of  investigation,  the  analytical  character 
of  the  book  powerfully  Influenced  a  much  larger  class  of  minds  than 
those  who  heartily  accepted  the  theory  of  a  struggle  for  existence.  The 
doctrine  of  natural  selection  may  or  may  not  be  true,  but  the  mode  of 
study  which  it  iuaagurated  began  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  natural  sci- 
ences and  is  already  prodacing  results  of  great  value. 

The  author  begins  his  review  with  Professor  Owen,  bat  succeeds  no 
better  than  his  predecessors  In  the  same  field,  and  is  forced  finally  to  de- 
duce his  opinions  from  the  oracular  manner  in  which  that  distinguished 
anatomist  writes  of  certain  animals  as  being  <*made,"  *<  formed,"  or 
**  brought  forth."  Professor  Huxley  gets  a  well  deserved  and  very  sar- 
castic notice  for  his  late  attempt  to  prove  the  theory  of  derivation  by  <'a 
series  of  cleverly  arranged  transitions,"  between  some  of  the  larger  fossil 
reptiles  (Iguanodons)  and  the  ostriches.  "Yet,"  writes  Professor  Daw- 
son, "  he  could  not  have  placed  together  any  two  members  of  the  supposed 
series  without  convincing  any  naturalist  that  an  enormous  gap  had  to  be 
filled  between  them."  The  views  of  Darwin  are  summed  up  as  follows : 
"That  all  organized  beings  are  engaged  in  a  struggle  for  existence;  that 
in  this  struggle  certain  varieties  arise,  which,  being  better  suited  to  the 
conditions,  prosper  and  multiply  more  than  others :  that  this  amounts  to 
a  *  Natural  Selection,'  similar  in  kind  to  the  artificial  selection  of  breeders 
of  stock;  that  members  of  the  same  species  Isolated  fk'om  each  other 
and  subjected  to  struggles  of  different  kinds,  will  in  process  of  time 
become  specifically  distinct." 

Professor  Dawson  objects  to  this  theory  for  several  reasons.  The  most 
important  are  that  "  conditions  which  involve  a  struggle  for  existence 
are  found  by  experience  to  result  In  deterioration  and  final  extinction 
rather  than  improvement,  and  are  directly  opposed  to  those  employed  by 
breeders  for  their  purposes,"  and  that  the  possibilities  of  geological  his- 
tory are  exceeded  by  the  enormous  time  demanded  by  Darwin  for  accom- 
plishing the  developmental  change  fk-om  one  species  to  another. 

Seemingly  no  worse  or  more  contradictory  comparison  could  be  made 


'Modern  Ideas  of  Derlyatlon.   Bf  Prlnoipal  J.  W.  Dawson,  LL.D.   Canadian  Nataraliit, 
Vol.  It,  No.  3.   Jane,  1868. 


(280) 


BEYIEWS.  231 

than  that  between  the  laws  which  govern  the  transmission  of  character- 
istics among  races  perpetually  clashing  in  the  "  struggle  for  existence,** 
and  those  inDnencing  the  production  of  different  breeds  among  animals 
enjoying  the  protection  of  the  animal  breeder.  We,  however,  think  that 
Professor  Dawson  would  find  it  diiBcult  to  establish  the  truth  of  this 
very  important  proposition,  that  the  conditions  involving  a  struggle  for 
existence  necessarily  lead  to  extinction.  Darwin  himself  has  shown  that 
it  leads  to  the  extinction  of  those  races  which  are  not  possessed  of  cer- 
tain advantages,  and  that  it  cannot  according  to  physiological  laws  do 
otherwise  than  develop  in  a  higher  degree  those  points  or  changes  in  the 
favored  races  which  enabled  them  to  gain  their  first  victories  over  their 
weaker  brothers. 

The  last  objection,  with  regard  to  the  lapse  of  time  demanded  for  spe- 
cific changes  according  to  the  Darwinian  theory,  is  becoming  stronger 
every  day.  Deep  sea  dredgings  have  shown  us  that  computations  of 
geological  time,  based  upon  the  thickness  of  rocks,  and  the  presence  of 
different  assemblages  of  animals  or  faunas  in  successive  beds  are  not  to 
be  relied  upon.  These  explorations  have  detected  the  presence  of  veiy 
distinct  fauniB  dependent  upon  changes  of  temperature,  and  very  different 
rocks  in  the  course  of  formation  within  comparatively  narrow  limits. 
Thus  it  no  longer  becomes  necessary  to  account  for  the  change  ttom 
one  fossil  fauna  to  another,  as  we  pass  fk'om  one  stratum  or  bed  to  an- 
other in  geological  time,  by  imagining  the  lapse  of  ages  and  a  corres- 
ponding modification  of  the  organization  of  the  animals  included  in  the 
lowest  bed.  A  simple  change  of  fourteen  degrees  Fahrenheit  may  pos- 
sibly make  the  difference  between  a  limestone  composed  entirely  of 
organic  remains,  and  a  sandstone  containing  the  fossil  remnants  of  a 
totally  distinct  fauna,  though  both  of  these  may  have  been  composed  of 
contemporaneous  animals.* 

The  author's   remarks  upon  Professor  Cope*s  late  paper  before  the 

American  Association  so  well  expresses  the  substance  of  the  new  theory 

of  derivation  that  we  quote  them  in  Aill : 

**  Tlie  last  of  these  hypotheses  which  I  shall  notice,  and.  In  my  tIcw,  the  most  promlsinff  of 
tliem  all.  Is  one  whicli  has  recently  been  ably  advocated  by  Mr.  Edward  D.  Cope  In  a  memoir  on 
the  *  Orijcin  of  Genera,*  published  in  the  Proeeedin/cs  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  t  and 
which  is  based  on  the  well  known  analogy  between  embryonic  changes,  rank  in  the  xoologloal 
scale  and  geological  succession.  It  may  be  illustrated  by  the  remarkable  and  somewhat  start- 
ling fact,  that  while  no  authenticated  case  exists  of  animals  changing  fk'om  one  species  to  an- 
other, they  are  known  to  change  fVom  one  genus  or  family  to  another,  and  this  without  losing 
their  Individuality.  Professor  Dumeril,  of  Paris,  and  Professor  Marsh,  of  New  Haven,  have 
recently  directed  attention  to  the  fhct  that  species  of  Siredon^  reptiles  of  the  lakes  of  the 
Rucky  Mountains  of  Mexico,  and  which,  like  our  North  American  Meno&ranrhus^  retain  their 
gills  during  lUe,  when  kept  In  captivity  In  a  warmer  temperature  than  that  which  is  natural 
to  them,  lose  their  gills,  and  pass  Into  a  form  hitherto  regarded  as  of  a  different  genus  and 
family, — the  genut  Amblytioma.  In  this  case  we  may  either  suppose  that  the  Amblystoma, 
ander  onfitvorable  circumstances,  has  its  maturity  and  reproduction  prematurely  induced  be- 

*8ee  Keoent  Explorations  of  Deep  Sea  Fauna,  by  A.  E.  Verrill.   American  Joamal  of  Sol- 
enee  and  Art,  3d  series,  Janaary,  1870. 
tPblladeIpbia,188B. 


232  BEYIEWS. 

Ibre  It  has  loat  Ita  gills,  or  that  th6  SIredon  has,  ander  oertain  olroumstanees  the  capacity  to  hare 
iU  period  of  reproduction  arrested  until  it  has  gone  on  a  stage  flutlier  in  growth  and  has  lost 
Its  gills.  In  any  case  the  same  species— nay,  the  same  indlTldual— Is  capable  of  existing  in  a 
state  of  maturity  as  a  creature  half  flsli  and  half  reptile  in  regard  to  its  circulation,  or  in  a 
more  perfect  reptilian  state  in  which  it  breathes  solely  by  lungs.  Farther,  we  may  suppose 
conditions  of  the  earth^s  surface  in  which  there  would  only  be  Slredons  or  only  Amblystomas, 
and  a  change  in  these  conditions  Inducing  tlie  opposite  slate.  Here  we  have  fur  the  first  time 
actual  fkcts  on  which  to  ba«e  a  theory  of  development.  Tliese  facts  point  to  the  operation  of 
two  causes— first,  the  possible  Retardation  or  Acceleration  of  development,  and  secondly,  the 
action  of  outward  clixuaistauccs  on  the  organism  capable  of  tills  retardation  or  acceleration. 
We  here  substitute  fbr  the  tendency  to  vary  of  Owon*s  theory,  the  ascertained  ftict  of  repro- 
ductive retardation  or  accelerailou,  and  tor  the  struggle  for  existence,  the  action  of  changed 
physical  conditions,  and  for  the  question  as  to  the  change  of  one  species  into  another,  the 
change  of  the  same  species  ft-om  one  genus  into  another.  Farther,  Instead  of  vague  specula- 
tions as  to  possible  changes  of  allied  animals,  we  are  led  to  carelhl  consideration  of  the  em- 
bryonic changes  of  the  individual  animal,  and  as  to  the  differences  that  would  obtain  were  its 
development  accelerated  or  retarded.  We  can  thus  range  animals  In  genetic  series  within 
which  anatomical  characters  would  show  change  to  be  possible.  I  cannot  follow  tliese  series 
out  into  the  elaborate  lists  tabulated  by  Mr.  Cope,  but  may  proceed  to  notice  the  limitations 
which  his  views  put  tu  the  doctrine  of  derivation.  It  Is  obvious  that,  if  this  be  the  real  nature 
of  derivation  as  a  i>osslble  hypothesis,  then  derivation  must  follow  the  same  law  with  metar 
morphlsm  and  embryonic  development. 

Acoordlug  to  this  view,  also,  a  species  once  created  may  have  in  Itself  a  capacity  for  passing 
through  several  generic  forms,  constituting  a  cycle  wliich  ever  tends  to  return  into  itself,  or  to 
advance  and  recede  by  Mteps  more  or  less  abrupt  under  the  law  of  retardation  and  acceleration, 
combined  with  the  influence  of  external  circumstances.  Yet  the  dimeusions  of  the  orbit  of 
each  species  must  be  limited,  its  duration  in  time  must  also  be  limited,  and  its  capacity  to  pass 
into  a  really  new  species  must  still  be  a  point  suhJect  to  doubt,  but  open  to  anatomical  investi- 
gation and  inference.  As  already  hinted,  it  Is  a  most  important  point  of  this  theory,  that  when 
we  have  ascertained  the  series  of  embryonic  changes  of  any  animal,  we  have  thereby  ascer- 
tained its  possibilities  In  regard  to  accelerated  development.  Its  possibilities  in  regard  to  re- 
tarded development  may  be  inferred  by  similar  studies  of  animals  higher  in  the  scale.  Now,  if 
we  knew  the  embryonic  history  of  every  animal,  recent  and  fbssil,  in  its  anatomical  details, 
we  should  be  able  to  construct  out  of  this  a  table  of  possible  affiliation  of  animals,  and  should 
be  able  to  trace  our  existing  species  through  the  some  genera,  families,  orders  and  chuses  in 
which  they  mlglit  have  existed  in  geological  time,  and  to  predict  what  they  might  become  in 
time  still  to  come." 

This  theory  of  acceleration  we  have  also  shown  to  be  the  law  of 
growth*  among  the  Kautilolds  and  Ammonoids.  Thus  the  discoidal 
Nautili,  though  an  ancient  group,  do  not  accomplish  during  their  entire 
life,  from  the  Silurian  to  the  Tertiary,  such  extensive  changes  in  the 
septa  as  the  Clymenise  do  in  the  course  of  a  single  geological  epoch,  the 
Devonian.'  Each  species  of  this  group  adds  something  to  the  serial  com- 
plication of  the  lobes  and  cells  of  the  sutures  until  from  a  species  Cly^ 
menia  loeviyata,  Inseparable  generically  from  the  Nautlloids,  tlierc  is  pro- 
duced a  species,  Clymenia  pseudogoniatites,  which  is  a  true  Ammonoid. 

Tills  last  species  presenting  itself  to  the  geologist  suddenly  according 
to  the  usual  action  of  the  law  of  acceleration,  has  young  with  lateral 
lobes,  and  an  interuul  siphon  like  the  other  Clymenise,  but  both  the  young 
and  adult  have  the  abdominal  lobes  and  superior  lateral  cells  of  an  Am- 
monoid, as  well  as  the  more  Involute  whorls  of  that  order.  This  case  is 
precisely  parallel  to  that  of  the  growth  of  the  Siredon  salamander  into 

*On  the  Parallelism  betwf»en  the  Different  Stages  of  Utd  in  the  Individual  and  those  in  the 
entire  Qroup  of  the  MoUnseus  Order,  Tetrabranchiata.  By  A.  Hyatt.  Memoirs  Boston  Soci- 
ety of  Natural  History,  Vol.  1,  Parts,  1867. 


BEYIEWS.  233 

an  Amblystoma,  and  presents  itself  to  the  geologist  when  compared  to 
the  lower  Clymenise  in  the  same  way,  the  only  difference  being  that  In 
this  case  the  characteristics  of  a  different  order  of  animals  are  produced 
by  the  acceleration  of  the  growth,  instead  of  a  distinct  family  and  genus 
merely. 

Other  instances  are  brought  forward  in  the  memoir  referred  to  above 
which  show  the  action  of  the  law  of  acceleration,  when  applied  to  dif- 
ferent species,  and  since  then  other  observations  have  been  made  which 
demonstrate  with  equal  clearness  the  agency  of  the  law  of  acceleration 
in  the  production  of  varieties  and  even  of  individaal  differences. 

Thus  one  of  the  best  known  species  of  the  Lower  Lias,  Asteroeeras  (Am- 
monites) obtusum,  is  divisible  into  several  varieties.  For  the  sake,  how- 
ever, of  reducing  it  as  much  as  possible  we  will  eliminate  all  of  these  but 
three,  and  consider  only  the  English  specimens  Arom  one  locality,  Lyme 
Regis.  These  have  three  distinct  variations  of  form.  The  first  has  the 
ordinary  rounded  sides  and  abdomen,  with  very  broad  immature  keel  and 
exceedingly  shallow  channels,  while  the  pilm  (costse)  are  prominent  and 
round  off  evenly  at  either  end.  The  channels  appear  on  the  last  quarter  of 
the  third,  and  almost  immediately  attain  their  ultimate  adult  depth  and 
aspect  on  the  fourth  volution ;  the  second  has  the  same  peculiarities  in 
the  larger  number  of  individuals,  but  accelerates  them  by  adding  to  the 
depth  of  the  channels  and  the  height  of  the  keel  after  the  fourth  volution, 
producing  thereby  adults  with  deeper  cliannels  and  more  prominent  keels. 
There  are  different  degrees  of  this  acceleration  in  different  individuals, 
some  having  shallower  channels  than  others. 

The  third  variety  attains  the  adult  characteristics  of  the  most  advanced 
members  of  the  second  variety  on  the  fourth  whorl,  and  on  the  fifth, 
flattens  the  sides.  The  first  and  second  varieties  have  gibbous  or  rounded 
sides,  but  the  third  is  a  transitional  variety,  approximating  to  Asteroeeras 
stellare.  The  accelerations  show  themselves  also  in  the  development  of 
the  pilse ;  the  second  variety  ceasing  to  be  smooth  and  beginning  to  form 
these  lateral  projections  at  an  earlier  age  than  the  first,  and  the  latter 
forms  the  same  parts  at  an  earlier  age  than  in  the  first  variety. 

This  whole  progress  in  the  form  and  characteristics  of  parts  takes  place 
by  individual  accelerations.  Thus  in  the  first  variety  we  have  certain  in- 
dividuals which  remain  smooth  longer  than  others  which  nearly  equal  the 
rate  of  growth  observable  in  the  second  variety,  but  are  retained  in  the 
first  by  the  slower  development  of  the  keel  and  channels.  An  objection 
may  and  probably  will  be  made  to  this  view,  that  the  third  is  really  a  va- 
riety of  Asteroeeras  stellare^  and  does  not  belong  to  Asteroeeras  obtusum 
at  all.  This  alternative  would  be  even  more  favorable  to  the  theory 
here  advanced  than  that  given  above.  The  difference  is  less  in  all  re- 
spects between  the  third  variety  described  above  and  the  unquestionable 
Asteroeeras  obtusum,  than  between  the  former  and  Asteroeeras  stellare. 
Therefore  any  estimation  of  the  value  of  their  characteristics  which  would 
join  the  third  variety  to  the  latter  species  must  also  include  the  former 

AMBK.  NATURALIST,   VOL.  IV.  80 


234  REVIEWS. 

species  as  a  variety  under  the  same  name.  If  at  the  other  end  of  the  se- 
ries we  should  be  permitted  to  add  Ammonites  Turneri,  which  we  think 
will  perhaps  prove  to  be  merely  a  local  variety  of  A,  obttisumj  the  evi- 
dence becomes  additionally  strong.  This  variety,  or  species,  has  only  the 
faintest  marks  of  channel  grooves,  even  upon  the  first  quarter  of  the  sixth 
volution,  both  upon  the  shell  and  upon  the  cast,  and  in  the  typical  Tur- 
fieri  the  pilsB  at  this  age  run  nearly  to  the  base  of  the  keel.  The  septal 
proportions  and  outlines  of  the  lobes  and  cells  are  the  same  as  in  the 
typical  Asteroceras  obtuaum,  and  in  all  respects  it  is  similar  to  that  spe- 
cies, differing  only  in  the  later  or  slower  production  of  the  channels  and 
keel  and  in  its  somewhat  smaller  size. 

A  third  opinion  that  all  of  these  were  distinct  species,  may  be  answered 
first,  by  reference  to  the  accelerations  in  the  development  of  the  pilie  oc- 
curring between  the  different  individuals  of  the  first  variety,  which  in 
that  case  become  types  of  Varieties,  and,  also,  by  citing  other  species. 
Thus  one  species  of  a  lower  genus  Amiocertu  incipiens,  all  the  specimens 
of  which  are  from  one  locality,  fades  by  regular  and  inseparable  grada- 
tions from  specimens  whose  whorls  possess  no  channels  in  the  adult  to 
those  which  have  these  parts  better  defined  even  at  an  early  age  than  in 
the  adult  of  the  third  variety  described  above.  This  position  might  also 
farther  be  strengthened  by  showing  that  this  presence  or  absence  of  chan- 
nels becomes  in  the  Middle  Lias  of  such  importance  that  it  constitutes  a 
generic  distinction  in  the  family  group  {Hildoceratidce)  which  is  nearest 
allied  to  that  which  includes  the  species  referred  to  above,  the  family  of 
Discoceratidce  (Arietes).  Thus  Hildoceras  (Ammonites  btfrons  and  IVcU" 
cottii)  differs  from  Grammoceras  (Amm,  striatulus,  Amm.  Aalense^  etc.) 
principally  in  these  characteristics.* 

The  presence  or  absence  of  channels,  therefore,  or  any  change  of  form 
to  which  the  abdomen  may  be  subjected,  cannot,  to  use  the  terms  of  the 
modem  systematist,  be  considered  as  of  slight  importance  even  though 
we  find  them,  when  fli*st  introduced,  subject  to  simple  varietal  changes  in 
some  species. 

The  limits  of  a  review  do  not  permit  us  to  continue  this  part  of  the 
subject.  Leaving  many  similar  instances,  therefore,  to  appear  in  due 
course  of  publication,  we  will  pass  on  to  the  consideration  of  the  appli- 
cation of  the  theory  to  another  series  of  facts.  We  refer  to  the  changes 
which  take  place  during  the  old  age  of  the  individual  and  also  of  the 
group.  They  bear  directly  upon  that  portion  of  Professor  Dawson's  re- 
marks which  refer  to  the  possibility  of  determining  beforehand  the  future 
course  of  the  changes  of  a  group,  but  have  been  accidentally  passed  over 
in  silence  by  him.  He  has  also  given  Professor  Cope  the  undivided  credit 
of  discovering  the  law  of  acceleration,  whereas  the  memoir  we  have 
referred  to  above,  which  has  escaped  Professor  Dawson's  notice,  will  re- 
move all  doubt  that  the  aim  of  a  large  part  of  the  investigations  there 

Bulletin  of  tbe  Muwam  of  Compftratlye  Zoology,  Ko.  5,  p.  89. 


REVIEWS.  235 

recorded  is  identical  with  those  of  Professor  Cope's  more  elaborate  essay. 
We  have  no  desire  for  controversy  and  regard  scientific  claims  as  gener- 
ally speaking  not  worth  contending  for,  but  feel  that  silence,  In  the  present 
instance,  would  place  in  a  false  light  the  object  of  these  Investigations, 
and  vitiate  the  original  value  of  the  results  of  much  labor  not  yet  pub- 
lished. The  quotation  below  will  serve  to  Justify  these  remarks,  and  at 
the  same  time  bring  us  back  to  the  more  agreeable  and  legitimate  subject 
of  this  review. 

''This  law"  (of  acceleration)  *'  applied  to  such  groups  as  have  been 
mentioned,  produces  a  steady  upward  advance  of  the  complication.  The 
adult  difi'erences  of  the  individuals  or  species  being  absorbed  into  the 
yonng  of  succeeding  species ;  these  last  must  necessarily  add  to  them  by 
growth,  greater  differences  which  in  turn  become  embryonic,  and  so  on ; 
bnt  when  the  same  law  acts  upon  some  series  whose  individuals  alter  the 
shell  in  old  age,  precisely  the  reverse  occurs,  and  a  general  decline  takes 
place.  The  old  age  characteristics  in  due  course  of  time  or  structure, 
become  embryonic  and  finally  afi'ect  the  entire  aspect  of  the  higher  mem- 
bers of  the  series."  *  In  other  words  there  are  certain  degradational 
characteristics  first  found  in  the  old  age  of  the  shell,  which  are  inherited 
at  earlier  periods  by  species  standing  higher  in  the  series,  just  as  the 
adult  characteristics  are  inherited  by  them  in  the  young.  Thus  the  deg- 
radation and  ultimate  extinction  of  groups  of  animals  may  be  accounted 
for  by  the  law  of  acceleration  quite  as  accurately  as  their  rise  and  pro- 
gress in  organization. 

These  degradational  tendencies  bring  about  in  the  old  age  of  the  indi- 
vidual quite  a  close  resemblance  to  its  own  young,  t  and  in  the  group 
their  Inherited  Influence  may  be  traced  to  its  ultimate  results  In  the  pecu- 
liar unrolled  shells  of  the  Cretaceous  Ammonites,  which  are,  form  for 
form,  the  same  as  those  of  the  earlier  Nautiloids  in  the  older  formations. 
In  other  respects  also  the  aberrant  Ammonoids  of  the  Cretaceous  may  be 
shown  to  be  degraded  species;  In  their  simpler  septa  when  compared 
with  the  normal  formed  ammonites,  having  in  the  adult  only  the  six  lobes 
of  the  yonng,  and  in  their  ornamentation,  and  simple,  rounded,  keeless 
and  channelless  whorls. 

Thus  the  retardation  of  development  which  is  invoked  to  account  for 
the  tendency  of  species  to  return  to  forms  analogous  with  those  with 
which  they  began;  or,  in  other  words,  to  complete  cycles  either  as  a 
series  or  in  geological  time,  becomes  only  another  phase  of  the  law  of  ac- 
celeration. The  very  complete  analogy,  to  say  the  least,  which  exists 
between  the  life  of  a  group  and  that  of  an  individual  member  points  very 
decidedly  to  some  law  that  governs  alike  the  growth  and  decline  of  the 
individual  and  the  group  to  which  it  may  belong.  The  struggle  for  exist- 
ence may,  and  probably  does  as  well  as  physical  circumstances  strongly 
influence  the  action  of  this  law,  but  that  it  has  no  controlling  influence  is 

•  ^'On  the  Paralellisni,**  etc.,  p.  382. 

t  First  noticed  by  D'Orblgny.   Pal.  Fraoealse.   Terr.  Cretaoet  p.  881. 


236  BEYIEWS. 

proved,  we  think,  by  the  fkct  that  degradational  or  senile  tendencies  are 
inherited. 

In  this  connection  I  would  suggest  that  the  TurriUites  and  other  idlied 
spiral  shells,  will  ultimately  be  found  to  be  the  legitimate  descendants  of 
the  deformed  TurriUites  described  by  D'Orbigny  ftrom  the  Lower  Lias 
beds.  It  is  now  generally  acknowledged  by  European  writers  that  these 
forms  are  discoidal  ammonites  that  have  departed  ft-om  the  usual  mode 
of  growth  common  to  their  species,  and  instead  of  revolving  always  in 
the  same  plane  the  whorl  has  become  slightly  assymetrical,  and  thus  be- 
gun to  form  the  assymmetrical  spiral  of  the  genus  TurriUites.  This 
tendency  is  quite  common  with  the  septa  of  Ptiloceras  psilonotus  and 
other  species,  and  in  the  shell,  also,  but  is  so  faintly  expressed  that  it  is 
difficult  to  distinguish  ft'om  the  elTects  of  compression.  If  this  and  other 
instances  of  a  similar  kind  be  finally  substantiated  we  have  here  still  an- 
other application  of  the  law  of  acceleration  to  characteristics,  which 
naturalists  have  been  hitherto  accustomed  to  call  deformities. 

According  to  the  theory  of  natural  selection  only  favored  races  can 
prolong  their  existence  by  perpetually  Inheriting  the  advantages  of  their 
ancestors,  and  certainly  the  degradational  characteristics  as  displayed  in 
all  the  terminal  species  of  the  am  monoids  cannot  be  explained  in  this 
way.  Here  also  we  have  the  limitation  of  the  cycle  of  changes  or  varia- 
tions, of  which  a  species  or  form  may  be  supposed  to  be  capable,  at  least 
partially  accounted  for;  and  as  Professor  Dawson  and  others  have 
pointed  out,  the  theory  of  natural  selection  makes  no  provision  for  such 
restrictions.  Reversion  cannot  be  called  upon  to  explain  the  return  of 
the  Nautlloid  forms  In  the  Ammonolds  of  the  Cretaceous,  because  they 
show  the  efi*ect  of  traceable  inherited  characteristics  continually  aug- 
menting in  force,  and  because  these  are  senile  to  the  group,  and  are  no 
more  reversionary  than  the  old  age  of  the  individual  is  a  reversion  to  its 
own  younger  state.  They  are  accomplished  by  methods  opposed  to  the 
metamorphoses  occasioned  by  the  progress  of  the  group  In  structure  and 
by  growth  in  the  individual.  They  take  place  by  a  gradual  suppression 
or  atrophy  of  the  adult  characteristics  in  the  individual,  and  In  the  group, 
by  an  unrolling  of  the  closely  colled  and  deeply  involute  whorl  of  the 
Jurassic  Ammonites,  and  they  occupy  the  polar  extreme  of  structure  and 
life  in  both  cases. 

We  would  remark,  in  conclusion,  that  Professor  Dawson  does  not  wholly 
commit  himself  to  the  new  theory,  but  regards  it  as  **  holding  forth  the 
most  promising  line  of  investigation"  as  yet  advanced.  Though  the 
author  of  the  theory  In  common  with  Professor  Cope,  we  cannot  refuse  to 
endorse  Professor  Dawson*s  judgment  as  regards  this  decision  also.  The 
law  certainly  explains  much  which  has  been  hitherto  inexplicable,  but 
until  the  extent  to  which  it  may  be  modified  by  physical  causes,  and  per- 
haps natural  selection,  be  l\illy  understood,  an  unprejudiced  mind  cannot 
consider  It  as  capable  of  clearing  away  all  our  present  difficulties.  It 
gives  us,  perhaps  the  means  of  asserting  that  the  plasticity  of  organs 


i 


BEVIEW8.  237 

have  certain  limits ;  that  variations  can  arise  Arom  natnral  selection,  or 
physical  changes,  only  when  these  act  in  given  directions  and  for  a  given 
time,  after  the  expiration  of  which,  whether  in  the  individual  or  the 
group,  if  sudden  death  do  not  intervene,  all  changes  must  be  degrada- 
tional  in  character.  Physical  causes,  and  the  struggle  for  existence  can 
no  longer  improve  the  vitiated  organization  when  It  has  passed  this 
period.  Its  death  is  decreed  as  certainly  as  its  line  of  developmental 
changes  must  have  been  before  it  was  born,  and  whatever  agency  other 
laws  may  have,  they  can  only  act  with  more  or  less  force  and  velocity  in 
these  predetermined  paths  of  progress  and  decline,  or  cat  them  short  by 
the  destruction  of  the  organization.  —  A.  Htatt. 

The  Torrey  Botanical  Club,  which,  under  the  auspices  of  Its  Presi- 
dent and  Nestor,  meets  at  the  Herbarium  In  Columbia  College,  began 
with  the  year  to  issue  its  *'  Bulletin,"  in  monthly  numbers  of  four  pages 
each.  The  notices  and  memoranda  thus  issued  relate  chiefly  to  the  local 
flora  of  New  York,  which  is  the  special  charge  of  the  Club ;  but  matters 
of  more  than  local  interest  are  touched  upon,  making  it  well  worth  the 
attention  of  our  botanists  throughout  the  country.  For  example,  in  the 
February  number,  Mr.  Leggett,  the  editor,  explains  the  anomaly  of  LepU 
dium  Virginicfim  having  accumbent  cotyledons,  contrary  to  all  the  rest  of 
the  species,  showing  that  what  may  be  termed  the  petioles  of  the  flat 
cotyledons,  in  line  with  the  radicle,  and  in  which  the  bend  Is  made,  are  In 
the  position  answering  to  incumbent,  and  so  the  cotyledons  take  the  ac- 
cumbent position  by  a  twist  of  ninety  degrees.  The  '*  Bulletin  "  is  fur- 
nished, upon  application  to  the  editor,  224  East  Tenth  street.  New  York, 
for  a  dollar  a  year,  or  seven  copies  for  five  dollars. 

Fossil  Plants  from  the  West.*  —  This  report  closes  Dr.  Hayden's 
report  reviewed  by  us  In  March,  1870.  By  some  oversight  we  conftised  It 
with  a  former  paper  of  Professor  Newberry,  and  thus  passed  by  some 
of  the  most  important  results  of  the  explorations.  The  first  portion  is 
a  general  review  of  the  geolo^  of  North  America,  and  as  these  govern- 
ment reports,  notwithstanding  their  wide  distribution,  generally  have  but 
few  non-scientiflc  readers,  we  shall  republish  this  for  the  beneflt  of  our 
subscribers  In  some  succeeding  number. 

The  chapter  on  the  "  Cretaceous  Flora"  gives  a  concise  summary  of  the 
varlons  government  expeditions  which  have  made  collections  of  the 
plants  of  this  period.  The  conclusions  reached  are  Identical  with  those 
which  we  have  already  quoted  In  the  review  referred  to  above  in  March, 
1869,  page  41. 

Among  the  Miocene  plants  Dr.  Newberry  finds  Onoclea  sensibilis^  a 
species  undlstingulshable  either  from  the  living  forms  of  this  species  or 
those  found  In  Europe,  only  on  the  Island  of  Mull,  off  the  west  coast  of 
Scotland.  This  and  the  large  number  of  other  identical  miocene  species, 
lead  to  the  inference  that  North  America  and  Europe  were  connected  by 

*  Report  on  tbe  Cretaoeoas  tad  Tertiary  Plants.    By  Profeasor  J.  8.  Newberry. 


238  REVIEWS. 

an  intermediate  continent.  *'  If  this  Inference  should  be  confirmed  by 
ft2ture  observationSi  we  should  then  see  how  the  eocene  tropical  or  sub- 
tropical flora  of  Europe  was  crowded  off  the  stage  by  the  tropical  flora 
of  the  miocene,  which  latter  accompanying  a  depression  of  temperature, 
had  migrated  Arom  America,  while  the  eocene  flora  had  retreated  south 
and  east,  and  is  now  represented  by  the  living  Indo-Australian  flora, 
characterized  by  its  HakecB,  Dryandrece,  Eucalypti^  etc.,  etc.,  which  form 
so  conspicuous  an  element  in  the  eocene  flora  of  Europe."  Instances  in 
which  the  miocene  flora  occurs  on  the  McKenzie  River,  Disco  Island, 
Iceland,  and  the  Island  of  Mull  are  then  brought  forward  to  show  that 
this  land  connection  must  have  occurred  to  the  northward,  and  that  the 
country  was  then  in  possession  of  a  milder  climate  than  now  reigns  in 
the  same  latitude. 

In  discussing  the  causes  which  produced  thiR  difference  of  climate 
Professor  Newberry  gives  his  adherence  to  none  in  particular,  but  thinks 
that  the  deflection  of  the  Gulf  Stream  would  be  the  most  natural  method 
and  at  the  same  time  places  an  objection  in  the  path  of  the  astronomical 
theorists,  which  they  will  flnd  it  difficult  to  combat.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered by  our  readers  that  many  of  the  geologists  of  the  day  account  for 
the  former  presence  of  a  warm  climate  in  the  Arctic  region,  by  supposing 
that  the  earth  has,  in  former  times,  passed  through  a  warmer  region  in 
space.  This  cannot  be  assumed  to  be  the  cause  in  the  present  instance; 
for  any  "  cosmical  cause,  producing  a  general  elevation  of  temperature 
on  the  earth's  surface,  would  have  given  us  a  tropical  flora  on  the  Upper 
Missouri,  whereas  we  flnd  in  the  miocene  flora  there,  as  yet  no  tropical 
plants.*' 

Relations  of  the  Rocks  in  the  Vicinity  op  Boston.*  —  Professor 
Shaler  regards  all  the  syenites  of  this  viciuity  as  of  sedimentary  origin, 
and  rejects  the  old  theory  of  their  Plutonic  origin.  In  this  he  is  sup- 
portied  by  the  late  discoveries  of  the  Eozoon  in  this  vicinity,  and  by  the 
researches  of  Professor  T.  S terry  Hunt,  published  in  the  last  number  of 
the  "  American  Journal  of  Arts  and  Sciences."  The  section  of  the  rocks 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Quincy  is  described  as  consisting  of  a  layer  of 
quartzites  **to  the  north  of  the  Quincy  Syenite  Hills,  a  hidden  section  of 
about  three  hundred  feet  thickness,  and  the  Braintree  series  of  two  hun- 
dred feet.  Another  section  of  the  Chesnut  Hill  Reservoir  is  also  de- 
scribed, composed  of  Cambridge  slates  for  seven  hundred  feet,  Roxbury 
conglomerate  for  ten  feet,  thirty  feet  more  of  slate  and  conglomerate 
again  extending  to  the  edge  of  the  Charles  River  flats  in  Brighton,  where 
they  give  place  to  a  sandstone. 

*  Abstract  of  Some  Remarks  on  the  Relations  of  the  Rocks  In  the  Vlclolty  of  Boston.  By 
N.  8.  Shaler.    Proo.  Boston  Soc.  Nat.  Hist.,  vol.  xlil.    Dec.8,  lfiG9.    Pampb.,  pp.7. 


NATURAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 


-•©•- 


BOTANY. 

On  the  Fertilization  of  Grasses.  —In  gently  flowing  rivers  of  tropi- 
cal America  grow  many  fine  aqnatlc  grasses,  species  of  Luziola,  Oryza, 
Leersia,  etc.  The  following  note  is  from  my  Journal  under  date  of  De- 
cember, 1849,  when  threading  In  my  canoe  among  the  islands  of  the 
Trombetas :  —  *'  This  channel  was  lined  on  both  sides  by  a  beantlflil  grass 
—  a  species  of  Luziola  —  growing  in  deep  water,  and  standing  out  of  it 
two  or  three  feet.  The  large  male  flowers,  of  the  most  delicate  pink, 
streaked  with  deep  purple,  and  with  six  long  yellow  stamens  hanging  out 
of  them,  were  disposed  in  a  lax  terminal  panicle ;  while  the  slender  green 
female  flowers  grew  on  the  bristle-like  branches  of  much  smaller  panicles 
springing  ftom  the  inflated  sheaths  of  the  leaves  that  clothed  the  stem. 
As  the  Indians  disturbed  the  grassy  fringe  with  the  movement  of  their 
paddles,  the  pollen  fell  from  the  antlers  in  showers,"  and  would,  doubt- 
less, some  of  it,  attain  the  female  flowers  disposed  for  its  reception. 

A  parallel  case  to  the  above  is  that  of  the  common  Maize  (ZeaMays  L.), 
where  the  male  flowers  are  borne  in  a  long  terminal  raceme  or  panicle, 
and  the  female  flowers  are  densely  packed  on  spikes  springing  from  the 
leaf-axils.  Here  the  male  flowers  must  plainly  expand  before  the  pollen 
contained  in  their  anthers  can  be  shed  on  the  female  organs  below, 
whether  of  the  same  or  of  a  different  plant.  That  there  are  ft*equent 
cross-marriages  in  Maize  is  evidenced  by  the  numerous  varieties  in  culti- 
vation in  countries  where  it  is  a  staple  article  of  food,  as  in  the  Andes  of 
Ecuador,  where  nine  kinds,  varying  in  the  color  of  the  grain  (through 
white,  yellow,  and  brown,  to  black),  in  its  size,  consistence,  and  flavor, 
are  commonly  cultivated ;  besides  many  others  less  generally  known. 

In  Pharus  scaber  (H.  B.  K.)  another  tall  broad-leaved  grass,  the  spike- 
lets  stand  by  twos  on  the  spike  —  a  sessile  female  spikelet,  and  a  stalked 
male  spikelet. 

In  the  flne  forest  grasses  of  the  genus  Olyra,  whereof  some  species,  such 
as  0.  micrantha  (H.  B.  K.),  rise  to  ten  feet  in  height,  and  have  lanceolate 
leaves  above  three  inches  broad,  and  a  large  terminal  panicle,  with  capil- 
lary branches,  like  those  of  our  Aira  ccespUoaa,  it  is  the  lower  flowers 
that  are  male,  with  large  innate  (not  versatile)  anthers,  and  the  upper 
that  are  female,  with  two  large  stigmas,  that  are  either  dichotomously 
divided,  or  clad  with  branched  hairs,  thus  exposing  a  wider  surface  to 
the  access  of  the  pollen.  And  as  the  panicle  is  often  pendulous,  many  of 
the  male  flowers,  although  placed  lower  down  the  axis,  are  actually  sus- 
pended over  the  terminal  female  flowers. 

It  is  generally  to  be  remarked  of  declinous  grasses,  that  either  the  male 

(239) 


240  NATURAL   HISTORY   MISCELLANY. 

flowers  are  very  numerous,  as  in  Zea  Mays,  or  the  stamens  are  multiplied 
in  each  male  flower,  as  in  Fariana,  Leersia,  Guadua,  etc. ;  or  the  stigmatic 
apparatus  of  the  female  flowers  is  enlarged,  so  as  almost  to  insure  im- 
pregnation, as  in  Olyra  and  Trlpsacum. 

In  the  Bambusese  I  have  gathered,  belonging  to  the  genera  Guadaa, 
Merostachys,  and  Chusquea,  the  flowers  are  more  or  less  polygamous, 
and  the  stamens  of  the  male  flowers  often  doubled.  But  there  is  scarcely 
a  genus  in  the  whole  order  which  is  not  described  as  having  some  flowers 
by  abortion,  neuter  or  male,  and  especially  those  that  have  biflorous 
spikelets,  such  as  the  Faniceae.  Some  grasses,  of  normally  hermaphro- 
dite genera,  are  not  unfk*equent]y  truly  unisexual,  such  as  certain  species 
of  Andropogon.  I  have  occasionally  seen  panicles  of  Orthocladna  rari- 
Jiorus  (Nees),  a  grass  peculiar  to  the  Amazon,  quite  destitute  of  stamens, 
and  therefore  purely  female. 

To  come  home  to  our  own  country :  Is  all  the  pollen  wasted  that  a 
touch  or  a  breath  sets  ft'ee  fVom  the  flowers  of  grasses  In  such  abundance  ? 
Watch  a  field  of  wheat  in  bloom,  the  heads  swayed  by  the  wind,  lovingly 
kissing  each  other,  and  doubtless  stealing  and  giving  pollen.  Consider, 
too,  that  throughout  Nature,  heat  or  moisture,  or  both,  are  essential  to 
the  emanation  of  the  impregnating  influence.  In  all  our  Festuceae,  as 
well  as  in  Cynodon,  Leersia,  and  some  other  genera,  the  stigmas  are  pro- 
truded ft-om  the  side  or  from  the  base  of  the  flower  at  an  early  stage, 
often  before  the  stamens  of  the  same  flower  are  mature  —  thus  as  it  were 
inviting  cross  fertilization  from  the  more  precocious  stamens  of  other 
plants  which  are  already  shedding  their  pollen. 

All  who  have  gathered  grasses  will  have  remarked  that  some  have  yel- 
low anthers,  others  pink  or  violet  anthers;  and  that  anthers  of  both 
types  of  color  may  co-exist  on  distinct  individuals  of  the  same  species. 
The  same  peculiarity  is  Just  as  noticeable  in  tropical  grasses,  and  (with- 
out professing  to  give  a  complete  physiological  explanation  of  it)  this  is 
what  I  have  observed  respecting  it.  The  walls  of  the  anther-cells  are 
usually  of  some  shade  of  purple,  but  are  so  very  thin  and  pellucid,  that 
when  distended  with  mature  pollen  the  yellow  color  of  the  latter  is  alone 
visible.  When  the  pollen  is  discharged,  the  anthers  resume  their  original 
purple  color,  shortly,  however,  to  take  on  the  pallor  or  dinginess  of 
decay.  Where  the  anthers  emerge  of  a  purple  hue,  and  change  ft'om 
that  to  brown,  it  will  probably  be  found  that  they  have  discharged 
their  pollen  while  still  included  in  the  flower.  These  observations, 
made  without  any  reference  to  the  question  now  in  hand,  require  to 
be  renewed  and  tested :  and  in  them,  as  in  all  that  precedes,  I  am  open 
to  correction. 

Of  grasses  with  bisexual  flowers,  there  are  two  ways  in  which  the 
ovary  may  be  fertilized,  namely,  either  by  the  pollen  of  its  own  flower 
(closed  or  open),  or  by  that  of  other  flowers,  after  the  manner  of  the  de- 
dlnous  species.  In  the  latter  case,  the  pollen  may  be  transported  by  the 
wind,  or  in  the  fur  of  animals  (as  I  have  observed  the  seeds  of  Selagln- 


NATURAL  HISTORY   MISCEIXANT.  241 

ellas  in  South  America),  or  in  the  plamage  of  birds.  The  agency  of  in- 
sects has  not  been  traced  in  the  fertilization  of  trasses,  but  may  exist. 
The  little  flies  I  have  seen  on  the  flowers  of  grasses  seemed  bent  on  de- 
positing their  eggs  in  the  nascent  ovaries,  but  may  also  have  aided  in 
cross-fertilization.  In  the  Amazon  Valley  grasses  are  often  invested  by 
ants,  who,  indeed,  leave  nothing  organic  unvisited  throughout  that  vast 
region;  and  they  also,  I  think,  cannot  help  occasionally  transferring 
grains  of  pollen  from  one  flower  to  another. 

The  flowers  of  Palms  and  Grasses  agree  in  being  usually  small  and 
obscurely  colored,  but  contrast  greatly  in  the  former  being  in  many  cases 
exquisitely  and  strongly  scented,  whereas  in  the  latter  they  are  usually 
quite  scentless.  The  odor  of  Palm-flowers  often  resembles  that  of  Mig- 
nonette; but  I  think  a  whole  acre  of  that  **  darling"  weed  would  not  emit 
more  perftime  than  a  single  plant  of  the  Fan  Palm  of  the  Klo  Negro 
(Mauritia  Carard  Wallace).  In  approaching  one  of  these  plants  through 
the  thick  forest,  the  sense  of  hearing  would  perhaps  give  the  flrst  notice 
of  its  proximity,  from  the  merry  hum  of  winged  insects  which  its  scented 
flowers  had  drawn  together,  to  feast  on  the  honey,  and  to  transport  the 
pollen  of  the  male  to  the  female  plants ;  for  it  is  chiefly  dicBcious  species 
of  Palms  that  have  such  sweet  flowers.  The  absence  of  odoriferous  flow- 
ers Arom  the  grasses  seems  to  show  that  insect-aid  is  not  needed  for  ef- 
fecting their  fecundation,  but  does  not  render  its  accidental  concurrence  a 
whit  less  unlikely. 

That  grasses,  notwithstanding  their  almost  mathematical  characters, 
vary  much  as  other  plants  do,  is  plain  fh>m  the  multitude  of  osculating 
forms  (in  such  genera  as  Eragrostis,  Fanicum,  and  Paspalum),  which  puz- 
zle the  botanist  to  decide  when  to  combine  and  when  to  separate,  in  order 
to  obtain  what  are  called  *<  good  species."  Hence  the  conclusion  is  un- 
avoidable that  in  grasses,  as  in  other  plants,  variations  of  surrounding 
conditions  induce  corresponding  modlflcatlons  of  structure,  and  that 
amongst  the  former  must  be  enumerated  cross  marriages,  however 
brought  about.  If  the  flowers  of  grasses  be  sometimes  fertilized  in  the 
bud,  it  is  probably  exceptional,  like  the  similar  cases  recorded  of  Orchids 
and  many  other  families. 

To  conclude :  the  more  I  ponder  over  existing  evidence,  the  more  I  feel 
convinced  that  In  its  perfect  state  every  being  has  the  sexes  practically 
separated,  and  that  natural  selection  Is  ever  tending  to  make  this  separa- 
tion more  complete  and  permanent;  so  that  the  hypothesis  of  Plato,  that 
the  prototype  even  of  man  was  hermaphrodite,  may  one  day  be  proved  to 
be  a  fact!  —  Dr.  R.  Spruce,  Scientiflc  Opinion.  [See  his  paper  in  Journ. 
Linn.  Society.] 

Fttngi  on  Insects.  —  Dr.  Bail  of  Danzig,  in  a  recent  pamphlet,  calls 
attention  to  the  various  kinds  of  fungus  that  are  parasitic  upon  the  larvsB 
of  dlfl'erent  Insects,  and  his  investigations  are  of  some  practical  impor- 
tance in  relation  to  a  possible  check  to  the  destruction  of  forest-trees, 
which  goes  on  to  an  enormous  extent  in  North  Germany,  through  the 

AMZR.  NATURALIST,  VOL.  lY.  SI 


242  NATURAL  HISTORY   MISCELLANY. 

ravages  of  caterpillars.  In  certain  seasons  these  caterpillars  appeared 
to  be  attacked  by  an  epidemic,  their  bodies  being  swollen  to  bursting, 
and  white  threads  being  visible  between  the  rings  of  the  body,  which 
seemed  to  Issue  A*om  the  body  itself.  In  this  condition  great  numbers 
were  found  still  clinging  to  the  leaves.  The  destroying  agent  had  been 
identified  by  Dr.  Reichhardt  of  Vienna  as  the  mycelium  of  a  fungus  which 
he  named  Empusa  aulica.  The  distribution  of  the  Empusa  is  very  con- 
siderable ;  the  only  order  of  insects  which  is  not  at  present  known  to  be 
subject  to  their  attacks  being  the  Neuropttra  (dragon  flies,  etc.) ;  they  are 
known  to  be  parasitic  upon  Coleoptera  (beetles),  Hymenoptera  (bees,  ants, 
etc.),  Lepidoptera  (butterflies  and  moths),  Diptera  (flies  and  gnats),  Or- 
thoptera  (crickets,  etc.),  and  aphides,  either  in  the  larva  or  perfect  condi- 
tion, on  water-insects,  and  even  the  same  species  on  amphibia  and  fishes. 
Not  only  is  their  distribution  over  so  many  dlfibrent  animals  remarkable, 
but  also  the  prodigious  rapidity  of  their  development  in  the  individual. 
The  common  house-fly  is,  in  some  years,  destroyed  by  this  parasite  in 
vast  numbers,  and  the  dung-fly  has  been  in  certain  districts  almost  anni- 
hilated. In  the  forests  of  Pomerania  and  Posen  the  caterpillars  have  been 
killed  by  it  in  such  quantities  that  it  may  be  considered  to  have  saved 
the  trees  from  total  destruction.  The  f^ngi  which  Dr.  Bail  found  to  be 
the  most  destructive  to  insect  life  were  those  described  by  authors  as 
Cordyceps  militarist  Isaria  farinosa,  and  Penicillium  glaucum;  the  two  lat- 
ter forms  he  inclines  to  unite  as  different  stages  of  growth  of  the  same 
plant.  —  The  Academy. 

Insect-fertiuzation  op  Flowers.  —  In  an  article  contributed  to 
"  Scientific  Opinion "  by  Professor  Delpino,  he  passes  from  orchids, 
which  since  Darwin's  work  upon  them  have  attracted  much  attention  in 
this  respect,  to  the  related  families,  one  of  which  is  familiarly  repre- 
sented in  our  gardens  by  the  Cannaj  or  Indian  Shot.  Here  the  arrange- 
ments depends  upon  the  viscidity  of  the  pollen,  and  the  bursting  loose  of 
the  style;  the  pollen  is  first  deposited  on  an  expansion  of  the  style, 
whence  it  is  taken  away  by  the  insect,  to  be  deposited  upon  the  stigma 
of  the  flower  next  visited. 

OoLLBCTRD  NoTES  ON  AMERICAN  Oaks.  —  Concluded,  A.  De  Candolle, 
in  **  Prodromus '*  XVI,  2,  1864,  describes  two  hundred  and  eighty-one 
species.  Of  these  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  are  American ;  of  which 
twenty-nine  are  doubtAil.  He  admits  Q,  olivceformis  Michx.,  hicolor 
Willd.,  grisea  Lbm.,  pun^en^  Lbm.,  hasUUa  Lbm.,  Leana  Nutt.,  aa  species. 
Thirteen  species  ft'om  Endlicher's  list  are  made  varieties  of  others ;  six- 
teen are  synonyms  of  others.  De  Candolle  proposes  three  new  species : 
q,  Lindeni  (collected  in  New  Grenada  in  1842,  by  Linden),  IflsZteeni  (1846, 
in  New  Mexico  by  Wisllzenus),  and  omissa  (fk*om  Secmann's  collection, 
but  omitted  in  **  Plantae  Hartwegianae  ")•  Q-  dumosa  Nutt.,  and  acuHdena 
Torr.,  are  not  mentioned.  Counting  these  omitted  species,  and  drop- 
ping olivctformis  and  lAana  as  snch ;  then  nniting  grisea  with  oblongtfolia 


NATURAL   HISTORY   MISCELLANT.  243 

and  ptmgenst  and  placing  hastata  in  Emoryi,  we  have  ninety  American 
species.  But  even  this  namber  may  be  in  the  future  greatly  reduced, 
particularly  in  the  Mexican  species,  which  are  founded  on  a  limited 
number  of  specimens,  and  with  the  habitat  for  the  most  part  not 
st.ated. 

Michanx  attempted  the  first  methodical  disposition  of  the  genus,  as 
above  mentioned,  which  was  after  him  maintained  by  Pursh,  Nuttall  and 
Elliott.  In  Europe  the  important  character  taken  flrom  the  ripening  of 
the  ft'uit  was  entirely  neglected.  Only  Koch,  in  **  Flora  Germanica,"  1837, 
gives  notice  that  Q,  Cerris  ripened  its  ft-uit  in  the  second  year. 

Then  Spach,  in  Vol.  XI.  of  his  **  Histoire  Naturelle  des  Veg.  Phane- 
rog."  1842,  applied  this  character  to  his  natural  arrangement  of  the  oaks, 
which  is  founded  on  the  form  and  duration  of  the  leaves,  the  cup  and 
the  ripening.    His  disposition  is  this : 

I.  Deciduous  leaves  :  Esculus. 

1.  Robur:  Leaves  slnuose,  pinnatifid;   lobes  not  bristle-pointed. 

Maturation  annual ;  scales  of  the  cup  small,  oval,  appressed. 

2.  Cerroides :  Leaves  pinnatifid,  lobes  not  bristle-pointed.    Matura- 

tion annual.    Scales  of  the  cup,  the  lower  imbricated  and  ap- 
pressed; the  upper  ones  subulate,  loose  and  much,  longer. 
8.  Erythrobalanus :  Leaves  entire,  mucronate  or  trilobed,  or  pin- 
nate-lobed,  bristle-pointed.     Maturation  biennial.    Scales  of 
the  cup  small,  appressed,  imbricated,  not  subulate. 

4.  Cerris:    Leaves    llite    deciduous  or  subpcrsistent,  coriaceous; 

lobes  or  teeth  bristle -pointed.  Female  flowers  often  ft-om  buds 
without  leaves,  and  so  the  fruit  lateral  on  the  year's  shoot. 
Maturation  annual.     Scales  of  the  cup  echlnate. 

5.  Galllfera:    Leaves    late    deciduous,    becoming   ycllqwish    and 

brownish ;  lobes  or  teeth  bristle- pointed.  Maturation  biennial. 
Scales  of  the  cup  short,  appressed. 

II.  Leaves  persistent:    Ilex. 

6.  Snber :  Maturation  annual. 

7.  Cocclfera :  Maturation  biennial. 

Endlicher  maintained  the  same  disposition  and  characters,  only  changing 
Cerroides  into  Elseobalanus,  and  while  Spach  considers  only  the  European, 
Western- Asiatic,  and  American  species,  he  introduces  the  Eastern  Asi- 
atic, which  he  puts  into  the  subgenus  Cyclobalanus  except  one,  Qttercus 
cttspidata,  which  forms  his  subgenus  Chlamydobalanus ;  the  former  are 
all  in  his  subgenus  Lepldobalanus. 

Gay,  in  "Ann.  des  Sc.  Nat.,  IV,  6,"  pointed  out  the  errors  in  the  above 
disposition.  The  character  of  maturation  is  mistaken  in  three  groups : 
Cerris,  Cktllifera  and  Suher.  Q»  Cerris  ripens  its  f^uit  the  second  year ; 
so  also  Q,  atgilops  L.,  castanecrfolia  C.  A.  Mey,  and  persica  Jaub,  &  Spach. 
So  the  whole  group  Cerris  has  the  maturation  biennial.  Pseudosuber 
Deaf.,  and  hispanica  Lam.,  which  Endlicher  put  as  one  species  under  Gal- 


244  NATURAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 

lifera,  belong  to  Cerrls.  Spach  forms,  for  the  single  species,  Q.  infectoria 
OUv.  To  the  groap  gallifera,  with  biennial  maturation,  Endlicher  added  Q. 
humilis  Lam.,  alpeatris  Bois.,  and  hispanica  Lam.,  bat  the  two  former,  as 
well  as  infectaria,  ripen  the  fruit  the  first  year.  These  groups  contain 
only  European  species;  the  American  botanist  Is  more  interested  in 
Spach's  group,  Suber,  with  the  species  Q,  virens  Alt.  This  species  was 
talcen  by  all  the  authors  from  Michauz,  the  elder,  to  A.  Gray,  as  maturing 
the  fkxiit^n  the  second  year.  Spach  puts  it  with  Suber,  with  annual  matu- 
ration. In  the  *'  Prodromus,"  and  in  the  latest  edition  of  '*  Gray*s  Manual,'* 
it  is  annual.  Gay  agrees  with,  but  does  injustice  to,  Endlicher,  when  he 
says  that  Endlicher*s  seventy-seven  American  and  thirty-five  east  Asiatic 
species,  which  never  have  been  examined  upon  their  maturation,  had  been 
Joined  with  Suber.  Endlicher  ranges  neither  virens  nor  the  rest  in  the 
group  Suber,  but  into  no  group  at  all.  His  arrangement  is  thus :  Ilex  — 
1.  Mediterranese  et  orientates;  YI.  Suber.  VII.  Coccifera.  2.  AmericansB. 
8.  Japonicffi,  etc. 

The  disagreement  of  view  in  respect  to  maturation  is  explained  by  the 
fiEict  that  until  now  two  different  species,  with  different  maturation,  have 
been  taken  for  one.  Gay  describes  a  species  which  grows  in  France  and 
Spain  along  the  Atlantic,  and  furnishes  all  the  cork  used  in  these  coun- 
tries. It  is  Quercus  occidentalis  Gay,  with  biennial  maturation,  and  was 
kept  before  the  discovery  of  Gay  for  Suber.  It  is  remarkable  that  often 
quite  similar  species  differ  only  in  maturation,  and  it  is  not  impossible 
that  the  mistake  concerning  Q,  virens  grounds  on  an  interchange  of  Q. 
cinerea  and  the  former.  In  regard  to  the  first  groups  Gay  follows  End- 
licher and  Spach ;  but  I  think  there  is  an  objection  to  the  second  group 
Elffiobalanus.  The  subulate  prolongation  of  the  upper  scales  of  the  cup 
is  so  variable  that  this  character  is  nOt  profitable  to  be  used,  in  a  natural 
arrangement.  I  have  seen  fruits  of  Q,  macrocarpa,  in  which  the  prolon- 
gation of  the  scales  was  scarcely  perceptible ;  on  the  other  hand  I  have 
seen  frutts  of  Q.  bicolor  or  Printts  discolor,  with  very  much  prolonged 
scales.  It  is  my  opinion  that  Q.  macrocarpa  falls  under  the  group  Robur, 
and  that  the  group  Elaeobalanus  should  be  dropped. 

There  are  two  essays  of  A.  De  CandoUe  in  *'  Ann.  des  8c.  Nat.  ser., 
IV,  Vol.  XVIII."  (1862)  :  Sur  le  fruit  du  chine  and  Etude  sur  Visphce,  De 
CandoUe  considers  the  proposed  characters  as  incompetent  to  form  nat- 
ural groups  in  the  section  Lepidobalanus ;  for  species  ck>8ely  related  by 
one  character  are  often  disjoined  by  the  other,  but  they  are  good  enough 
to  form  artificial  subdivisions,  which  are  necessary  fVom  the  great  number 
of  species.  A  new  diagnostic  character,  discovered  by  De  CandoUe,  Is 
for  the  same  reason  unfit  to  form  natural  groups.  This  is  the  position  of 
the  abortive  ovules  at  the  base,  or  at  the  apex,  of  the  ripe  seed.  Working 
out  the  genus  Quercus  for  the  '^Frodromus**  De  CandoUe  mustered  the 
different  characters,  to  find  out  the  best  for  determining  the  species.  He 
considers  as  good  ones,  the  size,  form  and  pubescence  of  the  stipules ;  the 
nervation  of  the  leaf,  respecting  the  direction  and  relative  size  of  the 


NATUBAL   HISTORY  MISCELLANY.  245 

nerves  of  different  degrees;  their  number  to  a  certain  point  (?),  the 
pnbescence  of  the  leaves  and  twigs  (isolate  or  aggregate,  on  nerves  or 
parenchyma) ;  its  length  in  yonnger  parts ;  the  duration  of  the  leaves ; 
the  anthers  (smooth  or  pubescent) ;  the  form  of  the  cups  in  the  upper 
part  in  the  ripe  f^uit ;  the  size  of  the  cups,  the  general  form  and  size  of 
their  scales ;  the  maturation  and  the  position  of  the  abortive  ovules. 

Such  characters  as  the  following  which,  comprising  many  specimens, 
more  or  less  differ  on  the  same  twig,  are  only  good  to  determine  varieties, 
viz. ;  the  length  of  the  petioles,  the  form  of  the  leaf  in  regard  to  its  diam- 
eter, to  the  base  (acute,  obtuse,  or  cordate);  the  depth  of  the  incisures; 
the  pointed  or  obtuse  termination  of  the  leaf;  the  presence  and  form  of 
the  bracts  of  the  aments ;  the  number  of  lobes  of  the  perigone  in  the 
male  flowers;  the  number  of  stamens;  presence  or  absence  of  a  mucro 
at  the  apex  of  the  anthers ;  the  length  of  the  peduncle  of  the  female 
flower ;  the  swelling  of  the  scales  of  the  cup ;  the  relative  length  of  the 
acorn;  the  caducous  or  persistent  pubescence  of  the  underside  of  the 
leaves ;  the  length  and  direction  of  bristles ;  the  male  flowers,  whether 
pedlcelled  or  sessile ;  the  form  of  the  cup  at  the  base ;  the  termination 
of  the  lower  scales  of  the  cup ;  the  direction  of  the  scales  In  the  ripe 
fruit. 

De  Candcille  adopts  the  three  subgenera  of  Endlicher,  adding  two  more 
from  species  which  Endlicher  puts  under  Lepldobalanus.  The  subgenus 
Androgyne,  is  formed  by  the  single  (Califomlan)  species,  Quercus  densi' 
flora  Hook,  which  has  the  flowers  of  both  sexes  In  an  upright  spike,  male 
above,  female  below,  the  male  flowers  in  bundles  with  three  bracts, 
stamens  double  the  number  of  the  lobes  of  the  perigone,  the  abortive 
ovules  at  the  apex  of  the  seed.  The  other  new  subgenus  Is  Pasana, 
with  South  Asiatic  species.  All  the  other  American  species  belong  to  the 
subgenus  Lepldobalanus.    The  arrangement  In  the  **  Prodromus  "  is  thus : 

I.    Lbfidobalanus. 

§  1.  Abortive  ovules  below.    Maturation  annual. 

♦  Leaves  deciduous. 

Qw  LYKATA  Walt.,  Q.  MACROCAKPA  Mlchx.  (wlth  var.  abbreviata  and  mi- 
nor); Q.  OLiViKFQBMis  Mlchx.,  Q,  BicoLOK  Wllld.  (Q.  Prinus  tomentosa 
Michx.,  Priniis  discolor  Mlchx.  f.,  Michauxii  Nutt.).  There  is  a  variety 
cultivated  In  France,  fi.  platanoides^^Q,  prinus  platanoides  Lam.=  Q.  velu- 
tina  herb  YHeT,==Q.  pannosa  Bosc.  (which  is,  perhaps,  Q.  mollis  Nutt.=  Q. 
aiiformis  Muhl.).  Q.  Prinus  L.=Q.  prinus palustris  Mlchx.  (De  Candolle 
refers  to  this  the  figure  Q.  montana  in  Emerson's  Trees  of  Mass.,  PI.  6,  and 
the  text  to  the  next).  Q.  Prinus  fi  acuminata^^Q,  castanea  Muhl.  (Emer- 
son says  the  younger  Michanx  makes  this  a  distinct  species.  This  Is  not 
so  as  far  as  I  know).  Q.  Prinus  f  monticola^^Q,  Prints  foliis  ohovatis 
Wangenh.Ǥ.  montana  Wllld.,  Q,  Prinus  3  chincapin=Q.  prinoides  Wllld. 
=b(^.  Prinus  pumila^\ch.=^Q,  chincapin  I'h.=  Q.  Prinus  chincapin  Mlclix. 
fli.  Q,  STRLLATA  Wg.=§.  obtustloba  Michx. =  Q.  villosa  Walt.?  There  are 
three  varieties  fi  Floridana==Q.  Floridana  Shutlew,  T  depressa  (Nutt.)  on 


246  NATURAL   HISTORY   MISCELLANY. 

the  upper  Missouri,  d  Utahensis  the  only. oak  between  Salt  Lake  and  Sierra 
Nevada,  Q.  alba  L.  with  two  varieties  ( ?)  /9  repranda,  y  microcarpa. 

Q.  UNDULATA  Torr.=J?ten<ttcn*  Lbm.  Two  varieties  /5  obtusifolia,  y  pe* 
dunculcUa,  Q.  Douglasu  Hook,  with  three  varieties,  fi  Gambellii=:Q. 
Gambellii  Nutt.,  y  novo-Mexicana=Q.  Gambellii  Lbm.  d  Neaei^  Q.  Neaei 
Lbm.=Q.  Douglctsii  Bih.  Q.  lobata  N6e=Q.  Hindsii  Benth.^^Q.  longi- 
glanda  Torr.  Q.  Garryana  Hook.  Q.  Drummondii  Lbm.  These  five  spe- 
cies are  very  likely  varieties  of  one  species  nearly  related  to  the  European 
Q.  Robur. 

The  following  are  Mexican  and  Central  American  species,  with  dentate 
or  entire  leaves ;  the  maturation  of  the  fruit  is  not  sufficiently  known. 

Q.  CORKUGATA  Hook,  Q.  iNSiGNis  Mart.  Gal.,  Q.  strompocarpa  Lbm., 
Q.  Galeottu  Mart.,  Q.  circinata  N6e,  Q.  magnolucfolia  N6e,  with  two 
varieties,  y9  2t<t6a=  Q.  flava  N6e,  y  macrophylla^Q.  macrophylla  N6e=§. 
resinosa  Lbm.,  Q.  obtusata  HB.=:Q.  affinis  Mart.  Gal.;  the  varieties  fi 
pandurata^^^Q,  pandurata  UB.T  Hartwegii^^Q.  ambigua  IIB,=Q,  Hart' 
toegi  Benth.=Q.  nudinervis  Lbm.,  Q.  polymorpha  Cham  et  Schl.=sQ.  pet- 
iolaris  Benth.  =Q.  varians  Mart.  G&W,  =  tub€rculata  Lbm.,  Q.  omissa 
A.  DC,  Q.  LAXA  Lbm.=(^.  calloaa  Mart.,  Q.  labta  Lbm.=:Q.  obttisata  var. 
Bth.,  Q.  Bknthami  A.  'DC.=^undulata  Bth.,  Q.  Tapuxahuknsis  A.  DC.» 
Q.  salicifolia  Bth.,  Q.  CoRTKSn  Lbm.,  Q.  SARiORn  Lbm.,  Q.  saucikoua 
N6e,  Q.  Sbemanjni  Lbm.,  Q.  Ghiesbreghti  Mart.  Gal.,  Q.  barbinervis 
Benth.,  Q.  olaucoides  Mart.,  Gal.^Q.  elliptica  Lbm. 

*  •  Leaves  persistent. 
Q.  HuMBOLDTn  Bonpl.,  Q.  citrifolia  Lbm.,  Q.  costaricensis  Lbm.,  Q. 
LiNDENi  A.  DC,  Q.  ToLiMENSis  HB.,  Q.  TOMKNTOSA  Willd.==Q.  pedunctf- 
lata  N6e=:Q.  callosa  Bth.  There  are  four  varieties:  —  a*  communis^ Q, 
tamentosa  Bth.,  fi  bullata,  y  diversifolia^Q.  diversifolia  N&e,  d*  abbreviata, 
Q.  RETICULATA  UB.=  Q.  spicato  UB=:decipien8  Mart.  Gal.,  the  variety  fi 
Qreggii,  Q.  pulciiella  HB.,  Q.  glabrf.scen8  Bth.  with  the  var.  ^.  integ- 
rifolia^  Q.  orisea  Lbm.  (probably  Q.  oblongifolia  Torr.)  Q.  repanda  HB., 
Q.  MiCROPHYLLA  N6e=(^.  vepatida  Bth.  with  the  var.  ft  crispata,  Q.  ob- 
longifolia Torr.,  Q.  pungens  Lbm.,  and  hastata  Lbm.  (both  being  Q. 
Emoryi  Torr.)  Q.  berbrridifolia  Lbm.,  Q.  agrifoua  N^e=Q.  oxyadenia 
Torr.  I  examined  a  number  of  acorns  of  this  species  and  found  in  all 
of  them  the  abortive  ovules  at  the  apex  of  the  seed !,  Q.  chrysolepis 
Lbm.s=Q.  crassipocula  Torr.==§.  fulvescens  Kell.,  Q.  vireks  Ait.=  §.  5«m- 
pervirens  Cst.==Q,  Phellos  ft,  L.==§.  Virginiana  Mill.=  §.  oleoides  Cham, 
and  Schl.=Q.  retusa  Lbm.,  Q.  lutf^cens  Mart.  Gal. 

§  2.  Abortive  ovules  below.    Maturation  biennial. 

Leaves  persistent. 
Q.  CRASSiFOLiA  HB.=Q.  rugosa  N6e=Q.  spinuloaa  Mart.  Gal.,  Q.  splen- 
DENS  N6e,  with  the  var.  ft,  pallidtor=Q,  crassifolia  Bth.,  Q.  scytophylla 
Lbm.,  Q.  siDEROXYLA  IIB.,  Q.  laurina  HB. 

§  3.  Abortive  ovules  above.    Maturation  biennial. 

*  Leaves  deciduous. 


NATURAL  HI8TOB7  MISCELLANY.  217 

Q.  PALCATA  Michx.=  Q.  elongata  Willd.sQ.  discolor  Ait. ;  tliere  are  two  ra- 
rieties,  p  Ludovicianay  f  triloba=Q.  triloba  Michx.^Q.  cuneata  Wg.,  Q. 
iLiciFOUA  Wg.=Q.  Banisteri  Michx.,  Q.  Catesb.£I  Michx.,  Q.  rubra  L. 
with  tliu  var.  j}  rundnata,  Q.  falustris  Du  Kois^Q.  rubra  ramoaisHma 
Marsh.  =  Q.  rubra  dissecta  Lam.,  Q.  Geoagiana  A.  Curt.,  Q.  coccikba 
Q.  coccinea  Wg.^^Q.  rubra  a  L.  There  are  four  varieties:  a  coccinea=^ 
Q.  cocctnea  Michx.  »Q.  ambiyua  and  borealis  Michx.  flls. ;  fi  nigre8C€n8=^ 
Q.  tinctoria  ainuosa  Michx.=Q.  discolor  Willd.»=Q.  tinctoria  Mlclix.  flls.; 
T  tinctoria— Q.  tinctoria  Batr.aeQ.  tinctoria  angulosa  Michx.=  Q.  velutina 
Lam.,  d  Bugelli,  Q.  Sonomensis  Bth.^Q.  rubra  Bth.  in  Pi.  Hartw.,  Q. 
Lrana  Nutt.  De  Candolle  considers  the  hybridity  of  this  as  not  certain. 
It  is  perhaps  not  so  scarce  as  supposed ;  there  is  besides  the  known  indi- 
viduals one  in  Fulton  County,  Illinois,  and  one  near  Peoria,  the  latter  in 
the  Immediate  neighborhood  of  Q.  coccinea  and  imbricaria.  Q.  Totut-' 
LEN6I8  A.  DC,  Q.  Phellos  L.  with  the  var.  fi  subimbricaria  (hybrid?), 
Q.  IMBRICARIA  Michx.  With  a  var.  /9  spinulosa,  Q.  nigra  Jj.^erruginea 
Michx.  flls.s=Q.  Marilandica  Cat.;  there  are  two  varieties,  ^9  quinquelobUt 
T  tridentata,  Q.  Skinnrri  Bth.,  Q.  XAiJiFEXSis  HB.,  Q.  Warscewiczu 
Lbm.^^Q,  fflabrescens  Seem.=Q.  oocarpa  Lbm.,  Q.  calophylla  Cham,  and 
Schl.sC.  Alamo  Bth.s=Q.  intermedia  Mart.  Gal.=Q.  <icuminata  Mart.  Gal. 

•  •  Leaves  persistent 
Q.  GRAKDis  Lbm.,  Q.  acutifolia,  N6e»Q.  furfuraceat  there  are  five  vara. : 
P  Bonplandi,  T  angtistifolia=^Q.  acutifolia  Thib.,  3  conspersa  Bth,==nitida 
Mart.  Gal.  £,  longifolia—longifolia  Lbm.  C  microcarpa,  Q.  Wislizrni  A.  DC, 
Q.  AQUATiGA  Walt.,  Willd.=9-  nigra  L.  a=Q.  uliginosa  Wg,—Q.  Phellos 
maritima  Michx.=Q.  maritima  Willd.,  of  this  five  varieties  are  enumer- 
ated; fi  laur{folia—Q.  laurifolia  Mich.=  Q.  hemisphcerica  Bartr.  y  hetero- 
phylla=^Q.  heterophylla  Michx.  flls.  (hybrid?),  d  stipitata,  £.  dentata^Q. 
dentata  Bartr.— Q.  nana  Willd?  !^  mgrtifolia—Q,  myrtifolia  Willd.  Q.  nitens 
Mart.  Gal.^Q.  commutata  Lbm.,  four  vars. ;  fi  podocarpa  f  ocote(Bfolia== 
Q,  ocotecefolia  Lbm.,  ^  major,  £  8ubintegra=Q.  laurifolia  Bth.,  Q.  lak- 
CROLATA  HB.  with  the  var.  jS  undulato-dentata^^i^.  laurina  Lbm.,  Q.  db- 

FRES8A   HB.,   Q.   ORANULATA  Lbm.,   Q.    LINGUiEPOLIA   Lbm.,    Q.   ELUPTICA 

N6e  with  var.  ft  microcarpa==Q.  persecefolia  Lbm.s=Q.  microcarpa  Lbm., 
Q.  NECTANDR^EFOUA  Lbm.,  Q.  LEIOPHYLLA  A.  DC.=Q.  lanctfoHa  Lbm.,  Q. 
CASTANBA  N6e=Q.  mucronata  WilId.=Q.  tristis  Lbm.  the  four  vars.  :/9 
sublobata,  X  tridens^^^Q.  tridens  HB.,  $'  glabrata=Q.  Mexicana  yar  glab- 
rata  Seem.,  ^  Mexicana^ Mexicana  HB.,  Q.  lanioera  Mart.  Gal.,  Q.  cras- 
8IPE8  HB.»Q.  Mexicana  Bth.,  Q.  cinbrea  Michx.^Q.  Prinus  ft  L=Q. 
Phellos  cinerea  Spach,  with  four  vars.:  ft  dentcUo-lobata,  X  humilis^Q. 
humilis  Walt.,  <J  pumila=^Q.  pumila  Walt.=Q.  seHcea  Willd.=  Q.  Phellos 
pumila  Michx.,  e  nana,  Q.  ruoulosa  Mart.  Gal.,  Q,  comfertifolia  HB. 

Then  follow  twenty-nine  doubtful  species. 
II.    Androgyne. 

Q.  DENSiFLORA  Hook.  and  Arn.=Q.  echinacea  Torr.,  the  var.  ft  Hdrtwegi 
is  Q.  densiftora  Bth.  in  PI.  Hartw. 


248  NATUR^VL   IU8TOKY   MISCELLANY. 

De  CandoUe  supposes  that  of  the  species  now  known  and  described 
about  two-thirds,  are  provisional,  and  that  when  all  the  species  of  America 
and  Asia  now  adopted  are  as  well  studied  as  the  European,  the  ^*  good 
species  "  will  be  reduced  to  about  one  hundred ;  then  the  American  spe- 
cies would  scarcely  be  more  than  fifty.  This  is  credible.when  we  perceive 
that  the  single  species  Q.  Bobur  as  proposed  by  De  CandoUe  includes 
thirty-two  varieties,  and  nearly  a  hundred  synonyms.  He  went  to  work 
without  prejudice  or  prepossession ;  he  examined  specimens  by  hundreds 
from  different  localities;  aud  the  result  was  that  he  had  to  drop  many 
supposed  **  good  species."  What  will  become  of  our  American,  partic- 
ularly the  Mexican  species,  when  once  worked  out  in  that  way  ? 

I  thought  I  had  a  very  good  character,  neglected  by  all  authors,  in  the 
bud.  The  Quercus  coccinea,  wherever  I  found  it  here  (Peoria)  had  a  con- 
•  ical  pointed  tomentose  flve-ridged  bud,  with  five  rows  of  scales,  and  I  was 
sure  I  should  never  see  it  otherwise.  Now  I  get  from  northern  Illinois 
a  number  of  specimens  with  the  acorns  and  all  the  other  characters  de- 
cidedly those  of  Q.  coccinea,  but  some  of  them  with  smooth  round  buds, 
just  as  in  Quercits  rubra.  We  have  now  about  half  a  dozen  species  united 
in  Q,  coccinea  ;  the  difference  between  Q.  rubra  and  Q.  palustrU  is  so  insig- 
nificant that  the  latter  could  be  taken  as  a  variety  of  the  former,  and  per- 
haps, when  we  compare  all  the  black  and  red  oaks  by  many  hundreds  of 
specimens  from  all  the  different  sections  of  the  country,  the  limits  be- 
tween the  species  aS  now  accepted  would  be  very  uncertain.  Even  Q^€r'^ 
cus  bicolor  seems  to  me  to  be  a  transitional  form  between  Q.  macrocarpa 
and  Q.  Prinua;  to  the  fqrmer  it  is  approximate  by  the  olten  subulate 
scales,  the  pubescence  of  the  lower  side  of  the  leaves,  the  buds,  and  the 
scaly  bark  of  the  twigs,  which  are  often  corky  in  Q.  macrocarpa.  An 
exact  definition  of  the  term  **  species  "  has  never  been  proposed.  Since 
Darwin's  theory  has  made  the  stability  of  species  questionable.  It  has 
lost  much  of  Its  Importance ;  but  we  want  a  certain  term,  be  it  species, 
or  form,  or  race,  or  whatever  it  be :  we  want  a  name  for  an  object,  that 
it  may  be  understood.  That  is  the  task  of  species.  I  cannot  see  more 
in  it.  —  Frkd.  Brendbl,  Peoria,  liL 

DoKS  Air  Dust  Contain  thb  Germs  of  Disease?  —  Dr.  Tyndall,  in  a 
recent  lecture,  asserted :  (I),  that  the  dust  in  the  air  we  breathe  Is  largely 
composed  of  organic  particles;  (2),  that  they  are  the  germs  of  plants 
like  the  yeast  and  such -like  fungi ;  and  (8),  that  they  are  the  means  by 
which  epidemic  diseases  are  propagated. 

The  editor  of  **  Scientific  Opinion,"  claims  that  "  each  and  all  of  these 
propositions  appear  to  us  Incapable  of  being  proved."  lie  claims  that  a 
temperature  of  212°  or  higher,  such  as  Tyndall  says  will  In  a  moment  of 
time  destroy  them,  will  have  no  effect  on  them;  secondly  that  '* obser- 
vations such  as  those  of  Pouchet,  Joly,  Musset,  Mantegazza  and  others, 
all  go  to  show  that  the  germs  of  many  of  the  lower  vegetable  organisms 
which  are  familiar  to  botanists,  are  not  present  in  the  air  generally. 
Thirdly,  the  hypothesis  that  the  contagious  substance  of  small  pox,  scarlet 


NATURAL   HI8TOBT  MI60ELLANY.  249 

fiever,  cholera,  aud  the  like  diseases"  is  a  vegetable  organism,  rather  thac 
a  minute  particle  of  disorganized  organic  matter,  is  but  an  hypothesifi 
and  nothing  more.  So  fkr  as  it  has  been  attempted  to  be  demonstrated 
by  the  experiments  of  Halller  and  others,  it  has  utterly  brolien  down, 
and  the  ablest  fungologists  in  the  kingdom  —  Berkley  and  others — are 
distinctly  opposed  to  it,  as  are,  we  believe,  the  more  scientific  of  our 
modem  physicians. 


ZOOLOGY. 

Habits  of  thb  Striped  Squirrbl.  —  I  lately  noticed  in  my  garden  a 
bright-eyed  chipmunk,  Sciurus  striatuSf  advancing  along  a  line  directly 
towards  me.  He  came  briskly  forward,  without  deviating  a  hair's  breadth 
to  the  right  or  the  left,  till  within  two  feet  of  me ;  then  turned  square 
towards  my  left  —  his  right  —  and  went  about  three  feet  or  less.  Here 
he  paused  a  moment  and  gave  a  sharp  look  all  around  him,  as  if  to  de- 
tect any  lurking  spy  on  his  movements.  (His  distended  cheeks  revealed 
his  business :  be  had  been  out  foraging.)  He  now  put  his  nose  to  the 
ground,  and,  aiding  this  member  with  both  forepaws,  thrust  his  head 
and  shoulders  down  through  the  dry  leaves  and  soft  muck,  half  bury- 
ing himself  in  an  instant. 

At  first,  I  thought  him  after  the  bulb  of  an  erythronium,  that  grew 
directly  in  front  of  his  face  aud  about  three  inches  from  it.  I  was  the 
more  confirmed  in  this  supposition,  by  the  shaking  of  the  plant. 

Presently,  however,  he  became  comparatively  quiet.  In  this  state  he 
remained,  possibly,  half  a  minute.  He  then  commenced  a  vigorous  ac- 
tion, as  if  digging  deeper;  but  I  noticed  that  he  did  not  get  deeper;  on 
the  contrary,  he  was  gradually  backing  out.  I  was  surprised  that,  in  all 
his  apparent  hard  work  (he  worked  like  a  man  on  a  wager)  he  threw  back 
no  dirt.  But  this  vigorous  labor  could  not  last  long.  He  was  very  soon 
completely  above  ground ;  and  then  became  manifest  the  object  of  his  earn- 
est work :  he  was  refilling  the  hole  he  had  made,  and  repacking  the  dirt 
and  leaves  he  had  disturbed.  Nor  was  he  content  with  simply  refilling 
and  repacking  the  hole.  With  his  two  little  hand-like  feet  he  patted  the 
surface,  and  so  exactly  rfpZaced  the  leaves  that,  when  he  had  completed  his 
task,  my  eye  could  detect  not  the  slightest  dlfl'erence  between  the  sur- 
face he  had  so  cunningly  manipulated,  and  that  surrounding  it.  Having 
completed  his  task,  he  raised  himself  into  a  sitting  posture,  looked  with 
a  very  satisfied  air,  and  then  silently  dodged  off  into  a  bush-heap,  some 
ten  feet  distant.  Here,  he  ventured  to  stop,  and  set  up  a  triumphant 
"chip  I  chip!  chip  I" 

It  was  now  my  turn  to  dig,  in  order  to  discover  the  little  miser's 
treasures.  I  gently  removed  enough  of  the  leaves  and  fine  muck  to 
expose  his  hoard  —  half  a  pint  of  buttercup  seeds,  Banuncultis  acris,  1 
took  out  a  dozen  seeds  or  so,  re-covered  the  treasure  as  well  as  my  bung- 
ling hands  could,  and  withdrew  filled  with  astonishment  at  the  exhibi- 

▲MBR.   MATURAUST,  VOL.  IV.  82 


250  NATURAL  HISTOBY  MISCELLANY. 

tion  of  canning,  skill  and  instinct  of  this  little  abused  denizen  of  oar 
field-borders. 

In  my  boyhood  days  I  had  killed  many  of  the  little  fellows;  had 
ancarthed  the  treasures  in  their  burrows  many  times;  had  seen  them, 
as  I  supposed,  under  every  variety  of  aspect ;  in  short,  I  thought  I  knew 
the  chipmunk,  every  inch ;  but  here  was  a  new  revelation  of  chipmunk 
character,  for  which  I  was  totally  unprepared. 

It  grieves  me  that  I  find  it  utterly  impossible  with  words  to  convey 
adequately  to  you  and  your  readers  anything  like  a  complete  picture  of 
the  motions,  the  skill,  the  careAilness,  the  completeness  of  effect,  and 
the  consequent  satisfaction  exhibited  by  this  little  harvester.  I  have 
never  read  nor  heard  of  any  other  man's  having  witnessed  a  similar 
scene,  nor  do  I  expect  myself  ever  again  to  witness  one.  My  opportu- 
nity for  observation  was  perfect  as  it  could  possibly  be ;  for  he  was  so 
near  me  that  I  could  almost  stoop  over  and  lay  my  band  on  him,  while 
he  was  half  buried  under-  the  leaves. 

The  lesson  is  perfect;  for  what  our  chipmunk  does,  all  chipmunks  do, 
under  the  same  circumstances.  Where  docs  instinct  stop,  and  reason 
begin?  Wherein  does  instinctive,  irrational  skill  differ  fVom  rational 
skill?  — Ira  Sayles,  JSusttford,  Alleghany  Co.,  N.  Y. 

CoNCHOLOOiCAL  NoTES.  t-  Mr.  C.  B.  Fuller,  of  Portland,  has  recently 
discovered  Littorina  litorea  Linn.,  at  Kennebunkport,  Maine.  Willis  re- 
cords it  as  being  found  at  Halifax,  N.  S.,  and  we  have  always  understood 
it  to  be  common  in  the  Bay  of  Chaleur.  This  is  the  first  time  it  has  been 
found  so  far  south.  This  species  is  identical  with  the  common  Periwinkle 
of  the  English  coast,  and  its  increase  may  be  hoped  for,  as  it  will  intro- 
duce a  new  article  of  food  to  our  poorer  classes.  Immense  quantities  are 
consumed  in  England,  one  firm  in  London  purchasing  seventy  thousand 
bushels  per  annum.  They  are  very  prolific  and  are  ravenous  vegetarians. 
Oyster  merchants  use  them  to  keep  down  the  growth  of  seaweed  in  their 
oyster  beds. 

For  the  first  time  we  record  the  discovery  of  two  species  of  Melanians 
Arom  Massachusetts.  Specimens  have  been  sent  by  William  P.  Alcott  of 
North  Greenwich,  Conn.,  collected  by  him  on  the  shores  of  Lanesboro 
Pond,  Lanesboro,  Mass.  We  Identity  Melania  Virginica  Say,  and  Melania 
carinata  DeKay. 

Functions  of  thk  Nkrve-centrbs  of  the  Fboo.  —  Professor  F.  Golta 
of  Konigsberg  has  been  continuing  his  observations  on  the  different  nerve- 
centres  of  the  frog.  After  removing  the  cerebrum  with  as  little  effVislon 
of  blood  as  possible,  the  trog  remained  on  the  table  In  exactly  the  posi- 
tion of  a  sound  animal,  and  without  any  indication  of  the  injury  it  had 
sustained ;  but,  of  its  own  accord,  would  never  change  the  position  once 
assumed.  If  pinched  or  pressed,  it  would  turn  itself  round,  or  remove 
itself  by  a  leap  ft-om  the  external  pressure,  but  would  then  remain  equally 
unchangeable  In  Its  new  attitude.    It  can  indeed  be  induced  by  external 


NATURAL  HI6TOBT  MISCELLANT.  251 

means  to  go  through  actions  which  it  would  not  ordinarily  perform  volun- 
tarily, so  that  to  a  bystander  it  would  almost  appear  to  have  undergone  a 
coarse  of  training.  Professor  Goltz  made  some  curious  investigations  on 
the  source  of  the  croaking  power  of  the  frog.  Of  its  own  accord  it 
never  croaks  when  deprived  of  its  brain ;  but  can  easily  be  induced  to  do 
so  by  stroking  it  softly  down  the  back  f^ora  the  Aront  to  the  hinder  part 
with  the  damp  finger,  every  stroke  being  accompanied  by  a  croak  of  sat- 
isfaction. From  a  number  of  such  animals  a  complete  concert  of  firogs 
can  be  obtained  in  this  manner.  The  mutilated  trog  possesses  also  the 
power  of  preserving  the  equilibrium  of  its  body.  If  placed  on  a  book,  to 
which  a  gradual  inclination  is  given,  it  climbs  to  the  upper  edge,  on  which 
it  supports*  itself  by  its  forelegs,  and  repeats  the  process  every  time  that 
the  inclination  is  changed.  Under  similar  circumstances  an  nnmaimed 
ttog  would  quickly  hop  to  the  ground.  The  movements  of  the  frog,  from 
which  the  brain  has  been  removed,  differ  fk'om  those  of  the  uumutilated 
animal  in  this  respect,  that  they  are  performed  mechanically,  and  with  the 
regularity  of  a  machine.  It  would  also  appear,  Arom  these  experiments, 
that  the  nerve-centres  for  the  voice  and  for  the  power  of  maintaining 
equilibrium  reside,  not  in  the  brain,  but  in  the  spinal  cord. — Academy. 

The  Comprkssed  Burbot  or  Eel  Pout.  —  In  the  March  (1869)  number 
of  the  Naturalist  is  a  paper  with  the  above  title  by  Wm.  Wood,  M.D. 
After  giving  the  history,  locality,  number  of  specimens  and  their  de- 
scription, he  then  says :  **  The  Lota  compressa  probably  visits  the  salt 
water,  as  it  is  taken  in  ascending  the  Connecticut,  or  its  tributaries,  in  the 
spring  of  the  year  in  company  with  fish  ftom  the  salt  water  ascending  to 
spawn." 

My  first  acquaintance  with  this  rare  fish  was  early  in  the  spring  of  1859. 
A  specimen  was  brought  me  from  West  River,  about  a  mile  north  of  our 
village,  where  that  stream  Joins  with  the  Connecticut,  and  where  it  was 
**  hooked  up  "  while  angling  for  other  fish.  Afterwards  in  1864,  another 
specimen  was  caught  in  the  Connecticut  River,  opposite  our  village,  with 
a  baited  hook  set  for  eels.  Both  were  of  such  extraordinary  dimensions 
(being  severally  twelve  and  fourteen  inches  in  length)  that  I  published 
the  fact,  becauHC  I  knew  that  the  specimen  of  Lesueur,  who  first  described 
the  Mpecies  was  only  six  inches  in  length,  and  that  of  Storer  who  gave  a 
description  of  a  second  specimen  from  Ashuelot  River  was  eight  inches 
long.  As  I  had  lived  many  years  near  thc^se  waters,  and  supposed  myself 
to  be  well  acquainted  with  their  diffierent  denizens,  and,  moreover,  had 
never  seen  this  genus  before,  not  even  their  firy,  I  was  led  to  inquire 
whence  they  came. 

It  first  occurred  to  me  that  they  might  have  come  up  ftom  the  salt 
water,  but  the  many  impediments  in  the  Connecticut,  which  are  such 
well-known  obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  migrations  of  fish,  forbade  at 
once  the  entertainment  of  this  idea.  Be  that  as  it  may,  an  incident  has 
recently  come  to  my  notice  which  may  shed  some  light  on  their  early 
history,  and  certainly  on  one  of  their  species. 


252  NATURAL  HI8TOBY  MISOELLANT. 

On  our  farm  is  a  swamp  of  aboat  three  acres,  ft-om  which  Issues  a 
rivulet,  perhaps  three  feet  wide  and  three  to  five  inches  deep.  I  have 
known  for  some  years  the  existence  of  a  peculiar  fish  in  this  little  stream, 
for  on  approaching  its  banks  I  have  often  perceived  quick  efforts  at  con- 
cealment, of  something  in  the  dark  mud  of  the  little  pools  along  its 
coast.  All  my  attempts  to  obtain  a  ftill  view  of  the  fish  proved  fruitless, 
but  I  Judged  by  the  ripples  it  made  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  while 
passing  shallow  places  that  it  must  be  some  three  or  four  inches  In  length. 
Recently  whilst  our  woodchopper  was  at  work  in  this  swan^p,  he  cut 
down  a  tree  which  fell  into  one  of  these  pools,  and  a  fish  was  thus  thrown 
out  upon  the  snow.  It  proved  to  be  a  veritable  Lota  about  three  and  one- 
quarter  inches  long.  It  resembled  Lota  cotnpressa  in  every  particular, 
except  that  its  thickness  might  have  been  greater  in  proportion  to  its 
length. 

This  rivulet  empties  into  Whetstone  brook,  a  stream  ordinarily  about 
two  rods  wide  and  two  or  thr.ee  feet  deep,  and  has  a  bed  differing  little 
ftrom  that  of  the  Connecticut  River.  I  have  lived  by  this  stream  a  num- 
ber of  years,  and  have  never  seen  a  Lota  in  its  waters.  The  Whetstone 
empties  into  the  Connecticut  about  a  mile  flrom  the  mouth  of  the  rivulet. 
In  this  distance  are  two  obstructions,  partly  natural  and  partly  artificial, 
one  thirty  feet,  the  other  twenty  feet  high,  so  that  tt  cannot  be  supposed 
that  there  is  any  egress  from  the  river  to  the  rivulet  by  water. 

The  fishes  of  the  Whetstone  are  Salmo  forUinalis  Mitch.,  Bhinichthya 
atronasus  Agas.,  Boleoaoma  Olmstedii  Agas.,  SemoHlus  argenteus  Putn., 
JPlargyrtu Americanua  Putn.,  and  Holomyzon  nigricans  Agas.;  the  three 
latter  were  introduced  by  me  some  twenty  years  ago.  I  have  been  thus 
minute  in  giving  all  possible  data,  in  order  that  a  better  Judgment  may 
be  formed,  whether  these  swamps  are  the  breeding  places  of  Lota  cortp- 
pressa^  or  whether  the  specimen  mentioned  above  may  not  be  a  new 
species. 

The  train  of  thought  to  which  a  solution  of  these  questions  might  give 
rise,  would  naturally  lead  us  to  examine  luto  the  effects  that  purely  local 
or  particular  causes  may  have  upon  the  development  and  forms  of  fish 
life.  With  respect  to  the  size  of  this  specimen,  being  much  smaller 
than  those  found  in  the  Connecticut,  we  may  say,  that  all  fish  of  the 
same  species  found  in  large  streams  are  generally  larger  than  those 
found  in  small  ones.  We  have  a  perfectly  analogous  example  at  hand  in 
regard  to  the  Salmo  fontinalis  of  the  Connecticut,  which  occurs  of  larger 
dimensions  than  In  the  Whetstone,  the  disparity  being  as  striking  in  the 
latter  case  as  in  the  former.  —  Charles  C.  Frost,  Brattleborough,  Vt. 

A  Whftr  Woodchuck.  — It  may  Interest  you  and  some  of  your  readers 
to  know  that  I  have  obtained  a  perfectly  white  woodchuck.  a  perfect  al- 
bino of  Arctomys  monax  of  Gmclin.  There  is  not  a  dark  hair  on  his 
body  or  tail,  and  his  eyes  are  of  a  clear,  rich,  carneiian  color.  He  was 
caught  on  North-west  hill  in  Wllllamstown,  Mass.,  and  brought  to  me 
alive.    From  the  first  he  fed  freely  on  clover,  especially  the  clover  heads, 


NATURAL  HISTORY   MISCELLANY.  253 

and  made  a  nice  nest  for  himself  from  the  part  discarded  as  food ;  In  this 
nest  he  spent  most  of  his  time  taking  nearly  the  form  of  a  ball.  He  al- 
ways exhibited  a  readiness  to  bite,  and  it  was  not  safe  to  touch  him  with 
the  hand.  One  day  I  carried  him,  in  his  small  cage,  to  my  lecture  room, 
and  afterwards  put  him  in  my  private  room  and  left  him  alone.  When  I 
returned  I  found  him  out  of  the  box  or  cage,  and  bottles  and  trays  of 
natural  history  specimens  scattered  upon  the  floor.  After  disturbing 
things  generally  he  had  taken  up  his  position  behind  a  large  box  of  fossils. 
FrcTm  his  retreat  he  looked  as  unconcerned  as  if  nothing  had  happened. 
Without  much  trouble  I  secured  him  in  his  box  again,  and  carried  him 
home  and  put  him  in  a  large  cage  In  my  cellar  which  is  well  lighted  and 
ventilated.  About  midway  between  the  top  and  bottom  of  this  cage  is  a 
sheif  which  touches  the  bars  or  slats  in  front,  and  extends  backwards 
about  half  the  depth  of  the  cage.  This  shelf  was  put  in  so  that  the 
woodchuck  might  have  something  to  rest  upon  besides  the  floor  of  the 
cage.  After  the  cage  was  done  it  was  desired  to  turn  it  so  that  what  is 
naturally  the  back  should  be  the  bottom,  the  slats  or  bars  thus  being  on 
the  top  instead  of  at  the  side ;  this  brought  the  shelf  into  a  vertical  in- 
stead of  a  horizontal  position.  Now  observe  what  this  woodchuck  did : 
he  gnawed  through  the  edge  of  this  shelf,  which  was  against  the  bars,  in 
order  to  get  into  the  other  part  of  his  cage,  although  there  was  a  space 
of  eight  or  ten  inches  below  the  lower  edge  of  the  vertical  shelf  for  the 
whole  width  of  the  cage,  and  when  he  was  disturbed  he  often  run  through 
this  hole  instead  of  going  along  on  the  bottom. ' 

I  was  interested  to  see  that  he  used  everything  he  could  get  to  enlarge 
and  perfect  his  nest,  not  only  all  of  his  discarded  clover  stalks,  and  the 
rags  which  I  gave  him,  but  also  all  the  chips  which  he  gnawed  firom  his 
cage.  But  he  did  not  get  thoroughly  tamed,  and  so  availing  himself  of 
the  absence  of  a  board,  which  had  covered  a  hole  which  he  had  been 
gnawing,  he  squeezed  out  through  the  hole,  scaled  the  cellar  wall,  and 
escaped  through  an  open  cellar  window.  A  few  weeks  afterwards  he 
was  killed  by  a  farmer's  dog,  and  I  have  sent  his  skin  to  Mr.  Jillson  to  be 
mounted. 

Mr.  Hitchcock  of  this  town,  Informs  me  that  he  has  seen  a  living  white 
woodchuck  in  New  Lebano,  N.  Y.  —  8.  Tbnney,  Williams  College, 

Rarr  Birds  m  Nova  Scotia.  —  I  observe  in  the  last  number  of  the 
Naturalist  a  note  on  the  occurrence  of  the  Pomarine  Jager  (Leatrispom- 
arinu8)t  on  the  Susquehanna  River,  Pennsylvania,  in  July  last.  On  the 
4th  of  October,  my  ft'iend,  Mr.  William  Gilpin,  shot  a  fine  specimen  at 
Digby,  on  the  Bay  of  Fundy  shore  of  this  Province,  which  is  now  in  my 
possession.  I  see  in  the  **  Report  of  the  Birds  of  Massachusetts,"  that 
I>r.  Brewer  also  obtained  it  some  years  ago  in  Massachusetts  Bay. 

Another  rare  visitor  to  a  latitude  so  far  north,  was  taken  in  our  harbor 
about  the  time  of  the  severe  revolving  southerly  gale  of  the  80th  of  Jan- 
uary last,  the  Purple  Gallinule  (GalHnula  martinica,  Balrd).  This  is  the 
first  instance  on  record  of  its  capture  in  Nova  Scotia.  —  J.  Matthew 
Jones,  Halifax^  iV.  8, 


254  NATURAL   HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 


GEOLOGY. 

Gigantic  Fossil  Serpent  from  New  Jersey. — Professor  Marsh  de- 
scribes in  **  American  Journal  of  Arts  and  Sciences,"  under  the  name  of 
Dinophia  grandis,  a  new  and  gigantic  snake  Ax>m  the  Tertiary  formation 
of  New  Jersey.  He  says  "the  earliest  remains  of  Ophidia,  both  In 
Europe  and  this  country,  have  been  found  in  the  Eocene,  and  nearly  all 
the  species  ft'ora  strata'older  than  the  Post  Pliocene  appear  to  be  more  or 
less  related  to  the  constricting  serpents.  Remains  of  this  character  are 
not  uncommon  in  European  rocks,  but  in  this  country  two  species  only, 
one  founded  on  a  single  vertebra,  have  been  described  hitherto,  and  both 
of  these  were  discovered  in  the  Tertiary  greensnnd  of  New  Jersey."  The 
vertebra  described  "would  indicate  an  animal  not  less  than  thirty  feet  In 
length ;  probably  a  sea-serpent  allied  to  the  Boas  of  the  present  era." 

In  closing,  the  author  states  that  "the  occurrence  of  closely  related 
species  of  large  serpents  in  the  same  geological  formation  In  Europe  and 
America.  Just  after  the  total  disappearance  in  each  country  of  Mosasaurns 
and  its  allies,  which  show  such  marked  ophidian  affinities,  is  a  fact  of  pe- 
culiar interest,  in  view  of  the  not  improbable  origin  of  the  former  type ; 
and  the  intermediate  forms  which  recent  discoveries  have  led  paleontolo- 
gists, familiar  with  these  groups,  to  confidently  anticipate,  will  doubtless, 
at  no  distant  day,  reward  explorations  in  the  proper  geological  horizon." 

MICROSCOPY. 

Microscope  Objectives.  —  A  performance  of  a  4-10  objective  made  for 
me  by  Mr.  William  Wales,  of  this  city,  is  of  such  a  superior  character  that 
I  have  no  doubt  it  will  be  of  interest  to  many  of  your  readers.  With  di- 
rect or  central  light  in  contradistinction  to  oblique,  and  with  the  diatom 
mounted  not  dry,  but  in  balsam,  the  Pleurosigma  angulata  is  beautiflilly 
resolved ;  the  three  sets  of  lines  being  brought  into  view  with  great  dis- 
tinctness, and  this  with  the  No.  1  or  A  eye-piece.  Amplification  210  di- 
ameters. With  no  equal  power  of  Powell  &  Leland's  of  London,  of 
Hartnack  of  Paris,  of  Tolles  &  Grunow  of  this  country,  or  of  Gundlach 
of  Vienna,  various  objectives  of  each  and  all  of  which  makers  I  have 
examined,  have  either,  I  myself,  or  other  microscoplsts  of  my  acquain- 
tance been  able  to  effect  this.  Another  feat  which  I  had  recently  the 
honor  of  exhibiting  to  several  members  of  the  "Bailey  Microscopical 
Club"  of  this  city  was  a  resolution  of  the  podura  scale  with  Its  light 
central  markings  with  this  same  4-10.  The  resolution  of  the  stri®  on 
human  muscular  fibre  by  a  S-inch  objective,  also  made  by  Mr.  William 
Wales  of  this  city,  again  challenges  our  admiration. — J.  J.  Hiooins, 
M.  D.,  23  Beekman  Place.,  New  York, 

[We  referred  this  note  to  Mr.  E.  fiicknell,  who  kindly  sends  the  follow- 
ing reply.  —  Eds.] 


Li 


NATURAL   HISTORY   MISCELLANY. 


255 


Messrs,  Editors  of  the  American  Naturalist :— In  answer  to  your  question 
In  regard  to  the  above  communication,  I  would  say  that  while  f^iUy  con- 
curring with  Dr.  Higgins  in  his  high  estimation  of  Mr.  Wales'  objectives, 
I  am  of  the  opinion  that  he  (Dr.  Higgins)  has  either  made  an  error  in 
his  measurement  of  amplification  (210  diameters  with  the  No.  1  or  A  eye- 
piece) or  that  the  4-IOth  objective  is  very  much  underrated  in  magnifying 
power.  All  of  Mr.  Wales*  4- 10th  objectives  which  I  have  seen  have  been 
as  near  or  nearer  l-4ths  than  4-lOths  In  magnifying  power;  and  below  I 
give  a  table  of  amplification  of  such  4- 10th  objectives  as  arc  at  hand;  also 
two  l-4ths  for  comparison  : 


Makbb. 


4-10 

(( 
<i 
f< 

1-4 

(t 


J.  Zentmayer, 
Smith  and  Beck, 
R.  B.  Tolles,  . 
W.  Wales,      . 
R.  B.  ToIleA, 
Smith  and  Beck, 


Angle  of  ap. 


75* 

CO* 

135* 

llO* 

lay 

73' 


£TB-PIEC£S. 


1. 


130 
135 
18S 
175 
200 
210 


2. 


210 
220 
206 
800 
325 
340 


8. 


400 
416 
890 
636 
615 
660 


The  measurements  were  made  with  a  first-class  stand  and  eye-pieces  of 
Zentmayer,  the  image  of  a  stage  micrometer  being  thrown  down  by  a 
Spencer's  camera  lucida,  and  measured  at  just  ten  inches  A'om  the  eye ; 
cover  adjustment  for  125th  cover  glass.  It  seems  to  me  that  there  should 
be  some  uniform  standard  adopted  by  the  different  makers  of  objectives, 
so  that  the  l-4th  of  one  maker  may  not  be  as  high  as  the  l-6th  of  another 
maker;  or  a4-10th  of  one  be  as  high  as  a  l-4th  of  another;  or,  still  worse, 
a  3-inch  objective  of  one  maker  of  precisely  the  same  power  as  a  2-inch  of 
another  maker,  which  was  just  the  case  with  two  objectives  which  I  had 
about  one  year  since.  If  the  objectives  did  not  diffier  any  more  than  the 
first  three  in  the  above  table  it  would  be  an  improvement.  The  amplifi- 
cation which  Dr.  Higgins  gives  to  his  4-lOths  is  as  high  as  the  highest 
1-4 th  in  the  above  table.  —  Edwin  Bicknrll,  Salem, 

ANTHROPOLOGY. 

Thk  Bonk  Cavks  of  Gibralter. — The  four  Genista  Caves,  Martin's 
Cave,  St.  Michael's  Cave  and  some  others,  have  yielded  evidences  of  early 
man,  in  the  form  of  osseous  remains,  associated  with  flint  knives  and  flakes, 
stone  axes,  polished  and  chipped;  worked  bones,  serving  as  skewers, 
arrowheads,  needles  and  gouges ;  anklets  or  armlets  of  shell,  hand-made 
pottery,  querns,  rubbing-stones  and  charcoal.  With  these  were  found 
remains  of  numerous  animals,*  including  Ehinoceros  etntscvs,  Bh,  lep- 
torhihds  §  (extinct) ;  EquuSj  Sus  prisons  (extinct) ;  Sys  scrofa,  Cervus  «Za- 


*TboM  msrked  thus  9,  are  abnndant;  and  thus  §§,  yery  abundant.  Ailngle  molar  of 
Elephas  anUquuB  was  obtained  many  years  since  by  the  late  Mr.  James  Smith,  of  Jordan  HIU, 
tn  an  old  sea-beach  (now  demolished)  at  Europa  Point,  the  southern  extremity  ot  the  rock. 


256  ANSWERS   TO   CORRESPONDENTS,    ETC. 

phusj  var.  harharus  §,  Cervus  dama  §,  Bos  (a  large  form),  and  Bos  taurus 
§ ;  two  forms  of  Ibex,  Capra  ^goceros  §§ ;  and  also  the  common  goat, 
Capra  hircus;  Lepus  timidus,  Lepus  cuniculus  §§,  Mus  rattus.  Of  the  car- 
niTora  were  determined  FelU  Uopardus,  Felispardina,  Felis  serval,  Hymna 
hrunnea,  Canis  vulpes,  Ursua  sp. ;  also  remains  of  the  common  dolphin, 
numerous  genera  and  species  of  birds,  a  species  of  tortoise  and  numerous 
remains  of  fishes,  of  which  the  tunny  is  most  prominent. 

The  remains  are  imbedded  in  red  cave-earth  and  also  in  a  black  layer 
similar  to  that  noticed  in  the  caves  of  France  and  elsewhere.  In  many 
instances  the  organic  remains  have  been  carried  down  Arom  one  cavern  to 
another  at  a  lower  level  through  long  fissures,  by  the  heavy  autumnal 
floods  which  pour  ftom  the  higher  grounds  down  upon  Windmill  Hill 
plateau  (where  many  of  these  ossiferous  caves  are  situated),  bringing 
with  them  the  remains  of  the  various  animals  which  at  an  earlier  period 
Inhabited  the  thickly-wooded  heights,  now  entirely  destitute  of  trees  and 
only  covered  at  places  by  the  little  Chamcerops  htimilis. 

Many  human  and  animal  remains,  attributable  to  modem  periods,  have 
been  also  met  with ;  but  the  older  human  remains  are  distinguished  by 
peculiarities  in  the  thigh  bones  which  closely  resemble  those  met  with  in 
the  Cro-Magnon  Cave.  —  Quarterly  Journal  of  Science, 


-•o*- 


ANSWERS  TO  CORRESPONDENTS. 

W.  H.  S.,  Huminelstown,  Pa.  — The  "Canadian  Nataralist^  is  pnblished  monthly  at 
Quebec,  $3  a  year  gold.    Address  M.  PAbb^  Frovancher,  Quebec,  Canada. 

C.  J.  S.,  St.  Auntstine,  Fla.  No.  1,  Pinquieula  hUea ;  2,  Nothing  came  with  this  num- 
ber; 8,  Amianthtum  angusiifoHum  t  4,  Lupinwf  d^fimtsj  6,  Pinouicula  pumtto.  See 
Chapman's  Southern  Flora.  For  naming,  fair  specimens  should  be  sent,— not  misei> 
able  and  withered  bits. 

J.  L.  L.,  Boston.  — Specimens  of  various  species  of  sea^anemones  with  two  months, 
each  surrounded  by  its  circle  of  tentacles,  have  often  been  observed  and  recorded  in 
Europe.  I  have  seen  several  instances  of  this  kind  in  our  native  Metridium  margina- 
tum. It  is,  however,  to  be  regarded  as  an  abnormal  condition,  and  appears  in  many 
cases  to  have  been  caused  by  some  injury,  which  has  been  healed,  leaving  two  disks 
instead  of  one.  Spontaneoas  division  occars  normally,  however,  in  allied  coral  ani- 
mals, and  a  disk-shaped  sea-anenome  is  formed  in  the  West  Indies  which  naturally  has 
two  mouths  {Ri(iordeafioridal>vi<s\\.  and  Mich.).— A.  £.  V. 

W.  H.  8.,  Hummelstown,  Pa.  The  shells  sent  are  as  follows,  by  yonr  numbers :  1, 
Helix  monodon  Racket  (Stenotrema);  2.  Helix  tridentata  Say  (Triodopsis):  3.  Helix  a/- 
temata  Say  (Anguiepira);  4,  Helix  bucculenta  Gld.  (Hesodon);  5,  Helix  aibolabri$  Say 
(Mesodon);  6, 7,  Anculoea  diasimiiis Say;  8,  Ooniob€uu  Viryinica  Say  (Melania);  9,  Palu- 
dina  decisa  Say  (Melantho):  10,  Spharium  ntleatum  Lam.;  11,  Ptanorbia  mcmnatut 
Say ;  12, 13,  Margaritana  unatUata  Sav ;  14,  Unio  complanatui  Sol. ;  15,  Anodonta  edeniula 
Say;  l^y  AnodontaJtuviatUU  Lea.— G.  W.  T.,  Jr. 

BOOKS  RECEIVED. 

.  Quarttrfy  Journal  of  Sei^nee,    London.    April,  1870. 

Nature,    London.    March  34, 81.    April  7, 14,  31.28. 

Seienti/le  Opinion.    London.    Nos.  '3-77.    April. 

The  Academy.    London.  No.  8.    May. 

Science  Oostip.    London.    April  and  Hay. 

American  EmomologUt  and  Botanist.    St.  Lonls.   Vol.  2,  No.  8.  April,  1870. 

The  BntomologitCi  Monthly  Magazine,  London  (monthly).  From  jDecember,  1888,  to  March, 
18TO,  Inclusive. 

The  Field.    London.    April  9, 16, 38. 

Sarrii  on  the  Fig ;  Breeding,  Rearing,  Management  and  Inmrwement,  By  Joseph  Harris. 
Ulostrated.    13mo,  cloth.    Oranf^e  Judd  St  Co.    New  York.    1870.    $1.80. 

Sketche*  of  Creation ;  a  Popular  View  of  Some  qfthe  Grand  Conchuiom  of  the  Sciences  in  rff- 
erenee  to  the  Hittorg  </  Matter  and  of  Lye.  By  Alexander  WInehell,  LL.D.,  etc  With  iUns* 
tratlons.    ISmo,  cloth,  pp.  480.   1870.   Harper  A  Brothers.   Mew  York. 


TECS 


AMERICAN    NATURALIST 


Vol.  IV.  — JULY,  1870.  — Wo.  6. 
THE    HORSE    FOOT    CRAB. 

BY  REV.  8.  LOCKWOOD,  PH.  D. 

It  is  proposed  to.  give  some  results  of  a  summer's  study 
on  the  iocubation  of  the  eggs  of  the  Horse  Foot  Crab,  and 
to  connect  those  results  with  observations  made  in  an  ac- 
quaintance of  several  years  with  the  animal  in  its  native 
haunts,  in  the  hope  of  thereby  furnishing  something  towards 
a  life-history  of  the  species.* 

Among  systematists  this  crustacean  is  known  as  lAmulus 
Polyphemus.  It  bears  also  the  popular  names  Horse  Foot 
Crab,  Horseshoe,  and  King  Crab.  In  this  article  these 
names  will  be  used  as  convenience  may  suggest. 

The  King  Crab  delights  in  moderately  deep  water,  say 
from  two  to  six  fathoms.  Except  in  the  case  of  the  very 
young,  which  are  probably  carried  thither  by  the  tidal  flow ; 

*In  October,  18S9,  the  writer  read  a  paper  before  the  Zoological  section  of  the  New 
York  Ljcenm  of  Natural  History,  under  the  title  "  A  Contribution  to  the  Natural  His- 
tory of  the  King  Crab/'  which  contained  the  notes  taken  during  the  Bummer's  investi- 
gation alluded  to  above.  The  article  now  appearing  in  the  Axesican  Natubalibt  is 
taken  mainly  firom  that  paper.  —  S.  L. 


to  AM  rf  O—pl^  to  «te  7»M  1870.  ^  Om  Pi«»«»y  AaAMsr  «v  Boini«a,  to  Ito  Otoik't  OAw  «r  lk«  MikM 

Oont  vf  ika  DlatrM  af  Htmirhmttn 

AMXR.   NATURALIST,  VOL.   IV.  88  (257) 


258  THE   HORSE   FOOT   CRAB. 

it  never  seeks  the  shallow  waters,  unless  for  the  purpose  of 
reproduction.  It  is  emphatically  a  burrowing  animal — living 
literally  in  the  mud,  into  which  it  scoops  or  gouges  its  way 
with  great  facility.  The  anterior  edge  of  its  enormous 
cephalic  shield  is  not  unlike  in  form  the  sausage,  or  mince- 
meat knife  of  our  kitchens  (PI.  3,  Fig.  12).  The  upper 
shell  of  the  animal  is  composed  of  three  parts — the  forward 
shield,  which  is  greatly  the  larger,  the  posterior  shield,  and 
the  long  bayonet-shaped  spine,  or  tail.  In  the  burrowing 
operation  the  forward  edge  of  the  anterior  shield  is  pressed 
downward,  and  shoved  forward,  the  two  shields  being  in- 
flected, and  the  sharp  point  of  the  tail  presenting  the  ful- 
crum as  it  pierces  the  mud,  while  underneath  the  feet  are 
incessantly  active,  scratching  up  and  pushing  out  the  earth 
on  both  sides.  There  is  a  singular  economy  of  force  in  this 
excavating  action,  for  the  alternate  doubling  up  or  inflecting, 
and  straightening  out  of  the  two  carapaces,  with  the  pushing 
purchase  exerted  by  the  tail,  accomplish  both  digging  and 
subterranean  progression.  Hence  the  King  Crab  is  worthy 
to  be  called  the  Marine  Mole. 

The  Limulus  is  carnivorous.  Its  food  is  the  soft  nereids, 
or  sea  worms ;  so  that  not  only  in  its  mode  of  burrowing  for 
concealment,  but  also  in  its  method  of  procuring  food  does 
it  resemble  that  little  burrowing  mammal  of  the  land.  It  is 
sometimes  found  held  in  a  strange  durance,  with  a  limb  en- 
trapped between  the  valves  of  the  quahog,  or  round  clam, 
(  Venus  mei'cenaria) ,  It  is  a  pitiful  sight  to  behold — a  galley 
slave  with  limb  confined  to  ball  and  chain — **a8  far  from 
help  as  limbo  is  from  bliss.''  The  explanation  is  easy.  The 
quahog  too  is  a  burrower,  and  Limulus  has  seized  the  pro- 
jecting syphon  of  the  mollusc,  which  being  suddenly  with- 
drawn, the  less  agile  claw  is  jerked  between  the  yalves,  and 
the  same  are  closed.  This,  of  course,  would  effectually 
entrap  the  limb.  But  here  occurs  just  this  strange  fact,  that 
a  lobster  or  a  crab  would  not  long  be  held  in  such  durance, 
but  would  give  their  custodian  leg-bail ;  that  is,  would  cast 


THE  HORSE  FOOT  GRAB.  259 

off,  and  desert  the  imprisoned  limb,  and  in  due  time  would 
reproduce  the  lost  member. 

The  position  of  the  mouth,  and  the  masticating  process 
are  so  peculiar,  that  a  description  should  not  be  omitted. 
The  King  Crab  has  six  pairs  of  feet;  although  by  some, 
those  constituting  the  extreme  anterior  pair  are  called  anten- 
nae, being  greatly  shorter  than  the  others.  The  four  pairs 
between  this  first  pair,  and  the  last  pair,  have  a  functional 
structure  differing  from  the  anterior  and  posterior  pairs.  Of 
these  four  pairs,  the  basal  joint,*  or  haunch,  of  each  limb  is 
flattened  and  smooth  on  each  side,  as  though  they  were  a 
series  of  plates  intended  to  work  upon  each  other,  as  the 
keys  of  an  organ  under  the  fingers  of  the  musician.  The 
external  edge  of  each  is  rounded,  and  beveled  like  the  edge 
of  a  carpenter's  chisel.  Thus  these  flattened  haunches  lie 
against  each  other,  their  rounded  edges  directed  backward 
at  a  considerable  angle.  The  beveled  edges  (which  are  the 
exposed  parts)  of  these  projections  are  covered  with  very 
sharp  incurved  spines,  overhanging  and  pointing  into  the 
oral  aperture ;  for  it  is  between  these  four  pairs  of  spine- 
clad  haunches  that  the  creature's  mouth  is  situated.  Each 
of  these  basal  spines  is  articulated,  and  is  set  in  the  crater, 
or  cup,  of  a  little  teat-like  prominence.  These  then,  are  the 
true  jaws  of  the  animal's  mouth ;  and  as  there  are  four  pairs 
of  these  manducatory  joints,  the  creature's  mouth  is  set  in  a 
line  between  eight  jaws.  These  spiny  teeth  have,  by  their 
articulation,  an  amount  of  mobility  in  their  little  pits,  which 
is  enlinently  serviceable  and  preservative.  Of  these  chew- 
ing teeth,  though  the  number  is  variable,  an  individual  can 
scarcely  have  less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty. 

Wishing  to  see  what  their  food  might  be,  and  how  they  eat 
it,  I  placed  a  specimen,  hatched  the  preceding  summer,  in  a 
small  aquarium,  and  supplied  it  with  plenty  of  fresh  and 
tender  sea  lettuce  (  Ulva  laiissima).  But  this  sea  salad  re- 
mained untouched,  although  the  young  Limulus  had  no  other 
fare  for  three  weeks.     In  fact,  famishment  had  i*endered  it 


260  THE   HORSE   FOOT   GRAB. 

literally  diaphanous.  I  tben  tried  animal  food.  Having 
opened  a  live  quahog  I  routed  the  little  fellow  from  his  hi- 
ding place  in  the  sand,  and  gave  it  a  morsel  of  the  clam.  It 
was  ravenous,  and  fed  only  as  a  really  hungry  being  could. 
Though  using  the  round  clam  principally,  I  gave  it  other 
food  at  different  times.  Any  mollusc  was  acceptable,  if 
only  sufficiently  tender.  It  even  ate  beef;  but  not  with  the 
relish  of  the  mollusca.  This  I  observed,  that  beinsf  well  fed 
it  never  would  eat  carrion  ;  although  what  it  would  do  if 
impelled  by  hunger  I  cannot  say. 

As  yet  I  had  not  seen  the  eating.  This  was  also  hidden 
by  the  carapace.  I  was  now  very  anxious  to  witness  the 
feeding  process.  The  first  step  was  to  put  the  animal  on  a 
long  fast,  and  thus  to  secure  a  good  appetite.  This  done,  a 
bit  of  clam  was  dropped  before  the  hungry  crab,  which  was 
instantly  drawn  under  with  its  claws,  when  I  immediately 
turned  it  over,  holding  it  with  the  abdomen  against  the  glass 
side  of  the  tank.  It  was  kept  in  that  position  for  full  five 
minutes,  the  eating  process  being  easily  witnessed,  and  the 
manducation  quite  satisfactorily  observed.  The  performance 
is  certainly  a  very  curious  one.  The  animal  being  in  its 
natural  position,  the  food  is  held  immediately  under  the 
mouth  by  the  claws,  or  nippers,  of  the  posterior  pair  of  jaw- 
less  feet,  aided,  if  necessary,  by  some  of  the  others.  The 
basal  joints,  or  manducatory  haunches,  then  begin  an  alter- 
nating motion  of  these  members  upon  the  food,  by  drawing 
one  of  the  spiny  or  rasp-like  joints  against  the  opposite  one 
of  the  same  pair,  the  food  of  course  being  between  the  two. 
This  chewing  by  means  of  these  opposing  rasps,  reminded 
me  of  the  hand-carding  process,  in  which  the  card  held  by 
the  right  hand  is  brought  towards  and  against  the  one  held 
in  the  left  hand,  the  wool  being  between ;  when  the  right 
hand  card  is  held  still,  and  the  left  hand  duplicates  the  mo- 
tion, and  so  on.  The  fine  particles  rasped  off  by  the 
incurved  teeth  pass  into  the  mouth.  It  will  be  readily  seen 
that  food  so  finely  chewed  before  it  passes  into  the  digestive 


THE   HORSE   FOOT  GRAB.  261 

apparatus  would  afford  but  a  poor  chance  to  the  investigator 
who  sought  its  nature  by  use  of  the  knife.  Of  the  large 
inimber  that  I  have  opened  of  adult  specimens,  I  never  found 
anything  to  tell  me  on  what  they  fed ;  and  not  until  by 
actual  experiment,  above  described,  did  I  know  whether 
Limulus  was  vegetarian  or  carnivorous. 

The  exuviation  of  the  King  Crab  is  performed  several 
times  during  the  first  year,  and  at  very  short  intervals. 
How  many  I  do  not  know,  as  that  must  vary  according  to 
the  time  of  hatching.  But  I  think  the  young  produced  in 
the  latter  part  of  June  will  accomplish  five  or  six  moults  be- 
fore the  cold  weather  comes.  Even  in  the  case  of  the  adult 
—  exceptional  as  it  is  among  the  Crustacea  —  I  think  it  prob- 
able that  the  shell  is  cast  more  than  once  in  the  year.  The 
professional  oysterman  having  taken  up  his  best  crop  with 
the  tongs,  secures  the  gleaning  with  heavy  iron  dredges ;  and 
when  using  this  instrument  will  take  up  an  occasional  Horse 
Foot,  even  in  the  winter  season.  In  the  unusually  tine 
weather  of  an  open  February  several  years  ago,  in  Eariton 
Bay,  an  adult  female  was  in  this  manner  taken  out  of  the 
mud  by  the  deep  sinking  dredge,  when  lo,  the  animal  had 
but  recently  "shed,"  and  its  shell  was  still  quite  soft. 

Sometimes  the  shedding  can  ba  witnessed  under  very  un- 
usual circumstances.  A  large  female  taken  in  August,  al- 
though kept  for  many  days  in  the  open  air,  yet  moulted  in 
captivity.  The  operation  was  a  very  trying  one,  and  re- 
quired three  or  four  days,  as  the  animal  got  very  dry.  A 
little  water  was  occasionally  thrown  on  it  for  pity's  sake ; 
and  even  this  was  not  marine  water.  Of  course  moulting 
under  such  extraordinary  circumstances  was  a  very  dif- 
ficult, and  probably  painful  operation ;  the  wonder  was  that 
it  could  be  done  at  all.  With  natural  surroundings  a  few 
minutes  generally  suffice  for  the  task.  A  thin  narrow  rim 
runs  round  the  under  side  of  the  anterior  portion  of  the 
cephalic  shield.  This  is  in  fact  the  widest  part  of  the  ani- 
mal.   Just  before  the  time  for  exuviating  a  separation  occurs 


262  THE   HORSE   FOOT   GRAB. 

between  this  rim,  aud  the  perimeter  of  the  anterior  shield. 
To  the  unaided  eye  this  rent  is  altogether  imperceptible,  but 
opens  on  the  exertions  of  the  animal ;  and  at  this  opening  it 
emerges  from  the  old  shell.  Now  as  the  opening  is  at  the 
front,  and  in  the  place  of  the  gi*eatest  width,  and  moreover 
as  the  shell  is  sub-coriaceous,  and  somewhat  yielding,  and 
at  this  particular  place  is  very  thin,  it  may  be  seen  how  great 
advantage  the  animal  has  in  this  matter  over  the  higher  crus- 
taceans whose  moult,  from  necessity,  takes  place  from  behind, 
and  whose  shell  is  composed  of  a  more  unyielding  material. 
In  the  exuviation  of  Limulus  I  fancy  a  close  likeness  to  that 
of  the  insects  when  leaving  the  pupa.  The  King  Crab 
emerges  at  the  forward,  but  under  side  of  the  cephalic  cov- 
ering ;  the  beetle  at  the  forward,  but  dorsal  side  of  the  same. 
It  is  plain  that  Limulus  has  an  easier  time  in  getting  off  his 
old  coat  than  his  "more  respectable  relations"  have.  To  see 
the  King  Crab,  as  it  were,  coming  out  of  himself,  is  a  sight 
so  odd  as  to  draw  from  those  beholding  it  the  exclamation 
"it  is  spewing  itself  out  of  its  mouth." 

When  the  animal,  specially  noticed  above,  had  come  out 
of  its  old  shell  it  was  nine  and  a  half  inches  in  the  shorter 
diameter  of  the  cephalic  shield ;  while  the  vacated  shell  was 
but  eight  inches  by  the  same  measurement.  If  they  moult 
more  than  once  in  the  year  this  would  make  their  growth 
quite  rapid ;  and  if  they  do  not,  it  seems  to  me  that  they 
must  attain  an  age  of  not  less  than  eight  years  before  reach- 
ing the  size  that  indicates  adult  life.  But  we  must  speak  of 
this  farther  on.  I  have  observed  that  every  spring,  that  is, 
so  soon  as  the  water  has  lost  its  winter  temperature,  large 
numbers  of  the  young  of  the  previous  summer  are  found  in 
the  shallows.  These  range  from  an  inch  to  two  and  a  half 
inches  in  the  shorter  diameter.  As  the  creature  when  begin- 
ning life  for  itself,  is  but  a  scant  quarter  of  an  inch  in  diam- 
eter, this  would  imply  rapid  growth,  and  I  think  that  the 
larger  of  the  above  have  probably  lived  through  two  winters. 

There  are  reasons  for  believing  that  the  spawn  is  deposited 


THE   HORSE   FOOT   GRAB.  263 

by  the  same  individual  more  than  once  in  the  same  season. 
I  have  heard  this  asserted  with  confidence  by  some  fishermen. 
But  as  they  could  advance  no  proof  no  attention  was  given 
it  until  the  following  fact  occurred.  Let  me  first  state  that 
it  is  a  custom  prevailing  wherever  the  Horse  Foot  Crab 
abounds,  to  catch  it  to  feed  poultry,  under  the  belief  that  it 
makes  them  lay,  as  it  surely  does  fatten  both  them  and  hogs, 
but  imparts  a  shocking  flavor  to  the  flesh  of  both.  The  fe- 
male is  always  preferred  on  account  of  its  eggs,  of  which  it 
has  not  less  than  half  a  pint,  crowded  within  the  cephalic 
shield.  These  are  obtained  by  inserting  the  point  of  a  knife 
into  the  forward,  and  under  edge  of  the  shield,  and  running 
the  knife  round  through  the  thin  rim,  already  described, 
when  the  entire  lower  part  can  be  torn  from  the  upper  part 
of  the  shield,  thus  exposing  the  eggs,  which  are  like  mustard 
seed,  but  of  an  ashy  green  hue.  Now  a  female  that  I  knew 
to  have  spawned  in  May  was  in  this  manner  opened  in  July, 
and  was  then  to  my  surprise  full  of  eggs,  well  formed,  and 
with  every  appearance  of  maturity. 

The  Horse  Foot  Crab  spawns  at  or  near  the  new  and  full 
moon,  in  the  months  of  May,  June  and  July.  By  this, 
however,  is  only  meant  that  they  embrace  the  time  of  the 
extra  high  tides,  which  depend  so  greatly  on  the  lunar  influ- 
ence. But  mark  the  nice  calculation  herein  displayed. 
They  come  up  at  a  great  high  tide,  advancing  on  the  bottom, 
until  they  reach  a  suibible  spot  near  to,  but  within  the  ex- 
treme line  of  this  great  tide.  Three  definite  advantages  are 
in  this  way  secured.  First,  the  spawning  is  performed  under 
water,  or  without  undue  exposure ;  second,  the  line  of  the 
average  high  tide  is  thus  selected ;  and  third,  a  short  ex- 
posure to  the  daily  low  tides  is  thus  secured,  by  which  the 
proper  exposure  of  the  spawning  spot  to  the  development- 
accelerating  heat  of  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  is  obtained. 

A  visit  of  the  adult  Limulus  to  the  shore  line,  except  at 
the  spawning  season,  is  a  very  rare  event.  At  this  season 
they  come  up  in  great  numbers  in  pairs ;  and  it  may  be  said 


264  THB   HORSE  FOOT  CRAB. 

with  no  figure  of  speech,  in  true  nuptial  bands, — the  male 
riding  on  the  shield  of  the  female,  and  retaining  himself 
firmly  in  this  position  by  holding  to  the  sides  of  the  poste- 
rior carapace,  with  the  two  stout  and  short  nipper  feet,  which 
are  exclusively  possessed  by  the  males,  which  with  the  size 
of  the  animal,  so  much  smaller  than  the  female,  serve  to  dis- 
tinguish the  sex  at  a  glance.  The  female  excavates  a  de- 
pression in  the  sand,  drops  her  spawn  into  it,  upon  which 
the  male  emits  the  fecundating  fluid,  and  the  nest  is  at  once 
deserted,  the  parents  returning  seaward,  with  the  retreating 
tide.  Occasionally,  a  pair  less  alert  than  the  rest,  is  left  by 
the  tide,  which,  however,  they  will  overtake,  if  unmolested. 
By  the  action  of  the  water  the  eggs  are  immediately  covered 
up  with  sand;  though  if  the  wind  be  unpropitious,  large 
numbers  are  often  washed  up,  and  cast  in  windrows  on  the 
beach,  and  soon  devoured  by  the  many  hungry  beings,  of 
bird,  fish,  and  mollusc  kind  that  always  abound. 

Our  Limulus  is  a  true  monogamist.  But  it  is  likely  that  a 
new  mate  is  accepted  each  spawning  time.  Occasionally  a 
female  comes  to  shore  with  even  three  suitors  attached,  two 
of  them  vainly  endeavoring  to  unseat  the  accepted  one.  The 
above  has  led  to  the  belief  among  fishermen  of  a  dispropor- 
tion of  the  sexes.  I  think  that  this  point  cannot  in  that  way 
be  inferred. 

Though  formerly  the  Horse  Foot  Crab  was  very  plentiful 
in  Rariton  Bay  it. has  become  rather  scarce.  Accordingly 
they  have  to  be  watched  for  now.  Not  having  the  time  to 
spare  I  engaged  a  fisherman  to  keep  a  lookout  in  the  month 
of  May,  1869,  for  an  actual  spawning.  He  was .  instructed 
to  see  the  pair  come  up  and  spawn,  and  to  capture  them  at 
once  on  their  attempt  to  return  with  the  tide;  he  was  also 
told  to  scoop  up  with  a  tin  vessel  the  whole  spawn-mass, 
sand  and  all,  and  not  to  touch  the  eggs  with  his  hands.  I 
believe  the  man  faithfully  obeyed  instructions.  Thus  the 
spawn  and  the  parents  were  brought  to  me  uninjured.  My 
preparations  had  been  carefully  made.     Hatching  jars  had 


THE  HORSE  FOOT  GRAB.  265 

been  set  for  a  number  of  days,  and  the  water  was  in  a  fine 
state  of  oxygenation.  One  difficulty  I  bad  to  submit  to,  of 
a  serious  character.  I  couid  only  subject  the  water  to  the 
reflected  Ught  of  the  sun.  The  direct  light  would  in  the 
summer  season  prove  too  warm,  and  spoil  my  water.  The 
result,  as  will  appear,  was  that  the  hatching  was  accom- 
plished very  slowly,  a  fact  which  with  another  should  be 
borne  in  mind  while  reading  the  following,  namely,  the  ab- 
sence of  those  conditions  of  agitation,  variation  of  water 
depth,  and  sometimes  complete  exposure  to  air  and  sunlight, 
consequent  on  the  tidal  flow. 

May  26,  1869. — To-day  my  Limulus  eggs  were  set  for 
hatching.  Yesterday  was  full  moon.  The  eggs  were  of  a 
greenish  white,  dull,  and  rather  dirty  looking.  My  notes 
record  no  measurement,  which  I  now  regret.  As  incubation 
progressed  the  external  shell  became  rapidly  darker,  and 
more  coriaceous.  But  for  this  last  fact  I  had  become  afraid 
that  they  were  in  process  of  decay.  Several  ineflectual  ef- 
forts were  made  to  get  at  the  internal  changes,  but  owing  to 
imperfect  instruments  I  gave  up  in  despair,  and  determined 
to  watch  and  wait  for  more  advanced  developments.  There 
is  considerable  vitality  in  the  King  Crab's  eggs.  It  will  bear 
a  good  deal  of  retardation,  and  yet  come  out  at  last.  It 
will  be  understood  that  necessarily  my  arrangements  had  a 
good  deal  of  retarding  effect.  At  the  real  amount  I  was 
quite  surprised.  •  Those  on  the  surface  progressed  most 
rapidly. 

July  18th. — ^Thirty-four  days  after  spawning.  The  opaque 
chorion  has  cracked  (PI.  3,  Fig.  1)  disclosing  the  white  pel- 
lucid spherical  membrane  within.  Now  a  sight  met  me 
which  gladdened  my  eyes.  It  was  a  living  trilobite  form. 
But  of  course  very  diminutive.  Yet  it  could  be  seen  with 
the  unaided  eye,  and  quite  satisfactorily  with  a  common  lens. 
It  is  shown  greatly  magnified  (PI.  3,  Fig.  2)  in  outline. 
Here  the  elongate  character  of  the  abdominal  posterior  is 
noticeable ;  also  the  excessive  relative  width  of  the  thorax. 

AMKR.  NATURALIST,  VOL.  IV.  34 


266  THE  HORSE  FOOT  CRAB. 

The  figure  shows  only  the  upper  side,  but  it  has  the  feet  quite 
advanced,  and  the  two  great  eyes  have  well  begun.  In  two 
or  three  days  it  was  considerably  changed  (PI.  3,  Fig.  3). 
Though  not  so  much,  still  the  cephalo-thorax  was  relatively 
greatly  in  excess  of  the  abdominal  shield.  The  limbs,  though 
not  shown  in  the  cut,  were  quite  long,  reaching  beyond  the 
edges  of  the  carapace.  The  two  sessile  eyes  were  now 
prominent,  but  the  central  oculiform  tubercles,  as  they  have 
been  called,  but  which  I  prefer  to  call  ocelli,  were  wanting; 
for  in  their  place,  that  is,  the  central  anterior  of  the  cephalic 
shield,  was  still  a  depression,  or  cleft,  yet  to  be  filled  up  in 
the  progress  of  development.  To  me  it  seems  that  so  far 
the  development  was  markedly  asaphoidal ;  that  is,  it  re- 
minds me  of  Asaphus,  using  that  term  as  the  typical  genus 
of  the  Trilobites.  Before  passing,  it  should  be  observed 
that  the  embryo  had  its  two  segments  inflected ;  and  with 
short  intervals  of  rest  (not  many  minutes  at  a  time)  kept 
up  a  very  active  revolving  within  its  pellucid  prison ;  the 
efifect  of  this  friction  on  the  walls  of  the  hollow  sphere  would 
be  to  bisect  it.     As  the  embryo  revolves  it  lies  upon  its  back. 

August  3d. — Seventy  days  from  the  spawning.  To-day 
an  embryo  has  left  the  ovum.  It  measures  two  and  a  half 
lines  in  length  and  two  lines  in  width.  Except  for  a  little 
space  in  front  the  cephalic  shield  is  armed  on  its  perimeter 
by  a  series  of  briar-like  spines,  in  two  rows  of  about  twenty- 
five  each,  the  spines  alternating  with  some  regularity  as  to 
size.  The  curved  rim  of  the  pygidium,  or  caudal  shield,  is 
also  fringed,  but  with  setaceous  tufts,  each  tuft  being  made 
up  of  hairs  of  difierent  lengths.  This  new-born  creature  is 
in  outline  almost  circular.  The  cleft  in  front  of  the  cephalic 
shield  has  disappeared.  The  sessile  eyes  are  now  promi- 
nent, and  are  well  up  on  the  shield,  the  two  ocelli  are  quite 
distinctly  marked.  But  as  yet  there  is  nothing  of  the  artic- 
ulated tail  that  marks  the  parent  Limulus,  or  its  congener 
Eurypterus. 

Such  was  the  form  (PL  3,  Fig.  4)  of  the  little  being  be- 


THE  H0B8B  FOOT  GRAB.  267 

• 

fore  me.  Was  it  not  a  veritable  trilobite  ?  It  at  once  began 
to  shift  for  itself,  making  a  persistent  effort  to  burrow  like  its 
parent.  By  consulting  the  figure  it  will  be  seen  that  besides 
its  tail-less  aspect  every  feature  is  that  of  a  trilobite.  The 
abdominal,  or  caudal,  canipace  is  relatively  much  wider  than 
in  the  adult  Limulus.  The  segmentary  lines  afford  a  very 
distinct  triiobed  character  to  both  shields.  The  spiny  and  se- 
taceous fringe  finds  its  counterpart  in  many  of  the  trilobites. 
The  pointed  tendency  of  the  keel  on  the  caudal  shield  seems 
to  me  to  look  towards  Pterygotus.  But  if  we  take  into  view 
the  presence  of  the  ocelli  already,  and  the  high-up  position 
of  the  large  sessile  eyes,  we  have  Eurypterus  shadowed 
forth.  Let  the  reader  examine  PI.  3,  figs.  5,  6,  7,  8,  9,  10, 
which  give  an  outline  of  the  telson-plate,  or  terminal  tail- 
joint  of  as  many  separate  species  of  the  fossil  crustacean 
Pterygotus,  Fig.  5  is  P.  Banksii,  in  which  the  telson  is 
marked  by  a  cleft.  Fig.  6  is  P.  bilobus^  showing  the  cleft 
less  marked,  and  the  presence  of  a  median  ridge  or  keel. 
Fig.  7  is  P,  gigasy  in  which  the  keel  is  more  developed, 
showing  a  higher  relief,  and  a  greater  prolongation,  and  the 
disappearance  of  the  cleft.  Fig.  8  is  P.  Ludensis.  Here 
the  keel  is  still  more  acuminated,  and  the  "plate  itself  is 
mucrouated.  Fig.  9  is  P.  bilobuSy  its  size  being  very  much 
reduced.  Fig.  10  is  P.  acuminatus.  Here  the  keel  has 
attained  an  extreme  length,  and  great  relief,  and  is  with  the 
plate  carried  to  a  slender  point.  And  this  prolongation  of 
the  telson  plate  into  a  terminal  spine,  is,  I  think,  in  respect 
of  posterior  development,  the  highest  effort  of  the  Pterygotus. 
I  also  think  that  this  is  shadowed  forth  in  the  embryology  of 
Limulus.  But  it  should  be  noticed  that  there  is  not  so  far,  in 
all  this  spinal  tendency,  anything  in  the  direction  of  an  articu- 
lated spine.  That  is,  there  is  nothing  xiphosuroid,  or  sword- 
tailed  in  all  this,  as  in  Limulus,  and  the  fossil  crustacean 
Eurypterus,  which  have  an  articulated  bayonet-shaped  ap- 
pendage. Now  Pterygotus  has  two  sessile  eyes,  and  only 
two,  and  these  are  placed  low  down  on  the  very  edges  of  the 


268  THE  HORSE  FOOT  CRAB. 

forward  shield.  But  Limulus  aud  Eurypterus  have  both 
two  large  sessile  eyes  set  high  up  on  the  shield,  and  two 
ocelli  set  forward. 

The  want  of  an  articulated  tail  was  soon  apparent  in  the 
case  of  our  little  Limulus.  The  slightest  obstacle  turns  it 
on  its  back,  when,  not  having  this  organ,  which  the  adult 
uses  so  effectively  in  such  emergency,  the  little  thing  begins 
a  vigorous  flapping  of  the  branchial  plates.  This  causes  it 
to  rise  in  the  water ;  then  by  ceasing  the  agitation  it  at  once 
descends,  with  a  chance  of  alighting  right  side  up.  Should 
it  miss  the  ascent  would  be  repeated  until  its  desire  was 
accomplished. 

August  15th. — Eighty-two  days  from  the  spawning.  A 
great  many  had  hatched,  and  many  had  perished  for  want 
of  care.  I  had  almost  given  exclusive  attention  to  the  one 
described  above.  It  had  its  second  moult  to-day.  A  few 
minutes  sufficed  for  it  to  withdraw  itself  from  its  baby  suit. 
I  noticed  that  it  stopped  a  little  while,  as  if  to  rest,  having 
the  caudal  appendage  only  half  withdrawn  from  the  old 
shell  (PI.  3,  Fig.  11).  At  last  out  it  came,  a  person  of  dis- 
tinction possessing  the  articulated  rapier.  It  is  a  true  Limu- 
lus now,  and  fully  entitled  to  carry  for  Ufe,  the  sword  of 
honor,  which  has  ever  been  the  family  mark  of  rank.  The 
animal  is  now  quite  a  fourth  of  an  inch  in  width,  and  its  tail 
is  the  one-twentieth  of  an  inch  in  length.  Where  did  it  keep 
it  while  in  the  old  dress?  It  must  have  been  bent  under  and 
upon  the  abdomen.  I  have  noticed  them  since  at  this 
moult,  with  the  tail  considerably  incurved,  and  which  re- 
quired some  hours  to  straighten  out.  Dorsally  the  little 
thing  has  now  nearly  the  complete  appearance  of  the  adult 
Limulus.  The  setaceous  fringe  of  the  abdominal  carapace 
had  disappeared,  and  had  left  an  armature  of  teat-like  or 
half-developed  spines ;  and  the  spiny  fringe  of  the  cephalic 
shield  was  quite  gone.  The  posterior  projections  of  this 
shield  ai'e  now  sharp.  The  tail  is  distinctly  articulated,  but 
somewhat  stumpy.     A  section  of  the  adult  tail  would  be  ul- 


THE   HOBSE  FOOT   CRAB.  269 

most  triangular,  the  lower  side  being  slightly  rounded,  the 
upper  sharply  edged,  while  a  sectiou  of  the  tail  of  this  young 
specimen  would  \te  almost  ovoidal.  The  tail  of  the  young 
is  also  more  distinctly  marked  with  lines  of  segmentation 
than  is  that  of  the  adult.  As  it  travelled  on  the  mud  before 
this  moult,  it  made  tiny  rows  of  toe-tracks,  leaving  a  plain 
unmarked  space  between  the  rows.  Now  it  mores  with  tail 
depressed,  and  makes  a  medial  line  dividing  the  toe-tracks 
into  two  series. 

Alas,  at  this  point,  when  I  had  become  intensely  interested, 
a  serious  illness,  against  which  I  had  offered  a  dogged  de- 
termination to  keep  at  work,  peremptorily  settled  the  matter 
by  taking  from  me  the  use  of  my  eyes. 

It  will  be  noticed  thus  far  that  the  observations  here  re- 
corded, are  almost  entirely  morphological,  and  not  physi< 
ological.  Professor  E.  D.  Cope  has  given  us  a  lucid  phrase, 
"expression  point."  He  says  of  development,  "while  the 
change  is  really  progressing,  the  external  features  remain 
unchanged  at  other  thim  those  points,  which  may  l>e  called 
expression  points."  It  seems  to  me  that  "expression  points" 
of  generic  significance  have  been  pointed  out  four  times  in 
these  remarks.  Twice  in  the  ovum  I  thought  there  was  an 
"expression  point"  of  a  triiohed  genus;  aud  in  the  larval 
stage,  I  thought  Pterygotus  and  Eurypterus  were  shadowed 
forth. 

And  ill  the  metamorphoses  of  the  larval  state  there  are 
remarkable  changes  with  reference  to  functional  necessities. 
Already  mention  baa  been  made  of  the  moult  at  which  the 
animal  receives  its  articulated  tail.     Now  in  the  life  of  Lim- 
ulus  this  tail  is  as  indispensable  as  is  the  Alpine  stock  to  the 
Swiss  mountaineer.     It  is  constantly  liable  by  the  least  agi- 
tation, or  obstruction,  to  be  turned 
for  its  tail  it  would  be  as  helpless  : 
position.     It  is  then  that  it  deflects  t 
sharp  spine  into  the  mud  or  sand, 
vering  efforts  succeeds  in  turning  itsi 


270  THE  HORSE  FOOT  CRAB. 

it8  limbs  that  exposure  of  the  under  side  to  the  attacks  of 
fishes  would  soon  end  its  career.  In  short  it  must  keep  its 
carapace  '*  right  side  up  with  care,"  if  it  would  care  to  live. 
I  must  now  mention  another  functional  metamorphosis 
which  seems  to  me  of  a  very  remarkable  character.  So 
great  is  the  difference  in  form  between  the  anterior  feet  of 
the  female,  and  the  same  feet  in  the  male,  that  the  very 
children  on  the  shore  lines  at  once  in  this  way  distinguish 
the  sexes.  In  the  female  this  limb  is  long,  slender,  and 
weak ;  in  the  male  short,  stout  and  ventricose.  Intended  for 
strong  holding,  their  nip  is  like  that  of  a  vice.  Their  use  is 
to  hold  on  to  the  carapace  of  the  female,  so  that  the  male 
may  retain  his  position  as  the  pair  come  up  in  the  breeding 
season.  And  so  strong  his  hold  that  no  violence  of  storm, 
or  attack  of  rival  suitors,  can  displace  him.  Well  does  the 
fisherman  know  this,  as  he  stands  in  the  water  ready  to  spear 
the  female  as  she  comes  up  in  nuptial  embrace.  He  is  only 
concerned  to  catch  the  female,  for  it  would  need  some  force 
to  separate  the  two.  Now  functionally,  this  stout  foot,  "or 
hand,"  as  the  fishermen  call  it,  has  no  use  in  early  life.  The 
Horse  Foot  Crab  has  its  period  of  puberty ;  this  is  its  adult 
stage.  But  judging  from  the  size  of  the  males  when  they 
couple,  which  is  pretty  uniform,  and  their  actual  rate  of 
growth,  I  think  that  the  puberty  of  Limulus  cannot  come 
before  the  third  or  fourth  year.-  And  it  would  not  surprise 
me  if  the  latter  figure  should  prove  the  minimum  age. 
However  this  is  the  point — it  is  not  until  that  age  of  pu- 
berty is  reached  that  the  male  undergoes  its  last  metamor- 
phosis. It  then  has  a  moult,  from  which  it  emerges,  having 
received  its  large  claws,  or  literally,  its  nuptial  hands. 
What  change  there  may  be  on  the  emotional  side  who  can 
tell,  when  master  Limulus  assumes  the  toga  virilis  and  is  old 
enough  to  "propose."  This  may  be  asserted  of  these  very 
decorous  and  monogamous  people,  that  among  them  prema- 
ture marriages  are  unknown,  for  however  soon  the  lady  may 
be  ready  to  give  her  heart,  not  until  maturity  of  age  can  the 
gentleman  possibly  extend  to  her  his  hand. 


THE  HORSE  FOOT  CRAB*  271 

The  above  fact  was  obtained  by  evidence  purely  negative, 
yet  not  the  less  convincing.  First,  there  was  the  suspicion  of 
the  fact,  then  the  search  for  a  young  male  possessing  nuptial 
claws.  But  albeit  the  numerical  equality  of  the  sexes  this 
was  not  found,  though  large  numbers  of  young  specimens  of 
different  ages  were  examined.  Moreover,  I  have  not  found 
the  fisherman  who  has  ever  seen  one. 

Although  some  of  the  systematists  make  of  Limulus  a 
distinct  order,  as  Xiphosura^  or  sword-tailed ;  yet  I  cannot 
but  think  that  in  nature  the  Trilobites  are  included,  making 
of  all  one  grand  order.  It  would  thus  have  not  only  a  real 
systematic  meaning,  but  a  profound  chronologic  significance. 
However  this  may  be  in  the  light  of  coming  knowledge,  I 
think  Pterygotus  and  Eurypterus  stand  higher  than  the  typi- 
cal Trilobite  proper,  and  that  Limulus  leads  rank  over  all. 

Figure  68  shows  Limulus  after  the  first  moult  (very 
much  enlarged),  when  not  more  than  a  week  old.  Tlie 
fringe  of  the  buckler  is  now  less  thickly  yjg^  ^ 

set,  the  cardinal  spines  only  being  con- 
served, and  these  not  so  stout.  The 
posterior  shield  shows  the  permanent 
spines.  Still  the  contour  is  asaphoidal 
while  the  median  ridge  of  the  abdom- 
inal carapace,  terminating  in  the  point 
of  the  mucronated  shield,  is  suggestive 
of  the  dorsal  keel  in  Pterygotus  gigas 
and  P.  anglicus.     At  this  stage,  as  the   i-Jmuius  after  the  urstmouit. 

facts  seem  to  me,  the  larval  Limulus  shows  forth  more  than 
one  generic  "expression  point*'  in  the  career  of  the  trilobite 
as  a  •'comprehensive  type." 

It  should  be  stated  here  that  the  exuvia  represented  by 
fig.  68  was  accidentally  discovered  on  the  surface  of  the  mud, 
at  the  bottom  of  an  hatching  jar,  used  in  these  observations 
last  summer.  At  the  close  of  the  warm  season  last  vear 
my  jars  must  have  contained  not  less  than  two  hundred 
young  Limuli.      We  have   already  said  that  so   soon  as 


272  THE   HORSE   FOOT  GRAB. 

batched  the  young  burrow  like  the  adult;  hence  the  rare- 
ness of  an  oppoilunity  to  witness  the  casting  of  the  skin. 
Hoping  to  continue  observations  upon  the  growth  of  my  in- 
teresting family  the  ensuing  year  the  jars  were  carefully  put 
away.  Little  regard,  however,  was  paid  to  temperature, 
which,  on  several  occasions,  went  down  to  the  freezing  point. 
On  the  3d  of  May,  1870, 1  emptied  the  jars  to  see  how  my 
charge  was  getting  on,  when  lo,  not  one  of  the  last  year's 
hatching  was  alive  I  but  wonderful  to  say  at  least  a  dozen 
little  fellows,  all  hatched  this  spring,  and  all  alive,  had  taken 
their  place.  With  these  were  also  at  least  thirty  eggs,  in 
different,  but  all  in  advanced,  stages  of  incubation.  In  some 
of  them  the  young  could  be  plainly  seen  revolving.  The 
fact  was  these  eggs  had  been  at  the  bottom  of  the  hatching 
jar,  and  had  never  had  any  contact  with  the  sunlight.  At 
once,  not  without  some  misgiving  as  to  the  result,  the 
proper  provision  was  made  to  complete  the  incubation, 
namely,  new  sea-water,  clean  sand,  the  eggs  put  on  top,  and 
all  set  in  a  favorable  place.  With  an  ordinary  hand  lens 
the  progress  of  incubation  could  be  observed  daily.  At 
half-past  four  o'clock  on  the  afternoon  of  May  11th,  before 
my  eyes,  a  new-born  baby  Limulus  left  the  egg.  Just  think 
of  it — these  eggs  are  within  two  weeks  only  of  being  a  year 
old  !     And  then  how  remarkable  are  these  facts  also — those  * 

eggs  were  partly  incubated  last  summer.  Hence  there  has 
been  not  only  a  remarkable  retardation  of  development,  but 
also  an  actual  arrest  of  the  same  for  seven  or  eight  months 
without  sacrificing  life.  Query :  is  there  any  connection 
here  with  that  indomitable  persistence  of  being,  which  in 
the  Divine  will  has  carried  this  comprehensive  type  through 
the  many  eons  of  existence,  wherein  has  been  unrolled  so 
slowly  the  life  plan  of  the  Entomostraca,  from  that  initial 
Trilobite  of  the  Pre-siluria  to  our  Limulus  of  these  latter 
days? 

It  has  been  hinted  already  in  this  article  that  at  different 
stages  of  its  life  the  larval  Limulus  made  a  different  impress 


274  THE   SEA-WEEDS   AT   HOME   AND   ABROAD. 

Fig.    9.  Pierygotus  bilobua. 

Fig.  10.  Terminal  tall  Joint  of  Pterygotus  acuminatus. 

Fig.  11.  The  smaller  one  is  Limulus  Just  hatched,  natural  size,  mere  out- 
line ;  the  larger  is  the  same  undergoing  the  first  moult,  and  leaving 
the  old  shell,  and  having  a  tail. 

Fig.  12.  Limulus  Polyphemus,  one  year  old.  The  markings  on  the  pos- 
terior carapace  become  less  distinct  with  adult  age.  The  adult  female 
will  attain  a  size  even  exceeding  twelve  Inches  across  the  cephalic 
shield. 

Fig.  13.  Eurypterus  remipes ;  size  very  much  reduced. 

Fig.  14.  Sao  hir8utu8,  a  triloblte. 


THE  SEA-WEEDS  AT   HOME  AND   ABROAD. 

BY  JOHN   L.   RUSSKLL. 

The  vegetable  productions  of  the  ocean,  like  those  of  the 
drier  portions  of  the  earth,  are  subject  to  a  similar  order  of 
distribution.  The  most  common  collector  of  plants  becomes 
soon  aware  that  there  are  kinds  which  are  not  to  be  looked 
for  in  ordinary  places,  and  soon  learns  to  set  a  value  on  those 
which  rarely  occur  to  him.  He  also  desires  to  extend  the 
area  of  his  observations  so  as  to  embrace  different  latitudes, 
or  to  obtain  the  same  results  by  ascending  lofty  mountain 
heights.  So  the  collector  of  sea-weeds  does  not  confine 
himself  to  particular  districts,  but  endeavors,  either  by  per- 
sonal inspection  or  else  through  the  labor  and  courtesy  of 
others,  to  ascertain  what  forms,  seemingly  familiar  or  entirely 
diverse,  may  grow  abroad.  The  deeper  soundings  of  the 
ocean-beds,  like  the  higher  elevations  of  the  land,  afford  him 
a  greater  variety,  affected  by  different  causes,  which  in  their 
natural  course  produce  different  results. 

The  general  plan  of  vegetable  life,  especially  in  the  lower 
plants,  seems  to  point  to  constant  modification  of  some  one 
typical  form,  and  this  modification  appears  to  have  its  origin 
in  climatic  influences.  It  becomes  a  most  fascinating  study 
to  endeavor  to  join  the  separate  and  divided  links  so  as  to 


THE   8EA-WEED8   AT   HOME   AND   ABROAD.  275 

possess,  in  a  series  of  specimens,  the  probable  method  of 
development  which  nature  has  thus  instituted.  Let  me  en- 
deavor to  adapt  this  idea  to  the  thoughts  of  this  present 
essay,  and  arrange  to  some  extent  the  sea-weeds  (Algce) 
of  our  own  and  of  foreign  or  distant  coasts  together.  Let 
us  see  in  what  kinds  there  are  corresponding  ones ;  and  when 
we  select  some  choice  specimen  from  the  beach-drift,  or 
pluck  it  from  the  rocks,  endeavor  to  tell  on  what  distant 
strand  it  is  obedient  to  the  pulsing  waves,  or  perchance  at- 
tracts other  eyes. 

The  coast  of  New  England  presents  as  great  a  diversity 
in  outline  and  in  character  as  perhaps  can  be  found  in  the 
same  length  of  the  Atlantic  shore.  We  have  here  the  deep 
inlets  like  Norwegian  fiords  in  Maine ;  the  bold  rocky  prom- 
ontories of  Massachusetts  varied  with  the  almost  level  and 
smpoth  sands  of  the  South.  The  noblest  in  size,  as  well  as 
most  beautiful  in  color  and  features,  are  the  algae  which  are 
to  be  met  with  throughout  this  wide  range.  The  would-be 
successful  collector  must  resort  to  the  dredging  apparatus, 
and  like  the  shell  collector  needs  a  strong  arm  and  abundance 
of  patient  toil  to  serve  him;  else  he  must  wait  some  vio- 
lent storm,  which  shall  break  from  their  deeper  moorings 
those  more  valuable  weeds  which  only  can  grow  perfectly 
and  develop  themselves  entirely  far  below  the  surface, 
where  the  sun's  rays  but  feebly  penetrate  and  the  water  is  of 
a  nearly  uniform  temperature.  Some  wonderful  waifs  are 
occasionally  met  with  in  this  way  by  visiting  the  beaches  and 
picking  over  the  waste  with  scrupulous  care.  In  the 
warmer  waters  of  the  Southern  States,  like  those  on  the 
Florida  Keys,  there  may  be  sought  singular  kinds  resembling 
corals,  for  which  they  were  formerly  mistaken  by  Lamour- 
oux,  some  of  exquisite  beauty  in  design  and  shape.  Some 
of  these  are  found  growing  from  the  base  of  a  Gorgonia  or 
sea-fan,  and  secreting  from  the  ocean  their  covering  of  lime. 
And  others  of  richest  green  creep  over  the  sand  beneath  the 
water,  and  throw  up  a  turf  as  verdant  as  that  which  clothes 


276  THE   SEA-WEEDS   AT   HOME   AND   ABROAD. 

the  most  luxurinut  pastures.  This  field  of  botanical  enquiry 
is  yet  open,  and  many  a  desirable  harvest  can  be  reaped,  from 
season  to  season,  out  of  the  treasures  of  the  deep,  and  the 
yet  undiscovered  or  little  known  species  of  New  England 
attract  the  deserved  attention  of  the  casual  visitor  or  of  the 
sedulous  student. 

Let  then  the  season  be  summer,  the  warm  days  of  June, 
when  many  people  as  naturally  resort  to  the  seaside  as  if 
the  custom  were  instinctive  and  migratory.  To  some  the 
scenery  is  the  same  and  familiar,  and  the  cool  air  is  the 
main  thing  to  be  realized  ;  to  others,  though  familiar  yet  ever 
new,  and  to  others  every  object,  however  minute,  is  novel. 
T\\e  very  rocks  and  cliffs  are  different  in  looks,  composition 
and  general  features ;  the  sand  composed  of  curious  minerals, 
tiny   shells   and   comminuted   fragments;   the  wild  flowers 

m 

wierd  and  unusual;  the  thick  leaved  and  prickly  seeded 
plants  thriving  within  the  spray's  reach  ;  the  beach  cumbered 
with  productions  of  the  sea — mineral,  animal,  vegetable — 
thrown  in  wild  confusion.  Who,  for  the  first  time,  is  not 
moved  with  wonder  at  these  sea-weeds?  Who  would  not  wish 
to  become  better  acquainted  ?  And  no  wonder  so  many  are 
gathered,  floated  out  into  shape,  dried,  pressed  and  carefully 
laid  away,  silent  witnesses  that  beauty  and  utility  are  often 
combined  where  little  dreamed  of.  The  interest  increases 
with  each  coming  season ;  the  practised  eye  soon  learns  to 
discriminate ;  the  cultivated  taste  finds  the  most  propitious 
time  of  the  year  for  collecting,  and  such  trifles,  employed  at 
first  to  while  away  an  hour  or  two,  are  often  found  indis- 
pensable and  auxiliary  to  the  very  enjoyment  of  life. 

Suppose  we  start  on  a  walk  for  some  gravelly  beach  con- 
tiguous to  some  town  or  city,  and  removed  from  it  by  the 
interventions  of  wild  pastures,  rocky  and  almost  desolate, 
or  by  some  level,  wide  extended  marsh.  At  any  season  of 
the  year,  when  walking  is  practicable,  the  botanist  who  ac- 
companies you,  can  point  out  abundant  objects  of  interest 
long  before  you  come  within  sea  range.     The  intervening 


THE   SEA-WEEDS   AT  HOME   AND   ABROAD.  277 

space  proves  not  so  dreary  or  desolate  as  it  appears,  for 
often  our  most  interesting  and  best  friends  have  the  rudest 
exterior.  Perhaps  he  knows  something  about  the  lichens, 
those  dull  green,  grayish,  yellow,  bright  orange,  black 
crusts,  scales,  fringes,  torn,  ragged  felts ;  or  perchance  those 
dry,  crisp,  brittle,  crimson  tipped,  blunt  tipped,  sharp 
pointed,  branching  anomalies  which  cover  many  an  acre  of 
sterility  where  nothing  else  grows,  and  where  the  surfaces 
of  rocks  and  the  rough  bark  of  trees  cannot  offer  them  any 
chance.  He  will  be  able  to  introduce  you  through  these 
desiccated  and  seemingly  lifeless  plants,  the  lineal  descendants 
of  the  first  forms  of  vegetation  which  appeared  on  the  dry 
and  solid  earth,  to  the  wonderful  and  more  grotesque,  more 
developed,  sometimes  enormous  sea-weeds  which,  at  the  birth 
of  Creation,  sprung  into  activity  as  plants  in  the  ** waters 
which  covered  the  face  of  the  deep."  Nay,  you  need  not  heed 
these  unless  you  choose,  although  within  every  one  of  them 
lies  enfolded  a  wondrous  tale,  locking  up  in  the  recesses  of 
their  natures,  health  and  healing  and  joy.  Notice  too  as  you 
walk,  the  fair  flowers  springing  up  on  every  side.  If  autumn, 
or  early  winter,  a  bright  October's  day  or  a  green  Christ- 
mas, you  may  yet  find  for  your  admiration  such  seed-vessels, 
such  starry  calyces,  such  feathered  down,  such  inimitable 
trifles  as  no  gold  could  purchase  or  art  fabricate. 

Such  rough  and  confused  pasture  lands  lie  between  Rock- 
port  and  the  sea;  between  Gloucester,  between  Marblehead, 
Cohasset,  Scituate  and  many  famous  places,  and  the  beat- 
ing ocean.  By  the  very  marge  of  one  such  beach  I  have 
found  plants  seen  nowhere  else  by  me  except  on  mountain 
sides.  Think  of  Rockport  in  July,  lovely  in  the  masses  of 
mountain  laurel,  and  this  fine  native  shrub  opening  its  clus- 
ters of  flowers  within  sight  of  the  very  sea.  From  the  land 
side  the  very  odors  of  Araby  the  Blest  come  over  the  Man- 
chester and  Gloucester  waters  from  the  magnolia,  and  glad- 
dens the  heai*t  of  the  returning  fisherman.  The  very  rocks, 
worn  smooth  by  the  surf  and  rounded  and  polished,  extend 


278  THE   SEA-WEEDS   AT   HOME   AND   ABROAD. 

just  80  far  inland,  which  the  closely  attached  lichen  defines  by 
its  persistence  in  bright  yellow  colors  in  the  strict  line  of  ter- 
restrial and  maritime  growth.  They  stand  there  patient  senti- 
nels to  denote  that  the  floods  shall  no  more  cover  the  earth ; 
the  lichen  the  earth's  plant,  and  the  alga  the  sea's  plant, 
approximate  and  almost  kiss  each  other  in  approach.  Noth- 
ing higher  in  the  scale  of  organization  ventures  so  near ;  not 
the  sedge,  bulrush  or  hardiest  grass  dare  grow  so  close  to  the 
waves.  Nor  are  lichen  and  alga  far  removed  in  consan- 
guinity ;  in  structural  difference  something ;  some  more  ex- 
posure to  sun  and  rain,  to  snow  and  ice,  to  heat  and  cold,  in 
existence  and  continued  individual  life  vastly  more  in  favor 
of  the  little  crusted  slow-growing  lichen,  patient,  untiring, 
serenely  beautiful,  doing  by  day  and  night  its  usual  work 
and  breaking  down  the  hardest  and  most  obdurate  rock 
formations  by  the  gentlest  persuasion  of  its  constant  pres- 
ence to  aid  the  atmospheric  influences. 

The  algae  are  so  diverse  in  their  forms,  and  so  many  in 
number,  computing  only  the  precise  kinds  or  species,  to  say 
nothing  of  innumerable  varieties,  many  of  which  have  been 
separately  and  minutely  described,  that  in  ordei  to  facilitate 
the  labor  of  finding  out  what  they  are  it  has  been  found  best 
to  divide  them  into  three  great  groups  known  by  the  color 
of  their  seed-vessels.  But  as  it  is  not  always  possible  to  find 
their  seed-vessels,  or  even  those  minuter  parts  which  though 
not  seeds  serve  for  similar  purposes,  because  like  other  plants, 
and  what  we  call  flowers  or  flowering  plants,  these  too  have 
particular  seasons  of  the  year  when  they  produce  them,  so 
to  look  for  strawberries  after  the  vines  have  done  bearing 
would  be  precisely  like  looking  for  seed-vessels  on  sea-weeds 
when  they  had  passed  the  season.  Some  kinds,  too,  like 
some  other  and  higher  plants  never  bear  any  seeds  in  our 
latitudes,  but  such  seed  bearing  plants  must  be  sought  else- 
where. Fortunately  in  this  dilemma  the  chances  of  success 
are  in  our  favor,  and  the  usual  color  of  the  sea-weed  corres- 
ponds with  the  color  of  the  seed  it  bears.     The  rosy  or 


THE   SEA-WEEDS   AT   HOME   AND  ABBOAD.  279 

red-seeded  algse  are  usually  the  most  popular  because  the  pret- 
tiest ;  but  others,  eveu  the  black  or  fuscous-seeded  ulgae  have 
many  claims  ou  our  attention.  I  will  yeuture,  however,  to 
set  both  these  kinds  aside  for  awhile,  and  speak  first  of  the 
green-seeded  algae,  the  Gldoro^peifncEi  as  they  are  called  in 
the  books. 

In  the  rear  of  some  beaches,  like  that  known  to  the  old 
folks  about  Marblehcad,  as  Devereux's  beach,  perhaps  it  has 
now  another  name,  surely  none  more  euphonious  —  may  be 
seen  large  extended  reaches  of  salt  or  brackish  water,  cov- 
ered with  floating  masses  of  a  light-green  tangled  fibre,  and 
which  lies  in  flakes  upon  the  tips  of  the  growing  gi*a8s,  or 
cast  ashore  to  desiccate  and  fade  in  the  bright  sunshine. 
Lifting  carefully  a  little  on  the  end  of  a  sharply-pointed 
stick  we  shall  find  a  great  many  silky,  glossy  threads,  each 
slender,  sparingly  branched  with  alternate  and  scattered 
branchlets  somewhat  spread  apart;  sometimes  growing  on 
one  side,  each  joint  several  times  longer  than  broad.  Within 
each  joint  look  after  a  green  granular  mass  which  answers 
for  seeds,  and  to  do  this  you  must  have  a  pocket  lens  for 
your  eye ;  at  home  a  compound  microscope  would  do  better, 
and  in  this  rapidly  growing  and  widely  extending  Chloro- 
sperm  you  have  taken  your  first  lesson,  perhaps,  in  studying 
the  algfe,  having  been  introduced  to  the  Conferva  JlavescenSy 
and  if  possessed  with  farther  curiosity  you  may  learn  of 
other  Confervas  of  equal  or  surpassing  evidence.  The  ex- 
treme lightness  which  these  sheets  of  dead  fibres  have, 
renders  them  easily  elevated  into  the  higher  strata  of  the 
air,  whence  they  have  been  known  to  fall  in  violent  showers 
far  into  the  interior,  spreading  consternation  by  their  pres- 
ence in  such  an  unusual  manner,  and  greatly  frightening  the 
superstitious  and  ignorant.  Sometimes  this  substance  has 
been  called  "meteoric  paper,"  and  I  have  seen  in  the  micro- 
scopical cabinets  of  my  acquaintances  fragments  of  similar 
matter  from  very  remote  parts  of  the  globe.  This  single 
species    has    been    observed    extensively   in    Europe    and 


280  THE   8EA-WEED8  AT   HOME  AND  ABROAD. 

America;  and  the 'few  students  of  our  native  kinds  have 
been  rewarded  by  meeting  with  several  others,  identical  with 
species  which  grew  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean, 
such  as  C.  bombycina^  rivulainSj  aerea^  refracta^  etc.  But 
perhaps  the  most  curious  of  these  water  silks,  as  they  may 
be  termed,  credited  to  the  northern  lakes  and  to  those  lovely 
sheets  of  fresh-water  in  Central  New  York,  is  the  (7.  glome- 
rata  of  the  earlier  writers,  but  now  called  Cladophora,  on 
account  of  the  peculiar  manner  in  which  the  joints  ari'ange 
themselves,  being  either  packed  together  in  strata  or  layers, 
or  flexed  and  curved  in  long  and  delicate  lines ;  and  another, 
far  more  curious,  of  which  there  are  many  sorts  distributed 
from  Sweden  in  the  far  north,  to  Cayenne  in  South  America ; 
found  in  Cuba,  in  New  Zealand,  in  the  lakes  of  Germany 
and  in  the  fresh-waters  of  Great  Britain ;  and  worth  looking 
after  here,  is  the  (7.  (Bgagopila^  its  filaments  rolled  together 
like  a  compact  ball,  and  when  dry,  sometimes  used  for  pen- 
wipers. I  have  looked  for  it,  but  always  in  vain ;  other  del- 
icate and  pellucid-jointed  water  plants  sometimes  do  so,  but 
evidently  they  are  only  imitations.  In  the  ditches  and 
by  the  sides  of  shaded  paths  where  the  water  is  stagnant, 
similar  Chlorosperms  may  be  seen.  Is  there  any  identity  and 
do  the  same  algse  grow  indiflferently  in  fresh  and  salt  water 
alike?  The  question  is  worth  attention,  so  let  us  when  we 
retrace  our  steps  examine.  Here  I  have  lifted  on  the  end  of 
my  cane  some  of  these  floating,  swollen  masses ;  they  also 
are  fibrous  and  silken,  but  see !  how  diflferent  is  the  green 
coloring  particles  within  the  joints  I  Here  are  a  few  in 
which  the  seeds  are  so  arranged  that  the  joints  which  are 
only  about  as  long  as  they  are  broad,  and  vary  in  length, 
are  marked  by  two  roundish  stars.  It  is  but  a  rude  idea 
produced  by  the  arrangement  of  the  seeds,  but  as  these 
stand  side  by  side  in  the  parallel  joints  of  two  of  the 
silken  filaments  of  the  tangle  we  have  lifted  from  the  ditch, 
and  which  are  joined  laterally  by  a  connection  or  bridge, 
they  remind   us  of  the  mythological   story  of  Castor  and 


THE   SEA-WEEDS   AT  BOMB  AND  ABROAD.  2S1 

Fullux,  the   twins   of  Tyndarus,   and   our   humble  alga   is 
accordingly   called   Tyndaridea,  and  of  it  are  many  kinds 
growing  tangled  eveu,  in  the  same  mass.     In  similar  and 
rig  OS.  equally  unlikely  places  for  beauty  to  dwell 

and  abide  we  can  gather  the  Zygnema,OT 
Yoke-thread,  in  the  joints  of -which  the 
green  granules  are  at  first  arranged  in 
spiral  rings,  but  afterwards  collect  into  a 
single  globule  as  tlie  future  seed  (fig.  69). 
In  one  species  the  spiral  lines  become  a 
zriDRDL  series  of  the  Koman  V,  and  in  another  of 

the  letter  X.  Strangely,  too,  do  the  delicate  and  fragile  fila- 
ments or  silken  threads  bend  at  acute  angles,  the  coloring 
matter  first   filling   each  joint,  ^     ^ 

but  soon  contracting  into  a  nar- 
row continuous  stripe.  In  this 
and  others  of  similar  behavior 
and  appearance  we  have  Jl/ow- 
geotia  (fig.  70),  named  in  mem- 
ory of  a  botanist,  and  bearing 
bis  suiTiame.  They  are  com- 
mon in  Europe  and  New  Eng- 
land, Before  we  leave  these 
rich  green,  emerald  and  vivid, 
or  pleasing  green  weeds  of  the 
stagnant  and  brackish  pools,  let  '"'*"  '' 

me  tell  you  of  a  pleasant  surprise  I  once  had  in  the  sunny 
waters  of  an  ovei-flowed  and  stagnant  pool  formed  by  the 
rising  of  the  lake,  and  there  permanent  through  the  year  for 
want  of  means  of  draining  it.  Years  have  fled  and  the  pool 
is  solid  ground  now,  covered  by  the  property  of  the  railroad 
company,  and  near  Burlington,  Vermont.  The  conchologist 
may  be  pleased  to  learn  that  Lymncea  megasotna  Say,  once 
lived  there  ;  but  my  finding  the  elegant  water-net,  or  Hydro- 
dictyon  utriculatum,  previous  to  its  being  seen  by  the  cele- 
brated Bailey  in  Philadelphia  and  at  We«t  Point,  will  always 

AHKB.    NATI'RAUST,   VOL.   IV.  86 


282 


THE    SEA-WEEDS   AT   HOME   AND  ABROAD. 


connect  a  delightful  remembrance  with  stagnant  pools  and 
still  waters  in  my  mind.  In  this  pretty  acjuatic  the  joints 
are  united  at  their  ends  into  regular  pentagonal  or  hexagonal 

Fig.  71.  meshes,  and  form  a  tubular 

net  which  floats  in  the  water. 
Turning  again'  towards  the 
sea  let  us  look  into  these 
salt  pools  among  the  clifl!s, 
some  shallow  and  others 
deep  and  lined  with  exquis- 
itely colored  algse  too.  Cer- 
tainly, so  far  as  looks  go, 
some  of  these  verdant  and 
glossy  silks  should  be  Con- 
fervflB,  but  having  been  in- 
structed better  by  the  lens 
let  us  see  what  it  will  do  for 
us  here.  This  flossy  silk, 
how  delicately  and  gmce- 
fully  it  floats  just  under  the 
chaBtomorpha.  surfacc,   but  a   little  of  it 

lifted  into  the  air  collapses  in  a  very  ungrateful  way.  Yes  1 
you  have  gone  out  of  the  realm  of  the  Confervse  and  only 
resemblances  occur.  Thus  your  floss  silk,  so  entangling, 
inelegant  in  the  air,  shows  its  elegant  proportions  and  finer 
divisions  in  its  native  elements  and  in  water  of  a  denser  me- 
dium. It  is  a  tuft  of  a  true  maritime  Chlorosperm  (tig.  71), 
one  of  a  very  large  genus,  and  as  Professor  Harvey  tells  us, 
difiScult  to  define ;  so  we  must  be  content  with  our  present 
knowledge  to  observe  and  admire.  Some  tufts  of  darker 
green  colored  and  bristle-like  jointed  filaments  stand  stiflly 
in  the  water ;  they  are  worth  gathering,  and  bear  the  name 
of  ChoUomo^'pha^  or  Bristle  alga ;  the  most  common  with  us 
is  the  Melagonium^  but  several  others  may  be  found  on  the 
New  England  shores  and  the  Mediterranean,  the  Canary 
Isles,  Algiers,  New  Holland,  Tropical  America  and  the  East 


THE   atlA-WEEDS   AT   HOME   ASD   ABROAD.  283 

Indies;  the  uortheru  aad  soiitbcni  portions  of  the  globe  de- 
light ill  their  presence.     For  specimens  they  only  dry  indif- 
ferently, the  joints  shrinking  by  dryness,  but- the  algologist 
cares  little  for  looks.     Very  marvels  are  those  closely  adhe- 
rent algte,  which  creep  over  moistened  surfuces,  ami  some 
of  which  are  fonnd  on  rocks  wetted  by  the  sea,        pj    ^ 
many  in  springs  of  flowing  water,  some  in  hot 
springs,  and  such  unlikely  pliices;  but  I  should 
scarcely  forgive  myself  if  I  overlooked  in  this 
connection    the   Miaoleus   repens  (fig.   72),  iu 
masses  resembling  a  green  slime  of  almost  black 
intensity ;   but   litled   from   the    wet   path  and 
a  few  of    its  conferva-like   threads   magnified, 
shows  its  claim  to  regard.     As   the    little    bit 
expands  under  water  the  microscope  assists  you 
to   see   the   oscillating   motions   of   its  jointed 
filaments,   creeping  apsut  from  each  other  like  "'™"«*«i>«* 
the  measured  progress  of  the  hand  over  the  dial  plate  of 
your  watch ! 

Similar,  but  not  tied  up  in  little  sheathing  bundles,  are  the 
pretty  Lyngbyas,  snarls  of  silky  fibres,  but  each  in  a  mucous 
sheath  Ity  itself  and  divided  into  numerous  transverse  joints 
of  rich  deep  greeji,  purple,  browu  and  other  coloi-s;  widely 
difi'used  over  the  globe  and  extensively  scattered  over  wet 
sm'fiices,  faces  of  rocks,  and  places  where  we  should  expect 
nothing  curious  or  striking.  They  too,  boast  of  many  kinds 
of  i*esidcnce  in  the  sea,  in  salt  marshes,  among  pebbles  on 
the  shore,  in  hot  springs,  and  the  water  of  salt  works,  living 
alike  iu  fresh  or  saline  homes. 

Some  few  larger  and  more  specious  Chlorosperms  are 
those  rich  green  crisped  and  wavy-margined  thin  algte,  which 
lie  ujwn  the  soft  mnd  aflcr  retreating  tides,  covering  unsight- 
liness  with  continuous  beauty,  and  i-efreshing  the  eyes.  They 
are  known  as  "lavers,"  UlvoE,  and  two  or  three  species  are 
well  known.  They  do  not  mike  very  pretty  specimens,  but 
pieces  of  them  can  be  advantageously  employed  iu  airaiiging 


284  THE   8EA-WEEDS   AT   HOME   AND  ABBOAD. 

other  kinds.  Sometimes  they  are  served  up  with  lemon 
juice  uuder  the  name  of  Oystergreen,  and  as  a  diet  are  con- 
sidered of  good  repute.  The  broadest  leafed  kind  are  se- 
lected. The  green  particles  which  correspond  to  the  seeds 
are  deeply  embedded  in  the  pulp  of  the  entire  plant,  and 
commonly  armnged  in  fours,  while  those  of  the  Purple  laver 
{Poiyhyra)j  which  notwithstanding  their  color,  so  distinct 
from  the  seeds  of  the  Chlorosperms,  form  an  exception  to  the 
general  rule,  and  though  possessing  rounded  granules,  qua- 
ternally  arranged,  are  also  provided  with  chisters  of  oval 
^         seeds  (fig.  73)  besides  thus  indicating  a  step 

a^  forward  in  the  progressive  development.     To 

find  this  pretty  alga  it  is  well  to  examine  the 

'*"'         piles  and  timbers  of  wharves,  and  the  perpen- 

>j  y  dicular  faces  of  rocks  submerged  by  the  tides. 

^  Other  and  finer  species  than  our  own  have  a 

Seeds  of  Porpbyra.       'j     j»  •  j  •  'xi.   ^.i 

Wide  dispersion,  and  in  common  with  the  green 
lavers  may  be  frequently  met  with,  abroad,  in  similar  situa- 
tions. Not  very  unlike  their  cousins,  the  U1v8B,  are  the 
grotesque  looking,  pale  green,  inflated  buUate  Enteromor- 
phas,  tossed  in  wild  confusion,  and  mingled  irrespectively 
together,  with  the  usual  rejectamenta  of  the  sea  upon  the 
rocks ;  despised  and  overlooked  as  they  are  apt  to  be  there 
they  are  respectable  Chlorosperms  when  growing  and  thriv- 
ing under  the  water ;  and  a  little  care  and  attention  to  their 
merits  will  give  them  their  place  among  the  dried  trophies 
of  the  ocean  gleanings.  Singularly  alike,  and  yet  different, 
are  the  Tetrasporas  of  the  fresh-water,  floating  quietly  upon 
the  stream,  their  lax  netted  tissues  of  pleiisant  green  color 
having  their  interior  subsUmce  dotted  over  with  clusters  of 
seeds  arranged  in  fours ;  and  others  of  humbler  pretensions 
but  of  wondrous  symmetry  and  beauty  nestling  like  small 
disks  upon  the  pebble  or  upon  the  submerged  log,  or  throw- 
ing wide  upon  the  current  their  elegant  beaded  filaments  like 
necklaces  of  strung  jewels,  embraced  by  the  Chlorosperms 
or  claimed  by  aberrant  forms  of  the  Confervse. 


THE   SEA-WEEDS   AT   HOME   AND   ABROAD.  285 

Some  tropical  sea-weeds  belonging  to  this  section  now 
claim  the  attention.  These  are  the  Siphonacese,  so-called 
because  whatever  be  the  form  or  size  of  the  alga  the  different 
parts  have  a  continuous  cavity  throughout  like  a  pipe  or 
siphon.  And  a  very  great  difference  exists  in  these  several 
forms,  some  of  which  are  very  singular,  others  very  beautiful. 
They  are  described  as  green,  marine  or  fresh- water  algae, 
either  naked  or  else  coated  with  carbonate  of  lime,  which 
they  extract  by  the  method  of  their  growth  and  life  from  the 
water.  A  few  kinds,  of  which  the  elegant  Bryopsis  is  an 
instance,  are  found  in  our  northern  bays  and  waters.  It  is  a 
pretty  little  green-tufted  feather-like  alga,  parasitic  on  other 
weeds,  and  growing  on  the  rocks  near  the  shores.  Yet  in 
its  range  it  reaches  to  Cape  Horn,  the  Falkland  Islands  and 
New  Zealand.  The  green  particles  within  its  substance 
break  up  into  smaller  parts,  and  bursting  through  the  sides 
of  the  branches  escape  to  furnish  the  needed  seed  dispersion. 
In  a  somewhat  similar  branching  kind,  but  in  which  the  single 
jointed  filaments  and  branchlets  or  twigs,  as  we  may  call 
them,  are  compacted  together  into  flattened  bundles,  so  as 
to  look  like  a  rude  fan  furnished  with  a  handle  or  stem,  and 
the  sticks  somewhat  encrusted  with  carbonate  of  lime,  we  have 
the  Udotea^  named  by  Lamouroux  after  some  ocean  goddess, 
known  to  Hesiod.  One  species,  the  U.  conglutinata^  of 
Lamouroux,  has  been  seen  growing  at  Key  West;  and 
another,  in  which  the  lime  is  uniformly  and  evenly  depos- 
ited on  the  entire  surface,  much  more  resembles  a  spread- 
out  fan,  and  is  known  in  our  tropical  seas  as  U.  flabellata^ 
while  other  seas  produce  still  other  forms.  They  are  so 
bizarre  and  unlike  ordinary  algae  that  no  one  but  an  adept 
would  recognize  their  place  among  sea-weeds.  In  Halimeda 
(fig.  74)  we  have  still  other  singular  and  anomalous  looking 
plants,  short-jointed  and  broadly  dilated  for  the  length  of 
the  joints,  looking  not  unlike  some  smaller  truncated  cactus 
of  the  green-house,  but  soon  fading  to  a  dull  white  tint,  and 
on  drying  becoming  brittle.     Several  species  are  met  with 


286  THE    SEA-WEEDS   AT   HOME    AND   ABROAD. 

on  the  Florida  shores,  of  which,  perhaps  the  H,  opxtntia  is 
the  most  common,  as  I  have  picked  several  fragments  of  its 
clustered  stems  from  gorgonias  and  corals  collected  among 
the  Keys.  Removing  the  lime  encrustjitions,  a  singular  skel- 
eton of  fibres,  branching  oft'  into  clusters  of  smaller  branches, 
presents  itself  and  which  serves  as  a  support  to  the  tissues. 
In  company  with  these  oddities  is  another  singular  marine 
production,  composed  of  innumerable  slender,  single-celled 

Fig.  74.  branching    filaments,    inextri- 

cably woven  together  into  the 
form  of  a  hollow  ball,  and 
which  grows  from  the  size  of 
a  cherry  to  that  of  the  human 
head,  and  is  known  in  the 
European  seas  as  Codium 
bursay  or  Sea-purse;  while 
another  species  with  a  nar- 
row, long,  branching  form, 
but  with  fibres  similarly  en- 
tangled and  woven  y  has  been 
found  on  the  coasts  of  Cali- 
fornia, but  is  not  known  on 
the  Atlantic  shores  of  New 
England,  a  prize  perhaps  for 
Haiimeda.  somc  sca-wccd  collcctor !    Of 

the  other  siphon-constructed  algea  may  be  cited  the  Cauler- 
pasy  elegant,  green,  creeping-rooted  algee,  mimicking  under 
graceful  forms,  the  fenis,  club-mosses,  feathery  mosses, 
ground  pines,  selagines  and  other  higher  cryptogamic  plants, 
such  as  grow  in  the  woods  and  in  bogs  remote  from  the  sea ; 
investing  the  submarine  sands  and  tide-washed  rocks  with 
perennial  verdure  and  loveliness,  and  found  alike  in  every 
tropical  sea  on  the  globe. 

These  lime-bearing  alg®  so  far  away  from  our  personal 
observation,  and  to  be  seen  onlv  in  our  moat  southern  lati- 
tudes,  should   have  some  representatives  on  our  northern 


THE    SEA-WEEDS   AT   HOME    AND   ABROAD.  287 

shores,  and  it  is  to  the  Corallines  and  their  allies  that  we 
will  turn  for  farther  enquiry.  Leaving,  however,  unwil- 
lingly, the  attractive  Chlorosperms  we  will  make  some  ac- 
quaintance with  the  beautiful  family  of  the  Rhodosperms,  or 
rosy-seeded  algse,  plants  corresponding  in  the  tints  and  colors 
of  their  external  and  internal  arrangements,  with  the  ele- 
gance of  their  seed-vessels  and  seeds.  In  outward  habit  the 
Corallines  present  also  considerable  varfety  from  the  sim- 
plest and  lowest  in  the  mode  of  increase  similar  to  that  of  the 
crustaceous  lichens,  spreading  in  horizontal  concentric  cir- 
cles, or  gradually  developing  upwards  and  outwards  in  the 
form  of  stems  and  branches.  On  every  part,  encrusted  in 
their  lime  covering  which  moulds  itself  to  the  joints,  swel- 
lings, depressions,  ridges,  or  into  the  flutings  and  channels 
of  the  surface,  or  surmounts  the  very  tips  in  the  form  of 
seed-vessels,  one  would  scarcely  suppose  that  these  elegant 
marine  productions  —  so  abundant  in  every  tide  pool,  and 
fringing  the  deep  cool  grottos  beneath  the  water-covered 
rocks,  or  lining  with  patches  of  pleasing  and  varied  colors 
their  sides,  or  laying  down  tessellated  and  mosaic  pave- 
ments, by  encrusted  pebbles  presenting  to  the  vision  variety 
springing  from  their  secreted  cements  —  were  sea-weeds  and 
marine  vegetation.  But  an  immersion  in  diluted  mineral 
acids  dispels  the  mystery ;  the  usual'  tender  and  flaccid  tis- 
sue of  cells  and  pulp  appear  in  due  proportions  beneath  the 
covering  which  looks  so  much  like  the  fabrications  of  the 
polyps,  and  in  the  absence  of  microscopical  investigation 
these  innocent  plants  were  described  and  figured  as  ani- 
mals related  to  the  corals,  and  from  their  smaller  size  and 
comparative  insignificance  were  called  Corallines.  Very 
rarely  found  in  the  colder  seas  the  one  species  best  known  at 
the  north  is  the  Corallina  officinalis  (fig.  75),  once  in  ficti- 
tious repute  in  medicine.  You  cannot  miss  it,  growing  as  it 
does  in  the  pools  left  by  the  tides,  and  to  be  picked  from 
the  beaches  attached  to  some  shell,  most  usually  the  larger 
muscle   (^M.  modiolus)^  thus  indicating  its  range  even  in 


288  THE    SEA-WEEDS    AT    HOME    AND    ABROAD. 

deeper  soundings  where  that  mollusk  nboiinds.  A  much 
more  slender  aud  delicately  joiuted  kind,  scarcely  more  tlmii 
simply  brauching,  is  the  Jania,  pieseiitiiig  under  the  surCice 
of  the  oceaB  &  violet  green  tiot,  which  soon  changes  to  a 
more  or  less  deep  rosy  or  red,  aud  finally  becoming  shining 
white  if  expost^d  to  the  air  aud  light,  growing  parnsitically 
on  other  sea-weeds  aud  widely  distributed.  Some  clegimt 
species  are  knowQ  iu  Cuba  and  on  the  southern  coast  of  the 
Fi(.  7S.  United  States,  aud  others  are  found  iu 

the  oceans  about  Australasia,  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  etc.  The  Amphiroce,  also 
widely  distributed  over  the  globe,  are 
lime-bearing  Corallines,  the  joints  cylin- 
drical, separated  from  each  other  by  bare 
portions  of  the  homy  axis,  the  seeds 
lodged  like  those  of  all  the  Corallines 
in  couical  wart-like  conceptacles,  the 
different  parts  of  the  little  plant  ou  which 
these  occur  furnishing  some  criterion  to 
determine  its  real  name.  Beautiful  and 
°°^"~-  iuteresting  as  they  seem  in  living  condi- 

tion, a  more  intimate  examination  assists  in  revealing  their 
curious  structures.  Having  in  this  excursion  for  nortbei-n 
lime-encrusted  sea-weeds  stepped  into  the  duamius  of  the 
Rhodosperms,  or  rosy-seeded  aigte,  let  us  take  leave  of  our 
verdant  acquaintances,  and  cultivate  the  friendship  of  a 
higher  series  of  marine  plants,  whose  seeds  and  seed-vessels 
are  more  curious,  elegant  aud  diverse. 

The  algie  in  this  order  are  by  far  the  most  universally 
attractive  of  any  of  our  native  kinds.  That  part  which 
looks  like  their  foliage,  and  ia  technically  called  the  frond,  is 
liable  to  a  great  difference  in  size,  shape,  and  outline,  in 
some  being  broad,  or  flat,  or  narrow,  or  tlrread-like,  the  main 
stem  frequently  dividing,  or  the  disk-like  support  on  which 
it  rests  suddenly  spreading  and  ramifying  upwards,  the 
branches  often  arranged  iu  regular  pinnn,  or  lateral  wingSi 


THE   SEA- WEEDS   AT   HOME   AND   ABROAD.  289 

and  these  again  dividing  into  smaller  branchlets;  or  the 
broad,  thin,  membranous  leaf  throwing  out  similar  but 
smaller  ones  from  its  edges ;  the  seed-vessels  often  display- 
ing much  beauty  and  elegance  of  design,  and  variously  dis- 
tributed in  the  leaves  ;  add,  too,  that  gathered  at  almost  any 
season,  they  make  pretty  specimens  for  the  album,  either  as 
portions  of  the  plant  or  even  as  fragments,  it  were  no  won- 
der that  equally  with  the  child  and  the  adult  the  Rhodo- 
sperms  become  favorites,  and  are  considered  foremost  among 
the  wonders  of  the -sea. 

Attracted  by  the  brilliant  crimson  feathery  bit  which  now 
comes  riding  on  the  crest  of  the  wave,  the  attempt  to  secure 
it  as  a  prize  is  successful.  It  came  from  deep  soundings, 
and  has  been  torn  off  from  the  friendly  support  of  some 
gigantic  kelp,  by  a  sudden  swell  or  rude  wind.  Thousands 
of  just  such  bits,  and  some  of  them  several  inches  long  and 
broad,  you  can  pick  out  of  that  drift  high  up  on  the  beach. 
It  is  the  Piilota  serraia^  and  though  so  common  here,  should 
you  chance  to  gather  algse  on  the  coast  of  California  you 
will  find  it  there,  the  denizen  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
alike,  while  those  who  collect  for  amusement  from  the 
beaches  of  Rhode  Island,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  etc.,  may 
find  another,  P.  elegansy  likewise  found  at  Beverly  and  its 
neighborhood,  a  smaller  .and  softer  plant  with  jointed  pin- 
nules. On  the  tips  of  the  main  branches,  and  enclosed  by 
the  curving  of  the  smaller,  are  lodged  the  pretty  concep- 
tacles  or  seed  caskets,  giving  the  plants  a  feature  of  interest. 
The  species  of  Ptilota  are  not  numerous,  but  they  are  found 
in  most  parts  of  the  world.*  A  still  more  beautiful  fragment 
is  this  which  I  have  at  this  moment  rescued ;  I  find  it  fre- 
quently with  the  last  but  seldom  can  I  find  a  perfect  piece, 
such  as  is  now  lying  on  my  study  table  at  home,  from  the 
English  coast.  In  outline  and  ramification  a  little  like 
Ptilota,  but  its  dichotomous  branches  are  two-edged  with  a 
sort  of  thickened  midrib,  its  color  a  dark  lake,  and  it  dries 
into  good  shape.     It  has  two  kinds  of  seeds,  some  growing 

AMBR.  NATURALIST,  VOL.  TV.  87 


A 


290  THE    S£A>-W£ED8   AT  HOME   AND  ABROAD. 

in  the  pulp  of  the  frond  in  dusters  {tetra^pores)  ^  the 
others  issuing  from  conceptacles  which  grow  on  the  outside 
of  the  smaller  branches.  On  the  French  coast  it  is  called 
P.  vulgare,  or  the  Common  Ptilota,  and  Kiitzing  says  that  it 
occurs  in  the  Atlantic,  Pacific,  and  Southern  Oceans. 

The  Carrigeen  moss,  so  well  known  in  the  preparation  of 
food,  and  to  many  more  familiar  on  the  table  than  on  the 
shores  of  the  ocean,  is  the  Chondrua  crisptis^  really  an 
elegant  alga.  It  is  subject  to  many  varieties,  and  the  best 
way  to  study  them  is  to  go  down  as  far  as  you  can  among 
the  rocks  at  low  tides  and*  sec  the  plant  growing.  A  careful 
drying  of  some  of  the  most  prominent  sorts  will  repay. 
Those  gathered  from  the  beaches  are  more  or  less  bleached 
or  discolored,  and  generally  filled  with  sand.  In  similar  sit- 
uations, and  even  growing  where  the  water  is  always  deep, 
some  other  algae  similar  yet  distinct  may  be  sought.  Like 
others  which  grow  out  of  reach  except  by  the  dredge,  they 
are  thrown  ashore  in  tolerable  perfection  during  storms.  Of 
these  the  Phyllophora  membranifoUa  may  be'  cited,  the 
fronds  as  much  as  a  foot  long  when  fully  grown,  the  stem 
cylindrical,  filiform,  irregularly  branched,  the  branches  ex- 
panding into  fan-shaped  flattened  membranous  leaflets,  the 
color  a  rich  purple,  inclining  to  livid,  while  that  of  the 
European  species  is  scarlet.  The  Gymnogongrus  which  in- 
habits similar  situations  might  be  mistaken  for  the  Chondrus, 
looking  not  unlike  some  variety  of  it,  but  its  internal 
structure  forbids  this.  Something  like  twenty  kinds  are 
known  in  the  world,  and  the  one  most  seen  in  this  neighbor- 
hood is  O.  Norvegicua^  having  an  extensive  northern  distri- 
bution. 

These  black  tufts  growing  out  of  the  stems  of  the  larger 
algsB,  and  from  the  outside  of  shells,  etc.,  belong  to  Poly- 
siphonia  nigrescenSj  of  which  the  curious  student  could  find 
a  great  many  distinct  varieties.  A  section  of  the  frond 
would  exhibit  a  number  of  tubes,  side  by  side,  composing  the 
branch,  and  indeed  the  entire  plant,  and  those  tubes  vary  in 


THE   SEA-WEEDS   AT  HOME   AND  ABROAD.  291 

number,  and  3'et  seemingly  not  in  a  capricious  manner,  in 
different  tufts.  Though  thus  inelegant  and  vulgar  or 
common,  they  belong  to  a  refined  and  delicately  educated 
family,  having  in  their  circle  some  of  the  prettiest  algae 
known  in  the  American  seas,  of  which  the  Venus'  Comb  (P. 
pecten-  Veneris)  found  parasitic  on  corals  and  shells  at  Key 
West  and  the  Pine  Islands,  is  a  notable  example ;  and  in- 
deed all  require  only  to  be  magnified  to  show  what  they  are. 
There  are  numerous  species  to  be  looked  up  on  the  various 
sea-weeds  and  marine  objects  on  which  they  delight  to  grow. 
This  almost  gelatinous  mass  of  dissolving  threads  staining 
the  paper  with  a  deep  empurpled  or  crimsoned  blotch,  is  the 
DasT/a  eleganSj  more  commonly  met  with  to  the  south  of 
Cape  Cod ;  it  is  likewise  a  parasitic  alga  and  grows  in  deep 
water;  nor  are  other  beautiful  species  unknown  in  distant 
regions,  Rhodomela  is  worth  looking  for^  being  an  elegant, 
much  branched,  filiform,  cylindrical-stemmed  alga,  of  which 
R.  subfusca^  gracilis^  Rochet^  etc.,  have  been  collected  on  the 
coast  of  Massachusetts.  The  several  species  belong  to  tem- 
perate zones.  In  the  English  manuals  much  is  said  of  the 
beauty  of  the  Lawrencea  ;  in  this  country  this  alga  is  repre- 
sented by  the  Chondnopsis  of  J.  Agardh,  and  some  may  be 
sought,  of  which  (7.  Baileyana  is  really  elegant  and  graceful, 
while  its  conceptacle,  or  seed-vessel,  is  of  classic  outline,  mi- 
nute, yet  not  to  be  overlooked  !  Others  similar  might  be  al- 
luded to,  but  we  must  defer  mention  of  them,  unless  we  meet 
them  in  their  coral  groves  in  waters  of  a  higher  temperature. 
The  broad-fronded  rosy  sea-weeds  claim  a  passing  tribute. 
Our  beaches  and  shores,  the  resort  of  summer  seekers  for 
pleasure  and  profit,  offer  us  the  Delesseria  with  a  genuine 
rosy-red,  leaf-like,  jagged  edged,  or  else  delicately  branching 
membranous  symmetrical  frond,  with  a  percurrent  midrib. 
The  seed-vessels  are  to  be  looked  for  near  the  midrib,  but 
definite  spots  containing  another  sort  of  seeds  occup}'  the 
surface  or  portions  of  the  frond  besides.  Several  species  are 
found  both  north  and  south,  but  by  far  the  finest  is  the  D. 


292  THE   SEA- WEEDS   AT   HOME   AND   ABROAD. 

Americanaj  dedicated  to  Henry  Grinnell  of  New  York,  in 
honor  of  bis  noble  conduct  in  an  expedition  fitted  out  by  him 
in  search  of  Sir  John  Franklin,  and  known  to  American  bota- 
nists as  the  Gnnellia  of  Professor  Harvey.  In  Nitophyllum 
we  have  a  ribless  frond,  traversed  by  slender  irregular 
veins ;  the  frond  broad  membranous  and  variously  divided, 
the  seeds  in  the  form  of  dots  deep  in  the  pulp  pf  the  leaf. 
CalliblephaHa  ciliata  has  the  margins  of  its  rich  dark  red 
frond  beautifully  ciliated  or  fringed;  JBotryoglossum  and 
Hymenena  are  California  species  and  can  scarcely  be  looked 
for  with  any  degree  of  success  hereabouts.  The  Rhodo^ 
menicej  with  Uuthora,  are  plants  of  great  beauty,  and  need 
scarcely  more  than  be  named  as  the  species  are  few ;  i?.  pal-- 
mata  is  parasitic  on  alg»  in  shallow  water ;  R.  pahneita  on 
the  larger  kinds  in  deeper  soundings,  and  JS.  cristata  extends 
in  its  range  from  the  Arctic  coast  to  Cape  Cod. 

Among  the  most  abundant  of  these  rosy-seeded  algae,  and 
likewise  of  the  most  delicate  structure,  we  notice  the  Cera- 
miacecB^  with  fronds  growing  in  close  tutlts,  but  sometimes 
solitary,  creeping  along  the  surface  by  fibres  or  afBxed  by 
disks,  the  stems  slender,  thread-like,  articulated,  dichoto- 
mously  or  pinnately  branched,  and  sometimes  growing  so 
interwoven  as  to  form  network  or  spongy  masses.  In  some 
species  the  space  between  the  joints  is  diaphanous,  which 
gives  a  strikingly  beautiful  appearance ;  in  others  the  joints 
exhibit  no  such  peculiarity.  The  species  are  exceedingly 
numerous,  and  the  search  for  rarer  ones  in  any  given  district 
would  be  compensating  to  him  who  does  not  despise  trifles 
such  as  these  at  first  seem. 

The  last  of  the  Rhodosperms  to  which  we  invite  your  at- 
tention is  CallitJiamniony  a  very  large  genus  of  beautiful 
algae,  mostly  small  and  many  even  minute,  the  difiereut  spe- 
cies difiicult  of  determination,  subject  as  they  are  to  constant 
variation.  The  elegance  of  their  several  parts  in  stem, 
branches,  and  branchlets,  the  delicac}''  of  their  subdivisions, 
their  exquisite  color  and  the  symmetry  of  the  seed-vesseU 


THE   SEA-WEEDS   AT   HOME   AND   ABROAD.  293 

in  spite  of  the  obstacles  in  correctly  addressiug  them  by 
their  correct  names,  attract  the  attention  of  the  most 
superficial.  They  are  not  difficult  to  find,  and  the  same 
efforts  to  secure  other  and  more  specious  kinds  will  insure 
many  of  these. 

The  Melanosperms,  black  or  fuscous  seeded  sea-weeds, 
less  comely  and  attractive  but  by  far  more  useful  to  savage 
and  civilized  man  alike,  remain  for  a  cursory  glance  at  least. 
Although  our  species  are  of  only  a  respectable  size  when 
compared  with  foreign  kinds,  yet  they  assist  so  much  in  pro- 
ducing the  effect  we  witness,  wherever  the  ocean  impinges 
on  the  land,  we  can  illy  spare  them.  Investing  rock  and 
wood  structures  alike,  if  built  in  places  subject  to  the  varia- 
tions of  the  tides,  they  bear  exposure  of  a  few  hours  to  the 
dry  atmosphere  or  scorching  sunshine,  and  revive  as  the 
cooled  waters  return  to  cover  them,  forming  safe  retreats  to 
fishes,  mollusks  and  other  marine  creatures,  and  affording  the 
most  nutritious  dressings  by  way  of  manure  to  the  exhausted 
fields.  The  variety  of  forms  which  they  present  has  caused 
them  to  be  comprised  in  several  families  with  subdivisions 
arranged  in  such  a  way  that  they  can  be  more  readily  studied, 
and  those  will  claim  our  notice.  About  our  shores  the  most 
abundant  sea- weed  of  this  kind  is  the  fucuSy  of  which  there 
are  two  or  three  species  and  several  varieties ;  or  according 
to  Professor  Harvey  five  species  on  the  American  and  seven 
species  on  the  European  shores,  and  one  allied  to  i^.  nodosusj 
found  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  They  are  usually  known 
as  kelp  weed,  rock  weed,  etc.  Their  seeds  are  lodged  in 
tubercles  filled  with  mucus,  and  they  are  discharged  through 
the  small  pores;  the  hollow  vesicles  by  which  they  are 
buoyed  up  in  the  water  are  not  the  seed-vessels  but  air 
bladders.  A  section  of  one  of  these  seed  tubercles,  under 
the  microscope,  affords  an  instructive  and  pleasing  sight.  The 
Ilalidi'ys  siliquosa  might  be  readily  taken  for  a  narrow 
fronded  fucus,  but  the  air  vessels  are  singularly  divided 
transversely  by  numerous  diapbragms  extremely  thin   and 


294  THE   bEA-W££D8   AT  HOME   AND  ABROAD. 

membranous.  It  is  usually  found  in  shallow  pools,  but 
where  the  plant  is  never  left  to  even  temporarily  become 
dry.  Though  very  common  on  the  Atlantic  shores  of 
Europe  it  does  not  seem  to  have  been  recognized  here  as 
growing  on  this  side  of  the  ocean.  The  Cystoseira^  too,  is 
only  recognized  as  American  in  a  California  species  though 
several  are  known  to  the  British  waters,  and  the  Phyllo»pora 
Menziesii^  detected  by  Menzies  himself  when  with  Vancouver, 
has  elsewhere  as  yet  only  occurred  in  the  deeper  soundings 
of  the  California  coast.  In  this  plant  we  see  the  same  glob- 
ular air  vessels  we  have  noticed  in  the  fuci.  To  this  family 
belong  also  the  gulf  weeds,  Sargasaum^  a  vast  genus  and  of 
which  some  species  extend  as  near  as  Nantucket  and  Provi- 
dence. One  of  them,  the  tropical  Sea-grape  (/S.  bacciferum)^ 
is  seen  floating  in  masses  in  the  gulf  stream,  and  is  a  familiar 
object.  Kiitzing  gives  us  a  list  of  one  hundred  and  three 
distinct  species  known  over  the  globe  1 

An  excessively  branched  and  bushy  mass  of  dark  brown 
fibres,  covered  with  short  harmless  prickles,  and  sometimes 
growing  several  feet  in  length,  often  presents  itself  on  the 
sandy  beaches,  evidently  torn  from  the  bottom,  of  deep 
water.  This  is  Desmarestia  aculeata^  so  variable  in  appear- 
ance at  difierent  stages  of  growth  as  to  have  led  good  bota- 
nists astray.  When  young,  this  otherwise  stiff,  bristly  weed 
is  clothed  with  the  most  delicate  pencils  of  finely  divided 
filaments,  of  a  beautiful  green  color,  a  condition  worth  seek- 
ing.    Its  mode  of  bearing  seeds  is  unknown. 

Another  natural  order  of  the  Melanosperms,  comprising  a 
great  variety  of  kinds,  is  the  Laminainacece,  among  which — 
from  a  simple  cylindrical  threadlike  frond  of  the  diameter  of 
a  whip-cord,  and  often  twenty,  thirty  or  forty  feet  in  length, 
tapering  at  the  extremity,  and  fixed  at  the  base  by  a  disk 
( Chorda  filum)  to  a  frond  of  broad  dimensions,  and  sup- 
ported by  a  long  stalk  {Lamtnaria  or  oar-weed)  —  we  find  a 
series  of  modified  forms  in  species  found  in  our  waters.  Of 
the  sea  leaf  ( Thallasiophyllum) ,  one  of  this  order,  a  writer 


THE   SEA-WEEDS   AT  HOME   AND  ABROAD.       *        295 

and  naturalist  thus  speaks  :  **The  ocean  hardly  boasts  of  a 
more  beautiful  production ;  it  is  generally  about  the  height 
of  a  man,  very  bushy  and  branched,  each  branch  bearing  a 
broad  leaf  at  its  extremity,  which  unfolds  spirally ;  a  spiral 
border  winds  round  the  stem ;  a  number  of  rather  long,  nar- 
row perforations,  aiTanged  in  a  radiate  form,  give  the  frond 
the  appearance  of  a  cut  fan ;  the  margin  is  entire,  its  sub- 
stance coriaceous,  but  liable  to  be  torn.  No  seeds  have  been 
detected.  This  fine  fucus,  or  sea-weed,  is  plentiful  around 
the  whole  island  of  Amaknak,  clothing  the  rocky  shore  like 
a  thick  hedge,  and  forming  at  a  little  distance  a  very  pleasing 
feature  in  the  scenery."  (Merteus  as  quoted  by  Professor 
Harvey.)  Though  destitute  of  this  wondrous  sea-leaf,  our 
piles  of  seawrack  can  display  something  similar  in  the  highly 
curious  sea  colander  (Agarum  Tumeri)^  which  has  come 
ashore  after  strong  winds  and  gales.  Furnished  with  a  short, 
compressed,  coriaceous  stem,  widening  and  flattening  as  it 
approaches  the  frond,  and  clasping  by  its  stout  fibrous  roots 
the  rocks  and  stones,  its  dark  olive  green  expanded  leaf  per- 
forated at  short  intervals  with  roundish  holes,  it  is  quite  a  re- 
spectable weed.  The  shores  of  Kamtscbatka  and  the  Pacific 
recognize  others.  Besides  several  kinds  of  the  oar-weed  of 
respectable  dimensions,  such  as  the  Sweet  or  Sugar,  the  Long- 
shanked,  the  Fingered,  with  its  frond  deeply  cleft  into  several 
strap-shaped  segments,  we  have  for  noble  sea-weeds  Alaria 
esculenta^  known,  as  articles  of  food,  under  the  name  of  mur- 
lins  among  the  peasantry  of  Scotland  and  Ireland,  belongs 
to  a»  small  genus,  inhabits  the  colder  regions,  and  is  recog- 
nizable by  a  branching  root,  stalked,  membranous  frond, 
with  smaller  fronds  or  leaflets  springing  from  the  stalk  and 
below  the  main  frond.  A  definite  dark  colored  patch  in  the 
centre  of  these  leaflets  indicates  the  clusters  of  pear-shaped 
seed-vessels  packed  vertically  among  straight  and  simple 
threads. 

From  these  we  come  by  easy  transitions  to  some  of  the 
most  marvellous  vegetable  productions  on  our  globe,  and 


296        '       THE   SEA-WEEDS  AT  HOME   AND  ABROAD. 

algse,  or  sea-weeds,  too.  How  insignificant  appear  our  kelp- 
weeds  in  comparison  with  the  Lessonia  of  the  Antarctic  Zone, 
trees  with  forking  and  branching  trunks  covered  with  crim- 
son brown,  sinuated  edged,  and  jagged-toothed  leaves,  or  with 
blackish  opaque  foliage  and  twisted  flexuous  trunks,  growing 
like  submarine  forests ;  or  with  the  Nereocystis  of  the  Aleu- 
tian islauds,  whose  stem,  never  thicker  than  a  packthread,  ex- 
tends to  the  length  of  forty  fathoms  or  more,  and  expands  at 
the  summit  into  an  inflated  cylinder  from  which  issues  a  leaf, 
which  gradually  grows  wider  near  its  top ;  not  singly,  not 
here  and  there  a  plant  but  areas  of  great  extent  covered  with 
injQumerable  plants ;  or  with  the  Macrocyatis  whose  slender 
stem  and  numerous  leaves  are  buoyed  up  by  their  expanded 
and  swollen  base,  the  stem  so  long  that  fifteen  hundred  feet 
has  been  reported  by  observers  as  within  the  limits  of  belief. 
These  several  kinds  of  expanded  fronds  are  employed  as 
utensils  among  savage  people,  while  the  trunks  of  many  of 
these  gigantic  algae  drifting  on  desert  shores  have  been  mis- 
taken and  gathered  for  fuel,  supposed  to  be  actual  wood. 

The  structural  arrangement  of  the  cellular  tissue  on  a 
number  of  the  Melanosperms,  giving  to  their  fronds  a  pecu- 
liarly netted  appearance  when  viewed  through  a  magnifying 
glass,  suggests  a  natural  order,  called  Dictyotidody  which  sig- 
nifies like  a  net.  Externally  there  is  quite  a  variety  among 
these  sea-weeds,  and  of  them  we  may  search  for  Punctaria 
in  two  species,  both  parasitic  on  other  and  larger  sea-weeds 
about  Boston  Harbor,  or  even  Asperococcus  with  an  inflated 
frond,  while  the  others  delight  in  a  flattened  one.  The  seeds 
may  be  found  in  the  minute  dot-like  clusters  scattered  over 
the  surface  of  the  plants.  To  this  order  belong  the  curious 
Padina  pavonia  and  its  allied  Zonana  lobata^  bearing  no 
inapt  resemblance  to  those  richly  zoned  and  velvetty  fungi 
which  grow  out  of  old  dead  tree-trunks;  but  both  these 
lovely  algee  are  tropical  and  belong  to  our  roost  southern 
states.  The  rest  of  the  Melanosperms  are  either  parasitic 
and  minute,  and  to  be  gathered  either  accidentally  or  else 


FOOT-NOTES  FBOM  A  PAGE  OF  SAND.        297 

though  strange  and  unusual  iu  exterior,  so  infrequently  that 
they  hardly  claim  our  present  attention.  In  the  structure  of 
their  seed-vessels  and  seeds  they  are  objects  of  curious  in- 
terest and  beauty,  but  require  a  quick  eye  to  detect  the 
condition  favorable  to  secure  specimens,  which  when  col- 
lected, must  be  submitted  to  the  microscope  to  satisfy  the 
enquirer. 

If  our  excursion  and  lesson  has  convinced  us  that  in  the 
distribution  of  plants,  the  ocean,  which  to  many,  shuts  out 
the  chance  of  minute  observation,  forms  no  exception  to  the 
law  of  vegetation ;  each  part  of  its  vast  bosom  bearing,  like 
the  earth,  its  appropriate  flowers,  plants  and  fruits,  a  day  or 
two  among  the  sea-weeds  will  be  well  employed. 


FOOT-NOTES  FROM  A  PAGE  OF  SAND. 

BT  DR.  KLUOTT  COUES,  U.   8.  A. 

If  those  whom  fashion  and  the  weather  drive  from  city 
follies  and  vices  to  the  vices  and  follies  of  the  seaside ;  who 
live  in  hotels  and  carriages  and  fancy  the  society  of  their 
kind  the  only  sort  desirable  or  possible, — if  such  read  at 
all  by  the  sea  shore,  it  is  not  from  the  broadest  and  most  elo- 
quent page  before  them.  With  eyes  to  see,  blind ;  deaf,  with 
ears  to  hear;  to  them,  a  blank,  a  void,  beyond  the  titillation 
of  social  scandal.  Others  go  out  of  doors  afoot,  looking 
and  listening;  in  every  object  by  their  pathway  a  familiar 
thing ;  with  every  vibration  of  the  air,  a  well  known  voice ; 
with  every  odour  a  reminiscence.  Alone  by  the  sea?  There 
is  no  solitude — no  escape  for  the  naturalist,  even  though  in 
a  weak  moment  he  wish  it,  from  a  multitude — no  disentang- 
ling of  self  from  the  web  of  animate  creatures  of  which  he 
is  one  slender  thread. 

The  sea,  we  know,  is  teeming  with  life — full  of  shapes 

AMER.  NATURALIST,  VOL.  TV,  88 


298        FOOT-NOTES  FBOM  A  PAGE  OF  SAND. 

useful  or  curious,  beautiful  or  monstrous ;  the  waves  them* 
selves,  in  ceaseless  change,  incessantly  battling  with  the 
land,  seem  life-like ;  but  the  sand  itself,  solid  and  motion- 
less, looks  lifeless.  The  great  broad  sheet  that  stretches 
along  the  coast  seems  to  be  now,  as  it  always  has  been,  in- 
animate. A  vast  bed  of  silica ;  and  yet  if  not  alive,  what  a 
sarcophagus  it  is  of  myriad  lives  since  perished  I  If  the  poet 
says  of  dust  in  the  crack  of  a  door,  *' Great  Caesar's  ashes 
here  I''  and  attach  to  the  mote  and  the  man  common  and 
equal  significance,  yet  farther  than  this  the  naturalist;  for 
him,  not  the  greatest  pile  that  ever  rose  over  emperors'  re- 
mains— not  the  pyramids,*  tombs  of  Pharaohs,  are  so  great, 
as  this  monument  of  life  that  Nature  built — the  simple  sand. 
If  ghosts  be  ever  laid,  here  lie  hosts,  of  creatures  innumer- 
able, vexing  the  mind  in  the  attempt  to  conceive,  never  to 
compute,  them ;  so  miuute  that  a  grain  of  sand  is  prodigious 
beside.  Creatures  of  wonderful,  beautiful,  varying  shapes; 
creatures  that  ate  and  drank  after  their  fashion  and  went  on 
rejoicing  or  grieving  till  the  day  came.  Let  us  write  a  name 
in  the  sand;  the  wave  comes  —  the  ebb,  the  cradle,  —  the 
flow,  the  grave  —  of  such  short-lived  creatures ;  what  to  these 
then,  that  write  their  name  in  the  *' sands  of  time ;"  the  coast 
of  a  continent  their  grave,  the  beach  their  monument,  each 
sand-gi-ain  an  epitaph. 

How  long  this  book  has  been  making  we  do  not  know ; 
no  man's  time  will  sufBce  him  to  turn  and  read  even  a  single 
page.  Reflection  confounds ;  still  we  may  stroll  on,  obser- 
vant, if  not  thoughful;  a  letter,  a  point,  an  intelligible  note, 
may  catch  the  eye  ;  and  trifles  enough  have  at  least  some  pith. 
Say,  at  the  moment,  there  is  no  living  thing  in  sight.  As  a 
wave  curls  away  from  the  mirrored  sand,  little  bubbles  play 
here  and  there  for  a  few  moments,  and  then  too  subside. 
Under  the  sand,  where  each  bubble  rose,  lives  a  creature. 


•And  Uiese  too,  are  of  a  sort  of  limestone,  called  "  nnmmulitic **  becanso  chiefly 
composed  of  ya«t  numbers  of  certain  Foraminifers  {Nummulitet).  An  ounce  of  Foi'am- 
iniferous  sand  la  estimated  to  contain  upwards  ot  four  millions  of  these  protozoans. 


FOOT-NOTES  FROM  A  PAGE  OF  SAND.         299 

encased  in  shell  armour,  rarely  seen  alive,  and  scarcely 
known  except  by  its  casement,  when  this  is  thrown  npon  the 
beach ;  what  some  call  a  razor-shell,  others  8olen  ensis. 
When  the  foot  presses  in  yielding  sand,  surcharged  with 
moisture,  a  slender  jet  of  water  spirts  up ;  below  is  a  clam 
{Mya  arenaria)  ;  it  dislikes  the  weight  upon  its  elastic  home, 
and  remonstrates.  There  goes  a  groove  in  the  sand,  as  if  a 
child  had  wantonly  dragged  its  copper-toed  boot  along,  or 
some  curious  share  had  turned  as  curious  a  furrow ;  but  the 
creature  that  made  it  has  gone  below,  after  what  would  have 
seemed  to  us,  had  we  witnessed  it,  a  tedious  journey.  Scat- 
tered  here  and  there  are  large  globular,  yet  essentially 
spiral,  shells  of  the  sea-snail  (J/everita  heivs)  ;  the  animal 
that  lives  in  them  made  that  mark,  unfolding  a  great  fleshy 
**foot,"  and  gliding  along,  perhaps  eating  something  as  it 
went,  with  an  organ  that  is  mouth  and  limb  in  one.  Where 
it  is  now,  under  the  sand,  are  plenty  more  mail-clad  things, 
of  all  shapes  and  sizes  and  colors ;  snug  and  secure,  giving 
no  sign  of  their  presence.  The  sand  is  not  only  a  great 
closet  of  foraminiferous  skeletons;  it  is  full  of  flesh  and 
blood. 

But  we  may  look  for  signs  from  above  as  well  as  under 
the  earth,  or  from  the  waters  beneath ;  the  sand  tattles  many 
pleasant,  harmless  secrets,  if  we  only  attend.  Here  are 
foot-notes  again,  this  time  of  real  steps  from  real  feet;  the 
next  tide  will  wash  them  out ;  but  perhaps  some  one  of  them, 
—  the  one  chance  of  millions-^may  be  left  to  signal,  centu- 
ries hence,  as  much  as  they  tell  now.  They  are  wedge- 
shaped,  and  meaningless  as  the  cuneiform  characters  upon  a 
Babylonic  obelisk,  unless  the  key  to  the  cryptogram  is 
found ;  for  this,  the  lock  must  first  be  examined  to  the  last 
detail,  and  it  is  surprising  how  many  details  there  are.  The 
imprints  are  in  two  parallel  lines,  an  inch  or  so  apart;  each 
impression  is  two  or  three  inches  in  advance  of  the  next  one 
behind  ;  none  of  them  are  in  pairs^  but  each  one  of  one  line 
is  opposite  the  middle  of  the  interval  between  two  of  the 


300  FOOT-KOTE8  FROM  A  PAGE   OF   SAND. 

other  line ;  they  are  steps  as  regular  as  a  man's,  only  so  small. 
Each  mark  is  fan-shaped ;  it  consists  of  three  little  lines  less 
than  an  inch  long,  spreading  apart  at  one  extremity,  joined 
at  the  other;  at  the  joined  end,  and  also  just  in  front  of 
it,  a  flat  depression  of  the  sand  is  barely  visible.  So  much  : 
now  following  the  track  we  see  it  run  straight  a  yard 
or  more,  then  twist  into  a  confused  ball,  then  shoot  out 
straight ;  again  then  stop,  with  a  pair  of  the  foot-priuts  op- 
posite each  other,  difierent  from  the  other  end  of  the  track, 
that  begun  as  two  or  three  little  indistinct  pits  or  scratches, 
not  forming  perfect  impressions  of  a  foot ;  where  the  track 
twisted  there  are  several  little  round  holes  in  the  sand* 
The  whole  track  commenced  and  finished  upon  the  open 
sand.  The  creature  that  made  it  could  not,  then,  have  come 
out  of  either  the  sand  or  the  water ;  as  there  are  no  fire- 
animals  now  days,  it  must  have  come  down  from  the  air;  a 
two-legged  flying  thing — a  bird.  To  determine  this,  and 
next,  what  kind  of  bird  it  was,  every  one  of  the  trivial 
points  of  the  description  just  given  must  be  taken  into  ac*- 
count. 

It  is  a  bit  of  autobiography ;  the  story  of  aii  invitation  to 
dine,  acceptance,  a  repast,  an  alarm  at  the  table,  a  hasty  re- 
treat. A  bird  came  on  wing,  lowering  till  the  tips  of  it« 
toes  just  touched  the  sand,  gliding  half  on  wing,  half  a  foot, 
until  the  impetus  of  flight  was  exhausted ;  then  folding  its 
wings,  but  not  pausing,  for  already  a  quick  eye  spied  some- 
thing inviting ;  a  hasty  pecking  and  probing  to  this  side  and 
that,  where  we  found  the  lines  entangled ;  a  short  run  on 
after  more  food ;  then  a  suspicious  object  attracted  its  atten- 
tion ;  it  stood  stock-still  (just  where  the  marks  were  in  a 
pair)  till,  thoroughly  alarmed,  it  sprang  on  wing  and  was  ofi*. 
So  much  is  perfectly  plain  and  intelligible ;  it  may  be  not 
quite  so  easy  to  find  out  what  the  bird  was,  for  we  will  shut 
the  "back-stairs"  door  and  allow  no  guessing,  but  go 
honestly  about  our  induction,  as  if  we  only  knew  of  dead 
birds  in  the  closet,  and  had  never  seen  a  live  one. 


FOOT-NOTES   FROM    A   PAGE    OF   SAND.  301 

Each  foot-print  was  of  three  marks  only ;  clearly  then 
made  by  a  three-toed  bird ;  or,  if  by  one  with  four  toes,  the 
fourth  was  too  8hor4;  to  reach  and  impress  the  ground  visibly, 
or  else  was  joined  to  the  leg  too  high  up.  The  three  marks 
all  point  forward  ;  then  the  hind  toe,  or  hallux^  as  it  is  called, 
was  the  missing  or  rudimentary  one.  Now,  unless  the  bird 
was  of  a  kind  unknown  to  naturalists,  which  is  highly  im- 
probable, it  must  have  belonged  to  one  or  the  other  of  two 
groups — the  Walkers  and  Waders,  or  the  Swimmers — 
named,  respectively.  Cursored  and  NatatoreSy  since  no  bird  of 
the  only  other  remaining  group  (Insessores)  has  none,  or  a 
rudimentary  hind  toe.*  Birds,  however,  cannot  swim  unless 
their  feet  are  fashioned  into  paddles  of  some  sort.  We  only 
know  of  this  being  done  in  two  ways :  either  by  stretching 
a  membrane  between  the  toes,  making  a  webbed  foot,  or  by 
fringing  of  the  toes  by  broad  membranes,  making  a  lobed 
foot.  But  either  of  these  feet,  pressing  the  glassy  sand, 
would  have  shown  its  pattern.  Clearly  then  the  bird  was 
neither  palmiped  or  lobiped — it  was  not  one  of  the  Nata-* 
tores;  it  must  have  been  a  Wader.  Other  reasoning,  from  a 
different  premise,  brings  us  to  the  same  conclusion.  The 
marks  were  not  in  pairs,  but  alternating,  each  with  its  fellow 
of  the  other  line ;  the  bird  did  not  hop  or  leap,  but  walked 
or  ran  bringing  one  leg  after  the  other,  whence  we  legitimately 
infer  that  it  was  not  one  of  Insessores  or  Perchers ;  for  these 
hop.  But  it  might  be  asked,  how  do  we  know  that  the 
perchers  hop  instead  of  walking  when  on  the  ground,  since 
we  are  agreed  that  we  never  yet  saw  a  live  one  to  find  out 
by  observation?  Yet  it  is  easy  to  reason  up  to  such  a  point, 
that  assumption  is  virtual  certainty.  For  the  hind  toe  (or 
each  hind  toe  when  there  are  two)  of  the  Insessores  is  long, 
is  inserted  on  a  level  with  the  anterior  ones,  and  is  armed 
with  a  curved  claw  as  the  others  are.     This  arrangement  is 


*To  this  and  all  other  nnqtialifled  general  statements  in  ornithology  there  are 
technical  ofeiJections  and  real  or  apparent  exceptions,  not,  howerer,  inralldating  general 
rules. 


302  FOOT-NOTES   FROM  A  PAGE   OF   SAND. 

for  the  perfect  opposition  of  the  hind  and  front  toes,  as  the 
thumb  of  our  hand  opposes  the  fingers ;  it  infallibly  suggests 
the  idea  of  something  to  be  clasped  between' — of  grasping 
some  object ;  the  suggestion  amounts  to  a  moral  certainty 
when  we  dissect  and  find  among  typical  perchers  a  special 
muscle  for  the  freer  and  more  advantageous  working  of  this 
hind  toe  in  opposition  to  the  others.  Such  birds  then,  live 
where  their  foothold  is  not  upon  a  flat  surface,  as  the  ground, 
but  upon  slender,  cylindrical,  claspable  supports,  as  are 
found  in  trees  and  bushes.  But  there  cannot  be  much  plain 
walking  done  among  twigs;  the  birds  must  constantly 
spring  from  one  to  another  branch,  and  when  they  happen 
to  descend  to  the  ground  it  is  not  likely  they  would  at  once 
change  a  habit  inborn  and  inbred  for  ages.  So  with  certain 
exceptions,  not  necessary  to  point  out  here,  Insessores  are 
hoppers,  as  distinctively  as  all  birds  below  them  are  either 
Walkers  or  Swimmers. 

This  bird's  wings  never  touched  the  sand,  yet  the  marks 
show  the  shape  of  the  wing  as  plainly  as  the  character  of  the 
feet.  The  wings  were  flat,  long,  narrow  and  pointed,  cut- 
ting the  air  like  blades.  We  learn  this  from  the  few  indis- 
tinct scratches  on  the  sand  just  before  the  prints  became 
perfect.  The  bird  came  gliding  swiftly  and  low,  and 
scraped  the  sand  before  its  wings  were  closed ;  to  do  this  re- 
quires a  wing  large  or  at  least  long.  For  all  heavy  bodied 
birds,  or  birds  with  wings  small  for  their  weight;  or  with 
short,  rounded  and  concave  wings — all  these,  however  fast 
they  may  whirr  along  when  fairly  on  wing,  must  drop 
quietly,  if  flying  slowly,  or  arrest  their  motion  abruptly 
and  forcibly,  if  flying  rapidly,  to  avoid  shock  on  alighting ; 
in  either  case  they  drop  plump,  and  find  their  feet  at  once. 
Now  of  all  our  true  walking  or  wading  birds  the  GallinoB 
(Grouse,  Quail,  etc.)  and  the  Paludicoloi  (Rails  and  Galli- 
nules^  conform  to  these  last  mentioned  particulars ;  so  does 
the  Heron  family,  and  these,  moreover,  have  a  long  hind  toe. 
It  could  have  been  neither  of  these.     The  circle  of  possibili- 


FOOT-NOTES  FROM  A  PAGE  OF  SAND.        303 

ties  is  rapidly  narrowing ;  we  have  only  left  whence  to  pick, 
the  families  of  birds  that  make  up  the  group  LimicdltZy  or 
the  shore-waflers,  as  distinguished  from  the  PaludicolcBy  or 
marsh-waders.  Conning  the  Limicolce  over  in  mind,  we 
fine  there  are  but  two  families  furnishing  in  our  locality  any 
species  so  small  that  the  imprint  of  its  toes  is  less  than  an 
inch  long.  These  are  the  Plover  and  the  Snipe  families 
(  Charadriiddd  and  Scolopacidce) . 

We  noticed  just  in  front  of  the  point  where  the  lines  of 
the  three  toes  came  together — at  the  "heel,"  as  it  is  gen- 
erally but  wrongly  called — that  the  depression  of  the  heel- 
mark  continued  a  slight  distance  between  the  bases  of  the 
toes.  Clearly  there  must  have  been  something  of  a  web  con- 
necting the  roots  of  the  toes,  just  as  our  fingers  are  joined 
at  the  hand.  Now  our  plovers  and  snipes  each  furnish  us 
one,  and  only  one,  bird  that  is  partially  webbed  and  small 
enough  to  have  made  the  tracks ;  these  two  are  the  Semipal- 
mated  or  King  Plover  {^JEgialitis  semipdlmatus)  and  the 
Semipalmated  Sandpiper  (JSreunetes  jmsiUus) ;  it  might  have 
been  either,  for  anything  we  have  yet  noticed.  Which  was 
it?  We  have  exhausted  our  foot-data,  but  still  one  mark  is 
left,  and  that  decides.  The  snipes  have  long  bills,  vascular, 
nervous,  and  sensitive  at  the  tip ;  these  are  organs  of  touch ; 
the  birds  feel  for  things  they  cannot  see.  The  plovers 
have  short  bills,  comparatively  hard  at  the  tip.  There  were 
little  round  holes  in  the  sand,  just  where  the  lines  tangled 
up ;  this  was  where  the  little  bird  stuck  in  its  bill  and  probed 
for  something.  It  would  be  useless  for  a  plover  to  do  this, 
for  it  could  not  feel  anything  if  it  did ;  we  infer  then,  that 
a  plover  never  would.  And  so  at  last,  the  bird  stands  con- 
fessed ;  Semipalmated  Sandpiper,  JSreunetes  pusilltis ;  section 
TiringecBf  of  family  ScolqpacidoRy  of  group  LimicoltZy  of 
order  GraUce,  of  subclass  CursoreSj  of  class  Aves  or  Birds. 


REVIEWS. 

Spokoxs.* — Professor  Hfleckel  in  this  paper  has  condensed  the  results 
of  an  extended  and  very  remarkable  series  of  investigations  with  regard 
to  the  affinities  of  the  Sponges. 

He  places  them  nearest  the  corals,  considering  their,  canal  system  as 
homologoas  with  the  stomach  and  circulatory  system  of  the  corals.  He 
farther  Identities  their  structure  by  showing  that  In  both  of  these  types 
the  primitive  body  wall  consists  of  two  layers,  an  outer  homogeneous, 
which  however,  springs  Arom  an  originally  cellular  layer,  and  an  inner 
cellular  membrane.  This  comparison  Is  carried  so  far  that  as  In  the 
Coelenterata  (Acalephs  and  Polyps)  the  large  vessel,  which  conveys  away 
the  water  admitted  through  the  sides  by  the  smaller  branches  permeating 
the  mass  of  the  sponge.  Is  called  the  stomach.  Sponges  are  also  stated  to 
be  either  simple  or  compound,  to  be  composed  of  one  or  more  Individuals 
In  proportion  as  they  have  one  or  more  aflbrent  openings.  Of  course  Pro- 
fessor HsBckel  Is  well  aware  of  the  principal  objections  to  his  theory,  and 
states  them.  The  mouthless  sponges,  for  instance,  he  accounts  for  by  re- 
ferring to  the  mouthless  Sycocystls,  which,  however,  has  young  with  a  well 
formed  mouth.  The  fact,  however,  that  the  water  permeating  the  sponge- 
body  goes  through  minute  apertures  In  the  wall  Itself  and  Is  ejected  at 
the  so-called  mouth.  Is  not  encountered  with  quite  the  same  success. 
The  cutaneous  pores  of  the  corals  are  supposed  to  be  the  same  as  these 
minute  pores,  and  are  supposed  to  perform  the  same  or  a  similar  office  for 
the  animal.  The  egg  of  the  sponge  (Prosycum)  Is  said  to  pass  through  the 
mulberry  condition,  after  which  It  becomes  hollow  and  clothed  with  cilia. 
This  cavity  enlarging  finally  breaks  through  one  end,  and  forms  a  mouth 
opposite  to  the  end  which  has  already  become  attached  to  the  rocks.  At 
this  young  stage  it  is  said  to  be  not  essentially  dill^rent  fjrom  a  flresh- 
water  Polyp,  or  a  young  coral; 

The  author  nowhere  alludes  to  the  late  memoir  of  Prof.  H.  J.  Clark,  the 
most  conclusive  of  any  that  has  yet  appeared,  advocating  the  compound 
nature  of  the  sponge.  In  this  memoir  It  Is  clearly  shown  that  In  Leuco- 
solenia,  a  marine  sponge,  the  cells  of  the  Inner  membrane  lining  the 
cavity  (stomach  of  Hseckel)  are  monads  and  not  true  cells.  That  they 
have  the  single  flagellum  surrounded  by  a  vail,  or  calyx,  and  contained 
contractile  vesicles  and  particles  of  food  In  various  states  of  digestion. 
Carter's  observations,  as  well  as  Professor  Haeckel's,  distinctly  confirm  the 
flagellate,  or  single-haired,  condition  of  the  cells  of  the  internal  mem- 
brane, and  the  structureless,  gelatinous  nature  of  the  external  layer. 

*0n  the  Organlmtlon  of  Sponges  and  tbeir  reUttonshlp  to  th€  Corals.  By  Ernest  Hvekel 
(Translated  In  the  Ann.  and  Mag.  Nat.  History  Jan^  1S70,  (h>m  the  Jenalsohe  Zvltsehrfft  B.  t.  p. 
SOT). 

(804) 


REVIEWS.  305 

Professor  Clark  found  that  the  monac^s,  hitherto  considered  one  of  the 
simplest  forms  of  animal  life,  had  a  similar  flagollum,  but  that  this  was 
used  to  procure  food,  which  he  distinctly  saw  as  it  entered  the  sac-like 
body  through  a  mouth  situated  at  its  base.  The  lip  of  this  mouth  spread 
itself  over  the  morsels  which  descended  into  a  digestive  vesicle  in  the  in- 
terior of  the  body.  The  series  from  this  point  to  the  sponge  is  completed 
by  a  form,  Salpingoeca,  which  with  tho  same  characteristics  also  secretes  a 
gelatinous  envelope.  These  anatomical  focts  Ailly  Justified  the  author  of 
the  memoir  alluded  to  in  claiming  that  he  had  discovered  the  true  nature 
of  the  sponges,  and  they  appear  to  indicate  a  much  closer  affinity  be- 
tween the  sponges  and  the  Uniflagellate  Infhsoria,  and  appear  much 
more,  decisive  than  the  coral-like  characteristics  described  by  Professor 
Hseckel. 

The  comparison  of  the  aquiferous  systems  of  sponges  with  the  true 
stomach  cavity  and  circulatory  vessels  of  the  coral  is  more  than  doubtfbl. 
The  objection  that  the  current  flows  in  opposite  directions  cannot  be  met 
by  comparing  the  perforations  of  the  body  wall  in  corals  with  those  of 
sponges.  It  is  well  known  that  these  perforations  are  common  also  in 
the  star  flshes  and  Polyzoa,  and  their  precise  import  in  either  is  as  yet 
unknown.  The  most  rational  view  would  seem  to  be  the  opposite  of 
H&eckers,  i,  e.j  that  the  pores  are  the  mouths,  and  the  so-called  mouths  the 
anal  orifices,  since  out  of  these  is  all  the  refhse  of  the  body  thrown.  De- 
scribing the  radiating  canals  of  Cyathiscus,  the  author  asserts  that  the 
horizontal  walls  which  divide  these  canals  are  absorbed,  and  the  vertical 
walls  are  left  standing,  and  thus  a  series  of  radiating  chambers  are  pro- 
duced, similar  to  those  of  the  corals.  Farther,  that  the  only  difference 
between  them  is  that  in  corals  the  central  stomach  opens  below  into  the 
common  cavity,  into  which  also  the  radial  chambers  open,  and  in  Cyathis- 
cus the  stomach  opens  directly  into  the  radial  chambers  by  series  of  ver- 
tical pores,  the  former  mouths  of  the  lateral  canals.  This  is  perhaps  the 
very  strongest  evidence  brought  forward  by  Professor  Hseckel,  and  it  is 
certainly  a  most  interesting  and  remarkable  fiict,  but  seems  hardly  con- 
clusive. The  formation  of  the  radiating  partitions  in  the  corals  by  the 
infolding  of  the  inner  meml>ranes  of  the  walls,  is  a  very  difi'erent  process 
ft'om  that  described  above  in  Cyathiscus.  How  can  we  account  for  the 
fact  that  an  individual  with  a  large  stomach  cavity,  and  a  set  of  circula- 
tory vessels,  has  arisen  when  no  useflil  end  whatever  could  have  been  se- 
cured thereby?  What  useftil  end,  or  of  what  advantage  is  it  to  the 
species  as  an  individual  to  possess  numerous  minute  pores  to  admit  food 
and  rapidly  enlarging  canals,  abutting  finally  in  a  large  trunk  to  facilitate 
its  emission.  This  is  Just  the  reverse  of  the  economy  of  the  organization 
of  every  individual,  as  such,  in  the  animal  kingdom.  Individuals  are  uni- 
versally possessed  of  facilities  for  obtaining  and  swallowing  food  in  the 
shape  of  large  pliable  mouths  and  stomachs,  whereas  the  emission  of  the 
refuse  takes  place  through  the  smaller  end  of  the  canal  or  through  the 
mouth  again. 

▲MER.  NATURALIST,  VOL.  IV.  89 


306  REVIEWS. 

For  the  proper  support  of  nn  individual  it  Is  evidently  necessary  that 
the  food,  whether  microscopical  in  size  or  not,  should  be  obstructed  in  its 
passage  through  the  body  and  subjected  to  a  thorough  process  of  diges* 
tion.  According  to  Professor  HsF^ckel,  however,  we  have  In  the  sponge 
a  creature  in  which  all  this  Is  reversed,  and  a  digestive  system  Is  presented 
to  us  which  is  perpetually  increasing  its  facilities  for  getting  rid  of  food 
as  fast  as  it  is  swallowed.  How  tlils  reversal  of  the  animal  economy  can 
be  of  service  to  the  race  we  cannot  see,  so  long  as  we  regard  the  sponge 
as  an  individual,  or  an  aggregation  of  large  individuals;  but  if  on  the 
other  hand  we  adopt  the  opinion  of  his  opponents,  then  all  these  difficul- 
ties disappear.  We  then  see  that  the  pores  act  as  a  strainer  admitting 
only  bodies  of  small  size,  such  as  are  appropriate  for  the  sustenance  of 
the  monads,  which  cover  the  internal  surfaces  of  the  canals.  The  grad- 
ual enlargement  of  these  canals  into  a  central  trunk  becomes  at  once  ap- 
propriate, when  we  compare  it  with  the  similar  facilities  which  are  found 
in  all  compound  communities  for  relieving  the  colony  of  reAise  and 
deleterious  matters.  The  fact  noticed  by  the  author,  with  marked  em- 
phasis, that  each  cell  of  his  entoderm  (internal  membrane),  is  armed  with 
a  single  flagellum  is  also  explained,  and  the  vase-like  form  of  these  cells 
noticed  by  Carter,  and  the  amoeba-like  character  of  the  external  mem- 
brane, accords  equally  well  with  this  view.  We  do  not  find  in  this  article 
in  fact  any  remarks  which  lead  us  to  think  that  Professor  Ha^ckel  has  paid 
such  full  attention  to  the  structure  of  the  single  cells  of  his  inner  mem- 
brane as  would  Justify  him  in  adopting  an  opinion  so  entirely  opposed  to 
that  which  we  have  advocated.  Of  course  in  his  forthcoming  work  this 
point  may  be  more  AiUy  treated  of;  and  since  the  whole  discussion  hangs 
upon  a  question  of  fact  as  regards  the  structure  of  the  single  cells  of  the 
internal  membrane  we  may  look  for  an  early  solution  of  this  vexed  ques- 
tion. 

If  we  dropped  the  review  here  it  would  be  treating  Professor  Hssckel 
with  great  injustice.  Though  forced  to  criticise  the  main  point  of  his 
theoretical  deductions,  the  studies  upon  which  they  are  founded,  like  the 
other  works  of  this  eminent  German  zoologist,  will  be  deeply  felt  In  the 
history  of  the  progress  of  knowledge  In  this  department. 

The  account  of  the  flinctlon  and  structure  of  the  ectoderm,  and  of  the 
development  of  the  **  ova"  Arom  special  forms  of  his  so-called  cells  of  the 
internal  membrane  are  of  the  greatest  interest  and  importance.  That, 
also,  of  the  gradual  development  of  the  canal  system  gives  us  an  entirely 
new  and  original  view  of  sponge  structure.  In  this  connection  the  re- 
markable statements  are  made  that  species  of  Nardoa,  Nardopsls  and 
Ceenostoma  begin  with  a  single  stock  which  subsequently  branches,  only 
however  to  coalesce  again  as  they  approach  maturity  and  unite  their  vari- 
ous apertures  into  one  common  trunk  and  single  aperture ;  and  also,  that 
we  can  trace  the  origin  of  a  species  from  the  common  stem  form.  To 
illustrate  this  last  assertion  the  author  instances  two  species,  Quancha 
blanca  and  Sycometra  eompresia,  whose  variations  are  so  great,  and  indi- 


REVIEWS.  307 

cate  affinities,  with  so  many  different  groups,  that  be  has  been  obliged  to 
place  them  In  a  separate  order  by  themselves.  **Sycometra  compressa 
appears  as  a  sponge  stock  which  bears  upon  one  and  the  same  cormus  the 
mature  forms  even  of  eight  different  genera" 

In  conclnslon  Professor  Hseckel  begs  all  of  his  readers  who  may  be  in 
possession  of  specimens  of  calcareous  sponges  to  send  them  to  him  for 
examination  and  comparison. 

The  Extinct  Mammauan  Fauna  of  Dakota  and  Nrdraska.*  —  This 
important  work  Is  the  final  expression,  the  author  informs  us,  of  labors 
extending  over  a  period  of  twenty-three  years,  during  which  the  mate- 
rials on  which  it  is  based,  have  been  accumulating.  Sufficient  time  has 
elapsed  to  allow  of  corrections  of  first  identifications,  and  we  have  the 
result  in  a  memoir  of  much  completeness  and  accuracy  in  the  topograph- 
ical descriptions  of  the  remains  preserved  in  such  unusual  perfection  and 
abundance  in  the  localities  in  question.  Fortunately  the  Academy  of  Nat- 
ural Sciences  of  Philadelphia  numbers  among  its  members  liberal  minded 
men  of  wealth,  for  without  the  '*  sinews'*  of  the  undertaking  ftirnished 
by  Messrs.  Joseph  Jeanes  and  William  P.  Willstach,  this  work  would  not 
have  seen  the  light.  As  it  is,  the  execution  both  in  printing  and  litho- 
graphy, is  a  credit  to  all  concerned. 

The  species  hitherto  discovered  in  the  Bad  Lands  belong  to  two  series 
of  strata,  determined  many  years  ago  by  Dr.  F.  V.  Hayden  to  be  Miocene 
and  Plioct'ne  respectively.  Fossils  from  these,  and  a  few  of  Postpllocene 
age  are  included,  derived  from  the  area  in  question.  The  whole  number 
described  is  eighty-six,  distributed  as  follows:  Carnivora, fifteen ;  Artlo- 
dactyla,  thirty-four;  Perlssodactyla,  twenty-nine:  Rodentia,  six;  Insect- 
ivora,  two.  With  reference  to  the  relations  of  the  genera  and  species, 
we  let  tlic  author  speak,  by  quoting  his  valuable  summary  at  the  close  of 
the  descriptive  portion  of  the  work : 

"  In  comparing  the  two  lists  representing  the  North  American  tertiary  mammals,  mainly 
from  the  states  of  Dakota  and  Nebraska,  with  the  tliird  list  reprcsctitlng  the  qnaternarjr  mam- 
mals of  the  same  continent,  a  remarkable  dissimilarity  Is  observed,  and  there  Is  also  noticed 
a  greater  rescmhlanoo  of  the  former  with  the  tertiary  and  qnatemary  mammals  of  the  old 
world. 

Of  thirty-two  genera  of  mlocene  terrestrial  mammals,  chiefly  firom  the  Maavalses  Terres  of 
Hakota,  not  one  occurs  in  the  qnatemary  formation  of  North  America;  and  of  twenty-one 
genera  of  pliocene  terrestrial  mammals,  chiefly  from  the  Niobrara  River  of  Nebraska,  only 
eight  are  common  to  the  qnatemary  formations  of  North  America,  and  of  these  eight  three  are 
absent  In  the  existing  fhuna  Of  the  continent.  Tlie  eight  g(>nera  allnded  t*}  as  common  to  the 
pliocene  tertiary  and  the  quaternary  formations  are  Cauls,  Cervus,  DIootyles,  Mastodon,  EI»- 
phas,  Eqniis.  HIpparlon  and  Castor. 

It  Is  uncertain  how  far  the  species  of  Canls  attributed  to  the  Niobrara  pliocene  formation 
are  poculltar  to  It.  Part  of  the  fossils  maybe  quaternary,  or  perhaps,  even  recent  remains. 
Of  Cervus,  part  of  the  specimens  referred  to  It  may  bo  of  a  recent  species,  while  the  antler 
viewed  as  pertaining  to  the  same  may  represent  a  peculiar  genus,  subsequently  extinguished. 
The  only  remains  Indicative  of  DIcotyles  was  an  upper  canine  tooth  which  may  really  have  bit- 
longed  to  a  quaternary  or  perhaps  a  recent  species.   The  remains  of  the  pliocene  mastodon 

*The  Extinct  Mammalian  Fauna  of  Dakota  and  Nebraska,  with  a  Synopals  of  the  Mammal- 
ian Remains  of  North  America.  By  Joseph  Leidy,  M.  D.,  LL.  D.,  preceded  by  an  Introduction 
on  the  Geology  of  the  Tertiarles  of  Dakota  and  Nebraska,  by  Professor  F.  V.  Hayden,  M.  D. 


308  REVIEWS. 

pertain  to  the  rabfreons  Tetralophodon,  whJIe  thoie  of  tba  qvaternary  period  belong  to  tbe 
rabgenns  Trllopbodon. 

The  remains  of  Elephas  probably  Indicate  a  species  distinct  ttom  the  quaternary  E,  ameri- 
eantM,  thongh  It  Is  not  positively  ascertained.  The  remains  of  Eqnns  appear  to  be  different 
from  those  of  the  later  E,  fratemut.  The  genus  Hlpparlon  Is  clearly  common  to  both  the 
pliocene  and  quaternary  period,  bnt  the  species  are  different.  Protohlppus,  one  of  the  soll- 
pedul  genera  of  the  Niobrara  pliocene,  appears  also  to  have  existed  during  the  quaternary 
period.  In  Chill,  South  America.  A  small  species  of  Castor,  of  tbe  Niobrara  pliocene.  Is  re- 
presented by  the  larger  qnatemary  and  still  existing  Beaver. 

Tlie  quaternary  fliiina  of  both  American  continents  was  especially  distinguished  by  the 
presence  of  those  wondcrftil  creatures,  the  giant  slotlis,  no  trace  of  which  has  been  detected  in 
Uie  tertiary  formations  of  North  America.  This  appears  the  more  remarkable  from  the  elr- 
curostance  that  remains  of  several  edentate  genera  liHve  been  discovered  in  the  miocene  form- 
ations of  Europe. 

The  presence  in  the  quaternary  ftiuna  of  North  America  of  the  great  sloths,  together  with 
other  ordinal  and  generic  forms,  which  likewise  existed,  and  !n  part  still  continue  to  exist,  lu 
South  America,  leads  to  the  Impression  that  the  North  American  continent  during  the  qua- 
ternary period  was  peopled  by  the  extension  of  lU^  from  the  south.  The  greater  similitude  of  the 
miocene  and  pliocene  faun  e  which  we  have  Investigated  In  tbe  present  work,  with  the  eontem* 
poraneons  fliunn  of  the  old  world,  suggests  the  probability  that  the  North  American  continent 
was  peopled  during  the  tertiary  period  from  the  west.  Perhaps  this  latter  extension  occurred 
from  a  continent  whose  area  now  forms  the  bottom  of  the  great  Pacific  Ocean,  and  whose  ter- 
tiary fkuna  Is  now  represented  east  and  west  by  the  fossil  remains  of  America  on  the  one  hand, 
and  of  Asia  with  Its  peninsula.  Europe,  on  the  other. 

In  comparing  the  miocene  and  pliocene  faunas  with  each  other,  as  represented  mainly  by  the 
remains  from  the  Mauvalses  Terrvs  and  the  Niobrara  River,  we  observe  the  remarkable  flwt 
that  In  upwards  of  fifty  genera  belonging  to  the  two  (hunn  together,  scarcely  a  genus  Is  com* 
mon  to  both.  In  view  ot  the  consecutive  order  and  close  approximation  in  position  of  the  two 
formations  and  faunn,  such  an  exdusiveness  would  hardly  have  been  suspected. 

Thus,  for  Instance,  the  pliocene  Merychyus  may  be  regarded  as  Identical  generlcally,  with 
the  miocene  Oreodou;  but  alter  all  the^e  are  the  only  ones  which  oould  be  looked  upon  as 
the  same,  unless  perhaps  Rhinoceros  is  Included.  In  this  case,  however,  the  miocene  R/iino' 
cero*  oceiderUaliM  appears  to  have  been  an  Aceratherlum,  while  that  of  tbe  pliocene  formation 
was  probably  a  true  or  homed  Rhinoceros. 

Of  all  othcV  known  faune,  extinct  and  recent,  those  of  Dakota  and  Nebraska,  under  consid- 
eration, appear  to  approximate  most  in  their  relationship  with  the  tertiary  tkunm  of  Europe. 

Of  the  camivora  of  the  former  localities,  comprising  eight  genera  and  fifteen  species,  five  of 
tbe  genera,  or  more  than  one-half,  are  found  In  the  European  tertlarles,  as  for  instance:  Canls, 
Amphicyon,  Hyanodon,  Pseudelurus,  and  Drepanodon.  Tlie  follne  Dlnlctls  of  the  Dakota 
miocene  has  not  elsewhere  been  discovered.  Tbe  remaining  two  eamlvorons  genera  are  too 
Imperftctly  known  for  comparison. 

It  is  truly  wonderful  that  of  the  numerous  Rurolnantla,  comprising  fourteen  genera  and  nearly 
double  that  number  of  species,  none,  excepting  the  genus  Cervus,  belongs  to  any  other  known 
fttuna  extinct  or  recent.  Even  In  the  case  of  the  excepted  genus,  it  Is  probable  that  part  of  tbe 
remains  attributed  to  It  may  belong  to  a  peculiar  subgenus,  while  others  may  be  of  a  recent 
species. 

When  we  compare  the  family  relationships  of  the  North  American  tertiary  and  qnatemary 
ruminants,  we  find  remarkable  dlffisrences.  A  peculiar  family,  the  Oreodontldn,  Is  represented 
in  lx>th  the  miocene  and  pliocene;  In  the  former  by  three  genera  and  many  species,  in  the  latter 
by  a  single  genus.  This  fkmily  has  nowhere  else  been  discovered,  neither  in  tbe  American 
quaternary  nor  the  foreign  tertiary  equivalents. 

Another  fkmily,  the  Agrlochoerldse,  nearly  allied  to  the  former,  li  peonllar  to  the  miocene 
of  the  AfawaiseM  TerreM, 

The  Camelidn  are  represented  In  the  North  American  miocene  pliocene  and  qnatemary  de- 
posits, but  particularly  In  the  miocene,  and  they  are  yet  represented  In  the  existing  fkuna  of 
South  America. 

The  Moschldse  are  represented  by  the  genns  Leptomeryx  In  the  Dakota  miocene,  bnt  not  In 
the  later  formations  of  North  America. 

Tlie  Cervida  are  represented  in  the  pliocene  and  succeeding  epochs  In  North  America.  The 
AntUopldffi  are  represented  by  a  genus  in  the  Niobrara  pliocene.  The  Caprid»  and  Bovtda 
are  not  represented  in  North  America  prior  to  tbe  qaaternary  period. 


BEYIEWS.  309 

Of  ArtiodactyU  ezeluslTA  of  the  Raminantla,  tlie  remains  of  seyen  species  of  six  genera 
belong  to  the  Dakota  mlocene,  of  wliich  two  genera,  Elolherium  and  Hjopotamns  are  common 
to  the  European  tertlai-y.  The  remaining  genera  in  part  but  Imperfectly  known*  appear  to  b% 
peculiar.  The  Niobrara  pliocene  presents  ns  with  traces  of  a  peccary,  bat  this  probably  may 
belong  to  a  later  period. 

One  of  the  arliodactyle  genera  of  the  Dakota  mlocene,  the  hvge  TItanotherlnm,  was  repre- 
sented by  the  nearly  allied  Challcotherlum  of  the  European  and  Hhumalaya  uilocene  period. 

Of  nneyen-toed  Pachyderms  or  Perlssodactyla,  the  Dakota  mlocene  presents  one  Acera- 
tberiom,  a  peculiar  genus  of  the  same  fkmlly,  the  Hyracodon,  and  a  species  of  Lophlodoo. 
The  former  and  latter  are  both  European  tertiary  forms.  Another  member  of  the  Khlnooeros 
family,  JL  he*peritu^  from  Calllbrnla,  wa-s  probably  an  Aceratlierlum  of  inlocene  age.  R.  merid- 
ianu4  of  Texas  was  probably  of  the  same  category  as  the  latter. 

The  Niobrara  pliocene  presents  us  with  three  genera.  Rhinoceros,  Mastodon  and  Elephant. 
Tbe  former  has  not  been  found  in  the  American  quaternary,  though  abundant  in  Its  European 
equivalent,  and  continuing  to  exist  in  Asia  and  Africa.  The  Mastodon  belonged  to  the  sub- 
genus Tctralophodon,  while  that  of  the  quaternary  period  was  a  Trllophodon.  Elephants  of 
other  species  were  nearly  cosmopolite  during  the  quaternary  period;  but  two  species  now  Utc 
In  Asia  and  Africa. 

Five  genera  of  Sollpeds  appear  to  have  lived  In  North  America  during  the  miocene  period. 
Three  of  them  are  peculiar,  and  appear  not  to  have  been  discovered  elsewhere.  They  have 
been  named  Anchlppua  from  Texas,  Hypohlppus  from  the  Niobrara  River,  and  Anchippodus 
frt>m  New  Jersey.  The  remaining  genus  Anchltherlum,  characterized  by  an  abundance  of  re- 
mains frt>m  the  Manvalses  Terres  belongs  also  to  the  European  miocene. 

The  pliocene  formation  of  the  Niobrara  is  remarkable  fbr  the  abundance  of  its  equine  re- 
mains, which  have  been  referred  to  five  genera,  of  wlilcb  Merychippus  and  Parahlppns  arc 
peculiar,  and  Protohlppus  has  been  discovered  elsewhere  only  In  South  America.  Tlie  re- 
maining genera  Hlpparlon  and  Equus  belong  also  to  the  North  American  quaternary  and  like- 
wise to  the  European  quaternary  and  tertiary  formations. 

Tlie  miocene  Rodents  of  the  Mauvalses  Terres  belong  to  four  peculiar  genera  of  as  many 
still  existing  families.  One  of  the  genera,  Palasocastor,  may  be  identical  with  the  European 
chalicomys  of  Cotemporaneous  age. 

The  pliocene  Rotlents  of  the  Niobrara  appear  to  belong  to  the  still  existing  genera  Castor 
and  Uystrlx,  but  the  latter  now  exists  only  in  the  old  world. 

Of  the  few  discovered  quaternary  rodents  of  North  America,  one  genus,  Hydrochan^  now 
absent  on  this  continent,  still  lives  in  South  America.  ^ 

The  miocene  Inseotlvora  of  North  America  belong  to  three  genera  not  discovered  else- 
where.**  pp.  350-802. 

In  reviewing  the  character  of  the  work,  the  care  and  accuracy  of  the 
descriptions  furnish  a  most  valuable  storehouse  to  the  palaeontoiogical 
student  of  other  strata  or  localities,  and  its  conscientiousness  in  this  re- 
spect constitutes  its  great  merit.  On  the  other  hand,  however,  we  fail  to 
find  in  many  cases,  that  exact  comparison  and  clear  diagnosis  of  genera 
proposed  or  adopted,  by  which  the  zoological  affinity  Is  alone  expressed, 
and  by  means  of  which  the  analysis  of  the  subject  in  the  broad  sense  is 
so  greatly  facilitated.  Without  it,  the  student  gropes  in  a  mass  of  detail, 
and  unless  he  fortunately  have  access  to  a  good  museum,  will  fail  of 
acquiring  a  mastery  of  it.  This  refers  also  to  a  precise  comparison  with 
European  genera,  for  which  we  have  so  many  standards  in  figures  and 
descriptions. 

The  synopsis  of  extinct  mammalia  is  of  equal  or  greater  value  to  the 
student.  The  whole  number  of  species  enumerated  is  two  hundred  and 
three,  of  which  Dr.  Leidy  has  stood  sponsor  to  one  hundred  and  twenty. 
The  species  are  distributed  into  the  orders  as  follows :  Carnivora,  thirty- 
three;  Artiodactyla,  fifty-two;  Perissodactyla,  thirty-seven;  Rodentia, 
twenty;  Insectivora,  five;   Marsupialia,  one;  Edentata,  seven;   Sirenia, 


310  REVIEWS. 

two ;  Zeaglodonta,  two ;  Cetaceai  forty-four.  There  are  several  species 
described  for  the  first  time,  and  the  literary  references  are  very  complete. 
The  system  adopted  by  Dr.  Leidy  requires  some  comment.  He  adopts 
the  order  Bimana,  a  step  which  we  regard  as  retrograde,  since  modern 
investigations!  ft'esh  in  the  mind  of  every  student,  have  proved  beyond 
cavil  that  that  group  Is  subordinate  to  the  order  Quadrumana.  The  di- 
vision of  Artiodactyla  into  Ruminantia  and  Artiodactyla  as  orders,  rank- 
ing with  other  groups  so-called,  on  the  presence  or  absence  of  the 
Ainctional  peculiarity  of  rumination,  is  also  contrary  to  the  philosophy 
of  a  homological  system.  The  separation  of- the  Pinnipedia  from  the 
Carnivora  has  In  the  same  manner  little  better  foundation.  The  adoption 
of  the  Zeuglodonta  as  an  order  Is  perhaps  a  step  forward,  though  in  that 
case  the  Squalodons,  which  embrace  ten  of  the  twelve  species  included, 
must  certainly  be  referred  to  the  Cetacea.  The  separation  of  the  Sirenia 
as  an  order  has  met  with  favor  ft'om  Owen  and  others,  and  is  well  adopted 
in  the  present  work. 

The  Earliest  Evidbnces  of  Plant- life.*  —  In  this  pamphlet  Pro- 
fessor Dawson  reviews  the  different  substances  which  have  been  sup- 
posed to  show  that  plants  existed  contemporaneously  with  the  Eozdon  in 
the  Laurent! an  of  Canada. 

**  We  may  ram  np  these  facts  and  considerations  In  the  following  statements:  — First,  that 
somewhat  obscure  traces  of  organic  structure  can  be  detected  in  the  Laurentlan  graphite; 
secondly,  that  the  general  arrangement  and  microscopic  structure  of  the  substance  corres- 
ponds with  that  of  the  carbonaceous  and  bituminous  matters  in  marine  formations  of  more 
modem  date;  tldrdly,  that  if  the  Laurentlan  graphite  had  been  derived  flrom  vegetable  matter, 
It  has  only  undergone  a  mctainorphosis  similar  in  kind  to  that  which  organic  matter  in  meta- 
morphosed sediment  of  later  age  has  experienced;  fourthly  that  the  association  of  the  graph- 
itic matter  wlfti  organic  limestone,  beds  of  iron  ore,  and  metallic  sulphides  greatly  strengthens 
the  probablllty^of  its  vegetable  origin;  flfthly,  that  when  we  consider  the  immense  thickness 
and  extent  of  the  Eozoonal  and  graphitic  limestones  and  iron-ore  deposits  of  the  Laurentlan, 
If  we  admit  the  organic  origin  of  the  limestoneof  graphite,  we  must  be  prepared  to  believe 
that  the  life  of  that  early  period,  though  it  may  have  existed  under  low  forms,  was  most  copi- 
ously developed,  and  that  It  equalled,  perhaps  surpassed.  In  Its  results,  in  the  way  of  geological 
accumulation  that  of  any  subsequent  period.'* 

Fossil  Birds,  f — In  this  little  pamphlet  Professor  Marsh  imposes  a  new 
obligation  on  the  science  of  Paleontology,  by  the  discovery  of  five  species 
of  Cretaceous  birds.  Among  the  species  there  is  one,  Paleotringa  vetus, 
described  from  the  original  specimen  found  by  Dr.  Morton.  This  is  the 
first  fossil  bird  bone  found  in  this  country,  and  though  referred  to  by  Dr. 
Morton  in  his  Organic  Kemains  of  the  Cretaceous  period,  has  been  hith- 
erto considered  a  recent  specimen,  which  by  some  accident  had  been 
burled  in  the  Cretaceous  marl  deposits.  The  forms  embrace  one  large 
swimming  bird  {Laornis  Edwardsianus),  two  gulls  {Palceotringa  liUoralis 


*  On  th"!  Graphite  of  the  Laurentlan  of  Canada.  By  J.  W.  Dawson,  LL.  D.,  eta  Proceed- 
ings of  the  Geological  Society,  Postponed  Papers,  Vol.  xxvi.  Part  1.    Pamphlet,  pp.  A. 

t  Notice  of  the  Fossil  Birds  ttom  the  Cretaceous  and  Tertiary  Formations  of  the  United 
States.  By  Professor  O.  C.  Marsh.  From  American  Journal  of  Science  and  Arts.  Marolu 
1870.    Pamphlet,  pp.  16. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   lilSCELLAKT.  311 

and  P.  vetus)j  and  two  rails  {TelmtUomis priscus  and  T.  <nfflnis).  Besides 
these  there  are  descriptions  of  four  species  of  Tertiary  birds,  the  first 
that  have  been  regularly  described  from  that  formation  in  this  country. 
These  are  said  to  be  more  closely  allied  to  existing  species  than  those  of 
the  Cretaceous.  They  are  Puffinis  ConradU  Catarractes  arUiquits,  Qrus 
Haydeni,  and  Graculus  Idahensis. 

Though  the  discovery  of  that  remarkable  bird,  the  Archsaopteryx,  in 
the  Jurassic  beds,  led  naturalists  to  suppose  that  Cretaceous  forms 
would  bb  eventually  discovered,  to  Professor  Marsh's  energy  we  owe 
the  fulfilment  of  these  anticipations. 


NATURAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 


BOTANY. 

Hibernation  of  Duck-wbbd.  —  It  has  long  been  known  that  some  spe- 
cies of  Zemna,  or  duck-weed,  produce,  at  the  approach  of  winter,  leaves 
of  a  different  character  to  those  formed  in  the  spring,  which  fall  to  the 
bottom  of  the  pond  or  stream,  enabling  the  plant  to  live  through  the 
winter.  A  series  of  more  accurate  observations  on  this  point  is  recorded 
by  M.  Van  Hoven  in  the  **  Bulletin  de  la  Soci6t6  Royale  de  Botanlque  de 
Bclgique."  The  species  of  Lemna  indigenous  to  Belgium  are  the  same  as 
those  found  in  this  country ;  of  these  M.  Van  Hoven  finds  tha£  two  only, 
the  L.  polyrrhiza  and  gibha^  produce  leaves  of  a  different  form  in  winter; 
while  with  the  three  other  species,  X.  minor,  trUulca,  and  arrhiza,  the 
ordinary  leaves  live  through  the  winter,  remaining  on  the  surface.  In 
X.  polyrrhiza  these  winter-leaves  first  make  their  appearance  In  August  or 
September.  They  are  much  smaller  than  the  ordinary  leaves,  reniform 
or  sometimes  elliptical,  olive-brown  on  both  sides,  and  not  gibbous  be- 
neath;  their  roots  arc  exceedingly  minute,  and  at  first  hidden  within  the 
leaf.  The  aSrlferous  cells  which  serve  to  support  the  ordinary  leaves  ou 
the  surface  do  not  exist,  causing  the  winter  leaves  to  resemble  an  unde- 
veloped bud.  In  consequence  of  the  absence  of  these  vessels  they  are 
heavier  than  the  water,  and  fall  to  the  bottom  as  soon  as  any  agitation 
of  the  water  detaches  them  from  the  parent  leaf,  which  perishes  with  the 
first  frost.  At  the  ordinary  period  of  the  revival  of  vegetation,  a  small 
bubble  of  oxygen  appears  on  the  upper  surface  of  these  submerged 
leaves,  whicli  carries  them  to  the  surface,  ftrom  which  they  again  descend 
should  the  temperature  fall  below  a  certain  point.  In  Lemna  gibba, 
leaves  of  a  similar  character  were  observed  hibernating  beneath  the 
water,  differing  in  shape,  size,  and  structure  flrom  those  developed  during 
the  summer.  —  Quarterly  Journal  of  Science. 


312  NATURAL  HISTOBY  MISCELLANY 

The  Fraoabia  Gillmani  Again.— In  simple  Justice  to  those  coDcerned, 
I  think  it  bat  right  to  state  that  specimens  of  this  strawberry  have  lately 
been  examined  by  Dr.  Asa  Gray,  and  that  he  confidently  considers  it  F. 
Mexicana  Schlechtendal.  At  the  same  time  he  admits  that  Schlechtendal 
in  his  description  has  omitted  all  mention  of  the  well-developed  leaf  on 
the  scape,  which  Dr.  Gray  allows,  **  proves  to  be,  or  to^  be  connected 
with,  the  distinguishing  character  of  the  species,"  adding  that  **no 
one  could  tell  from  SchlechtendaPs  description  whether  or  not  he  had  a 
plant  lilce  this  in  view."  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  he  does  not  entertain 
the  idea  tlmt  it  is  merely  **  an  accidental  variation  of  F,  vesca"  as  some 
would  have  made  it,  and  that  whether  it  is  a  new  species  or  not,,  it  is  one 
not  hitherto  described,  or  at  least  not  sufficiently  so  for  identification. 

In  view  of  the  interest  at  present  manifested  in  England  in  regard  to 
the  Everlasting  Andine  Strawberry,  and  the  discussion  as  to  whether  it 
would  retain  its  perennially  fhiitfhl  habit,  I  would  state  that  the  Mexican 
everbearing  strawberry  (jP.  Gillmani  Clint.)  has  held  this  everbearing 
character  for  ten  years  in  the  State  of  Michigan.  Plants  removed  to  the 
house  from  the  open  ground  last  January  are  now  (March  22d,  1870)  in 
Aruit.  The  plant  has  been  raised  fVom  seed  during  the  past  season,  and 
the  seedlings  continue  to  produce  all  the  characteristics  of  the  parent 
plants,  with  dichotomous  stem  and  racemose  flowers,  even  to  the  blos- 
soming and  ft'uiting  of  the  stolons,  and  that  when  but  four  months  old  I 
-—the  leafy  character  of  the  stem  being  a  marked  feature.  —  Henky  Gill- 
MAN,  Detroit,  Michigan. 

Vftal  Force  and  Color  in  Plants.  —  In  my  remarks  on  the  yellow- 
flowered  variety  of  the  purple  Sarracenia,  in  the  March  number  of  the 
Naturalist,  the  parenthesis,  on  page  44,  contains  an  evident  lapsus 
pennce.  Instead  of  reading  **  (white  being  taken  as  absence  of  color)," 
It  might  be  corrected  and  Improved  so  as  to  read  as  follows :  —  *'  (white 
being  taken  as  accession  of  color  and  diminution  of  vital  force.)"  It  has 
been  repeatedly  demonstrated  that  plants  with  variegated  leaves,  such  as 
are  so  greatly  sought  after  at  present,  are  much  more  delicate  than  their 
plainer  brethren,  which,  with  less  color,  require  less  protection.  This,  I 
believe,  is  well  understood  by  nurserymen  who  govern  themselves  ac- 
cordingly. A  multitude  of  facts  are,  day  by  day,  grouping  themselves 
about  this  interesting  subject,  and  more  clearly  defining  the  laws  which 
govern  It.  As  we  better  understand  the  effects  on  yegetation  of  different 
mineral  constituents  of  the  soli,  more  light  will  be  shed  in  this  direction. 

It  ha^  been  remarked  that  when  a  flower  is  of  two  colors,  they  are  al- 
most always  complements  of  each  other.  Familiar  instances  of  this  are 
the  forget-me-not  and  the  autumnal  asters.  More  beautiful  instances  are 
the  fairy  bird's-eye  primrose  of  the  rocks  {Primula  farinosa  Linn.),  bear- 
ing pale  lilac  blossoms  with  yellow  eyes,  powdered  with  silvery  farina,  and 
the  peerless  calypso,  nymph  of  the  hemlock  groves  {Calypso  horealis 
Salisb.),  with  brilliant  purple  petals,  and  lip  maculated  with  a  darker 
purple,  almost  hiding  the  flush  of  rare  yellow  glory  within.    Where  there 


NATUBAL  HISTOBir  MISCELLANY.  313 

are  three  colors,  the  third  is  commonly  white,  —  the  union  of  the  other 
two,  as  it  were.  A  fine  illastration  of  this  is  seen  in  the  showy  moccason- 
Hower  (Oypripedium  apectabile  Swartz.).  The  snow-white  petals  spread 
above  the  inflated  lip  of  as  perfect  a  white  melting  into  pink,  which  in 
turn,  deepens  into  purple  in  front;  while,  drooping  into  the  cavity,  de- 
pends the  singular  petal-like  sterile  stamen  of  a  pale  lemon-color  blotched 
with  tawny  spots.  Another  elegant  example  of  this  is  presented  by  the 
Calopogon  pulchelltts  R.  Br.,  the  club-shaped  hairs  in  the  beautifUl  beard 
of  which  are  pure  white,  bright  yellow,  and  rich  purple.  The  white  is  dis- 
tributed, if  we  may  use  the  expression,  into  yellow  and  purple.  —  Henuy 
GiLLMitN,  Detroit,  Michigan, 

Thk  Lianis  OB  Woody  Climbebs  of  the  Isthmus,  form,  as  is  well 
known,  entangled  obstructions  in  the  forests,  which  can  be  penetrated 
only  by  aid  of  the  axe  or  machete.  M.  L6vy,  a  botanical  traveller  in  Nic- 
aragua, sends  to  the  **  Bulletin  of  the  Botanical  Society  "  of  France  (Nov., 
1869)  an  interesting  account  of  them.  The  stems  seud  out  aerial  roots 
Areely,  many  of  which  reach  the  ground,  when  they  enlarge  in  diameter 
and  form  new  trunk-like  supports.  When  cut  in  two  the  lower  end  of 
the  severed  stem  sends  down  a  root  to  rSestablish  its  connection  with  the 
ground.  M.  L6vy,  finding  one  in  this  condition  fVom  which  hung  roots  a 
foot  long,  cut  it  off  anew ;  two  days  afterwards  it  had  produced  new  roots 
of  the  same  length.  Cutting  it  again  it  promptly  made  new  roots,  but 
more  slender  ones.  He  repeated  the  operation  up  to  the  eighth  time,  but 
the  new  roots  were  now  so  slender  and  feeble  that  he  desisted.  The 
plant  was  a  species  of  Bignonia, 

Japanese  Sea-weeds.  —  At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Boyal  Academy  of 
Amsterdam,  a  collection  was  exhibited  to  illustrate  the  care  taken  by  the 
Japanese  in  applying  to  beneficial  purposes  the  natural  products  of  their 
country.  The  collection  consisted  of  sixteen  species  of  alg»  which  are 
useful  for  food  or  other  purposes,  together  with  fabrics  manufactured 
from  some  of  them.  Several  of  the  species  were  altogether  new;  in 
other  instances  the  application  was  entirely  novel.  —  Quarterly  Journal  of 
Science. 

ZOOLOGY. 

A  New  Insecticide.  —  M.  Cloez,  who  is  engaged  at  the  garden  of  the 
Paris  Museum,  has  invented  what  he  considers  a  complete  annihilator  for 
plant-lice  and  other  small  insects.  This  discovery  is  given  in  the  "  Bevue 
Uorticole,"  with  the  endorsement  of  its  distinguished  editor,  £.  M.  Car- 
ri^re.  To  reduce  M.  Cloez*s  preparation  to  our  measures,  it  will  be  suffi- 
ciently accurate  to  say,  take  three  and  one-half  ounces  of  quassia  chips, 
and  five  drachms  of  stavesacre  seeds,  powdered.  These  are  to  be  put  in 
seven  pints  of  water,  and  boiled  until  reduced  to  five  pints.  When  the 
liquid  is  cooled,  strain  it,  and  use  with  a  watering-pot  or  syringe,  as 
may  be  most  convenient.    We  are  assured  that  this  preparation  has  been 

AMBB.   NATUBALI8T,  VOL.   IV.  40 


314  NATURAL   HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 

most  efficacious  In  France,  and  it  will  be  wortti  while  for  our  gardeners 
to  experiment  with  it.  Quassia  has  long  been  used  as  an  insect-destroyer. 
The  stavesacre  seeds  are  the  seeds  or  a  species  of  larkspur,  or  Delphi- 
nium, and  used  to  be  kept  in  the  old  drug  stores.  Years  ago  they  were 
much  used  for  an  insect  that  found  its  home  In  the  human  head,  but  as 
that  has  fortunately  gone  out  of  fashion.  It  may  be  that  the  seeds  are  less 
obtainable  than  formerly.  The  stavesacre  seeds  contain  Delphlne,  which 
is  one  of  the  most  active  poisons  known,  and  we  have  no  doubt  that  a 
very  small  share  of  it  would  prove  fatal  to  insects.  —  Scientific  Opinion. 

Fauna  of  Round  Island. — The  remarkable  discovery  has  been  made 
by  Sir  H.  Barkly,  Governor  of  Mauritius,  of  four  species  of  snakes  and 
several  species  of  lizards,  in  Round  Island,  a  small  island  twenty-five 
miles  fVom  Port  St.  Louis,  and  separated  by  a  sea  only  four  hundred 
feet  deep,  no  animals  of  that  description  being  natives  of  the  Mauritius. 
The  flora  was  also  found  to  be  to  a  great  extinct  specifically  distinct. 
—  The  Academy. 

Position  of  thb  Bracriopoda  in  the  Animal  Kingdom. — For  some 
time  past  the  writer  has  had  reasons  for  believing  that  the  Brachiopods, 
with  the  Polyzoa,  had  greater  afl[lnitie8  with  the  worms  than  with  the  mol- 
lusks.  He  has  studied  attentively  Teredratulina  and  Discina  as  well  as 
their  early  stages,  and  in  all  points  of  their  structure  interprets  articu- 
lated characters,  and  not  molluscan  characters.  Without  entering  into 
particulars  at  this  time,  he  would  state  that  in  the  structure  of  the  shell 
he  finds  the  greatest  resemblance  to  the  shell  of  Crustacea,  both  as  regards 
the  peculiar  tubular  structure,  and  the  scale-like  appearance,  and  its 
chemical  composition.  In  Lingula,  while  the  carbonate  of  lime  amounts 
to  only  six  per  cent.,  the  phosphate  of  lime  amounts  to  forty-two  per  cent. 

The  horny  seto)  which  fringe  the  mantle  are  remarkably  worm-like.  In 
worms  the  bristles  are  enclosed  in  muscular  sheaths,  while  in  other 
articulate  animals  the  hairs  are  simply  tubular  prolongations  of  the  epi- 
dermal layer.  In  the  Brachiopods  these  bristles  are  secreted  by  follicles 
and  are  surrounded  by  muscular  fibres,  and  are  freely  moved  by  the  animal. 
The  structure  of  these  setae  difler  but  little,  if  at  all,  from  those  of  the 
worms. 

The  lophophore  with  the  cirri  is  to  be  compared  to  similar  parts  in  the 
tubicolous  worms,  and  the  mantle  which  covers  and  conceals  their  arms, 
is  to  be  compared  to  the  cephalic  collar,  as  seen  in  Sabella,  for  instance, 
where  we  find  it  split  laterally,  and  a  portion  reflected.  If  this  were 
greatly  developed  so  as  to  cover  the  expanded  fronds  of  cirri,  we  should 
recognize  quickly  the  relation  between  the  two. 

Dr.  Gratiolet  has  compared  the  circulatory  system  of  the  Brachiopods 
to  that  of  the  Crustacea,  and  Burmcister  has  shown  a  resemblance  between 
the  respiratory  apparatus  of  certain  cirripeds  and  that  of  Lingula. 

In  the  reproductive  system  there  is  a  close  similarity  existing  between 
the  oviducts  of  Brachlopoda,  with  their  trumpet-shaped  openings  and, 
similar  organs  in  the  worms. 


NATURAL  HISTOBY  MISCELLANY.  315 

In  the  little  knowledge  we  have  of  their  embryology,  the  strongest 
proofe  exist  of  their  affinity  with  the  worms.  Lacaze-Duthiers  flgnres 
the  embryo  of  Thecidiam,  and  it  is  a  little  animal  with  foar  segments. 
Fritz  Mtlller  flgnres  an  early  stage  of  Discina,  and  we  have  recalled  to  as 
a  positive  articulate  and  worm-like  character.  From  the  body  of  this 
embryo,  prominent  bristles  project.  Smitt  flgnres  the  same  in  the 
embryo  of  Lepralia,  wherein  he  describes  six  bristles  that  appear  loco- 
motive ;  and  Clapar^de  figures  the  embryo  of  Nerine,  a  worm,  in  which 
we  find  similar  bristles  projecting  Arom  the  body.  In  this  connection  it 
is  interesting  to  note  that  in  the  winter  eggs,  or  statoblasts,  of  Polyzoa 
we  have  a  relation  to  similar  characters  among  the  lower  Crustacea,  the 
ephlppia  of  Daphnia,  and  the  winter  eggs  of  Rotifers,  for  example. 

Leuckart  places  the  Folyzoa  with  the  worms,  and  the  close  aflSnity  of 
the  Polyzoa  with  the  Brachiopoda  is  now  freely  admitted,  and  we  now 
recall  those  peculiar  worms,  or  early  stages  of  them,  which  so  strongly 
resemble  in  almost  every  essential  point  of  their  structure  the  hippo- 
crepian  Polyzoa. 

As  many  of  the  foregoing  points  need  ample  illustration,  and  as  the 
writer  has  in  preparation  a  memoir  on  the  subject,  he  will  now  only  call 
attention  to  the  facts  supporting  these  views,  evolved  from  the  study  of 
living  Lingulse.  It  is  but  justice  to  state  that  six  months  previous  to  the 
^observations  made  on  Lingula,  he  had  come  to  conclusions  herein  ex- 
pressed, and  had  fVeely  argued  It  with  his  colaborators. 

He  saw  the  necessity  of  examining  Lingula,  however,  before  advancing 
these  views,  and  for  this  sole  purpose  had  visited  North  Carolina  in  com- 
pany with  Dr.  A.  S.  Packard,  jr.,  who  with  his  observations  on  the  worms 
and  Crustacea  of  that  region  yet  found  time  to  follow  the  writer,  step  by 
step,  in  his  studies  of  Lingula,  and  was  deeply  impressed  by  the  disclos- 
ures there  made.  His  slncerest  gratitude  is  due  Dr.  Elliott  Cones, 
U.  S.  A.,  and  Major  Joseph  Stewart,  U.  S.  A.,  commandant  at  Fort 
Macon,  North  Carolina,  for  their  constant  aid  and  sympathy  In  further- 
ance of  the  object  of  his  visit  there. 

Alter  nearly  a  week's  fruitless  search,  Lingulsd  were  fbund  in  a  sand 
shoal,  left  at  low  tide.  They  were  found  buried  in  the  sand.  The  pe- 
duncle, which  was  about  six  times  the  length  of  the  shell,  being  encased 
in  a  sand  tube  differing  in  no  respect  fVom  the  sand  tubes  of  neighboring 
annelids.  In  many  Instances  the  peduncle  was  broken  in  sifting  them 
from  the  sand,  yet  the  wound  was  quickly  healed  and  a  new  sand-tube 
promptly  formed.  When  placed  on  the  surface  of  the  sand  they  were 
noticed  to  move  quite  freely,  by  the  sliding  motion,  in  all  directions,  of  the 
dorsal  and  ventral  plates,  aided  at  the  same  time  by  the  rows  of  setse  or 
bristles,  which  swung  back  and  forth  like  a  galley  of  oars,  leaving  a 
pecnliar  track  in  the  sand. 

The  peduncle  was  hollow,  and  the  blood  could  be  seen  coursing  back 
and  forth  in  its  channel.  It  was  distinctly  and  regularly  ringed,  and 
presented  a  remarkably  worm-like  appearance.  It  had  layers  of  circular 
and   longitudinal  muscular  fibre,  and  coiled  itself  in  numerous  folds 


316  NATURAL   HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 

or  anwoand  at  Aill  length.    It  was  contractile,  also,  and  quickly  Jerked 
the  body  beneath  the  sand  when  alarmed. 

But  the  most  startling  discovery  in  connection  with  this  Interesting 
animal  was  the  fact,  that  Its  blood  was  red.  This  was  strongly  marlced 
in  the  gills,  which  were  found  in  the  shape  of  a  series  of  rows  of  simple 
lamellae,  hanging  from  the  internal  surface  of  the  mouth;  thus  proviiig 
the  correctness  of  Vogt's  observations  from  alcoholic  specimens.  At 
times  the  peduncle  would  become  conjested,  and  a  deep  rose  blush  was 
markedly  distinct.    The  sexes  were  distinct. 

The  writer  believes  the  Brachlopods  to  be  time  articulates,  having  cer- 
tain affinities  with  the  Crustacea,  but  properly  belonging  to  the  worms, 
coming  nearest  the  tubicolous  annelids.  They  may  better  be  regarded  as 
forming  a  comprehensive  type,  with  general  articulate  features.  Possibly 
they  have  affinities  with  the  moUusks,  through  the  homologies  pointed 
out  by  Allman  as  existing  between  the  Polyzoa  and  Tunicates. 

It  is  interesting  to  remember  that  Lingula,  though  one  of  the  earliest 
animals  created,  has  yet  remained  essentially  the  same  through  all  geo- 
logical ages  to  the  present  time.  —  Edward  S.  Mobsb. 

Fig.  76.  Fig.  77.  Fig.  78. 


Tig.  76.  Pednncle  perAsct,  rctalnliiff  a  portion  of  tin)  sand  tnbe. 

Fig.  77.  Showlnff  tiie  valves  Id  motion ;  the  peduncle  broken  and  new  sand  case  being  formed. 

Fig.  78.  Peduncle  broken  close  to  body  and  Baud  case  being  formed. 

The  Ruby  Crowned  Wren.  —  In  reply  to  Mr.  Allen's  question,  I  may 
state  positively  that,  according  to  my  experience,  the  adult  fertile  female 
is  "  ruby-crowned  "  like  the  male.  She  Is  perhaps  a  trifle  smaller,  not  quite 
so  brightly  colored,  and  with  the  flame-colored  patch  possibly  of  a  little  less 
extent;  but  she  cannot  be  distinguished  (Irom  the  male  with  certainty, 
except  on  dissection,  and  even  then  it  is  not  always  easy  to  determine 
ftom  slight  inspection,  unless  the  organs  are  enlarged  in  functional  activ- 
ity. The  barren  or  sickly  female  may  possibly  not  acquire  the  ornament. 
Birds  of  both  sexes  lack  it  for  at  least  a  year;  whether  they  breed  or  not 
with  plain  heads  I  do  not  know.  These  come  along  in  spring  in  the  rear 
of  the  mature  birds;  they  are  most  abundant  at  the  time  when  the  latter 
are  about  leaving.  —  Eluoit  Coues. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   MISCELLANY.  317 


GEOLOGY. 


Geological  Survrt  of  Iowa. —  The  legislature  of  this  state  has 
discontinaed  the  survey  which  was  being  so  ably  conducted  by  Dr.  C.  A. 
White.  This  seems  inexplicable  in  a  state  which  must  necessarily  be 
very  largely  benefited  by  the  exploration  and  discovery  of  its  natural 
resources.  Legislatures,  however,  are  not  governed  by  the  same  rational 
laws  of  self  interest  which  actuate  private  corporations  and  individuals. 
Though  single  mining  and  manufacturing  companies  consider  it  neces- 
sary to  employ  an  engineer  or  a  chemist,  the  legislatures  are  ttr  too  poor 
or  too  anxious  about  the  next  election  to  pay  any  attention  to  the  de- 
velopment of  the  natural  resources  and  mining  interest  of  the  state. 
Provision  has  been  made,  however,  for  the  publication  of  the  State 
Geologist's  Report,  which  Is  to  be  completed  in  the  same  style  as  the 
Illinois  Geological  Survey. 

New  Fossil  Turkkt.  —  At  the  meeting  of  the  Philadelphia  Academy 
of  Natural  Sciences,  March  8th,  Professor  O.  C.  Marsh  of  Yale  College, 
exhibited  a  number  of  fossil  remains  f^om  the  Post- tertiary  deposits  of 
Monmouth  county.  New  Jersey,  which  indicate  a  new  and  distinct  type 
of  birds,  closely  related,  apparently,  to  the  turkey,  and  not  unlilcely  the 
progenitors  of  the  existing  species.  The  specimens  shown  were  portions 
of  three  skeletons,  of  diflTerent  ages,  which  belonged  to  birds  about  the 
size  of  the  common  wild  turkey  (Meleagris  gallopavo  Linn.),  although 
proportionally  much  taller.  The  tibis  and  tarso-metatarsal  bones  were, 
in  fact,  so  elongated,  as  to  resemble  those  of  wading  birds.  These  inter- 
esting remains  were  referred  provisionally  by  Professor  Marsh  to  the 
genus  Meleagris,  and  the  species  they  represent  was  named  Meleagris  aHus. 


MICROSCOPY. 

Circulation  of  the  Latex  in  the  Laticifrrous  Vessels.— Within  a 
few  days  I  have  repeated  some  experiments  (first  made  more  than  fifteen 
years  since)  upon  the  circulation  of  the  latex  in  the  laticiferous  vessels  of 
the  leaf  of  Chelidonium  majus,  to  which  I  desire  to  call  attention. 

Before  detailing  these  experiments  it  ought,  perhaps,  to  be  stated  that 
Amici,  Dutrochet  and  Mohl  deny  any  visible  motion  in  them  except  such 
as  is  the  result  of  injury ;  while  Schleiden  says  '*  that  in  the  uninjured 
vessels,  the  motion  of  the  latex  can  very  seldom  be  snccessftilly  shown ;" 
even  in  Chelidonium  mnjus  it  is  only  occasionally  possible,  and  then  pre- 
sents great  optical  difllcultles. 

Now,  I  find,  by  potting  a  young  plant  of  this  kind,  and  placing  any 
young  leaf  between  two  strips  of  glass  (upon  which  a  drop  of  glycerine 
has  been  put)  in  such  a  manner  as  to  bring  the  under  side  of  the  leaf  up- 


318  NATURAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 

permost  on  the  stage  of  the  microscope,  so  as  to  throw  the  stroug  re- 
flected sunlight  upon  It  Arom  the  mirror  below,  that ; 

First,  there  Is  occasionally  either  a  nearly  total  want  of  motion  or  only 
a  very  slow  one  of  the  colored  granules,  or  at  times  a  very  rapid  motion  of 
the  particles  to  be  seen,  running  f^om  right  to  left,  If  the  vessel  happens 
to  run  horizontally  on  the  stage,  or  toward  me  If  the  vessel  runs  from  the 
outer  to  the  Inner  border  of  the  stage,  and 

Secondly,  that  while  watching  the  circulation  as  seen  through  the  lenses 
in  the  reflected  sunlight,  if  I  move  the  diaphragm  Arom  left  to  right,  so  as 
to  make  the  shadow  enter  upon  the  right  of  the  field  of  view,  a  brisk 
circulation  (no  matter  how  quiet  it  had  been  before)  Is  Instantly  wit- 
nessed, which  appears  to  be  changed  in  direction  as  we  move  the  dia- 
phragm back  again ;  and  that  the  direction  of  the  circulation  can  thus  be 
changed  at  will  by  the  interception  of  the  sunlight  This  same  result  can 
also  be  witnessed  by  the  passage  of  clouds  between  the  sun  and  mirror. 
The  actual  direction  in  the  plant  is  from  the  apex  of  the  leaf  in  sunlight 
and  toward  it  in  the  shade.  This  change  in  direction  is  so  rapid  when  pro- 
duced by  the  shadow  of  fast  flitting  clouds  across  the  sun's  disc  that  it 
would  seem  that  the  change  of  temperature  could  hardly  be  felt  by  the 
plant,  it  certainly  could  not  be  by  an  ordinary  thermometer;  but  a  heated 
body  properly  placed  will  quicken  the  circulation,  as  will  cold  retard  it. 
If  I  mistake  not  we  have  here  a  flue  demonstration  of  the  conversion  of 
light  into  beat  by  its  passage  through  the  vegetable  tissues,  and  of  heat 
into  motion  by  its  action  upon  the  laticiferous  vessels. 

Prof.  Balfour  in  the  Article  Botany,  "Ency.  Brit.,"  says  that  in  plants 
with  milky  and  colored  Juices  evident  movements  have  been  perceived, 
and  mentions  the  calyx  leaves  of  Chelidonium  majus,  as  also  the  India- 
rubber  plant,  the  gutta-percha  tree,  the  dandelion,  and  the  Euphorbia; 
and  through  your  journal,  should  you  think  this  article  worth  Insertion, 
I  would  ask  assistance  in  the  examination  of  this  interesting  subject.  By 
mixing  a  little  of  the  colored  juice  with  alcohol,  and  adding  a  little  water, 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  motion  of  the  liquids  in  the  vessels  cannot  be  the 
result  of  evaporation.  And  that  it  Is  not  an  ocular  Illusion  may  be  argued 
from  the  fact  that  three  independent  observers  witnessed  the  changes  of 
motion  as  above  described.  —  H.  C.  Pbrkins,  M.  D.,  Newhuryport. 

NotCj  May  12.  I  have  just  examined  the  circulation  of  the  latex  In  the 
laticiferous  vessels  of  Leontodon  taraxacum  under  the  same  circumstances 
as  that  of  Chelidonium  and  am  pleased  to  find  precisely  the  same  results. 
— H.  C.  P. 

Does  Boiltno  destroy  Germs  ?~  This  question  cropped  up  In  the 
course  of  the  Pasteur  and  Pouchet  controversy  on  Heterogeny,  and  It  ap- 
peared that  there  are  some  germs  that  are  not  destroyed  by  boiling,  but 
which  require  a  temperature  some  degrees  (10°  or  13°,  we  believe)  above 
boiling.  This  Is  another  simple  problem  for  microscopists.  —  MonMy 
Microscopical  Journal. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   MISCELLANY.  319 


ANTHEOPOLOGY. 


ARCHiEOLOGiCAL  IMPOSTURES.— To  hoax  IS  eminently  an  American  pro- 
cUvity  or  habit,  a  kind  of  fViskiuess  not  withgnt  a  tinge  of  mischief,  and 
always  reckless,  which  pervades  our  society  far  and  wide,  and  which  is 
gratified  by  creating  what  is  called  "  a  sensation."  Sometimes  there  is  a 
sinister  or  selfish  motive  behind,  and  a  deliberate  imposture  is  practiced 
with  the  view  to  pecuniary  advantage.  Of  this  the  **  Aztec  children  ** 
and  the  **  Onondaga  giant "  are  clear  examples.  The  latter  f^au4>  it  is 
to  be  hoped,  is  deftinct ;  the  former  flourished  for  years  after  it  had  been 
thoroughly  exposed. 

I  have  hunted  down  a  score  or  more  of  these  f^uds  on  popular  cre- 
dulity, only  to  find  a  dozen  others  springing  up  in  the  place  of  each  one 
slaughtered.  Skeletons  of  giants  resolving  themselves  into  bones  of  the 
mastodon;  great  Jawbones  fitting  over  the  faces  of  common  mortals  — 
Just  as  though  two  spoons  of  equal  size  could  not  fit  into  or  over  each 
other— inscribed  plates,  such  as  of  mica  discolored  by  infiltrations  of  iron, 
etc.,  etc.,  ad  nauseam.  Not  long  ago  I  received  a  letter  from  a  savant  in 
Vienna,  regretting  that  I  had  not  given  '*  a  ftill  and  particular  account* 
of  the  extraordinary  vault,  with  its  statues  and  inscriptions  that  had 
been  discovered  in  the  rocks  of  the  Palisades  of  the  Hudson,  and  hoping 
that  I  would  prevail  upon  some  competent  western  correspondent  to 
make  a  farther  carefUl  examination  of  the  recently  discovered  ancient 
tunnel  under  the  Mississippi  River,  opposite  St.  Louis  I  During  the  last 
summer  I  received  a  note  ftom  a  gentleman,  whose  name  is  not  unknown 
as  a  north-western  explorer,  enclosing  a  slip  fi-om  a  Kansas  paper,  giving 
an  account  of  the  discoveries  of  **  Professor  Henry  L.  Scott,  LL.  D.,  of 
Georgetown,  Ky.,'*  near  Evanstown,  Shelby  Co.,  Utah,  in  one  of  the 
cafions  of  Rear  River  in  the  Uintah  Mountains.    I  quote  fk*om  the  article : 

^HaTlng  secured  the  belp  of  some  half  dozen  men,  Proftsaor  Soott  immediately  directed 
bia  course  towards  the  South,  where  a  bastard  canon  starts  out  ft'om  one  of  the  Uintah  spurs. 
Fortunately  lie  had  with  him  a  half-breed  who  could  converse  with  the  Shoshones,  who  range 
all  through  that  section,  and  through  the  interpretor  he  learned  ft'om  Wa-pa-on-ta  (Stag),  a 
Bub-clilef  of  the  Shoshones,  that  about  fifteen  nqlles  ttota  Evanston  was  a  mound  of  eztraordi- 
iiMry  dimensions.  Tlie  Professor  Immediately  repaired  to  the  place,  and  to  his  great  gratifica- 
tion dlscoTcred  a  tumulus  of  as  fair  and  positive  proportions  as  any  described  by  Squler  and 
Davis.  He  immediately  commenced  the  work  of  excavation,  and  in  three  days  had  the  Inex- 
pressible pleasure  of  laying  bare  what  was  certainly  a  vault.  He  found  a  cavity  about  eight 
feet  long,  three  wide,  and  (bur  deep.  Its  bottom,  sides  and  ends  were  made  of  triangular 
shaped  stones,  evidently  quarried  from  the  red  granite  of  the  Wasatch  range.  There  was  no 
top  or  covering  to  the  vault,  but  fh>m  the  nature  and  color  of  the  earth  immediately  over  it, 
tiie  Professor  thinks  that  an  arch  of  burned  clay  had  l>een  used.  But  one  skeleton  was  found, 
which  on  exposure,  immediately  crumbled  into  dust;  it  appeared  to  indicate  that  of  a  man  not 
over  five  feet  ten  inches.  The  bones  lay  east  and  west— the  skull  east.  At  the  foot,  and  appa- 
rently between  the  feet,  was  found  an  ordinary-shaped  earthen  pot,  with  a  capacity  perhaps 
of  half  a  gaUon,  cone-shaped,  and  without  any  mark  or  engraving  whatever  on  it.  Along  the 
left  side  lay  an  iron  bracelet  with  a  spring  clasp,  perfectly  preserved.  On  each  side  of  the 
ikoU  were  two  medicine  stones,  shaped  like  a  cigar,  foil  of  boles,  and  of  half-pound  weight. 


320  ANSWERS   TO   CORRESPONDENTS,    ETC. 

Tho  stones  were  Tcry  similar  to  Tennessee  marble  or  Scotch  graalte.  On  the  right  side  of  the 
skeleton  the  Professor  found  a  silver  plate  about  tlie  size  and  exactly  the  shape  of  an  artlst*a 
palette.  Ko  mark  whatever  was  distinguishable  on  this  piece,  but  it  is  of  the  purest  silver.  It 
may  have  been  nsed  as  a  shield,  though  the  Professor  inclines  to  the  belief  that  It  was  a 
**  charm,**  and  that  the  skeleton  was  that  of  some  medicine  man  or  priest.** 

I  replied  to  my  correspondent  that  I  thought  the  whole  story  a  *'  hoax," 
but  if  it  would  please  him  would  soon  find  out  if  it  were  or  not.  I  ac- 
cordingly addressed  a  letter  to  the  editor  of  the  paper  in  which  the  article 
originally  appeared,  asking  him  on  what  authority  the  publication  was 
made.  He  answered  that  it  had  been  written  by  a  sub-editor  (giving  his 
name)  who,  however,  had  left  his  employ,  but  to  whom  he  would  forward 
my  letter.  A  few  days  ago  I  secured  a  note  from  the  sub-editor  afore- 
said, in  which  he  says : 

**  To  be  Arank  with  700,  *  Bxplorations  in  Utah  *  was  a  sensatton^  written  to  olBiet  the  fortli- 
coming  report  of  *  Professor  Powell  In  the  Colorado  Canons,*  and  Colonel  Samuel  Adams'  in 
Colorado,*  both  of  which  have  since  appeared.  From  personal  observation  In  the  region  men- 
tloned^I  know  both  reports  to  be  very  erroneous.*' 

I  should  perhaps  ipention  that  ** Professor  Scott's"  explorations  were 
alleged  to  have  been  undertaken  under  the  belief  that  the  race  of  the 
mound  builders  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  had  migrated  to  Mexico  and 
Central  Mexico,  and  that  traces  of  thetf  transit  might  be  found  on  the 
way. — E.  Q.  Squier. 

ANSWERS  TO  CORRESPONDENTS. 

T.  Dupar,  M.  D.  —  Toar  specimens  thongh  inconveniently  email  for  determination, 
are :  1,  Po'ypodium  incanum ;  2,  Attpldium  patent  t  3,  ParmeUa  pertata  variety  olive' 
torum  i  4,  Atmilijia  fraxinea ;  6,  Parmeiia  aoecioaa  variety  fframeli/era.  Soathem  ape- 
oiee  of  lichens  and  ferns  are  very  acceptable.  Send  along  some  mora.  Your  remarks 
npon  the  TiUandHa  utneoides  arc  interesting;  may  we  hear  more  firom  yon  on  the  hab- 
its of  the  plants  of  your  vicinity  ?— J.  L.  B. 


BOOKS  RECEIVED. 

Annual  Meteorological  SynopHi,    By  J.  B.  Tremhiey,  M.D.,  Toledo.  Olilo.    Pamph.    1870. 

Th€  One  Hundred  Dollar  Frite  B»9ay  on  the  Cultivation  of  the  Potato.  By  D.  H.Oompton. 
8vo,  pamph.    Illiidtrated.    Orangeffudd  ft  Co.    New  York,  1h70.    (25cts). 

7%«  Oeotogieai  Survey  qf  Ohio,  it*  Proifrest  in  1869.  liepurt  of  an  Address  deUvered  to  the 
LcjrtBlatiire  of  Ohio,  February  7, 1870.   By  J.  8.  Newberry,  Chief  Geologist.  8vo,  pamph.   1870. 

Narrative  of  a  Bear  Hunt  in  the  Adirondaeki.  Read  before  the  Albany  Institute,  January  18, 
1870.    By  Verplanck  Colvin.    8vo,  paraph.    J.  Mnnscll.    Albany,  1870. 

Proceeding*  Academy  of  Satural  Science*  of  Phila*felphia,    No.  4.    December,  1869. 

Diseourte  on  the  Life  and  Character  of  George  Peabody,  By  S.  T.  Wallls.  Peabody  Institute 
of  Baltimore.    8vo,  pamph.    1870. 

Journal  of  the  Qiteetett  Mieroteopical  Club,  No.  10.  April,  1870.  8vo.  Plates.  London. 
R.  Harflwlcke,  for  the  Club.    (1«.  a  number.) 

Ala$ka  and  it*  Re*ource*.  By  W.  H.  I>aJI.  Large  8vo.  Cloth.  €38  pages.  Many  Illustra- 
tions and  MHp.    Bobton,  1870.    L<h;  ft  Shepard.    $7j50. 

Fir*t  Annual  Report  qf  the  Geological  Survey  of  Indiana^  made  during  the  year  1889.  By  B. 
T.  Cox,  t^tate  Qeologlst.  assisted  by  Messrs.  Bradley,  liaymond  and  Levette.  8vo,  doth.  pp. 
240.    4  maps.    IndianMpolls,  1809. 

On  Existing  Remains  of  the  Oare-Fbufl  {Alea  impennis).  By  Alft«d  Newton.  [From  "The 
Ibis'Mor  April,  1870.1 

Contribution*  to  the  Theory  of  Natural  Selection,  A  Series  qf  Essays.  By  Alft^  Russel 
Wallace,    pp.  884.    ]2mo.    oloth.    Loudon  and  New  York.    1870.    Macnilllan  ft  Co. 

The  NaturaH*C*  Guide  in  Collecting  and  Preserving  Object*  itf  Natural  Hittory^  wUh  a  Com-' 
plete  Catalogue  of  the  Hirds  of  Eastern  Massachusetts.  By  C.  J.  Maynard.  Illustrated,  pp.  170. 
]3mo,  clotli.    Boston,  1870.    Fields,  Osgood  ft  Co.    [$2J»).j 

Annals  of  the  Lyceum  of  Natural  History  of  Net*  Tork.    Vol.  iZ.    No.  10.    April,  1870. 

NaturaluCs  Note  Book.    April  and  May,  1870.    London. 

Universal  Decimal  Weight,  Measure  and  Coinage  Association,    Circular  No.  1.    May,  1870. 

On  the  Pre-Carboniferous  Floras  of  North'eastem  America^  teith  special  referenre  to  that  of  the 
Brian  {Devonian)  Period,  Abstract  of  the  Bakerian  Leotnre.  By  J.  W.  Dawson,  [rrom 
Proceedings  Royal  Society.    Loudon,  1670. j 


AMERICAN   NATURALIST. 

Vol.  TV.-AUaVBT,  1870.-NO.  6. 


THE    LYRE    BIRD. 


The  Lyi'e  Bird  fiiids  in  the  soutb-eastern  portion  of  Au&< 


AUER.    NATURAUST,    ' 


322  THE   LTBE   BIRD. 

tralia  a  region  peculiarly  adapted  to  its  nature.  At  a  variable 
distance  from  ttie  sea  rises  a  range  of  mountains,  the  swell 
of  which  is  undulating  rather  than  precipitous,  while  the 
summits  expand  into  immense  open  downs  and  grassy  plains. 
These  are  studded  with  belts  and  forests  of  trees,  and  appear 
like  a  succession  of  vast  parks.  As  the  hills  and  plateaus 
sink  into  the  cup-like  depression  of  the  interior,  marshy 
grounds  alternate  with  parched  and  sterile  barrens ;  but  sea- 
ward, the  soil  is  of  almost  inconceivable  richness.  Here,  a 
tropical  luxuriance  prevails.  Forests  of  immense,  ever  ver- 
dant, blooming  trees,  are  broken  by  rich  meadow-like  dis- 
tricts admirably  suited  to  grazing  pui-poses.  Indeed,  the 
country  as  described,  is  so  charming,  that  it  might  be  con- 
sidered almost  a  Paradise  were  it  not  for  the  intense  heat  of 
summer,  increased,  as  it  is,  by  the  hot  dry  w^inds  which 
blow  southward  from  more  northerly  regions.  Parching 
droughts  are  succeeded  by  torrents  of  rain,  which,  collecting 
on  the  hills  and.plains,  and  advancing  through  their  stream- 
lets, pour  in  swollen  floods  down  the  mountain  sides  to  the 
sea,  carrying  destruction  on  every  hand.  Thus  are  the  sea- 
ward slopes  washed  into  gullies  and  ravines,  which  are  left 
obstructed  by  fallen  trees  and  branches.  Over  these  active 
nature  soon  spreads  a  mantle  of  greenness  and  bloom,  by 
means  of  rapidly  growing  creeping  vines,  forming  almost  in- 
accessible fastnesses.  In  these  secluded  haunts  the  Lyre 
Bird  hides  itself  from  the  gaze  of  man.  It  is  found  over  a 
large  extent  of  country,  but  is  peculiar  to  the  mountain  dis- 
tricts of  Australia,  and  especially  to  those  on  the  south- 
easteni  face  of  the  continent.  Two  species  ai*e  known ;  one, 
Menura  superba^  the  well-ki^own  Lyre  Biixl,  the  other  a 
closely  allied  species,  Menura  Albertii. 

Australia  is  a  country  of  wonders,  where  even  the  leaves 
of  the  trees  are  so  disposed  that  they  present  but  little  surface 
to  the  scorching  sun,  and,  consequently,  are  almost  valueless 
for  shade;  and  where,  both  in  the  vegetable  and  animal 
world,  are  curious  foi*ms  existing  nowhere  else  on  the  globe. 


THE  LYRE   BIRD.  323 

Here  is  a  rich  display  of  birds  with  gorgeous  plumage,  and 
here  also  are  found  many  remarkable  only  for  their  unlike- 
ness  to  all  others.  Among  the  latter  is  a  family,  the  mem- 
bers of  which,  with  their  peculiarly  large  feet,  scratch  up 
grass,  herbage,  and  soil,  and  throwing  these  backward,  in 
concentric  circles,  finally  raise  a  mound  which  forms  a  verit- 
able hot-bed.  In  this  they  deposit  their  eggs,  and  the  heat 
engendered  by  the  decaying  vegetable  matter  quickens  the 
life-germ,  as  in  ordinary  hatching  does  the  warm  body  of 
the  brooding  mother. 

What  is  esj^ecially  curious  is  that  the  Lyre  Bird,  while  in- 
cubating its  eggs  in  the  method  common  to  birds,  has  a  sim- 
ilar habit  of  raising  mounds  which  it  devotes  to  a  wholly 
different  purpose.  These  elevations  seem  to  be  intended  as 
orchestras  for  the  display  of  musical  powers,  and  both  morning 
and  evening  they  betake  themselves  thither,  frequently  while 
they  whistle,  sing,  or  imitate  the  notes  of  other  birds,  raising 
and  spreading  their  tails  with  all  the  pride  of  the  peacock. 
M.  Isidore  Geoffroy  Saint-Hilaire,  refers  both  the  Lyre 
Birds  and  the  *^ Mound  Builders'*  to  one  family,  that  of  the 
MegdpodidcBj  or  the  Great  Feet.  It  is  by  no  means  won- 
derful that  this  thought  should  have  suggested  itself  to  the 
mind  of  the  learned  naturalist,  for  there  certainly  is,  in 
several  respects,  a  striking  similarity  between  the  Lyre  Bird 
and  the  Megapodes,  a  resemblance  so  strong  as  to  be  per- 
ceived even  by  the  casual  observer.  But  this  similarity 
seems  capable  of  explanation  on  other  grounds  than  those 
of  a  family  relationship,  nor  need  we  even  suppose  that  the 
birds  in  question  belong  to  the  same  order. 

The  Lyre  Bird  has  been  known  for  more  than  half  a  cen- 
tury, but  possibly,  our  fullest  information  is  derived  from 
the  English  naturalist,  Gould,  who,  with  his  wife,  travelled  in 
Australia  for  the  purpose  of  ornithological  investigation 
more  than  twenty  years  ago,  and  who  since  has,  from  time 
to  time  by  his  correspondence,  obtained  facts  of  much  im- 
portance  to  ornithological  science.     To  his  pen,  and  to  her 


324 


THE   LT&E   BIRD. 


almost  magic  pencil,  we  are  largely  indebted  for  our  knowl- 
edge of  Australian  birds.  The  pictures  of  both  artists  are 
80  life-like  that  we  might  well  be  pardoned  for  forgetting 
that  we  had  never  heard  the  music  of  their  songsters,  nor 
beheld  the  flowering  vine  where  it  grew. 

The  whole  collection  of  birds,  forming  the  originals  of 
Gould's  "Birds  of  Australia,"  was  purchased  by  Dr.  Thomas 
B.  Wilson  and  presented  to  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sci- 
ences in  Philadelphia, — a  gift  to  a  noble  institution  of  his 
native  city,  in  which  America  has  reason  to  rejoice.  In 
this  collection,  along  with  other  specimens  of  the  Lyre  Bird, 
may  be  seen  that  which  furnished  the  half  size  illustration 
of  Gould.  It  is  somewhat  faded  by  time,  but  otherwise  is 
in  a  good  state  of  preservation.  From  this  bird  our  ailist 
has  given  the  cut  heading  the  present  article. 

The  bird  is  about  the  size  of  the  common  fowl.     Its  gen- 
eral plumage  is  of  a  dull  leaden,  or  chocolate  brown  color. 
Fig.  80.  brightened  on   the  wings,  chin 

and  front  part  of  the  throat 
with  a  reddish  tinge,  which  is 
much  richer  during  the  mating 
season.  The  peculiar  beauty  of 
the  bird,  however,  lies  in  its  tail, 
which  is  in  perfection  only  four 
or  five  months  of  the  year. 
This  appendage  consists  of  six- 
teen feathers,  twelve  of  which, 
as  seen  in  the  engraving,  are 
furnished  with  loose,  slender  and 
flowing  barbs,  which  are  so  distant  from  each  other  that  their 
effect  is  that  of  a  background  of  light  and  elegant  tracery. 
Figure  80  shows  a  section  from  one  of  these  feathers,  the 
barbs,  many  of  which  are  seven  inches  in  length,  having 
been  cut  away  on  either  side  of  the  central  stem.  Four 
of  these  feathers  are  of  a  closer  texture  near  the  base  where 
firmness  is  required.     The  two  unpliant  middle  feathers  are, 


Section  ftom  IoomIt  barbed  Fealher, 
natural  size. 


THE    LTRE   BIRD. 


325 


on  the  outside,  destitute  of  barbs,  except  a  alight  friuge 
near  the  termination.  Od  the  inner  side  there  is  a  narrow 
vane  gently  expanding    to  a  little  ng.  si. 

more  than  half  an  inch  at  the  widest 
part,  but  contracting  towards  the  end. 
These  feathers  bend  on  either  side 
over  the  delicate  tracery,  heightening 
its  effect  by  their  decided  lines,  as 
best  seen  in  %.  79.  Figure  81  pre- 
sents two  sections,  a  from  the  ter- 
minal curve,  and  b  from  the  middle 
of  one  of  these  rigid  feathers. 

But  that  which  gives  character  to 
the  whole  is  the  arrangement  of  the 
external  feathere.  These  curve  in  ^^t^^TSSTu^^^'r^SS' S,X 
such  a  manner  that  the  two  together  Kiw  ft«"he«"*  '  '* """' ' 
form  tiie  outline  of  an  ancient  lyre,  an  appearance  so  striking 
Fis.  81.  as  to  conter  on  the  birds  their  popular 

name.  These  two  feathers  contrast 
with  the  middle  ones  by  presenting 
vanes,  wide  on  the  inner  side,  on  the 
whole  length  of  the  shaft.  These 
vnnes,  are  apparently  frilleti,  but  this 
singular  effect  exhibited  at  a  in  figure 
82,  which  is  a  section,  half  size,  from 
one  of  the  exterior  feathers,  is  pro- 
i  duced  by  an  alternate  omission  of  bar- 
bules  on  the  barb,  as  seen  at  b,  fig.  82, 
which  is  a  single  bnrb.  As  the  barbs 
are  seen  edgewise,  they  present,  in  the 
naked  spaces,  the  appearance  of  trans- 
parency, and  are  usually  so  described. 
one  The  microscope,  however,  proves  that 
KrtiSi"^™ '"*""*'  in  these  portions  the  barbs  are  not 
devoid  of  color.  These  two  outer  feathers  are  of  one  or 
more  shades  of  brown  and  ash  color,  lighter  than  the  general 


326  THE   LTRE   BIRD. 

plumage,  and  are  tipped  with  black.  In  running  the  tail  is 
lowered  and  held  horizontally,  and  when  of  full  size  it  is 
nearly  two  feet  in  length. 

Gould  describes  the  Lyre  Bird  {Menttra  superha)  as  soli- 
tary, never  more  than  one  pair,  and  frequently  only  one  bird 
being  found  in  the  same  covert.  It  is  extremely  shy,  and  of 
all  birds  is  the  most  difficult  to  capture,  this  being  ascribed 
in  part  to  its  extraordinary  powers  of  running  and  in  part 
to  the  nature  of  the  ground  it  inhabits,  traversed  as  that  is 
by  immense,  obstructed  gullies  and  ravines.  It  seldom  or 
never  attempts  to  escape  by  flight,  but  like  the  Texan  Guan, 
belonging  to  the  Penelopidae,  frequently  ascends  trees  to  a 
considerable  height,  by  leaping  from  branch  to  branch. 

One  mode  of  procuring  specimens  is  by  wearing  the  tail  of 
a  full  plumaged  male  in  the  hat.-  The  poor  bird  is  deceived, 
and,  approaching  to  greet  a  companion,  easily  falls  a  victim 
to  the  gunner.  Any  unusual  sound,  such  as  a  shrill  whistle, 
generally  induces  it  to  show  itself  for  an  instant ;  if  this 
favorable  moment  is  not  seized  instantly,  the  next  it  may 
be  half  way  down  a  gully.  None  are  so  successful  in  the 
capture  of  these  birds  as  are  the  native  blacks  of  Australia. 
Bestless  and  active,  the  Menura  is  constantly  engaged  in 
traversing  the  brush  from  one  end  to  the  other,  and  the 
mountain  sides  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  of  the  gullies, 
whose  steep  and  rugged  acclivities  present  no  obstacle  to 
its  long  legs  and  powerful  and  muscular  thighs.  It  is  also 
said  to  be  capable  of  performing  the  most  extraordinary 
leaps,  frequently  using  this  method  of  escape  from  its 
enemies. 

Independently  of  its  loud,  full  call,  which  can  be  heard 
reverberating  over  the  gullies  at  least  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  it 
possesses  an  ^inward  and  varied  song,  the  lower  notes  of 
which  can  only  be  heard  when  the  listener  is  within  a  few 
feet  of  the  singer."  This  animated  strain  frequently  ceases 
suddenly  and  then  recommences  with  a  low  snapping  sound, 
ending  in  an  imitation  of  another  Australian  singer,  the 


THE   LTBE   BIBD.  327 

Satin  Bird,  and  is  always  accompanied  with  a  tremulous  mo- 
tion of  the  tail. 

Through  a  letter  written  from  Sydney,  Australia,  by  Dr. 
George  Bennett,  and  published  in  the  ^^Proceedings  of  the 
Zoological  Society,"  London,  we  learn  something  of  the  Lyre 
Bird  in  a  state  of  captivity. 

The  bird,  described  in  the  letter  of  Dr.  Bennett,  had  been 
captured  when  so  young  that  it  was  only  just  able  to  feed 
itself.  It  was  in  the  possession  of  a  gentleman  who,  when 
he  first  obtained  it,  fed  it  with  great  care  and  regularity  pn 
worms,  grubs,  German  paste  and  beef  chopped  very  fine, 
but  as  it  grew  older  he  added  hemp  seed,  bread,  etc. ;  in 
short,  treating  it  as  he  would  any  member  of  the  Thrush 
family.  Of  many  specimens,  of  all  ages,  which  he  pur- 
chased as  companions,  this  was  the  only  one  which  survived, 
the  others,  brought  from  the  lUawara  district,  lived  but  a 
short  time.  Apparently  healthy  and.  well  when  they 
whistled  at  dusk  in  the  evening,  the  morning  would  present 
only  a  lifeless  form.  Others  kept  in  an  aviary  in  Sydney, 
survived  their  captivity  but  six  months. 

On  the  fouilh  of  January,  no  indication  of  sex  could  be 
ascertained  from  the  plumage  of  the  individual  described. 
Twenty  days  afterwards,  when  the  bird  was  two  years  and 
four  months  old,  two  of  the  peculiar  feathers  of  the  male 
were  developing. 

This  bird  was  in  a  constant  state  of  restless  activity,  run- 
ning rapidly  about  the  spacious  aviary  in  which  it  was  con- 
fined, and  leaping  upon  and  over  the  stones  and  branches 
placed  in  the  enclosure,  yet  with  all  its  restlessness  it  would 
follow  the  call  of  its  owner  and  take  food  from  the  hands  of 
those  to  whom  it  was  accustomed.  It  mocked  with  great 
accuracy  the  Piping  Crow,  Wonga  Pigeon,  Parrots  and 
various  other  birds  in  the  same  aviary  and  in  the  vicinity, 
and  about  dusk  in  the  evening  was  often  heard  to  utter  its 
own  peculiar  whistle. 

Even  in  Australia  this  bird  was  so  highly  prized  that  a 


328  THE   LYBE  BIBD« 

liberal  offer  could  not  induce  the  possessor  to  part  with  it  to 
send  to  England. 

Another  letter  from  Melbonrae,  Australia,  written  to  Grould, 
informs  us  that  the  nestling  bird  is  extraordinarily  helpless ; 
when  taken  forcibly  from  the  nest,  it  walked  most  awk- 
wardly, with  its  legs  bent  inwards,  frequently  falling,  appa- 
rently from  want  of  strength  to  move  the  large  and  heavy 
bones  of  its  legs  properly,  and  this  at  a  time  when  its  height 
was  sixteen  inches,  and  when  its  wings  and  tail  were  already 
furnished  with  feathers,  although  the  body  was  still  clothed 
with  down,  which,  as  well  as  the  feathers,  was  of  a  dark 
brown  color.  When  taken  from  the  nest,  the  bird  screamed 
loudly,  and  the  mother,  notwithstanding  the  proverbial  shy- 
ness of  the  species,  actuated  by  her  maternal  fondness,  tried 
in  various  ways  to  deliver  the  captive.  A  shot  was  the  re- 
ward of  her  devotion,  and  with  its  mother  near  it,  the  young 
Menura  soon  became  silent  and  quiet.  Afterward  its  cries 
for  its  natural  protector  being  answered  by  an  imitation  of 
the  mother's  voice,  it  was  easily  led  by  the  sound  and  soon 
became  very  tame.  It  was  exceedingly  voracious,  but  ate 
wholly  in  the  manner  of  the  Passeres,  the  nestlings  of  which 
hold  the  open  beak  in  a  vertical  position,  requiring  food  to 
be  dropped  therein.  It  was  sustained  principally  by  worms 
aud  the  larvsB  of  ants,  and  when  occasionally  it  picked  up 
the  latter  for  itself  it  never  was  able  to  swallow  them,  the 
muscles  of  the  neck  not  having  gained  sufficient  power  to 
effect  the  required  jerk  and  throwing  back  of  the  head. 
Bemaining  for  an  unusually  long  time  iu  the  nest,  the  young 
Menuray  like  the  passerine  birds  in  general,  possesses  the 
instinct  of  cleanliness. 

The  habits  of  Menura  Albertii  are  very  similar  to  those  of 
its  better  known  relative ;  the  former,  like  the  latter,  being 
famous  for  its  most  extraordinary  mocking  capabilities. 
Commencing  his  song  before  the  dawn  of  day,  in  fact  being 
the  earliest  of  song-birds,  he  continues  till  about  an  hour 
after  sunrise,  besides  his  own  peculiar  note  imitating  the 


THE  LTBE   BIRD.  329 

cries  of  all  the  birds  in  the  bush.  He  then  becomes  silent 
and  remains  so  during  the  day  until  about  an  hour  before 
sunset,  when  he  again  commences  singing  and  playing  about 
until  it  is  quite  dark. 

This  species  chooses  sandy  localities  and  feeds  wholly  on 
insects,  mingled  with  a  considerable  proportion  of  sand,  but 
is  without  the  crop  found  among  the  gravel-using  Rasores. 

It  commences  building  in  May,  lays  its  eggs  in  June,  and 
hatches  its  young  in  July.  Choosing  some  bare  rock  where 
there  is  a  sufficient  shelter  for  a  lodgement,  it  builds  an 
oven-shaped  nest,  outwardly  constructed  of  sticks  or  roots, 
tendrils,  or  the  leaves  of  palms,  and  lined  with  soft  green 
mosses,  or  the  skeleton  leaf  of  the  parasitical  tree  fenis, — 
a  substance  almost  as  elastic  as  horse  hair.  This  nest  is 
completely  rain  proof  and  has  the  entrance  on  one  side. 

A  nest  of  this  species,  with  two  eggs,  is  deposited  in  the 
British  Museum,  The  nest  is  about  two  feet  in  length,  by 
sixteen  inches  in  breadth,  and  is  domed  over  except  at  one 
end.  The  eggs,  about  the  size  of  those  of  the  common  fowl, 
are  of  a  deep  purplish  chocolate,  irregularly  blotched  and 
freckled  with  a  darker  color. 

The  nestling  is  covered  with  whiU  down  and  remains  six 
weeks  in  the  nes^. 

In  this  species  the  male  bird  is  about  four  years  old  before 
he  acquires  his  full  tail ;  the  two  centre  curved  feathers  are 
the  last  to  make  their  appearance. 

Of  the  nest  of  M.  iuperba  we  find  no  equally  clear  descrip- 
tion, but  it  appears  very  nearly  to  resemble  that  of  M.  AU 
bertii.  The  eggs  of  the  former  species  are  said  to  be  of  a 
lighter  color,  and  the  young  to  be  blind  as  well  as  helpless. 

The  method  of  nest  building,  the  helplessness  of  the 
young,  and  their  passerine  manner  of  feeding,  taken  in  con- 
nection with  the  structure  of  the  MenuridoBy  all  point  to  a 
position  considerably  higher  than  the  Megapodes.  It  is  true, 
the  young  are  covered  with  down,  but  exceptions  occur 
among  the  Fisairostral  birds,  as  for  instance,  the  Night  Hawk 

AMCR.  KATVRALI8T,  VOL.  IV.  42 


330  THE   LYRE  BIBD. 

and  the  Whip-poor-will  of  the  CaprimulgidcB^  both  of  which 
are  downy  at  birth ;  and  the  Menurid(E  may  present  a  similar 
exception  in  the  group  of  the  Paaneres^  where  the  young  are 
nearly  if  not  entirely  nude. 

Gray  placed  Menura  among  the  Wrens.  Jerdon  assigned 
it  a  position  intermediate  between  the  Walking  Birds, — in- 
cluding the  common  fowl  and  the  Pigeons  and  Doves,  —  and 
the  higher  Land  Birds. 

Most  ornithologists  of  the  present  day  unite  in  consider- 
ing it  as  a  member  of  the  PoMeres^  that  group  which  in- 
cludes our  Thrushes,  Wrens,  Pewees,  Humming  Birds, 
Sparrows,  Crows  and  all  the  multitude  of  their  kind. 

Professor  Huxley  has  examined  a  portion  of  its  anatomy 
with  care,  and  while  referring  Menura  to  a  group  equivalent, 
to  the  PoBseres^  sees  so  many  distinctions  between  this  and 
all  other  passerine  genera,  that  he  places  it  in  a  section  of 
this  group  alone,  no  other  birds  in  the  world  answering  to 
the  Lyre  Birds. 

Nitzsch,  who  with  equal  care,  examined  Menxira  in  refer- 
ence to  plumage,  reaches  the  same  conclusion,  that  it  is  un- 
doubtedly a  passerine  genus,  but  that  in  certain  respects  it 
differs  from  every  other,  while  manifesting  a  relationship  to 
the  Wrens,  the  Thrushes,  the  Dippers  and  several  other 
allied  families. 

From  all  these  considerations  the  probabilities  of  the 
case  seem  to  be,  that  the  Lyre  Birds  are  neither  Wrens  nor 
Thrushes,  nor  members  of  any  other  family  to  which  they 
appear  to  be  most  nearly  allied ;  but  that  they  may  be  the 
living  representatives  of  a  group  which  preceded  one,  or 
either,  or  all  of  these  various  families;  and,  that  under  a 
passerine  form,  they  repeat  some  of  the  peculiarities  of  the 
Megapodes  and  of  their  near  connections,  in  the  line  of  ascent^ 
the  Cracidoe  and  Penelopidoe;  at  the  same  time  reasserting, 
in  a  general  way,  their  resemblance  to  the  Walking  Birds, 
while  exhibiting  a  fundamentally  passerine  nature.  In  the 
same  manner  does  each  of  the  vertebrate  classes  repeat, 


HDSSEI.   CLIMBINO.  831 

vith[n  its  own  type,  characteristics  of  lower  forms  of  life ; 
and  thus  do  all  the  higher  animals  in  their  embryonic  condi- 
tion, pass  through  stages  representing  the  lower  rertebrates. 


MUSSEL    CLIMBING. 

BY  KBV.  a.  LOCKWOOD,  PH.D. 


Can  any  one  see  a  snail  travel,  and  not  ask  mentally, 
"how  it  does  it?"  The  method  certainly  is  curious.  A 
fleshy  disk  is  protruded,  and  caused  to  project  in  the  direc- 
tion of  locomotion ;  it  is  then  spread  out  flatly,  and  while 
slightly  adhering  to  the  object  over  which  it  is  passing,  a 
contractile  energy  is  exerted,  and  the  little  animal  bearing 
its  bouse  is  drawn  onward.  Thus  by  the  repeated  protru- 
sion, expansion,  and  contraction  of  this  soft  organ,  in  due 
time  its  journey  is  accomplished.  Because  of  this  method 
of  progression  on  a  ventral  disk,  all  those  shell-fish,  or 
properly  speaking,  molluscan  animals,  so  constituted,  are 
called  by  the  systematists,  gasteropoda,  a  term  which  means 
ventral-footed.  And  in  rank  these  gasteropoda  stand  next 
to  the  most  highly  oi^anized  of  the  mollusca.  But  some  of 
these  shell-encased  creatures  do  not  travel  at  all.  Take,  for 
instance,  the  oyster,  called  a  monomyary,  because  the  valves 
are  held  together  by  a  single  muscle.  This  sedate  bivalve 
once  settled,  probably  never  moves  from  that  spot.     But  all 


332  MUSSEL  GLIMBINO. 

the  dimyaries,  or  two-muscled  bivalves,  well  represented  by 
the  common  edible  mussels,  possess  a  foot,  which  is  not 
greatly  unlike  that  of  the  snails.  The  mussel's  foot,  how- 
ever, presents  in  its  class,  the  least  developed  condition  of 
this  organ,  for  it  is  a  spinner,  rather  than  a  walker ;  or,  as 
Owen  says,  *^it  is  subservient  to  the  function  of  a  gland, 
which  secretes  a  glutinous  material  analogous  to  silk,  the 
filaments  of  which  are  termed  the  byssus,**  which  often 
serves  for  attachment  to  rocks.  He  farther  says,  **in  most 
dimyary  bivalves  the  foot  is  an  organ  of  locomotion."  Some 
of  the  river  mussels  in  babyhood  spin  a  byssus  with  which 
to  moor  themselves  against  the  currents  of  the  stream. 
When  older  grown  this  necessity  is  overcome,  and  the  capac- 
ity just  mentioned  is  lost.  Then  the  adult  turns  its  foot 
into  a  plow-share,  and  is  dragged  along  in  the  furrow  it 
makes  in  the  mud.  The  razor-shell  alternately  bores  down- 
wards and  propels  upward,  the  foot  doing  all  the  work. 
With  the  foot  as  an  elastic  spring  the  heart-shell  leaps  along. 
But  the  common  black  mussel,  Mitylus  edtdis^  and  its  de- 
spised neighbor,  the  brown  horse  mussel,  Modiola  pUcatula^ 
who  ever  saw  them  walk?  Propulsion  is  not  always  walk- 
ing. The  scallop  with  its  large  adductor  muscle,  by  snap- 
ping together  its  light  valves,  thus  forcibly  ejecting  the 
water  within  against  the  water  without,  flits  through,  and 
sometimes  even  skips  upon  its  native  element,  like  an  aquatic 
butterfly.  But  no  pedestrian  does  so  in  all  MoUusca-dom. 
Why  then  should  not  these  pedate  bivalves,  the  mussels, 
walk  as  others  of  their  own  people  do?  ''For  want  of 
brains!"  says  one.  You  are  mistaken,  sir.  They  have 
brains,  the  right  kind  too,  and  in  the  right  place,  —  a  real 
pedal  nerve-mass,  or  ganglion ;  a  little  bilobed  brain  at  the 
very  base  of  the  "understanding"  itself,  that  is,  exactly  un- 
der the  foot,  as  was  fabled  of  a  very  agile  dancer,  that  his 
brains  were  in  his  heels. 

Now,  if  seeing  is  believing,  mussels  can  walk.     We  once 
saw  a  young  brown  mussel,  of  the  species  Modiola  plicatula^ 


1IU6SEX  GUMBINO.  333 

about  five-eighths  of  an  inch  in  length,  turn  his  foot  to  most 
excellent  account.  We  had  pulled  the  youngster's  beai'd  off, 
and  then  had  deposited  him  at  the  bottom  of  a  deep  aqua- 
rium. The  water  was  probably  but  poorly  aerated,  hence 
he  was  evidently  ill  at  ease,  and  to  our  astonishment  he  at 
once  began  travelling  over  the  pebbly  bottom,  then  up  the 
glass  side  with  the  utmost  facility  and  grace.  The  foot 
moved  precisely  as  any  univalve  gasteropod  would  do,  and 
with  the  same  easy  gliding  motion.  The  movement  was 
continued  without  interruption  until  it  had  reached  the  sur- 
face of  the  water,  a  distance  of  not  less  than  ten  inches, 
which  added  to  the  distance  travelled  over  the  bottom,  was 
probably  equal  to  fourteen  inches.  At  the  surface  it  lost  no 
time  in  spinning  its  byssus,  which  it  fixed  to  the  side  for  a 
permanent  abode. 

For  its  lively  colors,  perhaps  rather  ruthlessly,  we  had 
picked  this  little  fellow  out  of  a  large  family  cluster,  snugly 
packed  in  a  hole  in  one  of  the  piles  of  the  dock.  It  was  a 
large  group  of  all  sizes,  literally  bound  together  by  the 
silken  cords  of — attachment  shall  we  say? 

A  fellow  captive  was  a  full  grown,  black,  edible  mussel, 
torn  from  its  anchorage,  a  stone  near  by,  at  low  tide.  We 
afterwards  found  ensconced  in  this  black  shell,  an  amount  of 
intelligence,  which  filled  us  with  astonishment.  If  his 
youthful  fellow  prisoner  could  beat  him  at  walking,  he  was 
about  to  accomplish  the  feat  of  climbing  to  the  same  posi- 
tion by  means  of  a  species  of  engineering  of  a  very  high 
order. 

In  order  the  better  to  understand  this  singular  feat,  let  us 
introduce  it  by  the  narration  of  some  spider  tactics  we  once 
witnessed.  The  insect  had  captured  a  large  beetle,  but 
could  not  get  it  to  its  web,  and  seemed  indisposed  to  prey 
upon  it  away  from  its  den.  It  had  dragged  the  prey  under 
the  web,  which  was  about  two  feet  above.  It  ran  up  to  a 
point  close  by  its  web;  there  it  attached  a  thread,  by  which 
it  speedily  descended,  and  then  attached  the  other  end  to  its 


334  HUSSEI*  CLIMBING. 

booty.  Again  it  ascendedy  affixed  another  thread,  then  de- 
scended and  affixed  to  the  prey  as  before.  Each  thread,  in 
sailor  phrase,  was  made  taut.  After  a  good  many  threads 
had  been  in  this  manner  attached,  each  being  stretched  tightly, 
and  each  pulling  a  little,  the  weight  was  seen  to  ascend  a 
small  fraction  of  an  inch.  Again  the  threads  were  increased, 
and  again  the  weight  ascended  a  little  more,  until  at  last, 
after  incredible  labor,  perseverance  and  skill,  the  little  en- 
gineer had  the  satisfaction  of  success;  for  its  well  earned 
booty,  with  one  final,  tiny  jerk  ** brought  up**  at  the  desired 
spot.  The  explanation  of  all  this  is  simple.  Suppose  we  take 
a  cord  of  the  material  known  by  the  ladies  under  the  name 
elastic,  and  attach  it  to  an  ounce  weight.  If  but  very  moder- 
ately stretched  it  would  certainly  pull  at  least  a  grain.  Sup- 
posing it  to  do  that,  a  second  one  would  pull  with  equal  force, 
and  it  would  be  but  a  simple  estimate  to  determine  how 
many  threads  would  be  required  to  raise  the  entire  weight. 
But  enough  of  this.     Now  for  the  mussel. 

Placed  at  the  bottom  of  the  aquarium,  where  it  had  been 
for  a  couple  of  days,  it  had  succeeded  in  wiggling  itself  up 
to  one  of  the  glass  sides  of  the  tank.  This  accomplished 
it  protruded  its  large  foot,  stretching  it  up  as  high  on  the 
glass  as  it  could  reach,  this  organ  seemingly  adhering  very 
tightly.  A  little  hole  opened  near  the  extreme  forward  end 
of  the  foot.  This  tiny  hole  was  really  the  extremity  of  a 
folded  or  closed  groove.  Out  of  this  a  drop  of  white 
gluten,  or  mucus,  not  larger  than  the  head  of  a  pin,  was 
exuded,  and  pressed  against  the  glass.  There  was  then  a 
slight  withdrawing  of  the  foot,  simultaneously  with  an  un- 
folding, or  opening  of  the  groove,  which  contained,  as  if 
moulded  there,  the  already  completed  delicate  thread.  This 
done,  the  partly  contracted  foot  (not  drawn  into  its  shell  at 
all,  be  it  understood)  was  again  extended,  this  time  a  littlcf 
higher  than  before.  The  groove,  or  spinneret,  was  again 
closed,  except  the  little  opening  on  the  surface  of  the  foot, 
whence  another  little  drop  of  mucus  appeared,  which  also 


MUSSEL   CLIMBIKO.  335 

was  pressed  against  the  glass.  Again  the  foot  was  with- 
drawn a  little,  the  lips  of  the  gi*ooye  unfolded,  and  the 
moulded  thread  set  free.  This  gave  thread  number  two. 
Each  was  evidently  set  at  a  considerable  tension.  And  in 
this  wise,  thread  after  thread  was  formed  and  set.  I  regret 
that  I  did  not  record  the  exact  number,  but  am  sure  that  it 
was  about  twelve  or  sixteen,  and  the  time  occupied  was  be- 
tween two  and  three  hours,  when  lo !  up  went  the  mussel, 
about  three-eighths  of  an  inch  high.  Yes,  he  was  drawn  up 
by  his  own  cords.  He  was  literally  lifted  from  terra  fimia. 
Not  at  all  suspecting  what  was  to  follow  I  mentally  ex- 
claimed.    ^^This  little  fellow  knows  the  ropes." 

There  was  next  a  period  of  rest.  Whether  it  was  due  to 
exhaustion  of  material,  and  was  meant  to  allow  the  secreting 
gland  time  to  evolve  a  fresh  supply  or  not,  I  cannot  affirm ; 
but  must  say  that  such  was  my  belief,  for  after  an  hour  or 
so  it  set  to  work  again,  precisely  as  before,  attaching  a  new 
cluster  of  threads.  This  cluster  was  set  about  iive-eio:hths 
of  an  inch  higher  thau  the  previous  one.  When  this  new 
group  of  filaments  was  finished,  the  same  result  followed, 
another  lift  of  a  fraction  of  an  inch,  but  not  quite  so  high  as 
the  first.  I  now  suspected  its  motive — the  animal  was 
actually  in  this  singular  manner  attempting  to  reach  the  sur- 
face. It  wanted  to  take  an  airing,  and  was  really  in  a  fair 
way  to  bring  it  ftbout. 

While  setting  its  third  cluster  of  threads,  I  foresaw  a  seri- 
ous difficulty  in  the  way,  and  one  against  which  the  spider 
never  has  to  contend.  It  was  this :  after  the  third  lift  had 
been  achieved  the  threads  which  had  accomplished  the  first 
lift  had  changed  direction ;  that  is,  the  ends  of  the  threads, 
which  had  pointed  downward  when  pulling  up  the  mussel, 
were  now  pointing  upward,  and  were  actually  pulling  it 
down.  Of  course  the  lowermost  thread,  or  threads,  would 
exert  the  most  retrograde  traction.  Thought  I,  **Sir  Mussel- 
man,  you  will  have  to  exercise  your  wits  now."  I  rejoice  to 
say  that  the  ingenious  little  engineer  was  complete  master 


336  MUSSEL  CLIMBING. 

of  the  situation.  The  difBculty  was  overcome  in  this  way 
— ^as  each  lowest  thread  became  taut  in  an  adverse  direction, 
it  was  snapped  off  at  the  end  attached  to  the  animal.  This, 
as  I  think,  was  done  by  two  processes ;  the  one  by  softening 
that  end  of  the  thread  by  the  animal's  own  juices,  purposely 
applied,  as  the  pupa  in  the  cocoon  moistens  its  silk  envelope, 
when  wishiug  to  soften  the  fibres,  so  that  it  can  break  a  hole 
through  which  the  imago  may  emerge ;  the  other  by  a  moder- 
ate upward  pulling,  thus  breaking  the  filament  at  its  weak- 
est point. 

The  next  day  our  little  engineer  had  accomplished  the 
wonderful  feat  of  climbing  to  the  surface  by  ropes,  fabricated 
during  the  ascent.  Without  delay  it  moored  itself  securely 
by  a  cluster  of  silken  lines  at  the  boundary  where  sky  and 
water  met,  and  was  there  allowed  to  enjoy  the  airing  it  had 
so  deservingly  won.  Bravo  I  my  little  Mussel-man  I  No 
acrobat  can  beat  thee  on  the  ropes  I 

And  what  are  we  to  say  to  all  this?  Blind  instinct,  for- 
sooth I  Who  believes  it?  The  wise  men  of  the  ages  have 
written  as  the  tradition  of  the  elders — *'byssus-bound,"  of 
our  Mytilus.  But  it  can  make  of  its  bonds,  mooring  lines 
of  safety  against  the  storm,  and  with  consummate  skill  can 
build  a  silken  stair-way  into  its  own  wished  for  elysium  of 
delight.  It  is  some  three  years  since  the  writer  witnessed 
the  facta  here  recorded,  and  to  this  day,  the  sight  of  a  mus- 
sel inspires  him  with  profound  reflection  on  the  ways  of 
Him  who  made  these  creeping  things  of  the  sea. 

Note.  —It  has  seemed  to  the  writer,  that  in  the  perfection  of  morement  shown  br 
the  Modiola  plicaiula,  as  given  above,  a  high  stage  of  foot  development  is  indicated, 
such  as  would  hint  at  a  gi-nde  out-ranking  MytUuB  edtUia.  The  figui-e  inseited  is  that 
of  M.  edutia ;  but  the  process  of  climbing  is  the  same.  —  8.  L. 


FLOWERLESS    PLANTS. 

BT  DR.   A.  KELLOGG. 

The  great  coal  measures  of  our  continent  are  the  grand 
storehouses  of  preserved  plants  from  this  richest  realm  of 
the  vegetable  kingdom ;  they  are  the  entombed  pioneers  that 
have  paved  the  way,  and  still  light  the  path  of  higher  forms 
of  life,  both  vegetable  and  animal.  However  much  we  may 
to-day  value  these  humble  and  lower  steps  on  the  stage  of 
existence,  we  are  apt  to  fall  far  below  a  due  appreciation  of 
their  value  in  the  economy  of  nature ;  our  health,  wealth,  com- 
fort, nay  our  very  existence  more  or  less,  directly  depends 
on  the  uses  they  subserve ;  and  still  every  new  dawn  brings 
some  novel  use  crowding  the  advancing  ages  until  we  look 
back  but  a  few  days  to  our  early  years,  and  wonder  how  we, 
as  well  as  our  forefathers  could  do  without  this  or  that  neces- 
sary of  life.  As  coal  they  are  the  familiar  friends  of  our  la- 
bors, and  the  cheerful  companions  of  the  domestic  fireside. 
It  is  not,  however,  to  the  dead  and  fossilized  forms  alone,  but 
mainly  to  the  living,  that  we  invite  a  moment's  attention. 

An  idea  of  minuteness  and  insignificance  too  often  follows 
any  reference  to  the  simplest  plants  in  nature ;  yet  many  at- 
tain a  great  size,  such  as  Tree  Ferns  and  certain  Sea- weeds 
— the  former  forty  feet  high,  of  the  size  of  one's  body, 
and  the  latter  of  prodigious  length,  besides  myriads  of  inter- 
mediate forms. 

The  Fungi,  a  brief  account  of  which  follows,  are  cellular 
plants,  without  flowers,  living  in  the  air,  often  nourished 
through  a  stem  by  an  amorphous  spawn,  or  mycelium,  in- 
stead of  a  root,  and  propagated  by  very  minute  spores, 
serving  the  same  purpose  as  the  seeds  of  flowering  plants. 

The  largest  species  found  in  California,  is  the  kind  com- 
monly known  as  Touchwood,  or  Hard  Tinder  {Polypoinis)  ; 
of  a  semicircular  shape,  between  one  and  two  feet  across, 

AMER.  NATURALIST,  VOL.  TV.  48  (337) 


338  FLOWERLE88   PLANTS. 

and  six  to  eight  inches  thick;  this  large  species  we  hnre 
only  seen  atUiched  to  the  living  trunks  of  the  Laurel  Tree 
(Oveodaphne  Californica),  Its  name  signifying  many  pores  j 
describes  itself,  the  lower  surface  being  a  mass  of  little 
tubes  or  pores,  angular  like  honey-comb. 

As  tinder  it  makes  a  slow  but  sure  fire  and  good  coal, 
wind  proof,  so  that  as  a  slow  match  for  blasting  purposes  it 
is  perfectly  safe.  It  burns  at  the  rate  of  an  inch  in  five  min- 
utes ;  this  rate,  of  course,  will  vary  a  little  with  thickness. 
Dipped  in  nitre  and  dried  it  is  even  more  sure  on  gunpowder 
than  fate  itself.  The  corky  kinds  of  fungi  to  which  this 
belongs  continue  to  live  and  increase  for  many  years,  al- 
though in  genenil  mere  size  is  no  reliable  index  of  age  in 
this  field  of  inquiry,  for  we  know  that  under  favorable  cir- 
cumstances the  Scaly  Polyponis  (P.  squamosns),  found  on 
the  trunks  of  dead  trees,  attains,  perhaps,  the  largest  size  of 
any  known.  Instances  have  been  recorded  of  its  measuring 
seven  feet  five  inches  in  circumference,  and  weighing  thirty- 
four  pounds  avoirdupois,  growing  to  these  vast  dimensions 
in  the  short  space  of  three  weeks. 

The  power  of  these  plants  to  disintegrate  the  hardest 
wood  is  very  remarkable,  causing  it  to  yield  much  more  rap- 
idly than  the  ordinary  influences  of  the  weather.  Among 
the  greatest  agricultural  obstacles  in  the  vast  timber  clear- 
ings of  the  South  and  West,  and  indeed  of  most  new  coun- 
tries, are  the  old  stumps,  which,  if  left  simply  to  the  action 
of  the  weather,  might  be  something  less  than  half  a  century 
in  decaying;  yet  if  these  were  simply  sprinkled  with  water 
in  which  fungi  had  been  washed,  they  would  shoilly  crumble 
beneath  the  magician's  wand,  a  mere  shreddy  mass  of  inter- 
laced cottony  touchwood,  the  tissues  and  cells  of  which 
would  be  seen  to  be  traversed  and  disorganized  by  this  amor- 
phous mycelium.  We  know  from  actual  observation  that 
where  heavily  timbered  land  is  required  to  bo  cleaned  oflT 
entirely,  it  often  costs  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  dollars  per 
acre.    Perhaps  to  estimate  it  in  human  flesh,  we  might  adopt 


FLOWERLKSS   PJLANT8.  339 

the  western  proverb,  that  it  wears  out  one  generation  to 
bring  the  land  into  tolerable  tillage  for  the  next.  Only  a 
few  of  these  plants  are  known  to  us,  nor  do  we  know  their 
uses  except  in  a  few  instances.  Many  of  the  species  we 
know  are  very  destructive  to  the  trunks  of  living  trees,  on 
which  they  grow.  In  the  first  instance  they  may  giow  on 
parts  which  are  diseased,  but  the  insidious  mycelium  spreads 
with  great  rapidity;  the  moment  any  growth  of  this  kind 
appears  the  tree  should  be  felled,  or  if  a  valuable  ornamental 
tree,  the  pai*ts  affected  should  be  carefully  removed,  and  a 
strong  solution  of  sulphate  of  copper  or  corrosive  sublimate 
be  supplied. 

Most  Polypori  are  close  and  tough  in  their  texture,  and 
rather  indigestible ;  still  some  are  eaten.  Berkley  declares 
that  the  most  delicious  of  ail  fungi  is  the  P.  casareus.  Sev- 
eral other  species  besides  our  P,  igniarius  are  used  as  tinder 
and  moxa,  and  some  are  said  to  make  famous  razor-strops. 
Certainly  a  more  satiny  cushion  could  not  be  devised.  The 
common  small  species,  with  variegated  concentric  rings  (P. 
vemicolor) ,  is  used  to  lure  insects  from  the  mycologist's  more 
valuable  specimens.  One  is  used  in  Russia,  pounded  and 
put  in, snuff,  to  improve  its  narcotic  properties;  another  has 
been  manufactured  into  coarse  clothing.  Only  one,  I  be- 
lieve, is  worshipped,  i.e.,  the  P.  mcer^  a  most  striking 
object,  much  venerated  by  the  negroes  on  the  West  African 
coast. 

Perhaps  many  of  us  have  experienced  the  kindred  pleas- 
ures of  paradise  on  a  walk  in  the  woods  after  a  thunder- 
storm in  the  warm  days  of  August,  and  felt  our  lungs  swell 
with  a  thrill  of  strength  to  the  very  fingers'  ends,  while 
breathing  the  balmy  odors  of  the  wood ;  it  was  not  all  the 
breath  of  flowers,  nor  foliage,  nor  any  conspicuous  form  of 
commonly  recognized  vegetation.  Some  may  remember 
having  searched  for  the  sweet  knots  to  take  home  with  them, 
hiding  the  uncouth  thing  in  the  house  in  order  to  excite  the 
pleasing  wonder  and  prying  curiosity  of  the  loved  ones,  aa 


340  FLOWERLES8   PLANTS. 

to  where  that  sweet  odor  came  from  I  It  was  the  sweet 
scented  Polyporus,  another  species  of  the  same  plant.  Sim- 
ilar fragrance  is  observed  in  one  species  growing  on  the 
birch  which  is  used  to  scent  snuff;  another  like  the  soft  con- 
tents, of  the  puff  bally  is  celebrated  for  staunching  blood. 
This  fungus  has  been  much  used  as  a  remedy,  and  its  virtues 
vaunted  in  this  country  for  the  cure  of  consumption  in  its 
early  stages;  so  also  have  similar  surprising  effects  been 
attributed  to  the  use  of  Agaricus  emeticus.  The  phospho- 
rescent agarics  of  the  olive  and  palm  are  luminous  like  large 
fire-flies,  and  a  few  suffice  to  light  up  a  large  room  sufficient 
to  read  by. 

It  is  often  said  that  some  allied  mushrooms  are  unwhole- 
some, and  therefore  there  is  danger,  and  upon  the  whole,  it 
is  best  to  let  them  alone.  In  reply,  might  we  not  inquire  if 
the  carrot,  celery,  parsnip,  angelica  and  anise  are  not  allied 
to  the  deadly  hemlock  ?  The  potato,  egg-plant  and  tomato 
are  also  close  akin  to  the  poisonous  night-shade.  The  inno- 
cent arrow-root,  too,  is  the  actual  product  of  the  fearful 
woorai,  or  maratta  arunamacea^  with  which  the  savage  pois- 
ons his  arrow-points  in  war.  The  universal  practice  in 
Russia  is  to  salt  fungi;  and  beside  they  are  often  subse- 
quently washed  and  treated  with  vinegar,  which  would  be 
likely  to  render  almost  any  species  harmless.  Any  one  fa- 
miliar with  our  coast  and  bays  will  not  fail  to  hear  of  cases 
of  poisoning  with  shell-fish,  and  there  are  also  sad  cases  on 
record  of  death  from  these  as  well  as  the  edible  mushroom, 
or  AgaHcus  campestris.  Fungi  vary  in  quality  with  climate, 
meteorological  conditions,  soils,  etc.,  so  that  the  safest  way 
is  to  eat  only  those  raised  in  garden  beds  for  the  purpose  ; 
always  bearing  in  mind  that  much  depends  upon  the  mode 
of  preparation  and  cooking. 

The  Grape  Disease  ( Oidium  TSickeri) ,  is  the  result  of  a 
pai*asitic  fungus,  terribly  devastating  to  the  wine  crops  of 
Europe,  the  losses  of  which  are  estimated  by  millions,  and 
so  frightful  as  to  threaten  starvation  to  thousands;  fortu- 


FLOWERLES8   PLANTS.  341 

nately,  the  uative  vine^  of  America  are  not  subject  to  it, 
eveu  when  cultivated  m  proximity,  on  the  European  Conti- 
nent. 

This  fungus  plant  is  easily  destroyed  by  dusting  on  them 
flowers  of  sulphur  with  a  soft  brush,  when  the  fruit  is  well 
set,  about  the  size  of  a  pea.  One  application,  the  Hon. 
George  Hobler,  of  Alameda,  assures  me,  has  proved  an  in- 
fallible remedy  with  his  foreign  grapes ;  had  he  known  its 
value  sooner  it  might  have  saved  his  English  gooseberries, 
which  he  had  plowed  up  and  cast  away  in  utter  despair. 
Currants,  and  other  fruits,  are  also  victims  at  times.  Indeed, 
one  species,  Oidium  albicans^  called  Thrush,  grows  in  the 
mouths  ef  children.  This  can  be  transplanted  and  culti- 
vated ;  a  weak  solution  of  potash  or  salaeratus  will  dissolve 
out  the  albumen  and  leave  the  plant  wholly  exposed  and 
unchanged.  Now,  the  U8e  of  this  knowledge  is,  that  the 
same  law  and  similar  remedies  are  indicated  here,  as  where 
it  attacks  the  vine,  namely,  to  kill  the  parasite  and  cure  the 
disease.  It  is  always  pleasing  to  be  able  to  see  in  rational 
light  why  our  grandmothers  were  right  in  being  so  partial  to 
sulphur.  One  dram  of  sulphite  of  soda  to  an  ounce  of 
water  is  a  sure  cure. 

The  Oidium  fi'uctigenum  is  often  seen  in  whitish  puberu- 
leut  spots  of  a  greenish  gray  on  oranges ;  and  on  apple  trees 
it  destroys  the  fruit  while  still  hanging  to  them;  beans, 
plums,  peas  and  hops,  etc.,  are  also  often  destroyed,  or  much 
injured  by  its  ravages. 

A  digression  into  the  rationale  of  remedies  for  these  evils 
would  greatly  interest  us,  but  we  must  forbear ;  they  turn, 
however,  upon  a  tew  simple  physiological  facts — in  a  word, 
the  Flowerless  Plants  on  land  or  sea  have  an  oily  or  shiny 
coating  to  the  spores,  neither  the  sea  water  nor  air  actually 
touch  them ;  but  the  moment  this  adhesive  oily  or  mucilar 
ginous  matter  is  destroyed,  they  perish ;  hence  the  use  of  ley, 
lime,  ashes,  etc.,  together  with  many  chemical  washes. 

It  is  impossible  in  a  short  article  like  this  to  dwell  upon 


342  FLOWERLESS   FhAHTB. 

all  the  mildews,  white  and  black  {Puccinia  and  ArUennarid) 
which  ruin  wheat  fields  in  the  North,  and  orange  groves  in 
the  South.  Rust,  or  red  mildew  (Uredo  rubigo)^  which, 
however,  is  not  so  injurious  as  some  others,  but  is  still  a 
serious  evil  —  the  smut  (Urego  segetum) — bunt  (Uredo 
caries)  y  where  the  gi*ain  looks  well,  but  is  a  mass  of  black 
foetid  sporidia  when  crushed.  If  any  one  of  these  fungi,  out 
of  a  thousand,  would  spread  famine  and  death  broadcast 
over  the  earth,  is  it  of  no  use  to  investigate  the  subject?  As 
on  his*  rolling  main  no  navigator,  coasting  its  dangerous 
shores  ever  contemns  the  chartings  and  soundings  of  science, 
so  let  the  landlubbers  learn  to  do  on  theirs. 

A  brief  allusion  to  a  few  points  in  so  large  a  field  is  all  it 
is  hoped  to  do ;  but  the  bald  botany  of  the  subject  is  only  to 
aid  the  end  in  view,  namely,  the  practical  use  of  the  knowl- 
edge; this  requires  that  we  add  a  few  words  upon  the  ill 
effects  on  men  and  animals,  as  well  as  the  gross  wealth  and 
prosperity  of  a  country.  That  the  diseased  or  fungoid  cere- 
als referred  to  are  very  dangerous  to  man  and  beast,  no  one 
of  proper  infonnation  will  doubt  or  deny  ;  why  they  are  less 
dreaded  than  the  larger  poisonous  fungi,  is  sufficiently  mani- 
fest. The  Ergot  of  grasses  (e.g.  AgrosiiSy  JFestuca^  Ely^ 
mu8y  DactyliSy  etc.),  but  chiefly  of  rye,  is  one  of  this  class ; 
the  fungus  is  perhaps  better  known  as  spurred  rye — the 
symptoms  of  poisoning  from  eating  it,  are  general  weakness, 
intoxication,  creeping  sensation,  cold  extremities  and  insen- 
sibility ;  then  follow  excruciating  pains,  and  lastly,  dry  mor- 
tification —  the  fingers  and  toes  drop  off. 

I  have  known  only  one  case  so  suddenly  serious  that  the 
patient  lost  the  fingers  and  toes ;  but  very  many  instances 
where  ultimate  death  of  both  men  and  cattle  have  followed 
the  use  of  fungoid  gi*aiu ;  and  also  mouldy  provisions. 
Cheese,  however,  is  supposed  to  l>e  improved  by  it,  and  in 
parts  of  Europe  they  inoculate  with  a  plug  taken  from  a 
mouldy,  and  introduced  into  a  new  cheese ;  or  the  curd  is 
exposed  for  a  day  or  so  before  making  up,  so  that  the  float- 


FLOWERLES8   PLANTS.  343 

iug  spores  in  the  air  may  inseminate  the  mass.  If  to  some 
they  are  improved,  there  is  a  species  or  condition  of  mould 
that  I  have  every  reason  to  believe  is  dangerous  tP  persons 
of  a  consumptive  predisposition.  The  black  dust  of  hay 
fields  (  Umtilago)  acts  in  a  more  direct  manner — hay  makers 
are  attacked  by  violent  pains  and  swellings  in  the  head  and 
face,  and  great  irritation  of  the  entire  system.  The  blue 
bread  mould  (Pencillium),  or  a  condition  of  it  is  found  on 
the  inside  of  casks,  the  spores  of  which  prove  poisonous ; 
this  is  well  illustrated  by  the  two  coopers  who  entered  a 
great  tun  to  clean  off  this  mould,  when  they  were  seized  with 
violent  pains  in  the  head,  giddiness,  vomiting  and  fever, 
scarcely  escaping  with  their  lives. 

Alluding  to  fungi  on  forests,  fruits,  shrubberies,  grapes 
and  grains,  a  passing  word  will  not  be  amiss  on  the  potato 
disease,  caused  by  the  Botrytis  infesians;  its  ravages,  how- 
ever, are  too  well  known  to  this  generation  for  particular 
details.  Another,  the  B.  bassiana,  attacks  the  silk  worm 
in  China  and  Syria.  The  Achorion  microspoivn^  Trico- 
phyton  and  Lychen  agrixi8^  are  well  known  to  attack  man, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  strong  probability  of  their  being  the 
origin  of  malaria,  typhus,  cholera,  and  the  plague,  etc.,  be- 
sides numberless  epidemics,  which,  at  least,  are  preceded 
and  unduly  accompanied  by  these  strange  and  often  micro- 
scopic wonders  of  the  vegetable  kingdom.  Unlike  other 
plants  the  fungi  in  place  of  purifying  the  air — at  least,  so 
manifestly — from  the  poisonous  carbonic  acid  and  the  other 
elements  of  injury,  and  giving  us  back  the  vital  oxygen, 
steal  away  this,  and  shed  on  the  shadowing  wings  of  every 
dark  corner  of  the  earth  an  element,  which,  if  it  exceeded  a 
tenth,  would  annihilate  the  race ;  besides  all  this,  they  throw 
off  hydrogen,  which  causes  abrasions  and  sores — mostly  of 
the  mucus  membranes  and  air  passages;  and,  finally,  as  we 
have  seen  in  some  cases,  they  exhale  specific  poisonous  sub- 
stances ;  while  myriads  of  spore-seeds  so  minute  and  light  as 
to  be  scarcely  less  volatile  than  ether  itself,  are  poured  forth 


344  FLOWERLE8S   PLANTS. 

upon  the  gentlest  breeze,  were  it  even  so  slight  as  to  leave 
the  gossamer  unmoved.  Let  us  not,  however,  look  alto- 
gether upon  the  dark  and  dismal  side  of  the  picture.  They 
all  may  be,  nay,  are,  beneficent  forms  of  life,  only  less 
poisonous  and  otherwise  injurious  than  would  be  the  fleeting 
noxious  vapors  they  catch  from  the  atmosphere,  as  their 
kindred  do  the  filth  of  the  mighty  deep,  and  hold  it  back 
from  its  fiendish  mission  of  misery  to  mankind.  They 
come  mostly  in  the  melancholy  autumn  days  when  the  flow- 
ers are  fading  away,  and  the  leaves  are  falling  to  decay, 
when  the  beautiful  fairies  have  fled  from  the  grassy  lawns ; 
when  no  naiads  dance  in  glee  down  the  glittering  wavelets 
to  the  boundless  ocean;  for  then  even  the  brook  itself 
loathes  and  leaves  its  slimy  bed,  which,  with  the  aid  of 
crypts,  reptiles  and  creeping  things,  can  scarce  suffice  to 
stay  or  temper  the  impending  plague.  Like  a  grizzly  beast 
of  prey,  it  walks  in  thick  darkness,  or  sits  at  bey  in  the  sun- 
sucked  fogs ;  or,  perchance,  winds  its  slow  length  invisibly 
along,  like  a  spirit  serpent  in  the  stagnant  air  of  the  vales 
and  deep  mountain  gorges ;  or  coils  its  envenomed  form  in 
the  dismal  cellars  and  filthy  by-ways  of  our  cities.  It  is 
notorious  that  in  stagnant  water,  or  in  that  other  flnid,  the 
air — where  decomposing  organisms  take  on  innumerable 
forms  of  life — there  is  the  purified  and  purest  portion  of 
the  pond.  Even  the  noisome  mosquitoes,  dragon  flies  and 
reptiles,  with  flowerless  plants,  render  fluids  salubrious  that 
were  hastening  to  putrefaction  and  death. 

That  like  assimilates  to  like  in  the  realms  of  spirit  and  of 
matter  is  a  universal  law  that  will  be  seen,  and,  sooner  or 
later  acknowledged.  From  the  vegetable  kingdom  many 
examples  might  be  drawn  in  illustration,  and,  perhaps,  few 
will  be  more  strikingly  in  point  than  the  Fly  Agaric  {Agar- 
icus  mu8oariu8)j  so  named  from  its  being  used  to  poison  flies. 
This  intoxicating  fungus  is  often  seen  in  hilly  or  subalpine 
regions,  particularly  in  our  forests  of  fir  and  birch,  where 
its  tall,  trim,  white  stem,  and  rich  scarlet  cap,  studded  with 


FLOWERLE88.  PLANTS.  345 

white,  scaly  warts,  form  a  beautiful  contrast  to  the  soft, 
green  carpet  of  moss  from  which  it  springs,  and  the  elegant 
emerald  foliage  that  overshadows  it.  This  very  poisonous 
fungus  is  to  the  north-eastern  nations  of  Europe  and  North- 
ern Asia,  what  opium  and  hemp  are  to  India  and  China, 
awa  to  the  Sandwich  Islanders,  cocoa  to  the  Peruvians,  and 
what  tobacco  and  various  spirituous  liquors  are  to  Europe 
and  America.  Thus  we  see,  as  a  reverend  writer  justly  re- 
marks, that  the  indulgence  of  these  narcotic  cravings  has  at 
last  degraded  itself  to  so  low  an  object  in  the  scale  of  nature 
as  a  common  toadstool ;  and  that,  too,  in  the  most  revolting 
manner  possible  to  conceive.  The  Kamtschatiian  and  Koriac 
races  are  so  dreadfully  degraded  that  they  personify  this 
fungus  under  the  name  of  Mocko  Moro^  as  one  of  their 
household  gods — like  the  god  Siva  of  the  Hindoo  Thugs;  if 
urged  by  its  effects  to  commit  suicide,  murder,  or  some 
other  heinous  crime,  they  pretend  to  obey  its  commands, 
and  to  qualify  themselves  for  premeditated  assassination, 
they  have  recourse  to  additional  doses  of  this  intoxicating 
product  of  decay  and  corruption.  When  steeped  in  the  ex- 
pressed juice  of  the  native  whortleberry,  it  forms  a  very 
strong  intoxicating  kind  of  wine,  which  is  much  relished. 
But  the  more  common  way  of  using  the  fungus  is  to  i'oU  it 
up  like  a  bullet  and  swallow  without  chewing,  otherwise  it 
would  disorder  the  stomach.  Dr.  Greville  in  the  fourth 
volume  of  the  '*Wernerian  Transactions,''  says,  one  large 
or  two  small  fungi  are  a  common  dose  to  intoxicate  for  a 
whole  day,  i.e.,  by  drinking  water  freely,  which  augments 
the  narcotic  action.  The  desired  effect  comes  on  from  one 
to  two  hours  after  taking  the  fungus.  Giddiness  and  drunk- 
enness follow  in  the  same  manner  as  from  wine  or  spirituous 
liquors;  cheerfulness  is  first  produced,  the  face  becomes 
flushed,  involuntary  words  and  actions  follow,  and  sometimes 
loss  of  consciousness.  Some  persons  it  renders  remarkably 
active,  proving  highly  stimulant  to  muscular  exertion ;  but 
by  too  large  a  dose  violent  spasmodic  effects  are  produced. 

▲MKB.   NATURALIST,  VOL.  IV.  44 


346  FLOWERLES8   FLANT8. 

So  exciting  is  it  to  the  nervous  system  of  many  that  its 
effects  are  very  ludicrous;  a  talkative  person  cimnot  keep 
silence  or  secrets — one  fond  of  music  is  perpetually  singing, 
and  if  a  person  under  its  influence  wishes  to  step  over  a 
sti*aw  or  stick,  he  takes  a  stride  or  jump  sufficient  to  clear 
the  trunk  of  a  tree.  It  is  needless  to  say  delirium,  coma 
and  death  often  results  as  in  the  case  of  alcoholic  spirits. 

The  most  remarkable  fact  is  that  the  fluids  of  the  de- 
bauchee become  similarly  narcotic,  and  are  therefore  pre- 
served in  times  of  scarcity.  Thus  a  whole  village,  as  some 
say,  may  be  intoxicated  through  the  medium  of  one  man, 
and  thus  one  fungus  serves  to  prolong  these  most  fearful  and 
disgusting  orgies  for  many  days  together.  It  is  worthy  of 
note  that  the  very  same  erroneous  impression  as  to  size  and 
distance  produced  by  this  plant,  are  also  created  by  the 
hasheesh  of  India,  and  are  also  frequently  noticed  among  idi- 
ots and  lunatics.  It  has  been  suggested  that  many  of  these 
may  have  suffered  martyrdom  at  the  stake  during  the  witch 
mania  of  Scotland,  owing  to  their  natural  and  temporary 
defect  —  inability  to  step  over  a  straw  being  considered  the 
conclusive  test  of  familiarity  with  evil  spirits.  And  with 
those  devoted  to  its  intentional  use,  we  should  say  it  really 
does  come  within  one  of  it.  It  is  curious  to  observe  how 
the  effects  produced  by  various  species  of  poisonous  fungi 
should  be  so  very  similar  to  alcoholic  liquors.  The  effects 
in  both  Ciises  may  be  traced  to  a  kindred  cause.  Alcohol, 
as  all  know,  is  the  product  of  fermentation  or  corruption, 
arrested  at  a  ceilain  sUige  of  fungoid  growth,  as  also  is  the 
case  with  the  yeast  and  rising  process  of  the  pastry  cook  and 
brewer.  Having,  hence,  one  common  origin,  it  is  less  won- 
der their  effects  should  be  similar;  and,  we  may  add,  they 
tend  to  produce  a  like  poisoned  condition  in  the  human  body. 
This  is  exemplified  in  excessive  beer  and  liquor  consumers, 
the  slightest  accident  or  even  scratch  on  which  will  often 
cause  death. 

Thus  they  become   the   short-lived  mushroom   humanity 


FLOWERLESS   PLANTS.  347 

that  blooms  on  the  very  verge  of  decay.  That  these  things 
are  nevertheless  intended  to  subserve  some  good  purpose  is 
not  denied ;  every  degree  of  life  is  wisely  provided  for,  even 
the  worst.  This  is  most  manifest  from  the  lowest  lichen  to 
the  highest  vegetable  structure ;  and  when  mankind  observe 
the  true  equilibrium  of  order,  the  race  is  justly  represented 
and  designated  a  microcosm,  in  which  from  the  highest  to 
lowest  all  things  are  duly  subordinated  to  an  end  or  use. 

The  common  Puflf  Ball  {Lycoperdon  boviata  tmd.  pratense) 
requires  special  notice.  When  slowly  burnt  and  the  fumes 
inhaled  it  produces  intoxication,  followed  by  drowsiness  and 
then  by  perfect  insensibility  to  pain,  with  loss  of  speech  and 
motion,  while  one  is  still  conscious  of  everything  that  happens 
around — realizing  the  truth  that  it  is  possible  for  one  to  lie 
stretched  on  the  funeral  bier  sensible  to  weeping  friends ; 
aware  of  the  last  screw  being  fixed  in  the  coffin  and  the  last 
clod  clapped  down  upon  us  in  the  churchyard,  and  yet  unable 
to  move  hand  or  lip  for  our  own  deliverance.  Experiments 
have  recently  been  made  on  cats,  dogs,  and  rabbits,  and  simi- 
lar effects  have  been  found  to  invariably  ensue.  And  for  ages 
it  has  been  used  in  this  manner  for  stupifying  bees,  and  thus 
robbing  their  hives  with  impunity.  If  the  inhalation  in 
man,  however,  be  contiimed  too  long,  vomiting,  convulsions, 
and  ultimate  death  results. 

Much  of  this  lore  is  still  closeted,  perhaps,  mainly  in  the 
secret  chambers  of  the  past ;  the  fumes  of  many  plants  have 
been  used  as  spells,  enchantments,  and  to  induce  spectre 
seeing,  etc.,  of  which  we  may  name  some  on  a  proper  occa- 
sion. In  the  order  of  nature,  all  auras  are  adapted  to  human 
requirements,  and  under  the  influence  of  the  last  named, 
unlike  our  artificial  chemicals — chloroform  and  ethers — the 
individual  remains  conscious  all  the  time.  I  have  myself,  as 
well  as  thousands  of  others,  experienced  similar  slight  trance 
states  of  rapture,  sweetly  and  softly  celestial,  and  yet  most 
of  all  alive  to  consciousness,  with  only  a  dread  less  some 
gross  vociferous  burst  from  beneath  should  break  the  spell ; 
a  dread  lest  some  one  should  speak  to  you. 


848  FL0WEBLE8S   PLANTS. 

That  these  fungi  are  sometimes  purely  meteoric,  is  proven 
by  their  fastening  upon  iron  and  rapidly  extending  them- 
selves ;  here  the  matter  is  manifestly  conveyed  to  them  by 
the  air  and  moisture.  Many  Polypori,  too,  grow  on  hard 
tufa  of  volcanoes  without  a  particle  of  organic  matter. 
Nevertheless,  unhealthy  conditions  of  air,  soils,  and  the  ob- 
ject attacked,  we  have  often  seen  to  be  true  concomitants,  so 
that  in  most  cases  they  may,  be  deemed  consequences,  rather 
than  causes,  if  one  prefers  that  view  of  the  subject — our 
chief  concern  being  a  review  of  the  facts.  Some  of  them, 
indeed,  require  certain  specific  conditions  so  well  known 
that  they  can  be  grown  to  order,  leading  shrewd  observers 
to  the  plausible  conjecture  that  they  are  of  spontaneous 
generation. 

Berkley  and  McMillan,  from  whom  we  collate,  mention 
that  in  Italy  a  kind  of  Polyporus,  greatly  relished,  is  gi*own 
simply  by  singeing  the  stump  or  stems  of  hazel-nut  trees  and 
placing  them  in  a  moist,  dark  cellar ;  other  instances  of  ex- 
tinct fires  being  followed  by  fungoid  scavengers,  imps  of 
the  pit,  are  too  well  known.  Now,  as  charcoal  and  other 
black  bodies  absorb  many  hundred  times  their  own  bulk  of 
foetid  gases — for  the  color,  blade y  is  philosophically  and  dev- 
ilishly filthy,  and  it  ardently  desires  or  affiliates  with,  and 
pertinaciously  clings  to  foubair  and  odors;  and,  as  a  very 
fiend,  only  yields  them  up  readily  as  contagion,  eluding, 
perchance,  the  alchemist's  wand — the  vile  spell  is  hardly 
broken  but  by  that  great  power  of  the  universe,  heat.  Hence 
we  see  why  they  make  such  apt  servants  and  meteoric  media 
for  their  masters,  the  Fungi.  These  plants  and  other  para- 
sites sometimes  invade  living  organisms,  both  animal  and 
vegetable,  in  their  most  vigorous  state,  but  wo  may  safely 
say,  in  general  terms,  that  whatever  fouls  or  lowers  the 
standard  of  life  in  the  human,  in  the  animal,  or  in  the  plant, 
surely  invites  these  disorder-inspecting  gnomes  from  beneath ; 
which  move  to  and  fro  in  the  earth — messengers  of  the 
shades  I — ready  to  alight  upon  and  claim  as  their  own  all  such 
trenchers  upon  the  outer  i*ealms  of  death.     It  is  thei'efore 


FLOWERLESS   PLANTS.  349 

not  wise,  neither  naturally,  morally  nor  spiritually,  to  ven- 
ture too  near  that  other  place. 

I  well  recollect,  many  years  since,  while  residing  in  the 
pine  forests  of  Eussell  county,  Alabama,  one  of  my  neigh- 
bors (Oliver)  was  desperately  annoyed  by  some  mysterious 
fcetor,  like  carrion — only  more  so.  A  general  search  was 
instituted,  and  at  length  an  abominable  fungus  was  found 
growing  beneath  the  steps  of  his  log  cabin.  I  have  only 
known  of  two  instances  of  this  kind.  It  may,  however,  be 
common  in  the  piney  wood  sections  of  our  country.  This  is 
a  species  of  Glathrua^  a  putrid,  revolting,  jelly-like  mass  of 
raw  flesh  just  beneath  the  loosely-lifted  soil.  It  diffuses 
such  a  loathsome  stench  that  none  could  endure  it. 

One  might  object  that  this  stench  was  owing  to  its  putrid 
stat« ;  not  so  at  all ;  it  is  the  natural  foetor  of  the  fungus, 
just  as  we  find  in  our  common  pole-cat  weed  and  cabbage, 
several  arums,  stapelias,  etc.  Unless  the  hiding  place  of 
this  pest  is  discovered — and  little  peace  is  likely  to  come  to 
the  premises  until  it  is — and  the  intolerable  nuisance  abated, 
with  its  surroundings,  they  are  apt  to  repeat  themselves. 
There  is  a  popular  superstition  that  if  any  one  should  acci- 
dentally touch  this  monstrous  mass  it  would  produce  cancer. 
Hence  the  custom  of  carefully  covering  it  over  with  leaves, 
moss,  earth,  etc.,  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  a  contagion. 
Now,  whatever  we  may  ihirik  of  such  superstitions,  let  us 
respect — I  had  almost  said  reverence — the  intuitive  prompt- 
ings from  that  purer  and  better  world  within  and  above  this 
lower  region  of  filth  and  contagion,  which  causes  the  sensi- 
tive and  tidy  spirit  to  shudder  at,  shrink  back  from  and  shun 
such  exposures. 

We  do  most  solemnly  warn  the  reader  that  the  most  vig- 
orous health  may  not  too  rashly  presume  upon  a  forced,  fool- 
hardy or  wanton  and  careless  contact  with  these,  or  with 
those  other  fungi — the  moral  mildews,  moulds  and  blites  of 
man's  paradise. 

Recent  researches  seem  to  show  us  how  little  we  yet  know, 


350  FLOWRRLESS   PLANTS. 

and  well  do  they  warn  us  not  to  form  too  hasty  conclusions ; 
nevertheless,  with  one  voice  they  proclaim  these  fungi  to 
be  more  abundant  aiKl  much  more  importsmt  than  is  com- 
monly supposed.  They  are  undoubtedly  the  secret  or  ob- 
scure and  oflen  unsuspected  proximate  causes  of  many 
diseases  of  animals  and  of  man — operating  either  directly 
or  indirectly.  We  have  already  seen  that  the  ergot  fungus 
of  ill-drained  localities  found  on  the  Broom-grass  {Bw- 
mu8)^  and  Meadow  or  Spear-grass  (Poa)^  etc.,  but  chiefly 
on  the  Rye,  sadly  deteriorates  the  blood  in  every  degree 
from  intoxication,  inveterate  ulceration,  and  mortification 
to  absolute  death,  or  from  first  to  last,  both  in  man  and 
animals.  We  cannot  dwell  here  upon  the  indirect  dangero 
of  eating  the  flesh  or  drinking  the  milk  of  such  disordered 
brutes ;  the  eflects  are  scarcely  less  deleterious  than  the 
fungus  itself. 

These  remarks  are  true  in  general  as  respects  other  causes 
or  other  kinds  of  vicious  vegetation.  The  black  dust  of  hay 
fields  alluded  to  (  Ustilago  hypodytes)  acts  directl}',  throwing 
one  into  a  most  violent  and  dangerous  fever ;  so  also,  the 
spore  dust  of  the  common  blue  mould  (Pencilliuin) ^  as  in 
the  case  of  the  coopers  previously  mentioned.  Thus  we 
see  that  these  plants  act  powerfully  and  strangely  on  man, 
whether  their  etherial  fumes  are  inspired,  snuflTed,  or  their 
substances  taken  into  the  stomach,  or  even  vegetate  on  the 
outer  or  inner  surfaces  of  the  body.  They  are  also  known 
to  abound  in  the  lungs  of  web-footed  quacks,  and  the  brains 
of  many  animals,  but  we  believe  they  mrely  reach  the  brains 
of  some  Esculapians. 

A  French  chemist  and  botanist,  M.  Dutrochet  (as  quoted 
by  the  Rev.  E.  Sidney),  says  he  found  every  sort  of  vege- 
table matter,  with  only  a  drop  or  so  of  almost  any  acid, 
yielded  a  mould  ;  but  when  albumen  contained  a  neutral  salt 
none  appeared.  If  salts  of  mercury  are  present  the  mould 
is  stopped.  On  the  contrary  oxides  of  lead  hasten  it;  ox- 
ideil  of  copper,  nickel  and  cobalt  retard  it ;  oxides  of  iroOi 


FLOWERLESS   PLANTS.  351 

zinc,  nntimony  and  other  miuenils  have  no  effect ;  all  per- 
fumes stop  it. 

Passing  in  this  flying  review  some  of  the  lower  forms  of 
flowerless  plants  of  forests  and  fields,  with  a  few  parasites 
on  man  and  animals,  only  touching  here  and  there  an  inter- 
esting and  suggestive  fact,  we  finally  oflcr  a  word  on  those 
found  upon  our  farm  fixtures,  houses,  and  especially  all 
timber  structures,  although  not  confined  to  them  alone,  for 
even  the  wall,  in  the  pride  of  its  strength,  crumblingly  bows 
beneath  their  stealthy  tread. 

Builders  have  a  woful  knowledge  of  numerous  fungi  found 
on  wood,  c.  g.  the  Polyporus  destructor y  truly  as  its  specific 
name  signifies,  a  destroyer  \  also  P.  thelephora,  from  a  Greek 
word,  meaning  nipple,  by  reason  of  its  teated  surface ;  and 
P.  sporothricunif  from  the  little  pore-tubes  having  hairy  fila- 
ments hanging  out ;  the  one,  however,  most  familiar  to  me 
from  my  earliest  recollection  is  the  Weeping  Morel  (Meru- 
lius  lachrymans) y  a  crying  evil.  Both  this  and  the  M,  vas- 
tutor  are  sufiSciently  devastating  to  all  timbers  in  warm,  moist 
situations  where  there  is  no  free  circulation  of  air,  as 
in  hollow  trees,  cellars,  wainscoting,  timbers  of  ships,  sills, 
slecpei*s,  etc.  These  invaders,  little  less  than  legion,  all 
pass  under  one  common  designation,  the  diy  rot. 

Weeping  morels  at  first  appear  in  a  white  spot,  or  point, 
spreading  their  filaments  flat  over  the  surface  of  the  timber 
in  rounded  white  cottony  patches  from  one  to  eight  inches 
broad,  and  so  onwards;  near  maturity  it  forms  folds  of  yel- 
low, orange  or  brown,  weeping  Madeira  wine  colored  tears ; 
they  soon  after  mature  myriads  of  dii-ty,  rusty-colored  spor- 
ules  which  spread  destruction  far  and  wide ;  wood,  books  and 
walls  crumble  in  its  consuming  path ;  buildings  often,  though 
taken  down  and  the  stones  scraped  and  fired,  scarcely  sufiSce 
to  stay  the  scourge.  Is  this  the  leprosy  of  the  wall  spoken 
of  in  Leviticus?  Heat  applied  to  dry  wood  only  hastens  the 
malady.  Tt  can  be  forestalled  by  cutting  the  timber  in  win- 
ter when  the  sap  is  out;  and,  better  still,  by  immersion  in 


352  VARIATIONS   OF   SPECIES. 

water  for  a  loDg  time,  to  fully  supplant  or  extract  the  entire 
juices,  as  is  often  practiced  by  the  best  ship-builders  and 
honest  wheelwrights,  carpenters,  etc.,  who  regard  a  worthy 
and  enduring  reputation.  It  is  said  that  the  ships  in  the 
Crimea  Sea  suffered  more  from  this  insidious  foe  than  from 
the  ravages  of  fire,  or  the  shots  and  shells  of  their  enemies. 
We  have  seen  samples  of  this  light,  crumbly,  papery  shelled 
wood,  with  its  weight  and  strength  totally  consumed. 

A  strong  wash  of  corrosive  sublimate  solution  over  the 
timbers  of  cellars  on  which  these  deliquescent  or  weeping 
morels  so  dampen  it,  are  at  once  rendered  dry,  and  the  evil 
often  entirely  arrested  in  the  midst  of  its  havoc. 

Lastly,  most  of  us  have  heard,  and  many  have  no  doubt 
seen,  specimens  purporting  to  be  a  caterpillar  turned  into  a 
plant,  or  some  such  similar  foolishness.  We  have  one  in  the 
herbarium  which  any  one  may  see  at  their  leisure.  This  is 
one  of  those  parasitic  fungi,  that  rob  and  kill  in  order  to 
supplant  and  live  on  others  gains ;  the  dying  grub's  head 
never  sprouts  up  as  a  plant,  but  the  seeds  or  spores  of  the 
Spheria  Rcbertsii  alight  upon  the  caterpillar  of  a  moth,  the 
ffepialuSy  when  it  buries  itself  in  the  mossy  woods  to  undergo 
metamorphosis,  and  by  its  growth  destroys  the  napping 
grub.  Two  species  of  these  are  used  by  the  Chinese,  who 
sell  them  in  bundles  of  eight  or  nine,  with  the  worms  at- 
tached, which  they  place  in  the  stomach  of  a  duck  and  roast 
for  the  patient  to  eat. 


VARIATIONS   OF  SPECIES. 

BY  A.   H.   CUIITISS. 


In  the  March  number  of  the  Naturalist  we  observe  an 
account  of  a  remarkable  growth  of  Bidens  chrymnthemoideSi 
and  as  the  writer  seems  to  fear  that  his  story  may  be  con- 
sidered an  exaggeration,  we  come  to  his  support  with  one 


VARIATIONS   OF   SPECIES.  353 

twice  as  toH,  which,  happily,  refers  to  the  most  nearly  re- 
lated species,  Bidena  cernua.  While  collecting  along  the 
alluvial,  marshy  borders  of  the  Potomac  below  Alexandria, 
some  years  ago,  we  found  this  species  (not  before  discovered 
so  far  south)  growing  to  the  extraordinary  height  of  five 
feet.  This,  compared  with  Gray's  maximum  height,  will  be 
seen  to  bo  in  the  ratio  of  six  to  one ;  while  in  the  instance 
of  B.  chrysanihemoides^  it  was  only  three  and  a  half  to  one. 
Our  press  would  barely  admit  of  smaller  branches,  while  in 
collecting  the  sathe  species  in  New  York,  we  have  easily 
pressed  two  entire  plants  side  by  side.  As  if  this  were  not 
a  sufficiently  surprising  effort  of  nature,  on  proceeding  some 
distance  farther,  we  came  upon  some  plants  of  Oxalis  atricta 
(an  eccentric  plant  in  more  than  one  respect)  fully  five  feet 
in  height,  and  widely  branched.  We  do  not  apprehend  that 
such  statements  will  be  discredited  by  any  person  familiar 
with  the  vegetation  of  such  localities.  We  mention  them  as 
curiosities  in  vegetable  growth,  and  not  as  matters  worthy 
of  permanent  record,  or  of  a  place  in  a  work  of  the  nature 
of  the  "Manual." 

Such  variations  in  the  size  of  plants  appear  to  be  seldom 
attended  with  any  material  change  of  specific  characters,  and 
are  therefore  of  less  interest  than  those  produced  by  differ- 
ence of  latitude  and  longitude,  or  by  change  of  station,  as 
from  wet  to  dry  locations,  from  sunny  exposures  to  shade, 
from  marine  to  fresh-water  localities,  or  from  mountain  to 
valley,  and  vice  versa.  These  are  all  fertile  in  effects  of  the 
greatest  interest  to  modern  theorists,  and  no  botanist  should 
fail  to  make  them  a  subject  of  special  study.  Such  observa- 
tions inevitably  suggest  a  former  unity  of  many  of  our  spe- 
cies and  genera,  and  result  in  the  correction  of  too  wide 
distinctions.  The  two  species  of  Bidens  referred  to,  to- 
gether with  B,  connatay  are  strongly  suggestive  of  a  common 
parentage ;  and  when  Bidens  frondosa  is  compared  with 
Coreopsis  bidentoides  (especially  since  the  former  has  been 
found  with  upwardly  barbed  awns) ,  it  is  difficult  to  perceive 

AMER.    NATURALIST,   VOL.   IV.  45 


354  VARIATIONS   OF  SPECIES. 

a  proper  dividing  line  between  the  two  genera.  We  do  not 
anticipate  a  loss  of  the  genus  Bidens,  however,  though  prob- 
ably no  collector  would  object  to  its  thorough  extermination 
from  our  flora,  with  all  its  ** pitchforks "  and  "Spanish 
needles,"  together  with  the  Desmodiums,  which  in  autumn 
force  the  herborizer  so  extensively  into  their  service  in  trans- 
porting their  ''fearfully  and  wonderfully  made"  legumes. 

As  examples  of  the  manner  in  which  one  genus  may  merge 
into  another,  and  one  species  into  another,  we  cite  two  in- 
stances which  have  lately  fallen  under  our  observation.  The 
first  is  that  of  the  Gymnostichum  Hystrix  of  Schreber.  This 
remarkable  grass  was  apparently  separated  from  the  Linnsean 
genus  Elymus,  upon  the  single  character  of  the  absence  of 
glumes.  In  this  section  of  the  country,  however,  we  find  it 
with  well  developed  glumes,  which  are  persistent  after  the 
spikelets  fall.  The  glumeless  and  intermediate  forms  also 
occur,  but  the  one  most  common  has  rigid,  awn-like  glumes 
situated  precisely  as  in  Elymus^  of  nearly  an  inch  in  length, 
and  with  one  prominent  nerve,  being  therefore  triangular, 
though  appearing  terete.  We  have  never  found  the  palese 
dentate  (as  figured  in  PI.  11  of  Gray's  Manual)  in  any  form 
of  the  species,  and  the  "pedicels"  are  evidently  the  joints  to 
which  the  glumes  are  attached,  and  are  but  little  longer  than 
in  some  species  of  Elymus.  Were  the  spikelets  appressed  as 
in  Elymus,  it  would  slrikingly  resemble  some  species  of  the 
latter  in  aspect,  and  as  there  appears  to  remain  no  constant 
technical  distinction  of  any  importance,  we  see  no  reason  why 
its  former  name,  Elymus  Hystrix  L.,  should  not  be  restored. 

Our  second  case  is  that  of  Eupatorium  aromaticum  L., 
which  we  are  convinced  is  but  a  variety  of  E,  ageratoides 
L.  The  latter  species  is  very  common  at  the  North  in  low, 
rich  woodlands,  and  has  large,  thin  and  smooth  leaves, 
which,  wo  think,  vary  very  little  in  size  and  shape.  On 
reaching  Maryland  (except  in  the  mountains)  and  the  coast 
this  species  seems  to  be  supplanted  by  one  having  the  same 
peculiar  flower-heads,  but  lower  and  less  branching,  with 


VARIATIONS   OF   SPECIES.  355 

smaller  corymbs,  and  smaller,  thicker  and  pubescent  leaves. 
This  species  is  common  in  Virginia  in  diy  copses  and  open 
woodlands,  but  varies  greatly,  so  that  we  are  puzzled  in  se- 
lecting typical  specimens.  On  coming  to  the  Piedmont 
region,  however,  the  problem  was  soon  solved,  for  here  we 
found  that  it  was  no  longer  confined  to  dry  and  somewhat 
exposed  and  sterile  situations,  and  that  in  proportion  to  the 
degree  of  shade  or  richness  and  dampness  of  soil  in  which  it 
grew,  so  the  leaves  became  thinner  and  larger,  and  the  whole 
plant  more  robust,  till  it  could  no  longer  be  distinguished 
from  the  true  E.  ageratoides;  and  on  visiting  the  neigh- 
boring mountains,  we  found  the  latter  species  growing  in 
great  abundance.  If,  therefore,  the  generally  accepted  rule 
be  applied  to  this  case,  E.  aromaticum  must  be  considered 
to  be  a  variety  of  E.  ageratoides.  In  a  very  similar  manner 
Acalypha  gracilens  Gray,  varies  into  A.  Virginica  L.,  and 
it  has  very  properly  been  reduced  to  the  condition  of  a  va- 
riety by  Professor  Gray.  In  this  connection  we  would  men- 
tion that  we  have  found  Eupatorium  aromaticum  with  leaves 
beautifully  whorled  in  threes.  As  the  same  arrangement  has 
been  observed  in  another  species,  it  would  seem  that  the 
genus  is  inclined  towards  this  mode  of  leaf-arrangement, 
which  makes  that  of  E.  purpureum  appear  less  anomalous. 
Before  closing  we  would  add  to  the  list  of  monoecious  and 
dioecious  plants  which  have  been  found  with  androgynous 
inflorescence  (see  March  number  of  the  Naturalist,  p.  46) 
an  instance  of  the  same  mode  of  inflorescence  in  Fraxirms 
Americana.  In  the  spring  of  1867  we  observed  in  this 
county  (Bedford  Co.,  Va.)  a  tree  of  this  species  with  pani- 
cles thoroughly  androgynous;  but  in  this  instance,  as  if  a 
violence  had  been  done  to  nature,  every  flower  afterwards 
became  changed  to  a  mass  of  small,  contorted  leaves,  bend- 
ing the  branches  with  their  weight,  and  presenting  a  truly 
remarkable  appearance. 

Note,  ~i?l<f eiit  eerwua  and  B,  tihrifianikemoidet  might  also  haTe  been  adduced  an 
species  which  ran  together.  We  beg  for  a  sight  of  these  taU  Virginian  specimens.— a. g. 


A  STROLL  ALONG  THE  BEACH  OF  LAKE  MICHIGAN. 

BY  W.  J.   BEAL. 

The  south-west  extremity  of  Lake  Michigan  is  surrounded 
by  a  low,  sandy  beach,  back  of  which  are  low  land  and 
marshes.  Let  us  take  a  stroll  with  our  Naturalist  friends 
along  the  lake  shore  south  of  Chicago.  In  place  of  the  rocks 
and  sea-weeds,  radiates,  shells  and  Crustacea  of  the  Atlantic 
coast,  here  are  only  fragments  of  cork,  chips,  sticks,  now 
and  then  a  mutilated  specimen  of  an  Unio^  or  a  few  small, 
dead  gasteropods,  or  their  empty  shells.  Among  the  land 
plants  we  shall  find  more  to  interest  us.  The  student  from 
Salem  (Mass.),  or  the  coast  of  New  Jersey,  recognizes  the 
Beach  Pea  {Lathyrus  maritimus)  which  we  believe  is  never 
found  far  from  the  salt  water,  except  along  our  great  inland 
lakes.  Here  also  is  the  Sea-rocket  (Oakile  Amei^icana),  a 
radish-like  plant,  and  the  Shore  Spurge  {Euphorbia polygo-- 
nifolia)^  growing  in  the  loose  barren  sand,  just  as  they  do 
near  the  ocean.  Of  true  marine  grasses  we  find  the  Sea 
Sand-reed  (Calamagrostis  arenaria)^  the  graceful  Squirrel- 
tail  Grass  {Hordeum  jubatum)^  and  the  pest  of  barefooted 
boys  called  Bur-grass  or  Sand  Bur  (^Cerichms  iribuloides) ^ 
and  a  rush  (Juncus  Balticus).  Our  seaside  botanist  is  ac- 
customed to  see  the  Arrow-grass  (^Triglochin  maritimum) ^ 
on  every  salt  marsh.  It  is  likewise  common  on  the  marshes 
a  little  way  back  of  the  lake.  In  the  "basin"  near  the  city 
flowers  a  Pond-weed  (JPotamogeton  pectinatus) .  Silver-weed 
{Potentilla  anserina),  is  plenty  in  the  sand,  and  in  some 
places  last  season  it  sent  oflf  runners  each  way  full  seven  feet 
in  length. 

We  have  never  seen  the  Seaside  Crowfoot  (^Ranunculus 
cymbalaria)  near  the  lake  shore,  but  it  is  very  common  a 
little  way  back  on  the  low  pastures  and  meadows  on  richer 
soil.  Some  of  our  neighbors  tell  us  that  they  find  the 
Prickly  Pear  {Opuntia  vulgaris)  on  the  bluffs  just  north  of 

(856) 


A  STROLL  ALONG  THE  BEACH  OF  LAKE  MICHIGAN.         357 

the  city,  where  it  was  once  much  more  abundant.  The 
grasses  Calamagrostis  longifolia^  Gird-grafis  (Spar Una  cyno- 
suroides),  Porcupine-grass  (Stipa  spariea),  are  common 
enough  and  look  as  though  they  ought  to  be  dwellers  by  the 
sea.  We  6nd  in  the  sand  beach  of  the  great  lakes,  Pitcher's 
Thistle  (Girsium  Pitcheri)^  a  curious  plant  which  we  should 
look  for  along  the  sea  beach.  It  is  white,  wooly  all  over, 
the  stem  leafy  and  sprawling,  the  flowers  cream  color,  and 
about  the  size  of  our  common  Cirsium  lanceolatum.  The 
Dwarf,  or  Sand-cherry,  usually  trailing  six  to  eighteen  inches 
high,  characteristic  of  true  western  enterprise,  occasionally 
grows  along  our  shore  to  the  height  of  eight  or  ton  feet,  and 
has  a  stem  two  inches  in  diameter. 

In  the  walk  first  proposed  one  finds  thrifty  specimens  of 
the  Bearberry  {Arctostaphylos  Uva-ursi).  Its  pinkish  white 
flowers  are  too  pretty  to  be  known  by  two  such  long,  ugly 
names,  as  those  given  by  Adanson  and  Sprengel.  There  are 
now  and  then  tufts  of  the  Early  Wild-rose  (Rosa  blanda)^ 
abundance  of  common  Milkweed  (Asclepias  comuti)^  and 
A,  obtusifolia^  several  Willows  and  Poplars,  Scrub  Oak, 
Shrubby  St.  John's-wort,  Climbing  Bitter-sweet  (Celastrua 
scandens)^  Grape-vines,  Vetches,  False  Solomon's  Seal, 
Asters,  Euphorbia  corollata,  Panicum  virgatum^  Lead-plant 
(Amorpha  canescens)^  and  at  the  mouth  of  a  brook,  its  kin- 
dred, the  False  Indigo  (A.  fruticosa)^  Poison  Ivy,  and 
Fragrant  Sumach.* 

We  have  found  several  specimens  of  the  curious  Aphyllon 
fasciculatum,  a  parasitic  ghostly  plant  of  the  Broom-Rape 
Family.  In  August  we  find  two  species  of  Prairie  Clover 
( Petalostemon  violaceum  and  P.  candidum)^  the  former  has 
been  pronounced  the  belle  of  Chicugo,  notwithstanding  the 
want  of  grace  in  its  straight  flower-spike.  Back  in  the 
ponds  flourish  the  Pond-lilies  (Nyrnphcea  odorata  and  If* 
tiiberosa)^  and  Nuphar  advena.     The  Yellow  Nelumbo  (iVe- 

*  In  dry  places  flourishes  a  carious  UmbelliDdr,  the  Rattlesnake-master,  or  Bntton- 
^  lake-root,  Eryngium  yuccaf^folium)^  with  leaves  like  the  Yuoca,  and  head  and  stalk 
resembling  the  onions  of  our  gardens. 


358  REVIEWS. 

lumbium)^  has  been  found  in  the  mouth  of  Calumet  River, 
ten  miles  south  of  Chicago.  In  the  groves  are  beautiful 
Violets,  Phloxes,  Oxalis  violacea^  the  unique  Dodecatheon 
Meadia;  on  the  marshes  Buckbean  {Menyanthes  ti'ifoliata)^* 
Indian  Plaintain  {Oacalia  tuberosa)^  Valeinana  eduliSy  and 
away  back  on  the  prairies  are  hundreds  of  acres  of  tall 
sedges  and  gi*asses  abounding  in  several  species  of  LiatriSj 
showy  Sunflowers,  rank  Rosin-plants  {Sitphmm),  and  mul- 
titudes of  Asters  and  Golden  Rods. 


REVIEWS. 

The  Andes  and  the  Amazon,  f—  Tbis  racy  accoant  of  a  six  months' 
trip  across  the  continent  of  South  America  is  really  a  valuable  contribu- 
tion to  American  geographical  science.  The  author's  '*  general  route  was 
from  Guayaquil  to  Quito,  over  the  Eastern  Cordillera,  thence  over  the 
Western  Cordillera,  and  through  the  forest  on  foot,  to  Napo,  down  the  Rio 
Napo  by  canoe  to  Pebas,  on  the  Marafion,  and  thence  by  steamer  to 
Par&."  This  is  a  new  route  of  travel,  and  after  a  trip  to  the  Pacific 
shores  of  our  own  continent,  we  should  prefer  this  safe,  romantic  and 
unflrequented  Journey  to  any  other  we  know  of.  The  ascent  of  the  Nile, 
the  great  rivers  of  Asia,  and  even  the  Congo  itself,  are  baclcneyed  subjects 
compared  to  scaling  the  Andes,  passing  around  Chlmborazo,  and  plunging 
for  a  long  month  Into  the  depths  of  a  South  American  forest,  seeking  the 
sources  of  the  Napo  River,  with  that  magnificent  sail  down  the  Marafion 
and  Amazon  to  crown  all. 

As  an  iUustration  of  the  author's  pleasant  style  (though  his  facts  are 
not  always  well  arranged)  we  quote  his  impressions  of  Chlmborazo :  — 

»*  Coming  np  from  Pent  through  the  elnebona  forests  of  Loja»  and  oTer  the  barren  hills  of 
As8ua7,  tlie  traveller  reaches  Rlobamba,  seated  on  the  threshold  of  magniflcenee— like  Da- 
mascns,  an  oasis  In  a  sandy  plain,  but,  unlike  the  Queen  of  the  East,  surrounded  with  a  splendid 
retinue  of  snowy  peaks  that  look  like  Icebergs  floating  In  a  sea  of  clouds. 

On  our  left  Is  the  most  sublime  spectacle  In  the  New  World.  It  Is  a  nj^estic  pile  of  snow, 
its  clear  outline  on  the  deep  blue  sky  describing  the  profile  of  a  Hon  In  repose.  At  noon  the 
▼ertlcal  sun,  and  the  profusion  of  light  reflected  from  the  glittering  surflice,  will  not  allow  a 
shadow  to  be  cast  on  any  part,  so  that  you  can  easily  fancy  the  figure  is  cut  out  of  a  mountain 
of  spotless  marble.  This  is  Chlmborazo— yet  not  the  whole  of  It— you  see  but  a  third  of  the 
great  giant.  His  fleet  are  as  eternally  green  as  bis  head  is  everlastingly  white;  but  they  are  fkr 
away  beneath  the  bananas  and  coooanut  palms  of  the  Pacific  coast. 

Rousseau  was  disappointed  when  he  first  saw  the  sea;  and  the  first  glimpse  of  Niagara  often 
fhlls  to  meet  one^s  expectations.  But  Cblmboraxo  is  sure  of  a  worshipper  the  moment  its  over- 

*  Habenaria  Calopogon^  three  or  four  speclfs  of  Cypripedium, 

f  The  Andes  and  the  Amazon:  or.  Across  the  Continent  of  South  America.  By  James  Orton, 
With  a  new  miip  nf  Equatorial  America  and  numerous  illustrations.  New  York.  Harper  and 
Brothers.    1870.    Timo,  pp.  356. 


REVIEWS.  359 

whelmlnic  grandeur  breaks  upon  the  traveller.  Ton  feel  that  you  are  In  the  preseoceHsliamber 
of  the  monarch  of  the  Andes.  There  la  sublhuity  In  his  kingly  look,  of  which  the  ocean  might 
be  proud. 

*  All  that  expands  the  spirit,  yet  appals. 

Gathers  around  this  summit,  as  if  to  siiow 

Huw  earth  may  pierce  to  heaven,  yet  leave  vain  man  below.' 

It  looks  lofty  from  the  very  first.  Now  and  then  an  expanse  of  thin,  sky-Uke  vapor,  wonid 
cut  the  mountain  in  twain,  and  the  dome,  islanded  In  the  deep  blue  of  the  upper  regions, 
seemed  to  belong  more  to  heaven  than  to  earth.  We  knew  that  Chimborazo  was  more  than 
twice  the  altitude  of  Etna.  We  could  almost  see  the  great  Humboldt  struggling  up  the  moun- 
tain's side  till  he  looked  like  a  black  speck  moving  over  the  mighty  white,  but  giving  up  In  de- 
spair four  thousand  feet  below  the  summit.  We  see  the  intrepid  Bollver  mounting  stUl  higher; 
but  the  hero  of  Spanish-American  Independence  returns  a  delieated  man.  Last  of  all  comes 
the  philosophic  Bonsslngault,  and  attains  the  prodigious  elevation  of  19,600  fbet  —  the  highest 
point  reached  by  man  without  the  aid  of  a  balloon;  but  the  dome  remains  unsullied  by  Ills  foot. 
Yet  none  of  these  fkcts  increase  our  admiration.  The  mountain  has  a  tongue  which  speaks 
louder  than  all  mathematical  calculations. 

There  must  be  something  singularly  subUme  about  Chimborazo,  fbr  the  spectator  at  Rio- 
baroba  Is  already  nine  thousand  fbet  high,  and  the  mountain  is  not  so  elevated  above  him  as 
Mont  Bianc  above  the  vale  of  Chamouni,  when.  In  reality,  that  culminating  point  of  Europe 
would  not  reach  up  even  to  the  snow-limit  of  Clilmborazo  by  two  thousand  feet.*  It  Is  only 
while  sailing  on  the  Pacillo  that  one  sees  Chimborazo  in  Its  complete  proportions.  Its  very 
magnitude  dlmiuislies  the  impression  of  awe  and  wonder,  for  the  Andes  on  which  it  rests  are 
heaved  to  such  a  vast  altitude  above  the  sea,  that  the  relative  elevation  of  its  summit  becomes 
reduced  by  comparison  with  the  surrounding  mountains.  Its  altitude  is  21,420  feet,  or  forty - 
five  times  the  height  of  Strasburg  Cathedral;  or,  to  state  it  otherwise,  tlie  fkll  of  one  pound 
ttom  the  top  of  Chimborazo  would  raise  the  temperature  of  water  80^.  One  fourth  of  this  is 
perpetually  covered  with  snow,  so  that  its  ancient  name,  Chimpnrazu— the  mountain  of  snow- 
is  very  appropriate.t  It  is  a  stirring  thought  that  this  mountain,  now  mantled  with  snow,  once 
gleamed  with  volcanic  flres.  Tliere  Is  a  hot  spring  on  the  north  side,  an  Immense  amount  of 
debris  covers  the  slope  below  the  snow-limit,  consisting  chiefly  of  fine-grained,  iron-stained 
trachyte  and  coarse  porphyroid  gray  trachyte;  very  rarely  a  dark  vitreous  trachyte.  Chimbo- 
razo is  very  likely  not  a  solid  mountain:  trachytic  volcanoes  are  supposed  to  be  (UU  of  cavities. 
Bouguer  found  it  made  the  plumb-line  deviate  7'  or  8  '. 

The  valleys  which  ftirrow  the  flank  of  Chimborazo  are  In  keeping  with  Its  colossal  size* 
Narrower,  but  deeper  than  those  of  the  Alps,  the  mind  swoons  and  sinks  in  the  elTort  to  com- 
prehend their  grim  majesty.  The  mouutain  appears  to  have  been  broken  to  pieces  like  so 
much  thin  crust,  and  the  strata  thrown  on  their  vertical  edges,  revealing  deep,  dark  chasms, 
that  seem  to  lead  to  the  confines  of  the  lower  world.  The  deepest  valley  In  Europe,  that  of  the 
Ordesa  in  the  Pyrenees,  Is  3,200  fset  deep;  but  here  are  rents  In  the  side  of  Chimborazo  in 
which  Vesuvius  could  be  put  away  out  of  sight.  As  you  look  down  into  the  flithomless  fissure, 
you  see  a  white  ficck  rising  out  of  the  guU;  and  expanding  as  it  mounts,  till  the  wings  of  the 
condor,  fifteen  feet  In  spread,  glitter  in  the  sun  as  the  proud  bird  fearlessly  wheels  over  the 
dizzy  chasm,  and  then,  ascending  above  your  head,  sails  over  the  dome  of  Chimborazo.^  Could 
the  condor  speak,  what  a  glowing  description  could  he  give  of  the  landscape  beneath  him  when 
his  horizon  is  a  thousand  miles  in  diameter.    If 

*  Twelve  fair  counties  saw  the  blaze  ttom  M alvem^s  lonely  height,* 

what  must  be  the  panorama  from  a  height  fifteen  times  hlgherl 


*  But  ClilmborMzo  is  steeper  than  the  Alp-klng;  and  steepness  Is  a  quality  more  quickly  ap- 
pn-ciated  tiian  mere  iiiassiveuess.  *Mont  Blaiic  (says  a  writer  in  ^Frazer's  Magazine')  is 
scarcely  admired,  because  he  is  built  with  a  certain  reirard  to  sUbillty;  but  the  apparently 
reckless  arcbltecture  of  the  Matterhorn  brings  the  traveller  fairly  on  his  knees,  with  a  respect 
akin  to  that  felt  fur  the  leaning  tower  of  Pisa,  or  the  soaring  pinnacles  of  Antwerp.* 

t' White  Ikiountain'  is  the  natural  and  almost  uniform  name  of  the  highest  mountains  In  all 
countries;  iluis  HImalava,  Mont  Blanc,  Hoemua,  Sierra  Nevada,  Ben  Nevia, Suowdon,  Lebanon, 
Wliite  Mouutains  of  United  States.  Chimborazo,  and  Illlmanl. 

X  Hunit)oldt'8  statement  that  the  condor  flies  higher  than  Chimborazo  has  been  questioned; 
but  WH  have  seen  numbers  hovering  at  least  a  thousand  (bet  above  the  summit  of  Pichlncha. 
Baron  Muller,  in  his  ascent  of  Orizaba,  saw  two  falcons  flying  at  the  height  of  foil  1^,000  feet; 
Dr.  H'toker  found  crows  and  ravens  on  the  Himalayas  at  ISifiOO  feet;  and  flocks  of  wild  geese 
are  said  to  fly  over  the  peak  of  Klutschinghow,  22,7M  foet. 


360  REVIEWS. 

Chimboraxo  was  long  sapposed  to  be  the  tallest  mountain  on  the  globe,  bnt  Its  supremacy 
has  bfieu  supplanted  by  Mount  Everest  In  Asia,  and  Aconcagua  In  Chile.*  In  njonntaln  gloom 
and  glory,  however.  It  still  stands  unriyaled.  The  Alps  have  the  avalanche,  *  the  thunderbolt 
of  snow,*  and  the  glaciers,  those  ley  Niagaras  so  beautUhl  and  grand.  Here  they  are  wantlng.t 
The  monardi  of  tlie  Andes  sits  hjollonless  In  ealui  serenity  and  unbroken  silence.  The  silence 
Is  absolute  and  actually  oppressive.  The  road  fh>m  Guayaquil  to  Quito  crosses  Chlmborszo  at 
the  elevation  of  14,000  feet.  8ave  the  rush  of  the  trade  wind  In  the  afternoon,  as  It  sweeps 
over  the  Andes,  not  a  sound  Is  audible;  not  the  hum  of  an  Insect,  nor  the  chirp  of  a  bird,  nor 
the  roar  of  the  puma,  nor  the  music  of  running  waters.  Mid-ocean  Is  never  so  silent.  You 
can  almost  hear  the  globe  turning  on  lt«  axis.  There  was  a  time  when  the  monarch  deigned 
to  speak,  and  spoke  with  a  voice  of  thunder,  for  the  lava  on  Its  sides  Is  an  evidence  of  vulcanic 
activity.  But  ever  since  the  morning  stars  sang  together  over  man's  creation,  Chlmbo  has  sat 
In  sulien  silence,  satisfied  to  look  *f^om  his  throne  of  clouds  o*er  half  the  world.'  There  Ir 
something  very  suggestive  In  this  silence  of  Chlm)x>razo.  It  was  once  f^U  of  noise  and  Airy; 
it  Is  now  a  completed  mountain,  and  thunders  no  more.'' 

The  author's  description  of  the  great  crater  of  Plchincha  is  alike  inter- 
esting. The  naturalist  will  enjoy  the  sketches  of  animal  and  vegetable 
life,  and  the  physical  geology  and  anthropology  of  the  varied  tracts 
passed  over.  The  map  we  would  draw  attention  to  as  undoubtedly 
the  best  yet  published  of  the  region  over  which  the  writer  passed.  It 
'*  was  drawn  with  great  care  after  original  observations  and  the  surveys 
of  Humboldt  and  Wlsse  on  the  Andes,  and  of  Azevedo,  Castlenau,  and 
Bates  on  the  Amazon."  Professor  Orton  was  accompanied  by  four  other 
gentlemen,  and  the  expedition  was  sent  out  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Smithsonian  Institution.  The  specimens  of  rocks,  minerals,  plants  and 
animals  have  been  submitted  to  naturalists,  who  have  mostly  reported  on 
them,  and  many  facts  new  to  science  in  these  and  on  meteorological  and 
geographical  subjects  have  been  collected  and  published  by  the  author. 
The  book  closes  with  a  chapter  telling  us  how  to  travel  in  South  America, 
with  hints  about  the  best  routes,  the  expenses,  the  best  outfit,  and  the 
precautions  and  dangers,  with  a  final  word  on  the  consolations  of  travel : 

*'  As  to  dangers:  First,  f^om  the  people.  Traveling  Is  as  safe  In  Ecuador  as  in  New  York, 
and  snfer  than  In  Missouri.  There  are  no  Spanish  banditti,  though  some  places,  as  Chanibo, 
near  Klobnuiba,  bear  a  bad  name.  It  Is  not  wise  to  tempt  a  penniless  footpad  by  a  show  of 
gold;  but  no  more  so  In  Ecuador  than  anywhere.  We  have  travelled  f^om  Guayaquil  to  Da- 
mascus, but  have  never  had  occasion  to  use  a  weapon  in  self-defense;  and  only  once  for  offence, 
when  we  threatened  to  demolish  an  Arab  sheik  with  an  umbrella.  Secondly,  fl-om  brutes.  Some 
traveller  would  have  us  Infer  that  It  is  impossible  to  stir  In  South  America  without  being  "  af- 
fectionately entwined  by  u  serpent,  or  sprung  upon  by  a  Jaguar,  or  bitten  by  a  rattlesnake;  Jig- 
gers in  every  sand-heap  and  scorpions  under  every  stone  *  C  Edinburgh  Review '  xlill,  810).  t'a- 
dre  Vernazza  speaks  of  meeting  a  serpent  two  yards  In  diameter  I  But  you  will  be  disappointed 
at  the  paucity  of  animal  1UV>.  We  were  two  months  on  the  Andes  (August  and  September) 
before  we  saw  a  live  snake.  They  arc  plentlAil  In  the  wet  season  In  cacao  plantations;  but  the 
majority  are  harmless.  Dr.  Russell,  who  particularly  studied  the  reptiles  of  India,  found  that 
out  of  forty-three  species  which  he  examined  not  more  than  seven  had  poisonous  fangs;  and 
Sir  £.  Tenuent,  alter  a  long  residence  in  Ceyltm,  declared  he  had  never  heard  of  tlie  death  of 
an  European  by  Uie  bite  of  a  snake.    It  is  true,  however,  that  the  number  and  proportion  of 

venomous  species  are  greater  in  South  America  than  In  any  other  part  of  the  world ;  but  it  Is 

• 

*  Mount  Everest  is  29,000  feet^  and  Aeonca^rua  28.200.  Schlagintwpit  enumerates  thirteen 
Blmuliiyan  snmmits  ovi-r  25,000  feet,  and  forty-six  above  20.0(X).  We  have  little  confldence  in 
the  estimates  of  the  Bolivian  mountains.  CMilraborazo  has  nearly  the  same  latitude  and  alti- 
tude MS  the  loftiest  peak  tn  Africa,  Kllhnn  NJ.nro. 

t  HuiHbttldt  a£>crtbes  tlie  absence  of  glaciers  in  the  Andes  to  the  extreme  steepness  of  fli« 
sides,  and  the  excessive  dryness  of  the  air.  Dr.  Loontls  above  quoted,  mentions  Indications  of 
glacial  Hcllon  — inorntnes,  and  i>ollslied  and  striated  rooks— on  the  crest  of  the  Cordillera,  be- 
tween Peru  and  Bolivia,  lat.  ^l"  S. 


REVIEWS.  •  361 

•ome  consolation  to  know  tbat,  loologioally,  they  are  Inftiior  In  rank  to  the  barmleaaones; 
*  and  certainly/  adds  Sidney  Smith,  *  a  snake  that  feels  fourteen  or  flfteen  stone  stamping  on 
his  tail  has  little  time  for  reflection,  and  may  be  allowed  to  be  poisonous/  If  bitten,  apply  am- 
monia externally  immediately,  and  take  fl?e  drops  in  water  internally;  It  Is  an  almost  certain 
antidote.  The  discumforta  and  dangers  arising  ttom  the  animal  creation  are  no  greater  than 
one  would  meet  In  travelling  overland  ft-om  New  York  to  New  Orleans. 

Finally,  of  one  thing  the  tourist  In  South  America  may  be  nssureil— that  dear  to  him,  as  it  Is 
to  us,  will  be  the  remembrance  of  those  romantic  rides  over  the  Cordilleras  amid  the  wild  mag- 
niflcence  of  nature,  the  adventurous  walk  through  the  primeval  forest,  the  exciting  canoe-lift 
ou  the  Napo,  and  the  long,  monotonous  sail  on  the  waters  of  the  Great  River." 

Skktchbs  of  Creation.*  —  The  scope  of  this  book  is  ftiUy  set  forth 
in  the  rather  lengthy  title.  The  aim  of  the  author  is  an  excellent  one  and 
jQstsnch  a  work  as  this  is  intended  to  be  is  much  needed,  and  we  wel- 
come every  attempt  at  popularizing  the  latest  facts  and  theories  of  sci- 
ence. Our  ideal  of  such  works  as  these  are  the  writings  of  Hugh  Miller, 
Huxley,  Faraday,  Gosse,  Quatrefiiges,  and  others,  who.  added  to  the 
charms  of  a  pure,  simple,  pellucid  style,  present  the  story  of  creation,  or 
a  glance  at  fragments  of  it,  in  a  thocpaghly  artless  way. 

The  author  of  the  book  before  us  we  regret  to  say  has  too  often,  in 
these  "  Sketches,"  looked  at  nature  with  the  eye  of  a  melodramatist,  and 
sometimes  we  are  drawn  off  fj^om  contemplating  the  grandeur  of  some 
scene  in  nature  by  an  illtimed  attempt  at  wit,  or  an  awkward  straining 
at  effect;  the  flash  and  thunder  savor  too  much  of  the  explosive  mix- 
tures of  the  theatre.  In  short,  in  attempting  to  be  eloquent  and  lively 
and  FiguieresquCf  the  author  sometimes  becomes  grandiloquent,  and  his 
diction  falls  far  short  of  the  sprightly  style  of  his  French  prototype.  In 
spite,  however,  of  these  faults  of  style  the  book  is  a  very  readable  one ; 
the  facts  are  correctly  stated ;  the  theories  presented  with  much  fairness ; 
the  illustrations  excellent,  and  if  the  whole  book  had  been  as  well  and 
simply  written  as  the  chapters  on  salt  and  gypsum,  and  oil,  where  the 
learned  author  is  fully  at  home,  our  duty  as  a  critic  would  have  almost 
been  a  sinecure.  As  regards  his  choice  of  subjects  lovers  of  the  sensa- 
tional and  marvellous  will  find  their  cravings  ftilly  satisfied  in  the  chap- 
ters entitled  '*  The  Ordeal  by  Water,"  "The  Ordeal  by  Fire,"  The  "  Solar 
System  in  a  Blaze."  "The  Rel^xii  of  Fire,"  "The  Tooth  of  Time,"  "The 
Reign  of  Universal  Winter,"  "The  Sun  Cooling  Off,"  and  "The  Machinery 
of  the  Heavens  Running  Down."  When  the  author  has  endeavored,  as 
he  seems  to  think  satisfactorily,  to  settle  so  many  vexed  points  in  the 
science  of  our  day  we  wonder  that  he  "  reft-alns  from  the  attempt  to  lift 
the  veil  which  conceals  the  destiny  of  other  firmaments  1" 

We  cl^se  with  a  few  special  criticisms.  The  Orthoceratite  may  have 
been  a  very  formidable  monster  to  a  trilobite's  mind,  but  for  tiie  life  of  us 
we  do  not  understand  how,  considering  the  probable  structure  of  the 

*  Sketches  of  Creation:  a  popular  Tlew  of  some  of  the  grand  conclusions  of  the  sciences  In 
ref)erence  to  the  history  of  matter  and  of  life,  together  with  a  statement  of  the  intimations  of 
science  respecting  the  primordial  condition  and  the  ultimate  destiny  of  the  earth  and  the  solar 
system.  By  Alexander  Wlnchell,  LL.  O.  With  Illustrations.  Kcw  Turk.  Harper  and  Broth- 
ers.  1870.   12mo,  pp.  469. 

■ 

AMKR.   NATURAU8T,   VOL.   lY.  46 


362  REVIEWS. 

limbs  and  its  stiff  armor  and  its  habits  of  barrowlng  in  the  mud,  where 
corals  do  not  nsaaliy  live,  it  coald  when  **  alarmed,  shoot  with  a  quick 
stroke  of  his  tall  under  cover  of  some  coral  crag."  We  should  rather 
imagine  this  acrobatic  feat  performed  by  a  lobster.  And  by  the  way  the 
author  is  at  fault  in  allying  the  trilobite  to  the  Idotean  crustacean, 
Glyptonotut  arUarcticuSy  figured  on  page  822,  when  its  closest  ally  is  the 
Horse  Shoe  Crab,  Limulus.  Our  author  adopts  the  nebulous  hypothesis. 
How  can  he  logically  discard  a  theory  of  a  gradual  development  of  vege- 
table and  animal  forms,  since  the  course  of  nature  is  apparently  the  same 
in  both?  Why  does  he  reject  a  fifth  subklngdom  of  the  animal  kingdom, 
the  Protozoa?  The  Laurentlan  Eozoon  scarcely  conforms  to  either  one 
of  the  Cuverian  types,  and  must  form  a  fifth  ''comer  stone  on  which 
Kature  has  built  the  superstructure  of  the  animal  creation  "  (p.  315).  We 
would  question  whether  there  is  not  a  successional  relation  between  the 
four  snbkingdoms  of  animals,  as  much  as  in  the  classes  of  the  vetebrates. 

The  best  authorities  agree  that  theWlrchfleopteryx  was  a  bird,  and  not  a 
reptile  with  feathers.  Why  In  figure  98  does  our  author  arm  his  primeval 
man  with  stone  axes  when  attacking  the  cave  bear?  Flint,  arrow  and 
spear-heads  were  a  *'drug"  in  the  ^oekkenmoedden  market.  Would  not 
the  use  of  bows  and  arrows  have  been  better  strategy  ? 

We  have  been  informed  that  Dr.  Koch  *'  the  reconstructor  of  the  Ter- 
tiary Zeuglodon  "  (see  p.  856)  Is  not  a  man  to  be  trusted  in  making  scien- 
tific statements,  or  reconstructing  skeletons  of  extinct  monsters,  as  his 
Hydrarchus  was  fUUy  exposed  by  Johannes  Muller,  the  great  comparative 
anatomist,  and  shown  to  have  been  composed  of  the  bones  of  mastodons 
with  a  sprinkling  of  Zeuglodon  bones. 

Hand-book  of  Zoolooy.*— In  this  little  manual  the  author  only  claims 
to  give  a  skeleton  of  the  subject,  with  illustrations  taken  Arom  species 
which  the  student  can  collect  for  himself  within  the  limits  of  British 
North  America,  or  can  readily  obtain  access  to  in  public  or  private  collec- 
tions. Fossil  animals  are  included  as  well  as  those  which  are  recent,  be- 
cause many  ty^es  not  represented  in  our  existing  fauna,  occur  as  fossils 
in  our  rock  formations ;  and  because  one  important  use  of  the  teachings 
of  zoology  Is  that  it  may  be  made  subsidiary  to  geological  research.**  We 
like  this  hand-book,  notwithstanding  what  seem  to  us  great  defects  in 
the  classification  of  certain  groups,  and  numerous  grave  typographical 
errors,  both  of  which  could  be  remedied  in  another  edition.  Teachers 
will  find  it  (when  the  second  part  on  Vertebrata  is  ffisued)  the  most  avail- 
able book  we  have  in  instructing  their  classes,  when  books  are  relied  on 
in  teaching  a  subject  where  only  specimens  and  oral  instruction  ought 
ordinarily  to  be  used.  The  first  and  second  chapters,  on  Physiological 
Zoology  and  Zoological  Classification  contain  much  sound  sense,  and  de- 

*  Handbook  of  Zoology;  with  examples  ftrom  Canadian  speclea,  recent  and  Ibnil.  Ry  J.  W. 
Dawson,  LL.D.,F.R.S.,eto.  Part  I.  Inrertebrata,  with  275  lUosiratioos.  Montreal.  ISTQ. 
12mo,pp.364.    Trice  $1W. 


REVIEWS.  «363 

serve  to  be  widely  read  by  a  claas  of  half  educated  **  species  descrlbers  " 
which  vex  good  nataralists  the  world  over. 

We  regret  that  the  distinguished  author  Includes  the  Protozoa  in  the 
Radiates,  for  what  radiate  feature  do  the  Amoebas,  Foraminifera, 
Sponges  and  Infusoria  possess?  Why  also  ai'e  the  Tunicates,  which 
homologize  so  closely  with  the  Lamellibranchs,  placed  between  the  Poly- 
zoa  and  Brachiopods  ? 

We  are  by  no  means  satisfied  with  the  author's  treatment  of  the  class 
of  Insects,  comprising  in  his  estimation  the  subclass  Hexapoda  and  Myrl- 
apoda.  He  considers  that  there  are  nine  orders  of  six-footed  insects 
(Hexapoda).  He  retains  the  **Aptera"  as  a  distinct  order,  the  types  be- 
ing the  Lice  and  Sprlngtails  (Podura,etc.).  Now  the  Lice  are  proved  to 
be  low  Hemiptera,  and  the  Sprlngtails  are  closely  related  to  the  Nenrop- 
tera,  if  they  do  not  compose  a  ftimily  of  that  group.  The  Coleoptcra  are 
regarded  as  the  highest,  the  Hymenoptera  being  placed  below  the  Neu- 
roptera  even !  Notwithstanding  all  we  know  of  the  Pleas,  they  are  also 
consigned  to  a  separate  **  order,"  though  proven  to  be  a  family  of  dlptera. 
A  very  objectionable  feature  to  us  is  the  rank  assigned  to  the  Spiders,  or 
Arachnids.  They  are  placed  as  a  ** class"  above  the  insects.  Their 
mode  of  development,  their  want  of  a  true  metamorphosis  (except  In 
certain  genera  of  Acarlna),  their  morphology  —  all  convince  us  that  they 
are  inferior  to  the  Hexapoda,  and  do  not  show  class  characters,  any  more 
than  do  the  Myrlapoda.  In  his  definition  of  the  class  the  author  says 
'^antenns  rudimentary  or  mandibuUform."  The  antenna  as  proved  by 
anatomy  and  especially  embryology  (see  Clapar^de's  great  work  on  the 
embryology  of  the  spiders)  do  not  exist  In  the  Arachnids.  The  so-called 
autennsB  are  the  mandibles.  What  are  the  **  tentacles  "  in  this  group,  the 
palpl?  Of  his  order  Dermophysa,  of  which  we  see  no  necessity,  the 
Demodex  represents  a  family  of  the  mites,  and  the  Tardlgrades  are  in  all 
probability  the  types  of  another  and  the  lowest  family  of  Acarlna,  while 
the  Sea  Spiders  (Pycnogonlds)  are  truly  crustaceous,  as  proved  vei7  sat- 
isfactorily by  the  able  embryologlcal  researches  of  Dr.  Anton  Dohm. 
The  Spiders  are  to  our  mind  higher  than  the  Scorpions  and  Phrynidse. 

The  cuts  are  for  the  most  part  IndlfTerent,  and  the  printing  only  endur- 
able, while  the  typographical  errors  are  so  numerous,  and  in  some  cases 
so  egregious  that  we  suppose  the  author  did  not  read  the  proofs  owing 
to  his  absence  In  Europe.  In  a  second  edition  the  shortcomings  we  have 
plainly  alluded  to  could  be  easily  corrected,  and  a  cheap,  practical,  very 
readable  and  exceedingly  usefhl  manual  be  produced,  and  one  that  would 
deserve  a  wide  circulation. 

A  Naturalists'  Guide.*— This  Is  an  excellent  little  work— one  so  good, 
in  fact,  that  we  only  wish  there  were  more  of  It.    It  is  difiicnlt,  if  not  im- 


*  The  Natarallst*0  Qnlde  In  eolleetlxig  and  preaerTlng  objects  of  Natural  Hlstoir*  with  a 
eomplete  \M  of  tbe  Birds  of  Eastern  Massaohosetts.  By  0.  J.  Majnard.  With  Illnstrationg 
by  B.  L.  Weeks.  Boston:  Fields,  Osgood  ft  Co.  1870.  (For  sale  at  the  Natarallsts*  Xgencj, 
Postage  paid  tlM, 


364  REVIEWS. 

possible,  to  give  the  novice  in  coliecting  and  taxidermy  all  the  informa- 
tion he  requires,  in  so  little  space  as  Mr.  Maynard  occupies;  and  in 
condensing  to  the  utmost,  he  has  left  unsaid  some  things  that  it  would 
have  been  advisable  to  say.  If  cramped  for  space  the  writer  might  have 
profitably  given  up  the  brief  notes  upon  Reptiles,  Fish  and  the  Inveite- 
brates,  to  malce  room  for  more  details  respecting  the  taking  and  preserv- 
ing of  Birds  and  Mammals  —  these  being  evidently  his  '*  specialty ;" 
and  the  loss  would  not  have  been  great,  since  the  directions  regarding 
the  lower  animals  seem  to  us  too  slight  and  general  to  be  of  much  real 
service.  Still,  attentive  study  of  the  book  will  probably  fbrnish  hints 
and  suggestions  enough  to  enable  any  one  to  make  a  good  beginning. 
Regarding  the  collecting  of  birds,  it  gives  ns  much  pleasure  to  observe 
that  Mr.  Maynard  writes  of  what  he  himself  knows,  and  that  evidently 
this  is  not  a  little.  His  notes  of  the  proper  times  and  places  to  look  for 
birds  —  of  the  pleasures  and  difficulties  of  taking  them  —  and  his  pictures 
of  fleld-work,  are  true  to  the  life.  We  have  abundant  evidence  that  he 
has  put  himself  in  no  danger  of  tripping  by  compilation.  Thus,  for 
example,  his  remark  upon  page  84,  "  that  birds  for  a  certain  period  in- 
crease in  size,  after  which  they  gradually  decrease,"  is  none  the  less  true 
because  it  expresses  a  fact  of  which  few  are  aware ;  and  it  is  one  not 
likely  to  be  found  out  except  by  long  coutiuued  and  repeated  ob.servation. 
We  endorse  the  observation  without  reserve.  Most  birds  are  at  a  maxi- 
mum size  before  they  are  perfectly  <' adult;"  on  reaching  which  state,  a 
certain  condensation  or  compaction  of  the  fVame  seems  to  take  place,  so 
that  they  become  somewhat  smaller.  Of  this  the  Bald  Eagle  is  an  excel- 
lent Illustration. 

The  art  of  preparing  birds  for  the  scientific  cabinet,  no  less  than  that 
of  mounting  them  for  public  exhibition  or  other  popular  end.  Is  one  ac- 
quired only  by  practice,  in  gaining  which  we  suppose  each  taxidermist 
insensibly  grows  Into  ways  of  his  own;  so  that  probably  no  unvarying 
rules  can  be  laid  down.  Mr.  Maynard*s  method  is  different  in  many  re- 
spects from  the  one  we  have  found  preferable;  yet  we  do  not  wish  to  call 
it  inferior  on  this  account,  the  more  particularly  since  we  have  not  the 
pleasure  of  being  familiar  with  his  work,  and  are  therefore  not  in  position 
to  Judge  of  the  real  merits  of  his  method  —  still  less  of  the  degree  of  skill 
he  may  have  acquired  in  using  it.  But  we  are  bound  to  add,  that  we  see 
no  reason  why  excellent  results  should  not  be  obtained  by  following  his 
directions.  The  whole  matter,  after  all,  hangs  upon  good  taste  to  begin 
with,  then  upon  nicety  of  touch,  and  finally,  npon  practice.  While  we 
have  no  difficulty  In  following  out  his  description  of  the  process  he 
employs,  we  fear  it  may  be  found  by  the  beginner  a  little  obscure  at 
places  —  or  at  least,  not  so  full  and  plain  as  it  might  have  been  made. 
This  brings  us  back  to  the  thought  that  prompted  our  opening  sentence ; 
we  wish  the  directions  were  more  ample.  Nothing  is  said,  for  example, 
of  the  first  difficulty  In  skinning  —  that  of  separating  the  feathers  prop- 
erly on  the  abdomen,  and  keeping  them  out  of  the  wound  afterwards ; 


REVIEWS.  365 

nor  of  the  very  next  trouble  — to  avoid  attempting  to  take  off  the  thin 
abdominal  walls  with  the  skin,  as  beginners  almost  always  do.  We  are  in 
the  habit  of  directing  that  the  cut  be  begun  a  trifle  above  the  lower  border 
of  the  sternum,  since,  as  nothing  but  skin  can  be  lifted  away  there,  a  guide 
is  found  at  the  outset.  We  think  there  is  a  better  way  of  cleaning  off  the 
leg  and  wing  muscles  than  that  the  writer  advises.  We  nip  off  the  head 
of  the  bone  by  introducing  the  closed  scissors  between  the  muscles,  and 
opening  them  just  wide  enough  to  grasp  the  bone ;  then  we  strip  the 
muscles  fVom  above  downward,  and  snip  all  the  tendons  at  a  single 
stroke  below.  Practically,  with  small  birds  at  least,  this  is  done  with  the 
thumb-nail,  in  an  instant.  Except  in  the  cases  of  certain  long-winged 
birds,  we  do  not  agree  with  the  author  that  the  humerus  should  be  left  in; 
we  remove  it,  and  the  radius  too,  leaving  only  the  ulna,  which  we  sep- 
arate from  both  the  other  bones  and  all  the  muscles  by  cutting  its  head 
away  from  the  elbow-Joint,  stripping  the  muscle  off  from  above  down- 
ward, and  then  removing  humerus,  radius  and  all  the  muscle  by  a  trans- 
verse stroke  of  the  scissors  just  above  the  carpal  Joint.  A  description 
should  have  been  given  of  the  neat  and  rapid  way  of  removing  the  brain 
and  all  the  head-muscles  by  the  four  special  cuts  that  may  be  made  in  an 
instant;  instead  of  the  general  directions  for  scooping  out  and  scraping 
the  skull.  We  think  the  writer  hardly  puts  the  tyro  sufficiently  on  his 
guard  against  stretching  a  skin  unduly,  particularly  at  the  neck,  and  so 
producing  that  ugly  bare  space  on  each  side,  difficult  to  rectify  afterwards. 
Except  in  the  cases  of  large  birds,  where  main  strength  and  awkwardness 
do  well  enough,  no  skin  should  be  pulled,  or  even  drawn,  off;  but  should 
be  pushed  instead;  and  as  soon  as  it  hangs  by  the  neck,  with  legs  and 
wings  dangling,  it  should  be  supported  in  one  hand  to  prevent  stretching. 
For  the  "make-up**  of  a  skin  more  explicit  directions  would  not  have 
been  amiss ;  more  than  one  novice  will  probably  do  all  that  he  is  here 
told,  and  then  spoil  his  specimen.  We  should  like  to  make  a  few  sug- 
gestions regarding  this  matter,  but  want  of  space  prevents,  as  it  does  our 
even  alluding  to  a  score  of  little  points  which  will  not  be  found  in  this  or 
any  other  book  on  taxidermy  that  we  have  seen,  but  which  are  neverthe- 
less very  good  things  to  know ;  and  after  all,  a  few  hours  actual  practice 
under  the  eye  and  tongue  of  a  competent  taxidermist,  will  be  found  more 
valuable  than  any  treatise  upon  the  subject  can  possibly  be  made. 

In  Part  II,  Mr.  Maynard  gives  what  we  find  to  be  a  very  complete  and 
otherwise  excellent  list  of  the  birds  of  Eastern  Massachusetts.  We  do 
not  notice  a  single  species  that  we  would  erase,  and  believe  that  but  very 
few  remain  to  be  added.  In  the  nomenclature  of  the  species  he  adopts 
the  changes  that  Dr.  Cones  has  shown  to  be  necessary  or  advisable  in 
certain  families;  and  in  matters  specific  he  Is  nearly  as  conservative*  as 

*Thn8  he  does  not  admit  Turdu*  Alieim  Balrd,  Troglodytes  Amerleanui  Aud^  ASffiothus  «t- 
iHpM  Cones,  Lanu  ffutehimii  Rich.,  and  L.  SmithtotUanus  Cones.  Our  Certhia  and  ErenMH 
pMf9  respeetlTelT  be  refers  to  the  Earopean  C./amiHarU  and  E.  afpestrit.  Whilst  onr  hand  is 
In,  we  may  mention  the  ft>llowtng  cases,  all  In  a  single  order,  where  the  writer  might  have  oon- 


306  REVIEWS. 

Mr.  Allen.  The  notes  of  habits,  etc.,  are  very  valaablo  and  nseflil,  and, 
like  Mr.  Maynard's  directions  for  collecting,  are  evidently  an  original  rec- 
ord of  the  observations  of  an  excellent  field  ^naturalist.  We  have  thus 
the  large  amount  of  definite  information  that  is  always  aflbrded  by  good 
local  lists.  While  we  believe  that  the  list  gives  us  no  actually  new  names 
(its  main  points,  if  we  recollect  rightly,  having  been  already  presented  in 
the  Naturalist  by  Mr.  Allen),  several  of  the  entries  are  of  special  inter- 
est and  importance.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned  Centronyx  Bairdii, 
Argytira  maculata  (accidental),  Xanthocephalus  icterocephalua  (accidental), 
Tyrann'oa  dominicensis  (accidental).  Passer  domestica  (introduced),  Chon^ 
destes  grammaca  (accidental),  Turdus  nosvius  (accidental),  Helminiho^ 
phcLga peregrina,  Falco  aacer  (unusually  southern),  Strix  pratincola  (rarely 
so  northern),  JBcropalama  himantopus  (rare),  Macrorhamphtu  scolopo' 
ceus,  Thalasseus  acuflavidus,  Pelecanus  trachyrhynchus,  and  P.  fuacua  (both 
of  these  last  accidental).  The  first  named  Mr.  Maynard  considers  as 
more  likely  to  be  a  winter  visitor  from  the  north,  than  a  straggler  from 
Nebraska.  Quiacalua  maior,  uEgialitia  WilaoniuSy  and  a  few  other  species 
occurring  in  Allen's  or  Coues'  lists,  he  dismisses  as  resting  upon  insuffi- 
cient evidence ;  probably  in  most  Instances  he  Is  correct  In  so  doing.  The 
supposed  Buteo  **  Cooperi**  turns  out  to  be  a  state  of  B,  lineatiia,  A  good 
description  of  the  nest  and  eggs  of  ffelminthophaga  ehryaoptera  is  given. 
The  plumages  of  Sccpa  aaiOy  and  the  relationships  of  Sterna  macrura  and 
8,  hirundOj  as  well  as  those  of  Troglodytea  aidon  and  T,  Americanua,  are 
discussed  at  some  length.  In  the  case  of  the  8copa  It  is  evident  that 
ornithologists  will  not  be  likely  to  come  to  any  agreement,  until  they 
conclude,  as  we  did  long  ago,  that  the  variations  in  the  plumage  are 
purely  accidental.  In  an  appendix,  Mr.  Maynard  tabulates  all  the  species 
in  convenient  form. 

We  have  been  so  pleasantly  impressed  with  the  book,  and  others  will 
doubtless  find  it  so  useAil,  that  we  feel  the  less  hesitation  in  criticising 
some  things  in  it  that  we  cannot  praise.  A  little  care  would  have  pre- 
vented such  slips  as  "carpel"  for  carpal  (p.  20),  "  coccygus"  for  cocqfx, 
or  for  oa  coccygia,  "arctea"  totarctica  (p.  152),  **  Argyria*'  tor  Argytira  (p. 
164),  "penguin"  for  peregrine  (p.  184),  etc.  We  fear,  however,  that  the 
writer  himself  is  responsible  for  such  awkward  blunders  as—"  where  the 
humerus  Joins  the  sternum  "  (p.  40) ;  and  the  mention  of  the  wrists  and 
heels  of  sheep  and  deer  as  "  knee  Joints"  (p.  49).  The  figures  we  cannot 
speak  well  of;  in  fact,  they  are  very  bad,  and  we  should  Judge  that  they 
will  hardly  answer  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  designed.  Thus  we 
. 

•ltteiitl7  qvMtloned  •peetflOTalldlty:  ntieo  anatum^  Attur  eUrieapWus^  Ptndi^n  CbtoMimimCi, 
Otut  WiUowlanus,  Braek^ottu  Cattini^  Njfctait  Riehardtoni.  Tliere  are  many  others,  af  nearly 
allied  to  Karopean  types,  that  he  aUows  to  stand.  Though  we  agree  with  the  writer  In  being 
rather  tneUned  toward  oonsenratlsm,  we  conld  wish  that,  before  discussing  the  grare  qnestlons 
that  arise  from  our  varying  acceptation  of  the  term  **  species,**  be  had  adopted  a  more  lucid 
and  less  nngrammatlcal  definition  than  this:  **  Species  consists  in  a  bird's  baring  certain 
characters  so  well  defined,  although  inconstant  (bnt  never  rarlable  beyond  a  certain  point), 
that  It  may  readily  be  distinguished  IWhu  others."  (p.  8S.) 


REVIEWS.  367 

trust  that  Fig.  3,  Plate  vm,  was  not  taken  from  an  example  of  the  au- 
thor's handiwork  I  The  book  is  well  printed  and  handsomely  gotten  up. 
We  hope  It  may  acquire  the  popularity  to  which  its  merits  entitle  it. 

OKNITHOLOaiCAL  RRSULTS  OP  THE  EXPLORATION  OP  THE  NORTH-WEST.* 

This  memoir  gives  the  first  published  results  of  the  Russo- American  Tel- 
egraph Expedition,  organized  to  explore  preparatory  to  the  connection 
of  San  Francisco  and  St.  Petersburg  by  electric  telegraph.  The  officers 
of  the  company  arranged  with  the  Smithsonian  Institution  and  Chicago 
Academy,  in  broad  and  liberal  spirit,  for  the  scientific  exploration  of  the 
country  by  a  corps  of  young  naturalists  headed  by  Major  Robert  Kenni- 
cott.  The  party  left  San  Francisco  in  July,  1865,  by  several  vessels, 
touching  at  various  points,  where  collections  were  made.  Starting  again, 
July,  1866,  after  wintering  in  San  Francisco,  Mr.  Dall  visited  Plover  Bay, 
East  Siberia,  and  afterward  St.  Michael's,  Norton  Sound,  where  he 
learned  of  Major  Kennicott*s  death,  in  consequence  of  which  the  direc- 
tion of  the  scientific  corps  devolved  upon  him.  Messrs.  Pease  and  Ban- 
nister accompanied  the  remains  to  San  Francisco,  while  Mr.  Dall  and  his 
party  started  for  the  Unalaklik  River  and  the  Yukon,  reaching  Nulato  In 
December,  1866,  and  remaining  there  all  winter.  In  the  spring  they  pro- 
ceeded to  Fort  Yukon,  and  then  returned  to  St.  Michael's,  where  intelli- 
gence was  received  of  the  termination  of  the  enterprise.  Notwithstanding 
this  Mr.  Dall  decided  to  finish  the  scientific  reconnoissauce  of  the  Yukon 
River,  remaining  In  the  country  alone  and  at  his  own  expense.  He  pro- 
ceeded with  Eskimos  to  Unalaklik,  where  he  remained  until  November, 
1867,  and  in  March,  1868,  went  to  St.  Michael's,  after  examination  of 
the  country  both  east  and  west  of  Nulato.  Crossing  the  portage  in  Juno 
he  descended  the  Yukon  to  its  mouth,  and  shortly  afterward  embarked  for 
San  Francisco,  ft'om  St.  Michael's,  touching  at  Pribylof  and  other  islands. 
The  ornithological  results  thus  obtained  by  Mr.  Dall  and  others,  during 
several  years  of  travel  and  exploration,  are  worked  up  in  the  paper  now 
under  consideration,  and  in  the  one  we  shall  presently  notice. 

We  find  the  memoir  to  be  one  of  special  interest  and  importance,  as 
was  to  have  been  anticipated,  no  less  firom  the  character  of  its  authors 
and  of  the  other  naturalists  whose  collections  contributed  towards  it, 
than  flrom  the  nature  of  the  ground  explored,  and  other  fortunate  circum- 
stances. It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  no  single  paper  has  appeared  for 
the  last  decade,  and  perhaps  for  a  longer  period  (although  we  do  not  for- 
get the  results  of  Mr.  Xantus'  explorations),  that  has  added  so  positively 
to  our  knowledge  of  the  geographical  distribution  and  habits  of  our  birds, 
or  that  has  so  largely  and  at  once  increased  our  bird-fauna.  In  noticing 
80  important  a  contribution  to  ornithology  we  cannot  reA-ain  A-om  pre- 
senting some  of  the  leading  points  in  detail,  although  even  a  bare 
epitome  of  all  the  results  obtained  would  exceed  our  limits.    Before  so 

•  Ltat  of  the  Birds  of  Alaska,  with  Blographleal  Notes.  By  W.  H.  DaU  and  H.  M.  Bannister. 
Trans.  Chteaffo  Acad.  Sel.,  Vol.  1,  Art.  Ix.   1869. 


368  REVIEWS. 

doing  we  have  only  to  add,  in  expressing  oar  sense  of  the  intrinsic  valae 
of  the  paper,  and  in  according  all  the  praise  to  Its  authors,  that  they  so 
Justly  deserve,  our  impression  that  the  symmetry  of  the  paper  is  some- 
what marred  by  the  clrcaraHtances,  unlmown  to  us,  which  resulted  in  the 
preservation  of  the  individaality  of  the  Joint-authors ;  not  so  much  flrom 
the  recurrence  of  initials,  as  from  the  duplication  of  some  paragraphs 
and  the  confliction  of  a  few  others. 

One  important  result  attained,  regarding  geographical  distribution,  is 
the  clear  illustration  of  the  western  trend  of  the  boundary  line  of  the 
eastern  province  as  this  passes  northward ;  so  that  several  characteristic 
eastern  birds  occur  in  *'  Russian  America,"  either  associated  with,  or  re- 
placing, western  species  whose  occurrence  was  rather  to  have  been  antici- 
pated. The  fact  has  been  made  more  and  more  apparent,  of  late  years, 
by  other  collections  from  the  North-west ;  and  the  present  one  may  be  re- 
garded as  demonstrating  it.  Thus  we  have  Picua  villosus  and  P.  puhes- 
cens  instead  of  P.  Harrisii  and  P.  Qairdneri;  Colaptes  aurattu  instead  of 
C.  Mexicanus;  Scolecophagua  ferrugine-as  instead  of  S.  cyanocephalus ; 
DendroRca  coronata  instead  of  D.  Auduhoni;  Querquedula  discors  instead 
of  Q.  cyanoptera,  etc. ;  with  Seiurus  aurocapiUus  (though  this  has  lately 
been  known  also  from  the  Southern  Pacific  coast),  Partu  atricapillus,  P. 
Hudaonicus  (*^  abundant  at  Nulato"),  Passerculus  savanna  (associated  with 
the  three  other  varieties,  or  species),  Junco  hyemaliSy*  Passerella  ih'aca, 
Bonasa  umbellu8j  Gambetta  flavipes.  The  presence  of  **Uria  lomvia** 
{Lomtna  troile)^  with  both  27.  Californica  and  U,  arra  (svarbag),  is  prob- 
ably rather  a  matter  of  circumpolar  distribution.  We  note  on  the  other 
hand,  among  absentees  that  might  have  been  expected,  Zonotrichia  leuco- 
phrySi  Limosa  fedoa  and  Numenius  longirostris. 

Among  the  names  to  which  American  ornithologists  have  been  more  or 
less  unaccustomed  for  the  past  few  years,  changes  involving  questions  of 
specific  relationships,  and  indications  of  rare  or  specially  interesting 
species  (exclusive  of  the  additional  ones  to  be  presently  examined),  we 
notice  the  following  points :  Falco  saeer  Forster,  is  used  (by  Baird)  to 
<'  indicate  provisionally  an  ash-colored  Falcon,  with  light  transverse  bars 
above,  found  throughout  the  Anderson  River,  lower  Mackenzie  and  Yukon 
region,  breeding  on  trees  and  cliffy  indifferently.  It  never  becomes  white, 
and  does  not  correspond  at  all  with  specimens  of  either  gyrfalco  or  iiland' 
icus.'*  Buteo  ^*  insigriattis**  Cass.,  is  given  as  a  variety  of  B,  Swainsoni. 
The  old  name  of  NyctaU  **tengmalmi'*  replaces  N,  Bichardaoni,  used 
of  late  years;  as  Picoidea  ** Americantia*'  does  P.  hiratUuSt  after  Sunde- 
vairs  recent  showing  (Consp.  A  v.  Picin.  1866,  p.  15).  The  Saxicola  cenan- 
the  we  presume  to  be  the  same  bird  that  was  described  and  figured 
by  Cassin  as  S.  '' fznanthoides'*  Vig.  (Illnst.  B.  Cal.  and  Tex.,  p.  207,  pi. 
84.).  Four  species  of  Passerculua  are  recognized  In  the  list,  though  we 
should  Judge  that  with  the  exception  perhaps  of  P.  SandmckensiSj  it  were 

•This  probably  ezplalnlng  iU  oooamnoe,  In  Waihlnfton  Territory  {Suckt0if),  and  Arliona 
(CSmmi). 


REVIEWS.  369 

difficult  to  tell  them  apart.  Melospiza  rtifina  and  PasstrcHa  Townsendii 
occurred  at  Sitka.  Corvxis  caurintut  continues  to  be  recognized  as  distinct 
from  G.  ossifragus.  The  record  of  Actodromus  Bairdii  is  the  north-west- 
ernmost as  yet;  with  this  and  Sclater*fl  recent  South  American  indication 
it  may  be  considered  as  an  inhabitant  of  the  western  hemisphere  at  large, 
though  it  has  yet  to  be  detected  in  the  Atlantic  province;  this,  however, 
may  be  predicted  with  some  confidence.  Bemicla  var.  occidentalis  is 
recognized  in  two  specimens  from  Sitka,  as  is  also  Pelionetta  Trowbridgei; 
Mr.  Dall  remarks  that  **  it  is  not  at  all  unlikely  that  B.  Hutchinsii  and 
leucopareia  are  one  species."—  The  party  were  enabled  to  make  specially 
interesting  observations  on  some  other  water  fowl,  not  only  of  intrinsic 
value,  but  demonstrating  over  again  that  many,  and  probably  most  birds, 
however  "  rare  "  they  may  be  usually  considered  through  default  of  speci- 
mens or  other  fortuitous  circumstances,  yet  have  their  "metropolis" 
or  centre  of  abundance.  We  may  Instance  in  this  connection  the  observa- 
tions upon  Clilaephaga  canagicuy  abounding  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yukon,  to 
the  exclusion  of  other  species;  Lampronetta  Fischeri^  breeding  near  St. 
Michacrs ;  and  Somatena  v-nigra,  abundant  on  the  north  coast.  —  Diome- 
dea  nigripea  And.,  recently  restored  by  Schlegel  and  Cones,  after  being 
long  considered  as  the  young  of  i>.  brachyuraj  is  stated  to  be  very  com- 
mon in  the  North  Pacific,  though  not  in  Bering's  Sea.  Lams  argentatus 
(var.)  and  L,  brachyrhynchus  are  abundant  on  the  Yukon.  Witli  the  Bissa 
tridaetyla  **  abundant  at  Sitka  and  Plover  Bay,"  Mr.  Dall  has  doubtless 
confounded,  since  he  does  not  mention,  B.  Kotzebui,  a  species,  or  perhaps 
only  a  variety,  distinguished  from  tridaetyla  by  the  remarkable  develop- 
ment of  the  hind  toe.  Bissa  ^* brevirostris  Brandt"  replaces  B.  brachy- 
rhynchust  recognized  of  late  years.  The  two  names  undoubtedly  refer  to 
the  same  species;  the  difference  in  the  color  of  the  legs  to  which  Mr. 
Dall  alludes,  is  simply  a  matter  of  Immaturity,  or  of  fading  from  coral 
red  to  yellow  in  preserved  specimens.  We  do  not  recollect  now  which 
name  has  priority.  Xema  Sabineiy  a  species  highly  prized  in  collections, 
was  found  breeding  abundantly  about  Pastolik  and  St.  Michael's,  and  was 
not  rare  at  Plover  Bay.  Colymbus  arcticus  is  recorded  instead  of  C  Pa- 
cificusj  which  was  to  have  been  anticipated ;  ami  the  same  may  be  said  of 
Podiceps  griseigena  instead  of  P.  HolboelU.  The  **  rare "  yellow-billed 
liOon  {Colymbus  Adamtdi),  only  recognized  of  late  years,  was  got  at  Kadiak 
by  Bischofi*.  Among  the  Auks  the  most  interesting  occurrence  Is  that  of 
Sagmatorrhina  Labradoria  Cass.  (S,  Lathami  Bp.),  represented  by  two 
specimens  firom  Kadiak;  these  are  the  first  examples  of  this  singular 
bird  that  American  ornithologists  have  seen.  Blschofi^s  Kadiak  speci- 
mens of  Brachyrkamphtis  Wrangeli  enabled  this  long  obscured  species 
of  Brandt's  to  be  restored  (Coues,  Proc.  A.  N.  S.,  Phil.,  1867,  p.  64). 
The  crested  Synthliborhamphns  umizusume  might  have  been  anticipated ; 
but  only  8,  antiquus  is  recorded. 

Not  less  Important  than  the  record  of  their  geographical  distribution,  of 
which  we  have  only  outlined  some  of  the  more  salient  points,  is  that  of 

AMKR.  NATURALIST,  VOL.  IV.  47 


370  REVIEWS. 

the  habits  of  the  species  observed.  **  Great  care  has  been  taken,"  says 
Mr.  Dall,  "In  the  record  of  habits;  ♦  ♦  *  and  it  is  presamed  to  be  gener- 
ally correct."  Of  this  we  have  no  doobt,  and  only  regret  that  we  mnst 
pass  by  such  a  mass  of  information  with  only  this  allusion,  in  recom- 
mending it,  as  we  specially  do,  to  the  attentive  consideration  of  ornithol- 
ogists. The  accounts  of  some  of  the  species  are  very  fhll,  and  there  are 
few  paragraphs  that  do  not  fill  some  gap  in  our  previous  knowledge  with 
highly  interesting  matter. 

Mr.  Dall  includes  in  the  list  Vanelltis  crlatatttSf  from  a  description  given 
him  by  a  hunter  of  a  bird  killed  on  an  Island  off  the  Golsova  River,  and 
which  *' could  apply  to  no  other  bird  of  the  country;"  no  specimens, 
however,  were  taken.  The  other  actual  additions  to  our  bird-fauna, 
though  of  course  contained  in  the  present  list,  are  treated  of  at  length  in 
an  immediately  succeeding  paper,*  that  presents  the  pith  of  the  discov- 
eries. Of  the  sixteen  species  here  described  or  otherwise  noticed,  one, 
Spermophila  badiiventria  (Lawr.,  Ann.  Lye.  Nat.  Hist.,  N.  Y.,  1866,  p.  172), 
is  Nicaraguan;  the  others  are  from  the  North-west;  some  are  well-known 
old-world  species,  new  to  our  fauna ;  others  have  been  separately  de- 
scribed as  new  by  Cassin,  Elliot  and  Coues,  of  late  years ;  while  others 
still  are  here  presented  for  the  first  time.  The  most  interesting  of  these 
are  doubtless  the  three  that  respectively  introduce  to  our  fauna  as  many 
genera  previously  known  only  as  old-world.  Pyrrhula  Is  represented  by 
a  variety  {Caaaini  Baird)  of  coccinea;  **  the  color  of  the  under  parts,  if 
really  characteristic  of  the  adult  male,  will  at  once  distinguish  It,  In  be- 
ing light  cinnamon  gray,  as  in  the  female  coccineOy  instead  of  bright  nim- 
ium  red"  (p.  316);  the  single  specimen  is  from  Nulato,  January  10,  1867. 
The  other  two  are  Phyllopneustea  Kennicottii  Baird  (one  specimen,  St. 
Michael's),  closely  allied  to  P.  trochilua  and  Everamanni;  and  t^Budytta^ 
which  Professor  Baird  says  he  is  unable  to  distinguish  A-om  the  protean 
B,  flava  of  Europe  and  Asia.  It  is  singular  that  this  last  should  have 
been  so  long  overlooked,  Judging  from  Mr.  Bannister's  account.  He  says 
(p.  277)  :  —  **I  first  observed  this  species  at  St.  Michael's  about  the  9th  or 
10th  of  June,  and  ftom  that  until  well  into  the  month  of  August;  they 
were  among  the  most  abundant  birds,  perhaps,  after  Plectrophanea  loppo- 
nicu8t  the  most  abundant  of  the  strictly  terrestrial  species.  During  the 
month  of  June  I  observed  them  generally  in  fiocks  of  ft*om  twenty  to 
thirty  Individuals." 

Scopa  Kennicottii  (Elliot,  Proc.  A.  N.  S.,  Phil.,  1867,  p.  69,  and  111.  B. 
Am.  pi.  X,  one  specimen,  Sitka),  is  a  large,  dark,  northern  form,  close  by 
S.  aaio;  probably  representing  one  extreme,  of  which  the  small,  pale 
southern  S.  McCallii  is  the  other.  Troglodytea  Alaacenaia  n.  s.,  Is  a  curious 
species,  like  T.  hyemalia  In  shape  and  generally  similar  to  it  In  color,  with 
the  size  of  T.  cedon ;  **  of  its  distinctness  f^om  any  other  North  American 
species  there  can  be  no  question  "  (p.  815).    Leucoaticte  griaeinucha  Brandt, 

'On  Addltloiu  to  the  Blrd^knaa  of  North  America,  made  by  the  Sctentlflo  Corps  of  tiM 
Bnaso- American  Telegraph  Kzpedltlon.    By  8.  F.  Baird.  —  /frtftf.,  p.  311.  (Art.  z.) 


REVIEWS .  371 

(Aleutian  Islands),  noticed  in  1858,  by  Professor  Baird,  thongh  not  for- 
mally introduced  for  want  of  specimens,  is  here  more  definitely  charac- 
terized ;  and  one  L,  liUoralU  n.  s.  (Sitka  and  Fort  Simpson)  is  described ; 
the  latter  is  considered  to  be  what  Elliot  figured  under  the  name  of  griS' 
dnucha  (nee.  Brandt),  than  which  species,  however,  it  **  is  considerably 
smaller;  the  colors  are  brighter  and  lighter"  (p.  818),  and  the  colored 
areas  upon  the  head  are  somewhat  different.  Melospiza  insignis^  n.  s. 
(Kadiak),  **  is  another  of  the  perplexing  species  allied  to  the  song  spar- 
row of  the  Eastern  United  States,  and  although  apparently  very  distinct 
•  ♦  ♦  la  yet  traceable  into  It"  (p.  819).  Limosa  uropygialis  Gould,  auct.  (X, 
Foxii  Pealc),  a  well-known  and  extensively  distributed  old-world  species, 
was  found  **very  common  at  the  Yukon  mouth,  and  on  the  Pastolik 
marshes  to  the  north  of  it"  (Dail,  1.  c,  p.  293).  Sterna  Aleutica  n.  s.  (Ka- 
diak), the  single  specimen  of  which  we  have  had  the  pleasure  of  inspect- 
ing, is  a  remarkable  tern,  with  something  of  the  appearance  of  S,  arcttca, 
close  to  which  it  must  be  placed ;  it  has  a  black  bill  and  feet  like  Ualijh 
lana,  frontal  white  lunule  like  that  genus  and  Sterna  mintaa,  etc. ;  v/hite 
tall,  and  body  coloration  not  quite  like  that  of  any  tern  we  know  of;  truly 
presenting  a  singular  combination.  Graculus  bieriatatua  (Pallas,  Zoog.  R. 
A.  11,  188),  is  the  name  conditionally  applied  by  Professor  Baird  to  a  bird 
from  Kadiak,  which  he  identifies  with  much  hesitation.  As  is  well-known, 
the  cormorants  are  in  a  confused  state  at  present,  and  will  require  thorough 
revision  before  the  perplexity  now  attending  their  determination  can  be 
removed.  Pufflnua  tenuiroatris  (Temm.,  PI.  Col.  No.  687)  is  a  well-known 
shearwater  from  Japan,  etc.,  now  introduced  fk*om  Kotzebue  Sound 
(Dall) ;  Schlegel  has  it  from  Sitka.  Pulmarua  Bodgerai  (Cassin,  Pr.  A. 
N.  S.,  Phil.,  1862,  290,  and  Coues,  ibid.,  1868,  p.  20),  first  described,  as  just 
quoted,  from  the  **  North  Pacific,"  was  taken  at  St.  George's  Island,  Mr. 
Dairs  specimen  making  the  first  discovered  since  the  type ;  it  is  chiefly 
distinguished  from  F,  glacialia  by  the  white  on  the  inner  reroiges.  The 
fifteenth  species  is  Larua  borealia  Brandt,  which  Professor  Baird  very 
truly  says  **  is  hardly  to  be  called  a  species."  We  doubt  the  propriety  of 
recognizing  it,  since  it  is  nearly  L,  Smithaonianua  with  a  slightly  darker 
mantle;  Airther  south  on  the  Pacific  coast  X.  SmitJiaonianua  is  not  dis- 
tinguishable in  any  respect  from  the  common  bird  of  the  Atlantic  states ; 
and  while  L,  **  borealia  "  may  be  said  to  form  the  connecting  link,  in  respect 
of  the  color  of  the  mantle,  between  this  and  the  Callfornian  Z».  occidentalia 
And.,  it  appears  to  lack  the  great  depth  of  bill  which  is  a  strong  character 
of  the  latter.  The  last  species  that  Professor  ^aird  gives  is  the  Simor- 
hynchua  Caaaini  (Coues,  Pr.  A.  N.  S.,  1868,  p.  45),  from  Onnimak  Pass;  a 
species  near  S.  tetraculiiaf  but  much  less  in  size,  with  a  remarkably  small, 
simple  bill,  and  dusky,  leaden  colored  plumage. 

In  closing  a  rapid  analysis  of  these  two  very  interesting  and  important 
memoirs,  we  have  only  to  add  frirther,  that  they  are  accompanied  by  a 
number  of  colored  plates,  well  illustrating  all  the  new  species,  and  the 
other  additions  to  our  fi&nna. 


372  REVIEWS. 

Geology  of  Indiana.*  —  This  snrvey  has  evidently  begun  In  earnest. 
The  present  volume  informs  us  that  it  is  instituted  to  make  known  the 
mineral  resources  of  the  State,  but  does  not  state  the  amounts  appropri- 
ated; we  hope,  however,  it  is  proportionate  to  the  practical  benefits 
already  conferred  by  the  Survey.  The  geology  of  the  counties  examined. 
Clay.  Greene,  Park,  Fountain,  Warren,  Vermilion  and  Franklin,  display 
rich  fields  of  coal,  and  are  full  of  practical  details  which  seem  to  have 
already  more  than  tenfold  repaid  the  expenses  incurred.  From  Green- 
castle  to  Terre  Haute  a  section  has  been  run  along  the  railroad  line  and 
by  means  of  two  Artesian  wells  the  strata  sounded  to  a  considerable 
depth.  These  have  enabled  the  Survey  to  give  a  very  interesting  section 
showing  the  strata  fl'ora  the  Silurian  to  the  surface.  The  first  one  at 
Terre  Haute  penetrates  first  the  glacial  deposits  and  reaches  to  the  depth 
of  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety-three  feet,  stopping  in  the 
subcarbonlferous  rocks ;  the  second  at  Reelsville,  begins  where  the  sub- 
carboniferous  limestone  comes  to  the  surface  farther  east,  and  though 
bored  only  one  thousand  two  hundred  and  forty  feet,  penetrated  the 
Upper  Silurian. 

The  present  report  is  concluded  with  a  catalogue  of  the  Mammals  and 
Birds  of  Franklin  County. 

The  assistants  engaged  In  the  Survey  are  Professor  F.  Bradley,  Dr. 
Rufhs  Haymond,  and  Dr.  G.  M.  Levette.  The  two  former  contribute 
largely  to  this  volume ;  the  report  of  the  first  on  Vermilion  county  being 
particularly  ftill  and  complete.  We  hope  that  no  short-sighted  economy 
will  cut  this  survey  short  as  that  of  Iowa  has  been  before  it  has  thor- 
oughly worked  up  the  natural  history  of  the  State. 

Rudolph's  Atlas  of  the  Geoorapht  of  Plants.  —  There  Is,  as  I  un- 
derstand, an  **  Atlas  der  Pflanzen  geographic,"  by  L.  Rudolph,  of  which  a 
second  edition  has  been  published  in  Berlin,  and  recommended  for  trans- 
lation into  English,  and  introduction  into  our  high  schools.  I  possess  the 
first  edition,  but  I  do  not  know  whether  the  new  one  Is  as  worthless  as  the 
first  one  Is.  If  this  is  the  case  I  do  not  understand  how  such  a  product 
of  the  utmost  ignorance  could  be  recommended,  though  the  great  Hum- 
boldt, to  whom  the  work  Is  dedicated,  had  already  puffied  it,  probably 
without  ever  having  looked  at  it.  To  prove  my  assertion  I  will  point  out 
the  following  errors  In  plate  "North  America"  of  the  first  edition.  Be- 
tween JB4°  and  45°  north  latitude  in  Oregon  and  California  we  find  sixteen 
plants  mentioned,  of  which  not  a  single  one  grows  there,  i.e.,  Rudbeckia 
pinnata,  Fraxinus  Americana^  Aristolochia  sipho,  Smilax  sarsaparilla, 
Quercvs  tinetoria^  Q.  eastaneOt  Ampelopsis  bipinnata,  all  eastern  species ; 
Tagetes  patula,  Tagetes  treda^  Lobelia  splendens  and  fulgens,  Georgina 
variabilis,  Cobata  scandens,  Convolvulus  Mechoacana  (Mexican  species), 
Smilaz  officinalis  (Mexican  when  of  Presl,  South  American  when  the  plant 

*  First  AnnttKl  Report  of  the  Oeoloffleal  Surrey  of  Indiana.  By  E.  T.  Cox,  State  Geologrlit. 
8to.    pp,  340,  with  two  maps- and  one  section. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   MISCELLANY.  373 

of  Hamboldt  and  Bonpland  is  meant)  Fraxinits  heterophylla,  a  European 
tree !  The  Vanillat  Cacao  and  Quinoa  cultivated  in  the  desert  west  of 
the  Colorado  I  Zinnia  elegana,  Georgina  coccinea,  Ipomea  purga  are  all 
placed  too  far  northward.  Mobinia  viscoaa  and  hispida  between  the  upper 
Missouri  and  Rocky  Mountains,  with  Oleditschia  monosperma  and  G.  tri- 
acanthos  in  Northern  Wisconsin;  Rosa  auavis  and  Americana,  quite  un* 
known  species;  Pinus  palustris  on  McKenzie  River!!  Pinu9  occideiUalis 
from  West  Indies,  transplanted  to  the  North  American  continent;  Juglans 
olivceformiSf  our  Pecan  and  Castanea  pumila  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and 
Kalmia  cuneata  on  the  Red  River;  Aristolochia  officinalis  (probably  Ser- 
pentaria),  Bignonia  capreolata  in  Michigan;  Diospyroa  Lotus  an  European 
tree ;  almonds  and  figs  cultivated  near  Lake  Ontario !  .And  so  on !  Should 
all  these  errors  be  reproduced  in  the  second  edition,  the  introduction  of 
the  work  into  our  schools  will  be  a  great  nuisance.  — F.  Bkendkl. 


NATURAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY 


BOTANY. 

Dialysis  wfth  Staminody  in  Kalmia  latifolia. — These  two  technical 
words  we  take  from  Dr.  Masters*  interesting  volume  published  last  year 
by  the  Ray  Society,  entitled  **  Vegetable  Teratology,"  which  last  woi'd 
denotes  the  science  of  monstrosities.  Dialysis  is  the  term  applied  to  the 
separation  of  parts  which  are  normally  united ;  staminody  is  the  conver- 
sion of  other  organs  into  stamens. 

We  have  before  us  a  novel  and  specially  interesting  monstrosity  which 
is  described  by  these  terms.  It  was  discovered  by  Miss  Bryant,  at  South 
Deerfleld  in  this  state,  and  we  are  indebted  to  her,  through  a  common 
friend,  for  the  specimens  before  us.  Among  the  shrubs  of  Kalmia  latifolia 
which  abound  in  a  swamp  belonging  to  Col.  Bryant,  a  few  have  been  no- 
ticed as  producing,  year  after  year,  blossoms  In  singular  contrast  to 
the  ordinary  ones  of  this  most  ornamental  shrub,  and  which,  indeed,  are 
more  curious  than  beautifhl.  The  corolla,  instead  of  the  saucer-shaped 
and  barely  5-lobed  cup,  is  divided  completely  into  five  narrowly  linear  or 
even  thread-shaped  petals.  These  are  flat  at  the  base,  and  scarcely  If  at 
all  broader  than  the  lobes  of  the  calyx  with  which  they  alternate,  but  above 
by  the  revolution  of  the  margins  they  become  almost  thread-shaped,  and 
so  resemble  filaments.  This  resemblance  to  stamens  goes  farther;  for 
most  of  them  are  actually  tipped  with  an  imperfect  anther ;  that  is,  the 
corolla  is  separated  Into  its  five  component  petals,  and  these  transformed 
into  stamens.  Altered  as  they  are  in  shape,  yet  a  trace  of  the  pouch  is 
often  discernible,  In  the  form  of  a  little  boss  on  the  outer  or  lower  side, 
and  a  slight  corresponding  depression  on  the  upper.    The  anther  is  ex- 


374  NATURAL   HISTORY   MISCELLANY. 

trorse  and  adnate,  usually  snbapical  rather  than  strictly  terminal,  and  its 
two  cells  incline  to  open  lengthwise.  The  ten  proper  stamens  are  Just 
as  in  the  normal  flower,  except  that  they  are  erect  or  at  length  recurved, 
and  the  anthers  wholly  free,  there  being  no  pouches  to  receiye  them. 
The  pistil  is  wholly  normal,  and  there  is  nothing  apparent  to  prevent  the 
ovules  from  being  fertilized  and  maturing  seed.  —  A.  Gray. 

OccuKRKNCB  OF  Rarb  PLANTS  IN  ILLINOIS. — There  are  In  **  Gray'8 
Manual "  some  species  noted  as  rare  which  grow  in  the  vicinity  of  Peoria : 
Silene  nivea  DC,  Napiza  dioica  L.,  Polygala  inearnata  L.,  Cacalia  suave- 
olens  L.,  Asclepias  Meadii  A.  Or.,  Pogonia  pendula  Ldl.,  Liparis  Lcsselii 
Rich.,  Aplectrum  hyemale  Nutt.,  Panicxim  autumnale  Bosc,  Zannichdlia 
palustris  L.,  in  great  abundance;  and  in  St.  Clair  county,  Eleocharis  quad- 
rangulata  R.  Br. 

There  are  a  number  of  species  which  could,  from  the  habitats  given  In 
'* Gray's  Manual,"  be  taken  as  not  growing  in  Illinois,  though  they  do; 
they  are  Arenaria  lateriflora  L.,  Flcerkea  proserpinacoides  Willd.,  Agri- 
monia  parviflora  Ait.,  Archangelica  atropurpurea  Hoffh].,  Lonicera  flava 
Sims,  Aster  (Bstivus  Alt.,  Solidago  neglecta  T.  Gr.,  Onaphalium  purpureum 
L.  (only  one  found),  Troximon  cuspidatum  Ph.  (noted  as  reaching  to  North 
Illinois),  Arctostaphylos  uva-ursi  Spr.,  LysimacJiia  thyrsiflora  L.,  Utri- 
cularia  intermedia  liayne.  Phlox  reptans  Michx.(?),  Fraxinus  aambuc^folia 
Lam.,  Aristolochia  serpentaria  L.,  Dirc<t  palustris  L.,  Carya  tomentosa 
Nutt.,  Salix  myrtilloides  L.,  Orchis  spectabilis  L.,  Trillium  nivale  Ridd., 
Triglochin  maritimum  L.,  Potamogeton  pectinatum  L.,  Allium  tricoccum 
Ait.,  Carex  arida  Schw.  Torr,  C,  flliformis  L.,  0.  lanuginosa  Michx.,  C. 
longirostris  Torr.,  Equisetum  variegatum  Schlelch.,  A^lenium  angustifolium 
Michx.,  occur  around  Peoria. 

I  have  seen  Arabis  lyrata  L.,  on  the  limestone  rocks  near  Galena,  and 
Collinsia  vema  Nutt.,  in  Fulton  county.  In  Southern  Illinois  I  have  col- 
lected Vitis  indivisa  Willd.,  V.  bipinnata  T.  Gr.,  Heuthera  villosa  Michx., 
Fedia  radiata  Michx.,  Celtis  Mississippiensis  (near  Cairo)  Quercus p?^llo8 
L.,  Cyperua  virens  Michx.,  Paspalum  Walterianum  Schult.,  P.  la:ve  Michx., 
Camptosorus  rhizophyllus  Link  (at  Falling  Spring,  opposite  St.  Louis).  — 
F.  Bkendel. 

ZOOLOGY. 

Early  Arrival  of  Gebsr.  —  A  flock  of  forty  geese  (Anser  Canadensis) 
were  observed  passing  over  Glace  Bay,  Cape  Breton,  steering  north  on 
the  23d  of  February.  This  is  at  least  a  fortnight  earlier  than  I  have  ever 
known  them  to  appear  in  Nova  Scotia. —  J.  Matthew  Jones,  Halifax^ 
iV.  iiS^. 

Hybrid  Fowls.  —  In  answer  to  a  query  in  the  Naturaust  for  March, 
as  to  the  hybridation  of  Pintados,  I  might  state  that  an  Instance  of  the 
kind  alluded  to  came  under  my  notice  in  the  year  1845,  where  the  cross 
was  the  more  singular  one  of  a  male  turkey  and  a  female  Guinea  hen. 


NATURAL  BISTORT  MISCELLANY.  375 

There  were  upwards  of  twenty  eggs  laid  by  the  hen,  and  incubation  had 
progressed  until  within  about  two  days  of  hatching,  when  a  marauding 
opossum  found  the  nest  and  destroyed  all  but  two  of  the  eggs.  These 
were  hatched,  and  grew  to  maturity,  evincing  a  singular  combination  of 
the  form  and  habits  of  their  incongruous  parentage. 

The  birds  were  forwarded  to  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Phil- 
adelphia, where  their  skins  were  mounted,  and  I  believe  are  still  to  be 
seen.  I  forwarded  an  account  to  the  Academy  at  the  time,  and  they  were 
made  the  subject  of  a  report  by  the  late  Dr.  Morton.  I  have  not  the  Pro- 
ceedings of  the  Academy  by  me,  but  I  believe  the  account  will  be  found 
in  the  volume  for  1846. 

The  Guineas  are  very  strong  in  their  attachments,  and  the  old  gobbler 
had  to  do  the  agreeable  to  his  wife  and  children  all  summer  whether  he 
would  or  no.  —  William  Kitk. 

We  have  at  the  Central  Park  a  pair  of  hybrid  fowls,  which  I  consider 
as  a  cross  between  the  common  and  Guinea  fowl.  They  are  large  boned; 
have  the  cackel  but  not  the  horny  casque  and  wattles  of  the  Guinea  fowl. 
Instead  of  the  feathers  being  speckled  they  are  marked  with  flue  wavy 
lines.  Tegetmeier  says  the  hybrids  between  these  fowls  are  rare  but 
when  produced  are  perfectly  sterile,  being  incapable  of  reproduction  be- 
tween themselves  or  with  either  of  the  species  from  which  they  were 
derived.  —  William  A.  Conklin. 

In  answer  to  a  query  in  the  Naturalist  of  March,  I  would  say  that 
there  was  a  fowl  in  St.  Augustine  of  this  state,  that  was  a  cross  between 
the  dung-hill  fowl  and  Guinea  hen.  I  have  heard  of  two  other  instances, 
but  have  no  positive  proof,  except  in  this  one  instance. — C.  H.  Nauman. 

Hybkid  Rabbit.  —  On  the  13th  of  October  a  rabbit  was  shot  in  the 
woods  in  this  vicinity,  which  the  most  superficial  observers  readily  de- 
cide to  be  a  hybrid  between  our  common  wild  rabbit  and  the  English 
domesticated  species.  Both  are  common  here;  the  former  in  a  wild 
state,  the  latter  in  coops  and  pens,  ft'om  which  they  often  escape  to  the 
adjacent  woods.  In  this  individual  the  characters  of  the  two  are  so 
equally  blended  as  to  leave  no  doubt  as  to  its  parentage.  It  is  well 
mounted  in  my  cabinet.  —  J.  P.  Kirkland. 

Turkey  Buzzard.  —  Can  a  Turkey  Buzzard  be  deceived  by  his  sense  of 
smell?  I  have  noticed  several  instances  in  which  skunks  have  been  eaten 
by  buzzards  within  a  few  hours  after  they  were  killed ;  and  in  all  cases  the 
creature  had  given  out  a  great  amount  of  his  odor;  those  which  were 
odorless  being  allowed  to  lie  as  long  as  other  animals.  Did  the  buzzards 
mistake  the  skunk's  scent  for  putrefaction?  — J.  L.  B.,  Coloray  Md, 

Double  Headed  Snakes.  —  Within  the  last  ten  years  I  have  had  in  my 
possession  two  specimens  of  doubled  headed  Snakes.  One  was  accident- 
ally lost,  the  other  Is  before  me,  preserved  in  alcohol.  The  latter  lived 
some  weeks  after  it  was  captured  and  would  sustain  itself  on  flies  which 
it  seized  with  one  of  its  mouths ;  the  other  seemed  always  to  be  passive 


376  NATURAL   HISTOUY    MISCELLANr. 

and  of  no  use.    Both  specimens  were  the  young  of  our  Water  Snake, 
Hegina  leberis  of  B.  and  6.  —  W.  Kikklakd. 

Reproductions  of  Limbs.  —  M.  Fhlleppcaux  has  proved  for  fish  what 
he  had  already  demonstrated  in  the  case  of  newts,  viz. :  that  when  the 
limb  is  removed  below  the  scapula  or  Ilium  it  Is  reproduced.  But 
when  the  scapula  or  Ilium  is  removed  no  reproduction  takes  place.  — 
Monthly  Microscopical  Journal. 

Dobs  the  Fkaiiub  Doa  Require  any  Water?  — The  following  may 
throw  some  light  on  the  question.  October  26th,  1869,  I  received  two 
prairie  dogs  from  Cheyenne.  The  dogs  were  kept  in  my  laboratory  under 
my  own  eye,  and  I  am  sure  have  drank  no  water  from  that  time  to  the 
present,  nearly  six  months.  March  11th  and  April  3d  I  placed  a  dish  of 
water  before  them.  Each  time  they  merely  smelt  of  it,  and  turned  away 
without  drinking  a  drop.  They  were  fed  on  nuts,  corn,  apples,  cabbage 
leaves,  celery  tops,  etc.  During  the  months  of  December,  January  and 
February,  they  were  taking  their  winter  nap,  and  of  course  ate  nothing. 
B.  Ci  JiLLSON,  M.  D.,  PUtahurghf  Pa. 

An  Albino  Turkey  Buzzard  (CathaHes  aura  lUig)  was  shot  near 
here  about  a  month  since,  and  a  white  black  duck  (^Anas  ohscura  Gm.), 
was  seen  a  few  days  ago.  —  Charles  H.  Nauman,  Smyrna,  Fla» 

Albino  Snow  Bird.  —  November  16th  last,  I  shot  an  albino  snow  bird, 
Nipleoea  hyemalis.  The  bird  was  with  a  flock  of  its  species,  and  attracted 
my  attention  by  its  singular  whiteness.  It  is  a  mule,  and  possessed  no 
peculiarity  that  I  have  discovered  except  its  plumage,  which  was  chiefly 
snow-white.  —  William  F.  Alcott,  North  Greenwich^  Conn, 

Albino  Rats.  —  Colonies  of  albino  rats  are  becoming  quite  common 
in  the  city  of  Clcaveland  and  its  suburbs.  I  have  a  live  specimen  caged, 
which  if  freed  from  its  odor,  would  form  an  interesting  pet.  Its  fUr  and 
hair  are  pure  white,  and  its  eyes  pink  colored.  No  squirrel  could  be 
more  active  and  playful.  Much  of  its  time  is  spent  in  washing  its  face 
and  smoothing  down  its  coat  of  hair  and  fur. 

The  Little  Striped  Skunk  in  Central  Iowa.  —  An  animal  of  this 
beautiful  species  was  killed  in  this  town  (Grinnell,  Iowa),  February  12th, 
and  brought  to  me  to  be  stuff'ed  for  the  College  cabinet.  It  has  been 
considered  a  Texas  and  California  species,  but  I  am  informed  by  Frofes- 
sor  Baird  that  it  has  been  found  as  far  north  as  Neosho  Falls,  Kansas ; 
also  that  he  regards  the  markings  as  distinctive  of  the  species.  My 
specimen  Is  not  much  larger  than  a  Western  Fox  Squirrel.  It  has  all  the 
characters  of  Mephitis  bicolor  Gray,  as  described  in  Baird*s  ''General 
Report." — H.  W.  Farker,  Grinnelly  Iowa, 

The  Ruby  Crowned  Kinglet.  —  In  regard  to  the  query  of  Mr.  Allen 
about  the  ruby  crowned  kiuglet,  I  would  say  that  I  obtained  ten  or  twelve 
specimens  in  May  and  June  on  the  Yukon  River,  Alaska,  all  of  which  had 
the  red  crown,  and  proved  on  examination  to  be  males.    I  never  saw  a 


NATURAL   HISTORT   HISCELLANT.  377 

female  of  this  species  in  that  region,  and  noted  the  ftict  as  remarkable  at 
the  time. 

I  notice  among  the  notes  in  regard  to  the  Massachusetts  duclES,  the 
statement  that  the  mallard  pintail  and  black  duck  do  not  dive  for  their 
food.  My  own  observations  do  not  entirely  confirm  this  theory.  The 
black  duck  is  most  common  on  the  lagoons  in  the  low  ground  of  the 
Yukon  marshes,  and.  with  others,  feeds  principally  on  the  roots  of  the 
Equisetcs,  which  in  the  spring  are  under  water  fk'om  six  inches  to  two 
feet,  until  the  river  falls  and  leaves  them  dry,  or  nearly  so.  I  cannot  say 
that  I  have  seen  them  dive  often,  but  I  have  certainly  done  so  on  one  or 
two  occasions.  This  species  was  not  found  on  the  sea-coasts  of  that 
region. 

The  pintail  is  very  common  on  both  coast  and  river,  and  I  have  seen 
them  dive  apparently  for  food,  hundreds  of  times.  Indeed,  they  are  ex- 
tremely expert  at  it,  and  are  only  excelled  by  the  true  sea  ducks,  such  as 
the  old  squaw.  The  same  is  true  of  the  mallard,  which  is  more  common 
on  the  deeper  lagoous  and  on  the  coasts,  than  on  the  shallows  by  the 
river,  according  to  my  observations.  It  is,  however,  not  impossible  that 
their  habits  may  vary  somewhat  in  different  localities.  —  W.  H.  Dall. 

Tbs  Marsh  Harrier.  —  About  all  our  meadows  and  wherever  mice  are 
numerous  this  beautiful  species  Is  very  abundant.  During  the  past  and 
present  month  we  have  seen,  we  believe,  at  least  a  hundred  of  them,  all 
females.  Where  are  the  pale  blue  gray  male  birds?  We  have  yet  to  see 
the  first  specimen  this  year.  We  have  never  seen  a  dozen  in  as  many 
years.  Is  this  absence  of  male  harriers  as  noticeable  elsewhere?  Have 
others  called  attention  to  it?  This  species,  Circus  Hudsonius,  nidificates 
in  this  state,  yet  even  in  the  neighborhoods  of  the  nests,  we  have  been 
unable  to  find  the  male  bird.  We  have  noticed  this  hawk  lately  engaged 
in  tearing  open  the  ridges  formed  by  the  burrowing  of  the  mole  (ScaUtps 
aqu€Uicu8)y  and  once  saw  the  bird  overtake  and  kill  the  beast,  but  it  would 
or  did  not  devour  it.  Will  any  hawk  eat  so  offensively  smelling  an  animal 
as  this Scalops  is?  — Charles  C.  Abbott,  M.D. 

Night  Herons.  —  During  the  past  four  months  a  yard  within  city  lim- 
its, in  Trenton,  N.  J.,  bordering  on  the  river,  and  having  considerable 
left  it  of  undisturbed  nature,  has  presented  a  feature  of  interest,  in  the 
daily  presence  of  a  male,  female  and  three  young  night  herons  (Nycti- 
ardea  Gardeni).  This  bird  is  common  with  us  during  the  summer,  but  not 
about  the  usual  thorongl: fares,  or  even  by-ways  of  the  people.  They 
breed  in  unfrequented  swampy  localities  exclusively,  when  with  us. 
Stragglers  are  occasionally  met  with  about  springs  In  mid-winter,  but 
never  before,  as  in  this  case,  in  town.  The  little  colony  mentioned  re- 
main during  the  day  in  the  large  pines  in  the  yard,  seldom  moving  about 
until  sundown,  when  they  visit  the  little  pond,  and  spring  brook  in  the 
grounds,  which,  In  consequence  of  the  mild  winter,  have  remained  com- 
paratively warm,  and  the  vegetation  about  them  green.    In  this  pond  the 

AMBR.  NATURALIST,  VOL.  IV.  48 


378  NATURAL   HISTORY   MISCELLANY. 

frogs  have  been  as  active  and  abundant  as  daring  the  snmtner,  which  fact 
we  suppose  has  been  the  principal  cause  of  the  continued  presence  of  the 
herons.  On  these  frogs  and  the  many  gold-fish,  these  birds  have  sub- 
sisted daily  since  early  in  November.  Occasionally  they  have  visited  the 
river  shore,  but  not  from  the  river  have  they  apparently  secured  any  Im- 
portant quantity  of  food.  These  five  birds  are  probably  a  family  raised 
in  the  neighborhood,  and  must  have  remained  together  during  the  early 
autumn,  which  is  an  unusual  proceeding.  It  will  be  of  interest  to  watch 
their  farther  movements  to  see  if,  during  the  coming  summer,  they  will 
be  as  indifferent  to  the  proximity  of  man,  and  if  next  winter  they  will 
also  remain  in  a  yard  in  town.  —  Dr.  Charles  C.  Abboit. 

Song  of  the  Song-sparrow. — Throughout  the  winter,  and  at  this 
time  (April  11th),  we  are  having  with  us  a  great  abundance  of  sparrows, 
especially  the  one  above  mentioned  {Melospiza  melodia).  While  their 
numbers  have  been  generally  noticed  and  commented  upon,  there  has 
been  one  other  feature  connected  with  them,  that  to  an  ornithologist  is 
interesting  and  equally  noticeable,  i,e,  a  marked  change  of  notes  or  song. 
In  fact,  this  change  induced  me  to  think,  at  first,  that  the  new  notes  were 
those  of  another  bird ;  but  a  careful  examination  has  shown  the  birds  of 
the  new  and  old  song,  to  be  t>ne  and  the  same.  We  have  seen  as  well  as 
heard  the  same  bird  warble  first  the  old  time  song  and  follow  immedi- 
ately with  the  new  notes.  Giving,  as  the  best  illustration  of  their  old 
song,  Pres-preS'pres — Pres-by-Uee-rian ;  we  can  best  show  the  variation 
by  describing  the  new  as  Fee-o,  Fee-o,  twit-tat  ttcit-ta,  twit-taf  fee  !  Hear- 
ing these  notes,  at  first,  in  the  one  locality  (Trenton,  N.  J.),  we  thought 
possibly  they  might  have  been  uttered  by  but  one  individual;  but  since, 
we  have  shown  this  not  to  be  the  case,  by  finding  the  same  variations  of 
song,  in  various  and  widely  separated  localities.  Is  such  a  change  of 
notes  a  common  occurrence,  in  a  species  having  so  uniform  a  song  as 
this  species  is  known  or  supposed  to  have?  — Charles  C.  Abbott,  M.  D. 


-•o*- 


GEOLOGY. 

Geological  Explorations.  —  Professor  C.  F.  Uartt  of  Cornell  Uni- 
versity, with  his  associate.  Professor  A.  N.  Prentiss,  and  nine  assistants, 
sailed  June  23  for  Brazil,  to  study  the  geology  of  north-eastern  Brazil  and 
the  right  bank  of  the  Amazon.  Another  aim  of  the  expedition  is  to  ex- 
plore the  coast  from  Para  down  to  Pernambuco,  and  investigate  the  coral 
reefs  of  this  part  of  the  coast. 

About  the  same  date  Professor  0.  C.  Marsh,  of  Yale  College  led  an  ex- 
pedition, composed  of  students  and  recent  graduates,  to  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, where  he  will  spend  several  months  and  collect  the  vertebrate  fossils 
of  Nebraska,  Dakota,  and  Wyoming.  The  party  will  then  go  to  Cali- 
fornia, and  visit  some  of  the  principal  geological  localities  on  the  Pacific 
coast,  after  which  they  will  return  through  Colorado  and  Kansas,  reach- 
ing New  Haven  probably  In  November. 


NATUEAL    HISTOHY    HISCELLANT.  379 

Rksturatiom  or  tuh  Disotukrivh.  — I  enclose  bd  outline  restoration 
of  tbe  Dliiotherium,  tUat  I  fuiind  Intel;  among  the  St.  Petersburg  Traos- 
acUons,  presuiitlng  the  latest  Ideas  of  Dr.  Brandt  Id  regard  to  tbat 
aoimal.  —  S.  F.  Baiud. 


'f:^^ 


MICROSCOPY. 

Dkvklopuxnt  or  Oab  in  Protoplasm.  —  Dr.  Th.  Engelmann  haa  ob- 
served In  Anella,  a  minute  protOEOon  tike  an  AmalMi  with  a  sbeli,  a  peri- 
odical development  of  gtis.  Dr.  I-^ngelmann  made  his  observations  on 
specimens  conllned  In  a  gas  chamber,  and  describes  minntely  how  grada- 
allj  1q  the  protoplasmic  hyaline  substance  of  tjie  animalcule,  black  points 
arise,  which  as  gradnsllj  coalesce,  forming  a  distinct  air  bubble.  Thla 
gas  can  after  a  time  be  absorbed  again,  and  reasons  are  given  for  believ- 
ing that  a  sort  of  volition  Is  exercised  by  the  Arcellai  lu  the  secretion  and 


380  NATUBAL   HISTORr   MISCELLANY. 

absorption  of  the  gas  which  they  use  in  the  manner  of  a  float  or  alr- 
biadder.  The  air-babbles  are  not  connected  with  the  contractile  vacuoles, 
or  with  the  nuclei.  The  air-bubbles  it  is  important  to  observe,  do  not 
occur  in  the  non-granular  protoplasm  of  the  pseudopodia,  but  in  the 
granular  substance,  and  are  not  spherical  but  of  an  Irregular  form,  which 
as  Dr.  Engelmann  observes,  proves  that  the  protoplasm  is  not  in  the  con- 
dition of  aggregation  of  a  fluid.  The  chemical  composition  of  the  gas 
thus  so  remarkably  developed  by  the  Arcellce  was  not  determined,  nor  the 
mechanism  (if  any  exist)  of  the  formation  and  disappearance  of  the  air- 
bubbles.  The  discovery  is  of  importance  firom  two  points  of  view :  in  the 
first  place,  for  the  development  of  gas  in  protoplasm  as  a  physiological 
phenomenon;  in  the  second  place,  for  the  supposed  voluntary  nature  of 
this  development,  of  which  this  exceedingly  simple  organism  makes  use 
for  the  purpose  of  locomotion. — Quarterly  Journal  of  Science, 

The  Largest  Infusorium  Known.  —  In  the  '*  lustitut  **  of  the  24th  of 
January  Is  an  interesting  paper  on  the  Gregarinadse,  which  are  well  known 
to  represent  one  of  the  simplest  forms  of  animal  life,  consisting  of  a  nu- 
cleated cell,  which  under  certain  conditions  invests  itself  with  a  trans- 
parent membrane,  becoming,  as  It  is  termed,  incysted.  The  nucleus 
disappears  and  the  substance  of  the  body  then  breaks  up  into  innumerable 
sporos perms,  navlcellsB,  or  elongated  minute  corpuscles,  which,  being  set 
free  by  the  bursting  of  the  enclosing  capsule,  become  distributed  in  the 
various  organs  of  many  animals.  A  well-marked  form  is  found  in  the 
alimentary  canal  of  the  common  beetle.  M.  Edouard  v.  Beneden  has 
lately  discovered  a  remarkable  form,  to  which  he  has  applied  the  name 
Oregarina  gigarUea^  In  the  intestine  of  the  lobster.  It  has  been  subjected 
to  MM.  Gluge  and  Schwann  of  the  Academic  Royale  de  Belgiqae  for  ex- 
amination, and  they  report  that  its  length  is  no  less  than  16  mm.,  and  its 
breadth  15  mm.,  or  nearly  two-thirds  of  an  Inch.  It  presents,  In  the  mem- 
brane which  forms  Its  wall,  a  contractile  layer,  to  which  M.  Beneden  had 
previously  called  attention  in  other  species.  The  Interior  of  the  animal 
Is  occupied  by  a  viscous  liquid  containing  granular  particles,  with  a  nu- 
cleus and  nucleolus.  This  last  exhibits  a  remarkable  phenomenon.  At 
flrst  it  is  single,  but  in  the  coarse  of  a  few  seconds  the  nucleus  appears 
to  be  filled  with  a  large  number  of  small  refk*actlle  corpuscles,  which  are 
so  many  nucleoli.  Some  of  them  then  augment  considerably  in  size, 
whilst  the  primary  nucleolus  gradually  disappears.  With  the  exception 
of  the  yolk  of  the  egg  of  birds,  and  some  other  animals,  the  Gregarina 
gigantea  constitutes  the  largest  known  cell.  —  The  Acadennfk 


ANTHROPOLOGY. 

Aboriginal  Relic  from  Trenton,  New  Jersey. —  In  the  "Proceed- 
ings of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia,"  and  in  local 
papers,  we  have  frequently  called  attention  to  various  large  deposits  of 
arrowheads,  axes,  etc.,  and  to  Interesting  isolated  specimens  of  curi- 


i 


NATURAL  HieXORT   MISCRLLANV.  381 

oDvly  shnped  relic?,  taand  In  and  nenr  tliin  city.  Wc  now  call  nttentinn 
to  the  relic  Ogured  here  tts  one  that  is  unique,  at  least  so  far  as  New  Jer- 
sey is  concerned.  Abont  four  and  a  half  Inchen  long  It  Is  very  hccd- 
nt«ly  sloped  to  tlie  buck,  which  Is  a  flat  rlJjsie,  uniromily  one-thlrlj'- 
sccond  of  an  Inch  In  width,  from  the  neck  to  the  posterior  end.  which 
curving  npwnrd.  Is  about  double  that  thickness  on  the  edge.  The  head 
of  the  stone  Is  oval,  occurntoly  cut,  with  a  width  in  the  centre  of  three- 
sixteenths  lit  an  Inch.  The  kDob-lllie  protuberances,  stand  out  from  the 
hi'ad    one-third    of    an  y\g,  g.-,. 

Inch,  and  have  a  narrow 
neck,  about  one-half  tlie 
width  of  the  head  of  the 
protuberance,  aa  seen 
In  the  Illustration  (Fig.  i 
83).  The  bottom,  as  the  " 
drawing  shows.  Is  Hat. 

At  either  end  Is  a  hole  drilled ;  in  the  front  the  hole  Is  about  a  quartet 
of  an  inch  from  the  end  and  drilled  obliquely,  until  It  meets  the  drilling 
from  the  neck,  which  Is  bored  at  a  similar  angle  to  the  neck,  as  the 
under  one  Is  to  the  base.  The  holes  at  the  posterior  end  arc  similarly 
bored.     The  material  Is  bornblend. 

If  the  atone  is  meant  for  a  representation  of  some  animal  the  holes 
would  seem  to  be  intended  for  the  insertion  of  legs ;  but  probably  were 
used  to  insert  a  string  or  sinew,  that  the  figure  might  he  carried  abont 
the  neck.  We  have  never  seen  any  large  collection  of  these  "Indian" 
relics, 'and  do  not  know  whether  It  is  a  common  form  elsewhere  or  not, 
but,  OS  we  previously  stated.  It  Is  novel  to  New  Jersey.  It  was  ploug;hed 
up  near  the  city,  In  a  neighborhood  where  only  ares  and  arrow  points  are 
to  be  met  with,  and  those  not  abundantly.  —  CuAitLes  C.  AncoTT,  M.D. 

Oitrntx  oFTHB  Tarmavians.  —  Mr.  Bonwlck,  In  a  recent  paper  "On  the 
Origin  of  the  Tasmanlans,  geologically  considered,"  states  that  the  Tasma- 
nians  have  now  become  almost  extinct,  an  old  woman  being  the  only  sur- 
vivor of  the  race.  They  were  related  In  manners  and  in  general  phgaiijne 
to  the  neighboring  Australians,  bat  were  allied  by  black  skin  and  woolly 
hiilr  to  the  distant  Africans,  while  they  were  assimilated  by  resemblance 
of  language,  coBtoms,  and  habits  of  thought,  to  many  races  scattered 
over  vast  areas.  The  author  seeks  to  explain  this  relation  by  con- 
structing an  Ideal  southern  continent,  whence  all  the  dark-colored  race  s 
surrounding  the, Indian  Ocean,  and  extending  into  the  Pacific  and  south- 
ern oceans  may  have  rndinted.  He  regards  the  Tasmanlan  ns  probably 
older  than  the  Australian.  Dr.  Hooker,  whose  authority  had  frequently 
been  quoted  in  the  paper,  pointed  out  the  similarity  and  differences  that 
obtain  between  the  floras  of  Australia,  Tasmania.  New  Zealand.  Sonth 
AfMca,  etc.  It  has  recently  been  found  that  the  flora  of  the  Howe  Islands 
is  very  unlike  that  of  Australia,  although  so  near  to  the  coast.  He  pm- 
te.iicd,  however,  against  the  Inference  that  the  tine  of  migratton  followed 


382  NATURAL   HISTORY   BnSCELLANT. 

by  plants  is  necessarily  the  same  as  that  pursued  by  the  higher  animals. 
The  president  alluded  to  the  great  difference  between  the  Australian  and 
Tasmanian,  especially  in  the  character  of  the  hair;  and  he  regarded  it  as 
physically  impossible  that  the  Tasmanlan  could  have  come  from  Aus- 
tralia. He  suggested  that  an  interrupted  communication  by  a  chain  of 
islands  may  have  extended  from  New  Caledonia  to  Tasmania,  similar  to 
that  which  now  connects  New  Caledonia  with  New  Guinea;  and  that 
by  this  means  a  low  negrito  type  may  have  spread  eastward  over  this 
area.  —  Scientific  Opinion. 

8tonk  Images  on  Easter  Island.  —  A  paper  was  read  by  Mr.  J.  L. 
Palmer,  R.  N.,  on  a  recent  visit  to  Easter  Island  In  H.M.S.  Topaz.  Dur- 
ing the  visit  the  singular  colossal  stone  images  which  excited  the  aston- 
ishment of  Captain  Cook  and  the  earlier  voyagers  were  accurately 
observed  and  measured,  and  a  specimen  of  them  brought  away  to  deposit 
in  the  British  Museum.  Mr.  Palmer  described  the  topography  of  this 
remote  island  in  the  South  Pacific.  It  is  only  twelve  miles  in  length  by 
four  in  width,  and  lies  in  a  part  of  the  ocean  far  away  from  other  islands, 
at  a  distance  of  two  thousand  miles  fl-om  the  coast  of  South  America, 
and  one  thousand  miles  from  the  nearest  Polynesian  islands  to  the  west. 
The  island  is  entirely  a  volcanic  formation,  and  presents  numerous 
extinct  craters,  one  of  which  yields  the  gray  lava  of  which  all  the  stone 
images  are  made,  and  another  the  red  tufa  ft'om  which  are  carved  the 
crowns  or  hats  that  formerly  rested  on  their  heads.  The  present  inhab- 
itants are  only  nine  hundred  in  number  —  a  good-looking,  pleasant-tem- 
pered, set  of  people.  They  belong  to  the  Polynesian  race,  and  have  a 
tradition  of  their  immigrating  from  Opara  at  no  very  distant  period.  The 
interest  attaching  to  the  island  was  an  ethnological  one,  and  concerned 
the  race  who  sculptured  the  vast  quantity  of  stone  images  now  existing 
in  situ  on  stone  platforms  in  various  parts  of  the  island,  or  inside  large 
stone  chambers  or  houses.  The  platforms,  chambers,  sculptures,  and 
mural  paintings  were  described  by  the  author  with  minuteness,  but  he 
did  not  propound  any  theory  as  to  their  origin.  He  stated  that  the  inhab- 
itants knew  nothing  of  the  matter,  that  they  were  undoubtedly  of  great 
antiquity,  and  that  it  was  probable  they  were  executed  by  a  race  who  had 
long  since  passed  away. 

In  the  discussion  which  followed  Mr.  Markham  mentioned  the  fact  of 
similar  images  having  been  found  by  the  early  Spanish  invaders  in  the 
cities  on  the  banks  of  Lake  TIticaca,  in  South  Peru,  and  belonging  to  the 
Aymara  nation.  There  existed,  however,  this  difference  —  that  the 
Aymara  Images  were  profusely  sculptured.  Recently  a  stone  platform 
had  been  found  In  one  of  the  Pacific  Islands,  one  thousand  miles  to  the 
west  of  Easter  Island,  at  the  bottom  of  a  deep  deposit  of  guano,  and  he 
threw  out  the  suggestion  that  these  were  all  relics  of  a  very  ancient  peo- 
ple who  slowly  migrated  across  the  Pacific  Arom  west  to  east.  Mr. 
Franks  gave  In  detail  his  reasons  for  concluding  that  the  ancient  remains 


ANSWERS   TO    CORRESPONDENTS,    ETC.  383 

in  Easter  Island  trnly  belonged  to  an  earlier  population  of  the  same  Poly^ 
nesian  race  wlio  now  inhabit  the  island.  Sir  George  Gray  also  expressed 
the  same  opinion,  and  spoke  of  the  habit  of  carving  Images  as  being  a 
peculiarity  of  Polynesians,  including  the  Maories,  and  that  in  a  place 
where  wood  (the  usual  material)  was  vei*y  scarce,  as  it  Is  in  Easter 
Island,  it  was  natural  that  stone  should  be  substituted.  Mr.  Palmer  gave 
some  farther  details  of  the  amiability  and  good  conduct  of  the  present 
inhabitants,  who  had  been  much  improved  by  the  Roman  Catholic  mis- 
sionaries. Mr.  P.  P.  Blyth  also  took  part  in  the  discussion,  and  the  pres- 
ident, in  summing  up,  mentioned  the  soft  nature  of  the  volcanic  rock  of 
which  the  images  were  made  as  supporting  Sir  George  Gray's  explana- 
tion. —  Scientific  Opinion, 


Americak  Association  for  the  Advance^ient  of  Science.  —  The 
meeting  of  the  Association  for  1870  will  be  held  at  Troy,  N.  Y.,  beginning 
on  Wednesday,  August  17th,  having  been  postponed  by  the  Standing 
Committee  ftom  the  3d,  at  the  request  of  the  Local  Committee.  We  be- 
lieve from  the  general  expressions  last  year  at  Salem  that  this  next 
meeting  will  be  largely  attended  and  will  prove  a  most  interesting  one. 
The  Local  Committee  is  evidently  doing  nil  it  can  to  make  the  meeting  a 
success;  and  judging  from  the  character  of  the  gentlemen  composing  the 
Committee,  Its  large  size,  and  careftil  division  into  sub-committees  on 
Receptions,  Finance,  Lodgings,  Excursions,  Rooms,  Invitations,  Printing 
and  Railroads,  we  feel  confident  that  the  Association  will  be  most  cor- 
dially received  and  taken  care  of  during  the  session. 

We  trust  that  the  subsections  of  Arrhceology  and  Ethnology ^  and  of 
Microacopy,  organized  at  the  Salem  meeting,  will  be  reorganized  with  a 
large  attendance  in  these  interesting  departments. 

The  following  are  the  Officers  of  the  Meeting:  —  William  Chauvenet, 
St.  Louis,  President;  T.  S.  Hunt,  Montreal,  Vice-President ;  Joseph  Lov- 
erlng,  Cambridge,  Permanent  Secretary;  C.  F.  Ilartt,  Ithaca,  General 
Secretary;  A.  L.  Elwyn,  Philadelphia,  Treasurer, 

Standing  Committee. — William  Chauvenet,  T.  S.  Hunt,  Joseph  Loverlng, 
C.  F.  Hartt,  J.  W.  Foster,  O.  N.  Rood,  O.  C.  Marsh,  A.  L.  Elwyn. 

Ijocal  Committee.  —  John  A.  Griswold,  Chairman;  George  C.  Burdett, 
First  Vice- Chairman ;  P.  V.  Hagner,  Second  Vice- Chairman ;  Benjamin  H. 
Hall,  General  Secretary ;  H.  B.  Nason,  Corresponding  Secretary;  Adam  B. 
Smith,  Treasurer,  and  seventy-seven  others. 


ANSWERS  TO   CORRESPONDENTS. 

C.  J.  C.  The  plant  found  in  flower  Jane  21,  on  Mount  Monadnok,  is  the  Arenar^a 
Oratdandica.  It  is  abundant  on  the  summit  of  Mount  Washington,  and  we  have  found 
It  common  at  Hopedale,  Labrador,  whera  it  grows  near  the  shore  of  the  ocean. 


384  BOOKS   RECEIVED. 


BOOKS     RECEIVED. 

DetcripHcni  of  New  CoraU,    By  A.  E.  Verrill.    [From  Am.  Joar.  8cl.  and  Arta.    May,  1870.] 

Review*  of  Report  on  /nverlebrtUa  of  Jitusachusetts^  and  of  Jioliuscan  Fauna  of  New  Haven. 
By  A.  E.  Verrill.    [From  Am.  Jour.  Scl.  Arta.    Mav,  1870.J 

Valedietorv  Addresn^  Jefferson  Medical  College.    Ky  J.  A.  Meigs,  M.  D.    Phlladdplila,  1K70. 

Veber  die  Mikronkope  Nordamerikas.  von  Dr.  H.  Haicen.    l*ami)ti.,  8vo.    1870. 

The  Elevation  of  Mountains.    By  G.  H.  Hitchcock.    Hvo,  paiuph.    April,  lb70. 

Tidsukrift  for  Populare  FrerMtillinger  af  Naturvidentkaben.    1870.    KJobeiiham. 

American  Entomologist  and  Botanist,    Vol.  11.    Nus.  7-8.    May,  June,  1870. 

New  York  Slate  Library,    Flfty-sfcoud  Annual  Kcport  of  Trustees. 

Feabodp  Institute.    Eiijrtiteouth  Annual  Report  of  Trustees.    Pcabody,  1870. 

American  Journal  of  Medical  Sciences,    No.  118.    April,  1870.    [Quarterly,  $5.00.]    Phllad. 

Cosmos,    From  January  1  to  June  35, 1870.    Paris.    [Weekly. J 

Monthly  Report  of  Department  of  Agriculture.    March,  May,  1870. 

Annual  Report  of  See  y  Massachusetts  Board  of  Agriculture  for  WSB,    1  vol,  8vo.    Boston,  1870. 

American  Journal  of  Conchology.    Vol.  v.    Part  4.    Philadelphia.    [$10  ii  yeur.j 

fHrst  Annual  Report  of  the  American  Museum  of  NaturcU  Uistorv.  January,  187U.    New  York. 

Notes  on  Fresh-water  Fishes  of  New  Jersey.  By  C.  C.  Abbott,  M.  D.  [From  American  Nat- 
uralist.   April,  1870.] 

Bulletin  of  the  Torrey  Botanical  Club.    Nos.  4-«.    April,  June. 

Howdoin  Scientific  Review.    Nos.  7-11.    May,  July.    Brunswick,  Maine.    [t2ayear.] 

Address  to  New  York  State  Agricultural  Society^  on  the  Rational  and  Irrational  Treatment  of 
Animals.    By  Professor  James  Law.    8vo,  pamph.    Albany,  1870. 

Memorial  of  Benjamin  P.  Johnson.  By  M.  K.  Patrick.  N.  Y.  Ajnle.  Society.  8to,  pampb.  1870. 

Memorial  of  Herman  7^  Eyek  Foster,    By  A.  B.  Consrer.    N.  Y.Agrlc.  8oc    8vo.    18<0. 

Correspondent- Blatt  des  Zoologiseh-mineralogisehen  Vereines  in  Regensburg,    ItW9.    8vo. 

Sitttingsberirhte  der  kaenigl.  bayer,  Akademie  der  Wissenchttften  su  Munehen.  8ro.  Vol.  I. 
IS&K  and  parts  1, 2, 8,  of  Vol.  11, 1860. 

Proceedings  of  the  Royal  Society  of  Edinburgh.    8to.    Vol.  rl.    1868-9. 

Transactions  of  the  Edinburgh  Geological  Society.    8vo.    Vol.  I.    1868  -  70. 

Bulletin  de  Clnstitut  National  Oenevois,  Vols.  l-Ul,  ia'*3-6;  Vol.  vl,  1857;  Vol.  ix,  1861 :  Vol. 
x1, 1864;  two  parts  of  Vol.  zli,  1864-6;  Vols.  xiU-xv,  1866-69,  and  Vol.  xvl,  pp.  1-228,  1S69, 
12  vols.    8vo.    Geneve. 

Oversigt  over  det  Kal.  danske  Videnskabemes  Selskabs  Forhandlinger.  1868-68.  8vo.  16  vols, 
and  6  parts,    ^obenhavn. 

Memoires  de  C  In  ttitut  National  Oenevois.    Tome  1  -  IS,  1858  -  68 ;  IS  vols,  4to.    Geneve. 

Det  Kongelige  Danske  Videnskabemes  Selskabs  Skri/ter^  Femte^  Rmkke^  Naturvulenskabelig  og 
Maihematisk  Afdeling.    Bind.  1  -  vll,  1849  -  68:  7  vols,  4to.    KJobenhavn. 

Experimentale  og  theoreti*ke  Undersogelser  over  Legemernes  Brydningiforhold.  Af  L.  Lor- 
ena.    4t(>,  paniph.    KJohenliavn.    18<)9. 

Om  jEndringen  af  irrationale  Dtfferentialer  tit  Normalformen  for  det  elliptiske  Integral  «ff 
forste  Art.    Af  Adolpli  Steen.    4to,  paniph.    fijubenhavn.    1869. 

ThermoeKemiske  Undersogelser  over  Afflnitetsforholdene  imellem  Syrer  og  Baser  <  vandig 
Oplosning.    Ved  Julius  Thomsen.    4to,  pamph.    KJobenhavn.   1869. 

Om  Integmtionen  tif  Differentialligninger  der  fare  til  Additionstheoremer  for  transeendente 
Funktioner,    At  Adolph  Steen.    4to,  pamph.    KJobenhavn.    1869. 

Additamenta  ad  historiam  Ophiuridarum  Beskrivende  og  kriiiske  Bidrag  tii  Kundskab  om 
Slangestjememe.    AfChr.  Fr.  Ltttken.    4to,  pamph.    KJobenhavn,  1869. 

Denkschrift  auf  Carl  Friedr.  Phil,  von  Marttus.    von  C.  F.  Meissner.    4to.    Munehen,  1869. 

Ueber  die  Entteicklung  der  Agrikulturchemie.    Von  August  Vo^el.    4to.    Munehen,  1869. 

Proceedings  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,    vol.  xtli.    pp.  267  -  272. 

The  Chemical  History  of  the  Stx  Days  of  Creation,  By  Johu  Phin.  12mo.  Cloth,  pp.  96. 
New  York.    American  News  Company. 

PetUes  Nouvelles  Entomologiqnes,    Nos.  SI,  24.    May,  June,  1870.    Paris. 

The  Canadian  Entomologist.    Vol.  2,    Nos.  6  and  7.    April  and  May,  1870.    Toronto. 

Le  Naturaliste  Canadian,    Vol.  2.    Noa.  6-7.    April,  June,  1870.    Quebec. 

The  Chemist  and  Druggist     April,  June,  187<>.    London.    (Mouthly,  7s.  6d.  per  annum). 

The  Field.    April  80  to  Juno  25  [Weekly].    London. 

Land  and  Water.    March6  to  May  28 JH'eckiy].    London. 

Scientific  Opinion.    April  27  to  June  29  [Weekly].    London. 

Nature,    April  21  to  June  16.    London. 

Science- Gossip.    May,  June,  July.    London. 
'  Bulletin  de  la  Societe  Imperiale  d*  AcclimatatUm,    vll.    Nos.  2-6.    Feb.,  May.    Paris,  1870. 

Current  Numbers  of  the  ftillowtng  .Magazines  and  Papers,  In  addition  to  those  acknowledaed  In 

Drecediiiff  Numbers: — Bee  Keeper's  Journal,  New  York;  Ei^ineering  and  Mining  Journal.  New 
1'.     .      ^      .  ..    ...   «    .         t...  „ .  . .  « .    ..-_.  ..._.i..    NaehvUle: 

Medical 

jj^COrW,  J'VW     I  Ul  H  ^    v««ii'W"»«»    M.—W  rw€Kt  ^  otKtt    r  <  Biiv^aa^^' ,    v«»»»»«>*«»    <  <*r  rrivr  ,   «,>iviit«/,   JOUmttl  (^ 

Education^  Toronto;  VhicersUy  Journal  of  Medicine^  IMiiliulelplila;  A'ew  Covenant^  Chicago: 
Canada  Health  Journal^  London.  Ontario;  Technologist,  Nrw  Yi>rk;  Trubner^s  Oriental  and 
Literary  Record,  Loudon;  American  Aarievlturist,  New  York;  American  Farmer,  Baltimore: 
Boston  Journal  of  Chemistry;  Ladies  Repository,  Boston :  Missionary  Herald,  Boston ;  Ameri- 
can Literary  Oatette^  Philadelphia;  J^t^wrator,  Wllllam»p<»rt;  Rutvltst,  Cincinnati;  Cultirator 
and  CUfuntry  Oentleman,  Albany;  Wood's  Household  Maaaxine,  Newburgh;  JficAtoan  University 
Medical  Journal,  Ann  Arbor;  Southern  Farmer,  Memphis;  Horticulturist^  New  York:  Congre- 
gational Review,  (Chicago  and  Boston;  American  Bee  Journal,  Washington;  Bulletin  of  National 
Association  of  Wool  Manufacturers,  Boston:  Nbrth- Western  Farmer^  Indianapolis;  TtltonU 
Journal  of  HorOeulture^  Boston;  American  BibHopoHst^  New  York;  Accountant  antl  Advertiser^ 
Baltimore;  Journal  of  the  Franklin  Institute^  Pliiladelphia;  Our  Dumb  Animals^  Boston;  The 
Temperance  ITo/cAman,  Griffin,  Oa.;  California  Medical  Oatette,  Sain  Francisco;  CaHfomia 
Teacher.  San  Francisco:  The  Grape  Culturist^  8t.  Lonis;  Little  Corporal,  Chicago;  Arthur^s 
Honte  Magatine,  Philadelphia;  Arikur^s  Children's  Hour,  Philadelphii^ 


AMERICAN    NATURALIST. 

Vol.  IV.-8EPTBHBEB,  1870. -ITo.  7. 

MUD-LOVING    FISHES. 

BY  CHARLES  C.  ABBOTT,  U.D. 

Fig.  89. 


Mncn  is  lost  to  those  who  essay  to  study  the  habits  of 
fresh-water  fishes,  first,  by  ignoring  uninviting  mud-holes, 
and  secondly,  by  walking  carelessly  to  the  banks  of  the 
stream,  and  seeing  nothing  at  first,  think  they  are  themselves 
unseen  by  anything  inhabiting  the  water.  Never  was  there 
a  greater  mistake  t  Nine  times  in  ten,  if  these  same  streams 
be  approached  cautiously,  and  yourself  concealed,  you  peer 
carefully  into  the  water,  you  will  find  it  tenanted  l)y  many 
and  larger  fishes,  than  you  supposed  were  there.  Following 
out  this  plan,  we  once  saw  and  captured  a  chub  (Semotihis 
rhotheus)  thirteen  inches  long,  in  a  narrow  brook  of  but 
six  inches  in  depth.  This  fish,  when  the  bank  was  carelessly 
approached,  would  withdraw  to  a  deserted  nmskrat  burrow. 

After  standing  quietly  for  a  few  minutes  upon  the  bank  of 
a  stream  that  has  been  openly  approached,  one  will  notice 

AMRR,  NATURAUST,  ' 


886  HUD-LOVINO   FISHES. 

the  gradual  appearance  of  the  fishes  your  sudden  presence 
startled  and  sent  off;  but  returning  under  such  circumstances 
they  are  not  the  same  fish  in  their  moTcments ;  for  although 
ihey  may  appear  to  swim  about  fearleasly,  they  nevertheless 
are  watching  you,  and  foil  to  exliibit  many  of  their  peculiar 
habits.  Au  aquarium,  even,  in  which  fishes  become  tame,  is 
best  watched  at  a  distauue,  as  more  is  going  ou  generally, 
than  when  you  are  near  by.  Fish  are  like  children,  fuller 
uf  mischief  when  alone.  These  remarks,  be  it  understood, 
apply  to  some  species — not  all.  What  we  design  consid- 
ering as  mud-loving  species  are  nine  in  number,  all  common 
to  the  Delaware  and  its  tributaries,  at  and  near  Trenton, 


IS  galUlm. 

New  Jersey.  They  are  the  Spotted  Sun-fish  {EnneacarUhus 
ffutlaliis,'  the  Mud  Sun-fish  {Acantharcus pomolis),  the  Mud 
Minnow  {Melanura  h'mt),  Mud  Pike  (Esox porosus) ,  Mullet 
{Moxosloma  obhnffum),  Black  Sucker,  Catostomua  {Hylo- 
myzon)  nigricans.  Mud  Cat-fieh  {Amiurus  BeKayt),  Eel 
{AnguiUa  tenuii-oslris) ,  and  the  Lamprey  {Petromyzon  nigri- 
cans). (We  consider  the  Ichthyomyzon  appendix  as  the 
young  of  the  last,  or  an  allied  P^romyzon). 

Spotted  Sun-fish  (Enneacanthus  giUtaius).    We  have  very 

■We  trust  Uie  nomeactiitnre  of  oar  Othes  Is  Anally  establlilml:  uidno  apecioi  irlll 
be  ftrtber  hnrdened  with  confasing  ej-nunomy.  Wa  tollrnr  Coiw  (Journal  Aond.  Sal. 
Scl.,  Pbil.,  Vnl.  Ti.  part  3.  p.  31S,  Jan..  IBGtl),  In  this  pnpor;  nnd  If  fkrUiei'  cbuigaa  an 
propond,  IMlnoir  M  Uuiugh  ire  (hontd  adopt  Uimn  with  n' 


MUD-LOVING  FISHES.  887 

carefully  searched  for  a  trait  characteristic  of  this  fish  as 
compared  with  E.  obesusj  and  have  uniformly  failed  to  do  so. 
The  tiabits  of  the  species  are  those  of  the  Centrarchid»  gen-* 
erally,  modified  in  so  far  as  being  merely  more  of  a  mud- 
loving  species.  So  purely  a  mud-dwelling  fish  are  they 
that  we  have  frequently  found  them  in  water  so  shallow,  that 
they  marked  the  mud  with  their  pectoral  fins  in  swimming ; 
preferring  such  shallow  water,  with  the  mud,  to  that  which 
was  deeper,  to  which  they  had  access,  because  it  was  over  a 
stony  bed.  In  winter  they  congregate  in  deep  water,  and 
imless  care  is  taken  to  dig  well  into  the  mud  they  will  not 
be  taken  in  the  ordinary  scoop-net.  We  found,  during  the 
past  winter,  in  one  instance,  that  a  large  number  had  appar-^ 
endy  scooped  out  a  basin  in  the  bottom  of  a  little  pond.  At 
any  rate,  closely  huddled  together,  in  a  small  space,  some- 
what deeper  than  the  surrounding  bed  of  the  pond,  was  a 
large  number.  Examination  of  several  showed  they  were 
then  taking  no  food.  The  stomach  of  each  specimen,  and 
the  whole  digestive  tract,  in  fact,  wereemply. 

The  main  interest  attaching  to  this  species,  at  least  to  us, 
is  the  fact  of  its  occupying  many  small,  sluggish  streams, 
similar  and  side  by  side  with  others  that  harbor,  though  less 
abundantly,  the  E.  obesus.  We  never  yet  have  found  them 
associated  in  small  streams,  in  the  tributaries  of  the  river ; 
yet,  in  the  Delaware  itself  the  E.  obesus  is  occasionally,  and 
the  guUatas  frequently  found.  North-east  of  Trenton,  in  the 
Spar-kill,  a  creek  emptying  into  the  Hudson,  and  in  the 
streams  along  the  coast,  emptying  into  the  bays,  the  E. 
obesus  abounds ;  and  the  guUaius  has  not  been  found.  Along 
the  Delaware  both  are  found,  the  guttatus  more  abundantly. 
Professor  Cope  has  found  E.  guttatus  near  Richmond,  Vir- 
ginia, and  (verbal  communication)  has  not  found  it  about 
Philadelphia.  It  is  undoubtedly  in  the  Delaware,  at  Trenton 
— distance  thirty-seven  miles.  We  have  been  thus  particu- 
lar in  stating  its  habitat,  because  the  fact  of  its  not  associ- 
ating with  the  E.  obesus   is   a   mystery  we   cannot   explain, 


388  MUD-LOVING  FISHES. 

except  in  tne  manner  following.  The  similarity  of  these  two 
Enneacanthi  is  so  marked,  that  unless  living,  they  can 
scarcely  be  distinguished ;  and  considering  the  abundance  of 
one  and  presence  of  the  other,  but  not  associated,  we  suggest 
that  the  E,  obesus  is  with  us,  not  of  its  own  choice,  but 
forcibly  brought  by  freshets  from  the  localities  where  it  is 
the  only  Enneacauth  (New  York  State)  to  this,  the  proper 
territory  of  the  E,  guUatus.  Once  here  it  occupies  certain 
streams  from  which  it  has  driven  the  former  occupant,  E. 
guUaiua.  It  is  always  found  in  the  streams  having  unob- 
structed access  to  the  river.  If  this  be  a  true  explanation 
of  its  presence  does  it  not  confirm  its  claim  to  a  distinct 
specific  title?  In  the  "Geology  of  New  Jersey**  we  con- 
founded the  two  species,  considering  Pomotis  guUatus  Mor- 
ris, a  synonym  of  Bryttus  obesus  Girard. 

On  the  16th  of  March  we  found  females  of  the  Mud 
Minnow  (Melanura  limi)y  in  clear,  cold,  running  water. 
They  were  much  distended  with  large  masses  of  orange-col- 
ored eggs,  that  we  should  judge  were  nearly  ''ripe."  We 
have  watched  them  frequently  since  but  failed  to  find  them 
depositing  these  ova.  At  this  time,  April  19,  a  large  propor- 
tion of  the  females  are  no  longer  gi*avid.  It  would  appear 
that  in  March  they  were  passing  up  stream,  or  brook,  to 
spawn,  but  appeared  to  be  unaccompanied  by  males. 

We  have  lately  found  that  this  fish,  when  grown,  feeds 
largely  upon  small  shells  {Physa  and  Lymncea).  We  have 
seen  them  seize  the  animal,  crush  and  then  drop  the  shell, 
and  then,  by  nibbling  at  the  extruded  soft  parts,  finally*suc- 
ceed  in  devouring  all  but  the  shell.  Young  crawfish  are  also 
worried  to  death  by  this  C3rprinodont,  which  at  first  bites  off 
the  larger  claws,  and  ultimately  succeeds  in  crushing  the 
whole  shell.  On  the  other  hand  they  are  themselves  ex^ 
posed  to  attacks  from  a  voracious  animal,  which  takes  advan- 
tage of  their  lying  buried  in  the  mud.  We  refer  to  the 
odoriferous  Cinostemoid  (^Ozotheca  odorata).  This  turtle 
appears  to  be  able  to  discover  the  whereabouts  of  the  mud- 


MUD-LOVING  FISHES.  389 

minnows  without  alarming  them ;  and  cautiously  approach- 
ing from  behind,  they  seize  the  head  of  the  fish  that  is 
scarcely  extruded  from  the  mud.  This  they  generally  com- 
pletely sever  from  the  body,  cast  aside,  and  then  draw  from 
the  mud  the  decapitated  body.  We  doubt  the  ability  of 
this  turtle  to  catch  a  mud-minnow  not  concealed  in  the  mud. 
When  lying  on  the  mud,  like  an  Etheostomoid,  their  move- 
ments are  very  rapid  when  disturbed. 

In  speaking  of  the  habits  of  certain  species  of  fishes  as 
^^mud-loving,''  or  dwellers  in  and  upon  mud,  we  reaUy  indi- 
cate merely  those  species  that  are  most  truly  nocturnal.  We 
judge  that,  to  .a  certain  extent,  all  fish  are  nocturnal.  We 
have  often  noticed  that  fish  will  leap  from  an  aquarium,  if 
uncovered  during  the  night;  but  this  occurs  but  seldom 
during  the  day.  Fishing  with  a  line  has  always  been  more 
fruitful  with  us  at  night  than  fishing  during  the  day ;  even 
when  fishing  for  yellow  or  white  perch,,  and  other  active  day 
fish.  Nets  set  over  night  entrap  a  greater  number,  and 
larger  specimens,  than  when  set  for  the  same  number  of 
hours  between  simrise  and  sunset. 

These  remarks  are  peculiarly  applicable  to  the  two  Cato- 
stonioids  we  have  mentioned  above,  Moxostoma  oblongum 
and  Hylomyzon  nigricans.  Unless  quite  small,  less  than  six 
inches  in  length,  these  ** suckers''  remain  quiet  throughout 
the  day;  but  as  night  approaches  they  leave  the  shallow, 
muddier  portions  of  the  creeks,  and  swim  towards  and  mto 
the  deeper  waters.  About  sunset  we  have  often  noticed 
them  coming  to  the  surface,  and  with  their  nostrils  above  the 
water,  they  make  a  low,  sibilant  sound,  and  leave  in  their 
wake  a  long  line  of  minute  bubbles.  When  attacked,  as 
they  frequently  are  at  this  time,  by  turtles,  they  give  a  very 
audible  grunt,  similar  to  that  of  our  chub  when  drawn  from 
the  water.  Both  of  these  "suckers"  are  occasionally  found, 
even  during  the  day,  in  running  water,  hunting  among  the 
stones  upon  the  bottom ;  but  still  water  and  soft  mud  are 
never  far  distant.     The  "suckers"  of  our  rivers  are  very 


390  IHUD-LOVTNG  FISHES. 

different  in  their  likes  and  dislikes.  C!oming  up  the  stream 
in  February  and  March,  the  large-scaled  species,  Teretulus 
macrolepidotuSj  and  the  common  Caiostomus  BostoniensiSy 
seek  out  rapid,  waters,  rocky  bottoms,  and  are  so  active  and 
fearless  during  the  day,  that  many  are  seen  and  killed  in  the 
shallow  waters  they  have  entered.  This  is  very  noticeably 
the  case  at  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  where  the  Assunpink  creek 
enters  the  Delaware.  The  '* suckers"  come  up  to  the  foot  of 
the  dam  and  congregate  there  in  large  numbers.  Both  of 
these  species  bite  readily  at  a  hook ;  but  the  "mullet"  and 
•'black-sucker"  never  do  with  us. 

We  can  imagine  nothing  more  devoid  of  interest  than  a 
mud-catfish  (Amiurus  DeKayi)^  at  least  as  we  have  them 
here  in  New  Jersey.  Occasionally  one  of  unusual  size  is 
met  with  to  give  it  some  characteristic  worthy  of  attention. 
The  largest  specimen  we  have  ever  seen  weighed  five  pounds, 
thirteen  ounces.  The  greatest  width  of  the  head  was  five 
and  one  half  inches.  This  species  wallows  in  the  mud  in  the 
beds  of  streams  of  all  sizes ;  it  is  abundant  in  many  of  ova 
largest  creeks,  in  every  mill-pond,  and  in  average  sized 
ditches  with  overhanging  banks,  this  ''mud-lover"  frequently 
congregates  in  large  numbers.  It  is  a  little  curious  to  notice 
how  soon  matters  right  themselves,  as  to  the  distribution  of 
fishes,  after  a  freshet  has  subsided  which  had  obliterated  the 
previous  boundaries.  We  have  in  mind  now  an  extensive 
tract  of  meadow,  through  which  meanders  two  rapid  current 
creeks,  and  also  through  it  are  cut  innumerable  ditches. 
In  these  ditches  dwell  several  mud-loving  fish.  Of  course 
the  freshet  produces  considerable  of  a  "scatter"  among 
them ;  but  on  the  subsidence  of  the  water  we  very  seldom 
find  mud  cat-fish  in  the  clear-water  creeks,  and  the  running 
water  species  caught  napping  in  the  ditches  very  promptly 
leave,  as  a  few  days  sufiice  to  restore  to  each  locality  its 
characteristic  species. 

In  our  report  in  the  "Geology  of  New  Jersey,"  we  gave 
but  three  fresh-water  siluroids.    Since  then  we  have  had  our 


MUD-LOVING  FISHES.  391 

attention  called  to  the  stone  cat-fish  {Noturvs  gyrinua) ,  from 
the  Delaware  Water  Gap,  Warren  County,  New  Jersey.  Be- 
sides the  specimens  from  this  localit}'  in  the  Museum  of 
the  Philadelphia  Academy  we  have  seen  ona  living  specimen 
in  an  aquarium,  taken  in  the  Assunpink  Creek  at  its  mouth. 
This  is  the  only  living  specimen  taken  in  New  Jersey  that 
we  have  ever  seen,  but  learn  that  it  is  common  in  some  of 
the  rocky  creeks  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State. 

The  Eel  (AngutUa  tenuiroatris) ,  as  elsewhere  we  suppose, 
is  abundant  in  all  our  water  courses.  A  careful  examination 
of  specimens  from  various  localities,  and  comparison  of  re- 
ports of  local  fishermen,  tend  to  the  fact  (?)  that  the  largest 
eels  are  to  be  found  in  the  rivers  and  streams  directly  tribu- 
tary to  them ;  and  that  in  isolated  mill-ponds  far  distant  from 
the  main  water  courses,  they  are  not  so  large  or  numerous. 
We  do  not  admit  that  such  is  really  the  case,  but  it  does 
appear  to  be  true.  The  experience  of  other  obsei'vers  would 
be  interesting  to  know ;  and  how  large  do  oiu*  various  spe- 
cies of  Anguilla  grow,  as  found  in  fresh-water?  In  the 
Delaware  and  its  many  small  tributaries  we  find  the  Lamprey 
(Petromi/zon  nigricans)  very  abundant.  Although  occasion- 
ally found  sticking  to  the  sides  of  large  fish,  shad,  rock-fish, 
white-perch  and  chub,  they  do  not  appear  to  feed  upon  fish 
thus  exclusively.  We  have  frequently  found  a  large  quantity 
of  them  adhering  to  the  carcasses  of  dogs  and  other  drowned 
animals,  and  judge  that  they  subsist  upon  dead,  rather  than 
living  animal  matter.  In  an  aquarium  they  adhere  to  the 
glass  sides  and  remove  the  green  scum  very  effectually,  but 
whether  they  devour  it  or  not  we  could  not  ascertain.  We 
have  known  the  Lampreys  to  suck  their  way  up  the  facing  ♦ 
of  mill  dams  and  so  wander  far  up  from  the  river.  In  such 
cases  they  bury  themselves  in  the  mud,  in  the  winter,  as  do 
eels  instead  of  following  the  river  out  into  the  sea. 


VARIATIONS  IN  NATURE. 

t  BT  THOMAS  MBEHAN. 

The  idea  that  art  has  made  most  of  the  variations  we  find 
in  gardens  is  far  removed  from  the  truth.  It  has  done 
much  to  prevent  a  true  knowledge  of  the  origin  of  species. 
Art  has  done  little  towards  making  variations ;  it  has  only 
helped  to  preserve  the  natural  evolutions  of  form  from  being 
crowded  out.  There  is  scarcely  any  species  of  wild  plants 
but  will  furnish  numberless  variations,  if  we  only  look  for 
them.  To-day  I  examined  a  large  patch  of  ox-eye  daisies 
{Ghi*ysanthemum  leucanthemum) ,  The  first  impression  is 
that  they  are  remarkably  uniform,  yet  there  were  some  with 
petals  as  long  only  as  the  width  of  the  disk ;  others  with 
petals  double  the  length.  In  some  the  petals  taper  to  a 
narrow  point;  in  others  they  are  tridentate  on  the  apex. 
Again,  some  flowers  have  petals  uniformly  linear.  Others 
have  them  tapering  at  both  ends.  Some  have  recurved  and 
others  flat  petals.  In  one  plant  the  scales  of  the  involucre 
were  veiy  much  refleocedj  a  very  striking  diflference  from  the 
usually  closely  appressed  condition. 

I  have  frequently  found  that  these  veiy  common  things 
which  nobody  looks  at,  furnish  as  many  new  facts  to  an 
enquiring  mind,  as  the  rare  species  which  every  one  loves  to 
see. 


4 

OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  FAUNA  OF  THE  SOUTHERN 

ALLEGHANIES. 

BY  FBOFB880R  B.  D.  COPB. 

/.  On  the  so-called  Alleghanian  Fauna  in  Gfeneral.     The 
terms  Canadian  and  Alleghanian,  have  been  applied  by  Pro- 

(392) 


FAUNA  OF  THE   SOTTTHEBN  ALLEGHANIES.  393 

fessors  Yerrill*  and  Agassizf  to  faunal  associations  of  spe- 
cies of  animals,  characteristic  of  Canada  and  adjacent 
territory,  and  the  Middle  and  Eastern  United  States,  etc. 
The  former  author,  in  the  later  essay  quoted,  attempts  to 
define  these  faunee  in  a  more  or  less  precise  manner,  regard- 
ing the  southern  boundaiy  of  the  first  as  *^  coincident  with  a 
line  which  shall  indicate  a  mean  temperature  of  50^  Fahren- 
heit, and  the  southern  boundaiy  of  the  second,  to  be  the 
line  of  55°."  In  accordance  with  this  view  the  southern 
boundary  of  the  Canadian  fauna,  commencing  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Penobscot  River  in  Maine,  extends  parallel  with  the 
coast  into  New  Brunswick,  and  returning  through  middle 
Alaine  passes  south  of  Moosehead  Lake  and  the  White 
Mountains,  along  the  eastern  base  of  the  Green  Mountains 
to  the  south,  and  up  their  western  foot  to  the  river  St.  Law- 
rence. -  From  near  Montreal  it  turns  to  the  south-west,  and, 
passing  through  Lake  Ontario,  crosses  Michigan  from  St. 
Clair  to  Milwaukee,  and  rises  following  the  valley  of  the 
Mississippi  northwards.  The  Adirondack  Mountains  were 
regarded  as  a  portion  of  this  fauna,  surrounded,  like  an 
island,  by  the  AUeghanian. 

The  southern  boundary  of  the  AUeghanian  was  traced 
from  near  Norfolk,  Virginia,  up  the  valley  of  the  James 
River  to  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  southward  along  their 
base  to  their  termination  in  Georgia,  and  then  north  again 
along  their  western  slope  to  Kentucky  and  the  Ohio  River. 
The  Southern,  or  Louisianian,  fauna  included  the  lower  por- 
tion of  the  Ohio  basin,  and  an  undetermined  extent  of  that 
of  the  Mississippi'  north  of  the  latter.  The  boundary  line 
then  descended  to  the  south  to  the  west  of  that  river.  I 
.  may  suggest  here  that  the  most  northern  habitat  of  the  Siren 
lacertina  might  prove  to  be  near  the  noi'them  extreme  of  the 
boundary  in  question.     This  point,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  is 

*  Proceedings  Essex  Institute,  m.  186.   Proceedings  Boston  Society  of  Natural  Hit* 
tory,  1866, 260. 

tNott  and  Gliddon,  <<  Types  of  Mankind,"  1858. 

AMEB.  NATURALIST,  VOL.  L  50 


394      FAUNA  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  ALLEGHANIES. 

Alton,  Illinois,  from  which  place  I  have  a  specimen  of  that 
species. 

My  object  at  present  is  to  show  that  the  region,  including 
the  crest  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains  to  their  southern  ex- 
tremity in  Georgia,  possesses  a  fauna  in  many  respects  entirely 
different  from  that  of  the  southern  two-thirds  of  the  Alle- 
ghanian  fauna  as  defined  by  Yerrill,  and  in  some  respects  as 
similar  to  the  Canadian.  My  conclusions  are  based  more  on 
observations  on  the  distribution  of  birds  than  on  animals  of 
other  classes,  as  were  also  those  of  Professor  Verrill.  They 
are  very  imperfect,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  additional  ob- 
servations will  increase  the  weight  of  evidence  in  the  direc- 
tion here  pointed  out. 

Among  Mammalia  three  species  may  be  noticed,  namely : 
Sciurus  Hudsoniua^  Cervus  Canadensis^  Lynx  Canadensis. 
The  first  named  species  is  characteristically  northern,  and 
little  known  in  the  southern  part  of  the  above  defined  AUe- 
ghaniau  fauna.  In  southern  and  eastern  Virginia  it  is  un- 
known, as  well  as  in  North  Carolina  and -Tennessee.  It  is, 
however,  not  uncommon  on  the  summits  and  crests  of  the 
AUeghanies  in  both  the  former  states.  In  North  Carolina 
and  southern  Virginia  it  is  so  restricted  to  the  heights  as  not 
even  to  descend  into  the  mountain  valleys.  I  resided  for 
nearly  two  months  at  the  Warm  Springs,  Madison  county, 
North  Carolina,  and  in  Henderson  county,  in  the  same  state, 
at  an  elevation  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  feet  above  the 
sea,  without  observing  a  single  individual ;  yet  the  inhabi- 
tants are  well  acquainted  with  them  as  game  of  the  moun- 
tain tops,  under  the  name  of  the  **  Mountain  Boomer,''  a 
name  they  bear  in  Virginia,  also.  This  distribution  and 
name  are  mentioned  by  Audubon  and  Bachman  in  their  great 
work. 

The  elk  is  recorded  by  Baird  as  having  left  remains,  during 
human  habitation,  in  West  Virginia.  Of  this  fact  I  was  also 
assured  when  in  the  same  region.  Dr.  Hardy,  of  Ashevilie^ 
North  Carolina,  states  that  horns  of  the  elk  were  found  in 


FAUNA  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  ALLEGHANIE8.       395 

the  woods  on  the  Black  Mountains  at  that  southern  point, 
when  he  was  younger,  and  that  he  is  satisfied  that  its  range 
extended  nearly  to  South  Carolina  during  the  human  period. 
This  species  formerly  ranged  over  the  Alleghanian  fauna,  but 
is  now  nearly  confined  to  the  Canadian. 

Like  the  red  squirrel  the  Canada  lynx  extends  to  the 
southern  limits  of  the  Alleghany  ranges,  occupying  the 
highest  ground,  though  apparently  not  so  restricted  to  the 
elevations  as  the  first  named.  It  is  distinguished,  by  the 
name  catamount,  from  the  Lynx  i*ufa%  which  is  called  wild 
cat,  and  is  well  known  to  the  hunters.  It  is  known  to  be  a 
northern  species,  being  unknown  in  the  wilds  of  the  lower 
country  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  where  the  £.  rufas 
takes  its  place.  What  its  southern  limit  is,  in  eastern  and 
western  Pennsylvania,  I  am  unable  to  ascertain. 

In  Giles  County,  E.  Virginia,  at  an  elevation  of  five  thous- 
and feet,  I  observed  in  August,  1867,  the  following  species  of 
birds :  Junco  hyemaliSj  Dendroeca  icterocepfiala^  D.  Blacks 
bumi(By  D.  coerulescenSy  D.  maculosa^  D,  virenSj  Myiodioctea 
Canadensis^  M.  mitralusy  Panda  Americana^  Mniotilta  varta^ 
Setophaga  nUiciUa,  From  the  season  at  which  these  were 
observed,  they  evidently  bred  in  the  locality  in  question. 
They  were  most  of  them  abundant. 

In  the  high  valley  of  Henderson  county,  and  on  the  Black, 
Bich,  and  other  mountains  in  southern  North  Carolina  in 
September,  1869, 1  observed  the  following :  Junco  hyemaliSj 
Vireo  soUtariuaj  Dendrceca  coronata^  D.  maculosa  ^  D.  vtrens, 
D,  coerulescenSy  D,  Blackbui^nioiy  Parula  Amencana^  Mnio^ 
tilta  varia^  Myiodioctea  mitratuBy  Setophaga  rudcilla.  These 
were  also  abundant,  and  no  doubt  bred  in  the  localities  in 
question. 

These  species  are  enumerated  as  especially  northern  forms. 
They  pass  Philadelphia  in  latitude  40°  in  early  spring  (April 
and  May),  on  their  way  to  northern  breeding  places. 
Barely  a  Setophaga  mticilla  breeds  in  that  region,  but  the 
great  majority  accompany  the  northern  Dendroecas  and  the 


396      FAUNA  OF  THE  SOUTHEBN  ALLEQHANIES. 

Vireo  solitarius.  Of  the  list,  Verrill  states  that  Mniotilta 
variaj  Parula  Americana^  Dendrceca  virenSj  D.  Blackbumim^ 
D,  icterocephaJaj  Myiodioctes  Canadensis^  Setophaga  rutidlla 
and  Vireo  solitariuSj  breed  at  Norway,  Maine,  at  the  north- 
ern limit  of  the  Allegbanian  fauna.  Dendrceca  coronata  and 
Junco  hyemalis  migrate  still  farther  north  to  within  the  lim- 
its of  the  Canadian  fauna,  to  breed :  D.  maculosa^  not 
breeding  at  Norway,  may  have  similar  habits.  The  two 
former  birds  are  regarded  by  Verrill  as  true  types  of  the 
Canadian  fauna,  the  Junco  representing  in  part  Spizdla  so- 
cialis  of  the  Alleghanian,  and  the  D.  coronata  the  2>.  pinus 
of  the  same. 

The  southern  localities  now  given  for  the  species  of  the  two 
lists,  I  have  not  found  recorded,  except  in  the  case  of  Junco 
hyemaiiSy  which  according  to  Audubon  breeds  in  the  Vir- 
ginian Alleghanies.  The  species  mostly,  and  especially  the 
last  named,  are  confined  like  the  red  squirrel  to  the  most  ele- 
vated mountain  crests.  In  North  Carolina  these  range  from 
five  thousand  to  six  thousand  seven  hundred  and  forty  feet. 

It  is  also  evident  that  a  number  of  species  of  birds,  mostly 
wood-warblers  {Dendineca  and  other  Tanagridoe)  have  an 
east  and  west,  as  well  as  north  and  south  migration ;  passing 
to  and  from  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  instead  of  going  to 
the  New  England  States  and  Canada. 

Among  the  Batrachia  a  single  species  is  found  on  the 
high  peaks  of  the  Black  Mountains,  and  its  faunal  relations 
are  similar  to  the  preceding.  This  is  a  species  of  Sala- 
mander, the  Deamognathua  ochrophcea^  which  is  common  in 
that  Canadian  island,  the  Adirondack  Mountains,  and  in  the 
Alleghanies  as  far  south  as  the  South  of  Pennsylvania.  In 
the  lower  country  of  New  England  and  New  York  it  appears 
not  to  be  known  to  naturalists,  though  it  may  occur  there, 
while  in  Southern  Pennsylvania  it  is  not  found.  Its  range 
extends  to  the  Georgian  Alleghanies,  as  a  specimen  similar 
to  those  from  the  Black  Mountains  was  sent  to  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution  by  Dr.  Jones. 


FAUNA  OF  THE  80UTHEBN  AUJBOHANIES.      397 

.  The  preceding  species  of  mammals,  birds,  and  batrachia, 
accompany  very  exactly  the  range  of  the  trout  (8cdmo  fon^ 
tinalis) .  This  well  known  fish  is  already  in  South-western 
Vii-ginia,  confined  to  the  most  elevated  peaks  and  knobs^ 
and  does  not  even  occur  in  the  streams  of  many  of  the 
mountain  valleys.  In  North  Carolina  its  distribution  is  quite 
similar.  I  took  it  in  the  headwaters  of  the  French  Broad, 
and  was  satisfied  that  it  occurs  in  the  head  of  the  Catawba. 
Dr.  Hardy,  of '  Asheville,  who  is  very  familiar  with  the 
Southern  Alleghany  Region,  assured  me  that  it  is  found  in 
the  headwaters  of  the  Chattahoochie  in  Georgia,  the  only 
example  of  its  occurrence  in  a  river  flowing  directly  into  the 
Oulf  of  Mexico,  with  which  I  am  acquainted.  At  the  same 
time  Dr.  Peck  of  Mossy  Creek,  Tennessee,  who  has  fished 
for  trout  in  most  of  the  Alleghany  streams,  is  of  the  opinion 
that  the  fish  does  not  occur  in  any  streams  in  the  Cumber- 
land Mountains. 

The  wood  frog  (Hana  sr/lvatica)  also  occurs  on  the  moun- 
tains of  North  Carolina,  but  what  the  southern  limit  of  its 
range  in  the  low  lands  is,  I  do  not  know. 

Of  the  eighteen  species  above  enumerated,  at  least  ten 
are  not  found  in  the  southern  half  or  more  of  the  AUegha- 
nian  fauna,  that  is,  are  not  known  as  residents  about  Phila- 
delphia, and  most  of  them  are  not  found  within  a  consid* 
erable  distance  north  of  that  point.  Of  this  number  at  least 
two  belong  exclusively  to  the  Canadian  fauna,  while  of  the 
remaining  eight,  five  (Lynx  Canadensis ,  Sciurus  SudsoniuSj* 
Cervus  CanadensiSy  Selophaga  ntticilla  and  Salmo  fantu 
nalis),  are  absent  or  rare  in  the  low  countries  south  of 
Philadelphia. 

The  value  of  the  isothermal  of  65^  during  April,  May 
and  June,  as  a  boundary  of  faunsB  may  thus  be  questioned, 
though  it  is  probably  as  determinative  as  any  other  that 


*  A  flriend  long  resident  in  London  Co.,  Va.  (on  tlie  Potomao),  informs  me  flMt  tlie 
red  squirrel  does  not  ooonr  there.  Prof.  Bsird  gives  in  the  SUi  Vol.,  U.  S.  Pao.  B.  B. 
Bep't,  measurements  of  specimens  lh>m  Mississippi. 


398      FAUNA  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  ALLEOHANIES. 

could  be  fixed  upon.  Thus  the  limit  of  the  breeding  region 
of  the  ten  northern  species  above  alluded  to  might  be  re- 
garded as  such  a  boundary.  This  would  be  about  the  par- 
allel of  the  mouth  of  the  Connecticut  (or  Hudson),  and  it 
would  coincide  with  the  northern  limit  of  several  genera  and 
species  of  fishes.  Thus  Lepidosteus,  Clinostomus,  Ennea- 
canthus,  Acantharchus  and  Carpiodes,  do  not  exist  north  of 
this  pointy  nor  the  widely  distributed  species  Semotilus  cor^ 
poralis  and  fft/psilepis  analostantis.  Thei*e  is,  however, 
nearly  as  much  change  at  the  latitude  of  the  Susquehanna, 
while  at  the  James,  Micropterus,  and  probably  Campostoma, 
have  their  northern  Atlantic  limit.* 

//.  On  the  fauna  qf  the  Upper  Valley  of  the  French 
Broad  River ^  North  Carolina.  — This  valley  is  probably  the 
most  extensive  for  its  elevation  above  the  sea,  in  the  Appa- 
lachian region.  It  may  be  said  to  extend  from  near  Ashe* 
ville  at  the  southern  extremity  of  the  Black  Mountains,  to 
near  the  line  of  South  Carolina,  or  the  Saluda  Mountains, 
north  and  south.  On  the  east  and  west  it  is  bounded  by  the 
Blue  Ridge  and  the  Cold  Spring  and  other  i-anges,  respect- 
ively, embracing  the  counties  of  Henderson  and  Transyl- 
vania and  part  of  Buncombe.  The  French  Broad  River 
traverses  it  from  south  to  north,  taking  its  rise  in  the  south- 
ern and  western  bounding  mountain  ranges.  This  fine  val- 
ley is  comparatively  level,  and  the  soil,  though  loamy, 
contains  a  considerable  propoi*tion  of  sand.  The  river  pur- 
sues a  level  course  with  but  few  rapids,  and  through  broad 
meadows  susceptible  of  high  cultivation.  The  climate  is 
delightfully  equable,  being  without  summer  heats  and  win- 
ter snows.  The  magnificent  scenery,  in  views  of  the  sur- 
rounding mountains,  especially  to  the  westward,  have  made 
it  the  Saratoga  of  Charleston  and  Mobile ;  and  its  claims. 


•In  an  mmj  on  the  diBtribntlon  of  ilthes  In  the  Alleghanles  of  Sonth-westem  VIr 
glnU,  I  stated,  p.  S45,  that  Amblodon  does  not  oconr  in  the  Lake  district.  I  bare  since 
ascertained,  through  Proftssor  Agasslx,  that  it  is  fbund  in  Lake  Cliamplaln. 


FAUNA  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  ALLEaHANIES.      399 

80  superior  in  scenery  to  that  watering  place,  will  no  doubt 
be  some  day  recognized  by  the  citizens  of  our  northern 
cities. 

According  to  the  measurement  given  by  Prof.  Kerr,  in 
his  first  report  on  the  progress  of  the  Geological  Survey 
of  the  State,  the  elevation  of  this  valley  is  twenty-five 
hundred  feet  above  the  sea.  The  highest  point  in  the  great 
valley  of  the  AUeghanies,  on  the  line  of  the  Virginia  and 
Tennessee  Railroad  in  south-west  Virginia,  is  nineteen  hun- 
dred feet,  according  to  the  railroad  surveys.  The  Black 
Mountains  rise  from  the  Upper  French  Broad  Valley  to  six 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  forty  feet.  On  the  south,  three 
ranges  separate  it  from  the  upper  country  of  South  Carolina, 
the  southern  escarpment  of  each  of  which  presents  a  much 
greater  descent  than  the  northern. 

As  might  have  been  expected,  the  products  of  this  valley 
approximate,  in  some  respects,  those  of  the  North.  It  is  the 
source  of  supply  for  the  immediately  adjoining  southern 
regions,  of  apples,  potatoes,  and  cabbages  that  will  head.  In 
its  fauna  it  partakes  of  a  few  northern  traits.  I  observed 
the  following  birds  there  in  September,  so  that  I  cannot  be 
sure  that  they  breed  there,  or  that  they  had  not  descended 
from  the  smTounding  mountains :  Mniotilta  varia^  Parula 
Americana^  Dendrceca  virens^  D.  ccerulescenSy  D.  maculosa^ 
Setophaga  nUicilla.  The  reptile  fauna  presented  on  the 
other  hand  a  marked  peculiarity,  and  I  write  the  present 
notice  to  call  attention  to  it.  The  lizard  Oligomma  laterah 
Say,  was  common;  the  salamander  JSpelerpes  gtUtolineaCus 
was  excessively  abundant,  and  a  single  example  of  Ambit/" 
stoma  talpoideum  was  found  there  under  a  log,  during  my 
residence  of  a  week.  These  three  species  have  been  looked 
upon  as  representing  our  extreme  southern  Reptile  fauna. 
They  have  not  been  found  hitherto  north  of  the  low  country 
of  the  Gulf  States,  and  its  prolongation  up  the  low  valley  of 
the  Mississippi.  The  Amblystoma  only,  of  the  three,  has 
occurred  near  Cairo,  111.  (Mus.  Smithsonian).     The  Speter^ 


400      FAUNA  OF  THE  80UTHEBN  ALLEOHANIES. 

pes  guUoUneatas  seemed  to  takQ  the  place  in  habit  and  maD- 
ners  of  our  Pleihodon  erytiironoiusj  which  did  not  occur 
there.  The  occurrence  of  these  species  at  that  elevation 
seems  quite  peculiar,  as  I  did  not  meet  with  either  of  them 
in  three  weeks  in  the  valley  of  Tennessee  from  ten  to  thirty 
miles  north  of  Knoxville,  nor  in  two  months  in  the  low 
country  of  western,  middle  and  eastern  North  Carolina,  in 
the  latitude  of  this  valle3^ 

Besides  these  species,  there  were  abundant  the  widely  dis- 
tributed  Spelerpes  bilineatua^  8.  ruber j  Amblystoma  puTvctOn 
tunif  and  DeamogncUhus  fascua.  D,  niger  and  D.  ochrophoeus 
of  the  neighboring  mountains  were  not  there. 

As  to  the  flora  of  the  valley  I  made  but  few  observations. 
The  buckeyes  and  Gordonia  of  the  Cumberland  Mountains 
had  disappeared,  and  the  universal  "stick-weed"  (^Actinome^ 
ris  squamosa)  of  the  Great  Valley  was  rare.  Aconitum  t/n- 
cinatum  adorned  the  thickets  with  its  twining  stem  bearing 
large  blue  flowers.  The  coarse  Silphium  terebinth(zceum  was 
conspicuous  in  the  old  fields,  along  with  abundance  of  a 
common  CratoBgtis.  In  the  woods  there  were  three  species 
of  Vibumumj  and  the  swamps  were  often  well  protected 
against  intruders  by  the  8miUix  laurifolia.  The  moss  sup- 
ported abundance  of  the  Sarracenia  purpurea^  and  a  second 
species,  perhaps  S*  rvbra^ 

The  latter  plant  is  interesting  as  furnishing  another  in- 
stance of  the  dependence  between  species* of  different  king- 
doms, for  means  of  subsistence.  The  tubular  leaves  of  this 
species  are  erect  and  slender,  or  trumpet  shaped.  The  del- 
icate hairs  with  which  they  are  lined  increase  in  coarseness 
to  near  the  base,  while  they  are  so  delicate  on  the  inside  of 
the  free  portion  of  the  leaf  as  to  produce  the  effect  of  iri- 
descence. Insects  which  enter  are  imprisoned  by  this  ar- 
rangement, and  I  did  not  examine  a  specimen,  of  the  many 
observed,  which  did  not  contain  at  least  an  inch  of  dead 
insects  of  all  orders,  in  the.  bottom.  On  the  top  of  this 
mass  of  decay  a  large  dipterous  larva  was  invariably  found. 


FAUNA  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  ALLEGHANIE8.      401 

It  was  not  of  a  kind  familiar  to  me,  and  seemed  evidently  to 
depend  for  subsistence  on  ttie  animal  matter  furnished  by  the 
trap-like  qualities  of  the  Sarracenia  leaf.  I  did  not  obsenre 
any  such  tenant  in  the  S.  purpurea^  where  the  hollow  pe- 
tioles were  frequently  more  or  less  filled  with  water. 

III.  On  same  species  of  Speletpes.  —  In  his  original 
descriptions  of  North  American  Salamanders,  published 
many  years  ago  by  Professor  'Jacob  Green,  he  mentioned 
one  under  the  name  of  Spderpes  cirrigeray  which  was  said  to 
have  been  discovered  in  Louisiana.  This  animal  was  small, 
and  furnished  with  a  marked  peculiarity  in  the  shape  of  a 
dermal  appendage  or  tentacle,  dependent  from  the  upper  lip 
near  the  nostril.  In  other  respects  the  animal  was  allied  to 
the  Sp.  bilinealuSy  the  small  species  so  generally  distributed 
over  the  United  States.  In  Holbrook's  extensive  work  on 
herpetology,  this  species  is  again  described  and  figured,  but 
no  new  specimens  are  mentioned  as  having  been  discovered, 
and  it  is  regarded  as  very  rare.  In  1869  the  writer  made  a 
study  of  the  North  American  salamanders  preserved  in  the 
Museum  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  examined  with 
much  interest,  among  others  the  types  of  Green's  description 
of  Spderpes  cinrigera  from  Louisiana.  A  narrow  investiga- 
tion of  these  convinced  me  that  no  other  character  existed 
by  which  to  distinguish  them  from  a  usual  southern  variety 
of  Sp.  bilineatuSy  than  the  two  peculiar  cirri  originally  ob- 
served by  Green.  Now  these  cirri  are  evidently  remnants 
of  an  early  larval  character  universal  among  tailed  Batrachia, 
namely,  the  balancers.  These  are  a  long  process  on  each 
side  of  the  head  immediately  in  front  of  the  branchial  pro- 
cesses, which  appear  very  early,  indeed  almost  simultane- 
ously with  the  latter.  They  are  probably  homologous  with 
the  beards  of  the  larval  Dactylethra  of  Africa  described  by 
Wyman  and  Gray,  which  give  those  tadpoles  so  much  the 
appearance  of  Siluroids,  or  cat-fish.  In  our  salamanders  they 
disappear  at  various  periods  of  growth,  and  sometimes  leave 

▲MBH.   NATURAUST,  VOL.  IV.  ffl 


402      FAUNA  OF  THE  SOUTHERN  ALLEOHANIE8. 

traces  in  the  form  of  an  angle  or  swelling  beneath  the  nos- 
tril on  the  lip,  and  sometimes  as  in  the  supposed  species 
Spelerpes  cirrigera^  as  a  tentacle,  or  cirrus.  Influenced  by 
this  consideration  I  referred  Green's  salamanders  to  his  8p. 
biUneatu8.* 

In  the  course  of  collecting  in  the  Alleghany  region  of 
Tennessee  and  North  Carolina,  I  became  satisfied  of  the  pro- 
priety of  this  step.  While  in  the  recesses  of  a  cave  in  the 
valley  of  Tennessee,  in  Jeffefson  county,  I  found  a  very  fine 
specimen  of  Spelerpes  longicanda  of  a  red  orange  color, 
which  had  well  developed  tentacles  on  each  side,  precisely  as 
in  the  cirriferous  8p.  bilineata  of  Green.  Subsequently  in 
ascending  the  Black  Mountains  in  Buncombe  county.  North 
Carolina,  I  found  five  specimens  of  the  typical  form  of  i}p. 
bilineata^  of  which  three  were  tentaculate,  and  two  were  not. 
Finally,  in  a  considerable  number  of  the  Sp.  guttoUneata^ 
from  the  headwaters  of  the  French  Broad  in  North  Carolina, 
one  presented  the  same  feature  of  well  developed  tentacles. 

This  irregular  preservation  of  a  larval  character,  is  of 
interest  in  connection  with  the  theory  of  evolution.  Should 
the  presence  of  these  tentacles  be  permanent  in  any  species, 
it  is  not  to  be  doubted  that  the  character  would  be  regai-ded 
as  generic,  and  justly  so.  Its  history  would  in  that  case  be 
like  the  history  of  all  other  generic  characters  as  represent- 
ing the  undeveloped  stage  of  another  type,  if  not  itself  the 
nepltts  ultra.  Should  it  be  constant  in  a  color  variety  only 
of  some  species,  and  wanting  in  other  varieties,  and  in  other 
species,  the  first  would  become  the  type  of  another  genus, 
whatever  its  claims  to  specific  distinction  might  be.  The 
latter  would  of  course  follow  the  form^*  I  If,  however,  the 
naturalist  of  the  old  school  had  any  suspicion  that  the  two 
forms  may  have  had  a  common  origin,  he  would  ignore  the 
distinctions.  The  proper  course  appears  to  me  to  recognize 
characters  as  definitive  when  they  are  constant^  and  discuss 
their  history  afterwards. 

•  See  Proceedings  of  Uie  Academy  of  Natural  ScieDce«,  18f!9.    p.  107. 


ON   THE  DEEP-WATER  FAUNA  OF  LAKE  MICHIGAN. 


BT  DB.  WILUAM  8TIMP80K. 


A  knowledge  of  the  character  of  the  animalB  and  plants 
living  at  the  bottom  of  the  great  North  American  Lakes, 
the  largest  bodies  of  fresh- water  in  the  world ,  has  long  ))eeu 
a  desideratum  ;  aqd  dredging  operations  have  this  year  been 
initiated  by  the  Chicago  Academy  of  Sciences  which  have  al- 
ready produced  interesting  results.  The  first  dredgings  were 
made  off  Chicago,  where  the  waters  were  found  to  be  shal- 
low, and  the  bottom  sandy  or  gravelly.  At  a  distance  of 
eighteen  miles  from  land  the  depth  was  but  fourteen  fathoms. 
The  bottom  was  nearly  barren  of  life.  We  obtained,  how- 
ever, specimens  of  the  larva  of  some  ueuropterous  insect,  a 
Clepsinej  a  flesh-colored  leech  belonging  to  a  new  genus ;  a 
LymnoRay  two  Melanians  and  a  Plumatella.  The  plants 
consisted  of  a  moss,  a  Chara^  a  iVb«toc,and  one  other  alga. 

The  next  investigations  were  made  in  the  more  central 
and  deeper  parts  of  the  lake.  Dr.  Hoy  of  Racine  had  been 
for  some  time  endeavoring  to  ascertain  the  nature  of  the  food 
of  the  whitefish,  which  had  previously  remained  entirely  un- 
known. These  fish  being  caught  in  gill-nets  and  '*  pounds," 
are  generally  taken  from  the  water  some  hours  after  being 
actually  entnipped,  and  the  food  in  the  stomach  becomes 
thoroughly  digested,  and  its  character  undistinguishable  be- 
fore it  can  be  obtained  and  examined.  Dr.  Hoy,  however, 
after  long  search,  succeeded  in  obtaining  some  fish  in  which 
the  contents  of  the  stomach  was  in  a  comparatively  fresh 
state,  and  ascertained  it  to  consist  mainly  of  remains  of 
small  crustaceans.  These  he  submitted  to  me  for  examina- 
tion, and  among  them  I  had  the  pleasure  of  detecting  indi- 
cations of  the  existence  of  marine  .forms  in  the  lake. 

It  thus  became  highly  desirable  to  examine  the  ground 
upon  which  Dr.  Hoy's  fishes  had  been  obtained,  and  accord- 

(408) 


404        OK  THE  DEEP-WATER  FAUNA  OF  LAKE  MICHIGAN. 

iiigly  on  the  24th  of  June  last  we  started  out  from  Racine 
for  the  purpose  in  a  tug  belonging  to  that  place.  The  party 
consisted  of  Dr.  Lapham,  Dr.  Hoy,  Mr.  Blatchford  and  Dr. 
Andrews  of  Chicago,  and  myself.  We  dredged  at  various 
points  from  twelve  to  twenty-six  miles  from  land,  the  great- 
est depth  found  being  sixty-four  fathoms,  with  a  bottom  of 
blackish  impalpable  mud.  Between  the  distances  of  twelve 
and  twenty-two  miles  from  shore  the  depth  was  tolerably 
uniform,  averaging  forty-five  fathoms,  the  bottom  being 
generally  a  reddish  or  brownish,  sandy  mud.  On  this 
plateau  we  obtained  alive  the  Crustacea  found  by  Dr.  Hoy  in 
the  stomachs  of  the  whitefish,  consisting  of  a  Mysia  and  two 
species  of  Gfammarus.  A  small  white  Planariay  and  a  new 
species  of  Piaidium  also  occurred.  All  of  these  animals 
were  found  in  abundance,  showing  this  portion  of  the  lake 
bottom  to  be  rather  densely  inhabited. 

Myais  is  a  marine  genus,  many  species  of  which  occur  in 
the  colder  parts  of  the  North  Atlantic  and  in  the  Arctic 
seas.  One  species,  M,  relicta^  was  found  by  Loven  in  com- 
pany with  Idothea  erUomon  and  other  marine  Crustacea  in 
the  deep  fresh-water  lakes,  Wenner  and  Wetter  of  Sweden, 
indicating  that  these  basins  were  formerly  filled  with  salt- 
water, and  have  been  isolated  from  the  sea  by  the  elevatory 
movement  of  the  Skandinavian  peninsula  which  is  still  go- 
ing on.  That  the  same  thing  has  occurred  to  our  own  lakes 
is  shown  by  the  occurrence  in  their  depths  of  the  genus 
MystSf  notwithstanding  the  non-occun*ence  of  marine  shells 
in  the  quaternary  deposits  on  their  shores.  Kingston  on 
Lake  Ontario,  is,  I  believe,  the  highest  point  in  the  valley 
at  which  such  shells  have  been  found.  Very  probably,  at 
the  time  when  the  sea  had  access  to  these  basins,  the  com- 
munication was  somewhat  narrow  and  deep,  and  the  influx 
of  fresh-water  from  the  surrounding  country  was  sufiBcient 
to  occupy  entirely  the  upper  stratum,  while  the  heavier  sea- 
water  remained  at  the  bottom.  After  the  basins  had  become 
separated  from  the  ocean  by  the  rise  of  the  land,  the  bottom 


GLIMBINO  PLANTS.  405 

water  must  have  become  fresh  by  diffusion  very  slowly  to 
allow  of  the  gradual  adaptation  of  the  crustaceans  to  the 
change  of  element.  Possibly  the  occurrence  at  the  bottom 
of  salt  springs  like  those  of  the  adjacent  shores  of  Michigan 
may  have  had  something  to  do  with  the  slowness  of  the 
change.  At  present  the  bottom  water,  judging  from  a  speci- 
men we  obtained  from  a  depth  of  fifty  fathoms  approxi- 
mately, is  entirely  fresh. 

I  am  informed  by  Professor  Gill  that  the  TiHglopsis 
Thompsonii  of  Oirard  is  a  marine  rather  than  a  fresh-water 
form.  This  fish  inhabits  the  depths  of  the  lakes,  having 
been  found  by  Professor  Baird  in  the  stomach  of  Lota  ma" 
culoaay  taken  in  Lake  Ontario,  and  recently  by  Dr.  Hoy  in 
those  of  trout  caught  off  Racine. 

Our  Mysis  is  allied  to  certain  arctic  forms,  which  would 
lead  us  to  refer  its  original  entry  into  the  lakes  to  the  cold 
period  of  the  quaternary  epoch.  While  the.  marine  species 
usually  live  near  the  surface  of  the  water,  this  one  appears 
to  be  confined  to  the  bottom »  a  result  of  its  seeking  the 
colder  and  at  a  former  period  the  more  saline  waters. 

The  investigation  of  the  materials  obtained  by  the  dredg- 
ing parties  of  the  Academy  is  now  in  progress,  and  the  re- 
sults will  be  published  in  full  with  illustrations  at  an  early 
period. 


CLIMBING   PLANTS 

BT  PROF.  W.  J.  BRAL. 


The  following  remarks  upon  this  interesting  subject,  can 
scarcely  be  called  a  review,  but  more  properly  a  summary 
given  nearly  in  the  words  of  the  author.*    It  has  been  made 


*On  the  Uoyementt  and  Habits  of  CUmbing  Planta.   By  Charles  Darwin,  Esq., 
F.B.S.,  F.L.S.I  etc.  [From  the  Joomal  of  the  LinnsMn  Society.]  pp.  118.  London,  1880. 


406  CLIMBING   PLANTS. 

quite  full,  as  it  is  likely  the  original  paper  has  been  read 
by  but  few  readers  of  the  Naturalist. 

Climbing  plants  may  be  divided  into  those  which  spirally 
twine  round  a  support ;  those  which  ascend  by  the  movement 
of  the  foot*stalks  or  tips  of  their  leaves ;  those  which  ascend 
by  true  tendrils ;  those  which  are  furnished  with  hooks,  and 
those  which  are  furnished  with  rootlets.  The  last  two  ex- 
hibit no  special  movements  and  are  of  less  interest  than  the 
fii*st  three. 

Spirally  Twining  Plants. — I  begin  with  a  special  case, 
one  depending  upon  my  own  observation,  similar  to  the  one 
taken  by  Mr.  Darwin.  A  thrifty  hop-vine  in  my  yard  went 
up  nine  or  ten  feet  to  the  top  of  a  stake.  Still  aspiring  it 
ran  above  the  support,  at  the  same  time  reaching  off  and 
swinging  round  and  round  following  the  course  of  the  sun. 
When  about  two  feet  above  the  stake  the  tip  of  the  vine  cir- 
cumscribed a  circle  two  feet  in  diameter.  While  it  grew 
longer  the  extent  of  the  circle  was  about  the  same,  as  a 
part  of  the  vine  had  become  strong  and  -remained  nearly 
stationary.  By  observations  made  at  different  times  in  the 
day  it  was  found  to  perform  one  revolution  in  from  one  to 
two  hours,  moving  most  rapidly  in  the  warmest  part  of  the 
warmest  days.  It  is  now  four  feet  and  two  inches  above  any 
artificial  support,  and  has  just  tipped  over  to  the  north-east 
in  the  direction  of  the  prevailing  wind.  The  revolving 
movement  lasts  as  long  as  the  plant  continues  to  gi*ow, 
but  each  separate  joint  or  internode,  as  it  grows  old,  ceases 
to  move.  In  the  case  of  the  hop  and  most  other  twining 
plants,  about  three  interuodes  at  a  time  partake  of  the 
motion. 

The  Hoya  camosa  (Asclepiadacece)  revolves  opposite  to 
the  sun  in  five  or  six  hours,  making  a  circle  of  over  five  feet 
in  diameter.  The  tip  traced  thirty-two  inches  per  hour. 
It  was  an  interesting  spectacle  to  watch  the  long  shoot 
sweeping  night  and  day  this  grand  circle  in  search  of  some 
object  round  which  to  twine.     Sometimes  it  described  nar- 


CUMBINO   PLANTS.  407 

• 

row  ellipses.  After  performing  thirty-seyen  revolutions  the 
stem  of  a  hop  was  found  to  be  twisted  three  times  round  its 
own  axis  in  the  direction  of  the  sun.  To  prove  that  the 
twisting  of  the  stem  does  not  cause  the  revolutions,  as  Hugo 
von  Mohl  supposed,  809ne  stems  are  not  regularly  twisted 
and  others  twist  in  an  opposite  direction  to  the  revolving 
plant.  In  many  twining  plants  the  end  of  the  shoot  is 
hooked  so  as  the  more  readily  to  hold  fast  to  any  object  of 
support  which  may  be  caught.  This  support  once  found, 
the  point  of  contact  ceases  to  move,  but  the  tip  continues  to 
twine  above  and  around  the  support  as  a  rope  swung  around 
a  stick  will   coil   in   the  direction   of  the  swinging  rope. 

If  a  stick  shortly  after  having  been  wound  round  be  with- 
drawn, the  shoot  retjiius  for  a  time  its  spiral  form,  then 
straightens  itself  and  again  begins  to  revolve.  Mohl  be- 
lieved that  plants  twined  because  of  a  dull  irritability  of  the 
stem,  but  experiments  prove  that  this  is  not  generally  the 
case. 

If  the  support  of  a  twiner  be  not  lofty  it  falls  to  the 
ground,  and  resting  there  the  extremity  rises  again.  Some- 
times several  flexible  shoots  twine  together  into  a  cable  and 
thus  support  each  other.  Single  thin  shoots  will  fall  and 
turn  abruptly  back  and  wind  upwards  on  themselves.  The 
majority  of  twiners  move  in  a  course  opposed  to  that  of  the 
sun  or  the  hands  of  a  watch.  Barely  plants  of  the  same 
order  twine  in  opposite  directions,  but  no  instance  is  known 
of  two  species  of  the  same  genus  twining  in  opposite  direc- 
tions. Of  seventeen  plants  of  Loasa  aurarUiaca^  eight  re- 
volved in  opposition  to  the  sun  and  ascended  from  left  to 
right,  five  followed  the  sun  and  ascended  from  right  to  left, 
and  four  revolved  and  twined  first  in  one  direction,  and  then 
reversed  their  course.  One  of  these  four  plants  made  seven 
spiral  turns  from  right  to  left,  and  five  turns  from  left  to 
right.  Climbers  of  the  temperate  zone  will  not  generally 
twine  around  thick  trees,  while  those  of  the  tropics  can. 
Unless  this  wore  the  case  those  of  the  tropics  could  hardly 


408  GfLIXBING   PLANTS. 

ever  reach  the  light.  In  our  temperate  countries  twiners 
which  die  down  every  year  would  gain  nothing  as  they  could 
not  reach  the  summit  in  a  single  season.  With  most  twining 
plants  all  the  branches,  however  many  there  may  be,  go  on 
revolving  together;  but,  according  to  Mohl,  the  maiu  stem 
of  Tamtis  elephantipes  does  not  twine — only  the  branches. 
On  the  other  hand,  with  the  asparagus,  given  in  the  table, 
the  leading  shoot  alone,  and  not  the  branches,  revolved  and 
twined.  Some  produce  shoots  of  two  sorts,  one  of  which 
twines;  the  others  not.  In  others  the  uppermost  shoots 
alone  twine.  One  twines  during  the  middle  of  the  summer 
but  not  in  autumn.  Some  grow  erect  in  dry  South  Africa, 
their  native  country ;  but  near  Dublin,  Ireland,  they  regu- 
larly twine. 

Leaf  Climbers.  —  The  stems  of  several  species  of  (7Ze- 
nuUis  are  twinera  like  the  hop.  But  in  addition  to  this  mode 
of  holding  fast,  the  petioles  are  sensitive  to  the  touch, 
slowly  bend  into  the  form  of  hooks,  and  if  successful  in 
catching  a  stick  they  clasp  it  firmly  and  soon  become  greatly 
enlarged  and  strengthened  by  an  extra  growth  of  woody 
fibre.  If  they  come  in  contact  with  no  object  they  retain 
this  position  for  a  considerable  time,  and  then  bending  up- 
wards they  reassume  their  original  upturned  position,  which 
is  retained  ever  afterwards.  In  Clematis  calycina  the 
clasped  petiole  becomes  nearly  twice  as  thick  as  the  leaf- 
.stalk  which  has  clasped  nothing.  The  petiole  of  the  un- 
clasped leaf  is  flexible,  and  can  be  easily  snapped,  whereas 
the  clasped  footstalk  acquires  an  extraordinary  toughness 
and  rigidity  so  that  considerable  force  is  required  to  pull  it' 
into  pieces.  The  meaning  of  these  changes  is  plain,  namely, 
that  the  petioles  may  firmly  and  durably  support  the  stem. 
In  some  species  of  Clematis  furnished  with  compound  leaves 
the  main  petiole  alone  is  sensitive,  while  some  have  two  or 
three  sub-petioles,  also  sensitive ;  still  others  have  the  en- 
tire number,  as  many  as  seven,  sensitive.  Some  petioles 
are  extremely  sensitive  to  very  light  weights,  as  one-eighth 


^  GLIHBINa  PLANTS.  409 

of  a  grain.  They  will  clasp  thin  withered  blades  of  grass, 
the  soft  young  leaves  of  a  maple,  or  the  lateral  flower  pe« 
duncles  of  the  quaking  grass  Briza;  the  latter  are  only 
about  as  thick  as  a  hair  from  a  man's  beard,  but  they  were 
completely  surrounded  and  clasped. 

The  first  petiole  of  JVopceolum  tricolorum  var.  grandi- 
Jhrum  bear  no  laminae  or  blades,  and  are  very  sensitive  to 
touch,  sometimes  bending  into  a  complete  ring  in  six  min- 
utes. The  next  filaments  above  have  their  tips  slightly 
enlarged,  and  those  still  farther  up  the  stem  still  more 
enlarged ;  so  we  find  all  grades,  from  tendrils  to  leaves  with 
large  blades.  All  of  these  petioles  are  sensitive;  those 
without  blades  acting  in  every  way  like  genuine  tendrils ; 
the  latter  are  short  lived,  however,  dropping  off  as  soon  as 
the  petioles  of  the  true  leaves  have  clasped  the  support 
above.  The  most  remarkable  fact,  and  which  I  have  ob- 
served in  no  other  species  of  the  genus,  is  that  the  filaments 
and  petioles  of  the  young  leaves,  if  they  catch  no  object, 
after  standing  in  their  original  position  for  some  days,  spon- 
taneously and  slowly  move,  oscillating  a  little  from  side  to 
side  towards  the  stem  of  the  plant.  Hence  all  the  petioles 
and  filaments,  though  arising  on  different  sides  of  the  axis, 
ultimately  bend  towards  and  clasp  either  their  own  stem  or 
the  supporting  stick.  The  petioles  and  filaments  often  be- 
come, after  a  time,  in  some  degree  contracted,  presenting 
features  much  like  true  tendrils. 

Maurandia  semperfiorens  {Scrcpkulariacece)  has  flower 
peduncles  which  are  sensitive  like  tendrils,  and  exhibit  re- 
volving powers.  These  spontaneous  movements  seem  to  be 
of  no  service  to  the  plant  as  they  lose  the  power  when  the 
flower  is  old  enough  to  open.  The  leaf-stalks  and  internodes 
of  this  plant  do  not  twine. 

Lopho^permum  scandens  var.  purpureum  when  young  lias 
sensitive  internodes.  When  a  petiole  clasps  a  stick  it 
draws  the  base  of  the  intemode  against  it ;  and  then  the 
intemode   itself   bends   towards  the   stick,   which  is  thus 

AMKR.   NATURALIST,  VOL.  IV.  52 


410 


CLIMBING   PLANTS. 


caught  between  the  eteni  aud  the  petiole  as  by  a  pnir  of 
piucers.  The  interuode  straightens  itself  again,  excepting 
tiie  part  iu  contact  with  the  stick. 

With  Solatium  jasminoidea  (Fig.  88)  as  iu  no  other  leaf- 
climber  exiimined,  a  leaf  grown  tu  its  full  size  wa»  capable 
of  clasping  a  stick  ;  but  the  movement  was  extremely  slow, 
requiring  several  weeks.     Ou  compuring  a  thin  ti'ansvcrdu 
Pig.  SB.  slice  of  this  petiole  with 

one  from  the  next  or  older 
leaf  beneath,  which  had  not 
clasped  anything,  its  diam- 
eter was  found  to  be  fully 
doubled,  and  its  structure 
greatly  changed.  In  the 
section  of  the  petiole 
which  had  during  several 
weeks  cla8i>ed  a  stick,  the 
two  upper  ridges  have  be- 
come much  less  prominent, 
and  the  two  groups  of 
woody  vessels  beneath 
them  much  increased  in 
diameter.  The  semilunar  band  is  couverted  into  a  complete 
ring  of  very  hard,  white,  woody  tissue,  with  lines  radiating 
from  the  centre.  The  three  groups  of  vessels,  which,  though 
closely  approximate,  w^-re  before  distinct,  are  now  com- 
pletely blended  together.  This  clasped  petiole  had  actuHlly 
become  thicker  than  the  stem  close  beneath ;  due  chiefly  tu 
the  greater  thickness  of  the  ring  of  wood. 

Plants  belonging  to  eight  families  are  known  to  have 
clasping  petioles,  and  plants  belonging  to  four  ftimilies  climb 
by  the  tips  of  their  leaves.  With  nire  exceptions  the  peti- 
oles are  sensitive  only  whilst  young ';  they  are  sensitive  on 
all  sides,  but  in  diflerent  degrees  in  different  plants. 

Tendril-bearing  Plants.  —  By  tendrils  are  meant  fila- 
mentary organs,  sensitive  to  contact  and  used  exclusively 


BoliDnm  JumlnoklM. 


.CLIMBING   PLANTS.  411 

for  climbing.  They  ai*e  formed  by  the  modification  of  leaves 
with  their  petioles,  of  flower-peduncles,  perhaps  also  of 
branches  and  stipules.  The  species  of  tendril  bearers  de- 
scribed belong  to  ten  natural  families.  Species  of  Bignonia 
and  some  others  taken  together,  afic)rd  ""connecting  links 
between  twiners,  leaf-climbers,  tendril-bearers,  and  root 
climbers.  Some  little  time  after  the  stem  of  Bignonia 
Tweedyana  has  twined  round  an  upright  stick,  and  is  se- 
curely fastened  to  it  by  the  clasping  petioles  and  tendrils,  it 
emits  at  the  base  of  its  leaves  aerial  roots  which  curve  partly 
round  and  adhere  to  the  stick ;  so  that  this  one  species  of 
Bignonia  combines  four  difierent  methods  of  climbing,  gen- 
erally characteristic  of  distinct  plants,  namely,  twining,  leaf- 
climbing,  tendril-climbing,  and  root-climbing. 

The  movements  of  Bignonia  venusta  are  quite  compli- 
cated. Not  only  the  tendrils  but  the  petioles  bearing  them 
revolve ;  these  petioles,  however,  are  not  in  the  least  sensi- 
tive. Thus  the  young  internodes,  the  petioles,  and  the 
tendrils,  all  at  the  same  time,  go  on  revolving  together,  but 
at  different  rates.  Moreover  the  movements  of  the  opposite 
petioles  and  tendrils  are  quite  independent  of  each  other. 
One  other  curious  point  remains  to  be  mentioned.  In  a  few 
days  after  the  toes  have  closely  clasped  a  stick,  their  blunt 
extremities  become,  though  not  invariably,  developed  into 
irregular  disk-like  balls,  which  have  the  singular  power  of 
adhering  firmly  to  the  wood. 

The  simple  undivided  tendril  of  Bignonia  speciosa  ends  in 
an  almost  stniight,  sharp,  uncolored  point.  The  whole  ter- 
minal part  exhibits  an  odd  habit,  which  in  an  animal  would 
be  called  an  instinct ;  for  it  continually  searches  for  any  little 
dark  hole  into  which  to  insert  itself.  The  tendrils  slowly 
travel  over  the  surface  of  the  wood,  and  when  the  apex  came 
to  a  hole  or  a  fissure  it  inserted  itself,  often  bending  at  right 
angles  to  the  basal  part.  The  same  tendril  would  frequently 
withdraw  from  one  hole  and  insert  its  point  into  a  second 
one.     Mr.  Darwin  saj's :     "Improbable  as  this  view  may  be 


412  CLIMBING  PLANTS. 

I  am  led  to  suspect  that  this  habit  in  the  tendril  of  inserting 
its  tip  into  dark  holes  and  crevices  has  been  inherited  by  the 
plant  after  having  lost  the  power  of  forming  adhesive  disks/' 

A  plant  of  Bignonia  capreolata  was  several  times  shifted 
in  position  in  a  box  where  one  side  only  was  exposed  to  the 
light;  in  two  days  all  six  tendrils  pointed  with  unerring 
truth  to  the  darkest  comer  of  the  box,  though  to  do  this 
each  had  to  bend  in  a  different  manner.  Six  tattered  flags 
could  not  have  pointed  more  truly  from  the  wind  than  did 
these  branched  tendrils  from  the  stream  of  light  which  en- 
tered the  box.  When  a  tendril  does  not  succeed  in  clasping 
a  support  it  bends  downwards  and  then  towards  its  own 
stem,  which  it  seizes,  together  with  the  supporting  stick,  if 
there  be  one.  If  the  tendril  seizes  nothing  it  does  not  con- 
tract, spirally,  but  soon  withers  away  and  drops  off.  A 
bunch  of  wool  was  placed  in  the  way  of  the  tendrils ;  they 
caught  one  or  two  fibres  and  then  the  tips  began  to  swell 
into  irregular  balls  above  the  one-twentieth  of  an  inch  in 
diameter.  The  surfaces  of  these  balls  secrete  some  viscid 
resinous  matter,  to  which  the  fibres  of  the  wool  adhere,  so 
that  after  a  time  fifty  or  sixty  fibres  are  all  deeply  imbedded 
in  one  ball  of  tendril.  These  tendrils  quite  fail  to  attach 
themselves  to  a  brick  wall.  These  plants  are  especially 
adapted  to  climb  trees  clothed  with  lichens  and  mosses  which 
abound  on  the  trees  in  the  native  country  of  the  Bignonia. 

Coboea  scandens  (Polemoniaceoe)  is  an  admirable  climber. 
The  terminal  portion  of  the  petiole  which  forms  the  tendril 
is  sometimes  eleven  inches  long.  The  tendril  performs  one 
revolution  against  the  sun  in  an  hour  and  a  quarter.  The 
base  of  the  petiole  and  the  internodes  do  not  move  at  all. 

A  large  majority  of  the  tendrils  of  Corydalis  daviculata 
still  bear  leaflets,  though  excessively  reduced  in  size.  We 
here  behold  a  plant  in  an  actual  state  of  transition  from  a 
leaf-climber  to  a  tendril-bearer.  Whilst  the  plant  is  young, 
only  the  outer  leaves,  but  when  full-grown  all  the  leaves, 
have  their  extremities  more  or  less  perfectly  converted  into 
tendrils. 


CLIKBINa  PLANTS.  413 

JSchinocystis  lobata,  A  thin,  smooth,  cylindrical,  stick 
was  placed  so  far  from  a  tendril  that  its  extremity  could 
only  curl  half  or  three-quarters  round  the  stick.  It  was 
always  found  in  the  course  of  a  few  hours  afterwards  that 
the  tip  had  managed  to  curl  twice  or  even  thrice  quite  round 
the  stick.  Measurements  showed  that  this  was  not  due  to 
the  growth  of  the  tendril.  Whilst  the  tendril  was  slowly 
and  quile  insensibly  crawling  onwards  it  was  observed  that 
the  whole  surface  was  not  in  close  contact  with  the  stick. 
The  onward  movement  is  supposed  to  be  slightly  vermicular, 
or  that  the  tip  alternately  straightens  itself  a  little  and  then 
again  curls  inwards,  thus  dragging  itself  onwards  by  an  in- 
sensibly slow,  alternate  movement,  which  may  be  compared 
to  that  of  a  strong  man  suspended  by  the  ends  of  his  fingers 
to  a  horizontal  pole,  who  works  his  fingei*s  onwards  until  he 
am  grasp  the  pole  with  the  palm  of  his  hand.  Experiments 
upon  this  interesting  plant  were  made  and  the  results  pub- 
lished by  Dr.  Asa  Gray,  in  1858.  This  led  Mr.  Darwin  to 
more  extended  observations  upon  many  other  climbing 
plants.  He  is  only  one  of  a  large  number  of  persons  who 
are  indebted  for  valuable  hints  from  the  sagacious  botanist 
of  Cambridge,  Mass. 

Hanburya  Mexicana.  In  a  few  days  after  the  tips  of  the 
tendrils  have  grasped  an  object  the  inferior  surface  swells 
and  becomes  developed  into  a  cellular  layer,  which  adapts 
itself  closely  to  the  wood,  and  firmly  adheres  to  it.  This  is 
not  the  extreme  tip  of  the  tendril  but  a  trifle  back  of  it. 
This  layer  apparently  secretes  some  resinous  cement,  as  it  is 
not  loosened  by  water  or  alcohol,  but  is  freed  by  the  action 
of  ether  and  turpentine. 

Tendrils  of  plants  belonging  to  FitocecB,  Sapindacecdf 
Passifloracecdf  and  perhaps  others,  are  modified  flower  pe- 
duncles, but  their  homological  nature  makes  no  diflerence  in 
their  action.  Figure  89  shows  pairt  of  the  tendril  of  a  grape- 
vine bearing  flowers.  From  this  state  we  can  trace  every 
stage  till  we  come  to  a  full-sized  common  tendril,  bearing  on 


414 


CLIKBINQ  FLAMTS. 


rig.  ee. 


the   branch  which  correspoade  with  the  sub-peduncle  one 
aiugle  dower-bud  t 

Ampdopsis  quinque/olia  (Fig.  90,  tendril,  with  the  young 
leut'.  Fig.  ttl,  teudril,  several  weeks  after  its  attachment  U> 
a  wall,  with  the  brauches  thickened  and  spirally  contracted, 
and  with  the  extrem- 
ities developed  into 
disks.  The  unattached 
bmuchea  have  with- 
ered and  dropped  off. ) 
climbs  by  tendrils  Uke 
the  grape-viue,  but  in 
addition  has  a  way  of 
holding  fast  to  plain 
BUrfitees  by  means  of 
little  disks  or  cush- 
ions. These  disks  are 
apparently  never  de- 
veloped without  a  cnn- 
fcict  with  some  object. 
A  tendril  which  has 
not  become  attached 
to  any  body  does  not 
contract  spirally ;  and 

in  course  of  a  week  or 

two  shrinks  into  the 
finest  thrend,  withers  and  dmps  off.  An  attached  tendril,  on 
the  other  hand,  contracts  spindly,  and  thus  becomes  highly 
elastic;  eo  that  when  the  main  foot-stnik  is  pulled, the  strain 
is  equally  distributed  to  all  the  attached  disks.  During  the 
following  winter  it  ceases  to  live  but  remains  firmly  attached 
to  the  stem  and  to  the  surface  of  attachment.  The  gain  in 
strength  and  durability  in  a  tendril  after  its  attachment  is 
something  wonderful.  They  adhere  etill  strong  after  an 
exposure  to  the  weather  for  fourteen  or  fifteen  years.  One 
single  lateral  branchlet  of  a  tendril,  estimated  to  Iw  at  least 


CUUBINO    PLANTS.  415 

ten  years  old,  was  still  elastic  and  euppoited  a  weight  of 
exactly  two  pounds.  This  tendril  had  five  diek-beai'in^ 
branches  of  equal  tbiokness  and  of  apporently  equal  strength, 
so  thnt  this  oue  tendril,  after  having  been  exposed  during 
ten  years  to  the  weather,  would  have  resisted  a  straiu  of  ten 
pounds ! 

Spiral  ConlractioTia.  —  Tendrilfi  of  many  kinds  of  plants 
if  they  catch  oothiug,  conti-act  after  an  iuterval  of  several 

Fl«.  90. 


diiys  or  weeks  into  a  close  spire.     A  few  contract  into  a 
helix. 

The  spiral  contraction  which  ensues  after  a  tendril  has 
caught  a  support  is  of  high  service  to  all  tendril-hearing 
plants ;  hence  its  almost  universal  oecuiTence  with  plants  of 
widely  diSerent  orders.  When  caught  the  spiral  contrac- 
tion drags  up  the  shoot.  Thus  there  is  no  waste  of  growth, 
and  the  stretched  stem  ascends  by  the  shortest  course.  A 
far  more  impoi-tant  service  rendered  by  the  spiral  contraction 
id  that  the  tendrils  are  thus  made  highly  elastic.  The  strain, 
as  in  Ampehpsis,  is  thus  equally  distributed  to  the  several ' 
attached  branches  of  a  brauched  tetidiil.  It  is  this  elasticity 
which  saves  both  branched  and  simple  tendrils  from  [mu^ 
torn  away  during  stormy  weather.     In  oue   case  observed 


416 


CLtUBINO  Pi:.AIITS. 


ns-u. 


the  Bryony  (Fig.  92)  safely  rode  out  the  gale,  like  a  ship 
with  two  anchors  duWD,  and  with  a  loug  range  of  cable 
ahead  to  serve  as  a  spring  aa  she  surges  to  the  storm.  Wheu 
au  uucaught  teudril  contracts  spirally  the  spire  always  runs 
in  the  same  direction  from  tip  to  base.  A  tendril,  on  the 
other  baud,  which  has  caught  a  support  by  its  extremity, 
iuvariably  becomes  twistud  in  one  puit  in  one  direction,  aud 
iu  another  part  iu  the  opposite  direction ;  the  oppositely 
turned  spires  being  separated  by  short,  straight  portions. 
Sometimes  the 
spii-es  of  a  ten- 
dril alternately 
turn  as  many  as 
five  times  in  <>p- 
IHisite  directions, 
with  straight 
poilious  between 
them;  even  seven 
or  eight  have 
been  seen  by  M. 
Leon.  Whether 
few  spires,  or 
fbany,  there  are 
as  many  in  one 
direction  as  in 
the  other.  To  give  an  illnatration ;  when  a  habei-dasher 
winds  up  rihlKin  for  a  customer  he  does  not  wind  it  into  a 
single  coil ;  for.  if  he  did,  the  ribbon  would  twist  itself  iis 
many  times  ns  there  were  coils ;  but  he  winds  it  into  a  figure 
of  eight  on  his  thumb  and  little  finger,  so  that  he  alternately 
takes  turns  in  opposite  directions,  and  thus  the  ribbon  is  not 
twisted.  So  it  is  with  tendrils,  with  this  sole  difierence, 
that  they  take  several  consecutive  turns  in  one  direction,  and 
then  the  same  number  in  an  opposite  direction  ;  but  in  both 
cases  the  self-twisting  is  ecjnally  avoided.  IHuaiflora  graeilin 
has  the  most  sensitive  tendrils  which  were  seen;  a  bit  of 


CLDIBINO   PLANTS.  417 

platiua  wire,  oae-fiFtJcth  of  a  gmiu  in  weight,  gently  pkced 
oil  the  cunuuve  point,  caused  two  teudriU  to  become  hooked. 
After  11  touch  the  tendril  begHii  to  move  iu  twciity-Gre  sec- 
onds. Dr.  Asa  Gray  saw  teudriU  of  Sit-i/os  move  in  thirty 
seconds.  Other  tendrils  move  in  a  few  minutes ;  iu  the 
DiceiUra  in  half  an  hour ;  in  the  Smilax  in  an  hour  and  a 
quarter;  and  iu  the  Ampdopais  still  more  slowly.  Tendrils 
move  to  the  touch  of  almost  any  substance,  drops  of  water 
excepted.  Adjoining  tendrils  rarely  catch  each  other.  Some 
tendrils  have  Uieir  revolving  motion  accelerated  and  retarded 
in  moving  to  and  from  the  light ;  others  are  indifferent  to  its 
action.     America  which   so   abounds  with  ai'boreal  animals 

Tig.  n. 


abounds  with  climbing  plants;  and,  of  the  tendril-bearing 
plants  examined  the  most  admimbly  constructed  come  from 
this  grand  continent,  namely,  the  several  species  of  Big- 
nonia,  EccremocaTpua,  Cobaea,  and  Ampelopsia. 

Hoot  Olimbers.  —  Ficug  repens  climbs  up  walls  just  like 
ivy ;  when  the  young  rootlets  were  made  to  press  lightly  on 
slips  of  glass  they  emitted,  after  about  a  week's  interval, 
minute  drops  of  clear  fluid,  slightly  viscid.  One  small  drop 
the  size  of  half  a  pin's  head,  was  mixed  with  grains  of  sand. 
The  slip  of  glass  was  left  exposed  in  a  drawer  during  hot 
and  dry  weather.  The  mass  remained  fluid  during  one  hun- 
dred aud  twenty-eight  days  ;  how  much  longer  was  not  ob- 
served.    The  rootlets  seem  to  first  secrete  a  slightly  viscid 

AMKR.    NATUBALIBT,    VOL,   IV,  68 


418  CLIMBING  PLANTS. 

fluid  and  then  absorb  the  watery  plants,  and  ultimately  leave 
a  cement. 

Plants  become  climbers,  in  order,  it  may  be  presumed,  to 
reach  the  light,  and  to  expose  a  large  surface  of  leaves  to  its 
action  and  to  that  of  the  free  air*  This  is  eflboted  by  climbers 
with  wonderfully  little  expenditure  of  organized  matter,  in 
comparison  with  trees,  which  have  to  support  a  load  of  heavy 
branches  by  a  massive  trunk.  Because  these  climbing  plants 
graduate  into  each  other  they  have  *^  become"  climbers  by 
gradual  changes.  This  looks  too  much  like  the  old  fanciful 
theory  that  has  again  and  again  appeared,  namely,  the  giraffe 
acquired  his  long  neck  by  a  constant  desire  for  high  twigs, 
and  an  effort  to  reach  them ;  the  elephant  his  long  trunk  by 
a  similar  desire  and  effort  to  reach  the  grass  at  his  feet.  We 
cannot  see  how  homology  indicates  descent.  We  do  not  be- 
lieve because  the  various  modes  of  inflorescence  run  into  each 
other  (Jiomologous)  that  they  have  all  been  derived  from  one 
common  form.  Mr.  Darwin  believes  that  leaf-climbers  were 
primordially  twiners,  and  tendril-bearers  were  primordially 
leaf-climbers :  and  thinks  he  understa'nds  how  the  chansfe  has 
been  brought  about;  yet  ho  says  "if  we  inquire  how  the 
petiole  of  a  leaf,  or  the  peduncle  of  a  flower,  or  a  branch, 
first  becomes  sensitive  and  acquires  the  power  of  bending 
towards  the  touched  side,  we  get  no  certain  answer. *'  Wo 
are  again  silenced  if  we  inquire  how  the  stems,  petioles, 
tendrils,  and  flower  peduncles  first  acquired  their  power  of 
spontiineously  revolving.  Below  we  give  a  good  sample  of 
Darwinism. 

^  If  these  views  be  correct  Lathyraa  nissolia  must  be  de- 
scended from  a  primordial  spirally-twining  plant ;  that  this 
became  a  leaf-climber ;  that  first,  part  of  the  leaf,  and  then 
the  whole  leaf  became  converted  into  a  tendril,  with  the 
stipules  by  compensation  greatly  increased  in  size ;  that  this 
tendril  lost  its  branches  and  became  simple,  then  lost  its  re- 
volving-power (in  which  state  it  would  resemble  the  tendril 
of  the  existing  X.  aphaca)^  and  afterwards  losing  its  pre- 


REVIEWS.  419 

bensile  power  and  becoming  foUacious,  would  no  longer 
be  called  a  tendril.  In  this  last  stage  (that  of  the  existing 
X.  nissolia)^  the  former  tendril  would  reassume  its  original 
function  of  a  leaf,  and  its  lately  largely  developed  stipules 
being  no  longer  wanted  would  decrease  in  size."  He  be- 
lieves that  the  capacity  of  acquiring  the  revolving  power  on 
which  most  climbers  depend  is  inherent,  though  undevel- 
oped, in  almost  every  plant  in  the  vegetable  kingdom. 
Notwithstanding  his  peculiar  views,  which  are  so  enticing  to 
many,  we  must  acknowledge  that  he  is  a  shrewd  and  accurate 
observer,  and  that  in  this  paper,  as  in  many  others,  he  has 
patiently  collected  a  vast  amount  of  valuable  information 
upon  a  great  variety  of  subjects. 


REVIEWS. 


Natural  Selbction.*  —  Mr.  Wallace  has  here  brought  together,  in  a 
compact  Httle  book,  aU  those  essays  which  have  laid  the  foundation  of 
his  great  reputation  as  the  author,  in  common  with  Mr.  Darwin,  of  the 
theory  of  Natural  Selection.  The  modesty  of  the  author,  and  that  admir- 
able Judicial  coolness  of  mind  which  he  shares  in  common  with  Darwin, 
is  a  most  persuasive  introduction,  and  produces  a  favorable  disposition  in 
the  mind  of  the  reader,  which  the  candid  style  of  treating  the  different 
subjects  greatly  strengthens.  In  fact  we  have  rarely  read  a  work  which 
has  given  us  so  much  pleasure  and  information,  and  we  recommend  it  to 
all  those  who  desire  to  get  the  principles  of  Darwinism  but  have  not  the 
patience  to  spend  a  longer  time  over  Darwin's  work. 

The  first  chapter  shows  that  geological  changes  determine  the  varia- 
tions which  take  place  in  the  geographical  distribution  of  animals  and 
plants;  that  closely  allied  animals  are  closely  associated  geographically 
and  geologically,  so  that  **  every  species  has  come  into  existence  coinci- 
dent both  in  time  and  space  with  a  preexisting  closely  allied  species.** 
The  author  then  proceeds  to  show  how  variations  In  animals  occur,  and 
incidentally  Introduces  an  ingenious  and  remarkable  explanation  of  the 
reversions  of  domesticated  types  when  returned  to  a  feral  condition.  A 
domesticated  type,  when  allowed  to  become  wild  again,  generally  speak* 

*Cootiibatioiis  to  tbo  Theory  of  Nataral  Seleetion.  A  Sertot  of  Em«7I  by  Alfred  BoflMU 
Wallaoe,  McMlUan  4  Co.,  London  and  New  York,  Sro,  p.  884. 


420  REVIEWS. 

ing  possesses  modiflcatlons  which  are  exceedingly  disadvantageoas ;  thus 
they  must  either  regain  the  original  characteristics  of  their  ancestors  or 
become  extinct. 

In  treating  of  mimicry,  or  the  protective  resemblance  which  many  In- 
sects have  to  the  bark  and  leaves  of  trees,  Mr.  Wallace  Is  particularly  for- 
cible and  happy  in  his  iUastrations.  The  Kallima  inachU  and  K.  partUexta 
are  perhaps  the  most  remarkable  examples  of  mimicry.  In  these  two 
species  the  wings,  when  folded,  precisely  resemble  a  dead  leaf,  and  since 
these  insects  never  alight  except  on  withered  bushes,  they  are  almost 
sure  to  escape  detection.  **  We  thus  have  size,  color,  form  and  habits  all 
combining  together  to  produce  a  disguise  which  may  be  said  to  be  abso- 
lutely perfect."  In  the  same  manner  numerous  instances  are  given  of 
similar  resemblances  occurring  between  animals  in  which  a  harmless 
species  is  protected  by  assuming  a  resemblance  to  another  species  en- 
dowed either  with  stings,  disagreeable  secretions,  or  some  other  pcQull- 
aritles  which  render  them  obnoxious  as  objects  of  prey  or  food  to  birds. 
As  we  have  before  remarked  in  dealing  with  Darwinian  theories,  we  can- 
not see  in  all  this  that  natural  selection  Is  by  any  means  the  primary 
cause  of  variation. 

Granting  that  all  the  variations  occur  as  explained,  It  seems  to  become 
more  and  more  evident  that  physical  changes,  or  some  other  unknown 
causes,  give  the  Initiatory  impetus  to  change.  According  to  both  Darwin 
and  Wallace  a  variation  must  appear,  and  this  variation  must  in  some 
shape  better  adapt  the  animal  to  its  surroundings,  its  physical  wants,  be- 
fore natural  selection  can  act.  Thus  in  the  experience  of  all  practical 
naturalists  It  acts  in  such  a  manner  that  species  have  certain  local 
characteristics  which  they  share  in  common  with  other  species  fV'om 
the  same  locality.  Again,  as  cited  by  Wallace,  the  rise  of  a  mountain 
system,  or  other  geological  revolutions,  may  produce  great  changes  in  the 
climate  and  corresponding  revolutions  in  the  flora  and  fauna  of  a  region. 
We  have  never  been  able  clearly  to  see  why  the  plasticity  of  the  organi- 
zation, and  the  tendency  to  vary  in  any  advantageous  direction,  as  seems 
to  be  proved  by  the  cases  of  protective  mimicry,  might  not  be  acted 
upon  with  equal  facility  by  physical  causes,  natural  selection  being  only 
the  secondary  means  by  which  these  variations  are  perpetuated  or  trans- 
ferred fh>m  individual  to  Individual. 

To  our  minds  one  of  the  most  remarkable  portions  of  this  book  is  the 
bold  and  successAil  application  of  the  theory  to  man,  and  the  last  chapter 
which  treats  of  the  limitations  of  natural  selection. 

It  is  shown  that  natural  selection  would  cease  to  act  upon  the  body 
after  man  had  once  reached  a  period  at  which  the  intellectual  faculties 
began  to  appear,  since  then  all  necessity  for  farther  physical  change 
would  be  at  an  end. 

**'  We  am  now,  therefore,  enabled  to  harmonlM  the  eonllletlDgr  rlewt  of  antbropoloftote  on  thie 
■ottfeet.  Man  mar  hare  been,  indeed  I  bellere  mast  hare  been,  onoe  a  homogeneoas  race;  bat 
It  was  at  a  period  of  wlilch  we  hare  as  yet  diMovered  no  remains,  at  a  period  ao  remote  in  his 


BEVIEW8.  421 

lilfltoryi  tb«t  he  bad  not  yet  aoqaired  that  wonderftaUf  deTeloped  brain,  tb«  organ  of  the  mind, 
which  noWf  CTen  In  hlB  lowest  examples,  raises  him  fkr  above  the  highest  brutes; —at  a  period 
when  he  had  the  form  but  hardly  the  nature  of  man,  when  he  neither  possessed  human  speech, 
nor  those  sympathetic  and  moral  feelings  which  In  a  greater  or  less  degree  ererywhere  now 
distinguish  tbe  race.  Just  In  proportion  as  these  truly  human  fkcoltles  became  dereloped  In 
him,  would  his  physical  features  become  flxed  and  permanent,  because  tbe  latter  would  be  of 
less  Importance  to  his  well  being;  he  would  be  kept  In  harmony  with  the  slowly  changing  uni- 
verse around  blm,  by  an  advance  In  mind,  rather  than  by  a  change  in  body.  If,  therefore,  we 
are  of  opinion  that  he  was  not  really  man  till  these  higher  flicnltlee  were  ftilly  developed,  we 
mayfklrly  assert  that  there  were  many  originally  distinct  races  of  men;  while,  if  we  think 
that  a  being  closely  resembling  us  In  form  and  structure,  but  with  mental  faculties  scarcely 
raised  above  the  brute,  must  still  be  considered  to  have  been  human,  we  are  fliUy  entitled  to 
nalniain  tbe  common  origin  of  all  mankind.** 

With  regard  to  the  limits  of  the  action  pf  this  law  we  quote  the  follow- 
ing interesting  and  important  argument : 

**  Mr.  Darwin  himself  has  taken  eare  to  Impress  upon  us,  that  **nataral  selection  **  haa  no 
power  to  produce  absolute  perfbetion  but  only  relative  perftetlon,  no  power  to  advance  any 
being  much  beyond  his  ftUow  beings,  but  only  Just  so  much  beyond  them  as  to  enable  It  to  sur- 
vive them  In  the  struggle  fbr  existence.  Still  I^ss  has  It  any  power  to  produce  roodlflcatlona 
which  are  in  any  degree  iiOnrlous  to  Its  possessor,  and  Mr.  Darwin  frequently  nses  tbe  strong 
expression,  that  a  single  case  of  this  kind  would  be  iktal  to  his  theory.  It,  therefore,  we  find  In 
man  any  characters,  which  all  the  evidence  we  can  obtain  goes  to  show  would  have  been  acta- 
ally  iqjurious  to  him  on  their  first  appearance,  they  could  not  possibly  have  been  produced  by 
natural  selection.  Neither  could  any  specially  developed  organ  have  been  so  produced  if  it 
had  been  merely  useless  to  him,  or  If  its  use  were  not  proportionate  to  its  degree  of  develop- 
ment. Such  cases  as  these  would  prove,  that  some  other  law,  or  some  other  power,  than 
^  natural  selection  **  had  been  at  work.** 

The  author  than  proceeds  to  show  that  the  brain  of  the  sarage  is  use- 
lessly large,  being  on  an  average  over  two  and  a  half  times  the  capacity 
of  that  of  a  Gorilla  and  nearly  seven-eighths  of  the  average  Caucasian,  or 
civilized  European.  This  reserve  power  in  the  savage,  as  shown  by  the 
size  of  the  unused  brain,  cannot  be  accounted  for  by  natural  selection, 
since  it  is  evidently,  as  shown  above,  something  provided  which  is  not  in 
nse  and  for  which  a  daily  necessity  does  not  exist. 

The  hairless  condition  of  the  back  in  man  is  also,  as  pointed  out  by  Mr, 
Wallace,  a  characteristic  which  among  naked  savages  is  decidedly  a  dis- 
advantage and  equally  nnaccoun table  on  the  principles  of  natural  selec- 
tion. 

We  have  already  pointed  out  in  previous  reviews  other  cases  in  which 
exceptions  to  the  action  of  the  law  of  natural  selection  might  be  found, 
especially  among  the  fossils.  Instead  of  repeating  these  remarks  we 
would  refer  the  reader  to  a  series  of  articles  published  in  the  **  Scientific 
Opinion.***  These  present,  by  far,  the  ablest  refutation  of  the  univer- 
sality of  application  claimed  for  the  great  theory  of  the  day.  This,  to- 
gether with  Professor  Dawson's  "Modem  Ideas  of  Derivation,"  reviewed 
in  a  previous  number  of  this  magazine,  and  Professor  Cope's  *'  Origin  of 
Genera,"  give  fair  views  of  the  principal  arguments  urged  against  the 
somewhat  unquestioning  and  hasty  acceptation  of  Darwinism  which 
seems  to  have  become  the  fashion. 


*TbeDlfflcultIesof  the  Theory  of  Katnral  Selection.   Sdentlflo  Opinion,  Nov.  10,  Dee.  1, 
1809.    Noe.64-«7,Vol.9. 


422  REVIEWS. 

And  here  permit  as  to  repeat,  by  way  of  explanation,  that  Darwin- 
Ism  does  not  mean  the  theory  of  development  or  derivation,  pure  and  sim- 
ple, as  so  many  insist,  bat  that  explanation  of  its  action  by  the  law  of 
natnral  selection  which  is  given  by  Wallace  and  Darwin.  We  have  no 
objections  to  urge  against  the  theory  which  accounts  for  the  origin  of 
species  by  descent  from  some  ancient  and  simpler  forms,  which  might  be 
appropriately  called  Lamarciiiianlsm,  bat  only  against  the  auiversality  of 
the  law  of  natural  selection.  This  is  applied  to  the  solution  of  the  ori- 
gin of  all  the  various  modifications  of  form  and  characteristics  which 
have  arisen  since  the  first  appearance  of  life  upon  the  globe,  whereas  it 
is  evidently  only  a  secondary  la.w,  active  perhaps  in  all  species  but  sub- 
ordinated to  some  other  and  more  comprehensive  law  still  undiscovered. 

As  regards  the  origin  of  man  himself  our  author  takes  the  ground  that 

**  some  higher  intelligence  may  have  directed  the  process  by  which  the 

human  race  was  developed  by  means  of  more  subtle  agencies  than  we  are 

acquainted  with. 

At  the  same  time  I  most  eonftess,  that  thla  theory  has  the  dlsadTantage  of  requiring  the  Inter- 
rentloD  of  aome  distinct  ImllTldual  intelligence,  to  aid  In  the  production  of  what  we  can  hardly 
avoid  considering  as  the  ultimate  aim  and  outcome  of  all  organized  existence— Intellectual, 
eTer«advnncing,  spiritual  man.  It  therefore  implies,  that  the  great  laws  which  govern  the 
material  universe  were  insnfBcient  for  his  production,  unless  we  consider  (as  we  may  AUriy 
do)  that  the  controlling  action  of  such  higher  intelligences  is  a  necessary  part  of  those  laws, 
Just  as  the  action  of  all  surrounding  organisms  is  one  of  the  agencies  in  organic  development. 
But  eveu  if  my  particular  view  should  not  be  the  true  one,  the  difBculties  I  have  put  fbrward 
remain,  and  I  think  prove,  that  some  more  general  and  more  ftmdamental  law  underlies  that 
of  ^  natnral  selection."  The  law  of  '*  unconscious  intelligence  **  pervading  all  organic  nature, 
put  forth  hy  Dr.  Laycock  and  adopted  by  Mr.  Murphy,  Is  sucli  a  law;  but  to  my  mlud  it  has  the 
double  disadvantage  of  being  both  unintelligible  and  Incapable  of  any  kind  of  proof.  It  is  more 
probable,  that  the  true  law  lies  too  deep  for  us  to  discover  it;  but  there  seems  to  me,  to  be 
ample  indications  that  such  a  law  does  exist,  and  is  probably  connected  with  the  absolute  origin 
of  llfiB  and  organization. 

In  this  connection  read  the  original  thoughts  in  the  closing  paragraphs 
on  "The  Nature  of  Matter,"  "Matter  is  Force,"  "  All  Force  is  probably 
Will-force,"  expressed  In  brief  thus :  "  if,  therefore,  we  have  traced  one 
force,  however  minute,  to  an  origin  In  our  own  will,  while  we  have  no 
knowledge  of  any  other  primary  cause  of  force,  It  does  not  seem  an  im- 
probable conclusion  that  all  force  may  be  will-force ;  and  thus,  that  the 
whole  universe  is,  not  merely  dependent  on,  but  actually  U,  the  will  of 
higher  intelligences  or  of  one  Supreme  Intelligence." 

American  Microscopes  and  their  Merits.*  —  The  first  of  these 
papers  is  an  elaborate  attempt  at  an  account  of  American  microscopes 
and  their  merits ;  but  should  have  more  properly  been  entitled  an  attempt 
to  describe  the  microscopes  made  by  R.  B.  Tolles,  as  of  the  twenty-five 
pages  which  it  covers,  twenty  are  given  to  Tolles.    The  second  article 

*  On  the  North  American  Microscope.  By  Dr.  H.  Hagen,  Cambridge,  Mass.  Max  Sehnlti^ 
Archiv  ftir  Mierosooplsche  Anatomic.  Bonn.  8d  No.  1S70.  A  communication  by  Di  H.  Hagen 
on  his  experience  In  the  use  of  the  mlorosoopo.  Proceedings  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natnral 
History,  vol.  xii,  p.  357.  March  10th,  1869.  A  verbal  communication  on  ToUes's  and  Schetck^s 
microscopes,  to  tiie  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  November  lOtb,  1809.   Unpublished. 


REVIEWS.  423 

above  named,  but  first  in  time,  is  noticed  here  merely  to  illastrate  some 
points  in  the  first,  and  the  third,  because  it  was  preliminary  to  the  first, 
which  only  elaborates  more  in  detail  what  Dr.  Hagen  said  In  his  yerbal 
commanlcation,  and  repeats  statements  and  assertions  which  at  the  time 
they  were  made,  Dr.  Hagen  was  informed,  by  those  as  fkilly  competent, 
to  say  the  least  as  himself,  were  erroneous ;  bnt  in  this  first  named  paper 
Dr.  Hagen  sees  fit  to  entirely  ignore  the  refutations,  and  makes  the  same 
statements  deliberately  again,  as  thoagh  there  had  been  no  contra- 
diction of  them.  There  is  no  other  course  left  for  those  who  know 
him  to  be  wrong  or  feel  aggrieved  by  his  statements,  than  to  examine 
his  qualifications  for  pronouncing  Judgment,  and  to  show  wherein  he  is 
mistaken. 

Dr.  Hagen  being  a  man  of  acknowledged  scientific  acquirements,  and 
holding  a  reputable  position  at  Cambridge,  his  opinions,  given  on  a  pro- 
fessed detail  of  facts,  and  after  a  claimed  careful  study  of  two  years,  pub- 
lished in  a  Journal  of  high  repute  in  Europe,  will  command  attention  and 
respect  there,  among  those  who  have  no  opportunity  to  see  and  Judge  for 
themselves.  If  he  had  stated  facts  correctly  his  paper  might  have  been 
left  to  itself  to  refute  his  '*  opinions."  No  one  can  object  to  any  compar- 
ison of  American  instruments  with  others ;  it  is  only  asked  that  the  com- 
parison shall  be  made  fairly,  and  by  a  competent  expert.  The  writer 
proposes  to  show  that  Dr.  Hagen's  investigation  has  been  superficial  and 
inadequate  to  the  task  he  undertook ;  and  that  he  has  mistaken  facts  and 
repeated  assertions  after  he  had  been  informed  that  they  were  erroneous. 

Dr.  Hagen  opens  his  first  communication  to  the  Boston  Society  of  Nat- 
ural History  by  saying :  *'  Having  worked  with  the  microscope  more  than 
thirty  years  for  medical  and  scientific  purposes  ~~  following  the  gradual 
perfecting  of  the  instrument — I  was  anxious  to  examine  the  power  [?] 
of  American  microscopes."  This  passage  sets  forth  his  claim  to  be  a 
competent  critic. 

'*  During  the  past  ten  years  there  has  been  great  competition  among 
opticians,  but  in  every  case  their  progress  has  been  arrested  by  one  in- 
surmountable obstacle."  [What  one  ?  ]  **  Since  the  recent  improvement 
in  correcting  objectives  for  the  thickness  of  covering  glasses,  compara- 
tively little  has  been  done."  Why  he  should  have  restricted  the  '*  great 
competition  "  to  the  last  ten  years,  and  called  the  improvements  in  objec- 
tives **  recent,"  when  the  competition  In  London  has  been  active  for  forty 
years,  and  the  *'  improvement"  was  made  by  Ross  nearly  or  quite  thirty 
years  ago,  can  only  be  explained  by  supposing  what  has  been  generally 
believed  to  be  the  fact,  that  the  **  improvement "  and  the  competion  had 
not  reached  Germany  until  the  last  ten  years.  So  far  flrom  little  having 
been  done  since  the  '*  improvement "  so  much  has  been  done  in  England 
that  the  London  Microscopical  Society,  which  procured  objectives  of  the 
"three"  leading  London  artists  in  about  the  year  1845,  in  1867-8  aban- 
doned the  whole  of  them  as  behind  the  times,  and  obtained  new  ones  of 
the  same  makers. 


424  REVIEWS.  i 

Dr.  Hagen  then  makes  some  yery  Jast  obseryatlons  on  '*  the  difference 
in  the  aberration  of  the  eyes  of  the  obseryers.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
different  observers  obtain  different  results  with  the  same  Instrument." 
This  is  an  important  fact  and  an  important  admission  ft'om  Dr.  Hagen. 
It  is  well  Icnown  to  many  microscopists,  but  is  generally  ignored.  It  is  a 
pity  that  it  did  not  occur  to  Dr.  Hagen  to  remember  what  he  had  written 
in  March,  when  he  in  October  recorded  some  of  his  own  observations. 

The  paper  in  the  '*  Archiv  "  begins  by  saying  for  the  past  twenty  years 
that  the  **  prominent  excellence  of  American  microscopes  have  been  fire- 
qnently  mentioned"  and  it  has  been  **asserted  that  their  achievements  have 
essentially  excelled  those  of  European  make."  '*  To  my  knowledge  a  di- 
rect proof  of  this  has  never  been  exhibited,  it  has  not  been  shown  that 
anything  has  been  ever  better  seen  than  with  European  instruments." 
**  Thus  the  American  instrument  constituted  until  recently  a  myth  to- 
wards which  all  interested  in  this  branch  of  science  gazed  with  anxious 
cariosity,  and  prompted  me  daring  my  two  years  residence  in  this  coun-  < 
try,  to  become  thoroughly  acquainted  with  it,  and  I  have  spared  no  pains  to 
study  them  carefally."  Here  we  have  distinctly  the  task* set  forth,  and  the 
claim  that  he  spared  no  pains  to  accomplish  it.  Two  years  of  the  spare 
time  of  a  busy  man  was  rather  short  for  the  undertaking,  especially  for 
one  with  an  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  English  language.  Let  us  see 
what  were  the  "  pains  "  taken.  **  The  members  of  the  microscopical 
section  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  especially  Mr.  Bicknell 
of  Salem,  Mr.  Greenleaf  of  Boston,  Professors  Agassiz  and  Gibbs»  Mr. 
Edwards  of  New  York,  and  Mr.  Tolles  himself,  have  kindly  seconded  my 
efforts."  Four  of  these  gentlemen  certainly  were  competent  to  assist. 
The  writer  cannot  say  what  Mr.  Edwards  or  Professors  Agassiz  and 
GIbbs  did  for  assistance ;  but  he  states  positively  that  neither  Mr.  Green- 
leaf  or  Tolles  *' assisted,-"  that  Mr.  Bicknell  was  the  only  one  of  the 
three  who  had  any  intimation  whatever  of  Dr.  Hagen*s  intention  of  be- 
coming **  thoroaghly  acquainted  "  with  the  American  microscope,  for  the 
purpose  of  publication ;  they  were  never  asked  to  assist  for  any  such  pur- 
pose. Had  Dr.  Hagen  not  spared  his  *'  pains ;"  liad  he  enquired  for  those 
who  could  have  **  assisted  "  him  in  his  '*  study  "  and  have  given  him  **  posi* 
tive  proofs,"  he  would  have  been  referred  to  Professor  Holmes  and  Pro- 
fessor Bacon  of  his  own  university,  and  to  Professor  Smith  of  Hobart 
College,  New  York  —  Mieroscopists  who  have  made  a  study  of  the  micro- 
scope for  twenty  years  —  to  Dr.  Barnard,  Pres.  Columbia  College,  New 
York;  to  Professor  H.  J.  Clarke  of  the  Kentucky  University;  to  J.  E. 
Gavit,  Esq.,  of  New  York;  to  Dr.  F.  W.  Lewis  of  Philadelphia;  to  Pro- 
fessor C.  Johnston  of  Baltimore,  to  Mr.  J.  S.  C.  Greene,  Jr.,  of  Boston ; 
gentlemen  who  have  made  the  comparison  of  European  microscopes  of 
the  best  makers f  with  American  instruments  almost  a  specialty ;  had  he 
done  this  his  study  might  have  produced  more  correct  results ;  that  is  if 
he  had  given  heed  to  the  information  he  received  —  for  he  seems  to  have 
disregarded  that  which  he  obtained  ft'om  Messrs.  Greenleaf  and  Bicknell. 


REVIEWS.  425 

Dr.  Hagen  glyes  his  <*  general  opinion  "  before  giving  the  details,  and 
says  '*  novelty  of  any  importance  is  not  obtained."  Yet  before  he  con- 
cludes his  paper  be  ennmerates  six  novelties,  all  invented  or  designed  by 
Tolles,  namely :  his  binocalar  eye-piece ;  the  illuminator  of  opaque  objects 
with  high  powers ;  the  low  power  immersion  lens ;  the  solid  eye-piece ; 
thp  mode  of  effecting  a4justment  for  covering  glass,  and  the  amplifier; 
and  overloolcs  others  quite  important  by  ToUes  and  Zentmeyer. 

**  Objectives  and  oculars  accomplish  with  slight  variations  as  much  as 
the  best  European,  never  more ;  on  the  contrary  English  and  French  ob- 
jectives have  accomplished  some  things  which  the  American  have  hith- 
erto fliiled  to  do."  It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  paper  to  produce  evidence 
outside  of  Dr.  Hagen's  own  statements,  as  to  what  American  objectives- 
have  done.  It  is  only  needftil  to  contrast  what  he  says  above  with  what 
he  says  he  himself  saw.  Dr.  H.  says  **  that  an  objective  1-lOth  inch  with 
ocular  C.  showed  while  band  19  [of  the  Nobert  test  plate]  was  in  the  cen- 
tre of  the  field,  the  18th,  17th,  and  half  of  the  16th  bands;  the  lines  in  all 
were  well  d^ned,  but  not  so  that  I  could  have  counted  them  all.  I  could 
count  about  forty  of  the  19th,  the  rest  blurred.'*  **None  of  Tolles'  objec- 
tives have  well  resolved  the  16th  to  19th  bands  of  Nobert's  plates  which 
has  been  done  with  the  l-16th  of  Powell  and  Lealand."  It  would  seem 
incredible  that  the  same  person  could  have  written  the  above  lines  in 
the  same  paper;  most  especially  after  he  had  been  positively  informed 
by  five  gentlemen  that  they  had  seen  the  19th  band  resolved,  and  with 
several  of  Tolles'  objectives.  But  Dr.  Hagen  takes  the  ground  (though 
not  in  this  paper,  as  he  should  have  done)  that  because  he  did  not  count 
all  the  lines  at  once,  that  they  were  not  resolved ;  and  it  is  true  that  he  is 
not  alone  in  that  theory.  To  show  the  absurdity  of  this  we  will  suppose 
that  Nobert  had  ruled  in  the  19th  band  only  28  lines  instead  of  57,  would 
Dr.  Hagen  say  they  were  not  resolved,  when  he  saw  the  whole,  because 
there  were  no  more?  Or  If  Nobert  had  covered  a  whole  inch  with  the 
112,000  and  some  odd  lines,  would  any  one  claim  that  they  must  all  be 
seen  at  once  ?  If  either  of  these  suggestions  are  answered  In  the  nega- 
tive, then  Dr.  Hagen  has  himself  seen  the  19th  band  resolved  with  a 
Tolles'  objective.  But  Dr.  Hagen  says  that  American  objectives  have 
done  **  never  more  than  European,"  and  yet  what  he  did  with  a  1-lOth 
objective,  is  much  **  more  "  than  to  see  all  the  lines  with  a  1-16  (really 
a  1-20).  He  never  saw,  read  of,  or  heard  of  a  1-10  European  objective 
that  would  do  what  that  one  accomplished.  This  is  not  all;  his  sight  of 
the  Surirella  gemma  gives  the  same  contradiction  to  his  **  opinion."  He 
says  *'  8.  gemma  with  the  same  1-10  showed  only  in  a  few  places  oblong 
fields  between  the  cross  lines,  but  not  well  defined  or  regular  as  in 
Hartnack's  drawings."  Well,  did  any  one  ever  see  them  so?  If  Dr. 
Hagen  knew  as  much  of  diatoms  as  of  insects,  he  would  have  been  aware 
of  the  fact  that  Hartnack's  figure  is  a  theoretical  diagram,  not  a  repre- 
sentation of  the  appearance  in  the  microscope.  Probably  the  only  person 
living  who  claims  to  have  seen  what  Hartnack  calls  the  '*  flat  hexagons," 

AMBR.  KATUBAU8T,  VOL.  lY.  54 


426  REVIEWS, 

is  Mr.  Bicknell,  who  says  he  saw  them,  and  only  with  a  Tolles*  1-12. 
Hartnack  does  not  say  distinctly  that  he  has  seen  them  with  a  1-16;  he 
attempted  to  show  them  to  two  accomplished  microscopists,  and  both 
fliiled  to  see  them.  Dr.  Eulenstein  has  also  foiled  with  Hartnack's  Nos. 
10,  11  and  12,  Powell  and  Lealand's  1-50  and  Ross*  objectives;  and  Dr. 
Hagen  knew  these  facts,  for  the  writer  told  him  before  his  paper  was 
written ;  comment  is  unnecessary.  Dr.  Hagen  also  says  that  Hartnack's 
1-16  has  resolved  S.  gemmae  and  Tolles'  1-10  has  not,  ergo  Hartnack's  has 
done  what  Tolles*  could  not.  Dr.  Hagen  has  himself  furnished  the 
''direct  proof**  he  wanted  of  the  ''unsurpassed  excellence*'  of  the 
American  objective. 

Now  for  some  of  Dr.  Hagen*8  errors  and  mistakes.  He  says  of  Tolles' 
objectives  "  the  workmanship  is  superb,"  "  the  ac^ustment  only  moves  the 
lower  lens  from  the  two  others."  The  solid  eye-pieces  are  "  really  bi- 
convex Coddington  lenses."  He  gives  on  the  authority  of  Edwards  a 
formula  of  Tolles*  objectives ;  all  there  is  to  be  said,  is,  that  the  formula 
is  not  Tolles*  formula,  the  eye-pieces  are  not  Coddington  lenses,  and  that 
Tolles  had  never  made  objectives  to  move  the  flront  lens ;  all  of  which 
Dr.  Hagen  could  have  easily  ascertained. 

Dr.  Hagen  considers  that  "a  most  important  fkult  of  the  instrument 
consists  in  the  difQculty  of  its  use.  In  order  to  ac^nst  them  so  that  they 
will  give  their  greatest  results  requires  delicate  labor  and  considerable 
time.  In  this  respect  they  are  excelled  by  the  higher  as  well  as  the  lower 
powers  of  English  and  German."  "  The  ease  of  treatment  of  Hartnack's 
and  Schelck's  highest  objectives  is  certainly  far  less  troublesome."  If  this 
means  anything  it  must  refer  to  the  delicacy  of  the  adjustment  for  cov- 
ering glass.  Undoubtedly  Scheick*8  are  far  less  troublesome.  It  Is 
thought  to  be  well  known  to  microscopists  that  the  delicacy  of  this  ad- 
justment—consequently in  one  sense  the  difficulty  of  use  — is  increased 
Just  in  proportion  to  the  approach  to  perfection  of  the  lenses.  Certain  it 
is  that  Hartnack  when  delivering  an  objective  made  for  a  member  of  the 
Boston  Society  of  Natural  History  two  years  ago,  called  the  purchaser's 
attention  especially  to  the  fact  that  when  an  object  was  best  shown, 
the  movement  of  the  adjusting  ring  one  hundredth  of  an  inch  either  way 
destroyed  the  eifect,  as  an  evidence  of  the  perfection  of  his  work.  As  to 
English  objectires.  Dr.  Piggott  in  a  recently  published  article  on  high 
power  objectives,  speaks  of  a  certain  effect  being  entirely  destroyed  by  a 
change  of  this  adjustment  which  moved  the  lens  only  1-14,000  of  an  inch. 
8o  much  for  English  lens  and  Hartnack*s.  Microscopists  know  that  Dr. 
Hagen  is  in  an  error  as  to  good  objectives,  but  correct  if  his  remarks 
are  applied  to  poor  ones ;  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  he  was  "  utterly 
(utonished  to  see  how  much  more  the  hand  of  the  artist  himself  will 
develop    with  the  instrument." 

The  majority  of  the  microscopists  here  are  "  diiletanti  or  workers  on 
diatoms  ;*'  this  must  be  news  to  Professors  Holmes,  Bacon,  Ellis  and  Gray, 
and  to  their  hundreds  of  past  and  present  students ;  the  "  tmth  will  be 


KEVIEWS.  427 

respected  *Mf  it  is  said  that  there  are  hardly  enough  dlatomlsts  in  the 
whole  conntry  to  encourage  each  other. 

Dr.  Hagen  thinks  that  his  attempt  at  "  even  pronouncing  a  Judgment  on 
the  local  instruments,  caused  a  storm  of  indignation  against  me  by  the 
resident  mlcroscopists/'  and  accounts  for  it  by  the  assertion  that  **we 
know  that  most  of  them  are  members  of  the  Boston  Optical  Associa- 
tion." Dr.  Hagen  here  refers  to  the  reception  of  his  verbal  communica- 
tion to  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History  in  November  last.  Of  all 
the  persons  then  present  but  two  were  members  of  that  association,  and 
whatever  indignation  was  manifested  was  at  his  preposterous  compar- 
isons of  cost.  Dr.  Hagen  then  asserted  that  the  American  Instruments 
cost  600  per  cent,  more  than  German  of  equal  merit,  and  that  "English 
objectives  of  the  most  celebrated  makers  could  be  imported  to  advan- 
tage.*' In  his  paper  in  the  **Archiv"  Dr.  Hagen  reduces  the  comparative 
cost  of  German  and  French  objectives  to  "one-third  or  one-fourth  as 
much,"  but  repeats  his  comparison  as  to  the  English  **  according  to  Frey's 
statement."  Now  before  this  paper  was  written  the  cost  of  importing 
English  objectives  was  read  in  detail  to  Dr.  Hagen,  and  it  was  shown 
from  the  makers'  price  lists  that  the  cost  was  much  higher  than  Tolles' 
prices  for  similar  objectives,  and  yet  Dr.  Hagen  elects  to  repeat  his  er- 
roneous statement.  He  said  then  that  he  "spoke  for  the  interest  of 
science."  Can  the  interest  of  science  be  promoted  by  such  misstate- 
ments? It  was  not  the  intention  of  the  writer  to  have  said  anything 
more  on  the  matter  of  cost,  but  while  writing  this  paper  a  letter  was 
received,  an  extract  flrom  which  is  a  good  comment  on  all  that  Dr.  Hagen 
has  said  as  to  cost  and  workmanship.  It  Is  not  known  that  the  writer  of 
the  letter  ever  heard  of  Dr.  Hagen  or  his  comparisons.  The  letter  was 
written  by  Colonel  J.  G.  F.  Holston,  M.D.,  Washington,-  D.C.,  June,  1870. 
"I  was  never  dissatisfied  either  with  Tolles'  prices  or  his  workmanship, 
for  although  apparently  dearer  than  some  other  makers,  the  superior  ex- 
cellency more  than  balances  it.  I  can  do  with  my  l-12th  by  Tolles  (cost 
$100),  all  that  Powell  and  Lealand's  l-50th  will  do  well  that  cost  the 
United  States  $350.  I  compared  them  myself  at  the  museum."  Dr. 
Barnard,  President  of  Columbia  College,  New  York,  writes,  "  Dr.  Hagen 
is  absurdly  wrong  in  his  comparison  of  the  performance  of  the  American 
and  foreign  objectives  of  the  same  price."  "  It  is  nonsense  to  make 
such  comparisons  as  these  price  for  price." 

No  less  unfortunate  is  Dr.  Hagen  in  his  description  of  Tolles'  first  class 
instruments ;  he  partially  describes  the  plan  and  construction  of  some  in- 
struments which  he  had  seen  —  omitting,  however,  some  of  the  most 
peculiar  details  —  and  mixing  with  that  some  of  the  peculiarities  of  an 
unique  instrument,  the  only  one  of  the  kind  ever  made,  and  which  he  has 
never  seen,  the  particulars  of  which  he  could  have  got  A*om  Dr.  Bar- 
nard's report  of  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1867  —  constructing  in  this  way 
an  instrument  which  has  no  existence.  He  claims  to  have  "  seen  and 
tested  nine  of  Tolles'  Instruments  of  the  largest  class."    The  writer  will 


J 


428  BEYIEWS. 

not  say  that  \a  Impossible,  but  he  can  say  that  there  are  no  nine  instni- 
ments  of  the  "  largest  class  **  known  to  Mr.  ToUes  that  Dr.  Hagen  conld 
possibly  have  seen  and  tested.  His  classification  mnst  be  treated  as  an 
error  until  he  ftimishes  a  list  of  the  nine.  The  self-sufficiency  with 
which  he  charges  the  reverend  President  of  Colambia  College  with  mak- 
ing, in  his  official  report  of  the  Paris  Exposition,  a  claim  that  is  '*  hardly 
tenable  '*  is,  to  use  his  own  expression,  **  quite  comical."  Dr.  Barnard  had 
reported  that  "it  was  to  be  regretted  that  the  American  makers  did  not 
send  "  stands  to  the  exhibition ;  for  the  want  of  them  the  objectives  were 
not  properly  examined.  Dr.  Hagen  twists  this  round  in  this  way.  "The 
same  objectives  are  ft'equently  used  here  with  English  stands  and  occn- 
lars,  plenty  of  which  were  to  be  had  In  Paris.  If,  then,  they  did  not 
prove  themselves  snccessftil  the  reason  must  be  that  they  did  not  attain 
as  much  as  others.  The  circumstances  of  the  difficulty  of  their  adjust* 
ment  is  not  to  be  allowed  in  this  case  as  the  reporter  (Barnard)  himself 
is  an  adept  In  their  use,"  all  of  which  is  entirely  imaginary  with  Dr. 
Hagen.  A  recent  letter  fh>m  Dr.  Barnard  recites  the  whole  story.  He 
says :  **  In  regard  to  what  Dr.  Hagen  says  of  my  report,  he  so  singularly 
misunderstands  me,  or  so  wilfully  misrepresents  that  it  seems  hardly 
necessary  to  reply  to  him.  I  never  said  or  Intimated  that  a  Tolles'  stand 
was  necessary  to  develop  a  Tolles'  objective,  but  only  that  a  stand  of 
some  kind  was  necessary,  a  proposition  which  I  think  stands  to  reason. 
The  disadvantage  conld  not  appear  until  the  Jury,  Instead  of  examining 
the  glasses,  country  by  country,  as  I  supposed  they  would,  using  certain 
uniform  tests,  ordered  at  once  all  the  exhibitors  of  microscope  objectives 
to  present  their  glasses  simultaneously  in  one  place  (and  that,  by  the 
way,  as  bad  a  place  as  conld  be  selected,  a  small  room  with  one  window, 
a  moderately  sized  table,  and  no  chairs).  Had  the  first  plan  been  pur- 
sued there  would  have  been  no  trouble  about  stands,  for  Mr.  Beck  of  Lon- 
don was  close  by  the  American  section  with  a  case  fbll  of  apparatus, 
inclading  stands  of  all  forms,  one  of  which  he  subsequently  placed  at  my 
disposal  for  some  length  of  time.  But  when  the  crowd  came  together  at 
the  place  appointed,  the  American  glasses  were  present  without  any 
stands,  and  though  both  Mr.  Ross  and  Mr.  Beck,  (tfter  their  oiien  glasses 
had  been  examined,  permitted  me  to  make  use  of  their  stands,  the  weari- 
ness of  the  protracted  examination,  with  the  extreme  heat  of  the  crowded 
room,  made  the  Jury  impatient,  and  notwithstanding  the  compliment  Dr. 
Hagen  pays  me  as  an  "adept,"  I  was  not  smart  enough  to  secure,  on  that 
occasion,  what  I  thought  a  fair  trial  of  the  glasses  ^  by  which  expression 
I  mean  not  a  fair  development  of  their  powers,  but  a  fair  attention  to  their 
development.  /  never  got  the  whole  Jury  to  examine  the  glasses  thorottghly* 
After  I  had  obtained  f^om  Mr.  Beck  a  stand,  Dr.  Brooke  of  London,  made 
the  fullest  trial  with  them  which  I  could  secure  Arom  any  member,  and  he 
expressed  himself  favorably,  though  he  has  the  natural  national  leaning 
of  an  Englishman.  It  would  have  been  ridiculous  for  me  to  narrate  all 
this  in  my  report,  but  it  is  absurd  for  any  one  to  interpret  what  I  do  say 


BEYIEWS.  429 

«8  Dr.  Hagen  does."  That  effectually  disposes  of  Dr.  Hagen's  Infereuces, 
that  the  American  objectives  '*  did  not  attain  so  much  as  others." 

Dr.  Hagen  attempts  to  controvert  the  opinion  now  unanimonsly  re- 
ceived in  England  and  America,  that  the  microscope  should  be  so  con« 
Btracted  as  to  receive  an  inclination.  He  says,  <'the  statement  made  by 
people  here  that  the  worlcing  with  high  stand  instruments  (they  being 
tnrned  baclc)  is  much  more  convenient,  as  keeping  the  neck  straight  pre* 
vents  the  rush  of  blood  to  the  head,  makes  rather  a  comical  impression. 
I  say  comical,  when  we  consider  that  for  tens  of  years  back  several  thou- 
sand low  stand  instruments  have  been  in  daily  use  in  Europe  without 
detrimental  results."  [?]  Possibly  no  one  but  Dr.  Hagen  has  ever  heard 
that  the  use  of  vertical  instruments  caused  a  rush  of  blood  to  the  head ; 
but  the  experience  of  all  mlcroscoplsts  here  (Dr.  Hagen  excepted),  is 
against  the  use  of  the  low  stand  vertical  instruments,  and  that  evils  and 
imperfect  work  do  result  firom  the  use  of  such.  To  show  that  the  **  com- 
icality "  of  the  objection  is  not  original  with  American  mlcroscoplsts,  the 
following  is  extracted  ft'om  Dr.  Wm.  B.  Carpenter's  work  on  the  micro- 
scope,—an  author  whose  opinion  is  certainly  equal  to  Dr.  Hagen's  thirty 
years  experience  —  written  fifteen  years  ago.  "  Scarcely  less  Important 
*  *  *  is  the  capability  of  being  placed  in  either  a  vertical  or  a  horizon-^ 
tal  position,  or  at  any  angle  with  the  horizon,  without  deranging  the 
adjustments  of  its  parts  to  each  other,"  *  *  *  *  **  It  is  certainly  a 
matter  of  surprise  that  opticians,  especially  on  the  continerUf  should 
have  so  long  neglected  the  very  simple  means  which  are  at  present  com- 
monly employed  in  this  country  of  giving  an  inclined  position  to  micro- 
scopes, since  It  is  now  universally  acknowledged  that  the  vertical  posi- 
tion is,  of  all  that  can  be  adopted,  the  very  worst"  Perhaps  if  Carpen- 
ter's work  had  been  translated  into  German  fifteen  years  ago  it  might 
not  have  been  needful  to  write  this  paper. 

Dr.  Hagen  has  so  little  to  say  of  American  microscope  makers,  other 
than  Tolles,  that  he  found  it  impracticable  to  make  so  many  mistakes  in 
regard  to  them.  If  he  had  taken  more  **  pains  "  he  could  fiave  added  ma- 
terially to  the  number. 

Of  Spencer  he  says :  **  A  few  years  ago,  however,  he  retired  Arom  the 
business."  This  is  a  mistake,  for  which  probably  Dr.  Hagen  is  not  re- 
sponsible. "  I  have  not  in  fact  had  an  opportunity  to  compare  Spencer's 
objectives  and  oculars."  ^*  In  Boston,  Salem,  and  Massachusetts  gener- 
ally, there  are  none  of  Spencer's  instruments  to  be  found ;"  that  is  be- 
cause he  ** spared  the  pains"  to  find  them.  The  writer  had  them,  and 
would  have  guided  the  enquirer  to  others. 

Of  Zentroeyer  he  remarks :  ''  As  near  as  I  can  find  out  he  makes  no 
glasses.  Each  of  his  stands  that  I  saw  had  objectives  and  oculars  of 
Tolles  or  Wales."  Another  example  of  the  superficial  knowledge  ob« 
tained  by  Dr.  Hagen ;  a  portion  of  the  veiy  oculars  which  he  saw  on  Mr. 
Bicknell's  instrument,  and  which  he  gives  the  power  of  as  Tolles,  were 
made  by  Zentmeyer  I    Had  he  not  *'  spared  pains "  to  inquire,  he  could 


430  REVIEWS* 

have  learned  that  Zentmeyer  does  make  glasses,  and  that  one  of  the 
ToUes'  stands  which  he  had  seen  was  Airnished  with  an  excellent  ob- 
jective by  Zentmeyer.  In  the  notice  of  Zentmeyer's  stand  the  most  im- 
portant and  characteristic  features  are  entirely  unnoticed  I 

In  his  notice  of  Orunow's  instruments  he  particularizes  an  inverted 
microscope,  the  peculiarity  of  which  was  a  movement  by  friction  rollers, 
an  invention  of  Tolles,  and  which  he  (Hagen)  had  seen  various  modifica- 
tions of  on  several  of  ToUes*  instruments,  in  particular  the  first  one  in 
which  it  was  ever  introduced ;  yet  he  failed  to  notice  it  there. 

It  may,  perhaps,  be  urged  for  Dr.  Hugen  that  these  things  are  trivial, 
and  to  some  they  may  look  so;  but  they  constitute  Dr.  Hagen*8  paper; 
the  aggregate  of  the  trivialities  makes  about  the  whole.  Dr.  Hagen  falls 
throughout  all  his  papers  to  appreciate  the  difference  between  magnifying 
power  and  quality. 

With  a  patronizing  air  that  is  **  nearly  comical,'*  after  reading  the  paper, 
he  compliments  the  artists  In  these  words :  **  Messrs.  Tolles  and  Wales 
are  no  doubt  artists  of  the  first  water,  constantly  endeavoring  to  advance 
and  enlarge  their  science." 

Dr.  Hagen  admits  that  he  has  not  exhausted  his  subject,  and  promises 
to  renew  it ;  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  he  will,  and  that  when  he  does  he  will 
spare  no  pains  to  make  himself  thoroughly  acquainted  with  it ;  if  he  en* 
deavors  to  do  that,  all  our  microscoplsts  will  cheerfully  assist  him.  —  C.  S* 

•  Alaska  and  its  Rbsourcks.*  It  is  not  often  that  an  exploration  is  able 
to  show  such  results  as  Mr.  Dall  places  before  the  public  in  this  volume, 
even  when  assisted  by  public  means.  We  cannot,  therefore,  praise  too 
highly  the  modest  manner  in  which  the  author  tells  us  that  he  was  unwill- 
ing to  have  the  plans  of  the  former  director,  Mi^or  Keunlcott  abandoned, 
and  therefore,  undertook  to  carry  out  the  remainder  of  the  explorations 
which  were  only  half  completed  when  the  telegraph  company  abandoned 
the  enterprise.  The  author  was  thus  left  alone  for  one  year  and  suc- 
ceeded in  completing  the  survey  of  the  Yukon  Valley,  unassisted  except 
by  the  natives.  As  a  thorough  and  reliable  account  of  Alaska,  with  Its 
pictures  of  subarctic  nature,  the  substantial  volume  before  us,  with  its 
beautiAil  illustrations,  typography,  paper  and  binding,  will  claim  the 
highest  rank  and  retain  it  for  years  to  come.  We  feel  proud  of  this 
elegant  book,  and  that  it  is  the  Arults  of  American  pluck,  enthusiasm, 
and  scientific  zeal. 

Many  of  the  scientific  results  obtained  by  Mr.  Dall  have  been  already 
published  in  the  Naturalist,  and  the  great  value  of  his  discoveries  in  a 
single  department  of  zoology,  i.e.  that  of  ornithology,  were  passed  in 
review  in  the  last  number  by  an  able  naturalist.  In  reading  over  the 
plain,  unvarnished,  modest  narrative  of  personal  adventure  and  explora- 
tions in  Alaska,  we  are  struck  by  the  earnest  endeavor  of  the  author  to 

*B7  WnUam  H.  DtU.  Lee  ta»\  Shepard,  Boflton,  1S70.  Svo,  pp.  8S7.  With  a  map  and  nn- 
neroiu  UlottratloiM.   t7J0. 


REVIEWS.  431 

make  his  statements  thoroughly  reliable.  Alaska  is  in  most  respects  a 
new  coantry, — the  hand  of  civilized  man  has  scarcely  made  its  mark  on 
the  face  of  nature,  the  Indians  and  Inn  aits  will  soon  disappear,  domesti- 
cated and  introduced  species  of  animals  and  plants  have  scarcely  taken 
up  their  abode  and  begun  to  wage  war  against  the  native  species,  and 
Just  at  this  Juncture  the  record  of  a  naturalist  who  has  watched  the 
changes  of  efich  season  for  two  years  In  succession  is  a  contribution  of 
the  first  importance  to  science. 

The  first  half  (Part  I)  of  the  book  is  a  personal  narrative  of  travels  on 
the  Yukon  River  and  in  the  Yukon  territory,  the  first  year  as  Director  of 
the  Scientific  Corps  of  the  Western  Union  Telegraphic  Expedition ;  the 
second  year  he  remained  after  the  expedition  returned,  and  prosecuted  his 
explorations  alone  and  at  his  own  expense.  The  second  part  treats  of  the 
geography,  history,  inhabitants,  and  resources  of  Alaska. 

In  reading  the  narrative  we  occasionally  meet  with  a  paragraph  of  gen- 
eral interest  to  onr  readers.  Let  the  author  give  us  his  first  impressions 
of  the  Yukon : 

**  Fused  oyer  (p.  41)  the  fltnlu  of  some  high  hills,  fW>m  one  of  wblcb  I  caag^ht  mj  flrtt 
prllmpse  of  the  great  rlyer  Tnkon,  broad,  sioooth,  and  ice-boand.  A  natural  impatience  urged 
me  forward,  and  after  a  smart  tramp  of  several  miles  we  arrived  at  the  steep  bank  of  the 
river.  It  was  with  a  fieellng  akin  to  that  which  nrged  Balboa  forward  Into  the  very  waves  of  a 
newly  discovered  ocean,  that  I  mshed  by  the  dogs  and  down  the  steep  declivity,  forgettinic 
everything  else  in  the  desire  to  be  first  on  tlie  ice,  and  to  ei\)oy  the  magnillcent  prospect  before 
me. 

There  lay  a  stretch  of  forty  miles  of  this  great,  broad,  snow-covered  river,  with  broken  fl*Bg>- 
ments  of  ice-cakes  glowing  In  the  mddy  light  of  the  setting  sun;  the  low  opposite  shore,  three 
miles  away,  seemed  a  mere  black  streak  on  tlie  horUon.  A  fow  islands  covered  with  dark 
evergreens  were  In  sight  above.  Below,  a  fkint  purple  tinged  the  snowy  crests  of  flir-off  moun- 
tains, whose  iMlght,  though  not  extreme,  seemed  greater  ftom  the  low  banks  near  me  and  the 
clear  sky  beyond.  This  was  the  river  I  had  read  and  dreamed  of,  which  had  seemed  as  if 
shrouded  in  mystery,  in  spite  of  the  tales  of  those  who  bad  seen  it.  On  its  banks  Uve  thou- 
sands  who  know  neither  its  outlet  nor  Its  source,  who  look  to  It  for  food  and  even  for  clothing, 
and.  recognising  its  magnificence,  call  themselves  proudly  men  of  th9  Fiilen. 

Stolid  indeed  must  he  be,  who  surveys  the  broad  expanse  of  tlie  Mlseonrl  of  the  North  for 
the  first  time  without  emotion.  A  little  Innuit  lad,  who  ran  before  the  dogs  and  saw  it  for  the 
first  time,  shouted  at  the  sight,  saying,  amidst  bis  expressions  of  astonishment,  *  It  Is  not  a 
river,  it  Is  a  sea!'  and  even  the  Indians  had  no  word  of  ridicule  for  him,  often  as  they  had  seen 
It." 

The  anthropologist  will  glean  much  valuable  information  from  the  nar- 
rative, while  the  second  part  on  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  natives, 
is  an  important  contribution  to  American  anthropology.  On  page  127,  In 
describing  the  Innuit  casine,  or  town  hall,  it  is  stated  that 

**  There  is  not  a  nail  or  a  pin  in  the  whole  structure,  which  is  of  the  most  solid  description. 
Some  of  the  logs  are  two  foet  In  diameter,  and  the  broad  seats  on  both  sides,  previously  re- 
forred  to.  are  each  composed  of  a  single  plank  forty-four  Inches  wide,  thirty  feet  long,  and  four 
inches  thick.  These  enormous  planks  are  fh>m  drift  logs,  and  were  hewn  with  tlie  stone  axes 
of  the  natives." 

Of  the  bears,  the  number  of  North  American  species  of  which  is  now 
in  dispute : 

**  There  are  three  speclee;  the  large  brown  bear  of  the  mountains,  known  as  the  'griasly*' 
among  the  Hudson  Bay  voyagers  t  the  barren-ground  bear  (CTirnM  nichardwnH  of  Mayne 
Beld),  which  la  eonflned  in  Bnsslan  America  to  the  extreme  north-east;  and  the  black  bear. 


432  REVIEWS. 

which  flrequents  the  vioinily  of  the  Yukon,  In  the  woody  dtotrtct  only.  The  polar  or  white  bear 
iB  found  only  lu  the  Tlelnlty  uf  Behrlng  Strait,  on  the  sliores  of  the  Arctic  Ocean,  and  on  St. 
Matthew*a  Island  In  Behrlng  Sea.  It  has  probably  reached  the  latter  locality  on  floating  Ice; 
we  only  know  of  its  existence  there  flpom  whalers,  who  apply  the  name  of  Bear  Island  to  the  lo- 
cality, ftrom  the  abundance  of  these  animals.  We  know  that  it  is  not  found  on  tlic  mainland 
south  of  latitude  sixty-flve  degrees.  The  cubs  of  the  black  bear  are  of  the  same  color  as  tlia 
parent,  and  the  adult  is  very  much  smaller  than  its  brown  cousin,  which  sometimes  reaches  a 
length  of  nine  feet,  witli  a  girth  nearly  as  great.  The  brown  bear,  or  grizzly,  is  the  only  one 
which  manifests  any  ferocity,  and  it  always  aToldsany  contest  unless  brought, to  bay." 

RegaixilDg  the  remains  of  the  extinct  elephant  {Elephas  primigenius), 

which  are  not  uncommonly  found  on  the  surface,  the  author  says : 

**  I  picked  up  near  the  Tillage  a  large  portion  of  the  skull  of  the  extinct  elephant  {ElepKtu  pri- 
migeniuM),  These  bones  are  not  90  common  as  tlie  teeth  and  tUsk,  being  found  on  the  surfeee 
only,  and  usually  much  decayed:  while  the  bones  of  the  musk-ox  and  fossil  buAdo  found  in  tlM 
same  situations  are  much  better  preserved,  and  sometimes  retain  some  of  the  animal  matter  in 
the  bone.  The  natives  have  no  tradition  of  any  other  large  animal  than  the  reindeer  and 
moose,  and  regard  the  elephant  and  musk-ox  bones  as  the  remains  of  dead  *  devils.*  The  tuska 
are  not  so  well  preserved  as  those  found  in  Siberia,  which  are  usually  buried  in  tlie  earth.  The 
former  are  blackened,  split  and  weathered,  and  contain  little  ivory  in  a  state  lit  for  use,  though 
the  Innnit  of  the  Arctic  coast  oeoaslonally  And  them  lu  such  preservation  that  they  maka 
kantags  or  dishes  of  the  ivory,  according  to  Slmpeon.** 

The  chapter  on  the  geography  of  Alaska  gives  a  fiill  acount  of  the 
general  topographical  features  of  the  territory,  and  many  useful  details 
with  regard  to  the  navigation  of  the  shores  and  adjacent  islands.  This 
is  a  very  perfect  summary  of  ail  that  is  icnown  of  the  physical  history  of 
this  portion  of  the  North  Pacific,  and  it  shows  us,  also,  perhaps  the  most 
important  result  of  the  expedition.  This  was  the  demonstration  of  the 
cessation  of  the  Roclcy  Mountains,  at  a  point  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  south-east  of  Fort  Yulcon. 

**  The  Roclky  Mountain  chain  extends  cast  of  the  basin  of  the  Yulson, 
between  it  and  the  Maclienzie,  as  far  north  as  latitude  64^.  Here  it  bends 
westward,  and,  becoming  broken,  passes  to  the  west  and  south,  com- 
bining with  the  coast  ranges  to  form  the  Alaskan  range."  This  last  fol- 
lows the  shore  line  to  the  westward,  and  thus  the  only  considerable 
exception  to  the  orographic  law  that  mountain  chains  trend  in  the  same 
direction  with  the  coast  seems  to  be  explained,  and  geographers  can  no 
longer  lay  down  the  northern  extension  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  as 
reaching  to  the  shores  of  the  Arctic  Sea.  The  fauna  of  the  Yukon  is 
almost  wholly  Eastern  Canadian,  showing  that  the  mountains  had  in- 
terposed no  insurpassable  barrier  to  the  north  as  they  had  to  the  south 
of  the  Alaskan  and  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  proper. 

The  soil  of  the  Yukon  Valley  is  always  ft'ozen  at  the  depth  of  three 
or  four  feet,  and  in  some  cold  situations  remains  icy  near  the  surffice. 
**  This  layer  of  fh>zen  soil  is  six  or  eight  feet  thick."  **  This  phenomenon 
appears  to  be  directly  traceable  to  the  want  of  drainage,  combined  with 
the  non-conductive  covering  of  moss,*'  which  prevents  thawing  in  the 
summer  heats.  Nevertheless  this  fh>zen  soil  has  **  a  healthy  and  luxu- 
riant vegetation,  bearing  its  blossoms  and  maturing  Its  seeds  as  readily 
as  in  situations  apparently  much  more  favored." 
'   But  next  in  value  to  the  geographical  details  are  the  many  anthentio 


REVIEWS.  433 

fkcts  regarding  the  natives  now  so  rapidly  disappearing.  By  learning  to 
speak  their  language,  and  living  among  them,  his  testimony  is  of  special 
valae,  and  he  says  that  he  was  enabled  to  correct  many  erroneous  impres- 
sions formed  early  in  his  visit  to  the  country,  by  more  careAil  and  re- 
peated observations  and  knowledge  of  their  language.  Of  the  Esquiiuo 
he  made  a  special  study,  and  cautiously  remarks  (on  p.  154)  that  '*  it  Is 
impossible  to  doubt  that  among  all  American  aborigines,  much  in  their 
mode  of  life,  customs,  and  ceremonials  is  of  a  local  nature,  and  due  to 
extraneous  circumstances.  Much  Is  also  due,  unquestionably,  to  the  sim- 
ilarity of  thought  and  habit  which  must  obtain  among  human  beings  of  a 
low  type,  and  who  gain  their  living  by  similar  means.  Hence,  a  general 
similarity  of  many  customs  may  naturally  be  expected  between  both 
Innuit  and  Indians,  as  well  as  for  distant  aborigines  of  different  parts  of 
the  world,  and  this  similarity  can  afford  no  basis  for  generalizations  in 
regard  to  their  origin." 

As  regards  their  affinities,  he  writes :  "  It  should  be  thoroughly  and 
definitely  understood,  in  the  first  place,  that  they  are  not  Indians ;  nor 
have  they  any  known  relation,  physically,  physiologically,  or  otherwise, 
to  the  Indian  tribes  of  North  America.  Their  grammar,  appearance, 
habits,  and  even  their  anatomy,  especially  in  the  form  of  the  skull,  sep- 
arate them  widely  from  the  Indian  race.  On  the  other  hand.  It  is  almost 
equally  questionable  whether  they  are  even  distinctly  related  to  the 
Chukchees  and  other  probable  Mongolian  races  of  the  eastern  part  of 
Siberia*'  (p.  187).  As  to  the  origin  of  the  word  Eskimo,  we  are  told  that 
'*  the  Indians  call  the  Innuit  and  Eskimo  Uskehni,  or  sorcerers.  Kagus- 
kehni  is  the  Innuit  name  for  the  Casines,  in  which  their  Sham&ns  perform 
their  superstitious  rites.    From  this  root  comes  the  word  Eskimo." 

In  the  chapter  on  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  Alaska,  he  begins  by 
dividing  the  inhabitants  into  Indians  and  Orarianst  the  latter  embracing 
the  tribes  of  Innuit,  Aleutians  and  Asiatic  Eskimo.  The  author  is  in- 
clined to  reject  the  theory  most  In  vogue  that  America  has  been  peopled 
iVom  Asia  or  Polynesia,  and  **  proposes  to  attempt  to  show  that  so  iw  of 
the  facts  which  have  been  used  in  support  of  this  hypothesis  are  suscep- 
tible of  quite  another  interpretation.  I  refer  to  the  existence  of  tribes 
of  Orarian  stock  on  the  coast  of  the  Chukchee  Peninsula,"  which  were 
originally  derived  from  America,  their  emigration  having  taken  place 
within  three  hundred  years.  He  adds  beyond  that  "  there  Is  no  doubt  but 
that  the  Aleutians  originally  emigrated  to  the  islands  from  the  American 
continent,  driven  by  hostile  tribes.  The  Innuit  formerly  extended  farther 
south  than  they  do  now,  and  in  this  connection  we  find  the  suggestive 
remark  that  *<  Dr.  Otis,  of  the  United  States  Army  Medical  Museum  at 
Washington,  who  has  handled  as  many  aboriginal  American  crania  as 
any  northern  ethnologist,  says  that  the  skulls  found  in  the  northern 
mounds  have  the  same  peculiarities  which  distinguish  all  Orarian  crania, 
and  that  both  are  instantly  distinguishable  ft'om  any  Indian  skulls." 

The  chapters  on  the  climate  and  agricultural  capabilities  and  geology, 

AMCR.   KATURAUST,  VOL.   lY.  55 


434  REYIEWS. 

and  the  whole  tenor  of  the  remarks  on  this  sabject  leads  the  reader  to 
the  belief  that  the  purchase  of  Alaska  was  wisely  made  by  our  gorem- 
ment. 

Trout  Cm.TURE.*— This  is  jnst  the  book  that  has  been  wanted  by 
erery  one  interested  in  the  raising  of  fish  by  artificial  propagation.  It 
contains  a  statement  of  the  experience  of  the  most  successful  fish  breeder 
in  the  country,  presented  in  concise  and  forcible  language ;  every  word 
fblly  convincing  the  reader  that  the  author  is  simply  giving  the  results 
of  his  experience,  with  the  earnest  desire  of  furnishing  others  with  all 
the  information  necessary  for  them  to  become  as  successflil  breeders  of 
trout  as  himself.  With  this  book  in  hand,  and  a  proper  location  and  sup- 
ply of  water,  there  is  no  reason  why  trout  raising  should  not  succeed  in 
the  hands  of  any  careful  and  energetic  person.  In  fact  nothing  but  pure 
carelessness  could  make  it  flEiil,  though,  like  all  other  stock  raising  opera- 
tions there  are  many  things  that  should  be  looked  after  before  the  eggs 
are  placed  in  the  hatching  house;  and  as  no  sheep  raiser  would  purchase 
five  hundred  sheep  for  his  farm  unless  he  had  what  he  knew  to  be  suffi- 
cient pasturage  for  so  large  a  number,  so  no  trout  raiser  should  purchase 
his  five  hundred  or  more  trout  eggs  unless  he  has  plenty  of  good  water. 
We  have  not  space  for  the  extended  review  of  this  little  work  which  our 
interest  in  the  subject  would  otherwise  lead  us  to  make,  and  can  only  say 
that  every  point  is  fairly  and  plainly  presented,  from  the  location  of  the 
pond,  its  best  depth  and  shape,  its  bottom,  its  screens  and  water  supply  ; 
to  the  transportation  of  eggs  and  live  fish;  and  all  the  intermediate 
operations  of  procuring  the  eggs  in  diflTerent  ways,  the  construction  of 
the  hatching  house,  handling  the  eggs  and  young  fish ;  with  observations 
on  their  diseases  and  enemies ;  careM  statements  regarding  the  amount 
of  water  required  for  each  fish  of  different  ages,  etc.,  etc.  In  fact  every 
Information  that  long  continued  and  successful  operations  enables  the 
author  to  feel  confident  Is  Just  what  beginners  want,  is  here  given.  An 
improved  spawning  screen,  invented  by  Mr.  Collins  (Mr.  Green's  part- 
ner), is  described  and  figured.  This  screen  or  box  is  so  designed  as  to 
secure  the  eggs  of  trout  and  other  fishes  that  have  been  spawned  in  a 
natural  way,  and  is  a  most  convenient  and  labor  saving  contrivance  for 
the  trout  breeder.  We  hope  to  give  a  communication  on  this  subject  in 
a  ftiture  number. 

There  are  several  facts  very  interesting  to  the  naturalist  alluded  to  by 
Mr.  Green.  The  average  age  of  a  trout  he  thinks  to  be  about  twelve  or 
fourteen  years,  and  that  trout  are  in  their  prime  during  the  age  of  from 
three  to  ten  years.  Mr.  Green  also  states  that  trout  will  not  live  in  water 
the  temperature  of  which  is  above  68^,  and  do  best  at  a  temperature  of 

On  the  last  page  of  the  book  Mr.  Green  calls  attention  to  a  <*  worm  " 

*  IVoiil  CMfttr*.  By  Beth  Oreen.  ISmo  punph.,  pp.  99.  Qreen  tnd  CoIUdb,  Caledonia,  Kew 
York.    [Fornle  at  the  KatnraUats*  Ageno7,  Salem.   FrtoefljOO.] 


REVIEWS.  435 

which  \s  very  destnictive  to  young  trout  and  other  fish,  by  catching  them 
in  webs  which  are  spun  under  water. 

**Tbe  web  Is  aa  perfect  as  that  of  tbe  spider,  and  aa  moeh  meebanloal  Ingenolty  is  displayed 
In  its  coDstrnctlon.  It  is  made  as  qnlckly  and  in  tbe  same  way  as  a  spider's,  by  fhstening  tbe 
tbreads  at  dllTerent  points  and  going  bade  and  fbrtb  until  the  Web  is  i&nlsbed.  Tlie  threads  are 
not  strong  enough  to  bold  tbe  young  trout  after  tbe  umbilical  sac  is  absorbed,  but  the  web  will 
atielc  to  tbe  flns  and  get  wound  around  tbe  bead  and  gills  and  soon  kills  the  flsb." 

This  '*  worm "  is,  according  to  an  article  in  the  June  number  of  the 
"American  Entomologist  and  Botanist,"  the  larva  of  the  notorious 
Black-fly,  or  at  least  of  a  species  of  the  same  genus,  Simulium,  and  is  fig- 
ured in  the  **  Entomologist,"  where  also  there  is  an  important  article  on 
the  transformations  of  this  pest  to  fishermen,  and  as  it  now  turns  out  to 
fishes  also. 

Messrs.  Green  and  Collins  are  ready  to  supply  persons  with  trout  eggs 
at  $10  for  a  single  thousand,  or  young  trout  at  $30  a  thousand,  to  any 
extent  required,  from  their  farm  at  Caledonia,  and  as  both  eggs  and  young 
can  be,  and  have  been,  sent  in  perfect  safety  to  various  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, and  even  to  France  and  England,  there  is  now  no  reason  why  every 
northern  stream  should  not  have  its  supply  of  *'  spotted  beauties." 

Record  of  American  Entomology  for  1869.*  — After  a  greater  delay 
than  was  anticipated  this  **  Record"  has  at  length  appeared.  The  editor 
states  in  the  introductory  that  **  the  number  of  American  entomologists 
whose  articles  or  notes  are  referred  to  In  the  **  Record"  is  fifty-two ;  while 
three  hundred  and  thirty -five  new  species  of  North  and  Central  American 
insects  have  been  described  in  American  Journals  during  the  year  1869." 
We  are  glad  to  notice  that  our  American  entomological  literature  has 
assumed  a  highly  practical  character,  and  comprises  much  regarding  the 
habits  of  Insects,  a  never  failing  source  of  interest.  The  remarks  by 
Baron  Osten  Sacken  should  be  careflilly  read  by  every  entomologist, 
especially  the  beginner,  and  are  well  worth  the  price  of  the  whole  pamph- 
let. 

Brazilian  CRUSTACEA.f  —  In  this  careftiUy  prepared  essay  Mr.  Smith 
remarks  that  **  the  collection,  although  quite  small  in  number  of  speci- 
mens and  representing  only  the  higher  groups  of  the  class,  Is  interesting 
ft'om  the  large  proportion  which  It  contains  of  species  heretofore  known 
only  from  the  West  Indies  or  Florida.  This  is,  perhaps,  due  chlefiy  to 
the  fact  that  most  of  the  collections  brought  f^om  Brazil  have  been  made 
at  Rio  Janeiro,  where  there  are  no  coral  reef^,  while  Professor  Hartt*s 
collection  was  made  principally  on  the  rocky  and  reef-bearing  parts  of 
the  coast."  Five  new  species  are  described,  and  a  new  genus,  Xiphope- 
neu3  (X.  Hartii).  The  plate  is  lithographed  from  photographs  and  is  of 
unusual  excellence. 

*For  sale  by  tbe  Naturalises  Boole  Agencj,  Salem.    July,  1870.    Sro,  pp.  83.    Price  $1.00. 

t  Notice  of  the  Crustacea  collected  by  Proftessor  0.  F.  Hartt  on  the  coast  of  Brazil  in  1867, 
together-with  a  List  of  tbe  described  species  of  Brazilian  Podophthalmia.  By  Sidney  I.  Smith. 
(From  the  Transactions  of  tbe  Connecticut  Academy  of  Ajrts  and  Sciences.  Vol.  3, 1870.  Svo^ 
pp.  41.) 


486  KEVIEWS. 

The  PoPtJiJiTiON  of  av  old  Pbar  Trkk.*— The  aathor  In  these  charming 
stories  of  Insect  life  relates  his  experience  with  various  forms  of  insects 
which  visited  an  old  pear  tree  in  his  garden,  weaving  in  many  satires 
on  haman  life,  and  an  occasional  sly  thrust  at  professional  entomologists 
who  look  on  bugs  simply  as  bugs  and  not  as  part  and  parcel  of  nature. 
It  is  an  admirable  book  to  place  in  the  hands  of  boys  and  girls.  The 
illustrations  are  capital,  reminding  us  of  the  grotesqueness  and  strong 
effects  seen  in  Dor6*s  drawings  on  wood,  and  form  a  marked  feature  and 
attraction  of  the  book. 

The  American  Museum  of  Natural  HTSTORY.f  —  Under  this  title 
there  has  been  established  in  the  city  of  New  York  a  museum  In  whose 
list  of  trustees  we  recognize  many  names  well  known  to  the  citizens  of 
the  metropolis.  While  we  honor  these  gentlemen  for  their  public  spirit 
we  do  not  see  even  A*om  their  report  how  it  was  that  they  thus  suddenly 
became  possessed  of  such  a  determined  desire  to  found  a  museum. 

We  believe  that  New  York  will  eventually  possess  the  finest  and  largest 
museum  In  the  country,  just  as  they  now  have  the  most  beautiful  park. 
There  is,  however,  one  mistake  which  we  might  notice,  the  futility  of 
amassing  fragile  collections,  building  cases,  having  zoological  gardens, 
etc.,  without  at  the  same  time  appointing  men  who  are  competent  to  use 
them  for  the  benefit  of  the  public.  From  what  we  have  seen  of  the  ef- 
forts of  the  directors,  or  whoever  has  in  charge  the  large  collections  in 
the  third  story  of  the  arsenal  building,  we  should  say  that  they  do  not 
seem  to  possess  even  that  slight  knowledge  which  five  minutes  criticism 
f^om  any  competent  scientific  man  would  have  given  them.  We  have 
never  in  our  experience  of  the  unscientiflc  attempts  to  build  museums 
seen  anything  so  entirely  unfit  for  its  purpose  as  the  large  two-storied 
case  which  occupies  the  centre  of  the  arsenal  hall.  No  one  but  a  phys- 
ician, or  a  committee  of  such,  well  acquainted  with  hospital  practice  and 
hygiene,  would  presume  to  attempt  the  erection  of  a  hospital.  Engineers 
are  generally  called  upon  to  build  railroads  and  steam  engines,  but  in 
natural  history  all  this  is  reversed,  and  we  do  not  seem  to  have  yet 
learned  that  it  requires  a  naturalist  to  plan  a  natural  history  building. 
We  understand,  however,  that  efforts  are  being  made  to  place  some  well 
qualified  naturalists  in  charge  of  the  executive  department,  and  we  hope 
to  see  a  change  in  this  respect  before  the  next  report  is  published.^ 

The  menagarie  will  afford  materials  for  the  formation  of  a  collection  of 
comparative  anatomy  which  would  be  both  amusing  and  instructive  to 
visitors,  but  this  does  not  seem  to  have  been  thought  of.  The  board  of 
management,  also,  appear  to  be  drifting  to  stuffed  skins  of  birds  and 

*The  Popalatlon  of  an  old  Pear  Tree:  or  Stories  of  Insect  Life.  From  the  French  of  X. 
Tan  Bruyssel.  Edited  bv  the  aathor  of  the  **  Heir  of  Redclyffe."  With  numerous  Illustrations 
by  Becker.    13mo,  pp.  321.    New  York.    Macmlllan  Jb  Co.    1S70. 

t  First  Report  of  the  Trustees. 

X  Since  the  above  was  written,  we  have  become  aware,  also,  that  the  Oommlssioners  hare 
taken  professional  advice  as  regards  the  construction  of  their  cases. 


14ATURAL   HI8TORT  MI8GEJ«LANY.  437 

roauimals.  The  accumalation  of  the  latter  woald  most  certainly  be  of 
great  benefit,  bat  a  large  collection  of  the  former  would  simply  duplicate 
the  maseams  of  Philadelphia  and  Boston. 

Our  strictures  are  wholly  due  to  a  desire  to  awaken  the  directors  of 
this  museum  to  the  importance  of  avoiding  the  errors  of  their  predeces- 
sors. There  is  no  reasonable  excuse  for  a  board  of  management  which,  at 
the  present  day,  repeats  the  mistalces  which  have  characterized  the  past 
history  of  all  the  museums  with  which  we  are  acquainted,  either  in  this 
country  or  Europe.  We  recommend  especially  to  their  perusal  a  short 
article  upon  the  **  Scientific  Institutions  of  North  America,"  by  George 
Bentham  In  his  Annual  Address  to  the  Linnasan  Society,  for  18G7,  and  the 
various  articles  frequently  published  upon  the  proper  management  of 
museums  and  kiadred  topics  In  **  Scientific  Opinion"  and  ^* Nature." 

Efi'orts  are,  however,  being  made  to  change  this  state  of  afikirs,  and 
we  hope  to  report  In  our  next  notice  that  the  American  Museum  is,  in 
all  respects,  worthy  of  the  name  that  it  has  taken,  and  of  the  city  that 
should  have  a  museum  unequalled  by  any  in  the  country. 


NATURAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 


BOTANY. 

Fragaria  Gillmani.  —  In  a  note  on  this  plant  by  Mr.  Gillman,  page  818, 
it  is  stated  that  Dr.  Asa  Gray  considers  that  the  *^  well  developed  leaf  on 
the  scape,  proves  to  be  the  distinguishing  character  of  the  ^ecies."  It 
is  not  clear  whether  this  refers  to  F,  ^'Mezicana"  or  F.  "  Gillmani ;**  but 
to  show  that  neither  can  lay  claim  to  this  character  exclusively  I  enclose 
a  leaf  of  F,  vescot  In  which  are  not  only  well  developed  leaves  on  the 
scape,  but  better  developed  leaves  than  I  have  yet  seen  on  jF*.  **  Gill- 
mani.** 

In  my  note  on  F,  ^* Gillmani"  last  year  I  stated  that  leaves  on  the  scape, 
or  flowers  on  the  runners  were  poor  characters  to  found  species  on,  be- 
cause a  flower  scape  is  nothing  but  an  erect  runner,  and  a  runner  but  a 
viviparous  scape.  In  this  specimen,  now  sent,  you  will  see  this  illustrated 
by  the  rudiments  of  roots,  as  well  as  leaves  on  the  scape:  —  Thomas 
Meeuan. 

[We  understand  Dr.  Gray  to  have  remarked  that  all  the  specimens 
he  has  seen  of  Schlechtendal's  F,  Mexicana  have  leaf-bearing  scapes,  and 
that  F.  Gillmani  is  the  same  thing ;  and  that  he  has  no  decided  conviction 
as  to  whether  It  be  the  European  F.  vesca  which  has  assumed  this  condi- 
tion and  habit  in  Mexico,  or  an  aboriginal  form,  —  which  in  either  case  is 
curious.  —  Eds.] 


438  NATUBAL  HI8TOBY  MISCELLANY. 

New  Plants.  —  In  my  botaDical  rambles  this  last  May  two  new  plants 
came  under  my  own  observation.  One  of  them  which  we  have  made 
known  as  Viola  erecta,  was  found  near  Williamstown,  Mass.,  and  is  a  va- 
riety of  V,  Selkirkii,  dilTering  Arom  that  species  in  its  larger  size  and  in 
its  leaves  being  strictly  erect  and  not  lying  flat  upon  the  ground.  The 
other  which  was  discovered  at  Binghamton,  N.  Y.,  and  called  by  us 
Gferanium  album,  has  a  white  flower  with  yellow  anthers  and  leaves,  but 
little  hirsute  characteristics  which  mark  it  as  a  distinct  variety  of  G. 
maculatum.  —  U.  M.  Myers,  Williamstown,  Mass. 

Palms  of  the  Sandwich  Islands.  —  In  the  interesting  popular  account 
of  palms,  contributed  by  Dr.  Seemann  to  the  **  Gardener's  Chronicle,*'  it 
is  mentioned  that  three  species  of  Pritehardia  are  known  ftom  these 
Islands,  namely,  P,  Martii  and  P.  Oaudichaudii  (briefly  noticed  by  Martins 
under  the  name  of  Liviaionia,  f^om  very  imperfect  materials  furnished  by 
Gaudlchaud),  ''  and  an  Undescribed  species  enumerated  by  Horace  Mann." 
It  is  farther  noted  that  none  of  these  species  are  yet  introduced  into  cul- 
tivation. There  is,  however,  no  evidence  to  show  that  the  palm  noticed 
by  the  late  Mr.  Mann  i%  dlfl'erent  flrom  one  or  the  other,  not  to  say  both, 
of  Gaudicbaud's ;  and  it  is  here  well  known  that  Mr.  Mann  brought  a 
stock  of  seed  of  his  palm,  f^om  which  numerous  young  plants  were  raised 
both  in  this  country  and  at  Kew.  Of  these  the  best  developed  specimen 
known  belongs  to  the  collection  of  H.  H.  Hunnewell,  of  Wellesley,  Mass. 

The  Irritability  of  the  Stamens  in  the  Barberry,  according  to 
Jourdain  (^'Comptes  Bendus"  April  25th),  is  suspended  by  chloroform. 
A  bit  of  cotton  sprinkled  with  chloroform,  and  introduced  into  the  gla89 
bell-glass  which  covered  the  plant  operated  on,  produced  tetanic  rigidity 
of  the  fllaments  in  one  minute ;  but  exposure  to  the  air  soon  restored  the 
irritability,  unless  the  action  of  the  chloroform  had  been  continued  ten 
or  twelve  minutes,  in  which  case  the  vitality  of  the  flowers  was  greatly 
impaired  or  destroyed.  —  Academy, 

ZOOLOGY. 

The  Futxtre  of  Natural  Science.  —  We  had  heard  it  stated  that 
henceforth  physical  discovery  would  be  made  solely  by  the  aid  of  mathe- 
matics; that  we  had  oar  data,  and  need  only  to  work  deductively.  State- 
ments of  a  similar  character  crop  out  ft'om  time  to  time  in  our  day.  They 
arise  ft'om  an  imperfect  acquaintance  with  the  nature,  present  condition, 
and  prospective  vastness  of  the  fleld  of  physical  inquiry.  The  upshot  of 
natural  science  will  doubtless  be  to  bring  all  physical  phenomena  under 
the  dominion  of  mechanical  laws ;  to  give  them,  in  other  words,  mathe- 
matical expression.  But  our  approach  to  this  result  is  asymtotlc ;  and 
for  ages  to  come  —  possibly  for  all  the  ages  of  the  human  race — nature 
will  find  room  for  both  the  philosophical  experimenter  and  the  mathe- 
matician. —  TyndalVs  notice  of  the  *^  Life  and  Letters  of  Faraday  **  in  the 
Academy. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   MISOELLANY.  439 

Tux  Pigeon  Hawk.  —  Mr.  Samuels,  in  his  work  on  the  **  Ornithology 
and  Oology  of  New  England/*  says  that  he  never  saw  a  nest  of  this  bird, 
and  never  heard  of  but  one  instance  of  its  being  found  in  New  England,  but 
he  adds  that  it  doubtless  breeds  here.  This  may  be  true,  but  it  seems  to 
me  almost  as  though  he  really  could  not  have  inquired  into  the  matter, 
for  in  this  very  town  (Amherst,  Mass.),  I  know  of  three  positive  in- 
stances of  the  nest  being  found ;  they  all  were  in  holes  of  trees ;  in  two 
there  were  four  eggs,  and  in  the  other  five ;  the  last  mentioned  one  was 
discovered  this  year;  there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  identity  of  the  eggs, 
so  I  do  not  hesitate  to  show  this  fkct.  The  bird  seems  to  be  compara- 
tively common  here.  It  seems  to  me  as  if  this  bird  is  so  often  here,  and 
found  to  breed  here,  it  must  be  that  some  other  town  or  state  in  New 
England  receives  its  due  share  of  attention.— Winfrid  Stkabns,  Amlierstf 
Mass, 

The  Flight  of  Birds  and  Insects.  —  M.  Marey  has  recently  shown 
that  birds  and  insects  fly  in  a  totally  different  manner.  In  birds  the  ex- 
tremity of  the  wing  describes  a  simple  helix,  while  in  insects  it  passes 
through  a  series  of  lemniscs  (lemniscates,  or  figures  of  eight).  The 
author  has  studied  this  intricate  subject  by  means  of  two  very  ingenious 
machines,  one  of  which,  by  a  very  simple  arrangement,  indicates  very 
precisely  the  flight  of  an  insect ;  while  the  other  made  to  be  placed  on 
the  back  of  a  bird,  transmits  all  the  movements  of  the  wing  to  a  receiver 
which  faithfully  records  them.  —  Cosmos, 

PiiSDOGENESis  IN  THE  Stylopida.  —  Professor  von  Slebold  has  dis- 
covered that  the  so-called  female  of  Xenos  is  in  reality  a  larva,  and  that 
it  produces  Its  young  by  germ  balls  like  those  of  the  lai-va  of  Cecidomyia 
(Miastor)  which  produces  larvss  like  Itself  during  the  winter  months,  but 
in  summer  undergoes  the  usual  transformations  of  these  gall  flies.  This 
child-reproduction,  in  individuals  without  true  ovaries,  was  aptly  termed 
by  Von  Baer  **  Paddogenesls."— /^ie&old  and  Kollikefs  Journal  of  ScienJtifc 
Zoology. 

Curious  Conduct  of  a  Sharp-shinned  Hawk.  —  On  the  6th  of  April, 
while  wandering  along  the  Shabbaconk  Creek,  near  Trenton,  N.  J.,  I  sat 
down  on  a  convenient  mat  of  dead  grass  to  observe  the  movements  of  the 
**red-flns"  (HypHlepis  comutus),  swimming  In  the  clear  waters  before 
me,  and  to  note  also,  the  movements  and  colors  of  some  **  darters  "  (Holo- 
lepis  erochroua  Cope)  that  I  had  caught  and  bottled.  While  thus  engaged 
my  attention  was  called  to  the  great  tameness  of  a  small  hawk  {Accipiter 
fuscus).  It  had  evidently  been  visiting  the  grass,  on  which  I  was  now 
sitting,  gathering  from  it  materials  for  lining  a  nest  which  I  soon  discov- 
ered near  the  top  of  a  high  beech  tree,  not  flfty  yards  distant.  When  the 
bird  found  that  I  was  not  disposed  to  move  off,  he  skimmed  away  over 
the  meadow  and  perched  upon  the  fence  skirting  it.  Presently  he  sailed 
towards  me  near  the  ground  and  lit  by  a  small  tuft  of  grass.  Walking 
around  this  he  scratched  the  ground  away  trom.  the  roots,  and  then  seiz- 


440  NATURAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 

log  the  tuft  with  one  claw,  dragged  the  roots  ap,  and  shook  off  the  adhe- 
rent earth,  very  much  as  a  man  would  pull  and  shake  a  radish  or  turnip. 
Not  content  with  this  the  hawk  now  laid  the  grass  upon  the  ground, 
combed  it  out  with  his  beak,  and  then  gathering  It  up  in  his  bill,  flew  to 
the  neighboring  fence,  and  hopped  along  until  it  found  a  rail  with  a  nar- 
row crotch  in  the  end.  In  this  it  placed  the  grass,  so  that  the  expanded 
bunch  of  roots  should  be  on  one  side  and  the  blades  of  grass  on  the 
other  of  the  notch.  When  thus  arranged  to  the  bird's  satisfaction,  it 
again  took  up  tlie  grass  in  its  beak,  and  giving  it  a  sudden  jerk  broke 
the  roots  from  the  blades.  It  then  flew  to  its  nest.  —  Charles  C.  Ab- 
bott, M.  D. 

Partuenogenksis  in  a  Wasp.  —  Professor  von  Siebold  has  discovered 
that  in  Polisles  Gallica  the  males  are  developed  by  parthenogenesis,  from 
unfertilized  eggs.  It  will  be  remembered  that  in  the  honey  bee  the  drones 
are  also  developed  A-om  unfertilized  eggs  laid  by  the  queen.  —  Siebold  and 
K6lliker*8  Journal  of  Scientific  Zoology. 

List  of  New  England  Lepidoptera.  —  Mr.  S.  H.  Scudder  has  published 
a  very  valuable  and  complete  list  of  the  butterflies  found  in  New  England. 
I  propose  to  prepare  for  publication  a  similar  list  of  the  larger  Heterocera 
(Sphinglde  to  Phals^nidse  Inclusive).  Any  Information  relating  to  the 
times  of  the  appearance  of  the  imagines,  or  to  the  food  plants  of  the 
larva,  would  be  particularly  acceptable.  Notices,  also,  of  the  captures  of 
rare  moths  or  those  not  strictly  part  of  the  New  England  fauna,  and  lists 
of  the  species  taken  in  any  one  locality,  would  afford  most  important 
assistance.  It  would  be  a  great  convenience  if  any  one  wishing  to  aid 
me  would  communicate  any  facts  to  me  as  early  as  possible.  —  Charles  S. 
MiNOT,  39  Court  Street^  Boston. 

Improving  Intelugencb  in  Birds  and  Insects. —  M.  Pouchet,  the 
Director  of  the  Museum  at  Rouen,  and  a  well  known  naturalist,  "  has 
discovered  that  the  new  school  of  swallows  are  improving  their  style  of 
architecture,  building  their  nests  with  more  regard  to  sanitary  principles, 
so  as  to  contain  more  room  and  admit  more  light  and  air.  The  shape  of 
the  nest  is,  we  infer,  more  nearly  that  which  will  include  a  maximum  of 
inhabitable  space ;  and,  besides  this,  and  still  more  important,  the  en- 
trance  to  it  has  been  changed  ft'om  a  small  round  hole  into  a  long  slit,  a 
sort  of  balcony,  from  which  the  young  swallow  may  look  out  upon  the 
world  and  breathe  fresh  air.  What  is  more,  the  new  school  of  swallow 
architects  appear  to  prefer  the  new  streets,  while  the  old  school  still 
build  the  old  nests  on  the  cathedrals  and  older  houses;  perhaps  ft-om 
some  sense  of  artistic  fitness,  which  scruples  at  any  change  of  style  in 
adding  extensions  to  monuments  so  venerable.  If  this  last  fact  could  be 
satisfactorily  established  it  would  ftirnish  a  complete  answer  to  the  Dar- 
winian theory,  so  far  as  it  dispenses  with  intellectual  motives  for  animal 
progress,  and  would  show  a  curious  amount  of  ssthetic  culture.  No 
doubt  migrating  birds  are  of  all  others  least  likely  to  be  the  slaves  of 


NATURAL  HISTORY   MI80ELLANT.  441 

local  prejudices.  As  the  travelled  cuckoo  was  the  first  to  conceive  the 
idea  of  putting  her  children  out  to  school  among  strangers,  so  the  swal- 
low, no  doubt,  has  learned  in  tlie  south,  where  air  and  prospect  and 
space  are  best  appreciated,  to  adopt  the  verandah  principle,  there  so 
universal.  Both  bees  and  birds  have  now  been  shown  to  have  made 
great  strides  In  architectural  icnowledge."  "London  Spectator,**  April  16, 
187Q,  In  a  communication  f^om  **  Pouchet "  in  the  "  Pall  Mall  Gazette." 

A  parallel  Instance  in  bees  Is  noticed  by  Dr.  Ogle  In  a  very  important 
article  on  the  **  Fertilization  of  Various  Flowers  by  Insects,"  contributed 
to  the  April  number  of  the  "  Popular  Science  Review."  The  arrangements 
for  the  cross-fertilization  of  the  flowers  of  the  bean  and  other  papilion- 
aceous plants  by  bees,  here  described  by  Dr.  Ogle,  are  pretty  well  known, 
as  also  the  fact  that  both  humble  and  hive  bees  have  the  trick  of  evading 
their  duty  by  piercing  a  hole  In  the  side  of  the  calyx  of  bean-flowers,  so 
getting  at  the  nectar  by  a  short  cut.  Dr.  Ogle  has  remarked  that  while 
some  bees  visit  the  blossom  in  the  natural  way,  and  in  so  doing  take  pol- 
len from  the  anthers  of  one  flower  to  the  stigma  of  the  next,  others  avail 
themselves  of  the  shorter  cut;  but  that  an  individual  bee,  visiting  a  suc- 
cession of  bean  flowers,  uniformly  does  either  the  one  or  the  other.  It 
would  thus  appear  that  the  habit  is  not  an  instinct,  belonging  by  -inherit- 
ance to  the  whole  species,  but  is  in  each  case  the  result  of  individual  ex- 
perience. As  with  the  same  experience  some  bees  have  acquired  the 
habit  and  others  have  not,  we  must  admit,  not  only  that  these  insects  are 
intelligent,  but  that  they  dlfl'er  Qrom  each  other  in  their  degrees  of  intel- 
ligence ;  some  being  slow  in  acquiring  knowledge,  others  quicker.  The 
Scarlet  Runner,  when  the  bloom  is  covered  with  gauze  to  keep  off  insects, 
is  wholly  sterile ;  and  so  indeed  habitually  are  a  good  many  of  the  un- 
covered blossoms.  The  latter  is  probably  owing  to  the  observed  fact 
that  most  bees  have  learned  to  get  at  the  nectary  by  nipping  the  tube. 
Were  all  bees  equally  clever  there  would  be  an  end  of  scarlet  ruuners, 
unless  indeed  either  nature  or  artiflce  were  to  induce  some  modifica- 
tion of  structure  by  which  the  tube  might  be  protected  and  the  bees 
again  driven  to  the  mouth."  We  think  it  proper  to  add  that  Dr.  Ogle's 
interesting  article  is  sadly  marred  and  obscured  by  gross  errors  of  the 
press,  showing  that  the  proofis  have  not  been  revised  by  the  author  nor 
by  any  competent  proof  reader. 

How  MANY  Lrpidoptera  arb  therb  IN  THB  WoRLD?  —  Thls  questiou  is 
thus  answered  by  Mr.  Bates  in  his  able  address  to  the  Entomological  So- 
ciety :  —  In  the  "  Stettiner  Entomologische  Zeitung "  I  find  a  very  read- 
able paper  by  Peter  Maassen,  of  Elberfleld,  on  a  subject  which*  will  be 
interesting  to  most  entomologists.  It  is  an  attempt  to  compute  the  total 
number  of  species  of  Lepldopterous  insects  existing  in  nature,  and  is 
written  in  correction  of  a  previous  crude  essay  by  Keferstein  on  the  same 
subject.  In  his  estimate  the  author  takes  for  his  basis  the  curious  fact 
that  In  all  complete  lists  of  local  Lepldopterous  faunas  in  Europe  the 

AMER.  NATURALIST,  VOL.  IV.  56 


442  NATURAL   HISTORY   BflSCELLANT. 

namber  of  moths  to  batterflles  Is  as  twenty-six  to  one.  He  then  gets  at 
the  probable  namber  of  butterflies  in  existence,  by  arguing  ttom  the  nam- 
ber published,  districts  unexplored,  and  so  forth,  and  believes  the  namber 
to  be  not  fewer  thau  eight  thousand  seven  hundred  and  forty.  Unfortu- 
nately, in  pursuing  the  calculation  he  iTorgets  his  datum-line  of  twenty- 
six  moths  to  one  butterfly,  and  takes  the  proportion  as  it  stands  in  Stau- 
dinger  and  Wocke*8  **  Catalogue  of  European  Species,"  where  the  propor- 
tion of  course  is  much  less,  because  the  smaller  moths  have  not  been  so 
exhaustively  collected  throughout  Europe  as  the  butterflies.  In  this  way 
he  arrives  at  the  total  number  existing  in  the  world  as  one  hundred  and 
twenty-nine  thousand  seven  hundred  and  forty  —  a  surprising  amount, 
but  still  far  below  the  truth  if  the  proportion  found  in  well-worked  dis- 
tricts in  Western  Europe  is  maintained  throughout  the  world,  which 
would  produce  the  incredible  total  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-seven 
thousand  two  hundred  and  forty  species. —  Scienti^  Opinion, 

OoLOOiGAL.  —  Two  years  ago  while  down  here  some  fHends  of  mine 
took  three  eggs  f^om  the  nest  of  a  red  bird  (^Cardinalia  Virginianus), 
and  put  in  their  place  a  Guinea  hen*s  egg.  The  old  bird  sat  upon  the 
latter  about  three  weeks,  and  then  left.  In  numbers  of  nests  of  this 
bird  found  in  this  state  and  in  Pennsylvania,  the  namber  of  eggs  in  the 
former  were  invariably  three,  and  in  the  latter  four.  Can  any  one  explain 
this  constant  dlfi'erence  in  the  namber  of  eggs? — C.  H.  Nauhan,  Smyrna, 
Florida. 

Spike-hornbd  Deer.  —  With  regard  to  the  qaestion  in  discussion  be- 
tween W.  J.  Hays  and  Adirondack,  whether  spike-bucks  ever  are  more 
than  two  years  old,  will  yon  accept  the  "  opinion  "  of  one  who  has  had 
some  experience  among  deer  at  the  other  extremity  of  our  country? 

I  know  nothing  of  the  Adirondack  region,  personally.  I  fancy  how- 
ever, it  is  of  small  extent :  and  I  suppose  it  is  surrounded  by  a  settled 
country,  peopled  for  a  century  or  more  by  a  less  or  greater  number  of 
skilled  hunters. 

Is  Adirondack  prepared  to  affirm,  without  a  shadow  of  doubt,  or  can  he 
prove  to  one  tinctured  with  Incredulity,  that  the  region  actually  contains 
a  buck  five  or  six  years  old  ?  He  thinks  it  easy  to  distinguish  a  buck  of 
**  fhll  age  and  size,'*  though  destitute  of  antlers,  but  gives  no  marks  by 
which  another  can  Judge  of  the  age.  I  would  like  to  know  how  he  would 
decide  between  a  remarkably  well  grown  buck  of  two  years,  and  a  runty 
one  of  three  or  four  years.  In  the  absence  of  horns.  Among  domestic 
animals  may  often  be  seen  thrifty  yearlings,  which  will  outweigh  starvel- 
ings of.  two  years  or  more. 

I  have  killed  my  hundreds  of  deer,  perhaps  —  never  one  spike-buck  that 
would  not  have  been  pronounced  young  by  competent  Judges.  I  lived 
with  an  old  hunter  who  had  probably  slain  his  thousands.  I  never  heard 
him  speak  of  an  old  buck  with  nnbranched  antlers.  In  my  days  of  deer 
hunting  I  associated  with  many  other  men  more  or  less  acquainted  with 
deer,  Arom  none  of  whom  did  I  ever  hear  of  an  old  spike-horn  buck.    Can 


NATURAL   HISTORY   BUSCELLANT. 


443 


Adirondack  cite  flroin  any  park  an  example  of  snch  a  one  whose  age  is 
known  witli  certainty  ?    This  would  be  to  the  purpose. 

The  explanation  given  by  Mr.  Hays  seems  to  be  a  satisfactory  one. 
The  idea  that  a  new  race  of  deer  has  appeared  in  that  small  district 
within  the  last  few  years  oat-Darwins  Darwin.  —  Charles  Wright. 

A  Spike-horxbd  Moose.  —  Several  instances  of  the  capture  of  **  spike- 
horned"  baclcs  of  the  common  deer  (Ceroti^  Virginianus)^  having  been 
recently  reported  in  the  Naturalist  (Vol.  ni,  p.  662,  Dec,  1869;  Vol.  iv, 
p.  188,  May,  1870),  interest  has  hence  been  awakened  in  respect  to  this 
unusual  condition  of  the  antlers  in  the  Cervidie.  A  "spike-horned" 
moose,  captured  in  Northern  Maine  by  Mr.  J.  G.  Rich,  was  recently  re- 
ceived at  the  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology,  of  which  the  accompany- 

Fig.  98. 


Spike  Horns  of  Moose. 

Ing  figure  (Fig.  93)  correctly  represents  the  form  of  the  horns,  as  seen 
from  the  fh>nt.  Mr.  Rich  writes  me  that  ftill-grown  moose  having  horns 
of  this  character  are  well-known  to  the  moose  hunters  of  Maine,  by  whom 
such  animals  are  termed  '*  spike-horns."  Mr.  Rich  states  this  animal  to 
have  been  six  or  seven  years  old.  Though  not  a  large  specimen  it  was 
evidently  a  ftiU-grown  one.  He  says  it  is  believed  by  the  hunters  that 
these  animals  never  shed  their  horns.  The  present  specimen  was  taken 
late  in  March,  nearly  two  months  after  the  time  when  these  animals 
usually  cast  their  horns.  — J.  A.  Allen.. 

A  New  Insect  Parasite  of  the  Beaver.  —  Herr  Krlsch  has  dis- 
covered a  parasite  of  the  European  beaver,  which  unites  the  flattened 
body  of  the  lice,  with  the  peculiarities  of  the  fleas.  By  the  presence  of 
rudimentary  wings  it  is  nearest  allied  to  the  Diptera,  and  Is  named 
Platyspylhis  castoria,  —  Proceedings  of  the  Natural  History  Society  Isis,  in 
Dresden. 


444  NATURAL   HI8TOKY  MI8CELLANT. 


GEOLOGY. 


Akciknt  Reptiles  of  the  Connecticut  Valley.  —  Professor  Cope  has 
noticed  in  the  **  American  Journal  of  Science,"  the  bones  of  the  Megadac- 
tylus  polyzelus  of  Hitchcock  found  at  Springtield,  Mass.,  and  infers  that 
they  '*  demonstrate  the  former  existence  in  the  region  in  question,  of  a 
typical  form  of  the  suborder,  or  order  Symphypoda,  and  one  nearer  the 
birds  than  any  other  hitherto  found  in  America."  <*  That  animals  of  this 
genus  made  some  of  the  trades  similar  to  those  of  birds  In  the  red  sand- 
stones of  the  valley  of  the  Connecticut  there  can  be  no  doubt,"  and  the 
author  adds  that  there  Is  abundant  reason  that  they  progressed  by  leaps. 

The  Rate  of  Geological  Change.  —  Mr.  H.  M.  Jenkins  writes  on  the 
rate  of  geological  change,  in  the  "Quarterly  Journal  of  Science,"  and 
comes  to  the  conclusion  that 


**  Whether  we  measure  the  relative  lapse  of  time  occopled  by  the  luoceMlve  eventi  of , 
logical  history  by  the  known  fltcts  of  the  aoeumulatlon  of  deposits,  or  by  the  comparative 
changes  which  have  occurred  in  the  life  of  successive  periods,  we  are  led  equally  to  iufer  that 
the  rate  of  geotogiral  change  has  been  more  rapid  in  the  latter  than  In  tlie  earlier  geologteal 
periods,  and  that  that  rate  has  Increased  progressively  from  the  earliest  to  the  latest  times.* 


•o» 


MICROSCOPY. 

Air-tight  Specimens.  —  When  shall  we  cease  to  suffer  from  the  direc- 
tions sometimes  given  to  mount  dry  specimens  In  a  cell  of  pasteboard  or 
paper,  fastening  the  glass  cover  down  by  *'a  little  gum"  or  '* paste?**  Of 
course  dust  or  moisture  soon  accumulates  In  the  cells,  or  Aingold  vege- 
tation grows  until  it  becomes  a  beautiful  and  conspicuous  specimen ;  but 
in  any  case  the  original  object  Is  tolerably  certain  to  be  marred  or  mined. 
I  not  unf^quently  see  collections  of  specimens,  by  popular  makers,  which 
have  perished  in  this  manner.  Lately  I  lost  In  this  way  a  very  choice 
specimen  prepared  by  one  of  the  best  European  makers,  whose  work  is 
usually  faultless ;  and  still  later,  having  occasion  to  remount  a  group  of 
diatoms  which  had  been  bought  at  a  considerable  price,  I  found  the  thin 
glass-cover  supported  at  Its  four  comers  by  little  pieces  of  pasteboard, 
and  fastened  down  by  pasting  over  its  edges  the  handsome  paper  cover 
of  the  slide.  I  have  not  yet  seen  any  of  Blckneirs  beautlAil  specimens 
prepared  in  this  slovenly  manner,  but  scarcely  any  maker  seems  to  be 
entirely  exempt.  I  know  of  no  cure  for  this  state  of  things  except  for 
microscoplsts  to  reAise  to  buy  any  specimens,  except  those  mounte<1  In 
balsam,  which  are  on  paper-covered  slides.  Working  microscoplsts  can, 
and  often  do,  preserve  dry  objects  in  cells  of  paper  and  pasteboard,  an 
arrangement  which  Is  both  convenient  and  economical ;  but  'such  pre- 
parations should  always  be  carefully  protected  by  Brunswick  black  or 
some  other  impervious  varnish.  — R.  H.  W. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   MISCELLANY.  445 

The  Focal  Length  of  Microscopic  Objectives. —Mr.  C.  R.  Cross  has 
ably  discussed  this  sabject  in  the  <*  Franklin  Journal."  He  remarks :  *'  The 
investigation  of  which  the  present  article  is  a  summary,  was  undertaken 
in  order  to  see  if  some  reliable  method  of  measuring  the  focal  length  of 
microscope  objectives  could  not  be  found.  The  importance  of  such  a 
method  will  be  apparent  to  all  who  have  had  occasion  to  make  use  of 
objectives  by  different  makers.  The  focal  length  of  lenses  of  the  same 
denomination  is  subject  to  so  great  a  variation  that  comparison  of  these 
by  means  of  their  assumed  focal  lengths  too  often  gives  no  true  idea  of 
their  relative  excellence.  For  example,  if  two  quarter-inch  objectives 
be  compared,  and  one  gives  results  much  superior  to  that  given  by  the 
other,  we  cannot  be  at  all  sure  that  the  better  lens  is  not  really  of  shorter 
focus  than  its  designation  would  indicate."  He  presents  a  table  giving 
*'  the  results  of  several  hundred  measurements  on  various  objectives,  and 
suggests  that  an  examination  of  the  table  will  show  that  the  focal  length 
of  the  objectives  of  some  makers  differs  considerably  ft*om  the  length 
marked  upon  them.  For  example.  No.  84  marked  1-2  inch  is  really  a  1-8 
inch  objective ;  No.  83  marked  1-4  inch  is  really  a  1-5  inch ;  No.  29  marked 
4-10  inch  is  really  a  1-4.  Lens  No.  14,  marked  1-4  inch,  is  really  a  1-5  inch ; 
but  Nos.  18,  15,  by  the  same  makers,  are  correctly  designated  1-5  inch, 
2-8  inch.  Differences  of  this  kind  must  of  necessity  lead  to  a  great  con- 
fusion in  comparing  objectives  with  one  another.  I  would  therefore 
suggest  that  each  objective  made  should  be  measured  before  being  offered 
for  sale,  that  this  confusion  may  cease  to  exist.  A  convenient  arrangement 
would  be  to  fix  a  glass  scale  divided  to  1-50  or  1-100  inch  in  the  draw- 
tube,  sliding  in  the  tube  of  the  microscope,  and  measure  as  I  have  already 
described.  The  draw-tube  should  be  moved  till  the  front  of  the  ruled 
glass  shall  be  exactly  10  inches  ftom  the  micrometer  used  as  the  object. 
Or  it  would  be  more  convenient  still  to  have  an  apparatus  similar  to  the 
first  form,  but  arranged  with  a  suitable  stage  and  stand  so  that  it  can  be 
set  at  any  desired  angle.  The  distance  10  inches  (254mm.),  suggested  as 
a  standard  is  chosen  because  it  is  the  normal  distance  of  distinct  vision, 
as  well  as  about  the  length  used  by  mlcroscopists  In  actual  work." 


ANTHROPOLOGY. 

Peruvian  ARCHiEOLOOY.  —The  extent  to  which  the  conditions  of  man- 
kind are  influenced  by  natural  circumstances,  and  how  these  may  dictate, 
not  alone  the  architecture  and  arts  of  a  people,  but  their  social,  religious 
and  political  organizations,  is  perhaps  nowhere  better  Illustrated  than  in 
Peru.  The  Inca  Empire,  it  seems  to  me,  was  only  rendered  possible  by 
the  peculiar  geographical  and  topographical  position  occupied  by  the 
family  or  families  that  were  its  founders.  Long  antedating  that  empire 
its  vast  area  contained  a  great  number  of  communities,  tribes,  or  princi- 
palities, more  or  less  advanced  or  civilized,  separated  from  each  other. 


446  NATURAL  HISTORY   MISCELLANY. 

however,  on  the  coast,  by  hot  and  almost  Impassable  deserts,  and  In  the 
interior  by  lofty  mountains,,  or  cold  and  trackless  punas.  They  had  bnt 
little  intercoarse  or  political  dependence,  and  they  all,  when  by  means  of 
alliance  or  conquest  the  enterprising  families  aroond  Cuzco  became  con- 
solidated, fell  an  easy  prey  to  those  inhabitants  of  the  high,  strong  fast- 
nesses, or  bolsonesj  of  the  Andes.  From  their  dominating  position  the 
Incas  were  enabled  to  throw  overwhelming  forces  saccessively  on  the 
Isolated  valleys  radiating  ftom  their  mountain  centre,  and  one  by  one 
mold  them  into  the  grandest  of  aboriginal  American  Empires.  It  is  easy 
to  see  how  ambition,  and  the  exigences  arising  out  of  their  aggressions, 
should  have  developed  gradually  that  astute  policy  or  statesmanship,  that 
ability  in  organization  and  administration,  of  which  the  Incas  ftirnished 
such  a  remarkable  example. 

That  portion  of  the  Andean  plateau  lying  between  the  Pass  of  La  Raya, 
at  the  northern  extremity  of  the  Titicaca  basin  and  the  Pass  of  la  Banda, 
near  Pasco,  is  a  great  mountain-encircled  region,  drained  by  the  River 
Ucayali,  itself,  as  we  have  seen,  formed  by  the  Vilcamayo,  Apurimac,  and 
Pampas  flowing  north,  and  the  Mantaro  flowing  south.  The  beds  of  these 
streams  are  deep  and  narrow,  being  merely  gigantic  canals  or  drains  for 
the  waters  collected  in  numberless  vales  among  the  mountains.  Nothing 
better  describes  these  vales  than  the  Spanish  word  hoUon,  or  pocket. 
And,  as  I  have  said,  while  the  valleys  of  the  coast  are  separated  by  des- 
erts, these  bolsones  are  isolated  by  ranges  of  hills,  mountains,  or  unin- 
habitable p»na«,  and  all  these  are  divided  into  groups  by  the  great  rivers, 
which,  like  the  Apurimac,  are  intransitable  except  by  the  aid  of  bridges 
of  mimbres,  or  ropes  swinging  dizzily  in  mid-air. 

These  bolsones  are  of  varying  altitudes  and  consequently  of  various 
climates  and  productions.  Some  are  well-drained,  others  are  marshy, 
and  contain  considerable  lakes.  They  discharge  their  gathered  waters, 
often  in  large  streams  that  plunge,  in  numberless  cataracts,  through  dark 
and  narrow  ravines  into  the  gorges  of  the  great  rivers.  The  passage 
ftom  one  bolson  to  another  is  over  the  intervening  elevated  ridges  and 
punfi»,  ft-equently  among  frost  and  snow,  and  always  by  rocky  and  difll- 
cult  paths,  fit  only  for  the  goat  and  the  llama. 

It  was  in  precisely  one  of  these  bolsones^  the  central  one  of  a  group  or 
cluster  lying  between  the  Vilcamayo  River  and  the  Apurimac,  that  the 
Incas  built  their  capital.  It  is  not  only  central  in  position,  salubrious  and 
productive,  but  the  mountain  barriers  that  separate  it  fVom  its  neighbors 
are  relatively  low,  and  subside  into  passes  that  may  be  traversed  with 
comparative  ease,  while  they  are  at  the  same  time  readily  defensible. 
The  rule  of  the  first  Inca  does  not  seem  to  have  extended  beyond  this 
valley,  and  the  passes  leading  into  it  are  strongly  fortified,  with  works 
that  face  outward,  indicating  the  directions  whence  attack  was  possible 
in  the  early  days  of  the  empire,  before  the  chiefs  of  Cuzco  commenced 
their  career  of  conquest  by  reducing  the  people  of  the  bolson  of  Anta  or 
Xaxiguana  on  the  north,  and  of  Urcos  or  Andahuaylillas  on  the  south. 


NATURAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY.  447 

The  bol3on  of  Cazco,  which  Is  not  fbr  fVom  thirty  miles  long,  is  divided 
Into  two  nearly  equal  parts  by  the  Pass  of  Angostura,  or  the  narrows, 
where  the  mountain  spurs  project  toward  each  other  into  the  valley,  leav- 
ing hardly  room  enough  for  the  roadway  and  the  river.  On  the  promon- 
tories dominating  this  narrow  passage  are  the  conspicuous  ruins  of  many 
buildings  and  remains  of  works,  showing  that  this  was  regarded  as  a 
strategic  or  important  position,  for  the  immediate  protection  of  the 
capitol. 

The  City  of  Cuzco,  which  occupies  the  site  of  the  ancient  capitol, 
stands  at  the  northern  or  most  elevated  extremity  of  the  holsorit  or  valley, 
on  the  lower  slopes  of  three  high  hills,  the  Carmenca,  Sacsahuaman,  and 
Cantuta,  where  as  many  rivulets,  the  Almodena,  Huatenay  and  TuUamayo, 
or  Rodadero,  coming  together  like  the  fingers  of  an  outspread  hand, 
unite  to  form  the  Cachamayo,  which  drains  the  valley,  and  falls  into  the 
Urubamba.  The  old  city,  or  rather  that  part  of  it  dedicated  to  the  royal 
flimily,  was  built  on  the  tongue  of  land  falling  off  ft-om  the  hiii  or  head- 
land of  the  Sacsahuaman,  between  the  Huatenay  and  the  Rodadero. 

The  position  of  this  city,  as  determined  by  Mr.  Fentland,  is  latitude  18^ 
81'  S.,  and  longitude  72°  2'  W.  of  Greenwich.  Its  elevation  above  the  sea, 
eleven  thousand  three  hundred  and  eighty  feet.  Surrounded  by  high  and 
snowy  mountains,  It  might  be  supposed  to  have  a  cold,  not  to  say  fVigid 
climate,  but  in  fact  its  temperature,  though  cold.  Is  seldom  freezing,  and 
although  in  the  dry  season,  or  what  is  called  winter,  IVom  May  to  No- 
vember, the  pastures  and  fields  are  sere,  and  the  leaves  fliU  fh)m  all  but 
queiiua  trees,  yet  all  this  is  rather  ft'om  drouth  than  iVost.  On  the  whole 
the  climate  is  equable  and  salubrious..  Wheat,  barley,  maize,  and  pota- 
toes ripen  in  the  valley,  and  the  strawberry,  apricot,  and  peach  are  not 
unknown.  The  climate  of  Nismes,  and  of  the  south  of  France  generally, 
is  much  the  same  with  that  of  Cuzco.  When  we  add  to  these  favorable 
conditions  that  not  more  than  thirty  miles  distant  are  deep,  hot  valleys, 
where  semi-tropical  IVuits  may  be  produced  abundantly,  we  may  compre- 
hend that  Cuzco  was  not  an  unfavorable  site  for  a  great  capitol. 

Its  geographical  position  as  regards  the  country  at  large,  as  I  have 
said,  was  also  such  as  to  make  It  a  citadel  and  the  dominating  centre  of 
an  empire.  Its  very  name,  if  we  may  credit  the  chronicler,  signified 
Umbilicus.  The  Inca  power  once  fairly  established  in  the  cluster  of  val- 
leys, of  which  I  have  spoken,  and  the  few  and  narrow  passes  by  which 
only  they  can  be  reached,  strongly  fortified,  as  they  were,  it  was  compar- 
atively easy,  as  I  have  already  said,  for  the  Incas  to  overwhelm  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  long  and  narrow  valleys  running  down  the  slopes  of  the 
Andes  and  the  Cordilleras,  and  to  subdue  one  by  one  the  families  dwell- 
ing in  the  bolsones  northward  to  the  Equator,  and  southward  below  the 
desert  of  Atucama — over  an  extent  of  thirty-seven  degrees  of  latitude. 
—  E.  G.  Squieh,  from  Lecture  on  Peruvian  Arehceology  delivered  before  the 
American  Geographical  and  Statistical  Society,  February  15. 


448  ANSWERS   TO   GORRESPOXDEXTS,    ETC. 


ANSWERS  TO  CORRESPONDENTS. 

E.  8.  Miller.  Tonr  specimens  reached  ns  in  such  a  decayed  condition  that  It  was 
difficult  to  recognize  them,  and  alter  careful  study  we  made  out  the  species  as  follows : 

No.  1,  Pontederia  cordata  f  No.  6,  JinnuncuiuSf  perhaps  R.  parvifioru*^  but  the  speci- 
men was  insufficient ;  No.  6,  Lobelia  gpioaia ;  No.  — ,  a  coarse  plant,  and  is  Lithoftpermum ; 
No.  — ,  Hypericum  mutHum ;  No.  — ,  Oraiiola  aureaf  No.  — ,  Schollera  fframinea.  Speci- 
mens of  plants  should  be  carefully  pressed  and  dried,  and  never  sent  ft'esh,  nnless  in- 
tended for  cultivation.  The  deficient  numbers  were  of  tickets  either  destroyed  by  the 
heat  or  fermentation,  or  torn  accidentally  on  opening  the  package.  We  do  not  want 
any  of  the  kinds  sent  as  they  are  common  bereaboutSi  though  we  thank  yon  for  your 
oner.  —  J.  L.  R. 


-•o*- 


BOOKS     RECEIVED. 

Ptoeeedingi  of  the  Aead.  of  Nat.  ScieneeM,    Phil.   January,  February,  March  and  April,  1870. 

Third  Annual  Report  of  the  Frovost  of  the  Peabodp  IiutUute  to  the  Triuteei,    Baltimore,  1870. 

Anmtal  Addre**  of  the  President  of  the  Worcetter  Lyceum  and  Nat.  History  Aitsocialion.    1870. 

Geology  of  VermiHon  Co.,  Ind.    wy  Prof.  F.  H.  Bradley.    (From  Ck»l.  Report  of  Ind.).   1870. 

CommelinaeeK  Indirte  Imprimis  Arehipelagi  Indiei.    Auctnre  C.  Hasskarl.    8vo,  1870. 

The  Woody  Plants  of  North  Carolina.    By  .\r.  K.  Curtis,  DD.    8vo.    Raleigh,  1870. 

Oeologieal  and  Naturat  History  Survey  of  North  Carolina.  Part  3,  Botany.  By  M.  A  Curtis, 
DD.    Hvo.    Kalelgh,  1867. 

lYout  Culture.    By  8eth  Green,  Rochester,  1870. 

The  Academy.    No.  9.    .Tune,  1870. 

Annu€U  Report  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology  ft>r  1889. 

Thirty-three  Ornithological  pamphlets.    By  Geo.  N.  Liiwrence. 

Fifty-second  Annual  Report  of  the  Trustees  of  the  N.  Y.  State  Library,    Albany,  1870. 

Cranberry  Culture.    By  Jos.  J.  Wliite. 

Glimpses  of  Nature.    S.  M.  Maxwell. 

Chemist  and  Druagist.    London,  July  1, 15, 1870. 

VerhandHtnaen  der  X.  K.  zoologisch  botanischen  Oesellsehaft  in  JTien,  Band,  xvtll,  1868,  xlx, 
1809.    3volB.8Vo. 

Zeitschrift/ur  Akklimatisation,    18«8.    Nos.  1-12.    1889.    Nos.  1-W.    8vo.    Berlin. 

Sitvungs-Beriehte  der  Oesellsehaft  Naturforsehender  Freunde.    Berlin.    4to.    186^-09. 

Abhandlungen  herausgegeben  von  naturwissensehaftlichen  Vereins  su  Bremen,  Bd.  S,  Heft.  S. 
8vo.  1870. 

Die  Vegetationsverhaltnisse  Von  Croatien.   8vo.    WIen,  1888.   Von  Dr.  August  Neilretoh. 

The  Transactions  of  the  Entomological  Society  of  London.  1869. 

The  lifted  and  subsided  Rocks  of  America^  with  their  ir^uenees  on  the  Oceanic^  Atmoepherie 
and  Land  Currents  and  the  Distribution  of  Races.  By  Geo.  Catlin.  London,  Trubner  A  Co. 
1870.    12nio. 

Grammar  of  the  Choctaw  Language.    From  the  MSS.,  by  D.  O.  Brinton.  M.  D. 

National  Legend  of  the  Chata^Muskokee  tribes.    By  D.  G.  Brinton.  M.  D. 

CoiUributions  to  the  grammar  of  the  Mankokee  Language.    By  U.  G.  Brinton,  M.  D. 

The  Ancient  Phonetic  Alphabet  of  Vucatan.    By  D.  G.  Brinton.  M.  D. 

American  Scientific  Mouthfy.    Vol.  1.    No.  1.    July,  1870.    G.  Hlnrlcb,  Iowa  City.    Iowa. 

Proceedings  of  the  California  Academy  of  Science.    Vol,  1.    Part  3.    1870. 

(Quarterly  Journal  of  Science.    London,  July,  1870. 

American  Journal  or  Conchology.    Vol.  8.    Part  1.    1870. 

Field.    July  2d  and  9th.    London,  1870. 

Cosmos.    July  3d,  9th  and  I6th.    LIv.  1,  3,  8. 

Address  on  the  Natural  History  and  Pathological  Osteology  of  the  Horse.  By  N.  Creasy,  K.  D. 
Mtddletown.    Jan.,  1870. 

Bulletin  de  la  Societe  Imperiale  des  Naturatistes  de  ifoscote.    Noa.  1, 3, 8.  8vo.  Moscow.  1889. 

Annates  de  la  Societe  Entomologique  de  France,   8to.    1869.    Paris. 

Verhandlungen  des  naturhistoruchen  Vereins  du  preussichen  Rheinland  und  Westphalen.  8vo. 
96th  JabrganK,     Hslft.  1,3.    Bonn.    1869. 

Peat  Fuel ;  bow  to  make  it,  and  bow  to  use  It.  Wliat  It  costs  and  what  It  Is  worth.  T.  H. 
Leavltt.    Boston:  Lee  A  Sbenard.    12mo.  pp.  63.    CO  ets. 

Le  Naturafinte  Canadien.    Vol.  3.    No.  8.    July,  1870. 

Land  and  Water.   4, 11. 18  and  35.    July. 

English  Mechanic  and  Mirror  of  Science.   July  8,  W,  1870.    Vol.  xl.    Nos.  376, 377. 

Tiddskriftfor  Popultere  FremUillinger  of  Nalurvidenskaben,    Copenhagen.    June,  1870. 

Bulletin  Mentuel  de  la  Societe  Imperial  Zoologique  <f  Acclimatation,    Tume  7.    June,  1870. 

Nature,   June  80  to  July  7, 1870.  . 

The  Man  who  Advertises  and  American  Newspaper  Rate  Book.  Royal  8vo.  Rowell  A  Co.  New 
Tork,  1870. 

Speech  of  Hon.  Geo.  F.  Hoar  on  Universal  Education, 

Revue  des  Cours  Scientiflqes  de  la  France  et  de  Vstranger,  Paris.  Deo.  *69  to  June  *70.  4. 8. 
11  of  and  3, 9  and  33,  July.    i»70. 

Petites  Nouvelles  Entomologiques.    Nor.  36  and  36. 

The  North  American  Lakes^  considered  as  Chronometers  €(f  Post  Glacial  Time,  By  Dr.  Kdmund 
Andrews.    Royal  8vo,  pp.  33. 


THE 

AMERICAN    NATURALIST. 

Vol.  nr.- OCTOBER,  1870.  — No.  8. 
RECENT  ADVANCES  IN  GEOLOGY.* 

BT  J.  W.   FOSTER,  LL.  D. 

Mr.  President^  and  Gentlemen  of  the  American  Association 
for  the  Advancement  of  Science:  — 

There  is  an  article  contaiued  in  our  Constitution  which 
requires  the  retiring  President  to  address  the  Association 
in  general  meeting ;  and  custom  has  prescribed  that  he  select 
for  his  theme  some  new  and  important  discoveries  in  science, 
or  some  new  inventions  and  processes  in  the  arts. 

It  is  in  the  discharge  of  this  duty  that  I  appear  before  you 
on  this  occasion,  and  solicit  your  attention  for  the  passing 
hour.  So  vast  is  the  domain  of  science,  and  so  numerous 
have  become  its  cultivators  in  ^almost  every  part  of  the 
world,  that,  even  if  I  had  the  capacity,  the  labor  of  embody- 
ing the  results  of  a  single  year,  in  a  brief  address,  would  be 
a  mere  accumulation  of  details  devoid  of  that  spirit  which 
gives  them  value — generalization. 

I  shall,  therefore,  restrict  myself  to  the  researches  which 
have  been  made  in  those  departments  of  science  which  with 
me  have  been  the  subjects  of  special  investigation ;  and  shall 

*  Address  of  the  retiring  president  of  the  American  Association  for  the  AdTanoe- 
mont  of  Science,  J.  W.  Foster,  LL.D.,  delivered  at  Troy,  New  York,  on  the  evening  of 
Angust  18, 1870. 


WA^tl  Opitm^  !■  <>•  jtn MW. by  ihm  Pi«»o»t  Aoammt  m  8oino«,  It  *•  Owk't  OflbaoT  Iht  DbkM 

AMsn.  NATunALiST,  VOL.  IV.  57  (449) 


450  RECENT  ADVANCES  IN  OEOLOOT. 

seek  to  set  forth  what  others  have  accomplished,  rather  than 
to  advance  original  views. 

It  will  be  found  that,  throughout  all  time,  since  the  earth 
became  fitted  for  the  habitation  of  organic  life,  that  there 
have  been  great  cycles  of  heat  and  cold,  and  that  these 
cycles  have  exercised  a  marked  influence  in  the  modification 
of  all  terrestrial  forms.  To  traverse  the  whole  gi-ound, 
would  employ  too  much  time ;  and  I  shall,  therefore,  restrict 
myself  to  the  changes  which  barely  antedate  the  Human 
Epoch. 

We  know  that  the  Tertiary  Age,  so  far,  at  least,  as  re- 
lated to  the  northern,  hemisphere,  was  characterized  by  a 
warm  and  equable  climate,  extending  even  to  the  Polar  Sea. 
Where  now  blooms  the  Andromeda  close  by  banks  of  per- 
petual snow,  at  that  time  grew  a  luxuriant  forest  vegetation. 
McClure's  sledging  party  gathered  fragments  of  fossil  wood, 
acorns,  and  fir  cones  in  the  interior  of  Banks's  Land,  far 
within  the  limits  of  the  Arctic  Circle.  As  high  as  latitude 
70^  N.  in  Greenland,  large  forests  lie  prostrate  and  encased 
in  ice.  At  Disco  Island,  the  northern  verge  of  European 
settlement,  the  strata  are  full  of  the  trunks,  branches,  leaves, 
and  even  the  seeds  and  fruit-cones  of  trees,  comprising  fix's, 
sequoias,  elms,  magnolias,  and  laurels, — a  vegetation  char- 
acteristic of  the  Miocene  Period  of  Central  Europe.  Pro- 
fessor Heer  particularly  notices  the  Sequoia  Langsdorfii^ 
which  is  very  closely  allied  to  the  Sequoia  sempervirens  of 
the  Coast  Range  of  California. 

Spitzbergen  was  clothed  with  a  forest  vegetation  equally 
luxuriant,  amongst  which  the  Swedish  naturalists  recognize 
the  swamp-cypress  (Taxodium  dubium)  in  a  fossilized  state, 
at  Bell's  Sound  (76^  N.),  and  the  plantain  and  linden  in 
King's  Bay  (78^  and  79^  N.).  The  same  Sequoia  was  ob- 
served by  Sir  John  Richardson  within  the  Arctic  Circle  west 
of  MacKenzie  River.  The  lignite  beds  of  Iceland  have 
yielded  to  the  botanists,  Steenstrup  and  Heer,  fifteen  arbor-  J 

escent  forms  identical  with  the  Miocene  plants  of  Europe. 


RECENT  ADVANCES  IN  GEOLOGY.  451 

In  the  flora  of  the  Great  Lignite  Basin  of  Nebraska,  which 
is  referred  to  the  Miocene  age,  Hayden  has  detected  the  oak, 
the  tulip  or  poplar,  the  elm  and  walnut,  and  a  true  fan- 
palm,  with  a  leaf-spread  of  twelve  feet; — all,  however,  of 
extinct  species.  Tl^ese  forms  he  regards  as  characteristic  of 
a  sub-tropical  climate,  such  as  now  prevails  in  the  Gulf 
States.  The  fan-palm  {Sabal  Oampbellii)  is  the  representa- 
tive of  the  Sabal  major  of  the  European  Tertiaries,  and  the 
Sabal palmetto  of  our  SoutheiTi  States. 

The  Cinnamonium^  an  unquestioned  tropical  type,  while 
not  thus  far  detected  in  the  Missouri  Basin,  has  been  found 
by  Lesquercaux  in  the  Cretaceous  (?)  beds  of  Bellingham 
Bay,  on  our  Northwestern  coast;  in  the  Eocene  of  the 
Lower  Mississippi,  and  in  the  lignite  beds  of  Vermont. 

Professor  Newberry,  in  a  review  of  the  flora  of  the  Cre- 
taceous and  Tertiary  Ages  of  North  America,  thus  re- 
marks : — 

"We  have,  therefore,  negative  evidence,  though  it  may 
be  reversed  at  an  early  day  by  further  observations,  that  the 
climate  of  the  interior  of  our  continent,  during  the  Tertiary 
Age,  was  somewhat  warmer  than  during  the  Cretaceous 
Period ;  and  that  during  both  the  same  relative  difierences 
of  climate  prevailed  between  the  western  and  central  por- 
tions that  exist  at  the  present  day." 

The  Drift  Epoch  was  ushered  in  by  a  marked  change  in 
physical  influences,  by  which  the  whole  flora  of  the  extreme 
northern  hemisphere  was  so  far  affected  that  certain  forms 
were  blotted  out  of  existence,  while  other  forms  were  forced 
to  seek,  by  migration,  a  more  congenial  climate,  and  accom- 
modate themselves  to  altered  conditions.  In  the  higher 
regions  we  find  a  predominating  gi*owth  of  mosses  and  saxi- 
frages, and  at  the  southern  limits  of  the  Drift  a  buried 
vegetation  of  an  Alpine  character. 

If  we  examine  the  faunae  of  the  two  epochs — particularly 
the  land  animals  which  we  may  suppose  to  be  peculiarly 
susceptible  to  atmospheric  changes — we  shall  find  that  there 


452  KECENT  ADVANCES  IN   GEOLOGY. 

was  a  marked  modification  of  forms.  Dr.  Leidy,  in  hislate 
work  on  the  extinct  mammalian  faunae  of  Dakota  and  Ne- 
braska,  states  that,  of  the  thirty-two  genera  of  Miocene 
animals,  not  one  occurs  in  the  Quaternary  formation  of 
North  America.  In  comparing  the  Miocene  and  Pliocene 
faunae  with  each  other,  as  represented  mainly  by  the  remains 
from  the  Mauvaises  Terres  and  the  Niobrara  River,  scarcely 
a  genus  is  common  to  both.  *'In  view,"  he  continues,  **of 
the  consecutive  order  and  close  approximation  of  position  of 
the  two  formations  and  faunae,  such  exclusiveness  would 
hardly  have  been  suspected."  The  greater  similitude  of  the 
Miocene  and  Pliocene  faunae  with  the  contemporaneous 
faunae  of  the  Old  World,  has  led  him  to  suggest  that  the 
North  American  continent  was  peopled,  during  the  Tertiary 
Epoch,  from  the  West.  "Perhaps  this  latter  extension,"  he 
continues,  ^'occuiTed  from  a  continent  whose  area  now  forms 
the  bottom  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  whose  Tertiary  faunae 
is  now  represented  east  and  west  by  the  fossil  remains  of 
America  on  the  one  hand,  and  of  Asia,  with  its  peninsula, 
Europe,  on  the  other." 

The  topographical  features  of  the  two  continents  and  the 
hydrographical  soundings  of  the  two  oceans,  render  this 
supposition  probable.  Between  Ireland  and  Newfoundland 
there  is  a  great  plateau,  which  an  elevation  of  the  earth's 
crust  to  the  extent  of  a  few  thousand  feet  would  convert 
into  dry  land ;  and  Behring's  Straits,  which  now  separate 
Asia  and  North  America,  are,  at  their  narrowest  points,  but 
thirty  miles  wide,  and  their  shallowest  depth  is  but  twenty- 
five  fathoms. 

And  here  the  palaeontologist  comes  to  the  aid  of  the 
hydrographer,  and,  by  their  joint  labors,  the  one  renders 
probable  what  the  other  has  conjectured  as  possible — the 
former  union  of  the  two  hemispheres.  Zoology  would  indi- 
cate that  such  was  the  fact  during  the  Pliocene  Epoch,  in 
which  will  probably  be  found  the  origin  of  those  mammalian 
types  contemporary  with  the  elder  man,  and  represented  by 


REGENT  ADVANCES  IN  OEOLOGT.  453 

the  extinct  Proboscidiaos  and  Ruminants.  None  of  these 
large  animals  could  probably  have  passed  over  the  straits 
which  now  divide  these  regions,  and  the  close  alliance  in 
form  would  indicate  a  common  origin.  We  infer,  therefore, 
that  the  subsidence  during  the  Drift  Epoch  cut  off  the  com- 
munication between  the  two  hemispheres,  and  the  refrigera- 
tion which  then  took  place,  served  to  disperse  the  colossal 
animals,  who  sought  by  migration  to  lower  latitudes  a  cli- 
mate congenial  to  their  nature. 

As  in  Europe  we  find  the  remains  of  these  northern  types 
intermingled  with  those  of  an  African  type — the  hippopota- 
mus, which  in  his  summer  migrations  strayed  as  far  north  as 
England;  so  on  this  continent  we  had,  during  this  epoch, 
the  great  sloths,  represented  by  the  megalonyx  and  mylodon, 
whose  congeners  nt  this  time  exist  in  South  America.  Thus 
there  was  an  inosculation,  so  to  speak,  of  two  distinct  and 
contemporaneous  faunae. 

It  is  an  inquiry  of  the  highest  interest — perhaps  as  much 
so  as  any  connected  with  the  physical  history  of  the  past : 
How  far  has  man  been  a  witness  of  these  stupendous  changes? 
It  is  not  until  towards  the  close  of  the  Drift  Epoch,  that  we 
are  enabled  to  detect  unmistakable  signs  of  his  works, 
althotlgll  there  are  not  wanting  proofs  which  would  refer  his 
origin  to  an  earlier  date — the  Pliocene.  So  numerous  and 
well-attested  are  the  facts,  that  we  must  now  regard  him  as 
the  contemporary  of  many  of  the  great  mammals  which 
have  ceased  to  exist,  and  the  subject  of  physical  conditions 
very  different  from  what  now  prevail.  To  account  for  these 
changes  requires  the  lapse  of  a  longer  period  of  time  than 
has  heretofore  been  assigned  to  his  existence  upon  earth. 

Thus  within  a  few  years  has  been  opened  a  sphere  of  in- 
vestigation which  has  enlisted  a  large  class  of  able  observers, 
and  their  >  labors  have  thrown  a  flood  of  light  upon  the 
origin  of  our  race.  Ethnography  has  become  aggraildized 
into  one  of  the  noblest  of  sciences.  However  conflicting 
these  revelations  may  be  to  our  preeonceived  notions,  they 


454  BECENT  ADVANCES  IN  OEOLOOT. 

must  not  hereafter  bo  disregarded  in  treating  of  the  past 
and  present  condition  of  humanity.  We  must  weigh  the 
value  of  observations  and  press  them  to  legitimate  conclu- 
sions. The  investigator  at  this  day  is  not  to  bo  tram- 
melled, in  the  language  of  Humboldt,  by  **an  assemblage  of 
dogmas  bequeathed  from  one  age  to  another*' — by  ^'a  physi- 
cal philosophy  made  up  of  popular  prejudices." 

The  periods  of  the  prehistoric  man  have  been  divided  by 
M.  Lartet,  into  two  ages : — 

1.  The  Stone  Age,  and  (2)  the  Metal  Age. 

The  Stone  Age  has  been  subdivided  into  three  epochs. 

1.  That  of  the  extinct  animals,  such  as  the  mammoth  and 
cave-bear. 

2.  That  of  the  migmted  existing  animals  (Beindeer 
Epoch) . 

3.  That  of  the  domesticated  existing  animals  (Polished 
Stone  Epoch) . 

The  Metal  Age  has  been  divided  into  two  epochs : 

1.  That  of  Bronze,  and  (2)  that  of  Iron. 

The  elder  man  differed  widely  from  the  intellectual  and 
much-planning  man  of  this  day.  The  conditions  of  climate 
greatly  modified  his  modes  of  thought  and  physical  pursuits. 
The  northern  hemisphere  was  just  emerging  from  a  long- 
continued  state  of  glaciatiou.  The  snows  which  had 
wrapped  the  earth  as  in  a  mantle,  Vere  melting,  and  the 
great  glaciers  were  reluctantly  retreating  within  the  Arctic 
Circle.  Every  depression  became  a  lake,  and  every  lake  a 
sea  for  the  reception  of  the  accumulating  waters,  whose  re- 
sistless force  swept  along  mud,  and  sand,  and  shingle,  and 
fragments  of  rocks.  As  the  barriers  gave  way,  the  water's 
cut  out  channels  on  their  route  to  the  sea,  and  the  terraces 
and  ridges-  which  border  our  lakes  and  rivers  are  but  the 
monuments  of  their  erosive  action.  It  was  a  sad  and  deso- 
late land,  to  be  paralleled  only  in  the  Arctic  Circle.  But 
man  was  not  alone.  On  the  European  Continent  there  was 
a  strange  assemblage  of  animals;   the  elephant,  with   his 


RECENT  ADYANGEB  IN  aEOLOGT.  455 

compound  clothing  of  wool  and  hair ;  the  rhinoceros  simi- 
larly protected ;  the  cave-bear  and  cave-hyena ;  the  tiger ; 
and  the  great  ox,  not  patient  of  toil  as  at  this  day,  but  fierce 
and  indomitable.  On  this  continent  was  the  elephant  of  a 
closely-allied  species ;  the  lion  and  bear,  and  at  least  two 
species  of  the  musk-ox,  gigantic  as  compared  to  their  mod- 
ern congener. 

In  such  a  climate  and  on  such  a  soil  we  can  well  imagine 
that  agriculture  formed  no  part  of  the  occupation  of  the 
primitive  man.  He  gathered  not  the  kindly  fruits  of  the 
earth,  but  was  essentially  a  predaceous  animal.  The  few 
skulls  that  have  been  recovered  would  indicate  that  he  was 
low  in  the  scale  of  intellectual  organization — a  small  brain, 
a  retreating  forehead,  and  oblique  jaws.  In  capacity  he  was 
below  the  Australian  and  New  Zealander.  In  stature  he 
was  dwarfed,  but  was  broad-shouldered  and  robust — the 
result,  perhaps,  of  vigorous  exertion  and  out-door  exposure. 
He  was  carniverous,  and,  perhaps,  a  raw  flesh-eater ;  for  in 
the  jaws  which  have  been  disinterred,  the  incisor-teeth  are 
much  worn — a  peculiarity  which  has  been  noticed  in  those 
of  the  flesh-eating  Esquimaux.  This  fact  ought  not  to  be 
cited  to  his  disadvantage,  for  in  an  Arctic  climate,  where  the 
animal  heat  is  so  rapidly  abstracted,  man  requires  a  highly 
nitrogenous  food.  Thus  we  find  our  own  countryman,  Edne, 
when  imprisoned  in  the  ice  of  Rensselaer  Harbor,  resorting 
to  raw  walrus-meat,  and  rolling  it  as  a  sweet  morsel  under 
his  tongue. 

It  cannot  be  gainsayed,  however,  that  man  was  a  cannibal. 
In  Scotland  were  found  the  bones  of  children  which,  accord- 
ing to  Owen,  bore  upon  them  the  marks  of  liuman  teeth, 
and  the  evidences  produced  in  the  Archaeological  Congress 
at  Copenhagen  established  this  fact  beyond  controversy. 
He  was  not  destitute  of  skill  in  the  art  of  delineation,  for 
we  have  restored  to  us,  on  a  slab  of  slate,  a  very  good 
profile  of  the  great  cave-bear — the  earliest  instance  extant 
of  pictorial  representation. 


456  RECENT  ADVANCES  IN  OEOLOOY. 

But  we  must  accord  to  him  one  redeeming  trait.  That 
homage  which,  in  all  ages  and  among  all  nations,  the  living 
pay  to  the  dead ;  those  ceremonies  which  are  observed  at  the 
hour  of  final  separation;  that  care  which  is  exerted  to  pro- 
tect the  manes  from  all  profane  intrusion ;  and  those  delicate 
acts,  prompted  by  love  or  affection,  which,  we  fondly  hope, 
will  smooth  the  pat  sage  of  the  parting  spirit  to  the  happy 
land — all  these  obsi^rvances  our  rude  ancestors  maintained. 
These  facts  show  that,  deep  as  man  may  sink  in  barbarism, 
brutal  as  he  may  Iiecome  in  his  instincts,  there  is  still  a 
redeeming  spirit  which  prompts  to  higher  aspirations,  and 
that  to  him,  even,  there  is  no  belief  so  dreary  as  that  of 
utter  annihilation. 

Perhaps,  among  the  existing  tribes  of  the  human  race  in 
the  Arctic  Highlander,  as  described  by  Sherard  Osborn, 
we  have  the  nearest  approach  to  the  prehistoric  man :  — 

'*  Although  dwarfed  in  statare,  they  are  thick-set,  strong-limbed,  deep- 
chested,  and  base-voiced,  and  capable  of  vigorous  and  prolonged  exer- 
tion. *  *  I  cannot  discover  an  instance  of  their  ever  having  been  seen 
to  partake  of  a  single  herb,  grass,  or  berry,  grown  on  shore.  Of  vege- 
tables and  cereals,  they  have  of  course  no  conception,  and  I  know  of  no 
other  people  on  the  earth*s  surface,  who  are  thus  entirely  camiverous." 

After  the  lapse  of  a  period  whose  interval  cannot  be 
measured,  the  great  animals  which  characterized  the  dawn  of 
the  Human  Epoch,  began  to  disappear,  and  were  replaced  by 
other  forms  of  diminished  size,  but  of  improved  type. 
Among  these,  on  the  European  continent,  were  the  reindeer, 
the  musk-ox,  the  stag,  the  bison,  and  urus,  together  with 
the  horse,  not  distinguishable  from  the  existing  species. 
The  reindeer  and  musk-ox,  which  only  thrive  in  a  cold  cli- 
mate, not  only  occupied  England,  but  wandered  as  far  south 
in  France  as  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  and  the  slopes 
of  the  Pyrenees,  which  interposed  effectual  barriers  to  their 
further  progress. 

The  reindeer  must  have  existed  in  vast  herds,  and  to  the 
primeval  man  have  proved   the  most  useful  of  animals. 


RECENT  ADYANGES  IN  OEOLOQT.  457 

Every  portion  of  the  carcase  was  economized.  His  flesh 
furnished  food;  his  skin,  clothing;  his  sinews,  thread;  and 
his  horns  were  fashioned  into  hai*poons,  javelins,  and  sockets 
for  the  reception  of  spearheads  and  hatchets. 

On  this  continent  we  find  the  musk-ox  and  reindeer,  iden- 
tical in  species  with  the  European  forms,  in  a  fossilized  state. 
The  reindeer  ranged  as  far  south  as  Kentucky  and  New 
Jersey,  but  the  existing  musk-ox  has  not  been  found  fossil- 
ized, outside  of  his  present  limits.  The  Bootherium,  how- 
ever, which  exceeded  him  in  size,  and  to  which  he  was 
closely  allied,  had  a  range  co-extensive  with  the  reindeer. 
The  stag  (Cervus  alces)  and  the  bison  (B.  latifrons)^  were 
in  existence,  while  the  horse,  which  is  abundantly  repre- 
sented in  the  Pliocene,  and  is  continued  into  the  Quaternary 
Period,  had  become  extinct  before  the  discovery  of  Amei*ica. 
His  remains  are  found  in  Eschscholtz  Bay  (latitude  66^^  20' 
North)  in  connection  with  those  of  the  Elephas  primigenuSj 
the  urus,  deer,  and  musk-ox,  embedded  in  a  deposit  of  clay 
and  fine  micaceous  sand.  The  rhinoceros  (22.  merianus) 
appears  in  the  Miocene  of  Texas,  and  is  represented  in  the 
Pliocene  of  the  Upper  Missouri  as  M.  crassuSy  and  in  the 
same  formation  in  California  as  H,  heaperius;  but  thus  far 
the  Rhinoceros  tichorhinus  so  intimately  associated  with  the 
great  Proboscidians  of  Europe,  has  not,  to  my  knowledge, 
been  found  in  North  America.  In  addition  to  these  forms 
may  be  mentioned  the  great  mastodon,  which  came  into 
being  subsequent  to  the  elephant,  and  survived  his  extinc- 
tion. 

The  fact  of  the  existence  of  the  mammoth  or  mastodon, 
was  certainly  known  to  the  founders  of  the  cities  of  Central 
America,  for  in  more  than  one  instance  there  is  graven 
with  elaborate  care,  on  the  walls  of  their  structures,  the 
form  of  a  Proboscidian,  which  cannot  be  mistaken  for  one  or 
the  other  of  these  animals;  but  the  works  on  which  these 
delineations  are  made,  indicate  a  far  higher  order  of  art  than 
was  ever  attained  by  the  prehistoric  man  of  Europe.     These 

▲MEB.   NATURALIST,  VOL.   IV.  58 


458  BEOENT  ADVANCES  IN  GEOLOOT. 

delineatidnsy  1  am  disposed  to  think,  are  of  the  mastodon, 
and,  found  as  they  are  upon  the  walls  of  stone-built  palaces 
and  temples,  there  is  strong  evidence  to  believe  that  this 
great  Proboscidian  survived  almost  to  the  Historic  Period. 

The  men  of  the  Reindeer  Epoch  made  gradual  advances 
in  the  industrial  arts.  They  did  not  cultivate  the  soil,  for 
the  climate  was  still  inhospitable.  While  their  progenitors 
were  content  with  knives  flaked  from  flints  in  the  form  of 
rude  fragments  with  cutting  edges,  they  wrought  out  tools 
more  symmetrical,  but  without  any  attempt  at  polishing. 

They  attained  to  a  very  creditable  degree,  of  artistic  skill, 
as  shown  by  their  designs  traced  on  tablets  of  ivory,  and 
carved  out  of  the  antlers  of  the  reindeer.  We  have  thus 
represented  the  stag,  the  ibex,  the  horse,  a  reindeer  couch- 
ant  forming  a  dagger-hilt,  and  also  the  great  elephant  with 
his  characteristic  markings ;  the  small  oblique  eye,  the  pon- 
derous trunk,  the  recurved  tusks,  and  the  shaggy  mane. 
The  human  form  even  is  delineated.  We  have  an  ivory 
statuette  of  the  female  figure,  and  traced  on  a  stag's  horn 
the  outline  of  a  male  figure  with  a  caudal  appendage  like 
that  which  was  conjectured  by  Lord  Mondoddo,  the  cccen- 
trie  Scotch  philosopher,  to  appertain  to  the  primitive  man. 

On  this  continent  the  evidences  of  the  existence  of  man 
at  this  age,  while  obscure,  are  yet,  I  am  disposed  to  believe, 
authentic.  The  human  bone  found  in  the  Loess  at  Natchez, 
and  the  flint  implements  found  in  connection  with  the  Mis- 
souri mastodon,  may  claim  as  high  an  antiquity  as  the  oldest 
of  the  European  "finds." 

The  discoveries  in  California  would  seem  to  carry  back 
the  existence  of  man  to  a  remote  date.  As  far  back  as  1857 
Dr.  C.  F.  Winslow  sent  to  the  Boston  Natural  History  So- 
ciety a  fragment  of  a  human  cranium  found  in  the  "pay dirt" 
in  connection  with  the  bones  of  the  mastodon  and  elephant, 
one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  below  the  surface  of  Table 
Mountain,  California.  It  was  in  this  region  (Angeles,  Cal- 
averas County),  that  a  human  skull  was  subsequently  found 


RECENT  ADVANCES  IN  OEOLOGT.  459 

by  a  miner  named  James  Matson  in  a  shaft  one  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  deep,  which  passed  through  five  beds  of  lava  and 
four  deposits  of  auriferous  gravel.  The  statements  of  Pro- 
fessor  Whitney  as  to  the  autlienticity  of  this  skull  have  been 
received  with  extreme  distrust;  but  does  nut  this  earlier 
discovery  of  human  remains  in  the  same  formation  confirm 
the  correctness  of  those  statements  ? 

Our  couutiy  is  yet  new,  and  it  is  only  recently  that  atten- 
tion has  been  directed  to  these  investigations.  It  is  hardly 
to  be  expected  that  a  competent  observer  will  be  present  at 
the  precise  time. when  any  relic  of  the  past  is  disinterred; 
and  there  is  an  universal  feeling  of  doubt  and  distrust  as  to 
the  authenticity  of  all  such  finds.  With  the  evidence  before 
us  that  both  hemispheres  have  been  subjected  to  the  same 
dynamic  causes,  and  peopled  by  the  same  races  of  animals, 
often  identical  in  species,  is  it  not  philosophical  to  infer  that 
here  we  shall  be  able  to  detect  the  traces  of  man  and  his 
works,  reaching  back  to  as  high  an  antiquity  as  on  the  Euro- 
pean continent? 

The  Reindeer  Epoch  terminates  the  earliest  known  record 
in  the  career  of  man.  It  was  signalized  by  a  series  of  phy- 
sical events  too  impoiiant  to  be  slightly  passed  over.  The 
glaciers  again  advanced,  and  again  the  land  became  refriger- 
ated; but  the  cold  period  was  not  so  long  continued,  and 
was  less  intense.  To  this  succeeded  a  period  of  warmth, 
and  as  the  glaciers  dissolved  under  its  influence,  there  en- 
sued a  flood  which  swept  over  the  lowlands  and  forced  the 
cave-dwellei's  to  flee  to  the  high  grounds.  The  water  in 
Belgium,  according  to  Dupont,  rose  to  the  height  of  four 
hundred  and  fifty  feet,  and  the  calcareous  mud,  known  as  the 
Loess,  was  then  deposited  in  the  Ehine  Valley.  The  caves 
were  also  invaded,  and  the  **  bone-earth "  which  forms  the 
division  between  two  distinct  faunae,  is  of  the  same  age. 

It  was  during  this  epoch  that  the  great  mammals  disap- 
peared from  the  earth ;  the  elephant,  the  rhinoceros,  the 
cave-bear,  the  cave-hyena,  the   tiger,  and  the  Irish   stag. 


460  BEGENT  ADYANCES  IN  GEOLOGY. 

The  reindeer,  the  musk-ox,  and  the  elk,  migrated  to  the 
north  where  the  changed  conditions  of  climate  were  more 
congenial  to  their  nature. 

The  musk-ox  has  disappeared  from  Europe,  but  he  sur- 
vives on  this  continent,  restricted  in  his  range  to  what  are 
known  as  the  "Barren  Grounds,"  lying  between  the  Wel- 
come and  Coppermine  mountains.  The  auroch,  protected 
by  stringent  laws,  still  survives,  while  the  horse*  domesti- 
cated by  man,  has  vastly  multiplied.  The  ure-ox,  living 
through  the  great  catastrophe,  has  disappeared  within  his- 
torical times. 

The  greatly  augmented  thickness  of  the  Loess  on  this  con- 
tinent, would  indicate  that  the  ice  action  was  exerted  more 
powerfully,  and  its  effects  are  traced  over  a  larger  area ;  and 
the  same  destruction  overtook  the  larger  quadrupeds,  extend- 
ing even  to  the  gigantic  sloths,  who  lived  in  a  milder  cli- 
mate. 

From  this  era  we  may  date  a  change  in  the  physical,  con- 
ditions of  our  planet,  so  far  at  least  as  relates  to  the  north- 
ern temperate  zone.  The  climate  became  milder,  and  the 
soil  yielded  more  bountifully  those  seeds  and  fruits  which 
contribute  to  human  support.  Man  for  the  first  time  began 
to  show  signs  of  progress  in  the  industrial  arts.  His  weap- 
ons of  flint  were  more  symmetrically  fashioned,  and  in  some 
instances  were  polished.  The  dog  became  his  companion, 
and  some  of  the  other  animals  were  domesticated.  This 
was  the  Polished  stone  Epoch. 

In  the  Bronze  Epoch  we  trace  still  greater  advances. 
Man  dwelt  in  fixed  habitations.  He  surrounded  himself  with 
such  domestic  animals  as  the  ox,  horse,  pig,  goat,  and  sheep, 
and  retained  his  companionship  for  the  dog.  He  cultivated 
wheat  and  barley,  whose  flour  he  kneaded  into  bread  and 
baked  between  heated  stones.  Apart  from  berries  he  gath- 
ered the  fruits  of  the  pear,  cherry,  and  plum.  The  discovery 
of  the  art  .of  smelting  copper,  and  of  the  additional  art  of 
hai*dening  it  by  a  slight  admixture  of  tin,  was  an  immense 


BECENT  ADVANCES  IN  OEOLOOT.  461 

stride  towards  civilizatiou.  Ere  long  followed  the  discovery 
of  the  art  of  irou-smcltiug, — a  discovery  which  has  done 
more  to  advance  the  welfare  of  our  race  than  all  others  com- 
bined. Then  it  was  that  man,  for  the  first  time,  was  fur- 
nished with  a  weapon  which  enabled  him  to  achieve  a 
conquest  over  Nature,  and  this  assertion  will  not  appear 
extravagant  when  we  reflect  how  intimately  this  metal  is 
connected  with  all  the  industrial  arts. 

The  Iron  Epoch  approaches  so  near  the  Historic  Era,  that, 
as  foiming  a  portion  of  geological  history,  the  events  are  too 
insignificant  to  be  dwelt  upon. 

The  Mound-builders  of  our  own  country,  in  the  scale  of 
civilization,  were  intermediate  between  the  Polished  stone 
and  the  Bronze  Epochs  of  Europe.  They  resided  in  towns, 
many  of  which  have  since  become  the  sites  of  flourishing 
cities.  They  practiced  agriculture,  making  use  of  maize  as 
their  chief  cereal ;  but  there  was  not  on  this  continent  a 
domestic  animal  who  could  aid  them  in  their  labors  or  con- 
tribute to  their  sustenance.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  that 
while  the  Danish  kitchen-middins  and  the  Swiss  refuse-heaps 
contain  abundant  traces  of  mammalian  bones,  thus  far  they 
have  been  but  rarely  detected  in  the  mounds.  They  chipped 
with  great  skill  the  limestone-chert  into  spades,  spear- 
heads and  arrowheads.  Out  of  porphyry  or  greenstone 
they  wrought  their  hatchets  and  battle-axes,  and  these  were 
often  ground  and  polished.  The  same  material,  too,  was 
often  used  in  making  pipes,  which  were  carved  into  forms 
representing  quadrupeds  and  birds,  so  faithful  in  detail  that 
the  species  to  which  they  belonged  can  be  identified.  The 
specular  iron-ore  of  Missouri  was  elaborately  wrought  and 
polished  into  slung-shots  or  ** plummets."  They  mined  ex- 
tensively the  native  copper  of  Lake  Superior,  which  they 
beat,  and  perhaps  smelted,  into  knives,  chisels,  spearheads, 
arrowheads  and  bracelets.  They  wove  cloth  with  a  regular 
warp  and  woof,  out  of  a  fibre  as  yet  undetermined.  They 
modelled  clay  into  vases,  water-coolers,  and  other  utensils, 


462  BECEXT  ADVANCES  IN  GEOLOGY. 

and  ornamented  them  with  elaborate  designs,  and  the  human 
face,  even,  is  portrayed  with  rare  fideh'ty ;  and  finally,  they 
must  have  maintained  an  intercourse  with  distant  and  widely 
separated  portions  of  the  continent. 

Since  the  close  of  the  Reindeei;  Epoch  the  changes  which 
have  taken  place  in  the  flora  and  fauna  of  Europe  have  been 
slight.  We  may  note,  however,  the  disappearance  of  the 
Scotch  fir  (Pinus  sylvestris)  from  Denmark,  where  it  is 
found  entombed  in  the  peat-swamps,  and  the  introduction  of 
the  sessile  oak,  which  in  turn  is  becoming  supplanted  by  the 
common  beech.  In  the  Baltic  the  oyster  flourished  in  places 
from  which  it  is  now  excluded,  and  certain  other  marine  forms 
that  attained  a  full  gi'owth,  are  now  dwarfed.  There  is  an 
instance  or  two  of  the  disappearance  of  mammalian  forms, 
but  this  may  be  traced  to  the  direct  agency  of  man.  These 
slight  changes  in  physical  geography  have  modified  the  dis- 
tribution of  animals  and  plants,  but  they  have  not  afiected,  in 
the  least,  their  form.  Whatever  changes  have  been  observed 
are  due  to  domestication. 

So  far  as  relates  to  our  own  country,  there  are  evidences 
in  the  Great  Basin  and  on  the  Colorado  Plateau,  that  at  no 
remote  day  there  was  a  much  more  genial  climate  and  a  soil 
more  productive  than  now  prevail.  This  is  seen  in  the  dead 
forests  that  line  the  mountain  side ;  in  the  waterlines  of  the 
lakes  and  streams  high  above  the  greatest  floods;  deep 
cafions  through  which  now  course  trickling  streams,  but 
which  must  have  formed  the  channels  of  voluminous  rivers ; 
and  alluvial  bottoms  now  bare  and  desolate,  in  which  are 
imbedded  a  robust  vegetation. 

I  have,  perhaps,  dwelt  too  long  upon  these  changes  which 
have  so  essentially  modified  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and  at 
the  same  time  the  destinies  of  our  race.  Had  an  Arctic  cli- 
mate continued  to  prevail  over  what  is  now  the  temperate 
zone,  man  would  have  made  no  advance  in  civilization ;  life 
to  him  would  have  been  a  continued  struggle  for  existence. 
It  is  only  in  a  genial  climate,  and  pn  a  soil  so  generous  as  to 


RECENT  ADYANGES  IN  GEOLOGY.  463 

yield  with  moderate  exertion  a  support,  that  he  can  cultivate 
his  intellect ;  and  such  culture,  I  need  hardly  affirm,  is  at  the 
base  of  all  civilization. 

How  great  the  contrast  between  the  primitive  cave-dweller 
and  the  practical  man  of  to-day,  who,  availing  himself  of 
the  conquests  of  science,  subjects  the  forces  of  Nature  to  his 
will ;  who  spans  with  bridges,  deep  chasms ;  who  stretches  his 
iron  rails  over  high  summits;  who  traverses  the  trackless 
deep  with  unerring  course ;  who  flashes  intelligence  over  a 
hemisphere.  How  diflTerent  from  the  intellectuiil  man  of  to- 
day, who  weighs  the  earth  as  in  a  balance ;  who  measures  the 
distance  of  the  sun  and  assays  its  elements ;  who  maps  the 
comet's  path ;  who  penetrates  the  deepest  mysteries  of 
the  Universe.  Thp  one  was  almost  a  brute;  the  other  is 
almost  a  god ! 

While  these  revolutions  have  taken  place  on  the  surface 
of  the  earth  they  have,  at  the  same  time,  been  sufficiently 
powerful  to  modify  the  marine  fauna  in  the  disappearance  of 
old  and  the  introduction  of  new  forms  to  the  depth  of  1,500 
feet;  but  in  the  profounder  abysses  of  the  ocean,  age  after 
age,  the  conditions  of  life  have  remained  comparatively 
unchanged.  It  is  only  within  the  past  year  that  this  inter- 
esting fact —  a  fact  which  must  lead  to  a  material  modifica- 
tion of  our  previously  formed  views — has  been  prominently 
developed. 

The  soundings  made  as  far  back  as  1857,  over  the  great 
telegraphic  plateau  which  stretches  from  Valentia  to  New- 
foundland, disclosed  in  all  instances  a  fine  calcareous  mud 
which  entombed  countless  millions  of  shells  belonging  to  the 
family  of  Rhizopods^  and  some  peculiar  bodies  which  are 
known  as  Coccoliths  and  CoccospIiereSy  which  were  found  to 
correspond  with  the  organic  contents  of  the  true  Cretaceous 
Period.  In  1861,  among  a  number  of  living  mollusca  and 
corals  found  adhering  to  a  telegraphic  cable  between  Algiers 
and  Sardinia,  taken  up  for  repairs,  Milne-Edwards  detected 
certain  shells  which  were  only  known  as  Tertiary  fossils.     In 


464  BECENT  ADVANCES  IN  GEOLOGY. 

the  same  year  Sars>  the  Swedish  naturalist,  described  the 
Mhizocrinus  LofotermSy  obtained  on  the  Scandinavian  Coast, 
a  new  and  living  type  of  Crinoidea  belonging  to  a  family 
characteristic  of  the  Oolite.  The  soundings,  prosecuted 
under  the  direction  of  Count  de  Pouitales,  attached  to  the 
United  States  Coast  Survey,  between  Florida  and  the  outer 
edge  of  the  Gulf  Stream,  have  yielded  important  results 
which  have  been  in  part  reported  upon  by  de  Pourtales,  the 
elder  and  younger  Agassiz,  and  Lyman. 

The  deep-sea  dredgings  prosecuted  during  the  past  year 
on  board  of  her  Britannic  Majesty's  ship  Porcupine,  placed  at 
the  disposal  of  a  scientific  committee,  consisting  of  Messrs, 
Carpenter,  Jeffrys,  and  Thompson,  have  yielded  results  of 
the  highest  interest.  The  supposition  of  an  Azoic  zone  must 
now  be  abandoned.  The  profoundest  depths  of  the  ocean, 
in  which  the  Himalayas  or  the  Andes  might  be  engulfed,  are 
now  believed  to  be  inhabited,  and  inhabited,  too,  by  organic 
forms  which,  since  the  dawn  of  the  Cretaceous  Age,  have 
undergone  no  considerable  modification^  The  littoral  de^ 
posits,  on  the  other  hand  show  the  most  marked  diversities 
in  organic  forms.  In  one  sense,  as  declared  by  Dr.  Carpen- 
ter, we  are  living  in  the  Cretaceous  Age ;  in  another,  since 
the  close  of  that  age  we  have  witnessed  repeated  dispersions 
and  modifications  of  organic  forms. 

Dr.  Wyville  Thompson,  generalizing  on  these  facts,  says 
that  there  is  no  direct  evidence  that  oscillations  have  taken 
place  in  the  Northern  Atlantic  greater  than  1,500  feet  since 
the  commencement  of  the  Mesozoic  Period,  and  that  the 
great  depressions  in  the  Pacific  and  Atlantic  oceans  are  due 
to  causes  that  acted  before  that  period. 

"There  have  been,"  he  continues,  ''constant  minor  oscilla- 
tions ;  but  the  beds  formed  during  periods  of  depression,  but 
now  exposed  by  an  upheaval  of  this  minor  character,  are  com- 
paratively local  and  shallow-water  beds,  as  shown  by  the  na- 
ture and  richness  of  their  fauna." 

The  dredgings  which  have  been  made  in  the  fresh-water 


BECENT  ADVANCES  IN  GEOLOGY.  465 

lakes  of  high  northern  latitudes  have  proved  of  equal  inter- 
est. In  the  Swedish  lakes,  Wetersee  and  Wenersee,  have 
lately  been  discovered  Crustacea  which,  though  differing  from 
those  now  living  in  the  sea,  are  clearly  related  to  marine 
forms  of  a  northern  and  even  Arctic  character.  Thus  have 
been  found  the  Mysia  relicta^  whose  congeners  live  altogether 
in  the  sea,  and  those  resembling  the.  species  in  the  most 
northern  latitudes ;  the  Gamtnariua  loricatus  thus  far  found 
only  in  the  Arctic  Ocean,  Baffin';)  Bay,  Greenland,  and  Spitz- 
bergeu ;  the  Idothea  erUomoriy  in  the  Arctic  Ocean  and  the 
Baltic  Sea;  and  the  Pontoporcia  affinis^  still  found  in  the 
Baltic,  but  whose  related  species  occur  in  the  Greenland 
seas.  These  lakes  are  three  hundred  feet  above  the  sea- 
level  ;  but  these  results  show  that  at  no  remote  day  they 
communicated  with  the  ocean,  and  were  originally  tenanted 
by  a  marine  fauna  of  an  Arctic  type.  As  these  waters  be- 
came fii'st  brackish  and  then  fresh,  most  of  the  forms  died 
out  during  the  transition,  leaving  in  the  depths  a  few  Crusta- 
cea which  correspond  in  part  to  the  species  in  the  Baltic,  and 
in  part  to  those  of  the  Arctic  Ocean. 

Within  the  past  year  Dr.  Stimpson  has  obtained  results 
equally  interesting,  from  dredgings  brought  up  from  the 
dee])er  parts  of  Lake  Michigan.  The  lake-level  is  five  hun- 
dred and  eighty-three  feet  above  the  ocean,  and  the  greatest 
depths  extend  below  that  line.  At  the  depth  of  sixty 
fathoms  he  obtained  a  My  sis  which,  although  not  specifically 
identical  with  the  Swedish  form,  is  closely  allied,  and  its 
occurrence  authorizes  us  to  draw  the  same  conclusions  as  to 
the  marine  character  in  former  times  of  the  Great  Lakes, 
which  the  Swedish  physicists  have  arrived  at  as  to  the 
former  condition  of  their  own. 

Much  discussion  has  been  had  in  former  years,  and  even 
in  this  Association,  as  to  the  nature  of  these  lake  waters  dur- 
ing  the  Glacial  Age.  It  is  well  known  that  on  the  borders 
of  Lake  Champlain,  and  at  intervals  along  the  St.  Lawrence 
from  Quebec  to  Kingston,  and  up  the  Ottawa,  the  terraces 

AMER.   NATURALIST,   VOL.  IV.  59 


466  BECENT  ADYANCES  IN  OEOLOOT. 

attaining  an  extreme  height  of  between  four  hundred  and 
five  hundred  feet,  contain  marine  remains ;  but  when  we 
pass  over  into  the  Great  Lake-basin,  these  remains  disap-. 
pear.  Hence  it  has  been  inferred  that,  at  that  time,  as  now, 
the  Great  Lakes  were  filled  with  fresh  water ;  but  the  dis- 
coveries of  Dr.  Stimpson,  I  think,  disprove  the  correctness 
of  this  inference ;  and  further  discoveries  may  show  that 
these  lakes  formerly  had  communication,  not  only  with  the 
Atlantic  through  the  St.  Lawrence,  but  with  the  Arctic 
Ocean  through  Hudson  Bay. 

We  are  now  led  to  the  inquiry :  What  has  caused  these 
great  changes  of  temperature,  afiecting  the  whole  economy 
of  terrestial  life?  Between  the  Arctic  an  Antarctic  regions, 
there  are  great  diversities  of  climate  and  physical  conditions. 
The  one  is  characterized  by  a  vast  expanse  of  land,  and  the 
other  by  a  vast  expanse  of  ocean.  The  one  enjoys  a  short- 
lived summer  in  which  the  flowers  blossom  and  fructify ;  in 
the  other  reigns  unmitigated  winter,  and  even  mosses  and 
lichens  are  absent.  Li  the  one  the  reindeer  and  musk-ox 
are  hunted  to  the  verge  of  the  sea ;  in  the  other,  animal  life 
disappears  below  latitude  56  deg.  Man  has  been  able  to 
penetrate  North  to  82  deg.,  40  min.,  30  sec,  or  within 
nearly  five  hundred  miles  of  the  pole ;  but  to  the  south  he 
has  only  reached  78  deg.,  10  min.,  or  about  eight  hundred 
and  fifty  miles. 

There  are  several  causes  which  combine  to  produce  this 
result.  The  great  continental  masses  which  characterize  the 
northern  hemisphere,  warmed  by  the  summer  sun,  radiate 
heat  into  surrounding  space^  while  the  narrow  expanse  of 
land  in  the  Antarctic  circle,  bathed  by  chilled  waters,  and 
encased  in  ice,  acts  as  a  refrigerator  of  the  atmosphere.  Be- 
sides, as  we  shall  hereafter  show,  owing  to  the  earth's  move- 
ment, the  southern  summer  is  shorter  by  at  least  eight  days, 
and  the  amount  of  heat  received  during  that  period  by  the 
northern  hemisphere  cannot  but  exert  an  appreciable  influ- 
ence.    The  Arctic  region,  then,  enjoys  a  milder  climate  than 


BECENT  ADVANCES  IN  GEOLOGY,  467 

it  would  if,  as  in  the  Drift  Epoch,  it  were  submerged  to  the 
depth  of  at  least  two  thousand  feet.  In  the  Great  Year  of 
'astronomers,  the  southern  pole,  after  having  passed  through 
its  great  winter  solstice,  is  now  entering  upon  its  summer 
climate. 

Lyell  has  conjectured  that  these  phenomena  are  due  to  a 
different  distribution  of  land  and  water,  combined  with  a 
different  distribution  of  oceanic  curfents;  but  with  an  ex- 
panse of  land  occupying  almost  the  whole  of  the  northern 
hemisphere,  and  with  the  Gulf-stream  diffusing  its  warm 
breath  over  the  western  coast  of  Europe,  and  the  Japan  Cur- 
rent over  the  western  coast  of  America,  we  find  that  the 
domain  of  ice  and  snow  remains  fixed ;  and  we  can  conceive 
of  no  conditions,  dependent  upon  these  causes,  whereby  the 
Cinnamonium  should  again  flourish  at  Bellingham  Bay,  or 
the  Sequoia  on  the  Greenland  coast. 

Others  have  inferred  that  these  great  cycles  of  warmth 
and  cold  may  be  due  to  the  increased  or  diminished  heat 
transmitted  from  the  interior  of  the  earth.  If  we  adopt  the 
theory  of  a  cooling  globe,  there  must  have  lapsed  a  very 
considerable  period  between  the  time  when  it  passed  from 
an  incandescent  state  and  when  it  became  fitted  for  the  sus« 
tenance  of  organic  forms.  Sir  William  Thompson,  basing 
his  observations  on  the  well  known  laws  of  heat  and  conser- 
vation of  energy,  infers  that  it  has  only  been  habitable 
within  the  last  one  hundred  millions  of  years.  It  is,  then, 
if  his  estimates  be  true,  that  within  this  interval  we  are  to 
include  all  the  changes  in  the  organic  world  —  the  florae  and 
faunae  which  have  successively  come  into  being,  and  have 
successively  displaced  each  other. 

In  the  process  of  solidification  the  earth  is  supposed  long 
ago  to  have  arrived  at  that  stage  when  the  radiation  from  the 
cooling  surface  is  no  greater  than  that  derived  from  the  sun, 
and  therefore,  a  stable  temperature  has  been  established. 
We  would  infer,  then,  that  any  violent  reaction  of  the  inte- 
rior upon  the  external  crust,  would  affect  more  sensibly  the 


468  BECEKT  ADVANCES  IN  GEOLOOY. 

deep-sea  animals  than  those  dwelling  on  the  land ;  but  the 
investigations  which  I  have  cited,  show  that  while  the  sea- 
fauna  has  undergone  slight  modifications  since  the  dawn  of 
the  Cretaceous  Epoch,  the  land-fauna  has  been  subjected  to 
the  most  marked  deviations. 

May  not,  then,  these  fluctuations  of  temperature  be  due 
to  causes  which  operate  from  the  exterior  ?  It  is  necessary 
to  assume  that,  throughout  the  lapse  of  all  time,  our  planet 
has  occupied  its  present  relation  to  the  sun,  or  the  solar  sys- 
tem? Is  not  the  recession  of  Sirius,  which  is  now  going  on, 
an  argument  agi^inst  the  fixity  of  the  siderial  heavens? 

We  are  assured  that  ours  is  not  a  central  sun,  but  one  in 
the  great  possession  of  stars  which  is  sweeping  towards  the 
constellation  Hercules ;  and  that  in  the  region  of  either  there 
are  spaces  of  densely-clustered  stars,  and  other  spaces  which 
are  comparatively  barren.  Now  every  star  is  a  sun,  emitting 
light  and  heat,  a  portion  of  which  is  transmitted  to  us.  Our 
planet  at  this  time  is  moving  through  one  of  those  starless 
spaces,  and  therefore  is  not  in  a  position  to  receive  the  full 
influence  of  such  a  cause.  The  distinguished  Swiss  botanist, 
Heer,  to  whom  we  are  so  largely  indebted  for  our  knowl- 
edge of  the  Miocene  flora,  has  suggested  that  it  is  to  this 
source  rather  than  to  telluric  causes  we  are  to  resort  to 
explain  the  varying  distribution  of  temperature  as  mani- 
fested in  past  geological  times. 

Again :  Have  we  the  right  to  assume  that,  throughout.all 
past  ages,  the  poles  of  our  planet  have  pointed  in  the  same 
direction?  We  can  conceive  that,  if  its  axis  were  to  form 
with  the  plane  of  the  ecliptic,  the  same  angle  which  it  now 
forms  with  the  equatorial  plane,  there  would  ensue  an  entire 
change  of  climate,  and  consequently  of  organic  forms.  Why 
should  the  astronomer  insist  on  the  immutability  of  the 
siderial  system,  when  to  the  geologist  is  unfolded  a  record 
of  seas  displaced  and  continents  elevated ;  of  great  cycles 
of  heat  and  cold;  of  the  disappearance  of  old,  and  the  ai> 
pearance  of  new  forms  of  organic  life?  Change,  not  con- 
stancy, is  inscribed  on  every  leaf  in  the  volume  of  Nature. 


RECENT  ADVANCES  IN  GEOLOGY.  469 

I  am  not  a  believer  in  the  doctrine  of  multiplied  shocks. 
I  would  not,  in  the  explanation  of  natural  phenomena,  resort 
to  blind  catastrophes.  But  is  there  not  behind  all,  and  over 
all,  and  pervading  all,  a  great  governing  principle  to  whose 
operation  we  can  refer  these  changes  ?  Does  it  not  exist  in 
the  celestial  mechanism  itself?  To  the  solution  of  this  prob- 
lem the  attention  of  several  physicists  has  been  directed. 

The  speculations  of  the  French  savant,  Adhemar,  are  not 
altogether  to  be  overlooked,  based  as  they  are  on  the  preces- 
sion of  the  equinoxes  and  the  movement  of  the  apsides ;  a 
movement  which,  I  believe,  was  unknown  to  the  elder 
astronomers.  If  we  compare  the  ^movement  of  the  earth 
^vith  the  stars,  it  requires  the  lapse  of  25,000  years  to  bring 
the  equinox  to  correspond  with  the  same  point  in  space  it 
now  occupies;  but  the  orbit  itself  being  movable,  this 
period  is  reduced  to  about  21,000  years.  This  is  called  the 
Great  Year,  being  the  measure  of  time  before  the  winter 
solstice  will  again  exactly  coincide  with  the  perihelion^  and 
the  summer  solstice  with  the  aphelion^  and  before  the  sea- 
sons will  again  harmonize  with  the  same  points  of  the  terres- 
trial orbit. 

The  earth,  at  this  time,  approaches  nearest  the  sun  in  the 
northern  hemisphei*e  dui*ing  autumn  and  winter,  and  it  is 
only  when  it  recedes  the  farthest  from  the.  source  of  heat 
that  the  northern  hemisphere  receives  the  full  effect  of  its 
vivifying  warmth.  As^  the  earth  between  the  vernal  and 
autumnal  equinox  traverses  a  longer  circuit  than  during  the 
other  half  of  the  year,  and  also  experiences  an  accelerated 
movement  as  it  draws  near  the  sun,  the  result  is,  that  the 
noilhern  summer  is  longer  than  the  southern  by  about  eight 
days ;  but  after  the  lapse  of  ten  thousand  five  hundred  years 
these  conditions  will  be  reversed.  It  was  in  the  year  1248, 
according  to  Adhemar,  that  the  Great  Northern  Summer 
culminated,  since  which  time  it  has  continued  to  decrease, 
and  that  decrease  will  go  on  until  the  year  11,748,  when  it 
will  have  attained  its  maximum. 


470  RECENT  ADVANCES  IN  GEOLOGT. 

This  compound  movement,  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes 
and  the  shifting  of  the  line  of  apsides,  it  is  claimed,  exerts 
a  marked  influence  in  the  distribution  of  the  earth's  tempera* 
ture.  While  the  Great  Winter  prevails  at  the  north  pole, 
the  refrigeration  is  so  excessive  that  the  heats  of  summer  are 
insufficient  to  melt  the  snow  and  ice  precipitated  during  the 
winter,  and  hence,  year  after  year  and  century  after  century, 
they  go  on  acciunulating,  until  the  circumpolar  region  is  in 
a  state  of  glaciatioh,  and  the  added  weight  becomes  sufficient 
to  displace  the  centre  of  gravity,  which  would  be  equivalent 
to  a  subsidence  at  one  pole  and  an  elevation  at  the  other. 
M.  Adhemar  has  even  calculated  the  extent  of  this  move- 
ment, and  states  that  it  would  amount  to  about  5,500  feet. 
Now,  let  it  be  borne  in  mind  that  Professor  Ramsey  has 
shown  that  in  Wales  the  submergence  of  the  land  during  the 
Drift  Epoch  amounted  to  2,300  feet,  and  our  own  observa- 
tions show  that  in  the  northern  portions  of  this  country  the 
glacial  action  proper  may  be  traced  to  the  height  of  2,000 
feet :  althouo^h  there  were  mountains  which  served  as  radi- 
ating  centres,  on  whose  flanks  the  Drift  action  may  be  ti*aced 
much  higher.  These  geographical  points,  ropghly  esti- 
mated, are  about  midway  between  the  equator  and  the  pole, 
and  the  extent  of  the  subsidence  would  correspond  very  well 
with  the  calculations  before  referred  to. 

In  the  year  1248,  the  Great  Winter  teiminated  at  the 
south  pole,  where  for  10,500  years  the  accumulation  of  snow 
and  ice  had  been  going  on,  attended  with  the  phenomena 
which  we  have  described.  "Here  then,"  says  M.  Julien,  an 
advocate  of  this  theory,  "  is  an  irresistible  force  which,  fol- 
lowing the  invariable  law  of  the  irregular  precession  of  the 
equinoxes,  must  make  the  earth's  centre  of  gravity  periodi- 
cally oscillate." 

Mr.  Croll,  an  English  physicist,  has  elaborately  discussed 
this  question  in  a  series  of  papers  in  the  "Edinburgh  New 
Philosophical  Magazine,"  which  have  excited  profound  atten- 
tion.    With  great  labor  he  has  prepared  tables  showing  the 


BEGEMT  ADVANCES  IN  GEOLOGY.  471 

amount  of  the  earth's  eccentricity  for  the  period  of  three 
millions  of  years,  at  intervals  of  10,000  years  for  a  greater 
portion  of  that  time,  and  50,000  years  for  the  remainder. 
He  infers  that  a  glacial  period  occurs  when  the  eccentricity 
of  the  earth's  orbit  is  at  a  maximum,  and  the  solstices  fall 
when  the  earth  is  in  perikdio  and  in  aphelio;  and  that  only 
one  hemisphere  has  a  glacial  climate  at  the  same  time,  which 
occurs  when  the  winter  is  in  aphelio* 

In  this  connection  I  may  mention  the  labors  of  our  own 
countryman,  Mr.  Stockwell,  who  has  prepared  a  paper,  now 
on  file  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  embodying  his  own 
calculations  as  to  the  earth's  eccentricity  for  the  past  two 
millions  of  years. 

There  is  such  an  intimate  connection  between  the  several 
branches  of  science  that  the  researches  in  one  field  often 
throw  light  upon  the  obscure  points  in  another.  In  the  solu- 
tion of  this  difficult  problem,  the  geologist  may  invoke,  and 
I  trust  not  unsuccessfully,  the  aid  of  the  astronomer. 

That  a  set  of  causes  were  active  during  the  Drift  Epoch, 
in  one  hemisphere,  which  remained  dormant  in  the  other, 
admits  of  little  doubt ;  and  the  advocates  of  the  astronomi- 
cal theory,  as  evidences  of  the  shifting  of  vast  amounts  of 
water  from  one  pole  to  the  other,  point  to  the  marked  differ- 
ences in  the  topographical  features  of  the  two  hemispheres. 
In  the  Austral  region  we  meet  with  projecting  headlands 
and  peninsula-like  terminations  of  continents,  and  groups 
and  chains  of  islands  in  the  Pacific  and  Indian  oceans  ex- 
tending over  vast  areas,  which  rise  up  like  the  peaks  and 
crests  of  mountains.  These  are  the  evidences  of  a  gradu- 
ally engulfed  hemisphere.  In  the  Boreal  region  we  have 
wide  expanses  of  land  diversified  by  mountains,  prairies,  and 
plains ;  elevated  sea-beaches  and  river-terraces,  most  con- 
spicuously displayed  on  the  borders  of  the  Arctic  Sea ;  vast 
oceanic  shoals ;  a  marine  fauna  of  a  northern  type  preserved 
in  beds  of  1,400  feet,  and  stratified  beds  of  gravel  and  sand 
2,000  feet,  above  the  ocean-level ;  clusters  of  lakes  yet  re- 


472  YARIATIOKS  IN   TBILLIUM  AND  WISTERIA. 

taiaiug  their  bitter  waters ;  shallow  seas  once  salt,  but  each 
decade  becomiug  more  brackish ;  vast  desert  tracts  which  up 
to  a  recent  time  formed  the  ocean  bed ; — all  these  phenomena 
indicate  a  hemisphere  gradually  emerging  from  the  waters. 
Perhaps  the  physicist  can  discern  in  these  great  periodic 
oscillations,  the  method  by  which  Nature  perpetually  renews 
the  youth  of  our  planet,  and  maintains  its  fertility. 

Gentlemen  of  the  Amei-ican  Association:  —  The  hour 
which,  in  your  courtesy,  had  been  assigned  to  me,  has  now 
lapsed,  and  I  must  briug  these  remarks  to  a  close.  The 
topics  which  have  passed  under  review  open  up  spheres  of 
thought  with  regard  to  time  and  space  too  vast  to  be  com- 
pressed within  the  limits  of  a  mere  oral  discourse.  Assert* 
ing  no  ability  by  reason  of  profound  research  to  pass 
authoritatively  on  these  results,  may  I  not  iuquire :  Have 
they  not  disclosed  new  paths  in  the  great  domain  of  Nature, 
which  may  be  profitably  explored  jointly  by  the  geologist 
and  the  astrbnomer ;  and  is  there  not  a  probability  that  there 
will  be  found  to  exist  an  intimate  relation  between  the  peri- 
odic fluctuations  of  temperature  on  our  planet,  and  the  peri- 
odic pertubations  to  which  it  is  subjected  as  a  part  of  the 
solar  system  ?  Great  as  have  been  our  achievements  in  sci- 
ence during  the  past,  we  profoundly  believe  that  new  tri- 
umphs await  the  patient  observer. 


VARIATIONS  IN  TRILLIUM  AND  WISTERIA. 

BV  THOMAS  MEEHAN. 

In  a  recent  number  of  the  "Bulletin  of  the  Torrey  Botan- 
ical Club,"  of  New  York,  Mr.  J.  H.  Hall  describes  a  plant 
of  Tinllium  erectum^  which  he  has  had  under  his  observation 
for  several  years,  and  which  produced  some  years  white,  and 
other  years  the  regular  brown  purple  flowers.     I  have  made 


VARIATIONS   IN  TRILLIUM   AND  WISTERIA.  473 

a  similar  observation  this  year  in  a  Wisteria  sinensis.  Plants 
on  my  grounds  have  made  an  unusual  second  flowering. 
There  were  more  blossoms  in  July  than  in  April.  Among 
them  is  a  snow  white  variety,  which  has  flowered  annually 
for  six  years  past  at  least.  At  this  second  flowering  it  took 
a  notion  to  flower  blue^  —  not  quite  as  deep  a  blue  as  the 
regular  tint  of  the  well  known  kind ;  but  still  anything  but 
the  white  we  have  always  had  before.  It  was  very  difficult 
for  my  gardener  to  believe  that  in  some  way  or  another 
**some  hybridization"  had  not  been  going  on.  Potatoes  fre- 
quently change  this  way  in  the  color  of  the  tubers,  when  the 
intelligent  farmer  is  sure  **  there  must  have  been  some  mixing 
of  the  pollen  which  in  some  way  affected  the  circulation 
and  changed  the  color."  Dahlias,  chrysanthemums,  balsams, 
and  many  other  things  with  parti-colored  flowers,  frequently 
have  some  wholly  of  one  of  the  mixed  colors ;  but  all  this  in 
some  way  is  supposed  to  be  the  work  of  art. 

These  natural  variations  I  res:ard  with  much  interest  as 
teaching  us  that  the  law  of  evolution  is  not  wholly  through 
seed,  and  that  those  botanists  who  look  for  it  in  the  embry- 
ology of  the  reproductive  organs  are  not  wholly  on  the  right 
track. 

Physiologists  usually  commence  their  treatises  with  **the 
seeds ;"  as  if  the  seed  was  the  primary  element  in  the  organ- 
ization of  vegetation,  instead  of  the  final  result.  Not  that 
they  really  teach  it,  but  this  order  of  treating  the  subject 
gives  the  public  mind  that  impression.  Mr.  Darwin's  ideas 
seem  to  arise  from  some  such  reasoning  as  this.  It  seems 
hardly  possible  to  conceive  of  first  existences  from  eggs  or 
seeds.  True  we*  see  most  of  the  changes  through  this 
medium  now;  but  if  we  find  cases  in  abundance  (and  I  think 
we  might  if  we  looked  for  them)  like  these  of  Trillium  and 
Wistei^ia^  where  changes  occur  independently  of  sexual  in- 
fluence, they  will  at  least  suggest  another  law  to  account 
for  the  origin  of  species. 

aMER.  naturalist,  vol.  IV.  60 


THE  PIJIMITIVE  VEGETATION  OF  THE  EARTH. 

BT  J.  W.  DAWSON,  LL.  D. 


•ot 


Twenty  years  ago  scarcely  anything  was  known,  even  to 
those  engaged  in  the  study  of  vegetable  fossils,  of  a  land 
flora  older  than  the  great  coal  formation.  In  1860,  Goep-. 
peii;,  in  his  Memoir  on  the  plants  of  the  Silurian,  Devonian, 
and  Lower  Carboniferous,  mentions  only  one  laud  plant,  and 
this  of  doubtful  character,  in  the  Lower  Devonian.  In  the 
Middle  Devonian  he  knew  but  one  species;  in  the  Upper 
Devonian  he  enumerated  fifty-seven.  Most  of  these  wei'o 
European,  but  he  included  also  such  American  species  as 
were  known  to  him.  The  paper  of  the  writer  on  the  Land 
Plants  of  Gaspe  was  published  in  1859,  but  had  not  reached 
Goeppert  at  the  time  when  his  memoir  was  written.  This, 
with  some  other  descriptions  of  American  Devonian  plants 
not  in  his  possession,  might  have  added  ten  or  twelve  spe- 
cies, some  of  them  Lower  Devonian,  to  his  list.  In  the  ten 
years  from  1860  to  the  present  time,  the  writer  has  been 
able  to  raise  the  Devonian  flora  of  Eastern  North  America  to 
one  hundred  and  twenty-one  species,  and  reckoning  those  of 
Europe  at  half  that  number,  we  now  have  at  least  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  species  of  land  plants  from  the  Devonian, 
besides  a  few  from  the  Upper  Silurian.  We  thus  have  pre- 
sented to  our  view  a  flora  older  than  that  of  the  Carbonifer- 
ous period,  and,  in  many  respects,  distinct  from  it;  and  in 
connection  with  which  many  interesting  geological  and 
botanical  questions  arise. 

Geologists  are  aware  that  in  passing  backward  in  geologi- 
cal time  from  the  modern  to  the  Paloeozoic  period,  we  lose, 
as  dominant  members  of  the  vegetable  kingdom,  first,  the 
higher  phcenogamous  plants,  whether  exogenous  or  endoge- 
nous ;  and  that,  in  the  Mesozoic  period,  the  AcrogenSi  or 

(474) 


THE   PRIMITIVB   VEGETATION  OP   THE   EARTH.  475 

higher  cryptogams,  represented  by  Ferns,  Club-mosses,  and 
Equiseta,  share  the  world  with  the  Gymuosperms,  repre- 
sented by  the  pines  and  Cycads,  while  the  higher  phaeno^ 
gams  on  the  one  hand,  and  lower  cryptogams  on  the  other, 
are  excluded.  Hence,  the  Mesozoic  age  has  been  called  that 
of  Gymnosperms,  while  the  Palaeozoic  is  that  of  Acrogens. 
These  names  are  not,  however,  absolutely  accurate,  as  we 
shall  see  that  one  of  the  highest  forms  of  modern  vegetation 
can  be  traced  back  into  the  Devonian ;  though  the  terms  are 
undoubtedly  useful,  as*indicating  the  prevalence  of  the  types 
above  mentioned,  in  a  degree  not  now  observed,  and  a  cor- 
responding rarity  of  those  forms  which  constitute  our  preva- 
lent modern  vegetation. 

It  is  my  present  object  shortly  to  sketch  the  more  recent 
facts  of  Devonian  and  Upper  Silurian  Botany,  and  to  refer 
to  a  few  of  the  general  truths  which  they  teach.  The  rocks 
called  Devonian  in  Europe  being  on  the  horizon  of  the  Erie 
division  of  the  American  geologists,  which  are  much  more 
fully  developed  than  their  representatives  on  the  Eastern 
Continent,  I  shall  use  the  term  JErian  as  equivalent  to  De- 
vonian, understanding  by  both  that  long  and  important 
geological  age  intervening  between  the  close  of  the  Upper 
Silurian  and  the  beginning  of  the  Carboniferous. 

Just  as  in  Europe  the  rocks  of  this  period  present  a  two- 
fold aspect,  being  in  some  places  of  the  character  of  a  de- 
posit of  **01d  Red  Sandstone,"  and  in  others  indicating 
deeper  water,  or  more  properly  marine  conditions,  so  in 
America,  on  a  greater  scale,  they  have  two  characters  of 
development.  In  the  great  and  typical  Erian  area,  extend- 
ing for  seven  hundred  miles  to  the  westward  of  the  Apalar 
chian  chain  of  mountains,  these  rocks,  sometimes  attaining 
to  a  thickness  of  fifteen  thousand  feet,  include  extensive 
marine  deposits;  and  except  in  their  north-eastern  border 
are  not  rich  in  fossil  plants.  In  the  smaller  north-eastern 
area,  on  the  other  hand,  lying  to  the  eastward  of  the  Apala^ 
chian  range,  they  consist  wholly  of  sandstones  and  shales. 


476  THE  PEIMITIVB   VEGETATION  OP  THE   EARTH. 

aud  are  rich  in  plant  remains  while  poor  in  marine  fossils. 
Hence  it  is  the  Devonian  of  Gaspe,  of  New  Brunswick,  and 
of  Maine,  with  that  of  eastern  New  York,  which  have  chiefly 
afforded  the  plants  to  be  described  below ;  and  it  is  exclu- 
sively in  these  areas  that  we  find  underclays  with  roots,  or 
true  fossil  soils.  Most  of  the  localities  of  fossil  plants  in 
the  districts  above  mentioned  have  been  visited,  and  their 
plants  studied  in  situ  by  the  writer.  The  Gaspe  sandstones 
were  first  studied  and  carefully  measured  and  mapped  by  Sir 
W.  E.  Logan.  The  Devonian  beds  of  St.  John's,  New 
Brunswick,  have  been  thoroughly  examined  and  illustrated 
by  Professor  Hartt  and  Mr.  Matthews,  and  those  of  Perry 
by  Professor  Jackson,  Professor  Rogers  and  Mr.  Hitchcock. 
Professor  Hall,  of  the  Survey  of  New  York,  has  kindly 
communicated  to  me  the  plants  found  in  that  State,  and 
Professor  Newberry  has  contributed  some  facts  and  speci- 
mens illustrative  of  those  of  Ohio. 

In  the  Sandstone  cliffs  of  Gaspe  Bay,  Sir  W.  E.  Logan 
recognized  in  1843  the  presence  of  great  numbers  of  ap- 
parent roots  in  some  of  the  shales  and  fine  sandstones. 
These  roots  had  evidently  penetrated  the  beds  in  a  living 
state,  so  that  the  root-beds  were  true  fossil  soils,  which,  after 
supporting  vegetation,  became  submerged  and  covered  with 
new  beds  of  sediment.  This  must  have  occurred  again  and 
again  in  the  process  of  the  formation  of  the  four  thousand 
feet  of  Gaspe  sandstone.  The  true  nature  of  the  plants 
of  these  fossil,  soils  I  had  subsequently  good  oppoitu* 
nities  of  investigating,  and  the  most  important  results,  in 
the  discovery  of  the  plants  of  my  genus  PsilophyUm^  are 
embodied  in  the  restoration  of  P,  princepa.  This  remark- 
able plant,  the  oldest  land  plant  known  in  America,  since  it 
extends  through  the  Upper  Silurian  as  well  as  the  Devonian, 
presents  a  creeping  horizontal  rhizome  or  root-stock,  from 
the  upper  side  of  which  were  given  off  slender  branching 
stems,  sometimes  bearing  rudimentary  leaves,  and  crowned 
when  mature,  with  groups  of  gracefully  nodding  oval  spore- 


THE   PRIMITIVE   VEGETATION   OF  THE   EARTH.  477 

cases.  The  root-stocks  must  iu  many  cases  have  matted  the 
soils  in  which  they  grew  into  a  dense  mass  of  vegetable 
matter,  and  in  some  places  they  accumulated  to  a  sufficient 
extent  to  form  layers  of  coalj'  matter,  one  of  which  on  the 
south  side  of  Gaspc  Bay  is  as  much  as  three  inches  in  thick- 
ness, and  is  the  oldest  coal  known  in  America.  More 
usually  the  root-beds  consist  of  hardened  clay  or  fine  sand- 
stone filled  with  complicated  net-work  or  with  parallel  bands 
of  rhizomes  more  or  less  flattened  and  iu  various  states  of 
preservation.  In  all  probability  these  beds  were  originally 
swampy  soils.  From  the  surface  of  such  a  root-bed  there 
arose  into  the  air  countless  numbers  of  slender  but  somewhat 
woody  stems,  forming  a  dense  mass  of  vegetation  three  or 
four  feet  in  height.  The  stems,  when  young  or  barren,  were 
more  or  less  sparsely  clothed  with  thick,  short,  pointed 
leaves,  which,  from  the  manner  in  which  they  penetrate  the 
stone,  must  have  been  very  rigid.  At  their  extremities  the 
stems  were  divided  into  slender  branches,  and  these  when 
young  were  curled  in  a  crosier-like  or  circinate  manner. 
When  mature  they  bore  at  the  ends  of  small  branchlets  pairs 
of  oval  sacs  or  spore-cases.  The  rhizomes  when  well  pre- 
served show  minute  markings,  apparently  indiqating  hairs  or 
scsiles,  and  also  round  areoles  with  central  spots,  like  those 
of  Stigmaria,  but  not  regularly  arranged.  These  curious 
plants  are  unlike  anything  in  the  actual  world.  I  have  com- 
pared their  fructification  with  that  of  the  Pilularise  or  Pill- 
worts,  a  comparison  which  has  also  occurred  to  Dr.  Hooker. 
On  the  other  hand,  this  fructification  is  borne  in  a  totally 
different  manner  from  that  of  Pilularia,  and  in  this  respect 
rather  resembles  some  ferns ;  and  the  young  stems  by  them- 
selves would  be  referred  without  hesitation  to  Lycopodiaceae. 
In  short,  Psilophyton  is  a  generalized  plant,  presenting  char- 
acters not  combined  in  the  modern  world,  and,  perhaps 
illustrating  what  seems  to  be  a  general  law  of  creation,  that 
iu  the  earlier  periods  low  forms  assumed  characteristics 
subsequently  confined  to  higher  grades  of  being. 


478  THE   PRIMITIVE   VEGETATION   Or  THE   EARTH. 

A  second  species  of  Psilophyton  (P.  robustius)^  also 
abundant  at  Gaspe,  shows  stouter  stems  than  the  former, 
more  abundantly  branching  and  with  smaller  leaves,  often 
quite  rudimentary.  Its  spore-cases  are  also  of  different 
form  and  borne  in  dense  clustei*s  on  the  sides  of  the  stem. 
Masses  of  very  slender  branching  filaments  appear  to  iudi* 
cate  a  third  species  (P.  elegans)  which  is  also  found  in  the 
Devonian  of  St.  «][ohn,  New.  Bruns^vick.  These  species  of 
Psilophyton  occur  both  in  the  lower  and  middle  Devonian, 
and,  as  will  be  mentioned  in  the  sequel,  they  extend  also 
into  the  Upper  Silurian. 

Decorticated  and  flattened  stems  of  Psilophyton  cannot  be 
readily  recognized,  and  except  when  their  internal  structure 
has  been  preserved,  might  'be  mistaken  for  algae,  a  mistake 
which  I  believe  has  in  some  instances  been  made.  Speci- 
mens of  the  barren  stems  {yar,  ornalwn)  might  readily  be 
referred  to  the  genus  Lycopodites. 

Another  genus  of  generalized  tyije  is  that  named  by 
Haughton  Cyclostigma.  As  found  at  Gaspe  it  presents 
slender  stems  with  rounded  scars,  placed  either  spirally  or 
in  transverse  rows,  and  giving  origin  to  long  rigid  leaves. 
It  had  a  slender  axis  of  scalariform  vessels,  and  fructifica- 
tion of  the  form  of  elongated  spikes  or  strobiles  is  found 
with  it.  In  many  respects  these  plants  resemble  Psilophy- 
ton, and  their  affinities  were  distinctly  Lycopodiaceous. 
Specimens  from  Ireland,  in  the  Museum  of  the  Geological 
Society,  kindly  shown  to  me  by  Mr.  Etheridge,  appear  to 
show  that  in  that  couutry  these  plants  attained  the  dimen- 
sions of  trees,  and  had  roots  of  the  nature  of  Stigmaria.  Mr. 
Carruthers  has  even  suggested  that  they  may  be  allied  to 
Syringodendron^  a  group  of  Carboniferous  trees  connected 
with  the  Sigillarice. 

The  genus  Lycqpodiles  is  represented  by  a  trailing  spe- 
cies, bearing  numerous  oval  strobiles  (Z.  Richardsoni)  ^  a 
species  quite  close  to  many  modern  club-mosses  (Z.  MaU 
thewi)j  and  a  remarkable  pinnate  form  (Z.   Vanuxemii)^ 


THE  PRIMITIVE   VEGETATION   OF  THE   EARTHS  479 

which,  though  provisionally  placed  here,  has  been  variously 
conjectured  to  resemble  Ferns,  Cycads,  Algce  and  Grapto- 
lites.  But  the  most  remarkable  Lycopodiaceous  plants  are 
the  gigantic  arboreal  Lepidodendra,  plants  which,  while  they 
begin  in  the  Middle  Devonian,  become  eminently  expanded 
in  numbers  and  magnitude  in  the  Carboniferous.  The  com- 
mon species  in  Eastern  America  (L.  Gaspianum)  was  of 
slender  and  delicate  form,  very  elegant,  but  probably  not  of 
large  size.  In  the  same  family  I  would  place  my  new  genus 
Leptcphleum, 

The  OalamiteSj  afterwards  so  largely  developed  in  the 
Carboniferous,  and  to  be  replaced  by  true  Equiseta  in  the 
Trias,  make  their  first  appearance  in  a  large  species  ((7.  m- 
ornatum)  in  the  Lower  Devonian,  and  represented  in  the 
middle  and  upper  parts  of  the  system  by  two  other  species, 
which  extend  upward  into  the  Carboniferous.  They  are 
also  represented  in  the  Devonian  of  Germany  and  of  Devon- 
shire. The  peculiar  type  indicated  by  the  internal  casts 
known  as  Calamodendron  is  likewise  found  in  the  Devo- 
nian. 

More  beautiful  plants  were  the  Astei'ophyllites^  with  more 
slender  and  widely  branching  stems,  and  broader  leaves 
borne  in  whorls  upon  their  branches.  These  plants  have 
been  confounded  with  leaves  of  Calamites,  from  which,  how- 
ever, they  differ  in  form  and  nervation,  and  in  the  want  of 
the  oblique  interrupted  lines  common  to  the  true  leaves  of 
Calamites  and  to  the  branchlets  of  Equisetum.  The  Aster- 
ophyllites,  and  with  them  a  species  of  Sjphenophyllum^  ap- 
pear in  the  Middle  Devonian. 

No  plants  of  the  modern  world  are  more  beautiful  in  point 
of  foliage  than  the  Ferns,  and  of  these  a  great  number  of 
species  occur  in  the  Middle  and  Upper  Devonian.  I  must 
refer  for  details  to  my  more  full  memoirs  on  the  subject,  and 
in  the  present  paper  shall  content  myself  with  a  few  general 
statements.  Some  of  the  generic  forms  of  the  Devonian, 
and  perhaps  a  few  of  the  species,  extend  into  the  Carboni- 


480  THE   PRIMinVB   VEGETATION   OF   THE   EARTH. 

ferous;  others  are  peculiar  to  the  Devonian;  and  among 
these  forms  allied  to  the  modem  Hymeuophyllum  and  Trich- 
omanes  appear  to  prevail.  One  remarkable  type,  Cyclop^ 
teris  (Archoeqpleris)  JUbernicus^  with  its  American  allies,  (7. 
Jacksoni^  etc.,  extends  in  the  Upper  Devonian  over  both 
continents,  yet  is  wanting  in  the  Carboniferous.  Tree  ferns 
also  existed  in  the  Devonian.  Two  species  have  been  found 
by  Dr.  Newberry  in  Ohio,  and  remarkable  erect  trunks  have 
been  obtained  by  Professor  Hall  from  Gilboa,  in  the  State 
of  New  York.  The  latter  are  surrounded  by  aerial  roots, 
and  thus  belong  to  the  genus  Psawnius;  a  genus  which, 
however,  must  be  artificial,  since  in  modern  tree  ferns  aerial 
roots  often  clothe  the  lower  part  of  the  stems  while  absent 
from  the  upper  part.  •  The  only  indication  as  yet  of  a  tree 
fern  in  the  Old  World  is  the  Caulqpteris  Peachii^  of  Salter, 
from  the  Old  Red  of  Scotland.  It  is  further  remarkable 
that  the  ferns  of  the  genus  Archteopteris  are  much  more 
large  and  luxuriant  in  Ireland  than  in  America,  and  that 
in  both  regions  they  characterize  the  upper  member  of  the 
system. 

Of  the  plants  of  the  Palaeozoic  world,  none  are  more 
mysterious  than  those  known  to  us  by  the  name  Sigillana^ 
and  distinguished  by  the  arrangement  of  their  leaves  in  ver- 
tical series,  on  stems  and  branches  often  ribbed  longitudi- 
nally, and  by  the  possession  of  those  remarkable  roots 
furnished  with  rootlets  regularly  articulated  and  spirally 
arranged,  the  Stigmariee.  It  seems  evident  that  this  group 
of  plants  included  numerous  species,  differing  from  each 
other  both  in  form  and  structure.  Still,  as  a  whole,  they 
present  very  characteristic  forms  dissimilar  from  those  of 
their  contemporaries,  and  still  more  unlike  anything  now 
living.  I  believe  that  many  of  them  were  Gymnosperms, 
or  at  the  least,  Acrogens  with  stems  as  complicated  as  those 
of  Gymnosperms.  In  the  Carboniferous  period  these  plants 
have  a  close  connection  with  the  occurrence  of  coal.  Nearly 
every  bed  of  this  mineral  has  under  it  a  **Stigmaria  under- 


THE   FKIMITIVJS   VEGETATION   OF   THE   EARTH.  481 

clay,"  which  is  a  fossil  soil  ou  which  a  forest  of  Sigillarise 
has  grown,  ami  the  remains  of  these  trees  are  very  abundant 
in  the  coal  and  the  accompanying  beds.  Hence  the  Sig- 
illarios  of  the  coal-period  are  regarded  as  the  plants  most 
important  in  the  accumulation  of  coal.  In  the  Devonian,  as 
far  as  we  yet  know,  they  did  not  attain  to  this  utility,  and  in 
the  lower  part  of  the  system  at  least,  the  rhizomata  of  Psil- 
ophyton  seem  to  have  occupied  the  place  afterwards  held  by 
the  Stigmarioe.  In  connection  with  this  it  is  to  be  remarked 
that  the  Sigillarise  of  the  Erian  period  seem  to  have  been 
few,  and  of  small  dimensions  in  comparison  with  those  of 
the  coal. 

Rising  still  higher  in  the  vegetable  kingdom,  and  arriving 
at  unquestionable  Gymnosperms,  we  find  in  the  Devonian  of 
Eastern  America,  and  also,  I  believe,  in  that  of  Scotland 
and  Germany,  trunks  which  may  be  referred  to  Coniferoe. 
In  the  Middle  and  Upper  Devonian  these  present  the  struc- 
ture of  modern  Araucariau  pines,  or  that  modification  of  it 
belonging  to  the  Carboniferous  trees  of  the  genus  Dadoxy- 
Ion.  In  the  Lower  Devonian  we  have  what  seems  to  be  a 
simplification  of  the  Coniferous  structure,  in  the  cylindrical 
wood- cells,  marked  only  with  spiral  threads,  found  in  the 
genus  Prototaxiies,  These  trees  are  very  abundant  as  drift 
trunks  in  the  Lower  Devonian,  down  almost  to  its  bottom 
beds,  and  sometimes  attain  to  a  diameter  of  three  feet. 
Though  of  a  structure  so  lax  that  it  is  comparable  only  with 
the  youngest  stems  of  ordinary  Coniferae,  these  trees  must 
have  been  durable,  and  they  are  furnished  both  with  medul- 
lary rays  and  rings  of  annual  growth.  Unfortunately  we 
know  nothing  of  their  foliage  or  fruit. 

But  for  one  little  fragment  of  wood  we  should  have  had 
no  indication  of  the  existence  in  the  Erian  of  any  trees  of 
higher  organization  than  the  Conifers.  This  fragment,  found 
by  Professor  Hall  at  Eighteen-mile  Creek,  Lake  Erie,  has 
the  dotted  vessels  characteristic  of  ordinary  Exogens,  and 
unquestionably   indicates   a  plant  of  the   highest   kind  of 

AMER.   NATURAUST,  VOL.  IV.  61 


482  THE   PRIMITIVE   VEGETATION   OF   THE   EARTH. 

oi^anizatioD.  Until  confirmed  by  other  facts  this  discovery 
may  be  received  with  doubt,  but  I  believe  it  can  be  relied 
on. 

Our  knowledge  of  the  flora  of  the  Upper  Silurian  is  at 
present  nearly  in  the  same  state  with  that  of  the  Middle  and 
Lower  Devonian  ten  years  ago.  I  know  in  the  Upper  Silu- 
rian of  Canada  but  two  species  of  Psilophyion^  both  ap2)ar- 
ently  identical  with  Devonian  forms.  In  England,  besides 
the  spore-cases  known  by  the  generic  name  Pachytheca^ 
there  exists  in  the  collections  of  the  Geological  Survey  frag- 
ments of  wood  and  bark  which  I  believe  indicate  two 
additional  species.  In  Germany  three  or  four  species  are 
known  in  rocks  of  this  age.  All  of  these  plants  appear  to 
be  Acrogens  allied  to  Lycopodiaceae.  That  these  few  spe- 
cies constitute  the  whole  flora  of  the  Upper  Silurian  we  can 
scarcely  believe.  They  occur  in  marine  formations,  and 
were  probably  drifted  far  from  the  somewhat  limited  land- 
surfaces  which  existed  in  the  explored  pai-ts  of  the  Upper 
Silurian  areas.  When  we  obtain  access  to  deposits  of  this 
age  formed  in  shallows  or  estuaries,  we  may  hope  to  find  a 
flora  of  greater  richness  r  and,  judging  from  present  indica- 
tions, not  dissimilar  from  that  of  the  Lower  Devonian. 

With  the  exception  of  some  remains  which  I  believe  to  be 
of  very  doubtful  character,  the  Lower  Silurian  has  as  yet 
aflforded  no  remains  of  land  plants,  and  in  North  America, 
at  least,  this  is  very  significant,  inasmuch  as  we  have,  in  the 
Potsdam  sandstone,  extensive  sandy  flats  of  this  period,  in 
which  we  might  expect  to  find  drifted  trunks  of  trees,  if 
such  had  existed.  But  the  search  is  not  hopeless,  and  we 
may  yet  find  some  estuary  deposit  on  the  margin  of  the  an- 
cient Laureutian  continent,  in  whose  beds  the  plants  of  that 
old  land  may  occur. 

Lastly,  for  reasons  stated  in  a  paper  lately  published  in 
the  Proceedings  of  the  Geological  Society,  I  believe  that  the 
extensive  deposits  of  graphite,  which  exist  in  the  Laurentian 
of  Canada,  are  of  vegetable  origin,  and  possibly  in  part 


INDIAN  STONE  IMFLEICENTS.  488 

produced  by  land  plants,  as  yet  altogether  unknown  to  us. 
If  the  Paheozoic  was  the  ago  of  Acrogens,  the  £ozoic  may 
have  been  that  of  Anophytes  and  Thallopbytes.  Its  plants 
may  have  consisted  of  gigantic  mosses  and  licheus,  present- 
ing us  with  a  phase  of  vegetable  existence  bearing  the  same 
relation  to  that  of  the  Palaeozoic  which  the  latter  bears  to 
that  of  more  modern  periods.  But  there  is  another  and  a 
more  startling  possibility,  that  the  Laurentian  may  have  been 
the  period  when  vegetable  life  culminated  on  our  planet,  and 
existed  in  its  highest  and  grandest  foims,  before  it  was 
brought  into  subordination  to  the  higher  life  of  the  animal. 
The  solution  of  these  questions  belongs  to  the  future  of 
geology,  and  opens  up  avenues  not  merely  for  speculation, 
but  also  for  practical  work. 

The  above  must  be  regarded  as  merely  a  sketch  of  the 
present  aspect  of  the  subject  to  which  it  relates.  Details 
must  be  sought  elsewhere.  — Nature, 


INDIAN  STONE  IMPLEMENTS.* 

BT  J.  J.  H.  GREGORY. 

The  stone  selected  for  arrowheads  and  tomahawk  points, 
was,  as  a  rule,  very  hard  in  its  nature,  compact  in  structure, 
and  fine  grained,  presenting  a  conchoidal  fracture  when  bro- 
ken. In  the  valley  of  the  Connecticut  these  conditions  were 
satisfied  by  a  variety  of  hornstone,  along  the  sea  coast  in 
the  porphyry.  In  each  of  these  localities  I  have  found  some 
arrowheads  made  of  jasper,  some  of  white  granular  quartz, 
and  occasionally  one  from  slate,  but  the  greater  propor- 
tion of  these   are   collectively  small,  though   it  is  evident 

^ObserYatioDS  on  the  Stone  used  by  the  Indians  within  the  limits  of  Massaohn setts, 
in  the  manufacture  of  their  implements,  with  some  remarks  on  the  process  of  mann- 
fhcture,  read  at  the  Troy  meeting  of  the  American  Association  for  the  Advancement 
of  Science. 


484  INDIAN  STONE   IMPLEMENTS. 

that  beauty  in  the  material  had  attractions.  One  great 
source  of  supply  for  the  jasper  and  quartz  implements,  was 
in  part  or  wholly  scattered  boulders,  while  the  porphyry 
came  from  the  ledges  on  Marblehead  Neck,  and  the  small 
boulders  washed  up  along  the  coast.  That  boulders  were 
frequently  used  is  proved  from  many  half  formed  imple- 
ments which  show  some  of  the  rounded  surface  yet  remain- 
ing. That  the  porphyry  ledges  on  Marblehead  Neck  were 
an  extensive  source  of  supply,  is  proved  by  the  cart  loads 
of  chippings  of  stone  around  and  in  the  vicinity  of  them. 
That  these  pieces  and  fragments  were  artificially  broken  is 
proved  by  the  many  conchoidal  surfaces,  the  fresh  appear- 
ance of  the  surfaces,  and  the  rough  design  which  some  of 
these  present. 

That  the  practice  of  the  aborigines  was  to  cut  out  but 
rough  designs  at  the  quarry,  and  work  out  these  designs 
at  their  camping  grounds,  is  proved  by  the  large  size  of  the 
fi'agments  chipped  off  near  these  ledges,  and  the  scarcity  of 
even  rough  designs ;  while  in  the  town  of  Marblehead,  about 
a  mile  from  the  porphyry  ledges  on  the  Neck,  the  chippings 
are  smaller,  and  the  designs  are  nearer  to  comjjletion.  In 
the  township  of  Marblehead  I  have  found  a  multitude  of 
implements,  over  a  thousand  in  number,  that  were  broken 
in  every  stage  of  the  process  of  manufacture,  while  I  have 
rarely  found  in  the  Connecticut  valley  fragments  of  un- 
finished implements ;  such  as  I  have  found  are  usually  those 
of  finished  implements.  The  chippings  of  stone  on  Marble- 
head Neck,  as  I  have  shown,  average  quite  large;  those  in 
the  township  considerably  smaller,  and  the  chippings  found 
in  the  Connecticut  valley  are  yet  smaller. 

The  hornstoncs  so  commonly  used  for  arrowheads  and 
other  implements  there  I  have  never  found  in  Marblehead, 
and  I  have  never  found  among  implements  of  the  Connecti- 
cut valley  any  manufactured  from  the  porphyry  of  Marble- 
head. In  one  of  the  Reports  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution 
is  an  account  of  the  finding  of  a  mass  of  half  finished  imple- 


INDIAN   STONE   IMPLEMENTS.  485 

ments  buried  in  the  ground ;  such  deposits  simply  prove  that 
the  aborigines  having  cut  out  rough  outlines  of  knplements, 
at  times  carried  these  to  their  camping  ground,  and  there 
buried  them,  to  be  fiuished  at  leisure.  I  exhibit  specimens 
of  a  lot  that  I  dug  up  in  Marblehead,  on  the  Freeto  farm, 
about  a  foot  below  the  surface;  such  deposits  are  called 
"  Indian  pockets."    There  were  over  forty  pieces  in  the  lot. 

Here  is  one  of  a  lot  of  nearly  a  peck,  found  in  Hadley, 
JVIass.  The  quantity  in  every  case  appeared  in  each  instance 
to  be  about  equal,  apparently  limited  by  the  weight  one  per- 
son might  conveniently  cany.  From  a  study'bf  the  break- 
age wo  learn  that  in  making  their  arrowheads  and  toma- 
hawk points  they  chipped  the  stone  from  the  edge  towards 
the  centre,  which,  while  it  gave  a  sharp  edge,  left  a  central 
ridge  that  gave  strength  to  the  weapon.  In  finishing  arrow- 
heads there  was  a  great  deal  of  slow,  careful  work,  which 
finally  consisted  in  breaking  off  particles  almost  as  fine  as 
dust,  by  gentle  pressure  against  stone.  I  had  one  arrow- 
head brought  to  me  by  a  friend  from  California,  made  from 
the  bottom  of  a  glass  bottle ;  it  was  very  sharp  and  exquis- 
itely finished.  It  was  mostly  made  in  his  presence  by  an 
Indian  squaw  and  nearly  three  days  were  spent  in  its  manu- 
facture. It  can  be  safely  stated  that  with  the  same  tools  no 
white  man  can  make  an  Indian  arrowhead ;  I  am  informed 
that  even  Flint  Jack,  skilled  as  he  was  in  the  business,  after 
many  years  of  practice,  failed  in  his  "Celts,"  as  stone  arrow- 
heads are  called  in  England. 

From  the  very  few  arrowheads  made  from  red  jasper, 
found  in  Marblehead,  I  doubt  whether  the  fine  ledge  of  jas- 
per located  in  Saugus,  about  five  miles  distant,  was  known 
to  the  aborigines,  as  the  rich  color  of  the  stone,  with  its  fine 
conchoidal  fracture,  would  have  been  likely  to  have  made  it 
very  popular.  The  material  for  the  few  arrowheads  found, 
made  of  red  jasper,  I  presume  was  procured  from  rocks  of 
the  drift  deposit.  The  rocks  used  by  the  Indians  on  the 
coast  in  the  manufacture  of  their  larger  implements,  such  as 


486  INDIAN   STONE   IMPLEMENTS. 

axes,  gouges,  skin  dressers  and  grain  pestles,  were  green- 
stone and  syenite,  and  in  the  Conuecticut  valley  a  large  por- 
tion were  made  from  trap  rock.  Evidently  one  reason  why 
the  greenstone  and  syenite  were  preferred  to  the  porphyry 
was  that  these  would  take  the  fine  finished  design  fur  more 
readily  than  porphyry.  We  find  the  difference  between  these 
rocks,  illustrated  by  the  ocean  worn  stones  on  the  beach; 
while  those  from  trap  and  greenstone,  are  as  smooth  as 
polished  metal.  Porphyry  stones  under  the  same  circum- 
stances, while  they  have  a  fine  general  polish,  will  yet  often- 
times have  many  minute  fractures  below  the  level  of  the 
polished  surface.  These  large  implements  appear  to  have 
had  their  forms  first  roughly  hewn  out,  then  to  have  been 
worked  into  shape  by  picking  with  sharp  pointed  stones 
after  which  they  were  sometimes  polished.  The  axes  as  a 
rule  were  not  polished,  while  the  implements  used  in  the 
dressing  of  skins  were,  almost  uniformly.  Sometimes  when 
the  natural  form  of  the  material  favored,  such  as  fragments 
of  trap  rock  for  pestles  and  for  hoes,  but  little  additional 
work  was  put  upon  it,  and  the  implement  was  but  a  rough 
affair. 

Of  the  large  implements,  as  would  be  presumed  from 
their  character,  it  is  rare  to  find  any  that  were  broken  in  the 
process  of  manufacture,  while  such  as  have  been  marred  or 
broken,  after  having  been  manufactured,  are  very  common. 
It  is  stated  by  those  who  have  made  a  comparison  between 
the  large  implements  of  this  country  and  of  Europe,  that  those 
manufactured  by  the  aborigines  of  this  country  are  hewn, 
picked  and  sometimes  polished ;  those  of  Europe  are  simply 
hewn.  This  marked  difference,  if  it  is  a  fact,  is  not  so  sin- 
gular as  appears  at  first  sight ;  the  material,  to  a  large  ex- 
tent, of  the  European  implements,  is  fiint,  which,  while  it 
cannot  be  surpassed  as  a  material  for  hewing,  yet  for  pick- 
ing and  polishing,  would  prove  very  refractory,  and  it  is 
probable  that  the  same  motives  that  led  our  own  aborigines 
to  avoid  the  porphyry,  led  those  of  Europe  to  be  content 


INDIAN   STONE   IMPLEMENTS.  487 

with  simply  hewing,  having  to  deal  with  a  still  more  stub- 
born material  in  their  flint.  The  skin  dressers,  gouges  and 
some  other  implements  were  made  as  sharp  at  the  working 
edges  as  such  stones  were  capable  of,  and  this  was  done 
by  rubbing  them  on  fine  grained  stones.  On  the  sea  coast 
pieces  of  the  finest  grained  gi«een8tone  were  mostly  used, 
some  of  which,  when  found,  were  as  much  worn  as  any 
modern  carpenter's  hone. 

I  have  never  seen  among  the  relics  on  the  sea  coast  any 
resembling  the  scalping  knives  of  the  West,  or  of  Europe, 
or  any  whose  peculiar  shape  suggested  that  it  might  have 
been  used  as  a  scalping  knife.  I  infer  from  this  that  on  the 
sea  coast  the  large  chippings  of  stone,  having  a  sharp  edge, 
were  used  as  scalping  knives.  Among  some  fifteen  hundred 
specimens  of  Indian  implements,  collected  on  the  sea  coast, 
I  have  never  seen  more  than  one,  that,  from  its  shape  and 
size  could  possibly  have  been  used  as  the  conventional  toma* 
hawk,  an  axe  shaped  weapon  to  be  thrown  from  the  hand. 
The  illustrations  in  some  of  our  modern  school  books  are 
more  correct  when  the  tomahawk  is  shown  to  have  been  a 
wooden  club  terminating  in  a  hard  woody  knob,  in  which 
had  been  inserted  a  large  stone  point. 

The  form  of  the  metallic  axe  was  doubtless  copied  from 
the  same  implement  used  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  stone 
age.  From  time  to  time  the  metallic  axe  has  varied  in  form, 
and  all  the  several  forms  of  stone  axes  I  have  in  my  posses- 
sion have  been  represented  in  some  of  the  forms  of  the 
metallic  axe,  and  as  that  of  the  standard  axe  of  to-day  is 
precisely  that  of  one  of  these  forms,  I  cannot  doubt  but  that 
the  stone  implement  supplied  the  model. 


REVIEWS. 


-•o*- 


The  Polyps  and  Corals  of  the  North  Pacific  Exploring  Expe- 
dition.*— Professor  Verrill  hero  describes,  with  numerous  figures  by  Dr. 
StimpsoD,  all  the  Polyps  and  Corals  collected,  with  notes  on  their  colors 
and  appearance  in  life,  by  Dr.  Stinrpson,  which  are  new  to  science.  It  is 
an  important  addition  not  only  to  our  knowledge  of  the  various  forms  of 
Polyps  and  Corals  especially,  but  also  to  their  geographical  and  bathy- 
metrical  distribution.  An  excellent  summary  of  the  class  of  '^  Cnidaria," 
or  Polyps,  precedes  the  account  of  new  species.  The  class  is  divided 
into  three  orders  (the  Madreporaria,  Actinaria,  and  Alcyonaria,)  with 
short  definitions  of  the  suborders  into  which  these  three  groups  are 
divided.  We  reproduce  two  of  the  plates  from  the  **  Proceedings"  of  the 
Essex  Institute,  which  represent  some  of  the  more  interesting  forms 
illustrating  the  different  groups  of  Polyps  of  the  suborder  Pennatulacea. 
Pig.  I  represents  a  polyp  of  a  sea  pen,  Fteromorpha  expansa  Verrill ;  Fig. 
2,  the  animal  of  VirgvXaria  pusilla  V. ;  Fig.  8,  of  Veretillum  Stimpaonii 
V. ;  Fig.  4  shows  the  whole  colony  of  Kophobelemnon  clavatum  V.,  with 
the  polyps,  or  single  animals,  protruding  from  the  surface.  These  sea 
pens  (so  called  from  the  resemblance.  In  the  genus  Pennatula,  of  the 
whole  colony  to  a  pen)  move  Areely  about  in  the  mud  or  sand  at  the 
bottom  of  the  sea.  They  belong  to  the  most  highly  organized  polyps,  the 
order  of  Alcyonaria,  in  which  the  number  of  tentacles  of  each  polyp  is 
restricted  to  eight.    All  the  above  named  sea  pens  are  fix>m  Hong  Kong. 

Of  the  sea  fans,  or  Gorgonacea,  the  second  suborder  of  Alcyonaria, 
Verrill  figures  (6)  the  coral  stock,  and  animal  (5a)  of  Muricea  Sinensis  V. ; 
6,  the  coral  stock,  and  6a  the  animal  of  Muricea  divaricata  V. ;  and  Fig.  7, 
the  animal  of  an  allied  coral,  Acanthogorgia  coccinea  V.,  of  which  7a  repre- 
sents a  top  view,  with  the  eight  tentacles  outspread.  All  three  are  trom 
Hong  Kong. 

Of  the  soft  Alcyonlums,  called  in  England  Dead  Men*s  Fingers,  which 
do  not  secret  a  coral,  our  author  figures  the  animal  of  Nepthya  thyrsoidea 
V.  (Fig.  8,  8a,  a  polyp),  ft'om  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope;  Anthella  lineata 
Stlmps.,  Fig.  9 ;  9a,  a  polyp ;  96,  one  of  the  tentacles  much  enlarged,  from 
Hong  Kong;  and  Telesto  ramiculosa  V.  (Fig.  10,  polyp-colony;  10a,  a 
polyp),  fi'om  the  same  locality.  An  interesting  sea  Anemone,  Sagartiaf 
paguri  V.,  was  dredged  in  twenty  to  thirty  fathoms,  and  said  by  Dr. 
Stlmpson  to  be  always  parasitic  on  a  hermit  crab,  Diogenes  Edwardsii 
of  Stlmpson.    Another  form,  Cancrisocia  expansa  Stlmpson,  Fig.  94, 

**l8  the  only  genus  of  Aetlnidc,  except  Adamsla  (A.  paUiata)^  in  which  a  solid  secretion 
is  formed  by  the  basal  disk.    In  Cancrisocia  It  has  a  concentrically  striate  structure,  the  strln 

'Synopsis  of  the  Poljrps  and  Corals  of  the  North  Pacific  Exploring  Expedition,  under  Com- 
modore C.  Ringgold  and  Capt.  John  Rodgers,  U.  S.  X.,  ft-om  1853  to  1856.  Collected  by  Dr. 
Wm.  Stlmpson,  Naturalist  to  the  Expedition.  By  A.  E.  Verrill.  [From  the  Proceedings  of 
the  Essex  Institute.  Vols.  4^.   Salem,  Mass.   18G6-1869.   Sto,  pp.   With  6  plates.] 

(488) 


belsK  erldeiitl]'  llni!*  of  growth.   The  mods  of  fOrmillon  tetmt  to  be  llilsi   Tlw  vrtb  wheo 

bj-  lu  poiterlor  clnwi,  u  other  ipeclcs  of  Cribi  {Unpotonrha)  do,  n  Tilve  of  Pcclin,  or  some 
otlier  blTilre  sliell.  Upon  Ihli  imiill  (liclty,  or  tlou]'  frafnuenl,  llie  Terf  young  CucriHicU 
Hilda  1  congenial  nbodf ;  but  Kon  jnu»lo<  too  Lnrgr  fur  11a  italloa  It  enlirgti  llg  gupport 
bJ-  depoiltlng  ■  I»jer  of  lioni-llke  niuerlal,  secreted  bj  the  base,  irouDd  il»  clreinnterenee,  mid 
till!  pRKCJis  It  ountlnuilly  »i>eated,  In  proponlDU  to  Iti  own  graoUi,  lUid  IliBl  of  the  crih  IbM 

iDCDts  •rrnDKBl  inland  ■  iiucLcus  of  itone  or  iliell,  wliich  la  uiualt]'  eMentrlo,  the  iDCreiu* 
huilng  bniii  more  rapid  In  ttont  thiiii  behind.  TIdi  bull  lecretlon  la  hold  upon  the  bmck  of 
Dorlppe  by  Us  rceurrod  poslellor  lege,  lu  tUe  sunic  nmuiier  u  the  origins]  lilt  of  aliEll." 

The  division  of  Corals  he  raises  to  the  rank  or  an  ordur,  under  the 
term  JUadreporaria,  thus  making  it  parallel  with  the  Alcyoiiaria.    Among 
these  corals  numerous  netr  forms  are  described  and  Dgured. 
Fig.  M. 


A  nnmher  of  species  from  various  parts  of  the  world  are  added  in  a 
BoppiemenC.  The  geographical  list  shotvs  that  most  of  the  species  are 
from  the  Seas  of  East  India  and  China,  the  South  Seas,  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  and  the  West  Coast  of  America. 

Rkvue  des  Couns  Scientifiques.*  —  This  Journal,  now  In  Us  eighth 
year,  Is  valuable  as  giving  us  reports  of  the  lectures  of  prominent  scien- 
tists in  Europe,  and  occaslonaHj  our  own  country.  Late  numbers  contain 
lectures  by  Marey  on  the  flight  of  birds  and  insects;  by  Agaasts  and  Car- 
penter on  deep  sea  dredglngs;  and  lectures  by  Huxley,  Claude  Bernard, 
and  the  leading  physicists  and  physiologists  in  France.  It  also  contains 
a  fall  report  of  the  discussions  In  the  recent  sessions  of  the  French 
Academy  relative  to  the  qualiflcatlous  of  Mr.  Darwin  to  lie  elected  a 
member  of  that  body.  Considering  the  bigotry  and  unscientific  spirit,  to 
Bay  nothing  of  the  sarprlslngiy  low  grade  of  scientlttc  ncquiroments  dis- 
played by  some  of  the  members,  we  should  judge  that  if  an  opportunity 
should  otfer  Mr.  Darwin  would  decline  the  honor  (sic)  of  membership. 

•EdlleilbjMM.Koi.sndYnngEm.AlglBTc.    IS  fl-nncs  a  yesr.  ilo.pp.U.  Weekly.    E»oh 
*alDmoibout900pBKes.   Ocnner  BsIIIhtb,  II  Buede  I'Kcole-dc-Medlelnc,  Perls. 
AJIER.  NATURALIST,  TOL.  FV,  62 


American  NatnralUt. 


NOBTH    PACIFIC    FOLTPS    AND    C0BAL8. 


American  Naturalist. 
Fig.  at. 


Vol.  IV.  PI.  *. 
Pig.  7. 


KOBTH    PACIFIC    P0I.TP8    AND    COEALS. 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  SCIENTIFIC  SOCIETIES. 


Nineteenth  Meeting  of  the  American  Association  for  the  Ad- 
vancement OF  Science,  held  at  Troy,  N.  Y.,  August  17tii-24th,  1870. 
The  uiucteenth  meeting  of  the  Association  opened  with  about  one  han- 
drcd  and  fifty  members.  During  the  meeting  about  fifty  more  members 
entered  tlieir  names,  and  one  hundred  and  seventy-one  new  members 
were  elected.  The  total  number  of  papers  entered  amounted  to  144, 
of  which  80  were  read  by  title  only  and  7  were  excluded. 

The  Local  Committee  had  secured  convenient  rooms  for  the  general 
sessions,  and  those  of  the  several  sections,  at  the  Court  House,  the  Troy 
Female  Seminary  and  the  First  Presbyterian  Church.  The  local  secre- 
taries, Messrs.  B.  H.  Hall  and  H.  B.  Nason,  who,  as  usual,  had  the  greater 
part  of  the  Local  Committee  work  on  their  hands,  did  all  in  their  power 
to  make  the  meeting  a  success,  and  to  Airnish  accommodations  and  aid 
to  the  members  in  attendance. 

A  large  and  brilliant  reception  was  given  to  the  Association  by  His 
Honor  Mayor  Gilbert,  on  Thursday  evening,  and  an  equally  brilliant  one 
by  Hon.  John  M.  Francis  at  his  residence,  on  Monday  evening.  Monday 
was  occupied  by  an  excursion  to  Saratoga  and  dinner  at  Congress  Hall, 
at  the  invitation  of  the  citizens  of  Troy.  On  Friday  morning  the  Asso- 
ciation steamed  down  the  river  to  Albany,  where  they  were  the  guests  of 
the  Albany  Institute  and  were  most  hospitably  entertained,  and  visited 
the  Dudley  Observatory ^  State  Cabinet^  and  the  large  private  collection  of 
Professor  Hall.  Gathering  at  the  State  Library  at  half  past  four  o*clock 
a  most  delightfhl  evening  was  passed  at  a  levee  given  by  the  Albany  In- 
stitute, after  which  a  fine  sail  up  the  river  brought  all  back  to  Troy  before 
midnight.     "  Section  Q"  was  well  carried  out  on  Tuesday  night. 

During  the  evenings  of  the  session  many  members  availed  themselves 
of  the  opportunities  afibrded  for  visiting  the  Bessemer  Steel  WorkSf  the 
Burden  Iron  Works,  and  the  Bensselaer  Iron  Works ;  the  proprietors  and 
superintendents  of  all  the  works  being  most  obliging  and  courteous  to 
the  throngs  of  visitors  who  invaded  their  flrcy  quarters. 

The  address  of  the  Retiring.  President,  J.  W.  Foster,  was  delivered  on 
Thursday  evening,  at  the  First  Presbyterian  Church.  This  address  is  of 
such  general  interest  that  we  print  it  in  flUl  in  this  number. 

The  following  were  the  oflScers  of  the  Troy  meeting: — T.  Sterry 
Hunt,*  of  ^Montreal,  President ;  Joseph  Loverino,  of  Cambridge,  Perma- 
nent Secretary ;  F.  W.  Putnam,!  of  Salem,  General  Secretary;  A.  L.  El-^ 

*Ia  the  absence  of  President  Chauvxket,  detained  bf  illness,  Vlce-Prebldent  Hcxt  be- 
came the  presiding  officer  of  the  meeting. 

t  Professor  IIartt  being  absent  on  his  expedition  in  Brazil,  Mr.  Putnam  was  elected  as 
General  Secretary. 

(402) 


PBOCEEDINGS  OF  SCIENTIFIC   SOCIETIES.  493 

WYN,  of  Philadelphia,  Treasurer.  Standing  Committee — T.  Sterry  Hunt, 
Joseph  Lovering,  F.  W.  Putnam,  Asa  Gray,  F.  A.  P.  Barnard,  J.  W. 
Foster,  0.  N.  Rood,  John  Torrey,  E*  D.  Cope,  £.  N.  Horsford,  J.  E. 
HiLGARD,  A.  WiNCHELL,  H.  B.  Nason.  Section  A. — Mathematics  Physics^ 
and  Cfiemistry—F.  A.  P.  Barnard,  of  New  York,  Permanent  Chairman; 
O.  W.  Hough,  of  Albany,  Secretary;  G.  W.  Maynard,  of  Troy,  Elias 
LooMis,  of  New  Haven,  S.  D.  Tillman,  of  New  York,  Sectional  Com- 
mittee. Subsection  C  of  Section  A. — MicroscopyS.  S.  Haldbman,  of 
Philadelphia,  Permanent  Chairman;  R.  H.  Ward,  of  Troy,  Secretary. 
Section  B.— Geology  and  Natural  History— Asa  Gray,  of  Cambridge,  Per^ 
manent  Chairman^  and  afterwards  A.  U.  Worthen,  of  Springfield,  111., 
and  James  Hall,  of  Albany ;  Henry  Hartshornb,  of  Philadelphia,  Sec- 
retary ^  and  afterwards  Theodore  Gill,  of  Washington ;  James  Hall,  of 
Albany,  J.  G.  Morris,  of  Baltimore,  Alpheus  Hyatt,  of  Salem,  Sectional 
Committee.  Subsection  E  of  Section  B. — for  one  day,  Tuesday,  Section  B. 
was  subdivided,  and  Thomas  Hill,  of  Waltham,  was  elected  Chairman, 
and  W.  H.  Dall,  of  Washington,  Secretary. 

At  the  last  session  of  the  meeting  it  was  voted  to  accept  the  invitation 
of  the  California  Academy  of  Science  to  hold  a  ftiture  meeting  of  the 
Association  at  San  Francisco,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  make 
arrangements  for  holding  the  meeting  of  1872  in  that  city. 

It  was  also  voted  to  accept  the  invitation  from  Indianapolis,  presented 
by  the  State  Geologist  of  Indiana,  E.  T.  Cox,  to  hold  the  twentieth  meet- 
ing at  Indianapolis,  commencing  on  the  Third  Wednesday  of  August ^  1871. 

The  following  oflScers  were  elected  for  the  next  meeting : — President^ 
•Asa" Gray,  of  Cambridge;  Vice-President,  George  F.  Barker,  of  New 
Haven ;  Permanent  Secretary,  Joseph  Lovering,  of  Cambridge ;  General 
Secretary,  F.  W.  Putnam,  of  Salem ;  Treasurer,  Wm.  S.  Vaux,  of  Phila- 
delphia. 

We  give  abstracts  of  several  of  the  papers  read  in  Section  B.  in  this 
number  of  the  Naturalist,  as  well  as  the  President's  Address.  In  the 
November  number  we  shall  print  others  received  from  the  authors,  and 
shall  also  give  extended  abstracts  of  the  several  papers  read  in  the  Sub- 
section of  Microscopy,  including  two  on  the  Binocular  Microscope ;  one 
by  President  Barnard  of  Columbia  College,  and  the  other  by  Dr.  Ward 
of  Troy.  We  shall  also  then  give  a  list  of  the  papers  read  in  Section  B. 
of  which  wc  have  not  received  abstracts,  but  we  trust  that  it  will  be  a 
short  one,  and  at  this  time  request  those  authors  who  have  not  yet  sent 
us  the  promised  abstracts  to  do  so  at  once. 

Prof.  Edward  S.  Morse  read  a  paper  **  On  the  early  stages  of  Discina." 
Referring  to  his  communication  last  year  on  the  early  stages  of  Terebrat- 
Qlina,  and  the  evidence  then  adduced  of  the  proofs  of  the  close  relations 
existing  between  the  Brachiopoda  and  the  Polyzoa ;  he  said  that  an  ex- 
amination of  the  early  stages  of  Discina  showed  the  same  simple  lopho- 
phore,  sustaining  a  few  cirri,  the  stomach  hanging  below,  and  other 
features  in  which  a  resemblance  was  seen. 


494  PROCEEDINGS   OF  SCIENTIFIC  SOCIETIES. 

The  perivisceral  wall  is  made  np  of  two  layers  of  mnscular  fibres  which 
cross  each  other,  giving  it  a  reticulated  appearance.  While  the  yonng 
shell  is  oval  in  shape  there  is  marked  out  a  perfectly  circalar  area,  indi- 
cating that  at  the  outset  the  embryo  possesses  a  circular  piate  above  and 
below.  The  muscles  were  very  large  and  occupied  most  of  the  perivis- 
ceral cavity.  The  setsB  fk'inging  the  mantle  were  very  long,  those  fk'om 
the  anterior  margin  being  nearly  three  times  the  length  of  the  shell.  The 
mantle  margin,  the  blood  lacunae,  and  the  bands  of  muscles  to  move  the 
set®  were  all  described. 

He  also  spolce  '*  On  the  organization  of  Lingula  and  Discina."  Space 
will  only  allow  us  to  mention  the  new  points  evolved  In  this  communica- 
tion. He  confirmed  Carl  Semper's  view  regarding  the  circulation  of  Lin- 
gula, viz.:  that  It  was  carried  on  by  ciliary  motion.  The  perivisceral 
cavity  was  in  direct  communication  with  the  lacunae  of  the  mantle,  and 
with  the  cavity  of  the  peduncle.  The  circulation  was  voluminous  and 
rapid ;  no  trace  of  pulsation  could  be  detected.  The  fluid  was  not  blood 
proper,  but  chyle-aqueous,  and  distinct  from  this  was  the  proper  heart  and 
blood  as  pointed  out  by  Hancock. 

From  repeated  examination  of  the  oviducts  he  could  state  positively 
regarding  the  nature  of  these  organs.  The  internal  mouth  was  plaited 
and  turned  towards  the  sides,  the  remaining  portion  of  the  oviduct  was 
reddish  in  color,  and  glandular,  and  probably  performed  a  renal  ftinction 
as  in  similar  organs  among  the  annelids. 

The  sexes  were  separate.  The  colled  arms  had  a  limited  power  of  mo- 
tion. The  coils  could  be  raised  or  depressed,  and  the  axis  of  the  coll  could 
be  at  right  angles  to  the  longitudinal  axis  of  the  body  or  parallel  to  it. 

The  contents  of  the  stomach  were  found  in  all  the  lobules  of  the  liver, 
indicating  that  the  food  circulated  in  these  hepatic  prolongations,  as  in 
the  annelids.  Upon  young  Lingula  a  perfectly  circular  area  could  be  seen 
near  the  beak  of  the  shell ;  this  indicated  the  form  of  the  embryo  shell 
and  coincided  with  that  of  Discina.  The  movements  of  living  Lingula 
pyramidatat  upon  which  these  observations  were  made,  were  described. 
As  they  live  in  the  sand  upright,  their  peduncle  encased  in  a  sand  tube, 
it  was  interesting  to  notice  a  modification  in  their  habits  when  confined 
in  a  bowl.  In  a  short  time  after  confinement  they  had  built  new  tubes 
which  adhered  to  the  bottom  of  the  bowl  through  their  whole  length. 
They  would  extend  fi*om  these  tubes,  or  withdraw  when  alarmed.  All  of 
the  specimens  he  had  brought  firom  North  Carolina  in  May  were  alive  at 
this  date,  August  19th.  They  had  been  confined  in  a  small  bowl,  with  a 
little  sand,  and  the  water  changed  every  two  or  three  days.  This  vitality 
was  suggestive,  since  Lingula  had  existed  from  the  earliest  geological 
ages  to  the  present  time. 

In  describing  Discina  he  mentioned  In  detail,  the  muscular,  alimentary, 
circulatory  and  reproductive  systems.  The  oviducts  were  very  conspic- 
uous, and  had  broad  trumpet  shaped  mouths.  The  so-called  arteries  of 
Hancock  were  traced  to  a  ganglionic  enlargement  In  the  dlvarlcator 
muscles,  and  were  unquestionably  nerves  as  pointed  out  by  Owen. 


FBOGEEDINGS   OF   SGIENTIFIO   SOCIETIES.  495 

Professor  Edward  S.  Morse  also  made  a  commnnication  <'0n  Brach- 
iopods  as  a  division  of  the  Annulata."  A  brief  abstract  of  these  views  was 
published  in  the  July  number  of  this  magazine.  A  few  new  facts  have 
been  added  which  have  been  noticed  under  the  description  of  Lingula. 

Attention  was  called  to  the  Slpunculoid  worm  with  its  anterior  term- 
ination of  intestine,  and  oviducts ;  its  long  retractor  muscles,  and  the 
bilobed  lophophore  of  its  young,  as  described  by  Kowalewsky,  as  further 
proofs  of  the  annulate  character  of  the  Brachlopods. 

Dr.  Thomas  Hill  read  a  paper  on  ''The  Compass  Plant."  In  June,  1869, 
Dr.  Hill  was  coming  ft'om  Omaha  to  Chicago,  on  a  very  dark  rainy  day,  so 
darlE  that  he  could  not  form  any  estimate  of  the  points  of  compass  flrom 
the  sunlight.  At  three  different  points  on  the  prairies  he  noticed  young 
plants  of  Silphium  laciniatunit  and  estimated  fh)m  them,  while  going  at 
Ml  speed,  the  course  of  the  railway  track.  On  reaching  Chicago  he 
procured  by  the  kindness  of  the  officers  of  the  C.  &  N.  W.  road,  detailed 
maps  of  the  track,  and  found  where  he  had  estimated  the  bearing  at  85®, 
76®,  and  90®,  the  true  bearings  were  81®,  78®,  and  90®. 

In  October,  1869,  being  detained  by  an  accident  at  Tama,  he  gathered 
seed,  and  this  spring  raised  a  few  seedlings.  Drought  and  insects  de- 
stroyed part  of  them,  and  he  could  only  give  the  history  of  eight  plants, 
with  fourteen  leaves.  Ten  of  these  fourteen  leaves  showed  a  strong  dis- 
position, when  about  four  inches  high,  to  turn  to  the  meridian ;  the  other 
four  showed  a  feeble  disposition  in  the  same  direction.  These  ten  leaves 
on  coming  up  in  June,  had  an  average  bearing  of  42®,  and  the  mean  bear- 
ing was  nearly  as  large.  But  in  August,  the  same  ten  leaves  showed  an 
average  bearing  of  only  41®,  and  the  mean  bearing  was  but  2i®. 

Dr.  Hill  refers  this  polarity  to  the  sunlight,  the  two  sides  of  the  leaf 
being  equally  sensitive,  and  struggling  for  equal  shares.  He  hoped  in  a 
more  favorable  summer  to  test  this,  and  several  other  points  which  had 
suggested  themselves,  by  experiments. 

Professor  James  Orton  read  a  paper  upon  the  "  Condor  and  the  Hum- 
ming Birds  of  the  Equatorial  Region."  He  remarked  that  probably  no 
bird  is  so  unfortunate  in  the  hands  of  the  curious  and  scientific  as  the 
Condor.  Fifty  years  have  elapsed  since  the  first  specimen  reached  Eu- 
rope, yet  to-day  the  exaggerated  stories  of  its  size  and  strength  are  re- 
peated in  many  of  our  text  books,  and  the  very  latest  ornithological 
work  leaves  us  in  doubt  as  to  its  relation  to  the  other  vultures.  No  one 
credits  the  assertion  of  the  old  geographer,  Marco  Paulo,  that  the  Condor 
can  lift  an  elephant  fcom  the  ground  high  enough  to  kill  it  by  the  fall ; 
nor  the  story  of  the  traveller,  so  late  as  1880,  who  declared  that  a  Condor 
of  moderate  size,  just  killed,  was  lying  before  him,  a  single  quill  feather 
of  which  was  twenty  paces  long.  Yet  the  statement  continues  to  be  pub- 
lished that  the  ordinary  expanse  of  a  ftill  grown  Condor,  is  tcom  fifteen 
to  twenty  feet,  whereas  it  is  very  doubtful  if  it  ever  exceeds  or  even 
equals  twelve  feet.  I  have  a  ftill  grown  male  flrom  the  most  celebrated 
locality  in  the  Andes,  and  the  stretch  of  its  wings  is  nine  feet.    Humboldt 


496  PROCEEDINGS   OF   SCIENTIFIC  SOCIETIES. 

never  found  one  to  measure  over  nine  feet;  and  the  largest  specimen 
which  Darwin  saw,  was  eight  and  one  half  feet  ftom  tip  to  tip.  An  old 
male  in  the  Zoological  Gardens  of  London,  measures  eleven  feet.  It  is 
not  yet  settled  that  this  greatest  of  unclean  birds  is  generically  distinct 
from  the  other  great  vultures.  My  own  observation  of  the  structure  and 
habits  of  the  Condor,  incline  me  to  think  it  should  stand  alone.  Asso- 
ciated with  the  great  Condor  is  a  smaller  vulture,  having  brown  or  ash- 
colored  plumage  instead  of  black  and  white,  a  beak  wholly  black  instead 
of  black  at  the  base  and  white  at  the  tip,  and  no  caruncle.  It  inhabits 
the  high  altitudes,  and  is  rather  common.  This  was  formerly  thought  to 
be  a  distinct  species ;  but  lately  ornithologists  have  with  one  accord  pro- 
nounced it  the  young  of  the  Sarcoramphus  gryphus — a  conclusion  which 
the  speaker  did  not  seem  wholly  to  endorse. 

As  to  the  royal  Condor,  Professor  Orton  offered  the  following  observa- 
tions, either  new  or  corroborative :  Its  usual  habitation  is  between  the 
altitudes  of  ten  thousand  and  sixteen  thousand  feet.  The  largest  seem 
to  make  their  home  around  the  volcano  of  Cayambi,  which  stands  exactly 
on  the  Equator.  In  the  rainy  season  they  frequently  descend  to  the 
coast,  where  they  may  be  seen  roosting  on  trees ;  on  the  mountains  they 
rarely  perch,  but  stand  on  the  rocks.  They  arc  most  commonly  seen 
around  vertical  cliffb,  perhaps  because  their  nests  are  there,  and  also  be- 
cause cattle  are  likely  to  fall  there.  Flocks  are  never  seen  except  around 
a  large  carcass.  It  is  often  seen  singly,  soaring  at  a  great  height  in  vast 
circles.  Its  flight  is  slow.  It  never  flaps  its  wings  in  the  air,  but  its 
head  is  always  in  motion  as  if  in  search  of  food  below.  Its  mouth  is 
kept  open  and  its  tail  spread.  To  rise  from  the  ground  it  must  needs  run 
for  some  distance ;  then  it  flaps  its  wings  three  times  and  soars  away.  A 
narrow  pen  is  therefore  sufficient  to  imprison  it.  In  walking  the  wings 
trail  on  the  ground  and  the  head  takes  a  crouching  position.  Though  a 
carrion  bird  it  breathes  the  purest  air,  spends  much  of  its  time  soaring 
three  miles  above  the  sea.  Humboldt  saw  one  fly  over  Chlmborazo.  I 
have  seen  them  sailing  at  one  thousand  feet  above  the  crater  of  Pichlncha. 
Its  gormandizing  power  has  hardly  been  overstated.  I  have  known  a 
single  Condor,  not  of  the  largest  size,  to  make  way  in  one  week  with  a 
calf,  a  sheep,  and  a  dog.  It  prefers  carrion,  but  will  sometimes  attack 
live  sheep,  deer,  dogs,  etc.  The  eyes  and  tongue  of  a  carcass  are  the 
favorite  parts  and  first  devoured ;  next  the  intestines.  I  never  heard  an 
authenticated  case  of  its  carrying  off  children,  nor  of  it  attacking  adalts, 
except  in  defence  of  its  eggs.  In  captivity  it  will  eat  "everything  except 
pork  and  fried  or  boiled  meat.  When  fUU  fed  It  is  exceedingly  stupid, 
and  can  be  caught  by  the  hand ;  but  at  other  times  it  is  a  match  for  the 
stoutest  man.  It  passes  the  greater  part  of  the  day  sleeping,  searching 
for  prey  in  the  morning  and  evening.  It  is  seldom  shot  (though  it  is  not 
invalnerable  as  once  thought),  but  is  generally  caught  in  traps.  The 
only  noise  it  makes,  is  a  hiss  like  that  of  a  goose  — the  usual  tracheal 
muscle  being  absent.  It  lays  two  white  eggs  on  an  inaccessible  ledge. 
It  makes  no  nest  proper,  but  places  a  few  sticks  around  the  eggs.    By  no 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   SCIENTIFIC   SOCIETIES.  497 

amount  of  bribery  could  I  tempt  an  Indian  to  search  for  Condor's  eggs, 
and  Mr.  Smith,  who  had  hunted  nearly  twelve  years  in  the  Quito  Valley, 
was  never  able  to  get  sight  of  one.  Incubation  occupies  about  seven 
weeks,  ending  in  April  or  May  (in  Patagonia  much  earlier,  or  about 
February).  The  young  are  scarcely  covered  with  dirty  white  brown,  and 
are  not  able  to  fly  until  nearly  two  years  old.  D'Orblgny  says  they  take 
the  wing  in  about  'a  month  and  a  half  after  being  hatched,  a  manifest 
error,  for  they  are  then  as  downy  as  goslings.  It  is  five  months  moulting, 
and  whUe  at  that  stage  when  its  wings  are  useless,  it  is  fed  by  its  com- 
panion. As  may  be  inferred  the  moulting  time  is  not  uniform.  Though 
it  has  neither  the  smelling  powers  of  the  dog  (as  proved  by  Darwin),  nor 
the  bright  eyes  of  the  eagle,  somehow  it  distinguishes  a  carcass  afar  off. 
He  described  in  full  the  appearance  of  the  Condor,  remarking  that  the 
female  is  smaller  than  the  male,  an  unusual  circumstance  in  this  order, 
the  feminine  eagles  and  hawks  being  larger  than  their  mates. 

Professor  Orton  next  spoke  of  the  Humming  Bird,  of  the  habits  and 
economy  of  which  our  knowledge  is  very  mengi-e.  The  relationship  be- 
tween the  gener£(  is  not  clear,  and  one  species  is  no  more  typical  than 
another.  The  only  well  marked  divisions  we  can  discover,  are  those 
adopted  by  Gould  and  Gray,  the  PhsethomithineB  and  Polytminse.  The 
former  are  dull  colored  and  frequent  the  dense  forests.  They  are  more 
numerous  on  the  Amazon  than  the  other  group ;  and  I  know  of  no 
specimen  from  the  Quito  Valley,  or  from  an  altitude  above  ten  thousand 
feet.  Their  nests  are  long,  covered  with  lichens,  lined  with  silk  and 
hung  over  water  courses.  The  latter  comprises  the  vast  majority  of  the 
Humming  Bird,  or  nearly  nine-tenths.  They  delight  in  sunshine,  and  the 
males  generally  are  remarkable  for  their  brilliant  plumage.  Their  head- 
quarters seem,  to  be  near  New  Granada;  some  species  are  confined  to 
particular  volcanoes,  or  an  area  of  a  few  miles  square.  Of  the  four  hun- 
dred and  thirty  known  species  of  Humming  Birds,  thirty-flve  are  found 
in  and  around  the  valley  of  Quito,  thirty- two  on  the  Pacific  slope,  and 
seventeen  on  the  Oriental  side  of  the  Andes,  making  a  total  of  eighty- 
four,  or  about  one-fifth  of  the  family  within  the  Bepubiic  of  Ecuador.  If 
the  wanton  destruction  of  Humming  Birds  for  mere  decorative  purposes, 
continues  for  the  next  decade,  as  it  has  during  the  last,  several  genera 
may  become  utterly  extinct.  This  is  evident  when  we  consider  that 
many  a  genus  is  represented  by  a  single  species,  which  species  has  a  very 
circumscribed  habitat,  and  multiplies  slowly,  producing  but  two  eggs  in 
a  year.  He  noticed  one  fact  in  regard  to  the  nests  of  Humming  Birds, 
which  he  could  not  explain.  Our  northern  hummer  glues  lichens  all  over 
the  outside;  so  do  a  number  of  species  in  Brazil,  Guiana,  etc.  But  in  the 
valley  of  Quito  moss  invariably  is  used,  though  lichens  abound.  A  simi- 
lar variation  is  seen  in  the  nests  of  the  chimney  swallow  —  our  species 
building  of  twigs  glued  together  with  saliva,  while  its  Quito  representa- 
tive buUds  of  mud  and  moss.  The  time  of  incubation  at  Quito  is  twelve 
days,  and  there  is  but  one  brood  in  a  year. 

AMSB.  KATX7BALIST,  VOL.  IV.  68 


498 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   SCIENTIFIC   SOCIETIES. 


Dr.  A.  S.  Packard,  Jr.,  presented  a  paper  on  *Hhe  Embryology  of 
Limulus  Polyphemus"  The  eggs  on  which  the  following  observations 
were  made  were  kindly  sent  me  ft'om  New  Jersey,  by  Rev.  Samuel  Lock- 
wood,  who  has  given  an  account  of  the  mode  of  spawning,  and  other 
habits,  in  the  American  Naturalist.  They  were  laid  on  the  16th  of 
May,  bat  it  was  not  until  June  8d  that  I  was  able  to  study  them.  The 
eggs  measure  .07  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  are  green.  In  the  ovary 
they  are  of  various  hues  of  pink  and  green  just  previous  to  being  laid, 
the  smaller  ones  being,  as  usual,  white.  The  yolk  is  dense,  homogeneous, 
and  the  yolk  granules,  or  cells,  are  very  small,  and  only  in  certain  speci- 
mens, owing  to  the  thickness  and  opacity  of  the  egg-shell,  could  they 
be  detected. 

Not  only  in  the  eggs  already  laid,  but  in  unfertilized  ones  taken  from 
the  ovary  the  yolk  had  shrunken  slightly,  leaving  a  clear  space  be- 

Fig.  95. 


Embryo  of  Limulus. 

twcen  it  and  the  shell.  Only  one  or  two  egg>i  were  observed  in  process 
of  segmentation.  In  one  the  yolk  was  subdivided  into  three  masses  of 
unequal  size.  In  another  the  process  of  subdivision  had  become  nearly 
completed. 

In  the  next  stage  observed,  the  first  indications  of  the  embryo  consisted 
of  three  minute,  flattened,  rounded  tubercles,  the  two  anterior  placed 
side  by  side,  with  the  third  immediately  behind  them.  The  pair  of  tu- 
bercles probably  represent  the  first  pair  of  limbs,  and  the  third,  single 
tubercle  the  abdomen.  Seen  in  outline  the  whole  embryo  is  raised  above 
the  surface  of  the  yolk,  being  quite  distinct  ft-om  it,  and  of  a  paler  hue. 
In  more  advanced  eggs  three  pairs  of  rudimentary  limbs  were  observed, 
the  most  anterior  pair  representing  the  first  pair  of  limbs  (false  mandibles 
of  Savlgny),  being  much  smaller  than  the  others.  The  mouth  opening 
is  situated  just  behind  them.  In  a  succeeding  stage  (Fig.  95,  ar,  areola; 
am^  blastoderm  skin ;  eft,  chorion)  the  embryo  forms  an  oval  area,  sur- 
rounded by  a  paler  colored  areola,  which  is  raised  into  a  slight  ridge. 
This  areola  is  destined  to  bo  the  edge  of  the  body,  or  line  between  the 
ventral  and  dorsal  sides  of  the  animal.  There  are  six  pairs  of  appen- 
dages, forming  elongated  tubercles,  increasing  in  size  ftom  the  head 


PROCEEDINGS  OF   SCIENTIFIC   SOCIETIES.  499 

backwards;  the  month  Is  sitnated  between  the  oaterlor  pair.  The  who1« 
embryo  covers  but  about  a  third  of  that  portion  or  the  jolk  In  eight.  At 
this  time  the  iDner  egg  membrane  (blastoderm- skin  ?)  was  first  detected. 

The  ODter  membrane,  or  chorion,  Is  structareleas ;  when  ruptured  the 
torn  edges  show  that  It  is  composed  or  five  or  six  layers  or  a  structare- 
less  membrane,  varying  In  thickness.  The  Inner  egg  membrane  Is  fMo 
from  Uic  chorion,  though  It  Is  in  contact  with  it.  Seen  Id  proflle  it  con- 
sists of  minute  cells  which  project  out,  so  that  the  surlbce  appears  to  be 
finely  granulated.  Bat  on  a  vertical  view  it  is  composed  of  Irregularly 
bexagonal  celts,  sometimes  6-sldcd,  and  rarely  4-Blded,  hardly  two  ctth 
being  alike.  The  walls  of  the  cells  appear  double,  and  are  either  strongly 
waved,  or  have  (torn  three  to  five  long  slender  projections,  with  the  ends 
sometimes  knobbed,  directed  inwards.  These  cells  are  either  packed 
closely  together,  or  separated  by  quite  a  Wide  Interspace. 

In  a  subsequent  stage  (Fig.  06)  the  oval  body  of  the  embryo  has  In- 
creased tn  size.  The  segments  of  the  cephalothorax  are  Indicated,  and 
Pig.  Be. 


EmbiTOOf  Llmuluajiiat  before  lutchlnK. 

the  legs  have  grown  Id  length,  and  are  doubled  on  themselves.  But  the 
most  Important  change  Is  In  the  small  size  of  the  rudiments  of  the  mandi- 
bles, compared  with  the  remolnlng  five  pairs  of  limbs ;  and  the  origin  of 
two  pairs  of  glUs,  forming  pole  oblique  bands  between  the  Gth  pair  of 
legs  and  the  end  of  the  abdomen,  which  forms  a  narrow  scmltlicular  area. 
A  later  stage  Is  signalized  by  the  more  highly  developed  dorsal  portion 
of  the  embryo,  and  the  increase  In  size  of  the  abdomen  and  the  appear- 
ance of  nine  distinct  abdominal  segments.  The  segments  of  the  cephal- 
othorax  are  now  very  clearly  defined,  aa  also  the  division  between  the 
cephalothorax  and  abdomen,  the  latter  being  now  nearly  as  broad  as  the 
cephalothorax,  the  sides  of  which  are  not  spread  out  os  in  a  later  stage. 
At  this  stage  the  egg-shell  has  burst,  and  the  "  amnion  "  Increased  In  slie 
several  times  exceeding  its  original  bulk,  and  has  admitted  a  correspond- 


500  ^BOCKEDINGS  OF  SCIENTIFIC   SOCIETIES. 

log  amount  of  sea  water,  in  which  the  embryo  revolves.  At  a  little  later 
period  the  embryo  throws  off  an  embryonal  skin,  the  thin  pellicle  floating 
about  in  the  egg. 

Still  later  in  the  life  of  the  embryo  the  claws  are  developed,  an  addi- 
tional rudimentary  gill  appears,  and  the  abdomen  grows  broader  and  lar- 
ger, with  the  segments  more  distinct;  the  heart  also  appears,  being  a 
pale  streak  along  the  middle  of  the  back  extending  Arom  the  firont  edge 
of  the  cephalothorax  to  the  base  of  the  abdomen. 

Just  before  hatching  the  cephalothorax  spreads  out,  the  whole  animal 
becomes  broad  and  flat,  the  abdomen  being  a  little  more  than  half  as 
wide  as  the  cephalothorax.  The  two  eyes  and  the  pair  of  ocelli  on  the 
ftont  edge  of  the  cephalothorax  arc  distinct ;  the  appendages  to  the  gills 
appear  on  the  two  anterior  pairs;  the  legs  have  increased  in  length, 
though  only  a  rudimentary  spine  has  appeared  on  the  coxal  Joint,  cor- 
responding to  the  numerous  teeth  in  after  life.  The  trilobitic  appear- 
ance of  the  embryo  (Fig.  97  top;  98,  side  view)  is  most  remarkable.  It 
also  now  closely  resembles  the  Xlphosurian  genus  BelUnurus.  The  car- 
diac, or  median  region  is  convex  and  prominent.  The  lateral  regions  are 
more  distinctly  marked  on  the  abdomen  than  on  the  cephalothorax.  The 
six  segments  of  the  cephalothorax  can,  with  care,  be  distinguished,  but 
the  nine  abdominal  segments  are  most  clearly  demarked,  and  in  fact  the 
whole  embryo  bears  a  very  near  resemblance  to  certain  genera  of  Trl- 
lobltcs,  as  Trinncleu8j  Aaaphus  and  others. 

In  about  six  weeks  from  the  time  the  eggs  are  laid  the  embryo  hatches. 
It  differs  chiefly  Arom  the  previous  stage  in  the  abdomen  being  much  lar- 
ger, scarcely  less  in  size  than  the  cephalothorax ;  in  the  obliteration  of 
the  segments,  except  where  they  are  faintly  indicated  on  the  cardiac  re- 
gion of  the  abdomen ;  and  the  gills  are  much  larger  than  before.  The  ab- 
dominal spine  is  very  rudimentary,  forming  a  lobe  varying  in  length,  but 
scarcely  projecting  beyond  the  edge  of  the  abdomen.  It  forms  the  ninth 
segment.  The  young  swim  briskly  up  and  down  the  Jar,  skimming  about 
on  their  backs,  by  flapping  their  gills,  not  bending  their  bodies.  In  a 
succeeding  moult,  which  occurs  between  three  and  four  weeks  after 
hatching,  the  abdomen  becomes  smaller  in  proportion  to  the  cephalo- 
thorax, and  the  abdominal  spine  is  prominent,  being  ensiform  and  about 
three  times  as  long  as  broad.  At  this  and  also  in  the  second,  or  succeed- 
ing moult,  which  occurs  about  four  weeks  after  the  flrst  moult,  the  young 
Limulus  doubles  in  size. 

Conclusions.  The  eggs  are  laid  in  great  numbers  loose  in  the  sand,  the 
male  fertilizing  them  after  they  are  dropped.  This  is  an  exception  to  the 
usual  mode  of  oviposition  in  Crustacea;  Squilla  and  a  species  of  Gecarci- 
nus  being  the  only  exception  known  to  me  to  the  law  that  the  Crastacea 
bear  their  eggs  about  with  them.  Besides  the  structureless,  dense,  irreg- 
ularly laminated  chorion,  there  is  an  inner  egg  membrane  composed  of 
rudely  hexagonal  cells ;  this  membrane  increases  in  size  with  the  growth 
of  the  embryo,  the  chorion  splitting  and  being  thrown  off  during  the 


PKOCEEDINOS  OF   SCIENTIFIC   SOCIETIES. 


Unlike  the  Crastncea  generally  tlie  prim- 
top  of  (ho  yolk. 


latter  part  of  embryoi 
Itlve  band  Is  conQoed  to  a  mlai 
as  lu  the  spiders  aud  scorpions,  and  certain  Crus- 
tacea, i.  «.,  Eriphia  apinifrona,  Astacua  ftuKtatilU,  ° 
Paltetnon   adeperaui,   aud    Craagon    macaloaus,   in 
P^  (^                         which  there  is 
no  mctamoT- 

The  embryo 
Is  a  NaupUus; 
It  sheds  a  Nan- 

pllas  SkiD  about        rDllMalunl'Biie.'iuKl  eu- 

Q  the  middle  of       '"'if^- 

®  embryoDic  life.  fjg.  loj. 

Tills  Nnnplins 

ponds  In  some 
respects  to  the      * 
"  larva]    skin  " 
Lim  of  Limuiiis.  niiiiirai  iiu.uid      of  German  em- 

'" "  bryologlsts. 

The  recently  hatched  young  of  Ltmulus  (Fig.  99)    '^"J  mIkVi^'cSuJ^'^ 
cau  scarcely  be  considered  a  NaupUus,  like  the 

larvte  of  the  Phyllopoda,  Apaa  (Fig.  100  a)  and  Branchlpus  (Fig.  100  fc), 
but  Is  to  be  compared  with  those  of  the  trllobltes,  as  dcscrilied  and 

Fig,  300. 


Ognred  by  Barntude  (Fig.  101,  Inrva  of  Trinuelent  ornalui ;  Fig.  102,  larra 
of  Sao  Mrtuta;  Fig.  103,  larra  of  Agnottm  nudut)  which  are  1h  Trinii- 
chut  and  Agnoatua  bom  with  only  the  cepbalothorax  and  pygldluro,  the  ■ 


502  PROCEEDINGS  OF   SCIENTIFIC   SOCIETIES. 

thoracic  segmcots  being  added  during  after  life.  The  circular  lanra  of 
Sao  Jdrsutaj  which  has  no  thorax,  or  at  least  a  very  rudimentary  thoracic 
region,  and  no  pygldlum,  approaches  nearer  to  the  Nauplius  form  of  the 
Phyllopods,  though  we  would  contend  that  it  is  not  a  Nauplius. 

The  larva  passes  through  a  slightly  marked  metamorphosis.  It  difl*ers 
from  the  adult  simply  in  possessing  a  less  number  of  abdominal  feet 
(gills),  and  in  having  only  a  very  rudimentary  spine.  Previous  to  hatch- 
ing it  strikingly  resembles  Trinucleus  and  other  trilobites,  suggesting 
that  the  two  groups  should,  on  embryonic  and  structural  grounds,  be 
included  in  the  same  order,  especially  now  that  Mr.  E.  Billings*  has  de- 
monstrated that  Asaphus  possessed  eight  pairs  of  five-Jointed  legs  of 
uniform  size.  The  trilobate  character  of  the  body,  as  shown  in  the  prom- 
inent cardiac  and  lateral  regions  of  the  body,  and  the  well  marked  ab- 
dominal segments  of  the  embryo,  the  broad  sternal  groove,  and  the 
position  and  character  of  the  eyes  and  ocelli,  confirm  this  view.  The 
organization  and  the  habits  of  Limulus  throw  much  light  on  the  prob- 
able anatomy  and  habits  of  the  trilobitcs.  The  correspondence  in  the 
cardiac  region  of  the  two  groups  shows  that  their  heart  and  circulation 
was  similar.  The  position  of  the  eyes  shows  that  the  trilobites  prob- 
ably had  long  and  slender  optic  nerves,  and  indicates  a  general  sim- 
ilarity in  the  nervous  system.  The  genital  organs  of  the  trilobites  were 
probably  very  similar  to  those  of  Limulus,  as  they  could  not  have  united 
sexually,  and  the  eggs  were  probably  laid  in  the  sand  or  mud,  and  im- 
pregnated by  the  sperm  cells  of  the  male,  floating  free  in  the  water. 

The  muscular  system  of  the  trilobites,  must  have  been  highly  organized 
as  in  Limulus,  as  like  the  latter  they  probably  lived  by  burrowing  in  the 
mud  and  sand,  using  the  shovel-like  expanse  of  the  cephalic  shield  in 
digging  in  the  shallow  palaeozoic  waters  after  worms  and  stationary  soft 
bodied  invertebrates,  so  that  we  may  be  warranted  in  suj)poslng  that  the 
alimentary  canal  was  constructed  on  the  type  of  that  of  Limulus,  with  its 
large,  powerful  gizzard  and  immense  liver. 

Prof.  Gill  presented  a  verbal  communication  **0n  the  Relations  of  the 
Orders  of  Mammals."  He  stated  that  in  order  to  render  at  once  appreci- 
able the  course  which  he  had  followed  in  his  studies  he  would  enunci- 
ate the  guiding  principles  by  which  he  had  been  influeuced.  These  Were 
five : 

1st.  Morphology  is  the  only  safe  guide  to  the  natural  classification  of 
organized  beings ;  teleology  or  physiological  adaptation  the  most  unsafe 
and  conducing  to  the  most  unnatural  approximations. 

2d.  The  aflanities  of  such  organisms  are  only  determinable  by  the  sum 
of  their  agreements  in  morphological  characteristics,  and  not  by  the  mod- 
ifications of  any  single  organ. 

•Proceedings  of  the  Oeologloal  Society  of  London.  Beported  In  "Nature.**  June  S,  WO, 
In  tills  ooDimonlcatlon  Mr.  E.  BUIIngs  announces  tlie  Important  dlscoyery  of  a  specimen  of 
AtaphttM  pleUffcephalut^  showing  that  the  animal  possessed  eight  pairs  of  flTC-Jolnted  feet, 
widely  separated  at  their  Insertions  by  a  broad  sternal  groove. 


FBOCEEDINQS   OF   SCIENTIFIC   SOCIETIES.  503 

8d.  The  animals  and  plants  of  ftho  present  epoch  are  the  derivatives 
with  modification  of  antecedent  forms  to  an  unlimited  extent. 

4th.  An  arrangement  of  organized  beings  in  any  single  series  is, 
therefore,  impossible,  and  the  system  of  sequences  adopted  by  genealo- 
gists may  be  applied  to  the  sequence  of  the  groups  of  natural  objects. 

5th.  In  the  appreciations  of  the  value  of  groups,  the  founder  of  mod- 
em taxonomy  (Linnssus)  must  be  followed,  subject  to  such  deviations  as 
our  increased  knowledge  of  structure  necessitates. 

The  adoption  of  such  principles  compels  us  to  reject  such  systems  as 
are  based  solely  on  modifications  of  the  brain,  those  of  the  placenta,  and 
those  of  the  organs  of  progression,  such  modifications  not  being  coinci- 
dent with  corresponding  modifications  of  other  organs,  and  therefore  not 
the  expressions  of  the  sum  of  agreements  in  structure. 

Commencing  with  the  highest  forms  of  mammals  we  have,  by  univer- 
sal consent,  the  Primates.  This  Linnsean  order,  purged  of  the  Chiroptera 
referred  to  it  by  its  founder,  includes  man,  the  monkeys,  and  the  lemurs, 
with  their  respective  allies.  It  is  divisible  into  two  suborders— the  An- 
thropoidea  and  the  Lemuroidea. 

The  subjects  of  the  next  highest  group  are  not  so  universally  recog- 
nized, but  the  Ferse  or  Carnivora,  on  account  of  the  nature  of  the  skele- 
ton, the  development  of  the  brain,  and  the  organs  for  the  perpetuation  of 
their  kind,  seem  to  bo  most  entitled  to  that  rank.  This  order  seems  to 
embrace  as  suborders  the  ordinary  gressorial  Carnivora  (Fissipedia)  and 
the  Pinniped ia,  or  Seals,  Walrus,  etc. 

An  extinct  type  —  the  Zeuglodontes  —  is  related  on  the  one  hand  to  the 
Seals,  and  on  the  other  to  the  toothed  Cetaceans.  The  relation  with  the 
latter  is,  however,  the  most  intimate,  and  It  may  be  combined  with  them 
and  the  whale-bone  whales  into  one  order  —  the  Cete  — .  of  which  each 
form  represents  a  suborder.  The  relations  of  the  order  with  the  Ferse  ia 
only  masked  by  the  extreme  teleological  modifications. 

Evidently  the  derivatives  from  the  same  stem  as  the  Ferse,  the  Insect- 
ivora,  may  be  placed  next  in  order.  The  affinity  of  the  Chiroptera  to  that 
order  is  now  universally  recognized,  notwithstanding  the  extreme  teleo- 
logical modification  of  its  anterior  members.  The  Ungulata  are  the  de- 
rivatives from  a  common  stock  of  a  still  more  generalized  type ;  the 
development  of  the  brain,  organs  of  generation,  etc.,  indicate  their  com- 
paratively high  rank.  Next  may  be  placed  the  Glires  or  Rodents,  and 
last  of  the  Placental  Mammals,  the  Edentata,  the  structure  of  the  skele- 
ton and  especially  of  the  skull,  the  organs  of  generation,  etc.,  appearing 
to  indicate,  with  sufficient  distinctness,  that  thus  degraded  are  their  rank. 

The  relations  of  the  subclass  Didelphia,  with  its  single  order  Marsupi- 
alia,  and  of  the  subclass  Ornlthodelphia,  with  another  unique  order  Mon- 
otremata  are  now  recognized  beyond  dispute. 

Besuming  now  the  consideration  of  the  sequence  by  linear  series,  we 
may  approach  by  normally  specialized  forms,  the  more  generalized  of 
each  series,  and  thence  in  such  cases  as  are  necessary  diverge  in  another 


504  PBOCEEDINGS   OF  SGIENTIFIG  SOCIETIES. 

direction  to  the  abnormally  specialized.  We  would  then  have  something 
like  the  series  thus  represented  on  the  blackboard  (some  suborders  being 
omitted),  the  index  hands  representing  the  respective  nature  and  direc- 
tion of  the  gronps. 

Bubolass  MONODEIiFHIA. 

I.  — PRIMATE  SERIES. 
Order  Pbocateb. 
Suborder  Akthbopoioea.  Suborder  Lemuboidba. 

II.— FERAL  SERIES. 

Order  FVSLX. 

Suborder  Fissifedia.  .^ti  49"  Suborder  Pinnipsdia. 

Order  Cxte. 

Suborder  Zeuglodontes.    Suborder  Odontocete.    Suborder  Mtsticetb. 

in— INSECTIVOROUS  SERIES.  ' 

Order  Ix6ectivora.  .^j  ^f  Order  Chiboptesa. 


IV. -UNGULATE  SERIES. 

Order  Ungulat-a:. 

Suborder  Abtiodactyla.  Suborder  Perissodacttla. 

Order  HTBAComEA..Aa    Onfer  Pboboscidea.   tW  Order  Sibxsia, 


v.— RODENT  SERIES. 

Order  GUBXfi. 

Suborder  Simfucidentata.  Suborder  Dufucidentata. 

VI.— EDENTATE  SERIES. 
Order    Bbuta,   or  Edentata. 

Bub^UuM  DlDJilliPHTA. 
Order  MABSUPIALIA. 

Bubolass  OBNITHODEIiFHIA. 

Order  Monotbemata. 

Any  orders  than  those  admitted  seem  problematical,  and  the  adoption 
of  an  order  Blmana  for  man  alone*— much  more  a  subclass  —  seems  to  be 
opposed  by  every  sound  principle  of  Taxonomy.  There  is  scarcely  a  pro- 
position in  biology  more  demonstrable  than  that  man  is  the  derivative 
ftom  the  same  immediate  stock  as  the  higher  anthropoid  apes,  and  prob- 
ably after  the  culmination  to  nearly  the  same  extent  as  at  present  of  the 
differentiation  of  the  order  into  families  and  subordinate  groups. 

Professor  A.  Wixchell  read  '*  Notes  on  some  Post  Tertiary  Phenomena 
in  Michigan."  This  paper  was  intended  simply  to  make  note  of  three 
classes  of  phenomena  recently  observed  in  Michigan. 

The  first  note  was  in  reference  to  the  relics  found  in  and  beneath  the 
numerous  peat  beds  of  the  state.  These  beds  are  the  sites  of  ancient 
lakelets  that  have  been  slowly  filled  by  the  accumulation  of  sediments. 
They  inclose  numerous  remains  of  the  mastodon  and  mammoth.  These 
are  sometimes  found  so  near  the  surface  that  one  could  believe  they  had 
been  buried  within  five  hundred  or  a  thousand  years.  For  the  first  time, 
too,  the  remains  of  the  gigantic  extinct  beaver  of  North  America  (Casio- 
roides  Ohioensis)^  have  been  recently  found  in  Michigan.  What  is  per- 
haps most  interesting  of  all,  is  the  discovery  of  a  fiint  arrowhead  in  a 


PROCEEDINGS  OF  SCIENTIFIC  SOCIETIES.  505 

Blinllar  situation.  This  arrowhead  was  found  seven  feet  beneath  the  sur- 
face in  a  ditch  excavated  in  the  southern  part  of  Washtenaw  county. 
The  mastodon  remains  found  near  Tecumseh,  but  a  few  miles  distant,  lay 
but  two  and  a  half  feet  beneath  the  surface.  The  Adrian  mastodon  was 
buried  but  three  feet  deep. 

The  second  note  related  to  the  occurrence  of  enormous  beds  of 
bog  iron  in  the  upper  peninsula  of  Michigan,  on  the  tributaries  of  the 
Monistique  river.  It  occurs  in  a  half  desiccated  bog  covering  several 
townships.  It  is  of  remarkable  purity,  and  of  great  but  unknown  depth. 
It  lies  directly  in  the  track  of  the  projected  railroad,  intended  to  connect 
the  North  Pacific  Railroad  with  the  railroad  system  of  Michigan.  The 
ore  can  be  floated  down  the  Monistique  and  its  tributaries,  to  Lake  Michi- 
gan, in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  an  excellent  harbor.  This  immense 
deposit  is  undoubtedly  derived  from  the  desintegration  of  the  hssmatites 
and  magnetites  of  the  contiguous  region  on  the  West.  The  ore  will 
possess  great  value  for  mixing  with  the  other  Lake  Superior  ores. 

The  third  note  was  on  the  discover^' of  an  ancient  outlet  of  Lake 
Superior.  Following  the  White  Fish  river  from  the  head  of  Little  Bay 
de  Noc,  we  find  it  occupying  a  broad  and  deep  valley  walled  in  on  both 
sides  by  limestone  cliffs  attaining  an  elevation  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
feet.  The  head  waters  of  this  river  literally  interlace  with  those  of  the 
Au  Train  river,  which  runs  north  into  Lake  Superior.  Here  is  a  vast 
valley  of  erosion  but  little  elevated  in  any  part  above  the  present  level 
of  Lake  Superior.  Through  this  the  waters  of  that  lake  must  have 
flowed  in  a  powerful  stream  in  that  earlier  epoch  when  all  the  lakes  stood 
from  fifty  to  three  hundred  feet  higher  than  at  present.  There  are  many 
evidences  of  glacier  action  along  this  valley.  The  strife  at  Marquette, 
near  the  head  of  the  valley,  point  North  and  South.  In  short,  the  evi- 
dences lead  to  the  conviction  that  a  vast  glacier  stream  once  traversed 
this  valley  and  was  probably  the  agency  by  which  it  was  excavated. 
Little  Bay  de  Noc  is  but  the  prolongation  of  this  valley  at  a  lower  level ; 
and,  indeed,  the  whole  basin  of  Green  Bay  seems  to  be  but  a  phenomenon 
of  erosion  belonging  to  the  epoch  of  the  same  glacier  system. 

Prof.  E.  D.  Cope  read  a  paper  "  On  the  structural  Characteristics  of  the 
Cranium  in  the  lower  Vertebrata  (Reptiles,  Batrachia  and  Fishes),"  giving 
a  new  systematic  arrangement  of  the  Reptilia,  and  determining  for  the 
flrst  time  the  structures  of  the  posterior  regions  of  the  crania  in  Dicy- 
nodons  and  Ichthyosauri. 

He  first  pointed  out  the  homologies  of  the  squamosal  bone,  stating  that 
it  was  to  be  recognized  as  the  posterior  half  of  tlie  zygomatic  arch.  The 
zygomatic  and  quadratojugal  are  the  two  cranial  arches  which  have  occa- 
sionally been  mistaken  the  one  for  the  other,  for  example  in  the  Ichthyo- 
saurus and  Sphenodon,  by  their  describers.  The  squamosal  was  shown 
to  be  present  in  all  reptiles  except  the  serpents,  and  to  be  homologous,  or 
identical,  with  the  **  temporo- mastoid  "  of  the  f^og,  and  the  preoperculum 
of  osseous  fishes,  by  comparison  with  Lepidosiren.    This  was  proven  by 

AMER.   NATURALIST,  VOL.   lY.  64 


506  FBOCEEDINGS   OF  SCIENTIFIC  SOCIETIES. 

tbe  development  of  this  elemeot  In  tbe  Dlcfnodons  and  Ichthyosaaras, 
where  It  had  heretolbre  been  erroneoat-ly  determined.  Thos  iu  Ichthyo- 
eaunia  tt  woa  tbe  "SDpratemporal"  or  O wen,  and  besides  forming  ihe 
posterior  half  of  the  zygomatic  arch  It  descended  posteriorly  to  about 
opposite  the  middle  of  the  posterior  face  of  the  os-qnadrstura.  Further, 
it  had  an  extensive  development  on  the  Inner  taae  of  the  temporal  fossa 
reaching  roand  nearly  or  quite  to  the  postfrontal,  and  sending  down  a 
columella  to  the  pterygoid.  This  snpero- anterior  portion  was  the  parie- 
tal of  Otven.  The  time  parietal  waa  in  advance  of  this,  and  embraced 
tbe  usual  fontanelle,  while  tbo  nrontals  were  the  nasals  of  Unen.    The 

Pig.  106.- 


true  nasals  be  recognized  In  small  bones,  one  at  the  posterior  extremity 
of  each  exterior  nostril. 

Turning  to  the  Dicy nodoat  genus  Lystrosaurus,  he  stated  that  the  form 
of  the  squamosal  hone  was  very  similar  to  that  seen  in  Ichthyosaunis, 
but  that  it  extended  postero-lnferiorly  much  further.  It  concealed  the 
quadratum  when  viewed  from  behind ;  tbe  latter  was  small  and  occupied 
a  position  at  the  inferior  extremity  on  the  iutero-anterlor  Hide  of  tho 
squamosal,  and  was  attached  to  the  pterygoid  inwardly.  He  thought 
that  this  stracture  bore  an  analogy  to  that  seen  In  the  Batrachia,  where 
the  quadratum  Is  similarly  concealed.  He  thought  the  bone  In  the  Anura, 
Urodclo,  and  Dipnoi,  which  Huxley  had  suggested  was  the  preopercuium 
of  the  Teleosts,  was  truly  the  squamosal  of  the  higher  vertebrata. 

He  fbrther  pointed  out  that  Lystrosaanis  possesses  a  columella  having 
a  superior  origin  quite  similar  to  that  of  Ichthyosaums.  The  distinct- 
ness of  the  prootic  was  pointed  out  as  Chelonian  and  Lacertlllan,  and 
tlic  presence  of  the  parietal  arches  as  distinct  trom  the  opistbotlcs  was 
Insisted  on,  they  having  been  united  by  Owen.    He  then  gave  new  deter- 

■pjg.  lOit.— lehlbfosaurua;  latenlvleit  (from  apecliDea  from  Burrow,  Lelceglenhln). 


Prf.  . .  PrcfronUI.  Iff.' . . .  DenHrr.   ' 

For. . .  riHUyontal.  An AnKulir. 

{■■....I^leul.  Ar....ArtleiiL«r. 

I. I.uhrjrniil.  K  Ar.  .Snlurftenlmr 

M. . . .  H»lar,  FMr.  .  ncrygiild. 


PROCEEDINGS   OP   SCIENTIFIO   SOCIETIES.  507 

minatlons  of  the  opisthotic  bone  In  the  varloDS  orders  of  reptUes,  recti- 
lylng  errors  which  existed  In  modern  fig  j(^_, 

works  on  comparative  anatomj.     He  ^o  j 

cousidered   the   suspensorlura   of  the  o  s    'a  ^ 

Ophidia  to  be  the  opiathotic  and   not  «    «a         o 

the  squamosal  as  given  by  Huitey, 
explaining  U  by  rererence  to  figures 
of  tho^o  regions  Id  Clidastcs  and 
Cyllndrophis.  In  the  first  genua  the  ] 
elemcDt  In  question  bears  the  squam- 
osal on  its  extremity  as  in  the  Tes- 
tDdioata,  and  In  the  latter  It  forms 
pan  of  the  cranial  walls,  being  sup- 
ported by  the  exocclpital  ond  prootlc, 

OS  in  aidastCB,    The  remarkabie  enlargement  of  the  ear  bones  In  the 
fig-  lOT.t  same   groups 

I  was  then   des- 

cribed, and  the 
homologies 
with  the  metap- 
•^    terygoid     and 
Bymplectic    o  t 
N       fishes  Bud  quad- 
rate of  reptiles, 
"       and  of  the  an- 
^     vll  with  the  liy- 
omandlbnlar  of 
Pdix  fishes,  as  point- 
ed out  recently 
'    by  Huxley.    He 
pointed    out    a 
bone  In  Ichtliy- 
osanma    which 
he  thought 
might   be   the 
«    ^  £  hyomandlb'ular. 

1  It     is    postero- 

intertot  to  the  qnadrate,  and  below  the  opisthotic.    He  had  not  fouud  It 


Op.  O. .  Oplstliollc. 
Slap. . .  Sapruupedlg 

BubuL  '.  Subtrllculu 


mthvm 

'.  EideelpGiil.  ■ 
'llowlRg  iiddJIIuiia: 

IF" 

rwr. . 

508  PROCEEDINGS   OF   SCIENTIFIC   SOCIETIES. 

described.    He  thought  that  the  element  in  Ichthyosaurns,  called  by 
authors  the  squamosal,  was  really  the  quadratojugal. 

He  next  pointed  out  the  various  origins  of  the  columella,  a  bone  pecu- 
liar to  reptiles,  and  designed  to  support  the  roof  of  the  cranium.  In 
Ichthyosaurus  and  Dicynodon  it  originated  from  the  squamosals,  in  tor- 
toises from  the  parietal,  In  crocodiles  from  the  alisphenold,  and  In  lacer- 
tilia  the  origin  could  not  be  discovered. 

He  spoke  of  the  proposition  of  Huxley,  that  some  of  the  earlfer  types 
of  reptilia  iu  geologic  time  were  not  more  generalized  than  those  now 
existing.  He  took  exception  to  this,  and  stated  that  the  Dicynodon, 
among  the  earliest  of  the  groups  (Triassic)  was  the  most  generalized. 
Thus  he  showed  It  had  five  characters  of  Ichthyopterygia,  three  of  Tes- 
tudinata,  two  of  Rhyuchocephalia,  three  of  Dinosauria,  one  of  Lacertilia, 
and  one  of  Crocodila. 

The  system  of  Reptilia  proposed  was  the  following : 
(A).  Attached  quadrate. 

I.  Parts  of  extremities  not  differentiated ;  ribs  two 

headed  to  centrum. Ichthyopterygia. 

II.  Extremilal  parts  diflferentiated : 

1.  Head  of  rib  sessile    on  centrum  tubercle  to 

spine Testudinata, 

2.  Capitular  surface  on  centrum,  tubercular  on 

neural  arch Archosauria, 

S.  Capitular  and  tubercular  united,  rising  to  neural 

arch Synaptosauria, 

(B).    Quadrate,  free,  mobile. 

1.  Ribs  double  headed ;  a  quadratojugal.        .        .  Ornithoaauria. 

2.  Ribs  single  headed ;  no  quadratojugal. 

(a).    No  alisphenold ;  a  columella;  oplsthotlc,  all  at- 

attached;  feet. Lacertilia, 

(b).     Alisphenold,  no  columella;    oplsthotlc  fixed, 

styloid;  paddles Fythonomorpha. 

(c).    Alisphenold;  no  columella;  oplsthotlc,  ftree, 

mobile Ophidia. 

Mr.  J.  B.  Pkrry  read  a  paper  on  *<  The  Supposed  Elevation  and  De- 
pression of  the  Continent  during  the  Glacial  Period."  Many  geologists 
have  supposed  an  elevation  of  the  northern  part  of  the  continent  neces- 
sary in  order  to  the  existence  of  the  Ice  Period,  and  of  the  phenomena 
peculiar  to  it.  Without  resorting  to  a  supposition  of  this  kind  wholly  un- 
authorized by  positive  evidence,  we  may  invoke  certain  astronomical  facts 
which,  in  their  combination,  were  perhaps  suificient  to  produce  this  great 
winter  of  the  ages.  Intense  cold  being  thus  occasioned  by  cosmical  influ- 
ences, the  formation  of  an  ice  sheet  of  vast  extent  would  naturally  follow, 
especially  If  there  were  abundant  moisture.  The  fact  of  intense  igneous 
activity,  near  the  close  of  the  Tertiary  Period,  suggests  the  occurrence 
of  Immense  evaporation,  and  thus  a  source  of  aqueous  supply.    An  ice- 


PROCEEDINGS   OF   SCIENTIFIC   SOCIETIES.  509 

sheet  might  thus  be  formed.  Great  cold  prevailing  on  its  northern  limits 
and  serving  as  a  barrier  to  its  motion  in  that  direction,  there  being  at  the 
same  time  a  partial  melting  of  its  southern  face,  the  waters  from  the 
wasting  snows  on  its  surface  percolating  the  icy  mass,  there  also  being 
contractions  and  expansions  consequent  upon  alternations  in  the  temper* 
ature;  all  these  being  connected  with  the  gravitating  force  of  a  mass 
from  Ave.  thousand  to  ten  thousand  feet  in  thickness,  motion  to  the  south 
would  inevitably  result,  even  on  a  horizontal  surface,  and  much  more  if 
there  were  a  southward  inclination  of  the  country.  Under  these  circum- 
stances we  have  an  instrumentality  fully  able  to  plane,  smooth,  and  striate 
the  rocl^y  floor  of  the  continent  as  it  now  appears,  and  thus  to  account 
for  the  debris  almost  everywhere  met  with  in  great  abundance. 

But  if  there  were  no  elevation  of  the  country,  how  are  we  to  explain 
the  occurrence  of  pot-holes  in  places  apparently  never  traversed  by  tor- 
rents; the  formation  of  fiords;  the  existence  of  sub-marine  river- 
channels,  as  those  extending  ft*om  the  mouths  of  the  Hudson  and  the 
Connecticut ;  or  the  fact  of  sub-aSrial  deposits,  as  mud-flats,  now  found 
beneath  the  level  of  the  ocean?  It  is  well  known  that,  when  glaciers 
meet  with  obstructions,  breaks  (known  as  moulins)  occur  in  them ;  that 
the  snows  melting  on  the  surface  of  the  ice-mass,  streams  are  formed, 
which  flow  into  these  breaks,  and  thus  become  torrents  and  cascades, 
which  wear  pot-holes  in  every  respect  similar  to  those  requiring  explana- 
tion. Again  it  should  be  remembered  that  such  an  ice-sheet  moving  sea- 
ward must,  in  displacing  the  waters  along  the  shallow  margin  of  the 
ocean,  do  its  legitimate  work  of  erosion,  and  that  thus  old  depressions 
would  be  deepened,  while  new  valleys  and  fiords  would  be  formed,  as 
well  as  sub-marine  river-channels,  which  remain  to  this  day.  Accord- 
ingly all  this  erosion  might  readily  take  place  without  an  elevation, 
even  if  the  sea  were  at  its  present  height.  But  this  leads  us  to  ask, 
whence  came  the  immense  ice-sheet;  undoubtedly  for  the  most  part  ftom 
the  ocean.  Thus  its  waters  must  have  undergone  a  great  depression,  per- 
haps one  of  several  hundred  feet;  and  this  enables  us  to  account  for  the 
mud-fiats  and  other  like  deposits,  which  were  probably  laid  down  when 
the  ocean  was  at  a  lower  level  than  it  is  to-day. 

It  has  been,  moreover,  thought  necessary  to  suppose  that  a  depression 
of  the  continent  finally  followed  its  conjectured  elevation.  The  laud 
having  been  lifted  up,  it  must  be  got  down  .igain,  in  order  that  there 
might  be  a  return  of  warmth,  and  things  be  as  we  now  find  them.  Now 
marine  organic  remains  seem  to  attest  a  depression,  in  some  places,  of 
about  five  hundred  feet.  But  so  slight  a  submergence  of  the  land,  there 
being  upon  it  an  ice-sheet  thousands  of  feet  in  thickness,  could  not 
cause  a  return  of  warmth,  while  the  cosmical  agencies  already  referred 
to  are  abundantly  sufficient  for  the  production  of  such  an  effisct.  This 
summer  of  the  ages  thus  coming  on,  tlie  ice-sheet  as  gradually  melting 
must  retreat  northward.  And  the  waning  of  the  glacial  mass  would  be 
accompanied  by  results  which  require  an  explanation. 


510  PROCEEDINGS   OF   SCIENTIFIC   SOCIETIES. 

The  ice  thawing,  the  detrltal  matter  which  lay  beneath  it,  and  is  now 
known  as  typical  drift,  would  be  laid  bare  and  left  substantially  as  we 
find  it.  In  this  view  a  resort  to  a  depression  of  five  thousand  or  six 
thousand  feet,  and  to  iceberg  agency,  is  unnecessai*y.  Indeed,  Arctic 
icebergs  could  not  ftirnish  the  material  of  New  England  typical  drift, 
since  it  is  for  the  most  part  of  local  origin ;  while  bergs  of  ice  from  the 
White  Mountains  could  not  have  supplied  it,  for  it  is  a  continuous  sheet, 
having  a  uniform  glaciated  character,  spreading  over  vast  areas  lying 
far  to  the  north  of  these  mountains.  So  icebergs  could  not  have  de- 
posited it,  because,  as  they  slowly  wasted,  the  particles  of  matter  must 
have  been  scattered,  by  the  fiux  and  refiux  of  the  tides,  and  thus  to  a  large 
extent  stratified.  Again,  from  the  southern  border  of  the  wasting  ice- 
sheet,  floods  of  water  would  flow,  working  over  and  remodeling  portions 
of  the  detrital  masses,  bearing  some  of  the  flner  material  southward,  and 
laying  down  those  deposits  known  as  modified  drift.  These  constitute  in 
part  the  terrace  formations,  which  usually  slope  with  the  rivers  along 
which  they  occur.  In  some  instances  there  were  barriers  obstructing  the 
waters;  thus  were  formed  ponds  and  lakes,  in  which  deposition  took 
place  in  more  nearly  horizontal  layers.  Finally  from  the  wasting  of  the 
ice-sheet  the  surface  of  the  ocean  must  be  elevated,  its  waters  spread 
over  the  lower  levels  of  the  still  slightly  depressed  lands,  laying  down 
beds  containing  marine  organic  remains,  which  to-day  bear  witness  of  a 
partial  depression.  In  due  time,  after  the  disappearance  of  the  ice-sheet, 
the  continent  would  resume  its  normal  elevation,  the  brackish  waters  of 
the  ocean  be  excluded,  and  all  things  come  gradually  to  take  the  position 
in  which  we  now  find  them. 

In  conclusion  it  may  be  asked  whether  the  explanation  suggested  be 
not  in  consistency  with  the  facts,  and  thus  whether  we  ought  not  to  ac- 
cept it,  rather  than  arbitrarily  to  resort  to  the  assumption  of  a  vast  con- 
tinental elevation  and  depression,  which  if  not  disproved,  is  at  least 
unsupported  by  positive  evidence. 

Mr.  Dall  described  three  new  generic  forms  of  Brachiopoda,  princi- 
pally from  the  collections  of  the  United  States  Exploring  Expedition. 
Two  of  these  belonged  to  the  group  of  articulated  Brachlopods,  while 
the  third  was  that  animal,  which,  under  the  name  of  Lingula,  had  just 
been  described  by  Mr.  Morse.  Mr.  Dall  then  spoke  of  several  special 
points  of  structure,  especially  the  peduncle  of  Lingula,  demonstrating  its 
construction  to  be  analogous  to  that  of  the  siphons  of  bivalve  mollusks, 
such  as  the  common  clam,  Mya  arenaria.  He  then  described  the  bristles 
of  Lingula,  showing  that  they  were  quite  difl'erent  in  construction  flrom 
those  of  the  worms,  and  also  that  the  Chitons  were  (in  some  genera)  pro- 
vided with  true  follicular  setae,  proceeding  from  the  mantle.  Hence 
these  characters  cannot  be  held  to  aflbrd  satlsftictory  evidences  of  aflflni- 
ties  with  Annelids.  Mr.  Dall  then  proceeded  to  discuss  the  theory  of 
Mr.  Morse,  that  the  Brachlopods  were  a  subdivision  of  the  Annelids. 
Mr.   Dall  took  the  opposite  view,  and,  while  admitting  all  the  fleets 


PB0CEEDING8   OF  SCIENTIFIC   SOCIETIES.  511 

brought  forward  by  Mr.  Morse,  and  ftiUy  appreciating  the  careftil  and 
thorough  nature  of  his  researches,  contended  on  the  other  hand  that 
the^e  facts  were  susceptible  of  quite  another  interpretation. 

Mr.  Dall  then  went  on  to  take  up,  one  by  one,  the  circulatory,  nervous, 
muscular,  and  digestive  systems  of  the  Brachiopods,  and  to  compare  each 
with  the  same  organs  in  the  Annelids  and  the  Mollusks,  and  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  weight  of  structural  characters  was  essentially  of  a 
MoUuscan  nature.  The  Mollusks  were  an  individualized  type,  while  the 
Annelids,  and  even  most  of  the  Articulates  were  typified  by  their  repeti- 
tion of  similar  organs.  No  such  repetition  obtains  among  the  Brachio- 
pods. Mr.  Dall  was  of  the  opinion  that  the  MoUuscoidea  should  rank  as 
one  of  two  great  primary  divisions  of  the  MoUusca  —  one,  the  true  Mol- 
lusks, typified  by  the  Gasteropoda,  and  second  the  MoUuscoidea,  typified 
by  the  Brachiopoda.  The  second  division  would  include  the  Polyzoa, 
Tnnicata,  and  Brachiopoda,  and  Mr.  Dall  was  of  the  opinion  that  these 
groups  were  essentially  related  to  one  another,  and  cannot  be  separated 
without  violence  to  their  affinities. 

In  reply  to  Mr.  Dall's  communication  and  objections  advanced,  Prof. 
Morse  replied  in  brief  as  the  time  for  adjournment  had  passed.  He  would 
only  take  a  few  moments  in  correcting  some  points  in  which  Mr.  Dall 
had  evidently  misunderstood  the  general  articulate  characters  claimed 
fur  the  Brachiopods.  In  this  respect  his  demonstration  of  the  striated 
muscular  fibre  in  the  Brachiopods  accorded  well  with  the  views  advanced, 
inasmuch  as  striated  muscular  fibre  is  a  great  characteristic  of  the  Crus- 
tacea, and  does  not  occur  in  the  mollusks.  Mr.  Dall  did  not  know  of  any 
tubicolous  worms  having  a  blind  intestine.  Professor  Morse  referred  him 
to  certain  worms  in  the  inferior  groups.  His  views  on  Chiton  were 
rather  strange,  seeing  that  Chiton  presented  articulated  characters  in  its 
development,  the  presence  of  a  dorsal  vessel,  the  terminal  opening  of 
intestine,  and  the  forward  opening  of  oviducts.  As  to  a  comparison 
between  the  peduncle  of  Lingula  and  the  syphonal  tubes  of  Mya,  the 
relations  were  so  difibrent  that  they  could  not  enter  the  discussion  what- 
ever. The  related  points,  as  indicated  by  the  structure  of  the  oviducts, 
were  not  properly  appreciated  by  Mr.  Dall.  He  referred  to  the  figure 
still  kept  upon  the  board  as  presenting  all  the  points  involved,  and  would 
demand  a  molluscan  character  in  the  Brachiopods.  He  then  carried  out 
the  points  raised  by  Mr.  Dall,  by  citing  other  mollusks,  with  strong 
articulated  features,  which  Mr.  Dall  had  overlooked. 

Mr.  Thomas  Meehan  read  a  paper  *'  On  the  Laws  of  Fasciation,  and 
its  relation  to  Sex  in  Plants."  He  said  that  in  trees,  branches  often  came 
out  in  thick  masses,  which  botanists  called  **fasciations,"  and  the  people 
"Crow's  Nests."  An  over  supply  of  nutrition  was  the  received  theory 
of  their  origin.  He  believed  the  reverse  to  be  the  fact.  In  proof  of  this 
he  stated  that  the  shoots  forming  the  bunch  of  branches  never  grew  as 
vigorously  as  the  others,  the  leaves  were  of  a  paler  hue,  and  in  evergreens, 
the  leaves  were  deciduous.    Many  of  the  shoots  died  in  severe  winters. 


512  PROCEEDINGS   OF  SCIENTIFIC   SOCIETIES. 

All  these  results  were  dae  to  imperfect  nutrition,  the  effect  of  which  was 
a  low  state  of  vitality.  That  weakness  produced  the  fascicle  was  also 
proved  on  the  theory  propounded  in  his  Chicago  paper,  *'Adnatioi)  In 
Coniferse."  There  it  was  seen  that  distichous  leaves  In  coniferiB  came 
only  with  increased  vigor  of  growth.  The  leaves  were  less  free  from 
cohesion  with  the  stem  In  proportion  as  vitality  was  low.  Here  were  the 
same  facts.  The  leaves  on  the  fascicle  of  the  Balsam  Fir  were  of  the 
same  nature  as  the  weak  leaves  described  In  the  paper  referred  to.  Mr. 
Meehan  had  also  shown,  at  the  Salem  meeting,  that  sex  was  influenced  by 
the  condition  of  vitality.  The  male  sex  followed  f^om  a  loss  of  vigor. 
Here  the  same  law  followed  fasciation.  The  fasciated  bunches  in  the 
Blackberry,  produced  foliaceous  calyx  sepals ;  and  where  the  bunches  were 
of  numerous  branchlcts,  an  increase  of  petals  followed.  In  a  variety 
known  as  Willson's  Early,  the  number  of  branchlcts  in  the  bunch  was 
often  greater  than  in  other  instances.  Then  the  female  organs  were 
nearly  all  aborted,  and  the  flowers  were  completely  double.  Thus  proving 
at  once  that  weakness  was  unfavorable  to  the  female  sex,  and  proportion- 
ately favorable  to  fasciation.  The  conclusion  reached,  was  that  fasciated 
branches,  or  '*  Crow's  Nests,"  are  the  consequence  of  impaired  nutrition 
or  vitality. 

Mr.  Thomas  Meehan  read  a  paper  "On  objections  to  Darwin's  Theory 
of  Fertilization  through  Insect  Agency."  He  said  that  the  discoveries 
of  Darwin  had  disclosed  wonderful  apparent  arrangements  for  fertilization 
through  insect  agency ;  but  occasionally  instances  were  found  where  with 
the  most  perfect  facilities  insects  seemed  to  make  no  use  of  them.  These 
had  been  considered  as  objections  to  a  full  acceptance  of  Mr.  Darwin's 
theories.  The  Salvia  was  an  instance.  The  lower  division  of  the  anther 
acted  as  a  pctaloid  lever,  closing  the  throat  of  the  corolla  tube,  which 
ought  to  throw  the  pollen  on  the  back  of  the  bee  when  it  entered  for 
the  honey.  The  principle  was  perfect.  But  no  insect  is  seen  to  enter.  On 
the  other  hand  the  Humble  Bee,  *<  without  which,"  Darwin  saj^s,  **some 
species  would  die  out  in  England,"  bores  a  hole  on  the  outside,  throagh 
which  it  gets  the  honey.  The  Humble  Bee  thus  seems  to  avoid  its  duty 
here.  A  similar  state  of  things  exists  in  the  Petunia  of  our  gardens. 
The  humble  bee  extracts  the  honey  by  making  a  slit  in  the  tube,  and 
avoids  interference  with  the  pollen.  But  Mr.  Meehan  found  that  these 
flowers  are  the  favorite  resort  of  Sphinx's  and  other  night  moths,  which 
do  extract  the  honey  from  the  mouth  of  the  tube,  and  thus  cross  fertil- 
ize. It  would  thus  seem  that  plants  not  only  do  as  a  rule  prefer  fertiliza- 
tion by  insect  agency,  but  probably  some  classes  of  flowers  have  their 
preferences  for  certain  classes  of  insects.  In  the  case  of  Salvia,  probably 
some  insects  peculiar  to  their  native  countries,  fertilize  them ;  especially 
is  this  probable,  as  in  cultivation  the  Salvia  produces  very  little  seed. 


i 


a?KCH 


AMERICAN   NATURALIST. 


Vol.  IV.— ITOVBMBBB,  1870.— No.  9. 


THE   HABITS    AND    MIGRATIONS    OF   SOME  OF  THE 
MARINE   FISHES   OF  MASSACHUSETTS. 


BT  JAMES  H.  BLAKE. 


Fig.  108. 


The  Mackerel,  Scomber  vemalis. 

The  part  of  Natural  History  relating  to  the  habits  of 
fishes  is  far  behind  other  branches  of  this  study,  compara- 
tively little  being  known  of  this  interesting  subject.  The 
reason  of  this  is  plainly  understood  when  we  consider  how 
small  is  the  number  of  persons  interested  in  such  studies, 
who  have  the  opportunity  of  obseiTing  the  fishes  a  sufficient 
length  of  time  to  enable  them  to  gain  any  great  amount  of 
information  concerning  them.  Those  who  have  the  oppor- 
tunity for  gathering  such  information  are  of  the  class  who 
look  more  to  the  financial  profit  from  this  business  than  to 
the  benefit  in  knowledge  they  may  gain.  There  is  fortu- 
nately another  class  of  individuals,  who,  while  striving  for 
their  own  maintenance,  are  careful  to  record  the  numerous 


t>  AMrf  Ouagiw^  to tt>y— ituro. ty  tt»  PiooPT  Aoadmit  or  |«in«B,to  tto  OMk'f  (Mbcar  tto  DMM 

Oont  of  lU  StotrM  of  MimahimMi. 

AMER.  NATURAUBT,  VOL.  rV.  65  (618) 


514  THE  HABITS  AND  MIGRATIONS  OF  SOME  OF  THE 

interesting  facts  which  come  under  their  observation ;  but, 
unhappily  for  science,  this  class  is  too  small  to  occupy  the 
field,  and  consequently  we  are  kept  in  ignorance  of  this  im- 
portant matter. 

The  migration  of  the  fishes  on  our  coast  may,  in  a  meas- 
ure, be  compared  to  that  of  the  birds  on  the  laud,  both  being 
governed  by  the  seasons.  The  song  birds,  for  instance, 
which  frequent  our  villages  during  the  summer  and  attract 
our  attention  by  their  musical  strains,  we  greatly  miss  during 
the  winter  months,  and  we  know  that  they  have  gone  to  parts 
where  the  temperature  is  better  adapted  for  their  subsistence 
and  comfort.  Those  who  reside  at  the  seashore  all  the  year 
observe  movements  among  the  fishes  similar  to  those  seen  in 
the  birds,  and  the  time  when  each  species  of  fish  that  is  of 
value  to  the  fishermen  will  make  its  appearance,  in  any  par- 
ticular locality  on  the  coast  is  practically  known.  Nearly  all 
the  fishes  change  their  habitat  as  the  difi*erent  seasons  ad- 
vance, some  by  going  to  more  noithern  or  southern  latitudes, 
while  others  move  simply  from  deeper  to  shallower  water, 
and  vice  versa  to  find  the  temperature  they  require. 

There  are  no  fish  which  remain  in  one  and  the  same  lo- 
cality or.  fishing-ground  the  year  around.  Consumers  offish 
are  acquainted  with  the  fact  that  all  our  marketable  fishes  are 
found  at  a  regular  and  limited  period  in  our  markets. 

The  Mackerel  (Scomber  vernalis)^  Fig.  108,  come  into  the 
shallow  water  near  the  land  directly  from  their  winter  habitat, 
the  deep  water  of  the  Atlantic,  during  the  months  of  May 
and  June,  and  their  annual  appearance  is  very  regular. 
They  approach  the  coast  for  the  purpose  of  spawning,  and 
on  reaching  a  favorable  situation,  immediately  deposit  their 
eggs,  and  leave  them  without  farther  protection.  The  num- 
ber of  eggs  deposited  in  one  season  by  each  female  is  esti- 
mated to  be  between  five  and  six  hundred  thousand.  After 
spawning  the  fish  move  northward,  following  the  line  of  the 
coast  till  they  are  checked  by  the  chill  of  the  water,  when 
they  return,  and,  in  the  month  of  November,  seek  the  deep 


MARINE   FISHES   OF  MASSACHUSETTS.  515 

water  again.  Those  mackerel  which  first  come  in  contact 
with  the  land  at  Cape  Cod  will  migrate  as  far  as  the  northern 
part  of  the  coast  of  Maine.  They  are  not  easily  caught  with 
the  hook  during  their  spawning  season,  and  it  is  at  this  time 
that  *' gill-nets"  are  used  to  the  best  advantage.  The  mack- 
erel at  this  time  are  very  lean,  and  the  flesh  has  a  darkish 
appearance,  while  at  the  time  of  their  departure  from  the 
coast  they  are  flat  and  plump,  and  are  then  considered  to  be 
in  the  best  condition  for  food,  and  consequently  bring  the 
highest  price. 

In  comparing  the  number  observed  in  one  season  with 
another  the  difference  may  be  very  great,  but  on  the  whole 
they  cannot  bo  considered  as  either  increasing  or  decreasing 
in  numbers.  Some  seasons  they  will  be  very  plentiful,  and 
schools  of  them  may  be  seen  near  the  surface  of  the  water 
one  or  two  miles  in  extent.  When  seen  thus  manoeuvring 
in  such  great  abundance  they  will  not  allow  themselves  to  be 
taken  with  the  hook  very  extensively;  it  is  then  that  the 
purse-seines  are  used  to  the  best  advantage  in  capturing 
them.  At  other  times,  perhaps  the  following  day,  the  fish 
will  be  entirely  unobservable  in  the  water,  but  when  "  tole- 
bait"  is  thrown  over  to  "raise  them,"  they  will  perhaps  soon 
be  seen  by  the  side  of  the  vessel  in  vast  numbers,  and  will 
readily  take  the  hook.  Sometimes  a  crew  of  fifteen  men 
will  catch  over  a  hundred  barrels  of  them  in  a  few  hours. 
In  those  years  when  many  fish  are  seen  it  has  been  observed 
that  they  are  small,  and  that  in  those  seasons  in  which  the 
number  is  less  they  are  large.  This  is  probably  owing  in 
part  to  the  number  destroyed  when  young,  and  in  paii;  to 
the  fact  of  a  larger  number  thaii  usual  spawning  on  the 
outer  banks. 

Mackerel  are  always  on  the  move  and  migi*ate  in  schools. 
In  the  spring,  when  they  are  caught  in  gill-nets,  the  quantity 
taken  in  the  different  nights  varies  considerably.  Fishing 
with  "drift-nets"  is  practiced  in  the  night,  for  the  fish  can- 
not be  caught  in  this  way  in  the  daytime,  as  the  net  is  then 


516         THE  HABITS  AND  HIOSATIOKS  OF  BOMS  OF  THE 

enaily  seen  by  them  and  avoided ;  they  also  swim  deeper 
duriug  the  day,  and  would  thus  paso  under  or  below  the 
nets.  The  fishermen  cast  their  uets  about  dusk ;  soon  after, 
the  fish  are  observed  in  them,  and  often  before  ten  o'clock  in 
the  evening  the  nets  will  contain  thousands  of  mackerel. 
The  fishei-men  may  visit  th^  some  locality  the  following  night 
and  be  very  unsuccessful,  while  the  reports  from  other  boats 
will  show  that  the  greater  proportion  of  the  tish  were  in 
another  direction,  and  also  that  they  move  constantly  and  in 
large  schools. 

Mackerel,  like  most  fishes,  have  their  choice  in  respect  to 
food.     This  consists  of  the  young  of  other  species  and  of 

Fig.  108. 


Crustacea.  The  "tole-bait"  consists  chiefly  of  Menhaden 
(Alausa  menhaden)  ground  very  fine,  with  which  clams  are 
sometimes  mixed,  as  they  are  believed  to  improve  its  quality. 
The  bait  commonly  used  for  the  hook  is  a  piece  of  white 
skin  cut  from  the  throat  of  a  mackerel,  but  when  they  are 
abundant  and  ferocious  any  white  material  will  do;  some- 
times a  small  silver  coin  is  used,  and  it  is  not  uncommon  for 
them  to  be  taken  on  the  hare  hook. 

The  Codfish  (Morrhua  Americana),  Fig.  109,  is  another 
familiar  marine  species,  but  one  which  differs  very  consider- 
ably in  its  hahits  from  the  mackerel.  It  is  found  in  our 
markets  all  the  year,  but  is  not  taken  at  all  times  from  the 


HABINE  FISHES  OF  MASSACHUeETTB.  517 

same  locality  or  fishing-ground.  This  fish  does  uot  migi-ate 
along  the  coast,  but  acquires  its  desired  temperature  by 
gi-adually  moving  fi-om  shallower  to  deeper  water,  aud  re- 
turning as  the  season  grows  colder.  Nearly  all  fish  which  go 
in  schools  migrate  more  or  less  along  the  coast  after  coming 
from  the  deeper  water,  while  those  which  are  distributed  over 
the  bottom,  as  the  Cod,  Haddock,  etc.,  do  uot  migrate  ex- 
cept from  shallower  to  deeper  water. 

Codfish  visit  the  shallow  water  of  Massscbusetta  Bay  to 
spawn  about  the  first  of  November,  and  towards  the  last  of 


Tbs  BxMocli,  JCorrtua  Kglfflnui. 

this  month  deposit  their  eggs  on  the  sandy  banks  and  rocky 
ledges,*  About  eight  or  nine  millions  of  ova  are  annually 
deposited  by  each  female.  The  codfish  remain  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  their  eggs  till  June,  when  they  again  retire  to 
deeper  water,  the  shallow  water  having  become  too  warm 
for  them. 

The  codfish,  like  the  mackerel,  bikes  no  care  of  its  eggs, 
and  only  a  small  portion  of  these  ever  aiTive  at  maturity. 
Nature  so  regulates  the  destiny  of  these  eggs  that  only  a 
portion   of   them   are   i>ermitted   to   mature,   otherwise  the 

•G.  O.  Sara  of  CliriBtinDis.  Nonray,  liaa  olisersed  that  codfiBh  deposit  their  spiiwii 
at  the  Bqrl^ce  of  (he  water,  vhere  the  ovii  flout  throughout  the  whole  of  their  dereiop- 
ment.  He  has  fblloired  up  the  development  of  the  egg,  and  of  the  foang,  during  the 
flret  flntnight  iBer  exciusion.  The  embryo  leaTBS  the  egg  on  the  inih  dajF.  See  GUn- 
ther'g  Zoologloal  it«cordn>rl83S.  — EpiTORa, 


518  TUB  HABITS  AND  HtOBATlONS  OF  80UE  OF  TUB 

codfish  would  »oon  monopolize  the  whole  ocean.  These 
eggs  are  eugerly  devoured  as  food  by  the  various  animals 
which  inhabit  the  bottom,  and  the  proportion  of  eggs  de> 
struyed  in  this  and  other  ways  cannot  be  readily  estimated, 
but  we  know  it  must  be  enormous  by  the  comparatively  few 
young  fish  we  see.  If,  during  its  stay  in  ehaltow  water,  tho 
weather  should  suddenly  become  cold,  and  so  remain  for  tw<» 
or  three  daya,  the  codfish  immediately  retreats  to  wflt«r  of 
some  forty  fathoms  in  depth,  and  does  not  return  till  tho 
temporary  chauge  has  passed ;  theu  they  gradually  seek  their 

Fig.  111. 


llbe  Blneflih,  Tlsmnodon  tallalvr. 

former  resort,  which  is  a  depth  of  fifteen  or  twenty  fathoms. 
The  Haddock  (Fig.  110)  at  such  times  likewise  retreats,  but 
does  not  so  soon  return  to  its  former  station. 

The  quantity  of  codfish  auiiiially  taken  does  not  differ  so 
much  in  the  difierent  yeai-s  as  does  that  of  the  mackerel, 
yet  tho  amount  is  somewhat  variable.  The  cause  is  the  same 
in  both  cases,  but  as  the  codfish  has  a  shorter  distance  to 
come  the  annual  number  is  naturally  less  variable.  The 
number  of  codfish  existing  at  the  present  time  does  not  ap- 
pear  to  differ  from  that  of  twenty  or  more  years  ago,  and  I 
think  we  are  safe  in  assuming  that  there  has  been  no  percep- 
tible diminution  for  a  century. 

The  food  of  the  codficth  consists  of  smaller  fish,  mollusks 
and  Crustacea.  The  bait  considered  by  the  fishermen  as 
best  adapted  to  their  tastes  arc  the  common  Herring  (  Cltipea 
elongata),  squid,  etc.,  but  clams  {Mya  arenaria  and  Mactra 


MARINE   FISHES    OF  MABSACHD8ETT8.  .  519 

8olidtssima)  are  more  genernlly  used,  aa  oaly  this  b«it  can 
be  obtained  at  all  seasons  of  tbe  year;  clams  are  also  found 
to  reinaiu  lunger  on  the  books. 

Nearly  all  the  codfish  obtained  on  our  coast  are  brought 
to  market  iu  an  unsalted  condition,  but  they  form  only  a 
small  portion  of  the  number  sold  in  Massachusetts.  The 
majority  of  tbe  codfish  sold  here  ura  brought  from  the 
Bunks  of  Kewfouudlund  and  other  great  banks,  and  are 
always  brought  in  a  salted  state. 

We  have  already  stated  that  although  many  hundred 
thousands  of  mackerel  and  codfish  are  captured  through  tbe 
agency  of  man,  and  many  moTo  arc  destroyed  by  other  influ- 
ences, there  bus  been,  notwithstanding,  no  noticeable  change 

Fig.  111. 


The  BerrlDg,  Clapta  tlonfata. 

in  their  numbers.  But  there  are  some  species  of  fish  which 
visit  our  const  that  are  constantly  diminishing  in  numbers, 
and  our  shores  were  formerly  fi-equented  by  some  fishes  in 
great  quantities,  which  have  now  nearly,  if  not  quite,  dis- 
appeared. 

The  Btuefish  (Temnodon  galtator).  Fig.  Ill,  which  inhabits 
our  watei-s  from  the  last  of  Juno  till  September,  has  had  very 
marked  periodic  variations  in  numbers.  This  fish,  as  his- 
tory informs  us,  was  captured  and  esteemed  as  an  article  of 
food  by  tbe  earlier  settlers  of  this  state.  Previous  to  the 
year  1763  blueiish  were  very  plenty  on  the  southern  coast 
of  Cape  Cod,  but  about  this  year  they,  all  disappeared,  and 
none  were  taken  till  sixty  or  seventy  years  after.     For  the 


520  THE  HABITS  AND  MIORATIONS  OF  SOM£  OF  THE 

past  thirty  years  specimens  have  been  taken,  but  they  did 
not  arrive  iii  any  noticeable  abundance  till  within  the  last 
sixteen*  years,  and  are  at  the  present  time  again  vanishing. 
During  the  last  mentioned  period  I  have  obseiTed  them 
about  Provincetown  in  great  abundance,  where  they  often 
presented  a  beautiful  spectacle.  At  times  the  splashing  of 
the  water  caused  by  these  fish  in  their  rapid  motions  in  pur- 
suit of  their  prey,  could  be  seen  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach. 
They  make  great  havoc  among  their  weaker  neighbors,  and 
some  fishes  have  been  entirely  driven  from  our  waters  by  this 
ferocious  species.  All  ^sh  which  are  a  prey  to  the  bluefish 
migrate  on  its  fii*st  appearance.  In  the  case  of  the  mackerel, 
fishermen  have  noticed  that  when  a  few  bluefish  have  been 
caught  during  the  mackerel  season,  that  a  few  days  after  not 

Fig.  iia. 


The  Blll;flsh,  Seomberesox  Storerii, 

a  mackerel  could  be  found,  having  been  driveti  from  the 
vicinity  by  the  bluefish.  I  think  it  may  bo  affirmed  that  the 
disappearance  of  so  many  of  our  smaller  fish  is  due  to  the 
destructive  nature  of  the  bluefish ;  it  even  drives  fish  much 
its  superior  in  size. 

In  respect  to  our  smaller  fishes,  the  Herring  {Clupea  don" 
g(ttd)y  etc.,  we  observe  a  considerable  decrease  in  the  num- 
bers which  now  annually  visit  our  shores,  as  compared  with 
their  former  numbers.  The  Poggy  (Alosa  Menhaden)  and 
the  Herring  {Clupea  elongatd)^  Fig.  112, have  comparatively 
almost  deserted  the  waters  about  Provincetown,  where  I  have 
formerly  seen  them  in  immense  schools  very  near  the  shore. 
Fishermen  made  nets  and  other  necessary  preparations  every 
year  to  capture  them  on  their  arrival  in  the  spring,  and  the 
business  was  carried  on  extensively  and  profitably  for  many 
years,  but  at  the  present  time  no  such  fishing  there  exists. 


MABINE   FISHE8  OF  MASSACHUSETTS.  521 

The  Bill-fish  (iScomberesox  Storerii)^  Fig.  113,  which  but 
fifteen  years  since  I  saw  stranded  on  the  shore  by  the  thou- 
sands, driven  in  by  its  devouring  pursuers,  has  gradually 
decreased,  till  at  the  present  time  it  has  nearly,  if  not  quite, 
been  driven  away,  and  I  think  that  during  the  past  year 
there  was  not  one  specimen  seen  at  Provincetown. 


CULTIVATION    OF    ALPINE    FLOWERS. 


BT  ALFRED  W.  BKMNRTT. 


Mb.  Bobinson  is  no  mere  enthusiast  in  his  subject  when  he 
says : — "This  book  ('Alpine  Flowers  for  English  Gardens') 
is  written  to  dispel  a  very  general  error  that  the  exquisite 
flowers  of  alpine  countries  cannot  be  grown  in  gardens,  and 
as  one  of  a  series  of  manuals  having  for  their  object  the  im- 
provement of  our  out-door  gardening,  which  it  appears  to 
me,  is  of  infinitely  greater  importance  than  anything  that 
can  ever  be  accomplished  in  enclosed  structures,  even  if 
glass  sheds  or  glass  palaces  were  within  the  reach  of  all." 
His  first  concern  is  with  the  structure  of  rockeries,  in  the 
mode  of  building  which  not  only  is  the  taste  still  displayed, 
or  at  all  events  till  quite  recently,  barbarous  and  inartistic 
in  the  extreme ;  but  it  would  seem  as  if  the  veiy  conditions 
necessary  for  the  health  of  the  plants  were  studiously  neg- 
lected. The  ordinary  idea  of  the  treatment  of  rock-plants, 
judging  from  the  hideous  monstrosities  which  may  be  seen 
in  many  a  gentleman's  garden,  is  that  you  have  nothing  to 
do  but  to  poke  them  in  between  the  chinks  of  perfectly  bare 
stones  or  clinkers  piled  together  in  a  promiscuous  heap,  in 
order  to  present  them  in  their  native  habitats.  A  gardener 
who  commits  such  an  absurdity  as  this,  can  never  have  as- 
cended a  mountain  with  his  eyes  open.  To  quote  again  from 
Mr.  Robinson: — ** Mountains  are  often  bare,  and  cliffs  are 

AMER.  NATURALIST,   VOL.  IV.  S6 


522  CULTIVATION   OF  ALFINK  FLOWERS. 

usually  devoid  of  soil ;  but  wo  must  not  conclude  therefrom 
that  the  choice  jewellery  of  plant-life  scattered  over  the  ribs 
of  the  mountain,  or  the  interstices  of  the  crag,  live  upon 
little  more  than  the  mountain  air  and  the  melting  snow  I 
Where  will  you  find  such  a  depth  of  well-ground  stony  soil, 
and  withal  such  perfect  drainage,  as  on  the  ridges  of  debris 
flanking  some  great  glacier,  stained  all  over  with  tufts  of 
crimson  saxifrage  ?  Can  you  gauge  the  depth  of  that  narrow 
chink,  from  which  peep  tufts  of  the  diminutive  and  beautiful 
Androsace  helvetica?  Ko;  it  has  gathered  the  crumbling 
grit  and  scanty  soil  for  ages  and  ages ;  and  the  roots  enter 
so  far  that  nothing  the  tourist  carries  with  him  can  bring  out 
enough  of  them  to  enable  the  plant  to  live  elsewhere."  Al- 
pine plants  are  peculiarly  exposed  to  sudden  alternations  of 
heat  and  cold,  of  moisture  and  dryness.  The  cold,  almost 
frosty,  night  will  be  followed,  in  July  and  August,  by  an 
unclouded  day,  when  the  niys  of  the  sun  beat  on  the  un- 
sheltered surface  of  the  rock  with  an  intensity  that  would 
scorch  up  many  an  English  meadow  plant.  Only  a  very 
small  proportion  of  alpine  plants  are  annuals ;  and  they  are 
frequently  provided  with  a  storehouse  of  nourishment  in  the 
form  of  rosettes  or  tufls  of  thick  succulent  leaves ;  but  their 
chief  water  supply  is  through  their  roots ;  and  thus  we  find 
that  while  our  garden  annuals  have  fibrous  roots  of  insignifi- 
cant dimensions,  and  even  our  forest  trees  will  seldom  strike 
their  roots  to  a  greater  depth  than  the  height  of  their  foliage, 
the  roots  of  alpine  plants,  scarcely  an  inch  in  height,  will  be 
found  to  penetrate  the  chinks  between  the  rocks  full  of  rich 
earth,  to  the  depth  of  sometimes  more  than  a  yard,  or  forty 
times  the  height  that  they  venture  into  the  air.  The  neglect 
of  this  most  essential  condition  for  the  growth  of  alpine  plants 
is  of  itself  amply  sufBcient  to  account  for  the  failure  which 
has  generally  accompanied  the  attempts  to  introduce  these 
lovely  flowers  to  our  rockeries.  A  good  depth  of  soil  is  in- 
deed more  indispensable  to  these  plants  than  the  presence  of 
rock  and   stone.     They  no   doubt  prefer  to  expand  their 


CULTIVATION   OF  ALPINE  PLOWEKS.  523 

flowers  and  extend  their  green  shoots  over  the  bare  rock ; 
and  where  rock-work  is  aitistically  managed,  this  faint  at- 
tempt at  a  reconstruction  of  their  native  habitat  adds  greatly 
to  the  picturesqueness  of  the  effect.  But  many  of  them  will 
flourish  equally  well  in  open  borders,  and  even  when  planted 
in  pots,  with  a  few  stones  about  them  to  protect  the  roots 
from  the  direct  action  of  the  sun,  if  only  the  two  requisites 
are  attended  to,  of  constant  moisture  and  perfect  drainage ; 
and  hence  they  are  invaluable  acquisitions  to  the  cottage  or 
window  gardener.  The  Saxifrages,  the  beautiful  purple 
Aubrietiay  with  respect  to  which  Mr.  Robinson  says,  **  rock- 
works,  ruins,  stony  places,  sloping  banks,  and  rootwork  suit  it 
perfectly ;  no  plant  is  so  easily  established  in  such  places,  nor 
will  any  other  alpine  plant  clothe  them  so  quickly  with  the 
desired  vegetation,"  the  various  species  of  Arabis,  the  alpine 
Primulas,  all  make  excellent  bedding  plants.  The  ease  with 
which  a  new  alpine  can  be  domesticated  in  our  climate  is 
shown  by  the  rapid  spread  of  the  lovely  early  forget-me-not, 
Myosotis  dissitiflora^  brought  not  many  years  since  from  the 
Alps  near  the  Vogelberg,  now  to  be  had  from  every  nursery- 
man, and  the  treasure  of  many  a  cottage  garden,  with  its 
exquisite  sky-blue  flowers,  continuing  from  mid-winter  till 
early  summer. 

But  it  is  not  alpine  flowers  only  which  will  repay  the  small 
amount  of  trouble  necessary  for  their  introduction.  Many 
plants  which  are  never  grown  without  the  protection  of  a 
greenhouse,  do  not  require  any  elevation  of  temperature  for 
their  successful  growth,  but  merely  an  absence  of  great 
changes  of  both  temperature  and  moisture.  This  is  especially 
the  case  with  not  a  few  of  the  most  delicate  ferns,  such  as 
the  elegant  maidenhair,  and  the  two  fragile  little  filmy-ferns ; 
and  the  requisite  uniformity  of  temperature  and  moisture 
can  be  obtained  out  of  doors  by  the  erection  of  a  partially 
underground  grotto  or  ravine  of  rocks,  through  which  water 
is  perpetually  trickling,  the  entrance  being  protected  by  a 
screen  of  foliage  from  the  direct  influence  of  the  weather. 


524  WHAT  18   THE   **  WASHINGTON   EAGLE  "? 

It  is  astonishing  how  equable  a  climate  can  be  obtained  by  a 
simple  device  of  this  kind.  The  drawing  given  on  p.  359 
is  from  such  a  rock-cave  constructed  in  the  grounds  of  one 
of  our  most  scientific  and  successful  nurserymen  near  York, 
where  he  grows  not  only  our  royal  so-called  ^'flowering  fern," 
the  Osmunda  regalisy  and  several  foreign  allied  species,  but 
the  most  beautiful  of  all  this  beautiful  tribe,  the  moistui*e- 
loving  Killarney  fern,  which  clothes  the  soil  of  the  damp 
dark  woods  by  the  Tore  waterfall. 

The  beauty  of  these  horticultural  experiments  is  that  they 
can  be  tried  on  so  small  a  scale,  and  are  thus  within  the 
reach  of  almost  every  one ;  yielding  a  source  of  pure  and 
healthy  enjoyment  which  few  other  pursuits  will  afford.  Mr. 
Bobinson  almost  promises  us  that  his  little  book  shall  be  the 
first  of  a  series  of  similar  manuals  on  different  departments 
of  gardening;  and  we  can  hardly  conceive  a  greater  service 
than  this  to  a  large  number  of  his  countrymen,  who  merely 
require  to  be  told  how  to  set  to  work  to  cultivate  this  fasci- 
nating science.  — Quarterly  Jaumal  of  Science. 


WHAT  IS  THE  *^ WASHINGTON  EAGLE"? 

BT  J.    A.   ALLEN. 


Editors  of  the  American  Naturaust  :  Sirs :  —  WIH  you  please  inform 
me  through  the  Naturalist  or  otherwise,  whether  you  have  ever  Isnown 
of  the  Washington  Eagle  {Haliaetus  Washingtonit),  being  captured  or 
seen  in  New  Hampshire.  I  have  an  eagle  in  my  possession  which  I  thinic 
is  the  '*  Washington  Eagle."  It  was  caught  last  spring  in  Goil^town,  near 
Manchester,  N.  U.  It  is  a  large  bird,  measuring  eight  feet  fk'om  tip  to  tip 
of  wings,  three  and  one-half  feet  in  length,  and  weighs  fourteen  and  one- 
half  pounds.  I  have  also  two  other  eagles,  a  Golden,  and  a  Bald  Eagle. 
The  Golden  Eagle  measures  seven  and  one-half  feet  from  tip  to  tip,  three 
feet  in  length,  and  weighs  twelve  and  one-half  pounds.  The  Bald  Eagle 
measures  seven  feet  in  extent  of  wings,  and  three  feet  f^om  point  of  beak 
to  end  of  tail,  and  weighs  eleven  pounds.  I  think  that  the  Bald  Eagle  has 
a  differently  shaped  beak  f^om  the  other,  and  that  is  why  I  am  in  doubt 


WHAT  IS   THE   **  WASHINGTON  EAGLE "?  525 

a0  to  its  species.  Besides,  I  never  knew  of  a  Bald  Eagle  being  so  large. 
If  yoa  will  please  inform  me  in  regard  to  the  Washington  Eagle  you  will 
oblige  me  very  much. — William  Jar  vis,  Hanover,  N,  H, 

The  ''Washington  Eagle"  (Haliaetus  Washingtonii  Aud.) 
appears  to  be  still  looked  upon,  especially  by  amateur  orni- 
thologists, as  a  probably  valid,  though  little  known  species. 
The  question  of  its  true  character  was  formerly  a  source  of 
perplexity  to  professional  naturalists,  some  of  which  may 
still  regard  it  as  having  claims  to  recognition  as  a  ''good  spe- 
cies." As  our  ki^owledge  of  the  birds  of  this  continent  lie- 
comes  more  perfect,  the  existence  as  valid  species  of  several 
of  the  hypothetical  species,  especially  of  the  rapacious  birds, 
becomes  less  aud  less  probable.  This  results  principally 
from  two  facts.  First,  through  the  constant  accession  of 
materials  in  our  museums  we  are  every  year  finding  out  more 
and  more  definitely  the  variations  resulting  from  sex,  age, 
individuality  and  locality  to  which  e^ch  species  is  subject, 
and  in  these  variations  the  forms  which  with  greater  or  less 
probability  gave  rise  to  some  of  the  doubtful  species  in  our 
catalogues.  Secondly,  the  continent  itself  and  its  fauna  are 
becoming  too  well-known  to  render  tenable  the  suppositions, 
formerly  entertained,  that  some  of  the  strange  birds  de- 
scribed in  early  times  may  have  their  habitats  in  unexplored 
districts,  whence  they  have  occasionally  wandered  to  better 
known  localities.  The  opinion  long  since  advanced  by  some 
writers  that  the  "Washington  Eagle"  is  but  a  very  large  im- 
mature Bald  Eagle,  is  hence  gaining  ground. 

Audubon  described  his  "Bird  of  Washington"  from  a 
large  specimen  taken  by  him  in  Kentucky  more  than  fifty 
years  ago.  The  original  specimen  from  which  Audubon 
made  his  drawing  and  description  is  not  known  to  be  extant, 
and  seems  to  have  never  been  preserved.  Audubon  appears 
to  have  been  the  only  naturalist  who  examined  it.  He  re- 
garded it  as  a  very  rare  bird,  and  states  that  he  saw  not 
"more  than  eight  or  nine"  specimens.  He  does  not  seem, 
however,  to  have  actually  examined  more  than  one.     It  dif- 


526  WHAT  18   THE    **  WASHINGTON   EAGLE  "? 

fered,  according  to  Audubon,  in  three  important  particulars 
from  the  common  Bald  or  White-headed  Eagle  (Haliaetus 
leucocephalus)  ;  namely,  in  size,  habits,  and  in  the  scutella- 
tion  of  the  tarsi.  Its  size  (length,  ^Hhree  feet  seven  inches ;" 
alar  extent,  "ten  feet  two  inches;"  folded  wing,  *'thirty-two 
inches")  greatly  exceeds  that  of  any  known  North  American 
eagle,  while  it  differed  in  habits  from  the  Bald  Eagle  in 
being  a  true  fishing  eagle,  and  the  scutellation  of  the  tarsus, 
as  represented  in  Audubon's  plate,  is  a  character  quite  un- 
usual in  any  of  the  eagles.  It  is  now  well-known  that  the 
common  White-headed  Eagle  will  catch  its  own  fish,  instead 
of  resorting  to  piracy  for  them,  as  is  its  usual  habit.  In 
respect  to  the  scales  of  the  tarsus,  those  in  front  are  repre- 
sented as  being  considerably  larger  than  they  are  in  the 
common  eagle,  but  as  this  is  one  of  the  first  figures  Audubon 
published,  it  seems  not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  they 
may  not  have  been  quite  accurately  drawn,  and  that  his 
description  of  them  was  made  from  the  plate  instead  of  the 
specimen  itself.  It  is  difficult,  however,  to  account  for  its 
great  size,  since  the  proportions  of  length  of  body  and  folded 
wing,  to  the  alar  extent  are  the  same  as  in  the  common  eagle, 
and  hence  leave  little  ground  for  the  theory  that  through  a 
typographical  error  the  alar  extent  should  read  seven  feet 
two  inches  instead  of  ten  feet  two  inches,  as  has  been  sug- 
gested. 

As  already  remarked,  Audubon  really  obtained  but  a  single 
specimen ;  and,  as  Mr.  Cassin  has  observed,  no  specimen 
precisely  corresponding  to  Mr.  Audubon's  bird  having  been 
obtained  since  its  discovery,  it  has  latterly,  as  Mr.  Cassin 
adds,  "been  looked  upon  by  naturalists,  especially  in  Eu- 
rope, as  an  unusually  large  specimen  of  the  White-headed 
Eagle."*  Numerous  local  observers  have,  however,  re- 
poi'ted  it  as  occurring  occasionally  at  different  localities,  and 
Mr.  Cassin  himself  has  doubtfully  referred  specimens  to  it 
taken  in  New  Jersey.     He  even  includes  it  as  a  good  species 

^niustrationB  of  the  Birds  of  Califonita,  Texas,  eCe.|  p.  Ill,  1854. 


WHAT  18  THE    *«  WASHINGTON   EAGLE  "?  527 

in  his  ** Synopsis  of  North  American  Birds/'*  and  in  his  re- 
port on  the  rapacious  birds  in  Professor  Baird's  great  work 
on  the  "Birds  of  North  America."  If  not  a  valid  species,  of 
which  there  seems  to  be  but  slight  evidence,  it  must  be 
either  an  immatui*e  White-headed  Eagle  or  an  immature 
Northern  Sea  Eagle  (Haliaetus  albicilla)^  since  these  are  its 
only  known  near  allies,  though  neither  of  these  are  known  to 
ever  quite  equal  it  in  size.  The  White-headed  Eagle  ranges 
in  alar  extent  from  a  little  less  than  seven  feet  to  a  little 
more  than  eight ;  and  the  Northern  Sea  Eagle  is  of  about  the 
same  size.  That  it  is  not  the  latter  is  evident  from  the  fact 
that  Audubon  describes  his  bird  as  breeding  in  Kentucky, 
a  locality  far  south  of  the  known  range  of  the  truly  arctic 
Sea  Eagle.  It  would  be  one  of  the  strangest  facts  in 
natural  history  that  a  bird  like  Audubon's  Washington  Eagle 
should  remain  undiscovered  for  more  than  fifty  years,  when 
its  alleged  habitat  is  within  the  settled  parts  of  the  United 
States.  On  the  whole  it  seems  to  me  tolerably  evident  that 
this  supposed  species  should  be  considered  as  based  on  a 
large  example  of  H,  leucocepJialus^  and  that  a  "few  grains  of 
allowance"  may  bo  safely  made  for  slight  inaccuracies  on  the 
part  of  its  enthusiastic  discoverer.  The  bird  referred  to 
above  by  Mr.  Jarvis  I  regard  as  unquestionably  referable  to 
the  H.  leucocephalvs.^ 

•Ibid. 

t  Faither  remarks  concemiog  Uie  "Washington  Eagle"  maybe  found  In  the  writer's 
"  Catalogue  of  the  Winter  Birds  of  Florida,''  etc.,  in  the  "  Bulletin  of  the  Museam  of 
Comparative  Zoology,"  now  in  press,  as  well  as  concerning  Bartram's  mythical 
"Sacred  Vultnre/'  based  on  a  singular  combination  of  certain  characters  of  the 
Caracara  Eagle  {Polyhorut  tharus  Cassin),  the  White-headed  Eagle  {Haliaitua  leueoce- 
phalus),  and  the  John  Crow  (Sarcorhamphut  papa)  of  the  West  Indies.  Beasons  are 
there  given  also  for  refeiTing  the  HaUaitut  pelagicut  to  the  ff»  aWieOia, 


ACCLIMATIZATION    OF    FOREIGN    TREES    AND 

PLANTS.* 


BT  ALFRED  W.  BENNETT. 


The  introduction  of  new  forms  of  vegetable  life  into  our 
gardens  and  greenhouses  has  made  considerable  progress 
during  recent  years.  The  Acclimatization  Societies  of  Paris 
and  London  have,  it  is  true,  paid  more  attention  to  the  do- 
mestication of  foreign  animals  than  of  plants;  something, 
however,  has  been  attempted  in  this  direction,  and  with  con- 
siderable success.  This  branch  of  acclimatization  would, 
indeed,  seem  likely  to  be  the  most  fertile  in  results  beneficial 
to  mankind.  For  one  fresh  animal  introduced  that  will  be 
of  real  utility,  there  will  probably  be  a  dozen  plants  that 
yield  important  economical  products.  The  early  races  of 
mankind  appear  to  have  exhausted  our  powers  over  the 
lower  animals — the  horse,  the  ass,  the  dog,  the  camel,  the 
ox,  the  sheep,  were  all  brought  under  subjection  to  man  at 
the  earliest  period  of  his  history ;  and  within  historic  times 
no  important  addition  has  been  made  to  the  number  of  our 
domestic  animals.  Not  so  with  plants.  A  large  number  of 
the  vegetable  substances  used  as  food  at  the  present  day,  and 
of  the  vegetable  articles  of  manufacture,  were  unknown  to 
the  ancients ;  and  the  field  for  farther  extension  of  our  utili- 
zation of  the  vegetable  kingdom  seems  indefinitely  large. 
The  power  of  cultivation  in  modifying  plants  is  also  much 
greater  than  any  corresponding  power  of  domestication  in 
modifying  animals.  The  oldest  extant  drawings  of  the  horse, 
the  ox,  or  the  camel,  scarcely  point  out  any  distinctive  fea- 
tures from  their  descendants  now  living ;  the  potato  and  the 
apple,  on  the  other  hand,  may  almost  be  considered  as  man- 


*Tbi8  article  is  introdaced  since  it  contains  many  hints  of  use  to  florists  and 
deners  in  the  middle  states  especiaUyi  where  many  sabtropical  plants  can  with  care  btt 
made  to  grow.  —  Editoks. 
r528) 


ACCLIMATIZATION  OF  FOREIGN  TREES  AND  PLANTS.      529 

ufactured  products ;  while  many  gardeners'  flowers,  such  as 
the  Pelargonium  and  the  Tulip,  diflfer  so  widely  from  their 
ancestors  as,  in  some  cases,  to  obscure  their  parentage.  The 
term  acclimatization  hiis  been  objected  to  by  some  scientific 
men,  on  the  ground  that  the  descendants  of  any  animal  or 
plant  which  has  been  transported  from  one  climate  to  an- 
other have  no  more  power  than  their  ancestor  of  adapting 
themselves  to  that  climate,  unless  the  principle  of  Natural 
Selection  has  come  into  play  to  eliminate  the  individuals 
least  able  to  adapt  themselves  to  the  new  climate,  those  only 
surviving  which,  from  some  cause  or  other,  are  most  suited 
to  the  fresh  conditions.  Be  this  as  it  may,  there  is  no  ques- 
tion about  the  fact  that  the  faimer  and  the  gardener  have  it 
in  their  power  to  naturalize  plants  foreign  to  our  climate  and 
our  soil. 

But  the  conditions  of  this  naturalization  are  by  no  means 
so  simple  as  might  at  first  sight  appear.  It  might  naturally 
be  supposed  that  all  we  have  to  do  is  to  introduce  those 
plants  which  grow  spontaneously  in  a  climate  and  a  soil  sim- 
ilar to  our  own,  and  that  they  will  necessarily  flourish,  and 
will  scarcely  be  aware  of  the  change.  Or,  if  they  come 
from  a  warmer  country  that  all  that  is  needed  is  to  protect 
them  by  glass  and  artificial  warmth  from  the  inclemency  of 
our  winters.  But  in  practice  this  is  not  found  to  be  the  case. 
A  plant  will  frequently  obstinately  refuse  to  become  natural- 
ized in  a  country,  the  climatal  and  geological  conditions  of 
which  are  similar  to  those  that  occur  in  the  region  where  it 
is  indigenous.  Our  common  daisy,  a  native  of  almost  every 
country  of  Europe,  is  said  to  have  resisted  all  attempts  to 
introduce  it  even  into  the  gardens  of  the  United  States. 
Some  plants  seem  to  have  an  unconquerable  aversion  to  the 
fostering  hand  of  man,  even  in  their  own  country.  A  well- 
constructed  and  carefully  kept  fernery  will  contain  speci- 
mens, more  or  less  luxuriant,  of  ueai*ly  all  our  native  ferns ; 
the  polypody  and  hartstongue  from  shady  banks  and  tree- 
stumps  ;  the  so-called  male  and  female  ferns  from  the  woods ; 

AMKR.  NATURALIST,  VOL.  TV.  67 


530      ACCLIMATIZATION  OF  FOREIGN  TREES  AND  PLANTS. 

the  spleen  wort  from  dry  walls;  even  the  royal  "flowering- 
fern"  from  bogs;  and  some  of  the  semi-alpine  species  will 
flourish  with  the  exercise  of  a  little  care.  One  kind,  how- 
ever, is  almost  invariably  absent,  and  that  the  most  widely 
distributed  of  all  our  ferns,  the  common  break,  a  native  of 
every  county  and  almost  of  every  parish  in  the  country,  but 
which  can  seldom  be  induced  to  remain  a  denizen  of  soil  that 
has  once  been  brought  under  man's  dominion.  On  the  other 
hand  some  of  the  greatest  favorites  of  our  gardens,  which 
display  no  coyness  whatever  in  overrunning  our  flower-beds, 
are  natives  of  countries  where  the  climate  presents  very  dif- 
ferent features  to  our  own,  or  of  very  limited  tracts  of  our 
own  country,  to  which  they  seem  strictly  confined  by  im- 
passable barriers  of  soil  or  meteorological  conditions.  To 
take  instances  of  the  latter  phenomenon : — There  is  no  gar- 
den flower  more  cosmopolitan  in  its  tastes,  more  certain  to 
thrive  under  any  conditions  of  light  or  heavy  soil,  sun  or 
shade,  care  or  neglect,  even  in  the  heart  of  a  town,  as  its 
very  name  seems  to  indicate,  than  the  London  Pride.  Yet 
the  Saxifraga  umbrosa  is  one  of  the  most  restricted  in  dis- 
tribution of  our  native  plants.  Abundant  enough  where  it 
does  grow,  it  is  yet  entirely  confined  to  the  moist  equable 
climate  of  the  hilly  country  in  the  south-west  of  Ireland  and 
a  few  other  similar  localities,  beyond  which  it  is  never  found 
in  the  wild  state.  Botanists  will  think  themselves  amply 
repaid  for  a  toilsome  day's  march  by  gathering  the  beautiful 
Polemonium  ccemleitm  in  its  native  habitat  among  the  calca- 
reous hills  of  the  west  of  Yorkshire  ;  yet  the  Jacob's  Ladder 
is  an  ornament  of  every  garden  on  the  very  stifiest  part  of 
the  London  clay.  Probably  eveiy  piece  of  cultivated 
ground,  which  contains  a  laburnum  tree,  produces  each 
spring  a  plentiful  crop  of  self-sown  young  trees,  which  come 
up  without  the  least  care  or  protection  until  destroyed  in  the 
process  of  weeding ;  yet  the  laburnum  shows  no  disposition 
to  take  a  place  among  the  naturalized  trees  of  our  woods  and 
hedges,  although  the  seeds  must  often  be  carried  there  by 


ACGLIHATIZATION  OF  FOREIQN  TREES  AND  PLANTS.       531 

birds.  It  is  remarkable  that  many  of  our  common  vegeta- 
bles, the  cabbage,  the  asparagus,  the  sea-kale,  the  celery, 
are  natives  of  our  own  shores,  never  growing  spontaneously 
out  of  reach  of  the  salt  spray ;  and  yet  requiring,  when 
transplanted  into  our  gardens,  no  peculiarity  of  soil  or  treat- 
ment to  enable  them  to  support  a  vigorous  existence.  These 
are  instances  of  plants  to  which  our  climate  appears  entirely 
congenial,  and  yet  which  seem  as  if  they  could  not  propa- 
gate themselves  with  us  or  spread,  except  under  man's  pro- 
tection. Others,  again,  appear  to  require  only  to  get  a 
footing  in  a  foreign  soil  to  become  established  in  it  with 
extraordinary  rapidity,  even  to  the  overmastering  or  expul- 
sion of  some  of  the  indigenous  inhabitants.  When  Australia 
and  New  Zealand  were  first  colonized  by  Europeans,  their 
flora  presented  an  aspect  of  perfect  strangeness,  very  few  of 
the  native  trees  or  flowers  belonging  even  to  genera  common 
to  Europe.  The  seeds  of  some  of  our  English  weeds  were, 
however,  introduced,  intentionally  or  accidentally,  by  the 
early  settlers ;  and  now  the  thistle  covera  the  waste  lands  of 
Australia  as  it  does  in  En<;land,  and  the  clover  and  the 
groundsel  everywhere  remind  the  Englishman  of  his  far- 
away home,  and  have  become  as  completely  at  home  as  the 
mustangs  or  wild-horses  on  the  pampas  of  South  America. 
In  our  own  country  a  very  remarkable  instance  of  this  rapid 
naturalization  has  occurred  in  the  case  of  the  Elodea  Cana- 
densis or  Canadian  water7weed ;  which,  introduced  not  many 
years  since  into  our  canals  from  Canada,  has  now  become 
such  a  pest  in  many  places  as  seriously  to  impede  the  navi- 
gation. Other  instances  might  be  mentioned  of  foreign 
plants  introduced  with  seed  having  in  a  very  short  time  be- 
come common  weeds  in  all  cultivated  land.  Indeed,  many 
of  the  species  included  in  our  handbooks  of  British  plants 
are  so  entirely,  confined  to  arable  land  or  to  spots  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  human  dwellings,  that  it  is  impossible 
to  say  how  many  of  them  may  be  really  indigenous  to  the 
soil,  and  how  many  naturalized  aliens. 


532       AOGLIMATIZATION  OF  FOREIGN  TREES  AND  PLANTS. 

There  is  no  doubt  we  have  a  great  deal  to  learn  as  to  the 
mode  in  which  plants  propagate  themselves  in  nature,  which 
may  be  of  the  utmost  value  to. our  gardeners.  Every  one  is 
familiar  with  the  fact  of  the  apparently  spontaneous  appear- 
ance in  immense  abundance,  of  plants  in  soil  when  subjected 
to  certain  farming  operations,  or  on  the  sowing  of  some  par- 
ticular crop.  Whenever  a  new  railway  cutting  or  embank- 
ment is  made,  some  plant  unknown  in  the  neighborhood  is 
almost  sure  to  appear,  and  either  permanently  establish  itself 
or  again  disappear  after  a  few  years.  The  "sowing"  of  laud 
with  lime  is  invariably  followed  by  the  appearance  of  a  crop 
of  white  or  Dutch  clover.  When  certain  kinds  of  wood  are 
cut  down  it  is  said  that  during  the  next  year  a  particular 
species  of  moss  will  always  be  found  covering  the  ground. 
Immediately  after  the  great  fire  of  London  in  1666,  the 
Loudon  Socket  (^Sisymbrium  Irio)  sprang  up  in  enormous 
quantities  on  the  dismantled  walls,  but  is  now  no  longer  to 
be  found  in  the  metropolitan  district.  The  usual  theory  to 
account  for  this  sudden  appearance  of  new  plants  is  the 
existence  in  the  soil  of  large  "stores  of  seeds"  ready  to  ger- 
minate on  the  first  favorable  opportunity.  In  his  Anniver- 
sary Address  to  the  Linnaean  Society  in  1869,  Mr.  Bentham, 
however,  pointed  out  that  if  this  explanation  was  the  true 
one,  it  ought  not  to  depend  merely  on  theory,  but  would  be 
capable  of  easy  practical  verification.  He  suggested  whether 
a  hitherto  insufficiently  acknowledged  part  in  the  rapid  dis- 
semination of  plants  may  not  be  played  by  birds.  The 
whole  subject  presents  a  wide  field  for  farther  investigation, 
and  must  amply  reward  any  one  who  takes  up  the  inquiry, 
if  endowed  with  the  qualities  of  accurate  observation  and 
patient  research. 

Mr.  Mongredien's  "Planter's  Guide"  deals  chiefly  with  the 
introduction  into  this  country  of  foreign  trees  and  shrubs. 
Within  the  last  twenty  or  thirty  years  the  appearance  of  our 
lawns  and  plantations  has  been  greatly  changed  by  the  num- 
ber of  new  forms  which  have  made  their  appearance.     The 


ACCLIMATIZATION  OF  FOREIGN  TREES  AND  PLANTS.      533 

stately  Wellingtonia ^  the  formal  self-asserting  ** Puzzle- 
monkey,"  or  Araucaria  imbricata^  the  massive  Deodar  and 
Cryptomeriay  the  elegant  Pinits  insignis  and  Cnpressns 
Lawsonianay  are  all  still  of  too  recent  introduction  to  permit 
us  to  judge  of  what  their  effect  will  be  when  grown  to  their 
full  stature.  The  number  of  cone-bearins:  trees  from  all 
parts  of  the  world,  peifectiy  hardy  in  this  climate  is  extra- 
ordinary ;  and,  partly  from  their  graceful  shape,  partly  from 
the  evergreen  character  of  their  leaves,  the  attention  of  cul- 
tivators has  been  perhaps  too  exclusively  confined  to  them, 
while  deciduous  trees  have  been  comparatively  neglected. 
Eecent  experiments  have  shown  that  in  this  quarter  also 
there  is  abundant  room  for  an  extension  of  our  powers  of 
domestication.  In  one  of  the  London  Parks  least  frequented 
by  the  upper  ten  thousand,  that  at  Battersea,  great  success 
has  attended  the  introduction,  during  the  last  few  years,  of 
half-hardy  trees  and  shrubs,  the  precaution  being  taken  of 
protecting  their  roots  during  winter  by  a  layer  of  some  sub- 
stance impervious  to  frost.  The  French  have  paid  more 
attention  to  the  perfect  naturalization  of  half-hardy  plants 
than  we  have  done ;  notwithstanding  the  greater  severity  of 
their  winter,  species  are  grown  by  them  out  of  doors  which 
are  never  seen  with  us  except  in  greenhouses ;  even  as  far 
north  as  Paris,  the  bamboo,  for  instance,  is  frequently  met 
with  in  gentlemen's  gardens;  and  there  is  no  doubt  that 
many  shrubs  and  herbaceous  plants,  which  we  never  think 
of  attempting  to  grow  except  under  protection,  might,  with 
a  very  little  care  and  attention,  become  permanent  denizens 
of  our  gardens  and  shrubberies.  Probably  few  are  aware 
that  the  common  Camellia  will  stand  with  impunity  an  ordi- 
nary English  winter.  Mr.  Mongredieu  says  that  **if  pro- 
tected during  the  first  two  or  three  years  after  being  planted 
out,  and  when  once  estiiblished,  it  proves  in  the  climate  of 
London  quite  as  hardy  as  the  common  laurel^  and  blooms  as 
profusely  as  ii\a  consei-vatory.  it  is  true  that,  from  its  habit 
of  flowering  early  in  the  spring,  the  blossoms  are  sometimes 


534     AGOLIJfATIZATION  OF  FOREIGN  TREES  AND  PLANTS. 

damaged  by  the  nipping  easterly  winds,  but  this  occurs  only 
in  unfavorable  seasons ;  and  even  if  the  tree  never  flowered 
at  all,  its  lovely  foliage  would  still  make  it  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  evergreens  of  which  our  gardens  can  boast.  A 
plant  of  the  variety  Donkelarii  has  stood  out  for  twelve 
years  in  a  garden  at  Forest  Hill  with  a  northern  aspect, 
without  the  slightest  protection  during  the  severest  winters, 
and  now  forms  a  good-sized  bush,  densely  clothed  with  mag- 
nificent foliage.  The  Camellia  ought  to  be  planted  out  in 
every  garden,  and  with  a  little  attention  for  the  first  year  or 
two,  it  would  prove  quite  hardy,  at  least  in  the  more  south- 
em  counties,  and  each  season  it  would  increase  in  attractive- 
ness.'* 

The  climate  of  the  south  of  England  is  far  more  congenial 
to  the  introduction  of  foreign  trees  and  shrubs  than  that  of 
the  northern  counties,  not  from  the  greater  severity  of  the 
winters  in  the  north,  for  the  minimum  temperature  of  the 
year  is  often  as  low  in  Kent  or  Hampshire  as  in  Yorkshire 
or  Northumberland,  but  from  the  shorter  and  cooler  sum- 
mers. Many  plants  absolutely  require  a  considerable  period 
of  high  temperature  to  enable  them  to  ripen  their  wood  suf- 
ficiently to  withstand  the  winter  frosts,  and  especially  to 
induce  them  to  flower.  In  many  parts  of  Scotland,  how- 
ever, the  climate  is  as  favorable  to  horticulturists  as  in  any 
district  in  England.  In  the  Duke  of  Sutherland's  est^ite  at 
Dunrobin,  on  the  east  coast  of  Sutherlandshire,  Hydrangeas, 
myrtles,  and  other  half-hardy  plants,  grow  as  freely  and  as 
unchecked  out  of  doors  as  they  do  in  Devonshire  or  Corn- 
wall. The  equalizing  efiect  of  the  Gulf  Stream  on  the  tem- 
peratui*e  is  no  doubt  the  cause  of  this  special  immunity  from 
frost.  The  proximity  of  the  sea-coast  is  not  generally  fav- 
orable to  the  growth  of  trees  and  shrubs,  not  so  much  from 
the  saltness  of  the  air  as  from  the  prevalence  of  high  winds, 
which  are  very  injurious  to  growing  vegetation.  Young  and 
tender  shoots  which  will  bear  a  moderate  auiount  of  cold, 
will  sometimes  be  scorched  as  if  by  fire  by  a  tempestuous 
night.  —  The  Quarterly  Jotnmal  of  Science, 


THE    DISTRIBUTION    OF    THE    MOOSE  IN  NEW 

ENGLAND. 


BT    J.    A.    ALLEN. 


In  consequence  of  their  large  size,  the  yalue  of  their  flesh, 
and*the  pleasure  attending  their  chase,  the  difibrent  members 
of  the  deer  family  (  Cervidce)  are  among  the  first  to  disappear 
before  the  progress  of  civilization  in  a  newly  settled  country. 
The  moose  (Alee  malchia)^  like  the  caribou  (Tarandus  ran- 
gifer)^  doubtless  once  existed  in  Southern  New  England, 
though  I  have  seen  no  record  of  its  occurrence  in  the  south- 
eastern portions  since  the  settlement  there  of  Europeans.  It 
probably  remained  in  the  mountainous  districts  till  a  later 
period,  but  for  many  years  has  been  extinct  in  Massachu- 
setts, Southern  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire,  and  Southern 
Maine. 

In  answer  to  my  inquiries  in  respect  to  its  present 
southern  limit  in  Maine,  Mr.  J.  G.  Rich,  the  well-known 
hunter  and  trapper,  writes  me  in  substance  as  follows :  *' Al- 
though now  scarce  in  that  state,  it  is  first  met  with  on  the 
Penobscot  at  about  eighty  miles  above  Bangor ;  on  the  Ken- 
nebec north  of  the  Forks  in  Somersett  county ;  at  Kennebago 
Lake,  and  to  the  northward  of  Rangely  Lake  in  Franklin 
county ;  and  north  of  the  Agiscohus  Mountain  on  the  Marg- 
alloway  River,  in  Oxford  county."  A  few  also  exist  in  the 
extreme  northern  parts  of  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont, 
and  in  the  Adirondacks  of  New  York.  As  the  experienced 
hunter  finds  it  a  not  very  difficult  animal  to  capture,  th^ 
moose  unless  protected  by  law,  must  soon  become  extinct 
throughout  the  New  England  States.  The  legislature  of 
Maine  has  already  passed  a  stringent  game  law  for  their  pro- 
tection, which  it  is  to  be  hoped  maj*-  be  carefully  enforced. 

Mr.  Rich's  long  experience  as  a  trapper  and  hunter  in  the 
Maine  woods,  has  rendered  him  thoroughly  familiar  with  the 

(686) 


536  NOTES   ON   CERTAIN   INLAND 

habits  of  the  moose  and  the  other  large  mammals  of  this 
region;  and  some  years  since  (in  1860)  he  published  an 
interesting  series  of  articles  in  the  now  defunct  "Bethel 
Courier,"  on  the  "Wild  Animals  of  Maine,"  in  which  he 
brought  together  facts  of  great  value  to  the  naturalist,  in- 
cluding the  most  complete  history  of  the  moose  yet  extant. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  he  will  be  able  to  soon  reissue  these 
valuable  sketches  in  a  more  permanent  form. 


NOTES    ON    CERTAIN    INLAND  BIRDS  OF  NEW 

JERSEY. 

BY  CHARLES  C.   ABBOTT,  M.D 

The  oraithological  fauna  of  New  Jersey  having  undergone 
some  changes  within  the  last  few  years,  it  may  prove  inter- 
esting to  ornithologists  to  have  the  results  of  ten  years  con- 
stant, careful  observation  as  to  the  movements  of  our  inland 
birds ;  comprising  those  that  are  resident ;  those  coming  from 
the  South  in  the  spring,  and  visitors  from  the  North  in  win- 
ter. Certain  species  formerly  abundant  are  now  ittre ;  and 
others  foiTuerly  but  seldom  met  with,  are  now  abundant. 
As  an  instance  we  will  mention  the  Summer  Bed-bird 
{Pyranga  cestiva)^  which  may  no  longer  be  accounted  a 
summer  resident,  although  prior  to  1857  it  was  abundant; 
and  on  the  other  hand  the  Snow-bunting  {Plectjvphanes 
nivalis)^  which  previous  to  1865,  was  a  very  rare  visitor,  and 
then  only  during  very  severe  winters,  and  since  has  as  regu- 
larly appeared  as  the  Junco  hyemalis.  They  do  not  appear, 
like  them,  early  in  October,  but  after  considerable  snow  has 
fallen.  During  the  winters  of  '67,  '68  and  '69,  they  were 
so  abundant  that  hundreds  of  dozens  killed  on  the  outskirts 
of  the  town  (Trenton,  Mercer  Co.),  were  offered  for  sale  in 
our  markets.     Every  additional  snow  storm  seemed  to  in* 


BIRDS   OP  NEW  JERSEY.  637 

crease  their  numbers.  They  were  very  fat,  and,  considered 
as  delicate  as  the  Rice  bird,  Dolichonyx  orizivorv^j  in  Octo- 
ber. 

It  may  be  proper  here  to  state  that  the  climate,  during  the 
past  thirty-eight  years,  has  undergone  no  change  other  than 
a  slight  diminution  in  the  quantity  of  snow. 

The  species  to  which  I  desire  to  call  particular  attention 
are 

1.  Pigeon  Hawk  {Hypotriorchis  columbarius) ,  During 
the  early  autumn,  when  the  Reed-birds  {Dolichonices) ,  have 
gathered  in  the  marshy  meadows,  and  the  Red-winged  Star- 
lings {Agelaii)^  fairly  blacken  the  drier  lowlands;  when 
the  ''Flicker"  {Colaptes)^  is  rattling  off  the  thin  bark  from 
the  hickories,  and  congregated  Blue-birds  twitter  from  every 
panel  of  fence ;  when  the  unsought  Meadow-lark  (Stumdla) 
challenges  you  to  discover  his  retreat,  with  his  saucy  "  you- 
can't  see-me,"  and  timid  snipe  {GaUinago)^  with  a  nervous 
*' scape"  endeavor  to  avoid  the  gunner's  aim  with  a  most  ec- 
centric flight, — then  really  are  the  days  proper  of  our  birds 
of  prey,  and  all  of  our  species,  from  the  magnificent  Black- 
hawk  (Archibuteo  Sancti-Johannis)  ^  to  the  saucy  Sparrow- 
hawk  ( Tinnunculus  sparverius) ,  are  more  or  less  abundant. 
Ever  on  the  alert  for  wounded  birds  or  rash  Meadow-mice, 
they  sail  over  the  meadows  from  morning  till  night  and  add 
no  little  charm  to  the  attractive  scene ;  but  while  all  this  is 
the  order  of  the  day  upon  the  lowlands,  there  is  skulking 
along  the  fences  of  the  uplands,  and  about  the  yards  of  the 
farm-houses,  a  shy,  cunning  falcon,  ever  watching  the 
farmer's  poultry  and  pouncing  thereupon  continually.  "We 
refer  to  the  Pigeon-hawk  {Hypotriorchia  cohimbanus)  ^  a 
species  numerous  throughout  autumn  and  winter,  but  espec- 
ially interesting  from  the  fact  that  it  remains  throughout  the 
year  quite  frequently. 

In  May,  1863,  a  nest  of  this  species,  with  young  birds 
just  able  to  fly,  was  found  by  the  writer  in  a  large  sycamore, 
on  Duck  Island,  Delaware  River,  near  Trenton,  N.  J.     In 

▲MER.   NATURALIST,  VOL.  IV.  68 


538  NOTES   ON  GEBTAIN  INLAND 

February  (22d)  1865,  a  nest  with  eggs  was  also  found  by 
the  writer,  in  a  large  elm,  on  the  Shubbaconk  Creek,  near 
Lawrence,  Mercer  county,  New  Jersey.  Young  specimens 
in  pin-feathers  have  been  killed,  in  August  and  November, 
by  a  cousin  of  the  author,  which  were  seen  and  identified  by 
the  latter. 

New  Jersey  seems  to  be  a  sort  of  neutral  ground,  as  well 
as  half-way  house  in  the  matter  of  geographical  distribution. 
It  is  the  noi-thernniost  limit  of  the  range  of  some ;  the  south- 
ernmost limit  of  the  range  of  others ;  and  occasional  breeding 
ground  of  many  species.  From  unascertained,  and  we  im- 
agine unascertainable  causes,  there  are  many  visiting  species 
that  remain  or  pass  on,  as  it  may  happen.  An  ornitho- 
logical note-book  will  for  one  year  record  probably  a  dozen 
species,  of  which  no  trace  will  be  found  during  the  following 
year,  except  during  their  passage  noilh  or  south.  In  1859, 
a  cold  storm  overtook  the  Ked-starts  {jSetqphaga  imticilla)  as 
well  as  many  of  the  warblers.  During  the  following  month 
(June)  there  were  more  nests  of  warblers  about  Mercer 
county   than  the  writer  has  found  in  the  ten  summers  since. 

Since  1865,  we  have  seen  no  Pigeon-hawks  between  the 
dates  of  March  15th  and  October  15th.  They  may  have  es- 
caped our  notice,  but  we  opine  not.  Next  summer  Mercer 
county  may  have  a  dozen  nests  of  this  species. 

2.  Ked-bellied  Woodpecker  (Centurus  Carolinensis) . 
This  Woodpecker  makes  its  appearance  in  April  very  regu- 
larly, and  reappears  in  equal  or  greater  numbers  in  October, 
and  some  few  have  been  met  with  during  the  winter.*  It 
seems  strange  that  it  does  not  breed  within  state  limits,  but 
it  certainly  does  not,  except  in  a  few  isolated  instances ;  at 
least  this  is  the  conclusion  the  writer  has  arrived  at,  as  in 
accordance  with  his  own  observations.  Correspondents  in 
the  extreme  northern  and  southern  sections  of  the  state  have 
written  me,  however,  that  they  have  found  both  them  and 
their  nests  in  May.  These  letters  were  from  Sussex  and 
Cape  May  counties.     As  it  undeniably  breeds  in  Pennsyl- 


BIRDS   OF  NEW  JERSEY.  539 

vania  and  iu  New  York,  it  is  probable  that  the  reason  of 
the  author's  failure  in  finding  their  nests,  except  in  one  iur 
stance  (vide  Geology  of  New  Jersey,  p.  765),  arose  from 
the  fact  that  the  natural  features  of  the  sections  of  the  state 
he  happened  in  were  not  such  as  attract  the  specie^.  It, 
however,  does  not  breeds  as  uniformly  within  state  limits^  as 
the  five  other  species  of  JPicidce  common  to  the  state. 

The  cutting  off  of  the  heavier  growths  of  timber,  and 
general  alteration,  and  rendering  of  the  country's  surface 
tame  by  cultivation,  must  have  the  effect  either  of  changing 
the  habits  of  the  birds,  or  of  driving  them  from  their  former 
haunts.  The  latter  is  generally  the  case,  and  undoubtedly 
is  so  with  reference  to  this  species.  The  other  Piddoe  are 
still  abundant  except  two  species,  Melanerpes  erythrocephalus 
and  Hylatomus  pileatus.  Throughout  the  winter  the  "  Sap- 
sucker  {Picus  villosus)^  and  Downy  Woodpecker  {P.  pu" 
hescens)^  are  very  sociable,  and  appear  as  much  at  home  in 
the  maples  along  our  town  streets,  as  iu  the  orchards  beyond 
the  village  limits. 

3.  Traill's  Flycatcher  {Empidonax  Traillii).  The  great 
influx  of  feathered  life  that  comes  to  our  state  in  the  month 
of  May  is  so  varied  as  to  species,  and  the  many  varieties 
having  their  particular  haunts  whereto  they  hie,  that  it  is  no 
easy  matter,  even  after  several  attempts,  to  learn  just  what 
have  come  ;  and  later  in  the  season  just  how  many  have  re- 
mained. That  the  list  will  vary  year  after  year  is  unquestion- 
able ;  but  the  species  now  under  consideration  is  not  one  that 
simply  remains  during  the  summer  occasionally.  They  do 
so  now  regularly,  although  their  numbers  vary  very  consid- 
erably. During  the  past  seven  summers  the  writer  has  reg- 
ularly met  with  them.  Previous  to  1863  they  are  not 
mentioned  in  any  of  his  note-books.  They  are,  with  us,  a 
very  restless,  wild  bird,  remaining  among  the  topmost 
branches  of  tall  trees,  and  in  such  situations  building  their 
nests. 

A  nest  of  the  Yellow-bellied  Flycatcher  {E.  fiaviventris) , 


540  NOTES   ON   CERTAIN   INLAND 

was  found  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  during  the  past  sum- 
mer, containing  young  birds.  This  is  the  only  nest  of  this 
species  we  have  ever  seen,  but  have  met  with  the  bird  during 
the  breeding  season. 

4.  Wilson's  Thrush  {Turdus  fuscescens).  5.  Hermit 
Thrush  (Turdus  Pallasii).  6.^  Olive-backed  Thrush  {Tur- 
dits  Swainsonii). 

Early  in  May,  with  the  Chat  {Icteria  viridis)^  and  House- 
wren  {Troglodytes  cedon)^  and  spring  birds  generally,  there 
appear  in  our  gardens  in  town  hopping  close  along  the  fence, 
upon  the  ground,  modest  little  Thrushes,  that  at  once  attract 
the  attention  of  the  most  careless  observers  by  their  general 
similarity  to  the  grand  Song-thrush  (Tlirdus  miLstdinvs)^ 
only  abridged.  With  the  same  jerking  of  the  tail,  and  a 
very  similar  chirp,  they  industriously  overturn  the  dead 
leaves  fallen  the  autumn  previous,  and  gather  from  beneath 
them  innumerable  spiders,  insects,  and  small  worms.  Every 
half  hour  this  search  for  food  is  disturbed  by  a  quarrelsome 
Wren,  that  is  generally  driven  off  when  the  Thrush  becomes 
fairly  angered,  when  it  will  resume  its  hunt  for  food.  They 
at  this  time  constantly  chirp — never  sing.  These  small 
Thrushes  are  referable  to  one,  or  all,  as  the  case  may  be, 
of  the  three  species  we  have  named  above. 

Wilson's  Thrush  (Tardus  fuscescens)  is  the  less  numerous 
of  the  three  species  previous  to  June  1st,  and  from  then 
until  October,  is  the  most  so.  It  breeds  within  state  limits 
in  greater  numbers  than  do  the  "Olive-backed"  or  "Hermit," 
but  is  more  retiring  in  its  habits  at  this  time  of  the  year, 
and  appears  to  wander  very  seldom  any  great  distance  from 
its  nest,  during  incubation,  and  to  remain  in  the  neighbor* 
hood  of  the  nest  until  those  of  its  fellows  and  the  allied  spe- 
cies have  begun  to  reappear  from  the  north,  when  again  they 
frequent  town  gardens  as  well  as  more  retired  "country" 
localities.  This  species  at  this  writing  (Novcftiber  24th, 
1869),  18  now  in  Trenton,  New  Jersey. 

The  Hermit-thrush  (  Turdus  Pallasii)  is  said  by  Audubon 


BIRDS   OP   NEW  JERSEY.  541 

to  be  quite  abundant  in  New  Jersey  during  the  summer 
(vide  Birds  of  America,  Vol.  in,  p.  30 J,  but  I  cannot  en- 
dorse this  statement  altogether ;  but  there  may  have  taken 
place  a  change  since  he  wrote  in  the  movements  of  this  bird, 
especially  as  he  gives  the  northern  mountainous  portions  of 
Pennsylvania  as  the  southernmost  limit  of  the  breeding  local- 
ity of  the  Tardus  fascescensj  which  is  now  common  to  New 
Jersey.  The  "Hermit,"  as  the  writer  has  met  with  it,  is  about 
as  one  to  eight  in  the  numbers  that  breed  here,  comparing  it 
with  Tardus  fuscescens;  and  as  one  to  twenty,  compared 
with  the  whole  number  of  Tardus  Pallasii  that  arrive  here 
in  Ma3'.  They  disappear  from  general  observation  about 
June  1st,  and  as  Audubon  has  written  "throwing  itself  into 
the  depths  of  the  forests,  there  spends  the  summer  months, 
frequenting  the  lowest  and  most  shady  thickets."  During 
the  latter  part  of  the  month  of  August  last,  the  writer  heard 
one  of  these  birds  singing,  for  the  first  and  only  time.  The 
song  excelled  that  of  Tardus  mustelinus.  Its  usual  note  is 
a  shrill  chirp,  not  as  frequently  repeated  as  that  of  Tardus 
fascescens  or  Swainsonii.  They  were  last  seen  in  Trenton, 
New  Jersey,  on  the  20th  of  November. 

The  Olive-backed  Thrush  (  Tardus  Swainsonii)  which  was 
formerly  more  abundant  than  of  late  years,  makes  its  ap- 
pearance in  May,  with  the  two  preceding  species,  and  re- 
sembles them  in  all  its  habits.  It  is  unquestionably  the  least 
abundant  of  the  three,  either  as  a  migratory  or  resident  bird. 
During  the  summer  of  1866  (vide  Geology  of  New  Jersey, 
p.  768)  the  three  species  of  Thrushes  were  unusually  abun- 
dant ;  and  during  the  summer,  many  Olive-backed  Thrushes 
remained  and  bred.  During  the  past  ten  years  they  have 
remained  as  compared  with  those  of  their  numbers  that  went 
North,  about  as  one  to  fifty.  Certainly  the  proportion  re- 
maining is  not  less. 

The  habits  of  these  Thrushes  suggest  the  probability  that 
changes  in  the  climate  must  be  taking  place  in  the  noi'them- 
most  limit  of  their  range,  and  to  preserve  an  equal  extent  of 


542  NOTES   ON   CERTAIN   INLAND 

territory  as  breeding  grounds,  must  come  South  in  propor 
tion  as  they  are  compelled  to  relinquish  territory  at  the  Noilh. 
At  all  events,  there  is  a  steadily  increasing  list  of  those  mi- 
gratory birds  that  formerly  never  remained  in  New  Jersey 
during  the  summer,  and  that  now  do  so,  raising  one  or  more 
broods  during  their  sojourn.  To  this  statement  the  writer 
would  add  another,  that  the  number  pf  ''isolated  instances** 
of  migratory  species  remaining,  is  also  increasing.  How 
many  such  "isolated  instances"  must  occur  to  make  the 
breeding  of  the  bird  within  state  limits  a  fixed  fact?  One 
nest  a  year  or  a  dozen  ?  Is  it  probable  that  the  young  birds 
raised  in  an  "isolated  instance"  recognize  their  birth-place 
the  ensuing  spring  and  so  remain  ?  Thereby  we  would  have 
as  the  result  of  an  accident,  a  permanent  habit  established 
among  that  particular  species.     Would  we  not? 

7.  B.why-cTowned  Kinglet  (Hegulus  calendula) .  8.  Gold- 
en-crested Wren  (JRegultis  mtrapus) . 

In  the  Kinglets,  of  all  other  birds,  it  would  be  supposed 
that  we  had  those  that  were  strictly,  so  far  as  New  Jersey  is 
concerned,  a  northern-breeding,  Jersey  winter-sojourning 
species;  and,  indeed,  the  great  bulk  of  them  are  so,  except 
that  they  go  farther  South,  of  course,  as  well  as  remain  here. 
Nevertheless,  they  too,  break  in  upon  Umg  established  rules 
and  the  records  of  the  books,  and  have  both  been  found 
breeding  in  Sussex  county.  New  Jersey.  At  least,  we  have 
as  evidence  of  this  their  presence  in  June,  and  also  that  of 
their  young  in  Aiigust.  Of  those  that  spent  the  winter  and 
left  in  the  spring  of  1869,  there  remained  probably  one  per 
cent.  The  impression  I  may  have  given  of  their  numbera 
during  the  summer,  in  the  Geology  of  New  Jersey,  p.  769, 
is  erroneous,  in  so  far  as  one  might  suppose  that  they  wei*e 
common  at  that  season.  They  are  rare,  but  diligent  search 
will  generally  discover  two  or  three  in  the  course  of  the 
summer. 

The  Kinglets  do  not  seem  to  be  much  affected  by  the 
severity  of  the  winter;   except  that  during  severe  snow- 


BIRDS   OF   NEW   JERSEY.  543 

storms  they  seek  the  sheltered  woods.  In  the  depths  of 
winter  they  and  the  Winter- wren  {Troglodytes  hyemalis)^ 
the  Creeper  (Oerthia  Americana) ^  and  the  Black-capped 
Titmouse  (Parus  atricapillua) ^  enliven  the  woods,  especially 
a  wooded  hillside  with  a  southern  exposure.  Such  a  position 
is  the  most  favorable  by  far,  for  iSnding  these  and  other 
small  winter  resident  birds.  Unlike  the  Winter-wren  (T. 
hj/emalis),  the  Kinglets  are  not  quarrelsome,  but  quietly 
from  limb  to  limb,  and  tree  to  tree,  flit  incessantly,  gather- 
ing the  dormant  insect  life  beneath  the  bark.  To  recur  to 
the  subject  of  their  summer  sojourn  is  it  fair  to  suppose  that 
those  that  do  remain  are  old  and  too  feeble  to  perform  the 
journey  north?  If  so,  would  they  not  also  be  too  old  for 
nidiiication  and  incubation?  We  think  so;  and  so  cannot 
account  for  the  specimens  in  pin-feathers. 

At  this  date  (November  24th),  both  species  of  Kinglet 
are  very  abundant  about  the  trees  in  the  streets,  and  are 
remarkably  tame. 

9.  The  Worm-eating  Warbler  (ffelmitherus  vermivorus) , 

10.  Blue-winged  Yellow-warbler  {ITehmnihqphaga  pinvs). 

11.  Golden-winged  Warbler  (Hehninthophaga  chrysopterd). 

12.  Yellow-inimped  Warbler  (Dendroica  coronata),  13. 
Hooded  Warbler  {Myiodioctes  mitratus). 

We  have  now  to  take  up  the  question  of  the  geographical 
distribution  of  certain  birds  in  a  somewhat  different  manner, 

and  to  discuss,  or  rather  to  assert  that  we  are  not  entitled  to 

« 

that  usually  or  heretofore  accredited  to  us.  Of  the  five 
species  of  Warblera  we  have  named  above,  four  (except 
Dendroica  coronata)  have  so  far  eluded  us,  although  we  have 
searched  earnestly  for  them,  after  the  spring  visitors  had 
gone.  Coming  as  they  did  with  them,  and  leaving  simulta- 
neously we  supposed,  like  them,  they,  too,  had  gone  north. 
This  was  our  experience  up  to  the  time  of  completing  our 
report  for  the  "Geology  of  New  Jersey."  Three  summers 
have  since  passed,  and  as  yet  we  have  found  not  even  one 
specimen  of  the  four  species  later  than  June  5th,  and  no 


544  NOTES   ON   CERTAIN  INLAND 

authentic  nest.  Of  the  many  Warblers'  uests  we  discovered 
there  were  four  that  we  failed  to  identify,  the  birds  belonging 
thereto  not  appearing  when  we  had  opportunities  of  watch- 
ing. The  general  appearance  of  these  nests  which  had  eggs 
in  was  that  of  species  common  with  us,  although  the  eggs 
were  a  little  peculiar.  We  have  not  had,  since  1866,  during 
any  one  summer,  very  good  oppoiiiunities  for  hunting  birds ; 
but  being  ever  on  the  lookout  for  the  four  species  in  ques- 
tion, we  think  it  strange  if  they  did  remain  throughout  the 
breeding  season  without  our  detecting  them. 

As  we  have  shown  that  some  species  that  have  heretofore 
always  sought  breeding  grounds  north  of  us  now  remain, 
therefore  why  should  not  others,  formerly  with  us,  conclude 
also  to  make  a  change,  even  though  it  be  the  opposite  from 
that  of  their  cousins?  The  surface  of  our  state  has  materi- 
ally chauged  in  its  general  aspect  within  the  past  thirty 
yeara,  since  Audubon  visited  it;  and  these  changes  may 
have  driven  off  certain  species  that  probably  are  abundant 
no  farther  north  or  immaterially  so,  say  Pennsylvania  and 
New  York.  The  changes  we  refer  to  are  the  very  general 
cutting  off  of  the  woods,  and  clearing  out  of  swamps.  Cer- 
tainly nine-tenths  of  the  shelter  that  existed  for  birds  in 
1840  is  now  no  longer  in  existence.  The  question  may  now 
be  pertinently  asked  that  if  there  is  less  shelter,  why  are 
there  more  new  comers  than  there  are  departures  of  former 
residents?  This  we  admit  seems  strange,  and  we  can  only 
answer  it  by  asking  another  question ;  why  should  birds  so 
simihir  as  the  SylvicoUdce  be  of  so  many  minds?  Again, 
the  four  species  in  question  are  not  at  all  sociable  in  their 
habits,  and  the  new  comers  are  ;  so  we  can  see  that  the  latter 
could  be  contented  where  the  former  would  not,  provided 
that  the  climate  suited  them. 

The  Yellow-rumped  Warbler  (Dendroica  coronata),  pre- 
sents to  us  an  instance  of  climatic  geographical  distribution 
which  has  not  been  published  we  believe ;  and  that  is,  that 
from  September  to  June  this  species  has  been  met  with  in 


BIRDS   OF  NEW  J£RSE7«  545 

• 

New  Jersey,  on  feach  of  the  intervening  months.  My  at- 
tention was  first  drawn  to  it,  by  noting  several  in  March, 
before  any  other  species  of  the  family  had  appeared.  In 
February  of  the  following  year  one  specimen  was  seen  and 
shot,  and  since  then  (1863),  it  has  been  met  with  sparsely 
in  November,  December,  and  January.  These  scattered 
Warblers  are  associated  with  the  regular  winter  residents, 
Creepers,  Nuthatches  and  Titmice. 

14.  Butcher  Bird  {Collyrio  borealia).  We  have  seen  the 
Shrike  cut  early  as  September  quite  abundant^  but  more 
generally  it  is  in  December  and  January  that  it  is  to  be 
readily  met  with.  No  species  visiting  iis  from  the  North  is 
more  uncertain  in  its  movements,  and  occasionally  a  winter 
passes  without  any  being  seen  about.  The  snowy  winters 
are  those  in  which  they  are  most  numerous,  and  during  such 
a  winter  their  peculiarities  are  more  readily  studied,  as  they 
are  during  "open  winters"  far  more  shy  and  retired  in 
their  habits.  With  us  they  follow  closely  after  loose  com- 
panies of  Snow-birds  (Junco  hyemalis)^  and  seem  to  live 
very  largely  upon  them.  *  On  the  approach  of  warm  weather 
they  do  not  all  go  beyond  the  boundaries  of  the  state,  as  the 
writer  has  seen  them  in  Sussex  county  during  the  breeding 
season.     But  very  few  individuals  do  remain  however, 

15.  Winter  Wren  (Troglodytes  hyemalis) .  So  like  them 
in  its  appearance,  and  arriving  in  as  large  numbers  so  closely 
upon  the  disappearance  of  the  Troglodytes  cedon^  there  is  a 
wide  spread  impression  among  persons  with  a  smattering 
of  disjointed  ornithology,  that  they  are  one  and  the  same 
bird,  and  that  simply  the  former  habit  of  migration  has 
ceased.  This  absurd  idea  has  gained  ground  in  consequence 
of  the  very  great  accession  to  their  numbers  of  the  T.  hye- 
malis  that  now  annually  appear.  During  the  winter  they 
are  one  of  ouf  most  numerous  species,  ranking  with  Passer-- 
eUa  iliaca  and  Lophophanes  bicolor  in  this  respect. 

Like  the  ** Shrike"  (Collyrio  borealis),  they,  too,  do  not 
depaii;  wholly  from  us  in  the  spring.     Their  numbers  with 

▲MKR.   XaTURALIST,   VOL.  IV.  69 


546  NOTES   ON   CERTAIN   INLAND 

US  in  summer  are  much  less  than  might  be  supposed,  how- 
ever, from  my  note  in  the  "Geology  of  New  Jersey,"  p, 
776. 

16.  Red-bellied  Nuthatch  {Sitta  Canadensis).  A  careful 
observer  of  the  birds  that  now  (November)  are  enlivening 
our  generally  leafless  trees  will  not  fail  to  notice  continually 
a  woodpecker-like  moving  little  bird  that  has  as  unmusical 
a  note  as  ever  fell  upon  one's  ear  or  added  cacophonic  va- 
riety to  a  harsh  mixture,  for  verily  the  music  of  the  woods 
hath  now  departed.  Of  the  three  birds  to  which  these  re- 
marks are  applicable,  we  refer  particularly  to  that  named 
above.  A  strictly  northern  species,  early  in  November  by 
ones  and  twos  they  make  their  appearance  in  company  with 
8iUa  CaroUnensis^  and  to  the  casual  observer  they  appear  to 
be  one  and  the  same.  In  their  habits,  they,  with  us,  present 
nothing  distinctive.  They  number,  we  should  judge,  about 
one  to  twenty  compared  with  '*  OaroUnensis,^^  and  three  or 
four  per  cent,  remain  during  the  summer.  The  locality  of 
their  nests  and  breeding  habits  are  generally  the  same  as  in 
S.  CaroUnensis. 

m 

17.  Black-throated  Bunting  (^Eu&piza  Americana),  Al- 
though abundant  during  the  summer  in  Pennsylvania,  less 
than  one  hundred  miles  from  the  state  line  (Delaware  River), 
we  had  never,  up  to  the  end  of  the  summer  of  1867,  been 
able  to  see  these  birds  later  than  May,  until  they  appeared 
in  numbers  in  September.  In  the  spring  of  1868,  and  agsiin 
during  the  past  spring  and  summer,  we  found  in  various  lo- 
calities colonies  of  them  breeding  in  low  bushes,  several 
nests  bein^:  found  in  one  field.  We  believe  that  for  some 
reason  we  have  not  ascertained,  they  have  annually  left  the 
state  to  breed  and  then  reappeared.  They  are  now  with  us 
(November)  and  we  think  that  a  few  remain  during  the 
winter. 

18.  Rusty  BlsLck'hird  (Scolecqpfiagttsferruginetis).  Dur- 
ing the  summers  of  '67,  '68  and  '69,  these  birds  have  been 
quite  abundant  about  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  associating  with 


BIRDS   OF  NEW   JERSEY.  547 

the  Quiscalus  ve^'sicolor  and  Agelaius  phoeniceus.  They 
built  their  nests  invariably  in  trees  growing  upon  the  banks 
of  streams,  raising  one  brood  only. 

19.  Snipe  (OaUinago  Wilsonii),  We  find  on  conversing 
with  intelligent  observers  throughout  the  state,  that  in  the 
immediate  neighborhood  of  all  those  tracts  of  meadows 
where  the  Snipe  first  appear  in  March,  or  even  earlier,  that 
quite  a  number  remain  during  the  summer  and  breed.  This 
has  been  our  opinion  and  coincides  with  the  results  of  our 
observations  about  the  extensive  tract  of  meadow  extending 
along  the  Delaware  River  from  Trenton  to  Bordentown,  New 
Jersey.  During  the  past  few  years  we  think  the  number 
remaining  has  increased  steadily.  In  the  autumn  many  ar* 
rive  from  the  North  and  remain  a  longer  or  shorter  time 
according  to  the  weather.  Indeed,  so  long  as  the  ground  is 
not*  too  much  frozen  to  enable  them  to  feed,  they  are  abun- 
dant ;  and  after  the  formation  of  thick  ice  some  still  i*emain, 
resorting  to  sprihg-holes,  and  such  open  water  as  gives  them 
a  chance  to  thrust  their  bills  in  the  mud  ;  but  we  cannot  im- 
agine what  they  then  find  to  eat.  During  the  winter  we 
have  examined  the  stomachs  of  many,  but  the  mass  contained 
therein  was  invariably  so  far  digested  as  to  render  it  impos- 
sible to  recognize  anything,  except  that  it  appeared  to  be 
largely  animal  matter. 

20.  Tell-tale  Sandpiper  (Gambetta  melanoleuca) ,  21. 
Yellow-legged  Sandpiper  (Gambetta Jlavipes) . 

Early  in  May,  following  the  course  of  the  Delaware  River, 
these  birds  in  company  with  other  ScolopacidoR  arrive  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  and  on  the  muddy 
shores  and  marshy  inland  of  Duck  Island,  and  the  exten- 
sive sand  bars  and  gnissy  islands  near  and  above  the  city 
mentioned,  make  themselves  at  home.  By  the  first  of  June 
the  great  majority  have  gone  North;  but  with  the  few 
smaller  species  that  remain,  and  the  myriads  of  Tringoides 
macularius^  the  "Tell-tale"  and  "Yellow-legs"  now  reduced 
in  numbers,  associate,  and  when  feeding  along  the  river  act 


548  NOTES   ON  CERTAIN   INLAND 

as  guides,  apparently,  and  certainly  as  guards.  Being  at  this 
time  of  the  year  very  shy,  they  give  notice  of  the  approach 
of  danger,  and  leading  the  flock,  "Tell-tales,"  "Yellow-legs,** 
*' Solitaries"  and  "Teeter,"  fly  in  large  circles,  at  a  great 
height,  and  then  resume  their  feeding  near  where  they  were 
previously  to  being  flushed.  During  the  breeding  season, 
if  frequently  disturbed  while  feeding,  they  fly  to  their  nests. 
Both  the  "Tell-tale"  and  "Yellow-legs"  have  been  found 
breeding  in  Mercer  county,  New  Jersey.  They  seek  some 
quiet  nook  along  a  small  stream,  and  in  the  high  grasses 
build  quite  a  substantial  nest,  raising  one  brood  that  leaves 
the  nest  before  being  able  to  fly.  At  this  time  they  are  a 
dull  mouse  color,  and  when  approached,  squat  so  closely  to 
the  ground  and  remain  so  motionless,  that  it  is  nearly  im- 
possible to  detect  them. 

22.  Solitary  Sandpiper  (^Rhyacophilus  soUtaritis) .  Al- 
though the  numbers  remaining  in  New  Jersey  during  the 
summer  vary  very  much,  we  have  never  failed  to  find  them 
during  June  and  July,  and  August  brings  them  again  plenti- 
fully from  the  North.  They  breed  as  regularly  in  the  state 
as  the  Spizella  socialise  if  not  as  abundantly.  While  the 
number  of  isolated  specimens  we  meet  with  is  large  enough 
to  warrant  the  descriptive  name  solitanus^  yet  many  are 
seen  associated  with  the  other  Sandpipers,  especially  in  May 
and  early  autumn. 

23.  Mallard  {Anas  boschas).  24.  Green-winged*  Teal 
(N^ettion  Garolhiensis) ,  25.  Blue-winged  Teal  {Querque- 
dula  discors),     26.  Buffle-headed  Duck  (Bucephala  albeola). 

There  is  generally  in  April  or  May  a  freshet  in  the  Dela- 
ware River,  and  one  that  usually  overflows  the  tract  of 
meadow  mentioned  when  speaking  of  the  Snipe  (GaUinago 
Wilsonii),  During  the  prevalence  of  this  high  water  the 
ducks  usually  make  their  appearance  in  large  numbers,  feed- 
ing over  the  meadows  in  loose  flocks,  the  species  being  the 
Mallard  (Anas  boschas)  ^  Black-duck  (Anas  obscura)^  Sprig- 
tail  (Da/ila  aatUa) ,  the  two  Teal  {Nettion  Carolinensis  and 


BIBDS   OF  NEW  JERSEY.  549 

Querquedula  discors)^  Shoveller  (SpcUiUa  dypecUa)^  Widgeon 
(Mareca  Americana)  ^  Wood  Duck  (Aix  sponsa).  Whistler 
iUucephala  Americana)  ^  and    Bulfle-head  {Bticephala   al- 
Mola). 

After  the  waters  have  subsided  they  generally  congregate 
at  the  river,  and  after  a  week  or  more,  during  which  time 
many  are  killed,  they  have  left.  But  not  wholly  so,  us 
during  the  summer  months,  besides  the  beautiful  Aix  ^ponsa^ 
which  we  always  have,  there  are  quite  a  number  of  Anas 
obscura  always  to  be  met  with,  and  not  unfrequently  the 
four  species  we  have  mentioned  above.  Of  the  four  Species 
the  Mallard  is  the  most  abundant,  and  the  "Buffle-head'* 
least.  That  they  all  breed  in  the  state  there  can  be  no 
question. 

We  conclude  with  the  above,  the  selections  from  our 
notes,  made  in  the  field  and  at  various  times,  ou  the  peculi* 
arities,  if  we  may  call  them  such,  in  the  ornithology  of  New 
Jersey,  with  the  thoughts  they  have  suggested,  believing 
they  will  be  of  interest  to  those  especially  giving  attention 
to  the  subject  of  geographical  distribution.  Of  the  three 
hundred  species  of  birds  included  in  the  ornithic  fiiuna  of 
New  Jersey,  of  course  there  are  many  that  are  exceedingly 
rare  in  our  territory.  Among  some  species  there  have  hap- 
pened freaks  of  habit,  unique  instances  so  far  as  our  experi- 
ence goes,  that  though  entertiining,  are  doubtfully  of  suffi- 
cient value  to  warrant  their  publication ;  but  as  apparently 
trivial  occurrences  have  sometimes  proved  a  help  in  the 
solution  of  difficult  questions,  we  propose  to  give  a  plain 
narration  of  one  or  more  such  occurrences. 

In  January,  1869,  an  acquaintance  in  hunting  over  the 
Delaware  (Trenton)  meadows  for  hawks  came  to  a  lively 
spring  in  a  hillside  having  a  southern  exposure.  As  he  was 
alK>ut  leaving  it  he  flushed  from  grass  still  green  and  long, 
a  pair  of  Virginia  Kails  (liallus  Virginianus)  y  and  fortun- 
ately killed  them.  They  were  both^^,  showed  no  signs  of 
having  been  previously  wounded  and  thereby  detained,  and 


fl50  FORMER  EXISTENCE   OF  LOCAL  GLACIERS 

fievf  as  rapidly  and  with  as  much  apparent  vigor  as  in  Sep- 
tember. Farther  search  failed  to  discover  others  at  the 
time.  Two  weeks  later  three  others  were  killed^  and  in  the 
first  week  of  February,  one  more.  These  latter  specimens, 
were  equally  fat  and  vigorous.  No  similar  circumstance  has 
come  under  our  notice. 

Similar  instances  of  the  presence  of  the  Night  Heron 
(Nyctiardea  Gardenii)  have  three  times  come  under  our  no- 
tice. We  have  found  these  birds  sitting  on  trees  near 
springs,  from  whence  the  water  flowed  swiftly,  and  about 
which  the  grass  remained  quite  fresh.  Leaving  them  undis- 
turbed, but  watching  them  frequently,  they  were  never  seen 
to  leave  their  perch.  From  the  accumulation  of  droppings 
it  was  evident  that  the  particular  branch  even,  on  which  they 
were  first  seen,  was  that  on  which  they  had  been  I'esting  for 
some  time  past.  Only  single  specimens  have  been  thus 
found,  all  male  Urds,  and  they  have  always  been  much 
emaciated.  When  forced  to  move  they  all  proved  able  to 
fly,  but  returned  to  their  accustomed  place,  after  a  circuit- 
ous flight  of  short  duration.  Were  they  too  old  to  go  South  ? 
Did  they  get  any  food?  If  so,  what  and  where?  On  dis- 
section the  stomachs  of  these  three  specimens  proved  to  be 
empty  ^  but  the  uppermost  droppings  were  fresh  1 


THE  FORMER  EXISTENCE  OF  LOCAL  GLACIERS  IN 

THE   WHITE  MOUNTAINS.* 

BT    PROFESSOR    L.    AOAS6IZ. 

Twenty-three  years  ago,  when  I  first  visited  the  White 
Mountains,  in  the  summer  of  1847,  I  noticed  unmistakable 
evidences  of  the  former  existence  of  local  glaciers.     They 

*  Read,  In  the  absence  of  Professor  Agassiz,  by  J.  B.  Perry,  before  the  American 
Assoeiation  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  Troy  meeting,  A\ig.,  1870. 


IN  THE   WHITE   MOUNTAINS.  551 

were  the  more  clear  and  impressive  to  me  because  I  was 
then  fresh  from  my  investigations  of  the  glaciers  in  Switzer- 
land. And  yet,  beyond  the  mere  statement  of  the  fact  that 
such  glaciers  once  existed  here,  I  have  never  published  a 
detailed  account  of  my  obsei-vations,  for  the  simple  reason 
that  I  could  not  then  find  any  limit  or  any  definite  relation 
between  the  northern  drift  and  the  phenomena  indicative  of 
local  White  Mountain  glaciers;  nor  have  I  ever  been  able 
since  to  revisit  the  region  for  more  careful  examination. 
This  year  a  prolonged  stay  among  these  hills  has  enabled  me 
to  study  this  difficult  problem  more  closely,  and  I  am  now 
prepared  to  show  that  the  drift,  so-called,  has  the  same  gen- 
eral characteristics  on  the  northern  and  southern  side  of  the 
White  Mountains.  Whatever,  therefore,  may  have  been  the 
number  of  its  higher  peaks  which  at  any  given  time,  during 
the  glacial  period,  rose  above  the  great  ice  sheet  which  then 
covered  the  country,  this  mountain  range  ofiered  no  obstacle 
to  the  southward  movement  and  progress  of  the  northern 
ice  fields.  To  the  north  of  the  White  Moui)tains  as  well  as 
to  the  south,  the  northern  drift  consists  of  a  paste  more  or 
less  clayey  or  sandy,  containing  abraded  fragments  of  a  great 
variety  of  rocks,  so  impacted  into  the  minutely  comminuted 
materials  as  to  indicate  neither  stratification  nor  arranc:ement 
or  sorting,  determined  by  the  form,  size  or  weight  of  these 
fragments.  Large  boulders  and  pebbles  of  all  sizes  are 
found  in  it  throughout  its  thickness,  and  these  coaruer  mate- 
rials have  evidently  been  ground  together  with  the  clay  and 
sand  under  great  pressure,  beneath  heavy  masses  of  ice ;  for 
they  have  all  the  characteristic  marks  so  unmistakable  now 
to  those  who  are  familiar  with  glacial  action :  scratches, 
grooves,  furrows,  etc.  These  marks  are  rectilinear,  but 
they  cross  each  other  at  various  angles,  thus  showing  by  the 
change  in  their  direction  that  the  fragments  on  which  they 
occur,  though  held  for  a  time  in  one  and  the  same  position 
while  these  straight  lines  were  engraved  upon  their  surface, 
nevertheless  changed  that  position  more  or  less  frequently. 


552  FORMER  EXISTENCE   OF  LOCAL   GLACIERS 

A  few  flatter  fragments  with  more  angular  outlines  show  only 
one  kind  of  scratches,  having  evidently  been  held  for  a 
longer  time  in  the  same  position.  This  drift,  however  it  may 
vary  in  its  miueralogical  components  in  diflferent  localities, 
exhibits  everywhere  the  same  characteristic  treatment  over 
the  whole  country,  from  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Rocky  Mountains  and  beyond.  In  the  White  Mountain  re- 
gion it  has  the  same  miueralogical  character  north  and  south 
of  the  range,  and  rests  everywhere  upon  the  well  known 
roches  moutonnees^  in  one  word,  upon  the  planed,  grooved, 
polished  and  scratched  surfaces  of  the  rocks  underlying  it. 

Observation  has  taught  us  that  materials  such  as  those  de- 
scribed above,  so  combined,  exhibiting  the  same  characters 
in  their  surfaces  and  having  the  same  diversity  of  composi- 
tion and  absence  of  all  sorting  or  regular  arrangement,  occur 
now  at  the  bottom  of  the  great  glaciers  of  our  time,  aiid 
nowhere  else;  being  found  between  the  ice  and  the  rocks 
over  which  it  .moves, — the  result  in  fact  of  the  grinding 
action  of  advancing  glaciers.  On  account  of  their  unvarying 
position  I  have  called  these  deposits  *' ground  moraines," 
because  they  are  always  resting  upon  the  rocky  floor  of  the 
country,  between  it  and  the  under  surface  of  the  ice.  Our 
typical  unaltered  so-called  northern  drift  is  synonymous 
with  the  ground  moraines  of  the  present  day,  diflfering  only 
in  its  greater  extension.  It  is  in  fact  a  ground  moraine 
spreading  over  the  greatest  part  of  the  continent.  All  its 
characteristics,  identical  in  every  detail  with  those  of  the 
deposits  underlying  the  present  glaciers,  show  that  it  can 
only  have  been  formed  under  a  moving  body  of  ice,  held 
between  it  and  the  underlying  mass  of  rock.  The  great 
ice  sheet  of  the  glacial  period  which  fashioned  the  drift 
must  therefore  have  been  co-extensive  with  the  distribution 
of  the  latter.  It  is  very  important  to  distinguish  this  drift 
from  the  moraines  formed  under  other  circumstances,  and 
from  the  so-called  erratics  and  perched  blocks.  Moraines, 
as  commonly  understood,  that  is,  lateral  and  frontal  mo- 


IN   THE   WHITE  MOUNTAINS.  553 

raines,  consisting  of  loose  materials  collected  along  the  sides 
and  at  the  terminus  of  a  glacier,  always  indicate,  and,  where 
undisturbed,  actually  define  the  margins  of  a  moving  mass 
of  ice ;  whereas  the  so-called  median  moraines  formed  along 
the  line  of  junction  of  the  glaciers  are  carried  upon  the  back 
or  upper  surface  of  the  ice,  and  always  consist  of  angular 
materials,  the  shape  and  arrangement  of  which  are  deter- 
mined by  their  mode  of  accumulation.  Just  as  among  the 
glaciers  of  the  present  day  we  discriminate  between  ground 
moraines,  lateral,  frontal  and  median  moraines,  so  must  we 
also  distinguish  between  the  same  phenomena  in  past  times. 
The  glacial  period  had  also  its  gi'ound  moraines,  its  lateral, 
its  frontal  and  its  median  moraines,  its  erratics  and  perched 
boulders.  But  the  huge  ground  moraine  of  the  earliet  ice 
time  stretehed  continuously,  like  ihe  ice  sheet  under  which 
it  was  formed,  over  the  wholq  country — from  the  .Arctics  to 
the  Southern  States,  and  from  the  AtUintic  to  the  Eocky 
Moimtains.  I  do  not  speak  of  the  western  slope  of  the  Con- 
tinent, because  I  have  not  examined  it  personally.  The 
great  angular  erratics  of  that  period  were  scattered  irregu- 
larly over  the  country,  as  the  few  large  boulders  are  scattered 
on  the  upper  surface  of  a  glacier  now.  It  is  the  contact  of 
the  more  limited  phenomena  of  the  local  glaciers  which  suc- 
ceeded this  all  embracing  winter  (their  lateral,  frontal,  me- 
dian and  limited  ground  moraines  and  their  erratics),  with 
the  more  wide-spread  and  general  features  of  the  drift  that  I 
have  been  able  to  trace  in  the  White  Mountains  this  summer. 
The  limits  of  this  paper  will  not  allow  me  te  do  more  than 
record  the  general  facts,  but  I  hope  to  give  them  hereafter 
more  in  detail  and  with  fuller  illustrations.  The  most  diffi- 
cult part  of  the  investigation  is  the  tracing  of  the  erratics  to 
their  origin ;  it  is  far  more  intricate  than  the  identification  of 
the  origin  of  ordinary  drift,  or  of  continuous  moraines,  be- 
cause the  solution  of  the  problem  can  only  be  reached  under 
favorable  circumstances  where  boulders  of  the  same  kind  of 
rock  can  be  followed  from  distance  to  distance,  to  the  ledge 

AMER.  NATURALIST,  VOL.  IV.  70 


554       FORMEB  EXISTENCE  OF  LOCAL  GLACIERS 

in  situ  from  which  they  were  detached.  Now,  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  White  Mountains,  we  find  beside  the  typical 
or  northern  drift,  large  erratic  boulders  as  well  as  lateral, 
frontal  and  median  moraines.  A  careful  examination  of 
these  shows  beyond  a  doubt  that  they  came  from  the  White 
Mountains  and  not  from  the  northern  regions,  since  they 
overlie  the  typical  drift  which  they  have  only  here  and  there 
removed  and  modified.  A  short  description  of  the  facts  will 
leave  no  doubt  Upon  this  point. 

The  finest  lateral  moraines  in  these  regions  may  be  seen 
along  the  hillsides  flanking  the  bed  of  the  south  branch  of 
the  Amonoosuck,  north  of  the  village  of  Franoonia.  The 
best  median  moraines  are  to  the  east  of  Picket  Hill  and 
Round  Hill.  These  latter  moraines  were  foinned  by  the  con- 
fluence of  the  glaciers  which  occupied  the  depression  be- 
tween Haystack  and  Mt.  Lafayette,  and  that  which  descended 
from  the  northern  face  of  Lafayette  itself.  These  longi- 
tudinal moraines  are  particularly  interesting  as  connecting 
the  erratic  boulders  on  the  north  side  of  the  Franconia  range 
with  that  mountain  mass,  and  showing  that  they  are  not 
northern  boulders  transported  southward,  but  boulders  from 
a  southern  range  transported  northward.  But  by  far  the 
most  significant  facts  showing  the  great  extent  of  the  local 
glaciers  of  the  White  Mountain  range,  as  well  as  the  most 
accessible  and  easily  recognized,  even  by  travellers  not  very 
familiar  with  glacial  phenomena,  are  the  terminal  moraines 
to  the  north  of  Bethlehem  village,  between  it  and  the  north- 
ern bend  of  the  Amonoosuck  river.  The  lane  starting  from 
Bethlehem  street,  following  the  Cemetery  for  a  short  distance, 
and  hence  trending  northward,  cuts  sixteen  terminal  moraines 
in  a  tract  of  about  two  miles.  Some  of  these  moraines  Are 
as  distinct  as  any  I  know  in  Switzerland,  They  show  un- 
mistakably by  their  fonn  that  they  were  produced  by  the 
pressure  of  a  glacier  moving,  from  south,  northwai*d.  This 
is  indicated  by  their  abrupt  southward  slope,  facing,  that  is, 
toward  the  Franconia  range,  while  their  northern  face  has  a 


IN   THE   WHITE  MOUNTAINS.  555 

much  gentler  descent.  The  steeper  slope  of  a  moraine  is 
always  that  resting  against  the  glacier,  while  the  outer  side 
is  comparatively  little  inclined.  The  foim  of  these  moraines, 
therefore,  as  well  as  their  position,  show  that  they  have  come 
down  from  the  Franconia  mountains.  A  few  details  con- 
cerning their  location  may  not  be  out  of  place,  in  order  that 
any  visitor  interested  in  the  facts  may  readily  find  them  with- 
out a  guide.  The  ground  to  the  north  of  Bethlehem  slopes 
gently  northward,  and  is  not  wooded  for  about  half  a  mile 
from  the  street.  Following  the  lane  above  mentioned,* the 
fii*st  moraine  reached  skirts  the  edge  of  the  wood  and  is  near 
the  houses  of  Mr.  Phillips ;  there  are  four  others  more  or  less 
distinct  before  reaching  a  little  trout  brook  called  **  Barrett's 
Brook."  The  lane  descends  more  rapidly  totvard  the  brook 
than  before,  and  where  the  descent  begins  to  be  steep  the 
eye  commands  the  space  between  the  brook  and  a  higher 
ground  on  which  stands  a  house  owned  by  Henry  McCulloch. 
Over  that  interval  six  very  fine  moraines  may  be  counted, 
one  of  which  is  perhaps  the  finest  specimen  of  a  terminal 
moraine  I  have  ever  seen.  Beyond  McCulloch's  there  are 
five  more,  not  quite  as  distinct.  The  ground  beyond  the 
termination  of  the  glacier  of  the  Rhone  in  Switzerland  is 
celebrated  for  its  many  distinct  concentric  terminal  moraines ; 
but  here  we  have  a  field  over  which  within  the  same  area  a 
larger  number  of  such  moraines  may  be  seen,  and  I  believe 
that  a  pilgrimage  to  this  spot  would  convert  many  a  sceptic 
to  the  true  faith  concerning  the  transportation  of  en*atic 
boulders,  especially  if  he  has  seen  the  glacier  of  the  Rhone 
and  can  compare  the  phenomena  of  the  two  localities. 

The  Littleton  road  from  Bethlehem,  and  the  roads  to  Fran- 
conia  Notch  from  both  these  towns  frequently  intersect  ter- 
minal moraines.  Those  familiar  with  the  topography  of  the 
Franconia  range  and  its  relation  to  Picket  Hill  and  the  slope 
of  Bethlehem,  will  at  once  perceive  that  the  glacier  which 
deposited  the  front  moraine  to  the  north  of  Bethlehem  vil- 
lage must  have  filled  the  valley  of  Franconia  to  and  above 


556  FORMER  EXISTENCE   OF  LOCAL   GLACIERS 

the  level  of  the  saddle  of  Picket  Hill,  making  it  at  least 
fifteen  hundred  feet  thick,  if  not  more ;  thicker  in  short  than 
any  of  the  present  glaciers  of  Switzerland.  It  will  be  ob- 
served, also,  that  as  soon  as  the  northern  portion  of  that 
glacier  had  retreated  to  the  wall  which  encircles  the  Fran- 
conia  Valley  on  the  north,  the  glacier  occupying  henceforth 
a  more  protected  valley  within  the  ranges^  must  have  made  a 
halt  and  accumulated  at  this  point,  that  is,  south  and  west 
of  the  saddle  of  Picket  Hill,  a  very  large  terminal  moraine. 
This  moraine  actually  exists  to  the  present  day,  and  is  one  . 
of  the  most  characteristic  features  of  the  distribution  of 
erratics  in  these  regions.  From  the  moment  the  glacier  was 
reduced  to  the  level  of  Franconia  bottom  it  must  suddenly 
have  vanished  entirely  from  the  whole  valley,  and  thus  it 
happens  that  no  other  large  terminal  moraines  are  seen  be* 
tween  that  just  mentioned  and  the  higher  range  of  Fran- 
conia. 

Moraines  similar  to  those  observed  on  the  northern  side 
of  the  White  Mountains  exist  also  on  their  southern  side  in 
the  vicinity  of  Centre  Harbor.  Lateral  moraines  may  be 
traced  at  the  foot  of  Red  EUll,  a  little  above  Long  Pond ;  also 
along  Squam  Lake.  Median  moraines  are  very  distinct  near 
Centre  Harbor  Hotel.  *  Terminal  moraines  are  also  numer- 
ous near  Centre  Harbor  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  Mere- 
dith. At  the  southern  end  of  Red  Hill  the  lateral  moraines 
trend  westward  and  show  their  connection  with  the  terminal 
moraines.  These  facts,  taken  in  their  relation  with  those 
enumerated  above,  show  that  there  were  local  glaciei*s,  on  the 
southern  as  well  as  the  northern  slopes  of  the  White  Moun- 
tain ranges,  moving  in  opposite  directions;  those  on  the 
northern  slope  moving  northward,  and  those  on  the  southern 
slope  moving  southward.  I  have  seen  no  evidence  thus  far 
of  these  northern  glaciers  extending  beyond  the  range  of 
hills  which  separates  the  Amonoosuck  River  from  the  Con- 
necticut River  vallev  west  of  Lancaster,  nor  have  I  traced 
the  southern  glaciers  beyond  Lake  Winnipesaukee.     Traces 


IN  THE   WHITE   MOUNTAINS.  557 

of  an  eastern  glacier  moving  westward  may  be  seen  near  the 
Twin  Mountain  House  ;  but  I  have  not  examined  that  region 
with  snfBcient  care  to  give  minute  particulars. 

All  these  moraines  and  traces  of  local  glaciers  overlie  the 
typical  or  northern  drift  so-called,  wherever  the  latter  has 
not  been  entirely  swept  away  by  the  local  glaciers  them- 
selves ;  thus  showing  that  the  great  ice  sheet  was  anterior  to 
the  local  glaciers,  and  not  formed  by  a  spreading  of  smaller 
preexisting  glaciers.  At  least,  wherever  I  have  recognized 
traces  of  circumscribed  glaciers  in  regions  where  they  no 
longer  exist,  it  has  always  appeared  to  me  that  the  minor 
areas  covered  by  ice  were  remnants  of  a  waning  sheet  of 
greater  extent.  If  the  glacial  period  set  in  by  the  enlarge*^ 
ment  of  limited  glaciers  already  formed'  and  gradually 
spreading  more  and  more  widely,  as  Lyell  and  the  geologists 
of  his  school  suppose,  the  facts  which  would  justify  such  a 
view  are  still  to  be  made  known.  I  have  not  seen  a  trace  of 
them  anywhere.  On  the  contrary,  throughout  the  ranges  of 
the  Alps,  in  the  Black  Forest,  the  Vosges,  as  well  as  in  the 
British  Islands,  in  Scotland,  Wales  and  Ireland,  I  have 
everywhere  satisfied  myself  that  the  more  extensive  the 
glaciated  areas,  indicated  by  polished  surfaces  and  moraines 
in  any  given  locality,  the  older  they  are  when  compared  with 
glacial  phenomena  circumscribed  within  narrower  limits. 

It  therefore  follows  from  the  facts  enumerated  above,  as 
well  as  from  a  general  consideration  of  the  subject,  that  the 
local  glaciers  of  the  White  Mountains  are  of  more  recent  date 
than  the  great  ice  sheet  which  fashioned  the  typical  drift. 
On  another  occasion  I  hope  to  show  that  the  action  of  the 
local  glaciers  of  the  White  Mountains  began  to  be  circum- 
scribed within  the  areas  they  covered,  after  the  typical 
drift  had,  in  consequence  of  the  melting  of  the  noi'them 
ice  sheet,  been  laid  bare  in  the  Middle  States,  in  Massachu- 
setts and  Connecticut,  after  even  the  southern  portions  of 
Vermont,  New  Hampshire  and  Maine  had  been  freed,  and 
when  the  White  Mountains,  the  Adirondacks  and  the  Ka- 


558  NATURAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 

tahdin  range  were  the  only  ice  clad  peaks  in  this  part  of  the 
continent. 

When  in  their  turn  the  glaciers  of  the  White  Mountain 
region  began  to  melt  away,  the  freshets  occasioned  by  the 
sudden  large  accumulation  of  water  remodelled  many  of 
these  moraines  and  carried  off  the  minute  materials  they 
contained,  to  deposit  them  lower  down  in  the  shape  of  river 
terraces.  I  have  recently  satisfied  myself,  by  a  careful  ex- 
amination, that  all  the  river  terraces  of  the  Connecticut 
River  valley  and  its  tributaries,  as  well  as  those  of  the  Mer- 
rimack and  its  tributaries,  are  deposits  formed  by  the  floods 
descending  from  the  melting  glaciers.  What  President 
Hitchcock  has  described  as  sea-beaches  and  ocean  bottoms 
near  the  White  Mountain  and  Francoiiia  Notches,  as  well  as 
in  the  Connecticut  River  valley  and  along  the  Merrimack, 
have  all  the  same  origin.  The  ocean  never  was  in  contact 
with  these  deposits,  which  nowhere  contain  any  trace  of 
marine  organic  remains. 


NATURAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 


BOTANY. 

RiCHARDSONiA  SCABRA,  a  tropical  American  Rubiaceoas  weed,  has  every 
now  and  then  been  picked  up  and  sent  us  from  Georgia  or  Alabama ;  and 
If  It  Is  Farsh's  Spermacoce  involucratGi  as  Is  probable,  It  was  introduced 
more  than  half  a  century  ago.  It  appears  that  It  is  now  talcing  wide  pos- 
session of  the  soli  In  the  plney  region,  and  that  it  may  play  an  useful  part. 
Dr.  F.  J.  B.  Hcehmer,  of  Mobile,  Alabama,  writes  of  this  plant  as  follows : 

''This  plant  was  comparatively  rare  here  twenty  years  ago,  but  is  now 
very  commoA  throughout  the  plney  wood  region  of  Alabama  skirting  the 
Gulf  coast.  It  seems  to  choke  out  all  the  grasses  by  its  more  luxuriant 
growth.  It  is  known  by  farmers,  as  **  Mexican  Clover/'  and  may  possi- 
bly have  been  Introduced  during  the  Mexican  war,  as  It  is  said  to  grow 
In  the  rear  of  Vera  Cruz.  It  is  relished  by  all  kind  of  stock,  either  green 
or  cured. 

In  my  capacity,  during  our  late  war.  as  botanist  and  chemist  for  the  de- 


J 


NATURAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY.  559 

partment  of  the  Gulf,  I  Introdaced  the  roots  of  this  plant  into  the  sapply 
table  of  the  Confederate  States  Army,  as  an  Indigenous  succedaneum  for 
the  true  Ipecac,  then  exceedingly  scarce,  and  as  a  substitute  for  the  Eu- 
phorbias which  had  been  recommended,  but  which  were  too  violent  in 
their  operation,  and  I  can  say  that  in  increased  doses  it  answered  every 
purpose." 

Acclimatization  of  Palm  Trees.  —  In  addition  to  the  date-palm  and 
the  Chamosropsj  which  have  long  been  naturalized  on  the  European  shores 
of  the  Mediterranean,  M.  Naudln  has  succeeded  very  well  with  several 
other  kinds  at  Collloure,  in  the  Pyrenees,  notwithstanding  the  exception- 
ally unfavorable  character  of  the  winter  of  1869-70.  The  severe  cold  of 
the  last  week  of  December,  when  the  thermometer  descended  to  —  4^, 
and  in  some  localities  even  to  —  6^  C,  was  fatal  to  only  one  species. 
The  extraordinarily  heavy  fall  of  snow  which  took  place  in  January,  last- 
ing for  forty-four  hours  without  intermission,  was  expected  to  destroy 
the  young  trees  altogether.  After,  however,  they  had  been  entirely  cov- 
ered up  with  snow  for  nine  or  ten  days,  so  that  the  boughs  were  com- 
pletely flattened,  when  the  thaw  came  they  almost  immediately  recovered 
their  former  position,  even  the  green  color  of  the  leaves  not  being  in- 
jured. The  same  fall  of  snow  caused  a  fear  Ail  amount  of  destruction 
among  the  olives  and  cork-oaks.  —  Quarterly  Journal  of  Science, 

ZOOLOGY. 

LoNi>oN  Zoological  Gardens.  The  whole  number  of  animals  in  the 
Zoological  Society's  Gardens,  usually  somewhat  exceeds  2000.  On  the 
first  of  January  last,  it  was  2,081,  consisting  of  698  mammals,  1245  birds, 
and  170  reptiles  and  batrachians,  besides  the  fishes  in  the  aquarium,  which 
do  not  appear  to  be  Included  in  the  annual  census.  Constant  additions 
are  made  to  the  series,  not  only  by  purchase,  but  also  by  gifts  of  corres- 
pondents in  every  part  of  the  world,  and  by  exchange  with  the  continen- 
tal establishments.  —  Nature. 

The  Nesting  of  the  Fish  Hawk.  —  Mr.  Samuels  in  his  "  Birds  of  New 
England,"  speaking  of  the  fish  hawk,  says  **  that  seldom  more  than  one 
nest  is  found  In  one  locality"  (in  New  England).  At  Harpswell,  Maine, 
situated  about  twenty  miles  east  of  Portland,  I  know  of  at  least  fifteen 
nests  of  the  fish  hawk  within  one  square  mile.  I  think  I  might  safely  call 
the  number  twenty,  but  as  I  am  writing  I  can  only  distinctly  remember 
fifteen.  A  short  time  since  speaking  to  a  gentleman  who  has  for  many 
years  lived  at  Harpswell,  of  what  I  had  read  in  Mr.  Samuel's  book,  he 
said,  "  tell  him  you  know  of  a  place  where  there  are  fifty  nests  within 
three  miles,  and  I  can  find  more  places  like  it."  These  nests  that  I  speak 
of  were  all  on  two  small  islands.  These  islands  I  visited  exclusively,  but 
I  see  no  reason  why  there  should  not  be  nests  on  the  rest  also.  On  both 
of  these  islands  the  great  blue  heron  and  the  night  heron  breed  together 


560  NATURAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 

in  quite  large  numbers.  Mr.  Samuels  also  says  that  they  never  molest 
their  feathered  neighbors.  I  have  repeatedly  seen  the  fish  hawlif  attack 
the  night  heron  and  pursue  it  for  a  short  distance.  There  seemed  to  be 
no  reason  for  these  attacks,  but  the  hawk  appeared  to  be  venting  his  ill- 
humor  upon  the  poor  heron  for  want  of  some  other  object.  Once  when 
in  a  boat  with  two  companions  we  saw  a  fish-hawk  attack  some  water- 
fowl (the  distance  was  too  great  to  make  out  with  certainty  what  it  was), 
that  was  swimming  by  near  its  nest.  The  bird  dove  and  the  ilsh-hawk 
hovered  about  till  it  reappeared,  when  it  renewed  its  attack.  This  per- 
formance lasted  for  a  few  minutes,  and  ended  by  the  fish  hawk's  desisting 
from  his  assaults.— Waltkr  Woodman. 

GEOLOGY. 


Glaciers  in  Paljbozoic  Times.  —  In  '<  Notes  on  an  ancient  Boulder 
Clay  of  Natal,"  Dr.  Sutherland  describes  an  ancient  **  boulder  clay,"  con- 
solidated into  a  clay  stone  porphyry,  "perhaps  of  Permian  age,"  which 
rested  generally  upon  old  Silurian  sandstones,  the  upper  surface  of  which 
was  often  deeply  grooved  and  striated.  Mr.  T.  M*K.  Hughes,  while  ad- 
mitting the  probability  of  a  recurrence  of  glacial  periods,  disputed  the 
evidence  in  this  particular  case.  Prof.  Ramsay  **  pointed  out  that  in  the 
Natal  beds,  under  discussion,  enormous  blocks  of  rock  occurred,  which 
were  sixty  or  elghty/mlles  from  their  original  home,  and  still  remained 
angular;  and  there  was  a  difficulcy  In  accounting  for  the  phenomena  on 
any  other  hypothesis  than  that  suggested.  He  still  maintained  the  proba- 
bility of  the  occurrence  of  glacial  episodes,  not  only  In  the  Permian,  but 
in  other  ages,  as  he  had  done,  now  fifteen  years  ago."  —  Proceedings  of 
the  Geological  Society  of  London,  reported  in  Nature, 

Recent  and  Fossil  Copal.  —  At  the  meeting  of  the  Llnnean  Society 
held  May  5th,  Dr.  J.  D.  Hooker  read  a  communication  from  Dr.  Kirk, 
Her  Majesty's  Vice-Consul  at  Zanzibar,  on  the  distinction  between  the 
recent  and  fossil  states  of  the  resin  known  in  commerce  as  Copal.  One 
characteristic  by  which  fossil  copal  is  known  ft-om  the  recent  resin  is  the. 
so-called  "goose-skin."  Dr.  Kirk  has  ascertained  that  the  fossil  copal- 
shows  no  trace  of  this  goose-skin  when  first  dug  out  of  the  earth,  but 
that  it  makes  its  appearance  only  after  cleaning  and  brushing  the  outer 
surface.  Both  descriptions  often  contain  imprisoned  leaves,  fiowers,  and 
insects  in  a  beautlfbl  state  of  preservation;  but  the  fossil  variety  is 
clearer  and  more  transparent.  Captain  Grant  states  that  the  true  copal 
gum-tree  is  a  climber  reaching  to  a  great  height  among  the  forest  trees, 
finally  becoming  completely  detached  ft-om  Its  original  root,  when  the 
copal  exudes  fi*ora  the  extremities  of  these  detached  roots.  Large 
pieces  of  the  resin  fetch  a  very  high  price  even  in  that  country.  —  Quar' 
terly  Journal  of  Science, 


AMERICAN  ASSOCIATION. 

Nineteenth  Meeting  of  the  Amekican  Association  for  the  Ad- 
vancement OF  Science,  held  at  Tboy,  N.  Y.,  August  17th- 24th. 
1870.     lAbstracts  of  papers  continued  from  the  October  Number.^ 

Mr.  W.  H.  Dall  gave  a  short  account  of  some  researches  into  the 
structure  of  the  Eskimo  languages  in  which  he  was  engaged.  He  showed 
how  the  radical  words  of  the  different  dialects  from  Greenland  to  Bering 
Strait  were  es<sentiully  the  same,  while  many  of  the  adjectives,  verbs 
and  prepositional  terminations  differed  in  tribes  which  were  closely  adja- 
cent. He  then  gave  a  description  of  the  multiform. changes  of  the  term- 
ination of  the  verbs,  showing  that  the  Eskimo  of  Repulse  Bay  had,  in  the 
indicative  mood  of  a  transitive  verb,  five  forms,  only  one  of  which  (the 
present)  had  an  exact  equivalent  in  English.  They  were  the  present 
form  or  tense ;  the  past  imperfect,  indicating  an  action  Just  performed ; 
the  past  perfect,  indicating  an  action  performed  long  ago;  the  future,  re- 
lating to  an  action  about  to  be  performed ;  and  the  future  perfect,  which 
denoted  an  action  to  be  performed  in  some  future  time. 

The  termination  changing  with  the  singular,  dual  and  plural  numbers, 
and  the  various  cases  of  subject  and  object,  result  in  a  total  number  of 
seventy-eight  affirmative  terminations  for  the  present  tense,  in  a  transi- 
tive verb,  all  different;  the  whole  number  of  different  terminations  in  the 
indicative  mood  is  eleven  hundred  and  ninety,  and  of  the  whole  verb  is 
over  three  thousand  one  hundred,  including  the  affirmative,  negative,  and 
interrogative  forms.  The  non-transitive  verbs  have  a  smaller  number. 
The  verbs**  to  be"  and  **to  have  "are  identical  and  possess  very  few 
forms. 

Mr.  Dall  also  gave  an  account  of  the  anatomical  characters  of  the 
conical  univalve  mollusks  generally  known  as  Limpets.  These  have  been 
divided  by  Gray  and  other  naturalists  into  two  orders,  according  as  the 
animal  possessed  one  plume  shaped  gill  over  the  back  of  the  neck,  or  a 
cordon  of  lamellar  pills  all  around  the  body.  His  recent  investigation  of 
the  anatomy  of  many  species,  principally  from  the  American  coasts,  had 
shown  that  the  value  of  these  distinctions  was  less  than  had  been  here- 
tofore supposed.  Some  of  the  Limpets  were  shown  to  be  entirely  with- 
out special  gills ;  others  possessed  a  cervical  plume-like  gill,  and  also  a 
cordon  of  accessory  gills,  greatly  varying  in  extent  in  the  different  genera. 
For  this  reason  he  proposed  to  include  them  all  in  one  order  (named  Doco- 
glossa  by  Dr.  Troschel)  subdividing  it  into  two  sections  characterized 
by  the  total  absence,  or  by  the  presence,  of  gills.  These  suborders  would 
respectively  bear  the  names  of  Abranchiatay  and  Proteo-branchiata,    The 

AMER.   naturalist,   VOL.   IV.  71  (5C1) 


562  AMERICAN   ASSOCIATION 

Solenoconchos  and  Polyplacophora,  incladed  by  Troschel  In  this  onler, 
were  to  be  eliminated ;  the  former  having  the  valae  of  a  snbchiss,  while 
the  latter  form  a  well  marked  order,  lie  concluded  with  some  remarks 
on  the  synonymy  of  some  of  the  genera  most  abundantly  represented  on 
our  coasts. 

Mr.  Thomas  Meehan  read  a  paper  on  **  Nutrition  and  Sex  in  Plants." 
He  referred  to  his  **  laws  of  sex/'  read  last  year,  and  now  proposed  to 
show  that  a  decreased  power  of  nutrition  was  one  of  the  operating  causes 
against  that  high  state  of  vitality  necessary  to  produce  the  female  sex. 
He  stated  that  there  were  two  classes  of  male  flowers  on  the  common 
Chestnut  (Castanea  Americana),  one  f^om  the  axils  of  leaves  on  weak 
branches,  the  other  terminating  the  vigorous  shoots,  only  on  which  the 
female  flowers  are  formed.  The  axillary  male  flowers  mostly  matured 
before  the  supra-pistillate  ones  opened.  These  were  extremely  weak, 
owing  to  the  superior  absorptive  power  of  the  females  below  them.  He 
then  exhibited  some  specimens  of  these,  as  w^ell  as  some  ft'om  a  very 
large  Chestnut  tree,  which  had  always  borne  abundant  fruit,  but  had  this 
year  produced  nothing  but  male  flowers.  The  leaves  were  all  striped 
with  yellow  and  green,  indicating,  as  every  experienced  gardener  know^s, 
that  nutrition  was  obstructed.  Plants  over  watered,  by  which  the  yoang 
feeding  roots  rotted,  always  put  on  this  yellow  cast.  The  yellow  tint 
always  followed  "ringing"  the  branches,  or  any  accident  done  to  the 
bark.  The  influence  of  this  defective  power  of  nutrition,  in  this  instance, 
he  held  so  clear  that  he  had  no  difllculty  in  concluding  that  it  was  one 
of  the  agents  which  operated  on  the  laws  of  vitality  that  governed  the  sexes. 

Prof.  £.  D.  Cope  of  Philadelphia,  read  a  paper  on  the  **  Reptilia  of  the 
Triassic  Formation  of  the  United  States."  He  stated  briefly  the  distri- 
bution of  the  rocks  of  Triassic  age,  and  the  localities  at  which  verte- 
brate remains  have  been  found.  He  stated  that  fourteen  supposed  species 
had  been  named,  which  had  not  been  referred  to  their  appropriate  ordinal 
groups.  He  then  pointed  out  that  three  of  the  genera,  —  Megadactylus  of 
Hitchcock,  Clepsysaurus  of  Lea,  and  Bathygnathus  of  Leidy,  belonged  to 
the  order  Dinosauria.  This  he  had  been  unable  to  determine  f)rom  the 
vertebrae,  or  even  the  limb  bones,  but  from  the  pelvic  elements.  The 
structure  of  these  in  the  flrst  two  genera  was  described  and  represented 
as  apair  of  coossifled  styles  upon  which  the  animal  supported  himself 
when  in  a  sitting  position.  The  fore  limbs  of  the  Megadactylus  were 
rather  long.  The  genus  Clepsysaurus  was,  as  Lea  has  pointed  out,  nearly 
related  to  Palsosaurus  of  the  Bristol  (England)  conglomerate,  while  Ba- 
thygnathus was  also  related  to  the  same  and  to  Teratosaurus.  Of  the 
eleven  species  remaining,  nine  had  been  found  by  Prof.  Cope  to  belong  to 
the  Thecodontia,  and  to  be  allied  to  the  genus  Belodon.  He  reduced  the 
number  of  definable  forms  to  four,  stating  that  the  remaining  five  were 
mostly  established  on  the  posterior  teeth  of  the  others.  His  fourth  spe- 
cies he  regarded  as  undescribed.  It  was  the  largest  of  the  species,  and 
was  established  on  remains  trom  PhcBnlxville,  Penn.,  discovered  by 


FOR   THE   ADVANCEMENT  OF   SCIENCE.  563 

Charles  M.  Wheatley.  A  portion  of  these  was  exhibited.  They  included 
boues  of  the  extremities,  pelvis,  and  vertebras.  The  femora  measured 
about  thirteen  inches  in  length.    It  was  named  Belodon  leptnrtis. 

The  question  of  the  greater  or  less  generalization  of  types  In  the  earlier 
ages  was  discussed,  and  evidence  deduced  from  the  Reptilia  of  the  Amer- 
ican Trias  that  such  was  the  case.  Thus  there  was  much  greater  diffi- 
culty in  distinguishing  the  Crocodiles  and  Dinosauria  of  the  Trias,  than 
those  of  the  Cretaceous.  This  was  to  be  especially  seen  in  the  forms  of 
the  vertebrffi,  and  the  femora.  The  Rhynchocephalia  and  Thecodontla 
were  Triassic  groups  still  more  generalized  and  intercalated  between  the 
preceding  and  the  later  orders  Lacertilia  and  Crocoiiilia.  In  the  case  of 
the  former  this  was  shown  in  the  structure  of  the  cranium  and  vertebrn; 
in  the  latter  in  tlie  same  regions,  in  the  sacrum,  in  the  extension  of  the 
rib-series  to  the  latter,  and  in  the  limbs.  The  speaker  explained  that  the 
structure  of  the  quadrate  region  precluded  the  reference  of  the  Triassic 
and  Permian  genera  Parasaurus,  liyperodapedon,  Telerpeton,  Protoro- 
saurus,  etc.,  to  the  Lacertilia,  as  had  been  done  by  Huxley,  but  that  they 
were  truly  Rhynchocephalia,  an  order  represented  by  but  one  recent 
genus.  He  stated  that  he  knew  of  no  Lacertilian  older  than  the  Jurassic 
period. 

Professor  James  Hall  read  a  paper  '*  On  the  Relations  of  the  Oneonta 
Sandstone  and  Montrose  Sandstone  of  Yanuxem  with  the  Hamilton  and 
Chemung  Groups."  Tlie  object  of  this  paper  was  mainly  to  correct  some 
erroneous  impressions  regarding  the  geology  of  Eastern  New  York. 

The  sandstone  referred  to  had  been  termed  in  the  annual  reports  of  Mr. 
Yanuxem  the  Montrose  sandstone  and  Oneonta  sandstone ;  the  former  a 
well  marked  locality  in  Pennsylvania;  the  latter  in  New  York.  This 
sandstone  had  been  regarded  as  the  terminal  rock  of  the  series,  and  as 
lying  above  the  rocks  of  the  Chemung  group.  The  same  views  were  en- 
tertained by  Mr.  Mattier,  who  parallelized  the  sandstone  of  the  upper  part 
of  the  Catskill  Mountains,  with  that  of  Montrose  and  Oneonta,  giving  a 
section  from  near  the  base  to  the  top  of  the  Catskill,  without  recognizing 
any  important  subdivisions. 

In  the  final  nomenclature  the  term  Catskill  group  was  adopted  for  the 
entire  series.  A  red  sandHtone,  which  had  been  observed  farther  to  the 
westward,  along  the  Tioga  River  and  upon  the  borders  of  New  York  and 
Pennsylvania,  containing  sales  and  bones  of  lloloptychius  was  regarded 
as  part  of  the  same  group.  Since  this  red  sandstone  of  Tioga  was 
known  to  thin  out  to  the  westward,  it  gave  support  to  the  hypothesis 
that  it  was  only  the  thinning  western  extension  of  the  formation  which 
was  so  largely  developed  in  the  Catskill  Mountains. 

In  the  central  and  western  parts  of  the  State  the  limits  of  the  Hamilton, 
Portage  and  Chemung  groups,  had  been  pretty  well  defined,  the  two  latter 
occupying  a  great  breadth  in  the  southern  counties.  In  the  coloring  of 
the  map  the  great  breadth  given  to  the  Catskill  group  in  the  eastern  coun- 
ties reduced  the  Chemung  and  Portage  to  a  narrow  belt  giving  an  Incon- 


564  AHEBIOAN  ASSOCIATION 

gruoas  aspect  to  the  area,  esrpecially  when  we  recognize  the  generally  ac- 
cepted view,  that  tlie  soarce  of  the  sediments  has  been  to  the  eastward 
of  these  limits. 

A  few  years  after  the  close  of  the  survey  it  was  ascertained  that  in 
Delaware  county,  lying  above  the  sandstones  of  Oneonta,  there  were  sev- 
eral hundred  feet  of  gray  greenish  and  other  sandstones  and  shales,  con- 
taining the  characteristic  fossils  of  the  Chemung  group. 

At  the  same  time  it  was  ascertained  that  the  beds  below  the  Oneonta 
sandstone  in  Schoharie  and  Otsego  counties  contained  no  characteristic 
Chemung  fossils.  The  sediments  it  is  true  were  found  to  be  coarser  than 
those  of  the  Hamilton  group  in  the  central  and  western  parts  of  the  state, 
and  contained  the  remains  of  land  plants,  but  otherwise  embracing  the 
common  characteristic  species  of  that  group.  Waiting  opportunities  for 
farther  investigation  the  results  of  these  observations  were  not  published, 
though  the  error  has  been  partially  corrected  in  the  geological  map  pub- 
lished by  the  Geological  Survey  of  Canada. 

Later  observations  have  served  to  verify  the  earlier  conclusions,  but 
there  has  been  no  opportunity  of  tracing  out  in  a  complete  and  satisfac- 
tory manner  the  limit  of  this  sandstone  formation. 

An  examination  of  the  Hamilton  group  along  the  valley  of  the  Scho- 
harie creek,  has  shown  that  the  more  argillaceous  deposits,  with  marine 
fossils,  are  succeeded  by  coarser  beds  with  remains  of  laud  plants,  and  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Gilboa  numerous  trunks  of  large  tree-like  plants 
nave  been  found  standing  in  the  position  in  which  they  had  grown.  The 
entire  thickness  of  the  formation  is  not  less  than  three  thousand  feet,  and 
this  is  succeeded  by  the  red  and  gray  sandstone  and  shales  originally  de- 
scribed as  the  Oneonta  and  Montrose  sandstones. 

The  entire  thickness  of  this  sandstone  in  Schoharie  and  Delaware 
counties  has  not  been  ascertained,  but  in  the  adjacent  county  of  Otsego 
it  is  not  less  than  five  hundred  feet,  and  is  characterized  by  the  diagonal 
lamination  especially  in  the  gray  beds,  and  many  of  the  layers  contain 
remains  of  land  plants. 

The  characteristic  fossil  Cypricardites  ♦  of  Vanuxem  Is  found  in  a  shaly 
bed  at  the  base  of  the  sandstones  In  Richmond's  quarry  near  Mt.  Upton, 
immediately  above  a  plant  bed  which,  so  far  as  at  present  determined, 
belongs  to  the  upper  part  of  the  Hamilton  group. 

This  sandstone  so  far  as  observed,  rarely  contains  remains  of  fishes,  and 
among  them  scales  of  Holoptychius,  but  all  those  seen  had  proved  of 
distinct  species  firom  those  of  the  Tioga  red  sandstone. 

Lying  to  the  south  and  above  the  sandstones  we  have  the  scries  of  beds 
before  referred  to.  containing  the  characteristic  fossils  of  the  Chemung 
group,  and  above  this  the  sandstone  and  conglomerate  of  the  top  of  the 
CatsklU  mountains. 


*'nie  two  species  C,  CeUskilferuis  and  C  an^tuia  are  both  rarletles  of  form  dne  to  pressure. 
The  shell,  howerer.  Is  not  a  true  Cjrpryoardltes. 


FOR   THE   ADVANCEMENT   OF   SCIENCE.  565 

The  parallelism  of  the  groups  in  the  eastern  and  western  parts  of  the 
State  may  be  tbas  presented :  -^ 

Old  Bed  Sandstone  of  Tioga,  efeo  Catskill  Mfc.  Sandstone, 

Chemung  Graup,  Chemung  Group, 

Portage  Group,  Oneonta  Sandstone, 

Hamilton  Group,  Hamilton  Group. 

In  the  central  part  of  the  State  there  is  no  sandstone  bearing  the  char- 
acter of  the  Oneonta  sandstone ;  on  the  contrary,  the  Hamilton,group  is 
succeeded  by  a  scries  of  shales,  flagstones  and  heavy-bedded  argillaceous 
sandstones  constituting  the  Portage  group.  These  two  formations  hold 
the  same  relative  position  to  the  Hamilton  group  below  and  the  Chemung 
group  above.  The  western  extension  of  the  Oneonta  sandstone  has  not 
been  traced  beyond  Chenango  county,  but  it  seems  probable  that  we  shall 
find  a  gradual  diminution  in  the  coarser  material,  a  coming  in  of  argilla- 
ceous matter,  and  the  absence  of  the  evidence  of  cross  currents  pro- 
ducing diagonal  laminations,  leaving  the  deposits  of  the  same  epoch  to  be 
spread  out  evenly  over  the  ocean  bed. 

We  are  not  yet  quite  prepared  to  assert  that  the  Oneonta  sandstone  of 
Eastern  New  York  is  the  precise  equivalent  of  the  Portage  group.  The 
former,  being  the  deposits  of  stronger  currents,  may  have  preceded  or 
followed  the  epoch  of  the  slates  and  flagstones  of  the  Portage  us  seen  on 
the  Genesee  valley.  It  will  be  only  after  a  carefdl  examination  of  the 
Oneonta  and  Montrose  sandstones  that  we  can  speak  with  certainty  of  its 
relations  to  the  Portage,  but  we  are  prepared  to  show  that  it  has  no  near 
relation  in  time  to  the  red  rocks  of  the  summit  of  the  Catskill  Mountains, 
nor  to  the  red  sandstones  with  remains  of  Holopty chins,  which  occurs 
along  the  Tioga  and  upon  the  borders  of  Steuben  and  Alleghany  counties 
of  the  State  of  New  York. 

Mr.  J.  B.  Fkrry  made  a  communication  on  ^*  Boulder- trains  in  Berk- 
shire county,  Massachusetts."  In  Richmond,  Berkshire  county,  Mass., 
there  are  six  or  seven  nearly  parallel  trains  of  angular  boulders,  two  of 
them  particularly  well  deflned.  Attention  was  called  to  them  years  ago 
by  Dr.  Reid  of  Pittsfleid.  They  have  been  also  referred  to,  and  in  part 
described  by  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  and  the  late  President  Hitchcock. 

These  trains  originate  partly  in  a  range  of  hills  consisting  of  chloritic 
slate,  in  Canaan,  Columbia  county,  N.  Y.,  but  more  especially  in  two 
other  nearly  parallel  ranges  of  hills  with  a  meridional  trend  near  the  State 
line  in  Richmond,  Mass.  The  latter  ranges  consist  of  a  greenish  slate 
occasionally  interstratifled  with  beds  of  limestone.  For  the  most  part  the 
boulders  can  be  readily  traced  back  to  their  exnct  source.  Some  of  the 
trains  may  be  followed  south-easterly  for  four  or  Ave  miles;  others,  pass- 
ing over  the  Lenox  range  of  hills,  can  be  traced  for  ten  or  fifteen,  and  one 
of  the  larger  for  some  twenty  miles.  Their  direction  during  the  first 
part  of  their  course  is  south  about  55°  east.  Somewhat  farther  on,  they 
change  their  trend,  it  being  some  85°  east  of  south. 

President  Hitchcock  presuming  that  there  was  a  submergence  of  the 


566  AMERICAN   ASSOCIATION 

region,  speaks  of  tbese  lines  of  bonlders  as  osars.  Sir  Charles  Lycll  also 
supposing  a  depression,  thiulcs  these  boulders  were  transported  by  coast- 
ice. 

There  being  no  evidence  of  any  considerable  depression  of  this  part  of 
the  continent  during  the  Glacial  Period,  even  if  a  submergence  would 
afford  an  adequate  explanation,  which  it  does  not,  how  are  we  to  account 
for  these  boulder-trains  ? 

As  the  vast  ice-sheet  which  spread  over  the  country  gradually  wasted, 
the  elevations  fi'om  which  these  boulders  were  derived  would  be  at  last 
laid  bare.  The  ice  no  longer  passing  directly  over  the  tops  of  the  hills, 
there  is  evidence  that  the  mass  was  parted,  moving  around  the  north- 
eastern and  south-western  sides  of  the  several  peaks.  Of  course,  under 
these  circumstances,  the  hillsides  would  be  pressed  and  rubbed,  blocks  of 
slate  and  limestone  detached  from  their  places,  and  borne  along  upon  the 
surface  of  the  ice-sheet.  This  being  at  that  time  about  six  hundred  feet 
in  thickness,  and  continuing  to  thaw,  the  boulders  would  be  carried  for- 
ward for  some  distance,  and  finally  left  above  the  typical  drift,  as  we  now 
And  them.  As  the  ice  wasted  there  would  be  changes  in  the  direction  of 
the  moving  mass,  determined  by  the  character  of  the  underlying  surface 
of  solid  rock,  tlius  enabling  us  to  account  for  the  variation  in  the  course 
of  the  boulder-trains. 

Such,  in  brief,  is  the  explanation  suggested  for  these  trains  of  angular 
rocks,  and  for  some  other  similar  phenomena  in  different  parts  of  New 
England  — an  explanation  in  entire  consonance  with  all  the  known  facts 
connected  with  the  glaclation  of  the  country,  and  requiring  no  arbitrary 
resort  to  the  theory  of  submergence. 

Professor  Oiiton  presented  a  paper  "On  the  Evidence  of  a  Glacial 
Epoch  at  the  Equator,*'  which  controverted  Professor  Agassiz's  theory  of 
the  glacial  origin  of  the  Amazon  Valley.  He  briefly  reviewed  the  state- 
ments made  by  Professor  Agassiz  that  the  Amazon  formation  did  not 
contain  a  single  marine  fossil,  and  therefore  was  the  product  of  an  im- 
mense glacier  that  slid  down  from  the  Andes  to  the  Atlantic.  Professor 
Orton  however,  in  his  expedition  across  the  continent,  discovered  an 
immense  fossiliferous  deposit  at  Pebas  on  the  Maranon,  and  subsequent 
researches,  carried  on  under  his  direction  by  Mr.  Hauxwell,  had  resulted 
in  the  discovery  of  several  other  localities  abounding  in  tertiary  sheila. 
A  series  of  these  were  exhibited  to  the  Association  and  excited  consider- 
able interest,  not  only  IVom  the  novelty  of  their  forms,  but  also  ft'om  the 
fact  that  they  were  found  in  the  heart  of  the  great  valley  where  Agassiz 
declared  there  were  none.  The  shells  are  of  fresh  or  brackish  water 
types,  and  plainly  indicate  that  the  Valley  of  the  Amazon,  like  the  Pampas 
of  La  Plata  as  shown  by  Darwin,  is  an  estuary  creation,  or  the  relic  of  a 
vast  Mediterranean  of  fresh-water.  In  the  minds  of  geologists  present, 
these  fossils  settled  the  question  of  the  origin  of  the  valley;  it  was  illog- 
ical and  absurd  to  assume  a  glacial  winter  within  the  tropics  when  we  do 
not  dis  over  one  solitary  sign  of  its  presence, — strife  and  boulders  are 


FOR  THE   ADVANCEMENT  OF   SCIENCE.  567 

not  visible,  and  in  their  stead  extinct  shells  are  abundant.  Professor 
Agassiz  has  declared  that  the  Amazon  clays  are  *'  drift "  from  the  Andes 
transported  by  glaciers  and  fi^round  down  to  an  impalpable  powder.  But 
these  fossils,  some  of  them  very  delicate,  are  marvelously  well  preserved. 
Two  explanations  of  the  existence  of 'these  fossils  have  been  given:  (1) 
That  they  are  accidental,  being  fragments  of  some  formation  elsewhere, 
mingled  with  the  drift.  But  this  hypothetical  formation  cannot  be  found. 
The  valley  is  bordered  by  either  palseozoic  or  cretaceous  rocks.  Besides, 
the  fossils  are  in  situ  and  identified  with  the  peculiar  Amazonian  varie- 
gated clays.  They  must  have  lived  and  died  in  the  vicinit}'  of  the  spot 
where  they  are  now  found.  (2)  That  the  beds  in  which  tiiey  are  found 
may  overlie  the  drift  like  the  marine  clay  beds  of  Champlain.  But  the 
fossils  are  plainly  of  the  same  age  as  the  formation  in  question,  and  can- 
not be  later  than  the  Pliocene.  Moreover,  the  terraces  which  would  re- 
sult from  submergence  are  not  discernible  within  or  on  the  borders  of 
the  valley. 

Professor  Orton  then  alluded  to  the  glacial  transmigration  hypothesis, 
and  showed  by  a  comparison  of  the  flora  of  the  United  States,  and  that  of 
Andean  highlands,  that  there  had  been  no  mingling  of  plants  such  as 
would  have  resulted  had  a  vast  glacier  covered  the  whole  or  even  the 
greater  part  of  North  America.  And  the  conclusion  reached  was  that 
facts  were  incompatible  with  the  existence  of  an  equatorial  glacier  and 
even  of  an  intertropical  cold  epoch.* 

Mr.  R.  W.  Raymond,  United  States  Commissioner  of  Mining,  gave  a 
description  of  certain  typical  pbyslco-geological  phenomena  of  the  Pa- 
cific slope.  The  speaker,  to  save  the  time  of  the  meeting,  condensed 
into  one  rapid  talk  the  substance  of  his  two  papei*d  on  "  The  Lava-ducts 
of  Washington  Territory,'*  and  "  The  Great  Salt  Marsh  of  Silver  Peak, 
Southern  Nevada."  The  former,  he  said,  was  a  picture  from  the  heart 
of  the  great  volcanic  overflows  of  the  North,  and  the  latter  an  equally 
characteristic  scene  from  the  region  of  solfataric  and  thermal-aqueous 
metamorphosis  in  the  South.  The  accumulation  of  ice  in  the  subterra- 
nean lava-ducts,  the  disappearance  in  them  of  streams  (*MnRt  rivers"), 
and  various  other  features  were  briefly  alluded  to.  The  speaker  ascribed 
the  alkaline  deposits  of  the  Nevada  basin  to  the  decomposition  of  the 
soda-felspar  abounding  in  the  rocks,  by  means  of  hot  gases  and  waters, 
and  the  subsequent  percolation  of  these  into  the  valleys. 

Professor  C.  H.  Hitchcock  presented  a  paper  upon  "  The  Geology  and 
Topography  of  the  White  Mountains."  The  topographical  results  were 
embodied  in  a  model  which  he  exhibited  —  a  raised  model  on  the  scale  of 
three-fourths  of  an  inch  to  one  thonsand  feet.    This  model  is  about  four 

*The  fossils  above  referred  were  given  to  Mr.  Conrnd  for  identiflcatlon.  He  distlngulslies 
•eventeen  dllTereiit  species — all  extinct,  beloriglnjr  to  nine  ^'nera,  of  nvhich  only  three  are  now 
reprcKcnted.  Tlie  species  are  Ixaea  OrtonU  /.  Hntea^  LirU  laqueata^  Ebora  ertuHIabra,  E,  Mfa^ 
IlemUinM  ntieatUM^  Dyri*  graeifis,  NeHHna  Ortofii^  JiuHmus  finteu*^  Pachydon  (AnUothyrU) 
tenuis^  P.  earinatns^  P.  ohHquus^  P.  erecttts,  P.  eiineatus,  P.  ovatus^  P.  alttu^  and  a  bivalve  allied 
to  Mulleria.    Duplicates  of  these  singular  forms  can  be  obtained  of  Professor  Orton. 


568  AMERICAN  ASSOCIATION 

feet  long,  and  shows  the  territory  bounded  by  the  ElliSi  Saco  and  Peabody 
rivers.  It  is  colored  to  show  the  distribation  of  the  several  formations. 
These  are  (1)  several  varieties  of  gneiss,  called  the  White  Mountain  se- 
ries; (2)  granite;  (3)  eruptive  granites  and  traps;  (4)  Staurolite  and 
andaluslte  rocks  belonging  to  the  Co6s  group.  The  first  group  composed 
the  main  range  of  mountains  in  order  from  north  to  south,  namely  :  Mad- 
ison, Adams,  Jefferson,  Clay,  Washington,  Monroe,  Franlclin,  Pleasant, 
Clinton,  Jackson  and  Webster.  Contrary  to  previously  received  opinions, 
it  was  said  tliat  the  structure  of  this  ridge  is  anticlinal  and  not  synclinal, 
and  the  force  crowding  it  up  came  from  the  north-west  instead  of  south- 
east, as  is  the  case  everywhere  else  in  the  country.  The  relations  of  the 
granite  to  the  schists  is  interesting.  It  is  plain  that  the  immense  granitic 
area  was  eruptive,  for  at  the  boundary  of  the  two  enormous  veins  of 
granite  had  been  injected  into  the  schists.  In  the  Saco  Valley  below  the 
Notch,  the  granite  occupies  the  lower  area,  and  the  schists  upon  the 
bordering  ridges  dip  away  ftom  it  in  an  anticlinal  manner.  The  granite 
is  the  softest  rock  among  the  mountains,  and  therefore  it  is  found  chiefly 
in  the  valleys.  These  valleys  have  very  abrupt  sides,  thus  resembling  the 
Yosemitc  valleys  in  California.  The  Professor  could  not  agree  with  the 
theory  of  the  California  geologists,  that  the  bottoms  of  these  valleys  had 
fallen  out,  he  rather  believed  in  the  old-fashioned  theory  of  denudation. 
The  Coos  group  is  a  new  one,  it  is  not  less  than  ten  thousand  feet  in 
thickness,  and  is  composed  of  a  quartzite  and  limestone  with  staurolite 
slates  and  schists.  It  is  characterized  by  tlie  presence  of  silicntes  of 
alumina  destitute  of  alkalies  —  and  the  minerals  are  staurolite,  andaluslte, 
and  kyanite.  Formations  containing  these  minerals  occur  in  New  Hamp- 
shire, Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Canada,  Nova  Scotia  and  New  Brunswick, 
and  they  were  referred  to  this  new  group.  The  same  had  been  described 
by  Dr.  Sterry  Hunt  a  few  weeks  previous  in  the  "  American  Journal  of 
Science  "  as  the  Terranovan  series,  and  some  fossils  of  the  Potsdam  Pe- 
riod had  been  found  in  it  in  Nova  Scotia.  It  would  hence  appear  that  this 
new  system  lies  at  the  base  of  or  below  the  Silurian,  not  far  f^om  the  an- 
ciently supposed  position  of  the  Taconie  System.  That  system  had  been 
the  subject  of  violent  discussion  for  twenty  years,  and  he  hoped  that  such 
results  would  not  follow  the  proposal  of  the  new  Cods  Group, 

He  next  exhibited  specimens  of  a  new  species  of  trilobite  {Acidagpis 
WhUfieldi)  ft"om  New  Jersey,  obtained  from  a  boulder  which  was  trans- 
ported from  New  York  by  the  glaciers.  It  came  from  the  Marcellns  slate. 
No  other  species  of  this  genus  had  heretofore  been  found  above  the  i»cho- 
harie  grit. 

Professor  C.  H.  Hitchcock  presented  an  argument  to  prove  that  a  large 
portion  of  the  North  Amerjcan  Continent  had  been  submerged  beneath 
the  ocean  since  the  Drift  Period.  The  proofs  relied  upon  to  maintain  this 
position  are  the  existence  of  twenty-seven  species  of  maritime  plants 
in  the  interior  along  the  great  lakes.  These  were  specified  by  name  nud 
locality,  extending  up  the  Hudson  Kiver  and  Champlalu  valley  and  the 


FOB  THE   ADYANGEMEMT  OF   SCIENCE.  56& 

lakes  of  Ontario  and  Erie  to  Minnesota.  He  argned  that  these  plants 
were  originally  introduced  by  natural  emigration  along  an  ancient  estuary, 
and  ihat  many  of  them  remain  to  the  present  day  in  couKequence  of  the 
existence  of  conditions  favorable  to  their  preservation.  He  supposed 
that  the  planla  about  the  salt  springs  in  Northern  New  Yorlc  were  intro- 
duced in  the  same  way.  The  pre-glacial  flora  has  been  completely  de- 
stroyed by  the  intense  cold,  and  while  a  new  creation  might  explain  the 
existence  of  salt  water  plants  about  the  springs,  it  would  not  show  why 
these  marine  plants  could  exist  in  the  fkr  interior.  There  should  be  a 
special  fltness  of  species  to  conditions,  in  case  the  creation  theory  is  in- 
voked. He  concluded  that  the  continent  must  have  been  submerged  two 
or  three  hundred  feet  lower  than  geologists  had  supposed,  relying  upon 
the  ordinary  arguments,  and  that  the  clays  about  Superior  and  Erie  must 
have  been  of  marine  or  estuary  origin.  It  was  quite  unexpected  that  the 
present  distribution  of  plants  should  throw  so  much  light  upon  geological 
questions,  and  therefore  it  was  urged  that  botanists  should  faithfully  pre- 
serve the  localities  of  all  their  specimens. 

Professor  T.  Stbrky  Hunt  said  the  presence  of  black  iron  sand  upon 
many  sea  beaches  has  long  been  noticed  both  in  Europe  and  America. 
Their  origin  is  to  be  found  in  the  crystalline  rocks,  firom  the  disintegration 
of  which  these  sands  have  been  derived.  The  action  of  the  waves,  by 
virtue  of  the  greater  specific  gravity  of  these  sands,  eflfects  a  process  of 
concentration,  so  that  considerable  layers  of  nearly  pure  black  sand  are 
often  found  on  shores  exposed  to  wind  and  tide.  These  black  sands  vary 
in  composition  according  to  the  localities,  but  as  found  on  the  coast  of 
New  England  and  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  consist  of  magnetic  oxyd  of 
Iron,  with  a  large  admixture  of  titaniferons  iron  ore,  and  more  or  less 
garnet,  the  purest  specimens  holding  fVom  thirty  to  flfty  per  cent,  of  mag- 
netic grains.  Such  sands  have  long  been  employed  as  sources  of  iron  in 
India,  where  they  are  directly  converted  in  small  furnaces  into  malleable 
iron.  Early  in  the  last  century  the  considerable  quantities  of  these  sands 
found  on  our  Atlantic  coast  attracted  the  attention  of  the  colonists  and 
of  scientific  men  in  England,  and  the  Virginia  sand-iron,  as  it  was  called, 
was  the  subject  of  many  experiments.  The  flrst  successflil  attempts  at 
working  it  were,  however,  made  in  Killingworth,  Conn.,  where  the  Rev. 
Jabez  Elliot,  grandson  of  the  celebrated  John  Elliot,  the  apostle  of  the 
Indians,  early  turned  his  attention  to  the  abundant  black  sands  of  the 
coast,  and  succeeded  in  treating  them  in  a  forge  fire  similar  to  the  Ger- 
man forge  or  modern  American  bloomary  Are.  It  appears  f^om  his  ac- 
count laid  before  the  Royal  Society  of  London  in  1761,  that  he  was  then 
making  iron  blooms  of  tifty  pounds  weight  from  this  ore,. and  that  his  son 
had  already  established  a  steel  factory  in  Killingworth,  when  an  act  of 
the  British  Parliament  forbade  the  manufacture  of  steel  in  the  colonies. 
The  London  Society  of  Arts  In  1761  awarded  a  medal  to  Mr.  Elliot  for  his 
dlscovei7.  The  working,  however,  was  abandoned,  and  for  a  century  no 
attempts  were  made  in  America  to  use  these  sands.    Some  four  years 

AMER.   NATURALIST,  VOL.  IV.  72 


570  PKOCBEDINGS   OF   THE   AMERICAN  ASSOCIATION 

since  the  large  quantities  of  them  in  the  lower  St.  Lawrence  attracted 
attention,  and  successfal  trials  were  made  for  their  reduction  in  the 
bloomary  fires  of  Northern  New  York,  after  which  an  establinhment  for 
working  them  was  erected  at  Moisle  in  tlie  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  where, 
under  the  direction  of  skilled  workmen  from  Lake  Champlain,  the  treat- 
ment of  these  iron  sands  has  been  successftiUy  carried  on.  These  sand 
ores  are  remarkably  free  f^om  both  sulphur  and  phosphorus,  and  hence 
yield  an  iron  of  great  purity  and  toughness.  The  working  is  effected  in 
forges  like  those  used  on  Lake  Champlain,  and  presents  no  difficulties. 

Prof.  W.  C.  Kerr  remarked  "  On  some  points  in  the  Stratigraphy  and 
Surface  Geology  of  North  Carolina."  The  two  long  narrow  belts  (troughs) 
of  coal-bearing  triasslc  rocks  in  North  Carolina,  lying,  nearly  parallel,  in 
a  direction  a  little  north  of  east,  and  separated  by  an  elevated  and  rolling 
tract  of  metamorphic  and  granite  rocks  fifty  to  seventy-five  miles  wide, 
are  found  to  constitute  the  fragmentary  fringes  of  an  eroded  anticlinal, 
the  one  dipping  north-west  at  an  angle  of  80^  to  75°,  the  other  south-east 
10°  to  85°.  The  material  of  this  formation  was  furnished  mainly  by  an 
ancient  plateau  or  mountain  chain  lying  eastward,  between  the  mesozoic 
and  the  Atlantic,  which  **has  left  no  sign"  of  its  existence  but  this.  I 
have  found  no  trace  of  glacial  action  in  North  Carolina,  even  in  the  most 
elevated  mountain  plateaus,  but  abundance  of  Quaternary  gravels,  whose 
position  is  such  as  to  negative  the  existence  of  glaciers  in  this  latitude. 
Among  these  deposits  occurs  a  remarkable  peat  bed,  fifteen  feet  thick  and 
about  one  hundred  yards  long,  recently  exposed  In  a  railroad  cut.  Its 
position  is  very  peculiar,  at  an  elevation  of  more  than  one  thousand  feet 
above  the  sea,  and  near  the  top  of  a  hill  one  hundred  feet  above  the  val- 
ley of  the  Catawba  River  (which  is  one  mile  distant),  and  twenty-five 
miles  firom  the  Blue  Ridge.  It  is  covered  and  protected  by  eight  to  ten 
feet  of  fiuvial  gravel  and  sand.  It  is  peculiar  also  in  its  contents,  being 
made  up  in  considerable  part  of  drift  wood,  and  containing  abundance  of 
pine  and  hemlock  cones  (there  being  no  hemlock  forests  nearer  than  the 
Blue  Ridge)  and  other  seeds,  and  also  of  charcoal,  partially  burned  piue 
knots  and  charred  logs. 

Another  peculiarity  is  that  the  peat,  occupying  the  middle  of  the  nearly 
vertical  face  of  the  cut  (some  eighty  feet  deep),. and  being  exposed  but 
one  season,  has  put  forth  an  abundant  swamp  vegetation,  consisting  of 
carex,  juncus,  and  several  species  of  swamp  grass  and  weeds. 

There  are  evidences  in  eastern  North  Carolina  of  considerable  oscilla- 
tions of  sea  level  during  the  prehuman  period  (probably  synchronous 
with  the  Champlain  epoch).  The  accumulations  of  stratified  gravels  on 
the  summits  and  slopes  of  the  hills,  at  an  elevation  of  more  than  three 
hundred  feet  above  the  present  sea  level,  extending  entirely  across  the 
State,  at  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  fVom  the  coast,  indicate  the  extent  of  this  movement  in  one 
direction,  while  the  minimum  of  elevation  is  indicated  by  the  excavation 
of  the  channel  of  the  Cape  Fear  River  (e.  g.)  for  more  than  thirty  miles 
to  a  depth  exceeding  one  hundred  feet  below  the  present  tide  level. 


FOB  THE   ADYANOEMENT   OF   SCIENCE.  571 

Professor  W.  C.Kerr  on  the  "Probable  Origin  of  the  South  Carolina 
Phosphates."  The  physical  circumstances  of  t!ie  deposition  of  these 
beds  in  their  present  situation,  have  been  explained  in  a  manner  suffi- 
ciently probable  by  Professor  Pratt  of  Charleston ;  but  I  have  seen  no 
suggestion  which  is  at  all  adequate  to  account  for  the  origin  of  the  ma- 
terials which  compose  them,  —  the  elimination  and  accumulation  of  such 
enormous  quantities  of  phosphate  of  lime  in  so  peculiar  a  situation. 

The  recent  discovery  of  the  singular  Brachiopod,  Lingvla  pyramidata, 
in  the  shoals  along  the  sounds  of  North  and  South  Carolina  furnish  a  so- 
lution of  the  mystery.  This  shell,  it  will  be  remembered,  consists  of  phos' 
phate  instead  of  carbonate  of  lime.  Its  habitat  is  at  the  precise  level  of 
the  Ashley  River  phosphates,  and  the  shell  being  very  fragile  and  left 
within  the  play  of  the  tides  in  the  shifting*  sand  of  the  shoals,  rapidly 
loses  its  form  and  Airnishes  only  its  solid  material,  to  be  agglomerated  by 
some  concretionary  or  other  chemical  or  chemico-mechanical  force  into 
the  nodular  masses  which  are  so  peculiar  to  this  formation. 

The  Microscopical  Subsection  of  the  American  Association  for 
THE  Advancement  of  Science,  which  was  initiated  at  the  Salem  meeting 
last  year,  was  continued  with  renewed  interest  and  increased  numbers  at 
the  Troy  meeting  this  summer,  and  promises  to  be  a  permanent  and  use- 
ful division  of  the  Association.  Under  the  Constitution,  as  amended  this 
year,  this  department'  is  removed  from  Section  B  (Natural  History),  and 
recognized  as  Subsection  C  of  Section  A  (Mathematics  and  Physics). 
This  arrangement,  though  somewhat  conftising,  is  probably  the  most  con- 
venient that  could  have  been  made ;  microscopy  proper,  the  science  of 
the  instrument,  belonging  strictly  to  mathematics  and  physics  —  but  mi- 
croscopy applied,  the  use  of  the  instrument,  being  chiefly  a  department 
of  Natural  History.  To  avoid  concision  at  this  point,  authors  of  Natural 
Histoi*y  papers  designed  for  this  department  should  make  a  memorandum 
to  that  effect  upon  their  MSS.,  as  a  request  to  the  standing  committee  to 
assign  them  to  Section  A  instead  of  Section  B. 

Professor  S.  S.  Haldkman,  of  Columbia,  Pennsylvania,  was  elected 
Permanent  Chairman  this  year;  and  Dr.  R.  H.  Ward,  of  Troy,  N.  Y., 
SvcrHary. 

Altliough  this  subsection,  having  been  recently  formed,  has  necessarily 
been  much  occupied  with  the  details  of  its  own  organization.  It  has  al- 
ready done  much  work  and  contributed  some  valuable  papers,  among 
which  were  the  following,  of  which  abstracts  are  published  elsewhere : 
**  On  a  new  form  of  Binocular  Microscope,"  by  President  F.  A.  P.  Barnard, 
of  Columbia  College,  N.  Y.,  describing  elaborately  a  newly  contrived  in- 
strument in  which  the  light  is  separated  into  two  pencils  by  double  re- 
fraction, and  which  cannot  fail  to  be  a  valuable  addition  to  the  resources 
of  the  working  microscopist ;  and  '*on  the  Illumination  of  Binocular  Mi- 
croscopes," by  Dr.  R.  H.  Ward,  of  Troy,  suggesting  convenient  means  of 
regulating  illumination  in  the  naturalist's  every  day  work  with  the  micro- 
scope, and  urging  that  professional  microscopists  make  their  Influence 


572 


PROCEEDINGS   OF  THE   AMEKICAN   ASSOCIATION 


Fig.  100. 


more  distinctly  felt  in  regard  to  the  lower  classes  of  instruments  that  are 
fhrnished  to  beginners,  and  particularly  in  regard  to  popularizing  the 
Binocular  Microscope. 

In  exhibiting  photographs  by  Dr.  Maddoz  of  the  Podura  scale.  Presi- 
dent Barnard  gave  an  exhaustive  review  of  the  discussion  in  regard  to  the 
structure  of  the  scale.  The  traditional  **note  of  exclamation/'  or  goose- 
quill  markings  are  unlike  those  of  any  other  known  scale,  and  many  nat- 
uralists are  anxious,  on  grounds  of  analogy,  to  get  rid  of  them.  Mr. 
Beck  argued  that  these  marks  represented  parallel  lines  on  different  sides 
of  the  scale,  crossing  each  other  at  an  acute  angle,  and  necessarily  imper- 
fectly focussed ;  some  observers  have  attributed  them  to  corrugations  or 
folded  ridges  of  the  upper  and  lower  membranes  of  the  scale ;  and  Mr. 
Figott,  with  his  aplanatic  searcher,  and  others  have  seemed  to  resolve 
them  into  bead-like  rows  of  spherules,  between  two  membranes.  The 
use  of  reflected  light  to  determine  these  points  is  very  desirable,  but 
difficult  with  sufficiently  high  powers.  Professor  Smith,  of  Kenyon  Col- 
lege, proposed  to  make  the  objective  its  own  illuminator.  Others  have 
replaced  the  mirror  he  placed  behind  the  lenses  by  a  plate  of  glass  or  a 
prism ;  but  all  these  means  give  a  glare  of  light  by  reflection  from  the  sur- 
faces of  the  lenses.  The  speaker  had  proposed 
a  concave  mirror  behind  the  outer  pair,  an  in- 
ternal Lieberkuhn  (fig.  100)  Which  works  exceed- 
ingly well  with  medium  powers,  say  one-third 
or  one-fourth  inch ;  but  there  is  not  room  for 
its  insertion  in  high  powers.  As  compared 
with  Tolles'  prism,  which  is  similarly  situated 
(above  the  front  pair),  it  gives  more  light,  and 
illuminates  from  any  part  or  all  parts  of  the 
circumference  at  will ;  on  the  other  hand  it  is 

/^*V  less  easily  applied,  requiring  the  front  lens  to 

^^^^^'■•s^     ^       be  mounted  in  glass  instead  of  brass,  and  it 

is  inapplicable  to  large  opaque  objects.  The 
beaded  appearance  has  not  yet  been  satisfac- 
torily seep  by  reflected  light;  nor  is  it  well 
shown  in  the  photographs  where  the  wedge- 
shaped  dashes  seem  rather  marked  by  crosslines  or  partial  interruptions. 
The  speaker  evidently  doubted  the  accuracy  of  the  exclamation  points, 
but  was  not  yet  ready  to  accept  the  beads.  Appearances  best  seen  by 
pushing  an  objective  far  beyond  its  ordinary  power  "were  received  with 
general  distrust. 

In  the  discussion  which  followed  the  reading  of  this  paper.  Dr.  Ward 
remarked  that  the  production  of  a  beaded  appearance,  as  a  purely  optical 
efltect,  should  be  considered  no  longer  doubtful,  but  rather  an  occasional 
accident  to  persons  using  high  powers.  As  an  extreme  instance,  in  the 
case  of  a  coarse  and  familiar  structure,  he  related  tliat  while  experiment- 
ing upon  an  elater  of  Marchantia  polymorpha^  that  beautifal  double  spiral 


FOB   THE   ADVANCEMENT   OF   SCIENCE.  573 

was  "resolved  '*  into  three  rows  of  **  beads "  or  **  hemispheres,"  perfectly 
distinct  and  unmistakable,  which  occupied,  of  course,  the  position  of  the 
middle  and  edges  of  the  spiral.  They  were  illuminated  by  parallel  light, 
▼ery  oblique,  under  a  1-15  objective  of  175°  worked  at  a  power  of  8,000 
diameters. 

Mr.  £.  Bicknell,  of  the  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology  at  Cambridge, 
Mass.,  exhibited  some  diatoms  recently  thrown  up  by  the  seal  at  Marble- 
head,  Mass.  The  deposit  first  found  belonged  to  brackish  water,  as  in- 
dicated by  the  nature  of  the  diatoms  and  the  presence  of  fruit  of  the 
Characecc.  The  second  deposit  occurred  about  a  mile  from  the  first,  and 
was  purely  of  fresh-water  origin;  consisting  of  peat  with  fresh- water 
diatoms,  —  Pinnularia,  StauroneiSt  Navieula  rhomboides,  N.  seriana,  etc. 
These  deposits  were  thrown  up  by  a  severe  storm  on  the  81st  of  March 
last,  and  are  believed  to  be  the  first  fresh-water  or  brackish  deposits 
known  to  exist  under  the  present  ocean.  They  seem  to  be  conclusive 
proof  of  the  recent  encroachments  of  the  ocean  upon  the  shore-line  In  that 
vicinity. 

The  Test  Plate  of  Nobert,  who  has  now  "  gone  to  the  war,"  and  Dr. 
Woodward's  photographs  of  the  same,  were  exhibited  by  Dr.  Ward, 
chlefiy  in  the  Interest  of  that  part  of  the  audience  who  were  not  profes- 
sional mlcroscoplsts,  and  might  be  unfamiliar  with  these  wonderful  works 
of  human  art.  Until  a  year  or  two  ago  the  finest  lines  had  never  been 
seen,  even  by  the  maker  of  them ;  now  they  have  been  seen  by  many  per- 
sons, and  have  been  photographed.  He  was  now  satisfied,  for  the  first 
time,  after  hearing  Mr.  Bicknell's  description,  that  the  Boston  mlcroscop- 
lsts had  seen  the  genuine  lines  with  powers  of  only  five  or  six  hundred 
diameters.  In  regard  to  the  use  of  photography  as  a  test  of  structure 
under  high  powers  and  difficult  circumstances,  we  may  learn  a  lesson 
from  the  broad  bands  of  light  and  shade  in  the  photograph  of  the  coarser 
lines,  which  manifestly  have  no  resemblance  to  the  appearance  of 
scratches  on  glass  as  seen  under  suitable  powers. 

Dr.  Ward  had  also  been  Investigating  the  effect  of  seeing  two  planes  of 
the  object  at  the  same  time  with  the  Wenham's  Binocular.  The  eye-pieces 
being  practically  not  equidistant  from  the  objective,  the  corresponding 
conjugate  foci  below  do  not  coincide.  Some  mlcroscoplsts  have  attri- 
buted much  of  the  stereoscopic  effect  to  this  fact,  which,  however,  does 
not  seem  to  contribute  perceptibly  (except  In  the  lowest  powers,  where 
the  angular  stereoscopic  effVict  Is  necessarily  very  small,  and  where  this 
dlffierence  of  planes  Is  most  considerable),  either  to  the  stereoscopic  ef- 
fect, or  to  the  Increased  distinctness  of  definition  above  and  below  the 
plane  of  most  perfect  vision. 

An  abundance  of  Instruments  were  flirnlshed  by  members  to  illustrate 
their  discussions,  or  for  the  general  work  of  the  subsection.  The  first 
class  stands  were  mostly  of  the  make  of  Powell  and  Leland,  and  Beck,  and 
Crouch,  of  London,  of  Nach^t  of  Paris,  and  of  Zentmeyer  in  this  coun- 
try.   The  "  Jackson "  model  of  stand,  with  a  curved  arm,  seems  to  be 


574  PROCEEDINGS   OF   THB  AMERICAN  ASSOCIATION 

growing  in  favor  liere ;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  those  makers  who  have 
heretofore  made  only  one  style  of  stand  will  soon  offer  both ;  so  that  buy- 
ers can  choose  their  style  of  stand  Irrespective  of  their  choice  of  makers. 
In  objectives  and  accessories  Tolles,  Wales,  Zentmeyer,  Grunow,  Spencer, 
Miller,  and  some  other  American  makers  were  represented;  also  Ross, 
Beck,  Powell  and  Leland,  Crouch,  Collins,  Murray  and  Heath,  Swift  and 
Browning,  Of  London;  Nach^t  and  Hartnack,  of  Paris;  and  Gnndlach 
of  Berlin.  Very  low  power  objectives,  3  and  4-inch,  were  deservedly 
popular.  The  use  of  immersion  objectives  for  all  high  powers  seemed 
to  be  assumed  by  all  members  as  a  settled  question.  Few  members,  on 
the  other  hand,  fall  into  the  present  fashion  of  high  power  objectives, — 
preferring  to  use  lenses  of  1-15  or  1-16,  and  downward,  and  gain  greater 
amplification  by  other  means  than  by  reducing  the  nominal  focus  of  the 
objective. 

Dr.  Josiah  Curtis  exhibited  a  micro-telescope,  or  microscope  and  tele- 
scope combined,  made  to  his  order  by  Tolles.  It  is  an  ordinary  Cutter's 
clinical  microscope,  fitted  with  an  extra  tube  carrying  an  object  glass  of 
one  inch  linear  aperture  and  six  inch  focus,  to  which  objective  the  com- 
pound microscope  acts  as  an  erecting  eye-piece.  Furnished  with  a  proper 
support  this  makes  an  admirable  pocket  telescope,  defining  well  at  pow- 
ers of  forty  or  fifty  diameters. 

Mr.  Tolles  had  mounted  a  2  1-2-inch  lens  with  the  society  screw  on  each 
side  of  the  shoulder,  so  that  it  can  either  be  screwed  on  In  the  usual  posi- 
tion, or  passed  up  into  the  body  of  the  instrument  and  flEistened  there, 
giving,  by  approaching  the  eye-piece,  about  the  power  of  a  4-inch  lens  at 
the  usual  distance.  Microscopists  have  been  accustomed  to  g.iin  a  lower 
power  than  could  be  focussed  by  their  rack,  by  screwing  a  low  objective 
into  the  drawtube  and  focussing  upon  the  object  through  the  empty  nose- 
piece.  The  new  plan  of  a  reversible  mounting  is  more  convenient,  and  is 
applicable  to  Instruments  that  have  no  draw-tube ;  unfortunately  it  can- 
not be  used  with  the  ordinary  Binoculars.  The  lens,  though  of  second 
class,  was  very  good. 

Mr.  Tolles  has  also  arranged  a  4-inch  objective  in  which  a  short  work- 
ing focus  is  obtained  by  a  reducing  lens  In  the  rear.  This  reducing  lens, 
for  convenience,  is  mounted  in  a  sliding  tube,  and  gives  when  pushed  in 
a  fair  3-lnch  power.    As  a  4-inch  the  combination  is  extremely  good. 

Mr.  Bicknell  applies  this  expedient  t6  ordinary  objectives ;  placing  in 
the  draw- tube,  instead  of  the  concave  amplifier  sometimes  used,  an  ach- 
romatic convex  lens  as  a  reducer,  with  which  an  extremely  low  power 
can  be  obtained  with  good  definition,  flat  field,  and  working  focus  not  in- 
conveniently long.  A  4  1-2  or  5-inch  lens  (solar  focus)  may  be  used.  A 
low  objective  of  two  combinations  may  be  divided,  using  one  part  as  an 
objective,  and  placing  the  other  in  the  draw-tube. 

Dr.  Ward  had  contrived  a  "  clinical "  compressor  for  use  with  the  mi- 
croscope of  the  same  name.  The  clinical  microscope  is  very  convenient 
for  examining  mounted  specimens,  which  is  exactly  what  it  is  not  wanted 


FOR  THE   ADVANCEMENT  OF  SCIENCE.  575 

for —  except  by  teachers.  He  had  used  it  for  years  in  teaching,  but  not 
much  as  a  **  clinical  "  A  glass  slide  to  hold  the  object,  with  a  thin  cover 
held  on  by  capillary  attraction,  is  well  for  once,  but  does  not  satisfy  a 
busy  man.  It  applies  to  too  limited  a  range  of  objects;  and  the  cover  is 
inconvenient  to  carry,  awlcward  to  handle,  and  easy  to  break.  He  had 
used  Wenham's  compressor  until  lately,  but  that  is  inconvenient  under 
the  springs  of  the  **  clinical "  stage.  The  new  compressor,  figured  below, 
is  simple  (and  therefore  inexpensive)  and  can  be  used  with  great  facility 
both  for  clinical  and  class  use,  and  for  much  of  the  ordinary  work  of  the 
microscopist.  It  is  reversible,  except  upon  a  large  stage,  in  which  case 
it  would  require  a  few  pins  to  serve  as  legs.  The  want  of  parallelism  is 
less  than  in  most  compressors,  and  is  not  inconvenient  in  clinical  use. 
The  two  brass  plates  separate  entirely  for  arranging  the  object  or  clean- 
ing the  glass.  The  upper  plate  fits  into  a  notch  filed  in  a  ledge  at  the  left 
of  the  lower,  the  centering  of  the  two  plates  being  secured  by  a  pin 
through  the  lower  and  a  notch  in  the  upper.  The  screw  which  attaches 
them  at  the  right  is  permanently  fastened  in  the  upper  plate  by  a  groove 
and  a  pin.  It  has  a  coarse  thread,  which  may  be  cut  double  to  screw  out 
more  rapidly,  or  the  thread  may  be  reversed  near  the  centre  so  that  it  will 
at  the  same  time  raise  the  upper  and  depress  the  lower  plate.  Should  a 
steadier  motion  be  required,  a  spring  may  be  riveted  upon  one  plate  to 
press  again.st  the  other.    The  apparatus  is  adjusted  for  a  glass  of  1-20 

Fig.  101. 


Ward*B  Clinical  Compressor. 

inch  below  the  object  and  1-125  above,  cemented  upon  the  inner  surface  of 
the  brass  plates.  This  is  strong  fenough  to  carry  in  the  pocket  safely ;  it 
can  also  be  used  with  the  parabolic  Illuminator,  or  with  any  objective  or 
achromatic  condenser  except  those  of  large  angular  aperture.  Should 
thin  glass  be  required  for  any  purpose,  a  glass  or  tin  cell  of  sufficient 
thickness  to  make  up  the  difi*erence  should  be  cemented  on  one  of  the 
plates,  or  both  if  necessary,  and  the  thin  glass  fastened  upon  the  rim  thus 
formed.  Should  no  cell  of  suitable  thickness  be  at  hand,  select  a  glass 
cover  of  the  required  thickness,  fasten  it  with  marine  glue  on  one  of  the 
plates,  punch  out  with  a  file  the  part  corresponding  to  the  opening  in  the 
plate,  and  then  fasten  the  thin  glass  with  Canada  balsam  upon  this  extem- 
porized rim. 

Mr.  E.  B.  Benjamin,  of  New  York,  exhibited  a  microscope  by  Gundlach 
of  Berlin.  This  was  a  small  and  cheap  instrument,  according  to  the 
English  and  American  standard,  but  really  admirable  for  its  neatness  of 
design  and  finish,  and  its  general  excellence  of  performance. 

Beck's  "popular"  microscopes,  binocular,  were  exhibited  by  Mr.  C.  E. 


576  ANSWERS   TO   CORRESPONDENTS. 

Hanaman  and  others.  They  have  already  vindicated  their  name  in  this 
country  as  well  as  at  home. 

Mr.  Charles  Stodder,  of  the  Boston  Optical  Works,  exhibited  Cotter's 
clinical  microscopes,  and  Tolles'  students'  microscopes,  of  various  degrees 
of  completeness  and  cost.  These  instruments  are  already  too  well  known 
in  this  country  to  require  comment.  That  they  are  thoroughly  good  of 
their  kind  is  what  is  claimed  for  them,  and  is  the  least  that  can  be  said  of 
them.  In  buying  a  students'  microscope,  however,  the  beginner  should 
always  be  advised,  in  the  writer's  judgment,  to  have  it  furnished  with  a 
first  class  1-inch  objective  or  something  very  near  it.  So  much  of  his 
early  work  is,  or  ought  to  be,  done  with  this  power,  ^d  his  success  as 
well  as  pleasure  depends  so  much  upon  its  light  and  definition,  that  it 
ought  to  be  the  last  point  economized  upon.  The  sliding  stage  upon  some 
of  these  instruments  would  seem  to  be  easily  convertible,  for  those  who 
wish  it,  into  a  White's  lever  stage. 

Mr.  F.  Miller,  of  New  York,  exhibited  a  good  students'  microscope  of 
very  low  cost.  It  is  chiefiy  notable  for  its  large  body,  which  admits  a 
large  eye-piece  and  gives  a  good  field.  Mr.  Miller  also  exhibited  excellent 
illuminating  prisms  and  various  accessories  and  objects,  including  M6I- 
ler's  beautiftil  type  plates. 

Crouch's  educational  microscope  had  a  larger  body  than  even  Miller's, 
admitting  the  use  of  the  same  eye-pieces  as  the  first  class  stands.  The 
advantage  of  this  is  enormous  in  the  case  of  the  lowest  eye-piece. 

Blankley's  neat  and  convenient  tank  microscope,  made  by  Swift  of 
London,  was  exhibited  by  Dr.  Ward.  Also  Murray  and  Heath's  "sea- 
side." 

Of  the  general  business  of  the  subsection  the  most  important  was  the 
appointment  of  a  committee  to  report  in  relation  to  uniform  standards  in 
the  power  of  objectives,  eye-pieces,  etc.  President  F.  A.  P.  Barnard  of 
New  York,  Mr.  E.  Bicknell  of  Cambridge,  Mass.,  Dr.  R.  H.  Ward  of 
Troy,  N.  Y.,  Professor  C.  E.  Pickering -of  Boston,  Professor  O.  N.  Rood 
of  New  York,  and  Dr.  Josiah  Curtis  of  Boston,  constitute  this  committee. 


-•o*- 


ANSWERS  TO  CORRESPONDENTS. 

J.  J.  H.  O.  — The  Humminfr  Bird  yon  describe  is  the  raRle  of  the  common  Ruby- 
throated  Hamming  Bird  ( Trochilus  rvbris  L.).  The  female  and  the  young  are  without 
the  brilliant  pcarlet  color  on  the  throat  eeen  in  the  males.  After  midsummer  the 
scarlet  throated  individuals  are  far  le^s  numerous  thon  the  others.  There  is  but  one 
species  of  Humming  Rird  in  the  Northern  States.  —  J.  A.  A 

J.  M.  J.,  Halifax.  —  We  will  endeavor  to  name  the  collection  of  marine  Invertebrates 
for  you. 

S.  A.  W.,  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.  —  Your  fern  Is  Osmunda  regalU.^J.  L.  R. 

S.  L..  Freehold.  N.  J.  — The  caterpiller  is  that  of  PierU  rapa  Shrank,  which  was  In- 
troduced fVom  England  to  Quebec  in  1850  or  1857.  and  is  f<tated  to  destroy  annually 
$240,000  worth  of  cabbages  in  the  neighborhood  of  that  city.  It  thence  spread  into 
New  England,  and  is  now  common  about  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  It  feeds  c<m- 
cealed  on  the  heart  of  the  cabbage,  while  the  two  other  species  of  JrierlSi  P.  Protodice 
and  P.  oleracea,  feed  on  the  outer  leaves. 

The  other  specimens  were  the  pupse  of  a  species  of  Syrphus  fly,  which  feeds  on  the 
plant  lice,  so  abundant  on  the  cabbage  in  the  autumn.  The  Syrpbns  fly  is  of  course 
very  beneflcial. 


AMERICAN    NATURALIST. 

Vol.  rV.  -  DECEMBER,  1870.  -  No.  10. 
THE   FLORA  OF  THE  PRAIRIES. 

BY  J.   ▲.  ALLEN. 

Probably  the  vegetation  of  no  two  adjoining  regions^ 
both  of  which  are  situated  between  the  same  parallels  of 
latitude  and  at  nearly  the  same  height  above  the  sea,  presents 
greater  differences  than  exist  between  the  vegetation  of  the 
fertile  prairies  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  and  the  forest  re*!- 
gion  that  extends  from  their  eastern  border  to  the  Atlantic 
coast.  To  one  who  has  always  lived  amid  the  diversified 
scenery  of  the  Eastern  or  Middle  States,  where  distant 
mountains  almost  everywhere  bound  the  view,  and  forest- 
crowned  hills  and  cultivated  valleys  so  agreeably  alternate  as 
to  dispel  the  possibility  of  monotony,  a  first  view  of  the 
primitive  prairies,  — 

*'  The  unshorn  fleldfii  boundless  and  beautiful,'' 

as  Bryant  has  so  felicitously  described  them,  which 

"stretch 
In  airy  undnlations  flir  away 
As  if  the  ocean,  in  his  gentlest  swell, 
Stood  still,  with  all  his  rounded  billows  fixed 
And  motionless  forever/'— 

is  extremely  novel  and  full  of  interest.  But  the  prairies, 
** unshorn"  of  their  primitive  wildness  will  soon  be  things  of 
the  past,  so  great  are  the  attractions  they  hold  forth  to  the 
emigrant,  and  so  rapid  the  transformation  that  follows  their 


to  AM  of  Owpw,  la  tiM  jw  IfTD,  ^(te  Pi«  MBT^AOAMiiT  a»  Boits«i,  U.  Ito  OtmlfB  OOm  tt  tk«  OtaM 


Caon  eff  tb«  JMankH  tt 
▲MER.   NATURALISTi   VOL.  IV.  78  (677) 


578  THE  FLORA  OF  THE  PHAIRIES. 

settlement.  Already  there  are  few  localities  east  of  the 
Missouri  where  their  primal  simplicity  and  beauty  have  not 
already  been  more  or  less  modified. 

Great  changes  in  the  vegetation  of  a  new  country  neces- 
sarily result  from  its  settlement  by  an  agricultural  people, 
but  the  rapidity  and  ultimate  completeness  of  the  transform- 
ation greatly  depend  upon  the  relative  susceptibility  of  the 
country  to  cultivation.  Since  vast  areas  of  the  prairies 
offer  no  obstructions  to  the  revolutionizing  plow,  the  aston- 
ishing rapidity  of  the  change  in  the  flora  that  follows  its 
march  can  scarcely  be  conceived  by  those  who  have  not 
witnessed  its  actual  progress.  No  sooner  is  the  sod  inverted 
than  scores  of  species  of  the  original  and  most  characteristic 
plants  almost  wholly  disappear ;  in  a  few  years  the  luxuriant 
wild  grasses,  overtopped  with  showy  flowers,  varying  the 
hue  of  the  landscape  with  the  advancing  season,  have  be- 
come supplanted  by  the  cultivated  grasses  and  the  cei^eals, 
and  that  constant  scourge  of  the  agriculturist,  the  ever  intru- 
sive weeds.  The  timber  no  longer  remains  confined  to 
narrow  belts  skirting  the  streams,  for  besides  the  newly-set 
orchards,  rapidly  growing  kinds  of  trees,  planted  to  afford 
shelter  from  the  fierceness  of  the  summer's  sun  and  the  fury 
of  the  bleak  winter  winds,  everywhere  diversify  the  land- 
scape, while  comfortable  log  cabins,  or  neatly  painted,  com- 
modious houses  give  an  air  of  civilization  to  districts  that 
at  no  distant  penod  were  the  undisturbed  home  of  the  buf- 
falo and  the  elk. 

Far  more  slow  has  been  the  change  at  the  eastward, 
where  the  forests  have  slowly  yielded  to  the  axe  of  the 
woodman,  and  where  much  of  the  land  is  too  uneven  for 
cultivation.  Here  the  forests,  though  in  the  longest  set- 
tled districts  perhaps  once  or  twice  removed,  still  cover  no 
inconsiderable  part  of  the  country,  and  consist,  for  the  most 
part,  of  the  indigenous  trees  in  nearly  their  original  propor- 
tions, while  the  lesser  shrubs  and  the  herbaceous  plants  they 
primitively  sheltered  are  still  persistent,  and  to  a  great  de- 


THE   FLORA   OF   THE   PRAIRIES.  579 

grce  occupy  the  neglected  pastures,  the  roadsides  and  the 
waste  nooks  of  the  farms.  In  short  the  transformations  of 
the  flora  of  the  prairies  are  often  far  more  complete  after  a 
period  of  settlement  covering  but  two  decades,  than  are  to  be 
seen  in  those  portions  of  New  England  which  have  been 
occupied  by  Europeans  for  as  many  centuries. 

In  the  present  article  it  is  proposed  to  sketch  briefly  some 
of  the  peculiarities  of  the  primitive  flora  of  the  Upper  Mis- 
sissippi prairies,*  which  not  improperly,  either  in  respect  to 
their  fertility  under  cultivation,  or  the  luxuriance  and  beauty 
of  their  native  vegetation,  have  been  styled  the  ''Garden 
of  the  West.'*  The  wild  plants  of  the  prairies  present  at 
every  season  features  peculiarly  attractive.  In  spring  ane- 
mones and  violets,  as  elsewhere,  are  among  the  early  flowers, 
the  latter  of  which  are  particularly  numerous  and  character- 
istic, peering  brightly  out  among  the  young  fresh  blades  of 
grass.  To  these  soon  succeed  several  species  of  beautiful 
phloxes,  the  paiuted  cup,  and  the  prairie  rose.  Later  still 
appear  the  pu^le  and  the  white  turban  flowers  (Petaloste- 
mon  violaceus  Michx.,  and  P.  candidua  Michx.),  the  ceano- 
thus,  the  hoaiy-leaved,  purple-flowered  lead  plant  (Amorpha 
canescens  ISutt.) y  the  purple  cone  flower  (Echinacea  angtiS' 
iifolia  DC),  and,  from  its  abundance  perhaps  the  most  con- 
spicuous of  all,  the  beautiful  Coreopsis  palmata^  which  here 
and  there  gives  its  own  bright  color  to  large  patches  of  the 
undulating  landscape.  Blazing  stars  of  several  species 
(^Liatris  squarrosa  Willd.,  L.  pycnostachya  Michx.,  L,  sea- 
riosa  Willd.),  with  their  long  nodding  spikes  of  rose-purple 
flowera  soon  follow,  ranking  among  the  most  showy  of  the 
many  showy  plants.  To  these  are  soon  added  sunflowers  of 
various  species,  most  common  of  which  are  the  Hdianihus 
rigid'os  Desf.,  the  H.  giganteus  Linn.,  the  H.  grosse-serratus 
Mart. ,  the  Actinomeins  helianthoides  Nutt. ,  and  the  Lepachys 
pinnata  T.  &  G. ;  the  tall  compass  plant  (Silphium  ladni- 

*  The  region  more  especially  under  consideration  is  Northern  Illinois,  and  Central 
and  Western  Iowa. 


580  THE   FLORA  OF   THE   PRAIRIES. 

atum  Linu.)  ;  the  Indian  plantain  {Cacalia  tuberosa  Nutt.), 
the  tall  verbena  {V.  hastata  Linn.),  and  the  yucca-leaved 
rattlesnake  master  {Eryngium  j/ucccefoliiim  Michx.) ;  all 
generally  remarkable  either  for  their  large  showy  flowers,  or 
the  peculiar  character  of  their  foliage  or  habits.  Finally  the 
season  closes  with  the  later  sunflowers  and  coreopses,  some 
of  which  are  of  gigantic  size,  tow^ering  far  above  one's  head ; 
the  purple-flowered  gaurias  and  the  golden  epilobiums. 
From  the  flr^t  springing  up  of  the  early  flowera  till  the  frosts 
of  autumn  end  the  floral  season,  the  prairies  are  arrayed  in 
bright  and  showy  hues  by  a  succession  of  species  of  larger 
and  taller  growth,  each  later  set  not  only  overtopping  their 
predecessors,  but  the  rapidly  growing  prairie  grasses.  Ever 
varied  too  are  the  prevailing  colors.  Here  blue  prevails, 
there  white  or  purple,  and  again  laige  ti'acks  are  golden,  as 
everywhere  a  few  prevailing  forms  give  character  to  the  veg- 
etation. Generally  they  are  coarse,  large  plants,  often  res- 
inous,  with  thick,  harsh  leaves  and  large  flowers,  and  nearly 
all  are  species  never  or  rarely  met  with  in  the  Atlantic 
States,  and  never  as  characteristic  species  of  the  eastern  flora. 
The  CompositcB  and  the  Legiiminosce  are  preeminently  the 
prevailing  families,  far  more  so  indeed  than  at  the  eastward. 
Many  of  the  species  are  in  various  ways  remarkable,  but 
none  more  so  perhaps  than  the  plant  popularly  kiiown  as  the 
compass  plant  (Stlphium  laciniatum) ^  whose  large,  thick, 
rigid,  upright  root-leaves,  one  to  two  and  a  half  feet  long, 
are  reputed  to  uniformly  present  their  edges  north  and  south, ^ 
whence  its  name.  Though  they  do  not  thus  invariably  ar- 
range themselves,  they  generally  stand  in  this  direction, 
so  uniformly  in  fact  that  they  well  serve  as  a  convenient 
guide  to  the  traveller  in  determining  the  points  of  the  com- 
pass.*    Another  species  of  the  same  genus,  called  the  cup 

*  since  the  above  was  written  an  isteretUng  paper  on  the  Compass  Plant  was  read 
by  Dr.  Thomas  Hill  at  the  Troy  meeting  of  the  American  Association  for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Science,  an  abstract  of  which  has  Just  appeai^ed  in  the  Naturalist  (Vol.  It,  p. 
486,  October,  1870).  Dr.  Hill  refers  this  polarity  to  the  sunlight,  the  two  sides  of  the 
leaf  being  equally  sensitive,  and  struggling  for  equal  shares. 


THE   FLORA  OF  THE   PRAIRIES.  581 

plant  (S.  perfoliatum)j  from  the  large  opposite  leaves  of  the 
stem  being  connate  at  their  bades,  forming  a  considerable 
cnp-like  cavity,  capable  of  containing  water,  is  common  in 
the  moist  ravines.  Other  remarkable  forms  are  the  Indian 
plantain  (Oacalia  tuberosa)^  conspicuous  for  its  thick, 
smooth,  plantain-like  leaves,  deep-green  on  both  sides  and 

m 

strongly  ribbed;  and  the  yucca-leaved  rattlesnake  master, 
or  button  snakeroot  (Uiyngium  yucccefoUum)^  with  its  linear 
grass-like,  bristly  fringed  leaves,  and  its  bracted  flowers, 
closely  sessile  in  dense  heads, — an  umbelliferous  plant,  but 
wholly  unlike  the  generality  of  the  species  of  the  Umbellif- 
ei'ORy  both  in  its  foliage  and  in  the  form  of  its  inflorescence. 
The  prairie  clovers,  or  turban  flowers  (Pentalostemon)  ^  are 
among  the  most  interesting  of  the  leguminose  species,  and 
among  the  most  characteristic.  Their  oblong  or  cylindrical 
heads  of  white  or  purple  flowers  are  evidently  suggestive  of 
the  latter  name.  Each  head  continues  in  flower  for  many 
days.  At  first  the  flowers  form  a  band  at  the  base  of  the 
head,  which,  gradually  moving  upward,  later  occupies  the 
middle  of  the  head,  and  finally  its  summit,  recalling  the 
Oriental  head-dress,  in  allusion  to  which  these  plants  have 
received  one  of  their  common  names. 

The  habits  of  some  of  the  sunflowers,  but  especially  those 
of  the  Hdianthus  Hgidus^  present  one  feature  of  interest. 
The  H.  Hgidtis  is  one  of  the  earliest  flowering  species 
and  one  of  the  most  abundant  ones,  it  being  in  some  locali- 
ties one  of  the  most  conspicuous  and  characteristic  plants. 
By  the  middle  of  August  it  has  attained  nearly  its  full 
height,  which  commonly  ranges  from  two  and  a  half  to  four 
feet ;  the  terminal  heads  of  the  earlier  specimens  have  already 
begun  to  unfold  their  yellow  rays,  and  those  of  the  rest  are 
nodding  on  their  flexible  stalks.  It  is  a  popular  belief  that  . 
the  sunflower  always  turns  its  flowers  towards  the  sun,  but 
in  I'eality  so  numerous  are  the  exceptions  to  this  rule  in  our 
garden  sunflowers  and  in  our  common  wild  species  of  the 
East,  that  few  observing  people  regard  it  doubtless  as  other- 


582  THE  FLORA   OF  THE   PRAIRIES. 

wise  than  an  idle  whim.  With  mauy  of  the  prairie  sunflow- 
ers, however,  the  facts  are  different ;  especially  is  this  so  in 
the  case  of  H.  rigidiis.  Morning  after  moruing,  at  flowering 
time,  the  heads  of  this  species  may  be  seen  bending  gently 
towards  the  east ;  they  are  erect  at  mid-day,  and  at  evening 
gracefully  droop  towards  the  west.  This  continues  day  after 
day  for  weeks,  with  surprising  regularity  and  uniformity. 
Later,  however,  the  stems  grow  rigid  and  remain  nearly  ver- 
tical. In  this  case  at  least  the  popular  notion  referred  to 
above  seems  well  founded. 

Aside  from  the  open  prairie  species  already  mentioned — 
which  embrace  the  greater  part  of  the  most  conspicuous  ones 
^numerous  others  of  almost  equal  interest  are  found  grow- 
ing  in  the  low  grounds,  and  in  the  open  forest  belts  that 
skirt  the  streams.  Prominent  among  these  are  coreopses 
and  sunflowers  of  several  species,  especially  the  C7.  ainstosa 
and  G.  tripteris^  Helianthus  slrumosuSy  If.  decapetalus  and 
S.  tracheliifolius ;  the  ground  nut  {Apioa  tuberosa  Mcench.) 
with  its  fragrant,  dark  purple  flowers ;  the  western  iron  weed 
{Vernonia  fasciculata  Michx.),  the  great  St.  John's-wort 
{Hypericum pyramidaium  Ait.),  the  broad-leaved  polygonum 
(P.  Pensylvanicum  Linn.),  and,  in  more  open  and  drier 
places,  the  rag- weeds  {Ambrosia)^  the  wormwoods  {Arte- 
misia)^ the  tick-trefoils  {Desmodiiim)  ^  the  bush  clovers 
{Lespedeza) ,  and  the  psoraleas.  Mauy  species  of  such  east- 
ern plants  as  love  rich  moist  woods,  are  also  found  here. 

One  of  the  strangest  features,  perhaps,  in  the  flora  of  the 
prairies,  and  that  which  of  course  constitutes  them  prairies, 
is  the  entire  absence  of  arboreal  or  even  suffruticose  species, 
the  timber  of  this  region,  as  is  well  known,  forming  open 
park-like  belts  along  the  streams,  which  with  great  propriety 
have  received  the  name  of  ''groves."  Here  the  species,  as 
might  be  expected,  more  strongly  recall  the  flora  of  the  East, 
the  resemblance  extending  not  only  to  the  trees  and  shrubs, 
but  to  the  herbaceous  species  that  flourish  beneath  their 
shelter.    But  the  predominant  species  can  hardly  be  regarded 


THE  FLORA  OF  THE   FBAIBIES.  583 

as  properly  eastern  forms,  while  the  entire  absence  of  repre- 
sentatives of  some  large  groups  of  trees  and  shrubs  that  are 
common  at  the  East  makes  the  difference  greater  than  at  first 
seems.  One  may  traverse  hundreds  of  square  miles  in  the 
prairie  distiicts  without  meeting  a  single  birch,  alder,  a 
chestnut,  beech,  or  aspen  {Pqpulus  treniuhides  Michx.),  nor 
any  species  of  pine,  spruce,  hemlock  or  other  coniferous  tree, 
all  of  which  are  so  abundant  in  the  forests  of  the  Atlantic 
States  as  to  constitute  the  prevailing  species.  Two  species 
of  Cottonwood  (Populus  monilifera  Ait.,  and  P.  angulata 
Ait.),  so  closely  allied  as  to  be  confounded  as  one  by  the 
casual  observer,  but  neither  of  them  exclusively  western,  are 
probably  the  most  characteristic  trees,  as  they  are  certainly 
the  most  abundant  and  important.  The  sugar  maple,  the 
linden,  elms,  bitter-nut  and  other  hickories  (chiefly  the 
former),  butternuts,  black  walnuts,  burr,  white,  black  and 
other  oaks,  several  species  of  ashes,  the  beautiful  ash-leaved 
maple  {Negundo  aceroides  Moench.)  and  the  locust  (^Robinia 
Pseudacacta  Linn.),  are  the  principal  and  almost  the  only 
important  kinds  of  timber,  the  greater  number  of  which  are 
more  or  less  common  trees.  Among  the  shrubs  are  several 
species  of  sumach  (Phus)  and  the  hazel  bush  {Corylua 
Americana  Walt.),  which  here,  as  at  the  East,  principally 
compose  the  thickets,  whilst  the  Ceanothus^  or  Jersey  tea,  is 
a  frequent  inhabitant  of  the  prairies.  One  searches  in  vain, 
however,  for  any  whortle-berry  bushes  (Vaccinium),  of 
which  so  many  species  abound  at  the  East,  or  for  any  repre- 
sentatives of  the  large  family  Ericacece^  than  which  no  fam- 
ily is  more  characteristic  of  the  woodlands  of  the  Eastern 
Sbit€s.  Viburnums  are  common,  and  the  elder  {^Sambucus 
Canadensis  Linn.),  the  honeysuckle  (Lonicera)^  the  snow- 
berry  (^Symphoricarpua) ^  and  other  caprifoliaceoiis  shrubs 
are  more  or  less  frequent.  The  wild  apple,  the  Washington 
thorn  (Oratcegus  cordata  Ait.),  and  the  wild  plum  are  com- 
mon among  the  rosaceous  shrubs,  but  blackberries  and 
raspberries  are  rare.     The    wild  plum  grows  in  the  river 


584  THB  FLORA  OF  THE  PRAIRIES. 

bottoms  in  iiusurpassed  perfection.  Though  they  are  all,  or 
nearly  all,  of  the  same  species  (Prunus  Americana  Marsh), 
the  varieties  in  respect  to  the  form,  size,  color  and  quality 
of  the  fruit  are  almost  endless,  the  plums  varying  in  form 
from  spherical  to  egg-shaped,  and  from  nearly  white  through 
every  intermediate  stage  of  color  to  yellow  and  even  dark 
red,  and  in  flavor  from  bitter,  uneatable  kinds  to  those  as 
delicious  as  the  highly  cultivated  varieties  of  the  gai*den. 

From  the  abundance  of  woody  climbers  the  forests  of  the 
river  bottoms  sometimes  present  an  almost  tropical  aspect. 
The  Virginia  creeper  (Ampdopsis  quinquefolia  Michx.),  and 
the  winter  grape  (  Vitis  cordifoUa  Michx.),  climb  to  the  tops 
of  the  highest  trees,  with  a  diameter  of  the  stem  exceeding 
any  specimens  I  have  elsewhere  seen.  Other  climbers  are 
frequent,  including  the  singular  wild  cucumber,  or  balsam 
apple  (Bchinocystis  lobata  T.  &  G.),  which  assumes  anal- 
most  tropical  luxuriance,  here  and  there  abundantly  envel- 
oping the  trees. 

The  restriction  of  the  forests  to  the  river  bottoms  and 
their  banks  has  previously  been  alluded  to  as  a  remarkable 
feature,  of  which  various  explanations  have  been  offered. 
The  fact  of  the  rapid  encroachment  of  the  forests  upon  the 
prairies  wherever  they  have  been  protected  from  exposure 
to  the  annual  fires  that  formerly  swept  over  the  country,  and 
the  rapid  growth  of  the  timber  whenever  it  becomes  estab- 
lished, indicate  clearly  that  not  only  have  the  fires  had  much 
to  do  with  their  restriction,  but  that  there  is  nothing  either 
in  the  climate  or  the  soil  unfavorable  to  their  rapid  spread. 
The  damper  northern  slopes  of  the  streams  being  also  gen- 
erally better  wooded  than  the  necessarily  drier  southern 
slopes,  also  points  to  the  fires  as  the  great  agency  that  has 
operated  through  long  ages  to  check  their  increase,  and  that 
their  circumscription  has  had  little  to  do  with  the  peculiar 
origin  of  the  prairies  and  of  their  present  flora,  as  some 
have  formerly  supposed. 

As  has  been  already  incidentally  remarked,  the  vegetation 


THE  FLORA  OF  THE  PRAIRIES.  585 

of  the  open  prairies,  as  compared  with  the  herbaceous  vege- 
tatioo  of  regions  to  the  eastward  similarly  situated  geograph- 
ically, is  mostly  made  up  of  coarse,  large  species,  and  of 
forms  peculiar  to  the  prairies.  It  consists,  moreover,  prin- 
cipally of  a  comparatively  few  predominant  forms, — features 
strongly  in  contrast  with  those  of  the  neighboring  regions. 
The  grasses,  like  the  exogenous  species,  are  also  few  in  spe- 
cies, but  cparse  and  luxuriant,  as  they  are  the  product  of  a 
soil  of  unsurpassed  fertility.  Yet  the  flora  as  a  whole  is  one 
singularly  susceptible  to  the  inroads  of  civilization.  Even 
the  grazing  of  cattle  for  a  few  years  is  sufficient  to  materially 
alter  its  character.  The  grasses,  according  to  the  testimony 
of  early  settlers,  soon  dwindle  in  size  and  luxuriance,  while 
the  relative  abundance  of  the  other  plants  becomes  materially 
altered.  As  already  remarked,  the  breaking  and  turning  of 
the  soil  at  once  exterminates  a  large  number  of  the  previ- 
ously dominant  species,  and  instead  of  lingering  as  trouble- 
some weeds,  the  more  hardy  exotics,  that  through  man's 
influence  assume  au  almost  cosmopolitan  habitat,  usurp  their 
places,  the  cereals,  the  cultivated  grasses  and  the  noxious 
weeds  of  the  old  world  thoroughly  crowding  out  the  original 
occupants  of  the  soil.  With  all  the  beauty  and  the  novelty 
of  the  primal  flora  of  the  prairies,  the  traveller,  after  a  few 
weeks  of  constant  wandering  amid  their  wilds,  is  apt  soon 
to  experience  a  monotony  that  becomes  wearisome,  the  full 
degree  of  which  he  scarcely  realizes  till  the  soft  green  sward 
and  the  varied  vegetation  of  cultivated  districts  again  meet 
his  eye. 

AMBR.  NATURALIST,  VOL.   IV.  74 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  MARINE  SHELLS  OF  FLORIDA.* 

BT  DK.   WILLIAM  8TIMPSON. 

One  of  the  most  striking  peculiarities  of  the  zoology  of 
Florida  is  the  diversity  in  the  character  of  the  littoral  shells 
of  the  two  sides  of  the  peninsula.  The  naturalist  passing 
from  St.  Augustine  to  Cedar  Keys  finds  upon  the  western 
beach  a  group  of  shells  so  difiereut  from  those  he  had  seen 
upon  the  Atlantic  shore,  that  he  is  reminded  of  the  similar 
(though  vastly  greater)  diflerence  in  the  fauna  which  exists 
on  the  t\vo  sides  of  the  continent  itself;  for  instance,  at  the 
isthmus  of  Panama.  This  diversity  is  seen  in  the  common 
large  sheik  as  well  as  in  the  fauna  taken  as  a  whole.  Thus 
on  the  cast  coast  Busy  con  canaliculatumy  B.  carica^  Dosinia 
discus^  Area  incongrua  and  A.  Americana  are  the  most 
abundant  shells,  while  they  are  not'fouud  at  all  on  the  west 
coast ;  and  at  Cedar  Keys  and  Tampa  Bay  we  find  the  sub- 
tropical species  Cassidulus  corona  ^  Busy  con  perver sum  ^  Py^ 
rula  papyratia^  Strombus  alatus^  Bulla  occidentalis,  CaUista 
gigantea^  Dosinia  elegans  and  Area  FloHdanaf  strewed  on 
the  beaches  in  great  numbers,  while  they  occur  but  rarely  on 
the  east  coast ;  some  of  them  not  at  all.  The  list  presented 
contiiins  the  names  of  three  hundred  and  fourteen  species 
collected  by  me  on  the  two  coasts,  of  which  only  one  hun- 
dred and  foi-ty-five,  or  less  than  half,  were  common  to  both ; 
fifty-eight  being  peculiar  to  the  east  and  one  hundred  and 
eleven  to  the  west  coast.  Several  of  these  species  are  in- 
deed representative,  but  specifically  quite  distinct.  These 
results  will  no  doubt  be  considerably  modified  by  future  re- 
searches, as  some  of  the  smaller  species  may  have  escaped 
detection  on  one  or  the  other  of  the  two  shores,  although 
really  existing  upon  both.  But  the  fact  will,  nevertheless, 
remain  that  a  marked  diflerence  exists  between  the  faunsB  of 
these  shores  notwithstanding  their  proximity  and   notwith- 

•  AbBtract  of  a  paper  read  at  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Chicago  Academy  of  Bciencea. 
C586) 


DISTRIBUTION'  OF   THB   SHELLS   OF  FLORIDA.  587 

standing  the  comparatively  recent  origin  of  the  peniusula 
which  separates  them. 

Of  the  recent  origin  of  the  Floridan  peninsula  (or  at  least 
of  the  northern  part  which  makes  the  separation  between  the 
great  Carolinian  Bay  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico) ,  we  have  not 
only  geological  but  zoological  evidence.  Although,  as  shown 
above,  the  littoral  fauna*  of  that  pai*t  of  the  gulf  which 
bathes  the  west  coast  of  Florida  is  of  a  character  far  more 
tropical  than  that  of  the  east  coast,  the  fauna  of  the  latter 
is  reproduced  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  gulf.  The 
correspondence  between  the  shells  of  Galveston  and  those 
of  South  Carolina  was  noticed  by  Roemer  many  years  ago, 
and  the  fact  is  now  confirmed  by  an  examination  of  the 
shells  brought  by  Dr.  Durham  from  several  points  on  the 
coast  between  Point  Isabel  and  Pensacola.  The  peninsula 
and  warm  waters  of  the  southern  cape  of  Florida  now  form 
an  impassable  barrier  to  the  western  migration  of  species  of 
the  temperate  fauna  into  the  colder  pai-ts  of  the  gulf,  but  of 
their  connection  within  a  comparatively  recent  geological 
period  there  can  be  no  doubt.  The  connection  was  probably 
through  sandy  straits  and  lagoons,  too  shallow  to  allow  of 
the  passage  of  the  gulf-stream,  but  perhaps  permitting  the 
westward  flow  of  the  cold  waters  of  the  Carolinian  Bay. 

The  present  tropical  character  of  the  shells  of  the  west 
coast  of  Florida  is  plainly  due  to  the  influence  of  the  gulf- 
stream,  which  is  not  here,  as  in  the  northwestern  part  of 
the  gulf,  crowded  oflF  the  shores  by  the  waters  of  a  great 
river,  or  by  cold  northwest  winds.  On  the  other  hand  the 
east  coast,  as  far  south  as  Cape  Canaveral,  forms  a  part  of 
the  shore  of  the  Carolinian  Bay,  along  which,  inside  of  the 
gulf-stream,  a  cold  current  runs,  giving  to  this  part  of  Flor- 
ida a  coast  fauna  similar  to  that  of  South  Carolina. 

*  By  the  littoral  fhnna,  that  of  tho  true  ocean  shores  is  here  meant.  The  waters  of 
the  shallow  inlets  and  estuades  of  the  west  coast  are  subject  to  great  changes  of  tem- 
perature,  which,  during  the  winter  '<  northers,**  may  fall  to  the  ft«ezing  point,  at 
which  times  flsh  oaught  in  such  places  die  in  great  numbers.  As  might  be  expected, 
the  founa  of  these  inlets  is  very  different  fVom  that  of  the  beaches,  ana  such  northern 
forms  as  Afodiola  plicaixUa  and  Cardium  Mortoni,  which  are  adapted  to  such  extremes 
of  temperature,  And  here  a  congenial  station. 


THE  BORERS  OF  CERTAIN  SHADE  TREES. 

BY  ▲.   8.  PACKABD,   JB. 

In  no  way  can  the  good  taste  and  public  spirit  of  our  citi- 
zens be  better  shown  than  in  the  planting  of  shade  trees. 
Regarded  simply  from  a  commercial  poiut  of  view  one  can- 
not make  a  more  paying  investment  than  setting  out  an 
oak,  elm,  or  maple  or  other  shade  tree  about  his  premises. 
To  a  second  generation  it  becomes  a  precious  heirloom,  and 
the  planter  is  duly  held  in  remembrance  for  those  finer  quali- 
ties of  heart  and  head,  and  the  wise  forethought  which 
prompted  a  deed  simple  and  natural,  bnt  a  deed  too  often 
undone.  What  an  increased  value  does  a  fine  avenue  of 
shade  trees  give  to  real  estate  in  a  city  ?  And  in  the  country 
the  single  stately  elm  rising  gracefully  and  benignantly  over 
the  wayside  cottage,  year  after  year  like  a  guardian  angel 
sending  down  its  blessings  of  shade,  moisture  and  coolness 
in  times  of  drought,  and  shelter  from  the  pitiless  storm, 
recalls  the  tenderest  associations  of  generations  after  genera- 
tions that  go  from  the  old  homestead. 

Occasionally  the  tree,  or  a  number  of  them,  sicken  and 
die,  or  linger  out  a  miserable  existence,  and  we  naturally 
after  failing  to  ascribe  the  cause  to  bad  soil,  want  of  mois- 
ture or  adverse  atmospheric  agencies,  conclude  that  the  tree 
is  infested  with  insects,  especially  if  the  bark  in  eei-tain 
places  seems  diseased.  Often  the  disease  is  in  streets 
lighted  by  gas,  attributed  to  the  leakage  of  the  gas.  Such  a 
case  has  come  up  during  the  past  year  at  Morristown,  New 
Jersey.  An  elm  was  killed  by  the  Elm  borer,  Compsidea 
triderUata  of  Olivier,  and  the  owner  was  on  the  point  of  su- 
ing the  Gas  Company  for  the  loss  of  the  tree  from  the  sup- 
posed leakage  of  a  gas  pipe.  While  the  matter  was  in 
dispute,  Mr.  W.  C.  Baker  of  that  city  took  the  pains  to 
peel  off  a  piece  of  the  bark  and  found,  as  he  writes  me, 

(688) 


THE   BORERS  OF  0ERTAI?7   SHADE  TREES.  589 

'•great  numbers  of  the  larvsB  of  C  tridentata  in  the  bark 
and  between  the  bark  and  the  wood,  while  the  latter  is  Hat- 
tooed'  with  sinuous  grooves  in  every  direction  and  the  tree 
is  completely  girdled  by  them  in  some  places.  There  are 
three  different  sizes  of  the  larvae,  evidently  one,  two  and 
three  years  old,  or  more  properly  six,  eighteen  and  thirty 
months  old."    The  tree  had  to  be  cut  down. 

Dr.  Harris,  in  his  Treatise  on  injurious  insects,  gives  an 
account  of  the  ravages  of  this  insect  which  we  quote :  "On 
the  19th  of  June,  1846,  Theophilus  Parsons,  Esq.,  sent  me 
some  fragments  of  bark  and  insects  which  were  taken  by 
Mr.  J.  Richardson  from  the  decaying  elms  on  Boston  Com- 
mon, and  among  the  insects  I  recognized  a  pair  of  these 
beetles  in  a  living  state.  The  trees  were  found  to  have  suf- 
fered terribly  from  the  ravages  of  these  insects.  Several  of 
them  had  already  been  cut  down,  as  past  recovery ;  others 
were  in  a  dying  state,  and  nearly  all  of  them  were  more  or 
less  affected  with  disease  or  premature  decay.  Their  bark 
was  perforated,  to  the  height  of  thirty  feet  from  the  ground, 
with  numerous  holes,  through  which  insects  had  escaped; 
and  large  pieces  had  become  so  loose,  by  the  undermining 
of  the  grubs,  as  to  yield  to  slight  efforts,  and  come  off  in 
flakes.  The  inner  bark  was  filled  with  burrows  of  the 
grubs,  great  numbers  of  which,  in  various  stages  of  growth, 
together  with  some  in  the  pupa  state,  were  found  therein ; 
and  even  the  surface  of  the  wood,  in  many  cases,  was  fur- 
rowed with  their  irregular  tracks.  Very  rarely  did  they 
seem  to  have  penetrated  far  into  the  wood  itself;  but  their 
operations  were  mostly  confined  to  the  inner  layers  of  the 
bark,  which  thereby  became  loosened  from  the  wood  be- 
neath. The  grubs  rarely  exceed  three-quarters  of  an  inch 
in  length.  They  have  no  feet,  and  they  resemble  the  larvsB 
of  other  species  of  Saperdaj  except  in  being  rather  more 
flattened.  They  appear  to  complete  their  transformations  in 
the  third  year  of  their  existence. 

"  The  beetles  probably  leave  their  holes  in  the  bark  during 


590 


THE  BORERS  OF  OERTAIN  SHADE  TREES. 


Fig.  115. 


Compiidsa  tridentata. 


the  month  of  June  and  in  the  beginning  of  July ;  for,  in  the 
eoui*se  of  thirty  yeai-s,  I  have  repeatedly  taken  them  at  vari- 
ous dates,  from  the  5th  of  Juno  to  the  10th  of  July.  It  is 
evident,  from  the  nature  and  extent  of  their  depredations, 
that  these  insects  have  alarmingly  hastened  the  decay  of  the 

elm-trees  on  Boston  Mall  and  Common,  and 
'^  that  they  now  threaten  their  entire  destruo- 
'  tion.  Other  causes,  however,  have  prob- 
ably contributed  to  the  same  end.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  these  trees  have  greatly 
suffered,  in  past  times,  from  the  ravages  of 
canker-worms.  Moreover,  the  impenetrable 
state  of  the  surface-soil,  the  exhausted  con- 
dition of  tho  subsoil,  and  the  deprivation  of  all  benefit  from 
the  decomposition  of  accumulated  leaves,  which,  in  a  state 
of  nature,  the  trees  would  have  enjoyed,  but  which  a  regard 
for  neatness  has  industriously  removed,  have  doubtless  had 
no  small  influence  in  diminishing  the  vigor  of  tho  trees,  and 

thus  made  them  fall  unresistingly  a  prey  to 
insect-devourers.  The  plan  of  this  work 
precludes  a  more  full  consideration  of  those 
and  other  topics  connected  with  the  growth 
and  decay  of  these  trees;  and  I  can  only 
add,  that  it  may  be  prudent  to  cut  down 
and  burn  ull  that  are  much  infested  by  the 
borers.*' 

The  Three-toothed  Compsidea  (Fig.  115), 
tHJeruata,  ig  a  mthcr  flat-bodlcd,  dark  brown  beetle, 
with  a  rusty  red  curved  line  behind  the  eyes,  two  stripes 
on  the  thorax,  and  a  three-toothed  stripe  on  the  outer  edge 
of  each  wing  cover.  It  is  about  one-half  an  inch  in  length. 
The  larva  (Fig.  116,  drawn  from  the  living  specimen)  is 
white,  subcylindrical,  a  little  flattened,  with  the  lateral  fold 
of  the  body  rather  prominent ;  the  end  of  the  body  is  flat- 
tened, obtuse,  and  nearly  as  wide  at  the  end  as  at  the  first 
abdominal  ring.     The  head  is  one-half  as  wide  as  the  pro- 


Fig,  lie. 


THE  BORERS  OF  CERTAIN  SHADE  TBEES. 


591 


thoriicic  riog,  being  rather  large.  The  pruthoracic,  or  seg- 
meat  just  behind  the  bead,  is  traDsrersely  oblong,  being 
about  twice  as  broad  as  long ;  there  is  a  pale  dorsal  corneous 
iTi-  in  tranaveraely  oblong  shield,  l>eing  about  two- 

,  thirds  as  long  as  wide,  and  nearly  as  long  as 
the  four  succeeding  segments;  this  plate  is 
emootli,  except  on  the  posterior  half,  which 
13  rough,  with  the  front  edge  irregular  and 
not  extending  far  down  the  sides.  Fine 
hairs  arise  from  the  front  edge  end  side  of 
the  plate,  and  similar  hairs  are  scattered 
over  the  body  and  especially  around  the 
end.  On  the  upper  side  of  each  segment  is 
a  transversely  oblong  ovate  roughened  area, 
with  the  front  edge  slightly  convex,  and  behind  slightly 
arcuate.  On  t  h  o 
under  aide  of  each 
segment  are  similar 
rongh  horny  plates, 
but  arcuate  in  front, 
with  th9  binder  edge 
straight. 

It  difiere  from  the 
larva  of  /Saperda  vea- 
iita  Say,  in  t li o 
iiody  being  shorter, 
liroader,  more  hairy, 
with  the  tip  of  the 
abdomen  Batter  and  more  hniry.  The  protbnrscic  segment 
is  broader  and  flatter,  and  the  rough  portion  of  the  dorsal 
plates  is  larger  and  less  transversely  ovate.  The  structure 
of  the  head  shows  that  its  genetic  distinctness  from  Saperda 
is  well  founded,  as  the  bead  ia  smaller  and  flatter,  the  cly- 
peus  being  twice  as  large,  and  the  labrum  broad  and  short, 
while  in  3.  vestita  it  is  longer  than  broad.  The  mandibles 
are  much  longer  and  slenderer,  and  the  auteunie  are  much 
smaller  than  in  8.  vestita. 


592  THE   BOBEB8   OF  CEBTAIIT   BHADB   TREES. 

The   Lindea  Tree-borer   (Saperda  veatita  of    Say,  Fig. 

117)  is  a  greenish  anas'  yellow  beetle,  with  Bix  black  spots 

near  the  middle  of  the  back ;  Had  it  is  about  eight-tenths  of 

an    inch    in    length,    though    often  j,^  j^^ 

smaller.     The   beetles,  according  to 

Dr.  Paul   Swift,  as  quoted    by   Dr. 

Harris,  were  found  (in  Philadelphia) 

upon  the  small  branches  and  leaves 

on  the  2dth  day  of  May,  anci  it  is  said 

that  they  come  out  as  early  as  the  firat 

of  the  mouth,  and  continue  to  make 

their  way  through  the  back  of  the 

trunk  and  large  branches  during  the 

whole  of  the  warm  season.     They 

immediately  fly  into  the  top  of  the        A.v«^ia «J«r^  i.".. 

tree,  and    there   feed   upon  the  epidermis  of  the  tender 

twigs,  and  the  petioles  of  the  leaves,  often  wholly  denuding 
ng.  ]9a.  the  latter,  and  caus- 

ing the  leaves  to 
fall.  They  deposit 
their  eggs,  ^two  or 
three  in  a  place, 
upon  the  trunk  or 
I  branches,  especially 
about  the  forks, 
making  slight  incis- 
ions or  punctures  for 
their  reception  with 
their  strong  jaws. 
As  many  as  ninety 

eriamt  hmleentti  mi]  pup».  CggS       haVfl      beSn 

taken  from  a  single  beetle.  The  grubs  (Fig.  118e;  o, 
enlarged  view  of  the  head  seen  from  above ',  b,  the  under 
view  of  the  same  ;  c,  side  view,  and  d,  two  rings  of  the  body 
enlarged),  hatched  from  these  eggs,  undermine  the  bark  to 
the  extent  of  six  or  eight  inches,  in  sinuous  channels,  or  pen* 


THE    BORERS    OF    CERTAIN    SHADE   TREES. 


593 


etrate  the  solid  woud  an  equal  djstuiico.  It  i:^  supposed  that 
three  years  are  required  to  mature  the  insect.  Various  ex- 
pedients have  been  tried  to  arrest  their  course,  but  with- 
out effect.  A  stream, 
thrown  into  the  tops  of 
trees  from  the  hydrant, 
is  often  used  with  good 
success  to  dislodge  other 
insects ;  but  the  borer- 
heetles,  when  thus  dis- 
turbed, take  wing  and 
hover  over  the  trees  till 
all  is  quiet,  and  then 
alight  and  go  to  woi'k 
again.     The  trunks  and 

bi-imches  of  some  of  the  trees  have  been  washed  over  with 

Fis-  m.  various    pt'eparations    without    benefit. 

Boring  the  trunk  near  the  ground,  and 

'  putting  in  sulphur  and  other  dnigs,  and 

plugging,  have  been  tried  with  as  little 

effect. 

The  city  of  Philadelphia  has  suffered 
grievously  from  this  borer. 

Dr.  Swift  remarks,  in  1844,  that  "the 
trees  in  Washington  and  Independence 
I  Squares   wei-o    first    observed   to  have 
been  attacked  about  seven  years  ago. 
Within  two  years  it  has  been  found  nec- 
essary to  cut  down  forty-seven  European 
lindens  in  the  former  square  alone,  where 
there  now  remain  only  a  few  American 
jiroHonamn<uiinii<iior  \UT»  Ii'"i*"8,  aud  theso  a  good  deal  enten." 
■iidpuv..  jn  Jfg^y  England  this  beetle  should  be 

looked  for  during  the  first  half  of  June. 

The  Poplar  tree  is  infested  by  another  species  of  Saperda 
(8.  calcamta  of  Say).     This  is  a  much  larger  beetle  than 


594  SPRINGTIME   ON  THE   TUKON. 

tboee  aboTO  mentioned,  being  an  inch  or  a  little  more  in 
length.  It  is  gray,  irregularly  striped  with  ochre,  and  the 
wing-covers  end  in  a  sharp  point.  The  grub  (Fig.  119a;  b, 
top  view  of  the  head ;  c,  under  side)  is  about  two  inches  long 
and  whitish  yellow.  It  hus,  with  that  of  the  Broad-necked 
Prionus  (P.  JaiicdUso(J)vaTy,Fig.  120  aud  pupa),  as  Harris 
states,  "almost  entirely  destroyed  the  Lombardy  poplar  in 
this  riciuity  (Boston).  It  bores  in  the  trunks,  and  the 
Fig.  133.  beetle  fliea  by  night  in  August  and  Sep- 

tember.    We  also  figui-e  the  larva  of 
2  another  boi-er  (Fig.  121c;  a,  top  view  of 

^        the  head  ;  b,  under  side ;  e,  dorsal  view 
of  an  abdominal  segment;  d,  end  of  the 
body,   showing  its  peculiar  form),  the 
Saperda  inomata  of  Say,  the  beetle  of 
which  is  black,  with  ash  gray  hairs,  and 
.  without  spines  on  the  elytra.     It  is  much 
smaller  than  any  of  the  foregoing  species, 
being    nine-twentieths    of    an    inch    in 
length.     Its  habits  are  not  known.     We 
cA(«iic<iKftu,iirTftaDd    *'"'  figurei  fi'otQ  the  manuscript  work  of 
■    '"^  Abbot,  the  larva  and  pupa  (Fig.  122,  a, 

pupa ;  b,  larra)  of  Monohammus  titillator  of  Fabrifius,  but 
be  does  not  state  on  what  treo  it  feeds.  We  copy  also  a 
figure  of  the  larva  and  pupa  of  Chion  ciiiUua  (Fig.  123,  a, 
pupa ;  b,  larva),  from  the  same  work.  The  author  gives  no 
acuouut  of  its  habits. 


SPRINGTIME  ON  THE  YUKON. 

BT  W.  B.  DAIX. 

Havino  joined  the  readers  of  the  Natdraust  in  a  winter 
day's  journey  on  the  Utukuk  poi-tage  not  long  since,  we 
may,  if  so  inclined,  try  our  fortune  again  together,  in  the 


SPRINGTIME   ON   THE  YUKON.  595 

more  pleasant  spriDgtime,  and  gather  what  facts  wo  may  of 
interest  and  value  during  another  day,  spent  on  the  great 
river  of  the  northwest,  and  its  shores. 

The  spring,  after  the  middle  of  March,  comes  on  with  . 
eager  steps  in  the  Yukon  Territory.  The  days  lengthen  so 
rapidly  that  the  change  is  almost  perceptible  from  one  day  to 
another.  The  great  snow  blanket,  from  six  to  eight  feet 
thick,  which  covers  the  whole  country,  sinks  and  hardens 
from  day  to  day.  A  tremulous  mist,  quivering  like  the  hot 
air  above  a  heated  iron,  hovers  over  the  brilliant  surface  of 
the  snow  crust,  and  to  this  is  due  the  painful  inflammation 
of  the  eyes  (conjunctivitis)  which  is  only  too  familiar  to  the 
northern  voyageur  under  the  name  of  "snow  blind.**  To 
avoid  it,  we  don  a  pair  of  dark  green  glass  goggles,  or  the 
wooden  goggles  of  the  Eskimo,  which  admit  the  light  only 
through  a  narrow  slit  in  the  blackened  wood,  warding  off  the 
reflected  light ;  yet  even  through  these  the  surface  of  a  hill 
or  river  appears  most  dazzling,  so  intense  is  the  snow  glare. 
Early  in  April  the  long  hot  days  and  short  nights  are  felt 
and  their  results  indicated,  by  the  water  which  covers  and 
softens  the  ice  sheets  on  lakes  and  rivers.  Shirt  sleeves  are 
the  rule,  and  open  casements  let  in  the  unaccustomed  sun- 
light without  stint,  while  the  dark  parchment  windows  of 
winter  are  laid  aside. 

On  the  tenth  of  April,  though  the  whole  country  was  white 
with  the  half  melted  snow  sheet,  flies,  to  all  appearance 
the  familiar  blue  bottle  and  housefly,  clustered  in  myriads 
on  the  sunny  side  of  the  wall  of  the  Nulato  trading  post. 
The  same  day  I  found  the  velvety  crimson  catkin  of  the 
alder  (how  many  of  our  readers  have  ever  seen  it?)  side  by 
side  with  the  silvery  one  of  the  river  willow,  and  search- 
ing among  the  poplars  for  new  arrivals,  brought  down  a 
white-winged  crossbill,  the  first  of  the  season.  A  day  or 
two  later,  the  turfed  roof  of  my  log  dwelling  was  alive  with 
small  steel  green  beetles,  redolent  with  a  musky  odor,  and 
by  carefully  scanning  the  few  spears  of  dry  grass  and  green 


596  SPRINGTIME   ON   THE   YUKON. 

tufts  of  moss  which  appeared  above  the  surface  of  the  snow, 
I  found  several  other  smaller  species  sunning  themselves, 
unconscious  of  the  presence  of  an  enemy.  The  short-tailed 
field  mice  (Arvicola  ocarUhognathus  and  A,  Gapperi)  were 
waking  up  to  a  sense  of  the  situation  and  enjoying  them- 
selves on  the  river  bank  wherever  a  projecting  root  or  stone 
ofiered  a  shelter  from  the  keen  eyes  of  the  numerous  hawks 
which  ever  and  anon  sailed  overhead.  Another  reason  for 
coming  abroad  was,  that  the  melting  snow  was  making  their 
undergi'ound  establishments  very  damp  and  uncomfortable. 

The  Canada  jay,  known  all  over  the  northern  countiy  by 
the  less  euphonious  name  of  **  whiskey  jack,"  had  already  laid 
and  almost  hatched  its  eggs.  The  goshawk  and  the  duck- 
hawk  (^Astur  atricapillua  and  Falco  aruUum)  had  put  their 
nests  in  order,  and  some  of  them  had  one  egg  as  an  earnest 
of  what  was  coming.  The  ptarmigan  (Lagcpus  albua)  be- 
gan to  show  rich  dark  brown  feathers  on  the  head  and  neck 
and  on  the  edges  of  the  wings.  Owls  {Si/mium  ctne7*6um, 
Nyctea  niveau  Nyctale  Tengmalmi^  etc.),  were  abundant  and 
attending  to  pressing  domestic  affairs. 

Toward  the  end  of  April  I  climbed  a  tall,  dead  stump, 
once  a  noble  birch  (Betula  iiicanaf),  and  found,  in  the  cavity 
at  the  upper  end,  six  smooth  white  eggs.  While  transferring 
them  to  my  knapsack  the  head  of  the  family  came  home, 
and  careless  of  personal  risk  or  even  death,  dashed  wildly 
about  my  head,  knocking  ofi'  a  loose  cloth  cap  which  I  wore, 
and  screaming  with  sorrow  and  anger.  The  female  owl,  for 
it  was  a  hawk  owl's  nest  {Sumia  ulula),  soon  joined  him; 
and  they  flew  to  the  top  of  a  neighboring  spruce,  uttering 
cries  of  indignation  to  each  other.  Reaching  the  ground  I 
soon  quieted  them,  bringing  both  down  with  a  single  shot, 
and  thus  devoted  the  whole  family  to  the  interests  of 
science. 

On  the  third  of  May,  Kurilla,  my  indefatigable  Indian 
hunter,  killed  a  white-cheeked  brant  (Bemida  leucopareia) 
and  two  ducks,  a  mallard  and  a  golden   eye  {Bucephcda 


6PRINOTIME   ON   THE   YUKON.  597 

Americana)  J  receiving  therefor  the  usual  perquisite  of  a 
pound  of  tobacco  for  the  first  goose  of  the  season.  From 
this  time  forward,  wild  fowl  might  be  expected  in  abundance. 
On  the  twelfth  of  May  the  ice  came  down  with  a  rush  in 
the  small  rivers;  and  that  on  the  Yukon  grew  every  day 
more  unsafe.  No  salmon  were  to  be  expected  for  some 
weeks,  but  large  numbers  of  "blanket  fish"  (a  species  of 
ThymaUus)  were  to  be  seen  ascending  the  small  rivers. 
They  would  not  take  the  hook,  though  the  greatest  induce- 
ments were  oflTered,  nor  will  any  other  fish  found  in  the 
Yukon,  as  far  as  I  know. 

The  ice  on  the  Yukon  breaks  up  about  the  twentieth  of 
May.  The  earliest  season  known  for  many  years  brought 
open  water  on  the  sixteenth,  and  the  latest  on  the  twenty- 
fifth  of  the  month. 

On  the  twentieth  of  May  I  saw  a  fine  specimen  of  the 
Camberwell  beauty  (  Vanessa  antiopa)  and  after  that  other 
buttei*flies  were  not  uncommon,  though  they  are  more  plenty 
toward  the  middle  of  June. 

Waiting  until  the  ice  and  logs* are  well  out  of  the  river 
and  the  freshet  has  somewhat  subsided,  let  us  take  a  small 
skin  canoe  and  spend  a  day  on  the  river.  The  sun  is  bright 
and  warm ;  the  weather  clear  and  delightful ;  every  living 
thing  is  pulsating  with  the  energetic  life  of  the  Arctic  spring. 
A  gun,  ammunition,  axe,  teakettle,  and  a  few  other  indis- 
pensable articles  constitute  our  equipment. 

Shoving  off  from  the  muddy  shore  of  the  Nulato  river- 
bank,  the  blood  springs,  and  the  nei*ves  tingle  with  the 
smart  strokes  of  the  paddle,  which  send  us  shooting  over 
the  turbid  waters ;  laden  as  they  are  with  sticks,  refuse,  and 
small  cakes  of  ice,  the  remnants  of  the  freshet,  which  last 
has  carried  the  heavier  logs  and  larger  fragments  seaward 
some  days  ago. 

Hugging  the  bank  to  avoid  the  swifter  current,  the 
feathery  willows  and  glistening  tender  leaves  of  the  poplar 
(P.   balsamifera)    overshadow    us,   and    small   curculionid 


598  SPRINGTIME   ON   THE   YUKON. 

beetles  frequeutly  drop  into  the  boat  from  the  overhanging 
boughs  finding  a  safe  harbor  in  our  collecting  bottles.  The 
species  are  numerous  but  the  individuals  few.  Two  or  three 
Indians  in  their  small,  frail,  birch  canoes,  accompany  us,  on 
their  way  to  some  small  river  flowing  into,  the  Yukon. 
There  they  will  spend  a  week  or  two  hunting  the  beaver, 
driven  from  his  house  by  the  rise  of  the  spring  floods. 
These  dusky  aborigines  notice  our  eager  capture  of  beetles, 
and  such  small  game,  with  unconcealed  amusement,  but  are 
keenly  alive  to  the  fact  that  good  specimens  will  buy  needles, 
caps,  or  tobacco,  and  regulate  their  actions  accordingly. 
As  we  round  a  bare  point  where  the  sun  shines  warmly  on 
the  frag]*ant  grass  and  the  saxifrage  is  already  in  blossom,  a 
flight  of  swallow-tailed  butterflies  {Papilio  Tum%is  and  P. 
Aliaska)  come  sailing  along,  and  immediately  all  is  excite- 
ment. Paddles  are  wildly  brandished  in  the  air,  the  light 
canoes  dart  swiftly  hither  and  thither,  and  the  unconscious 
insects,  thus  assailed,  escape  with  a  loss  of  half  their  num- 
ber. Then  our  Indian  companions,  with  some  incomprehen- 
sible witticism  passing  between  themselves,  bring  in  the 
results  of  their  foray,  and  so  some  eight  or  ten  passable 
specimens  are  added  to  our  collection  at  the  expense  of  a 
few  needles  and  half  a  dozen  percussion  caps. 

Away  go  the  light  canoes  again,  keeping  admirable  time 
with  their  paddles  to  a  chant  of  which  the  following  may  be 
taken  as  a  free  translation  :  — 

Where  is  the  salmon,  the  hig^  chief  salmon  ? 
HalHetHar    HahtHahrHaht 
His  sides  are  scarlet,  his  tail  is  might j, 
HarHefHar   Her  Hat  Bar 
Fat  and  laseions  the  steam  q€  the  kettle; 
Hunger  flies,  when  the  sahnon  rises; 
Rich  and  sweet  are  the  tails  of  beayer. 
Fat  the  deer,  in  the  sammer  season. 
And  the  bear  in  the  early  autnmn ; 
Better  still  is  the  great  fat  salmon  r 
HorHotHor   HafHarHar 

and  so  on  with  an  indefinite  amount  of  interpolated  chorus. 
A  little  break  in  the  green  bank,  where  a  small  stream 


SPRINGTIME   ON   THE   YUKON.  599 

dashes  its  clear  cold  water  into  the  muddy  Yukon-tide,  offers 
an  inviting  nook,  and  into  it  we  haul  our  bark,  and,  making 
fast  to  a  projecting  willow  root,  scatter  in  search  of  "speci- 
mens." A  tough  climb  of  ten  minutes  takes  us  to  the  top 
of  the  brown  sandstone  bluff,  broken  and  weatherworn ;  yet 
showing,  in  its  successive  layers  of  clayey  and  sandy  rock 
with  thin  laminsB  of  fossil  vegetable  matter,  that,  in  ages 
gone  by,  the  same  forces  were  at  work  there,  that  we  now 
observe  on  the  recent  river  bank ;  each  series  of  three  layei*8 
shows  how  some  flood  came  down  and  deposited  first  its 
sand,  next  its  clay  in  the  form  of  fine  mud,  and  lastly 
any  fragments  of  wood  jr  vegetable  matter  which  the  re- 
ceding waters  left  behind  them.  In  the  rocks  above,  how- 
ever, a  different  state  of  things  may  be  observed.  Instead 
of  the  fragments  of  leaves  of  sycamores  (Platanus)^  of 
carbonized  wood,  and  of  unrecognizable  vegetable  matter, 
we  find  remains  of  fact ,  here  and  there  a  fragment  which 
may  have  been  of  terrestrial  origin ;  and,  especially,  remains 
of  moUusca,  mostly  bivalves,  such  as  oysters,  mussels,  and 
similar  shell-fish,  and  very  rarely  a  mass  of  remains  which 
may  once  have  been  a  fish.  These  fossils,  though  metamor- 
phosed, broken,  crushed,  and  frequently  existing  only  as 
casts,  are. sufficient  to  indicate  a  mioccne  age  for  the  rocks 
in  which  they  occur,  and  no  fossils  of  the  older  rocks  have 
yet  been  found  on  the  lower  Yukon. 

By  turning  over  some  of  these  prostrate  trunks  we  shall 
obtain  rare  prizes  in  the  shape  of  GarabidcBy  beetles,  fre- 
quently of  brilliant  colors  and  large  size,  of  which  some  are 
so  rare  that  an  enthusiastic  entomological  friend  once  ex- 
claimed to  us,  when  parting :  **  Oh,  if  I  thought  I  could 
discover  the  Carabua  Vittinghceviiy  I  think  I  should  leave  my 
business  and  go  with  you  !"  In  the  same  locations  are  to  be 
found  minute  land  shells  (JBdix  chersina,  atriatdla^  electrina 
and  others,  as  well  as  minute  species  of  Pupilla  and  VertigOy 
all  common  to  the  northern  zone  of  the  world,  from  Sweden 
to   Labrador,   though   known   under   various   local   names. 


600  SPRINOTIMB   ON   THE   YUKON. 

Diptera,  iu  the  shape  of  mosquitoes,  are  only  too  common, 
as  we  have  discovered  long  since,  and  one  does  not  wonder 
that  the  deer  and  moose,  to  escape  their  persecution,  plunge 
into  the  Yukon  under  the  very  eye  of  the  hunter,  to  meet  a 
certain  doom. 

Birds  of  the  season  are  vocal  in  every  bush ;  and  here 
again  we  meet  familiar  acquaintances,  perhaps  the  very  same 
which  have  built  their  nests  and  reared  their  young  under 
the  roses  and  lilacs  of  Massachusetts.  The  common  robin 
(ThrdiLS  migraUyrius) ^  the  much  more  beautiful  and  musical 
varied  thrush  (T.  nodvitis)^  the  gray-cheeked  thrush  {T. 
alicioB),  the  ruby-crowned  kinglet  ^Hegulus  calendula) ^  the 
yellow,  black-capped,  and  yellow-rumped  warblers  (Den-- 
droica  cestiva^  striata  and  coronata),  the  wax  wing  (Arnpelis 
garrulus)y  the  rusty  blackbird  (S.fetrugineus)^  and  a  host 
of  others  are  everywhere  about  us,  hardly  noticing  our  pres- 
ence, and  intent  on  pleasing  their  newly  found  mates,  by 
song,  and  twitter,  and  pretty,  arch  gymnastics,  which,  to  the 
tender-hearted  make  the  use  of  powder  and  shot,  even  for 
scientific  purposes,  little  better  than  deliberate  murder. 
Kurilla,  at  our  side,  says  *Hhe  bushes  are  boiling  over  with 
birds  I"  And  this  reminds  us  that  the  sun  is  now  high  in 
the  south,  and  we  make  our  way  toward  the  boat  abandoning 
sentiment  to  boil  the  teakettle.  On  our  way,  a  few  low 
musiciil  notes  attract  our  attention  just  in  time  for  us  to  see 
the  author,  a  water  ouzel  (^Hydrobata  Mextcana)^  dive  with 
a  splash  and  patter  into  the  little  brook  before  us,  and  away, 
out  of  sight.  Yonder  is  a  beautiful  rounded  dome  of  moss, 
woven  as  closely  as  a  Turkey  carpet,  and  as  smooth  and  even 
as  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's,  with  a  small  round  hole  at  one 
side,  where  our  timid  songster  in  due  time  will  rear  his 
family.  Kurilla's  gun  is  ever  ready ;  he  has  reached  the 
waterside  before  us  and  a  magnificent  mallard  lies  at  his  feet, 
which  he  has  just  shot,  as  it  rose  from  yonder  stump  hidden 
in  a  bunch  of  alders.  Parting  the  bushes  we  see  him  point 
triumphantly  to  an  excavation  in  the  decayed  wood  where 


IMPREGNATION   OF   EGGS    IN   TROUT  BREEDING.  601 

lie  six  eggs,  just  laid  and  left  in  an  evil  moment  by  the 
parent.  While  we  are  thinking  of  the  bereaved  mother 
Kurilla's  thoughts  tend  toward  omelets,  and  the  frying  pan 
and  a  piece  of  deer-fat  are  soon  produced.  Duck  roasted  on 
a  stick  before  the  fire,  is  quite  another  thing  from  the  em- 
balmed remains  which  the  hotels  ofier  us,  by  way  of  game, 
and  to  our  mind  it  is  far  superior.  Our  meal  of  duck,  ome- 
let, tea  and  bread  being  finished,  we  seat  om'selves  in  the 
boat,  cast  off  the  lashings,  and  shoot  out  into  the  rapid  cur- 
rent, leaving  the  mosquitoes,  for  a  time  at  least,  behind  us ; 
when,  an  hour  afterwards  we  haul  up  on  the  beach  at  Nulato 
and  survey  our  trophies,  some  of  us  may  conclude  that  pleas- 
ure as  well  as  profit  may  be  found,  even  in  the  wilderness 
which  borders  on  the  Yukon. 


THE  IMPREGNATION  OF  EGGS  IN  TROUT 

BREEDING. 


BT  A'.  8.  COLLINS. 


Four  or  five  years  ago  the  subject  of  this  article  would 
have  been  considered  of  little  practical  importance.  Now, 
however,  fish-breeding  establishments  in  our  country  can  be 
counted  by  the  hundred ;  and  every  detail  of  the  business  is 
receiving  close  attention.  I  propose  briefly  to  describe  the 
method  in  which  trout  naturally  impregnate  their  eggs,  and 
then  the  various  methods  or  modifications  adopted  by  fish- 
breeders. 

Natural  Method  of  Spawning.  Some  time  about  the 
month  of  October  (the  time  varying  with  the  temperature 
of  the  water) ,  the  trout  which  have  hitherto  been  scattered 
through  the  stream,  begin  to  rOn  up  toward  its  sources.  The 
place  which  they  choose  for  a  nest  has  always  certain  char- 
acteristics.    It  is  chosen  as  near  a  spring  head  as  possible, 

AMKIl.   NATURAUST,   VOL.   IV.  76 


602  IMPREGNATION   OF   EGOS   IN   TROUT   BREEDING. 

haviug  a  gravelly  bottom  and  being  in  comparatively  swift 
water.  But  as  these  conditions  are  necessary  only  to  the 
batching  of  the  eggs  they  need  not  be  dwelt  upon  here. 
The  females  spawn  but  once  in  a  season ;  the  males,  on  the 
other  hand,  mi  it  several*  times.  So  that  there  is  always  an 
excess  of  males.  The  females  do  not  choose  their  partners. 
As  soon  as  the  female  begins  to  make  her  nest  some  one  of 
the  males  around  swims  to  her  side.  If  a  stouter  or  pluck- 
ier male  chances  to  come  that  way,  a  battle  royal  ensues,  and 
the  victor  takes  the  place  of  the  vanquished.  This  operation 
is  often  repeated,  and  it  seems  to  make  little  difference  to  the 
female  which  one  lies  by  her  side.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  by 
this  order  of  nature,  the  healthiest  and  strongest  trout  pair 
together.^  When  the  female  is  ready  to  emit  her  eggs  the 
male  glides  to  her  side,  and  his  milt  is  emitted  simultane- 
ously with,  and  over  her  eggs.  The  male  swims  off,  the  fe- 
male covers  the  eggs  with  gravel,  and  the  operation  is 
complete.  This  description  of  the  action  of  spawning  is 
very  incomplete ;  but  is  sufficient  for  our  present  purpose, 
which  is  to  compare  with  it  the  methods  in  use  among  trout 
breeders. 

Stripping  the  Fish.  This  was  the  earliest  method  and  is 
still  in  more  extensive  use  than  any  other.  At  certain  times 
the  ripe  males  and  females  are  taken  from  the  races.  By  a 
very  slight  pressure  of  the  hand,  the  milt  is  forced  from  a 
male  into  a  pan  partly  filled  with  water ;  by  a  similar  pres- 
sure the  eggs  of  a  female  are  forced  as  quickly  as  possible 
into  the  pan,  and  the  operation  is  continued  in  the  same 
order  until  all  the  fish  are  handled ;  the  water  being  gently 
agitated  from  time  to  time  with  the  hand  or  the  tail  of  a  fish. 
The  eggs  are  then  supposed  to  be  impregnated  and  after 
standing  some  twenty  or  twenty-five  minutes,  are  placed  in 
the  hatching  troughs.  This  plan  has  its  advantages ;  among 
which,  the  first  and  foremost  is  that  more  eggs  can  be  im- 
pregnated in  this  way  than  in  any  other.  If  the  eggs  of  a 
trout  be  taken  from  their  bed  in  the  natural  stream  and  ex- 


IMPREGNATION  OF  EGGS  IN  TBOUT  BREEDING.     603 

amined,  it  will  be  fouDd  iu  the  majority  of  cases  that  a  very 
small  percentage  are  impregnated  (iu  one  case  standing  as 
low  as  six  per  cent).  While  by  the  stripping  process  any- 
where from  eighty-five  to  one  hundred  per  cent,  can  be 
impregnated.  If  we  consider  that  in  natural  spawning,  the 
milt  is  ejected  into  comparatively  swift  water,  which  sweeps 
it  almost  immediately  away  from  the  eggs,  we  shall  cease  to 
wonder  at  the  diference.  .  Another  advantage  is  that  the 
eggs  in  the  stripping  process  are  exposed  to  the  milt  of  sev- 
eral males;  and  as  the  milt  of  one  male  will  impregnate 
thousands  of  eggs,  if  only  one  male  out  of  a  dozen  used  be 
good,  we  may  fairly  expect  that  all  the  eggs  iu  the  pan  will 
be  impregnated.  It  is  also  an  incidental  advantage  of  this 
process,  that  as  the  fish  are  all  handled  the  stripped  fish  may 
be  put  into  a  spare  pond,  so  that  they  may  not  again  run  up 
into  the  raceway  and  hinder  those  about  to  spawn.  For  this 
reason  and  also  because  it  is  not  intended  that  the  fish  should 
lay  any  eggs,  a  race  for  stripping  purposes  takes  up  com- 
paratively little  room.  On  the  other  hand  the  disadvantages 
of  the  process  are 'manifold;  the  principal  one  being  that  it 
is  very  difiicult  to  take  the  eggs  and  milt  at  the  precise  time 
when  the  fish  would  naturally  yield  them.  WiCh  much  ex- 
perience, however,  a  trout  breeder  will  succeed  very  well  in 
doing  this,  and  at  our  own  place*  we  would  even  now  about 
as  soon  have  stripped  eggs  of  our  own  taking  as  any  others. 
But  a  novice  would  not  probably  succeed  very  well.  An- 
other disadvantage  is  that  the  handling  of  a  straggling  fish 
is  a  thing  to  be  avoided  if  possible.  Even  the  most  experi- 
enced can  hardly  help  killing  a  few,  and  the  least  experienced 
will  kill  many.  The  bruised  fish  do  not  show  the  hurt  at 
once,  and  will  often  live  some  weeks  after  receiving  the 
injury.  This  difiiculty  increases  with  the  size  of  the  fish. 
TJ)e  large  fisb  which  give  the  most  eggs  are  the  hardest  to 
handle  safely.  Then  the  operation  itself  is  not  the  most 
pleasant  in  the  world.     A  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  immersion 

*  TroQt  Ponds  of  Seth  Green  &  Collins,  Caledonia,  N.  T. 


604  IMPREGNATION   OF   EGOS    IN   TROUT  BREEDING. 

of  the  hands  in  cold  water  in  the  middle  of  winter  is  not 
very  desiral)le,  and  if  this  has  to  be  repeated  a  half  dozen 
times  every  day,  it  becomes  a  thing  to  be  avoided  if  possible. 
Then,  too,  all  the  fish  in  the  race  have  to  be  taken  at  the 
same  time,  whether  ready  or  not;  and  the  interruption  to 
those  who  are  just  commencing  to  spawn  is  bad  for  many 
reasons  besides  the  danger  of  handling  them  two  or  three 
times  to  see  if  they  are  ripe.  These  disadvantages  and  es- 
pecially the  first  mentioned,  induced  Mr.  Stephen  H.  Ains- 
worth  to  prepare  and  use  what  are  known  as  the  **  Ainsworth 
Screens."  This  invention  is  an  imitation  of  a  natural  trout 
bed.  Coarse  gravel  is  placed  in  a  wooden  frame  two  feet 
square  and  three  or  four  inches  high  with  a  bottom  of  wire 
screen  coarse  enough  to  permit  trout  eggs  to  pass  through 
readily.  A  similar  frame  with  sides  only  one  inch  high  and 
fine  wire  bottom  is  placed  beneath  the  first,  and  both  are 
sunk  eight  or  ten  inches  in  the  raceway.  Trout  making  their 
nests  in  the  boxes  lay  bare  the  coarse  screen.  The  eggs, 
being  at  the  same  time  impregnated  by  the  milt  of  the  male, 
fall  through  the  meshes  of  the  upper  screen  and  are  caught 
and  retained  by  the  fine  meshes  of  the  under  screen.  The 
two  frames  fitting  closely  together  make  it  impossible  for 
any  fish  to  get  at  the  eggs,  and  they  are  kept  safely  until  the 
screens  are  removed  and  the  eggs  taken  to  the  hatching 
house.  The  advantages  of  this  plan  are  very  great;  but 
they  are  obvious  and  may  be  summed  up  in  a  few  words. 
There  is  no  danger  by  this  method  of  getting  unripe  or 
immature  eggs,  as  the  eggs  are  all  naturally  spawned.  It  is 
also  certainly  reasonable  to  suppose  that  a  fish  can  do  this 
pai*t  of  the  business  best.  There  is  also  no  danger  of  loss 
from  handling  the  fish ;  and  a  comparative  novice  can  take 
the  place  of  a  more  experienced  hand.  Then  in  this  way 
the  fish  select  their  own  partners ;  and  probably  when  left  to 
themselves  those  pair  which  are  best  adapted  to  each  other; 
whereas  in  the  stripping  process,  the  pairing  is  arbitrary  and 
no  rules  for  selection  are  known. 


IMPREGNATION   OF   EGOS   IN   TBOUT   BREEDING.  605 

But  the  inconveniences  attending  this  plan  in  its  first 
shape  were  very  great.  The  frames  could  not  be  made 
smaller  than  two  feet  square,  as  that  is  about  the  amount  of 
space  a  trout  requires  for  spawning.  Nor  could  they  be 
made  larger,  as  the  weight  of  the  gravel  on  larger  frames 
would  render  them  unwieldly  to  handle.  Therefore,  in  order 
to  fill  a  trout  race,  a  series  of  boxes — say  from  ten  to  forty 
is  required.  All  these  have  to  be  looked  over  at  least  once 
every  week  during  the  season,  and  if  there  are  many  fish, 
two  or  three  times  a  week.  Each  time  the  screens  are 
looked  over  every  fish  is  necessarily  driven  from  the  race, 
although  they  may  be  just  commencing  their  nests,  or  in  the 
very  act  of  spawning.  The  upper  screen  with  its  load  of 
gravel  is  first  lifted  out  of  the  water.  The  lower  screen 
will  then  float  to  the  surface  if  it  is  not  water-logged.  The 
eggs  lying  upon  it  are  brushed  to  one  corner  with  a  feather ; 
a  pan  is  placed  underneath  the  comer,  the  screen  is  tipped  up 
and  the  eggs  feathered  into  the  pan  sometimes^  for  the  cur- 
rent often  sends  them  in  any  direction  except  into  the  pan, 
and  cold  fingers  are  not  always  reliable.  India-rubber  gloves 
are  no  protection  from  cold,  nor  woollen  gloves  from  water ; 
and  the  two  combined  are  too  clumsy  for  the  purpose.  After 
the  eggs  are  taken,  the  fine  screen  is  returned  to  its  place, 
the  upper  screen  fitted  exactly  to  it  and  both  sunk  again  to 
their  place ;  unless  as  often  happens  a  stone  or  two  has  fallen 
out  of  the  frames  upon  the  supporting  ledges,  in  which  case 
the  screens  have  to  be  taken  up  again  and  the  stones  re- 
moved. It  will  take  two  men  five  or  six  hours  to  properly 
look  over  forty  of  these  screens.  In  order  to  make  this 
process  easier  the  writer  invented  and  patented  what  he 
calls  the  "Roller  Spawning  Box."  This  box  answers  for  se- 
curing the  naturally  impregnated  eggs  of  salmon,  salmon 
trout,  speckled  brook  trout,  whitefish,  shud,  etc.,  etc.  The 
principle  used  is  that  of  the  "  Ainsworth  Screens,**  and  the 
improvement  consists  in  a  new  and  convenient  method  of 
collecting  the  eggs. 


G06         IMPHEGNATION   OP  E008   IN   XROUT   BREEDING. 

Figure  124  represents  a  small  spawoing  box  with  a  portion 
of  the  sido  removed.  Figure  125  is  an  enlai-getl  view  of  the 
frout  of  the  same  box.  At  A  ia  seeu  a  double  row  of 
frames  each  two  feet  square  with  a  bottom  of  coarse  wire 
cloth.  lustead  of  being  made  singly  they  are  put  together 
ill  one  piece.  These  screens,  are  to  be  filled  with  coarse 
gravel  and  the  eggs  pass  through  as  in  Ainsworth'a  screens. 
Under  these  is  an  endless  apron  of  fine  wire  cloth,  B,  pass- 
ing over  rollers  at  the  two  ends  of  the  box.  This  apron  is 
about  one  inch  beneath  the  upper  acreea,  and  is  kept  from 

Fig.  IM. 


ItuLlcr  SIMnilliig  Box. 

sagging  by  snmll  croas-hars  (two  of  which  are  seen  in  the 
rut)  corres)TOnding  to  the  divisions  of  the  iip|)er  screen. 
These  cross-bars  are  supported  by  and,  when  the  rollers  are 
turned,  slide  on  an  inch  square  strip  niiiled  to  the  side  of  the 
box.  A  similar  strip  one  inch  above  supports  the  larger 
screens. 

The  cross-bars  also  keep  the  eggs  from  being  carried 
down  by  the  current.  By  using  two  small  beveled  cog-wheeU 
the  front  roller  can  be  turned  by  the  handle  seen  at  G.  As 
the  roller  is  turned  forward  the  endless  apron  moves  with  it, 
and  the  eggs  as  they  come  to  the  edge  of  the  roller  will  fall 
off.  The  pan,  C  (fig.  125),  is  pkced  in  front  of  the  roller, 
and  receives  the  eggs  as  they  fall.    The  box  need  not  be  more 


lUPREONATION  OF  EOQS  IN   TBODT   BBEEUINO.  607 

thun  two  feet  deep;  the  depth  depeadiiig  upon  the  size  of 
the  rollers,  which  iu  a  short  race  may  bo  quite  smiill  aad  the 
box  uot  more  than  eiglitcen  inches  deep.  The  box  is  set 
directly  iu  the  nicoway,  and  intended  to  fill  it  completely. 
The  water  enters  in  the  direction  of  the  arrows,  and  may 
either  enter  with  a  fall  over  the  top  of  the  box,  as  seen  in  fig. 
124,  or  tbe  top  of  the  box  may  be  cut  down  until  the  water 
will  enter  on  the   level  at  Fig.  ut. 

which  it  is  intended  to  stand 
over  the  screens. 

F  (fig.  124)  is  a  screen 
intended  to  prevent  the  fish 
from  running  beyond  the 
race,  or  getting  into  the 
lower  part  of  the  box.  It 
may  extend  to  the  bottom, 
or  be  arranged  as  seen  in  tbe 
engraving.  D  is  a  screen  at 
the  front  of  the  box,  also 
intended  to  prevent  the  fish 

fr<im  getting  below.     When  ^™"  "f  spawDing  boi, 

the  eggs  are  to  bo  taken  this  screen  is  raised  on  hinges  to  an 
upright  position,  and  confined  by  a  spring  catcb  or  latch  as 
Been  at  E  (fig.  125).  This  confines  the  fish  which  may  happen 
to  be  in  the  race  and  none  of  tliein  can  get  beluw.  The  jmn 
is  then  lowered  to  its  position,  the  roller  turned  and  the 
eggs  taken.  When  the  operation  is  finished  the  screen  D 
is  again  lowered,  the  button  turned  and  the  work  is  done. 
If  the  box  is  wide,  say  four  feet,  it  is  more  convenient  to 
have  the  pan  made  in  two  or  three  sections,  inserted  in  a 
light  frame,  aa  the  eggs  can  be  more  easily  carried  in  and 
poured  out  of  a  shorter  pan.  It  is  better  perhaps  to  make 
the  screen  D  to  open  in  the  middle,  having  hinges  at  both 
sides.  Then  one  half  will  keep  the  fish  in  the  pond,  and  the 
other  half  the  fish  in  the  race,  from  running  into  the  well. 
The  box  can  be  made  of  any  length  from  four  feet  to  forty 


608  IMPREGNATION   OF   EGGS   IN  TROUT   BREEDING. 

feet  or  even  longer,  and  of  any  width  from  two  feet  to  six 
or  eight.  If  it  is  made  very  wide  an  additional  longitud- 
inal support  must  be  provided  for  the  revolving  screen. 
We  recommend  the  following  dimensions  for  speckled  trout 
races :  two  feet  wide  and  from  ten  to  twenty  feet  long ;  or 
four  feet  wide  and  from  twenty  to  forty  feet  long.  The 
upper  screens  may  be  made  in  convenient  sections,  the  whole 
width  of  the  l)ox,  and  six  or  eight  feet  long. 

The  screens  F  and  D  are  so  made  that  while  a  full  current 
id  permitted  to  flow  over  the  upper  screens  (A),  only  a  gen- 
tle current  can  flow  through  the  under  part  of  the  box. 
This  current  is  meant  to  be  so  regulated  that  when  the  pan, 
C,  is  placed  about  an  inch  from  the  turning  roller,  all  the 
small  stones  which  the  trout  may  whip  through  the  upper 
screen  will  fall  short  of  the  pan  ;  the  eggs  being  lighter  will 
be  carried  by  the  current  into  the  pan,  while  a  great  part  of 
the. dirt,  etc.,  which  may  collect  on  the  under  screen  will  be 
carried  up  over  the  pan  and  entirely  out  of  the  box.  The 
revolving  screen  may  be  made  of  tjirred  muslin  or  some  sim- 
ilar fabric.  But  wire  cloth  (of  ten  or  twelve  meshes  to  the 
inch)  keeps  much  the  cleanest  and  we  are  inclined  to  think 
it  best  for  the  purpose.  I  make  my  aprons,  half  wire  cloth 
and  half  tarred  muslin,  furnishing  the  wire  only  with  cross- 
bars and  always  leaving  it  uppermost.  This  apron  is  fast- 
ened around  the  rollers  by  a  lacing  of  cord.  At  the  end  of 
the  season  the  water  in  the  pond  can  be  drawn  down  a  foot 
and  everything  taken  out  but  the  rollers.  Give  the  screens 
a  coat  of  paint  or  gas  tar  and  lay  them  away  in  a  dry  place 
until  the  next  autumn.  A  stiff  brush  may  also  be  placed  un- 
der the  forward  roller,  so  that  every  time  the  roller  is  turned 
to  remove  the  eggs  the  screen  will  be  perfectly  cleaned. 

A  few  of  the  advantages  of  the  plan  are  as  follows :  Let 
us  compare  a  double  row  of  forty  Ainsworth  screens,  each 
two  feet  square  and  occupying  a  space  in  the  raceway  forty 
feet  long  and  four  feet  wide,  with  one  of  the  new  spawning 
boxes  of  the  same  dimensions. 


IMPREGNATION   OF   EGGS   IN   TROUT   BREEDING.  609 

Ist.  By  the  old  way  it  would  take  two  men  a  good  half 
day  to  remove  the  screens  singly,  feather  off  the  eggs  in  a 
careful  manner,  and  retuni  each  (double)  screen  to  its 
proper  place. 

It  would  t4ike  the  new  spawning  box  about  fifteen  minutes 
to  do  the  same  work  with  one  man. 

2d.  The  weight  of  the  gravel  which  has  to  be  lifted  in 
the  old  way  every  time  the  eggs  are  removed,  amounts  to 
many  tons  in  the  course  of  a  season. 

In  the  new  box  the  gravel  is  not  lifted  at  all. 

3d.  By  the  old  way  the  operator's  hands  must  of  necessity 
be  more  or  less  wet  during  the  whole  operation.  Now  as 
the  trout  and  salmon  spawn  during  the  winter  season,  when 
the  thermometer  generally  stands  below  the  freezing  point, 
taking  eggs  in  the  old  way  is  not  only  inconvenient  and 
painful  but  often  impossible. 

By  the  new  way  the  hands  are  not  made  wet  and  may  be 
kept  comfortably  gloved. 

4th.  By  the  old  way  more  or  less  of  the  eggs  are  lost  by 
careless  feathering,  exposing  the  eggs  to  the  freezing  atmos- 
phere, clumsiness  in  handling  the  screens  (caused  by  cold 
fingers)  tipping  of  the  screens,  wash  of  the  current,  etc. 

By  the  new  way  every  egg  is  saved. 

5th.  By  the  old  method  every  fish  is  driven  out  of  the 
race  when  the  eggs  are  taken.  Some  of  them  will  not  re* 
turn,  but  will  seek  a  spawning  place  in  the  pond  and  many 
eggs  will  be  unavoidablv  lost. 

By  the  new  way  the  fish  are  not  driven  from  the  race. 
And  as  the  boxes  are  always  covered  during  the  season,  the 
fish  will  not  even  be  disturbed.  In  fact  they  may  spawn 
while  the  eggs  are  being  takeuy  and  yet  not  a  single  egg  be 
lost. 

The  advantages  of  this  method  when  compared  with  the 
stripping  process  are  many.  It  is  much  less  trouble  to  take 
the  eggs.  It  is  much  more  comfortable.  It  avoids  handling 
the  fish,  and  the  consequent  loss.    It  saves  all  the  eggs  which 

AMKR.   NATURALIST,    VOL.    IV.  77 


filO  BEVIEWS. 

are  lost  in  the  intervals  of  stripping.  It  does  not  disturb 
the  fish  in  the  process  of  spawning.  It  insures  a  perfectly 
natural  impregnation. 

The  question  whether  naturally  impregnated  eggs  are 
better  than  the  stripped  eggs,  is  not  yet  settled*.  It  is  cer- 
tain that  more  eggs  can  be  impregnated  by  the  stripping 
process,  but  that  the  resulting  fish  are  as  healthy  as  those 
grown  from  naturally  fertilized  eggs,  is  not  yet  definitely 
proved.  We  are  inclined  to  think  that  when  the  stripping 
is  properly  performed  there  is  little  difference.  However 
this  may  be,  a  few  eggs  more  or  less  are  of  little  conse- 
quence to  the  trout-breeder ;  while  convenience  and  speed 
together  with  certainty  of  result  are,  as  in  every  other  art, 
of  prime  importance. 


REVIEWS. 


•*0»- 


EcoNOBncAL  Entomoloot  in  Missouri.*  —  The  annnal  appearance  of 
a  volQme  containing  so  mnch  that  is  new  f  regarding  the  common  injnrl- 
ons  insects  of  a  single  State,  is  a  proof  that  people  are  giving  increased 
attention  to  the  subject  of  applied  entomology,  and  that  it  is  considered 
as  one  of  the  first  importance  to  the  agricultaral  community  as  well  as 
the  country  at  large.  There  should  indeed  be  an  entomologist  in  each 
State  X  whose  sole  business  it  should  be  to  acquaint  himself  with  the  hab- 
its of  the  injurious  insects,  the  best  remedies  against  their  attacks,  and 
above  all  the  habits  of  their  Insect  parasites,  which  keep  them  under,  as 

*  Second  Annual  Report  on  the  Koxioaa,  Benefleial  and  other  Inseeta,  of  the  State  of  Mta- 
•onrl,  made  to  tlie  State  Board  of  AfoicuUnre.  By  C.  V.  Riley,  State  Entoniologlet,  Jefferson 
city,  1870.  8to.  pp.  141.  With  nnnierons  wood  outa.  For  sale  at  the  Natarallst^s  Book 
Agency,  7A  cents. 

t  While  a  large  proportion  of  this  report  Is  reprinted  fh>m  the  **  American  Entomologtot,** 
of  which  Mr.  Riley  Is  the  editor,  yet  the  olMenratlons  were  made  by  him  as  the  State  Ento- 
mologist, and  that  able  magazine  may  be  said  to  be  In  a  sense  the  entomological  organ  of  the 
Mlssonrl  Board  of  Agriculture.  [We  regret  to  learn  that  the  "American  Entomologist **  will 
be  suspended  for  a  year.  We  tmst  to  see  It  revived  at  the  end  of  that  time,  and  meanwhile 
shall  sorely  miss  Its  monthly  rlslCs.] 

t  Since  this  report  was  printed  the  State  of  Illinois  has  appointed  Dr.  Le  Baron  to  succeed 
the  late  Mr.  Walsh  as  State  Entomologist  of  Illinois;  and  Dr.  A.  8.  Packard,  jr., has  been  this 
year  appointed  State  Entomologist,  by  the  Board  of  Agriculture  of  the  State  of  Masaachnsetta. 
The  State  of  New  York  has  published  nine  reports  on  noxious  and  beneficial  Insects  by  Dr« 
Vltch,  and  the  State  of  Maine  two  reports,  though  she  appointed  no  State  Entomologist. 


REVIEWS. 


611 


well  as  the  habits  of  birds,  which  also  hold  them  tn  check ;  and  lastly,  the 
6tat«  Hhould  liberally  illnstrate,  print  and  distrlbnte  the  eatomologtst's 
report.  B7  ho  doing,  not  only  wonld  the  IntercBts  of  agrlcaltare  be  pro- 
moted, and  thoussDds  of  dollars  annnally  saved  to  the  8tat«  (thoagh  each 
legislator    who    unwil-  j-ig  uj^ 

llngly  votes  a  thoasand 
dollars  or  more  may  sin- 
cerely believe  that  be  Is 
robblDg  the  treasury , 
while  actually  reOlllng  tt 
to  twice  that  amoDDt), 
bat  the  conntry  at  larg« 
shares  lo  the  Increased  r,,H. 
knowledge ;  and  science  " 
and  popular  edncatlon 
are  In  no  email  degree 
promoted.  The  works 
or  Dr.  Harris,  published 
by  the  liberality  of  the 
State  of  Massacbasetts, 
are     known     all     over  ~~        ~ 

Europe;  In  other  words, 

throaghont  nearly  the  whole  civilized  world,  and  so  are  those  of  Dr. 
Fitch,  the  State  Entomologist  of  New  York,  while  the  writings  of  Mr. 
Walsh,  late  State  Entomologist  of  Illinois,  containing  so  much  that  la 
norel  and  Interesting  to  theoretical  aa  well  as  practical  entomology,  are 
read  and  songht  after  by  European  snthors. 

A  tme  knowledge  of  practical  entomology  may  well  be  said  to  be 
In  Its  Infancy,  when,  aa  Is  well  known  to  agriculturists,  the  caltivntinn 


Fig.  137. 


of  wheat  has  almost 
been  given  np  In  por- 
tions of  the  northern 
states  ftam  the  at- 
tacks of  the  wheat 
midge,  Hesalan  fly, 
Joint  worm  and  chinch 
bug.  "  According  to 
Dr.  Stalraer's  esti- 
mate, which  may  be 
considered  a  reason- 
able one.  In  the  year 
1S64  three- fourths  of 
the  wheat  and  one-half  of  tbe  com  crop  were  destroyed  by  the  chinch 
bag  throughout  many  extensive  districts,  comprising  almost  the  entire 
northwest.  At  the  average  annual  rate  of  Interest,  according  to  the 
United  States  censDs,  Id  the  State  of  Illinois,  the  wheat  crop  of  1864 


vino  Dm 


612  BflVIEWS. 

ought  to  have  1>een  about  thirty  mllUoDs  of  boshels,  &nd  the  com  crap 
about  one  Imadrcd  and  tliirty-clght  mlllloD  busljels.  Putting  the  caah 
value  or  wbeat  at  91.25  and  that  of  com  at  SO  ceotfi,  tbe  cash  vnloe  of 
tbe  corn  and  wlieat  dvstroji;d  by  tbta  lusiKnlBcant  little  bog,  no  bigger 
than  a  gr^u  of  rice,  In  one  single  State  and  one  aingle  year,  will  tliere- 
fore,  according  to  tlic  above  figures,  foot  up  to  tlie  aatoDiidlng  total  of 
OVER  8BVEN TY-riiRKK  MiLuo.vB  OK  Doi.LARsl"  The  Cabbage  batterfly 
(Pierlt  rapa),  recently  introduced  (p.  28)  from  Europe,  Is  estimated  by 
M,  Provancher,  to  annually  destroy  two  hundred  and  forty  thousand  dot- 
Urs'  worth  of  cabbages  around  Quebec.    Tbe  Hessian  dy,  according  to 

rig.  IM. 


Tine  Dnuer  aod  Pupa. 

Dr.  Fitch,  destroyed  fifteen  million  dollars  worth  of  wheat  tn  New  Torh 
Btnte  In  one  year.  Tbe  army  worm  of  the  North  {Levean<a  unipuneta'), 
which  was  so  abundant  In  1S61  from  New  England  to  KanSHs,  was 
reported  to  have  done  damage  that  year  In  Eastern  Massachusetts 
exceeding  a  half  million  of  dollars.  The  Joint  worm  alone  eometlroea 
cuts  off  whole  fields  of  grain  In  Virginia  and  northward.  The  Colorado 
potato  beetle  is  steadily  moving  eastward,  now  ravaging  the  flelds  In 
Indiana,  and  only  the  forethought  and  Ingenully  In  devising  means  of 
checking  Its  attacks,  resulting  from  a  thorough  atndy  of  Its  habits  will 
deliver  our  wasted  flelds  Itom  Its  direful  assaults. 

Indeed  the  cry  of  waste,  waste,  arises  all  over  the  land.  The  money 
and  material  thai  Is  wasted  annually  In  bad  roads.  In  the  loss  of  fertilizers 
from  wanton  waste,  the  loss  from  ignorance  of  geology  and  mining  engi- 
neering, the  waste  Involved  In  the  process  of  extracting  ores,  the  waste 
from  bad  cooking,  poor  honsewlfery,  and  above  all,  the  loss  of  hnman  life 


HEVTEW8.  618 

from  Ignorance  of  Bclentlflc  laws,*  carelessness  resaltlng  from  Ignorance 
and  vice,  the  o^prlng  of  ignorance, — the  atnonnt  that  Is  Ihu8  wasted  wk 
venture  to  assert  wuuld,  if  saved,  pay  off  our  national  debt  In  one  jeur, 
and  change  our  world  as  It  were  Into  a  new  planetl  A  century  hence 
when  the  country  Is  crowded  tenfold  ^^ 

its  present  amount,  our  people  will 
■learn  the  lessons  that  science  and  na- 
ture teach  of  economy  and  thrift. 

These  remarks  may  be  thought  es- 
travagant,  but  the  thougiitfhl  agricul- 
turist, technical  chemist  and  political 
economist  will  agree  that  they  are 
trne.  Mr.  Riley  tratliHitly  states  in 
the  Introdnctlon  to  his  report  that 
"we  have  In  this  country  altogethcT 
more  than  our  share  of  these  Insect  J 
depredators,  and  so  truly  is  this  the  ' 

case,  that  Insects  which   attract  unl-         o         "  "- 

versal  attention,  and  are  considered  Ait/fia^-mactiinia. 

OS  very  serions  evils  in  Europe,  would  not  be  deemed  worthy  of  notice  In 
this  conntrj.  There,  If  they  lose  one-Qfth  of  a  given  crop,  the  whole 
commnnity  becomes  alarmed;  but  here  the  cultivator  sometimes  con- 
siders himself  fortunate  If  he  seenrea  the  half  of  his  crop  from  Insect 
ravages,  and  each  State  loses  annnally  from  flfty  to  sixty  million  dollars 
from  this  cause  alone,  though  hut  four  states  have  as  yet  made  any 
attempt  to  prevent  this  serious  loss."  We  may  reasonably  calculate  the 
annual  loss  In  our  country  atone  from  noxious  animals  and  the  lower  ' 
.  plants,  sneh  as  rust,  smut  and   mll- 

—  — —  -^   —       -  —I  dew,  as  not  far  from  one  thousand 

\  million  of  dollars!    Of  this  amount 

<^-j;,  '^m  t  JVJLiT^^J^jm   at  least  one  tenth,  or  one  hnndred 

p  .^fc^jy^JOlL'^jiy^   milllou    of    dollars   annnnily,   conid 

I    probably  be  saved   by   hnman  exer- 

I    tions.      Statisticians    tell   us    that 

I    within  three  or  four  centuries  the 

nverage    of    human    life    has    been 

doubled :  the  average  man  lives  forty 
Eudrfai  grata.  ,  .      ~  ,  , 

years,  where  in  Spencers  time  he 
lived  bnt  twenty.  The  world  since  his  time  has  become  richer  and  better 
in  proportion  as  the  race  has  grown  thrifty  and  economical  In  human  llfie. 
80  what  science  and  knowledge  bas  done  for  hoinan  life  and  happiness, 
science  will  do  for  agriculture  and  the  arts.    Howerer  chimerical  our 


614 


REriEWS. 


ii//(/(Wuioi(Mu^nv : 


-T—X- 


Larva  of  Eudryas  vnio. 


flgarcs  may  appear,  they  at  least  tend  to  show  that  our  material  wealth 
and  prosperity  depend  most  Intimately  on  the  favor  shown  to  science  and 
the  encouragement  given  to  original  research,  however  abstruse,  by  men 
of  scientific  tastes. 

To  save  a  portion  of  this  annual  loss  of  food  stuffs  and  fruits  should  be 
the  first  object  of  farmers  and  gardeners.    They  eke  out  a  bare  livelihood 

on  the  present  amount  ralse<k 
Could  they  save  what  Is  wasted  by 
insects  they  would  grow  rich; 
and  we  therefore  advocate  legis- 
lation for  this  purpose.  Why 
should  we  not  trtaae  a  law  pro- 
viding that  farmers  should  coop- 
erate In  taking  preventative  meas- 
ures against  injurious  insects,  such  as  early  or  late  planting  of  cereals, 
to  avert  the  attacks  of  the  wheat  midge  and  Hessian  fly ;  the  burning  of 
stubble  in  the  autumn  and  spring  to  destroy  the  Joint  worm ;  the  com- 
bined use  of  proper  remedies  against  the  canker  worm,  and  other  noxious 
caterpillars  and  cut  worms  ?  A  few  of  the  more  enlightened  and  indus- 
trious sort  are  forehanded  and  diligent  In  restraining  these  pests.  A  law 
carried  out  by  a  proper  State  Entomological  constabulary,  if  we  may  so 
designate  it,  would  compel  idle  and  shiftless  neighbors  to  clear  their 
farms  and  gardens.  We  doubt  not  that  if  each  State  would  appoint  a 
State  Entomologist  with  several  assistants,  who  should  watch  the  fields 
and  report  neglect  in  killing  injurious  insects  to  the  town  authorities,  by 
whom  delinquents  should  be  fined,  many  times  the  cost  of  maintaining 
such  a  bureau  would  be  saved  to  the  State.  Indeed,  why  should  we  not 
have  an  Insect  law,  as  well  as  Fish  and  Game  laws  ? 

Among  some  of  the  injurious  insects  reported  on  by  Mr.  Riley  Is  a  new 
pest  to  the  cucumber  in  the  West,  the  Pickle  wqrm  (Phacellura  nitidalU 
Cramer,  Fig.  126).  This  is  a  cater-  ^^ 


-^    


pillar  which  bores  into  the  cucum- 
bers when  large  enough  to  pickle, 
and  it  is  occasionally  found  in 
pickles.  Three  or  four  worms 
occur  sometimes  in  a  pickle,  and 
a  single  one  will  cause  the  cucum- 
ber to  rot.  He  also  gives  us 
excellent  drawings  of  the  Vine 
dresser  (Chcprocnrnpa  pampinatriz 
Smith  and  Abbott,  Fip.  127  larva 
and  pupa;  Fig.  128 adult;),  a  single 
caterpillar  of  which  will  sometimes  "  strip  a  small  vine  of  its  leaves  in 
a  few  nights,"  and  sometimes  nips  off  bunches  of  half-grown  grapes. 

Another  caterpillar,  which  sometimes  is  so  abundant  as  to  nearly  defoli- 
ate the  grape  vine  is  the  Alypia  S-maculata  Fabr.  (Fig.  129;  a,  larva;  b, 


AroXcUhiu  Americana, 


BEVIEW8.  615 

Hide  r\ew  of  a  iegmenl).  Tbls  must  not  be  confoanded  with  the  blnlsh 
Urra  of  Eadryat  grata  Fabr.  (Fig.  130)  wblcb  differs  Trom  the  Alypia  cater- 
pillar in  belDg  blalsb,  and  in  wanting  the  white  patches  on  the  eldes  of  the 
body,  and  the  more  prom-  f^g  y^    . 

Inent  homp  on  the  end  of 
the  bodj.  Another  spe- 
cies, E.  unio  Hueboer  (Fig. 
ISl  larva,  b,  side  view  of  a 
segment ;  c,  top  flew  of 
the  hump),  also  feeds  on 
the  grape,  eatlug  tbe  ter- 
minal buds.  It  Is  also  blQ- 
Isb,  and  wants  the  orange 
bands  on  the  aide  of  the 
body,  as  Mr.  Riley  informs  i 
as  Id  a  letter.  Another 
moth  of  the  same  family 
Is  the  American  prucrls 
[^Aciiloithvs  AmtTieana 
Clem.,  Fig.  132  a,  larva;  6, 
pupa;  c,  cocoon);  a  little 
dark  blue  moth,  with  a 
deep  orange  color,  whose 

black  and  ydlow  larva  Is  um  or  jwJoWu. 

gregarloaa  (Fig.  133)  living  In  companies  of  a  dozen  or  more  and  eating 
the  aofter  parts  or  tbe  leaves.  It  Is  quite  common  In  the  Western  and 
Bonthern  States. 

There  are  over  a  hundred  cuts  In  this  pamphlet,  and  the  mere  dissem- 
ination of  these  iUustratloDS  will  do  mnch  towards  creating  a  taste  for 
entomology  In  the  young.  The  author  sometimes  admits  iiieteganelcs  of 
expression,  which  mar  an  otherwise  clear  and  readable  style.  He  com- 
plains justly  iu  his  preface  that  the  State  press  has  used  too  poor  Ink  and 
paper.  We  trust  that  the  next  report  will  be  improved  In  this  respect,  as 
tbe  excellent  cuts  need  good,  hard  paper. 

AsiRRiCAN  Crabs.*  —  In  this  admirable  paper,  describing  many  of  our 
North  Aracrican  Soldier,  or  Fiddler,  Crabs,  and  their  allied  forms,  Mr. 
Smith  begins  a  series  of  beautiniU;  Illustrated  articles  "  chiefly  made  up 
of  notes  and  descriptions  resulting  from  the  study  of  the  higher  Ameri- 
can Crustacea  In  the  Museum  of  Yale  College,  and  the  collection  of  the 
Feabody  Academy  of  Science."  The  descriptions  seem  to  be  carefully 
and  conscientiously  prepared.  The  specimen  of  Gelatimtti  palvMrU,  with 
the  large  fltigcrs  (chellpeds)  nearly  equal  In  size,  and  mentioned  as  a 
remarkable  anomaly  In  vol.  ill,  p.  667,  of  tbe  Natuhaust,  Is  now  referred 
by  tbe  author  to  a  new  species,  Gelnsimva  pugnax. 

•Nolo  on  Amcrlcnn  Cni.Uipi-ii.  Nn.  1.    OcTt>™l''lrtr.n,  -111,  fiiiir  IHhn^jiph  pUK-a.    Br  SW- 


616  REVIEWS. 

Thr  Craw  Fish  of  North  America.*  —  The  Cambridge  Maseam  has 
issued  another  of  its  samptuoasly  illustrated  and  printed  catalogues, 
which  the  liberality  of  the  State  of  Massachusetts  has  given  it  the  means 
to  do.  From  the  hands  of  Dr.  Hagen  we  have,  as  might  be  expected 
from  his  known  care  and  accuracy  in  research,  a  monograph  of  much  in- 
terest and  value.  The  craw  fish  have  been  much  neglected  by  naturalists 
in  this  country,  though  these  fresh* water  lobsters  have  already  made  their 
mark  in  the  local  histories  of  the  times,  by  the  injury  they  occasionally  do 
by  undermining  our  river  dams,  and  especially  the  levee  of  the  Missis- 
sippi near  New  Orleans,  and  the  rice  fields  of  the  Southern  states. 

As  the  author  refers  very  briefly  to  their  burrowing  habits,  only  alludr 
ing  to  the  fact  that  a  species  **  severely  damages  the  rice  fields  of  the 
Southern  States,"  we  would  mention  that  according  to  newspaper  ac- 
counts they  have  by  tunnelling  the  artificial  banks  of  the  Missfssippi, 
caused  devastating  floods;  and  while  in  Northern  Maine  we  were  told 
that  the  craw  fish  so  undermined  the  dam  at  the  mouth  of  the  Aroostook 
River,  that  it  was  partially  carried  away.  While  craw  fishes  are  most  abun- 
dant in  the  Middle,  Western  and  the  Southern  States,  they  are  more  com- 
mon in  New  England  than  one  would  be  led  to  suppose  ft'om  Dr.  Hagen's 
remarks,  as  he  had  no  specimens  from  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Massa- 
chusetts, Connecticut  or  Rhode  Island.  The  writer  has  found  them  fre- 
quently under  stones  in  lakes  in  Northern  Maine,  and  has  had  specimens 
from  Willlamstown,  Mass.,  presented  him  by  Mr.  S.  H.  Scudder. 

Passing  over  the  classification  and  distribution  of  the  species,  we  will 
glean  some  results  of  the  author's  study  on  the  sexual  peculiarities  and 
dimorphism  of  these  creatures.  He  finds  that  some  of  the  females  show 
a  tendency  to  a  more  masculine  development,  and  in  some  males  a  ten- 
dency to  a  feminine  development.  He  gives  a  detailed  account  of  the 
two  sorts  of  males,  stating  that  Professor  Agassiz  was  the  first  to  make 
the  interesting  discovery  of  dimorphism  in  the  males  of  the  genus  Cam- 
barus,  to  which  all  the  species  living  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  belong, 
while  it  does  not  occur  in  the  genus  Astacus,  to  which  the  European 
and  Pacific  coast  species  belong,  nor  in  the  females  of  either  genus.  The 
males  of  the  first  form  are  well  developed  and  capable  of  reproduction ; 
those  of  the  second  form  are  sterile,  and  besides  certain  important  dif- 
ferences, such  as  the  greater  development  of  the  limbs,  the  tarsal  third  of 
which  are  articulated  when  they  are  not  in  the  males  of  the  first  form, 
and  the  **  hooks  on  the  third  article  of  the  third,  or  in  some  groups  of  the 
third  and  of  the  fourth  pair  of  legs  are  smaller  and  less  developed.  The 
whole  body  has  less  size  and  width,  the  sculpture  is  not  so  well  finished, 
while  the  claws  are  shorter,  narrower,  and  more  like  those  of  the  fe- 
male." He  adds  that  "  the  existence  of  a  second  form  of  the  male,  if  it 
were  no  more  than  a  passage  or  metamorphotic  form,  would  not  be  ex- 


*  illustrated  Catalojnie  of  tbe  Miisnuin  of  Comparative  ZwiXofcy.  No.  III.  Monograph  of 
tlio  North  American  Astacida.  By  Dr.  H.  A.  Hagen.  Cambridge,  1870.  Boyal  Sro,  pp.  109. 
Willi  vIcTen  lltbugraph  plates. 


REVIEWS.  617 

traordlnary.  But  the  great  nnmber  of  fUU-grown  second-form  specimens 
in  every  species,  which  are  often  even  larger  than  the  first-form  males, 
seems  to  prove  that  they  are  indlvidaals  which  have  remained  in  a  sexual 
stage  that  does  not  agree  with  their  corporal  development,  —  in  short, 
that  they  are  perhaps  sterile."  This  conjecture  he  finds  supported  by  an 
anatomical  examination. 

We  quote  all  the  author's  general  remarks  on  Dimorphism  in  Crustacea 
and  Insects  (p.  24).  We  have  noticed  in  the  Naturalist,  vol.  ill,  p.  494, 
iv,  p.  55,  the  recent  discoveries  of  Malmgren,  Ehlers,  Clapar^de  and  oth- 
ers, regarding  dimorphism  in  the  worms,  which  our  readers  would  do 
well  to  read  in  this  connection. 

^  DimorphUm  in  ot?ter  Cnutacea.  —  Perhaps  this  fkct  of  the  existence  in  the  Crustacea  of  two 
forms,  oqe  always  sterile.  Is  not  nutque.  In  the  genera  Lupa  and  Calllnectes,  there  are  not 
rarely  fbmaleS  with  a  Tery  narrow  and  acote  postatnlonien.  These  it  Is  yery  easy  to  separate 
teom  the  ordinary  females,  with  a  large  and  circular  postabdomen.  Professor  L.  Agasslz  in- 
forms me  that  he  his  satisfied  himself,  by  an  anatomical  examination  of  IWinir  specimens,  that 
these  females  are  sterile.  I  have  found  similar  ftmales  with  a  narrower  triangular  abdomen  in 
some  other  frenera  of  Breuhyura, 

I  am  Indebted  to  Mr.  Alexander  Agassis  for  the  information  that  F.  MuUer,  Faer  Darwin, 
1864,  has  described  two  forms  of  the  male  in  Orehestia  DaneinU  and  in  Tanai*  dubius.  He  re- 
marks that  when  found  upon  the  shore  the  form  of  the  second  pair  of  gnathopoda  varies  from 
that  of  the  specimens  found  at  a  distance  inland,  where  it  lives  under  mouldy  leaves  In  loose 
earth.  In  0.  Daneinii^  intermediate  forms  between  the  males  with  large  and  those  with  small 
hands,  are  not  to  be  detected,  but  in  two  other  species,  0.  tueurauna  and  0,  ttteuratittffet^  the 
shape  of  the  antenna  and  of  the  hands  changes  even  in  the  flill-grown  males. 

The  supposition  that  the  flrst-bom  males  only  In  Cambarus  possess  large  hands  for  borrowing 
purposes  Is  to  be  r^ected,  as  the  fomales  also  have  the  same  burrowing  habits. 

The  existence  of  two  dilTerent  forms  of  males  in  Cambartu  Is  very  Important  in  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  species,  and  the  fact  that  these  forms  are  not  recognised  by  all  preceding  authors 
may  explain  some  erroneous  determinations  In  their  works." 

^*tHmorphUm  in  JnseeU.—The  discovery  of  a  dimorphism  in  the  Crustacea  is  all  the  more  in- 
teresting, since  as  yet  in  the  whole  animal  kingdom  dimorphism  was  known  only  in  the  insects. 
There  are  many  facts  and  communications  scattered  through  entomological  literature,  of  which 
a  general  review  is  very  desirable.  An  anatomical  examination  of  these  dimorphic  forms  Is 
still  wanting,  only  the  external  dUTerences  having  thus  far  been  marked. 

The  dimorphism  seems  to  be  represented  in  two  different  ways;  a  difference  only  in 'the 
colors  (dichroic  forms  of  Braucr),  or  a  difference  in  size  and  shape,  and  mostly  in  the  female. 
I  should  remark  that  dimorphism,  as  observed  in  Insects,  occurs  only  In  one  sex  of  tlie  same 
species,  and  mostly  In  the  female.  Perhaps  in  the  ants  and  in  the  white  ants— It  seems  more 
natural  to  range  all  the  socially  Uvlng  insects,  viz.,  the  ants,  bees,  wasps,  and  white  ants  under 
the  same  law — a  dimorphism  Is  to  be  found  in  both  sexes. 

Dimorphism  consisting  in  different  colors  was  long  since  observed,  especially  In  Lcpldoptera. 
in  the  hind  wings  of  many  Orthoptera,  and  in  the  females  of  Agrlon.  In  tliA  utter  genus  the 
well-known  orange-colored  females  are  probably  sterile. 

Dimorphism  with  difference  In  shape  and  size  Is  also  often  observed.  A  very  common  case 
Is  the  difference  in  the  development  of  the  wings.  The  wings  are  either  long  and  well-devel- 
oped, or  short,  or  entirely  wanting.  The  short-winged  Orthoptera  (Gryllus,  Locusta,  Dlatta, 
Perla,  Termes,  Psocus)  have  been  carefhlly  described  by  Messrs.  Flwlu'r,  Von  Siebotd,  Lu- 
cas, Brauer,  and  myself;  the  short-winged  or  apterous  Hcniiptcra.  by  Wcstwood  and  Uhler 
(Amphlblocorlsia,  Gerrld«,  etc.);  the  short-winged  Dtptera  by  Schnum  (Omithobia  and  Lip- 
oplera),  Mr.  Brauer  has  recently  given  an  Interesting  paper  upon  dimorphism  in  the  genus 
Neurothemls,  which  belongs  to  the  Odonata.  The  dimorphic  females  have  wings  with  a  less 
complicated  neuratlon  and  different  colors.  There  is  even  a  case  of  trimorphlsm  in  some  but- 
terflies, according  to  the  observations  of  Mr.  Walliice.  Papilio  Ormenus^  from  Celebes,  has 
three  distinct  forms  of  females,  and  In  some  cases  the  number  of  female  forms  appears  to  be 
t9nr.  Dimorphism  consisting  In  different  shape  and  size  Is  observed  in  the  Lepldoptera 
(Eqnites,  etc.),  In  the  Coleoptera,  In  the  Lamelllcornla,  and  In  the  Longlcornla,  and  perhaiM 

AMER.    NATURALIST,   VOL.   IV.  78 


618  REVIEWS. 

ill  tlie  Lrmezylon  and  Hylecotus;  In  the  Hymenoptera  (Gynlps);  in  the  Dtptera  (Phasia). 
The  dimorphism  in  the  Dipterous  geiios  Phasia,  discovered  by  Loew,  la  very  remaricable. 
Having  seen  his  speclmcnSf  I  may  be  permitted  to  add  here  a  written  communication  by  Mr. 
Loew,  sent  to  me  some  years  ago  and  still  unpublished:  **In  the  genus  Phasia  every  spi'Ciea 
has  two  male  forms ;  one  similar  to  the  female,  and  another  much  larger,  with  the  wings  broader 
and  more  colored,  and  usually  the  body  more  colored.  The  two  forms  fly  at  the  same  time  and 
unite  with  the  same  form  of  females.  The  genital  parts  of  the  larger  males  are  in  shape  and 
size  identical  with  those  of  the  smaller  males.  There  exist  some  intermediate  forms  of  males, 
and  it  is  sitmetlmes,  in  certain  species,  possible  to  form  a  complete  series,  which  seems  to  unite 
the  two  different  forms.  I  say  seems,  because  I  have  never  seen  a  male  which  I  healtated  to 
place  in  one  of  the  two  forms." 

I  have  noticed  here  the  occurrence  of  dimorphism  in  the  insects  to  show  how  variable  in  the 
diflierent  flunllies  and  genera  is  the  mode  of  dimorphism,  even  from  that  observed  in  the  Asta- 
cid».  Perhaps  a  closer  examination  will  disclose  even  some  difference  in  the  sexual  parts  in 
certain  dimorphic  insects,  and  It  now  seems  probable  that  some  forms,  heretofore  described  as 
distinct  species,  will  be  hereafter  recognized  as  only  dimorphic  variations.  Still,  it  is  possible 
that  very  different  Acts  are  to^ay  united  under  the  same  name  of  dimorphism. 

Certainly  the  discovery  of  a  dimorphism  in  another  part  of  the  Articulata,  viz.,  in  Uie  Cnia- 
tacea,  leads  us  to  suppose  that  it  will  be  found  also  among  the  worms. 

Thk  lifted  and  subsided  Rocks  or  America.* — The  author's  name 
is  well  known  from  his  admirable  paintings  and  portraits  of  Indian  life 
and  physiognomy.  Catlings  *' North  American  Indians,"  was  one  of  the 
wonder  books  of  our  childhood  and  youth,  sharing  the  interest  of  Irving's 
Astoria,  Cooper*s  Leather  Stocking  Tales,  and  Tanner's  Narrative,  those 
manuals  of  Indian  craft  and  hunters'  cunning  that  every  boy  delights  in 
reading;  and  leading  them  all  in  careAil  detail,  and  distinguished  fVom  all 
in  rich,  pictorial  embellishment. 

We  turn  with  a  degree  of  sadness  to  the  present  little  volume,  and 
wonder  how  the  author  could  have  brought  himself  to  publish  such  scien- 
tific nonsense.  The  author  has  been  a  great  traveller  over  the  American 
Continent,  on  both  hemispheres.  He  has  studied  the  faces  and  habits  of 
the  various  savage  tribes  he  met,  and  ft'om  his  fk'equent  references,  has 
evidently  read  the  works  of  Dana,  Lyell,  and  other  geologists,  and  yet 
here  is  the  result  of  his  orographical  and  anthropological  lucubrations. 
To  explain  the  formation  of  mountain  chains  he  supposes  that  they  are 
due  to  the  rush  of  great  masses  of  water  in  the  crust  of  the  earth.  He 
accounts  for  the  Gulf-stream  by  a  subterranean  stream  under  the  Rocky 
mountains,  many  times  larger  and  twice  as  long  as  the  Mississippi,  which 
together  met  a  similar  one  ft'om  under  the  Andes.  The  three  **  debouch 
unseen  Into  the  Caribbean  Sea  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico ;"  and  undermine  the 
Antilles,  in  the  author's  glowing  words  ''  a  part  (and  probably  the  glory) 
of  the  Andes,"  which  went  down  in  the  commotion  of  floods  and  volca- 
noes, the  floods  moving  northwards  and  thus  forming  the  Gulf-stream. 
Such  a  *'  cataclysm  of  the  Antilles,"  naturally  disturbed  the  minds  of  the 
people  dwelling  in  the  Quitos  and  Cotopaxis  of  the  then  Antilles.  Our  au- 
thor gravely  proceeds  to  tell  us  how  the  unhappy  race  became  distributed 
northwards,  and  our  quotation  will  give  a  fair  idea  of  the  author's  capac- 
ity for  dealing  with  such  subjects.  '*In  the  turmoil  and  flood  of  the 
elevated  waters,  the  Gulf-stream  first  bursting  out  of  the  sunken  Gulf  of 

'ByQeorfeCatUn.   London,  Trubner  A  Co.   1870.   ISmo,  pp.298. 


KATUKAL   HI8TORT   MISCELLANY.  619 

Mexico,  and  travelling  at  a  pace  which  modem  days  hare  seen  nothing 
of,  swept  off  the  dibris  of  sinking  and  dying  hamanity  in  their  canoes  and 
on  rafts,  Arom  the  smoking  chaos  in  which  they  were  left,  landing  them 
on  the  coasts  of  Florida,  Newfoundland,  and  perhaps  (which  woold  have 
been  as  probable)  on  the  coasts  of  Scandinavia  and  Ireland.**  *  •  • 
<*  Throwing  out,  as  it  were,  by  explosion,  the  shattered  fhigments  of 
[Aztec]  primitive  civilization  to  the  savage  nations  of  the  globe." 

In  Appendix  C,  Mr.  Catlin,  with  reason,  protests  against  the  discredit 
thrown  on  his  statements  regarding  the  Mandan  religious  ceremonies,  by 
Mr.  Schoolcraft,  and  memorializes  Congress  for  simple  Justice,  by  order- 
ing copies  of  his  O-kee-pa,  (published  by  Messrs.  Triibuer  &  Co.)  to  be 
distributed  to  the  same  libraries  as  Schoolcraft's  work,  which  was  evi- 
dently plundered  flrom  Catlin.  We  would  suggest  that  Mr.  Catlin  has 
nothing  to  fear  fjrom  Schoolcraft's  heterogeneous  and  illy  digested  vol- 
umes, which  do  no  credit  to  the  Congress  that  ordered  their  publication. 

Geological  Survey  of  New  Hampshire.* — By  bis  annual  report  we 
should  judge  that  Professor  Hitchcock  was  pushing  on  the  work  of  the 
survey  with  diligence  and  success.  Much  attention  has  been  paid  to  that 
indispensable  means  of  geological  research,  a  good  topographical  map, 
and  Mr.  G.  L.  Vose,  one  of  the  assistants,  has  **  taken  a  large  number  of 
observations  for  the  purpose  of  fixing  the  exact  position  of  as  many  of 
the  high  mountain  peaks  as  possible."  **He  has  also  taken  accurate 
sketches  of  the  outlines  of  all  the  mountains  in  the  horizon  as  seen  flx>m 
Cbocorua  and  Kearsarge."  He  also  describes  Mt.  Carrlgaln,  one  of  the 
least  known  of  the  White  Mountains,  and  one  most  desirable  to  visit,  for 
the  grandeur  of  its  notch.  Mr.  J.  A.  Huntington  has  made  a  preliminary 
exploration  of  about  six  hundred  and  seventy  square  miles  in  the  north 
part  of  Coos  County,  and  besides  gives  an  account  of  his  winter's  occu- 
pation of  the  summit  of  Mount  Moosilauke. 

American  Journal  of  Science  and  ART8.t — This  long  established 
Journal  —  which  has  ft'om  its  commencement  been  the  leading  vehicle  for 
the  original  papers  of  American  scientists  —  will  be  continued  after  the 
close  of  the  present  year,  as  a  Monthly  Journal.  This  increased  fi'e- 
quency  of  publication  will  meet  a  wish  often  expressed  by  authors,  for  a 
more  rapid  interchange  of  views,  and  an  earlier  knowledge  of  the  pro- 
gress of  research.  We  hope  that  the  friends  and  patrons  of  science  will 
aid  in  promoting  its  wider  circulation. 

*  Second  Annual  Report  opon  the  Geology  and  Mineralogy  of  the  State  of  New  Hampshire. 
By  C.  U.  HItchoook.    1S70.    8vo.  pp.  87.    With  a  geological  map. 

t  Founded  by  Professor  Silliman,  in  1818,  and  now  numbering  100  Tolumes,  in  two  Series  of 
fiO  volumes  each. 

Editors  and  FropHetors :  —  Professors  SiLLiVAN  ami  DANA.  AuoHate  Editort :  —Professors 
Gray  and  Gibbs  of  Cambridge,  and  Newton,  Johnson,  Brush  and  Vebrill  of  Yale. 

Devoted  to  Chemistry,  Physics,  Geology,  Mineralogy,  Natural  History,  Astronomy,  Meteor- 
ology, etc.  A  third  series  in  monthly  numbers,  making  two  volumes  a  year,  of  about  450  pages 
esch,  from  January,  1871.  Subscription  price,  S6  00  a  year,  or  00  cents  a  number.  A  few  com- 
plete sets  on  sale  of  the  first  and  second  series.   Address  Sillucan  A  Dana,  New  Haven,  CI. 


620  NATURAL   HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 

The  Chemical  History  of  the  Six  Days  of  Creation.*  —  In  mak- 
ing another  attempt  to  reconcile  Geology  and  Genesis,  the  author  has  ex- 
hibited much  more  knowledge,  fairness,  and  a  truly  scientific  spirit  than 
usual  in  sucli  productions.  He  has  not  drawn  the  parallel  too  closely  be- 
tween the  chapters  of  Geological  history  and  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis, 
and  his  method  of  treatment  and  interpretation  of  the  general  state- 
ments of  the  Scriptures,  clothed  as  they  often  are,  In  the  peculiarly  rhe- 
torical style  of  the  languages  of  the  East,  and  most  difficult  to  translate, 
will  command  the  assent  of  fair  minded  scientists  and  theologians.  The 
bigoted  ot^  both  classes  of  minds  will  perhaps  disagree  with  his  conclusions. 
He  explains  by  the  recent  discoveries  regarding  the  correlation  of  forces, 
the  probable  mode  of  evolution  of  the  globe  out  of  the  gaseous  and  vapor- 
ous elements.  He  contends  that  the  **  nebular  hypothesis  and  the  devel- 
opment hypothesis  may  both  be  true,  and  God  still  remain  the  Creator  of 
the  Universe."  A  scriptural  day  of  the  Hebrew  writer  with  our  author, 
**  is  simply  an  evening  and  a  morning — a  period  of  darkness  and  a  period 
of  light,  and  the  duration  of  such  a  day  Is  not  at  all  limited  by  anything 
contained  in  the  text."  He  shows  that  the  introduction  of  plants  and 
the  lower  animals,  and  of  fixed  time,  and  the  introduction  of  the  higher 
vertebrates,  and  man  himself,  are  mentioned  in  the  same  order  in  Genesis 
as  in  geological  history,  and  that  there  Is  no  Aindamental  disagreement 
between  the  Hebrew  cosmogony  and  the  facts  of  modern  science.  With 
this  general  comparison  the  author  is  content  to  stop. 


NATURAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 


ZOOLOGY. 

The  Caudal  Styles  of  Insects  Sense  Organs,  i.  e.  Abdominal  An- 
tennas.—  Dr.  Anton  Dohrn  has  published  a  note  in  the  **  Journal  of  the 
Entomological  Society  of  Stettin"  (1869),  to  the  effect  that  the  abdominal 
appendages  of  the  female  of  the  Mole  Cricket  (Gryllotalpa)  are  true  sen- 
sory organs  (tastorgane). 

In  the  "Proceedings"  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  May, 
1866,  the  writer  states  that  **  while,  as  we  have  shown  above,  the  genital 
armor  of  Insects  is  not  homologous  with  the  limbs,  there  are,  however, 
true  Jointed  appendages  attached  to  the  ninth  or  tenth  abdominal  rings, 
or  both,  which  are  often,  antennlform,  and  serve  as  sensorlo-genltal  or- 
gans in  most  [many]  Ncuroptera  and  Orthoptera'*  (p.  290). 

In  the  same  "Proceedings"  for  Feb.  26,  1868,  he  thus  writes:  "Re* 
gardlng  the  Insect  as  consisting  of  two  fore  and  hind  halves,  the  two 
ends  being,  with  this  view,  repetitions  of  each  other,  these  anal  stylets 

•By  John  Phln.    New  York,  American  News  Co.    1S70.    12mo,  pp.  85. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   MI8CELLANT.  621 

may  be  considered  as  abdominal  antennsB,  so  that  the  antennae  look  one 
way,  and  their  homologues,  the  many-jointed  antenniform  anal  stylets, 
the  opposite."  (p.  898.) 

The  subject  Is  also  referred  to  in  the  **  Gaide  to  the  Study  of  Insects/' 
page  17,  and  the  remarkable  antenniform  abdominal  appendages  of  Man^ 
lis  tessellata  figured  in  illustration. 

I  hare  been  able  to  detect  sense-organs  (probably  endowed  with  the 
sense  of  smell)  In  the  short,  stout-jointed,  anal  stylets  of  the  Cock- 
roach {PcripUmeta  Americana),  beautifully  mounted  by  Mr.  £.  Blcknell.  I 
have  recently,  after  reading  Dr.  Dohrn's  note,  observed  the  sense-organs 
and  counted  about  ninety  ♦  minute  orifices  on  each  stylet,  which  are  prob- 
ably smelling  or  auditory  organs,  such  as  are  described  by  Hicks  (see 
"  Guide,"  p.  26).  They  were  much  larger  and  much  more  numerous  than 
similar  orifices  in  the  anteunso  of  the  same  insect,  and  were  situated  In 
single  rows  on  the  upper  side  of  each  joint  of  the  stylets.  During  the 
breeding  season  a  peculiar  odor  is  perhaps  emitted  by  the  female,  as  in 
vertebrate  animals,  and  it  is  probable  that  these  caudal  appendages  are 
endowed  with  the  sense  of  smell,  rather  than  of  hearing,  that  the  male 
may  smell  its  way  to  its  partner.  This  is  an  argument  that  the  broadly 
pectinated  antenna;  of  many  moths  are  endowed  rather  with  the  sense  of 
smelling  than  hearing,  to  enable  the  males  to  smell  out  the  females.  I 
have  observed  the  same  organs  in  the  lamella  of  the  antennas  of  the  car- 
rlon  beetles,  which  undoubtedly  depend  more  on  the  sense  of  smell  than 
that  of  touch  or  hearing  to  find  stinking  carcasses  in  which  to  place 
their  eggs' — A.  S.  Packard,  Jh.,  June  20,  1870. 

A  Remarkable  Mtriapod. — While  looking  over  a  chip  with  Myrlapods 
and  Poduras  on  the  under  side,  brought  in  ftom  the  Museum  grounds 
by  Mr.  C.  A.  Walker,  I  detected  a  lively  little  yellowish  white  creature, 
which  immediately  suggested  Sir  John  Lubbock's  Pauropus,  to  which  we 
have  alluded  on  p.  45,  vol.  ill,  of  the  Naturalist  (where  the  six-legged 
young  is  figured).  A  closer  examination  shows  that  it  is  indeed  a  species 
of  Pauropus,  very  closely  allied  to  P.  pedunculatu8  Lubbock,  and  inter- 
mediate in  some  respects  between  that  species  and  P.  Huxleyi  Lubbock. 
It  may  be  called  Pauropus  Luhhockii,  in  honor  of  the  original  discoverer 
of  this  remarkable  type  of  Myrlapods.  Ko  more  interesting  articulate 
has  been  discovered  for  many  years,  and  the  occurrence  of  a  species  in 
America  is  worthy  of  note.  It  has  but  nine  pairs  of  legs  (three  pairs 
when  hatched),  and  in  some  points  In  its  organization  seems  to  be  a  con- 
nectini;  link  between  the  Myrlapods  and  Poduridae,  which  are  true  in- 
sects, probably  degraded  Neuroptera.  Our  species  is  yellowish  white, 
and  .08  of  an  inch  in  length.  Mr.  Walker  assures  me,  after  seeing  this 
bpeclraen,  that  he  saw  a  similar  one  last  May  under  the  bark  of  an  apple- 
tree  in  Chelsea,  Mass.  —  A.  S.  Packard,  Jr.,  November  10. 

*Mr.  Blclrocll  has  ooante  more  careAilIy  than  I  did  the  exact  number  of  these  pits,  and 
made  out  ntnety-llTe  on  one  stylet  and  one  hundred  and  two  on  the  other,  adding,  **  there  wert 
none  on  the  under  side  of  their  appendages  that  I  could  see.** 


6^2  NATURAL  HISTORY   MISCELLANY. 

Wisconsin  Acjidemt  of  Sciekcbs,  Arts  and  Letters.  —  The  first 
meeting  of  this  new  society  was  held  Jaly  19th,  at  Madison,  Wisconsin. 
The  president,  Dr.  J.  W.  Hoyt,  reported  the  preparation  and  publication 
of  the  first  number  of  the  Academy's  '*  Bulletin."  It  was  also  stated  that 
a  bill  had  passed  the  Legislature  for  a  topographical  sunrey  of  the  lead 
region  6f  the  State  under  the  direction  of  the  Academy.  A  paper  was 
read  on  the  *'  Classification  of  the  Sciences,**  by  Rev.  A.  O.  Wright.  Mr. 
Englemann  and  Judge  Knapp  spoke  on  the  destruction  of  the  forest  trees, 
the  latter  concluding  that  the  pine  forests  of  Michigan  and  Wisconsin 
would  be  wholly  destroyed  in  twenty-five  years,  if  their  present  reckless 
destruction  continued.  Judge  Knapp  also  read  a  paper  on  *'  The  Conifers 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains.*'  Mr.  Murich,  State  Commissioner  for  the  sur- 
vey of  the  lend  region,  read  a  paper  on  **  Mineral  Veins  and  the  Origin 
of  the  Potsdam  sandstone.'*  Dr.  P.  R.  Hoy  gave  an  account  of  recent 
studies  on  the  fish  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  of  the  recent  dredgings  in  the 
lake  in  connection  with  Drs.  Thompson  and  Lapham,  published  in  the 
present  number  of  the  Naturalist.    Other  papers  were  read. 

We  have  also  to  note  the  existence  of  a  flourishing  Natural  History 
Society  in  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin. 

How  TO  Mount  Spiders  for  Cabinets.  —  In  M.  Thoreirs  fine  4to  on 
European  Spiders,  which  singularly  enough,  is  published  in  Upsala,  and 
yet  printed  in  the  English  language,  the  following  instructions  are  given : 
—  **  The  spider  is  first  killed,  either  by  the  vapor  of  ether  or  by  heat,  and 
is  impaled  by  an  insect-pin,  which  is  passed  through  the  right  side  of  the 
cephalothoraz ;  the  abdomen  is  then  cut  off  close  to  the  ccphalothoraz, 
and  the  cut  surfkce  dried  with  blotting-paper.  The  head  of  another 
insect-pin  is  cut  off,  and  the  blunt  extremity  introduced  through  the  inci- 
sion into  the  abdomen,  up  to  the  spinners.  The  abdomen  thus  spitted  is 
inserted  into  a  large  test-tube  held  over  the  flame  of  a  candle,  the  prepa- 
ration being  constantly  rotated  till  dry,  avoiding  the  extremes  of  too 
much  or  too  little  heat  —  the  firmness  of  the  abdomen  being  tested  every 
now  and  then  with  a  fine  needle,  till  it  is  so  firm  as  not  to  yield  to  pres- 
sure ;  the  front  extremity  of  the  pin  is  now  cut  off  obliquely,  and  the 
point  thus  made  inserted  into  the  cephalothorax,  the  two  halves  of  the 
body  being  thus  again  brought  into  apposition.  The  animal  may  then  be 
mounted  as  usual.**  —  Popular  Science  Hevieu. 

The  Toucan's  Beak.  —Permit  a  few  words  in  answer  to  the  question 
**  Wherefore  such  a  beak"  for  the  Toucan.  On  page  806,  of  that  most 
lively  and  interesting  book  for  a  denizen  pro  tern,,  or  longer,  of  the  tropics 
<*  The  Andes  and  the  Amazon,*'  by  Professor  J.  Orton,  the  author  has  a 
rather  piquant  discussion  of  this  question.  I  answer  It  by  saying,  to  feed 
Vfithi  to  be  sure.  What  else?  Perhaps  also  for  defence  and  pluming. 
But  how  he  could  part  his  back  hair  feathers,  like  a  dandy,  does  not  ap- 
pear. His  method  of  feeding  explains  the  whole  riddle  of  his  long, 
heavy,  serrated  mandibles.    Like  the  shovel-nosed  tribe,  or  the  digger- 


NATURAL  HISTORY  MISGELLAXT.  623 

like  tribe,  or  the  curred-beak  tribe,  shape,  form,  size,  is  everything  for 
their  peculiar  method  of  obtaining  rations. 

The  Toucan  feeds  on  insects,  which  lie  deep  in  the  corolla  of  flowers ; 
it  especially  delights  in  tnbalar  corollas,  and  has  a  great  fondness  for  the 
rich,  scarlet,  Aischia-like  clusters  of  the  Rose  de  Monta,  of  Ouayana. 
These  clusters  he  seizes  near  the  calyx,  and  by  longitudinal  movements 
of  his  powerful  mandibles,  aided  by  their  serrated  edges,  saws  them  off, 
and  then  by  lil8  horny  and  fimbriated  tongue,  separates  the  insect  portion 
from  the  vegetable,  and  swallows  that  which  his  palate  approves  of,  like 
any  other  sensible  bird.  To  see  him  hop  fh>m  branch  to  branch,  reach 
out  his  long,  ponderous  Jaws,  seize  his  breakfast,  saw  it  off,  as  one  sees 
a  butcher  in  his  stall,  to  see  the  parts  rejected  fall  to  the  ground  in  petal- 
Iferous  showers,  and  he  maintain  his  equipoise,  has  been  one  of  the  most 
pleasant  studies  of  my  ornithological  curriculum.  I  have  made  frequent 
post  mortem  examinations  of  his  Injests,  and  have  always  found  the 
shields  and  remains  of  insects  the  most  abundant  in  his  craw.~R.  P. 
Stevens. 

Phtseixa  not  a  Fresh-water  Shell.  —  Mr.  Tryon  called  the  atten- 
tion of  the  Conchological  section  of  the  Philadelphia  Academy  of  Natural 
Sciences,  to  the  curious  error  committed  by  several  conchologists  in 
treating  Berendtia  (Physella)  Berendtii,  as  a  flnviatlle  mollusk.  He  sup- 
posed that  the  resemblance  of  the  first  generic  name  given  to  Phyf«a  was 
the  cause  of  the  error.  This  Mexican  snail  has  a  Glandinlform  .^hfll  and 
Mr.  Tryon  believed  that  its  true  position  would  be  found  to  be  near  to 
Olandlna.  The  Physella  has  been  included  as  a  fluviatlle  mollusk  in  Mr. 
BInney's  monograph,  recently  published  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
and  still  more  recently  in  Mr.  Ball's  Classification  of  the  Llronaeldce,  pub- 
lished In  the  "  Annals  of  the  New  York  Lyceum  of  Natural  History.  Mr. 
Tryon  also  made  some  remarks  upon  the  Darwinian  Theory  of  the  origin 
of  species  as  illustrated  by  the  « groups"  or  subgenera  of  Helices,  estab- 
lished by  Albers,  and  stated  his  conviction  that  nowhere  in  the  animal 
kingdom  could  more  conclusive  evidences  of  the  truth  of  Darwinianlsm 
be  adduced. 

GEOLOGY. 

Did  a  Glacier  flow  from  Lake  Huron  into  Lake  Erie?  I  find  on 
page  193,  of  Vol.  4  of  the  American  Naturalist,  an  article  by  Professor 
J.  S.  Newberry,  on  "  The  surface  Geology  of  the  basin  of  the  great  lakes 
and  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,"  which  I  wish  to  criticise  as  to  the  po- 
sition taken  by  the  Professor,  that  formerly  a  glacier  flowed  firom  Lake 
Huron  into  Lake  Erie.  On  page  195  the  Professor  states  that  **Lake 
Michigan,  Lake  Huron,  Lake  Erie,  and  Lake  Ontario,  are  basins  excavated 
in  undisturbed  sedimentary  rocks.  Of  these,  Lake  Michigan  is  six  hun- 
dred feet  deep,  with  a  surface  level  of  five  hundred  and  seventy-eight 
fe^t  above  tides ;  Lake  Huron  is  five  hundred  feet  deep,  with  a  surface 


624  NATURAL   HISTOBT   MI8CELLANT. 

level  of  five  hoodred  and  seventy- foar  feet;  Lake  Erie  is  two  hnndred 
and  four  feet  deep,  with  a  snrface  level  of  five  hundred  and  sixtj-flve 
feet;  Lake  Ontario  is  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet  deep,  with  a  surface 
level  of  two  hundred  and  thirty-four  feet  above  the  sea."  **  An  old,  exca- 
vated, now  filled  channel,  connects  Lake  Erie  and  Lake  Huron.**  And  on 
page  200  the  Professor  states  as  his  deduction.  '*  2d.  That  the  courses 
of  these  ancient  glaciers  corresponded  in  a  general  way  with  the  present 
channels  of  drainage.  The  direction  of  the  glacial  ftirrows  proves  that 
one  of  these  ice  rivers  fiowed  trom  Lake  Huron,  along  a  channel  now 
filled  with  drift,  and  knorwn  to  be  at  least  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  deep, 
into  Lake  Erie,  which  was  then  not  a  lake,  but  an  excavated  valley,  into 
which  the  streams  of  Northern  Ohio  fiowed,  one  hundred  feet  or  more 
below  the  present  lake  level."  It  will  be  granted,  no  doubt,  that  a  glacier 
occupies  the  bed,  or  lowest  part  of  the  valley  through  which  it  fiows,  and, 
that  like  water,  it  fiows  from  a  higher  to  a  lower  point  of  elevation,  or 
in  other  words,  that  it  fiows  down  hill,  instead  of  up  hill.  But  if  Profes- 
sor Newberry's  position,  that  formerly  a  glacier  fiowed  f1:om  Lake  Huron 
into  Lake  Erie,  be  correct,  then  it  must,  in  passing  Arom  the  bed  of  Lake 
Huron  into  that  of  Lake  Erie,  have  ascended  a  vertical  height  of  two 
hundred  and  seventy-eight  feet,  for  trom  the  Professor's  own  showing 
the  bed  of  Lake  Erie  is  that  number  of  feet  above  that  of  Lake  Huron ; 
for  he  states  that  the  surface  of  Lake  Huron  is  five  hundred  and  seventy- 
four  feet  above  the  sea  level,  and  that  it  is  five  hpndred  feet  deep,  which 
would  make  its  bed  seventy-four  feet  above  the  sea  level;  and  he  farther 
states  that  the  surface  of  Lake  Erie  is  five  hundred  and  sixty-five  feet 
above  the  sea  level  and  is  two  hundred  and  four  feet  deep,  which  locates 
its  bed  at  three  hundred  and  sixty-one  feet  above  the  sea  level,  and  two 
hundred  and  eighty-seven  feet  above  that  of  Lake  Huron.  If  it  be  true, 
which  is  granted,  as  stated,  that  '*an  old,  excavated,  now  filled  channel 
connects  Lake  Erie  and  Lake  Huron,  then  must  it  also  be  true,  granting 
that  the  beds  of  these  lakes  occupied  the  same  relative  position  to  each 
other  in  the  glacial  period  that  they  now  do,  that  whatever  glaciers  flowed 
through  it  must  have  fiowed  from  Lake  Erie  in  the  direction  of  Lake 
Huron,  and  found  an  outlet  in  that  direction,  instead  of  from  '*  near  the 
eastern  extremity  of  Lake  Eric  into  Lake  Ontario;  otherwise  we  shall 
have  the  phenomenon  of  a  column  of  ice  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in 
length,  by  about  twenty-five  miles  in  width,  saying  nothing  as  to  its 
thickness,  lifting  itself,  by  the  mere  force  of  gravity,  firom  a  lower  up 
to  a  higher  plane  of  elevation,  which  would  appear  to  be  impossible. 
The  probabilities  are  that  the  ftirrows  in  the  *'old,  excavated,  now  filled 
channel,  connecting  Lakes  Erie  and  Huron,"  were  made  by  running  or 
floating  icebergs,  long  ages  after  the  work  of  excavating  the  beds  of  the 
great  lakes  by  the  glaciers  had  been  completed,  and  not  by  true  glacial 
ice.  The  difficulty  of  reconciling  the  observed  facts  in  the  case,  seems 
to  accrue  ft'om  allotting  too  short  a  space  of  time  to  the  glacial  period. 
It  would  appear  more  perspicuous  to  allow  an  excavating  period,  correa- 


NATUBAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY.  625 

ponding  in  time  with  the  period  of  the  greatest  continental  elevation* 
during  which  period  the  glaciers  would  naturally  flow  in  the  direction  of 
the  lowest  plane  of  their  excavations,  finding  their  outlets  accordingly. 
The  work  of  excavation  being  completed,  then  comes  a  continental  sub- 
sidence, the  '*  lower  drift  period,"  during  which  the  narrower  channels  of 
excavation  are  completely  filled,  and  the  larger  ones  partially.  Then 
comes  another  continental  elevation,  not  so  great,  however,  as  the  first  | 
this  is  the  **  old  channel "  period,  during  which  the  great  lakes  take  form 
as  such  for  the  first  time,  and  all  those  **old  drift  channels"  were  exca- 
vated by  running  water  and  floating  icebergs.  Th^n  com^s  another  con- 
tinental subsidence,  much  greater  than  the  first  or  *'  lower  drift  period ;" 
this  is  the  upper  drift  period,  during  which  those  **old  channels"  are 
completely  filled,  and  the  surface  elevated  above  them  trom  one  to  two 
hundred  feet,  and  even  more.  Then  comes  another  continental  elevation, 
the  beginning  of  the  present  status  of  appearances.  —  L.  J.  8TBOOP9 
Waxahachie,  EllU  Countih  Texas. 


MICROSCOPY. 

Amxrican  M1CRO8OOFE8.  —The  able  reftitation  by  your  correspondent, 
C.  8.,  in  your  issue  of  September,  of  the  statements  made  by  Dr.  Hagen, 
with  respect  to  American  microscopes,  cannot  but  have  been  read  with 
gratification  by  all  interested  in  the  question.  It  is  a  fact  much  to  be 
deplored,  thatinscientificquestions— of  all  others  —  national  vanity  and 
prejudices  should  so  fltr  warp  the  Judgment  of  otherwise  very  competent 
writers,  as  to  drive  them  to  the  most  obviously,  to  use  Dr.  Hagen's  own 
mild  epithet,  *'  comical "  conclusions. 

Referring  to  German  stands,  for  whose  glorification  Dr.  Hagen  aeems 
to  have  written  the  papers  in  question,  any  one  who,  like  myself,  haa 
had  the  opportunity  of  visiting  the  workshops  of  nearly  all  the  most 
celebrated  manufacturing  opticians  of  Europe,  will  say  that  stands  of 
continental  manufacture,  be  they  French  or  German,  are  sadly  defi- 
cient in  those  improvements  and  appliances  constituting  a  first  class 
working  English  or  American  instrument.  From  this  statement  I  except 
neither  Mertz  of  Munich,  nor  Hartnack  of  Paris.  Nachet,  fW>m  the  latter 
city,  is  the  only  maker  whose  instruments.  In  any  way  approach  the 
perfection  of  either  English  or  American  stands.  This  deficiency  in  ap- 
pliances and  working  means,  in  continental  instruments,  will  be  readily 
understood,  when  I  mention  that  when  I  remonstrated  upon  the  deficiency 
of  stage  motion  in  his  best  first  class  stands,  Hartnack  answered  me : 
**Well,  I  see  that  you  go  for  those  English  or  American  instruments 
looking  like  a  steam  engine,  with  screws,  levers,  and  milled  heads  in 
every  direction ;  we  do  not  believe  in  such  toys  here"  As  to  the  upright 
vertical  model,  it  speaks  for,  or  rather  against  itself,  as  anybody  knows 

AMER.  NATURAUST,   VOL.  TV,  79 


626  NATTTBAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 

that  has  ever  ased  one  of  them ;  and  still  it  Is,  to  this  day,  the  favored 
pattern  adopted  by  stadents  throaghont  France  and  Germany. 
•  About  objectives  and  eye  pieces,  I  have  nothing  to  say  in  addition  to 
what  C.  S.  has  so  ably  discussed  in  his  paper;  unless  I  venture  to  remind 
Dr.  Hagen  that  the  wonderftil  performance  of  one  given  glass  in  the 
bands  of  one  observer,  often  proves  an  utter  failure  in  the  hands  of  an- 
other, though  both  acknowledged  **  adepts  **  in  the  use  of  the  microscope. 
This  undisputed  fact  should  make  one  very  carefbl  before  pronouncing 
ez  cathedra  upon  the  merits  of  objectives  produced  by  artists  of  unques- 
tioned ability.  In  connection  with  this  last  remark,  allow  me  to  state  that 
I  shall  be  most  happy  to  show  to  Dr.  Bagen  the  SurireUa  gemma  and  its 
markings,  which  he  only  saw  dimly  with  a  1-lOth  inch  objective  of  Tolles; 
to  show  him,  with  a  l-8th  inch  Immersion  lens  of  W.  Wales,  the  '*  basket 
work,"  as  we  call  the  elongated  hexagons  of  that  flue  test  at  the  Bailey 
Club,  as  near  to  Hartnack's  theoretical  diagram,  as  it  is  practicable  to 
accomplish  In  a  microscope  view  of  that  diatom.  This  very  same  l-8th ' 
inch  glass  failed  completely  to  show  any  markings  on  the  SurireUa  In 
the  hands  of  Hartnack,  who,  after  having  shown  me  the  Aiintest  dis- 
play of  the  lines  in  question  with  his  No.  11  —  almost  equal  to  the  l-16th 
of  our  makers  — pronounced  my  poor  l-8th  an  ''Inferior  glass,"  which, 
**  as  long  as  I  lived,  would  never  resolve  the  SurireUa  gemma.**  So  much 
fbr  hasty  Judgments.  The  determination  of  the  abstract,  as  well  as  rela- 
tive merits  of  objectives,  must  stand,  in  the  opinion  of  all  experienced 
microscoplsts,  when  one  considers  the  many  details  of  manipulation 
which  cannot  fall  to  Influence  their  performance,  as  one  of  the  most  per- 
plexing and  difficult  problems  to  settle  in  practical  optics. 

Although  not  havtng.the  right  to  claim  thirty  years  experience  In  the 
use  of  the  microscope,  and  although  one  of  the  most  insignificant  dile^ 
tantis  in  the  realm  of  microscopy,  I  venture  to  bring  to  bear  my  humble 
testimony,  and  souie  little  experience  gained  in  long  European  peregrina- 
tions, in  favor  of  the  superiority  of  English  and  American  instruments, 
for  both  their  mechanical  and  optical  excellence,  over  all  continental  pro- 
ductions in  the  same  line,  begging  here  to  mention,  that  in  my  statements 
I  am  influenced  by  no  national  prejudices,  as  I  do  not  belong  by  birth,  to 
either  of  the  two  aforesaid  nationalities ;  neither  am  I  a  member  of  the 
Boston  Optical  Association. —T.  0.,  CorntoaU  Landing,  Sept.  16,  1870. 

Walks'  low  power  Objectives.*— May  I  ask  of  yon  the  favor  of  a  few 
lines  In  reply  to 'Mr.  Blcknell's  note  In  the  Naturaust  for  June  last.  Mr. 
Blcknell  agrees  with  roe  in  according  to  Mr.  Wales'  objectives  the  high 
rank  to  which  they  are  undoubtedly  entitled,  but  In  some  way  seems  to 
have  overlooked  what  the  communication  was  Intended  to  set  forth  before 
the  microscopic  world.  It  was  not  that  Mr.  Wales'  4-10  had  an  amplifica- 
tion of  two  hundred  and  ten  diameters,  or  that  Mr.  Wales'  did  or  did  not 

*  Tilts  reply,  witli  a  number  of  other  articles,  has  been  tinsToldtbly  postponed  on  aeeonnt  of 
the  space  deToi«!«i  tn  the  ri'porta  of  tlte  mectlnir  of  the  American  Assoclatlom— Sot* 


NATURAL  HISTORY  HISCELLANT.  627 

underrate  his  lenses  in  the  naming  of  them.  The  point  really  presented 
was,  that  lenses  of  such  low  power  should  do  so  much,  there  not  be- 
ing any  great  liability  of  material  difference  in  the  amplification  present 
in  objectives  of  such  low  power  as  8-inch.  No  measurement  of  its  power 
was  given.  Not  so,  however,  in  the  case  of  the  4-10,  for  as  is  well  known, 
and  as  Mr.  Bicknell  states,  objectives  of  various  makers  rating  the  same, 
dilDsr  greatly  in  their  magnifying  power.  And  this  again  occurs,  not  only 
with  the  objectives  of  different  makers,  but  even  the  objectives  of  the 
same  maker  differ,  although  rated  the  same,  e,  g,  in  R.  ft  I.  Back's  Cata- 
logue, 1868,  are  advertised  1-4  inch  objective  (No.  284)  magnifying  power 
two  hundred  and  ten,  and  on  a  succeeding  page  1-4  inch  objectives  (No. 
296)  magnifying  power  one  hundred  and  forty  diameters.  Therefore  I 
gave  the  amplification  used,  and  such  being  known,  it  would  in  reality  be 
immaterial  what  the  objective  might  be  called.  In  fkct  the  succeeding 
paragraph  distinctly  states  **  that  with  no  equal  power  of  Powell  ft  Le- 
land's  of  London,  of  Hartnack  of  Paris,  of  Tolles  and  Qrunow  of  this 
country,  or  of  Oundlach  of  Vienna,  various  objectives  of  each  and  all  of 
which  makers  I  have  examined,  have  either  I  myself,  or  other  microscop- 
ists  of  my  acquaintance,  been  able  to  effect  this." 

I  do  not  say  with  a  4-10  objective,  for  firstly,  they  all  differ  in  their 
amounts  of  amplification,  and  secondly,  neither  Hartnack  nor  Oundlach 
thus  denominate  their  objectives,  but  as  usual  with  Continental  makers, 
number  them  as  1,  2,  8,  and  so  on.  The  word  power,  however,  I  thought 
could  not  be  misunderstood,  such  equality  of  power  being  most  easily 
attained  by  the  use  of  the  draw-tube. 

That  an  objective  magnifying  two  hundred  and  ten  diameters  when 
used  in  connection  with  a  No.  1  or  an  A  eye-piece,  should  resolve  the 
^euroiigna  angutatunif  mounted,  not  dry,  but  in  balsam,  and  by  direct 
light,  instead  of  oblique,  is  what  I  wished  to  put  on  record,  and  such  I 
think  the  generality  of  mlcroscopists  would  infer  on  perusal  of  the  arti- 
cle. As,  however,  Mr.  Editor,  Mr.  Bicknell  is  of  the  opinion  that  I  have 
made  an  error  in  my  measurements  of  the  amplification,  and  as  the 
liability  of  error  Is  less  when  the  testimony  of  many  witnesses  are  con- 
current, I  would  state  that  not  only  have  I  myself  remeasured  the  ampli- 
fication present  on  the  use  of  said  objective  in  said  resolution,  but  that  I 
am  permitted  to  use  the  names  of  Dr.  Edward  Curtis,  formerly  of  the 
Army  Medical  Museum,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  of  Mr.  Joseph  W.  Ward,  the 
well  known  microscoplst  of  this  city;  and  of  Mr.  0.  O.  Mason,  Photog- 
rapher of  Bellevue  Hospital,  names  fcimlliar  to  all  mlcroscopists  in  New 
York,  in  testimony  of  the  correctness  o^  said  measurement. 

As  regards  the  second  point  raised,  namely,  the  underrating  of  object- 
ives by  their  various  makers,  it  is,  undoubtedly,  the  fkct,  not  however 
I  think  Arom  any  intention  to  mislead,  but  rather  Arom  an  inherent  want 
or  defect  in  the  nomenclature  in  use.  The  denominating  of  an  objective 
a  4-10,  1-6,  1-8  and  so  on,  answers  a  certain  purpose  of  informing  us  of 
about  what  power  is  meant,  but  if,  in  addition,  the  makers  would  engrave 


628  NATURAL   HI8TORT   MISOELLANr. 

upon  their  objectives  the  ampllflcation  present  when  the  image  formed  by 
SQCh  objective  is  thrown  upon  a  screen  at  the  recognized  normal  distance 
of  ten  inches  (or  254  millimeters)  Arom  the  object  we  should  then  have 
something  definite.  The  mode  which  I  find  most  convenient  for  obtain- 
ing this  amplification  of  the  objective  considered  in  and '  by  itself  Is  as 
follows :  An  image  of  the  lines  or  divisions  of  a  stage  micrometer  is 
caused  to  fall  upon  the  eye-piece  micrometer  of  the  micrometer  eye-piece 
—the  collective  or  field  glass  of  the  same  having  been  previously  removed. 
The  plane^or  distance  A*om  the  stage  micrometer  at  which  the  eye-piece 
micrometer  should  be  placed,  namely,  ten  inches,  may  easily  be  eflfected 
by  means  of  the  draw  tube,  fiy  comparison  of  the  lines  of  the  stage  mi- 
crometer as  thus  projected,  with  those  of  the  eye-piece  micrometer  the 
amplification  of  the  objective  is  readily  determined ;  the  eye  glass  of  the 
eye-piece  enlarging  both  sets  of  lines  equally,  and  greatly  fticilitating  the 
reading.  In  this  use  of  the  eye-piece  micrometer  It  is  necessary  that 
the  exact  value  of  its  scale  should  be  known,  a  point  unimportant  when 
otherwise  used.  The  scales  upon  the  micrometers  which  I  use  and  find 
in  general  best  adapted  to  the  purpose,  ai*e  a  millimetre  divided  into  1-100 
for  the  stage  micrometer,  and  a  centimetre  divided  into  1-100  for  the 
ocular  or  eye-piece  micrometer. 

With  the  highest  respect  and  kindliest  of  feelings  towards  Mr.  Bicknell, 
who  has  contributed  so  largely  to  the  advancement  of  microscopic  sci- 
ence in  America,  I  Intended  in  my  original  communication,  not  the  bring- 
ing before  the  public  the  superior  excellence  of  Mr.  Wales'  lenses,  for 
of  their  merit  in  this  country  we  are  all  agreed,  but  to  place  on  record 
certain  resolutions  as  attained  by  exceedingly  low  amplification.  —  J.  J. 
Hiooixs,  M.  D. 

Tub  Simplest  form  of  Micro-telbscope.  —  At  a  field  meeting  of  the 
Albany  Institute,  held  In  Hoosic  Falls,  on  the  24th  of  September,  Dr.  R. 
H.  Ward  of  Troy,  N.  Y.,  exhibited  a  simpler  form  of  micro-telescope 
than  has  hitherto  been  proposed.  He  screws  an  ordinary  4-lnch  objective 
(5-8  inch  wide,  2  8-4  inches  solar  focus)  Into  an  adapter  (about  2  inches 
long)  below  the  stage  of  the  "  seaside,*'  **  clinical,"  or  any  other  hand- 
microscope.  To  this  object-glass  the  compound  body,  with  all  its  lenses, 
acts  as  an  erecting  eye- piece,  as  in  Tolles'  tt;le6Cope  and  Curtis*  micro- 
telescope.  Of  course,  no  one  would  expect  IVom  a  5-8-inch  opening  the 
light  of  a  I -inch  opening;  but  the  new  arrangement  gives  a  really  useftil 
field -telescope  without  requiring  a  single  addition  to  the  mlcroscoplst's 
apparatus.  Solid  (nlngle  combination)  objectives  act  best  as  erectors  In 
this  case,  but  the  ordinary  objectives,  f^om  2- Inch  to  1-2-inch,  answer 
very  well.  The  same  arrangement,  by  raising  the  tube  considerably,  and 
perhaps  substituting  a  1-inch  objective  for  the  4-inch.  fUrnlshes  an  erect- 
ing compound  microscope  which  Is  excellent  as  a  hand-magnlfler  for  field 
use ;  and  by  removing  the  lens  below  the  stage  we  have  the  ordinary  field 
microscope  on  which  the  object  may  be  placed  in  the  **  clinical  compres- 
sor,** or  otherwise. 


AMERICAN  ASSOCIATION  ADVANCKHENT  OF  SCIENCE.       629 


ANTHROPOLOGY. 

Thk  SioNiFiCAXCK  OF  Craxial  Characteks  IN  Man.  —  Profe98or  John 
Cleland  has  com  muu  lea  ted  to  the  Royal  Society  a  paper  in  which  lie  gives 
an  account  of  some  carefiil  investigations  into  the  cranial  measurements 
of  various  races,  and  criticises  the  various  methods  of  craniometry  in  nse 
—  pointing  out  what  fticts  of  growth  and  relations  of  parts  the  observed 
measurements  really  Indicate.  He  observes  that  If  the  terms  dolicho- 
cephalic and  brachycephalic  are  to  retain  any  scientific  value  as  applied  to 
skulls,  the  '*  cephalic  index  "  (that  is,  the  breadth  in  terms  of  the  length 
which  is  called  one  hundred)  must  not  be  depended  on.  Other  points  of 
importance,  as  pointed  out  by  Hetzius,  must  be  attended  to.  According 
to  Dr.  Cleland,  the  relation  of  the  height  to  length  of  a  skull  Is  of  great 
importance.  There  is  no  foundation  whatever  for  the  supposition, 
which  is  a  wide  spread  one,  that  the  lower  races  of  humanity  have  the 
forehead  less  developed  than  the  more  civilized  nations;  neither  is  it 
the  case  that  the  forehead  slopes  more  backwards  on  the  floor  of  the 
anterior  part  of  the  brain-case  in  them  than  it  does  in  others.  —  Quarterl}/ 
Journal  of  Science. 

Hereditary  Genius.  —  In  his  late  work  on  **  Hereditary  Genlos,*'  Mr. 
Francis  Oalton  thus  describes  his  purpose : 

**  WliRt  T  profess  to  prove  Is  this:  that  If  two  children  we  taken,  of  whom  one  lias  a  parent 
ezeeptfonally  gifted  In  a  hlfrli  defn*ef>— sajr  as  one  In  Ibnr  thousand  or  as  one  In  a  million— and  tlie 
other  %M  not.  the  former  child  has  enormousl7  a  greater  chance  of  taming  out  to  l>e  gifted  In 
a  high  degree  than  the  other.  Also,  I  argne  tliat.  as  a  new  race  can  tie  obtained  In  animals  and 
plants,  and  can  be  raised  to  so  great  a  degree  of  parity  that  It  will  maintain  Itself,  with  mod- 
•rate  care.  In  prerentlngthe  more  fkolty  members  of  the  flock  from  breeding,  so  a  raee  of  gifted 
men  might  ^e  obtained,  ander  exactly  similar  conditions.* 


AMERICAN  ASSOCIATION. 

NlNETmSNTR    MrBTIXO    OF    THB    AMERICAN    ASSOCIATION    FOR    THK    AD- 
TANCEMKNT  OF  SCIRXCR,  HRLD  AT  TrOY,   N.   Y.,    AUGUST    17tH-24tH. 

1870.     I  Abstracts  of  papers  continued  from  the  November  Number.'] 

Mr.  F.  W.  Putnam  made  a  coromnnicatlon  **  On  the  younie:  of  Ortha- 
^orificus  mola."  He  had  been  led  to  his  Investlo^atlons  by  the  statement, 
made  by  Messrs.  Liitken  and  Steenstmp,*  that  the  younj;  of  Orthajrorlscns 
differed  greatly  firom  the  adult,  and  that  Mohican  thus  was  not  a  distinct 
genus,  but  simply  the  young  state  of  Orthagorlscns.  This  statement  of 
the  distini^nished  Copenhagen  zoologists  led  him  to  believe  that  they  had 
not  seen  the  young  of  Orthagorlscns  and  had  been  misled  by  the  singular 
form  of  Molacanthns  in  considering  that  genus  as  the  younger  state  of 

*  (Eftrerslgt  Danske  Vldensk.  Selsk.  Forhandl.  180.  p.  86. 


630       AMERICAN  ASSOCIATION  ADVANCEMENT  OF  SCIENCE. 


the  sunfish.  He  exhibited  drawings  of  MolacarUku$t  of  the  adult  form 
of  OrtkagorUcus  mola  and  0.  oblongua,  and  of  the  young  of  the  last  two. 
The  drawing  of  the  young  of  0.  ohlongus  was  copied  fh>m  Harting'8 
work.    Hartlng  had  figured  the  speclmeu  In  connection  with  remarks 

Fig.  184.  ^-  ^^' 


Jiolaeanthut  PafauH 
(1-3  grown,  Datural 
^t^)'  OrUtagorUeui  oblongu*  (young,  natural  size). 

to  the  effect  that  he  thought  the  young  of  this  genus  were  not  so  dif- 
ferent ftrom  the  adult  In  form  as  supposed  by  Liltken  and  Steenstrup. 

The  drawings  of  the  young  of  O.  mola  were  from  specimens  taken  In 
Massachusetts  Bay  and  now  In  the  Feabody  Academy  of  Science,  having 

Fig.  186.  been    received 

f^om  the  Essex 
Institute  in 
whose  collec- 
tion they  had 
been  for  many 
years.  These 
specimens,  four 
in  number,  were 
about  two 
inches  in  length, 
and  while  dif- 
fering ftom  the 
adult  in  several 
particulars 
were  yet  so 
near  to  the 
adult  form  in  all 
their  important 
features  that  no 

OrthagorUcus  mola  (young,  natural  size).  dOUbt  COUld   be 

entertained  as  to  their  being  the  young  of  O.  mola.  In  these  young  spec- 
imens  the  eye  is  proportionally  very  large,  and  Is  placed  at  the  margin 
of  the  head,  while  in  the  adult  it  is  situated  some  distance  Itom  the 
margin.    In  the  young  the  dorsal  fin  and  the  upper  portion  of  the  caudal 


AMERICAN  ASSOCIATION  ADVANCEUENT  OF  8CIBNCB.      631 

are  thrown  respectlvelj  a  little  backward  at  the  ana)  fln  and  tlie  lower 
part  or  the  caudal.  Bf  foUoniDg  out  a  eeries  or  drawings,  taken  from 
specimens  of  varlons  sizes,  he  allowed  how  tlie  growth  of  tliese  flsbes 
voA  more  rapid  in  tliclr  dorsal  and  anterior  parts  than  io  other  portions 
of  tlie  body,  and  that  from  the  pushing  forward  of  the  poeterior  partn. 
and  tlie  tendeDc;  to  develop  a  large  bead  at  the  expense  of  the  bodj, 
which  culminated  In  the  formation  of  the  projecting  "  nose  "  so  chuac- 
teriatic  of  the  old 

specimens,  he  was  '''*■  ^' 

led  to  the  concltt- 
^on  that  the  va- 
rious (ormB  of  the 
short  suaflabes 
were  all  of  one  spe- 
cies, and  those  of 
the  oblong  type  of 
another;  these  two 
forms  probably  rep- 
resenting two  dis- 
tinct genera  of  one 
species  each  (per- 
haps two  of  the 
mola  type).  | 

In  the  young  0. 
mola  the  caudal 
fln  Is  composed  of 
eight  rays  In  Its 
upper  half  and 
eleven  rays  In  Ita 
lower  half.  These 
ray  8  are  elonga- 
ted filaments,  and 
by  their  regular  In- 
crease In  length  as 
they  approached 
the  centre  of  the 
fin  the  caudal  be- 
came a  pointed  fin. 
Along  the  ventral  portion  of  these  young  flshes  is  a  fleshy  ridge,  easily 
detached  from  the  body,  and  armed  with  several  rows  of  small  spines. 
The  back,  for  about  half  the  distance  In  front  of  the  dorsal  fln,  has  a 
slightly  raised  fleshy  ridge. 

Several  interesting  points  were  mentioned  In  connection  with  the  skel- 
eton of  the  young  nod  the  changes  which  take  place  In  Its  growth.  The 
neural  spines  of  the  Bth  to  the  IBth  vertebra  are  closely  packed  to- 
gether with   the  Interneural  spines,  and  extending  backwards  support 


OrfAo^ortHM  «• 


a  (idnlt.  gruIlT  rednocd). 


632      AMERICAN  ASSOCIATION  ADVANCEMENT  OF  SCIENCE. 

the  dorsal  fln,  while  the  hoBmal  spines  of  the  10th  to  16th  yertebrv 
are  in  close  connection  with  the  expanded  Interhiemal  spines  supporting 
the  anal  fln.  The  16th  vertebra  gives  off  large  nearal  and  hsmal 
spines,  the  former  having  five  intemearal  spines  anchylosed  with  it  as 
in  the  adult,  while  the  hnmal  spine  supports  nine  interhnmal  spines, 
the  lower  one  of  which  belongs  to  the  anal  fln  while  the  others  are 
of  the  caudal  chain.  In  the  adult  only  seven  interhinmal  spines  are  con* 
nected  with  this  hsemal  spine.  The  17th  vertebra  in  the  adult  lies  in  the 
caudal  chain  of  intersplnous  bones  and,  from  its  being  separated  from 
the  vertebral  column,  has  been  as  often  considered  as  an  intersplnous 
bone  as  a  vertebra.  In  the  young  specimens  this  vertebra,  though  separ- 
ated Arom  the  column  as  in  the  adult,  has  in  close  connection  with  it  two 
bones  above  and  two  below,  probably  indicating  that  this  vertebra  is  in 
reality  the  consolidation  of  two  vertebral  bodies,  the  17th  and  18th,  while 
two  other  small  (neural  and  haemal)  bones  posterior  to  this  Aree  vertebra 
indicate  that  a  19th  vertebra  existed  at  an  earlier  stage.  These  six  neural 
and  hiemal  (three  each)  bones  disappear  in  the  adult,  and  with  them  the 
central  rays  of  the  caudal  fln,  and  they  and  the  17th,  18th,  and  19th  ver- 
tebrie  are  only  represented  by  the  tree  or  '*  floating  "  17th  vertebra  which 
lies  in  the  chain  of  intersplnous  bones  of  the  caudal.  This  is  the  only 
instance  of  a  vertebra  existing  as  distinctly  separated  from  the  vertebral 
column  known  to  the  author. 

A  dissection  of  the  soft  parts  of  the  young  shows  the  same  arrange- 
ment as  in  the  adult ;  the  large  liver  extending  in  two  lobes  and  enclos- 
ing the  stomach  and  portions  of  the  intestine,  and  the  long  intestine  with 
its  flve  or  six  folds.  The  arrangement  of  the  bundles  of  muscles  is  the 
same  as  in  the  adult. 

On  comparing  these  young  with  Molacanthus  an  entirely  different 
structure  is  observed. .  First,  the  external  form  of  Molacanthus  differs 
greatly  from  Orthagorlscus ;  the  body  is  deeper  than  long  in  Molacanthus, 
while  the  reverse  is  the  case  in  Orthagorlscus.  There  are  many  largely 
developed  spines  on  the  former,  and  the  skin  is  thin,  silvery  and  smooth 
between  the  spines.  In  the  latter  the  skin  is  thick,  the  anterior  por- 
tion is  protected  by  small  granulations  and  the  rest  Is  covered  with  fine 
villous  scales ;  there  are  flve  singular  naked  spaces  on  each  side,  three  of 
which  have  a  raised  granulated  margin,  and  there  is  a  similar  raised 
space  just  in  Aront  of  the  dorsal  fln.  In  Orthagorlscus  the  dorsal  and 
anal  are  closely  connected  with  the  caudal,  which,  in  comparison  with  the 
adult,  is  largely  developed  in  the  young,  while  in  Molacanthus  no  candal 
fln  can  be  traced,  and  the  dorsul  and  anal  are  separated  by  a  naked  space 
(though  all  the  figures  of  this  fish  thus  far  published  represent  the  dorsal 
and  anal  as  united  by  a  caudal,  the  row  of  small  dermal  spines  at  this 
portion  having  been  mistaken  for  rays).  The  skeleton  of  Molacanthus 
shows  the  intersplnous  bones  of  the  dorsal  in  connection  with  the  neural 
spines  of  the  4th  to  17th  veitebrn,  and  those  of  the  anal  with  the  hsemal 
spines  of  the  10th  to  17th  vertebrie.    The  vertebral  column  In  Molacanthus 


AMEKIGAN  ASSOCIATION  ADVANGEMEKT  OF  SCIENCE.       633 

terminates  abraptly  with  the  17th  vertebra,  and  no  caadal  chain  of  inter- 
splnous  bones  can  be  traced.  The  liver  Is  small,  when  compared  with  that 
of  the  young  Orthagorlscns,  and  is  composed  principally  of  a  large  right 
lobe  overlying  the  stomach.  The  stomach  ts  small  and  the  Intestine  is 
short,  making  bnt  two  tarns,  like  the  letter  8,  while  in  Orthagoriscns  it 
is  long  and  has  five  or  six  tarns,  or  coils.  The  arrangement  of  the  mns- 
cles  and  the  bones  of  the  head  are,  in  general,  about  the  same  as  in 
Orthagoriscus. 

Figure  184  is  flrom  a  specimen  of  Molticanthus  Palassii,*  natural  size. 
This  specimen  was  takelVi  flrom  the  stomach  of  a  dolphin  caught  in  the 
North  Atlantic  and  belongs  to  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History. 

Fig^ire  185  is  the  young  of  Orthagoriacus  (Cephalus)  oblongtUf  copied 
fW>m  Harting's  Memoir.  This  specimen  was  taken  flrom  the  stomach  of  a 
^'Thon**  caught  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  Is  represented  of  natural  size. 

Figure  186  Is  flrom  one  of  the  young  specimens  of  OrthagorUcua  mola 
taken  in  Massachusetts  Bay.    Natural  size. 

Figure  137  represents  the  adult  form  of  Orthagoriscus  mola  from  a  draw- 
ing of  a  specimen  taken  in  Massachusetts  Bay  In  1856.  Length  forty -two 
inches ;  width  ftrom  tip  of  dorsal  to  tip  of  anal  sixty-four  inches.  This 
specimen  was  fhlly  developed  and  shows  the  characteristic  ''nose"  of 
the  older  individuals,  the  backward  position  of  the  eye  and  the  position 
of  the  fins.  None  of  the  published  figures  of  the  adult  are  very  correct 
in  their  outline.  The  best  Is  that  of  Harting,  under  the  name  of  Ortkago' 
riscus  ozodura,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Academy  of  Amsterdam  for 
1868.  An  intermediate  stage  between  the  young  and  the  adult,  here  fig- 
ured, is  represented  by  the  figures  of  Bk>ch,  Donovan,  and  Tarrell. 

Dr.  R.  H.  Ward  read  a  paper  before  the  Section  of  Microscopy  "  On 
the  Illumination  of  Binocular  Microscopes."  The  object  of  this  paper  is 
not  to  add  anything  to  the  facilities  at  the  command  of  specialists  in 
microscopy,  whose  devotion  to  narrow  branches  of  study,  often  accom- 
panied by  ample  means  to  command  every  assistance  within  the  skill  of 
the  opticians,  has  broughtinto  existence  the  sumptuous  first-class  stands 
and  their  elaborate  accessories,  but  to  make  some  suggestions  in  the  in- 
terest of  that  larger  class,  microscopical  amateurs,  who,  incidentally  to 
other  occupations,  use  the  instrument  for  the  general  study  of  natural 
history.  Such  persons  usually,  and  wisely,  buy  the  smaller  instruments 
of  th^  market,  and  their  choice  of  apparatus,  and  consequent  success  in 
work,  depends  much  upon  the  chances  of  trade  and  the  interested  par- 
tiality of  dealers. 

It  is  not  strange,  but  unfortunate,  that  this  class  of  apparatus,  students' 


*Tb«  synonymf  of  tbeae  isb  wUI  be  dlieoned  In  Aill  In  the  Hemolra  of  tbe  Aeedemy.  The 
iiAmes  now  uted  are  thoee  under  which  the  epeelee  are  moet  generally  known. 

Mr.  Patnain*s  paper  wlU  be  pnblUbed  In  flill  In  a  Aitore  nnmber  of  the  Memoirs  of  the 
Peabody  Academy  of  Selenee,  with  Mveral  platea,  Ulaatrating  more  ftUly  the  points  mentioned 
In  this  abstract. 

AMBR.  NATURALIST,  VOL.  IV.  80 


634      AMERICAN  ASSOCIATION  ADVANCEMENT  OF  SCIENCE. 

microscopes,  et  id  amtie  gentu,  should  latent  and  least  feel  the  control  of 
real  science  in  their  construction.  Only  a  few  years  ago  in  London,  and 
much  later  in  this  country,  was  there  any  serious  effort  to  make  students' 
microscopes  worthy  of  the  times.  Even  now  some  of  the  best  of  these 
are  sold  without  a  diaphragm  below  the  stage,  or  with  so  small  a  body 
that  the  lowest  (and,  for  beginners,  best)  eye-piece  gives  a  ridiculously 
small  field,  and  too  many  are  still  built  upon  the  old  vertical  plan  which 
has  been  obsolete  for  twenty  years.  In  regard  to  stereoscopic  micro- 
scopes the  case  is  still  worse.  ToUes'  binocular  eye-piece  "  for  microscopes 
only  "  is  not  yet  in  the  market,  though  expected  for  years,  and  Wenham*s 
binocular,  long  since  popularized  in  England,  is  nearly  unknown  here  ex- 
cept  on  large  and  costly  instruments.  Grunow,  of  New  York,  has  done 
something  during  past  years  to  fUrnish  small  binocular  instruments. 
When  will  he,  and  Tolles,  and  Zentmayer,  and  Miller,  and  McAllister,  and 
others,  do  for  us  what  Crouch,  and  Collins,  and  Murray  and  Heath,  and 
Beck,  and  many  others,  have  long  since  done  for  England  in  supplying  an 
abundant  variety  of  good  binoculars  of  moderate  size  and  cost?  If  the 
binocular  microscope  were  unnecessary  for  anybody  it  would  be  for  the 
diatomist ;  yet  I  can  scarcely  believe  that  such  a  person,  after  seeing  a 
Mdller's  type  plate  properly  illuminated  under  a  4-10  objective  of  110^  or 
120^  in  a  good  binocular,  would  ever  advise  any  person  to  purchase  a 
monocular  instrument  except  as  a  necessity  of  price.  While  we  are 
waiting  for  still  further  improvements  in  the  binocular,  promise  of  which 
may  be  seen  in  Mr.  Holmes'  bisected  lens,  the  erecting  binocular  of  Mr. 
Stephenson,  and  the  binocular  by  double  refraction  of  Dr.  Barnard,  let 
the  contrivances  already  available,  Wenham*s  for  low  and  medium  pow<^ 
ers,  and  Tolles*  for  high  powers,  be  made  to  do  all  the  good  they  can  do. 
We  should  take  care  that  in  simplifying  our  apparatus  we  do  not  gain 
simplicity  at  the  expense  of  convenience.  Of  the  three  elements  in  mi- 
croscopical work,  the  object,  the  amplifiers,  and  the  light,  the  latter  is 
the  most  difficult  to  handle  and  is  least  satisfactorily  provided  for.  If 
any  one  accustomed  to  use  a  microscope  which  has  no  control  of  its  light 
except  by  a  mirror  and  diaphragm,  will  temporarily  replace  the  dia- 
phragm by  a  sliding  tube  capable  of  holding  his  highest  power  eye-piece 
and  of  focusing  it  from  below  upon  the  object,  he  will  be  little  likely  to 
use  the  instrument  afterward  in  any  other  way.  A  Kelner's  eye-piece, 
suggested  as  a  condenser  by  Mr.  Brooke,  and  urged  by  Dr.  Beale, .would 
be  still  better;  and  probably  Tolles'  orthoscopic  eye-piece  would  answer 
the  same  purpose.  The  illuminating  angle  would  be  varied  by  focussing 
below  the  object,  with  much  less  loss  of  definition  than  in  the  old  style 
of  using  an  objective  for  the  same  purpose ;  or,  preferably,  various  stops 
of  blackened  card  would  be  introduced  below  the  field-lens  to  stop  off  any 
desired  portion  of  the  light,  and  similarly  a  disc  of  blue  glass  would  be 
used  to  correct  the  yellow  glare  of  artificial  light.  With  slight  mechan- 
ical ingenuity  the  student  can  combine  these  stops  in  a  circular  diaphragm 
of  blackened  card  or  brass,  and  somewhat  Increase  the  convenience  of 


AMEBIGAN  ASSOCIATION    ADVANCEMENT  OF  SCIENCE.      685 

this  really  excellent  achromatic  condenser.  The  ei&cl6ncy  of  his  appa- 
ratus will  be  vasHy  increased  by  adding  the  graduating  diaphragm  made 
by  Collins  and  others  in  London  and  occasionally  offered  for  sale  in  this 
country.  Or,  at  a  very  reasonable  expense,  he  can  order  the  Webster 
condenser  and  gradnatlng  diaphragm  complete  of  Collins  or  Crouch,  or 
other  London  dealers.  At  first  sight  it  would  seem  that  this  apparatus 
could  not  be  used  on  stands  of  the  ** Jackson"  model;  but,  by' a  little 
Judicious  filing,  it  can  be  used  on  large  stands  of  this  style,  as  I  have 
been  accustomed  to  do  for  years.  After  using  a  graduating  diaphragm  in 
the  ordinary  microscopical  work  of  natural  history,  the  orthodox  wheel 
of  apertures,  with  its  intermittent  views  of  the  object,  and  its  abrupt 
changes  of  light,  seems  simply  absurd.  For  use  without  a  condenser,  or 
with  one  of  the  large  lens  or  eye-piece  form,  Collins'  graduating  dia- 
phragm should  be  used  on  all  stands  to  which  it  can  be  applied ;  other- 
wise, and  especially  with  the  small  lens  or  objective  form  of  achromatic 
condenser,  Zentmayer*s  graduating  diaphragm  should  be  used,  or  Brown's 
iris  diaphragm  as  made  by  Beck.  There  is  often  some  difficulty  in  getting 
the  graduating  diaphragm  sufficiently  near  to  the  lenses  in  the  small  lens 
condensers,  but  none  in  the  eye-piece  condensers. 

The  easiest  and  most  fliscinating  use  of  the  stereoscopic  microscope  is 
doubtless  with  opaque  or  translucent  objects  with  the  paraboloid  or  other 
means  of  black-ground  illumination.  In  lighting  transparent  objects 
under  the  binocular  we  have  only  one  new  condition  introduced,  the  ne- 
cessity of  a  wide  horizontal  illumination  in  order  to  give  an  even  light 
over  the  whole  of  both  fields.  Focussing  the  condenser  upon  the  object 
and  gradually  opening  the  diaphragm,  we  shall  probably  find,  with  a  1- 
inch  of  25^,  the  best  definition  and  resolution  accomplished  Just  at  the 
point  where  both  fields  are  fairly  lighted;  but  with  a  1-2  of  60^  or  a  1-4 
of  76^  the  best  definition  Is  often  gained  when  each  field  is  scarcely  half 
Illuminated,  and  when  the  fields  are  wholly  lighted  the  object  is  nearly 
drowned.  If  we  now  open  wide  the  diaphragm,  and  introduce  a  black- 
ened card  disc  punched  with  two  holes  (Plate  5,  fig.  5)  so  as  to  give  two 
cones  of  light  each  having  an  angular  width  about  one-half  or  one-third 
of  that  of  the  objective,  and  converging  horizontally  upon  the  object  at 
an  angle,  nearly  as  great  as  that  of  the  objective,  we  shall  have  both  fields 
fnlrly  and  evenly  lighted,  and  no  glare.  The  same  end  is  attained  by  a 
stop  with  a  horizontal  slit,  giving  a  wide  horizontal  and  narrow  vertical 
pencil  of  light. 

This  expedient  may  be  applied  with  some  advantage  even  to  instru- 
ments without  accessories,  by  placing  a  disc  like  Fig.  1  of  Plate  5,  hav- 
ing an  opening  of  suitable  width,  over  the  diaphragm,  to  shape  the  cone 
of  light  fk'om  the  concave  mirror;  or  the  regular  wheel  of  apertures  may 
be  replaced  by  a  somewhat  larger  one  containing  one  or  two  openings  of 
this  shape. 

Next  comes  the  spotted  lens,  which  may  be  applied  to  any  microscope 
and  which  will  greatly  increase  its  working  power  at  an  almost  nominal 


636      AMERICAN  ASSOCIATION    ADVANCEMENT  OF  SCIENCE. 

expense,  giving  suffloiently  good  black-grpund  and  obliqne-liglit  effects 
for  small  microscopes.  This  lens  is  used  for  transparent  lllnmination  of 
both  fields  of  the  binocular  with  1-2  or  1-4-inch  objectives  (the  Webster 
condenser,  with  its  smallest  centre  stop,  and  graduating  dlapbraj^m,  at- 
tains the  same  end  in  a  much  finer  manner),  but  much  of  the  light  passed 
even  by  it  Is  detrimental,  and  its  performance  may  be  improved  by  a  cap 
of  card  or  paper,  placed  over  it,  having  a  horizontal  opening,  or  a  vertical 
stop  (Plate  5,  figs.  2  and  3),  one  of  the  openings  in  Fig.  8  being  closed 
when  oblique  light  is  required.  A  horizontal  opening  of  adjustable  width 
may  be  easily  combined  with  the  brass  mounting  of  the  spotted  lens. 

In  using  an  objective  or  similar  combination  as  achromatic  condenser 
the  horizontal  slit  is  still  more  applicable.  It  (Plate  6,  fig.  4)  may  be 
added,  for  instance,  to  the  stop-plate  of  Powell  and  Leland's  achromatic 
condenser,  or  placed  in  the  supplementary  aperture  of  Boss'  4-10  con- 
denser, or  in  small  microscopes  screwed  in  between  the  lenses  of  a  con- 
densing objective.  Different  stops  must  be  used  for  different  angles  of 
width  required,  25^  or  80^  being  generally  applicable  and  the  length  being 
regulated  by  the  diaphragm-plate,  or  by  Zentmayer's  graduating  diar 
phragm,  or  Brown's  iris  diaphragm  which.  Instead  of  the  diaphragm- 
plate,  should  be  combined  with  condensers  of  this  class. 

But  the  real  value  of  this  stop,  and  the  real  ease  of  handling  the  light 
In  the  every-day  work  of  the  stereoscopic-microscope,  is  attained  with 
the  large-lens  condensers,  with  which  a  1-4  of  75^,  or,  when  more  resolv- 
ing power  and  less  depth  of  field  is  required,  a  4-10  of  110^  to  120^,  can  be 
as  easily  managed  as  a  1-lnch,  both  fields  being  softly  and  evenly  lighted. 
Paper  discs  like  Plate  5,  fig.  5,  may  be  nsed,  adapted  to  various  powers 
and  placed  between  the  lower  lens  of  the  condenser  and  its  stop-plate,  or 
Plate  5,  fig.  6,  may  be  placed  In  the  same  position,  or  the  stop-plate  may 
be  so  modified  as  to  fUrnish  a  horizontal  slit  as  In  Plate  6,  fig.  7,  the 
length  of  the  slit  being  controlled  by  the  graduating  diaphragm.  An  ad- 
justable silt  may  be  extemporized  by  using  a  straight  edge  of  card  in 
connection  with  the  oblique  stop  of  the  stop-plate ;  or  it  may  be  combined 
with  the  brass-work  as  a  pair  of  shutters  somewhat  like  those  of  the 
spectroscope,  or  as  a  supplementary  wheel,  like  Plate  5,  fig.  8,  above  the 
nsual  stop-plate.  The  large  round  opening  in  this  plate  (Fig.  8)  should 
be  ftimished  with  a  rim  to  carry  any  experimental  stops  of  blackened 
paper  that  may  be  desired.  If  the  two  plates  are  of  exactly  the  same 
size  and  properly  mounted  at  the  centre,  there  Is  not  the  slightest  dUB- 
culty  in  moving  each  Independently  of  the  other;  nor  Is  the  nnequal 
width  and  carved  direction  of  the  slit  any  serious  inconvenience  in  prac* 
tlce. 

The  graduating  diaphragm,  for  facility  of  use  and  certainty  of  results, 
has  ftiirly  superseded  the  original  wheel  of  apertures ;  perhaps  the  time 
may  come  when  we  shall  eqnally  discard  the  wheel  of  stops,  and  have 
nothing  left  to  remind  us  of  our  circular  diaphragm-plate.  If  the  optic- 
ians would  give  as  something  having  the  general  arrangement  of  the 


Amerluiu  NulunitiHl. 


ToL  IV,  PI.  B. 


6 

e 


WARD,  OM  THE   n.t.rMTKATiniT  OF  RIKOCDLAR  UtCBOSCOPRS. 


638      AMERICAN  ASSOCIATION    ADVANCEMENT  OF  SCIENCE. 

Webster  condenser,  but  of  110^,  perfectly  achromatic  and  acUustable  for 
thickness  of  the  glass  slide,  and  mounted  over  a  gradnating  diaphragm, 
a  pair  of  shatters  for  an  adjustable  horizontal  slit  (one  of  them,  or  an- 
other single  shatter,  capable  of  moving  Independently  for  oblique  illum- 
ination), and  a  graduating  centre  stop  capable  of  slopping  off  from  26^ 
to  80®  of  light,  I  believe  that  most  persons  who  use  the  instrument  for 
the  ordinary  investigation  in  natural  history  would  consider  the  combi- 
nation ruther  as  a  necessary  part  of  their  stand  than  as  an  accessory  to 
be  sometimes  used  with  it. 

Dr.  Walkrr  of  New  Orleans,  La.,  read  a  paper  prepared  by  Professor 
EuoKNR  W.  HiLOARD,  State  Geologist  of  Louisiana,  on  "The  Upper  Delta 
Plain  of  the  Mississippi."  The  paper  is  one  of  a  series  by  the  same  au- 
thor, the  preceding  ones  having  treated  of  the  older  formations  which 
characterize  the  geology  of  the  Great  Enlargement  of  the  Mexican  Gulf 
Boiilu,  of  which  the  Mississippi  River,  below  Cairo,  forms  the  axis.  We 
are  first  reminded  of  the  successive  disappearance  of  the  slightly  dipping 
formations,  in  proceeding  south  ftom  Vicksburg.  It  is  shown  that  the 
delta  or  alluvial  deposits  proper,  cover  the  older  formations  to  a  com- 
paratively slight  depth  only,  the  river  running  on  paludal  deposits,  and 
then  on  an  ancient  sea  bottom,  of  corresponding  (late  quaternary)  age, 
from  above  iNew  Orleans  to  near  its  mouth.  It  thus  appears  that  Artesian 
bores  in  the  vicinity  of  New  Orleans,  tubed  through  the  (chiefly  marine) 
deposits  of  the  upper  strata,  and  penetrating  the  great  beds  of  Omii^e 
sand,  or  southern  drift,  will  probably  fdrnish  an  abundant  rise  of  the 
best  of  water.  The  great  torrent  which  produced  the  northern  drift  \h 
seen  to  have  swept  over  the  southern  coast  with  sufficient  force  to  trans- 
port pebbles  of  five  to  six  ounces  weight  Arom  fttr  distant  regions,  the 
nearest  being  Tennessee  and  Arkansas.  This  great  eroding  agent  seems 
also  to  have  so  cut  and  worn  the  older  formations  into  ridges  and  chan- 
nels, that  the  overlying  ones  vary  greatly  in  thickness,  while  level  at  the 
surface.  The  singular  phenomena  known  as  the  New  Orleans  Gas  Wells, 
are  also  mentioned.  When  bores  were  sunk  for  water,  the  gas  rushed  up 
with  such  force  as  to  carry  up  several  cart  loads  of  sand  in  a  single  night, 
and  when  the  gas  became  ignited,  it  was  extinguished  with  great  diffi- 
culty. 

An  abstract  of  a  second  paper  by  the  same  author,  '*  On  the  Mudlumps 
of  the  Passes  of  the  Mississippi,"  was  given  by  Prof.  J.  E.  Hiloard.  The 
Mudlumps  are  Islands  formed  by  upheavals  of  the  bottom,  off  the  mouths 
of  the  Passes,  inside  the  bar.  They  often  rise  in  raid-channel,  obstruct- 
ing navigation  and  diverting  the  current,  and  at  times  bringing  up  ob- 
jects long  ago  lost  f^om  vessels.  They  form  a  number  of  pretty  large 
islands,  especially  near  the  mouth  of  the  South-west  Pass.  On  them  we 
frequently  find  springs  of  liquid  mud,  accompanied  by  bubbles  of  com* 
bustlble  gas ;  these  springs  often  exhibit  all  the  phenomena  of  mud  vol- 
canoes—extensive cones  of  mud,  with  an  active  crater  in  the  middle. 
Most  of  the  material  of  the  Mudlumps  seen  above  water,  bears  evidence 
of  having  once  belonged  to  active  cones,  now  extinct. 


AMERICAN  ASSOCIATION    ADVANCEMENT  OF  SCIENCE.      639 

The  anthor  investigated  the  origin  of  these  springs,  by  an  examination 
of  their  ejecta — gas,  water,  and  mud.  The  gas  he  foand  to  be  such  as  is 
prod  need  by  vegetable  matter  in  its  first  stages  of  decay.  The  mad  con- 
tains evidence  of  a  mixed  fiuviatilc  and  marine  origin ;  while  the  water 
in  which  it  is  difltesed,  has  the  composition  of  sea-water  changed  under 
the  influence  of  ferrugino-calcareons  river  mud,  containing  fermenting 
vegetable  matter. 

The  conclusion  reached  is,  that  the  mud  is  the  same  as  that  which  is 
deposited  on  the  "blue  clay  bottom"  of  the  Gulf,  outside  the  bar,  in  a 
semi-fluid  state.  In  its  annual  advance,  the  bar  covers  this  mud  stratum, 
which  exists  equally  higher  up  the  Passes;  the  increase  in  weight  by 
vegetation,  alluvion,  etc.,  of  the  new  formed  land  above,  as  well  as  that 
of  the  bar  below  the  mouth,  causes  the  bottom  to  bulge  upwards  at  the 
points  of  least  resistence,  i.  e.  in  the  deepest  channel. 

Attention  was  called  to' the  fact,  that  of  all  rivers  known,  the  Mississippi 
is  the  only  one  exhibiting  either  mudlump  action,  or  the  peculiar  narrow 
lands  of  bank,  advancing  rapidly  towards  deep  water,  which  are  known 
as  **  necks,*'  and  are  obviously  dependent  on  the  mudlumps  for  their 
origin.  It  is  therefore  permissible  to  infer,  not  only  that  all  the  similarly 
shaped  alluvions  above  the  head  of  the  Passes,  at  least  as  ftir  as  the  forts, 
have  been  formed  by  mudlump  action,  but  also  that  the  latter  will  cease 
so  soon  as  the  bar,  io  its  advance,  shall  pass  beyond  the  shelf  of  **  blue 
clay  botton"  (presumably  of  the  Port  Hudson  age),  into  the  deep  water 
of  the  Gulf;  which  point  is  now  nine  miles  out  from  the  mouth. 

Professor  W.  C.  Kerr  read  a  paper  on  **  A  Point  in  Dynamical  Geol- 
ogy." This  paper  called  attention  to  the  agency  of  the  sun  as  a  probablt 
and  sufllclent  explanation  of  the  well-known  remarkable  coincidences  ot 
the  coast  lines^  mountain  systems  and  chains  of  Islands,— nearly  all  th« 
great  '* feature-lines"  in  the  physiognomy  of  the  globe,— with  the  ares  of 
great  circles  tangent  to  the  polar  circles ;  the  exceptions  being  generally 
arcs  of  great  circles  perpendicular  to  the  former;  Inasmuch  as  the  sUn  os^ 
dilates  about  (within  1^  oO  a  position  (=b  22  1-^^  declination),  which  il 
approximately  polar  to  the  above  system  of  great  circles,  for  mor4  thaii 
fine  quarter  of  the  year;  and  all  the  solar  influenees,  mechanical  (cldal)i 
thermal,  electromagnetic  and  chemical,  being  in  ftiU  play  for  this  long 
period,  about  this  great  dynamical  plane  which  separates  the  luminous 
from  the  dark  hemisphere,  could  not  conceivably  have  flailed  to  exircise 
a  profound  influence  in  outlining  the  rising  (**  becdming  *')  features  4f  the 
globe  in  its  plastic  and  formative  state.  Similar  oonslderatlons  are  Appli- 
cable to  the  lunar  influence,  which  was  cumulatlte  in  the  same  direction. 

The  Oneonto  and  Montrose  Sandstone,  etc*  —  In  the  Report  Of  my 
paper  on  the  Oneonto  and  Montrose  Sandstone  etr*..,  the  language  ma^ 
convey  the  idea  that  the  sandstones  of  both  thtse  local!' ies  hate  beeil 
identified  with  the  Portage  Group,  which  was  not  intended.  The  dndonto 
Sandstone  ii  pretty  clearly  an  equivalent  of  the  Mortage  Group  of  Cintral 


I 


640  BOOKS   RECEIVED. 

and  Western  New  York,  while  np  to  this  time  no  positive  determination 
has  been  made  regarding  the  Sandstone  of  Montrose.  The  latter  may  be 
the  equivalent  of  the  Red  Sandstone  of  Tioga  and  of  tlie  snmmits  of  the 
Catskill,  but  we  have  not  yet  the  facts  necessary  for  the  determination. 
Will  you  have  the  kindness  to  make  some  note  of  correction  in  the  next 
number  of  the  Naturalist.    Yours,  etc.  —  James  Hall. 

The  following  papers  were  also  read  before  the  Association :  ^ 

PAPEBS  read  in  SaCTIOK  B.  — KATUBAL  HI8T0BT. 

Notee  on  Granitic  Bocks.    By  7.  Sterry  Hunt, 

On  the  OU-Bearing  Limestone  of  Chicago.    By  T.  Stcrry  Hunt. 

On  the  Lignites  of  West  America,  their  Distribution  and  Economic  Value.    By  /.  5. 

On  the  character  of  the  ObserTatlons  necessary  to  Interpret  the  record  of  the  last 
Glacial  Period.   By  X.  S.  Shaler, 

Microscopic  Circuits  of  Generation:  a.  Of  Zymotic  Fungi:  b.  Of  the  (nominal) 
Genera  of  Freith  water  Alga,  as  deTelopmen^pha8es  of  Bryaccn,  etc.  c.  Of  Vorticel« 
lo-Planarians.    By  T.  C.  ffUgard. 

The  Genetic  Relations  of  the  Arietes.    Bj  Alpktui  Hgait. 

On  the  occurrence  of  native  iron,  not  meteoric.   By  JET.  B,  Kaion. 

On  the  salt  deposit  of  Western  Ontario.    Bj  T,  Sitrry  Bunt, 

On  the  Relation  of  Organic  Lifb  of  the  several  continents  to  the  Physical  Character 
of  those  land  areas.   By  K.  8.  Sh'iler, 

The  Development  and  Old  Age  of  the  Tetrabranohiate  Cephalopoda.    By  A.  Hyatt, 

On  ampthod  of  collecting  certain  Geological  fiicts,  adopted  by  the  "Social  Science 
Aeeociatiou."    By  y.  S.  Skater, 

On  the  Sequence  and  Chronology  of  the  Drift  Phenomena  In  the  Mississippi  Talley 
By  /.  S.  yeteberry. 


BOOKS  RECEIVED. 

AreMv/iir  AHthropofoffie,    Braiinichwieg,  vol.  Iv.    Heft,  1, 2, 1S70.   4to. 

OburtaiUnu  on  th$  Otoffraphy  and  Arthmology  nf  P^ru,  By  X.  Q.  Squler.  London,  U70.  Svo. 

PfntttU  dM  /SNiMi  yaturalUtM,  Kos.  1-A.  May  to  Aogust,  1370.  Donuoh,  Baat-Rhhu 
(iljOO  gold  a  year.)   Svo,  pp.  8. 

Heport  on  iht  Mvllutea  of  Long  Uland^  y,  T,,andqfiU  Dopwdmkeiu,  By  Sanderson  Smith 
and  Temple  Prime.   New  York.   Svo,  pp.  80. 

AnnaU  of  iho  Lyceum  of  y—  York.   pp.  845  >  876.   1870. 

American  Journal  of  Conekofo^y,   Vol.  vl,  part  8.   November,  1S70.   FhUadelphfa. 

EntomoloffUPt  Monthly  MagaHno,   June,  1880— OctolH>r,1870.    London,  Svo. 

Seoenih  AnnwU  Report  qfthe  Bo^ast  yaturalUW  fUld  Hub,  1870.  Belfkst.  Ireland,  1870.  Svo, 
pp.  IS,  M.   Opentmf  Addrut  of  Br,  WyeWe  Thempton,  yovember  10, 1H68,  Belfti«t.  Twlnml.  4to. 

Proeeedtnfft  ef  tkt  Lyceum  ef  yaturat  nutory.   New  York,  April  4,  Jane  8, 1870. 

Procoedingi  ^f  the  Academy  (f  yatural  Beteneeo,   Fhilsdelphia.   1870.   pp.  88-108. 

Amertean  Journal  of  Iftcroieopy.  Vol.  U  Mo.  1.  Chicago,  November  1,  1870.  PnbUslitd 
monthly.   81.00.   4to,  2  oolnrans.   pp.18. 

American  Her.  Journal,   November,  1870. 

Bulletin  qf  tho  Jbrrey  Botanical  Club,   Vol. !,  No.  10.    October,  1870. 

CAemiMt  and  Bruyyist,   October  18.   London.  « 

Minerals  qf  Colorado,   By  J.  AldenSmlth.   Centrsl  aty,  1870.   Svo,  pp.  18. 

Jvumat  qf  Popular  Science,   ropenhagen,  1870.    Vol.  v,  part  8. 

Collectionsqf  the  MInnetoia  Historical  SocUty.   Vol.  Ill,  part  1.   8t.  Paul,  1870.   Svo. 


AMERICAN    NATURALIST. 

Vol  IV.-JANTJAEY,  1871. -No.  11. 

THE  ANCIENT  LAKES   OF  WESTERN  AMERICA: 
THEIR  DEPOSITS  AND  DRAINAGE.* 

Br  PfiOF.   J.  S.  NEWBERRY,  LL.  D. 

The  wonderful  collections  of  fossil  plants  and  animal 
remains  brought  by  Dr.  Hayden  from  the  country  bordering 
the  Upper  Missouri  have  been  shown  by  his  observations, 
and  the  researches  of  Mr.  Meek,  to  have  been  derived  from 
deposits  made  in  extensive  fresh-water  lakes ;  lakes,  which 
once  occupied  much  of  the  region  lying  immediately  east  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  but  which  have  now  totally  disap- 
peared. The  sediments  that  accumulated  in  the  bottoms  of, 
these  old  lakes  show  that  in  the  earliest  periods  of  their  his- 
tory they  contained  salt  water,  at  least  that  the  sea  had  ac- 
cess to  them,  and  their  waters  were  more  or  less  impregnated 
with  salt,  so  as  to  be  inhabited  by  oysters  and  other  marine 
or  estuary  mollusks.  In  due  time  the  continental  elevation 
which  brought  all  the  country  west  of  the  Mississippi  up  out 
of  the  widespread  Cretaceous  sea,  raised  these  lake-basins 
altogether  above  the  sea  level  and  surrounded  them  with  a 
broad  expanse  of  dry  land.  Then  ensued  one  of  the  most 
interesting  chapters  in  the  geological  history  of  our  conti-  • 
nent,  and  one  that,  if  fairly  written  out,  could  not  fail  to  be 
read  with  pleasure  by  all  intelligent  persons.    The  details  of 

*Frora  Dr.  Hayden^s  fbrthoomlng  **  Saa  Flctares  of  the  Rocky  Bfoantalns,** 


Coaii  tt  ite  OtotiM  tl" 


AMKU.    NATURALIST,  VOL.  FV.  81  (641) 


642  THE   ANCIENT  LAKES   OF   WESTERN   AUEBIGA  : 

this  history  are  however,  in  a  great  measure,  yet  to  be  sup- 
plied ;  inastnuch  as  the  gseat  area  of  our  western  possessions 
is  still  but  very  partially  explored,  and  it  is  certain  that  it 
forms  a  great  treasure-house  of  geological  knowledge,  from 
which  many  generations  will  draw  fresh  and  interesting 
material  before  its  riches  shall  bo  exhausted. 

The  enlightened  measures  adopted  by  our  Government  for 
the  exploration  of  the  public  domain,  the  organization  and 
thorough  equipment  of  the  numerous  surveying  parties  that 
have  traversed  the  region  west  of  the  Mississippi  within  the 
last  twenty  years,  together  with  the  more  extensive  explora- 
tions by  private  enterprise  of  our  great  mining  districts, 
have  resulted  in  giving  us  materials  from  which  an  outline 
sketch  can  now  be  made  that  may  be  accepted  as  in  all  its 
essential  particulars,  accurate  and  worthy  of  confidence. 

It  has  happened  to  me  to  be  connected  with  three  of  the 
Government  surveys,  to  which  I  have  referred,  and  to  spend 
several  years  in  traversing  the  great  area  lying  between  the 
Columbia  River  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  observations 
which  I  have  made  on  the  geological  structure  of  our  West- 
ern Territories  supplement,  in  a  somewhat  remarkable  way, 
those  made  by  Dr.  Hayden,  so  that  taken  together,  our  re- 
ports embody  the  results  of  a  reconnoissance  stretching  over 
nearly  the  whole  of  our  vast  possessions  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. 

Our  knowledge  of  the  geology  of  this  region  has  also  been 
largely  increased  by  the  no  less  important  contributions  of 
other  explorers.  Among  those  who  deserve  most  honorable 
mention  in  this  connection  are  Mr.  George  Gibbs,  to  whom 
we  are  indebted  for  most  that  we  know  of  the  geology  of 
Washington  Territory;  to  Professors  W.  P.  Blake  and 
Thomas  Antisell,  to  Prof.  Whitney  and  the  other  members 
of  the  California  Geological  Survey:  to  Baron  Richtofen, 
the  lamented  Remond,  Drs.  Shiel,  Wislizenus,  and  othera. 

The  results  obtained  by  the  last,  largest  and  best  organ- 
ized party  which  has  bcQu  engaged  in  Western  explorations. 


THEIR  DEPOSITS  AND  DBAINAGB.    '  643 

that  of  Mr.  Clarence  King,  have  not  yet  been  given  to  the 
public,  but  from  an  examination  of  some  of  the  materials 
which  are  to  compose  the  reports  of  this  expedition,  I  feel 
justified  in  saying  that  it  will  prove  to  be  among  the  most 
important  of  all  the  series  of  explorations  of  which  it  forms 
a  part,  and  that  the  published  results  of  this  expedition  will 
be  not  only  an  important  contribution  to  science  and  our 
knowledge  of  our  own  countiy,  but  a  high  honor  to  those 
by  whom  the  work  has  been  performed,  and  to  the  Govern- 
ment by  which  it  was  organized. 

Without  going  into  details  or  citing  the  facts  or  authori- 
ties on  which  our  conclusions  rest,  I  will,  in  a  few  words,  give 
the  generalities  of  the  geological  and  topographical  structure 
of  that  portion  of  our  continent  which  includes  the  peculiar 
features  that  are  to  be  more  specially  the  subject  of  this 
paper. 

It  is  known  to  most  persons  that  the  general  character  of 
the  topography  of  the  region  west  of  the  Mississippi  has 
been  given  by  three  great  lines  of  elevation  which  traverse 
our  territory  from  north  to  south :  the  Rocky  Mountain 
Belt,  the  Sierra  Nevada  and  the  Coast  Ranges.  Of  these, 
the  last  is  the  most  modern,  and  is  composed,  in  great 
part,  of  Miocene  Tertiary  rocks.  It  forms  a  raised  margin 
along  the  western  edge  of  the  continent,  and  has  produced 
that  *'iron  bound  coast"  described  by  all  those  who  have 
navigated  that  portion  of  the  Pacific  which  washes  our  shores. 

Parallel  with  the  Coast  Mountains  lies  a  narrow  trough 
which,  in  California,  is  traversed  by  the  Sacramento  and  San 
Joachin  Rivers,  and  portions  of  it  have  received  their  names. 
Further  north,  this  trough  is  partially  filled,  and  for  some 
distance,  nearly  obliterated  by  the  encroachment  of  the 
neighboring  mountain  ranges,  but  in  Oregon  and  Wash- 
ington it  reappears  essentially  the  same  in  structure  as 
fuither  south,  and  is  here  traversed  by  the  Williamette  and 
Cowlitz  Rivers. 

These  two  sections  of  this  great  valley  have  now  free 


644  THE   ANCIENT  LAKES   OF  WESTERN  AMERICA: 

drainage  to  the  Pacific,  through  the  Golden  Gate  and  the 
trough  of  the  Columbia,  both  of  which  are  channels  cut  by 
the  drainage  water  through  mountain  barriers  that  formerly 
obstructed  its  flow,  and  produced  an  accumulation  behind 
them  that  made  these  valleys  inland  lakes ;  the  first  of  the 
series  I  am  to  describe  of  extensive  fresh-water  basins  that 
formerly  gave  character  to  the  surface  of  our  Western  Terri- 
tory, and  that  have  now  almost  all  been  drained  away  and 
have  disappeared. 

East  of  the  California  Valley  lies  the  Sierra  Nevada ;  a 
lofty  mountain  chain  reaching  all  the  way  from  our  north- 
ern to  our  southern  boundary.  The  crest  of  the  SieiTa  Ne- 
vada is  so  high  and  continuous  that  fcxr  a  thousand  miles 
it  shows  no  passes  less  than  five  thousand  feet  above  the  sea, 
and  yet,  at  three  points  there  are  gate-ways  opened  in  this 
wall,  by  which  it  may  be  passed  but  little  above  the  sea-level. 
These  are  the  canons  of  the  Sacramento  (Pit  River),  the 
Klamath  and  the  Columbia.  AH  these  are  gorges  cut 
through  this  great  dam  by  the  drainage  of  the  interior  of  the 
continent.  In  the  lapse  of  ages  the  cutting  down  of  this 
barrier  has  progressed  to  such  an  extent  as  almost  com- 
pletely to  empty  the  great  water  basins  that  once  existed 
behind  it,  and  leave  the  interior  the  arid  waste  that  it  is — 
the  only  real  desert  on  the  North  American  Continent. 

The  Sierra  Nevada  is  older  than  the  Coast  Mountains, 
and  projected  above  the  ocean,  though  not  to  its  present 
altitude,  previous  to  the  Tertiary  and  even  Cretaceous  ages. 
This  we  learn  from  the  fact,  that  strata  belonging  to  these 
formations  cover  its  base,  but  reach  only  a  few  hundred  feet 
up  its  flanks.  The  mass  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  is  composed 
of  granitic  rocks,  associated  with  which  are  metamorphio 
slates,  proved  by  the  California  Survey  to  be  of  Triassic  and 
Jurassic  age.  These  slates  are  traversed  in  many  localities 
by  veins  of  quartz,  which  are  the  repositories  of  the  gold 
that  has*  made  California  so  famous  among  the  mining  dis- 
tricts of  the  world. 


THEIB  DEPOSITS   AND  DRAINAGE.  645 

East  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  we  find  a  high  and  broad  pla- 
teau, five  hundred  miles  in  width,  and  from  four  thousand  to 
eight  thousand  feet  in  altitude,  which  stretches  eastward  to 
the  base  of  the  Bocky  Mountains,  and  reaches  southward 
far  into  Mexico.  Of  this  interior  elevated  area  the  Sierra 
Nevada  forms  the  western  margin,  on  which  it  rises  like  a 
wall.  It  is  evident  that  this  mountain  belt  once  formed  the 
Pacific  coast;  and  it  would  seem  that  then  tliis  lofty  wall 
was  raised  upon  the  edge  of  the  continent  to  defend  it  from 
the  action  of  the  ocean  waves.  In  tracing  the  sinuous  out- 
line of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  it  will  be  seen  that  its  crest  is 
crowned  by  a  series  of  lofty  volcanic  cones,  and  that  one  of 
these  is  placed  at  each  conspicuous  angle  in  its  line  of  bear- 
ing, so  that  it  has  the  appearance  of  a  gigantic  fortification, 
of  which  each  salient  and  reentering  angle  is  defended  by  a 
massive  and  lofty  tower. 

The  central  portion  of  the  high  table  lands,  to  which  I 
have  referred,  was  called  by  Fremont  the  Great  Basin,  from 
the  fact  that  it  is  a,  hydrographic  basin,  its  waters  having  no 
outlet  to  the  ocean.  The  'northern  part  of  this  area  is 
drained  by  the  Columbia,  the  southern  by  the  Colorado.  Of 
these  the  Columbia  makes  its  way  into  the  ocean  by  the 
gorge  it  has  cut  in  the  Cascade  Mountains,  through  which  it 
flows  nearly  at  the  sea  level ;  while  the  Colorado  reaches 
the  Grulf  of  California  through  a  series  of  canons,  of  which  the 
most  important  is  nearly  one  thousand  miles  in  length,  and 
from  three  thousand  to  six  thousand  feet  in  depth.  In  vol- 
ume VI.  of  the  Pacific  Railroad  Beports,  I  have  described  a 
portion  of  the  country  drained  by  the  Columbia,  and  have 
given  the  facts  that  led  me  to  assert  that  the  gorge  through 
which  it  passes  the  Cascade  Mountains  has  been  excavated 
by  its  waters ;  and  that  previous  to  the  cutting  down  of  this 
barrier  these  waters  accumulated  to  form  great  fresh-water 
lakes,  which  left  deposits  at  an  elevation  of  more  than 
two  thousand  feet  above  the  present  bed  of  the  Cglumbia. 
Similar  facts  were  observed  in  the  country  drained  by  the 


646  THE   ANCIENT  LAKES   OF  WESTERN  AMERICA: 

Klamath  and  Pit  Rivers,  and  all  pointed  to  the  same  con- 
clusion. 

In  all  this  region  I  observed  certain  peculiarities  of  geo- 
logical structure  that  have  been  remarked  by  most  of  those 
who  have  traversed  the  interval  between  the  Sierra  Nevada 
and  the  Rocky  Mountains.  In  the  northern  and  middle  por- 
tions of  the  great  table  lands  the  general  surface  is  some- 
what thickly  set  by  short  and  isolated  mountain  ranges, 
which  have  been  denominated  the  *<Lost  Mountains." 
These  rise  like  islands  above  the  level  of  the  plain,  and  are 
composed  of  volcanic  or  metamorphic  rocks.  The  spaces 
between  these  mountains  are  nearly  level,  desert  surfaces, 
of  which  the  underlying  geological  structure  is  often  not 
easily  observed.  Toward  the  north  and  west,  however, 
wherever  we  come  upon  the  tributaries  of  the  Columbia,  the 
Klamath  or  Pit  Rivers,  we  find  the  plateaus  more  or  less  cut 
by  these  streams  and  their  substructure  revealed. 

Here  the  underlying  rocks  are  nearly  horizontal,  and 
consist  of  a  variety  of  deposits  varying  much  in  color  and 
consistence.  Some  are  coarse  Vblcauic  ash  with  fragments  of 
pumice  and  scoria.  Others  I  have  in  my  notes  denominated 
**  concrete,"  as  they  pi*ecisely  resemble  the  old  Roman  cement 
and  are  composed  of  the  same  materials.  In  many  localities 
these  strata  are  as  fine  and  white  as  chalk,  and,  though  con- 
taining little  or  no  carbonate  of  lime,  they  have  been  re- 
ferred to  as  ** chalk-beds"  by  most  travellers  who  have 
visited  this  region.  Specimens  of  this  chalk-like  material 
gave  me  my  first  hint  of  the  true  history  of  these  deposits. 
These,  collected  on  the  head  waters  of  Pit  River,  the 
Klamath,  the  Des  Chutes,  Columbia  and  elsewhere,  were 
transmitted  for  examination  to  Professor  Bailey,  then  our 
most  skilled  microscopist.  Almost  the  last  work  he  did  be- 
fore his  untimely  death  was  to  report  to  me  the  results  of 
his  observation  on  them.  This  repoi*t  was  as  harmonious  as 
it  was  unexpected.  In  every  one  of  the  chalk-like  deposits 
to  which  I  have  referred  he  found  Jresh-water  diatomaceoe. 


THEIB  DEPOSITS  AND  DBAINAOE.  647 

From  the  stratification  and  horizontality  of  these  deposits, 
I  had  been  fully  assured  that  th^y  were  thrown  down  from 
great  bodies  of  water  that  filled  the  spaces  separating  the 
more  elevated  portions  of  the  interior  basin,  and  here  I  had 
evidence  that  this  water  was  fresh.  Since  that  time  a  vast 
amount  of  evidence  has  accumulated  to  confirm  the  general 
view  then  taken  of  the  changes  through  which  the  surface  of 
this  portion  of  our  continent  has  passed.  From  South- 
western Idaho  and  Eastern  Oregon  I  have  now  received 
large  collections  of  animal  and  vegetable  fossils  of  great  va- 
riety and  interest.  Of  these  the  plants  have  been,  for  the 
most  part,  collected  by  Bev.  Thomas  Condon,  of  the  Dalles, 
Oregon,  who  has  exposed  hintiself  to  great  hardship  and 
danger  in  his  several  expeditions  to  the  localities  in  Eastern 
Oregon,  where  these  fossils  are  found.  The  plants  obtained 
by 'Mr.  Condon  are  apparently  of  Miocene  age,  forming 
twenty  or  thirty  species,  nearly  all  new  and  such  as  repre- 
sent a  forest  growth  as  varied  and  luxuriant  as  can  be  now 
found  on  any  portion  of  our  continent. 

The  animal  remains  contained  in  these  fresh-water  depos- 
its have  cooae  mostly  from  the  banks  of  Castle  Creek,  in  the 
Owyhee  district,  Idaho.  The  specimens  I  have  received 
were  sent  me  by  Mr.  J.  M.  Adams,  of  Ruby  City. '  They 
consist  of  the  bones  of  the  mastodon,  rhinoceros,  horse,  elk 
and  other  large  mammals,  of  which  the  species  are  probably 
in  some  cases  new,  in  others  identical  with  those  obtained 
from  the  fresh-water  Tertiaries  of  the  ''Bad  Lands"  by  Dr. 
Hayden.  With  these  mammalian  remains  are  a  few  bones 
of  birds  and  great  numbers  of  the  bones  and  teeth  of  fishes. 
These  last  are  cyprinoids  allied  to  MylopJiarodon^  Miloche" 
ilus^  etc.,  and  some  of  the  species  attained  a  length  of  three 
feet  or  more.  .  There  are  also  in  this  collection  large  num- 
bers of  fresh-water  shells  of  the  genera  Uhio^  Oorbicula^ 
Melania  and  Planorbis.*     All  these  fossils  show  that  at  one 

*  One  of  the  most  common  la  a  speeles  of  T(ara  oloselj  resembUnf  an  Eait  Indian  onfl^ 
Willie  tbe  feaai  no  longer  ezlsU  In  thli  conttnenL 


648    THE  ANCIENT  LAKES  OF  WESTERN  AMERICA  : 

period  in  the  history  of  our  continent»  and  that  geologically 
speaking  quite  recent,  the  region  under  consideration  was 
thickly  set  with  lakes,  some  of  which  wei*e  of  larger  size 
and  greater  depth  than  the  great  fresh- water  lakes  which  now 
lie  upon  our  northern  frontier.  Between  these  lakes  were 
areas  of  dry  land  covered  with  a  luxuriant  and  beautiful 
vegetation,  and  inhabited  by  heixls  of  elephants  and  other 
great  mammals,  such  as  could  only  inhabit  a  well-watered 
and  fertile  country.  In  the  streams  flowing  into  these  lakes, 
and  in  the  lakes  themselves,  were  great  numbers  of  fishes 
and  mollusks  of  species,  which,  like  the  others  I  have  enu- 
merated, have  now  disappeared.  At  that  time,  as  now,  the 
great  lakes  formed  evaporating  surfaces,  which  produced 
showers  that  vivified  all  their  shores.  Every  year,  however, 
saw  something  removed  from  the  barriers  over  which  their 
surplus  water  flowed  to  the  sea  and,  in  the  lapse  of  time, 
they  were  drained  to  the  dregs.  In  the  Klamath  lakes,  and 
in  San  Francisco,  San  Pablo  and  Suisun  bays,  we  have  the 
last  remnants  of  these  great  bodies  of  water;  while  the 
drainage  of  the  Columbia  lakes  has  been  so  complete,  that 
in  some  instances,  the  streams  which  traverse  their  old  basius 
have  cut  two  thousand  feet  into  the  sediments  which  accumu- 
lated beneath  their  waters. 

The  history  of  this  old  lake  country,  as  it  is  recorded  in 
the  alternations  of  strata  which  accumulated  at  the  bottoms 
of  its  water  basins,  will  be  found  to  be  full  of  interest.  For 
while  these  strata  furnish  evidence  that  there  were  long  in- 
tervals when  peace  and  quiet  prevailed  over  this  region,  and 
animal  and  vegetable  life  flourished  as  they  now  do  nowhere 
on  the  continent,  they  also  prove  that  this  quiet  was  at  times 
disturbed  by  the  most  violent  volcanic  eruptions,  from  a 
number  of  distinct  centres  of  action,  but  especially  from  the 
great  craters  which  crowned  the  summit  of  the  Sierra  Ne- 
vada. From  these  came  showers  of  ashes  which  must  have 
covered  the  land  and  filled  the  water  so  as  to  destroy  im- 
mense numbers  of  the   inhabitants  of  both.     These  ashes 


THEIB  DEPOSITS   AND  DRAINAGE.  649 

formed  strata  which  were,  in  some  instances  ten  or  twenty 
feet  in  thickness.  At  other  times  the  volcanic  action  was 
still  more  intense,  and  floods  of  lava  were  poured  out  which 
formed  continuous  sheets,  hundreds  of  miles  in  extent,  pen- 
etrating far  into  the  lake-basins,  and  giviug  to  their  bottoms 
floors  of  solid  basalt.  When  these  cataclysms  had  passed, 
quiet  was  again  restored,  forests  again  covered  the  land, 
herds  dotted  its  pastures,  fishes  peopled  the  waters,  and  fine 
sediments  abounding  in  forms  of  life  accumulated  in  new 
sheets  above*  the  strata  of  cooled  lava.  The  banks  of  the 
Des  Chutes  River  and  Columbia  afford  splendid  sections  of 
these  lake  deposits,  where  the  history  I  have  so  hastily 
sketched  may  be  read  as  from  an  open  book. 

But,  it  will  be  said  that  there  are  portions  of  the  great 
central  plateau  which  have  not  been  drained  in  the  manner  I 
have  described.  For,  here  are  basins  which  have  no  outlets, 
and  which  still  hold  sheets  of  water  of  greater  or  less  area, 
such  as  those  of  Pyramid  Lake,  Salt  Lake,  etc.  The  history 
of  these  baMns  is  very  different  from  that  of  those  already 
mentioned  but  not  less  interesting  nor  easily  read.  By  the 
complete  drainage  of  the  northern  and  southern  thirds  of  the 
plateau  through  the  channels  of  the  Columbia  and  Colorado, 
the  water  surface  of  this  gi-eat  area  was  reduced  to  the  tenth 
or  one-hundredth  part  of  the  space  it  previously  occupied. 
Hence,  the  moisture  suspended  in  the  atmosphere  was  di- 
minished in  like  degree,  and  the  dry  hot  air,  sweeping  over 
the  plains,  licked  up  the  water  from  the  undrained  lakes 
until  they  were  reduced  to  their  present  dimensions.  Now, 
as  formerly,  they  receive  the  constant  flow  of  the  streams 
that  drain  into  them  from  the  mountains  on  the  east  and 
west,  but  the  evaporation  is  so  rapid  that  their  dimensions 
are  not  only  not  increased  thereby,  but  are  steadily  dimin- 
ishing from  year  to  year.  Around  many  of  these  lakes,  as 
Salt  Lake,  for  example,  just  as  around  the  margins  of  the 
old  drained  lakes,  we  can  trace  former  shore  lines  and  meas- 
ure the  depression  of  the  water  level.     Many  of  these  lakes 

AMER.  NATURALIST,  VOL.   IV.  82 


650  THE   ANCIENT  LAKES   OF   WESTERN   AMERICA: 

of  the  Great  Basin  have  been  completely  dried  up  by  evap- 
oration, and  now  their  places  are  marked  by  alkaline  plains 
or  ^salt  flats."  Others  exist  as  lakes  only  during  a  portion 
of  the  year,  and  in  the  dry  season  are  represented  by  sheets 
of  glittering  salt.  Even  those  that  remain  as  lakes  are 
necessarily  salt,  as  they  are  but  great  evaporating  pans  where 
the  drainage  from  the  mountains — which  always  contains  a 
poi*tion  of  saline  matter — is  concentrated  b3^  the  sun  and 
wind  until  it  becomes  a  saturated  solution  and  deposits  its 
surplus  salts  upon  the  bottom. 

The  southern  portion  of  the  great  central  table  land — that 
which  has  been  denominated  the  Colorado  Plateau — is  al- 
most without  mountain  barriers  or  local  basins,  and  we, 
therefore,  find  upon  it  fewer  traces  of  ancient  lakes,  though 
they  are  not  entirely  wanting.  It  is  apparent,  however,  that 
this  high  plateau,  which  stretches  away  for  several  hundred 
miles  west  of  the  Bocky  Mountains,  was  once  a  beautiful 
and  fertile  district.  The  Colorado  draining  then,  as  now, 
the  western  ranges  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  spread  over  the 
surface  of  this  plateau,  enriching  and  vivifying  all  parts  of 
it.  When  it  reached  the  western  margin  of  the  table  land, 
however,  it  poured  over  a  precipice  or  slope  five  thousand 
feet  in  height,  into  the  Gulf  of  California,  which  then 
reached  several  hundred  miles  farther  north  than  now.  In 
process  of  time  the  power  developed  by  this  stupendous 
fall  cut  away  the  rock  beneath  the  flowing  water,  and  formed 
that  remarkable  gorge  to  which  I  have  already  referred. 
This  gorge  is  nearly  one  thousand  miles  in  length  and  from 
three  thousand  to  six  thousand  feet  in  depth,  and  is  cut 
through  all  the  series  of  sedimentary  rocks  from  the  Tertiary 
to  the  granite,  and  has  worn  out  the  granite  to  a  depth  of 
from  six  hundred  to  eight  hundred  feet.  Just  in  proportion 
as  the  Colorado  deepened  its  channel,  the  region  bordering 
it  became  more  dry,  until  ultimately  the  drainage  from  the 
mountains  passed  through  it  in  what  may  be  even  termed 
*^  underground  channels,"  and  contributed  almost   nothing 


THEIR   DEPOSITS   AND   DRAINAGE.  651 

to  the  moisture  of  the  surrounding  country.  The  reason 
why  the  walls  of  this  canon  stand  up  in  such  awful  preci- 
pices of  thousands  of  feet  is,  that  the  perennial  flow  of  the 
stream  is  derived  from  far  distant  mountains ;  almost  no  rain 
fklls  upon  its  banks,  and  when  any  portion  of  the  bordering 
cliff  has  passed  beyond  the  reach  of  the  stream,  it  stands 
almost  unaffected  by  atmospheric  influences. 

On  the  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  lies  the  country  of 
the  ^  plains,"  a  region  not  unlike  in  its  topography  to  the 
great  plateau  of  the  West,  but  differing  in  this :  that  it  is  not 
bordered  on  the  east  by  a  continuous  mountain  chain ;  that  it 
slopes  gently  downward  to  the  Mississippi,  and  that  its  east- 
ern half  has  been  so  well  watered  that  the  valleys  have  been 
made  broad  and  all  its  topographical  features  softened  down. 
In  former  times,  however,  the  topographical  unity  now  con- 
spicuous on  the  plains  did  not  exist,  and  the  surface  was 
marked  by  a  series  of  great  basins  which  received  the  flow 
of  water  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  formed  lakes,  less 
numerous,  it  is  true,  but  of  greater  extent  than  those  of  the 
far  West.  The  northern  portion  of  the  eastern  plateau  has 
been  Dr.  Hayden's  chosen  field  of  exploration  for  many 
years ;  a  field  he  has  well  tilled,  and  from  which  he  has  ob- 
tained a  harvest  of  scientific  truth  which  will  form  for  him 
an  enduring  and  enviable  monument. 

Among  the  most  interesting  researches  of  Dr.  Hayden  in 
this  region,  are  the  studies  he  has  made  of  the  deposits 
which  have  accumulated  in  these  great  fresh-water .  basins. 
The  story  he  has  written  of  his  explorations  of  this  district 
has  been  so  well  and  fully  told  that  I  shall  not  attempt  to 
repeat  it.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  the  series  of  fresh-water 
basins  discovered  by  Dr.  Hayden  in  the  country  bordering 
the  Upper  Missouri  have  proved  to  be  as  rich  in  new  and  in- 
teresting forms  of  animal  and  vegetable  life  as  any  that  have 
been  found  upon  the  earth's  surface.  The  vertebrate  remains 
collected  by  Dr.  Hayden  have  been  studied,  described  and 
illustrated  by  Dr.  Liedy,  and  the  splendid  monograph  which 


652  THE   ANCIENT  LAKES   OF   WESTERN   AMERICA: 

he  has  published  of  these  fossils,  forms  a  contribution  to 
paleontology  not  second  in  value  or  interest  to  that  made  by 
Cuvier  in  his  illustrations  of  the  fossils  from  the  Paris  basin  ; 
nor  to  that  of  Falconer  and  Cautley,  descriptive  of  the  fos- 
sils of  the  Sewalik  hills  of  India. 

The  scarcely  less  voluminous  and  interesting  collections  of 
fossil  plants  made  by  Dr.  Hayden  have  been  placed  in  my 
hands  for  my  examination.  Of  these,  the  first  instalments 
were  described  and  drawn  some  years  since  as  a  contribution 
to  the  report  of  Colonel  W.  F.  Reynolds,  U.S.A.,  a  report 
not  yet  published  by  the  Government.  The  descriptions, 
however,  were  printed  in  the  Annals  of  the  Lyceum  of  Nat- 
ural History  of  New  York,  vol.  ix,  1868. 

The  general  conclusions  drawn  from  a  study  of  this  por- 
tion of  Dr.  Hayden's  collections  as  regards  the  floras  of  the 
Tertiary  and  Cretaceous  periods,  the  topography  and  climate 
of  the  interior  of  the  continent,  form  a  part  of  my  contribu- 
tion to  Colonel  Reynolds*  report.  Since  that  report  was 
written,  however,  very  large  additions  have  been  made  to 
our  knowledge  of  our  later  extinct  floras,  by  collections  of 
fossil  plants  made  in  different  portions  of  the  western  part 
of  our  continent  by  Dr.  Hayden,  Mr.  Condon,  Dr.  Le  Conte 
and  myself;  and  also  by  the  collections  made  by  Mr.  W.  H. 
Dall  and  Captain  Howard  in  Alaska,  and  by  several  explor- 
ers on  the  continent  of  Greenland. 

Deferring  for  the  present  a  comparison  of  the  plants  de- 
rived from  strata  of  similar  age  in  these  widely  separated 
localities,  and  the  inferences  deducible  from  them  as  regards 
the  physical  geography  of  our  continent,  I  will  say  that  the 
flora  and  fauna  of  the  lake  deposits  on  both  sides  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  apparently  belong  to  one  and  the  same 
geological  age,  and  tell  the  same  story  in  regard  to  the  to- 
pography, climate,  conditions  and  development  of  animal 
and  vegetable  life.  There  is  this  striking  difference,  how- 
ever, perceptible  at  the  first  glance  between  the  fresh-water 
Tertiaries  of  the  east  and  west.     In  Oregon,  Idaho  and 


THEIB  DEPOSITS  AND  DBAINAGE.  653 

Nevada,  volcanic  materials  have  accumulated  in  the  lake 
basins  to  a  much  greater  extent  than  east  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains ;  and  we  have  abundant  evidence  that  during  the 
Tertiary  period  the  western  margin  of  the  continent  was  the 
scene  of  far  greater  volcanic  activity  than  we  have  any  record 
of  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  belt. 

The  deposits  formed  by  the  lake  basins  of  the  Upper  Mis- 
souri region  are  shales,  marls  and  earthy  limestones,  with 
immense  quantities  of  lignite,  but  with  almost  no  traces  of 
volcanic  products.  The  number  of  fossil  plants  and  animals 
is  much  greater  there  than  farther  West ;  and  we  have,  in 
these  deposits,  proof  that  during  unnumbered  ages  this  por- 
tion of  the  continent  exhibited  a  diversified  and  beautiful 
surface,  which  sustained  a  luxuriant  growth  of  vegetation 
and  an  amount  of  animal  life  far  in  excess  of  what  it  has 
done  in  modern  times.  This  condition  of  things  existed 
long  enough  for  hundreds  and  even  thousands  of  feet  of 
sediment  to  accumulate  in  the  bottoms  of  extensive  fresh- 
water  lakes.  These  lakes  were  gradually  and  slowly  dimin- 
ished in  area  by  the  filling  up  of  their  basins  and  by  the 
slow  wearing  away  of  the  barriers  over  which  passed  their 
gently  flowing,  draining  streams.  Since  the  deposition  of 
the  fresh-water  Tertiaries,  which  occupy  the  places  of  the 
old  lakes,  great  changes  have  taken  place  in  the  topography 
of  this  region  by  the  upheaval  of  portions  of  the  Rocky 
Mountain  ranges.  .In  some  localities  these  lake  deposits  are 
found  turned  up  on  edge  and  resting  on  the  flanks  of  the 
mountains  which  border  the  plains  on  the  west.  It  is  cer- 
tain, however,  that  much  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  belt  existed 
anterior  to  this  date.*  We  have  in  these,  and  many  other 
facts  that  might  be  cited,  proofs  of  the  truth  of  the  assertion 
I  have  elsewhere  made  that  these  great  mountain  chains, 
though  existing  at  least  in  embryo  from  the  earliest  paleo- 
zoic ages,  have,  since  then,  been  subject  to  many  and  varied 
modifications — that  they  have  been,  in  fact,  hinges  upon 
which  the  great  plates  of  the  continent  have  turned — lines 


654  THE  ANCIENT  LAKES   OF  WESTERN  AMERICA: 

of  weakness  where  the  changes  of  level  experienced  by  the 
continent  have  been  most  sensibly  felt. 

It  is  a  somewhat  remarkable  fact  that  the  collections  of 
fossil  plants  made  by  Dr.  Hayden  from  different  localities 
differ  so  much  among  themselves.  In  every  newly  discov- 
ered plant-bed  he  has  obtained  more  or  less  species  of  which 
we  before  had  no  knowledge,  and  it  is  even  true  that  between 
some  of  his  collections  there  are  no  connecting  links.  It  is 
also  true  that  much  of  the  material  he  has  collected  has  not 
yet  received  the  study  it  needs.  From  these  facts  it  will  be 
seen  that  much  yet  remains  to  be  done  before  the  great  inter- 
val of  time  during  which  this  series  of  fresh-water  Tertiaries 
accumulated  can  be  divided  into  definite  periods,  and  before 
we  can  venture  to  affirm  that  a  flora  of  any  epoch  had  such 
or  such  a  botanical  character  and,  therefore,  this  or  that 
average  annual  temperature.  Some  interesting  facts  (Ame 
out,  however,  at  once  in  the  examination  of  these  materials ; 
to  these  I  will  briefly  refer. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  Cretaceous  age,  North  America, 
as  we  know,  j>resented  a  broad  land  surface,  having  a  climate 
similar  to  the  present,  and  covered  with  forests  consisting, 
for  the  most  part,  of  trees  belonging  to  the  same  genera  with 
those  that  now  flourish  upon  it.  In  the  progress  of  the  Cre- 
taceous age,  the  greater  part  of  the  continent  west  of  the 
Mississippi  sank  beneath  the  ocean,  and  the  deposits  made 
during  the  later  portions  of  the  Cretaceous  age  contain  a 
vegetation  more  tropical  in  character  than  that  which  had 
preceded  it.  It  seems  probable  that  at  this  time  the  lands 
which  existed  as  such,  west  of  the  Mississippi,  were  islands 
of  limited  extent,  washed  by  the  Gulf  Stream,  which  appar- 
ently had  then  a  course  noi*th  and  west  from  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  to  the  Arctic  Sea. 

The  earlier  Tertiary  epochs  were,  however,  marked  by  an 
emergence  of  the  continent  and  a  gradual  approach  to  previ- 
ous and  present  conditions.  This  is  indicated  by  the  fact 
that  the  oldest  Tertiary  deposits  (Eocene?)  contain  a  flora 


THEIR  DEPOSITS   AND  DRAINAGE.  655 

less  like  the  present  than  is  that  of  the  Miocene  or  Middle 
Tertiary,  In  this  category  of  older  deposits  with  a  more 
tropical  flora,  I  would  place  the  Green  River  Tertiary  beds, 
those  of  Mississippi  studied  by  Lesquereux,  and  those  of 
Brandon,  Vermont! 

In  the  Miocene  age,  the  continental  surface  was  broader, 
the  lake  basins  of  the  West  contained  only  fresh  water,  and 
the  land  surface  was  covered  with  a  vegetation  very  much 
like  that  of  the  present  day ;  a  number  of  Miocene  species 
still  existing.  The  climate  of  the  continent  in  the  Miocene 
age  was  much  milder  than  now.  Fan-palms  then  grew  as 
far  north  as  the  Yellowstone  Kiver,  and  a  flora  flourished  in 
Alaska  and  on  Greenland  as  varied  and  as  luxuriant  as  now 
grows  along  the  fortieth  parallel.  At  this  time  there  must 
have  been  some  sort  of  land  connection  between  our  conti- 
nent and  Europe  on  the  one  hand  and  Asia  on  the  other. 
The  flora  of  all  these  regions  was  essentially  the  same,  and  a 
large  number  of  plants  were  common  to  the  three  continents. 
In  this  age  the  mammalian  fauna  of  our  continent  exhibited 
the  same  remarkable  development  that  it  did  in  Europe  and 
Asia;  and  over  our  western  plains  roved  herds  of  great 
quadrupeds  rivalling  in  number  and  variety  those  that  have 
struck  with  wonder  and  surprise  every  traveller  in  South 
Africa. 

This  state  of  things  seems  to  have  continued  through  the 
Pliocene  age  and  up  to  the  time  when  the  climate  of  the 
continent  was  completely  revolutioned  by  the  advent  of. 
the  *^Ice  period."  The  change  which  took  place  at  that  time 
was  such  as  taxes  the  imagination  to  conceive  of,  as  much  as 
it  taxes  the  reasoning  powers  to  explain. 

We  have  seen  that  in  the  Middle  Tertiary  age  the  climate 
of  Alaska  and  Greenland  was  that  of  New  York  and  St. 
Louis  at  present.  In  the  next  succeeding  period,  the  glacial 
epoch,  the  present  climate  of  Greenland  was  brought  down 
to  New  York,  and  all  the  northern  portion  of  the  continent 
wrapped  in  ice  and  snow.     This  change  was  undoubtedly 


656  THE   ANCIENT  LAKES  OF  WESTERN  AliERICA  : 

gradual  (for  nature  does  not  often  "turn  a  corner'*),  but  it  is 
plain  that  it  must  have  resulted  in  the  gradual  driving  south- 
ward of  all  the  varied  forms  of  animal  and  vegetable  life 
that  were  spread  over  the  continent  to  the  Arctic  Sea. 
When  glaciers  reached  as  far  south  as  the  fortieth  parallel  it 
is  evident  that  a  cold-temperate  climate  prevailed  in  Mexico, 
and  that  only  in  the  south  of  Mexico  would  the  average  an- 
nual temperature  have  been  what  it  was  previously  in  the 
latitude  of  New  York.  We  must  conclude,  therefore,  that 
the  herds  of  mammals  which  once  covered  the  plains  of  the 
interior  of  North  America  were  forced  by  the  advancing  cold 
into  such  narrow  limits  in  Southern  Mexico  that  nearly  all 
were  exterminated.  Plants  bore  their  expatriation  better; 
inasmuch  as  a  tree,  even  of  the  most  gigantic  size,  will  live 
upon  the  space  occupied  by  its  roots  provided  the  climatic 
conditions  are  favorable ;  while  one  of  the  larger  mammals 
would  require  at  least  a  thousand  times  this  space  for  its 
support.  As  a  consequence,  we  find  the  present  flora  of  our 
continent  much  more  like  that  of  the  Miocene  than  is  our 
fauna,  though  the  change  to  which  I  have  referred  seems 
to  have  been  fatal  to  quite  a  number  of  the  most  abundant 
and  interesting  of  our  Miocene  forest  trees.  Of  these,  the 
Glyptostrobua  may  be  taken  as  an  example.  This  was  a 
beautiful  conifer  which,  in  Miocene  times,  grew  all  over  our 
continent  and  over  Northern  Europe.  In  the  change  to  the 
glacial  period,  however,  it  was  exterminated,  both  there  and 
here,  yet  continued  to  exist  in  China — where  a  Miocene  col- 
ony from  America  had  taken  root — and  it  is  growing  there 
at  the  present  time.  This  great  ice-wedge  which  came  down 
from  the  north  separated  very  widely  tnany  elements  in  our 
Miocene  flora  which  have  never  since  been  re-united,  so  that 
when  the  storm  had  passed  and  better  days  had  come,  and 
the  Mississippi  Valley  and  the  Atlantic  States  were  re-pos- 
sessed by  the  descendants  of  the  Tertiary  plants,  they  were 
still  separated,  by  many  thousand  miles,  from  their  brethren 
which  had  formerly  crossed  the  now  submei^ed  bridge  of 


THEIR   DEPOSITS   AND   DRAINAGE.  657 

Behring's  Straits;  and  thus  the  two  kindreds  have  been 
growing,  and  flowering,  and  seeding,  and  dying  in  each  col- 
ony far  beyond  the  reach  of  the  other,  and  developing  their 
peculiarities  each  in  its  own  way  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion. When  now  we  come  to  compare  the  present  flora  of 
China  and  Japan  with  that  of  the  edstern  half  of  our  conti- 
nent we  find  the  strongest  proofs  of  their  intimate  reiaticin- 
ship.  Many  of  the  species  are  identical,  while  others  are 
but  slightly  changed  and,  on  the  whole,  the  differences  are 
less  than  such  as  have  grown  out  of  separation  in  human 
kindred  colonies  in  an  infinitely  shorter  period. 

Among  the  great  mammals  that  formerly  inhabited  our 
continent  but  such  as  are  now  extinct,  there  were  some  which 
seem  to  have  bid  defiance  to  the  changes  I  have  detailed. 
These  were  particularly  the  mastodon  and  elephant,  both  of 
which  were  probably  capable  of  enduring  great  severity  of 
climate.  The  mammoth  we  know  was  well  defended  from 
the  cold  by  a  thick  coat  of  hair  and  wool,  and  was  probably 
capable  of  enduring  a  degree  of  cold  as  severe  as  that  in 
which  the  musk-ox  now  lives.  We  know  that  both  these 
great  monsters  —  the  elephant  and  mastodon — continued  to 
inhabit  the  interior  of  our  continent  long  after  the  glaciers 
had  retreated  beyond  the  upper  lakes,  and  when  the  minutest 
details  of  surface  topography  were  the  same  as  now.  This 
is  proven  by  the  fact  that  we  not  unfrequently  find  them  em* 
bedded  in  peat  in  marshes  which  are  still  marshes  where 
they  have  been  mired  and  suffocated.  It  is  even  claimed 
that  here,  as  on  the  European  continent,  man  was  acotem- 
porary  of  the  mammoth,  and  that  here  as  thei*e,  he  contrib- 
uted largely  to  its  final  extinction.  On  this  point,  however, 
more  and  better  evidence  than  any  yet  obtained  is  necessary 
before  we  can  consider  the  cotemporaneity  of  man  and  the 
elephant  in  America  as  proven.  The  wanting  proof  may  be 
obtained  to-morrow,  but  to-day  we  are  without  it. 

The  pictures  which  geology  holds  up  to  our  view  of  North 
America  during  the  Tertiary  ages,  are  in  all  respects  but 

AMRR.   NATURALIST,   VOL.   IV.  S8 


658  THE   ANCIENT  LAKES   OF   WESTERN   ABCERIGA  : 

one,  more  attractive  and  interesting  than  could  be  drawn 
from  its  present  aspects.  Then  a  warm  and  genial  climate 
prevailed  from  the  Gulf  to  the  Arctic  Sea;  the  Canadian 
highlands  were  higher,  but  the  Rocky  Mountains  lower  and 
less  broad.  Most  of  the  continent  exhibited  an  undulating 
surface ;  rounded  hills  and  broad  valleys  covered  with  forests 
grander  than  any  of  the  present  day,  or  wide  expanses  of 
rich  savanuah  over  which  roamed  countless  herds. of  animals, 
many  of  gigantic  size,  of  which  our  present  meagre  fauna 
retains  but  a  few  dwarfed  representatives.  Noble  rivers 
flowed  through  plains  and  valleys,  and  sea-like  lakes  broader 
and  more  numerous  than  those  the  continent  now  bears  di- 
versified the  scenery.  Through  unnumbered  ages  the  sea- 
sons ran  their  ceaseless  course,  the  sun  rose  and  set,  moons 
waxed  and  waned  over  this  fair  land,  but  no  human  eye  was 
there  to  mark  its  beauty  or  human  intellect  to  control  and 
use  its  exuberant  fertility.  Flowers  opened  their  many- 
colored  petals  on  meadow  and  hill-side,  and  filled  the  air 
with  their  fragrance,  but  only  for  the  delectation  of  the  wan- 
dering bee.  Fruits  ripened  in  the  sun,  but  there  was  no 
hand  there  to  pluck,  nor  any  speaking  tongue  to  taste. 
Birds  sang  in  the  trees,  but  for  no  ears  but  their  own.  The 
surface  of  lake  or  river  was  whitened  by  no  sail,  nor  fur- 
rowed by  any  prow  but  the  breast  of  the  water  fowl ;  and 
the  far-reaching  shores  echoed  no  sound  but  the  dash  of  the 
waves,  and  the  lowing  of  the  herds  that  slaked  their  thii*st 
in  the  crystal  waters. 

Life  and  beauty  were  everywhere ;  and  man,  the  great 
destroyer,  had  not  yet  come,  but  not  all  was  peace  and  har- 
mony in  this  Arcadia.  The  forces  of  nature  are  always  at 
war,  and  redundant  life  compels  abundant  death.  The  in- 
numerable .  species  of  animals  and  plants  had  each  its  hered- 
itary enemy,  and  the  struggle  of  life  was  so  sharp  and  bitter 
that  in  the  lapse  of  ages  many  genera  and  species  were 
blotted  out  forever. 

The  herds  of  herbivores — which  included  nearly  all  the 


THEIB   DEPOSITS   AND  DRAINAGE.  659 

genera  now  living  on  the  earth's  surface,  with  many  strange 
forms  long  since  extinct — formed  the  prey  of  carnivores 
commensurate  to  these  in  power  and  numbers.  The  coo  of 
the  dove  and  the  whistle  of  the  quail  were  answered  by  the 
scream  of  the  eagle ;  and  the  lowing  of  herds  and  the  bleat- 
ing of  flocks  come  to  the  ear  of  the  imagination,  mingled 
with  the  roar  of  the  lion,  the  howl  of  the  wolf,  and  the  des- 
pairing cry  of  the  victim.  Yielding  to  the  slow-acting  but 
irresistible  forces  of  nature,  each  in  succession  of  these  va- 
rious animal  forms  has  disappeared  till  all  have  passed  away 
or  been  changed  to  their  modern  representatives,  while  the 
country  they  inhabited,  by  the  upheaval  of  its  mountains, 
the  deepening  of  its  valleys,  the  filling  and  draining  of  its 
great  lakes,  has  become  what  it  is. 

ThesQ  changes  which  I  have  reviewed  in  an  hour  seem  like 
the  swiftly  consecutive  pictures  of  the  phantasmagoria  or  the 
shifting  scenes  of  the  drama,  but  the  aeons  of  time  in  which 
they  were  effected  are  simply  infinite  and  incomprehensible 
to  us.  We  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that  terra  firma  was 
less  firm,  or  that  the  order  of  nature,  in  which  no  change  is 
recorded  within  the  historic  period,  was  less  constant  then 
than  now.  At  the  present  rate  of  change — throwing  out 
man's  influence — a  period  infinite  to  us  would  be  required 
to  revolutionize  the  climate,  flora  and  fauna,  and  there  is  no 
evidence  that  changes  were  more  rapid  during  the  Tertiary 
ages. 

Every  day  sees  something  taken  from  the  rocky  barrier  of 
Niagara;  and,  geologically  speaking,  at  no  remote  time  our 
great  lakes  will  have  shared  the  fate  of  those  that  once  ex- 
isted at  the  far  West.  Already  they  have  been  reduced  to 
less  than  half  their  former  area — and  the  water  level  has 
been  depressed  three  hundred  feet  or  more.  This  process  is 
likely  to  go  on  until  they  are  completely  emptied. 

The  cities  that  now  stand  upon  their  banks  will,  ere  that 
time,  have  grown  colossal  in  size,  then  gray  with  age,  then 
have  fallen  into  decadence  and  their  sites  be  long  forgotten. 


660  THE   CHINESE   IN   SAN   FRANCISCO. 

but  in  the  sediments  that  are  now  accumulating  in  these  lake- 
basins  will  lie  many  a  wreck  and  skeleton ,  tree-trunk  and 
floated  leaf.  Near  the  city  sites  and  old  river  mouths  these 
sediments  will  be  full  of  relics  that  will  illustrate  and  ex*- 
plain  the  mingled  comedy  and  tragedy  of  human  life.  These 
relics  the  geologist  of  the  future  will  probably  gather  and 
study  and  moralize  over  as  we  do  the  records  of  the  Tertiary 
siges.  Doubtless  he  will  be  taught  the  same  lesson  we  are, 
that  human  life  is  infinitely  short,  and  human  achievement  ut- 
terly insignificant.  Let  us  hope  that  this  future  man,  purer 
in  morals  and  clearer  in  intellect  than  we,  may  find  as  much 
to  admire  in  the  records  of  this  first  epoch  of  the  reign  of 
man,  as  we  do  in  those  of  the  reign  of  mammals. 


■     o 


THE  CHINESE  IN  SAN  FRANCISCO. 

BT  REV.   A.   P.  PEABODY,  D.D. 

The  Chinese  form  from  a  seventh  to  a  fifth  part  of  the 
entire  population  of  San  Francisco,  and  are  seen  in  consid- 
erable numbers  in  all  parts  of  California.  They  mingle  with 
no  other  race ;  they  learn  or  profess  to  know  enough  and 
only  enough  of  the  English  tongue  to  transact  their  neces- 
sary business  with  their  employers;  and  in  San  Francisco 
they  live  almost  wholly  in  their  own  crowded  quarters,  which 
constitute  in  all  respects  a  city  by  itself. 

In  the  street  tl^ey  are  the  cleanest  and  neatest  of  people. 
Every  man  and  boy  has  his  queue  of  hair,  as  long  as  himself, 
nicely  wrapped  in  silk  braid,  and  generally  rolled  round  the 
head.  Their  principal  garment  is  a  dark  blue,  close-fitting 
frock.     Their  shoes  are  of  silk  or  cloth,  with  felt  soles. 

Their  houses  are  dirty  beyond  description.  Scores  and 
even  hundreds  of  them  are  sometimes  huddled  together  in 
the  same  building,  with  blankets  for  their  only  beds,  and 


THE  CHINESE   IN   SAN  FRANCISCO.  661 

almost  their  only  furniture.  In  these  houses  their  simple 
cooking  is  performed  in  the  long  halls  into  which  their  apart- 
ments open,  over  furnaces,  with  no  legitimate  outlet  for  the 
coal-smoke,  which  leaves  its  black  anci  greasy  deposit  half 
an  inch  thick  on  the  ceiling  and  walls.  I  went  into  seveml 
of  their  fashionable  restaurants,  and  found  them  hardly  less 
filthy  than  their  lodgings,  yet  with  a  marvellous  variety  of 
complicated  and  indescribable  delicacies,  which  a  year's  in- 
come of  the  establishment  might  have  tempted  me  to  touch, 
but  certainly  not  to  taste. 

Their  provision-shops  contain  little  except  pork,  and  that, 
seldom  in  a  form  in  which  it  would  be  recognized  by  an  un- 
practised eye.  Every  part  of  the  swine,  even  the  coagulated 
blood,  is  utilized ;  and  the  modes  in  which  the  various  por- 
tions of  the  beast  are  chopped,  minced,  wrapped  in  intes- 
tines, dried  almost  to  petrifaction,  commingled  with  nauseous 
seasonings,  pique  the  cmriosity  as  much  as  they  offend  the 
nostrils  of  the  American  observer. 

Their  theatres  offer  an  amazing  spectacle.  Their  perform- 
ances commence  early  in  the  forenoon,  and  last  till  midnight. 
Their  plays  are  said  to  be  historical,  and  they  are  often  con- 
tinued for  several  days.  The  scenery  is  simple,  cheap,  and 
gaudy,  and  is  never  changed.  The  costumes  are  isplendid, 
with  a  vast  amount  of  gilding  and  of  costly  materials,  but 
inexpressibly  grotesque,  and  many  of  the  actors  wear  hide- 
ous masks.  The  orchestra  consists  of  a  tom-tom  (which 
sounds  as  if  a  huge  brass  kettle  were  lustily  beaten  by  iron 
drumsticks),  and  several  of  the  shrillest  of  wind-instru- 
ments. The  noise  they  make  may  be  music  to  a  Chinese 
ear,  but  it  consists  wholly  of  the  harshest  discords,  and  each 
performer  seems  to  be  playing  on  his  own  account,  and  to  be 
intent  on  making  all  the  noise  he  can.  This  noise  is  uninter- 
rupted, and  the  actors  who  are  all  men  (men  playing  the 
female  parts  in  costume) ,  shout  their  parts  above  the  din  in 
a  falsetto  recitative,  monotonous  till  toward  the  close  of  a 
speech,  but  uniformly  winding  up  with  a  long-drawn,  many- 


662  THE   CHINESE   IN   SAN   FRANCISCO. 

quavered  whiue  or  howl.  The  performance  is  for  the  most 
part  literally  acting.  A  crowned  king  or  queen  is  commonly 
on  the  stage,  and  almost  always  comes  to  gi*ief.  Paities  of 
armed  men  meet  on  the  stage,  hold  sham-6ght8,  kick  each 
other  over,  and  force  the  sovereign  into  the  melee.  Then  a 
rebel  subject  plants  both  his  feet  in  the  monarch's  stomach, 
knocks  him  down,  and  himself  falls  backward  in  the  very 
act.  Thus  the  fight  goes  on,  and  gathers  fury  as  its  ranks 
are  thinned,  till  at  length  the  whole  stage  is  covered  with 
prostrate  forms,  which  lie  for  a  little  while  in  the  semblance 
of  death,  then  pick  themselves  up,  and  scud  off  behind  the 
scenes.  The  actors  live  in  the  theatre,  though  they  might 
seem  to  have  no  living-room.  I  went  into  the  principal 
theatre  one  morning,  before  the  actors,  who  had  been  per- 
forming until  a  late  hour,  had  arisen ;  and  I  found  them  lying 
in  one  of  the  passage-ways  in  several  tiers  of  holes,  so  nearly 
of  the  size  of  the  human  body  that  they  could  only  have 
wormed  themselves  in  feet  first. 

Gambling  is  one  of  their  passions.  There  are  ;iuraerou8 
gambling-houses  where  the  playing  goes  on  through  the 
whole  day  and  night,  with  an  orchestra  like  that  of  the  thea- 
tre, enriched  by  a  single  female  singer,  whose  song  seems  a 
loud,  shrill,  ear-piercing  monotone,  so  horrible  as  almost  to 
compel  the  belief  that  the  Chinese  ear  must  have  as  unique  a 
structure  as  if  it  belonged  to  a  different  species  from  ours. 

The  Chinese  exercise,  with  marvellous  skill,  all  the  me- 
chanical arts  and  trades,  and  have  as  large  a  variety  of  shops 
as  the  Americans,  with  wonderfully  rich  assortments  of 
goods,  including  works  in  wood-carving,  ivory  and  filigree, 
which  can  nowhere  be  surpassed  in  delicacy  and  beauty. 

Their  temples  or  josh-houses,  are  small  upper  rooms,  with 
hideously  grinning  idols,  overlaid  with  tinsel,  and  covered 
with  tawdry  ornaments,  on  an  elevated  platform  at  the  ex- 
tremity of  the  apartment.  Before  these  idols  a  dim  lamp  is 
always  burning,  and  a  table  is  spread  for  votive  offerings* 
which  are  generally  cups  of  tea  or  fruits.     These  apartments 


THE   CHINESE   IN  SAN  FBANCI8C0.  663 

are  in  the  buildings  maintained  by  the  Chinese  Emigrant 
Aid  Societies  as  reception-houses  and  hospitals, — vile  dens 
as  we  should  deem  them,  but,  it  is  said,  fully  level  with  a 
Chinaman's  notions  of  repose  and  comfort. 

These  people  are  by  no  means  unintelligent.  It  is  said 
that  there  are  none  of  them  who  cannot  read,  write,  and  cast 
aiccounts ;  and  there  are  among  them  some  men  of  high  edu- 
cation, polished  manners,  large  business,  and  friendly,  yet 
never  intimate  relations  with  their  brother-merchants. 

There  is  a  mission-house,  with  a  school  and  a  chapel ;  but 
the  missionary,  an  intelligent  man  and  an  indefatigable 
worker  (by  the  way,  my  guide  and  mentor  among  the 
theatres  and  gambling-houses,  in  which  he  seemed  very  much 
at  home,  on  the  principle  of  becoming  all  things  to  all  men)., 
told  me  that  he  had  gained  a  firm  hold  on  very  few ;  that  he 
found  it  almost  impossible  to  keep  a  small  congregation  to- 
gether through  a  very  short  service,  though  many  came  in  to 
listen  for  a  little  while ;  and  that  the  slightest  disturbance  in 
the  street,  even  the  passing  of  a  hand-organ,  would  instantly 
empty  his  chapel. 

These  Chinamen  are  generally  without  their  families ;  the 
numerous  women  that  live  in  their  quarters  being  with  very 
few  exceptions  persons  of  bad  character.  The  men  come  t€i 
this  country  with  the  purpose  of  remaining  but  a  few  years ; 
aud  if  they  die,  their  bodies  are  embalmed,  and  sent  home 
for  burial,  Chinese  corpses  sometimes  forming  a  vessel's 
entire  freight. 

The  Chinese  question  I  cannot  undertake  to  discuss  here. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that,  in  my  opinion,  all  that  can  be  hoped 
from  the  Chinese  is  the  supply  of  cheap  labor  which  is 
needed  for  the  rapid  development  of  a  new  country.  As 
to  making  these  people  citizens  who  will  even  prize  their 
rights,  still  more  exercise  them  judiciously,  or  changing  their 
older  and  to  them  satisfying  type  of  civilization  into  the 
Anglo-Saxon  Christian  type,  —  this  is  utterly  beyond  proba- 
bility or  hope.     If  the  Chinese  are  to  be  Christianized,  it 


(>64  THE  LTCOSA   AT  HOME. 

must  be  on  their  owii  soil,  and  with  no  invasiua  of  tbeir  bd- 
cestral  habits,  except  the  engratliug  upou  them  of  the 
morality  of  the  New  Testament. 


THE  LYCOSA  AT  HOME. 

BT  J.    H.    KUERTON. 

Last  spring  Mr.  J.  A. 
Liiitnor  noticed  on  the  sundy 
hills  west  of  Albany,  N,  Y., 
a  number  of  holes  about  lialf 
an  inch  in  diameter,  each 
suiTounded  by  a  ring  of 
sticks  and  bits  of  leaves 
loosely  fastened  together  by 
6ne  threads.  A  few  days 
afterward  {May  6),  1  care- 
fully opened  several  of  these 
holes  and  found  in  the  Imt- 
torn  of  each  a  large  spider, 
a  Lycosa.  The  holes  were 
from  six  to  eight  inches  deep 
and  lined  with  a  delicate  web, 
which  near  the  top  was  stout 
enough  to  be  separated  from 
the  sand,  forming  a  silken 
tube  attached  to  the  ring  of 
chips  around  the  mouth  of 
the  hole.  When  the  holes 
were  opened  the  spiders  lay 
still  in  the  bottom  and  al- 
Neit  of  L)f«..  lowed  themselves  to  be  taken 

out  witiiout  attempting  to  escape.     The  sand  at  the  bottom 


LI0UEN8   UNDER  THE  MICROSCOPE.  665 

of  the  holes  was  of  a  grayish  coloFy  but  there  were  no  remains 
of  insects  and  no  cast  skins  of  the  spider.  Before  opening 
the  holes  we  sounded  them  with  straws  and  tried  to  provoke 
the  spiders  to  come  out,  but  they  took  no  notice  of  it.  The 
drawing  represents  the  ring  of  leaves  and  sticks,  a  section  of 
the  tube,  and  the  spider  at  the  bottom,  all  of  the  natural  size* 


LICHENS  UNDER  THE  MICEOSCOPE. 

BT  H.  WILLBY. 

The  Lichens,  though  among  the  lowest,  are  also  among 
the  most  abundant  and  widely  distributed  orders  of  plants. 
They  are  the  earliest  to  cover  the  naked  rocks  with  vegeta- 
tion (though  none,  that  we  are  aware,  have  been  found  in  a 
fossil  condition),  and  by  their  decay,  to  prepare  a  soil,  on 
which  more  highly  organized  plants  can  flourish.  In  the 
Arctic  zone  some  species  are  so  abundant  as  to  furnish  the 
reindeer  with  the  food  necessary  for  his  subsistence,  and  are 
even  used  as  fodder  for  cattle  and  swine,  and  are  said  to  in- 
crease the  quantity  of  milk.  Kecently  they  have  been  used 
for  the  manufacture  of  brandy — a  very  poor  use  to  put  them 
to — and  were  formerly  much  employed  in  dyeing.  Hoff- 
man, in  his  work  on  the  uses  of  lichens,  gives  plates  of  over 
seventy-five  tints  obtained  from  them.  But  the  recent  sci- 
entific discoveries  in  this  art,  have  greatly  diminished  their 
use  for  this  purpose.  Some  were  formerly  used  for  medical 
pm'poses,  frequently  in  accordance  with  the  old  doctrine  of 
signatures.  Pdtigera  canina  was  supposed  to  cure  hydro- 
phobia ;  Sticta  pulmonai^^  the  consumption,  etc.  But  they 
are  now  considered  of  little,  if  any  importance,  in  medicine. 

Arctic  travellers  have  found  in  Umbilicaria,  called  tripe  de 
roche,  a  poor  and  bitter  substitute  for  food,  when  nothing 

▲MteR.  NATURALIST,  VOL.   IV.  84 


666  LICHENS  UNDER  THE  MICBO60OPE. 

better  could  be  obtained  ;  and  in  Sweden  bread  has  been  made 
uf  the  reindeer  lichen  in  times  of  famine. 

Lichens  abound,  also,  in  the  temperate  zone,  especially  in 
the  mountains  and  the  moist  regions  of  the  coast.  Nearly 
three  hundred  species  have  been  found  in  this  vicinity  (New 
Bedford).  The  number  of  known  species,  according  to  the 
most  recent  estimate  (Krempelhueber,  1865),  is  about  five 
thousand.  They  are  to  be  met  with  everywhere.  In  swamps 
the  trees  are  festooned  with  the  pendulous  Uanea.  The  foli- 
aceous  Parmelias,  Stictas,  etc.,  cover  their  trunks.  The 
rocks  and  stones  are  everywhere  covered  with  their  spread- 
ing crusts.  Some  species  grow  on  rocks  covered  with  fresh 
or  salt  water.  The  brown,  or  scarlet  fruited  Cladonias,  or 
'*cup  mosses,"  which  the  French  call  "herbe  du  feu"  are 
spread  over  the  earth.  Some  attain  a  diameter  of  two  feet 
or  more,  while  others  are  so  small  as  hardly  to  be  visible  to 
the  naked  eye.  Many  of  them  are  brilliantly  colored,  and 
exceedingly  beautiful.  They  may  be  collected  at  any  season 
of  .the  year,  are  easily  pi*eserved,  and  their  study,  though 
not  common  among  our  botanists,  owing,  in  a  great  degree, 
to  the  want  of  books  on  the  subject  in  this  country,  and  the 
necessity  of  using  the  microscope  in  order  to  become  prop- 
erly acquainted  with  them,  is  full  of  interest  and  instruction. 

In  the  natural  system  of  plants  the  lichens  belong  to  the 
Cryptogamous,  or  flowerless  series,  which  includes  the 
ferns,  mosses,  algae,  and  fungi.  They  rank  below  the 
mosses,  having  no  distinct  stem  or  foliage,  but  bearing  their 
fruit  on  a  foliaceous,  shrubby,  or  crustaceous  expansion, 
called  a  thallus,  whence  they  are  sometimes  called  Thallo- 
phytes.  They  have  affinities  on  the  one  side  with  the  algee, 
and  on  the  other  with  the  fungi,  and  by  some  botanists  have 
been  included  under  one  or  the  other  of  these  orders.  A 
recent  writer,. Schwendener,  has  propounded  the  theory  that 
they  are  a  compound  plant,  the  thallus  being  a  true  alga,  and 
the  apothecium  a  fungus ;  but  to  this  theory  no  true  licheuist 
will  be  likely  to  assent. 


LICHENS    UNDER   THE   HICROSCXIPE.  667 

The  distiitL'tive  features  of  lichens  consist  in  then-  having 
a  Ihullud  contaiuiiig  peculiar  green  cells,  called  gonidia,  and 
in  their  s|)ores  Iwiug  contained  in  asci,  or  epore-cascs.  In 
the  lalter  particular  the  ascomj'cetous  fungi  I'csenible  them, 
but  these  are  always  destitute  of  gonidiii.  A  bluish  reaction 
of  the  gelatiuous  substance  of  the  apothecia  is  also  character- 
istic of  most  lichens,  though  in  some  it  is  brown  or  red. 
In  the  fungi  the  reaction  with  rig.  m. 

iodine  is  yellow,  except  in  a 
very  few  instances,  where  it  is 
blue. 

In  order  to  investigate  more 
closely  the  structui'e  of  the 
licheiid,  let  us  take  any  folia- 
ceous  lichen,  Thelosckistes  pa^ 
rietinus {Fig.  13t<),  for  instance, 
the  cummou  orange-colored  wall 
lichen,  which ,  occurs  eveiy- 
wliei'e  oil  stones  and  trunks ; 
and  having  inserted  a  portion 
of  the  thallus  in  a  slit  made  in    S'*^'™  ;^  ",'«i""i'K  "^""''fViiJrl^ 

8  piece  of  soft  cork,  with  a  razor        "le^u'torr  J'lvn  <(.  mrwlor  myer. 

slice  off  as  thin  a  cross-section  as  possible,  and  put  it  on  a 
p.    ,y,  slide,  with  a  drop  of  water,  beneath  a 

piece  of  thin  glass,  under  the  lens  of  our 
microscope.  We  shall  see  that  it  ia  com- 
posed entirely  of  cellular  tissue,  differing 
in  this  respect  from  those  plants  which 
Imve  a  vascular  tissue.  The  upper  sur- 
fitce,  cl,  we  shall  perceive  to  consist  of  a 
Itiyer  of  cells  composed  of  this  tissue. 
'■^if"ii',^l^?^"i"'mQ.,Hifurm  N^"*'  beneath  this  is  a  stratum  of  round, 
■""""*  greenish  yellow  bodies,  ff,  called  gonidia ; 

then  a  stratum  of  elongated  cells  or  filaments,  ml,  crossing 
each  other  in  various  directions,  constituting  the  medullary 
layer ;  and  lastly  another  row  of  cells  forming  the  lower  sur- 


668  UCHEN8   TTNDBB   THE    HICBOSCOFB. 

face,  si,  and  from  which  proceed  the  slender  fibres  by  which 
the  plant  is  attached  to  the  matrix  on  which  it  grows.    These 
four  layers  make  up  the  tbailus  of  licbeus.     lu  some  genera, 
FiRHi.  18  Collema  (Fig.  140),  the  upper  cel- 

lular layer  is  wauting,  and  the  gonidia 
lie  close  to  the  surface;   in  others,  as 
Peltigera,  the  lower  is   deficient,   and 
bundles  of  long  fibres  proceed  imme- 
diately   from    the     medullary    layer. 
These  are  very  couspicuouB  aud  cu- 
far«,iia  «ipxi«i  ci.  ».niui  rioHS  in  Parmelta  colpodea  (Fig.  141). 
lEJu/erlTiiypoibii'i^"."    They  constitute  the  liypothallus,  which 
forms  the  substratum  ou  which  the  ottier  parts  of  the  tballua 
are  built  up. 

In  the  fruticulose  lichens,  which  bear  some  reBemblauce 
to  the  stem  of  a  plant,  the   thallua  is  fh.  na. 

more  or  less  rounded,  and  the  gouidia 
are  arranged  around  the  niedullai'y  layer 
as  an  axis.     In  Usiiea  (Fig.   142)  the 
thalliis  is  solid,  and  tlie  centre  is  com- 
posed of  u  mass  of  compact  filaments 
lying  parallel  to  the  axis.     In  other 
genera  it  is  hollow,  or  composed  of 
loose   filaments.     In    some  genera,  as 
Licbena,  the   medullary   filaments,    in- 
stead of  running  parallel  to  the  axis, 
diverge  from  the  centre  to  the  circum- 
ference.    In  many  crustoceous  lichens 
the  thallus  consists  of  hardly  more  than 
a  collection  of  gonidia,  sometime  buried 
beneath  the  bark,  and  of  few  filamen-    ^^^  haH^u.-  *  loiKriw- 
tary  elements.     In  these  the  hypothallus      el^-lli^u^^ul^u'Qir. 
often  forms  a  black  border  around  the  margin  of  the  thallus. 
The  gonidia  constitute  the  peculiar  characteristic  of  the 
lichen  thallus,  and   are   present  in  all  true  lichens,  their 
presence  being  almost  the  only  mark  by  which  some  can  be 


LICHENS   CNDES   THE   MICROSCOFB.  669 

distinguished  from  fungi.  There  are  some  parasitic  plaots, 
consistiug  only  of  apothecia,  which  grow  ou  the  thallus  of 
other  lichens,  called  by  Massalougo  aud  Koerber,  Pseutlo- 
licheDS,  which  are  considered  by  some  aa  fu  w 

lichens,  by  others  as  fungi.  Most  of  them  ^^^^^^^m 
give  the  characteristic  blue  reaction  with  ^^^^^^^H 
iodine.  lu  examining  a  section  of  a  young  ^^^^^^^H 
specimen  of  one  of  these,  ScutiUa  Wall~  Q„nu„  ,„„,,  „f 
tvlhii  Tul.  (BieUora  Ueerii  Hepp),  which  atw-Aw™? 
grows  on  the  thallus  of  Pdtigera  canina,  I  have  seen  a 
P,^  ■^^^  stratum  of  true   gonidia  un- 

derlying the  apothecia,  and 
extending  around  it.  Some 
of  these  parasites  are  doubt- 
less lichens,  while  others 
must  he  relegated  to  the 
ascomycetous  fungi. 
8«iumof  .pou.«i-mof  m/o«*a«.^rt^  The  gouidia  are  either  of  a 
"^^  greenish  yellow  color,  as  men- 

tioned above,  as  in  Physcia,  Parmelia,  and  the  greater  number 
of  lichens;  or  of  a  bluish  green,  as  in  Collema,  Peltigera, 
some  Stictas,  etc.  These  latter  are  called  gniuulu  goiiima, 
or    collegonidia.      In    Collema  n,.  ]». 

they  are  strung  together  like  a 
chaplet  of  beads,  and  are  called 
moniliforra  (Fig.  140,  6).  In 
some  genera  they  spring  from 
the  end  of  tfaalline  tilaments, 
in  others  they  arc  grouped 
together,  euvebped  in  a  trans- 
parent gelatinous  substance,  and 


inded  by  a  thin  niembrano 


^^z: 


(Fig.  143).  In  Synulissa  both  kinds  of  gonidia  occur. 
They  frequently  burst  into  mealy  excrescences,  called  ao- 
redia,  on  the  surface  of  the  thallus,  and  have  the  faculty  of 
multiplying  by  self-division  aud  of  propagating  the  plant, 


670  LICHENS   UNDER  THE   MIOROSGOPE. 

and  ill  this  way  many  lichens  on  which  apothecia  rarely  or 
never  occur,  are  multiplied.  In  some  Verrucarias  there  are 
small  gonidia,  called  hymenial  gonidia,  included  in  the 
hymenium. 

The  gelatinous  substance  which  is  found  in  the  thallus  is 
called  lichenine.  It  is  of  a  starchy  nature.  In  many  cms- 
taceous  lichens,  oxalate  of  lime  is  present  in  considerable 
quantities,  and  may  be  easily  recognized  by  its  octahedric 
crystals.  Phosphate  of  lime,  salt,  sugar,  oil,  with  Yarious 
peculiar  acids,  also  occur,  but  not  in  great  abundance. 

Having  thus  viewed  the  principal  features  of  the  lichen 
thallus,  let  us  now  turn  our  attention  to  its  organs  of  fructi- 
fication. On  looking  at  the  lichen  (Theloschistes)  already 
selected,  we  shall  see  its  surface  covered  with  small  round 
disks  of  nearly  the  same  color  as  the  thallus.  These  are  the 
apothecia  (Fig.  144),  and  contain  the  spores,  the  reproduc- 
tive organs  of  the  plant.  Making  a  thin  perpendicular  sec- 
tion of  one  of  these,  and  placing  it  under  oui  lens,  we  shall 
see  that  it  is  surrounded  by  a  margin  containing  gonidia  like 
the  thallus.  The  interior  (Fig.  145)  is  composed  of  a  mass 
of  parallel  filaolents,  called  paraphyses,  among  which  are  the 
asci,  or  spore-cases.  This  interior  portion  is  called  the  hy- 
menium. That  part  which  contains  the  paraphyses  and  asci 
is  called  the  thalamium,  and  the  portion  below  it,  the  hy- 
pothecium. 

Those  lichens  whose  fruit  has  an  open  disk,  are  called 
gymnocarpous.  The  margin  of  the  disk  is  called  the  exci- 
ple.  When  formed  from  the  thallus,  and  containing  gonidia, 
it  is  called  a  thalline  exciple ;  when  otherwise,  a  proper  exci- 
ple.  The  thalline  exciple  is  usually  pale,  yellow,  brown, 
red,  or  of  the  same  color  as  the  thallus,  though  it  often 
blackens.  The  proper  exciple  is  either  black,  as  in  Lecidea, 
or  colored,  as  in  Biatora.  But  in  many  lichens  with  a  thai- 
line  exciple,  it  often  assumes  a  hiatorine  form.  The  exciple 
is  sometimes  double,  as  in  Gyalecta.  The  color  of  the  disk 
varies  greatly,  being  flesh-colored,  yellow,  red,  brown,  or 


UCHBNS   DNDBB   THE   UICBOSCOFB.  671 

black.     Ill  some  species,  as  Nephroma  arclioa  iind  Parmdia 
peiforala,  tbe  aputheciutn  uttaius  a  large  isize.     In  Cladonia 
it  id  .bfirne  on  the  summit  of  a  hollow  stalk,  called  a  pode- 
tium ;  in  Calicium  on  a  slender  Bolid  stem.         rig.  ]«. 
In  the  Graphides,  or  "written"  lichens,  the 
apothecia  are  elongated  and  narrow,  branched 
iir  stellate,  and  bear  a  rude  resemblance  to 
written  characters. 

In  many  genera,  such  as  Verrucaria,  the 
npntbccia  are  closed,  and  these  are  called 
angiocarpoHS.     These   npothecin  are    nsnally 
black,  conical,  with  a  dmall  opening  at   the 
s'limmit.     Their  covering  is  sometimes  called  ^'^'^^^ "' ^jf^ 
the  perithecium.     But  there  is  no  fixed  line      "'"'  ""™- 
of  demarcation   between  the  gymnocarpous  and  the  aiigio- 
cnrpous  lichens. 

The  paraphyses  are  sometimea  long  and  thread-like,  aud 


Bporea.    s,  drnpl*  enlored  ipore  nt  CalMum  phKoctpMuin. 

I.  ni9in>rni  -        -    CalUma  Jiarctdum. 

/.  muTlform  "       "    ButlHa  ftlrma. 

easily  separated,  sometimes  short  and  closely  ngglutinntcd, 
and,  as  in  Arthonia,  are  sometimes  entirely  wanting.  In  this 
genus  the  exciple  is  also  wanting.  The  paraphyses  and 
spore-cases  are  generally  colored  blue,  sometimes  red  or 
brown,  by  a  solution  of  iodine. 

The  spore-cases,  which  lie  among  the  paraphyses,  are  sacks 
usually  of  an  oblong  or  club-shaped  form,  sometimes  lanceo- 


672 


UCHEKS   UNDER  THE   MICROSCOPE. 


late  or  globose.     Id  some  genera,  aa  Calicium,  they  disappear 
early,  and  the  spores  tiieii  appear  to  be  free.     But  they  are 
usually  persistent,  and  a  little  pressure  is  required  to  sep- 
j,^  jjg^  arate    the    parts 

aud  bring  out  the 
spores.  In  the 
plant  under  ex- 
amination there 
are  eight  of  them 
in  each  spore- 
case.  This  is  the 
usual  number. 
But  many  species 
have    one,    two, 

SKilaa  or  apcrnoKonu  «r  n>r<»rAM>i  f»H<Hiia^  cMsonlc^      four,    sixtecn,    Or 
ummiliry  l.yer.  mOre,       Or      eVCU 

several  hundred  spores  in  each  spore-case.  The  spores  differ 
greatly  in  size,  form  aud  color.  lu  Thelosclnstes  they 
are  colorless,  of  au  oval  form  (Fig.  146),  with  a  small 
cavity  at  each  end,  sometimes  connected  by  a  einull  canal, 
and  measure  from  twelve  to  sixteen  tbou-  f.,g  „, 
sandths  of  a  millimetre  in  length.  In  other 
species  they  are  of  a  brownish  yellow,  or  a 
deep  brown  nppronchiug  black.  The  smallest 
spores  are  hai-dly  two  thousandths  of  a  milli- 
metre in  diameter,  while  the  lai'gest  are 
nearly  two-tenths  of  a  millimetre  in  length. 
In  form  they  are  globose,  oval,  elliptical,  fusi- 
form, needle-shaped,  etc.  (Fig.  147).  Many 
spores  are  divided  by  (me  or  more  transverse 
partitions,  and  these  again  sometimes  by  per^ 
pendicular  ones.  The  foi-mer  are  called  di- 
tetin-pleio-,  or  poly-blastish ;  the  latter  mn- 
riform,  and  spores  like  those  of  Physica,  polar-bilocular. 
Their  great  variety  of  form  and  color  renders  them  most 
interesting  objects  under  the  microscope,  and  they  are  of 


'    Biartniau  » 


LICHBNS   CKDER  THE  HICBOSCOFB.  678 

great  importance   in    the  determinatioo  of  species,  so  that 

tbe  study  of  licheua   cannot  now  be  aucoessfully  or  th(>tv 

ougbly  prosecuted  without  an  acquaintance  with  them.    Theii- 

geueral     form     aud  Fiy.  un. 

color  being  coiiataiit 

in  each  genus  and 

species,  they  have, 

as  Professor  Tuck- 

ennan  observes  ( L^i- 

cliens  of  California), 

"added  a  new  con-  bki"-""- 

tent  to  the  conception  of  species."     Wbile  tbeii  study  opens 

fresh  difficulties  and  perplexities  to  tbe  student,  it  affords 

him  a  deeper  insight  into  tlie  inscrutable  mysteries  of  nature, 
PI    ,jj  who,    whatever    wo 

may  strive  to  ascer- 
tain, ever  holds  some 
sccreta  in  i-eserrg 
which  are  beyond 
our  gi'ftsp' 

In  its  earliest 
sttiges  the  sp(H'e-cji8« 
iippoai-a  filled  with 
tiiniill  globular  griin- 
nlos,  in  which  lines 

:  of   division    appear, 

and  the  spores  gnid- 
u:illy  assume  their 
regular  form  and 
nniubei-.  The  spores 
are  at  first  colorless 

»«uoo  ^  ^Mt  or  Bf^or.  N»H. ,.  .>ti<«i«i»;  »,  ti.rt-    *"<*  Simple,  and  their 
iDi  Of  AHtftrd  BiMn  internal    divisions 

and  uhitnges  of  color  may  be  seen  in  all  gradations  in  the 
same  bymeniitm.  They  frequently  remain  tilled  with  a  maw 
of  oil  globules.     They  are  sometimes  arranged  in. a  lineoa 

IHBR.    NATURALIST,    VOL.   IV.  86 


674 


LIOHEItB  DNDKB  THB   1U0BO8O0PB. 


Fig.  lU. 


Portion  of  nrcnlil 
■nonMrt-tyiuai 


series  ia  the  epure-caee,  sometimeB  irregularly  grouped,  and 
sometiaieB  epimlly  twisted  arouud  a  central  (ideal)  uxia. 
When  ripe  they  are  expelled  from  the  epore-case  by  the 
presaure  of  the  piimphyses,  which 
when  moistened,  absorb  water  co- 
piously. Miiuy  observations  have 
been  made  as  to  the  manner  of  the 
development  of  the  tballus  from 
the  spore,  but  the  matter  is  still  in- 
volved in  a  good  deal  of  obscurity. 
Ou  the  tballus  of  most  lichens 
tre  to  be  seen  a  number  of  small 
black  dots,  either  scattered  irregu- 
larly over  its  surface,  or  along  the 
margin.  These  are  the  spermogonea  (Fig.  148),  and  they 
contain,  in  great  numbers,  the  apermatia,  which  are  ex- 
tremely minute,  cylindrical,  or  needle-shaped  bodies,  situ- 
ated on  the  extremities  of  simple  or  branched  filaments, 
called  sterigmuta  (Figs.  149,  153).  Their  forms  appear  to 
be  constant  in  each  species,  but  are  much  less  diverse  than 
tbose  of  tlie  spores,  and  they  are  always  colorless.  They 
have  been  supposed  to  be  the  male 
orgiui  of  i-epi-oduction,  but  nothing 
it)  certainly  known  of  their  functions. 
Nylander,  who  attaches  much  imports 
ance  to  the  spermatia  in  his  Syn- 
opsis, distinguishes  five  foims  of 
them.  Ist,  the  acicular  slightly  swol- 
len at  one  end,  as  in  Usiiea ;  2d, 
acicular  slightly  swollen  neai- the  ex-  ennn  (»,  iicitemau  •m  aiwi^ 
tremity,  as  m  Lvernia ;  3d,  straight 
acicular  or  cylindrical,  as  in  most  Lecanoras;  4th,  bowed 
acicular,  or  cylindrical,  as  in  some  Lecanoras ;  5th,  ellipsoid 
or  oblong,  us  in  Caliciiim,  which  last,  be  says,  approach  rather 
t«o  near  the  short  cylindrical  spermatia.  There  are  no 
■pherical  spermatia.     But  he  is  not  foitunata  in  attempting 


lig.UB. 


KBYIEWS.  675 

to  apply  these  distinctions^  and  it  seems  difficult  to  render 
them  of  auy  great  systematic  value.  Leighton,  who  has  de- 
scribed and  figured  the  spermatia  of  a  large  number  of 
lichens,  has  failed  in  many  instances  to  recognize  the  dif- 
ferences in  form  indicated  by  Nylander,  especially  in  regard 
to  the  first  two  forms,  and  points  out  a  great  confusion  in  the 
application  of  Nylander's  idea  in  his  Prodromous  and  Synop- 
sis in  regard  to  the  spermatia  of  Platysma  (Cetraria).  lu 
figure  150  (a,  spermatia  of  Pi/renula  Uzctea  Mass. ;  5.  Fer- 
rucaria  epigoea  Pers. ;  c,  Synalissa  phj/Uiscina;  dy  JS.phoBo- 
cocca  Tuck. ;  e,  Lecanora  athrocarpa  Duby ;  /",  Pannelia 
oolpodes  Tuck. ;  g,  Cetraria  ciliaris  Ach. ;  A,  Placodium 
camptidium  Tuck.),  we  give  a  few  additional  illustrations 
of  the  different  forms  of  spermatia.  A  slight  but  distinct 
crackle  is  almost  invariably  heard  on  crushing  the  spermo- 
gonia  under  the  thin  glass,  which  seems  peculiar  to  these 
organs.  Besides  the  spermogonia,  there  are  also  other 
small  bodies,  resembling  them  in  external  appearance,  called 
pycnides  (Fig.  151),  but  containing  spore-like  bodies  called 
stylospores  (Fig.  152),  on  the  extremities  of  short  filamento» 
They  are  often  septate.  Their  office  is  unknown,  and  they 
are  of  comparatively  infrequent  occurrence. 


REVIEWS. 


Thb  Eared  Seals.* — Up  to  the  year  1S66,  comparatively  little  atten- 
tion bad  been  paid  to  the  systematic  relations  inter  se  of  the  seals,  and  in 
that  year,  Dr.  John  Edward  Gray,  In  the  <'  Catalog^ae  of  the  Seals  and 
Whales  In  the  British  Museum,"  adopted  essentially  the  same  classlflca- 

*0ii  tlic  Eared  Seals  (<7taria<te),  wiUi  detailed  descriptions  of  tbe  North  Paclflo  speeles,  \ty 
7.  A.  Alien.  ToKctlier  with  an  acoount  of  the  habits  of  tlie  nortlicm  ftir  seal  {Canorhiniu  unf- 
mu),  by  Charles  Bryant.  [I  pi.  106  pp.,  8  pi.  31.  exp.]  Bulletin  of  the  Museum  of  ComparatlTS 
Zooloiy  [etc.}.   Vol.  II.   No.  1. 

The  copy  which  wc  owe  to  the  kindness  of  tbe  author.  Is  Airther  Illustrated  by  two  photo- 
graphic plates  of  Zaloj^m  OUltspU, 


676  REYiBwa. 

tlon  which  he  had  presented  in  1850.  in  his  catalogae  of  the  seals — a 
singalarly  unnatnral  one,  based  chiefly  on  the  number  and  development 
of  the  teeth ;  all  the  Pinnipeds  were  regarded  as  forming  a  single  family, 
divided  among  five  sub-families,  namely: — 

A.  Grinders  two-rooted;  [etc.]  * 

a.  cuttiog  teeth  i  [above] ;  i  [below]  [etc.]  StenorhpndMmu 

b.  "         "     6  [above] ;  4  [below]  [etc.]  Pkocina. 

B.  Grinders  with  single  root  (except  the  two  hinder  grinders  of  BaliduBnu). 

c.  Bars  withont  any  conch ;  [etc.]. 

*Manl«  larfTc,  truncated,  simple;  canines  large;  grinders  lobed,  when  old,  tmnoated. 

THchechina  (with  Trithecu*  RMmanu  and  Maliehanal} 
**  Muzzle  of  the  male  with  a  dilatable  appendage;  cutting  teeth  4  [aboTe]  8  [IbelowJ; 
[etc]  Cpttophorinu, 

d.  Bars  with  a  subcylindrical  distinct  external  cofioh;  [etc.]  ArcUxapkioUiui, 

'Only  tlie  prime  contrasted  characters  are  noticed  here;  the  others  are  often  applicable 
only  to  a  portion  of  the  groups  diagnosed. 

If  classification  is  really  intended  to  represent  the  natural  relations  of 
organized  beings,  as  determined  by  the  snm  of  their  stnictaral  agree- 
ments, and  the  subordination  of  the  respective  groups  diiXbrentlated,  a 
more  unfortunate  classification  than  that  noticed  could  scarcely  be  de- 
vised ;  if  even  it  is  only  regarded  as  a  means  to  enable  us  to  ascertain 
the  name  of  a  certain  form,  It  Is  a  decided  failure ;  i.  e.  HalichoBrua  (of 
the  second  prime  division),  having  the  **  grinders  with  single  root  {except 
the  tioo  hinder)"  not  being  distinguished,  even  by  Gray's  own  diagnosis, 
A*om  Lobodon  of  the  Stenorhynchina  (first  prime  division),  which  has 
only  '*the  first,  second,  and  third  flront  upper  grinders  single-rooted,  [the 
rest  ttoo  hinder]  two-rooted  I*'  Like  inconsistencies  prevail,  but  why,  In 
the  name  of  science  and  common  sense  may  we  ask,  Is  Halichawus  sepa- 
rated  from  those  forms  which  It  so  much  resembles,  to  be  combined  with 
the  Walrus,  to  which  it  is  so  very  unlike^  when  even  a  diagnosis  has  to 
be  explained  away  to  admit  of  such  a  flreak !  The  chief  modifications  in 
the  arrangement  of  1866,  compared  with  that  of  1850,  are  the  introduction 
of  the  genera  Pagomif8t  Ualicyon^  (the  latter  based  on  intangible  charac- 
ters,) and  Callorhinus, 

In  the  same  year,  1866,  appeared  a  '*  Prodrome  of  a  Monograph  of  the 
Pinnipeds,  by  Theodore  GUI,"  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Essex  Institute 
(V,  pp.  1-18),  in  which  those  animals  were  distributed  among  three  flimi- 
lies  {PhocidoRy  Otariidce,  and  JSosmaridce),  equivalent  to  the  three  sub- 
families recognized  by  Turner,  and  the  PhocidoB  were  divided  Into  three 
sub- families,  distinguished  1)y  Important  osteologlcal  characteristics  pre- 
viously unnoticed  by  systematlsts.  •  In  the  Otariidas,  five  genera  were  rec- 
ognized, of  which  the  types  were  the  only  species  mentioned. 

This  article  was  rapidly  succeeded  by  a  number  of  memoirs,  chiefly  on 
the  Otarilds,  two  by  Gray  and  two  by  Peters  being  published  In  the  same 
year.  The  former,  after  a  first  passionate  outburst  of  anger,  finally  aoi- 
cepted  as  valid  the  three  fhmllles  Just  noted,  and,  like  Peters,  adopted  the 
genera  of  Otarilds  first  defined  in  the  Prodrome  (»'.  e,  JEumetopiOM  and 


BBVIEWS.  677 

Zalqphtu),  raised  to  generic  rank  two  additional  gronps  named  as  sab- 
genera  by  Peters,  and  ended  by  proposing  genera  for  every  recognized 
species  of  tlie  family,  and  distributing  them  among  five  sub-families. 
The  extreme  to  which  differentiation  was  carried  may  be  judged  Aroni 
the  fiict  that  Mr.  Allen  has  reduced  two  of  his  genera  to  one  species,  and 
was  strongly  inclined  to  reduce  three  others  to  a  second  species.  Those 
sub-families  in  the  main  agreed  with  the  genera  defined  in  the  **  Prodrome 
of  the  Pinnipeds/'  but  were  rendered  unnatural  by  the  combination —  in 
foce  of  the  characters  used  as  diagnostic — of  Aretophoca  (a  sub?divislon 
of  ArctocephtUns)  with  Eumetopias,  and  by  the  association  of  J*hoearctoa 
(a  form  inseparable  fh)m  Otaria)  in  the  *^  ArUocephalina,**  As  an  example 
of  the  mode  of  differentiation,  the  following  diagnoses  will  suffice. 

'*ZaJopAtt<.  Grinders  large  and  thick,  in  a  close  uniform  series.  South 
America.** 

*'  Nerphoea,  Grinders  large,  thick,  all  equal,  In  a  continuous  uniform 
series.    Australia." 

As  will  be  perceived,  the  same  feature  is  indicated  simply  by  a  slightly 
different  phraseology,  save  as  to  the  locality.  But  even  the  alleged 
character  of  locality  is'  erroneous,  for  Zalophua  has  never  been  found  in 
'South  America,  and  its  type  Is  an  inhabitant  of  the  North  Pacific  only, 
i.  e,  California  and  Japan  I 

The  chief  and  most  valuable  information  published  after  the  "Pro- 
drome," and  up  to  the  year  1870,  was  contributed  by  Dr.  Wilhelm  Peters, 
and  to  that  accomplished  zoologist  we  are  Indebted  for  the  first  reliable 
codrdlnatlon  of  external  and  osteological  characters — a  task  that  was 
found  to  be  impossible  with  the  material  possessed  by  the  author  of  the 
•*  Prodrome." 

Much  information  had  also  accumulated  as  to  the  distribution,  habits, 
and  external  characteristics  of  the  various  species  of  OtariidcBy  and  ex- 
cellent figures  of  the  skulls  ot  several  species  had  been  published.  It 
was  with  these  additional  facilities  that  Mr.  J.  A.  Allen  proceeded  to  the 
investigation  of  the  North  Pacific  species  of  the  family,  and  incidentally 
of  the  classification  of  the  entire  group.  He  has,  like  his  immediate  pre- 
decessors, admitted  the  validity  of  the  family  called  by  him  ''  Otariada^" 
and  has  admirably  contrasted  the  characteristics  of  the  pelvis  and  hind 
limbs  of  those  animals,  with  the  corresponding  parts  of  the  Phocids ;  the 
species  of  Otariids  are  distributed  among  five  genera  corresponding  to 
those  established  in  the  **  Prodrome,"  and  of  which  our  author  remarks 
that  "  these  appear  to  be  natural  groups,  of  true  generic  rank,  and  prop- 
erly restricted ;  and,  after  a  careAil  examination  of  the  subject, 

they  appear  to  [him]  to  include  all  the  natural  genera  of  the  family."  * 

These  five  genera  are  considered  by  Mr.  Allen  as  separable  among  two 
sub-families,  the  author  remarking  (p.  22)  **  that  if  the  dtariad<E  constitute 
a  group  entitled  to  family  rank,  —  and  the  so-called  sub-families  of  the 

*Allen,Qp.elt.,i».8&i 


678  BXVIEW8.  U 

Phoddas  htLve  truly  a  Bab-fkmlly  valae,  — the  Otariadoi  inast  be  cooBidered 
•0  divisible  into  two  sub-family  groups,  of  which  the  hair  seals  const!- 
tote  one  and  the  fbr  seals  the  other."  Reviewing  the  previous  sub-divis- 
ions into  tribes  or  snb-fainiUes  by  Gray,  and  the  misappropriation  of 
BUb-f&mily  names  derived  fkt>m  the  typical  genera,  he  adds  that  in  view 
of  this  conftision  the  name  Tricliophocinas  *  Is  proposed  for  the  hair  seals, 
and  OtdophocifKE^  for  the  Air  seals,  in  allusion  to  the  different  character 
of  the  pelage  in  the  two  groups."  To  the  Tiichophoein(Bt  are  referred  the 
genera  (Haria,  Eumetopia»^  and  Zalophtu ;  to  the  Ouiophocino^  the  genera 
Arctoeephaltu  and  CallarhinuM. 

Mr.  Allen  has  derived  the  characters  for  his  sab-families,  solely  Arom 
the  nature  of  the  pelage,  the  size  and  form  of  the  entire  animal,  the 
length  of  the  ears,  the  length  of  the  toe-flaps  of  the  hinder  limbs,  and  the 
number  of  molars.    His  definitions  are  as  follows :  — 

*'  Sab-fkmily  I.    TrichophocifUB. 

Without  nnder-fVir ;  sise  large  and  form  robast;  ears  short  and  broad;  molars  either 
6  [above]  5  [below]  5  [above]  5  [belowjxsis  [above]  10  [below]  or  6  [above]  5  [belowl 
-10  [above]  10  [below]." 

**  Snb-family  II.    Ouhphoeina. 

With  thick  iindei>fUr ;  size  smaller;  form  more  slender,  and  the  ears  and  the  toe-llaps 
of  the  hinder  limbs  much  longer  than  in  TYMu^hoeinm;  molars  6  [above]  6  [below]  6 
[above]  5  [below]=lS  [above]  10  [below]."   (AUen  1.  e.,  44.) 

We  may  at  once  concede  the  applicability  of  the  distinctions  based  on 
the  pelage,  remarking,  however,  that  the  character  is  not  as  absolute  as 
might  be  inferred  from  the  expressions  used,  for  In  the  hair  seals  there  is 
the  homologue  of  the  under-Air  of  the  Air-seals,  and  Gray  attributes  to 
Zalophus  cinereua,  "young  covered  with  soft  fur,  which  falls  olT  when  the 
next  coat  of  Air  [hair]  is  developed."  Peters  also  found  a  considerable 
dilference  in  the  extent  of  the  under  Air  in  the  species  of  Arctocqf>haiu8t 
A.  antarctica  (^Olaria  pusiUa  Peters)  having  very  thin  under  hair  (**Mit 
sehr  sparsamer  Unterwolle ") ;  A.  einerea,  thicker  nnder-halr  (*'Mit 
reichlicherer  Unterwolle"),  and  A.  Falklandica  also  thick  under-hair 
("  Haar  rolt  dichter  Unterwolle  ") ;  the  dilference  between  the  extremes 
of  those  two  groups  seems  thus  to  be  very  much  reduced,  when  we  take 
ail  into  consideration. 

As  to  size,  the  difference  seems  to  be  more  than  reduced  to  a  minimum, 
and  to  be  degraded  to  absolute  nullity.  The  length  of  the  skull  Is  the 
most  constant  meter,  and  the  following  measurements,  to  all  of  which 
Mr.  Allen  had  access,  will  demonstrate  the  truth  of  our  criticism.  We 
have  in  every  case  taken  the  measurement  of  the  adult  males  only,  and 
have  reduced  all  the  measurements  to  millimetres. 

1.  Arctocephalus  nigrescens, SOS       Gray. 

2.  "  .   Falklandicus, i35      Peters. 

3.  Callorhinns  nrsinasy 837       Gray. 

*9pt<;  halr«  and  ^<ny,  seal. 
fOvAttv,  soft,  and 


BBVIEW8.  679 

4.  OtaifaUnoA, SS8  Peten. 

6.  GaUorhinas  uninoB,    .........  Si5  Allen. 

6.  ArctocepbaluB  antarcUcas, 902  Gray. 

7.  Zalophas  Gillespii  (Japonlca), 870  Peten. 

8.  Callorhinns  nrsiniis, S7S  Allen. 

9.  Zalophas  OiUespii, S79  Gray. 

10.  "  "  SOO       AUen. 

11.  Otaria  Godeflyoyi, 800  Peten. 

12.  Zalophus  Gillespii  (Japonica), 810  Peten. 

18.        "             **              880  Allen. 

14.  OtariaJnUta, '  .       .     ' .  885  Gray. 

16.  Eametopias  Stelleri, 856  Gray. 

16.  "  " 374       Allen. 

17.  "  ** 885       Allen. 

As  it  may  be  objected  that  the  skull  of  Otaria  Ulloas  was  of  a  female  or 
yoang,  we  will  at  once  dismiss  that  from  consideration.  Bat  the  forms 
still  remaining,  and  concerning  which  no  objection,  it  appears  to  as,  can 
be  arged,  demonstrate  that  there  is  not  only  no  constant  diiference,  but 
that  members  of  the  respective  groups  traverse  the  limits  assigned 
thereto,  some  individaals  of  Oulophocinoi  being  larger  than  some  individ- 
uals of  the  TrichophocincBt  Zalophua  being  admitted  as  one  of  the  latter. 
It  is  farther  to  be  added  that  the  **  form  more  slender"  of  the  former,  im- 
plies a  greater  relative  total  length  for  those  animals  than  the  head  alone 
would  indicate,  and  thus  the  inapplicability  of  the  diagnosis  is  still  fur- 
ther enhanced. 

As  to  the  character  derived  from  the  comparative  robustness  or  slen- 
demess,  the  following  measurements  by  Mr.  Allen,  of  the  hair  and  fhr 
seals  of  Alaslca,  show  the  following  proportions :  * — 

Ratio  of  skull  to 
Unmounted.       Mounted       Skull,    length  of  male  skin. 

CallOThinns  nninns  (S,928),  2,470  246  I.-X.  20-246 

"              <<        (2,923),  2,811  2,890  276  I.-VIII.  190-276 

Bnmetopiaa  Stelleri  (2,920),  2,700  2,790  874  I.-VII.  800-874 

'*              **        (2,921),  2,896  8,010  886  I.-YII.  815-885 

When  we  thus  become  cognizant  of  the  comparatively  slight  diflfbrences 
between  the  two  members  of  the  family  observed,  when  too,  we  notice  the 
range  of  variations  in  one  of  the  species,  and  when  we  reflect  that  such 
difference  may  be  created  by  the  mode  of  preparation  of  skins,  and  that 
other  forms  appear  to  be  Intermediate,  to  say  the  least,  the  character  be- 
comes very  intangible. 

The  length  of  the  ears  is  the  next  character  noticed;  the  following 
measurements  will  illustrate  the  relative  lengths  in  millimetres. 

Otaria, 15-20       Peten.  Bametopias,     .    .    85-37       Allen. 

Zalophns,      .    .    .    16^20?     Peten.  Arctocephatas,      .   80-40      Peten. 

Eumetopias,      .    .    30  Peten.  Callorhinus,      .    .   85-50      Allen. 

These  measurements,  by  Mr.  Allen,  are  from  the  same  individualSt  before 

*  No  (lata  are  given  concerning  the  ratio  of  the  girth  to  the  length,  and  no  Tery  appreciable 
and  constant  dlfferenees  appear  to  exist,  although  then  Is  said  to  be  oonsldersble  dUtorenoe 
In  saeh  respects  in  the  same  Indl? Idual  at  diffBrsnt  seasons. 


680  RtiVlEWSi 

and  iEifter  motiiiting,  the  ears  appearing  shorter  when  motinted.  We  tbas 
learn  at  once,  to  distmst  and  be  cantioas  respecting  snch  characters,  even 
admitting  their  valae.  Bat  In  view  of  these  tables,  and  the  conclusions 
we  have  already  reached  concerning  the  size,  we  are  compelled  to  ask, 
where  are  the  differences — even  proportionate?  Be  it  remembered  that 
no  differences  of  form  have  been  referred  to,  nor  has  the  reviewer  by 
antopsy  been  able  to  convince  himself  of  the  existence  of  any  of  mo- 
ment. 

One  other  character  remains;  in  Oulophocinm  ''the  toe-flaps  of  the 
hinder  limbs  much  longer  than  in  7Hc?iophocin(E.**  The  statement  is  per- 
fectly applicable,  whatever  may  be  onr  estimate  of  its  valae,  if  only  Cnl- 
tarhinus  and  Eumetopias  are  taken  into  consideration,  bat  Otaria  itself 
offers  an  intermediate  condition.  There  Is  no  diifbrence  claimed  as  to 
dentition,  as  the  alternatives  for  the  TrichophodncB  indicate. 

Mr.  Allen,  we  trust,  will  pardon  us,  in  view  of  the  fticts  now  made 
prominent,  if  we  reftise  to  consider  the  alleged  dUDTerences  as  indicative 
of  sub-family  value,  if  only  for  the  reason  that  they  are  not  trenchant; 
but  we  must  add  that  even  had  they  been  absolute,  we  should  have  been 
extremely  doubtfhl  as  to  the  propriety  of  assigning  them  such  a  taxo- 
nomlc  value. 

But  If  we  have  been  obliged  — and  most  unwillingly  we  have  -^to  dis- 
sent tvom  Mr.  Allen  in  his  view  of  taxonomic  values,  we  rejoice  to  testify 
to  our  concurrence  with  him  in  the  main,  and  if  Mr.  Allen  will  simply  re- 
ject Zalophna  flrom  the  company  of  the  other  hair  seals,  we  will  at  once 
admit  that  he  has  made  an  important  advance  in  the  appreciation  of  the 
relations,  inter  se,  of  the  members  of  the  family ;  the  comparative  rela- 
tion between  Otaria  and  Eumetopias  appears  indeed  to  be  more  intimate 
than  previous  observers  had  suspected,  and  equally  intimate  as  contrasted 
with  those  Just  named  is  the  relationship  between  the  genera  of  the  ftar 
seals.  But  between  both  forms  and  Zalophtts,  the  hiatus  appears  to  be 
almost  equally  wide  and  Impassable,  although  perhaps  less  between  It  and 
the  typical  hair  seals.  If  any  prime  sub-division  of  the  Otarlids  is  to  be 
made,  and  if  the  skull  is  a  correct  index,  it  should,  in  our  Judgment,  be 
made  into  one  group,  composed  of  all  its  members  save  Zalopkvs,  while 
that  group  should  be  isolated  afar.  All  the  species,  except  of  that  genus, 
agree  in  having  a  more  or  less  decurved  and  swollen  muzzle,  and  a  deep 
sagittal  seam,  or  groove,  between  the  low  ridges  indicating  the  limits  of 
the  muscular  attachments.  Zalophus,  on  the  contrary,  has  a  narrow  and 
regularly  attenuated  muzzle,  which  Is  straight  or  even  slightly  concave, 
and  instead  of  a  sagittal  seam  has  a  much  elevated  and  trenchant  crest; 
these  characters  are  supported  by  peculiarities  of  the  post-orbital  lobes, 
the  nasal  channel,  the  sinus  of  the  bony  palate,  the  pterygoid  ham- 
nli,  and  the  dentition.  Zalophu%,  as  Mr.  Allen  has  well  remarked,  "so 
far  as  the  skull  Is  concerned.  Is  the  most  distinct  generic  form  of  the 
Otariadat^  It  being  thoroughly  distinct  Arom  all  the  others  "  (p.  68).  We 
may  add  that  we  know  of  no  indications,  flrom  other  sources,  which  belie 


KEYtBWS.  681 

this  oVldence  of  Isolation.  Bat  while  we  woald  thus  insist  on  ttie  isola- 
tion of  Zal&phus,  we  would  not  consider  It  as  entitled  to  rank  other  than 
as  an  aberrant  genas  (i.e.  in  comparison  with  the  more  nameroas  ex- 
isting forms)  of  a  homogeneous  family.  Far  different,  in  our  opinion, 
are  the  relations  between  the  members  of  that  family  and  the  groups 
which  have  been  distinguished  as  sub-families  in  the  Phocids,*  and  which 
we  are  happy  to  learn  meet  with  Mr.  Allen's  approbation. 

Availing  ourselves  now  of  the  data  that  have  accumulated  up  to  the 
present  time,  and  which  have  been  so  well  digested  by  Mr.  Allen,  we  be- 
lieve that  the  relations  of  the  Otariids  may  be  expressed  by  the  following 
fiynopticiil  table,  in  which  only  the  most  obvious  and  distinctive  charac- 
ters are  introduced. 

L  Skull  with  a  more  or  less  decurred  ft'ont  rostral  profile,  and  with  a 
sagittal  gi'oove  flnom  which  are  reflected  the  low  ridges  indicating 
the  limits  of  the  temporal  mnscles. 

A.  Pelage  with  nnder-Air;  molars  normally  6  [above]  6  [below]  6 

[above]  5  [below] ;  hinder  fbet  with  swimming  membranea 
produced  mnch  beyond  the  toes,  and  moderately  incised. 

a.  Snoat  much  decurved  above,  and  abbreviated,  its  length  being 

less  than  ihe  longitudinal  diameter  of  the  orbits,  CaUorkinui» 

b.  Snout  moderately]  declining  above,  and  moderate  in  lengtii,  ex* 

oeeding  the  longitudinal  diameter  of  the  orbit,       .       .  Ardoeephahu, 

B.  Pelage  without  defined  under-fVir. 

a.  Molars  above  6-6;  the  last  little  remote  from  the  precedhig 

and  in  a  line  with,  or  in  advance  of  the  transverse  maxiUo- 
palatine  suture;  bony  palatal  margin  much  nearer  the 
pterygoid  hamuli  than  the  teeth ;  hinder  fbet  with  swimming 
membrane  mnch  produced  and  deeply  Incised,  Oforto. 

b.  Molars  above  6-5;  the  last  remote  from  the  preceding,  and  be- 

hind the  transverse  maxiUo-palatine  suture;  bony  palatal 
margin  nearer  to  teeth  than  to  pterygoid  hamuli ;  hinder  feet 
with  swimming  membrane  produced  little  beyond  the  toes 
and  moderatiely  incised,        ........        Sumttopiat. 

n.  Skull  with  a  straight  or  hicurved  fronto  rostral  profile,  and  with  a. 

solid,  thin,  and  much  elevated  sagittal  cresty         ....  Zaiophus, 

Although  we  are  not  inclined  to  place  much  stress  on  the  sequence  of 
forms  when  so  many  gaps  remain  unfilled,  and  when  the  unknown  might 
reverse  the  opinion  that  we  have  with  more  or  leSs  reason  derived  ttom 
some  acquaintance  with  the  seen,  we  are  disposed  to  believe  that  the  pre- 
ceding approximates  correctness,  and  to  believe  that  Zalophus  is  the 
most  generalized  form,  Eumetopias  next,  and  Callorhinus  the  most 
specialized.  If  it  were  absolutely  necessary  to  express  the  various  cate- 
gories of  subordination  by  names,  we  would  have  to  designate  I.  and  II. 
as  contrasted,  and  then  I.  (A),  and  I.  (6).  as  representing  a  nearer  degree 
of  relationship,  but  such  a  system,  especially  when  the  genera  are  very 
numerous,  becomes  too  complicated,  and  is  of  really  little  or  no  use.    We 

*  Thet e  sab-^hmllles,  though  bearing  the  same  name  as  Dr.  Gray  Imposed  on  arttflelat  groaps, 
ire  entirely  diflterently  limited. 

AMBR.   NATURALIST,  VOL.  IV.  86 


682  RBYIBW8. 

do  not  speak  of  taxes  on  the  memoiy,  for  memory  haa  nothing  to  do  with 
the  existence  of  natural  groaps,  although  some  persons  are  In  the  habit 
of  objecting  to  names  because,  forsooth,  they  tax  the  memory. 

With  respect  to  species,  Mr.  Allen  carries  conservatism  to  an  extreme. 
In  the  case  of  doubtful  species  —  at  least  of  those  which  hare  tangible 
characters,  but  the  value  of  which  may  be  dubious  —  some  naturalists  re- 
f^r  such  at  once  to  species  which  they  appear,  in  their  Judgment,  to  most 
resemble,  while  others— probably  most — retain  them  with  reserve,  awalt- 
iug  ftitnre  information.  Of  the  former  school  Mr.  Allen  is  an  ardent 
disciple,  and  finding  a  certain  range  of  variation  In  some  known  form,  he 
concludes  that  analogous  variations  are  only  of  like  value ;  the  inference 
is  by  no  means  a  perfectly  safe  one,  though  it  may  be  best  in  proposing 
specific  names,  to  be  somewhat  infiuenced  thereby.  In  the  present  family, 
at  least  ten  species  have  been  admitted  by  one  of  the  most  accomplished 
and  Judicious  naturalists  (Professor  Peters)  of  Europe,  after  autopsy. 
Three  such  species  are  considered  by  Mr.  Allen,  who  had  never  seen  them 
and  was  only  guided  by  analogy,  as  variations  of  one ;  Otaria  jubata,  0. 
Ullo(B,'And  O.  (Phocarctoa)  Hookeri,*  being  referred  to  O.  juhata  extended; 
and  three  other  species  unhesitatingly  admitted  by  those  who  have  exam- 
ined them,  are  admitted  as  very  doubtfUl,  i.0.,  Arctocephalua  FalklandicuM, 
A.  cinereus  (Gray),  and  A»  antarcticus.  It  may  be  that  Mr.  Allen  Is  correct ; 
there  are  doubtless  reasons  for  his  belief,  but,  in  our  Judgment,  the  inter- 
ests of  science  are  better  subserved  by  retaining  the  doubtfbl  forms  as 
distinct,  tin  observation  has  demonstrated  their  character ;  by  retaining 
them  as  distinct,  an  incitement  Is  ftirnished  to  their  collection  and  Inves- 
tigation, while  if  they  are  merged  as  synonymous  with  others,  their  iden- 
tity is  lost;  it  is  assumed  that  their  degradation  was  correct,  and  if 
finally  proved  to  be  distinct,  it  has  too  often  happened  that  they  have 
been  re-Introduced  into  the  system  under  new  names,  the  recollection 
of  their  former  distinction  having  been  lost,  and  thence  it  is  that  in 
after  yesrs  the  nomenclature  is  again  disturbed  by  the  revival  of  the 
unjnstly  buried  names.  It  is  to  be  feared  that  some  of  the  species  which 
Mr.  Allen  has  doomed  to  annihilation  will  yet  arise  and  assume  a  healthy 
stability. 

A  few  words  as  to  the  relations  of  the  family.  Mr.  Allen,  treating  of 
the  primary  groups  of  the  Pinnipeds,  remarks  (p.  21),  that  *' believing 
that  they  have  a  higher  value  than  a  sub-family  value,  I  adopt  for  the 
present  the  classification  elaborated  by  Dr.  0111,  in  his  Prodrome,  which 
is,  it  seems  to  me,  the  most  natural  arrangement  of  the  Pinnipeds  that 
has  been  proposed.  GUI's  arrangement  places  the  (Hariadfz  between  the 
PhocidiK  and  Bosmarida.*  The  Otariadas  are  evidently  the  highest,  though 
they  seem  intermediate  in  general  features  between  the  earless  seals  and 


*  Slnee  tbe  traaimlasiofi  to  the  printer  of  the  copy  of  thli  review,  a  number  of  the  **  Analee 
del  Moieo  iMblloo  de  Bnenot  Alrea"  bM  come  to  hand  In  which  the  dlsoovery  of  the  0.  ffooktri 
at  the  month  of  the  Bio  Parana  (op.  dt.  1. 481)  la  annoauoed. 


BBYIEW8.  683 

the  wftlnises.    Their  affinities,  as  they  appear  to  me,  may  be  indicated  as 
follows :  — 

Otariada, 
**  rosmarida, 

PHOCIDiB. 

**  The  eTidences  of  the  saperiorlty  of  the  Otariadcd  over  the  PhocidtBt 
consist  mainly  In  that  modiflcation  of  their  general  structure,  and  especU 
ally  of  the  pelvis  and  posterior  extremities,  by  means  of  which  they  have 
freer  use  of  their  limbs,  and  are  able  to  move  on  land  with  considerable 
rapidity ;  the  Phocidc^,  on  the  other  hand,  move  with  great  difficulty  when 
out  of  the  water.  But  the  higher  rank  of  the  former  Is  also  indicated  by 
their  semi- terrestrial  habits,  the  scrotal  position  of  the  testes,  and  In  the 
nearer  approach  in  general  features  to  the  terrestrial  Carnivores,  especi- 
ally In  the  more  posterior  position  of  the  acetabula.  Most  of  these 
modifications  are,  however,  nearly  equally  shared  by  the  Rotmaridm,  in- 
dicating, likewise,  that  their  true  position  Is  above  that  of  the  majority 
of  the  Phocidmr 

Like  considerations  of  structure  Induced  the  author  of  the  '*  Prodrome" 
to  adopt  the  arrangement  commended,  but  without  reference  to  that 
metaphysical  rank  to  which  Mr.  Allen  seems  to  refer.  High  and  low  in 
zoology  are  often  very  ambiguous  terms.  So  far  as  Mr.  Allen  means  the 
generalized,  by  high,  and  by  lower,  the  more  modified  types,  we  perfectly 
agree  with  him,  for  the  Otarlids  seem  Indubitably  to  be  the  least  removed 
in  structure  ftom  that  stock  which  has  diverged  from  the  old  feral  stem 
and  culminated  Into  the  existing  Pennipeds;  nearly  equally  plain  does  the 
evidence  appear  that  the  Walrus  Is  in  general  a  type  which  possesses 
more  of  the  primitive  characters  of  the  stock  than  do  the  Phoclds,  al- 
though It  exhibits  some  remarkable  teleologlcal  adaptations.  But  such  a 
connection  of  the  term  high  would  indicate  a  belief  In  progressive  degra- 
dation—  a  Hiberulclsm  which  we  are  probably  not  the  first  to  use.  Even 
In  this  sense,  as  an  abstract  question,  we  have  no  objection  to  the  employ- 
ment of  the  term  low,  for  there  seem  to  be  too  many  proofs  of  the  exist- 
ence of  such  cases  to  doubt.  But  Mr.  Allen  leaves  us  In  uncertainty  as 
to  whether  he  shares  with  the  few  scientists  a  belief  In  metaphysical 
species  and  subordination,  or,  with  the  many,  Interprets  appearances  as 
indicative  of  facts.  In  the  former  case  there  would  be  no  basis  for  argu- 
ment, but  if  we  still  call  low,  lu  comparison  with  the  gressorial  carnivores, 
the  Pinnipeds  and  the  whales,  believing  In  their  evolution  f^oro  the  same 
stock  as  the  former,  it  Is  only  because  we  connect,  with  adaptation  for 
aquatic  life,  the  Idea  of  degradation.  How  far  this  may  be  correct,  we  are 
not  at  present  called  upon  to  discuss.  It  may  be  here  stated  that  If  the 
author  of  the  "Prodrome,"  in  a  treatise  on  the  Pinnipeds  alone,  placed  the 
Otarlids  In  the  middle,  because  they  were  the  most  generalized,  and  the 
other  types  departed  therefrom  In  dlffSsrent  directions,  he  would  not  feel 
barred,  In  a  general  scheme  of  the  mammals,  ft*om  placing  them,  for  the 
same  reason,  next  to  the  still  more  generalized  group 


tS84  reyieWs. 

In  this  connection  it  may  be  recalled  that  while  in  the  monogamonfl 
Pinnipeds,  or  those  living  in  small  commanities,  there  is  little  diflference 
in  size  between  the  males  and  females,  in  the  social  species,  or  rather 
those  of  which  the  males  have  harems,  the  males  are  vastly  larger  than 
the  females.  Macrorhinua,  of  the  Phoclds,  and  all  the  Otariids  belong 
to  the  latter  category.  The  diflference  between  the  sexes  wonld  be  read- 
ily explained  by  Mr.  Darwin  on  the  principle  of  natural  selection.  It  is 
evident  that  the  larger  and  more  vigorous  males  would  be  the  eventnal 
possessors  of  the  females,  and  the  disproportion  of  the  sexes  would  in 
lapse  of  time  culminate,  till  it  had  reached  a  proportion  when  obvious 
tnechanical  difficulties  would  more  than  balance  the  advantages  resulting 
fVom  superior  size  and  vigor,  and  when,  therefore,  forther  disproportion 
would  be  arrested.  It  may  be  added  that  the  like  disproportion  of  the 
sexes  in  the  forms  above  enumerated,  fUmishes  not  the  slightest  evidence 
of  more  intimate  primordial  affinity,  for  like  causes  would  in  each  special 
case,  such  as  this,  produce  like  effects. 

We  have  already  lingered  so  long  over  the  systematic  portion  of  Mr. 
Allen's  work  that  we  are  perforce  obliged  to  omit  any  observations  on  the 
habits  or  physiological  relations  of  the  species,  but  the  work  is  replete 
with  information  on  the  subject  contributed  by  Captain  Bryant  respect- 
ing the  fhr-seal  (^Callorhinus  ursinus)^  and  judiciously  edited,  with  notes 
Itnd  comparisons  with  the  habits  of  other  members  of  the  family,  by 
Mr.  Allen. 

And  finally,  cordially  thanking  Mr.  Allen  for  his  most  valuable  contri- 
bution, and  the  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology,  under  Professor 
Agassiz's  superintendence,  for  its  publication,  we  close  by  a  recapitula- 
tion of  its  most  noteworthy  elements,  namely :  —  A  nearly  complete  r^ 
sum^  of  the  later  literature  on  the  subject,  and  discussion  of  the  value  of 
the  respective  contributions,  enabling  him  who  would  follow  up  the  inves- 
tigation to  refer  at  once  to  the  proper  authorities ;  an  excellent  contrast 
of  the  skeletal  characters  of  the  Otariids  and  Phoclds ;  a  coordination  of 
external  and  internal  characters  for  the  genera,  and  the  approximation 
of  the  related  genera;  detailed  descriptions  and  measurements  of  the 
Alaskan  species ;  and,  finally,  in  company  with  Captain  Bryant,  copious 
information  respecting  their  habits,  and  comparison  thereof  with  those 
of  other  species.  —  Theodorb  Gill. 

Injurious  Insects.* — In  this  contribution  to  applied  entomology,  we 
find  new  observations  relating  to  Insects  injuring  the  apple-tree,  cherry, 
cranberry  vine,  currant,  raspberry,  oak,  pine,  certain  ornamental  shrubs, 
garden  vegetables  and  hot-house  plants.  The  apple-bud  moth  (OraphO' 
litha  oculina),  so  injurious  in  Eastern  New  England,  is  described.  The 
larva  is  a  little  brown  caterpillar  which  eats  the  buds  in  May.  It  is  diffi- 
cult to  kill  it  without  also  injuring  the  tree  itself.    It  also  injures  the  buds 

*  IiOurioai  InaeoU,  New  aikl  Little  Known.  By  A.  8.  Packard  Jr.,  M.  D.  [Troin  Um  Maau* 
ebuietta  Agrlenltaral  Report,  1870.]    8vo,  pQp  81.   With  a  plate  and  wood-«ata. 


REVIEWS* 


685 


and  cramples  the  lea^s  of  the  cherrj,  and  especially  the  pear.  A  minute 
moth  is  also  described  as  mining  the  leaves  of  the  apple,  a  single  leaf 
sometimes  containing  five  or  six  larvee.  It  is  a  Micropteryz  (Mipomiwh 
rella  n.  sp.)>  allied  to  the  European  M,  calthella,  though  about  half  its 
size.  This  is  the  onlj  species  of  this  interesting  genus  yet  found  in 
America.  Of  the  two  moths  infesting  the  cherry,  the  v-marked  tortrix 
(Tortrix  V-aignatana  n.  sp.)  has  been  raised  from  the  cherry  by  Mr.  F. 
W.  Putnam.  The  other  is  a  beautiful  Coleophora  (C.  cerasivorella  n.  sp.). 
Four  insects  infesting  the  cranberry  vines  are  mentioned.  One  of  these 
is  the  yellow  cranberry  worm  (Tortrix  vacciniivorana  n.  sp.),  of  the  New 
Jersey  cranberry  fields,  while  the  habits  of  the  cranberry  weevil  (PI.  6, 
flg.  10,  enlarged ;  10a,  larva,  enlarged),  are  described  from  the  observa- 
tions of  Mr.  W.  C.  Fish,  who  has  paid  more  attention  than  any  one  else 


Fig.  154. 

h 


to  the  insects  infesting  the  cranberry.  Two 
insects  not  before  known  to  feed  on  the  cur- 
rapt,  are  the  Choerodes  transwersata  of  Walker, 
and  Hdlia  icavaWa,  a  species  introduced  from 
Europe,  where  it  has  long  been  known  to 
feed  on  the  gooseberry. 

The  raspberry  is  attacked  by  a  beetle  (By' 
turus  unicolor  Say,  PI.  6,  flg.  12,  enlarged), 
which  eats  the  Aruit  buds,  and  makes  long 
slits  in  the  leaves  during  June.  Of  forest 
insects,  the  many-teethed  Priocycla  (P.  5t7i- 
nearia  n.  sp.),  is  a  span  worm  feeding  on  the 
oak.  The  pine  Paraphla  (P.piniata  n.  sp.); 
the  pine  Zerene  (Z,  piniaria  n.  sp.),  and  pine 
Parennomos  (P,  piniata  n.  sp.),  have  been 
found  feeding  on  the  pine  in  Canada  by  Mr. 
W.  Saunders,  to  whom  our  entomologists  are 
much  indebted,  among  other  articles,  for  his 
descriptions  of  the  larvn  of  many  of  our  butterflies  and  moths.  Besides 
these  pine  insects,  the  singular  saw-fly  larva  of  a  species  of  Lyda  (Fig. 
154),  which  has  been  found  on  the  Austrian  pine  In  a  garden  In  Salem* 
deserves  mention.  It  Is  a  reddish  olive  green  worm,  with  a  pale  reddish 
head,  and  two  appendages  to  the  end  of  the  body  like  its  antennae. 

A  species  of  the  Snout  moth,  of  the  genus  Botys  (B,  syringicola  n.  sp.) 
has  been  found  by  Mr.  Angus  of  New  York,  boring  the  pith  of  lilac 
bushes,  and  it  is  stated  in  this  connection  that  Mr.  Angus  has  also  found 
a  clear  winged  moth  (uEgeria  syringas  Harris)  to  be  often  destructive 
to  lilacs. 

Of  interest  to  gardeners  is  an  account  of  the  bean  weevil  (Bmchu$ 
granaritu  of  Linnaeus,  PI.  6,  fig.  8,  bean  containing  several  grubs;  Sa^ 
pupa).  This  is  the  well  known  and  very  destructive  bean  weevil  of 
Europe,  concerning  which  Mr.  Angus  writes  Arom  West  Farms.  N.  T.,  to 
the  author :  **  I  send  you  a  sample  of  beans  which  I  think  will  startle  ydtt 


Lanrft  of  a  species  of  Lyda. 


686 


REVIEWS. 


Fig.  165. 


if  yoa  have  not  seen  such  before.  I  discovered  this  beetle  in  the  kidney 
or  bush  beans  a  few  years  ago,  and  they  have  been  greatly  on  the  increase 
every  year  since.  I  might  say  much  on  the  gloomy  prospect  before  us 
in  the  cultivation  of  this  important  garden  and  form  product  if  the  work 

of  this  insect  is  not  cut  short  by  some  means  or  other. 
The  pea  Brnchus  is  bad  enough,  but  this  is  worse." 

Another  insect  is  brought  to  the.  notice  of  farmers, 
the  corn  Sphenophorus  (8,  i^ecs  Walsh,  PI.  6,  flg.  11), 
of  which  Mr.  R.  Howell  of  Tioga  County,  New  York, 
writes  June  14,  1869 :  **  This  is  the  fourth  year  they 
have  infested  the  newly  planted  corn  in  this  vicinity. 
The  enclosed  specimens  were  taken  on  the  llth  in- 
stant. I  presume  that  they  have  been  in  every  hill 
of  corn  in  my  field.  They  pierce  the  young  com  in 
numerous  places,  so  that  each  blade  has  from  one  to 
six  or  eight  holes  of  the  size  of  a  pin,  or  larger,  and 
I  found  a  number  last  Friday  about  an  inch  under 
ground  hanging  to  young  stalks  with  much  tenacity. 
When  very  numerous  every  stalk  is  killed.  Some  fields  two  or  three 
years  ago  were  wholly  destroyed  by  this  insect.  The  habits  of  a  robber* 
fly  (ProcUicanthus  Philadelphicus  fig.  165,  pupa),  which  burrows  in  the  sand 
of  the  shores  of  Flam  Island,  Mass.,  are  noticed,  together  with  those  of 
the  large  horse  fiy  {Tabanns  atratus,  fig.  166,  pupa),  which  In  its  early 
stages  lives  in  garden  mould.  Among  plant  house  insects  Is  noticed 
the  white  scale  bark  louse  (Aspidiotua  bromelicRy  Fl.  6,  fig.  6,  magnified ; 
4,  young  magnified;  4a,  end  of  body  still  more  enlarged).    It  Is  often 


Pupa  of  Bobber-fly. 


¥\g.  VA. 


destroyed  by  a  minute  chalchld  fly,  Coccophagus(  ?  ).  Bols* 
duvaPs  fern  bark  louse  (Lecanium  filicum  PI.  6,  flg.  7a,  scale 
enlarged  seen  f^om  above;  75,  the  same,  seen  from  be- 
neath, and  showing  the  form  of  the  body  surrounded  by 
the  broad  flat  edge  of  the  scale;  7c,  an  antenna,  enlarged; 
:7<f,  a  leg,  enlarged ;  7e,  end  of  the  body,  showing  the  flat- 
tened hairs  flinging  the  edge),  is  common  on  hot-house 
plants,  as  also  the  Platycerium  bark  louse  {Lecaninm  platy* 
eerii  n.  sp.  Fl.  6,  flg.  6,  magnifled;  5a,  an  antenna  en- 
larged), and  the  plant  house  coccus  (C  adonidum  Fl.  6, 
flg.  8,  magnifled) ;  the  plant  house  aleurodes  (A.  vaporarium 
of  Westwood,  PI.  6  flg.  9,  enlarged;  9a,  pupa  enlarged), 
is  more  common  perhaps  than  one  would  suppose.  It  lives 
out  of  doors  on  tomato  leaves  and  we  found  it  not  un- 
common, in  September,  on  strawberry  plants  on  the  grounds  of  the  State 
Agricultural  College,  at  Amherst.  The  list  of  hot-house  insects  Is  com- 
pleted by  one  of  the  most  injurious  of  all,  the  minute  thrips  CHeKothrip$ 
kogmorr?wid<ilis),  fh>m  Europe,  PI.  6,  flg.  2,  greatly  magnifled,  which  by 
its  punctures,  causes  the  surfkce  of  the  leaf  affected  to  torn  red  or  white, 
while  at  times  the  entire  leaf  withers. 


PupaoJ  Uorst^-fly. 


AnerlcHu  NataraUsb 


f  C        * 


f^lf  f 


PACKABD,   ON   INJUBIODS   IH9K0T8. 


NATURAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 


BOTANY. 

Fertilization  of  Salvia  bt  Humble  Bees. —  Mr.  Meehan's  state- 
meDts  **  On  Objections  to  Darwin's  Theory  of  Fertilization  throao^h  In- 
sect Agency/*  at  the  late  meeting  of  the  American  Association  for  the 
Advancement  of  Science,  an  abstract  of  which  is  given  in  the  October 
Number  of  the  American  Naturalist,  are  at  sach  variance  with  my  own 
observations  on  the  same  subject,  that  I  cannot  allow  them  to  pass  un- 
challenged. Mr.  Meehan  affirms  that  the  humble  bee  does  not  enter  the 
corolla  of  the  Salvia  to  obtain  the  honey,  but  ** bores  a  hole  on  the  out- 
side" for  that  purpose.  He  says,  after  describing  the  structure  of  the 
flower —  "  The  principle  Is  perfect.  But  no  insect  is  seen  to  enter"  This 
statement  is  certainly  not  in  accordance  with  facts.  I  have  again  and 
again  observed  the  conduct  of  the  humble  bee  on  the  Salvia;  and  I  affirm 
that  a  large  minority  of  the  bees  do  enter  the  corolla,  and  that  the  anthers 
rest  on  the  back  of  the  Insect  exactly  In  the  way  that  Mr.  Meehan  says 
they  ought  to  rest.  It  is  true  that  some  of  the  bees  do  cut  the  tube  of 
the  corolla  to  get  the  honey.  This,  however,  is  only  done  by  those  bees 
which  are  too  large  to  get  into  the  flower.  —  E.  H.  T.,  Hindsbury,  Delaware 
Co,,  Penn,y  Oct.  16,  1870. 

Motion  in  the  Leaves  of  Rhus  toxicodendron.  —  Botanical  writers 
tell  us  that  sections  of  a  leaf  of  Schinns  molle,  thrown  In  water,  have  a 
peculiar  jerking  motion.  Under  the  name  of  *'  Australian  Myrtle,"  I  have 
received  seeds  ftom  California,  which  prove  to  be  this  plant.  The  leaves 
have  the  motions  described.  I  thought  perhaps  our  own  representatives 
of  this  order  (^Anacardiaceoe)  might  present  the  same  phenomenon.  I  find 
that  this  is  the  case  with  Bhus  toxicodendron.  Small  sections  of  a  leaf 
leap  about  in  water,  but  not  with  the  same  force  as  do  those  of  the  Schinus 
Bhus  aromatica  though  so  nearly  allied,  presents,  to  me,  no  motion.  I 
have  tried  Bhus  glabra,  B,  copallina  and  B.  typhina,  but  find  no  motion 
In  any  but  in  the  one  before  named — the  common  **  poisoning.*'  A  Mend 
to  whom  I  have  suggested  It,  however,  tells  me  that  his  gardener  finds 
that  at  **  some  hour  in  the  day  "  these  also  will  leap  about.  The  Schinus 
and  Bhus  toxicodendron  with  me  exhibit  their  saltatorlal  feats  at  any  and 
all  times.  — Thomas  Meehan. 

Bur  Grass.  —  I  enclose  a  plant  that  Is  very  annoying  to  farmers  on  the 
eastern  shore  of  Maryland.  I  am  not  botanist  enough  to  determine  Its 
place.  The  natives  call  it  '*  Sand  Burr."  Will  you  be  kind  enough  to  say 
something  in  the  Naturalist  about  It?  —  John  W.  I^ott. 

[Cenchrus,  Hedge-hog  or  Bur-grass,  is  peculiar  for  a  general  resem- 
blance to  our  Couch  or  Quitch-grass,  and  in  Its  habits  Is  equally  regarded 

amer.  naturalist,  vol.  IV.  87  (689) 


690  NATURAL   HJSTOBY   MISCELLANY. 

with  aversion  by  the  farmers.  But  this  latter  Is  a  Northern  grass,  not 
found  at  the  South,  while  the  Bur-grass  is  to  be  found  only  beyond  the 
limits  of  New  England;  according  to  Dr.  Lapham,  ftom  Wisconsin  to 
Minnesota;  and  in  the  Middle  and  Southern  States,  according  to  other 
observers.  The  specimen  sent  to  us  by  Mr.  Nott  Is  C  echinatua  Muhlen- 
burg  (Deacriptio  Uberior  Graminumt  p.  61)  and  figured  by  Flunkenet  {Phy- 
tographia  tab.  92-3).  It  is  described  by  Dr.  Chapman  In  his  **  Flora  of 
the  Southern  United  States,"  p.  578 ;  and  another  species,  the  C  tribu- 
loides,  which  grows  on  the  seashores  of  Delaware,  Carolina,  etc.,  known 
as  the  Cockspur  or  Bur-grass,  Is  also  familiar  to  formers,  and  much 
dreaded.  As  much  as  we  detest  the, Couch-grass  of  our  northern  farms, 
we  are  to  rejoice  in  the  absence  of  these  spiny  and  thorny  spiked  and 
burred-grasses  In  our  northern  soils.  In  some  sections  where  the  land  is 
light,  the  Couch-grass  makes  a  nutritions  fodder  and  hay,  being  freely 
eaten  by  horses  and  cows ;  but  we  suspect  that,  these  sagacious  animals 
would  not  care  to  digest  the  flowers  and  seeds  of  the  "  Sand  Burr," 
although  the  leaves  and  stems  of  C.  echinatus  appear  tender  and  abund- 
ant, and  we  can  easily  uuder^itand  that  it  is  very  annoying  where  it 
naturally  grows.  —  J.  L.  Russell.] 

WoLFFLk  IN  Bix>ssoM. — I  have  Just  found  (August  28th,  1870)  the 
Wolffia  Columbiana  Karsten,  flowering  abundantly  in  a  pool  at  Sandwich, 
Ontario,  on  the  Detroit  River.  I  enclose  specimens.  I  discovered  this 
station  for  It  more  than  a  year  ago ;  but  hitherto  have  failed  to  find  the 
flowers  till  now.  Untold  millions  of  these  tiny  plants  covered  the  sur- 
face of  the  water  hiding  It  completely,  and  lying  en  maaae,  at  least  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch  thick.  We  flnd  It,  also  (though  not  fertile),  some 
miles  higher  up  the  river,  at  Connor's  Creek,  Michigan,  but  nowhere  else 
along  the  shores.  Though  Gray  says  "  flowers  and  ftnlt  not  seen,"  it  hss, 
I  think,  been  found  once  In  flower  In  the  CatsklUs.  The  delicate  white 
flowers  disappear  soon  after  taking  it  Arom  the  water;  but  on  placing 
some,  next  day,  in'  my  aquarium,  the  little  plants  at  once  **  righted  them- 
selves," and  the  flowers  almost  instantly  reappeared,  expanding  fTesh  as 
ever  flrom  the  centre  of  the  f^ond.  Last  year,  in  the  same  pool,  it  was 
quite  abundant,  growing  with  Lemna  minor  L.,  which  was,  however, 
largely  in  the  majority.  Now,  I  flnd  the  Wolffla  has  almost  taken  posses- 
sion of  the  pool,  driving  out  the  Lemna,  which  is  **  few  and  for  between," 
and  of  a  sickly,  degraded  type.  —  Henry  GiLLBfAN,  Detroit^  Michigan. 


ZOOLOGY. 

Abdominal  Sknsb-oroans  in  a  Fly.  —  While  engaged  in  naming  a 
collection  of  microscopic  preparations  of  insects  mounted  on  slides  by 
Mr.  T.  W.  Starr  of  Philadelphia,  for  the  collection  of  Dr.  T.  D'Oremleulx 
of  New  York,  my  attention  was  drawn  to  a  sense-organ  situated  on  the 
female  anal  appendages  of  a  species  of  Chrysoplla,  allied  to  C  omata 


NATURAL  mSTOBT  MISCEIXANT.  691 

(Say),  a  genus  of  flies  allied  closely  to  Leptis.  The  female  appendages 
are  ronnded,  somewhat  spatnlate,  and  of  the  nsaal  form  seen  in  other 
species  of  the  genas.  The  appendage  is  covered  with  stiff  coarse  hairs, 
aboat  flfby  in  number,  arising  (Vom  consplcaous,  roand,  clear  cells,  while 
the  whole  sarfkce,  as  seen  under  a  Zentmayer's  4-10  (A  eye-piece),  is 
densely  covered  with  minute  short  hairs.  On  the  posterior  edge  of  the 
upper  side  of  each  appendage  is  situated  a  single,  large  round  sac,  with 
the  edge  quite  regular.  Its  diameter  Is  equal  to  a  third  of  the  length  of 
the  appendage  on  which  it  is  situated.  Dense  flue  hairs,  like  those  cov- 
ering the  appendage,  project  inwards  ftom  its  edge.  The  bottom  of  this 
shallow  pit  is  a  clear  transparent  membrane  not  bearing  any  hairs.  There 
are  no  special  sense-organs  on  the  antennie  of  the  same  insect. 

With  these  organs,  which  I  suppose  to  be  olfactory  in  their  Ainc- 
tion,  may  be  compared  a  very  similar  single  sac  situated  on  the  under 
side  of  the  end  of  the  labial  and  maxillary  palpi  of  a  species  of  Peria, 
mounted  on  a  slide  in  the  same  collection.  Its  diameter  is  nearly  half  as 
great  as  the  palpal  Joint  itself.  Instead  of  being  depressed,  the  sac  in 
Perla  is  a  little  raised,  forming  a  slightly  marked,  flat  tubercle,  which  is 
round,  slightly  ovate,  under  a  4-10  objective.  The  surface  of  the  mem- 
brane (tympanule  of  Lesp^s)  is  naked.  It  is  strongly  probable  that  this 
is  an  olflictory  organ,  and  placed  on  the  under  side  of  the  palpi,  next  to 
the  mouth,  so  as  to  enable  the  insect  to  select  its  proper  food  by  its  odor, 
giving  an  additional  sensory  fdnction  to  the  palpi  of  insects.  There  are 
no  special  sense-organs  in  the  antennee. 

Lesp^s  in  his  note  on  the  auditory  sacs,  which  he  says  are  found  in 
the  antennae  of  nearly  all  insects,  states  that  as  we  have  in  ipsects  com- 
pound eyes,  so  we  have  compound  ears,  I  might  add  that  in  the  abdom- 
inal appendages  of  the  cockroach  we  apparently  have  a  compound  nose. 
in  the  palpi  of  Perla,  and  the  abdominal  appendages  of  Chrysopila  the 
**  nose  *'  is  simple. 

On  examination,  I  have  found  sense-organs  In  both  pairs  of  antennfls 
of  Homarus  Americanus,  the  Lobster,  such  as  are  described  by  Farre,  and 
also  the  more  rudimentary  form  of  supposed  auditory  organs  in  the  com- 
mon spiny  Lobster  (^Palinurus)  of  Key  West,  Florida.  —  A.  S.  P.,  Nov,  80. 

Note  on  the  Existrncb  of  transvsrselt  striated  muscular 
Fibres  is  Acmma. — While  engaged  in  the  examination  of  the  lingual 
ribbon  of  a  species  of  Acmiea  (A,  {CoUiselld)  Bickmorii  Z>.),  brought 
fh>m  Amboyna  by  Mr.  Bickmore,  I  noticed  that,  among  the  fibres  adher- 
ing to  the  ribbon,  were  several  longer  than  the  rest  and  presenting  a  dif- 
ferent appearance.  On  submitting  them  to  a  high  power,  it  was  at  once 
evident  that  this  difference  in  their  appearance  was  due  to  distinct,  well- 
marked,  though  exceedingly  fine,  transverse  stri».  The  structure  of  the 
fibre  itself  was  a  simple  transparent  tube  or  cylinder  with  nuclei  irregu- 
larly disposed  at  intervals  more  or  less  distant.  Upon  closer  examination 
of  other  specimens  the  striated  muscles  were  determined  to  be  the  re- 
tractores  radulce,  or  the  principal,  if  not  the  only  agents  in  pulling  back 


692  NATURAL   HISTOBY  MISOELLANY. 

the  ribbon.  They  were  evidently  voluntary  moscles  acting  with  consid- 
erable rapidity.  It  was  noticeable  that,  of  all  the  muscles  of  the  buccal 
mass,  these  only  exhibited  strlation.  They  differed  A'om  some  of  the 
dorsal  muscles  of  a  small  shrimp  {Paloemon  sp.),  In  being  more  finely  stri- 
ated. I  have  had  no  opportunity,  as  yet,  of  examining  other  species,  and 
therefore  cannot  say  whether  the  phenomenon  is  constant  throughout 
the  genus.  This  is  the  fourth  class  of  the  Mollusca,  including  the  MoUub- 
coidea,  in  which  striated  muscular  fibre  has  been  shown  to  exist ;  it  has 
been  demonstrated  in  Polyzoa  (£!8cAara)  by  Milne-Edwards;  in  Con* 
chifera  {Pecten)  by  Lebert;  in  Ascidia  (^Salpa  and  Appendieularia)  by  Ea- 
chrlcht  and  Moss ;  and  finally  in  Gasteropoda  in  the  present  case.  —  W.  U. 
Dall. 

Cedar  Bird  wrrn  Waxrx  Appbndaobs  on  thr  Tail.  — I  have  not  seen 
it  mentioned  in  any  work,  nor  do  I  think  that  many  are  aware  that  the 
Cedar  bird  {Ampelis  cedrorum  Baird)  is  occasionally,  though  very  rarely, 
found  with  the  tall  decorated  with  those  singular  wax-like,  really  homy 
tips,  which  it  is  well  known  adorn  the  wings.  I  have  recently  been 
shown  a  specimen  taken  in  New  York  State  in  which  the  four  middle  tail- 
feathers  were  heavily  tipped  with  this  red  wax.  I  have  heard  of  three 
other  cases  in  which  this  occurred,  though  not  so  strongly  developed.  I 
believe  that  this  beautlftil  ornament,  which  is  never  found  in  immature 
specimens,  does  not  appear  on  the  wings  till  the  third  year.  And  it  is 
probable  that  the  tall  is  not  so  decorated  till  a  much  later  period.  The 
specimens  here  mentioned  gave  evidence  of  being  unusually  old  birds. — 
Henrt  Gillmax,  J)etroUt  Michigan. 

Habits  of  the  Red-headed  Woodpecker. — In  the  spring  of  1869 
some  Melanerpes  erythrocephalus^  began  pecking  a  hole  for  a  nesting 
place,  at  about  sixty-eight  feet  from  the  ground,  in  the  steeple  of  one  of 
the  churches  that  is  situated  in  our  village.  One  of  our  citizens,  Mr.  J.  C. 
Gibson,  in  order  to  put  a  stop  to  their  operations  and  prevent  the  fkrther 
disfiguration  of  the  edifice,  undertook  to  kill  all  the  birds  he  saw  engaged 
in  pecking  at  the  hole  thus  commenced ;  he  kept  up  his  deadly  assaults 
upon  them  until  this  spring,  when  his  absence  from  home  stopped  his  at- 
tacks upon  them;  he  Informs  me  that  he  killed  In  all  twenty-two  or 
twenty-three  birds  that  had  been  engaged  in  the  work ;  during  his  absence 
a  pair  took  possession  of  the  unfinished  work,  completed  the  nest,  and 
are  now  engaged  in  rearing  a  brood  in  it.  Is  not  such  per»istency  of  pur- 
pose worthy  of  admiration,  notwithstanding  It  is  exhibited  by  a  harmful 
bird? — L.  J.  Stroop,  Wdxahachief  Ellis  county,  Texas,  August  24,  1870. 

American  Panther.  —  The  Catamount,  Cougar,  or  Indian  Devil,  as  the 
American  Panther  (Felis  concolor)  is  called,  is  said  to  be  still  common  in 
the  wild  regions  of  the  Adlrondacks.  Mr.  H.  H.  Bromley  of  .the  Chasm 
House  Informs  me  that  dead  ones  have  often  been  found  in  the  woods, 
having  been  killed  by  the  spines  of  hedge-hogs  which  they  had  attacked. 
—  F.  W.  P. 


NATURAL  HI8TOBT  MISGELLANT.  693 

Notes  ok  Some  of  the  Coast  Fishes  of  Florida.  —  During  a  resi- 
dence of  three  months  in  East  Florida  last  winter,  I  sailed  up  and  down 
the  Halifliz,  Indian,  and  Hlllsboro*' rivers,  and  enjoyed  fine  sport  with 
the  fishes  of  that  region,  many  of  which  I  found  to  be  of  the  first  excel- 
lence on  the  table. 

Sheepshead  {Sarins  ovU  Mitchell).  At  New  Smyrna,  near  the  Mus- 
quito  Inlet,  we  caught  them  in  great  numbers  of  two  to  seven  pounds 
weight.  In  two  hours,  at  half  fiood,  two  of  us  would  often  get  from 
twenty  to  thirty  fish,  averaging  four  pounds  each ;  bait,  clams  or  conchs. 

Bass,  or  Red-fish  {Corvina  ocellata  Guv.).  This  fine  fish  I  found  plenty 
all  along  the  coast  about  the  inlets.  They  are  flrom  two  pounds  to  fifty, 
as  I  am  informed  by  fishermen;  but  the  largest  taken  by  me  weighed 
twenty-five  pounds,  and  was  caught  in  the  narrows  of  the  Indian  River, 
by  trolling  with  a  mullet  bait  and  hand  line.  At  about  half  flood  we 
caught  them  by  casting  a  hand  line,  with  mullet  bait,  far  off  into  the  surf, 
or  by  fishing  with  a  rod  and  line  where  the  channel  ran  near  the  beach. 
This  fish  much  resembles  the  striped  bass  (Ldbrax  linecUus),  in  habits, 
and  is  quite  as  game  a  fish  on  the  hools.  I  had  many  hooks  and  many 
yards  of  strong  bass  line  taken  away  by  them,  as  they  fight  fiercely  to 
the  last.  This  is  a  very  good  fish  on  the  table ;  rich,  firm  and  delicate. 
Its  color  is  very  brilliant  when  recently  taken ;  steel  blue  on  the  back,  of 
a  golden  copper  hue  on  the  sides,  and  white  beneath ;  scales  large ;  tail 
square ;  first  and  second  dorsal  with  sharp  spines ;  teeth  numerous  and 
small  in  the  Jaws ;  large  and  enamelled  on  the  vomer. 

Cavalli  or  Crevall^  {Lichia  Carolina  DeKay).  Family  of  Scombrid®. 
Shape  between  that  of  dolphin  and  mackerel,  though  deeper  than  either; 
color  blue,  gold  and  silver,  and  changeable  like  the  dolphin;  Arom  two 
pounds  to  fifteen ;  goes  in  schools  and  takes  a  bait  of  mullet  eagerly ;  will 
also  take  a  red  rag  or  spoon,  trailed  behind  a  boat ;  a  very  active  and 
strong  fish;  good  eating,  though  rather  dry.  Holbrook  in  his  ** Fishes 
of  South  Carolina,"  seems  to  confound  this  species  with  the  Fampano 
{Bothrol(Bmu8  Pampanus)y  a  very  highly  prized  table  fish  of  the  southern 
waters.  The  latter,  I  am  informed  by  old  fishermen  on  the  Florida  coast, 
never  takes  a  hook,  and  can  only  be  taken  in  nets,  and  at  night.  It  much 
resembles  the  Crevall^  in  appearance. 

Sea-trout  {Otolithus  Carolinensis  Cuv.).  This  belongs  to  the  same  fam- 
ily as  the  Weak  fish  of  the  New  York  coast.  In  shape  and  color  it  resem- 
bles the  lake  trout  of  the  Adirondack  region,  but  wants  the  adipose  fin 
which  distinguishes  the  salmon,  and  of  course  is  not  a  true  trout.  It  is 
an  active  game  fish,  takes  a  mullet  bait  or  clam ;  weight  flrom  two  pounds 
to  fifteen;  color  steel  blue  on  the  back  and  sides,  with  black  spots; 
under  parts.  White  and  silvery;  Inside  of  mouth,  yellow;  head  small, 
teeth  strong,  tall  waved  in  form,  with  a  double  dorsal  fin,  with  spines. 

Black  Snapper  {MesopHon  pargus  Cuv.).  Belongs  to  the  family  of  Per^ 
cidflB ;  is  in  form  like  the  tautog ;  a  bottom  fish,  with  large  mouth  and 
strong  teeth ;  bites  eagerly  at  clam  or  mullet,  and  pulls  hard ;  silvery  in 


694  NATUBAL   HISTORY   HI8CELLAKT. 

color  when  first  taken,  then  tarns  red,  and  lastly  black ;  Is  one  of  the  best 
of  the  southern  table  fishes;  weight,  from  four  to  sixteen  pounds.' 

Crab-cater,  Sergeant  fish  {Elacate  Atlantica  Cuv.)*  Family  of  Scorn- 
brldffi,  or  mackerels ;  found  along  the  shores  of  the  Inlets,  where  It  lurks 
for  prey  among  the  mangrove  roots;  very  voracious;  takes  clams  or 
mullet  bait;  color,  silvery,  with  a  black  stripe  along  the  sides;  hence  its 
local  name  of  Sergeant  fish;  the  under  jaw  longer  than  the  upper;  weight 
np  to  twenty  pounds ;  a  good  table  fish,  though  inferior  to  the  former. 

Whiting  or  King-fish  (  Umbrina  alburnus  DeKay).  Shaped  like  a  perch, 
double  dorsal  with  strong  spines;  color,  gray  and  black  above,  yellowish 
white  beneath ;  mouth  and  teeth  small ;  bottom  fish  of  deep  water ;  takes 
clam  bait ;  very  good  table  fish ;  weight,  ft'om  one  to  two  pounds. 

Croker  (Micropogon  undxilatu8  Cuv.).  A  southern  fish  of  the  perch 
family;  in  form,  deep  like  the  sheepshead;  color,  silvery;  takes  clam 
bait  eagerly ;  weight,  ft'om  one  to  two  pounds ;  a  good  table  fish. 

Hog-fish,  Sailor's  Choice  (ffcemulon  fulvomacul€Uum  Mitchell).  Shaped 
like  the  last ;  a  good  pan  fish ;  weight,  from  half  a  pound  to  a  pound ; 
takes  clam  bait  on  the  bottom. 

Cat-fish,  of  the  salt-water  (^Oaleichthy$  marinus  DeKay).  Handsomer  In 
form  and  color  than  the  ft'esh- water  cat ;  has  a  forked  tail  and  very  high 
dorsal  fin ;  takes  fish  or  clam  bait  on  the  bottom ;  weight,  10  to  15  pounds. 

Black  trout  {Oryates  aalmoides  Lacepdde).  This  is  a  Aresh-water  fish 
of  the  perch  family,  much  resembling  in  appearance  and  habits  the  black 
bass  of  the  western  waters,  except  that  it  has  a  larger  head  and  mouth, 
and  grows  to  a  larger  size,  say  to  twelve  or  fifteen  pounds.  It  takes  live 
bait,  spoon  or  bob,  which  is  a  bunch  of  colored  feathers  with  three  hooks 
concealed  among  them. 

Besides  the  above  fishes,  these  waters  contain  blue  fish,  Spanish 
mackerel,  beluga,  mullet,  Jew  fish,  drum,  shad,  lady  fish,  porpoise, 
sharks,  saw  fish,  sting  ray,  the  hawk's  bill  turtle,  the  soft-shelled  turtle, 
the  green  turtle,  clams,  oysters  and  crabs,  of  various  kinds. —  S.  C. 
Clabkb. 

GEOLOGY. 

Discovert  of  Lower  Carboniferous  fossils  on  the  Rio  Tafajos.  — 
I  am  Just  returning  Ttom  a  very  interesting  and  profitable  trip  up  the  Rio 
Tapajos,  where  I  have  had  the  good  luck  to  discover  an  extensive  set  of 
limestones,  sandstones,  and  shales,  of  lower  carboniferous  age,  firom 
which  I  have  made  a  very  large  collection  of  beautlfkil  fossils.  As  near 
as  I  can  ascertain  at  present,  I  have  at  least  one  hnndred  and  fifty 
species  of  Brachiopods,  Lamellibranchs,  Polyzoons,  Gasteropods,  Trllo- 
bites,  fishes,  and  a  few  plants,  the  majority  of  the  species  being  determin- 
able. Of  the  Brachiopods  I  have  some  magnificently  preserved  speci- 
mens, showing  interiors.  I  am  ^oing  back  to  Par&  to  give  up  my  little 
steamer  and  divide  np  my  party.  I  then  return  to  the  Tapajos  with  a 
very  small  party,  including  a  photographer,  to  examine  more  careftilly, 


NATURAL  mSTOBT   MISOfiLLANT.  695 

not  only  these  rocks,  bot  to  study  the  Amazon  sandstones  and  clays.  I 
have  seen  nothing  to  cause  me  to  change  my  opinion  about  the  age  of  the 
lost  named  formation.  I  have  not  succeeded  in  finding  any  fossils  in 
them.  1  have  found  beautlfhl  fossil  leaves  of  apparently  recent  plants,  in 
a  recent  ironstone.  In  the  hill  of  Crer6,  Monte  Alegrc,  and  near  Santa- 
rem,  beds  of  basalt  occur.  —  C.  F.  Hartt,  on  board  Ghvemment  Steamer 
^^Jurupenaem,"  near  Monte  Alegre,  Bio  Amazonas,  Oct.  5th,  1870. 

New  Fossil  Fishes. — Prof.  Cope  has  recently  studied  the  genus  SaurO' 
eephalus  and  allies,  firom  the  Cretaceous,  and  states  as  a  result,  that  these 
fishes  are  not  in  the  least  related  to  the  SphyrtBnidcRj  where  they  have  been 
placed  heretofore.  The  structure  of  the  mouth  is  like  that  of  the  Chara- 
cinidoi,  while  the  neural  arches  are  distinct  and  the  tail  vertebrated  as  In 
Amia.  The  pectoral  spines  have  been  described  by  Leldy,  as  those  of  a 
SUuroid,  under  the  name  of  Xiphaetinus ;  and  the  beautlAiUy  segmented 
rays  referred  to  Ptychodus,  by  Agasslz,  he  regards  as  the  anal  or  caudal 
rays  of  Sauroc^phaltte.  The  affinities  might  be  more  correctly  expressed 
as  combining  characters  of  Salmo  and  Amia.  Professor  Cope  describes  a 
new  genus,  Ichthyodectee,  type  species  /.  cteriodon;  the  former  diflers  Arom 
the  known  genera,  Saurocephalus  and  Saurodon,  in  not  having  the  series 
of  nutritious  foramina  on  the  Inner  side  of  the  alveolar  ridges.  He  refers 
the.se  fishes  to  a  new  fgimlly,  under  the  name  of  Saurodontidoi. 

Plastictfy  ok  Rocks.  —  The  old  cobble-stone  pavement  In  Waverly 
Place,  between  Broadway  and  Mercer  street,  being  now  in  process  of  re- 
moval, my  attention  has  been  drawn  to  the  forms  of  the  stones,  especially 
the  harder  ones,  quartzltes,  etc.  The  coarser  granulated  paving  stones 
have  generally  crumbled,  but  the  compact  stones  have  been  modified  — 
convex  surfaces  in  one  case  fitting  Into  concave  In  another;  none  of  them 
retaining  a  normal  form.  Now,  although  the  crown  of  these  stones  has 
been  worn  by  the  attrition  of  constant  and  heavy  travel,  no  such  wear 
can  have  taken  place  on  their  perpendicular  surfaces,  and  I  am  therefore 
convinced  that  they  have  been  moulded  Into  one  another  by  pressure  only. 
On  conversing  with  the  workmen,  they  all  concurred  as  to  the  fact,  and 
the  foreman  stated  that  his  attention  had  been  called  to  It  before.  Very 
probably  I  am  myself  only  repeating  what  Is  already  well  known  to 
others.  —  Oeoroe  Gibbs,  New  York, 

Salt  Plains  in  New  Mexico.  —  Brevet  Major  General  August  V. 
Kautz,  U.  8.  Army,  writing  f^om  Fort  Stanton,  New  Mexico,  informs  me 
that  there  is  a  valley  of  some  two  hundred  miles  long  and  twenty  wide, 
lying  between  the  Sierra  Blanca  and  the  San  Andreas  and  Occura  moun- 
tains. In  that  Territory,  in  which  there  is  no  stream,  and  only  a  few  alka- 
line springs  and  salt  lakes,  or  ponds.  Where  the  road  ftom  Fort  Stanton 
to  El  Paso  crosses  it,  about  sixty  miles  south  of  that  post.  Is  a  plain  of 
white  sand,  apparently  granulated  gypsum,  which  has  drifted  Into  mounds, 
forty  and  fifty  feet  in  height.  Water  of  a  strongly  alkaline  character  is 
obtained  by  digging  a  few  feet,  and  around  the  edges  of  this  district,  salt 
marshes  exist,  where  in  the  dry  seasons,  great  quantities  of  almost  pnre 
salt  may  be  collected.    The  sand  is  so  white  and  the  plain  so  extensive 


696  NATURAL  HI8TOBT  HISCELLANT. 

to  give  the  eflbct  of  snow  sceneiy.  As  I  do  not  remember  to  have  seen  a 
description  of  the  place  in  print,  I  send  yon  this  note  with  a  specimen  of 
the  sand  forwarded  bj  General  Kantz.  —  Gboros  Gibbs,  New  York, 

MICROSCOPY. 

A  New  Porm  of  Binocular  for  use  with  High  Powers  of  the 
Microscope.*  —  Of  the  several  forms  of  binocular  arrangement  for  the 
microscope  which  have  hitherto  been  constructed,  only  such  as  are 
adapted  for  asc  with  low  powers  exclasively,  have  as  yet  come  into  gen- 
eral use.  or  these,  the  Wenham  prism  is  the  popular  favorite,  and  hardly 
any  other  form  is  employed  at  all  by  British  or  American  constructors. 
Mr.  Wenham's  binocular,  when  employed  with  powers  below  about  one- 
half  inch,  leaves  nothing  to  be  desired ;  but  with  higher  powers  than  this, 
the  field  is  so  imperfectly  and  so  unequally  illuminated  lliat  it  ceases  to 
be  available. 

The  Wenham  binocular,  like  the  original  binocular  of  Dr.  Riddell,  and 
like  the  diflferent  forms  constructed  by  Mr.  Nachet,  divides  the  light, 
after  it  has  passed  the  objective,  by  a  vertical  section  passing  through 
the  middle  of  the  entire  bundle  of  pencils.  Into  two  equal  portions,  one 
of  which  is  directed  to  each  eye.  But  although  the  entire  body  of  the 
light  is  thus  equally  divided,  the  same  is  not  true  of  the  several  pencils 
which  make  it  up.  Only  those  pencils  in  fact  can  undergo  equal  division 
whose  radiant  points  in  the  object  lie  exactly  in  the  plane  of  the  section. 
AH  others  will  be  divided  unequally,  and  the  inequality  will  be  greater  In 
proportion  as  the  radiants  are  more  distant  from  that  plane.  If  the  divis- 
ion could  be  efibcted  at  the  centre  of  the  fh>nt  lens  of  the  objective,  the 
inequality  Just  spoken  of  would  disappear ;  but  such  a  division  is  of  course 
impracticable.  With  objectives  of  low  power,  the  base  of  each  conical 
pencil  of  rays  (which  is  the  area  of  the  fh>nt  lens  of  the  system)  is  so 
large,  that  the  inequality  of  illumination  consequent  upon  the  unequal 
division  .of  the  pencils  themselves  Is  not  sufficiently  great  to  be  objec- 
tionable; but  with  high  power  objectives,  the  pencils  are  very  slender; 
and  at  the  distance  behind  the  combination  at  which  it  is  necessary  to 
place  the  binocular  construction,  many  are  very  disproportionately  di- 
vided, and  many  escape  division  altogether. 

By  the  Introduction  of  an  erector  into  the  body  of  the  microscope,  the 
pencils,  which  cross  each  other  once  in  entering  the  Aront  lens  of  the 
combination,  may  be  made  to  cross  a  second  time ;  and  It  Is  obvious  that 
if  the  dividing  apparatus  of  the  binocular  be  introduced  at  the  point  of 
this  second  crossing,  all  the  pencils  will  be  divided  with  the  same  equality 
as  they  would  be  If  the  division  could  be  effected  at  the  centre  of  the 
fh>nt  lens  Itself.  Availing  himself  of  this  principle,  Mr.  Tolles,  some 
years  since,  constructed  a  binocular  eye-piece  which  solves  completely 
the  optical  problem  under  consideration  for  all  powers ;  but  this  Instm- 

*  Read  by  F.  A.  P.  Barnard  LL.  D..  President  of  ColambU  College,  N.  Tn  before  the  Mlcro- 
•eopleal  Section  of  the  American  Aaeoclatlon  tar  Che  AdTaneement  of  Soienoe,  Troy  meeting. 


NATURAL  mSTORT  MTSOELLANT.  697 

ment  is  costly,  and  apart  Arom  this  objection,  it  has  for  some  reason  or 
other  failed  to  become  a  favorite  with  those  who  have  used  it. 

It  is  now  two  or  three  years  since  Mr.  Wenham  suggested  the  practi- 
cability of  constructing  a  binocular  for  high  powers,  by  means  of  a  con- 
triyance  which  should  reflect  one-half  the  light  of  each  pencil  and 
transmit  the  other  half.  This  plan  was  to  take  a  glass  prism  with  par- 
allel surfEu^s,  and  to  cut  this  by  an  oblique  section  at  an  angle  suitable  to 
reflect  one-half  the  light  which  should  be  incident  upon  it  after  entering 
the  prism  perpendicularly  to  one  of  the  original  faces.  The  two  portions 
of  the  divided  prism  being  replaced  in  position  to  reconstruct  the  origi- 
nal prism,  the  surfaces  of  section  being  very  nearly  but  not  quite  in  con- 
tact, the  whole  is  placed  behind  the  objective,  when  the  transmitted 
portion  of  the  light  will  give  one  image,  while  the  reflected  portion,  afler 
a  second  reflection  within  the  prism,  will  flimish  the  other.  In  this  ar- 
rangement there  is  a  possibility  of  some  conftision  in  the  image  seen  by 
reflection,  in  consequence  of  the  duplication  of  the  reflecting  surface. 
On  this  account,  or  for  some  other  reason  not  stated,  Mr.  Wenham  did 
not  follow  up  his  invention. 

In  the  January  number  of  <*8i]liman's  Journal"  for  1868,  Professor 
Hamilton  L.  Smith,  now  of  Hobart  College,  described  a  binocular  arrange- 
ment invented  by  himself.  In  which  it  was  proposed  to  effect  the  division 
of  the  light  by  means  of  a  long  thin  glass  reflector  placed  very  obliquely 
in  the  body  of  the  microscope.  As  both  surfaces  of  such  a  mirror  will 
reflect  light  with  intensity,  it  Is  necessary  that  these  surfaces  should  not 
be  parallel.  It  was  Professor  Smith's  flrst  idea  to  make  the  reflecting 
plate  sufficiently  wedge-shaped  to  throw  the  second  image  out  of  the 
fleld ;  but  experiment  showed  him  that,  by  making  the  inclination  of  the 
surfaces  very  slight,  the  images  might  be  made  perfectly  to  coalesce. 
This  construction  involved  the  disadvantage  that  the  length  of  the  body 
of  the  microscope  could  not  be  varied,  but  it  was  attended  with  an  impor- 
tant saving  of  light.  Hitherto  Professor  Smith's  binocular  has  not  been 
constructed  by  regular  opticians,  and  its  merits  are  not  flilly  known. 
The  constructions  by  Professor  Smith  himself  perform  very  well,  but 
have  a  rather  limited  fleld. 

Messrs.  Powell  and  Lealand,  of  London,  have  patented  a  binocular 
which  resembles  Professor  Smith's  in  that  it  divides  the  light  by  re- 
flection at  the  flrst  surface  of  a  glass  mirror;  but  the  surfaces  of  this 
mirror  are  parallel,  and  the  image  flrom  the  second  surface  is  got  rid  of 
by  giving  to  the  glass  considerable  thickness.  The  reflected  rays  are  re- 
flected a  second  time  by  means  of  a  right  angled  prism.  As  this  arrange- 
ment is  actually  constructed,  the  image  seen  by  reflection  is  greatly 
inferior  in  brilliancy  to  that  formed  by  the  transmitted  rays.  In  fact, 
when  very  high  powers  are  employed,  the  image  by  reflection  is  practi- 
cally unavailable  for  any  useftil  purpose.  This  evil  might  be  remedied 
by  increasing  the  angle  of  incidence  at  which  the  rays  fh>m  the  objective 
fall  upon  the  flrst  reflecting  surface ;  but  this  expedient  would  be  attended 

AMKR.  NATURALIST,  VOL.   IV.  88 


698  NATURAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 

by  a  large  Increase  in  the  amount  of  light  lovt  at  the  second  reflecting 
surface,  and  by  a  corresponding  diminution  of  the  brightness  of  the  im- 
age seen  by  transmission. 

Binoculars  constmcted  on  the  principles  of  those  last  described  may  be 
called  cata-dicptriCy  in  contradistinction  from  those  which  split  the  body, of 
the  light  geometrically,  and  which  are  properly  denominated  stereotomic. 
They  have  not  the  advantage  which  belongs  to  stereotomic  binoculars, 
of  presenting  the  object  viewed  in  all  its  three  dimensions.  But  they 
permit  what  most  observers  regard  as  very  desirable,  or  find  at  least  very 
comfortable,  the  use  of  both  eyes  at  the  same  time.  It  is  true  that  there 
are  many  whom  practice  has  so  accustomed  to  the  use  of  a  single  eye, 
that  they  profess  to  suffer  no  inconvenience  itom  this  mode  of  observa- 
tion, and  regard  binoculars  with  indifference  except  so  far  as  they  are 
recommended  by  their  stereoscopic  effect.  But  however  slight  may  be 
the  momentary  inconvenience  attendant  on  observation  with  a  single  eye, 
it  is  believed  that  no  microscopist  can  continue  to  observe  in  this  manner 
for  a  series  of  years,  without  finding  that  his  eyes  have  lost  the  equal 
power  which  they  once  possessed  of  accommodating  themselves  to  dis- 
tances. It  seems  impossible  to  prevent  this  result  fh>m  supervening 
sooner  or  later,  unless  by  maintaining  a  strict  impartiality  in  the  employ- 
ment of  the  eyes  alternately  at  the  microscope ;  and  this  is  what  few  re- 
member, or  If  they  remember,  are  disposed  to  do.  If  by  the  use  of  a 
binocular  this  evil  can  be  prevented,  this  fact  alone  is  suflacient  to  make 
a  good  form  of  this  instrument  adapted  to  the  higher  powers  desirable. 
Such  a  form  is  believed  to  have  been  found  In  the  construction  now  to  be 
described. 

If  a  rectangular  prism  of  calc  spar  be  cut  with  four  of  its  faces  parallel 
and  the  other  two  perpendicular  to  the  direction  of  the  optic  axis,  a  ray 
of  light  incident  perpendicularly  upon  any  one  of  the  lateral  faces  will  be 
divided  by  double  refk'action  Into  two  rays,  but  both  of  these  two  rays  will 
pursue  the  common  direction  of  the  incident  ray  continued.  There  is  a 
laige  difference  between  the  two  indexes  of  refraction.  The  index  of  the 
ordinary  ray  is  1.6543,  and  that  of  the  extraordinary,  1.4833.  If  now  the 
prism  be  divided  by  a  plane  section  oblique  to  the  axis,  the  two  rays  co-ln- 
cident  In  direction,  as  above  supposed,  will  be  unequally  reflected  by  this 
plane.  And  the  ordinary  ray  will  suffer  total  reflection  at  an  angle  at 
which  the  extraordinary  ray  is  almost  totally  transmitted.  The  angle  of 
total  reflection  for  this  ordinary  ray  is  37^  11',  while  that  at  which  total 
transmission  occurs  for  the  extraordinary  ray  is  34^  2'.  From  34^  to  37^, 
the  amount  of  light  reflected  fVom  the  extraordinary  ray  Is  Inconslder^ 
able ;  amounting  at  the  latter  angle  not  quite  to  eight  one-thousandths  of 
the  entire  ray,  and  to  four  one- thousandths  of  the  total  Intensity  of  the 
ray  originally  incident  upon  the  prism.  If,  therefore,  the  supposed  calc 
spar  prism  were  cut  by  a  plane,  mailing  an  angle  of  37°  11'  with  one  of  its 
lateral  faces,  a  ray  incident  perpendicularly  upon  this  lateral  face  and 
meeting  the  plane  of  section,  would  be  half  reflected  and  half  transmitted. 


NATURAL   HISTORY   MISCELLANY.  699 

or  so  nearly  so  that  tl)«  Ineqaality  woald  bo  imperceptible.  Moreover, 
the  very  minute  portion  of  the  extraordinary  ray  which  would  undergo 
reflection,  would  deviate  more  than  two  degrees  fh>m  the  direction  of  the 
reflected  ordinary  ray ;  and  so,  supposing  this  prism  to  form  part  of  a 
binocular  arrangement  for  the  microscope,  would  be  thrown  out  of  the 
field. 

But  the  pencils  of  rays  which  go  to  form  the  image  in  the  body  of  the 
microscope  have  a  certain  angular  spread.  If,  therefore,  the  axis  of  the 
central  pencil  be  perpendicular  to  a  given  plane,  those  of  the  lateral  pen- 
cils will  be  Inclined  to  the  same  plane.  Accordingly  if  this  central  axis 
were  to  be  Incident  on  the  supposed  plane  of  section  at  37°,  the  inciden- 
ces of  the  lateral  pencils  would  vary  between  34°  and  40°,  or  possibly 
between  limits  somewhat  larger.  Also  as  the  lateral  rays  of  each  pen- 
cil are  Inclined  more  or  less  to  the  axes  of  the  same  pencils,  the  limits  of 
maximum  and  minimum  incidence  would  be  more  largely  ettended  by  this 
circumstance.  For  low  powers  we  should  have  to  allow  for  a  range  of 
incidences  embracing  perhaps  eight  or  nine  degrees  of  diflference.  For 
very  high  powera  this  range  would  hardly  exceed  six. 

If  the  incidence  of  the  central  axis  Is  fixed  at  87°  11',  the  angle  of  total 
reflection  for  the  ordinary  ray,  then  the  lateral  pencils  of  this  ray,  whose 
incidences  are  less  than  37°  11',  will  be  to  a  certain,  but  not  very  con- 
siderable, degree,  transmitted.  This  does  not  aflVict  tjie  definition  of  the 
image  seen  by  transmission,  but  it  gives  it  a  slight  superiority  to  the 
other  in  respect  to  brightness.  If,  however,  the  incidence  of  the  central 
axis  Is  made  as  great  as  89°,  the  two  images  become  sensibly  equal  in 
brightness.  In  this  case  some  of  the  lateral  pencils  of  the  extraordinary 
ray  will  attain  an  incidence  of  42°,  at  which  point  the  amount  of  reflec- 
tion is  quite  sensible,  but  this  does  not  materially  afi'ect  the  middle  of  the 
field,  nor  Is  it  sufficient  to  impair,  perceptibly,  the  brilliancy  of  the  Image 
seen  by  transmitted  light. 

It  is  now  about  three  years  since  the  plan  of  a  binocular  founded  on  the 
principles  above  explained,  was  devised  by  the  writer  of  this  paper;  but 
this  plan  was  not  Immediately  realized  in  consequence  of  a  dlfiSculty  en- 
countered In  obtaining  calclte  prisms  suitably  prepared.  Opticians  were 
applied  to  in  London,  and  in  this  country,  but  no  one  was  found  willing  to 
attempt  the  preparation.  In  the  spring  of  1869,  Professor  Rood,  of  Co- 
lumbia College,  kindly  lent  his  aid  to  the  accomplishment  of  this  under- 
taking, so  far  as  to  verify  experimentally  the  anticipations  of  theory ;  but 
time  would  not  permit  him  to  give  to  the  prisms  the  finish  required  for  a 
perfect  instrument.  The  work  was  finally  done  during  the  following 
summer  by  Hofilman  of  Paris,  with  results  entirely  satisfactory. 

In  the  original  construction  the  calclte  prism  was  made  rectangular. 
The  ordinary  ray,  after  reflection  f^om  the  surface  of  section,  emerged 
from  the  terminal  plane  at  an  incidence  of  twelve  degrees.  It  was  re- 
flected a  second  time  by  means  of  a  triangular  prism  of  flint  glass  having 
nearly  the  same  index  of  refraction,  of  which  the  first  surface  was  placed 


700 


NATURAL  HISTORY  MISGELLANT. 


parallel  to  the  terminal  plane  of  the  calclte.  It  was  thought  that  the 
very  nearly  eqaal  and  opposite  refhictions  thus  saffered  by  the  ray  wonld 
suffice  to  prevent  sensible  aberration ;  and  this  is  nearly  tme.  But  the 
unequal  dispersive  power  of  the  two  substances  makes  itself  slightly 
manifest  when  the  objectives  used  are  low ;  though  this  defect  disappeara 
in  the  case  for  which  the  instrument  is  intended  —  that  is  with  high  pow- 
ers. Nevertheless,  it  has  been  thought  best  in  new  constructions  now 
ifreparing,  to  give  such  an  obliquity  to  the  terminal  plane  of  the  calcite 
that  the  reflected  ray  may  be  incident  upon  it  perpendicularly,  and  to 
modify  correspondingly  the  flint  glass  prism.  On  the  whole  it  appears  to 
be  best  also  to  give  the  plane  of  section  an  inclination  of  about  8^^  in- 
stead of  89®.  Indeed  it  would  appear  that,  for  low  powers,  the  lower 
angle  is  preferable,  and  for  high  powers  the  higher;  doubtless  because, 
on  account  of  the  larger  range  of  difliitrences  of  incidence  in  the  former 
case,  there  is  a  larger  reflection  of  the  extraordinary  ray,  which  is  greatly 
reduced  by  a  very  small  change  in  the  angle  of  incidence.  For  this  rea- 
son it  is  convenient  to  have  the  system  of  prisms  ro  mounted  that  it  can 
receive  a  slight  rotation  about  an  axis  perpendicular  to  the  plane  of  re- 
flection, and  to  adjust  it  to  the  position  most  satisfactory  with  the  power 
employed. 

The  annexed  flgure  (140)  will  serve  to  give  an  idea  of  the  form  of  con- 
struction now  employed.    ABCD  is  a  section,  parallel  to  one  of  the  lat- 


Fig.  140. 


eral  flaices,  of  a  calcite  prism,  origi- 
nally rectangular,  of  which  the  optic 
axis  is  parallel  to  the  section,  and  to 
the  sides  AB  and  DC.  This  prism  is 
divided  by  a  plane  perpendicular  to 
ABCD,  making  an  angle  of  88®  with 
AB  and  52®  with  AD.  Also,  the  face, 
BC,  inclined  14®  to  the  original  face 
of  the  rectangular  prism,  is  made  to 
replace  that  fbce.  The  prism,  when 
completed,  should  have  its  lower  fiice 
square,  and  the  side  of  the  square  which  is  equal  to  DC,  should  be  six- 
tenths  of  an  inch.  The  remaining  dimensions  will  be  determined  by  this, 
and  by  ED,  which  should  be  three-twentieths  of  an  inch.  The  surAices 
of  section,  BE,  may  be  brought  very  near  to  each  other.  In  the  con- 
struction actually  employed  they  have  been  separated  only  by  a  single 
thickness  of  tinfoil,  introduced  at  each  of  the  angles. 

The  prism,  FGH,  is  of  flint  glass  with  a  refhicting  index  as  high  as  1.56 
or  higher.  It  is  isosceles,  having  an  obtuse  angle  of  92®  at  F,  the  acute 
angles  being  equal  and  each  44®.  The  side,  FH,  being  parallel  to  BC,  a 
ray  incident  perpendicularly  upon  DC,  and  doubly  reft>acted  by  the  prism, 
is  resolved  Into  the  two  rays,  e  and  o,  of  which  the  first  is  transmitted,  and 
the  second,  reflected  by  BE,  passes  perpendicularly  through  the  two  snr* 
fiices,  BC  and  FH,  is  a  second  time  reflected  by  GH,  and  flnally  emerges 


NATURAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY.  701 

at  right  angles  flrom  the  face  FGr.  The  inclination  of  o  to  «  is  twelve  de- 
grees. It  would  be  preferable  to  make  it  somewhat  less,  as  this  inclina- 
tion allows  only  a  length  of  body  to  the  microscope  of  about  seven  inches. 
By  employing  in  the  prism,  FGH,  glass  of  higher  refracting  power,  it  may 
be  made  less,  and  by  using  calcite  for  this  prism,  or  in  other  words,  by 
malting  BCDE  and  FGU  all  of  a  single  piece,  the  same  object  may  be  at- 
tained to  any  desired  degree.  The  objections  to  this  latter  plan  are  two- 
fold. The  first  relates  to  the  difficulty  of  construction.  It  is  said  thad 
the  Wenham  trapezoidal  prism  of  glass  Is  troublesome  to  make.  The 
difficulty  would  be  much  increased  in  the  use  of  such  a  material  as  calcite, 
especially  when  it  is  necessary  to  preserve  an  exactly  prescribed  relation 
between  the  faces  of  the  prism  and  the  optic  axis.  The  second  objection 
is  found  in  the  consideration  that,  in  order  to  adapt  the  tubes  of  the  bi- 
nocular to  the  eyes  of  different  observers,  it  is  necessary  to  give  to  one 
of  the  tubes  an  angular  movement,  moving  the  prism,  FGH,  at  the  same 
time,  by  half  the  same  angular  amount,  as  is  done  by  Mr.  Nachet  in  one 
of  his  forms  of  binocular ;  or  to  move  this  tube  and  prism  laterally,  as 
Mr.  Nachet  has  also  done  in  another  of  his  forms.  This  necessity  arises 
f^om  the  fact  that,  if  the  tubes  are  sufficiently  inclined  to  each  other  to 
permit  an  accommodation  to  dlfiterent  eyes  by  running  them  in  and  out, 
as  is  done  by  Mr.  Wenham,  they  must  be  made  shorter  than  is  desirable. 
The  reflected  pencils  might  be  made  to  cross  the  transmitted  before 
reaching  the  eye,  as  is  done  both  in  Wenham's  and  in  Powell  and  Lea- 
land's  contrivances ;  and  this  would  remedy  the  inconvenience  last  men- 
tioned ;  but  it  would  necessitate  the  use  of  a  prism,  in  place  of  FGH,  of 
difficult  construction,  and  of  greater  size  than  is  desirable. 

But  there  is  another  objection  to  the  crossing  of  the  pencils  which  is 
more  serious.  This  binocular,  as  actually  constructed,  produces,  when 
used  with  moderate  powers,  a  sensibly  stereo- 
scopic efl'ect.  Nor  is  It  difficult  to  understand  why 
it  should  do  so.  In  any  stereotomic  binocular, 
Wenham's  for  instance,  it  will  be  observed  that 
the  half  of  each  pencil  which  falls  upon  the  front 
lens  of  the  objective,  is  carried  to  the  opposite 
eye;  and  this  ought  to  be  so,  because  the  image 
actually  seen  is  reversed  in  position.  Now,  by 
considering  the  figure  annexed  (141),  it  will  be 
seen  that  if  aa'a"  be  the  axial  ray  of  a  converging 
pencil  of  which  bb'b"  and  cc*c"  are  the  lateral  lim- 
iting rays,  and  if  a  transparent  refiector,  MN,  be  In- 
terposed obliquely  in  the  path  of  this  pencil,  the  angles  of  incidence  of  all 
the  rays  intermediate  between  a'  and  h*  will  be  larger  than  those  of  the 
rays  between  a'  and  c'.  Of  the  refiected  rays,  therefore,  those  between 
a'"  and  &'"  will  be  more  abundant  than  those  between  a'"  and  c''' ;  while 
of  those  which  are  transmitted  the  excess  will  lie  between  a"  and  c'',  and 
there  will  be  a  corresponding  deficiency  between  a"  and  &".    Now  if  all 


702  NATURAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 

the  light  except  these  excesses  should  be  exttngafshed,  It  will  at>peaT  at 
once  that  the  lllaminatlon  still  oDtstanding  would  be  sach  as  is  required 
to  produce  stereoscopic  vision ;  that  is,  each  half  of  the  pencil  would  go  to 
the  opposite  eye.  In  our  calclte  prism,  we  have  seen  that  in,  for  instance, 
the  central  pencil,  there  is  total  reflection  for  the  ordinary  ray  between 
a'  and  6',  but  that  there  is  some  transmission  toward  c'.  The  extraordi- 
nary ray,  on  the  other  hand,  is  almost  totally  transmitted  between  a*  and 
9t  and  loses  something  by  reflection  toward  &'.  These  eflbcts  are  more 
marked  in  some  of  the  oblique  pencils,  and  the  consequence  is,  that,  with 
low  powers,  the  stereoscopic  appearance  Is  very  perceptible.  To  cross 
the  reflected  rays  upon  the  transmitted  behind  the  prisms  would  there- 
fore be  productive  of  a  pseudoscopic  efllect  which  would  be  objectionable. 
But  with  high  powers,  on  account  of  the  small  difl*erence  of  incidence 
existing  in  that  case  between  hb*  and  gc\  the  image  appears  plain. 

As  a  test  of  the  performance  of  this  binocular,  it  may  be  mentioned 
that,  by  means  of  it,  the  most  difllcult  natural  objects  have  been  resolved 
by  observation  with  both  eyes,  or  with  either  eye  singly.  With  a  Wales' 
objective  marked  one- thirtieth,  but  more  exactly  rated  one-twenty-fifth, 
and  with  the  B  oculars,  the  Providence  Grammatophora  is  thus  resolved 
with  great  facility. 

When  the  power  used  Is  below  one-fo.urth,  there  Is  a  little  haziness  pro- 
duced in  the  image  seen  by  reflection,  In  consequence  of  the  mingling  of 
the,  to  some  extent,  reflected  extraordinary  ray,  Arom  the  clear  field  sur- 
rounding the  object.  This  efitect  Is  immediately  removed,  by  placing  over 
the  slide  a  card,  out  of  which  has  been  cut  a  slip  having  the  width  of  the 
field.  Such  a  card,  or  a  similar  thin  plate  of  metal,  may  be  easily  secured 
to  the  stand,  so  that  the  stage  and  slide  may  move  beneath  it  while  it 
remains  fixed.  This  haze  is  moreover  suppressed  still  more  easily  by 
slightly  tilting  the  system  of  prisms,  so  as  to  diminish  by  a  degree  or  two 
the  angle  of  incidence  upon  the  refiectiug  plane  of  section.  This  really 
gives  to  the  Image  seen  by  transmission  the  advantage  In  respect  to  il- 
lumination; but  as,  with  low  powers,  both  images  are  strongly  illumi- 
nated, the  diflierence  Is  scarcely  noticeable.  It  is  well,  therefore,  in 
mounting  the  prisms,  to  provide  some  system  of  adjustment  by  which  the 
position  may  be  varied  to  correspond  to  the  power  employed. 

Some  experiments  have  been  made  with  calclte  prisms  cut  in  such  a 
manner  that  the  extraordinary  ray  proceeding  f^oro  common  light  perpen- 
dicularly Incident  upon  the  first  surface,  should  fall  at  a  smaller  Incidence 
than  the  ordinary  upon  the  surface  of  the  reflecting  section.  Thus,  if,  in 
figure  140,  the  optic  axis  has  the  direction  BE  the  extraordinary  ray  will 
deviate  toward  the  left,  ft>om  the  ordinary,  after  perpendicular  incidence 
on  DC,  by  nearly  five  degrees.  This  is  favorable  to  the  transmission  of 
the  extraordinary  ray  through  BE ;  but  as  the  index  of  extraordinary  re- 
fraction is  considerably  greater  in  this  direction,  the  amount  of  loss  by 
reflection  is  about  the  same  as  before.  The  construction  employed  at 
first  gives  results  which  are  very  satisfactory ;  but  It  is  designed  to  por- 


notes;  703 

sne  experiment  Airther,  and  with  the  able  assistance  of  Mr.  Joseph  Zent- 
mayer»  whose  zeal  for  the  improvement  of  the  microscope  has  induced 
him  to  undertake  the  rather  troublesome  task  of  preparing  the  prisms,  it 
will  soon  be  ascertained  whether  or  not  any  material  advantage  can  be 
gained,  by  adopting  a  dilTerent  plan  of  cutting  them. 


NOTES. 

Our  readers  are  doubtless  aware  that  Congress  at  the  last  session  made 
an  appropriation  of  $50,000  for  Arctic  exploration,  with  the  promise  that 
the  scientific  operations  of  the  expedition  were  to  be  prescribed  by  the 
National  Academy  of  Sciences.  Captain  Hall  was  appointed  by  the 
President  of  the  United  States  to  command  the  expedition  in  question, 
and  a  commission  of  the  National  Academy,  recommended  by  Professor 
Henry  are  to  act  in  concert  with  him.  and  prepare  a  manual  of  scientific 
inquiry  for  the  use  of  the  expedition,  which  will,  undoubtedly,  interest  a 
large  circle  of  renders  when  published. 

Mr.  A.  Hyatt  has  been  appointed  Professor  of  Palaeontology  at  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Institute  of  Technology.  Mr.  E.  S.  Morse  has  been  chosen 
Professor  of  Comparative  Anatomy  and  Zoology  at  Bowdoin  College,  and 
has  been  appointed  Lecturer  in  the  same  branch  at  the  Maine  Agricul- 
tural College.  Dr.  A.  S.  Packard,  Jr.,  is  to  lecture  on  Economic  Entomol- 
ogy at  the  same  institution.  Mr.  B.  K.  Emerson  has  recently  been 
elected  Professor  of  Geology  at  Amherst  College,  the  chair  filled  for  so 
many  years  by  Dr.  Edward  Hitchcock,  Senior. 

Chicago  ofibrs  a  new  publication  for  general  patronage,  under  the  title  of 
the  **  American  Journal  of  Microscopy."  The  first  number,  for  November, 
Is  of  quarto  size  and  contains  sixteen  pages.  The  Journal  is  to  be  pub- 
lished monthly,  by  Gkorqb  Mead  &  Co.,  182  South  Clark  Street,  Chicago. 
Mr.  Mead  is  the  editor.  Subscriptions  at  $1.00  a  year  are  solicited,  and 
contributions  on  microscopical  and  kindred  subjects  are  requested  from 
all  parts  of  the  world. 

Dr.  Hagen  has  recently  returned  from  Europe,  having  purchased, 
through  funds  Aimishcd  by  a  lady  in  Boston,  for  the  Cambridge  Museum, 
a  Parisian  collection  of  weevils  of  great  extent  and  value.  We  are  glad 
to  know  that  he  has  brought  over  his  own  unrivalled  collection  of  Neu- 
roptera.  Its  presence  in  this  country  is  most  fortunate  for  this  depart- 
ment of  entomology. 

The  addition  to  the  building  for  the  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology  at 
Cambridge,  at  an  expense  of  upwards  of  $60,000,  is  rapidly  going  up. 
Professor  Agassiz  has  returned  to  Cambridge  with  restored  health,  and 
with  new  plans  for  the  enlargement  of  his  Museum. 


704  ANSWEBS  TO   GOBRE6PONDENTS. 

The  Lyceum  of  Natural  History  of  New  York  has  lately  started  for- 
wards with  renewed  vigor,  and  now  Issues  its  "  Proceedings/'  as  well  as 
'*  Annals.'*  Three  signatures  of  the  "  Proceedings  "  (ftom  pages  1  to  44), 
have  been  received,  and  contain  abstracts  of  several  interesting  papers 
read  at  the  meetings  In  April  and  May  last. 

Gradually  the  unpublished  results  of  the  labors  of  Dr.  T.  W.  Harris 
are  being  given  to  the  public.  Mr.  P.  B.  Uhler,  of  Baltimore,  has  ready 
for  publication  by  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  descriptions 
of  the  Hemiptera  of  the  Harris  Entomological  collection. 

Congress  is  about  to  print  an  entomological  report  by  Townend  Glover, 
the  entomologist  of  the  Agricultural  Department.  It  will  form  an  ex- 
ceedingly useflil  work,  and  will  deserve  the  widest  circulation. 

The  well-known  Paris  dealer  in  insects,  M.  Deyrolle,  took  flight  to 
London  with  his  immense  stock  of  insects,  before  Paris  was  actually 
invested. 

Mr.  J.  A.  McNiei,  who  has  made  two  expeditions  to  Central  America, 
is  now  in  Philadelphia  preparing  for  a  third  Arch»ological  Excursion  to 
Nicaragua. 

Prof.  O.  C.  Marsh  of  Yale  College,  has  Just  returned,  with  his  party, 
ftom  the  Bocky  Mountains.    The  Expedition  started  in  June  last. 

All  our  French  exchanges,  months  ago,  were  suspended. 


ANSWEBS  TO    COBBESPONDENTS. 

A.  D.  H.,  Tnscaloosa,  Ala.— The  larva  taken  Arom  oak  wood  is  the  Oak-tree  Borer 
{XffUuiea  rotdnia),  one  of  the  silk  worm  family  (Bombydda).  It  often  does  damage  to 
the  red  oak,  though  the  moth,  a  large  ash  gray  species,  is  comparatively  rare. 

C.  E..  Cincinnati.  —  A  liirht  dredge,  such  as  is  described  on  p.  909  and  figured  on  p. 
274,  Vol.  iii.  of  the  Naturalist,  will  answer  vour  purpose.  A  stout  clothes  line  will  do 
for  a  rope;  with  a  flve-pound  window  weight  or  fishing  lead  to  sink  the  dredge.  In 
sounding,  use  a  stout  fishing  line,  with  a  hoUowed  two-pound  lead  weight  tied  to  the 
end,  the  hollow  to  be  filled  with  soap.  Fathoms  can  be  measured  off  with  strips  of 
red  tape  tied  in  the  cord.  Look  out  for  minute  worms  and  small  Crustacea,  such  as  Um 
water  fieas,  and  especially  the  larger  sheUed  forms,  such  as  Lymnadia,  Estherea,  etc. 

E.  8.  M.,  HltchelK  Ind.  Your  photograph  is  that  of  DytuuUt  T^yui,  male.  A  pair 
would  be  very  desirable  for  the  Museum  of  the  Academy. 

H.  6.,  Detroit.— We  requested  an  answer  to  your  question  flrom  a  physiologist  of 
the  highest  standing,  and  iiave  received  the  following  in  reply :  **  The  subject  is  a  very 
important  one,  as  experts  are  often  called  upon  to  aecide  whether  a  given  blood-stain 
is  or  is  not  human.  Many  enthusiastic  microscopists  have  fbll  confidence  that  nothina 
is  easier  than  to  decide  the  matter  by  looking  through  their  instruments,  until  they  fina 
themselves  cross-questioned  by  a  sharp  lawyer. 

Human  blood  is  easily  distinguished  iVom  that  of  many  mammals,  birds,  reptiles 
and  fishes,  by  the  size  and  form  of  the  globules :  and  tests,  both  chemical  and  micro- 
scopical, have  been  proposed  for  distinguishing  human  blood  fVom  that  of  some  of  the 
domesticated  animals.  In  medico-legal  cases,  such,  if  good,  would  be  of  the  utmost 
importance,  but  it  is  generally  conceded  that  none  exist  which  can  be  admitted  as  ab- 
solute. If  an  observer  had  given  him  blood  from  man  and  the  dog,  without  knowing 
any  circumstance  which  would  lead  to  an  opinion  as  to  their  origin,  there  is  no  valid 
sign  which  would  Justify  him  in  going  Into  court  and  saying  which  was  and  which  was 
nut  human.  The  test  of  odor  given  off  when  sulphuric  acid  Is  added  to  the  blood, 
nowever  successAil  it  may  have  once  been  in  the  hands  of  some  experts,  has  not,  after 
many  years,  come  into  use,  and  that  of  the  size  and  appearance  of  the  globules  also 
fklls,  as  the  globules  of  some  of  the  domesticated  animals  offer  the  same  chancto^ 
istica  as  those  of  man.'' 


i 


AMERICAN    NATURALIST. 

Vol  IV.  — FEBBUABY,  1871.— No.  12. 
THE    ANT    LION. 

BT  J.  H.  EBfERTON. 
Fig.  1&9. 


Ant  Lion,  idalt.  , 

Ox  the  twenty-ninth  of  August,  while  hunting  spiders 
among  the  rocks  on  the  hill  north  of  Bartholomew's  pond  in 
South  Danvers,  Mass.,  I  unexpectedly  found  the  pit  of  an 
ant-lion  {Myrmdeo  immacukUus  De  Qeer),  in  a  clear  space 
under  the  shade  of  a  large  boulder.  The  pit  (Fig.  160)  was 
about  two  inches  in  diameter  and  one  deep.  The  insect  him- 
self was  hid  at  the  bottom,  but  when  I  dropped  bits  of  earth 
into  the  hole  he  showed  his  position  by  throwing  up  sand. 
I  then  dug  him  out  and  took  him  home  with  me,  where  I 
put  him  into  a  bowl  of  dry,  coarse  sand,  such  as  is  used  by 
masons  for  mortar.  He  remained  buried  for  several  days, 
but  finally  came  to  the  surface,  dug  his  pitfall,  and  gave  me 


I* Aotaf  Oaip«^telk*}MrMIO.b*thf  PuaoBT  AoAMST  or  8omaa,te  Ik*  Otarit'i  OflMoT Ite 


Omk  oftte  OfMH««r 
AMER.   NATURALIST,  VOL.  IV.  89  (705) 


'06  THE    ANT-LION. 

an  opportunity  of  observiug  his  habits.  Pig.  161  represents 
the  ant-Iiou  at  this  time,  showiug  the  under  side  with  the  feet 
in  a  nutui-al  position.  At  lii-st  he  was  so  timid  that  as  soon 
as  any  one  approached  he  stopped  where  he  was  and  re- 
mained motionless  until  left  alone.  If  his  pitfall  was  de- 
stroyed ho  dug  a  new  one ;  but  during  all  the  time  I  kept 

wg.  m.  Pig.  la,  him  I  never  saw 

y  the  whole  process 

■jJaL.  of  digging  it. 

^^  When    taken 

^^  out  of  the    sand 

^^^L  and   laid    on  the 

H^B  sur&ce  he  would 

^i^  keep    quite    stiil 

^•"-"•"^  for  a  few  mo- 

ments, then  retreat  backwai-d,  by  jerks,  under  the  sand.  He 
never  moved  forward  but  always  backward  by  the  contrao- 
tioris  of  his  abdomen  as  much  as  by  bis  feet,  making  a  furrow 
through  the  sand.     He  seldom  travelled  ^._  ^^ 

anincb  in  oue  direction,  and  often  made  a 
complete  circle  in  that  distance.  I  think 
be  commenced  his  pitfall  by  making  a 
circle  of  this  kind,  and'  afterward  thi-ow- 
ing  out  the  sand  fi-ora  the  centre.  In 
digging  he  used  his  flat  head  and  jaws,  which  were  pushed 
under  several  grains  of  sand  and  then  jerked  upward,  throw- 
ing their  load  sometimes  as  far  as  six  inches,  and  always  far 
enough  to  avoid  leaving  a  ridge  around  the  pitfall.  When 
the  pit  was  flnisbed  be  was  entirely  concealed  beneath  it,  as 
in  Fig.  160,  except  his  jaws,  which  were  spread  apart  hori- 
zontally nt  the  bottom.  The  surface  of  the  pit  being  as  steep 
as  the  sand  could  be  piled  up  was  very  easily  disturbed,  and 
when  an  insect  ventured  over  the  edge  the  ant-lion  was  ap- 
prised of  it  at  once  by  the  falling  sand.  He  immediately  be- 
gan to  throw  up  sand  from  the  bottom,  deepening  the  pit  and 
BO  causing  the  sand  to  slip  down  from  the  sides  and  the  insect 


THE   ANT-UON.  707 

with  it.  The  ant-lion  seized  it  with  his  long  jaws  and  held  it 
up  above  his  head  until  he  had  sucked  all  he  wanted  from  it, 
when  he  threw  the  remainder  out  of  the  hole  and  repaired 
the  trap.  Fig.  162  (from  Westwood),  shows  the  structure  of 
the  jaws,  and  how  the  ant-lion  may  drink  the  juices  from  an 
insect  without  bringing  it  to  his  mouth.  On  the  under  side 
of  each  jaw  (a) ,  is  a  groove  (b) ,  extending  from  one  end  to 
the  other,  and  partly  filled  by  the  slender  maxilla  which  lies 
in  it,  forming  a  tube,  one  end  of  which  passes  into  the  insect 
which  is  bitten,  while  the  other  opens  near  the  mouth  of  the 
ant-lion.  After  eating  he  became  more  timid,  and  some- 
times would  not  take  a  second  insect.  If,  however,  several 
were  put  into  the  pit  at  once,  he  would  bite  one  after  the 
other  until  all  were  killed,  before  deciding  on  which  to 
begin.  I  fed  him  two  or  three  times  a  week,  usually  with 
house-flies,  cutting  their  wings  off  and  letting  him  take  them 
in  his  own  way.  In  October,  having  occasion  to  travel 
some  distance,  I  put  him  in  an  ounce  bottle  half  filled  with 
sand,  corked  him  up,  and  carried  him  with  me  in  my  bag. 
In  about  a  week  I  gave  him  a  large  house-fly,  which  he  did 
not  catch,  not  having  room  enough  in  the  bottle  to  make  a 
pitfall.  I  gave  him  no  more  food  till  the  next  March. 
Meanwhile  he  remained  for  several  months  on  a  shelf  in*  my 
room.  Occasionally  I  tipped  him  out  and  always  found  him 
lively  enough  to  right  himself  if  turned  on  his  back,  and  to 
retreat  under  the  nearest  sand.  In  January  he  was  packed 
up  in  my  trunk  for  more  than  a  week,  and  when  I  opened  it, 
after  it  had  remained  several  days  in  a  warm  room,  I  found 
him  as  lively  as  when  first  caught.  He  afterwards  became 
quite  torpid  again  in  a  cold  closet,  where  he  remained 
through  the  rest  of  the  winter.  About  the  first  of  March, 
when  flies  began  to  be  plenty^  I  commenced  to  feed  him 
again.  He  found  it  rather  awkward  to  catch  insects  in 
the  bottle  as  there  was  not  room  enough  to  make  a  pitfall, 
and  his  inability  to  move  forward  made  it  hard  for  him  to 
seize  an  insect  unless  he  met  it  directly  between  his  jaws. 


I 


708        THE  RESOURCES  AND  CLIMATE   OP  CALIFORNIA. 

He  soon,  however,  made  pitfalls  half  au  inch  in  diameter, 
which  answered  the  purpose.  Sometimes  he  lay  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  sand  with  a  few  grains  scattered  over  his  back  to 
conceal  him  from  notice,  and  his  jaws  extended  on  the  sur- 
face. If  a  fly  was  put  into  the  bottle  it  would  circle  around 
close  to  the  glass  and  usually  run  over  the  ant-lion's  back. 
He  would  jerk  up  his  head  aud  attempt  to  seize  it,  which  he 
seldom  succeeded  in  doing  the  first  time.  If  he  caught  a 
leg  or  wing  he  was  unable  to  move  nearer  and  shorten  his 
hold,  and  the  fly  escaped.  He  would  often  throw  up  the 
sand  and  try  to  undermine  the  fly.  He  would  sometimes 
work  an  hour  in  these  ways  before  the  fly  would  get  into  a 
favorable  position.  I  fed  him  every  day  or  two  until  May 
15th,  when  he  spun  a  spherical  cocoon  (Fig.  161a)  around 
him,  and  remained  enclosed  until  June  25th,  a  very  hot  day, 
when  he  came  partly  out,  and  leaving  his  pupa  skin  half 
in  the  cocoon  appeared  as  a  perfect  fly  (Fig.  159),  but  did 
not  spread  his  wings  completely. 


THE    RESOURCES  AND    CLIMATE  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

BY  REV.  A.  P.  FSABODY,  D.D. 

The  thought  uppermost  in  my  mind,  during  a  recent  visit 
to  California,  was  of  gratitude  to  the  bravely  patriotic  men, 
who,  in  the  late  rebellion,  at  the  risk  of  their  own  lives 
saved  this  great  state  for  the  Union. 

One  who  has  not  been  in  California  can  hardly  appreciate 
the  magnitude  of  the  threatened  loss.  The  state  might 
easily  have  maintained  her  independence,  not  only  of  her 
sister  republics,  but  of  all  the  world  beside.  It  is  poten- 
tially a  self-sustaining  empire.  Exceeding  in  the  aggregate 
of  its  territory  the  British  Islands,  it  extends  through  all  the 
degrees  of  latitude  which  are  identified  with  a  genial  climate, 


THE   RESOURCES   AND   CLIMATE   OF   CALIFORNIA.         709 

without  stretching  far  enough  northward  to  know  the  severity 
of  winter,  or  far  enough  southward*  to  feel  the  enervating 
influence  of  a  tropical  sun. 

It  could  supply  all  its  own  wants.  Its  pastoral  regions 
could  easily  furnish  wool,  hides  and  food  for  twenty  times 
its  present  population.  Its  rivers  and  bays  swarm  with  the 
choicest  of  fish,  salmon  being  so  abundant  that  it  can  hardly 
be  accounted  a  luxury.  The  vine-bearing  capacity  of  the 
one  county  of  Sonoma  exceeds  that  of  all  the  wine-gi'owing 
regions  of  Europe.  Wheat  has  been  harvested  at  the  rate 
of  ninety  bushels  to  the  acre,  and  fifty  or  sixty  bushels  are 
but  an  ordinary  crop,  twenty  being  regarded  as  a  good  yield 
in  the  Genesee  district  of  New  York.  The  fruits  are  un- 
surpassed in  quality  and  in  profusion,  and  are  subject  to 
none  of  the  blights,  parasitic  insects  and  fungi,  that  infest 
our  oi*chards,  so  that  one  need  not  fear  to  eat  an  apple 
in  the  dark.  Strawberries  may  be  bought  in  the  San  Fran- 
cisco market  every  month  in  the  year.  It  is  not  easy  to 
name  any  fruit  which  will  not  ripen  within  the  limits  of  the 
State.  At  Sonoma,  on  the  grounds  of  General  Vallejo,  the 
old  Spanish  commandant  of  California,  I  saw  ripe  or  ripen- 
ing, along  with  all  the  common  fruits  of  the  temperate  zone, 
oranges,  lemons,  bananas,  olives,  figs  and  almonds.  I  have 
eaten  olives  in  Italy,  but  never  any  so  good  as  those  from  the 
General's  own  trees  on  which  I  lunched  at  his  table.  In  the 
southern  part  of  the  State,  cotton  is  rapidly  becoming  a  sta- 
ple, and  coffee,  equal  to  the  best  St.  Domingo,  is  already 
raised.  The  cultivation  of  tea  has  been  commenced  with 
the  promise  of  complete  success,  and  there  is  no  reason  why 
the  spices  of  the  East  Indies  should  not  become  naturalized 
there. 

There  is  also  in  the  interior  a  supply  of  lumber  of  all 
kinds  which  it  would  take  many  centuries  to  exhaust,  though 
as  yet,  for  lack  of  available  avenues  for  transportation,  lum- 
ber for  the  cities  on  the  coast  is  imported  from  Oregon. 
K  every  schooner,  sloop  and  sail-boat  in  the  world  were  a 


710         THE   RESOURCES   AND   CLIMATE   OF   CALIFORNIA. 

ship  of  three  thousand  tons,  I  saw,  ou  a  single  day's  ride, 
enough  pine  trees  from  one  to  two  hundred  feet  high, 
straight  as  an  arrow,  to  furaish  masts  for  all  the  vessels  in 
the  world,  without  perceptibly  thinning  the  primeval  forest. 

The  climate  is  unequalled  in  salubrity.  lu  San  Francisco 
a  sea-breeze  sets  in  from  the  ocean  at  three  or  four  o'clock 
on  a  summer  afternoon,  i*endering  the  air  rather  cooler  than 
suits  one  not  acclimated ;  but  this  is  not  experienced  in  the 
winter,  and  the  average  temperature  of  the  winter  is  rather 
higher  than  that  of  the  summer.  Only  a  few  miles  from  the 
coast  the  force  of  the  ocean-breeze  is  spent.  There  the  sum- 
mer days  are  very  hot,  but  the  air  is  so  pure  that  the  ther- 
mometer of  one's  own  consciousness  is  much  below  Fahren- 
heit's, and  I  found  it  as  easy  to  take  a  long  and  brisk  walk  at 
the  temperature  of  a  hundred  degrees,  as  it  would  be  in 
New  England  at  seventy-five.  The  night  air  is  inexpressibly 
sweet  and  mild,  so  that  one  would  not  care  whether  he  lodged 
within  doors  or  under  the  star-gemmed  roof.  It  is  no  un- 
common thing  to  have  the  windows  of  lodging  apartments 
taken  out,  and  laid  aside  as  useless,  from  the  early  spring  till 
the  autumn.  The  atmosphere,  even  in  midsummer,  is  so  en- 
tirely free  from  malaria,  that  lamb  or  veal  hung  up  in  the 
open  air  will  dry  before  it  becomes  tainted ;  and  outside  of 
farmhouses  and  hotels  we  often  see,  suspended  on  trees, 
locked  safes  covered  with  wire-gauze,  in  which  fresh  meat 
may  be  preserved  sound  and  sweet  for  several  weeks. 

For  seven  or  eight  months  in  the  year  rain  never  falls. 
The  grass,  indeed,  looks  brown ;  but  the  trees,  which  strike 
their  roots  down  into  soil  still  moist,  retain  their  verdure, 
and  for  the  various  crops  of  grain  and  vegetables  artificial 
irrigation  is  extensively  employed,  —  windmills  for  raising 
water  being  used,  not  only  on  farms,  but  in  orchards,  and 
often  in  private  gardens.  The  whole  country  is  diversified 
by  gentle  elevations  —  foot-hills,  as  they  are  called  —  which 
generally  furnish  perennial  fountains  that  are  led  among  the 
valleys,  unfailing  sources  of  fei-tility  and  wealth.     The  cli- 


BIRDS   IN   THE   MU8KUM   OF   YASSAB  OOLLE6E.  711 

mate  facilitates  the  labor  of  harvest.  The  wheat  and  grain 
are  threshed  on  their  native  field,  bagged,  and  piled  up 
against  the  fences  till  a  convenient  time  for  carrying  them 
to  market ;  and  1  often  saw  such  huge  piles  of  bagged  wheat 
and  oats,  that  it  required  some  stretch  of  fancy  to  imagine 
that  it  could  all  have  grown  in  a  single  year  within  the  area 
of  the  field. 


NOTES  ON  SOME  BIRDS   IN  THE  MUSEUM  OF 

VASSAR  COLLEGE. 

BY    PROFESSOR    JAMES    ORTON. 

The  Ornithological  Cabinet  in  the  Vassar  Museum,  con- 
tains nearly  twelve  hundred  distinct  species,  of  which  seven 
hundred  are  Noilh  American,  and  the  remainder  South 
American.  Among  them  are  several  type  specimens  and 
others  of  historical  interest  as  the  originals  of  Audubon's 
celebrated  drawings. 

Falco  islandicus  Gm.  This  fine  specimen  formerly  be- 
longed to  Audubon,  to  whom  it  was  presented  by  Sir  John 
Cheperstal,  and  is  the  original  of  the  figure  in  "Birds  of 
America." 

Accipiter  nigroplumbeus  Lawr.  Type.  This  new  hawk 
was  obtained  by  the  writer  in  the  Valley  of  Quito,  where  it 
is  very  rare. 

Strix  punctatissima  Gray.  Indigenous  to  the  Galapagos, 
but  now  rather  abundant  in  the  Valley  of  Quito  near  the 
cotton-mills  of  Chillo,  where  it  is  called  "Factory  Owl."  It 
lays  nearly  spherical  eggs,  in  a  rude  nest  made  of  a  small 
quantity  of  rubbish  scraped  together  and  lined  with  a  few 
featliers,  and  generally  built  in  the  gable  ends  of  houses  or 
under  the  eaves. 

Trogon  Mexicanics  Sw.  The  late  Mr.  Giraud  informed 
us  that  this  specimen  was  shot  in  Texas.     The  Trogon  fam- 


712  BIBDS   IN  THE  MUSEUM  OF  TA68AB  GOLLEOE. 

ily  is  well  represented  in  the  East  Indies ;  but  it  is  more 
•  ^  '  fully  developed  in  the  New  World  where  there  are  about 
twenty-five  species.  In  splendor  of  plumage  they  are  sur- 
passed only  by  the  Hummers ;  in  stupidity,  by  the  Jacamars. 
Their  only  utterance  sounds  like  Te  viol  (I  see  thee).  They 
are  zygodactylous,  but  unlike  the  woodpeckers  and  parrots, 
the  third  or  longest  toe  being  the  inward  of  the  two  forward 
toes  instead  of  the  outward. 

Andigena  laminirostris  Gould.  This  rare  bird  represents 
a  remarkable  group  of  Toucans  characterized  by  the  dense 
villose  clothing  of  the  under  surface.  This  species  is  found 
at  Nanegal  on  the  west  slope  of  the  Andes ;  not  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Quito,  as  stated  by  Mr.  Gould.  The  Toucans,  of 
which  thirty-five  species  occur  at  the  equator,  are  confined 
to  tropical  America.  They  live  in  dense  forests  in  small 
companies.  Their  flight  is  laborious  but  not  jerky.  On  the 
ground  they  hop  like  a  robin.  They  have  a  shrill  though 
variable  cry,  which  sometimes  has  a  vague  resemblance  to 
tocdnOj  and  again  to  pia-po-o-co.  The  imaginative  natives 
call  them  Preachers,  because  they  seem  to  make  the  sign  of 
the  cross  by  wagging  the  head  up,  then  to  the  left,  next  to 
the  right,  and.  finally  down,  saying  at  each  movement  DioB 
tode  (God  gave  it  you).  The  sexes  are  exactly  alike.  The 
most  common  species  on  the  Upper  Amazon  are  Ouvieiny 
Humboldtii  and  pleuricinctus. 

Tetragonops  ramphastinus  Jard.  This  singular  Barbet  is 
called  by  the  natives  veitenero  or  deer-hunter,  because  it 
whistles  with  ventriloqual  powers.  None  of  the  Capitonidas 
sing.  The  phlegmatic  Buccos  or  "  pig-birds,"  as  the  Indians 
call  them,  seem  to  have  their  head-quartei's  in  Eastern  Peru. 
The  Tetragonops  is  a  connecting  link  between  the  Bai'bets 
and  Toucans. 

Lesbia  Ortoni  Lawr.  Type.  This  remarkably  fine  spe- 
cies is  the  latest  addition  to  the  Trochilid®.  It  was  discov- 
ered in  the  Valley  of  Quito  at  the  foot  of  the  isolated 
mountain  Halo,  and  is  the  only  specimen  ever  found.     The 


BIRDS   IN   THE   MUSEUM   OF   YASSAU  COLLEGE.  713 

superstitious  Indians  who  inhabit  Halo  are  very  exclusive, 
forbidding  the  approach  of  any  white  man  to  their  mountain ; 
and  for  this  reason,  probably,  this  Hummer  has  never  before 
been  seen.  The  collection  contains  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
six  species  of  Trochilidse. 

ChoRtura  rutila  Vieill.  This  elegant  little  Swift  or  ''Noc- 
turnal Swallow  **  was  obtained  in  the  Quito  Valley,  where  it 
is  very  rare.  Vieillot's  type  was  found  in  Trinidad  ;  Lafres- 
naye's  specimens  were  from  New  Grenada ;  and  Salvin  pro- 
cured them  in  Guatemala,  where  Sclater  says  it  properly 
belongs.  Its  nest  is  not  made  of  mud  and  sticks  like  that 
of  its  northern  representative,  our  chimney  swallow,  but 
i;hiefly  of  moss,  very  compact  and  shallow,  and  located  in 
dark  culverts  about  two  feet  above  the  water ;  never  on 
houses  or  trees. 

Brachygalba  luguMs  Sw.  Re-discovered  Type.  Since 
this  Jacamar  was  6rst  described  in  1838,  not  a  single  speci- 
men has  come  under  the  notice  of  any  naturalist;  and  in 
1853,  Mr.  Sclater  declared  that  Swainson's  bird  remained  to 
be  re-discovered.  This  specimen  was  shot  by  Mr.  Gilbert 
at  Valencia  in  1867,  and  has  been  recognized  by  the  distin- 
guished ornithologist,  George  N.  Lawrence,  Esq.,  as  the  lost 
lugubris.  The  only  discrepancy  from  Swainson's  description 
is  the  possession  of  four  toes  instead  of  three  ;  but  the  hind 
toe  is  quite  small.  It  is  distinct  from  J5.  inomata.  Jacamars 
stand  next  to  the  Trogons  and  Hummers  in  the  beauty  of 
their  golden-bronze,  and  steel-colored  plumage.  They  are 
peculiar  to  tropical  America,  and  Guiana  is  their  true  home. 
None  have  been  seen  on  the  west  slope  of  the  Andes. 

Todiro8t}'um  gracilipes  Scl.  The  type  in  the  British  Mu- 
seum came  from  Bogota;  but  this  specimen  was  obtained 
by  Hauxwell  on  the  Upper  Amazon.  From  the  same  locality 
we  have  the  Enipidomus  varius. 

Myiarchus  Lawrendi  Gir.,  Basileutei^s  Belli  Gir.,  B. 
Brasieri  Gir.,  Dendroica  olivacea  Gir.,  and  Cardellina  ru- 
briftons  Gir.     The  types  of  these  species  formerly  belonged 

AMBR.  NATURALIST,  VOL.  IV.  90 


714  BIRDS   IN  THE   MUSEUM   OF  YASSAB  COLLEGE. 

to  this  cabinet,  but  are  now  in  the  Smithsonian  Institution, 
and  are  replaced  by  other  specimens  collected  by  Sumichrast, 
Salvin  and  Verreaux.  To  the  day  of  his  death,  Mr.  Giraud 
contended  that  the  types  were  collected  within  the  State  of 
Texas. 

Myiozetetes  inomatua  Lawr.  Type.  From  Valencia,  Ven- 
ezuela. 

Tardus  HduxwelK  Lawr.     Type.     From  Pebas,  Peru. 

Dendroica  tigrina  6m.  This  handsome  specimen  was 
shot  by  Wilson  in  the  vicinity  of  Cape  May,  1812,  and  was 
described  by  him  as  a  new  species.  Gmelin,  however,  in 
1788  had  named  it  Motacilla  tigrina. 

JEuphonia  degantissima  Bp.  Our  specimens  do  not  con- 
form to  Sclater's  description :  the  throat  of  the  male  is  not 
''black,"  but  bluish  black  like  the  back;  the  forehead  is 
not  ''  chestnut,  margined  behind  with  blaok,"  but  is  bright 
yellow. 

JS.  nigricoUis  Vieill.  This  Tanager  is  one  of  the  best 
songsters  in  the  Valley  of  Quito;  the  other  birds  only 
twitter  and  chirp;  like  the  people,  too  lazy  to  sing.  The 
Mimas  lividus  is  its  rival  in  Brazil.  The  Tanagers  generally 
have  no  melody  of  voice.  They  are  restless,  wary  birds, 
having  a  rapid,  abrupt  flight,  and  seldom  hopping  on  the 
ground.  They  are  most  numerous  in  New  Granada,  and  the 
most  important  genus  is  Calliste.  To  the  puzzling  question, 
''What  is  a  Tanager,?"  Sclater  answers,  "a  dentirostral 
Finch."     At  Quito  the  Finches  build  their  nests  in  October. 

Atticora  fasciata  Gm.  This  type  of  the  genus  is  described 
by  Baird  as  having  ten  tail  feathers :  both  male  and  female 
in  the  Vassar  collection  show  twelve.  They  are  from  the 
Maranon. 

Pipra  delidosa  Sol.  One  of  the  most  brilliantly  colored 
of  the  Manakins,  the  male  being  also  remarkable  for  the  sin- 
gular structure  of  its  wings,  the  secondaries  being  curved- 
By  the  natives  it  is  called  "Watchman,"  because  it  flies  be- 
fore certain  blue  birds,  and  makes  a  noise  with  its  wings  in 
case  of  danger. 


BIRDS   IN  THE   MUSEUM  OF  YASSAB  COLLEGE.  715 

Diglossa  aterrima  Lafr.  The  natives  say  that  it  chauges 
its  colore  if  takeu  to  Pichincha,  becomiug  like  D.  Lafresnayi. 

Rupicola  sanguinolenta  Gould.  This  splendid  ^  Cock  of 
the  Bock  "  is  found  only,  we  believe,  on  the  western  Andean 
slope.  The  H,  JPei'uviana  is  confined  to  the  eastern  slope, 
and  the  R.  crocea  to  the  mountains  of  Guiana.  It  fre- 
quents shady  ravines  and  is  very  shy.  It  "plays  'possum," 
falling  apparently  dead  when  shot  at,  but  soon  flies  off.  It 
makes  a  guttural  noise  not  unlike  the  grunt  of  a  hog.  Like 
the  Bii-d  of  Paradise,  Peacock,  Turkey,  etc.,  the  Cock  of 
the  Bock  makes  an  extraordinary  display  of  its  finery  just 
prior  to  the  breeding  season. 

Chrysomitris  Mexicana  Bp.  Type  of  Fnngilla  Texensis 
Gir. 

Ocydlus  latiroatris  S w. ,  Olypicterus  oseryi  and  Amblycer- 
sus  solitanxis.  These  splendid  specimens  of  IcteridsB  were 
obtained  on  the  Upper  Amazon,  where  they  appear  to  be  rare. 

Icterus  Grace-annae  Cass.  This  seems  to  be  the  only  spec- 
imen found  since  its  description.  The  type  is  in  the  Phila- 
delphia Academy.  This  fixes  the  locality  (Machala  near 
Guayaquil),  which  was  not  positively  known. 

Cephalopterus  ornatus  Vieill.  This  Umbrella  Bird  came 
from  the  Upper  Amazon.  It  was  formerly  thought  to  be 
confined  to  the  islands  in  the  Bio  Negro.  It  is  found  only 
on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Andes ;  the  (7.  penduUger  being  re- 
stricted to  the  western  slope,  and  (7.  glabricollis  to  Central 
America.  The  throat  lappet  of  penduUger  is  nearly  ten 
inches  long ;  that  of  ornatus  about  four,  and  of  glabricollis 
insignificant.  According  to  Fraser,  the  appendage  seems 
generally  held  in  a  bunch  like  a  rose  under  the  throat,  and 
to  fall  after  death. 

C/ilorcenas  vinacea  and  Ortolida  gtittata;  from  the  Upper 
Amazon.  Near  Savonita  on  the  west  slope  of  the  Andes  is 
an  Ortolida  whose  note  sounds  like  trahaja^  irabojd  (work ! 
work !),  and  the  response  of  the  answering  bird  is  manana^ 
manana  (to-morrow),  a  parody  on  Spanish  character. 


716  BIRDS   IN   THE   MUSEUM   OF   YASSAR  COLLEGE. 

Meleagris  ocellata  Temm.  A  pair,  male  and  female,  in 
fine  plumage. 

Lophortyx  Gambelii  Nutt.  Of  this  bird,  ''whose  raritj' 
is  only  equalled  by  its  beauty"  says  Gould,  there  is  a  pair 
in  perfect  condition. 

Demiegretta  Pealii  Bp.,  Garzetta  candidissima  Gm., 
Florida  coeruba  Linn.,  and  Ibis  alba  Linn.  These  speci- 
mens once  belonged  to  Audubon,  from  which  he  made  the 
drawings  for  his  large  work. 

Platalea  ajaja  Linn.  This  specimen  was  obtained  of  Dr. 
Trudeau.  It  was  shot  on  the  plantation  of  his  father  near 
Charleston,  S.  C. 

Aphriza  virgata  Gm.  Type  of  Audubon's  A.  Toionaendij 
from  the  mouth  of  Columbia  River ;  the  only  specimen  ob- 
tained within  the  bounds  of  the  United  States.  Properly 
belongs  to  the  Pacific  Islands.  Professor  Baird  doubts  its 
occurrence  on  the  shores  of  the  northern  Pacific,  but  Dr. 
Sclater  does  not.  Several  have  been  found  on  Vancouver's 
Islaud. 

Phalaropus  WiUonii  Sab.  A  superb  specimen  in  Bell's 
best  style  of  mounting. 

Anser  Ga7nbelii  Hart.     Original  of  Audubon's  drawing. 

Bemicla  leucopsia  Linn.     Original  of  Audubon's  drawing. 

Somateria  spectabilis  Linn.  Specimen  shot  on  Long 
Island  Sound  I 

8teima  Ti^udeauii  And.  Type.  The  original  of  Audu- 
bon's figure  and  description;  shot  at  Great.  Egg  Harbor. 
According  to  Mr.  Giraud,  the  only  specimen  found  in  North 
America.     It  is  in  full  plumage. 

Colymbus  arcticus  and  (7.  septentrionalis  Linn.  Origi- 
nals of  Audubon's  drawings. 

Podiceps  occipitalis  Less.  This  grebe  was  found  by  the 
writer  on  Lake  Mica,  which  is  on  the  side  of  Antisana, 
Ecuador,  13,300  feet  above  the  Pacific.  It  appears  to  be 
identical  with  the  species  abounding  on  the  coast  of  Chili 
and  Straits  of  Magellan.     It  is  diflScult  to  conceive  how  this 


FURTHER  NOTES   ON  NEW  JERSEY  FISHES.  717 

purely  aquatic  bird  could  or  would  ascend  and  cross  the 
western  Cordillera,  and  then  ascend  to  an  icy,  solitary  lake 
on  the  shoulder  of  one  of  the  loftiest  volcanoes  in  the  east- 
ern range,  2,500  miles  from  its  native  place.  Forbes  found 
Oyclcts  Ohilensis  (formerly  considered  peculiar  to  the  most 
southern  and  coldest  part  of  Chili  at  the  level  of  the  sea) 
abundant  in  fresh-water  ponds  in  the  Bolivian  plateau  near 
La  Paz,  14,000  feet  high.  Do  not  these  facts  point  to 
changes  in  the  Andes  on  a  grand  scale,  and  at  a  rate  which, 
measured  by  the  time  required  for  a  change  of  species,  must 
be  termed  rapid  ? 

Alca  impennis  Linn.  Original  of  Audubon's  figure.  A 
notice  of  this  specimen  was  published  in  the  American 
Naturalist  J  1869. 

Mormon  drrhata  Pall.     Original  of  Audubon's  figure. 

Phaleris  cristatella  Pall.     Original  of  Audubon's  figure. 


FURTHER  NOTES  ON  NEW  JERSEY  FISHES. 

BT  CHABLiBS  C.  ABBOTT,  M.D. 

Fi-.  103. 


Hybognathus. 

During  the  month  of  February  of  the  present  year 
(1870),  Professor  George  H.  Cook,  State  Geologist,  sent  to 
the  author  of  this  paper  a  number  of  ''frost-fish,"  or  "smelt" 
( Osmerus  mordax) ,  and  among  them  was  the  single  speci- 
men figured  above.     On  submitting  this  cyprinoid  to  Pro- 


I 


718  FURTHER   NOTES   ON  NEW  JERSEY   FISHES. 

feasor  Cope  of  Philadelphia,  be  pronounced  it  undescribedy 
and  has  since  described  it*  as  Hybognathus  oamerinus^ 

During  the  past  summer  the  author  had  no  opportunity  of 
Sailing  in  the  Raritan  River,  at  or  about  New  Brunswick,  at 
which  point  the  specimen  was  taken ;  but  among  a  number 
of  small  collections  from  that  river,  no  specimen  of  this 
cyprinoid  occuiTed.  From  other  streams,  generally  not  in 
the  basin  of  the  Raritan,  isolated  specimens  have  occurred, 
and  the  distribution  seems  to  be  without  reference  to  salt 
water,  although  the  type,  and  two  other  specimens,  were 
taken  from  streams  having  direct  access  to  the  sea. 

Of  its  habits,  as  yet,  we  have  determined  nothing ;  only 
learning  from  the  specimens  we  have  seen,  that  it  seems  to 
be  very  scarce,  and  associated  by  twos  and  threes  with  other 
cyprinoids,  more  especially  with  Hybopsis  Hudsoniits^  which 
is  very  abundant  in  many  of  our  smaller  streams,  as  well 
as  the  Delaware  River. 

During  the  month  of  August  of  this  year,  the  writer  found 
a  locality  for  two  species  which  are  not  abundant  elsewhere, 
so  far  as  his  own  observations  go  to  show.  These  fish  are 
an  etheostomoid  {Hololepis  erochrous  Cope),  and  a  "cat-fish*' 
{Noturus  gyrinus).  They  were  both  found  abundantly 
in  Stony  Brook,  Mercer  Co.,  N.  J.,  near  the  village  of 
Princeton.  The  stream  here  is  shallow,  with  a  muddy  bot- 
tom, and  here  and  there  a  flat  stone  or  two,  under  which 
both  species  took  refuge  when  disturbed.  On  approaching 
the  brook,  the  fish  were  found  to  be  lying  on  the  mud,  near 
the  edge  of  the  stream,  in  water  scarcely  two  inches  deep. 
The  movements  of  the  etheostomoids  were  very  deliberate,  as 
they  usually  moved  very  slowly,  making  straight  lines  on  the 
mud,  apparently  by  not  lifting  themselves  from  the  bottom  of 
the  stream.  By  placing  a  small  baited  hook  immediately  in 
front  of  the  "darters,"  they  would  seize  it  with  all  the  ra- 
pidity and  voraciousness  of  a  pike,  and  upon  swallowing  it, 

*  A  Partial  Synopsis  of  the  Fishes  of  the  Fresh  Waters  of  Noith  Carolina.    By  Ed- 
ward  D.  Cope,  A.M.    Amer.  Phil.  Soc,  Pliila.,  1870,  p.  406;  foot  note. 


FURTHER  NOTES   ON   NEW  JERSEY   FISHES.  719 

would  invariably  be  taken.  The  writer  took  nearly  fifty 
specimens  with  a  hook,  in  about  two  hours.  The  *^  stone- 
cat-fish"  were  much  more  active,  and  shy;  and  would  not 
take  the  hook,  until  after  an  immense  deal  of  nibbling  trying 
to  the  patience. 

While  collecting  specimens  in  Stony  Brook,  as  mentioned 
above,  the  writer  met  with  a  nearly  exhausted  eel,  into 
the  left  gills  of  which,  a  lamprey  (Petromyzon  nigncana)^ 
had  inserted  its  sucking  apparatus.  The  eel  had  drawn  the 
lamprey  by  the  suction  power  of  the  gill,  into  its  throat, 
and  having  thus  killed  the  lamprey,  was  itself  nearly  dead 
from  endeavors  to  get  rid  of  so  great  an  incumbrance.  In 
the  stomachs  of  both  the  eel  and  the  lamprey,  were  found 
masses  of  partially  broken  shells  of  minute  LymnecBj  show- 
ing (circumstantial  evidence)  that  they  had  been  occupied 
in  feeding  upon  the  same  food  on  the  same  ground,  when  the 
lamprey  made  his  unfortunate  attack  upon  the  eel.  Has  it 
been  noticed  before,  that  the  latoprey  feeds  upon  small  shells? 

Two  specimens  of  Aphrodede^nis  Sayanus^  were  taken 
in  Stony  Brook,  during  the  summer,  and  have  been  since 
kept  alive  in  an  aquarium.  Soon  after  their  capture,  and 
since,  one  of  them  has  exhibited  the  following  "freak  of 
coloration.''  The  specimens,  while  lying  on  the  pebbles  at  the 
bottom  of  the  tank,  were  each  of  a  glossy  black,  relieved  by  a 
pale  brown  throat,  well  dotted  with  black ;  and  with  a  snowy 
white  margin  to  the  caudal  fin.  They  were  removed  by  a 
small  net,  to  another  tank  having  somewhat  colder  water  in 
it,  and  immediately  one  of  the  pair  became  of  a  uniform 
pale  straw  color,  except  the  black  dots  on  the  throat,  and  a 
narrow  line  running  from  the  lower  edge  of  the  orbit  to 
the  jaw.  The  white  margin  of  the  caudal  fin  was  scarcely 
distinguishable  from  the  general  color  of  the  fin  and  body. 
The  iris  became  silvery,  with  a  mere  trace  of  yellow.  In  the 
course  of  half  an  hour,  the  tints  commenced  to  grow  deeper, 
and  full  two  hours  elapsed  before  the  usual  black  hue  was  re- 
sumed and  the  two  specimens  became  similar  in  appearance. 


I 


720  THE   SPORES  OF  LICHENS. 

Had  this  specimen  tlius  ^bleached"  on  being  removed 
from  one  tank  to  another,  done  so  on  being  taken  wholly 
from  the  water,  and,  thus  faded,  had  been  preserved  in  al- 
cohol, might  it  not  have  been  looked  upon  as  an  Aphrode^ 
derus  albidus  nov.  spec,  and  thus  additional  synonomy  been 
offered  to  the  confusion  now  existing?  Is  it,  in  fact,  safe  to 
consider  color  as  of  any  value  as  a  specific  character,  unless 
by  comparing  many  specimens,  and  finding  the  variation 
uniform  and  without  gradations?  We  have  found  the 
"  sun-fish"  as  a  group,  to  vary  very  much  in  accordance  with 
the  character  of  the  stream  in  which  they  were  found ;  and 
in  an  aquarium  the  **  banded  sunfish"  {Mesogonistius 
choBtodon  Gill),  is  verily  kaleidoscopic.  The  black  bands 
actually  sometimes  wholly  disappear  I 


THE  SPORES  OF  LICHENS. 


BY  H.   WnXEY. 
■  wot 


The  importance  of  the  spores  in  the  study  of  lichens, 
will  perhaps  render  interesting  a  more  extended  reference 
to  this  branch  of  lichen  history.  The  spores  were  known 
to  Micheli,  who  figures  those  of  several  species  in  his  "  Nova 
Genera  Plantarum,"  1729,  as  did  also  Acharius  in  his  "Lich- 
enographia  Universalis,'!  1810.  But  he  made  no  use  of  them 
in  his  system.  The  great  work  of  Fries,  "  Lichenographia 
Europoea  Reformata,"  1831,  has  no  reference  to  the  spores, 
excepting  a  few  remarks  in  regard  to  their  germination; 
but  Eschweiler  in  the  same  year,  made  a  somewhat  care- 
ful examination  of  them,  and  noticed  their  various  forms, 
although  he  endeavored  in  vain,  he  says,  to  make  use  of  the 
spore-case  in  distinguishing  genera.  Fee,  in  the  supplement 
to  his  ''Essai,"  1837,  was  the  first  to  do  this,  and  to  figure 
and  describe   accurately  the  spoi*e-cases   and  spores,     fiut 


THE  SPORES  OF  LICHENS.  721 

De  Notaris  in  I8469  from  which  period  Krempelhuber  dates 
the  modern  period  of  Lichenology,  fiilly  inaugurated  the 
new  method,  and  establi^ed  it  on  a  solid  foundation.  He  « 
pointed  out  the  unity  of  the  spore-type  in  many  natural 
genera,  and  declared  that  species  in  which  the  spores  pre- 
sented important  differences  could  not  be  grouped  together. 
But  the  results  of  his  labors  do  not  appear  to  have  been  com- 
bined into  a  general  system.  Noi*man,  in  Norway,  1852, 
Massalongo,  in  Italy,  1852,  and  Koerber  in  Germany,  1854- 
1859,  continued  his  work,  and  based  their  systems  to  a  greater 
or  less  degree,  on  spore  characters,  while  the  younger  Fries, 
Trevisan,  Stitzenberger  and  others  have  labored  successfully 
in  the  same  field,  and  made  important  contributions  to  this 
department.  No  description  of  a  lichen  is  now  considered 
adequate  which  does  not  give  an  account  of  the  spores,  when 
they  are  to  be  found. 

The  Italian  school,  however,  has  attributed  too  great  im- 
portance to  minor  distinctions  in  the  size  of  spores,  their 
septation,  and  number  in  the  spore-case,  attaching  great  im- 
portance to  micrometric  measurements,  and  thereby  increas- 
ing the  species  and  genera  to  a  most  unwarrantable  degi'ee, 
and  not  unfrequently  violating  natural  affinities,  answering 
no  useful  end  and  tending' rather  to  create  confusion  than 
to  advance  true  science.  A  few  instances  may  serve  to  illus- 
trate this.  Pyrenula  nitida  SchsBr.  is  a  very  common  bark 
lichen,  and  subject  to  but  slight  variation.  The  average 
length  of  the  spores  is  from  .018  to  .022  millimetre ;  but 
specimens  occur,  which  cannot  be  separated  from  it,  in  which 
they  measure  constantly  from  .030  to  .038.  Arthonia 
velata  Nyl.  is  another  instance  in  which  the  spores  in  sonic 
specimens  are  constantly  nearly  twice  as  large  as  in  others. 
The  spores  of  Sagedia  chlorotica  Ach.  are  described  in 
the  European  forms  as  constantly  4-blastish,  measuring  from 
.018  to  .023.  Here  they  are  usually  from  4  to  6-blastish, 
and  measure  from  .025  to  .047,  and  it  is  only  recently  that 
I  have  found  specimens  with  constantly  4-blastish  spores,  a 

AMRR.   NATURALIST,   VOL.   IV.  91 


728  THE   SPORES   OF  LICHENS. 

little  smaller  than  the  European,  and  measuring  from  .014  to 
.020.  Sagedia  cestrencis  Tuck,  is  another  example,  though 
I  am  doubtful  whether  my  specimens  are  different  from  S. 
carpinea  Fera.  As  it  occurs  on  the  beech,  the  spores  are 
fusiform,  and  measure  from  .034  to  .038',  while  those  on 
the  hemlock,  refen*ed  to  the  same  species,  are  acicular  and 
from  .072  to  .118.  But  perhaps  the  difference  in  form  would 
justify  making  this  a  distinct  species.  liinodina  sophodes 
Mass.  and  Biatbra  rubella  Fr.  are  two  very  variable  species, 
but  specimens  referred  to  each  vary  in  the  former  from  .010 
to  .025,  and  in  the  latter  from  .018  to  .075. 

So  in  regard  to  the  number  of  spores  in  the  spore-case. 
The  form  of  Sinodina  sophodes  in  which  the  spore-cases 
contain  twelve  or  more  spores,  can  hardly  be  distinguished 
from  that  in  which  there  are  only  eight,  though  Th.  Fries 
makes  it  a  separate  species,  under  the  name  M.polyspora.  I 
have  foudd  specimens  of  BueUia  microcarpa  D.  C.  which  do 
not  differ  from  the  common  form  more  than  the  two  forms 
of  a,  sophodeSf  but  in  which  there  are  from  eight  to  sixteen 
spores  in  a  spore-case ;  and  a  parasitic  lichen  on  the  thallus 
of  a  Saxicoline  Pertusaria  which  appears  to  differ  from 
Budlia  parasitica  Flk.,  only  in  the  spore-cases  containing 
a  large  number  of  spores.  These  examples  might  be  numer- 
ously increased,  but  they  are  perhaps  sufficient  to  show  that 
too  much  importance  should  not  be  attached  to  what  Profes- 
sor Tuckerman  calls  *'  mere  gradal  differences." 

Nylander,  the  great  French  lichenist  and  the  antagonist  of 
the  German-Italian  school,  does  not  seem  to  attach  sufficient 
importance  to  the  differences  in  spore  characters.  In  his  re- 
marks in  his  ^Synopsis"  on  specific  characters  in  lichens,  he 
contents  himself  with  a  few  indefinite  observations  in  regard 
to  them,  and  in  his  classification  makes  no  generic  distinc- 
tions based  on  form  or  color.  Thus  Rinodina  is  included 
under  Lecanora,  and  Buellia  under  Lecidea.  Indeed  he 
seems  to  consider  the  spermatia  as  more  important  classi- 
ficatoiy  organs  than  the  spores.    In  his  descriptions,  however, 


THE  SPOKES  OF  LICHENS.  723 

he  gives  the  forms  of  the  spores,  though  not  always  accu«- 
rately,  and  their  measurements.  While  the  Italian  and  Ger«- 
man  writers  on  the  one  hand  tend  to  too  great  a  subdivision 
of  genera  and  species,  Nylander,  on  the  other,  is  frequently 
too  comprehensive,  though  this  is  perhaps  the  safer  error  of 
the  two. 

Professor  Tuckerman  of  Amherst,  has  expressed  briefly 
his  views  on  the  value  of  spore  characters,  in  his  ^*Lich- 
ens  of  California,"  1866,  and  has  laid  the  foundation  of  a 
more  sound  and  instructive  doctrine  on  this  subject  than 
previous  writers.  In  his  opinion,  which  has  been  followed 
in  what  precedes,  **  less  weight  than  has  often  been  assumed 
should  be  given  to  spore  diflferences  of  a  merely  gradal 
character,  or  such  others  as  depend  only  on  mensuration, 
and  more  to  those  that  seem  typical."  He  considei*s  that 
there  are  "two  well  defined  kinds  of  lichen-spores,  comple- 
mented in  the  highest  tribe  only  by  a  well-defined  inter- 
mediate one.  In  one  of  these  (typically  colorless)  the 
originally  simple  spore,  passing  through  a  series  of  modifi- 
cations, always  in  one  direction,  and  tending  constantly  to 
elongation,  affords  at  length  the  acicular  type.  To  this  is 
opposed  (most  frequently  but  not  exclusively  in  the  lower 
tribes,  and  even  possibly  anticipated  by  the  polar-bilocidar 
sub'type  in  Parmeliacei)^  a  second  (typically  colored)  in 
which  the  simple  spore,  completing  another  series  of  changes, 
tending  rather  to  distension  and  to  division  in  one  direction, 
exhibits  finally  the  muriform  type.^^  In  accordance  with  this' 
view  Rinodina  is  distinguished  from  Lecanora,  and  Buellia 
from  Lecidea.  JTieloschistes  panetinus  is  separated  from 
Physcia,  a  genus  with  colored  spores,  and  placed  in  a  distinct 
genus,  the  type  of  whose  spore  is  ihQ pdar-bilocular.  On  the 
other  hand  Biatora  rubella  would  not  be  separated  from  that 
genus,  which  includes  species  with  simple  spores,  merely  on 
account  of  its  septate  spores,  nor  Buellia  petrcea  placed  in  a 
distinct  genus,  Bhizocarpon,  on  account  of  its  muriform 
spores,  nor  Lecanora  cervina  on  account  of  its  polysporous 


724  THE  SPORES   OF  LICHENS. 

spore-cases.  It  is  to  be  observed,  however,  that  the  typi- 
cally colored  spore  is  often,  as  Professor  Tuckerraan  ex- 
presses it,  decolorate.  Thus  the  spores  of  Budlia  pelrcMj 
are  often,  and  always,  so  far  as  I  have  observed,  in  a  form 
which  occurs  on  rails,  colorless,  and  frequently  only  2-blast- 
ish«  Similar  conditions  also  occur  of  Rinodina  sophodes  and 
Rn  aacociscana.  Pertusaria  is  another  genus  in  which  the 
spores  should  probably  be  considered  as  typically  colored. 
They  are  usually  of  a  yellowish  tinge,  and  in  one  specimen 
of  P.  leioplaca  they  were  of  a  rich  golden  brown.  There 
are  many  genera  in  which  species  with  spores  belonging  to 
the  typically  colored  series,  have  spores  always,  so  far  as 
observed,  colorless,  or  ^decolorate."  In  the  genera  of  all 
the  great  families  of  lichens  will  be  found  spores  corres- 
ponding to  these  vai'ious  types ;  and  a  table  might  be  con- 
structed, showing  the  analogies  throughout.  But  into  the 
subject  of  lichen  classification  it  is  not  my  purpose  here  to 
enter. 

Our  illustrations  in  the  preceding  number  of  the  Natu- 
ralist show  the  different  types  of  spores  as  thus  distin- 
guished ;  those  of  T.  parietina  being  polar-bilocular,  those 
of  Biatora  rubella^  acicular,  and  those  of  Buellia  petrcBay 
muriform.  The  adoption  of  this  Idea  will  certainly  intro- 
duce an  order  and  clearness  into  lichenology  which  it  has 
hitherto  lacked,  and  will  do  away  with  a  host  of  genera  of 
the  German  and  Italian  writers,  which  serve  only  to  en- 
cumber the  books  and  to  embari*ass  and  confuse  the  student. 
There  are  perhaps  some  exceptions,  as  Professor  Tuckerman 
admits,  in  regard  to  Gyalecta,  and  as  is  perhaps  the  case 
also  with  Arthonia.  But  these  may  disappear  with  further 
knowledge,  and  we  have  to  thank  the  Professor  for  an  idea 
which  greatly  simplifies  a  difficult  study,  and  whose  advan- 
tages, as  he  justly  remarks,  far  outweigh  its  difficulties.  He 
has  promised  a  further  discussion  of  the  subject  in  his  forth- 
coming work  on  the  Genei*a  of  North  American  Lichens. 


THE  SPERM  WHALES,  GIANT  AND  PYGBiY. 

BY  THEODORE  GILL,  M.D.,  PH.D. 

Vastness  of  size  is  so  generally,  and  it  may  almost  be 
conceded,  so  naturally  associated  in  the  popular  idea  with 
the  whales,  that  some  may  scarcely  be  able  to  realize  at 
first  the  fact  that  there  are  species  no  larger  than  ordinary 
porpoises ;  and  yet  which  agree  so  closely  in  all  the  more 
essential  elements  of  structure  with  some  of  the  whales, 
that  it  is  impossible,  in  a  natural  system,  to  separate  them 
far  from  their  gigantic  relatives.  We  say  some  of  the 
whales,  for  it  is  to  be  observed  that  the  animals  which  are 
designated  popularly  as  whales  do  not  form  a  natural  group, 
as  contradistinguished  from  other  animals.  As  popularly  ap- 
plied, the  word  whale  is  a  designation  used  in  common  for 
all  the  gigantic  cetaceans,  whether  they  be  toothless  and  fur- 
nished with  whalebone,  as  are  the  right-whales,  or  whether 
they  be  toothed,  as  are  the  sperm-whales,  or  cachalots.* 

The  pygmies,  to  which  we  have  alluded  above,  would  not 
answer,  then,  to  the  popular  conception.  But,  indeed,  there 
are  no  characters  which  are  coordinated  with  size,  and  which 
would  enable  one  to  give  a  definition  other  than  relative  to 
size.  We  have  to  enter  upon  a  more  profound  examination 
before  being  able  to  ascertain  the  relations  of  the  various 
members  of  the  cetacean  order.  It  is  only  by  taking  into 
account  the  sum  total  of  characters,  internal  as  well  as  ex- 
ternal, that  we  are  at  length  enabled  to  arrive  at  a  correct 
appreciation  of  the  true  affinities  of  animals,  and  this  induc- 
tive mode  of  study,  applied  to  the  cetaceans,  teaches  us  that 


*It  should  bo  addody  bowoYor,  that  "  whale  "  seoms  to  be  need  by  some  whalemen 
as  a  qaasl-generfc  term  for  the  cetaceans  (see  Choeyer,  "  The  Whale  and  his  Captors,'' 
pp.  96, 97),  and  is  also  applied  by  other  persons  to  some  of  the  larger  DelphinidaSf  such  as 
Beluga  (the  white  whale),  Orca  (the  killer  whale),  Olobioeq>haluM  (the  calng  whale),  eto. 


726  THE   SPERM   WHALES,    GIANT   AND   PTOMT. 

in  the  order  are  taro  great  groups,  which,  we  may  at  onoe 
add,  are  suborders ;  and  that  these  groups  are  distinguished 
from  each  other  by  numerous  characteristics :  the  most  ap- 
parent of  these  are,  in  one  group,  (the  Mystioete,)  the  de- 
velopment  of  whalebone  on  the  roof  of  the  mouth,  and  the 
entire  want  of  teeth,* — they  being  reabsorbed  into  the  gums 
before  birth, — the  development  of  an  olfactory  organ,  and  of 
nasal  bones  free  at  their  distal  ends ;  and  in  the  other  group, 
(the  Dentigeti,)  the  absence  of  the  whalebone,  and  the 
development  of  teeth  after  birth  generally  persistent  in  one 
or  both  jaws  during  life,  but  in  some  forms  more  or  less 
early  deciduous;  the  olfactory  organ  is  atrophied,  and  the 
nasal  bones  are  appressed  to  the  frontals  and  overlapped 
by  the  vomer. 

It  is  not  in  one  alone  of  these  groups  that  we  find  associ- 
ated together,  in  a  natural  morphological  combination,  giants 
and  dwarfs,  although  only  in  one  do  we  find  the  contrast  in 
the  present  age  of  our  globe.  It  is  the  family  of  Physeler- 
idcB  (the  sperm-whales)  which  furnishes  us  with  the  con- 
trast in  living  forms ;  oiily  giants  are  now  living  to  repre- 
sent the  Balcenidoe  (the  right-whales),  and  BaloBnoptencke 
(the  fin-back  whales),  but  in  the  miocene  age,  a  species  of 
a  fin-back  whale  lived  that  when  adult  was  not  even  as  large 
as  the  new  bom  young  of  the  fin-backs  now  living,  f  It  is, 
however,  only  with  the  pygmy  sperm-whales,  equally  small 
or  even  smaller,  compared  with  their  gigantic  relatives,  |  that 
we  will  now  concern  ourselves.  And  we  will  commence  our 
study  with  the  enquiry  as  to  what  are  the  essential  chamo- 
t^rs  of  the  family  to  which  they  belong.     Our  task  is  rcn- 

*  Teeth  are  present,  however,  in  the  fcotUB,  bat  are  not  functionally  developed. 

t  See  Cope  in  Proceedingg  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia. 

tBeale,  a  tmstworthy  obserrer,  has  recorded  the  capture  In  the  **  Japan  Fishery  ** 
of  a  male  cachalot  eighty-four  ftet  long;  J.  D.  Bennett  has  remarked  **  that  the  largest 
siie  authentically  recorded  of  the  sperm-whale  is  seventy-six  feet  in  length,  by  thirty* 
eight  in  girth;  but  whalers  are  well  contented  to  consider  siz^  feet  the  average  of  the 
largest  examples  they  commonly  obtain.^  Professor  Flower,  after  a  critical  study, 
concluded  that  the  length  might  be  about  sixty  foet,  and  <*  ventures  to  question  whether 
the  cachalot  fk^uently,  if  ever,  exceeds  that  length,  wh«n  meatured  in  a  ttraigkt  UneJ* 
The  adult  Kogiina  attain  a  length  of  fW>m  seven  to  eleven  feet. 


THE   SPERM   WHALES,   OIAMT   AMD   FYOMT.  727 

dered  easy  by  the  recent  publication  of  a  i^ry  elaborate  mon-* 
ogi'aph  "  On  tho  Osteology  of  the  Cachalot  or  Sperm-whale 
{PhyseUr  macrocephaius)^*'  by  Professor  Flower  of  the 
Royal  Ciollege  of  Surgeons  of  England,  and  a  full  descrip- 
tion and  illustrations  of  a  pygmy  whale,  by  Professor  Owen, 
who  has  been  the  first  to  clearly  elucidate  the  details  of 
structure  of  a  member  of  the  group  of  small  species. 

1.  Families  of  Toothed  Cetaceans.  There  are  four  families 
of  toothed  cetaceans :  the  Physeterids^  or  sperm-whales ;  the 
ZiphiidSy  nearly  allied  to  the  former,  but  in  some  respects 
approaching  nearer  to  the  Delphinids;  the  Platanistids^ 
containing  mostly  fresh- water  forms;  and,  finally,  the  Dei- 
phintdSj  containing  by  far  the  largest  number  of  genera 
and  species,  and  embracing  the  dolphins  (not  the  fishes  of 
that  name),  the  porpoises,  etc.  It  is  on  a  comparison  be- 
tween the  members  of  all  those  families  that  the  following 
characters  are  shown  to  be  peculiar,  either  absolutely  or  in 
combination,  to  the  Physeteridte. 

2.  Common  Character  of  Sperm-whales.  The  form  is 
variable,  the  head  being  either  disproportionately  large  and 
blunt  in  front,  with  a  subterminal  blower,  as  in  the  giant 
whales,  or  conical,  as  in  the  dwarfs;  the  snout,  however, 
always  projects  forwards,  and  the  mouth  is  inferior.  The 
cervical  vertebrae  in  whole,' or  the  atlas  excepted,  are  an- 
chylosed  together.  The  hinder  ribs  lose  their  heads,  and 
are  only  connected  by  their  tubercles  with  the  transverse 
processes  of  the  vertebrae.  The  costal  cartilages  which  con- 
nect the  ribs  with  the  sternum  retain  more  or  less  of  their 
original  cartilaginous  condition.  The  skull  has  the  bones 
raised  so  as  to  form  a  more  or  less  elevated  retrorsely  convex 
crest  behind  the  anterior  nares.  The  supraoccipital  (so)  and 
parietals  combined  extend  forwards  on  the  sides,  and  pre- 
sent a  convex  border  projecting  forwards  high  above  the 
temporal  fossa,  and  forwards  beyond  the  vertex.  The 
frontal  (/)  bones  have  an  extended  lateral  surface  de- 
flected downwards  and  produced  upwards,  exposing  to  view 


728  THE   8FEBM  WHALES,   GIANT  AND  FYGMT. 

a  triangular  or  retroraely  falciform  wedge  between  the  max- 
illaries  and  supraoccipital.  The  left  nasal  bone  (n)  is  atro- 
phied ;  the  right  hypertrophied  and  twisted  to  the  left  side. 
The  jugal  {j)  is  well  developed  and  projects  downwards 
or  backwards.  The  orbit  is  small  or  of  moderate  size. 
The  pterygoid  {pi)  bones  are  thick ,  produced  forwards  and 
entering  largely  into  the  bony  roof  of  the  mouth  over  and 
behind  the  palatine  {pal)  bones,  not  contiguous  at  the  mid- 
dle, with  low  ridges  on  the  oral  sur&ce  diverging  more  or 
less  backwards  and  outwards,  and  with  sides  not  involuted 
so  as  to  form  the  outer  wall  of  the  postpalatine  air-sinus. 
The  lower  jaw  has  a  more  or  less  elongated  symphysis. 
Teeth  are  functionally  developed  only  or  chiefly  in  the  lower 
jaw.     The  pectoral  limb  is  small. 

3.  Deductions.    Such  are  the  characters  possessed  by  all 
the  members  of  the  fiimily.     It  will  be  observed  that  all  but 


(Fig.  164.) 


Lower  Jaw  of  Ph^itter  maeroetphaiust  ttom  Flower. 

one  of  them  which  are  truly  distinctive  are  derived  from  the 
internal  organization,  and  as  some  persons  may  complain  of 
this  and  ask  why  external  characters  have  not  been  em- 
ployed, it  may  be  added  that  thei'e  are  no  distinctive  ex- 
ternal features,  except  the  inferiority  of  the  mouth,  and  that 
only  owes  its  importance  to  its  coordination  with  others. 
It  cannot  be  too  often  repeated  that  our  judgment  respecting 
the  relations  of  animals  is  only  reliable  when  based  on  the 
most  complete  and  comprehensive  examination  of  the  entire 
structure,  external  as  well  as  internal,  and  that  one  of  the 
first  elements  of  a  natural  classification  is  that  the  characters 
used  shall  be  at  least  expressive  of  the  sum  of  all  the  com- 
mon characters. 


THE  8P£RM  WHALES,   GIANT  AND  FYOMT.  729 

In  ord^r  now  to  exhibit  the  relative  importance  of  the 
characters  and  their  subordination,  it  may  simply  be  stated 
that  the  chief,  or  at  least  most  salient  peculiarities  in  the  form 
and  relation  of  the  bones  are  those  exhibited  by  the  supraoc- 
cipital  in  combination  with  the  parietals,  and  also  those  pre- 
sented by  the  frontals.  In  these  respects,  the  sperm-whales 
stand  alone  among  the  cetaceans,  while  the  Ziphiids,  to 
which  they  are  most  nearly  allied,  and  with  which  they  agree 
in  the  costal  cartilages,  the  form  of  the  pterygoids,  etc., 
resemble  the  Delphinids  in  the  development  of  those  bones. 

4.  Differences  among  Physeterids.  Having  now  pretty 
carefully  passed  in  review  the  common  characters  of  the 
Physeterids,  we  may  now  enter  on  an  examination  of  the 
subdivisions  which  are  indicated  by  a  similar  course  of  study. 
After  a  detailed  investigation  of  all  known  forms  it  is  found 
that  they  may  readily  be  grouped  into  two  divisions  which 
are  separated  from  each  other  by  many  striking  peculiarities. 
One  of  these  is  represented  by  the  large  species ;  the  other 
by  small  ones ;  for  the  former,  has  been  retained  by  the  best 
naturalists  the  Linn»an  name  Physeter;  for  the  latter,  was 
first  proposed  the  Grayan  name  Kogia^  a  barbarous  designa- 
tion which  has  by  some  been  superseded  by  Euphyaetes.  In 
order  to  exhibit  at  once  the  contrast  between  the  two  forms, 
and  to  facilitate  comparison,  we  append  the  characters  in 
parallel  columns. 

Phtseter.  Kogia. 

Form   massive,  with   the   head  Form  delphinold,  with  the  head 

very  large,  oblong  in  profile  and  conical,  the  snout  being  attenuated 

truncated  at  the  front ;  eyes  veiy  and  projecting  beyond  the  mouth ; 

small,  very  low,  and  near  the  angle  eyes  moderate,  nearer  the  forehead 

of  the  mouth ;  blow-hole  anterior,  than  the  angle  of  the  mouth ;  blow- 

and  at  or  near  the  edge  of  the  trnn-  hole  at  the  forehead, 
cated  snout. 

Dorsal  fin  represented  by  a  hump.       *  Dorsal  fin  ftilcate. 

Cervical  vertebra  differentiated         Cervical  vertebre  all  united  by 
into  an  atlas  and  a  combination  of      anchylosis, 
the  second  to  seventh  anchylosed 
and  ftised  together. 

AMRR.  NATURAUST,  VOL.  PT.  92 


780 


THE   SPERM   WHALES,  GIANT  AND   PTOBfT. 


Bibs  about  ten  or  eleven  pairs  in 
number.    ^ 

Skull  abruptly  contracted  Into  the 
attenuated  rostrum,  which  equals 
or  exceeds  three  times  the  len^^th 
of  the  condylo-orbital  line ;  above, 
seml-clrcular  behind ;  with  the  ros- 
tral part  oblong  and  acute  conic. 

Cerebral  cavity  declining  down- 
wards. 

Occipi to- sphenoid  axis  angular; 
the  basioccipltal  portion  very  de- 
clivous or  almost  perpendicular, 
and  the  anterior  part  of  sphenoid 
portion  Inclining  upwards. 

Baslsphenold  (bs)  and  palatines 
(pal)  not  or  scarcely  visible  flrom 
the  side,  being  concealed  fh)m  view 
by  the  exocclpltals  and  squamosals. 

Froi^al  (/)  with  the  exposed  sur- 
fkce  broadly  triangular  above  be- 
tween the  supraocclpltal  and  max- 
illarles ;  curved  Inwards  behind  the 
postorbital  process ;  the  process  Is 
very  distinct. 

Squamosal  («)  with  an  external 
oblong  triangular  surfsuse,  and  with 
a  zygomatic  process  for  articula- 
tion with  the  Jugal;  contributing 
little  surface  to  the  floor  of  the 
temporal  fossa. 

Jugals  (J)  inclined  backwards, 
and  articulated  with  zygomatic  pro- 
cesses of  the  squamosals. 

Nasal  (n)  bone  flat,  smooth. 


Bibs  about  thirteen  or  fourteen 
pairs  in  number. 

Skull  gradually  sloping  into  the 
rostrum,  which  Is  shorter  than  the 
condylo-orbital  line;  above,  reni- 
form  behind ;  with  the  rostrum  ob« 
tnsely  conic. 


Cerebral  cavity  inclining  up- 
wards. 

Occlplto-sphenoid  axis  continu- 
ous upwards  flrom  the  thickened 
horizontal  floor  in  Aront  of  the  fo- 
ramen magnum. 

Baslsphenold  and  palatines 
curved  downwards  and  outwards, 
and  largely  exposed  to  view  fh>m 
the  sides. 

Frontal  with  the  exposed  surflice 
retrorsely  curved  above;  with  an 
angulated  margin  above  the  tem- 
poral cavity. 


Squamosal  with  a  small,  external 
surface,  but  a  large  incurved  sur- 
face, forming  the  largest  portion 
of  the  periphery  of  the  temporal 
fossa. 


Jugals  Inclined  downwards  and 
remote  flrom  the  squamosals. 


Nasal  bone  with  a  thickened  sig* 
moldally  sinuous  ridge  continued 
flrom  the  nasal  septum  to  the  ver- 
tex, and  with  a  less  defined  branch 
extending  flrom  its  posterior  part 
forwards  on  the  right  Intermax- 
lllaiy. 


THE   8PEBM   WHALES,   QIANT   AND  FYGMT.  731 

Maxillaries  (m)  continaous,  the  MaxiUarles  differentiated  Into 
contoar  being  simply  interrupted  two  portions  by  the  deep  ante- 
by  the  anteorbital  notch ;  the  ante-  orbital  notch ;  the  anterior  short, 
rior  portion  very  long,  high,  wide,  low,  narrow,  and  ecarinate ;  the 
and  carinate  at  its  proximal  half;  posterior  portion  with  a  thickened 
the  posterior  portion  simply  decliv-  external  contour, 
ous  on  the  frontals. 

Intermaxillaries  (i)  very  elon-  IntermaxiUaries  very  short,  di- 
gate,  nearly  contiguous  anteriorly,  verging  forwards  on  account  of  the 
and  projecting  forwards  consider-  development  of  the  vomer ;  not  or 
ably  beyond  the  maxillaries.  little  extending  beyond  the  maxil- 

laries. 

Lower  Jaw  with  the  symphysis  Lower  Jaw  with  the  symphysis 

nearly  co-equal  with  the  alveolar  little  more  than  half  as  long  as  the 

region,  and    more   than    half  the  alveolar   region,  and  less  than  a 

length  of  the  rami.*  third  the  length  of  the  rami. 

6.  Deductions  Respecting  the  Relative  Value  of  Differ^ 
ences.  Thus  have  we  iii  considerable  detail  contrasted  the 
respective  peculiarities  of  the  two  groups  of  Physeterids. 
We  have  gone  into  such  detail,  as  it  is  only  in  that  way  that 
we  can  appreciate  the  great  difference  between  the  two. 
The  question  now  arises,  what  is  the  value  of  those  groups? 
Are  they  simply  genera?  or  are  they  entitled  to  higher  rank? 

On  account  of  the  limited  number  of  species,  and  the  close 
relationship  of  the  several  members  of  the  respective  groups, 
we  are  compelled  to  judge  somewhat  by  analogy,  and  com- 
parison with  allied  families.  As  the  result  of  such  compar- 
isons, especially  among  the  representatives  of  the  families 
Ziphiids  and  Delphinids^  it  is  believed  that  the  value  of 
several  characters  above  given  is  of  more  than  generic  value, 
the  difference  appearing  to  be  very  much  greater  than  exists 
between  genera  in  either  of  those  families,  and  it  is  there- 

*Oar  readers  residing  In  Boston  and  its  saburbs  can  yeriff  the  charaoters  of  Phifteter  by  a 
visit  to  the  Museum  of  Gomparatiye  Zoology,  at  Cambridge,  belonging  to  which  establishment 
are  the  skull  and  parts  of  the  skeleton  of  au  indlTldual  obtained,  we  beUere,  on  the  ooast  of 
New  Jersey, 

It  may  be  remarked  here  that  some  fossil  remains  ttom  the  Miocene  of  the  Eastern  United 
States  have  been  referred  to  the  PhyteteridK^  with  the  names  Orjfeterocetut  eomutident  Leldy, 
0.  erocodilinut  Cope,  and  Ontoeetu*  Bmmoruii  Leidy;  and  some  ttom  the  Flloeene,  as  Pfcy. 
$0t§r  atiHquut  Leidy. 


782  THE  SPEBH  WHALES,  OIANT  AND  PTGMT. 

fore  proposed  to  designate  the  genera  Phyaeter  and  Kogia 
as  representatives  of  two  sub-families  of  Phtseteridjb,  to 
be  respectively  designated  as  Phtsetebinjb  and  KoaiixiB. 
If  we  are  called  upon  to  make  a  distinction  between  sab- 
fkmily  and  generic  characters,  it  is  believed  that  the  most 
important  are  the  form  of  the  head  (a  difference  of  greater 
moment  than  analagous  ones  among  the  Delphinidae)  and 
position  of  the  blow-holes,  the  form  and  direction  of  the 
cerebral  cavity  and  coordinate  modification  of  its  enclosing 
bones ;  the  direction  of  the  occipito-sphenoid  axis,  and  the 
form  and  relations  of  the  jugal  and  zygomatic  processes  of 
the  squamosal  bones. 

And  lest  some  may  entertain  a  suspicion  that  some  of  the 
differences  above  enumerated  may  be  the  result  of  vegeta- 
tive growth  (or  buli^)  in  Physetevy  it  is  proper  to  add  that 
the  young  of  that  form  essentially  resembles  the  adult,  and' 
that  the  characters  enumerated  are  as  applicable  to  the  one 
as  to  the  other.  Nor  are  the  characteristics  of  Kogia  the 
expressions  of  arrested  development ;  they  are  special  mod- 
ifications, and  the  form  itself  is  quite  as  specialized  a  type 
as  is  Physei/er  itself.  Both  forms,  so  far  as  known,  have 
equally  lost  the  evidences  of  the  nature  of  their  common 
progenitor,  and  it  is  impossible  to  decide,  from  present  facts, 
which  is  the  most  divergent  from  the  common  stock.  If  we 
were  to  be  guided  by  consideration  of  size,  Kogia  would 
seem  to  be  the  most  divergent,  the  typical  Physeterids  and 
related  Ziphiida  being  all  large  animals,  but  such  hint 
would  probably  be  illusive  per  86,  although  really  perhaps 
near  the  truth. 

6.  Subdivisions  of  the  Family.  While  the  first  subdi- 
vision of  the  family  into  two  subfamilies  based  on  tangible 
and  i*eliable  data,  is  that  presented  in  this  article,  a  binary 
division  had  been  previously  proposed  by  Dr.  J.  E.  Gray, 
in  the  ^* Additions  and  Cori*ections"  of  his  **  Catalogue  of 
Seals  and  Whales  in  the  British  Museum,"  published  in 
1866 ;  therein  (p.  386),  he  subdivides  the  family  as  follows: 


THE   8PEBM   WHALES,    GIANT  AND   FYOMT.  733 

I.  Head  compressed,  truncated  in  front.    Blowers  in  front  of  the  upper  part 

of  the  head.    Skull  elongate.    Dorsal  hump  rounded,    Peck>ral  fln 
short,  truncated,    Catodontina. 

1.  Catodon.  The  atlas  oblong,  transverse,  nearly  twice  as  broad  as 
high ;  the  central  canal  sabtrigonal,  narrow  below. 

2.  Meoaneuron.  The  atlas  sabcircular,  rather  broader  than  high ;  the 
central  canal  circular,  in  the  middle  of  the  body,  widened  above. 

II.  Head  depressed,  rounded  in  front.    Blowers  at  the  back  of  the  forehead. 

Mouth  small,  inferior.    Dorsal  Jin  compressed,  falcate,    Pectoral  elou' 
gate,  falcate.    Physeterina. 

8.  Physbtbr.    Head  large,  elongate,  rather  depressed  In  Aront. 

4.  KooiA.  Head  moderate,  blnnt  and  high  in  f^nt.  Skall  short  and 
broad.  The  septnm  that  divides  the  crown  of  the  skall  very  sinuous, 
folded  so  as  to  form  a  fdnnel-shaped  concavity. 

5.  EupHYSETBS.  Head  moderate,  blunt  and  high  in  flront.  Skull  short 
and  broad.  The  septum  that  divides  the  crown  of  the  skull  simple,  lon- 
gitudinal, only  slightly  curved." 

No  animal  has  ever  been  seen  in  recent  times  in  which  the 
alleged  characters  of  frontal  blow-hole  and  falciform  dorsal 
have  been  found  associated  with  the  structural  characters 
and  size  of  Phj/seter^  and  as  Dr.  Oray  himself  remarks, 
*Uhere  is  not  a  bone,  nor  even  a  fragment  of  a  bone,  nor  any 
part  that  can  be  proved  to  have  belonged  to  a  specimen  of 
this  gigantic  animal,  to  be  seen  in  any  museum  in  Europe." 
Commenting  on  this.  Flower  adds  that  ^^if  the  Linnaean  genus 
Phyaeter  is  to  be  kept  in  abeyance  until  the  discovery  of 
Sibbald's  Balcena  maci*ocephala  tripinna  [the  only  basis  for 
the  so-called  Phyaeter  tursio] ,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  it  may 
ultimately  disappear  altogether  from  zoological  literature." 
Heartily  concurring  in  this  view,  and  coinciding  with  the 
most  judicious  cetologists  that  the  Sibbaldian  animal  was 
simply  distinguished  on  account  of  a  misapprehension  as  to 
its  relations,  and  that  it  was,  as  Eschricht  has  observed,*  an 
old  cachalot  with  worn  teeth,  the  name  Physeter  is  retained 
for  it  as  that  proposed  by  the  founder  of  zoological  tax- 
onomy. In  this  case  the  name  Physeterin(K  of  course  must 
be  connected  with  the   same   form.     The   factitious  genus 

*Dr.  Gray  has,  Arom  some  mtsnnderstanding,  remarked  that  "  Eschricht  seems  to 
beUeve  that  Sibbald  described  a  Killer  or  Orca  gladiator,  under  the  above  name.'' 


734  THE   SPERM  WHALES,   GIANT  AND   FYGMr. 

Physeter  being  eliminated,  none  but  the  small  sperm-vbales 
ai-e  left  in  the  Grayan  tribe  Physeterina,  and  they  form  a 
natural  group  for  which  the  name  KogiinoB  has  been  above 
proposed ;  while  the  apparently  most  essential  charactera 
have  been  first  attributed  to  it. 

The  genera  Catodon  and  Meganearon,  distinguished,  so  far 
as  known,  solely  by  differences  in  the  osseous  development 
of  the  cervical  vertebrre,  may  better  be  conjoined  provision- 
ally under  the  single  generic  name  Physeter. 

The  diagnoses  of  Kogia  and  Euphysetea  do  not  appear  to 
be  the  expressions  of  actual  differences. 

7.  The  Species  of  Physetenns.  The  sperm  whiiles,  or 
Cachalots,  according  to  Flower,  "unlike  the  right-whales,  are 

Fig.  1C8,' 


essentially  inhabitants  of  the  tropical  and  warmer  parts  of 
Fig.  iM-t  the  temperate  seas,  and  pass  freely  from  one  hem- 
isphere into  another."  They  have  been  observed 
in  evciy  sea,  wtmdering  northward  in  tlie  Pacific 
til  the  Straits  of  Bering;  in  the  Atlantic,  straggling 
northward,  at  least  as  far  aa  the  coasts  of  Britain 
and  the  North  Sea;  and  in  the  southern  hemi- 
sphere, they  have  been  found  rounding  the  capes, 
and  passing  from  one  ocean  to  the  other.  "Between  the 
North  Atlantic  and  the  Australian  seas  there  is  no  barrier 
intei^iosed  to  animals  of  such  great  powers  of  locomotion." 

•FiS-  163.  Oattins  of  the  Cachntot,  co|iieil  tiam  Beale'i  '■Natural  Historr  at  the 
Sperm-while,"  18 U,  |>.  S3;  b,  tha  sltnntion  of  theciuei  c,  thsjnnk;  d.  the  bunch  of  Uie 
neck;  A.  Mie  hump;  I,  tbe  ridge;  k,  tho  bidhII;  /,  the  tall  or  DulieB.  Batween  Ihs 
oblique  dotted  llncB  are  the  spiral  etripa,  or  blanket  plecei;  the  ares. 

|PlK-  1V8.  Head  seen  Trom  the  fhint;  the  linea  (ormlnB-the  aqoare  are  Intended  to 
npreaent  the  flat  anterior  |iart  of  the  head. 


THE   SPEBM  WHALES,   OIANT  ANP  FYGMT.  735 

As  may  be  supposed,  animals  from  places  so  widely  dis- 
tant have  furnished  the  bases  for  different  specific  names,  and 
after  various  fluctuations  of  opinion,  in  the  last  general  com 
pleted  work  on  the  cetaceans — that  by  Dr.  Gray  already 
referred  to — three  authenticated  and  four  doubtful  species 
of  true  Physeterines  are  admitted,  exclusive  of  the  nominal 
Physeter  tursio.  The  three  considered  established  by  him 
are  Catodon.  macrocepJialtiSy  Catodon  aiLStralis^  and  Mega- 
neuron  Krefftii;  the  four  **  species  wanting  further  confirma- 
tion" are  the  Pacific  sperm- whale  (^Catodon  Colneti  Gray) ^ 
the  South  African  sperm-whale  ( Catodon  macrocephalu8  A. 
Smith),  the  Indian  sperm-whale  {Oatodon  macrocephalus 
Blyth),  and  the  South  Sea  sperm-whale  {Physeter  polycy- 
phits  Quoy  and  Gaimard). 

Professor  Flower,  after  an  elaborate  comparison  of  skele- 
tons of  Physeter  from  the  British  waters  and  from  the 
Tasmanian  seas  (the  home  of  P.  attstralis)^  arrived  at  the 
conclusion  that  the  apparent  differences  of  P*  australia^  com- 
pared with  P.  macrocephalus,  were  the  characters  of  imma- 
turity or  the  result  of  error  in  the  identification  of  parts,  and 
** putting  aside  these  distinctive  characters  as  valueless,  there 
is  not  one  other  presenting  any  approach  to  a  specific  dis- 
tinction pointed  out  throughout  the  whole  memoir  by  Wall,'* 
and  he  himself  has  been  unable  to  find  any  specific  differ- 
ences between  the  Northern  Atlantic  and  Southern  Pacific 
forms ;  he,  however,  is  careful  to  remark  that  he  does  not 
**deny  the  possibility  of  their  being  y)ecifically  distinct,"  and 
very  appropriately  adds  that  ''similarity  of  osteological  char- 
acters does  not  prove  unity  of  species."  But  until  such  can 
be  defined,  specific  names  would  only  mislead. 

As  to  the  "species  wanting  farther  confirmation,"  it  is  suf- 
ficient that  Dr.  Gray  ranks  them  in  that  category. 

One  other  name  only  needs  notice,  the  Meganeuron 
Krefftii  Gray,  founded  on  cervicjil  vertebrsB ;  the  atlas  cer- 
tainly differs  considerably  from  those  of  the  Physeter*  macro- 
cepkalua  hitherto  made  known.     Mr.  Kreffl,  however,  who 


736  THE  BPBBH  WHALES,   GIANT   AND   FYOHT. 

transmitted  them  to  Dr.  Gray,  fiually  regarded  the  "mass  of 
Tert«bne  as  belonging  to  Catodon  auslralis."  Until  the  ao- 
qairement  of  further  data,  the  relations  of  the  form  will  be 
doubtful. 

8.  The  Species  of  EbgitTis.  Representatives  of  the  sub- 
family have  been  obtained  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
near  Sidney  (Australia),  and  from  tlie  coast  of  the  Madras 
Presidency,  and  respectively  attributed  to  four  species.  To 
the  localities  already  distinguished,  we  may  now  add  Lower 
California,  from  which  the  lower  jaw  of  a  specimen,  as  well 
as  a  figure  and  notice  of  the  animal,  have  recently  been  for- 
warded by  Colonel  Grayson.  It  would  therefore  appear 
probable  that  the  group  is  quite  generally  distributed  in  the 


Xttfia  n«Hri,  iilipted  fntm  »  eoloml  tgm  bj  Col.  Or*}wn. 

Pacific  Ocean,  and  probably  in  the  South  Atlantic.  The 
four  forms  previously  distinguished  as  species  have  been  re- 
ferred by  Dr.  Gray,  as  already  indicated,  to  two  genera, 
Kogia  and  Euphysetes;  the  latter  name  having  been  re- 
stricted to  the  form  on  which  it  was  primitively  based,  while 
the  three  others  have  been  referred  to  Kogia.  As  almvc 
remai-ked,  the  pertinence  of  the  new  diagnosis  of  Euphy- 
oetee  to  its  type  is  not  apparent,  and  is  at  variance  with 
the  original  description  as  well  as  figure  of  the  species.  Of 
the  species  mentioned,  the  Indian  form  is  by  far  the  best 
known,  thanks  to  Sir  Walter  Elliot,  the  collector,  and  Pro- 
fessor Owen,  the  describev;  two  Australian  forms  have  been 
specifically  distinguished  by  Mr.  Krcfft,  after  an  examination 
of  the  skeletons  of  both ;  the  species  of  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hoi>e  is  only  knowu  from  a  skull,  and  the  Califomian  species 


THE    SPKRH   WHALES,    OIANT   AND    FTOHT.  737 

only  from  die  lower  jaw  and  the  accampanyiiig  figure ;  but 
those  combined  will  be  sufficieat  to  readily  diatiugulsh  the 
last  species  from  its  congeDers,  although  we  must  await  with 
impatieuce  the  collection  of  better  material,  and  we  may  be 
allowed  to  hope  that  this  article  may  incite  our  Califoruian 
friends  to  seek  for  and  procure  specimens. 

Our  present  knowledge  of  the  species  of  this  sub-family 
seems  to  indicate  that  there  are  two  well-marked  divisions, 
one  of  which  is  represented  l^  the  species  (Physeter  brevi- 
ctps  BK),  on  which  the  genus  Kogia  was  originally  based  by 
Dr.  Gray,  and  to  which  the  Bv,phya^e$  Grayi  Wall,  the 
Euphyaetea  Madeayt  Krefit,  and  the  Mazatlan  individual  also 
belong ;  and  the  other  division  is  represented  by  the  Euphy- 
seles  aimus  Owen.  These  are  very  decidedly  distinguished 
by  the  difference  in  the  form  of  the  lower  jaw,  and  the  form 
as  well  as  development  of  tiie  teeth. 

In  all  the  typical  KogiK,  the  lower  jaw,  for  each  ramus, 
has  a  more  or  less  truncated  oar-shaped  posterior  margin, 
and  from  its  upper  and  lower  angles,  the  respective  mai^iiis 
converge,  describing  nearly  straight  or  little  convex  outlines, 
to  the  alveolar  area,  the  lower  margin  ascending  upwards  to 
the  symphysis,  where  the  rami  are  parallel  or  nearly  so,  and 
which  there  project  downwards  into  a  longitudinally  convex 
carina.  There  are  from  tiiirteen  to  fifteen  teeth  in  each 
ramus ;  they  are  very  long,  much  curved,  and  acutely 
pointed. 

In  Euphyaetes  aitnua  "each  ram 
semicircular  posterior  mai^in,  cur 
ward  from  below  where  the  angle 
mammals,  and  then  forward  to  the  [ 
cess  [etc.].  In  the  alveolar  grooi 
sockets  for  nine  teeth  [etc.]  ;  the 
conical,  obtuse,  not  exceeding  eight 
the  cylindrical  base  has  a  diameter 
crown  a  diameter  of  one  and  one-ha 
two  and  one-half  lines,  diminishing 

AHBR.   ttATCHALm,   VOL.   IV.  9S 


788  THE   SPERM  WHALES,   OIANT  AND  PTGHT. 

(OWen,  1.  c,  p.  41).  A  pair  of  teeth  are  als6  developed 
near  the  front  of  the  upper  jaw.  With  these  maudtbular 
and  dental  characters  seem  also  to  be  coordinated  a  less  de- 
veloped dorsal  fin,  comparatively  longer  temporal  fossie, 
the  deep  fissure  limiting  the  frout  part  of  the  supraorbital 
ridge ;  the  more  deflected  jugals,  and  the  more  rounded  lat- 
eral ridges  of  the  hinder  portions  of  the  maxillaries.  As  it 
is  certain  that  a  generic  name  will  sooner  or  later  be  de- 
sired for  the  form  so  distinguished,  it  may  be  called  on 
account  of  the  symmetrically  rounded  lower  jaw  GaUig- 
ncUJiUS.     The  known  species  are  as  follows  : 

1.  KoGiA  BRKViCEPS  Gray  ex  Blainv.    Habitat,  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

2.  KoGiA  Grati  Gray  ex  Wall.    Habitat,  Australia,  near  Sydney. 

8.  KoGiA  Maclkati  Gray  ex  Krefft.    Habitat,  Australia^  near  Sydney. 
4.  KooiA  Flowkri  Gill.    The  form  is  robust;  the  dorsal  very  low, 

*<  posterior  to  which  is  a  sharp  ridge  as  if  belonging  to  the  fin,  extending 
towards  the  tall ; "  the  color  black  or  blackish  above,  whitish  or  yellow- 
.ish- white  below,  and  upwards  and  forwards,  inclading  the  end  of  the 
snout. 

The  lower  Jaw  at  its  symphysis  below  is  very  compressed,  has  concare 
Udes,  and  its  greatest  depth  is  at  about  the  posterior  third  of  the  sym- 
physis ;  the  dentigerous  area  extends  backwards  nearly  to  the  anterior 
point  of  the .  deltoid  sinus  of  the  inner  wall  of  the  dental  canal,  and  is 
.much  incurved :  behind,  the  area,  the  margin  is  nearly  straight  and  hori- 
zontal. ' 

The  teeth  are  very  long  and  slenider,  very  much  curved  outwards  and 
backwaijdsi  and  acutely  pointed ;  there  are  about  fourteen  or  fifteen  in 
number  on  each  side. 

The  animal  on  whose  Jaw  and  piortralt  the  8pe6ies  hAs  been  based,  was 
obtained  a  short  distance  tcom  Mazatlan,  in  1868,  and  measured  nine  feet 
in  length;  its  blubber  yielded  seventy-fiv6  pounds  of  oil.  No  details  as 
to  its  mode  of  capture  were  sent  by  Colonel  Grayson,  but  it  was  re- 
marked that  *Mt  is  said  to  be  a  strange  fish  in  those  waters.** 

6.  Calugnathus  8IMU8.  Habitat,  India,  coast  of  Vigigapataw,  Madras 
Presidency.       ' 

9.  On  the  Nomenclature  6f  Kbgta.  A  few  words  con- 
cerning the  jibmehclature  of  the  genus  seem  to  be  demanded. 

Dr.  J.  E.  Grray,  perceiving  certain  discrepancies  between 
the  figure  and  descriptive  notice  by  Blainville  of  a  skull 
from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  referred  by  the  latter  author 
to  the  genus  Physeter^  and  named  P.  breviceps^  conferred 


THE   8PEBM   WHALES,    GIANT  AND   PTGltT.  739 

upon  it  in  1846  the  barbarous  generic  name  Kogia^  with  the 
following  diagnosis : 

**Head  moderate,  broad,  triangular.  Lower  jaw  wide  be- 
neath, slender,  united  by  a  short  symphysis  in  front.  Jaw- 
bone* of  the  skull  broad,  triangular,  as  broad  as  long.** 

In  1854,  Mr.  W.  S.  Wall,  f  in  a  "History  and  Description 
of  the  Skeleton  of  a  New  Sperm-whale  [etc.]",  described  in 
addition  a  new  pygmy  species,  to  which  he  gave  the  name 
Euphyaetea  Qrayi^  evidently  inclining  to  the  opinion  that  it 
would  prove  to  be  congeneric  with  Kogia  brevioeps^  but  on 
account  of  the  inapplicability  of  Gray's  generic  diagnosis, 
refusing  to  identify  it  with  that  form;  he  "regretted  that  a 
barbarous  and  unmeaning  name  like  Kogia  should  have  been 
admitted  into  the  nomenclature  of  so  classical  a  group  as  the 
cetacea." 

The  name  Kogia  has  also  been  repudiated,  and  Euphysetea 
adopted  by  Professor  Owen,  who  has  acknowledged  the 
generic  identity  of  the  species  on  which  they  were  respec- 
tively based  ;  in  reference  to  it,  that  profound  naturalist  has 
remarked  that  he  has  "that  confidence  in  the  common  sense 
and  good  judgment  of  [his]  fellow  countrymen  and  labourers 
in  philosophical  zoology  which  leads  [him]  to  anticipate  a 
tacit  burial  and  oblivion  of  the  barbarous  and  undefined 
generic  names  with  which  the  fair  edifice  begun  by  Linneeus 
has  been  defaced."} 

Dr.  Gray,  defending  his  name,  has  observed  that  "Mr. 
MacLeay  objects  to  the  barbarous  name  of  Kogia ; "  and  the 
learned  doctor  of  philosophy,  with  charming  naivete,  adds : 
"I  have  been  asked,  what  does  Euphysetea  mean?  should  it 


•  Lest  this  character  might  be  faiexpUcable,  it  la  proper  to  state  the  anthor  meant  the 
rostral  portion  of  the  sknll. 

fThe  work  quoted  baa  been  lately  attributed  to  Mr.  W.  S.  MacLeay,  bnt  as  Mr.  Wall 
has  assumed  the  responsibility  of  aathorship  with  the  evident  consent  of  Mr.  MacLeay, 
there  seems  to  be  no  good  reason  for  accepting  ex  parte  eyidence  in  the  case,  or  eyen 
for  Inquiring  into  the  relations  of  the  parties  with  regard  to  the  contribution  of  solen- 
tlflo  knowledge  and  literaiy  skill;  in  this  opinion,  I  simply  concur  with  Professor 
nower. 

X  Owen,  Mon.  Brit.  Foss.  Cetaoea  Red  Crag,  Ko.  1, 1870,  p.  37;  (Bay  Society). 


740  THE  SPEBM  WHALES,   GIANT  AND  PTGMT. 

not  have  been  written  Euphycetea^  with  a  o?*'  The  sug* 
gestion  of  Dr.  Gray's  questioner  can  scarcely  fail  to  elicit  a 
smile  at  the  ignorance  displayed  in  the  question,  or  perhaps 
a  laugh  at  the  execrably  complicated  pun  that  may  have 
been  intended,  and  which  appealed  to  evidently  unappre- 
ciative  ears.  The  name  is  a  literal  rendition  of  the  Greek 
(£{;,  augmentative,  and  ^(^ci^n^c,  blower),  and,  as  explained 
by  the  framer,  simply  means  ^a  good  or  easy  blower. ** 

Notwithstanding,  however,  the  objections  to  the  name 
Kogittj  we  adopt  it,  as  Professor  Flower  has  also  done,  be- 
cause of  its  priority,  while  we  recognize  the  justness  of  the 
criticisms  upon  it.  But 'if  we  were  to  pursue  the  course 
recommended  in  repudiation  of  it,  hosts  of  generally  ad- 
mitted generic  names  would  have  to  be  superseded,  among 
which  would  be  most  of  those  of  the  author  of  the  name  in 
question.  Linne  himself  furnished  a  precedent  for  the  adop- 
tion of  names  other  than  those  derived  from  the  classical 
languages,  although  he  admitted  such  with  cautiousness  and 
a  due  regard  for  sense  and  euphony.  Analogous  names, 
proposed  though  they  may  be  without  like  reserve,  must  in 
the  judgment  of  the  great  majority  of  systematists  be  re- 
tained, lasting  monuments  to  the  discredit  of  their  authors, 
and  an  opprobrium  to  zoology. 


EXPLANATION  TO  CUTS. 

168.  Sknll  of  OalUgnatkiu  Hmui,  seen  from  the  Bide. 

169.  "     "  ^*  •*        "       "     above. 

170.  ««     "  "  "        "       "     below. 

171.  **     "  '<  "     lonfdtadlnaUY  bisected. 

172.  Lower  Jaw  of  Koffia  Floweri}  the  dotted  lines  indicate  the  approximate  Ibxm  of 

the  hinder  portion  of  the  ramus. 

178.  Skull  of  adult  Phifttiwr  maaroeephabu,  seen  from  the  side. 

174.  "     "      "  "  "  "       "     abore. 

175.  "     «      "  "  "  •*       "     below. 

176.  ^     **     <<  *'  *«  longltadinaUjr  bisected,  to  show  the  rdattre 
dze  and  the  Ibrm  of  the  cranial  cavity. 

bo, basiocolpital ;  to.  ezoocipital;  m^  sapraoooipita];j»,  parietal?;  t,  squamosal;/, 
frontal;  pi,  palatine;  /,  Jugal;  «ik,  stylohyoid ;  M.  basihyola;  th,  thyrohyoid. 

KOTB.~AIl  the  flgnres  of  the  ten  iUastratlons  of  Cachalot  {PhpuUr  maerocepkaiiu)  are 
copied  from  Professor  Flower*s  monograph  "  On  the  Osteology  of  the  Cachalot  or  8perm-wli«le 
{Phf  Meier  macroeephalui),^  in  Trans.  Zool.  See,  London,  Vol.  t1,  pp.  90^-91%  188B,  and  those  of 
OalHgnaihu*  Hmus^  from  Proltesor  Owen's  memoir  **0n  some  Indian  Cetseea  oolleeted  by 
Walter  EUlot,  Esq.,**  m  Trans.  Zool.  Soc,  London,  YcL  ri,  pp.  87-U6, 1866.  The  lower  Jaw  of 
Xegia  Floweri  Is  from  natnre. 


THS    BPEBH  WHALES,    GIANT  AND   PTGMT.  741 


THE   SPKRH    WHALES,    GIANT   AND   FYOHT. 


THE    8F£KM    WHALES,    OIANI    AND    PTGHr.  743 


REVIEWS. 


-•♦•■ 


Deep  Sea  Explorations. — Jn  the  Beport  before  as*  are  given  the 
preliminary  proceedings  and  equipment,  the  narrative  of  the  three  cmises 
performed  during  1869,  the  general  results  so  far  as  they  relate  to  Physics 
and  Chemistry,  and,  in  an  appendix,  a  summary  of  the  observations  upon, 
and  analysis  of,  samples  of  sea  water  and  deep  sea  bottom  collected  dur- 
ing the  cruise.  Passing  over  the  first  portion  for  the  sake  of  brevity, 
(though  there  Is  much,  especially  in  the  description  of  the  equipment,  to 
interest  all  naturalists),  we  learn  that  the  Porcupine,  with  Mr.  Jefftreys 
and  Mr.  W.  B.  Carpenter  on  board,  left  Woolwich,  May  18th,  and  after 
coaling  at  Galway,  on  the  west  coast  of  Ireland,  cruised,  dredging  at  in- 
tervals, to  the  southward  and  westward.  The  greatest  depth  reached 
was  808  fathoms  and  an  essentially  northern  fauna  was  discovered 
throughout.  Among  the  collections,  were  NuctUa  pumUat  Vertieardia 
ahyssicolay  *^  Fusus"  n.sp,  like  ^^  F"  SahiniU  Phakellia  ventilabrum,  Gan- 
oplax  rhomboides,  Ebalia  n.sp.,  Ethtisa  n.sp.,  Oeryon  tridens  and  many  small 
crustaceans.  The  next  dredgings  were  taken  in  a  line  eleven  degrees  of 
longitude  due  west  fVom  Galway,  and  reached  a  depth  of  1280  fathoms. 
All  the  moUusca  except  Aporrhais  Serresianua  were  northern  (the  temper- 
ature of  the  bottom  being  37°  8'  Fahr.) ;  several  new  species  and  two  new 
genera  of  the  family  Arcidce  were  found,  as  well  as  Trochua  minutiuimui 
Mighels  (which  has  two  conspicuous  eyes),  a  species  of  Ampelisea,  an 
eyed  crustacean,  and  numerous  gigantic  foraminifera.  A  third  trip,  fh>m 
Killebegs  to  the  Rockall  Bank  was  then  made,  and  dredgings  as  deep  as 
1476  fathoms  succeeded  in  obtaining  an  abundance  of  life.  Among  the 
species  were  an  imperforate  brachlopod  with  a  septum  in  the  lower 
valve,  which  Mr.  Jefflreys  calls  Atretia  gnomon,  Kelliella  abysHcola  Sars, 
Cumacea  n.sp.,  several  small  new  crustaceans;  Pourtalesiay  probably 
P.  mirandat  A.  Ag.  and  many  fine  foraminifera,  including  an  OrbUoliUt  of 
the  size  of  a  sixpence.  The  vessel  reached  Belfast  at  the  end  of  her 
cruise  on  the  18th  of  July,  1869.  The  second  cruise,  under  Prof.  Wyville 
Thompson  and  Mr.  Hunter,  was  undertaken  for  the  purpose  of  getting  a 
haul  of  the  dredge  in  2500  fathoms  of  water  and  thus  affording  a  reason- 
able ground  for  belief  that,  if  life  existed  at  that  depth,  it  could  have  no 
bathymetrlcal  limits.  In  Lat.  47°  38'  north,  and  Lon.  12°  08'  W.  Gr.  a 
depth  of  2435  fathoms  was  obtained,  and  a  dredge  weighing  225  lbs.  was 
sent  down  with  a  heavy  weight  attached  to  the  line  five  hundred 
fiithoms  fh)m  the  dredge,  in  order  to  make  it  bite  the  bottom.  This  ap- 
paratus, attached  to  3000  fathoms  of  line,  was  ten  minutes  in  running  out. 

'PreUmtnary  Report  of  the  Sctentiflc  exploration  of  the  Deep  Sea  In  H.  M.  Sonrertng  Tee- 
•el  Porcnplnef  during  the  rammer  of  1869.  Gondacted  by  Dr.  W.  B.  Carpenter,  V.P  Jl.Sn  J* 
Owyn  Jelbtiye,  F.R.S.,  and  Prof.  WyriUe  Thompson,  LL.  D.,  F.BJB.  (Proo.  R.  Boo.  No.  ISIO 

(744) 


BEYIEWS.  745 

When  haaled  In,  the  dredge  contained  150  lbs.  of  pale  gray  ooze,  contain- 
ing 28  per  cent,  of  Bilica,  61  per  cent,  of  carbonate  of  lime,  with  some 
alumina,  carbonate  of  magnesium,  and  oxide  of  iron.  The  animals 
brought  up  were,  among  others,  Dentalium  n.sp.  (large),  Pecten  fenestra- 
tuSf  Dacridium  vitreum,  Scrobicularia  nUida,  Necera  obesaj  Anonyx  HdlboU 
Hi  Kroyer,  Ampelieca  cequieomis  Bmzeh, ' Munna  n.sp.,  several  annelids; 
Ophioeten  Kroyeri  LUtken,  Eehinocucumis  iupi^t  Sars;  a  stalked  crinoid 
allied  to  Shizocrinue;  Salicamaria,  n.sp.,  two  fragments  of  a  hydroid 
Zodphyte;  numerous  foraminifera,  with  a  branching  flexible  rhlzopod 
having  a  chitinous  cortex  studded  with  Globigerina,  enclosing  a  sarcodic 
medulla  of  olive  green  hue ;  several  small  sponges  belonging  to  a  new 
group,  etc.,  etc.  Ancrther  subsequent  haul  brought  up  a  Pleurotama  n.sp., 
DenUUium  n.sp.,  and  Ophiocantka  spinu2o«a,  besides  others  previously 
mentioned.  Many  of  the  animals  were  brilliantly  phosphorescent  and 
the  eyes  in  species  of  all  classes  were  well  developed,  showing  that  in 
these  abysses  light  of  some  kind  must  exist.  The  temperature  at  the 
bottom  in  this  case  was  36°  5'  Fahr.  against  65°  6'  Fahr.  at  the  surface. 

The  third  cruise  in  charge  of  Dr.  W.  B.  Carpenter,  Prof.  Wyvllle 
Thompson  and  Mr.  P.  Herbert  Carpenter,  was  devoted  to  the  exploration 
of  the  warm  and  cold  areas  which  had  previously  been  shown  to  exist 
between  the  north  of  Scotland,  the  Hebrides,  and  the  Faroe  Islands. 
Space  will  not  admit  of  even  a  condensed  exhibit  of  the  valuable  results 
obtained  on  this  cruise. 

The  most  important  and  valuable  of  the  results  of  these  dredgings,  due 
to  the  great  liberality  of  the  British  Government,  may  be  succinctly  stated 
as  follows^. 

1.  It  has  been  practically  proved  that  there  is  no  limit  to  the  existence 
of  animal  life  as  far  as  depth  is  concerned,  and  that  the  difference  in  the 
specific  gravity  of  the  water  at  the  surfl&ce  and  at  2500  fathoms  is  less 
than  that  between  salt  and  f^esh  water. 

2.  That  there  is  a  constant  interchange  between  the  carbonic  acid  gas 
flrom  the  bottom  and  the  oxygen  at  the  surface,  by  which  the  animals  at 
great  depths  are  provided  with  means  of  respiration. 

8.  An  abundant  supply  of  dilute  protoplasm  in  the  water  serves  as 
food  for  the  protozoic  inhabitants  of  the  deep  sea,  upon  which  latter  the 
higher  animals  subsist. 

4.  A  glacial  submarine  climate  may  exist  over  any  area,  without  refer- 
ence to  the  terrestrial  climate  of  that  area. 

5.  Cold  and  warm  areas  may  exist  in  close  Juxtaposition,  at  great 
depths,  and  at  the  same  time  present  quite  distinct  faunal  characters. 

6.  The  bottom,  as  analyzed  by  David  Forbes,  F.R.S.,  differs  essentially 
in  composition  ftrom  the  chalk  rock  (cretaceous)  of  England,  and  no  evi- 
dence whatever  has  accumulated  to  sustain  the  hypothesis  of  Dr.  Carpen- 
ter that  the  Cretaceous  period  is  at  present  progressing  in  the  Atlantic 
sea  bed;  indeed,  that  gentleman,  in  a  late  letter  in  *< Nature"  has  prac- 
tically abandoned  this  theory. 

AMKR.  NATURALIST,  VOL.  TV.  94 


746  REVIEWS. 

7.  Temperature  is  the  great  agent  which  determines  the  dlstribotion  of 
snbmarine  animals ;  a  view  previously  maintained  by  many  eminent  nat- 
uralists and  now  permanently  established  by  these,  and  other  dredgings 
in  the  Atlantic,  and  by  the  researches  of  American  naturalists  in  the 
North  Paciflc. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  views  of  Mr.  Jeflfk*eys  in  regard  to  the  spe- 
cific and  generic  limits  of  animals,  differ  so  widely  ttom  those  of  the 
majority  of  modern  naturalists.  In  the  present  report  he  unites  animals 
belonging  to  dlflferent  genera  under  the  same  specific  name ;  e.  g.,  WiUdhei^ 
mia  sepligera  and  Terehratella  septataj  and  those  who  have  had  occasion  to 
critically  examine  his  British  Conchology,  find  in  it  many  similar  cases. 
Such  determinations,  of  course,  will  tend  to  invalidate  any  conclusions 
which  may  be  drawn  from  his  report,  and  will  undoubtedly  throw  a 
certain  amount  of  confusion  upon  the  whole  subject.  —  W.  H.  D. 

The  Classhication  of  Water  Birds.  *  —  Although  from  the  title  of 
this  paper  one  might  reasonably  expect  to  find  the  classification  of  the 
commonly  so-called  water  birds  in  general  treated  of,  the  writer  re- 
stricts himself  in  this  able  essay  to  the  consideration  of  the  *' swimmers 
proper,  as  distinguished  fk'om  aquatic,  or  even  natatorial  Orallcs"  The 
series  of  special  papers  on  several  of  the  principal  groups  of  the  swim- 
ming birds  which  Dr.  Coues  has  published  during  the  last  few  years  f 
Indicates  sufficiently  his  familiarity  with  the  subject  he  treats ;  and  the 
scientific  student  will  find  himself  warranted  In  the  natural  anticipation 
of  finding  the  essay  in  question  fUll  of  important  and,  in  general,  well 
considered  data. 

Dr.  Coues  sets  out  with  the  assumption  that  it  is  demonstrable  that 
the  N(ttatores  ^*  are  one  of  three  primary  divisions  of  birds,  at  least  of  car- 
ina te  birds,"  which  he  regards,  practically,  at  least,  as  subclasses.  To 
prove  that  the  Natatores  are  such  a  division,  and  to  define  the  **  orders 
and  families  "  of  this  subclass,  he  states  to  be  the  object  of  his  paper.  X 
After  alluding  to  the  fact  that  a  singular  unanimity  has  prevailed  in 
regard  to  the  definition  of  the  group  of  Natatores^  and  that  in  the  main 
similar  subdivisions  have  been  recognized,  though  by  difl'erent  authors 
dlfllerently  collocated  and  their  rank  differently  estimated,  he  proceeds 
briefiy  to  a  consideration  of  four  of  the  leading  modern  systems  of  or- 
nithological classification.    These  are,  to  quote  his  own  words,  '*  (1)  a 

*0n  the  Classification  of  Water  Birds.  By  Elliott  Coaes,  ▲.  U^ii.  D.,  Ph.  D.,  etc.  Proe. 
Pbil.  Acad.  Nat.  Scl.,  1868,  Vol.  I,  pp.  193-218.    December,  1869. 

t  (1.)  Synopsis  of  the  North  American  forms  of  Cotymbidas  and  Podicipidm.  Proe.  Phil.  Acad. 
NaL  Scl.,  1862,  pp.  226-333,  April,  1862.  (2.)  Beyislon  of  the  Galls  of  North  America.  Ibld^ 
pp.  291-312,  June,  1863.  (3.)  A  Review  of  the  Terns  of  North  America.  Ibid.,  pp.  S85^599,  Dec 
1862.  (4.)  A  Critical  Reyiew  of  the  subfkmlly  Lestrldlnn.  Ibid.,  186S,  pp.  131-138.  May 
1868.  (5.)  A  Critical  Review  of  the  family  Procellaridm.  Ibid.,  1864,  pp.  73-91,  March,  1884; 
pp.  U6-144,  April,  1864;  1866,  pp.  35-33,  Martsh,  1666;  pp.  134-197,  May,  1866.  (6.)  The  Osteolosy 
of  Colymbas  torquatas;  with  notes  on  Its  Myology,  Mem.  Bost.  Soc  Nat.  Hlat^  I,  pp.  181-171, 
April,  1866.    (7.)  A  Monograph  of  th<>  AlcidsB.    Proe.  Plill.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  January,  1868. 

tin  a  foot-note  (p.  209)  he  states  subsequently  that  he  uses  the  term  ^^snbdlass**  In  a  oobtcd- 
tlonal  sense  only. 


BEVIEW8.  747 

dlchotomoas  arrangement  in  two  *  parallel  series,'  based  apon  one  physi- 
ological character,  —  Bonaparte ;  (2)  a  trichotomous,  founded  upon  very 
general  considerations,  —  iy^«e/c9  and  after  him  LUliehorg;  (3)  quinary, 
a  modlflcation  of  the  second,  by  dividing  two  of  the  three  divisions  into 
two  each,  and  with  minor  changes,  —  Vigwrs^  and  many  others ;  (4)  an- 
other trichotomous,  but  f^om  a  totally  different  standpoint  —  recogni- 
tion of  birds  as  modified  reptiles  —  and  carried  out  with  special  reference 
to  one  anatomical  character,  afforded  by  certain  cranial  bones,  —  HuxLey,*' 
Bach  of  these  systems  is  reviewed  at  some  length,  their  general  features 
succinctly  presented,  and  many  of  their  deflclencies  pointed  out. 

In  his  remarks  upon  the  Bonapartean  system.  Dr.  Cones  objects  to  the 
comparison  of  the  two  groups  of  birds  termed  AUrices  and  Prcecoces  to 
the  primary  divisions  of  mammalia,  *'  the  Pl<Mcentalia  and  Monotremata  ** ; 
an  objection  which  appears  to  be  well  founded ;  for  in  the  one  case  there 
are  Important,  constant  structural  differences,  whereas  In  the  other  no 
such  differences  exist.  <*  If  helplessness  at  birth  compared  with  piecoc- 
Ity,"  says  Dr.  Cones,  **  means,  among  birds,  '  high '  as  opposed  to  *  low ' 
in  the  scale,  then  either  the  reverse  is  the  case  with  mammals,  or  else  we 
must  compare  altriciai  Incessores  with  Marsupials,  and  proecoclal  Natatores 
with  the  higher  orders:  a  dilemma  either  horn  of  which  Is  sufficiently 
difficult."  With  the  radical  differences  that  exist  between  the  placental 
and  Implacental  mammalia,  and  the  almost  entire  homogeneousness  of 
the  whole  bird  type,  it  Is  evident  that  no  primary  divisions  of  the  latter 
have  yet  been  discovered  that  are  coordinate  with  the  placental  and  im- 
placental divisions  of  the  latter.  Hence,  doubtless,  as  Dr.  Coues  par- 
tially suggests,  birds,  in  regard  to  the  condition  of  the  young  at  birth, 
should  be  compared  with  the  PlacetUalia  alone.  The  proecoclal  birds 
would  then  be  comparable  with  the  proBcoclal  Placentals,  (as  the  Herbi- 
vores,)  and  the  altrlclal  birds  with  the  altrlclal  or  higher  Placentals.  The 
vast  difference  in  the  modes  of  generation  between  birds  and  mammals, 
and  between  the  two  subclasses  of  mammals,  renders  the  resemblance, 
as  primary  groups,  of  Altricea  and  Prcecocea  to  the  Placentals  and  Marsu- 
pials one  rather  of  remote  analogy  than  of  homology  or  true  parallelism. 
So  widely  different,  In  f&ct,  are  the  ornithic  and  mammalian  modes  of  ex- 
ecution of  the  veitebrate  plan,  especially  as  regards  the  mode  of  repro- 
duction, that  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  the  possibility  of  a  division 
of  birds  into  two  groups  which  would  be  strictly  comparable  with  the 
subclasses  of  mammals.  It  Is  nevertheless  true  that  in  the  two  great 
groups  of  birds  first  recognized  by  Oken  —  the  AUrices  and  Prceeoees — 
but  afterwards  so  thoroughly  elaborated  by  Bonaparte  that  the  system, 
as  all  will  admit,  appropriately  bears  his  name,  there  Is  something  that 
forcibly  recalls  the  two  subclasses  of  mammals.  This  division,  in  the 
present  writer's  opinion,  trenchantly  separates  birds  into  two  highly  nat- 
ural, primary  series,  with,  to  a  great  extent,  parallel  or  representative 
groups  in  each,  and  so  distinct  that  no  removal  of  any  of  the  groups 
of  the  one  series  to  the  other  can  be  made  without  bringing  lUy-asso- 


748  BBYIEWS. 

elated  groups  into  Juxtaposition,  although  no  constant  stnictaral  diflbr- 
ence  has  yet  been  discovered  by  which  to  separate  them. 

The  partially  natural  basis  on  which  the  system  of  Nitzsch  is  based  is 
clearly  recognized  by  Dr.  Coues,  although  the  data  on  which  it  was 
founded  have  thus  far  been  but  very  imperfectly  presented. 

In  regard  to  the  quinaiy  system  of  Vigors,  though  theoretically  wrong 
in  its  assumptions,  especially  as  developed  by  some  of  Vigors's  followers, 
Dr.  Cones  Justly  finds  (as  the  present  writer  has  been  long  of  the  opinion 
there  existed)  many  facts  that  to  a  certain  extent  fovor  this  arrangement 
in  regard  to  many  of  its  details.  The  remarkable  vitality  of  the  system,  and 
its  strong  hold  upon  public  opinion,  as  Dr.  Cones  observes,  is  evidence 
that  it  has  some  foundation  in  nature,  in  consequence  of  which  it  was  able 
for  a  long  period  to  hold  its  ground  despite  the  numerous  technical  ob- 
jections that  have  been  urged  against  it,  and  the  invectives  and  sneers  of 
its  opponents,  as  well  as  the  fSftr  more  ii^urious  indiscretions  of  its 
fHends.  As  Dr.  Cones  in  this  connection  remarks,  it  was  a  great  stride 
onward  when  the  idea  of  a  "  lineal  **  classification  was  abandoned ;  and  it 
was  doubtless  the  advantages  of  the  "circulatoiy"  system  of  grouping, 
and  the  recognition  of  similar  modifications  of  the  members  of  diverse 
groups  that  gave  to  the  Vigorean  system  some  of  its  recognized  advan- 
tages. Dr.  Cones,  however,  goes  fttrther :  *'  A  system,"  he  says,  *<  that 
disposes  objects  in  circumscribed  planes  Is  a  great  advantage  over  a  lin- 
eal arrangement,  but  It  stops  half-way  to  the  goal.  The  third  dimension 
is  needed;  to  length  and  breadth  must  be  added  thickness;  the  circle 
must  become  a  sphere We  cannot  predicate  affinity  or  anal- 
ogy only  to  the  right  or  left,  —  the  top  or  bottom, — but  must  take  it 
that  all  groups,  near  or  remote,  may  approach,  touch,  or  fUse  with  each 
other,  along  the  axis  of  either  of  the  three  possible  diameters  "  (p.  197). 
The  idea  here  embodied — that  of  the  possibility  of  the  affinities  of 
groups  lying  not  in  a  single  direction  only,  but  in  several  or  in  any  direc- 
tion (though  not  necessarily  implying  generic  relationship)  —  is  one  that 
has  doubtless  impressed  the  majority  of  naturalists,  and  which  has  given 
rise,  in  the  various  efforts  made  for  its  expression,  to  the  numerous  and 
often  f&ncifhlly  inosculating  systems  of  dlfibrent  authors.  The  meta- 
physical form  in  which  Dr.  Cones  expresses  this  idea  imparts  to  it,  doubt- 
less, to  many  minds,  a  somewhat  objectionable  character. 

In  reviewing  Professor  Huxley's  classification,  Dr.  Cones  terms  it  '*  an 
attempt "  —  as  a  slight  examination  of  it  is  sufficient  to  show  —  "to  clas- 
sify birds  with  reference  to  a  single  set  of  characters  —  the  modification 
of  certain  cranial  bones."  His  criticism  of  it,  though  severe,  is  discrim- 
inating and  appreciative,  and  will  receive  the  sanction  of  probably  a 
large  proportion  of  ornithologists.  A  summary  of  his  views  may  thus 
be  given  in  his  own  words :  <<  Prof.  Huxley  has  laid  ornithologists  under 
two-fold  obligations:  First,  he  has  pointed  out  in  elaborate  detail  a 
certain  character,  the  value  of  which  was  not  only  unknown,  but  also 
unsuspected  before ;  and  has  shown  how  perfectly  it  marks  groups  of  a 


KEVUSWS.  749 

certain  grade.  Second,  he  has  demonstrated  once  more  —  and  It  is  to 
be  hoped  for  the  last  time  —  the  futility  of  attempting  to  fonnd  snch  tan- 
damental  divisions  [**  orders,"  etc.]  upon  any  one  single  character.  •  .  . 
As  the  sole  basis  for  a  system  of  ornithological  classiflcatlon,  the  scheme 
will  probably  remain  in  critical  abeyance  only  until  the  time  when  its 
brilliancy  shall  have  been  forgotten,  and  its  unsoundness  alone  remem- 
bered." 

Professor  Lil^eborg's  system  is  justly  referred  to  as  *'  the  most '  catho- 
lic '  system  that  has  ever  been  proposed ; "  since  cognizance  is  taken  by 
its  author  of  the  works  of  most  of  those  specialists  who  have  investi- 
gated certain  sets  of  characters,  on  which,  however,  they  improperly 
based  systems  of  classiflcations.  Lilljeborg's  system  not  only  meets,  in 
general,  the  approval  of  Dr.  Coues,  as  of  numerous  other  ornithoiogists, 
but  it  is  essentially  followed  by  him  in  his  classiflcatlon  of  the  Natatores, 
although  he  adopts  an  opposite  order  of  arrangement  of  the  several 
groups.  His  scheme  is  hence  almost  the  same  as  that  of  the  *'  Arrange- 
ment of  Families  of  Birds  "  published  In  1866  by  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, *  which  was  only  a  slight  modification  of  Professor  Lilljeborg's 
system.  Dr.  Coues  regards  the  division  of  the  Natatores  by  Lll^jeborg 
into  two  groups  —  Simplidrostres  and  Lamellirastres  —  intermediate  in 
rank  between  the  subclass  and  the  orders,  as  not  only  a  superfluous  in- 
tercalation, but  as  an  unnatural  division,  Arom  the  inequivalency  of  the 
two  groups ;  this  discrepancy  constituting  the  chief  difference  between 
the  systems  of  Coues  and  Lil\)eborg. 

In  discussing  the  relations  of  the  Natatores  to  the  Qrallatorta,  the  char- 
acter and  affinities  of  two  **  ambiguous  forms"  are  incidentally  adverted 
to.  These  are  the  Phasnicopteridx  and  the  HaliomUhUUz^  the  latter  of 
which  is  regarded  as  ftilicarious  in  its  affinities,  and  the  former  as  belong- 
ing to  the  grallatorial  Cursores,  Notwithstanding  the  heron-like  form  of 
the  Flamingoes,  almost  their  whole  structure  is  so  well  known  to  be  an- 
serine —  with  which  their  proBCOcial  habits  accord — that  it  is  a  matter  of 
surprise  that  Dr.  Coues  should  follow  LlUJeborg  and  others  in  referring 
them  to  the  Cursored;  almost  their  sole  point  of  divergence  flrom  the 
Anattdm  consisting  in  their  elongated  grallatorial  form,  they  being  in  foct 
merely  long-legged  ducks. 

Dr.  Coucs's  classification  of  the  Natatores  may  be  tabulated  as  follows : 


•  Smlthiionlan  MtaoeUaaeoos  Ooatrllnitioiis,  Vol.  vltl,  p.  8,  Joae,  ISM* 


750 


SKVIBWS. 


I 


s 

3 


Familibs. 


oD  r  SFBsaBomiB  (Pengains.) 


Q 
O 

O  1 


COLTXBIDiB  (iiOOnS.) 


,  PODIGXFXDJD  (Qrebea) 


GO 

H 


Pbocbllabudjb. 


Labidjb. 


i 

o 


I 


H 
OQ 


GO 

I 

3 


SuLiDiB  (GanDets.) 
Pbleoakida  (PelecansO 
Phalacrocoracida  (Connoranta.) 
Plotidjc  (Darters.) 
Tachypbtidjb  (Frigate  Birds.) 
PHAETHOKTiDiB  (Tropio  Birda.) 


Anatidjib. 


SUBTAIUUBS. 


AMnaiAvkB.) 
PkaleritUnm  (Created  Aaica 
UriifUB  (Ouillemota.) 


(  PotidymMfus  (Grebea.) 
}  Podiapinm  (QreXieB.) 


•>  is 


i 


Diomeddna  (Albatroaaea.) 
ProcMiarina  (Petrala.) 
SeUodrowrinm. 


(  LeaMdInm  ( JaSgera.) 
j  XoHfUB  (Gulls.) 
1  JSIenilfMa  (Tema.) 
I  HlkyncikgHflMa  (8U 


.) 


g 

9 


I 


'  ^fi«er<iua(Gee80.) 
^noMfus  (Biyer  Duoka.) 

lferp<n<v  (Merganaen.) 


9 
i 


While  the  above  systenii  as  already  stated,  differs  In  no  very  essential 
points  (Vom  others  previously  proposed,  bat  Is  rather  a  corroboration  of 
the  one  before  most  approved,  we  find  collocated  in  Dr.  Cones's  essay 
many  facts  not  previously  brought  together.  Great  value  Is  also  given  to 
the  paper  by  the  comprehensive  and  well  elaborated  diagnoses  of  the 
groups  which  it  contains. 

As  Indicated  in  the  foregoing  remarks,  we  are  not  prepared  to  accept 
Dr.  Coues's  classification  In  fbll,  notwithstanding  the  evident  thorough- 


REVIEWS.  751 

liess  with  which  he  has  gone  over  the  gronnd.  To  state  the  reasons  which 
lead  OS  to  a  different  opinion  would  require  far  more  space  than  can  be 
deyoted  to  the  subject  here.  We  may  add,  however,  that  the  separation 
of  birds  into  AltHcea  and  Proeeoces,  though  based  chiefly  upon  physiological 
distinctions,  is  a  classification  that  appears  to  separate  the  blrd&  into 
two  natural,  primary  groups,  —  a  division  wholly  Ignored  however  by 
LilUeborg  and  rejected  by  Dr.  Cones.  In  regard  to  the  character  which 
lies  at  the  foundation  of  this  division,  the  latter  author  himself  admits 
that  **  as  collateral  testimony  In  the  formation  of  orders  and  location  of 
families,  it  has  much  weight;"  and  that  *< certain  doubtfhl  cases  will 
probably  be  decided  by  reference  to  it.*'  As  he  says  further,  "It  draws  a 
sharp,  if  here  and  there  a  broken  [?],  line  between  OallincR  and  ColumbcB. 
It  separates,  with  precision,  herons  and  their  allies  fh>m  other  Qrallce, 
R  goes  some  way  in  distinguishing  lamellirostral  from  other  Natatores ; 
and  other  Instances  of  Its  application  might  be  cited."  The  exception 
doubtless  referred  to  in  the  italicized  portion  of  the  above  extract  occurs 
In  the  Fygopodes,  which  Is  an  (artificial?)  association  of  altriclal  and  proe- 
cocial  types.  On  this  basis  the  *' order"  Fygopodes  would  be  divided, 
the  altriclal  Alcidce  and  Spheniscidm  being  associated  with  the  Altrices  as 
the  lowest  members  of  that  series,  and  the  Colyrfibidcs  and  Podicipidoe 
with  the  Prcecoces,  as  its  lowest  representatives.  Longipennes  would 
stand  first  or  highest  In  the  altriclal  series  of  the  Niatatores,  followed  by 
the  Steganopodes  and  the  altriclal  Pygopodes,  The  Lamellirostres  would 
head  the  proBCoclal  or  lower  series,  followed  by  the  Colymhidas  and  Podi- 
eipidce. 

Finally,  a  word  In  regard  to  one  or  two  other  systems.  Birds,  more 
than  any  other  class  of  vertebrates,  being  fitted  to  live  more  or  less  ex- 
clusively in  either  the  air,  the  water,  or  on  the  land,  the  duties  of  repro- 
duction alone  rendering  the  latter  indispensable  to  some  of  them,  different 
modes  and  degrees  of  locomotion,  with  corresponding  differentiations  of 
the  locomotive  organs,  are  required  to  adapt  them  to  their  several  modes 
of  life.  But  facts  go  to  prove  that  such  modifications  have  not  neces- 
sarily a  high  taxonomlc  value.  Birds  of  great  powers  of  flight,  for  ex- 
ample, all  have  a  more  or  less  strongly  keeled  sternum.  The  greater  the 
power  of  flight,  the  larger  not  only  do  we  find  the  wing  and  its  motor 
muscles,  bat  also  the  processes  for  their  attachment  and  support,  and 
hence  necessarily  in  these  we  get  a  great  development  of  the  sternal 
crest ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  with  diminished  powers  of  filght,  the  con- 
verse of  all  this,  till  gradually  the  wings  become  fhnctlonally  abortive, 
and  the  sternum  a  smooth  buckler.  An  exclusively  walking  or  swimming 
bird  (a  non-flying  bird),  with  a  largely  developed  sternal  crest  would  be 
an  anomaly  in  nature;  and  a  flying  bird,  especially  one  preeminently 
strong  of  wing,  without  a  highly  produced  sternal  crest  would  be  appar- 
ently an  impossibility.  Hence  the  propriety  of  founding  subclasses  prin- 
cipally upon  the  presence  or  absence  of  such  a  sternal  character  —  as  it  is 
well  known  has  been  done  —  seems  at  least  highly  questionable.    Again, 


752  REVIEWS. 

webbed  feet,  which  nsnally  accompany  a  swimming  or  aquatic  mode  of 
lifle  have  been  erroneously  accorded  a  similar  Importance  in  classification. 
Yet  the  altricial  NaUUores,  the  Laridcs  especially,  and  preeminently  the 
LeBtridinoi,  have  the  most  positive  affinities  with  the  Saptores,  of  which 
they  are  really  the  aquatic  or  natatorial  form.  However  valuable  such 
features  may  be  in  determining  the  limits  and  relations  of  flimilies,  and 
of  groups  next  above  fomilies,  modifications  of  the  locomotive  organs 
can  hardly  be  considered  as  a  proper  basis  for  subclass  or  even  ordinal 
divisions.— J.  A.  A. 

Thorell's  European  Spiders.* — The  character  and  extent  of  this 
work,  which  is  invaluable  to  students  of  spiders  even  in  this  country, 
can  not  be  better  stated  than  in  the  words  of  the  author  (pages  18  and 
19)  : 

**I  hare  first  made  np  a  Bystematlcal  list  or  reylew  of  the  suborders,  flimntes,  subflunUles 
and  genera  of  European  spiders  reongnlxed  by  me.  Each  generic  name  Is  accompanied  by  the 
name  of  the  author  who  first  pabllslied  It,  and  the  year  when  tills  took  plaoe,  moreorer  by  Its 
etymological  derivation,  its  synonyms  and  the  name  of  the  species  that  typUles  the  genus;  and 
lastly  are  subjoined  such  syuonymlcal  and  critical  remarks  as  I  haye  thought  appropriate.  In 
almost  all  the  genera  which  I  haye  bad  the  opportunity  of  examining,  I  have  subjoined  a  short 
description  of  the  fbrm  and  armature  of  the  tarsal  and  palpal  ctewf,  which  organs  have  not 
yet  attracted  all  the  notice  they  appear  to  deserve.  Under  the  head  of  each  temlly  I  havt  in- 
troduced a  short  account  of  the  characteristics  of  the  subfamilies  and  genera  it  oomprlset. 
These  characteristics  I  have  endeavored  as  (kr  as  possible  to  derive  flrom  the  number  and  posi- 
tion of  the  eyes  and  the  form  of  the  organs  of  the  mouth,  partly  because  such  dlsttnetire  Cmp 
tnres  are  easily  verified,  partly  because  they  are  most  generally  (olten  too  exclusively)  used, 
at  least  In  determining  the  limits  of  the  generic  groups.  But  T  have  also  endeavored  to  make 
use  of  the  different  forms  and  numbers  of  the  spinners,  of  diflbrences  in  tlie  conformation  of 
the  cephalothorax  and  abdomen.  In  the  relative  lengths  and  armature  of  the  legs,  the  number  of 
claws  on  the  tarsi,  etc.  Genera  which  rest  exclusively  on  such  characteristics  as  belong  onlp 
to  one  sex  leaving  the  other  undetermined,  I  have  not  adopted,  but  consider  tliat  they  ought  to 
be  unreservedly  rejected.  I  ought  to  call  especial  attention  to  the  circumstance,  that  exotle 
forms  have  not  been  taken  into  consideration  in  the  formation  of  these  schematic  reviews, 
which  accordingly  can  be  used  as  a  clew  In  classifying  such  only  as  belong  to  the  European 
fkuna.  The  characteristics  of  the  sub-orders^  as  they  cannot  be  expressed  In  a  fow  words,  and 
Indeed  may  be  considered  as  generally  known,  I  have  not  thought  it  necessary  to  repeat,  but 
refor  for  them  to  e.  g.  Latrellle*s,  8undevall*s,  Westring's  and  Ohlert's  works. 

In  the  catalogue  of  aracbnologlcal  literature,  with  which  I  have  opened  this  treatise,  I  have 
included  all  the  works  known  to  me  on  now  existing  European  spiders,  of  a  descriptive^  sysi^ 
matieai  and  Moo-geographieal  character,  with  the  exception  of  such  writings  as  belong  to  the 
pne-Llnnean  period,  of  which  only  a  small  number  of  works,  reforred  to  in  the  foUowIng 
pages,  have  been  admitted.** 

The  catalogue  contains  the  titles  of  nearly  four  hundred  works,  ar- 
ranged alphabetically,  according  to  their  authors. 

After  a  discussion  of  the  principles  of  zoological  nomenclature  and  a 
statement  of  those  which  he  has  followed,  the  author  proceeds  to  review 
the  three  principal  works  on  European  spiders:  Westring's  "Aranen 
Suecics,"  Blackwairs  **  History  of  the  Spiders  of  Great  Britain  and  Ire- 
land," and  Eugene  Simon's  **  Histoire  Naturelle  des  Araignees,"  and  to 
compare  the  spider  fkuna  of  Scandinavia  with  that  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland. 

In  regard  to  the  classification  of  the  spiders,  he  says : 

*  On  European  spiders.   ByT.ThoreU.   Part  I.   Upsala,  1869-70.  4to.pp.MI. 


REVIEWS. 

■*  Whetlier  oa  mhImtot  to  (mngs  Uie  AmiUu  ud  gnen  ot  ip 
tram  ihit  gmop  wlilcb  li  looked  npoa  u  lUe  mut  perfCet  dam  Is  Uh  loiraM,  or  f  (oa-Taru,  or 
wbetlHr  «■  ■mDie  tliom  acoaidluc  to  »me  other  prtnclple,  »g  tit  mod  nut  br  the  Mine  dir- 
OcBlUa,  Hbieli  prewnt  ttaemwlTCi,  wbeneTer  we  endeiTor  to  trruge  In  ucb  i  DUimer  any 
elAuor OTderwbateTer oftheproduetloiuof  dUdto.    Air^Kinli  Ibo  Urcer groupe of  apMent 


uiilr  be  KCD  IT  aae  cuti  one'i  eye  oa  the  Mcompmnjlps  dUcnm.  wbleb  gltes  > 
be  eoBneoClDu  Aninded  on  reel  ^nUy,  wlildi  the  IkmlllH  of  ibe  vMen  adopted  br 
r  oplnioo,  lute  tA  each  atlier." 


I.  Ortltclarto. 

»»'«£.■»• 

tl.  TheraplioaoldB, 

U.  LlpliWIoMB. 

^nllS^ 

'■■•SfffiSE™. 

Ti.  atlgradie. 

M.'lto(woKIb. 

viasssr 

In  a  note,  the  author  expresses  hts  belief  with  Darwin,  that  "  propin- 
qnitf  of  descent  is  the  hidden  connection  which  oar  clasBlflcattoiu  at- 
tempt to  flod  and  express. 

The  work  closes  with  a  list  of  the  genera  of  fossil  spiders  totud  tn 
Bnroptt,  compared  with  living  genera.  — J.  H.  "E. 

AXKB.  ITATUBAUOT,  VOL.  IV.  96 


754  NATURAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 

• 

GsoGRAPHT  AND  ARGH.BOLOOY  OF  Peru.*  —  While  In  England  recently, 
Mr.  Sqaier  was  Indaced  by  his  friends  to  reprint  in  pamphlet  form  the 
paper  which  he  read  before  the  American  Geographical  Society  In  Feb- 
ruary last.  We  gave  an  abstract  of  that  portion  of  the  lecture  which  re- 
lated to  the  Archaeology  of  Peru  In  the  Naturalist  for  September;  but 
the  present  pamphlet  contains  mach  interesting  and  important  informa- 
tion relating  to  the  geography  of  the  great  Tltlcaca  basin  to  which  we 
did  not  allude  in  our  former  notice,  and  will  well  repay  reading  by  all  in- 
terested in  this  great  centre  of  a  prehistoric  nation. 


NATURAL  HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 


•*o^ 


ZOOLOGY. 

^Morphology  axd  Akckstry  of  thb  Kino  Crabs.  —  In  a  commnnica- 
tio,n  to  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  Oct.  17,  1870,  Dr.  A.  8. 
Packard,  Jr.  stated  that  a  study  of  the  embryology  of  Limulus,  as  well 
as  its  anatomy,  led  him  to  consider,  as  several  authors  had  done,  flrom 
Savigny  and  Van  der  Hoeven  down  to  the  present  time,  the  anterior  di- 
vision of  the  body  as  a  cephalothorax,  the  posterior  division  being  the 
abdomen.  Latrellle,  Milne-Edwards,  and  more  recently  Mr.  Henry  Wood- 
ward, t  the  distinguished  palaeontologist,  have  regarded  the  anterior  divi- 
sion of  the  body  as  the  head,  and  the  posterior  division  as  embracing  the 
thorax  and  abdomen,  the  last  three  segments  In  Mr.  Woodward's  opinion. 
Including  the  telson,  representing  the  abdomen.  Against  this  view  he 
thought  could  be  brought  the  embryologlcal  flicts  already  stated  at  the 
meeting  of  the  American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science  at 
Troy.  He  there  stated  that  the  germ  first  started  as  a  Nauplius  and  that 
Just  previous  to  moulting  a  NaupUns-skln  in  the  egg,  the  al>domen  was 
differentiated  from  the  cephalothorax.  In  this  latter  region  (composed 
of  six  segments)  are  contained  not  only  the  eyes,  simple  and  compound* 
but  all  the  ambulatory  appendages,  which  surround  the  mouth  and  are 
true  maxillipeds,  no  antennie  or  thoracic  appendages  being  developed. 
This  region  contains  the  stomach  and  a  considerable  portion  of  the  intes- 
tine, and  the  liver,  which  opens  into  the  intestine  near  the  middle  of  the 
cephalothorax,  sending  but  a  single  pair  of  biliary  tubes  into  the  abdo- 
men. The  anterior  half  of  the  dorsal  vessel,  with  two  pairs  of  arteries 
and  two  pairs  of  valvular  openings,  is  situated  in  the  cephalothorax. 

'ObflerratloDfl  on  the  GNnffraphjr  and  Axchmology  of  Pern.  By  K.  Q.  Sqnler,  H.A.,  F.8.A. 
etc  8to.  iMunph.  London.  Trabner  A  Co.,  1870.  (Price  SS  oents.  Addren  NatBralMi, 
Afenoy.) 

tOo  eome  Points  in  the  Stmetare  of  tbe  Xtpboeonu  <|aarterl7  Jonmal  of  tbe  Qedogleal 
Boeiety  of  London  for  Feb.  1887. 


NATURAL  HISTORT  MISCELLANY.  755 

Lastly,  the  genital  openings  in  both  sexes  are  situated  on  the  first  pair  of 
abdominal  lamellate  appendages,  the  testes  and  ovaries  lying  wholly  in 
the  cephalothorax;  the  ovaries,  when  distended  with  eggs,  filling  up  the 
front  of  the  cephalothoracic  shield. 

The  abdomen  consists  of  nine  segments,  the  long  spine-like  telson 
forming  the  ninth,  as  seen  plainly  in  the  embryo.  The  abdominal  cavity 
is  small,  the  abdomen  being  very  thin,  and  mainly  filled  with  the  muscles 
attached  to  the  lamellate  feet. 

There  are,  then,  in  Limulos,  no  thoracic  feet,  comparable  with  those 
of  the  Decapods  and  the  Tetradecapods,  and  the  thoracic  region  (as 
much  of  it  as  exists),  is  merged  with  the  head,  in  fSeust  never  becoming 
differentiated  flrom  the  head  proper.  Thus  we  have  in  Limnlas  a  crusta- 
cean with  the  body  divided  into  two  regions ;  a  cephalothorax  (the  tho- 
rax being  potential,  viewed  externally,  with  no  appendages  or  segments 
to  indicate  its  existence)  and  a  nine-Jointed  abdomen. 

This  disposition  of  the  body -segments  is  paralleled  by  the  zo^  or 
young,  of  the  Decapods.  In  the  fireshly  hatched  zoSa  the  body  is  divided 
into  two  regions ;  the  cephalothorax,  with  no  trace  at  first  of  thoracic 
segments,  or  thoracic  appendages,  (the  two  pairs  of  large  feet  being 
deciduous  maxlllipeds),  the  thorax  not  being  yet  difilerentiated ;  and  a 
five-to-seven-Jointed  abdomen.  The  size  of  the  cephalothorax,  as  com- 
pared with  the  abdomen,  varies  greatly  in  the  dUTerent  forms  of  zote, 
some  zote  strongly  resembling  Eurypterus  in  the  small  cephalothorax. 
After  the  first  moult  five  pairs  of  rudimentary  thoracic  limbs  arise  at  the 
hinder  portion  of  the  cephalothorax,  thus  proving  our  statement  that  the 
cephalothorax  of  Llmulus,  and  consequently  the  so-called  "  head "  of 
Eurypterus  and  Pterygotus,  combines  a  head  with  a  potential  thorax, 
the  latter  never  becoming  differentiated  in  subsequent  moults. 

In  the  Trilobites,  however,  according  to  the  late  discovery  of  Mr.  Bill- 
ings, the  thoracic  segments  bearing  Jointed  feet  are  developed ;  though, 
as  shown  by  Barrande,  the  larval  trilobite  is  hatched  either  without  any,  or 
with  but  a  single,  thoracic  segment.  Llmulus,  Eurypterus,  Pteiygotus, 
and  their  allies  (Huxley  has  aptly  compared  the  Eurypteridea  to  a  zoSa), 
with  the  Phyllopods,  may  be  considered  as  virtually  zofise,  or  to  be  more 
precise,  (since  they  lack  many  important  characters  of  zoSie),  retarded 
or  retrograde  zo6ib. 

Speculating  on  the  ancestiy  of  the  members  of  the  subclass  *  of  Bran- 
chiopoda,  he  would  trace  them  all  to  a  common  Nauplius  form,  as  Haeo- 
kel,  Fritz  MfiUer,  and  Dohrn  had  done.  This  Nauplius  form  may  have 
existed  in  the  Laurentian  Period,  as  we  already  find  highly  organized 
Trilobites,  Phyllopods,  and  Ostracodes  in  the  lowest  Silurian  strata.    He 

*Tlioai^  In  his  eommiiDleatloii  to  the  Amerioan  Aasoelmtlon  he  has  spoken  of  the  Branehl- 
opoda  as  an  ord^^  of  which  he  regarded  the  Poselloptera  as  a  saborder,  he  thought  the  tenn 
mbelau  preferable,  as,  with  the  anbelasses  Decapoda.andTetradeeapoda,  etc  they  were  maeh 
more  general  groupe  than  the  orders  of  Vertebrates  as  first  limited  bj  Llnncns,  whose  Idea  ct 
an  order  we  should  follow  for  the  sake  of  nnllbrmlty,  just  as  tlie  term  famUif  should  be  applied 
In  the  sense  in  whleli  LatreiUe  used  It. 


756  NATURAL  HISTORY  MISOBLLANT. 

suggested  that  the  modern  Phyllopods,  such  as  Apas  and  Branchlpns, 
may  have  defi<»nded  perhaps,  by  two  parallel  lines  of  descent  from 
certain' Silurian  Copepoda  and  Ostracoda.  He  accoanted  for  the  origin 
of  these  forms  rather  by  a  process  of  acceleration  and  retardation 
of  development  as  suggested  by  Messrs.  Cope*  and  Hyatt,t  involv- 
ing a  more  or  less  sadden  formation  of  generic  forms,  than  by  the  theoiy 
of  Natural  Selection,  which  involves  an  indefinite  number  of  slight  mod- 
ifications for  the  production  of  even  a  variety,  and  such  a  succession  of 
intermediate  generic  forms  as  we  do  not  find  recent  or  fossil.  He  also 
thought  that  the  study  of  the  facts  of  Dimorphism  and  Parthenogenesis, 
and  the  mode  of  production  of  the  more  remarkable  sexual  differences 
among  animals,  would  throw  light  on  a  comprehensive  theory  of  evo- 
lution. 

The  Ancestbt  of  Insbcts.  —  Referring  to  his  discovery  of  Pauropns 
in  this  country,  and  mentioning  the  six-legged  form  of  the  young,  and  its 
resemblance  to  Podnra,  and  comparing  it  with  the  Hexapodous  young 
of  Jnlns  and  the  young  of  certain  mites.  Dr.  Packard,  at  the  same  meet- 
ing, referred  the  ancestry  of  the  Myrlapods,  Arachnids,  and  Hexapodous 
Insects  to  a  Leptus-like  terrestrial  animal,  bearing  a  vague  resemblance 
to  the  Naupllns  form  among  Crustacea,  inasmuch  as  the  body  is  not 
differentiated  into  a  head,  thorax  or  abdomen,  and  there  are  three  pairs 
of  temporary  appendages.  Like  Naupllns,  which  was  first  supposed 
to  be  an  adult  Entomostracan,  the  larval  form  of  Trombldlum,  had  been 
described  as  a  genus  of  mites  under  the  name  of  Leptus  (also  Ocypete 
and  Astoma)  and  was  supposed  to  be  adult. 

For  this  primitive,  ancestral  form  he  proposed  the  term  Leptus.  He 
suggested  that  the  ancient  Leptus  may  have  descended  through  Demodex 
fh>m  some  Tardlgrades,  and  that  this  latter  group  had  perhaps  descended 
through  some  form  like  Linguatula,  from  a  true  terrestlal  worm,  like  the 
remarkable  Perlpatus,  for  example.  The  Myrlapods  may,  through  a  par- 
allel line  of  descent,  have  been  evolved  fh)m  some  Leptlform  animal  like 
the  young  of  Pauropns,  while  the  Hexapoda  may  have  descended  by  a 
parallel  line  of  descent  through  some  Leptlform  Silurian  insect  resem- 
bling the  young  of  Stylops,  Meloe,  and  low  nenropterous  or  orthopterous 
larvn,  and  the  Thysanura,  such  as  Podura  and  Llpura.  He  did  not  regard 
the  insects  as  having  been  evolved  either  ftx>m  a  zofia  or  Nauplius  form, 
but  would  refer  the  ancestry  of  both  classes  (the  Insects  and  Crustacea), 
independently  of  each  other,  to  the  worms  (Annulata). 

Monterey  in  the  Dry  Season.  —  On  returning  to  the  coast  fh)m  the 
Colorado  valley  In  May,  1861,  my  health  impaired  by  the  tropical  heat  of 
the  last  two  months  at  Fort  Mojave,  and  by  the  too  sudden  change  to  the 
foggy  climate  of  the  coast,  I  was  glad  of  the  opportunity  of  recruiting  it 
by  some  weelcs  devoted  to  collecting  marine  animals,  etc.,  at  Monterey. 

'Origin  of  Genera.    PhlladelpbU.   1868. 

t  ParaUellam  between  the  order  and  IndlTldual  In  the  Tetrabranobiate  Cephalopoda.  Ma- 
molrs  of  the  Boston  Socletj  of  Natural  History,  1808,  and  Ajusbicak  Natubaust,  VoL  4, 
pp.  380  and  419. 


KATUBAIi  HISTOBT  MISOELLANT.  757 

Leaving,  therefore,  my  military  companions  at  San  Diego,  I  travelled 
to  San  Francisco  by  land,  picking  np  about  forty  species  of  MoUnsca  at 
points  along  the  soathem  coast. 

My  preparations  for  dredging,  determining  my  collections,  and  describ- 
ing the  new  vertebrates  detained  me  In  San  Francisco  until  August  9th, 
when  I  went  to  Monterey  by  steamer.  There  I  remained  until  September 
26th,  dredging,  and  collecting  along  shore  chiefly  MoUnsca,  but  not  neg- 
lecting other  animals.  The  additional  species  collected  were  thirty-two 
of  Vertebrata,  one  hundred  and  seventy-flve  MoUusca  (thirty  new  spe- 
cies) twenty-seven  Radlata  and  twenty-six  Artlculata  (marine,  as  I  kept 
no  account  of  the  land  species  constantly  preserved).  As  I  have  written 
a  very  ftiU  report  of  the  MoUnsca  coUected,  for  the  American  Journal  of 
Conchology,  and  as  most  of  the  other  Invertebrates  have  never  been  de- 
termined, because  they  were  lost  In  the  ill-fated  steamer  *<  Golden  Gate," 
together  with  a  large  coUectlon  flrom  the  southward,  made  previous  to 
June,  1862,  I  can  give  little  that  is  new  or  interesting  relating  to  my 
Monterey  collections.  The  season  was  the  worst  for  coUectlng  birds, 
they  being  In  moult ;  mammals  were  difficult  to  obtain  and  the  fishes  were 
chiefly  those  common  in  the  San  Francisco  market.  Though  many  whales 
were  klUed  during  my  visit,  chiefly  the  '*  California  Gray  **  (Sachianectei 
glaucus  Cope),  it  was  Impossible  to  obtain  measurements  and  drawings 
of  them  as  they  were  always  cut  up  while  floating,  and  the  mutilated 
carcasses  when  washed  ashore  were  deprived  of  **  flukes  "  and  other  essen- 
tial parts,  besides  smeUing  so  strong  that  the  odor  for  miles  was  almost 
unbearable. 

The  land  mammalia  were  chiefly  very  distinct  flrom  those  of  Fort 
Mojave,  as  is  naturally  to  be  expected  In  comparing  a  well- wooded,  fertile 
region  with  an  almost  barren  desert.  The  Grizzly  Bear  was  quite  com- 
mon, though  I  saw  only  its  tracks.  Several  others  of  the  large  forest 
quadrupeds,  well  known  as  Callfomlan,  are  doubtless  to  be  obtained  by 
longer  and  more  thorough  search  than  I  could  make.  I  got  two  small 
rodents,  the  representatives  of  species  to  be  found  at  Fort  Mojave,  viz : 
the  California  Wood-rat  {Neotoma  fuscipes),  and  Wood-mouse  (^Mespero- 
mya  Califamicru),  also  one  of  a  genus  not  found  there,  the  Monterey 
Field-mouse  (Artneola  edax). 

The  most  characteristic  land  birds  were  the  Vulture  (Cathariea  Calif  or- 
nianus),  the  Pigmy  Nuthatch  (JSiUa  pigmced),  western  variety  of  the  Yel- 
low-beUled  Fly-catcher  {Empidonax  fiamvtntrU  var.  difficUiB)^  Least  Tit- 
mouse {P8(dtripar%i8  minimu8),  Tellow-blUed  Magpie  {Pica  NuUallii), 
Western  Crow  {Corvus  caurinus)^  Whlte-taUed  Hawk  (Elanua  leucurus) 
besides  many  representatives  of  species  found  In  the  Colorado  valley, 
such  as  the  Quail  (£.  Califomicus),  BowbiU  Thrush  (M.  redivivus),  Anna 
Humming-bird  (Althis  Anna),  Heermann's  Song  Sparrow  (M.  Heermanni), 
Callfomlan  and  Brown  Finches  {^Fipilo  megalonyz  and  fuscus),  while  a 
few  seen  there  only  in  winter  or  spring  were  here  breeding,  viz :  the 
Black  Pewee  QSayomU  nigricans)  Dwarf  Thrush  (^Turdus  nanus).  West* 


758  NATURAL   HISTORY  MISCELLANY. 

ern  Bloebird  (^Sialia  Mexicana)^  Barn  and  Cliff  Swallows  {Birundo  horreo' 
rum  and  luniflvfui)^  Bewick's  Wren  {Thriothorus  BewickU),  Parkmann's 
Wren  (^Troglodutes  Farhmannf),  Oregon  Snow-bird  (Junco  Oregonus), 
Chippy  (^Spizella  aocialis),  while  a  longer  residence  would  no  donbt 
largely  Increase  all  these  lists.  I  must  however  remark  that  all  these,  ex- 
cept the  second,  fifth,  and  twenty-first,  are  also  summer  residents  as  fkr 
south  as  San  Diego,  and  the  three  exceptions  are  probably  so  in  the  high 
mountains  east  of  there.  This  shows  the  remarkable  uniformity  of  the 
fkuna,  corresponding  to  that  of  climate,  in  zones  running  parallel  to  this 
coast  for  distances  of  over  five  hundred  miles. 

Of  water-birds  I  observed  a  few  of  interest.  The  whale  fishery 
attracted  several  species  usually  seen  only  flar  off  shore,  of  which  the 
enormous  Petrel  or  ''Gong"  {Ossifraga  giganted),  could  often  be  seen 
swimming  lazily  near  the  try-works  to  pick  up  scraps  of  blubber,  some- 
times accompanied  by  the  dusky  young  of  the  Short-tailed  Albatross 
{IHomedea  brachuura).  The  Pacific  Fulmars  {F,  jmic^/Icim),  called  by  the 
whalers  **  Tager  **  or  *'  Haglet,"  were  common  off  shore,  feeding  also  on 
whale  meat,  but  oftener  observed  chasing  the  Gulls  to  make  them  dis- 
gorge. The  Murres  {Lomvia  CMfomica)^  and  Sea  Doves  (fracAycattr- 
phu8  fnarmor<Uu8f)t  in  the  open  bay  seemed  strange  at  this  season,  but 
probably  both  breed  near  by.  On  Sept.  10th,  I  observed  many  young 
Phalaropas  (P.  hyperboretuf)  about  the  brackish  lagoons  near  the  beach, 
and  a  few  of  the  Wandering  Tatler  {Heteroaecltia  brevipes),  as  usual  among 
rocks  along  shore.  On  the  12th,  saw  small  Grebes  {Podic^  Califomicut), 
probably  lately  come  firom  their  breeding  station ;  and  by  the  18th,  families 
of  about  five  each,  became  common.  On  the  25th,  I  first  noticed  the  large 
Grebe  (P.  oceidentalis),  but  as  I  left  next  day  I  saw  no  more  of  the  arrival 
of  winter  visitors.  I  need  not  here  particularize  the  common  Sandpipers, 
Gulls,  Terns,  Plovers,  etc.,  as  I  did  not  preserve  any  of  them,  and  will 
have  more  to  say  about  them  when  describing  my  winter  collections  made 
at  San  Diego. 

Reptiles  are  not  common  at  Monterey,  on  account  of  the  coolness  of 
the  summer  climate,  fogs  obscuring  the  sun  for  at  least  half  the  summer. 
I  found  but  two  species,  the  large  Rldge-back  Lizard  (G^errhonoiuM  muUi- 
carin(Uu$)j  and  a  Plestiodon,  both  common  in  woods  fh>m  here  northward. 
Batrachia  however  are  well  suited  by  the  damp  climate,  as  besides  Frogs 
{Bana  sp.  and  ffyla  regilld)^  and  Toads  (JBufo  halophUaf)^  I  found  a  Sal- 
amander {BatT€Kho9€p9  aUenuattui)  even  at  this  extreme  of  the  dry  season, 
not  uncommon. 

I  will  not  specify  the  thirty  species  of  fishes  obtained,  as  most  of  them 
have  no  peculiar  English  names  and  the  list  would  be  of  little  interest  to 
general  readers.  —  J.  G.  Cooper. 

The  Rouoh-billed  Peucan  on  Lake  Hubon.  —  On  the  evening  of  the 
16th  of  June,  1870,  a  most  remarkable  specimen  of  the  rough-billed  peli- 
can {PeUcanua  erythrorhynchua  Gmelin)  was  shot  by  Captain  Oliver  Mal- 
sonviUe  in  the  marsh  at  Samia,  Lambton  County,  Ontario  (Canada). 


NATUBAL  HISTORY   MISCELLANr.  759 

Thii  bird  is  very  rare  on  the  great  lakes,  and  the  indivldnal  in  qaestlon, 
which  was  of  the  male  sex,  was  of  nnosnally  large  size.  It  weighed 
thirty-three  pounds,  and  the  expanded  wings  measnred  in  fhll  one  hun- 
dred and  eight  inches  I  The  bill  from  the  eye  was  sixteen  inches  in 
length,  being  of  a  dirty  yellow  or  yellowish  brown.  The  plumage  was 
almost  pure  white,  with  the  exception  of  the  alula,  primary  coverts,  and 
primaries,  which  were  black,  as  usual.  The  long  feathers  on  the  breast 
and  those  of  the  crest  were  of  a  very  pale  yellow  tint.  I  also  noticed, 
what  I  have  seen  no  mention  of  in  the  description  of  this  species,  that 
over  each  eye  was  a  group  of  small  feathers  of  a  brownish  black  color, 
and  of  more  than  an  inch  in  length,  almost  simulating  an  eyebrow ;  a  few 
feathers  of  a  similar  or  lighter  hue  being  scattered  towards  the  back  of 
the  head.  The  plumage  exhibited  nothing  of  the  roseate  tinge  which 
this  species  is  described  as  having  at  the  season  of  reproduction. 

In  Baird,  Cassin,  and  Lawrence's  '*  Birds  of  North  America,"  this  peli- 
can is  mentioned  as  breeding  <*  in  the  tar  countries,  generally  selecting 
inaccessible  places  in  the  neighborhood  of  water  falls;"  and  as  being 
found  ^'throughout  the  United  States,  rare  on  the  coasts  of  the  Northern 
and  Middle  States;"  and  as  also  inhabiting  "throughout  the  Bocky  Moun- 
tains and  California."  The  same  work  gives  the  stretch  of  wings  as 
seventy  inches,  and  length  of  bill  18.50,  While  much  smaller  specimens  are 
recorded.  Mr.  James  Hobson,  who  mounted  our  specimen,  and  who  is  of 
much  experience  in  this  direction,  having  received  several  of  this  species 
from  Florida  and  elsewhere,  says  he  never  before  saw  so  large  a  pelican ; 
all  others  he  had  seen  being  insignificant  in  comparison.  During  a  resi- 
dence of  over  twenty  years  in  the  region  of  the  great  lakes,  I  had  not 
previously  met  with  the  pelican,  nor  had  I  heard  of  more  than  three  in* 
stances  of  its  having  been  captured  within  their  limits. 

The  marsh  at  Samla  is  an  inlet  or  overflow  of  the  river  St.  Clair,  near 
its  head,  and  about  one  mile  from  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Huron.  The 
pelican  was  feeding  in  the  marsh,  and  had  been  there  two  days,  having 
arrived  on  the  evening  of  the  18th  of  June.  When  first  seen  it  was  flying 
from  the  northward,  from  the  direction  of  the  lake.  On  the  morning  of 
the  Uth  it  flew  back  to  Lake  Huron,  but  returned  in  the  evening  of  the 
same  day,  remaining  till  shot  on  the  following  evening,  as  before  stated. 
It  was  very  active,  wandering  over  the  marsh  all  day,  swimming  about,  or 
only  rising  for  a  short  flight,  and  alighting  again  in  the  water.  Strange 
to  say  there  were  no  flsh  found  in  its  pouch ;  only  a  few  small  worms  and 
insects.  —  Hknry  Gillman,  Detroit,  Michigan, 

Migration  of  Hawks.  —  Do  hawks  migrate  in  pairs  only,  or  do  they 
migrate  in  flocks  and  separate  into  pairs  as  they  arrive  at  their  breeding 
places?  In  1856  my  attention  was  called  to  quite  a  number  of  hawks 
that  were  diving,  and  screaming,  and  going  through  various  gyrations  high 
in  the  air  (as  they  commonly  do  in  the  spring  when  pairing)  and  passing  to 
the  north-east.  Not  making  any  note  of  the  occurrence  I  cannot  give  the 
exact  number  or  date.    It  was  early  in  the  spring,  and  there  must  have 


760  NATURAL   HISTOBT  MISCELLANY. 

been  twenty  or  more.  Early  in  April,  I860, 1  witnessed  a  similar  migra- 
tion when  the  number  in  sight  at  one  time  was  about  fifty.  A  Mend  of 
mine  in  an  adjoining  town,  who  is  a  very  careAil  and  accurate  observer, 
asked  me  a  short  time  since  if  I  ever  saw  a  floclc  of  hawlcs  ?  He  said 
that  early  this  spring  (1870),  about  the  last  of  March  or  the  first  of  April 
when  passing  over  his  farm  with  his  two  sons,  his  attention  was  attracted 
by  the  screaming  of  hawlcs,  and  on  looking  up  the  air  seemed  to  be  filled 
with  them.  They  attempted  to  count  them,  but  found  it  somewhat  diffi- 
cult to  be  perfectly  accurate,  as  the  birds  were  constantly  in  motion, 
diving  and  screaming  and  passing  northward,  yet  they  counted  seventy- 
three  in  sight  at  one  time.  In  both  of  the  flights  which  I  witnessed,  and 
also  in  that  seen  by  Mr.  S.  and  his  sons,  the  hawks  were  not  in  flocks  ac- 
cording to  the  common  acceptation  of  the  word  fiock,  but  were  in  pairs, 
or  groups  of  about  four  usually,  all  passing  in  the  same  direction,  north- 
ward. Having  never  read  in  our  works  on  natural  history,  of  such 
numbere  passing  at  one  time,  I  give  these  fiicts,  hoping  to  call  the  atten- 
tion of  our  ornithologists  to  them,  and  draw  out  f^om  them  any  observa^ 
tions  which  they  have  made  on  the  subject.  —  Wm.  Wood,  M.  D.,  Bast 
Windsor  Bill,  Connecticut. 

SocDDER's  Work  on  New  England  Butterflies.  —  Illness  in  my 
fiimiiy  has  thus  ftir  prevented  my  completing  the  work  on  New  England 
Butterflies  announced  some  time  since  in  these  columns.  This  delay  has, 
however,  enabled  me  to  extend  the  original  plan  of  the  book  much  more 
ftilly  than  was  anticipated. 

I  gladly  take  this  opportunity  of  thanking  my  many  friends  and  corres- 
pondents for  the  cordiality  with  which  they  have  seconded  my  under- 
taking, in  furnishing  me  with  innumerable  notes  upon  the  times  of 
appearance  and  prevalence  of  different  butterflies  in  their  respective 
localities.  When  it  Is  known  that  such  memoranda  have  already  been 
received  fVom  ninety  different  pereons,  covering  a  period  of  observation 
of  firom  one  to  ten  years,  and,  in  the  case  of  some  butterflies,  including 
as  many  as  one  hundred  and  flfty  or  two  hundred  notes  for  a  single  spe- 
cies, it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  we  shall  arrive  at  a  degree  of  exacti- 
tude upon  the  history,  seasons,  and  geographical  distribution  of  our  but- 
terflies, which  we  have  not  hitherto  enjoyed. 

In  the  hope  of  gaining  still  fhrther  knowledge  on  these  points,  I  should 
be  pleased  to  receive  notes  made  by  any  observere  during  the  season  of 
1870;  descriptions  of  habits,  modes  of  flight  and  of  posture  would  be 
most  welcome ;  and  since  the  result  of  inquiries  has  proved  the  necessity 
of  incorporating  in  a  work  on  the  butterflies  of  New  England  and  vicinity 
many  forms  not  mentioned  in  previous  lists  of  New  England  species,  I 
beg  all  pereons  interested  to  send  me  the  fullest  possible  notes,  as  well 
as  examples  of  the  early  stages  of  the  following  species  (most  of  these 
have  seldom  or  never  been  known  to  occur  in  New  England ;  where  the 
names  are  italicized,  specimens  of  the  imago  are  desired  for  examina- 
tion) :  Fapilio  MarccUus,  Pieris  VirginiensiSy  P.  vemcUis,  CallidryasEubuIe, 


NATURAL  HI8TOBT  MI8GELLAKY.  761 

Coliaa  Lahradarenma,  C,  Keewaydin,  C.  Earytheme,  Terias  Lisa,  Xanthid- 
lam  Niclppe,  Anthocaris  Genatia,  Nymphidium  dorsale,  Lycsna  violacea, 
L.  Pembina,  L.  Scadderli,  Thecla  Ontario,  T.  Clothilde,  Euptoieta  Claudia, 
Melitcea  BateHi,  Apatura  Clyton,  Qrapta  Drya$,  G.  Fabrlcit,  G.  Interroga- 
tlonis,  Libythea  Bachmanii,  Satyrus  areolattu,  Chionobas  Jatta,  Klsonia- 
des  LaclIIuSy  iV.  Horatius,  N.  Virgilius,  N.  Martialis,  N.  Icelus,  Eudamus 
Bathyllus  (not  Pylades)  E,  Olynthus,  Hesperia  Oileus,  H.  Wingina,  H.  via- 
lis,  H.  Monoco,  H.  Hianna,  H.  Meaapano,  H.  Delaware,  H.  PhyUeos,  J7. 
Wyandot,  and  J7.  Huron, 

Persons  possessing  flrom  their  collections  and  memoranda  any  precise 
data,  however  meagre,  for  determining  the  respective  times  of  appear- 
ance of  the  different  species  of  Grapta  and  Nisoniades,  as  recently  dis- 
tingaished  in  the  Transactions  of  the  American  Entomological  Society 
and  the  Proceedings  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History,  will  con- 
fer a  special  favor,  by  commanicating  them ;  many  of  those  already  re- 
ceived have  lost  mach  of  their  valne  from  the  conftision  of  the  species. 
Dae  credit  will  be  given  in  every  instance. 

Letters,  memoranda  and  specimens,  sent  to  my  address  at  the  Society 
of  Natural  History,  Berkeley  Street,  Boston,  before  March  4th,  1871,  will  be 
forwarded  thence  to  me  in  season  for  incorporation  In  my  book.  The 
manuscript  will  soon  be  completed.  It  will  form  an  imperial  octavo  of 
tvom  four  to  five  hundred  pages,  and  be  illustrated  by  chromolitho- 
graphic  plates  in  a  style  which,  Judging  f^om  specimens  prepared,  has 
never  yet  been  equalled,  even  in  Europe.  —  Samuel  H.  Scuddkr. 

Callidrtas  Eubulb  Linn. — This  large  Pierian  butterfly  was  taken  by 
me  at  New  Bedford,  Mass.,  Aug.,  81st.  Mr.  Sanborn,  who  has  seen  the 
specimen,  speaks  of  it  as  the  first  one  of  the  kind  observed  in  New  Eng- 
land, or  at  least  in  Massachusetts. '  H.  W.  Parkkr. 

[Mr.  S.  I.  Smith  informs  us  that  he  has  taken  this  insect  abundantly  at 
Fire  Island,  Long  Island,  N.  Y.,  during  the  past  summer.]  — Eds. 

Mkpiiitis  bicolor.  —  Since  my  note  in  the  August  Naturalist  was 
written,  on  the  occurrence  of  this  species  in  Iowa,  I  have  obtained  an- 
other skin  in  Grinnell,  Iowa,  and  still  another  in  Des  Moines,  Arom  a 
dealer  in  pelts,  who  informs  me  that  he  bought  at  least  fifty  skins  of  the 
kind  last  winter,  procured  in  that  vicinity.  There  is  reason  to  believe 
that  the  species  may  be  found  even  in  central  New  York.  Dr.  S.  J. 
Parker,  of  Ithaca,  N.  Y.,  has  twice  seen  by  the  roadside,  in  that  region, 
a  small,  many-striped  skunk,  very  difiterent  ftom  the  common  one. — H.  W. 
Parker. 

Wooi>cocK  AND  Moles.  — The  Shrew  Mole  (Scalops  Canadensis)  has 
been  somewhat  abundant  for  a  few  years  past  in  Essex  county,  Massa- 
chusetts. These  animals  are  found  in  low  moist  lands,  though  not  unft«- 
quently  in  highly  cultivated  gardens.  The  shrew  mole  is  seldom  seen 
above  ground,  but  burrows  with  celerity  below  its  surface. 

The  Star-nosed  Mole  frequents  the  same  moist  places,  where,  like  the 

amer.  naturalist,  vol.  iv.  96 


762  NATURAL  HISTORY  BnSCELLANT. 

shrew  mole,  it  finds  its  favorite  food,  soch  as  earth-worms,  grubs,  etc. 
In  procuring  its  food  it  makes  extensive  and  numerous  burrows,  above 
which  mounds  of  loose  dirt  are  thrown  to  the  surface  of  the  land,  which 
destroy  the  smooth  and  even  surface  of  the  meadow  and  make  It  look 
unsightly  and  difficult  to  cultivate. 

Kow  there  is  a  beautifhl  bird  designed  by  nature  to  prevent  the  increase 
of  these  noxious  animals  from  becoming  excessive  in  places  Arequented 
by  the  mole.    It  is  the  woodcock  {Scolopax  minor),  whose  death  is 
delayed  until  the  15th  of  August  by  a  law  of  the  State,  after  which  time. 
there  will  probably  be  a  general  attack  made  upon  them  with  the  gun. 

It  is  observable  what  a  difference  there  is  in  the  appearance,  in  some 
localities,  occupied  by  the  above  mentioned  animals.  A  Itiend  told  me  a 
few  days  since  that  it  was  difficult  to  mow  a  piece  of  his  land  last  year  on 
account  of  the  many  piles  of  earth  thrown  up  by  the  moles.  This  year 
the  surfSiu^  of  his  land  is  smooth,  and  I  have  passed  several  times  this 
summer  by  the  place  and  have  frequently  heard,  or  flushed  the  woodcock 
feeding  there  in  the  dusk  of  evening.  —  Augustus  Fowlbb,  Danven, 
Atigust  14,  1870. 

Turkey  Buzzabo.  —  On  page  875,  current  volume,  J.  L.  B.,  in  a  para- 
graph on  this  bird,  inquires  **  Can  a  Turkey  Buzzard  be  deceived  by  his 
sense  of  smell?  Did  the  Buzzard  mistake  the  skunks'  smell  for  putre- 
fkction?"  Two  propositions  are  here  answered  as  undeniable.  First, 
that  the  Turkey  Buzzard  selects  its  food  by  the  sense  of  smell ;  and  sec- 
ond, that  it  prefers  putrefied  food.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  exhaustive 
experiments  by  Mr.  Audubon  and  ]>r.  Bachman,  made  nearly  forty  years 
since,  as  related  by  the  former  in  his  "  Ornithological  Biography,**  Vol.  il, 
page  88,  should  settle  these  questions.  I  thinktthen,  that  it  may  be 
safely  assumed  that  both  the  Turkey  *Buzzard  (Catharies  aura)  and  the 
Black  Vulture  (CaiharU$  Java)  are  practically  incapable  of  distinguishing 
odors,  and  select  their  food  by  the  sense  of  sight  alone ;  and  also  that 
they  feed  upon  flresh,  as  readily  as  upon  putrid,  fiesh.  As  the  old  error  on 
this  subject  seems  to  be  perpetuated  no  doubt  to  a  considerable  extent, 
and  as  that  great  work  is  rare,  at  least  in  private  libraries,  might  not  the 
whole,  or  at  least  a  part  of  the  paper  to  which  I  have  referred,  prove  in- 
teresting to  your  readers?  —  J.  D.  Caton,  OUawa,  Illinois,  Aug,  22,  1870. 

Sfikb  Hornkd  Bucks.  —  Mr.  H.  H.  Bromley,  proprietor  of  the  Chasm 
House  near  Keeseville,  has  given  me  an  account  of  the  spike  horns  that 
is  confirmatoiy  of  '<  Adirondack's  "  statements,  and  also  shows  that  the 
variety  extends  farther  south  in  the  Adirondack  region  than  heretofore 
stated. 

Mr.  Bromley  was  for  six  years  the  landlord  of  the  Hotel  at  Franklin 
Falls,  located  on  the  Saranac  River,  about  thirty  miles  southeast  of 
Lewis  Lake  and  the  region  mentioned  by  "  Adirondack.**  When  he  first 
went  into  this  region,  eight  years  ago,  he  was  told  about  the  spike  homed 
bucks  which  were  then  common  and  well  known  to  all  the  hunters  and 
trappers  in  the  Saranac  region.    During  his  residence  at  Franklin  Falls, 


NATURAL   HISTORY  MI8GELLANT.  763 

he  shot  several  spike  horns,  and  one  at  least  was  a  large  buck  of  four 
years  if  not  of  five,  and  was  so  considered  by  several  old  hnnters.  In 
this  specimen  one  of  the  horns  was  slightly  forked  at  the  end,  bat  the 
other  was  a  simple  slightly  curved  spike.  Mr.  Bromley  says  that  any  old 
hunter  of  the  Saranac  region  would  laugh  at  the  idea  of  all  the  spike 
horns  being  young  bucks  of  two  or  three  years,  and  he  states  that  they 
can  be  recognized  by  their  shorter  lega,  as  well  as  by  their  spike  horns. 
Mr.  Bromley  thinks  that  the  spike  horns  have  increased  in  numbers 
over  the  branched  horns,  and  that  in  spite  of  the  extensive  hunting  are 
about  as  abundant  as  when  he  first  went  into  the  woods.  —  F.  W.  P. 

Desk's  Horns.  —  It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  the  horns  of  deer  are  but 
very  seldom  found  in  the  woods,  even  in  districts  where  the  deer  are  very 
plenty.  Several  ways  of  accounting  for  their  disappearance  have  been 
suggested,  but  the  cause  that  seems  to  be  the  best  substantiated  Is  that 
of  their  being  eaten  by  the  various  species  of  rodents  seeking  their  food 
under  the  snow  in  early  spring.  In  confirmation  of  this  theory  Mr.  H.  H. 
Bromley  of  Eeeseville,  N.  T.,  has  informed  me  that  he  once  found  a  deer's 
horn  in  the  woods  that  had  been  partly  gnawed,  and  had  been  nearly 
eaten  through  In  two  places  by  mice. — F.  W.  P. 

SiNOULAB  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Hornbills  during  the 
Breeding  Season.  —  Ko  sooner  has  the  hen  commenced  the  labor  of  in* 
cubation,  say  several  trustworthy  observers  on  this  subject,  than  the 
male  walls  up  the  hole  in  the  hollow  tree  in  which  the  hen  is  sitting  on 
her  eggs,  until  there  is  only  room  for  the  point  of  her  bill  to  protrude,  so 
that  until  her  young  birds  are  hatched  she  remains  confined  to  her  nest, 
and  is  in  the  meantime  assiduously  fed  by  her  mate,  who  devotes  himself 
entirely  to  this  object.  This  habit  has  been  testified  to  not  only  by  Tick- 
ell,  Layard,  and  other  Indian  naturalists  concerning  some  of  the  Asiatic 
species,  but  is  also  spoken  of  by  Dr.  Livingstone  in  the  case  of  hornbills 
met  with  during  his  African  explorations,  and  there  appears  to  be  no 
doubt  of  its  authenticity.  In  Sumatra,  in  1862,  Mr.  Wallace  heard  the 
same  story  firom  his  hunters,  and  was  taken  to  see  a  nest  of  the  concave- 
casqued  hornbill,  in  which,  after  the  male  bird  had  been  shot  while  in  the 
act  of  feeding  its  mate,  the  female  was  discovered  walled  up.  **With 
great  difficulty,"  Mr.  Wallace  tells  us,  *'I  persuaded  some  natives  to  climb 
up  the  tree,  and  bring  me  the  bird.  This  they  did,  alive,  and  along  with 
it  a  young  one,  apparently  not  many  days  old,  and  a  most  remarkable 
object.  It  was  about  the  size  of  a  half-grown  duckling,  but  so  fiabby 
and  semi-transparent  as  to  resemble  a  bladder  of  JeUy,  Aimished  with 
head,  legs,  and  rudimentary  wings,  but  with  not  a  sign  of  a  feather,  ex- 
cept a  few  lines  of  points  indicating  where  they  would  come."  —  Nature, 

GEOLOGY. 

The  BCeoatherium  and  rrs  Allies.  —The  law  of  adherence  to  type, 
or  pattern,  in  the  skeletons  of  the  Megatherium,  Megalonyx  and  Mylo- 
don,  extinct  animals  of  the  sloth  tribe,  appears  to  be  illustrated  in  a 
remarkable  manner  In  the  following  particulars :  — 


764  NATURAL   HISTORY  MISOBULANT. 

First.  -^  In  the  great  size,  weight  and  solid  condition  of  the  bones  of  the 
extremities  and  in  their  want  of  medallaiy  cavities. 

Second.  —  In  the  number,  arrangement,  fZ^,  mode  and  unlimited  growth 
of  their  teeth ;  in  their  deep  insertion  into  the  Jaws ;  their  deeply  exca- 
vated base ;  in  the  structure  of  their  teeth,  when  viewed  as  organs,  — 
made  up  of  a  cylinder  of  vascular  dentine,  dentine  and  cementum,  and 
more  particularly  In  the  striking  resemblance  of  their  organization  when 
examined  under  the  microscope ;  that  of  the  Megatherium  and  Mylodon 
being  precisely  the  same,  with  the  exception  of  the  looped  canals  or 
tubules  In  the  cementum,  as  figured  by  Prof.  Owen  In  the  article  Odon- 
tography, In  the  '*  Encyclopedia  Brltannlca." 

Third.  —  The  bones  of  the  skull  resemble  each  other  strongly  in  the 
great  development  of  the  cells  of  the  dlploS,  which  In  their  general  ap- 
pearance resemble  wood  eaten  through  and  through  by  the  largest  sized 
worms ;  and  In  the  shortness  of  the  face.  The  alveoli  of  the  two  jaws 
correspond  In  number,  position  and  relative  depth,  with  the  exception  of 
Megalonyx,  which  has  Its  first  molar  In  the  upper  and  lower  Jaw  sepa- 
rated Arom  the  other  teeth  and  taking  the  usual  place  of  the  canine  or 
cuspidate  teeth. 

Fourth.  — The  bones  of  the  chest  and  trunk  have,  in  general,  a  strong 
resemblance  In  size  and  form,  especially  the  ribs  In  size,  the  scapula  in 
form,  the  expanded  Ilia,  and  the  clavicles.  The  bones  of  the  hand  and 
arm  have  a  marked  family  likeness — the  radius  and  ulna  of  Megathere 
and  Megalonyx,  the  humerus  of  Megalonyx  and  Mylodon  In  particular^ 
and  In  all  the  genera  In  the  broad  expansion  of  the  external  and  Internal 
condyles  of  the  humerus  for  the  origin  of  the  supinator  and  pronator  mus- 
cles. The  differences  between  these  In  outline  and  form  lh>m  that  of 
Megatherium  will  be  hereafter  alluded  to. 

Fifth.  — The  number  and  size  of  the  bones  In  the  tall  of  Megatherium 
and  Mylodon,  and  the  use  to  which  this  appendage  Is  put,  appear  to  be 
precisely  the  same,  making  with  the  posterior  extremities  a  most  stable 
tripod  for  the  support  of  these  animals  while  reaching  for  their  food. 

Sixth.  —  In  the  broad  and  massive  femur  of  the  Megatherium  and 
Megalonyx  there  Is  a  marked  resemblance :  as  figured  In  Leldy's  '*  Memoir  " 
and  In  the  ^'Penuy  Cyclopedia"  and  **  Encyclopaedia  Brltannlca,"  this  bone 
In  the  Mylodon  appears  not  to  be  so  fiattened  In  ftont,  but  this,  appearance 
may  be  only  the  result  of  foreshortening  In  the  drawing ;  judging  f^om  a 
fragment  in  my  possession  it  does  not  differ  much  ft'om  the  femur  in 
Megathere  or  Megalonyx.  The  tibia  of  Megalonyx  bears  considerable 
resemblance  In  form  to  that  of  Mylodon,  but  It  Is  not  united  In  either  of 
these  animals  (making  as  It  were  one  bone)  as  In  Megatherium. 

The  bones  of  these  extinct  animals  differ  somewhat :  — 

First.  — In  the  general  outline  of  the  lower  Jaw  of  Megatherium,  espe- 
cially that  of  Meg.  Cuvieri  f^om  South  America;  less  so,  however,  In  that 
part  where  the  teeth  are  Implanted  In  the  K.  American  Megathere,  and 
In  Its  anterior  prolongation. 

Second. — The  skulls  of  Megalonyx  and  Mylodon,  looking  at  them 
either  Arom  above  or  below,  differ  somewhat,  especially  In  their  width ; 


NATURAL  HISTOBr  IflSCJBLLANT.  765 

this  diffBrence,  however,  may  be  the  result  simply  of  the  displacement 
forwards  of  the  first  molar,  as  appears  to  be  the  case  with  some  varieties 
of  dogs. 

Third.  —  The  hnmenis  of  the  Megatherium  differs  from  that  of  Mega- 
lonyz  and  Mylodon  chiefly  in  that  part  from  which  the  brachialis  atUicus 
muscle  arises.  The  bone  in  Megathere  at  this  point,  viz.,  on  either  side 
of  the  Insertion  of  the  deltoid,  being  broad  and  flat,  while,  in  Megalonyx 
and  Mylodon  especially  it  forms,  with  a  marked  prominence  on  the  out- 
side of  the  bone,  a  large  hollow  surface  looking  outward  and  backward, 
for  the  origin  of  the  external  part  of  the  muscle,  and  which  large  and 
deep  groove  seems  to  have  been  fllled  up  by  it.  The  distal  extremity  of 
the  humerus  of  Megalonyx  is  pierced  by  a  large  but  short  oval  canal  for 
the  passage  of  the  median  nerve  and  brachial  artery,  which  canal  is  not  to 
be  seen  in  the  humerus  of  the  Megatherium  or  Mylodon,  although  tnere 
is  in  the  humerus  of  the  latter  a  groove  near  this  spot  along  which,  in 
all  probability  the  nerve  and  artery  passed  in  their  course  to  the  forearm. 

Fourth. — The  astragalus  of  the  Megalonyx,  Dr.  Leidy  says  **  bears  much 
more  resemblance  to  that  of  the  recent,  than  to  any  of  the  extinct  sloths. 
That  of  the  Megatherium  Is  the  most  characteristic  bone  in  the  skele- 
ton :  the  upper  surface  being  so  hollowed  on  one  side,  as  to  throw  the 
whole  weight  of  the  leg  upon  the  inner  side  of  the  foot." 

Fifth.  —  The  cubitus  of  Mylodon,  as  figured  by  Dr.  Harlan,  very 
slightly  resembles  either  that  of  Megathere  or  Megalonyx. 

From  the  few  fiEicts  above  stated,  it  would  be  unwise  to  draw  hasty  con- 
clusions, and  if  the  three  genera  have  a  common  parentage  it  would  be 
difficult  to  say  to  which  genus  the  first  pair  belonged.  Are  there  not, 
however,  as  strongly  marked  resemblances  between  the  skeletons  of  the 
dlfi'erent  members  of  this  extinct  tribe  of  animals  as  are  to  be  found  in 
Hipparion,  Anchltherium  and  Equus,  which  have  been  brought  forward 
by  Professor  Huxley  in  confirmation  of  Mr.  Darwin's  hypothesis? 

The  marked  resemblance  between  the  skeletons  of  the  Megatherium 
and  Mylodon  as  set  up  in  the  Museum  of  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons, 
London,  and  in  the  Museum  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History, 
must  be  acknowledged  by  all  who  have  seen  the  skeletons,  or  the  figures 
of  them  under  the  articles  Unanu,  ^*  Penny  Cyclopedia,"  Palaeontology, 
<*Encyclop»dia  Britannica,"  and  the  beautifril  photograph  by  Mr.  Allen  of 
Boston. 

No  less  marked  will  appear  the  mechanism  of  the  elbow  Joint  in  all 
the  genera  of  these  digging  animals,  and  the  upper  or  mashing  surface 
of  their  teeth,  so  characteristic  of  all  the  Megatheroid  tribe  —  the  sur- 
foce  presenting  at  one  time  **a  transverse  snlcate  plane,  at  another,  ex- 
cavated in  the  midst,  with  prominent  margins." — H.  C.  Perkins,  M.D. 

The  Tertiary  Beds  of  the  Amazon.  —  Up  to  December,  1867,  no  fos- 
sils had  been  observed  in  the  peculiar  variegated  clay  formation  t^hich 
overspreads  the  great  valley  of  the  Amazon.  At  that  time  I  was  sojourn- 
ing with  my  friend  Hanxwell  at  Pebas,  where  I  discovered  a  multitude  of 


766  NATURAL  mSTOBT  MISOELLANT. 

foMil  shells  exposed  in  the  fine  section  made  by  the  Ambiyaca  Jost  before 
it  Teaches  the  Maraiion.  These  shells  were  examined  by  Gabb,  who 
showed  that  they  existed  in  brackish  water  of  Tertiaiy  date;  but  he  made 
the  mistake  of  identifying  the  Neritina  as  if.  piipo,  which  Is  now  living. 
Ck>nrad  shows  it  is  an  extinct  species.  I  then  engaged  Mr.  Haoxwell  to 
explore  for  other  localities,  being  sore  they  would  be  found.  He  soon  re- 
ported a  similar  deposit  thirty  miles  below  Pebas  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Maraiion,  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  west  of  Tabatinga,  where 
he  found  the  very  same  species  occurring  at  Pebas,  and  many  more,  and 
larger  kinds.  Out  of  half  a  bushel  of  specimens  which  he  sent  me,  this 
is  the  result  arrived  at  by  our  eminent  paleontologist,  Mr.  Conrad.  Kot 
one  species  was  found  in  the  whole  collection  which  is  now  living ;  indi- 
cating an  early  tertiary  date.  There  were  seventeen  distinct  species,  ail 
extinett  belonging  to  genera  only  three  of  which  are  now  represented. 
The  most  numerous  species  seems  to  be  the  AniBothyrit  {Pachffdon)  obli- 
quus»  In  the  whole  collection  there  is  but  one  land  shell  (Bulimus),  and 
but  one  decidedly  Aresh- water  species  (Hemisinus).  The  great  miO<»'^i^y 
belong  to  a  genus  which  was  especially  abundant  in  the  early  Tertiary, 
and  lived  in  brackish  water.  This  agrees  perfectly  with  my  theory  of  the 
origin  of  the  Amazon  Valley ;  at  first  a  Mediterranean  sea  separated  Arom 
the  Caribbean  and  South  Atlantic  by  the  rise  of  the  water-sheds  which 
created  the  Orinoco  and  Paraguay,  it  was  gradually  Areshened  by  the  in- 
flux of  the  flresh-water  streams  flrom  the  surrounding  highlands,  and 
gradually  emptied  into  the  Atlantic  by  the  continued  rise  of  the  Andes. 
The  fossils  were  found  In  the  heart  of  the  valley  interstratifled  with  the 
colored  laminated'clays  which  I  had  traced  from  Curary  on  the  Rio  Kapo 
down  to  the  Lower  Amazon,  and  which  Agassiz  alSrms  is  a  glacial  de- 
posit brought  down  from  the  Andes  and  worked  over  by  a  vast  glacier 
moving  over  the  whole  plain.  This  is  mere  assertion,  for  he  found  not 
one  positive  evidence.  Besides,  there  are  strong  biological  and  physical 
arguments  against  the  theory  of  tropical  glaciers.  My  fossils  are  won- 
derftilly  perfect,  even  the  most  minute  and  delicate  ones,  and  none  show 
the  least  abrasion ;  a  glacier  would  have  ground  them  to  powder.  Con- 
rad says  they  must  have  lived  and  died  in  the  vicinity  of  the  spot  where 
they  now  occur  so  abundantly.— James  Orton,  Nov.  15,  1870. 

Lbad  Mnnes  of  Missouri.  —  Mr.  O.  C.  Broadhead  read  a  paper  before 
the  St.  Louis  Academy  of  Science  in  October,  entitled  ^*  Notes  on  the 
Geology  of  Cole  County,  Missouri.**  He  mentions  that  the  Magnesian 
limestone  series,  which  include  the  rich  mineral  deposits  of  Missouri, 
occur  in  Cole  County,  and  that  the  rich  Galena  lead  mines  are  in  the  lower 
beds  of  the  second  Magnesian  limestone.  At  Fowler's  mines  he  noticed 
lead,  zinc,  and  heavy  spar;  the  latter  in  very  clear  amber-colored  crystals 
and  in  blue  lamellar  forms. 

Marks  of  Anodbnt  Glacibrs  on  thb  Pagifio  Coast.  —  Dr.  Robert 
Brown  dissents  fh>m  the  theory  of  an  entire  absence  of  glacial  remains 
proper  on  the  Pacific  slope  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  stating  that  tho 


NOTES.  767 

northern  drift  \s  present  In  YancoaTor  Island  and  British  Columbia,  **  in 
as  marked  a  manner  as  ever  I  saw  it  in  countries  celebrated  for  the  pres- 
ence of  snch  remains.** 

He  finds  rounded  hills,  trap  bosses,  ronnded  rocks,  and  grooves,  while 
the  whole  country  is  strewn  with  erratic  boulders.  Great  masses,  sixty  to 
one  hundred  tons  in  weight,  are  found  scattered  everywhere  over  the 
island  (Vancouver)  firom  north  to  sonth,  and  through  the  region  lying  on 
the  western  slope  of  the  Cascade  Mountains.  '*  Grooving  and  other  un- 
equivocal marks  of  general  ice  action  are  not  wanting  in  Washington 
Territory  either.  The  drift  marks  extend  northward  to  the  Queen  Char- 
lotte Islands,  near  the  boundary  line  of  Alaska.  —  American  Journal  of 
Science. 

BouLDBRS  IN  Ancibnt  Times.  —  In  a  communication  made  to  the  Acad- 
emy of  Sciences  of  Vienna,  M.  Bou6  remarked  on  the  accumulations  of 
boulders  in  secondary  deposits  and  in  the  sandstones  and  conglomerates 
of  the  tertiary  period.  These  accumulations  have  been  explained  either 
by  the  mining  force  of  the  currents  of  water,  or  by  subterranean  dis- 
placements, or  by  aqueous  eruptions.  The  most  ancient  of  these  blocks 
are  found  in  the  older  carboniferous  sandstone.  They  have  been  traced 
between  Jurassic  and  Cretaceous  beds,  and  in  the  latter;  but  nowhere 
do  they  more  frequently  occur  than  in  the  Eocene  and  Miocene  beds  of 
the  Alpes.  These  last  have  been  very  probably  transported  by  glaciers, 
though  he  could  not  admit,  as  some  geologists  have,  that  the  glaciers  have 
hollowed  out  the  basins  of  the  lakes,  or  had  existed  in  the  course  of  al- 
most all  geological  periods.  —  Cosmos. 

New  Discovery  respecting  Coccouths.  ~  Dr.  Gfimbel,  of  Munich, 
has  recently,  in  a  letter  to  NaturCt  No.  26,  for  April  28th,  established  the 
existence  of  coccollths  and  coccospheres,  almost  identical  in  structure 
with  those  detected  by  Professor  Uuxley,  in  recent  deep-sea  dredgings 
lirom  the  bed  of  the  Atlantic,  in  the  Trenton  limestone  and  in  a  yellow 
Un^estone  of  the  Potsdam  series,  much  lower  down  than  they  have  hith- 
erto been  discovered.  He  finds  that  the  organic  remains  of  these  minute 
animals  are  left  as  a  residuum  after  the  matrix  in  which  they  occur  has 
been  heated  with  highly-diluted  acetic  or  hydrochloric  acid. 


'^'>AA«V>/>^A/N/\/\/\^^N^^'«'- 


NOTES. 


The  Yale  College  scientific  party,  in  charge  of  Professor  0.  C.  Marsh, 
which  left  New  Haven  in  June  last  for  the  Bocky  Mountains,  returned  to 
this  city  on  the  18th  of  December.  The  party,  which  was  essentially  a 
private  one,  consisted  of  Professor  Marsh  and  twelve  companions,  all 
students  or  recent  graduates  of  the  College.    The  main  object  of  the  ex- 


768  NOTES. 

pedlUon  was  to  investigate  the  extinct  vertebrate  fiiana  of  the  Tertlaiy 
and  Cretaceous  deposits  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  country,  and  the  general 
plan  adopted  was  to  make  several  separate  trips,  of  one  or  two  hundred 
miles  north  or  south  of  the  Pacific  railroad,  to  regions  that  were  unex- 
plored, or  had  never  been  careftilly  examined. 

The  first  of  these  was  made  early  in  July,  from  Fort  McPherson  in 
Nebraska  to  explore  the  Pliocene  deposits  along  the  Loup  Fork  river. 
Here  rich  collections  of  fossil  vertebrates  were  obtained,  and  several  new 
species  of  extinct  mammals  and  birds  discovered.  The  next  expedition 
was  made  in  August,  flrom  Fort  D.  A.  Russell  in  Wyoming,  to  examine 
the  geology  of  the  country  between  the  north  and  south  brunches  of  the 
Platte  river.  On  this  trip  the  Mauvaises  Terres  or  "  Bad  land  "  formation, 
with  the  true  TUanotherium  and  Oredon  beds  was  discovered  in  Colorado, 
and  traced  northward  through  Nebraska  to  the  North  Platte.  The  fossil 
remains  obtained  were  also  important,  and  included  several  species  of 
extinct  mammals  and  birds,  new  to  science. 

The  third  expedition  was  made  flrom  Fort  Brldger,  Wyoming,  In  Sep- 
tember and  October,  to  examine  the  geology  of  the  Eastern  Uintah 
Mountains,  and  the  country  between  the  Green  and  White  rivers.  In 
this  region  interesting  geological  discoveries  were  made,  and  many  new 
Tertiary  vertebrate  remains  secured,  which  will  soon  be  described  by 
Professor  Marsh.  On  their  return,  the  party  went  to  California,  and 
spent  a  month  in  visiting  various  points  of  scientific  interest;  after  which 
they  came  east  to  Denver,  and  thence  to  Fort  Wallace,  Kansas.  About 
two  weeks  were  spent  in  exploring  the  Cretaceous  beds  of  this  vicinity, 
where  some  interesting  reptilian  and  fish  remains  were  obtained,  and  the 
party  then  returned  to  the  east. 

The  expedition  as  a  whole  was  very  success ftil,  and  the  large  collec- 
tions made  will  be  placed  in  the  Peabody  Museum  of  Tale  College.  The 
more  important  scientific  results  will  soon  be  published. 

Capt.  Wheeler,  who  explored  in  Nevada  l§st  year,  has  an  expedition 
probably  started  or  about  to  start.  Mr.  H.  A.  Oreen,  late  of  the  Illinois 
Geological  Survey,  is  Geologist  and  Mineralogist.  Ferdinand  BischoflT, 
who  was  an  indefotigable  member  of  the  Scientific  Corps  of  the  Western 
Union  Telegraph  Expedition,  Is  to  make  the  zoological  collections.  Capt. 
Wheeler  is  to  ascend  the  Colorado  Caiion  fh>m  below  with  a  steamer. 
His  party  will  have  abundant  facilities  for  transportation,  and  the  Com- 
mander Is  much  Interested  in  the  scientific  part  of  the  work.  Mr.  Powell 
got  an  appropriation  of  $12,000  to  make  a  second  descent  of  the  Caiion 
of  the  Colorado,  and  will  do  so  some  time  this  winter.  He  has  already 
been  on  to  that  part  of  the  country,  and  arranged  his  details.  Alto- 
gether the  Caiion  is  in  a  fair  way  of  being  thoroughly  explored. 

The  French  Aeadhnie  de»  Sdencea  has  held  its  sittings  regularly  since 
the  beginning  of  the  si^ge,  and  the  Comptea  rtndus  has  been  published 
regularly  every  week.  — Nature. 


iTfltlF 

egon 


eecm 
en!a< 


INDEX  TO  VOLUME  FOUR. 


Abdominal  sense  organs^  690. 

Acalvpha  Yirginica,  355. 

Acceleralion,  theory  of,  232. 

Accipiter,  711. 

Acer,  214. 

Achorion  microsporon,  848. 

Acidalia.  229. 

Acidaspls  Wtaitfleldl,  668. 

Acontla  mefiallica.  229. 

Actias  Luna,  mal£prmed,  02. 

Actinaria,  488. 

Agamm  Turneii,  296. 

A^aricne  muscarius^  344. 

Alaria  esculenta,  21)0. 

Alaska,  430. 

Albino  rodents,  58. 

Albino  snow  bird.  376. 

Albino  bam  swallow.  127. 

Albino  woodchnck,  252. 

Alcyonaria,  488. 

Aleurodes,  68G. 

A  Ueghanies.  Anna  of,  882. 

Alosa  praBstabili!^,  115. 

Alpine  flowers.  521. 

Amazon,  358,  705. 

Ambloplites  pomotis,  102. 

America,  ancient  lakes  ol,  041. 

Aminnis,  390. 

Amnicola  ^ana,  68. 

AmpelopHis,  414. 

Amphiroa,  288. 

Anas  boschas,  49. 

Anas  obscnra,  49. 

Andes,  358. 

Andigena,  712. 

Androgynous  inflorescence,  46,  355. 

Anemones,  sea,  two-mouthed,  256. 

Angiiilla.  391. 

Anomjs  xvlina,  62. 

Anner,  374. 

Ant  lion,  705. 

Apeltes  qnadracns.  115. 

Apbrodeilerus  Sayanus,  lOS,  107,710. 

Apple-bud  moth.  084. 

Aquarium,  fVosh  water,  23. 

Arcella,  379. 

Archajological  impostures,  819. 

Archwology,  445. 

Arctic  flora,  125. 

ArclomvB  monax,  202. 

Areas  of  preservation,  44. 

Arion  fUscus,  170. 

Army  worm  of  the  South,  68. 

Asperococcti.s,  296. 

Aspidiotufi,  eS'i. 

Asteroceraa,  2.33. 

Asterophyllites,  479. 

Auk,  great,  57. 

Auks,  309. 

Aythya  Americana,  49. 

Aythya  vallisneria,  49. 

Baphetes  minor,  190. 

Barberry,  438. 

Barbet,  712. 

Bark  Uoe,  686. 


Bass,  693. 

Bathybius,  60. 

Batrachia,  skull  of,  606. 

Bean  weerU,  085. 

Bear,  431. 

Beaver,  extinct,  604. 

Bees,  feililization  of  salvia  by,  689. 

Belone  longirostris,  105. 

Bemicla,  369. 

Bidens  chrysanthemoldas,  43,  863. 

Bidens  frondosa,  43. 

Bignonia.  313,  411. 

Biflflsh,  520. 

Binocular  microscope,  678,  683, 606. 

Bii-ds,  classification  of,  746. 

Birds,  flight  of,  439. 

Birds  of  Alaska,  867. 

Birds  of  Massachusetts,  366. 

Blackbird,  52,  546. 

Blood,  human,  704. 

Blneflsh,  619. 

Boarmia,  229. 

Boleosoma  Olmstedli.  118. 

Bone  caves  of  Gibraltar,  866. 

Bootherium,  457. 

Borers,  688. 

Boston,  geology  of,  838. 

BotrvtiH,  :U3. 

Boty  8, 229,  685. 

Boulder  trains,  505. 

Brachiopoda,  510. 

Brachiopoda,  position  of,  814. 

Brachygalba,  713. 

Brazil,  carboniferous  fossils  of,  004. 

Brazil,  geology  of,  128. 

Brazilian  Crustacea,  435. 

Bruchus,  685. 

Bryopsis,  285. 

Bryttus  cheetodon,  108, 108. 

Bryttus  obesus,  102. 

Bncephala  albeola,  49. 

Bucephala  Americana,  48. 

Budytes.  370. 

Bunt.  342. 

Bunting,  546. 

Burbot,  251. 

Bur-grass,  689. 

Bur-marigold,  43. 

Butcher  bird.  546. 

Butterflies.  760. 

Buzzanl,  ;i75,  376,  708. 

Bytnms  unicolor,  686. 

Cabbage  butterfly,  576, 618. 

Calamites,  479. 

California,  resources  of.  708. 

California.  Indians  of,  189. 

Callidryas,  761. 

Calllgnathus,  738. 

Callithamnion,  292. 

Cambarus,  017. 

Canciisocia,  488. 

Carboniferous  fossils,  190. 

Carboniferous  fossils  of  BraslI,  OBi. 

Castoroides  Ohioensis,  604. 

Catarractes  antiquus,  811. 


(769) 


770 


INDEX. 


Cat-flsh,  604. 

Catostomusy  390. 

Catskill  group,  563. 

Canlopteris,  480. 

Cedar  bird,  692. 

Cenchinis,  689. 

Centanis,  538. 

Cephalaspis,  191. 

Ceramiaceie.  292. 

Cervas  Vii-tdaiauaSi  188. 

Chaetomoriiha,  282. 

Chaetura,  713. 

Ohalchlhuitls,  171. 

CliamsropB,  559. 

Cherry  tortrix,  685. 

Chimborazo,  358. 

Cliiiie:^e,  6<>0. 

Chiuu,  591. 

Chipmunk,  58. 

ChlorosiB,  125. 

Chondriopsis  Baileyana,  801. 

Chondrus  crispus,  290. 

Chorda  flinm,  294. 

Chrysanthemum,  302. 

Chub,  110. 

Circus  Hudsonias,  377. 

ClathruH,  349. 

Clematis,  408. 

Climate  ol'  drift  period.  466. 

Clupea  elongata,  520. 

Clymenia,  2:12. 

Cnidaria,  488. 

CobaBA,  412. 

CoccoUths,  767. 

Cock  of  the  Rock,  716. 

Cockroach,  Menae  organs  of,  620. 

Cod,  516. 

Codflhh.  116. 

Cceloda8ys  biguttatns,  229. 

Collema,  im. 

Collyrio,  545. 

Colorado,  geology  of,  119. 

Colorado  Plateau,  650. 

Colpocephalum  lari,  96. 

Compass  plant,  495.  580. 

CompreB8or.  clinical,  574. 

Co  raps  id  i  a.  588. 

Condor,  495. 

Conferva  a^gagopila,  280. 

Conferva  flavescens,  279. 

Coniferas,  leaves  of,  44. 

Connecticut,  ancient  reptiles  of,  444. 

Copal,  680. 

Corallina  officinalis,  287. 

Corals,  488. 

Corals,  development  of,  80. 

Com  weevil,  efe. 

Corvina,  «i«. 

Corydali.".  412. 

Cow  bird,  .58. 

Crabs,  615. 

Crabs,  dimorphism  in,  616. 

Crab,  Horseshoe,  257,  408. 

Crab,  King,  257,  754. 

Cranberry  worms,  68S. 

Crahinm,  505,  629. 

Crawfish,  616. 

Crepidula,  59. 

Cretaceous  birds,  810. 

Cretaceous  fishes,  696. 

Crocodile  in  Florida,  64. 

Croker,  694. 

Crustacea,  436. 

Crustacea,  dimorphism  tn,  617. 

Cyathiscus,  306. 

Cyclopteris,  480. 


Cyolostlgma,  478. 

Cyprinus  atroraacalatns,  lU. 

Dadoxylon,  481. 

Dafila  acuta,  49. 

Daisy,  892. 

Dakota,  extinct  mammals  of,  307. 

Darter,  113, 114. 

Dasya  elegans,  291. 

Deer,  442.  763. 

Deer,  spike  honied,  188, 762. 

Delesseria.  2UI. 

Delta  of  Mississippi,  638. 

Dendrocygna  fUlva,  126. 

Dendroica,  543,  714. 

Derivation.  230. 

Desraarestia  aculeata,  294. 

Desmognathns.  396. 

Devonian  fossils,  190. 

Devonian  plants,  474. 

Dialysis,  343. 

Diatoms,  573,  646. 

Diglossa,  715. 

Dimorphism,  616. 

Dimorphism  in  Acalei)hs.  66. 

Dimorphism  in  worms,  66. 

Dinopfiis  j^'andis,  254. 

Dinosanria,  59. 

Dinotherium,  370. 

Di^ciuii,  493. 

Docoglossa.  561. 

Docophorus  buteonis,  OS. 

Docophorus  hamatus,  04. 

Dog,  prairie,  376. 

Dolium  melanostoma,  60. 

Dorosoma  cepcdiauum.  100^ 

Double  headed  snake,  375. 

Dragon  fly,  malformed,  51. 

Dredging,  deep  sea,  464.  744. 

Dredging,  deep  sea,  in  the  Gulf  stream,  38. 

Drift  Epoch,  451. 

Drift  Epoch,  climate  of,  466. 

Dryopteris.  229. 

Dry  rot,3.>l. 

Ducks,  49,  126,  648. 

Duck  weed,  311. 

Eagle,  Washington,  024. 

Earthquakes,  118. 

Easter  Island,  images  in,  881. 

Echinocystis,  413. 

Eel,  391. 

Eel  pout,  251. 

Elacate,  694. 

Elk,  304. 

Elm  borer.  688. 

Elymns  hystrix,  364. 

Embryology  of  animals,  90. 

Embryology  of  articulates,  198. 

Embryo  of  louse.  89. 

Empiaonax,  530. 

Enneacauthus.  386. 

Entomology,  economical,  610. 

Ephemera,  raaltormed.  62. 

Equator,  glacial  epoch  at,  606. 

Ei*ennetes  pusilius,  303. 

Ergot,  iU2. 

Erian  formation,  475. 

Eskimo  language,  661. 

Esquimo,  4:i3. 

Eupatoriuro,  364. 

Euphronia,  714. 

Euspiza,  546. 

Eustixis  puptila,  829. 

Faloo,  368,  711. 

Frilconry,  74. 

Fasciation  in  plants,  611. 

Fauns,  alterations  hi,  100. 


INDBX. 


771 


Faana  of  Uie  AllephanleB,  893. 

Faana  of  Lake  Michigan,  406. 

Feras.  121. 

Fertilization  of  plants,  126. 

Fertilization  of  salvia,  689. 

Ficus,  417. 

Fish,  99, 127. 

Fish  culture,  601. 

Fishes,  fossil,  696. 

Fishes  of  New  Jersey,  09»  717. 

Fishes  of  Florida,  (m. 

Fishes,  skull  of,  506. 

Flesh  fly,  127. 

Flight  of  birds  and  insects,  439. 

Flora,  arctic,  125. 

Floral  oncans,  125. 

Flora  of  Humboldt  Valley,  27. 

Flora  of  prairies,  677. 

Flora  of  shore  of  Lake  Michigan.  366. 
%      Florida,  deep  sea  dredging  off,  88. 
\    Horida,  fishes  of,  65«. 
«     Florida,  shells  of,  586. 
'    Flowers,  alpine,  621. 
'    Flowers,  fertilized  by  insects,  242. 

Flowers,  transformations  of  parts  of,  4b. 

Fly  agaric,  au. 

Fly,  black,  435. 

Fossil  bii-ds,  310. 

Flycatcher,  539. 

Fosflil  mammals  of  Dakota  and  Nebraska, 
307. 

Fossil  plants,  810. 

Fowls,  hybrid,  63. 
'    Fragaria,  437. 

Fragaria  Gillmani,  812. 

FraxinuB  Americana,  366. 

Frog,  nerve  centres  of,  260. 

Frost  fish,  106. 

Fucus,  293. 

Fulix  marila,  49. 

Fundulus  maltlQisciatas,  106. 

Fungi,  387. 

Fungi,  edible,  133. 

Fnugi  in  insects,  241. 

Galeichthys,  694. 

Galliuago,  647. 

Gall  inula  martiiiica,  263. 

Gambetta,  647. 

Ganoid  fishes,  127. 

Gar,  114. 

Gas  in  protoplasm,  879. 

Geeae.  374. 

Gelasimus,  615. 

Geography  of  plants,  ffli. 

Geological  change,  444. 

Geological  survey  of  Iowa,  317. 

Geology,  advances  in,  449. 

Geology,  dynamical,  639. 

Geology  of  Colorado.  119,  767,  7G8. 

Geology  of  Great  Lake^,  193. 

Geology  of  Indiana,  372. 

Geology  of  Mississippi  Valley,  193. 

Geology  of  New  Hampshire,  667, 619. 

Geology  of  New  Mexico,  119. 

Geology  of  North  Carolina,  570. 

Geology  of  South  Carolina,  571. 

Geology  of  the  Missouri  River,  41. 

Geology  of  Upper  AUssouri,  661, 767,  768. 

Geramum,  438. 

Germs,  destroyed  by  boiling,  818. 

Gibraltar,  bone  caves  of,  266. 

Gills,  external,  in  Ganoid  fishes.  127. 

Glacial  Epoch  at  Equator,  666, 766. 

Glacial  Period,  608. 

Glaciers,  ancient  660, 660, 628,  766,  766»  767 

Glyptemys  insculpta,  68. 


Gtoniocotes  Bumetti.  94. 

Goniocotes  hologaster,  94. 

Goniodes  sU-llfer,  97. 

Graculns,  3il. 

Graculus  Idahensis,  811. 

Grape  insect,  614. 

Grape  oidinm,  340. 

Grapholitha,  684. 

Grass,  bur,  689. 

Grasses,  fertilization  of,  239. 

Gregarina,  380. 

Grinnellia,  292. 

Grus  Haydeni,  811. 

Grystes,  694. 

Gymnogongrus,  290. 

Gymnostichum  Hystrix,  864. 

Gyropus  ovalis,  97. 

Haddock,  518. 

Hsematopinus  vituli,  03. 

Haemnlon,  694. 

Halidrys  siliqna,  29S. 

Halimeda,  285. 

Hanburya,  413. 

Hawk,  63,  74,  439,  637,  569,  TOO. 

Hearing,  oi*gans  of,  in  insects,  127, 690. 

HeUa,  229. 

Helianthus,  681. 

Heliothnps,  68G. 

Helmitherus,  543. 

Henninia.  229. 

Heron,  377,  650. 

Herring,  520. 

Hibernation  of  duck  weed,  81L 

Hirnndo  horreoriim,  127. 

Hololepis,  718. 

Homoptera  edoaa,  fflO. 

Hop,  406. 

Horse  fly.  686. 

Hombill,  76.3. 

Horse,  fojisil,  60. 

Hot  spring:!  of  Humboldt  Valley,  32. 

Hoya,  406. 

Humboldt  Valley,  27. 

Humming  bird,  497.  576. 

llyalina  cellaiia,  169. 

Hyalonema,  17. 

Hybognathus  osmerinus,  117, 718. 

Hybrid  Fowls,  63.  374,  376. 

Hybrid  Rabbit,  375. 

Hvdrodictyon  utricnlatam,  281. 

Hylomyzon.  113,  389. 

Hyperetis,  ^. 

Hypotriorchis.  637. 

Hypsilepsis.  103. 

Hypsilophodon,  108. 

Ichthyodectes,  695. 

Ichthyosaurus,  127. 

Idaho,  fossils  of,  647. 

Idothea,  404. 

Illinois,  rare  plants  in,  874. 

Indiana,  geology  of,  372 

Indian  relic,  380. 

Indians  of  California,  129. 

Indian  stone  implements.  483. 

Inflorescence,  androgynous,  366. 

Insecticide,  313. 

Insects,  classiflcatlon  of,  868. 

Insects,  dimorphism  in,  617. 

Insects,  fertilization  of  plants  by,  242, 613. 

Insects,  flight  of,  439. 

Insects,  fUngi  on,  241. 

Insects,  injurious,  684. 

Insects,  malformation  in,  61. 

Insects,  organs  of  hearing,  127. 

Insects,  organs  of  smell,  127. 

Insects,  sense  organs  of,  620. 


772 


INDEX. 


Inseot  parasite,  443. 

Iowa,  geological  sarvey  of,  317. 

Iron  sand,  5K9. 

Jager,  pomarine,  263. 

Japanese  sea  weetis,  813. 

Kallima,  420. 

Kalmla  latlfolf a,  373. 

King  Crab,  496,  754. 

King-flsh,  6d4. 

Kinglet,  376,  542. 

Kogia,  729,  736. 

Lakes,  ancient,   of  Western  America,  641. 

Lakes,  gi-eat,  geology  of.  183. 

Lakes,  marine  animals  in.  466. 

Lake  Superior,  ancient  outlet  of,  505. 

Lamprey,  719. 

Laoiiiis  Edwardsianns,  310. 

Larus,  371. 

Latex,  circulation  of,  817. 

Lathyms,  418. 

Laureutian  plants,  483. 

Lava  dacta,  067. 

Leoanium.  686. 

Lemna,  311. 

Lepidmm  Vlrglnicum,  837. 

Lepldodondron.  479. 

Lepidoptera,  number  of,  441. 

Lepidobteus  osseus,  114. 

Leptus,  756. 

Lesbia,  712. 

Lessouia.  296. 

Lestris  Pomarinus,  67, 263. 

Lichen  ine,  670. 

Lichens,  665,  780. 

Lichio,  693. 

Limbs,  reprodnctfon  of^  376. 

Limax  flavus,  167, 170. 

LIroax  maximus,  169, 170. 

Limpets,  iWil. 

Limulus,  257,  498.  754. 

Linden  borer,  592. 

Lingnla.  314,  494.  580. 

Lipeurus  corvi.  95. 

Lipeurus  elongatui^.  W. 

Liiieums  gracilis.  it5.* 

Littorina  fltorea,  250. 

Loasa,  407. 

Loon,  369. 

Lophospermum,  409. 

Lota  compreasa,  851. 

Lonse.  86. 

Lychen  agrins,  343. 

Lycoperdon,  347. 

Lycopodites,  478. 

Lycosa.  664. 

Lyda,  6SS. 

Lyngbya.  283. 

Lynx,  395. 

Lyre  bird,  321. 

Mackerel,  513. 

Maci*ocystis,  296. 

Madrcporaria,  488. 

Mallophaga,  85. 

Mammals,  502. 

Mammotli,  148, 457. 

Man,  antiquity  of,  468. 

Han,  antiquity  of,  in  North  Amertoa,  40. 

Man,  prehistoric,  463. 

Maple,  814. 

Marsh  harrier,  377. 

Massachusetts,  birds  of,  366. 

Mastodon,  467. 

Maurandia,  400. 

M^ratherinin,  763. 

Melagonium,  288. 

Melania,  850. 


Melannra  llmi,  107,  886, 388. 

Heleagris  altua,  317. 

Melospixa,  371. 

Menora,  328. 

Mephitis  bicolor,  876, 761. 

Mesoprionj>93. 

Mesoteras  Kerrianns,  128. 

Mexican  clover,  558. 

Mexico,  New,  salt  iilains  in,  096. 

Michigan,  geology  of.  504. 

Michigan,  Iron  ore,  504. 

Michigan,  Lake,  deep  water  flinna  nf,  406^ 

Michigan,  Lake,  shore  flora  of,  856. 

Microleus  repens,  288. 

Micropogon,  6M. 

Micropteryx,  685. 

Microscope,  422, 446.  625.  086. 

Microscope,  binocular,  573, 688,  886. 

Microscope  objectives,  854. 

Micro-telescope,  674,  028. 

Mildew,  341. 

Minnow,  105,107. 

Mississippi,  delta  of,  638. 

Mississippi  Valley,  geology  of,  186. 

Missouri,  fossil  horse  in,  60. 

Missouri,  geology  of,  651. 

Missouri,  great  mound  in,  68. 

Missouri,  lend  mines  of,  766. 

Missouri,  quatenarv  deposits  in,  81. 

Missonri  river,  geology  of,  41. 

Molacanthas,  630. 

Moles.  761. 

MoUubkii,  166. 

Monohammns,  694. 

Monstrosity  in  THllinm,  185. 

Monterey,  animals  of,  756. 

Montrose  sandstone,  663, 688. 

Moose,  443.  635. 

Morrhua  sglefinus,  617. 

Morrhua  Americana,  116, 616. 

Mosasauroid  reptile,  88. 

Mougeotia,  281. 

Mound  builders,  40,  461. 

Moxostoma,  389. 

Moxostoma  oblongnm,  113. 

Mud  sucker,  113. 

Mullet,  113. 

Muscles,  striated,  in  moUasks,  001. 

Mussel  climbing.  831. 

Myiodioctes,  543. 

Myiiapod,  621. 

Myrmeleo,  705. 

Mysis.  404.     . 

Mytilns,  332. 

Nebraska,  extinct  mamroala  of,  307. 

Nereocystis,  206. 

Nevada,  salt  marsh  in,  667. 

New  England  butterflies,  760. 

New  Haven,  geology  of,  188. 

New  Jersey,  birds  of,  686. 

New  Jersey,  fossil  serpent  ftt>m.  864. 

New  Jersey,  Aresh  water  flshea  of,  BO,  n?. 

New  Mexico,  geology  of.  119. 

Nirmus  tlioracicns,  94. 

NitO))hyllum.  298. 

North  Carolina,  geology  of,  670. 

Noturus,  718. 

Nuthatch,  646. 

Nyctiurdea,  660. 

Oaks,  18.%  842. 

Oidium  ft-uctigenvm,  341. 

Oidium  Tnckeri,  340. 

Oueonta  sandstone,  668. 639. 

Onoclea  sensibilis,  fossil,  287. 

Oraiians.  433. 

Oregon,  fossils  of,  647. 


INDEX. 


773 


Orthagorlscas.  099. 

OsmeraB  mordax,  108. 

Osprey,  67. 

OcolithQS,  698. 

Pacific  corals  and  polyps,  488. 

Pfedojcenesis,  439. 

Palaoti-inga  littoralis,  310. 

Palaootriuga  vetus,  310. 

Palm.  438.  559. 

Pandiou  haliaStus,  57. 

Panicnm  cnts-gaul,  43. 

Panther,  692. 

PnrasiteR,  Sii. 

Parthenogenesis,  440. 

Pasner  domesticus,  54. 

Passiflora,  417. 

Pauropns,  621. 

Pediculus,  86,  766. 

Pelasgic  round  tower,  8. 

Pelican,  brown.  58. 

Pelican,  rough-billed,  768. 

PencUUnm,  843,  360. 

Penih,  104. 

Peru,  Primeval  monuments  of,  1. 

Peruvian  archseology,  445. 

Pheronema  Ann»,  aO. 

Phosphates,  571. 

Photography  in  Botany,  46. 

Photography  in  Entomology,  46. 

Phthirius,  86. 

Phyllophora  mcmbranifoUa,  980 

Phyllo8pora  Menzieaii,  204. 

PhvseUa,  623. 

Physeter,  729. 

Piclcle  worm,  614. 

Pieris  rapsB,  676, 613. 

Pinus,  45. 

Pipra,  714. 

Placenta,  56. 

Plants,  374. 

Plants,  acclimatization  of,  628. 

Plants,  climbing,  405. 

Plants,  color  in,  312. 

Plants,  earlioHt,  310. 

Plants,  fasciation  in,  611. 

Plants,  fertilization  of,  by  insects,  619. 

Plants,  fertilization  of,  46, 126. 

Plants,  flowerless,  837. 

Plants,  fossil,  237,  450,  647,  474. 

Plants,  geography  of.  872. 

Plants,  nutrition  of,  662. 

Plants,  sex  of,  562. 

Plants,  vital  force  in,  .^19. 

Plasticity  of  rocks,  605. 

Platyspyllus,  443. 

Pleslosaurus,  127. 

Podura  scale,  579. 

Poisonous  fiingi,  340. 

Polistes,  410. 

Polyporup.  337,  861. 

Polyps,  488. 

Polypterue.  127. 

Polysiphonia,  290. 

Polyzoa,  31.1. 

Pomarine  Jager,  57. 

Pomoxis  hexacanthus,  109. 

Poplar  borer,  593. 

Porphyra,  281. 

Post  Tertiary,  504. 

Prairie  dog,  376. 

Prairie  flowers,  45. 

Prairiea,  flora  of,  677. 

Prionus,  694. 

Froctacanthas,  686. 

Protoplasm,  gas  in,  879. 

ProtoCaxites,  481. 


Psilophvton,  476. 
PtUota,  289. 
Punctaria,  296. 
Puff  ball,  347. 
Pnffinus  Conradi,  811. 
Pyranga  »sttva.  5U. 

Suaternary  deposits  in  Missouri,  8L 
abbit,  hybrid,  376. 
Raspberry  beetle,  685. 
Kat,  albino,  376. 
Reason  in  animals,  61. 
Red  bird,  summer,  66. 
Redhead,  693. 
Regina  leberis,  376. 
Regulus,  542. 

Reproduction  of  limba,  STB. 
Reptiles,  444. 
Reptiles,  fossil,  562. 
Reptiles,  mosasanroid,  08. 
Reptiles,  skull  of,  606. 
Rhmoceros,  4.^7. 
Rhodomela,  291. 
Rhodomenia,  292. 
Rhus,  motion  in  leaves  of,  689. 
Richardsonia  scabra,  558. 
Rissa,  869. 
Roach,  112. 
Robber  fly,  686. 
Rocks,  plasticity  of,  005. 
Rodents,  58. 

Round  Island,  Fauna  of,  314. 
Rust,  342. 
Sal  mo,  396. 
Salt  flats,  650. 
Salt  lakes,  649. 
Salt  marsh  of  Nevada,  667. 
Salt  plains.  695. 
Salvia,  fertilized  by  bees,  689. 
Sand  piper,  297,  303,  547. 
Saperda,  592. 

Sargaasum  baccifiBnim,  294. 
Sargus,  693. 
Sarracenia,  43, 400. 
Saurocephalus,  695. 
Saurodontidaa.  695.  • 
Schinus,  motion  in  leaves  of,  689. 
Sciences,  relation  of  physical  to  biologieal, 

46. 
Sciums  Carolinensis,  68. 
Sciurns  striatus,  248. 
Sc^lecophagus,  646. 
Scolithus,  62. 
Scorn  beresox  Storerii,  69. 
Scomber  vemalis,  613. 
Sea  colander,  296. 
Sea  fans,  488. 
Sea  leaf,  294. 
Seals,  676. 
Sea  otter,  65. 
Sea  pens,  488. 
Sea  trout,  693. 
Sea  weeds,  274. 
Sea  weeds,  use  of,  318. 
Selection,  natural,  419. 
Semotilus  corporalls,  110. 
Semotilus  rhotheus,  110. 
Sense  organs  in  fly,  690. 
Sergeant  flsh,  894. 
Serpent,  fossil,  254. 
Shad,  109, 115. 
Sheepshead,  693. 
Shells  of  Florida,  686. 
Shrubs,  native,  214. 
Sierra  Nevada,  641.  * 

SiglUaria,  480. 
Silphlam,  680.