CONTENTS OF VOL. III.

Page.

SHELL Money. By R. E. C. Stearns, . ° ‘ ONE . 1

THE BOTANY oF CENTRAL ate By E. L. Greene, . i 5

TuE CHIMNEY SwaLLow. By Augustus Fowler, . 8

THE STRUCTURE OF THE PITCHER PLANT. By J. G. Hunt, M. D. :

With Illustrations, . 13

THE COMPRESSED poo OR EE, By William Wood,

M.D. Ilustrated, ; $ , H

SaLT AND FRESH-WATER Prius By E. S. Morse. m a hata: 21

ved SENSES OF SIGHT AND SMELL. By Hon. J. D. 28

E FAUNA OF MONTANA E te By J. G. Cooper, M. D.

Dad from p. 600, Vol. ID, á 81, 73, 124

AN AFTERNOON IN Xrcataoon By William H. Dall, j 85

Tue ABORIGINAL MounD BUILDERS OF TENNESSEE. By Dr.

Joseph Jones,

THE Foss aero OF Kw JERSEY. y. Prof. E. p. Copa:

(Concluded from Vol. I, p. 30.) With a plate,

Insects INJURIOUS TO THE PoraTo. By Henry Shimer, M. D.

Illustrated, : 3 91

NEW Sisia OF Hie FROM THE SUMM Wie ivite

Mountains. By Prof. F. V. eiad Fiustratad, Í : . 113

Tue Sanp Martin. By Augustus Fowler. * » 116

THE WHITE-FOOTED OR DEER MOUSE. By Hot. i D. ‘Caton, : Do

THe FLORA OF PALESTINE AND SYRIA. By Rev. George E. Post, IM-

Tue FLOWERS OF EARLY SPRING. By. Rev. J. W. Chickering, jr., 128

Tue FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. By C. B. Brigham, 131, 207, 373

di on TAXIDERMY. By Charles A. Walker. run I lira

* 36, 189, 481

MN By William E. “Endicott. Hei: 4 * v s 169

Tue Mute Deer. By W. J. Hays. With a plate. i 180

THE NATURALIST IN CALIFORNIA. By J. G. Cooper, M. Bs : 182, 470

A "Fanm. By E. Dexter. lliwstrated, > o ew ^90

SEA-SIDE DuiNorseY rewer, M. D., : : 1 295

Notes o: GONAUT. By : 36

i . H. Dall,

ON THE Phir HABITS OF CRUSTACEA. By Prof. A. E. Verrill.

Illustrated, . . - * 239

IV CONTENTS OF VOL. III.

THE HALIOTIS, OR PEARLY EAR-SHELL. sd Robert E. C. Stearns.

Illustrated, 250

CHAPTER ON Cotia Tana By Lucie L. Hartt, Tileri, 257

SOMETHING ABOUT rtis By Rev. Samuel Lockwood, EE 261

SHELL DREDGING. . S. voee peas phi a ere 269

RAMBLES IN E piod E. C. Stearns 1, 349, 397, 455

MONSTROSITIES AMONG "agus. By A. Coolidge, M. = “Pies

rated, i ; : 288

THE Cow Widens By T. Martin dude. 291

NOTES ON THE FAUNA OF THE UPPER Misscviir. By zi G.

Cooper, M. D., è 294

THE Toca OF THE Vistos F THE Shes, AND OF THE CLovps.

By Prof. G. Hinrichs. J. aed 299

ON THE PRESERVATION OF ÉwrOMOLOGIDAE Cist Sek Toin

L. LeConte, M. D., 807

A TRUE Droit OF A PET a D. Ry Robert Ridgewex . "

WHAT Is A Desmip? = Prof. Arthur Mead Edwards. With a

plate, 313

SEA-SIDE insu Ann WHAT LIVED IN THEM. Ari Dr. Elliott

Coues, U. S. A., : . 337

THE SAGE BRUSH. By W.W W. Bai EU. x 856

THE Drivers. By G. A. bees sg D. Iliustrate by a ; 360

A CHAPTER ON Mires. By Dr. A. S. Pa ackard, jr. Illustrated.

With a plate, . š : : 864

Tue RED-TAILED Howe By Dr. William Wood; . . . : ; 898

THE SYLVA or MONTANA. By J. G. Cooper, M. D, . : : 405

THE GOLDEN-WINGED WOoODPECKER. By Augustus Fowler, : 499

NATURAL CARVINGS. By Prof. A. M. Edwards. With a plate, . 497

SPONGES. By Bryce M. Wright, jr. Illustrated, . 449

OTES ON SOME OF THE RARER BIRDS or Massacnuserts. By

J. A. Allen, f 505, 568, 631

more FISHING IN THE in emu By Mos. d.

Ly . 519

THE Ea ay fos. By Ass M. Bannister, 522

OUR COMMON FRESH-WATER SHELLS. By E. S. Morse Fee

trated. e two plates, 530, 648

THE VrRGINIA PARTRIDGE. By ioonus Ponies... » A T 25 BAR

Tun Great A AUK. By Prof. James Orton. Illustrated, 539

By Prof. A. M. Bdskw.

With a plate, . i 561

THE LINGERING ADMIRERS OF E gies By Prof, Cleland;

(From Popular Science Review.) . E 586

.THE CLAPPER RAIL. By Dr. Elliott Oa U. S. k ` ` 600

. Skates 'Ecas AND Younc. By F. W. Putnam. Illustrated, ~<a pee

WHAT is Barnysrus? By Prof. W. C. Williamson, F. R. 8.

a Science Review), M BB

CONTENTS OF VOL. III. v

REVIEWS.

Travels in the East India Archipelago, p. 39. Bee Keeping, p.40. The

Extinct Flora of North America, p. 41. Parasitic Worms in the Brain of

a Bird (Illustrated), p. 41. Scientific Opinion, p. 43. Fauna of the Gulf

Stream at great depths, p. 43. The Geological Survey of Illinois, p. 44.

The Ancestry of Insects; Fossil Insects and Crabs in Illinois, p. 45. The

Book of Birds and the Book of Beasts, p. 46. Cecil's Book of Insects, p.

46. List of the Lepidoptera of North America, p. 46. Ca atalogue of

North American Grasshoppers, p.47. The Progress of Zoölogy, in 1867,

p. 47. The Pampas and Andes, p. 100. One Thousand Objects for the

Microscope, p. 101. A Guide to the Study of Insects, pp. 101, 152, 379, 546.

The Record of American Entomology, p. 101. Appleton's Illustrated Alma-

nac for 1868, p. 101. The Origin of Genera, p. 147. An Illustrated Work

the Butterflies of New England, pp. Pe 212. The Kingfishers, p. 149.

ciated of the Essex Institute, p. 150. e Craneflies of North America, p.

151. Revision of the Large, Sita, viue “Crickets, p. 151.

Noxious Insects of Missouri, p. LeNaturaliste Canadien, p. 152.

Teratology, p. 152. Monograph s i oe nier 218. Insects

Injurious to Forest Trees, p. 214. Review of the Leeper Contribu-

tions to Natural History in 1867-8, pp. dé. 275. The Harris ae ent

‘ence, p. 323. Pictures and Stories of Animals, p. 324. Fishing in American

Waters, p.324. The Miet Valley, p. 325. The Injury pon to For-

ests by Insects, p. 377. Hand-book of Economic Zoólogy for Agricultur-

ists, p.378. Record of American Entomology for 1868, p. 378. A Lepidop-

A5 Guide, p. 379. Report of the Peabody Museum of American

Archeology and pred. p.379. Report of the Peabody Meer of

Science, p. 379. The Metamorphosis of Crabs (Illustrated), p. 432. The

Canadian Entomologist, p. 435. The American Entomologist, s! 435.

o wW S, p. 494

sults of Deep Sea Dredging between Cuba and Florida, p. 662. Fossil

Crinoids of Ohio and Kentucky, p. 666. Monograph of the Phasianidæ,

. 666. Monograph of the Kingfishers, p. sii ice run of the Cap-

itonide, p. 667. The Geology of Alaska, p

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

BoraNY. — Double Flowered Sarracenia, p. 48. Botanical sii p. 101.

The’ Cedars of Lebanon, p. 102. Lake Superior Plants compared with

Eastern specimens, p. 155. A New Fragaria, p. 221. Table-mountain

Pine, p. 326. "Variation in the Sarracenia, p. 327. Double Early Saxi-

frage, p. 327. Corema Conradii (Torrey), p. 327. Fragaria Gillmanii, p.

328. Rare Moss, p. 329. Flowering of Posoqueria, p. 380. A White

vi CONTENTS OF VOL. III.

Arethusa, p. 381. Abnormal Forms of Plants, p. 381. Double Thalic-

dium aculeatum (L) Sw., p. 495. Geography of Pinus pungens, p. 548.

Artificial Preparation of Substances found in Plants and Animals, p. 613.

Maple-seed, three winged, p. 613. Spontaneous Motion of Protoplasm, p.

668. St NUS ei p. 669. Another White Variety, p. 669. Botanical

Specimens, p. 6

ZooLoGY.— The Breeding Habits of Birds, p. 48. The House Wren, p.

49. Destructiveness of the Larva of the Goldsmith Beetle, p. 49, e

Lycosa Spider and its Young, p. 50. The Cattle Tick, p. 51. Substitutes

Equator to Europe, p.53. Deep Sea Dredging, p.53. Marsupial Dogs, p.

3. The Belted Kingfisher again, p. 53. The Crow a Bird of Prey, p. 102,

How to collect Myriapods, p. 103. On the Drumming of the Ruffed

Grouse, p. 105. Hatching of the Seventeen- -year Cicada, p. 106. Prepa-

ration of Birds Eggs, p. 106. The b e of Fishes and Amphibious Rep-

tiles, p. 107. Flight of Birds, p. 107. Deep-sea Dredging north of Scot-:

ing Habits of Salamanders and Frogs, p. 157. The Biter Bitten, p. 158.

Citation of Authorities, p. 159. The Loggerhead Shrike, p. 159. Case

Worms (Illustrated), p. 160. New Salamander, p. 222. Breeding of Rare

Birds, p. 222. Tennessee Warbler, pp. 222, 931, 496. Perching of Wil-

P: >

ida, p.332. A Remarkable New jobs ack p. 332. The Swedish North

Polar Expedition of 1868, p.332. Note on the “Blowing” of Whales, p.

333. The Mottled Owl again, p. 334. Parasites of Ascidians, p. 383. gu

rador Duck, p. 388. Winter Birds of New York, p. 384. Preparation o

irds' Eggs, p. 884. On Es Early ae bs aiti dios ca Sa

p. 385. aeae (Pulex ds’ Eggs, p. 387. Hab-

f Ea

è D.

its of Earth-worms, p. ra mG ae T. Asclepias pollen, p.

988. Another ble Egg, p. 389. The Kingfisher in Winter, p. 389.

Externally and Internally Parasitic Acari, p. 389. Ornithological, p. 390.

Regeneration of Li mbs, p. 390. The Maryland Marmot (Arctomys

Gmel.), p. 390. The Salt Lake Ephydra, p. 391. The Spider and

is ‘Mud-wasp, p.391. Variation of Bluebirds’ Eggs, p. 3891. A PistgtC rog

.. Echinoderm, p. 495. NN Pn 497. Coral Snakes,

CONTENTS OF VOL. III. vii

p.497. The Black Vulture in Maine, p. 498. Does with Horns, p. 548. The

Egg of the Great Auk (Alca ipsis y; p.550. The Cow Bunting, p. 550.

The House Fly, p. 550. A Singing Mouse, p. 551. Natural Selection, a

Purple Martin, p. 554. The Capture of Centronyx Bairdii at Ipswich, p.

554. Prolific Snakes, p. 555. The Haliotis or Pearly Ear Shell, p. 555.

Cow Devouring the Placenta, p. 555. The Worm Eating Warbler, p. 556.

Verte .

British Isles, p. 614. The Kingfisher’s Nest, p. 615. Spectrum of the

Fire-fly, p. 615. Occurrence of an American Land Snail in England, p.

669. Answer to ** Zoologicus," p. 670. z

GroLoGY. — Kjækkenmæddings in Iowa, p. 54. Rheumatism in Pre-

historic times;'p . 55. Fossil Plants from Greenland, p. 55. The Earliest

Plant, p. 55. Prehistoric Pictures of the Cave Horse in France, p. 109.

The Plains of Kansas, p. 162. Fossil Jelly-fishes, p.279. New Species of

Fossil Horse in Mexico, p. 392. The Eozoon in Essex County, p. 498.

Fossil premor p. 616. Evidences of the Gulf Stream in High Lati-

tudes, p. 6

Microscopy. — Ameeboid Movements in Eggs, p. 110. The Molecular

Origin of Infusoria, p. 110. Chicago Microscopic Club, p. 111. A New

E ipe of Preparing Specimens of Filamentous Algæ for the Microscope,

. 164. Type-plate of Diatoms, p. 222. Method of Preserving Anim

"Add for fine dissection, p. 498.

MISCELLANEOUS. sete Library for sale, p. 503. Death of B. D.

Walsh, p. 615. Museum of Comparative Zoology, p. 670. Professor

Agassiz, p. 670. pest x Michael Sars, p. 670.

PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. — Historical Society of Passaic,

N. J., p. 56. American Association for the Advancement e Science, pp.

223, 835, 435, 499. The Worcester Lyceum and Natural History Associa-

tion, p. vem Conchological Section, Academy of Natural Sciences of

Philadelphia, p. 556. Chicago Academy of Sciences, p. 557.

peo TO CORRESPONDENTS. — Pages 56, 111, 167, 223, 280, 336, 392,

448, 503, 560, 616, 672.

Booxs Recetvep. — Pages 56, 112, 224, 336, 448, 504, 560, 616, 672.

Con AND ERRATA. — Pages viii, 392, 448, 647.

List oF PLATES AND CUTS, p. viii.

List or CONTRIBUTORS TO VOLUME I, p. 673, fii

Grossanr, p. 675, 676.

INDEX, p. 677.

viii ILLUSTRATIONS.

LIST OF PLATES.

Plate . Page P Page

1. Salt and fresh water Clams, eight . The Development of Insects, nine

gures, . : 5 i : ; figures, 493

2. Fossil Reptiles of New Jersey, . 84| 9. nr Common Fresh Water Shells,

The Mule-dee 180 wenty-two figures, . : . 530

4. [mes dredging s thirty three figures, 269 | 10. lect of an Exogenous and En-

mids, n fig 323 dogenous Plant, two figures, .

s Mites, aven -Érores: : $ * 36i 11. Our Commo n Fresh-water —

. Polycistina, five figures, zc a MEI adque: figures 651

LIST OF WOOD-CUTS.

No. Page ! No. Page

1. Pitcher Plant, 24445, A Cottle fish, 66. eo) > 391

2to4, Anatomy of the "Pitcher plant, 46. Front and side view of a aes

three figures, . 15-16 iwo figures, 274

5. The Compressed Burbot, or Eel z to 49. Monstrosities of Trout, 989-290

Pout, 17 | 50 to 59. Lilies of the NEN Roc ks

6. Parasitic tb re in the brain of a and a uds,

bird, six fi 42 | 60. The Driver Ant 361

T. ere cement lof Paraeitio Worms 61. eut Oe a Tick (Ixodes albipic-

e brain of a bird, six figures, 42 tus), four figures, . 365

zT Tee. of a M Myriapod (Pauropus). 45 |62. A Mite (Nothrus ovivorus), . 866

to 22. Insects AMAN to T Po- 63. Sugar Mite, i * . 911

tato, twenty-four figures 99 | 64. Demodex foll

23 to 27. TAPAS. ; j . 103-104 | 65 to 71. Early stages 3 of Brachiopods

28. New species of Hare from the 72 to 75. Metamorphosis of Crabs,

Wind River Mountain, '. 11376. A Sponge (Euplectella ERA 452

29 to 32. Figures illustrating "Taxider- - |77. Figure illustrating Taxidermy, . 484

my, twelve res, 138-144 | 78 to 82. Fresh water snells — to-

32 to 35. Case Worms, five figures, my of same

160-161|83. Great Auk (Alea impennis), . 541

Botaurus lentiginosus (a Biitern), 169 | 85 to 96. Skate's Esg and Develop:

37, 38. Figures illustrating ment of the Ska 7-630

Fi Aora% 97 wan: M amiar v r^ genera Plan

39, 40. lan of fish hatching grounds, 2. a, Physa, — — an-

house v is,

41, 2. Paresiae Crustacea, 245-248 101. Textularian Shell KIA. x

neon gi -— Animal of Bs a 102. Coccolith, : 08 Uv NEM

, nara TO Vou HI, — Page 3, line 19, for “was” read “were.” Line 26, for “ be-

Sica gg ua Page 32, line 4, from bottom, mark out the “?” after Seiurus

pecia n e l4, for “N. W.” read “ Arizona.” Page 34, mark out

ins 28, and ter te Word Oscines,” and substitute th ee ee

is a magnificent singer in spring.” Page 35, line 10, after “Vireo olivaceus,” mark out

iha CE a aiam onietim S Page 35, line 17, for “Y, gilvus ead FS

sonii Baird.” Page 105, line 2, from bottom, for “RAYMOND” read * HAYMOND." Page

Fresh-water P.

“tiny” read “limy.” Piato 10 1s markod Piate 9 Dy mista,

"D Gum IE

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. III. —MARCH, 1869, — No. 1.

coc (9 de 9 exo

SHELL-MONEY.

BY R. E. C. STEARNS.

To THE numismatist the love of money is not fraught

with evil; his love is not the worship of Mammon or the

miser’s greed, but rather the ardor of the philosopher or the

enthusiasm of the naturalist; he glorifies his coins, not for

their commercial value, but for their antiquity or historical

associations. As he ponders over his collection, a panorama

of past centuries unrolls before him; he sees a long proces-

sion of great events, the rise and fall of nations and of men

whose emblems and effigies, embossed upon their money,

have outlived the national life. More eloquent than written

history are these speechless coins. Though silent, they tell

of epochs in the lives of the nations they represent, and of

eras in the history of the human race.

Notwithstanding the importance of money from an historical

point of view, it is not probable that its invention was due

to any other cause than commercial necessity ; although coins

for money are the offspring of civilization, yet the conven-

ience of some medium, less bulky and more durable than or-

dinary merchandise, by which the differences occurring in

transactions of trade or barter may be adjusted, has bdi

recognized by barbarous tribes as well as by civilized people.

Act of Congress, in the year 1869, the PEABODY ACADEMY OF

SCIENCE, in the Vie Cl Oloo of the Discs Court othe of Massachusetts.

1 »

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. (1)

2 SHELL-MONEY.

The knowledge and use of peculiar narcotics and alcoholic

beverages by portions of the human race, both civilized and

barbarous, unacquainted with and widely separated from each

other is a well-known fact. Analogous to this is the use of

some form of money or a medium in trade by isolated and

remote tribes.

The earlier coins of ancient Rome appear rude and gro-

tesque when placed side by side with the exquisitely wrought

coins and medals of Napoleon the First. But what a degree

of civilization and knowledge of the arts do they proclaim

when compared with the barbarism of those wild tribes of

Africa and America, whose utter ignorance of the arts has

led them to use as a substitute for metallic money, the shells

of the ocean !

Mr. J. K. Lord, naturalist to the British North American

Boundary Commission, during the years 1858-62, mentions

the use of shells as money by the natives of the North-west

coast of America, as follows:

“It is somewhat curious that these shells (Dentalia)

should have been employed as money by the Indians of

North-western America ; that is, by the native tribes inhabit-

ing Vancouver's Island, Queen Charlotte’s Island and the

main-land coast from the Straits of Fuca to Sitka. Since

the introduction of blankets by the Hudson Bay Company

. the use of these shells, as a medium of purchase, has to a

great extent died out, the blankets having become the

money, as it were, or the means by which everything is now |

reckoned and paid for by the savage. A slave, a canoe or a

squaw, is worth in these days so many blankets; but it used.

to be so many strings of Dentalia."

.— Mr. W. H. Dall, who has recently returned from Alaska,

and whose opportunities for observation have been ample,

informs me that the Dentalia are used by the native Alaskans,

and that the furs purchased of the Indians by the fur com-

panies, or their agents and traders, are still, at least in part

SHELL-MONEY. 3

the facts that the larger European species of Dentalia are

imported especially for this trade, and I have myself seen in

the faney goods stores in San Francisco, strings of these

shells displayed for sale with beads and other Indian goods.

It is undoubtedly true, as stated by Mr. Lord, that the

use of shell-money has, in a great measure, ceased at the

points he mentions, as the increased number of white traders

and visitors at the principal towns on the coast, as far north

as Sitka, has somewhat familiarized the natives with the

manners and customs of civilized people, which their natural

shrewdness would lead them to adopt so far as it might be to

their advantage.

As proof of the "cuteness" of the "untutored savage" in

this latter respect, it may be interesting to state that at or

about the time of the purchase by and transfer to the United

States of the territory of Russian America, attended as it

was by the visit of a considerable number of adventurers

and others at Sitka, the prices of venison and other game,

was, in the language of traffic, so far “marked up” that gold

or its equivalent, to the amount of one dollar a piece was

charged for salmon, a most exorbitant price, not justitied by

any greatly increased demand, or by any unusual scarcity of

this wonderfully abundant fish in that country.

In the year 1861, during a visit of a month's duration upon

the coast of California, at Crescent City,in Del Norte County,

I found that in barter between themselves, the Indians used

for money the shells of Dentalium pretiosum Sowerby, a spe-

cies that is found all along the North-west coast of America

and which, either the shells or the shell-money, is called by the

Indians, if I remember correctly, Alli-ko-cheek (orthography

not warranted correct), and the longer the shells the greater

the value, which was reckoned by measuring the shells by the

joints. I am quite sure that the same species were

used by the Indians who live in the Klamath River country

in the next county to the south, and who get their name from

the river, being known as the Klamath Indians.

4 SHELL-MONEY.

Aside from the use of Dentalium pretiosum as money, I

saw at Crescent City a medicine man belonging to some of

the tribes of the neighborhood, who had perforated the griz-

zly partition which separates the nostrils, and having thrust

into the hole thus made two of these shells, point to point,

one from each side, for half the length of the shells, per-

fected this nasal ornamentation by thrusting the feathers of

some wild fowl into each of the hollow shells, producing an

effect somewhat resembling a mustache.

At Bodiga, much farther to the south on the coast of Cali-

fornia, and near the old Russian settlement in Sonoma

County, a place visited by me in the month of June, 1867,

I was informed by some of the residents that the Indians of

that neighborhood, living, however, somewhat back from the

coast, used pieces of the bivalve shell known as Saxido-

mus gracilis* for money, but why they should use this shell

instead of the lustrous and pearly Haliotis rufescens, which

is fully as abundant, it is impossible to discover.

e use of shells or pieces of shell by the aborigines of

America, was well known and recorded years ago.

By reference to the Massachusetts Historical Collections, it

will be seen that the early settlers of New England found

that shells, or strings of shells, were used by the Indians,

r money and ornament, and were called by them

Wompompeage or Wampum.

` The natives of some of the islands of the Indo-Pacific

region use the shells of Litorina obesa, and they also make

very pretty work by evenly fastening these shells to pieces

of bark, which, when made, they use for personal ornament.

In other of the islands, I have been informed that the banded

variety of Nerita polita is used for the same purposes.

Cyprea annulus is used by the Asiatic islanders to adorn

their dress, to weight their fishing nets, and for barter. S

mens of it were found py Layard in the ruins of Nim-

roud.¢ o

* Tapes gracilis Gould. — ¢ Woodward's Manual, second edition, p. 233

THE BOTANY OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS. 5

The money cowry, Cypræa moneta, a native of the Pacific

and Eastern seas, is used as money in Hindostan and many

parts of Africa. They are chiefly brought from the Mal-

dives, and are an article of trade at Bombay. Many tons

weight are annually imported to this country (Great Brit-

ain), and again exported for barter with the native tribes of

Western Africa. In the year 1848 sixty tons were imported

into Liverpool, and in 1849 nearly three hundred tons were

brought to the same port. *

Reeve mentions in the second volume of the " Conchologia

Systematica," that "a gentleman residing some time since at

Cuttack, is said to have paid for the erection of his bungalow

entirely in these cowries ( C. moneto). The building cost him

about 4000 rupees sicca (£400 sterling), and as sixty-four

of these shells are equivalent in value to one ‘pice,’ and

sixty-four ‘pice’ to a rupee sicca, he paid for it with above

sixteen millions of these shells.”

It will be seen, therefore, that shells have been and are

still used as money by a considerable portion of the human

race, and it would be quite difficult to point out any other

natural production that would be more appropriate or con-

venient, when size, shape and substance, are considered.

The money of the wild tribes of America, Africa and

Asia, one may look for in vain in the drawers of the coin

collector. It must be sought for in the museums of natural

history, or the cabinets of the conchologist.

THE BOTANY OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS.

BY E. L. GREENE.

Iw a region of extensive prairies, the monotonous uni-

formity of the landscape affords none of the conditions for

a flora rich in species. Although the soil of these vast

* Datedia Thtntt fNat 1 History. n. 192.

: J JE

6 THE BOTANY OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS.

natural meadows is of almost unparalleled fertility, and its

vegetation is always abundant and of luxuriant growth, the

number of species is small. While many of the natural

families of plants are wholly wanting, and other large ones

but feebly represented, two or three elt the most part clothe

the prairies. These are the Composite, the Cyperaces and

the Graminee ; or, to use plain English, the compound flow-

ers, the sedges and the grasses.

Let us take a glance at our prairie herbal and notice some

of the blanks. First, we find the whole order of the Ra-

nunculacee represented only by Anemone Pensylvanica and

A. cylindrica, if we except Ranunculus Purshii, an aquatic

rarely found in ponds on low prairies. Of the pretty family

of violets we find only Viola cucullata, and that only occa-

sionally in the low moist places. Passing to the heath tribe

(Ericaeæ), one of the most delightful natural orders in all

our North American flora, we find not one growing on the

prairies of Illinois. And even if we leave the prairie and

search the woods and river bluffs ever so — we still

find none.

The Indian Pipestem (Monotropa uniflora) will be found

rarely in low woods, and is the only species of the order

which the writer has observed during two years of botanical

research in this section of the country.

There is another still more interesting family,the Orchids.

Of these only three are found on the prairies, namely : the

White-flowered Ladies’ Slipper (Cypripedium candidum), a

Spiranthes of doubtful species, and the so-called Prairie

Orchis (Platanthera leucophea). Why the last mentioned

plant has received the popular name of Prairie Orchis we can-

not conjecture, for it looks, when growing on the prairie,

like a half starved and homesick foreigner to one who

has seen its luxuriant growth by hundreds in the tamarack

marshes of Wisconsin.

“Well,” says some New England friend, “your Illinois

prairie must be a rather dry field for a botanist in May or

dude n sie ak M Urs UU RECO gi $

THE BOTANY OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS. 7

June. These families of plants which you have mentioned

as nearly absent from your flora are the very ones which fur-

nish our spring with all her glories.” And we must admit

that the loss from our vernal list of the Kalmias, Azaleas,

and less gorgeous but more lovely members of the same

family is almost an irreparable one; nevertheless if our bo-

tanical confrére of the East will favor us with a visit next

spring we will gladly satisfy him that we are not without our

share of vernal beauties. Although the composites are more

especially the flowers of the prairie, and we are obliged to

wait for the intense rays of the summer sun to call them

forth, yet there are a few charming ones among them, the

brilliant Phlox maculata, which is, as it deserves to be, a fre-

quent tenant of the gardens at the East, also the pretty Hous-

tonia purpurea, equally as long as its congener of the New

England meadows, H. cerulea.

But we shall not take our guest to the prairie for our first

excursion. We shall prefer a visit to yonder belt of timber,

which we see a few miles in the distance. There we shall

doubtless find a running stream with shady bank, and beyond

a tract of what is called in western parlance “bottom land,”

which is simply an open plain, slightly elevated above the

low banks of the stream, surrounded by and sometimes cov-

ered with timber, and which has a flora different from that of

the prairie.

From the moment we enter the timber we find a profusion

of flowers. Scattered over all the shaded slopes grows the

graceful but odd looking Dicentra cucullaria. We say odd

looking, because the shape of the flower is so remarkably

similar to the outline of a common house fly. Nestling close

beside some decaying log we may, perhaps, find Dicentra

Canadensis with its pure white heart-shaped flowers, not less

interesting than its more common sister species. Yonder we

see an extensive patch of Mertensia Virginica, which with-

its nodding clusters of richest blue presents a picture of sur-

8 THE CHIMNEY SWALLOW.

Raising their heads above the foliage of that miniaturé grove

of wild mandrakes are a few specimens of the Yellow Ladies'

Slipper ( Cypripedium pubescens) , and below them in stature,

but of superior beauty, we find the Showy Orchis (Orchis

spectabilis). In the groves of the "river bottom" are to be

found our New England violets and buttercups, and other

species of the same genera which are peculiarly Western, and

with them are Phloxes, Erythroniums and other plants equally

worthy to be mentioned, but their names would occupy too

much space. The elegant Collinsia verna must, however,

not be omitted, nor the flaming Red-bud, which is now clothed

only with its garlands of purple flowers, and rivals in its

dazzling splendor some of ‘our choicest exotics.

In August the prairies put on their gold and purple when

the Rudbeckias, Helianthuses, Silphiums and other allied

genera, appear in flower in about eighteen different species,

all having purplish or purple disks and yellow rays. In con-

trast with these, the purple Cone-flower, Echinacea, displays

its long drooping purple rays, and more showy than these are

the long purple racemes of several species of Liatris. Suc-

ceeding these come the Asters and Eupatoriums of different

hues, and the Solidagos or Golden-rods and kindred cómpos-

ites of about twenty-five species. Finally in November the

Geradias and Gentians close the season of botanizing on the

prairies of Illinois.

THE CHIMNEY SWALLOW.

BY AUGUSTUS FOWLER.

_ Tus bird arrives at the eastern part of Massachusetts

usually between the twenty-fifth of May and the first of

June, departing for the South in the latter part of August.

Not arriving until the season has far advanced, it is, conse-

quently, the last of the family of swallows to visit its breed-

THE CHIMNEY SWALLOW. 9

ing place. After their arrival they visit some unoccupied

chimney or hollow tree, which a great number use as a tem-

porary residence during stormy weather, and to roost in.

In this as it were aimless gathering-place, they do not long

remain, but soon begin to select their companions, and at

such times they may be seen high in the air, especially in

the middle of an extremely warm day, chasing each other in

circles upon extended wings, but without that quick vibrating

motion they employ when in pursuit of their prey, uttering

the while their peculiar notes; their choice of mates being

made they commence building their nests. They are usually

placed in a chimney, in which a number of pairs breed, for

they colonize the same place to the number of three or four

pairs, and sometimes to fifty pairs, more or less. The nest

is constructed in a singular manner: it is made of small dry

twigs, broken from some dead branch of a tree by the bird

flying swiftly against it, and then carried to the spot and

fastened to it with a strong viscid substance supplied by

their large salivary glands. Each stick is laid near the other

and some crosswise, and there glued by the bird until the

nest is finished, which is done by spreading over the entire

surface of it, as well as the sides of the wall to which it is

attached, a coat of the same tenacious gum. It resembles a

shelf, containing only a small cavity to receive the eggs, and

lacks the soft lining that characterizes the nests of other

species of swallows.

In the month of May (1868) a chimney was taken down

in the village called Putnamville, in Danvers. It was a large

chimney connected with a shoe factory, that had not been

used for four or five years. During the time of its disuse a

large colony of chimney swallows occupied it to breed in. I

had a good opportunity to examine their nests, to take their

dimensions, etc., and not one of the many which I saw (and

the number of nests were upwards of two hundred) were

“lined with a few feathers and straws.”

Although their visit is short, they raise two broods in the

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 2

10 THE CHIMNEY SWALLOW.

season. The first nest being built, the female lays usually

four pure white eggs, which measure thirteen-sixteenths of

an inch in length, by seven-sixteenths of an inch in breadth,

and is assisted by the male in the process of incubation. A

few days after the young appear, the male takes them in

charge, while the female builds again, as she is seen in the

last of June obtaining materials to build or to repair another

nest, and thus we see young birds in the same chimney of a

different size and age; it therefore requires all the energies

of the parent birds to supply their offspring with a suffi-

ciency of food, and claims their labor through the day and a

greater part of the night. Some species of the family of

finches conduct their family affairs in like manner.

Mr. Audubon, in speaking of the habits of the song-spar-

row, remarks: “among the many wonders unveiled to us by

the study of nature, there is one which long known to me, is

not the less a marvel at the present moment. I have never

been able to conceive why a bird which produces more than

one brood in a season, should abandon its first nest to con-

struct a new one, as is the case of the present species ; while

other birds, such as the osprey and various species of swal-

lows, rear many broods in the flrst nest which they have

made, which they return to after their long annual migra-

tions, repair and render fit for the habitation of the young

brood to be produced.” “There is another fact which ren-

ders the question still more difficult to be solved. I have

generally found the nests of these sparrows cleaner and more

perfect after the brood raised in them have made their de-

parture, than the nests of other vigi of bizdi mentioned

above, are on such occasions, —a ¢ stance

render it unnecessary for the SAVMBONENIA to Minis its

nest."

The first nest of the sparrow is oceupied by the first inecli

and are tended by the male, while the female sparrow has

built a second nest and is setting, and by the time the first

brood is cast off by him, to care for themselves, he finds

THE CHIMNEY SWALLOW. 11

another brood ready for his care; thus all the season is occu-

pied by them in building nests, in incubation, and in rearing

their young, until the moulting season arrives, which is

about the twrenty-fifth of August. The pigeon family breed

in a similar manner, except that the young are fed from the

crop of the male, and it is truly a greater wonder in nature,

that there should exist a sympathy between the male pigeon

and his offspring, and that at their appearance his crop

should undergo so great a change. The rapacious birds

return annually to their old nests, and by repairing them,

make them suitable receptacles for their eggs. There is an

unfitness in the structure of birds of prey hid makes it

inconvenient for them to build a nest with the facility of

some other families of birds. The white-headed eagle selects

some dead branch of a tree, and by hooking her bill on it,

with her weight breaks it off. In its descent, she swoops and

grasping it with her claws carries it away to make her nest;

she pounces upon bunches of hay, sods of earth or any heap

of rubbish, and carries it to the already accumulated heap of

such substances. There is no artistic skill displayed ‘in its

construction; the top of it is merely a horizontal plane, with

a shallow cavity to receive her eggs. Some families in this

order of birds build better nests, but they show the same

unhandy and awkward way in doing it, and there are some

species of other families in this order which build no nest.

There are other birds, also, such as the swallows, whose

forms are ill-adapted for good nest builders; with small feet

and short weak legs it is toilsome for them to gather mate-

rial for a nest from off the ground. Now observe all those

birds whose structure is similar to that of the swallow family.

Not one species of the family Caprimulgide builds a nest.

The whippoorwill lays her eggs on the ground in the woods:

the night-hawk on the naked rock, or the bare ground in

open pastures. Look at the belted kingfisher, whose form

is similar to the above mentioned birds; how ill-adapted he

is to gather materials from the ground to form a nest. Al-

12 THE CHIMNEY SWALLOW.

though a bird of strong pinion, yet deprive him of the use

of his wings, and place him on the land, and he is almost

helpless.

In the different species of the Picide, or Woodpecker

family, are as many instances that the structure of birds de-

termine whether those of certain forms build a nest or not,

and if they do, they return to it annually to render it fit

for a home for themselves and family during the breeding

season.

It is a tedious task for the chimney swallow to procure the

material for its nest; it requires energy, skill and strength to

perform the work. Flying with force, they grasp the point

of the twig with their bill, and often try several times before

they succeed in breaking it off. The female visits her former

breeding place, and examines her nest; if it needs repairs,

she adds more twigs and gum to it, and it is all right again.

Thirty years ago this species of swallow was rarely found

breeding in Essex County; now many pairs breed in almost

every village where they find an unoccupied chimney.

The Chimney Swallow (Cypselus pelasgius) does not pos-

sess the easy and graceful motion when on the wing that is

shown by the Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica) in his flight,

but moving more swiftly and vigorously, they must destroy

an innumerable number of insects in a season. It not unfre- —

quently happens that their nest is dislodged from its place,

and falls in consequence of rain or damp weather. When |

such accidents happen, the whole brood is precipitated to the

bottom of the chimney. If its members are of sufficient age 1

and strength, they will climb up again and remain clinging

to its sides, until fledged and able to care for themselves.

There are occurrences happening to them which are of

greater moment. Sometimes having selected a flue in the 1

PHP aed leading to the bedroom, and having there brought

orth their numerous young, and their cares —

sat aee so as to require their labors in the night, the

rushing whirring noise of their flight as they pass up and

as:

THE STRUCTURE OF THE PITCHER PLANT. 13

down the flue may so disturb the nervous sleeper that he is

determined to be rid of such an annoyance; he accordingly

prepares in the habitation of these birds a fire of straw ; the

parents of the unfledged young flee in dismay, and rise above

their smoking tenement and wheel about in terror, then dive

down near its top as though they would rescue their suffo-

cating brood from a death so awful. At last their courage

gone they turn and soar away above the scene, while their

young drop one by one in the fire below, and the parental

feelings of the old birds induce them to linger about their

desolate home for many days. To obviate this inhuman

practice, a board placed on the top of the chimney before

they commence breeding is all that is necessary.

THE STRUCTURE OF THE PITCHER PLANT.

BY J. G. HUNT, M.D.

* High among the mountains,

Nepenthe's pitchers weep.

Asnour twenty species of the genus Nepenthes are known

to botanists, and while some are natives of swamps in

Africa and China, most of the species are found on Mount

Kinau Ballou, in the Island of Borneo, growing at an eleva-

tion of from three to eight thousand facts above the sea. The

species whose minute anatomy we partially describe, is the

Nepenthes distillatoria, found growing in China and at the

Cape of Good Hope. This plant often attains the length of

ten or twelve feet, generally lying prostrate, or partially

supported by other plants. It bathes its roots in the hot

swamps near the coast, but cannot lift its flowers very high

in the sunshine, because its branching stem which bears

many long and partly clasping leaves, and also its precious

14 THE STRUCTURE OF THE PITCHER PLANT.

burthen of watercups, is too feeble to support the weight.

Seldom does the stem exceed two inches in diameter, Meist d

long and flexible like a rope. :

Now, as all readers of the Narv-

RALIST may not be botanists, we will |

state that the plants in question bear i

on the ends of their leaves peculiar =

appendages not unlike pitchers in

form, and hence they are commonly

known as pitcher-plants. Like the

pitchers we use for domestic pur-

poses, they are often colored with

many gorgeous tints, and fashioned

into graceful shapes, often with a

capacity to hold more than a quart

of liquid. As nature is seldom out-

done by art, these forest cups have __

the ability to fill themselves, thus

differing in an important respect

from the pitchers we use. E

For a long time it has been a

question where this liquid came -

from, and our knowledge of the ©

subject is still too limited to say -

from what part of the plant it is —

poured out, though 7 is probable .

Fig. 1.

cide this question, certainly, would

require close observation on the liv-

ing pitchers, and that would be very .

difficult, bond in their early stages of growth they are

tightly closed by the curious lids at the top, and in the young .

state excretion is most rapid and copious.

Fig. 1 is an accurate drawing made (half size) from a

pitcher that had ee ee show .

THE STRUCTURE OF THE PITCHER PLANT. 15

its venation, and the position of both sets of glands. Minute

dots, commencing at the bottom and extending to high-water

mark,* represent the position and number of one series of

Fig.2. glands, all on the inside of the

Z pitcher. The under side of the

lid also is covered with similar

glands, having among them, how-

ever, numerous stomata.

Fig. 2 shows a camera lucida

drawing (magnified eighty diam-

f OU TV eters) of these glands, also ren-

dnd iut piti so that their anatomy may be seen at óne

view. They are depressed below the inner surface of the

pitcher, and have, extending over nearly half the diameter

of each, a projection of the epider- Fig. 3.

mis like many little roofs, so that a

stream of water poured in at the

top would reach the bottom of the

pitcher without touching a gland.

The fine reticulation marking the

surface of each, is caused by the

ends of long columnar cells making

up the gland structure, and these

columnar cells rest on others of

larger size, shown in the drawing.

All the parts just described are best

seen by a perpendicular section (Fig.

3, magnified one hundred and sixty

diameters), and it may also be ob-

served that each gland lies imme-

diately over large isolated and spiral cells, which have no

vascular connection with the ordinary spiral structure of the

plant.

In.a description, without illustrations, of this series of

glands, published in the "Edinburgh New Philosophical

*Crgssing the middle of the pitcher; the dots are omitted in the figure.

16 THE STRUCTURE OF THE PITCHER PLANT.

Journal" for 1832 and 1833, by Treviranus, he says the

cuticle does not cover the glandular surface ; it is, however,

very easy to demonstrate that it is reflected down over each

gland, and whatever liquid is excreted must filter through

this cuticular covering before it falls into the pitcher.

By referring again to Fig. 1, it will be seen that a thick-

ened margin or frill surrounds nearly the entire top of the

pitcher. Now, embedded in this fleshy frill, lie many elon-

gated, cylindrical glands, like guns on a fortification, all

opening on its inner side by minute ducts which lead up to

Fig. 4. the glands. The size of these

very peculiar organs varies, as

shown in Fig. 4 (magnified

eighty diameters), and some-

times they are united at the

ends, though this can be re-

garded only as a curious malfor-

mation. The drawing shows the

union of the ducts with each

gland, and also their cellular

structure, better than many

side view of one of these glands, we see it is somewhat

erescentic in shape; the orifice of the duct is apparent, and

also the position of the gland with respect to the epidermis

which covers the frill. This second series of organs lies

embedded in a tissue, made up chiefly of large, isolated,

spiral cells, developed to a degree not found probably in

any other plant. Treviranus seems not to have been aware

of these upper glands in Nepenthes, nor have we seen them

noticed by any authority before.

In describing the structures alluded to in this paper, we

have used the term gland for want of a better one, but we do

not therefore assume any speciality of function. This is a

point about which we are ignorant. The structure of an

organ will not enable us to predict its function, though it

THE COMPRESSED BURBOT OR EEL-POUT. 17

may afford rational ground for guess-work. Will not some

one having the opportunity make observations on these sin-

gular organs in the living plant, in order to settle their func-

tion? We know not anywhere else in the vegetable kingdom

organs more apparently set apart for a special purpose, and

yet we are in doubt about their meaning.

Our native Sarracenia growing abundantly in swamps.

with its cups, often the graves of drowned flies, is also called

a pitcher plant, but differs widely in structure and habit from

the Nepenthes. We allude to it now only to express our

intention, if opportunity should offer, to illustrate its singu-

lar structure, as well as that of others of these remarkable

plants, which nature. seems to have appointed to set their

traps among the swamps, but for what purpose, perhaps, we

are not ready to explain.

We have been assisted in illustrating this paper by Miss

Mary Peart and Miss Emma Walter, and the drawings were

made from specimens in our possession.

THE COMPRESSED BURBOT OR EEL-POUT.*

BY WILLIAM WOOD, M. D.

Or the genus Lota, there are several species. The Eng-

lish Burbolt (Burbot), as described by Yarrell in his work on

British fishes, and by Couch, belongs to this genus, yet prob-

ably is a different species from any in our lakes and rivers.

Couch says, “the Burbolt (Burbot) is the only one of the

extensive family of the codfishes which has its residence in

fresh water, where it is distinguished by exhibiting some of

pe * Lota compressa Lesueur,

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 3

18 THE COMPRESSED BURBOT OR EEL-POUT.

the manners of the eel, by which it ae obtained the name

of the eel-pout.” `

In this country, according to DeKay, we have three spe-

cies: the Plain Burbot (Lota inornata) which is rare, the

Spotted Burbot (Zota maculosa) which is abundant in our

lakes, and the Compressed Burbot (Lota compressa) which

is very rare.* DeKay, when he published the Fauna of

New York, in the Natural History of that State, says, “the

only two specimens described are from the Connecticut River

and its tributaries. I know it only through the descriptions

of Lesueur and Storer.”

This species was first described by Lesueur from a speci-

men taken at Northampton, Mass. The second description

was by Dr. D. Humphreys Storer, of Boston, from a speci-

men taken in the Ashuelot River. In his report on the Fishes

of Massachusetts, page 134, published in 1839, he says,

“the only specimen I have been able to see was sent me

from Keene, N. H., taken in the Ashuelot River.” In the

Catalogue of the Fishes of Connecticut, by Rev. James H.

Lindsley, in the American Journal of Science and Arts (Vol.

47, page 71) he says, "I obtained a fine specimen (Lota com-

pressa), taken a few years since in New Canaan, Conn.” In

Dr. Storer’s article on the fishes of Massachusetts, published

in the Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sci-

ences (new series, Vol. 6, part second, page 360, published

in 1858) he says, “the one from which this description was

taken, was brought from the Connecticut River by Thomas

M. Brewer, M. D., of Boston." If Dr. Storer refers to two

specimens in his reports of 1839 and 1858, we have four.

specimens described; if to but one, only three specimens

have ever been described so far as I can learn.

"The specimen which I have before me was taken in Scantic

_ *all | these ' species haro been considered by Pr: €Ó— in his Catalogue of Fishes

with the European Burbot. Lota

maculata an L. inornata are undoubtedly synonyms, but until farther comparisons

ia iada d are inclined, with with Dr. Wood, to leave L. compressa as a distinct

(scien, nnd. Miet to. question, ihe uniting of the European and American mpecies =

THE COMPRESSED BURBOT OR EEL-POUT. 19

River, a tributary of the Connecticut, about four miles from

East Windsor Hill, May 22, 1868, and was brought to me in

a tub of water, which gave me a good opportunity to examine

it in its natural state. There was one taken in the Farming-

ton River, some six miles from this place, in an eel-pot a

few years since, and was kept alive for several weeks.

The description given by Dr. Storer, in the two reports

referred to, is so full that but little which is new can be

added. The length of those described by Lesueur and

Storer, were six and eight inches; by Lindsley, eleven and

a quarter inches. The one before me is eleven inches long.

Color.—The back and sides are yellowish brown, with

irregular patches of a darker color, marked somewhat like our

pickerel, only a shade darker; the gill covers and snout are

dark brown, the belly is of a light color in place of the yel-

lowish on the sides; the first dorsal fin is lighter than the

body ; the second dorsal and caudal fins are dark at the base,

yellowish in the middle, with the edge margined with black or

dark brown; the anal fin is siiil marked, though a little

lighter ; the black margin is not as wide as on the dorsal.

Description. —'The body is shaped very much like an eel,

being cylindrical; the abdomen rather more prominent than

in'the eel. The head measures one and three-quarter inches

in length and is compressed above. The sides begin to be

compressed at the tip of the pectorals, and continue to be

more so until it terminates in the caudal fin, which appears

like a membranous continuation of the body; the tail fin is

fan shaped, and measures one and a half inches in length

at its longest point. The first dorsal is quite small, and is

two inches from the head. The second dorsal is situated a

quarter of an inch back of the first dorsal, and terminates at

the base of the tail, and is rounded at its posterior extrem-

ity. The anal fin commences an eighth of an inch lower

down than the dorsal, and terminates in the same manner.

The ventral fins measure seven-eighths of an inch in length,

and are composed of two free rays, one ray measuring five-

20 THE COMPRESSED BURBOT OR EEL-POUT.

eighths, the other one-fourth of an inch. ‘These free rays

are used by the fish as feelers, in the same way as the barbel

on the chin. The pectoral fins measure one and an eighth

inches in length, and have one very minute free ray. On

the chin is one barbel half an inch in length. The nostrils

are double; from the back of the anterior nostril is a minute

barbel. The eyes are circular, and three-quarters of an inch

apart. Both upper and lower jaws are armed with minute

teeth. The whole surface is covered with exceedingly small

eup-shaped scales, which are not plainly visible except by the

aid of a magnifying glass.

In the description given by Lesueur, Storer, Lindsley

and DeKay, no mention is made of the free rays of the ven-

tral fins. They are as distinct and noticeable as the barbel

on the chin, and more so when swimming.

It is thought by some that Lota compressa and Lota macu-

losa are identical. I am not sufficiently versed in ichthyol-

ogy to be a dictator or judge in the matter, yet the habits

and dimensions of the two are so dissimilar as to lead me to

suppose that they are two distinct species. The Lota macu-

losa is two feet in length at maturity. The largest Lota com-

pressa ever known was the one described hy Lindsley, —

eleven and a quarter inches. The Lota compressa probably

visits the salt water, as it is taken in ascending the Connec-

ticut or its tributaries in the spring of the year, in company

with fish from the salt water ascending to spawn. So few

have been taken that it may not be wise to be positive in

this assertion, yet I have no doubt, in my own mind, that it

is a fact. Four have been taken to my knowledge within six

miles of my office, within a few years, and all have been

taken in the spring. Three of them were taken in company

with the Lamprey eel (Petromyzon Americanus), in pots

set for them, and the fourth (the one in my possession) was

caught in a fine net with a promiseuous collection of fish.

The Spotted Berbat, on the contrary, lives exclusively in

fresh water.

SALT AND FRESH-WATER CLAMS. 21°

As I have called the attention of the fishermen in this

vicinity to the rarity of this fish, I shall probably get speci-

mens that would otherwise have been thrown away, and

hope to gain farther information respecting this uncommon

species.

SALT AND FRESH-WATER CLAMS.

: BY EDWARD S. MORSE.

WE choose these two animals for description since they

are accessible to all. The inland student may rake from the

pond or river the fresh-water clam, or mussel, in quantities,

while the sea-side student has only to step into the market

and order the salt-water clam by the bushel.

In presenting such descriptions for study, it is always best

to cite as examples those forms which are most abundant, so

that whatever statements are made can be quickly verified

by an examination of the object described. A general

knowledge once attained of the common animals, prepares

one to enter farther into the study of zoólogy. and enables

him, through the facts already garnered, to use his informa-

tion in the proseeution of new investigations. We commence,

then, with the description of an animal, about which little has

been said except in books professedly scientific; an animal,

however, long and well known from the cheap and excellent

food it affords, and from its no less importance in providing

bait for our fishing fleets.

That the daintiness of the clam for food was known to the

aborigines of this country, is well attested by the huge piles

of broken clam shells scattered along our eastern coast,

and now buried beneath a foot or more of soil. Mingled

with these piles the arehzologist reaps a rich harvest of In-

dian relics, such as implements made of bone, fragments

of pottery, ete.* These are the only evidences of by-gone

-*In the NATURALIST, Vol. I, p. 561, Prof. J. hd rg describes the contents of some

of these beds, with illustrations of the various relics

22 SALT AND FRESH-WATER CLAMS.

tribes which have left their records in the remains of their

feasts. 4

From an old book published in London in 1636, entitled

"New England's Prospect," etc., it would appear that the

squaw performed the hard work then, as now, and that, 1

unimpeded with trailing skirt, she waded over the mud-flats |

in search of clams for her indolent master. From this book

we make the following extract, more quaint than elegant,

describing the “kinds of shell-fish.”

“The luscious lobster, with the crab-fish raw,

e brinnish oyster, mussel, perriwigge,

Whereby her lazy husband's guts she cramms.”

The shells also came in good use as table utensils, and

from a work published about the year 1676, entitled "New

England's Crisis," by Benjamin Thomson, the prologue com-

mences thus:

“The times wherein Old Pompion was a saint,

When men fared hardly, yet without complaint,

On vilest cates, the dainty Indian maize

Was eat with clamp shells out of wooden trays.”

Thus much for its historical interest ; and now let us at

once enter into an examination of the animal itself. A clam,

as we find it in the market, does not certainly. present a —

very inviting appearance. The two bluish white shells hold

within an unintelligible yellowish mass, while projecting ;

from one end is a wrinkled blackish lump, that upon being

irritated withdraws within the shell, throwing out at the

same time a stream of water, the shells meanwhile shutting

together tightly. To appreciate the natural appearance of

the animal, we must place it in its natural element — the sea-

water. Be sure and get a dish long enough for its first

stretch. A shallow pan twelve or fifteen inches in length

will be sufficient. Having filled the pan with fresh sea-

water and immersed our clam in it, we wait patiently, or

leave it for a while, perhaps half a day; but finally the

SALT AND FRESH-WATER CLAMS. 23

blackened tube, improperly called the “head,” gradually pro-

trudes beyond the margins of the shell. Slowly extending, it

attains the length of three or four inches, and now we notice

that this organ has two openings at the end, beautifully

fringed with appendages like little feelers, and mottled with

the richest brown. And this tube, then, is really a double

tube leading to the body of the clam. Notice carefully the

opening and you will see a current of water pouring in at

one of them, and as steadily flowing out of the other. These

currents are produced by the tremulous motion of innumer-

able minute hairs, or cilia, which line the interior of the

animal.

The clam has no power to seek its food, being confined to

its burrow in the sand or mud. Its food consists of minute

particles of organic matter floating in the water, and thus it

is through the medium of the ingoing current of water, that

nourishment is carried to it. While the water conveys food

to the mouth, it is also charged with oxygen to revivify the

blood; for the clam has blood, and a heart, and vessels to

circulate it. What admirable uses do we see already in the

so-called head of the clam. Lying buried as it is to a con-

siderable depth in the mud, these tubes are thrust to the

surface to conduct the pure water laden with nourishment for

the stomach and gills. The water, as it passes out through

the other tube, carries with it all excrementitious matter and

other waste from the body.

: In the “Annals and Magazine of Natural History,” Messrs.

Alder and Hancock describe the appearance of these cur-

rents. From their account we extract the following: “We

lately have had an opportunity of observing Mya arenaria in

its native haunts, and watched the play of its siphonal cur- .

rents under very favorable circumstances. This species, at

the mouth of the Tyne, buries itself to a depth of six or

eight inches in a stiffish clay, mixed with shingle; and in

shallow pools left by the tide the tubes may be seen just

level with the surface of the muddy bottom in full action.

24 SALT AND FRESH-WATER CLAMS.

The mud lies closely packed against the walls of the tubes,

so that nothing is seen but the expanded lips of the siphonal

orifices fringed with numerous tentacles. When it happens

that the surface of the water is only a little above these ori-

fices, a strong current can be distinctly seen to boil up from

the anal siphon, and another, with a constant steady flow, to

set into the branchial one.” 1

On plate 1, fig. 2, is represented a clam in its natural

position in the mud, showing the extent to which the tubes,

or siphons, can be extended; and in Fig. 1 a clam is repre-

sented with one of the shells —the left shell—removed. As

we remove the shell, we are forced to separate two muscles

which hold the shells, or valves, as they are called, together.

The valves are forced apart by an elastic substance that oc-

cupies the little tongue-shaped tooth of the shell near the

hinge, and in order to keep the valve together, the clam has

to exert a constant force by contracting the muscles. The

moment the muscles relax, the elastie substance forces the

valves apart, acting as a piece of India-rubber would act if

placed within the hinge of a door, and the door closed against

it. Fig. 4, plate 1, represents a section of the valves of a

clam, showing the elastic substance, L, and the transverse

muscle, M.

Having opened the clam, we find lining the shells within

a thin membrane called the mantle. Its border which fol-

lows the edges of the shell, is thickened and united, except

a small slit through which the so-called foot projects. This

organ has the power of excavating a hole in the mud. Ac-

cording to one writer, it assumes a variety of shapes while

digging: “now a dibble or spade, a trepan or pointed grav-

ing tool, a hook, a sharp wedge.”

. The abdomen occupies the centre line of the body, and

forms the principal edible portion of the clam. It contains

the ovary and liver, —the liver being recognized by its dark

color. (For the different parts see plate 1, and explanation

| of the plate.) The mouth of the clam is directly under the -

SALT AND FRESH-WATER CLAMS. 25

forward transverse muscle. It will be seen by the position

of the mouth, that the so-called head of the clam is not the

head at all. One may call it the tail with more propriety,

though it is simply two tubes united together, projecting

from behind for the purposes before mentioned. On each

side of the mouth are a pair of lappets or palpi; these prob-

ably assist in directing the minute currents of food into the

mouth. The mouth opens almost directly into an irregularly

shaped stomach. The intestine, after several turns in the

abdomen, passes along the back, going directly through the

heart, and terminates above the posterior muscle. Fig. 7,

plate 1, represents the heart as seen from above. This con-

sists of a ventricle (v) and two aurieles (A), one on each

side, which takes the blood from the gills. The gills are two

in number, and hang from below the back, on each side of

the abdomen. The thickened portion of the base of the

tubes, commonly called the shoulder, are muscles to draw in

the tubes. Space will not allow us to enter farther into the

anatomy of the clam. We may add, however, that nearly

all bivalves are organized in a similar way. We give a

transverse section of a fresh-water mussel to show the vari-

ous organs. (See the plate and explanation.)

The clam is used for food in Europe, Asia and America.

Jeffrey says, “it forms one of the numerous articles of

Chinese diet, being brought to market after having been

boiled for a long time, and cooked with a seasoning of which

onions are a base. The people call it Tsega.” Fabricius

states that in Greenland the clam is eaten by the walrus,

Arctic fox, and birds.

In the fresh-water clam, instead of two long tubes covered

by one sheath as in the sea-clam, we have two short tubes, one

only being separate, the other merging into the mantle, which

is open throughout; though by reference to the plate it will

be seen that the tubes bear a general resemblance to those of

the sea-clam. In the fresh-water clam the elastic substance

opening the shells is outside, and pulls them apart when the

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 4

26 SALT AND FRESH-WATER CLAMS.

muscles relax (Pl. 1, fig: 5). While the sea-clam lies buried

in the mud, head downward, with but little power of loco-

motion, the fresh-water clam has the faculty of moving

through the mud or sand in which it lies partially embedded.

Fig. 6, plate 1, represents the natural attitude of the Unio,

or fresh-water clam. It will be seen that the tubes are

above the level of the sand. The foot is very large, and

with it the Unio is enabled to move along slowly, the shell

wedging its way through the sand, leaving a groove or fur-

row along the river bottom, and often the collector takes

advantage of these tracks in finding them.

But little is known regarding the development of the sea-

clam, or Mya, as it is technically termed, but it is similar to `

that of the Unio. In these the eggs issue from the ovaries,

and find their way into the cavities of the outer gills. "There

they develop until they are furnished with a little triangular

shell, large enough to be recognized by the unassisted eye.

At this stage they are discharged by thousands into the 1

water, and are left to take care of themselves. It has been

ascertained that they attach themselves by a little thread to

the river bottom, thus preventing them from being swept

away, though it is probable that not one in a hundred ever

reaches maturity, as fishes and other aquatic animals feed

upon them. Fig. 8, plate 1, represents the shell of the young

Unio.

Many of the common fresh-water clams produce pearls, [

though the black mussel, with a white pearly interior, often-

times produces pearls of considerable clearness. These pearls

getting in between the mantle and shell.. This irritates the

-animal, and this irritation causes the animal to deposit upon

the partiele layer after layer of pearl. In China, the natives

taking advantage of their knowledge of the way in which

pearls are formed, have shown their ingenuity by making

flat lead castings of their little idols. These they insert in

a species of fresh-water clam, by first wedging the shells -

a aa a a ig a

Liesl z

American Naturalist.

Vol. HL PL. L

Fig. 1.

if : i SV i.

iN iub m o —

t, HAMM III | AGNES j

r ge A

ea MM

| ] |

l i

SIBI ETHER

SALT AND FRESH-WATER CLAMS. zt

apart, and then slipping the idols in between the mantle and

the shell. After a lapse of time they collect the shells and

open them, and adhering to the interior of the shells they

find the little lead images coated with a layer of pearl; these

are neatly cut out from the shell, and are worn as charms.

It is a matter of wonder that some enterprising Yankee

has not had recourse to this, as a novel mode in getting up

shirt studs and sleeve buttons.

All these shells increase in size by depositing lime around

the margin of the shells, and the concentric lines upon the

outside of these shells indicate successive periods of growth

and repose.

For additional information regarding another species of

bivalve, the salt-water mussel, the reader is referred to Vol.

II, p. 243, of this Magazine.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE I.

Fig. 1. preme. Mya arenaria, with the left valve removed. m, heart,

ntestine; G, gills; P, palpi; M, mouth; AN, anterior trans-

verse muscle, a anterior adductor. Po, posterior

adductor; F, pening in the mantle for foot; v, vent.

hi re Muros the clam with its back uppermost, and

the anterior end turned to the left.

Fig. 2. gus in its natural position in the mud, head downward,

the tubes extended to the surface of the mud.

F, foot; v, ventricle; a, auricle; G, gills; antle; s, shell

Fig. 4. Transverse section of — showing ew position of the spring to

shell. M, muscle; L, ligam

Fig. 5. Tini section of Tato, showing ie postion of the spring to

, muscle; L, ligamen

Fig. 6. Fresh-water clam, Unio complanatus, in its dii position, crawl-

ing. The anterior end is depressed, and the foot is seen

thrust out

Fig. 7. Heart of clam seen from above. v,ventricle; aa, auricle; G G, line

ills

of gills.

Fig. 8. Young of Unio.

THE SENSES OF SIGHT AND SMELL OF THE WILD

TURKEY AND THE COMMON DEER.

BY J. D. CATON.

Ir is claimed for the wild turkey that it has the quickest 4

and most accurate sight of any known animal. It is a say-

ing among old hunters that it can detect the human eye

looking through a knot-hole from the inside of a hollow

tree. I once observed an incident illustrative of its remark- — :

able power of sight, and tending to show that its apprehen- *

sion of scent is correspondingly dull.

In December, 1847, I was hunting deer on the Vermilion 1

River, and had been following one from daylight till three

o'elock in the afternoon, over the breaks and bluffs of the -

Vermilion River, through six inches of dry hard snow, ~

almost as difficult to walk in as dry corn-meal. When near |

the foot of the bluff, not far below the mouth of Deer Park,

some distance off, I saw a flock of wild turkeys crossing the —

river on the ice, and coming directly towards me. My am- |

bition immediately fell from a deer to a turkey. I concealed .

myself in a very dense thicket of underbrush, and soon heard —

the turkeys approaching with that contented quit, quit, in —

which they frequently give expression to a happy sense of se-

curity. My pointer, which was as good at following a deer as

a grouse, stood at my feet without moving a muscle, though

his eyes shone like balls of fire when he scented the turkeys

and heard them pass by. They passed, I should judge by —

. the noise, not more than fifty or sixty feet from me, with- -

out taking the least alarm. About fifty yards distant there —

was a bare spot of considerable extent, near the brow of the

bluff to which their course would evidently take them, where

Il promised myself a sure shot. I rested my gun against a

small tree that I ie: make no perceptible motion before —

(28)

VUES

THE SENSES OF SIGHT AND SMELL. 29

firing. All but my head and arms was concealed by the

bushes, even from the elevated position where I expected

they would come in sight, and from an observation on a level

with myself I was entirely concealed. I thus stood, anx-

iously listening to the birds, and so was enabled to notice

| their progress, and thus determine at what moment to expect

their appearance in the open space. The first that appeared

was the head and neck of the old cock that led the flock. It

seemed as if he raised his head for the express purpose of

looking at me, for the instant his head appeared he stared

fixedly towards me, and gave the loud quick note of alarm.

In a second or two he took wing, followed by the rest of the

flock. I still think he was in a little doubt, else he would

not have remained an instant after seeing me, and when he

did fly, instead of going directly away, he passed near

enough over me to satisfy his doubts.

The eyes of the turkey are so situated as to embrace

within the range of vision a very large field. Here we see

the sight was very quick if not absolutely certain. Although

they had passed very near us, the sense of smell had given

them no intimation of our presence.

While I stood there, my gun still resting against the tree,

deeply chagrined at what I supposed the last chance for

game that day, for I was too much fatigued to track farther,

I heard the brush crack, and in an instant the largest buck

with the largest horns I ever saw, stopped not more than

thirty or forty feet from me. While I could distinctly make

out his form,the bushes were too thick to allow the hope that

I could reach him with a bullet. My only chance was to

wait till he should pursue his course, which would bring him

through a short space where the bushes were lower, and I

might get a shot on the bound when his body would be

above them. He stared at me some seconds, as if something

told him of danger; but at length he seemed to become re-

assured, and bounded along in his original course as if he

was in somewhat of a hurry, but not in manifest alarm. As

30 THE SENSES OF SIGHT AND SMELL.

I anticipated, on his third or fourth bound he gave me a

chance, and I fired as he was descending. His heels flew

-into the air with a snap as if his hoofs would fly off, and he

‘fell all in a heap. There was something in the size of the

deer and of his horns, the way in which his hind legs, as

quick as lightening, stretched almost perpendicularly in the

air, and the mode of his falling, which produced a thrill of

delight which I have never before or since experienced. I

reloaded as quickly as possible and approached the spot 3

where he fell. The first sight told what was the matter. He a 4

had raised himself on his forefeet, and was looking fiercely —

around for an enemy, every hair on his shoulders and neck 5 |

^ standing forward, and his eyes glaring with the ferocity of a "

demon. All behind his shoulders appeared quite inanimate —

and as wilted as a rag. His backbone was severed just *

- behind his shoulders. It took another shot in the head to —

- induce him to let me bleed him. By the time this was done, —

a little old man, with a rifle on his shoulder, made his way d 1

through the bushes to where I stood, and looked at my

trophy in a most disconsolate way. At length he remarked, —

without taking the least notice of my salutation, “Well, you

have got him.” To this manifest truth I assented, and asked

him to help slue the deer around that he might bleed the

better, as he was rather heavy for one to handle. "Excuse

me," said he, "I have been following that rascal ever since

daylight. I am a good way from home with no time to

spare;" and away he hurried before I had time to offer to

divide the venison with him. Probably that is not the only

instance in which one has lost a supper by.being in too great

haste.

See ee eT aN Te ee ag Eee ee Oe ee Y ERN :

USC E E

AE CE RS

Although the deer had his attention arrested by the scent,

. and in full view of my entire form, and of the dog standing

at my feet, yet from not seeing the least motion, he could

not make us out.

THE FAUNA OF MONTANA TERRITORY.

BY J. G. COOPER, M. D.

(Continued from page 600, Vol. II.)

II. BIRDS.

RicHuanpsow's Pewee ( Contopus Richardsonii).

Frycatcners (Empidonax pusillus, obscurus, and mini-

mus). These being the species found at Fort Bridges, I

Suppose one or more of them to have been among the small

flycatchers I saw in the mountains. They were exvaedingly

shy, and though I shot one or two I did not find them, as

they fell or hid among thick bushes.

SWALNSON’S THRUSH (Turdus Swainsonii). I heard the

low call note of this bird in the early morning and evening

throughout the mountains, but rarely saw it, as it was very

shy ind watehful,— more so than T. ustulatus on the west

coast. Its note and habits were otherwise similar, but I .

heard no song from it on account of the late season. They

were migrating south in September, and common at Cœur

d'Alene Mission up to the 22d. Near Fort Colville I also

saw this or T. ustulatus still later.

Rosin Tarvusu (T. migratorius). Not abundant, but seen

all along the route except in the dense forests. Milk

river I found a nest, with eggs, built in a split trunk of a

half fallen tree.

OngEGON Rosin (T. nevius). I found this beautiful thrush

. common near the summit of the Coeur d'Alene Mountains

about September 10th, frequenting the exceedingly dark and

damp spruce forests, which seemed to be its favorite summer

residence as at the mouth of the Columbia river. I was

surprised to find many of them about Fort Vancouver as

early as October 28th, where I did not see them in 1853

until December. There had been an uncommonly early fall

32 THE FAUNA OF MONTANA TERRITORY.

of snow’ on the Cascade Mountains, which probably drove .

them down. E j

Eastern BLUEBIRD ( Sialia sialis). I noticed this species

at the mouth of Milk river, and as this is within sight of the

first range of mountains, their base may be considered as its

western limit. I saw it also near Fort Laramie in 1857. 4

ARCTIC BLUEBIRD (S. arctica). I saw a few of this species 3

on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains only, and at a J 1

high elevation. I have no doubt, however, of its also fre- 4

quenting some parts of the western slopes, and. Nuttall says ©

that he saw it at Fort Vancouver in the winter. It is more 3

shy and silent than either of the other species. 5

Western BLUEBIRD (S. Mexicana). None of the West- a

ern Bluebird were seen until reaching Spokan river, north —.—

and west of which it is found wherever there are trees, shun-

ning only the dense forest. : P

Rupy-crownep Wren (Regulus calendula) and Gouben- 1

CROWNED WREN (RH. satrapa). Seen in small nnmbers E 1

throughout the Rocky Mountains. : 8

.WarER OuzzL (Hydrobata Mexicana). I was surprised

to find this Ouzel scarce in the Rocky Mountains, having

seen none myself, and only one being observed by Capt.

Floyd Jones, whose attention was attracted by its peculiar ~

habits. This was just east of the Cour d’Alefie Pass. E |

Maceruurvray’s WARBLER (Geothlypis Macgillivrayi). —

Young birds and old ones in fall plumage were common all ,

across the Rocky Mountains, even near the summits, but I D

saw none in the dense forests of the Coeur d'Alene Range, 3

which they seem to avoid as they do those of the Coast a

_ Range in Washington Territory. 4

_ Water TunusH (Seiurus Noveboracensis? No. 70). Hell

Gate river, August 24th.* Though smaller than the average,

this specimen agrees closely with some in Baird's Report from

Pennsylvania and Florida. I found it pretty common in the

*Length,5.75; extent,925; wing, 2.87; Iris and bill, brown; lower mandible and feet -

THE FAUNA OF MONTANA TERRITORY. 93

Rocky Mountains, as far west as the Cœur d’Alefie Range,

and I noticed no difference in its habits or in its single call-

note of this season, from those of eastern specimens. . I did

not notice it along the Missouri, nor did Dr. Hayden collect

it above Vermilion river, near the Iowa line.

AUDUBON's WARBLER (Dendroica Audubonii). This was

the only bird of the genus I saw. It was very common

throughout the mountains, and I have found it in every por-

tion of the country west of them, even where there was

scarcely a bush to be seen.

Repstart (Setophaga ruticilla). The Redstart was one

of the commonest birds in the Missouri bottom-lands, and

I found several of its nests between Fort Union and Milk.

river, in June. It continued pretty common as far west as

the Cœur d'Alene Range.

Western TawacER (Pyranga Ludoviciana). Less com-

mon than near the coast, but reaching the east base of the

Rocky Mountains, though not seen down the Missouri river.

The specimen preserved is larger than any measurements

recorded by Baird.

Barn Swarrow (Hirundo horreorum). The Barn Swal-

low occurs in small numbers entirely across the Great Plains

of Nebraska, but seems to limit its summer residence to

tracts where it can find caves in which to build, as I saw no

sign of its nests about the trading posts, where the more

abundant Cliff Swallow has full possession of every available

position for a nest.. I saw the former, however, near Fort

Benton in July, and in some parts of the Rocky Mountains

afterwards. `

Curr Swarrow (H. lunifrons). Swarms of this species

occurred at every suitable cliff along the Missouri, and across

the Rocky Mountains fo Coeur d'Aleüe Mission, where they

remained until September 18th.

Swarrow (H. bicolor or thalassina?). I saw a flock of

one or the other species flying over Bitterroot river, about

September 1st, and remarked them because I had not seen

. AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. mm. 5

34 THE FAUNA OF MONTANA TERRITORY.

any species for several days in that thick-wooded valley

(near the crossing), and supposed all the Swallows had gone

South. Though both of these probably inhabit that region,

I am not sure that those seen were of either species, as

they had a strange look, and flew too high to be shot or

closely observed. They were white beneath, with the tail a

little forked, and may possibly have been Bank Swallows.

Cepar Biro (Ampelis cedrorum). The Cedar Birds were

very abundant in the open pine woods of the main Rocky .

Mountains, and evidently had nests in August, as they were |

scattered, and. commonly seen searching for insects among

the pine foliage, etc. Also common at Cour d’Alefie Mis-

.sion. I saw nothing of the larger Waxwing, which I have -

since found as far South as Fort Mohave, N. W., January -

. 10th, 1861.

TowxsEND's FrycaTCHER (Myiadestes Townsendit). Y saw ——

only the specimen preserved, which I shot at the eastern ;

base of the pass over the Cœur d'Aleüe Mountains. It was |

there pursuing insects from bush to bush in a small prairie |

or "opening," silent, and in every respect resembling the -

Pewee and other birds of that family in habits. I have re- -

marked the same of Phainopepla nitens of Southern Califor-

nia, a bird closely related to this, and in habits very unlike _

the Waxwings, at least in winter. The Shrikes, however, —

resemble these birds more than the Waxwings or the Vireos, |

with which Baird associates them. The tarsal scales would .

remove both, and the Waxwings also, from the order of |

OscrNEs, and I never heard them sing. (No. 103 is in plu- —

mage apparently young, and undescribed.) 3

Sarie ( Collyrio exeubitorokdes ot elegans?). Both in .

1853 and this year, I saw Shrikes on the Columbia Plain in .

October, which seemed to me to be quite different from C.

borealis, and to resemble C. excubitoroides which abounds

through the plains of Nebraska and across Oregon to Cali-

_ fornia. They were so wild that I could not get near them,

; MK EE cer. ste resembled the latter. CO. aat

AN AFTERNOON IN NICARAGUA. 35

was furnished to Swainson by the Hudson Bay Company,

and was most probably therefore killed north of the Colum-

bia river. No specimen exactly like it has been lately

obtained.

NORTHERN SHRIKE (C. borealis). shot a specimen, the

only one I saw, at Fort Dalles, October 15th,— early in the

season for it to appear even in that latitude. It was savagely

attacking Jays and Magpies, driving them before it, but it

did not kill any birds while I übedcved it.

Vinko (Vireo olivaceus? V. Bartramii Swainson?). I

found this species quite common from the eastern base of

the Rocky Mountains to that of the Bitterroot Range, and

in habits found it exactly like the eastern olivaceus. As it

is larger than that mentioned by Swainson, his specimen was

very probably, as Baird suggests, of the next species, espec-

ially since this is found unchanged at Fort Bridges, Utah.

WannBLING Vireo ( V. gilvus). Rather less common than

the preceding in the Rocky Mountains, though very common

west of the Cascade Range. I noticed nothing new in its

habits. — To be continued.

AN AFTERNOON IN NICARAGUA.

BY WILLIAM H. DALL.

Waen the agent of the Central American Transit Company

announced to us, that on account of the low water, we might

be detained a day or two at Greytown, we did not consider

ourselves unfortunate by any means. A collecting party

was quickly organized, and, after partaking of fried plan-

tains and “tortillas,” with a cup of coffee from the hands of

a señorita very much the color of the beverage just men-

tioned, each one started out prepared to make the best of

the six hours of daylight remaining, by dispersing into the

bushes in search of specimens of all kinds. Previous, how-

36 AN AFTERNOON IN NICARAGUA.

ever, to our departure, a person showed us a bottle of whis-

key, which he asserted contained the most poisonous reptile

extant. On examination it proved to be a specimen of a

very beautiful snake, banded with red, black, white and

cream-color, and of a genus (Elaps? euryxanthus Ken.)

which is perfectly harmless. In vain we pointed out the :

jaws, totally destitute of fangs, and almost toothless, and i

were again assured that it was the far-famed “coral snake,”

of which the bite was inevitably followed by a bloody sweat, -

and death in most awful agonies. Not wishing to waste

time in discussing the point, we separated, each striking -

-.into the heavy growth of bushes back of the town, or follow-

ing the sandy beach to the entrance of the lagoon, now no

longer a harbor.

I pushed into the jungle by a narrow foot-path winding |

among the trees, which, with the vines and even the grasses, |

appeared each one to vie with all others in the production of 3

hooks, thorns and prickles. The mosquitoes, too, were by ;

no means idle. The path soon brought me tothe edge of -

a small lagoon, surrounded with trees and vines, dg pre-

senting a most beautiful scene. Here and there on the sunny —

side a a log, were small lizards with their sides brightly

banded with metallic blue or green, chestnut and black.

Everything was quiet, but a mellow humming told of insect

life hovering among the green leaves. |

The most noticeable among the many plants which were E

growing in the water, was a gigantic Sagittaria, rising above -

the water six or eight feet; its beautiful pointed leaves and -

white flowers bearing a great similarity to the common .

Arrow-head of the Massachusetts ponds. Rich crimson |

orchids were to be seen growing in the branches of the —

higher trees; but, after considerable exertion, having dis-

lodged one of them, I was disappointed by finding it coarse — |

and noniine. on a nearer inspection. Leaves of a nymph-

plant, like oi yel Mrs but no flowers, were -

AN AFTERNOON IN NICARAGUA. ri

The mosquitoes soon put an end to my pleasure in survey-

ing the beauty of this secluded spot, and I made my way

with some difficulty between the wild pineapples, which,

bearing no edible fruit, add a positive evil to their deficiency

of good, by pushing in every direction fheir sharp, saw-like,

and inflexible leaves.

Reaching an open spot I saw a beautiful bird balancing

himself on a slender twig, and occasionally uttering a plain-

tive note, of no great melody, but far from disagreeable, as

is the case with many tropical birds. His body was a rich

chestnut brown, and the underside of the tail of a bright

golden hue. A lucky shot added him to my collection. It

was the Inca Bird ( Ostenops Montezuma) ; the “Oro-pendula”

or Golden-tail of the Spaniards. Another moment and a

flash of fire seemed to pass from one bough to another; my

gun was brought into requisition again, and I brought down

a fine male Fire Bird (Ramphoceles passerina), probably one

of the most beautiful of American birds. The body is of

the most brilliant scarlet, and the wings and tail jet glossy

black. Others of our party obtained another species (2.

icteronata) almost equally beautiful, where the most brilliant

yellow on the rump and back takes the place of scarlet;

while still another (FR. sanguinolenta) glories in a dress of

the richest velvety maroon.

It was growing rather dark in the dense thicket, and I

retraced my steps towards the beach. On my way I added

several other interesting birds (Momoti) to my collection,

and one, a dark-colored, sad-looking bird, which proved

the greatest prize of all, being a new species, afterwards

described by Mr. Lawrence as Spermophila badiiventris.

Reaching the edge of the wood, I found a small brook be-

tween me and the sand. The banks being low, were cov-

ered for several rods on the farther side, with a succulent

plant of the order Portulacacew, with round leaves about

half an inch in diameter. I noticed little well-beaten paths,

about one inch wide, running all through this bed of green,

before mentioned, there was at least a bushel of these dae

38 AN AFTERNOON IN NICARAGUA.

and stopped to discover if possible what made them. Some 7

were wider than others, and on one of these I soon discov- ^.

ered a foraging party of ants. They were of two species, 7

one being a rather small black ant, with weak jaws or nip-

pers, and the other’ nearly twice that size, each bearing a <

formidable pair of prolonged mandibles or jaws, and as near

as I could see there were no two with jaws of exactly the

same size or shape. The small ones were evidently slaves.

They were marched between two rows of scouts, and if a —

slave attempted to pass the line, he was speedily seized and |

put back, not very gently, into his place. I watched their

motions with a great deal of interest. The “soldiers,” after

searching till satisfied for a rich succulent leaf, bit it off and

gave it to a slave, who immediately marched off with it in a

contrary direction to the main body. Following the train

for a rod or two, I came to the brook just where it had made

an abrupt bend, with an eddy in it. Here the banks were

rather high, a moderately brisk sea-breeze was coming from -

the shore, and just here a small tree about two inches in

diameter had fallen across the brook. On this pole were

myriads of ants going in different directions. Those above, -

each with a leaf in his mouth, were crossing to the wooded -

side. Those on the underside were empty-handed (or

mouthed), and were coming from the woods. Here I no- r

ticed a curious thing. The leaf, being larger by far than its”

bearer, acted as a sort of sail to catch the wind, and I saw -

many an unfortunate slave-ant, after struggling with all its |

might to save its precious load, finally Jet it go in self-

defence, and immediately join the excursionists on the lower

side of the pole, going back for another leaf. In the eddy

which had been blown away from their bearers.*

"The red light of the setting sun warned me to be stirring

. homeward; and, picking up a few Apple-snails (Ampullariæ), :

2j det alked 1 iis s vict own. POPE for a moment to to

i REVIEWS. 39

turn over a bit of plank in search of land shells, to my great

delight, there lay snugly coiled up, one of the famous “coral

snakes!” Taking his head between my finger and thumb, I

let him coil around my wrist, and made the best of my way

to the office of the Railroad Survey, determined to prove the

harmless nature of the pretty little creature. Upon produ-

cing it, however, two of my English friends disappeared

through the window, and the one before mentioned reaching

the loft over head, in a great hurry, seized an empty bottle

(there were plenty of them there), and adjured me in forci-

ble language to depart and take the snake with me, on pain

of several things too disagreeable to mention. Doubting

the efficacy of argument in the premises, I consigned the

snake to an alcohol tank, and took the story to the supper

table, where it afforded us a fund of amusement for the

evening, and was by no means the most disagreeable remi-

niscence of my afternoon in Greytown.

REVIEWS.

—— M Óoe——

IN THE East INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO.*—The object of Prof.

Scd s travels was the collection a a set of shells from the island of

Amboina and its immediate neighborhood th m

to have fully succeeded, and thanks to his energy and perseverance, we now

have in this country a full suite of the species first described by Rumphius.

The present volume merely states this object and describes the mode of

its attainment. Otherwise it is a diary of the author’s daily experience

among these tropical islands, in which mountains, lakes, rivers, plants

and animals, incidents and accidents, are all described as they happened.

The coast tribes are said to be of a mild disposition, but those of th

interior mountainous parts of the different islands, wild and savage; in

some cases cannibals. The ethnological characteristics of the different

e gi he:

eniri a sb sometimes accompanied by photographs and drawings of

great

“AU Mai náiivas (Malays, of Java) are remarkably short in stature, the

in the East Indian Archipelago. By Albert S. Bickmore, M. A. 8vo, pp. 553.

Rip otitis QVI OL. Rak

40 REVIEWS.

men averaging not more than five feet three inches in height. The head

is somewhat lozenge-shapėd, the cheek bones high and prominent, the

mouth wide and the nose short, — not flat as in negroes, or prominent as

in Europeans." ‘‘The men have but a few straggling hairs for ei

and these they generally ~~ out with a pair of iron tweezers. The hai

of the head in both sexes is lank, coarse, wie worn long.” The ten

kinds of trees and their pides are graphically described, and the. draw-

ings which illustrate them are dise di especially that of the Bam- —

boo. We have space to quote but one or two of the more interesting 3

passages, since these travels extend to many islands, each of which arein

turn described; while their political are the iere of their peo-

ple, agriculture, and geological featu of the countries, all pass in re-

view. T

island of Java: ** Above one thousand feet, palms, bananas, and papiliona-

ceous plants become fewer, and are replaced by the lofty fig or ‘ waringin,’

which, with its high top and long branches, rivals the magnificent palms

of the sea-shore.” Liquid amber, and the cotton-wood, also phar and

bers. ‘Over this

and melastomas are more abundant here.” “ Above six thousand feet are

Rubiaces, heaths, and cone- editing. trees,” succeeded by the zone of

small ferns, lichens, and m 3

Java is the Cuba of the Mk Tini. **Tn each there is a great central 4

the pene sey borders on a small sea. This shore is low, but the south- |

` ern coast, on the margin of the wide Indian Ocean, is high and bold,

in docena n the rule that the higher elevations are opposite the-

greater oceans :

The islands of Lontar, Pulo Pisang, and Pulo Capal, are described as.

the remnants of the wall of a sunken crater, the length of which was

escribed, Mr. Bickmore nearly losing his life in the attempt. The

grave of Rumphius, marked by a small square pillar, is still in existence,

and was found and described by the author.

The many observations and facts viteh the author has brought to-

gether, would have been made more available, and more valuable to the

Scientist, if the work had been less diffuse. The number of pages might

. have been lessened without decease from its popular character, or the

£m freshness and bea bestity of many of the descriptions of the fruits and natu e

A bass Sti this pamphlet the author describes what he claims

to be **a new system of bee keeping, adapted to the habits and character-

istics of haa a box with descriptions of, and directions for mana

seping. By D. I. Adair. tesi ro pp. 74.

REVIEWS. 41

ging bees in the section bee-hive. embracing also improved methods of

artificial swarming, whereby the business of bee keeping is rendered

subject, we should judge it to be for the interest of every bee keeper to

own this little manual, ^ to learn the merits of the section bee-hive de-

scribed and figured i

THE EXTINCT FLORA or NORTH AMERICA.* — This pamphlet is the cli-

max of the late controversy between Messrs. Meek and Hayden on the one

side, and Profs. Marcou and Heer on the other. This controversy made

us acquainted with the fact that the familiar forms of the poplar, oak,

sassafras, willow, etc., lived in the Cretaceous period; and in the present

pamphlet the author, who was also one of the first to assert this truth, re-

views the main points of the evidence, and brings forward a numerous list

continent. **Possibly these genera may hereafter be isse in the plant-

S of Kansas, Nebraska, and New Mexico, but as yet we have no inti-

mation of their existence, and there is nothing now wn in the Creta-

ceous flora of that region which gives it a tropical or even sub-tropical

character."

*Tt will be remembered that this vegetation grew upon a broad continental surface, of

those c

the isothermal lines should be cu

well happen, arenes: p we shall find the palms and cinnamons restricted to tbe w

margin of the Cretaceous continent. It will be seen by ma notes now: given of the Tertiary

pci of our continent, tha, at a later date, p

eous plants are — t cinnamons l to b tirely psam

a the Tertiary flora M we central part of the continent, w ile on the west coast bo

and cinnamons lived during the gn rel period as far north the so line. wa have

therefore negative ew vidence from he facts, though it may be reversed at ; day far-

ther observations, that tl Y keds was

somewhat warmer than at the beginning of the Cretaceous period, and that during both the

same relative differences of climate prevailed between the central and western portions that

day.”

iyd WORMS IN THE BRAIN OF A Brgp.f— One of the most ob-

Scure subjects in zoólogy is the history and development of animal para-

pes and especially those which take up their abode in the brain of differ-

nt animals. Prof. Wyman has detected a species of “round worm” in the

brain of seventeen out of nineteen specimens of the Anhinga (Snake-bird

Um EO vi tps

k he Cretaceous and a ae Strata. By Prof. sip goonies of

Columbia College, New rig 8vo, pp. 76.

fOn a Thread-worm —€— the Brain of the Snake-bird.” By Jeffries Wyman, M. D.

] "M DEN, "the Boston Society of Natural History, October 7, 1 1868). Syo,

ENAH diim i’

pp. 7.

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. Im. 6

42 REVIEWS.

or Water-turkey) shot in Florida, thus proving that ‘‘their presence in d

the cranial cavity might be called the normal condition of this bird.” The E

author — that 4

y been found Pe the brain or its membranes in man and

tinis: but far less frequen tly t lian in the other regions of the body. The number of species

thus far observed bs ferae smak ma a chtety ee, to - genera TEA; Fi wein Tri-

china, and Diplosto wholly

-e-eeasasennssasess eese: (QU St

strongylus papillosus Die- |

sing,” were found in every.

2 antepi coiled up on the

of the cerebrellum |

(rig. 1), their number va-

eggs (a e

5, is only one-half ast

as the female, and the €

of its body, Fig. 6, is al

orm is viviparous, the you

6,0. As they descend lower down in

the oviduct, they straighten themselves, 7

as at d and e, until they beco e

REVIEWS. 43

outwardly to some other animal, or the water, and then back to another

Anhinga, is wholly unknown.”

SCIENTIFIC OPINION.* — A weekly journal showing the progress of sci-

ence in all its departments, is a most welcome publication. It is edited

with great ability, and its kite poet deserve especial notice for

their plain speaking and candor. No other journal known to us reports

so promptly and fully the Proceedings of Scientifie Societies, especially

the German and French. Both this and the Paris Cosmos, a favorite ex-

change with us, will doubtless have a wide circulation in America, as

science is atiaintu ng such proportions that we on this side of the water

must receive weekly scientific intelligence from Euro

FAUNA OF THE GULF-STREAM AT GREAT DEPTHS.t|— This is the con-

tinuation of a similar paper by the same author previously reviewed.

The utmost depth reached with the dredge was 517 fathoms, or 3102 feet,

or over 1000 feet beyond the late researches near Spitzbergen. The bot-

tom has been divided into three regions, extending in zones around the

depth of 90 fathoms; 2d, From 90 to 250 or 350 fathoms; 3d, The bottom

of the channel which does not much exceed 500 fathoms. The first region

is barren, and covered only by dead and broken shells, Sapien: that the

ecu sa the tubes of Serpuls, the interstices filled up by Foraminif-

æ, and smoothed over by the Nullipores. It is supposed by the author

d this sth eventually thicken until the water is shallow enough for the

Astreans and Madrepores to begin their work of founding a new barrier

similar to the x reefs. This limestone is filled with recent fossils,

furnished in great part by the animals now living on the bottom, but **a

few contribute by sinking after death from the higher regions of the su-

perincumbent water (teeth of fishes and shells of Pteropods), and others

are brought by currents from littoral regions (bones of the Manatee, and

fragments of littoral plants). All the branches of the animal kiagdoni,

so far as their marine carnivorous orders are concerned, are abundantly

represented in this region, but it is destitute of plants.

The third region is sparsely inhabited by a few Mollusks, Radiates, and

Crustaceans, but the peculiar animal is the microscopical Globigerine

e 1

of smaller size than allied forms of the littoral zone. “The only excep-

tion is an Echinus, which is nearly of the average size, and an Actinia.

* Scientific Opinion. AW dof ific P t d Abroad. Part,

December; II. January, 1869. 4to. Monthly Parts, 1s .6d. London, 1869. 4to,3 columns.

t Bulletin of the Museum of Zoology, No.7. Contributions to the Fauna of the

Gulf-stream at at great depths. (Second series.) By L. F. Pourtales, Ass't U. S. Coast Survey.

44 REVIEWS.

The prevailing colors are white, pink, — sometimes playing into orange,

— and a pale green. Blue was only seen in a small incrusting sponge.

sea animals have generally well- hebes eyes, larger if anything than `

those of their congeners of shallow wa :

THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF ILLINOIS.* — Prof. Worthen announces —

that the M system attains a maximum of 2500 feet in this -

State, and contains ten seams of coal, six of them in the É, d à

whois series is exposed in the banks of die Tllinois, which cuts dit í

across these beds for more than a hundred miles from north-east

est.

to bé 1 à very serious mistake in Prof. Owen's estimate of the thickness

Sandstone," in the Kentucky section, are identical. If this

series of coal seams between the latter and the former, do not overlie the

in the same geological horizon. ‘The product of our coal mines for the

past year (1867) according to the most reliable statistics, is fully 1500000

tons." ‘There is, perhaps, no other area of equal extent in the United

They are Alexander, Union, Jackson , Perry, Jersey, Greene, Scott, Was

ington, Clinton, Marion, Jefferson, Coat, and La Salle Counties.

REVIEWS. 45

allied to the Scorpions, and one whose affinity is doubtful. The species

i a

m, the hairs on the body being longitudinally striated, and, ac-

To to Dr. Packard, RAMIS. those o odite

E ANCESTRY OF INSECTS; FOSSIL INSECTS AND ENS ;IN Inurors.*

rof Haeckel, of Jena, has been speculating as to the acis iim of the

articulates. He considers the ancestral form of kr crustacea as a gm

like itieatuPh; resembling the larval or zoéa-stag: the crab. As to the

ancestor of the air-breathing, terrestrial ME (inseets, peal and

eerie’); he propos es the eres that it was a zoéa which, Sone

ge of ula

(including the ea Iasoni S; 5. eplders and my elspa a must bare

been "ORE and aquatic, and when the type became terrestrial

we (still speculating) would imagine a form somewhat Fig. 1.

like the young d (Fig. 1) discovered by Sir John

Lubbock in England, which combines in a remarkable

degree the ai of E ps in Sete and the sig aeo

wingless insects, such a , Podura Som

such forms may e e rues lir diaced late in ue neris

Phi for the interesting discoveries of fossil insects in

and

uthus?), closely resembling a species now living in California; to-

gether with another scorpion-like animal, Mazonia Woodiana; while the

Devonian insects des uns from ue coe 4 Mr. tiges are nearly as

Dr.D

highly organized as our grasshop d May-fi r. Dawson has

also discovered a S dk developed prm CXlobius) w the Lower Coal

Measures of Nova Scotia; so ust go back the Silurian

dap ge prototype, of insects. As to the be. Crustacean being a

rm, have we not among the earliest known Crustaceans, the Trilo-

ds (Paradowides) and several allied forms of lov Silurian age, whose

larval form was, undoubtedly, more or less worm-like, as are certain de-

graded marine Pill-bugs ( Bopyrus) of the present pee. Messrs. Meek and

Worthen describe ee Shrimps CAnthropalemon) and Sand-fleas, in the

Lower Coal Measu f Illinois, associated with a large Eurypterus, being

a gigantic eas toit ;& Trilobite (Euproops Dane) resembling our

* The Pal»ontology of Illinois. Articulate Fossils of the Coal Measures. vereinen

of the Report o of the Illinois State Survey.) By Messrs, Meek, Worthen and Scudde:

tember, 1868. 8vo.

46 REVIEWS.

Horse-shoe Crab; and several insects are described by Mr. Scudder under

of a land-plant in the lower Silurian rocks of Sweden, it seems premature

to even guess as to the ancestry of either these or their living represen-

tatives.

Tur Book or BIRDS AND THE Book or Bkasrs.* — From an examina-

tion of their contents we do not hesitate to say that they form a valuable

addition to our popularseienee literature. The engravings are numer-

ous and well e. The subject is treated in a clear and interesting man-

ner, and with ila typography and binding, form elegant volumes for the

young.

to interest the young, wes induce them to observe the habits of insects

d form collections of the

RA OF NORTH AMERICA.Í— The American En-

tomological Society, didi has issued six volumes of Proceedings, and ha:

entered on the second volume of Transactions, all beautifully illustrated,

and indispensable to the study of our insects, and we may add, publish

remarkably cheap, is reed Bebe in Eme a list of our Butterflies and

oths, by Messrs. Gro d Robinson. 'The present Part embraces the

species of Sphinges, pert the iyi: Zygænidæ, and the Bomb;

cids, or Silk-worm cepi d pne of Mexico. 'The catalogue gives

ties of London, Paris, Ber! Vienna

content e$ aie a = mem es ical emacs

ries sats to 8000 copes each month gona di aé 1

MU EM M e. inde 0*4. Dank AP T. sas DMaatite "Esos e af itai.

pesca opone oe Clarke & Co. 12mo. ;

. 1Cecil's Book of Insects. By Selim H. Peabody, M. A. Chicago: Clark & Co., 1868. With |

eleven full-page illustrations, 12mo, pp.

"hai af ds KAADS M laser Mais. ee m Part

Philadelphia: American Entomological Society. September, 1868. 8vo, pp.

REVIEWS. i 47

eerste for want of means. The Society in a circular recentlf issued,

asks the pecuniary aid of all interested in scienc

citizens $- siis ace, who have already didi so ees for science, will

not let one of its most useful institutions of learning suffer for want of

i funds ken for in the present i on for the society seeks for a mere

pittance, such as a few of the wealthy men of that well-to-do city could

easily grant. We hope all our shtok PAA will lend their aid to a soci-

E which has done so much for the furtherance of their favorite study, at

least by subscribing to its Transactions, which are published at $3 a year.

CATALOGUE OF NORTH AMERICAN GRASSHOPPERS.*—A very carefully

prepared list of all iis Orthoptera of our country. The author states

in the preface that the arrangement, both of genera and species, is a

purely alphabetical one. **'The list is not in any sense a synonymical one,

involving the expression of personal views, but a hand-book for the stu-

dent, in which is collected every reference to any species of orthoptera

stated to have been found on the continent of North America, or in the

West Iudies, —a groundwork upon which he may erect a superstructure of

his own." Mr. Scudder is also preparing a monograph of the orthoptera

for publication by the Smithsonian Institution, and desires specimens of

this neglected group of insects. new arrangement of the families, and

a more natural one than has been offered before, is appended.

THE PROGRESS OF ZOOLOGY IN 1867.1 — To the American student these

yearly volumes are an indispensable aid. They contain lists of every pa-

per or work relating to zoólogy, with a brief analysis of their contents.

ow any working naturalist, without a large library at hand, such as

Scarcely one institution in this country affords, can do without these

ports, t see. “The fourth volume of the Record forms a

systematic guide-book to about 36,400 pages of the zoólogical literature

€ (with the Sas of a very small part) within the year 1867.

n reached in any preceding year, and corres-

tien to an increase in ne post of authors; an un y great activ-

ity appears to have prevailed in the study of Mammals, Birds, Mollusks,

d ptera."

"The publisher, Mr. Van Voorst, deserves the thanks of zoólogists the

world over, for the liberal spirit he has manifested in undertaking the pub-

lication of a work which he prints at a considerable pecuniary sacrifice.

The British Association, however, made a sip of $500 for the present

volume and the

succeeding one. The volume issued in three parts,

viz.:that of Mid gebget of Entomology, and "= Mollusks, Crustaceans

and Lower Animals, so that the specialist can at a cheap rate supply him-

self with a report on his own branch.

* Catalogue of the Orthoptera of N to 1867. Prepared for

n by Samuel k ‘Seudder. ‘Washington: Smithsonian Institution,

Oct., 1868. Pu pp. 89.

t The Record of Zoological Li nema Vol. IV; Edited by A. C. L. G. Gunther, M. D.,

ete. gogan vas Voorst. 1868. 8vo, pp. £78, . The volume, or the separate parts, can be fur-

PP pere

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

BOTANY.

DOUBLE FLOWERED SARRACENIA. —In the summer of 1867, I found a

specimen of the Sarracenia purpurea, double, in East Hampton, Mass. In

the summer of 1868, I found a specimen of the Geranium maculatum, with

all the parts of the flower of a pure white. — E. S. MLLER, Wading River,

ZOOLOGY.

THE BREEDING HABITS OF BIRDS are subject to so great variation

England,” says they excavate a "winding hole.” Mr. Fowler and Mr :

Endicott, in the NATURA

thus implying that this is the invariable, or even general form? One of

the nests which I have found had the bottom covered with

_ I have in my collection a set of Long-eared Owls' eggs, six in number.

I have nat h Prt "n Tue ah, ‘

h ta find

à E

bird's depart fi it of the spe :

3. " -

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 49

the eggs is yellowish-white, marked with reddish brown spots. Usually

the last ones of the litter are without spots, and of a lighter color; a fe

larger round spots appear to be laid on the surface of the shell and raised

above it.” To this I would say that I have seen a great many eggs of the

grouse, but only a few were marked as thus described. And while the

description is true to a certain extent, it may be questioned whether it is

agn to **typical specimens.” v the 29th of April, 1865, I found a

tof the grouse, containing nine eggs of a pure white color, with the

Erion of a few stains, which were m removed by the application of

e 3d of May, 1866, I took three eggs from the nest of a Marsh.

hawk here was no appearance of spots upon them. As I had seen the

birds about the place for two weeks, selecting a'spot and building their

nest, I feel sure that this was the first litter. But last spring I obtained

six eggs from a nest, and all were marked with numerous light brown

es.

thus proving that the marsh-hawk does sometimes occupy an old nest. —

C. M. JONES.

Tar Ho WREN.— The mischievousness of the House Wren ( Trog-

lodytes edon Verrill) is well known. The following incident came under

i Observation a short time since, A pair of Martins had taken posses-

sence of the martins, and coolly picked up their eggs one by one, P rm

them out, and dropped them to the ground below. While engaged in

impudent business, the martins returned, and while going in at one ve

the entrances of the box, the daring marauders darted out at the other,

and alighting on a tree near by chattered noisily, apparently in great

glee. The martins, jy that their nest had been despoiled, abandoned

the box, which was n duly taken possession of by the wrens, who

reared two broods P, piss hopefuls during the summer, the first about

the beginning of June, the second the latter part of July. — M. S. HILL,

East Liverpool, O.

DESTRUCTIVENESS THE LARVA OF THE GO: BEETLE.

previous numbers of go ada URALIST, I ventured the inne = ena

Goldsmith Beetle ( Cotatpa — was not likely ever to prove a serious

pest to the agriculturist. As respects the insect in its beetle —- per-

haps this may prove correct; mte ch P as that opinion may have related

to the larva of this insect it mus retracted, as a positive observation

lately made must settle this — slit

When on a visit in September last to the farm of a celebrated straw-

berry grower, in — County, N. J., my attention was directed to

certain large patches badly thinned out by, as the phrase went, ‘the

worm.” The plants were dead on the surface and easily pulled up, the

roots being eaten off below. It was observable that the fields which pre-

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 7

50 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

sented the worst appearance were all of the same kind of plant; that `

reni as Wilson's Albany Seedling. porate this there were nine other .

rieties under culture: Barne's moth, Schanck's Excelsior, the —

ereen Triomphe de Gand, CH Seedling, the Juc Konan aa

us Early Scarlet, and Brooklyn Scarlet. While the Wils

cond to none of these as a prolific fruit-bearer, yet it fell bati heil

in vigorous plant growth. ence, while every kind was more or less af-

tiguous to those of the other varieties. While all suffered more or less,

the chief injury befell the Wilson’s, of which not less than two acres were

irretrievably ruined. ?

examination turned up the depredator, who was none other than .

the larva of the Goldsmith Beetle, now engaged in the first one of its -

allotted three summer campaigns of mischief. 'These grubs were from —

the — deposited in June, in the well tilled and clean soil, which, I have

sai

captured. The black grub of the spring, which is such a pest, attacking

almost indiscriminately the early tender plants, inflicts its injuries chiefly

in the night, the exception being that of dull and cloudy days. The night’s

mischief done it descends into concealment at early dawn. Knowing this 1

the wise farmer is in search of it at an early hour, ere the warmth of the

presence. It is my belief that this devastation might have been spared

by an outlay of from $20 to $30 for labor, of which, under proper direction,

much could have been done by children. Therein would have been saved

a strawberry — - the ensuing summer, paa scarcely less than $2500

with all their mischief, had not more than a third of their ultimate size;

hence their real ravenousness is yet to come. Besides what a prospect

of increase of numbers, should even a moderate share of them reach

l'ail OF à tree At a distance of six fect it ap-

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 51

peared the size of a pigeon's egg. As soon as it observed me it stopped.

Approaching it gradually I could see it crouch, evidently aware that it

and made a strike to empale the body and missed it. What was my aston-

ishment when I beheld a mass of life uniformly BA ups vila the spi-

der; it was all alive. I knocked the spider from the t

beneath; the jar seemed to shake from its abdomen eng I soon saw

were young spiders, as the rock was black with the young ones for a

space of six inches in diameter around the old spider. The parent spider

did not attempt to run but crouched, and the young began to gather upon

her body again. I made a successful hit, and stuck the pin where it held,

and the moment it was inserted into the spider’s body, the young left at

once and dispersed upon the rock. I soon perceived the floating webs

passing from the rock to spears of grass on which spiders were quite

thick. I should say, at a pure guess, that there were two hundred young

spiders, but from the long legs they spread out, they seemed even more

numerous. I next noticed spiders upon my coat, hat and collar, and ex-

perimented myself with the spider p gem out the floating web. When

about six to ten feet from the rock, I saw in the sunlight two webs float-

ing aside of each other, about one dur apart. I saw that the terminus of

these webs were but a short distance from my face, and at each end a

spider. They moved slowly before the wind, and I watched them for

Several feet, mounting upwards until lost to view.—

[Several species of the genus Lycosa are known to ‘inte the | habit of

carrying their young about with them.— Eps.]

THE CATTLE Tick.—The perfect insect found in Texas, gorged with

blood and ready to give birth to its young, is much like Fig. 1e of the

Moose Tick (NATURALIST, Vol. II, p. 559). They drop from the cattle in

the woods, and more frequently along the cattle paths. How long before

they appear as “seed ticks" I do not know. It was a prevalent notion

among the people that they burst open, nearly the whole interior being

composed of the young. These, probably, soon after birth, ascend to the

When taken off by one they soon commence grein and in three or

four days, I should think, gorge themselves and fall off. They are then,

except as to size, much like the full-grown pides insect. emi long a

time is required for them to become depleted, or to regain their flattened

form, I do not know; but when ready for a new meal or a new

formation (now called Linee ticks"), they again bushes, but

not in clusters; or they crawl over fallen leaves and attach themselves

again to animals as chance may me. They again gorge themselves an

fall off as before, to become lean a second time. A third time they fasten

to horses, cattle, hogs, dogs, man, and other animals. This seems to be

their last time, and, when full, they fall off and become converted to seed

ticks. This was the common belief, and may be more or

defecti

a2 ee unted only twelve. Van Beneden |

52 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

In Cuba I started from St. Jago, with two horses, to go to Havana.

Before I had travelled half the journey one of the horses became infested —

with ticks, the other had none or few. Every day while resting at noon

wira knife I scraped off all - ticks I could see or feel. Notwithstand [

horses fed. Around the larger ticks were generally found one or mo

ssi ones, sometimes many of the latter. I have seen something of eil

kind in the coast prairies of Texas. Are they viviparous? I never ob- .

above mentioned ticks of Cuba were those of the savanna rather than of

the timbered parts. — CHARLES WRIGHT.

S FOR POLLEN FoR Honky Bkks.— My bees carry into

ing her eggs, iud strong swarms are ready to come out on the bleak

Shores of Lake Erie by the middle of May, — an occurrence often n happen-

ing with me since I began to thus feed them, in 1860, but not happening

when the meal is withheld. Unbolted rye flour, and also ground linseed

or oil-cake may be substituted, but the best rye meal is preferred by the

bees, and is perhaps the cheapest. A handful of clean straw should be

placed in an open box, standing in the middle of the apiary, and the meal

Should be scattered over the Straw; otherwise many of the bees will get

fatally swamped in the meal.—J. P. KIRTLAND. East Roe

j kport, O.

epredator enter the small hive, drag out the queen, and fly away with

her to the woods. — JARED P. Kim’

— VARIATI ION IN THE pense OF WHaLES.— M. Van Bambeke has.

rally unli e

greater individual differences than usual in other vertebrate animals, and

a great number of individuals are necessary for the establishment of spe-

. There are, however, some naturalists for whom any modification,

mweer small it may be, suffices for the creation of new species. The

Tursio ibed by M. Van Bambeke, has thirteen ribs on one side, and

fourteen on the other, like the skeleton of the he Mysticetus, at Brussels. In

another Tursio, of Heligoland, V. Van Beneden has found thirteen, and in

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 53

has seen a Globiceps with ten ribs, and another with eleven; a Narwhale

with tits thirteen or fourteen ribs. As to the number of vertebra, it

is true that they do not vary with age, but they vary in number in the

same species. y Balenoptera rostrata Fabr., so remarkable for its

forty-eight vertebre, sometimes has forty-nine, and he has seen at Ber-

gen, a skeleton of a male and of a female, both from the coast of N arway,

of which one had only forty-five vertebræ, and the other forty-nine. Mr.

Flower has counted fifty, and Lacépède has mentioned forty-six as occur-

ring in the same species. — Cosmos

EGGS OF YAMA MAI SILK-woRM FOR SALE.—I have received from

England, on sale, a number of eggs of Attacus Yama mai, which I am now

ready to deliver. The price of Yama mai eggs is ten for 30 cents, or

thirty-five for $1. Picked eggs direct from Japan.— W. V. ANDREWS,

136 Charlton street, New York.

E OF LIVING FISH FROM SOUTH OF THE EQUATOR TO

EuRoPE.— Mr. Moore has succeeded in importing into Liverpool from

the itive: Plata, the first living fish (a fresh-water Aa that has

been received from the south of the Equator. Dr. E. right has also

brought to Paris living specimens of the only fresh-water Cyprinoid of

the Secheylles iiia Scientific Opinion, Decem

DEEP SEA DREDGING. — Dr. E. P. Wright has sree in 480 fathoms,

off the coast of Portugal, living specimens of the Glass Sponge (Hyalo-

nema Lusitanicum). Until first discovered by Prof. Bocaga, of Lisbon, it

had only been known from Japan.

At this great depth, also, lives a shark (Centroscymnus celolepis Bocage

Cap.), a small fish (Chiasmodon niger Johnson), and an Isis-like coral

(Keratoisis Grayii Wright).— Annals and Magazine of Natural History,

December, 1868

MarsvupiaL Docs. — Of all mammals there is perhaps not one existing

which is so truly teres so deeply significant of the history of the

development and geographical distribution of mammals, as the marsupial

dog. There are two Tasmanian species of this genus, Thylacinus, one

of which is called the greyhound, and e"; other the bull-dog tiger.—

Quarterly Journal of Science, January, 18

THE BELTED KINGFISHER AGAIN.—I notice in the CRI NIIS so many

conflicting statements relative to the nesting of the Belted Kingfisher,

reeding

of ell known bird. In Southern Illinoi is resi-

dent, and usually begins incubation a the middle of April. I have

f numerous nests, all similarly located, viz., in the of som

Stream, or ravine, frequently far from any stream affording - a supply

of food. On one occasion I found its excavation in the cut of a rail-

road, at least a mile from the river. t excavations that I xd found

varied in length from three to as much as nine feet, but more generally

54 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

about six feet. Frequently the excavation makes a rather abrupt bend,

in the form of an elbow, but I have often found it straight to the end. I

believe the termination is a little higher than the entrance. The “nest

was always in a sort of oven-shaped chamber, near the end, the bottom

being a little lower than the floor of the tunnel.” I have never found any -

elaborate nest, the eggs in a majority of cases lying on the bare earth. On

two occasions, however, I have found a bed of broken fragments of craw- |.

fish shells, and fish-bones; but never to my knowledge any sticks or ©

eri

sexes incubate, as I have caught both male and female upon the eggs.—

ROBERT RIDGEWAY.

GEOLOGY.

No other shells besides Unios were found, although a few others may

yet be discovered. Very few other kinds are to be found in the river

near there. e bones of the deer are common among the shells, the

nari lways being split open. Pieces of the carapace and other

bones of the fresh-water turtle were also found. Among the implements

found by the slight excavation mentioned, are one hatchet of greenish

hornblendie rock, some flint arrow-heads and sharp-edged flints, probably _

used for skinning animals, and fragments of crude pottery. Some frag-

ments of the'latter bear evidence of having been bürnt in contact with

mara *

marrow

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 55

organic matter, and were probably broken and spoiled while being used

for cooking purposes. Fragments of charcoal were frequently found scat-

tered through the mass

tery is composed of common clayey earth intermixed with

while soft in a loose fabric or netting, probably of twisted bark fibres,

the twist of the thread being easily distinguished

The examination of this Ie accumulation has been very slight,

but it is proposed to resume it next s HITE

RHEUMATISM IN PREHISTORIC TIMES. — At the last Aci: of the Patho-

logical Society of London, Mr. Bush exhibited some specimens of patho-

logical fossils. He exhibited a bone of a fossil rhinoceros which had been

afflicted with rheumatism. He also exhibited a bone of a cave-bear, with

hibernated; and another bone, of the same species of bear, which had

been the seat of an osseous tumor. — Cosmos.

Disease also pcdes among the dno of the de ceri formation

PER aly of Mosasaurus, which has a bidon Matia nal disloca-

n of the ramus of the mandible. It has an Mita behind the mid-

og which has lateral and some vertical motion.

Disease is more common among the lower animals than is usually sup-:

posed. Prof. J. Leidy has exhibited to the Philadelphia Academy of Nat-

ural Sciences, pus globules from an abscess in the muscle of an oyster.

— EDITORS.

Fosst PLANTS FROM GREENLAND.— Mr. Whymper has brought from

the peat: formation in Greenland, 137 species, of which forty-six are

common the European deposits of the Miocene Tertiary. Among the

Noe: are the cones of the magnolia, and the flowers and fruit of

the chestnut. — Cosmos.

THE EARLIEST PLant.—The discovery of Eozoón in the Touientito

rocks of Canada was of great interest. One of the most important dis-

coveries recently made in paleontological science is analogous with it.

equivalents of our Longmynd rocks. A peculiar interest attaches to this

discovery, inasmuch as it carries back the appearance or itia vege-

— upon the earth’s’ through a f time, no land-

having previously ini known older than the Dose Ludlow beds.

The psu fossils now discovered appear w s UM stems and long

parallel-veined leaves of mewhat allied to the

grasses and rushes of the present day. These plants apparently grew on

the margin of shallow waters, and were buried in sand and silt, hodie

it is probable that several species, and even genera, may occur in the

sandstone blocks which have been examined. They are provisionally in-

56 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES, ETC.

cluded in a single species, to which the name of Eophyton SEMPER has

been given. Eophyton, therefore, stands by the side of Eozoón,—the

one being, in the present state of our knowledge, the earliest Stare plant,

as the other is the earliest animal organism. — Quarterly Journal of

Science.

PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.

Hisro L Society OF Passaic, N. J. — This active society was or-

ganized seh 28th, 1867, and held its first field meeting July 15th, 1868,

when glacial marks were discovered upon the rocks near Little Falls, run-

ning in a south- -easterly direction.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

Dome Camp Grant, near Richmond, Va.—The smaller of your plants is Selaginella

ue tow is Hypnum tamariscinum. Both are found widely Aistributed through

the he United States. — J.

. A., Augusta, Me. — Your insect boxes should be made as pem air-tight as pos-

sible to be insect proof. The cover ra shut down upon an in md om so that

an invading insect will have to make rns in order to get fairly yr the box.

The inside should be daubed with serena e camphor, wrapped in paper with pin

holes, should be pinned to the bottom of the

. M., Cold Springs, N. Y.— Agassiz’s * Methods f Study " is a good introduci w

Book for barianers in Zoölogy, and may be read with Tenney's “ Zoolo for Schools,”

Clark's ** Mind in Nature," and A epe and God ld’s “ Principles of Zoólo:

. H. E., Co: Mi urgh, W. Va. he worm sae apep AN X» is two feet yl and the

largest one we ever n a gigantic VE y. 96 dius) Compare the account of

the Gordius-like worm np. 4l. Also see Bg ot

on different species of inas dieman aen nd also on other plants, includir t cotton

DP vpn tend Ind.— The fern is ME iei Merten t i Bae cred frond). y

good s mens of the aquatic plants T we RE have named say beg a T

set under asw bere corresponding to those on the seem, ou keep

O. C. M.. New Haven, and on — Your pay mt meer a he Chicago

XC of the American Association for the A eile ru Cof Science, should E sent to —

E. We — Salem, Mass., quite soon, to be in time for printing.- —F. W.P.

——ÓM Á——

"BOOKS a

gos iPs Books of Natural Hist P- acis Book of Insects; ook of Birds;

ues dA. Woo seh MONACA NAN Clark Co. Es ia

upon Woo a niversal on hl

Reports of the U. 8. Comitlesloners.) VN andes velie by db ia:

- ished by the National Association Wool

Catalogue of the Orthoptera i f North orth America described previous to 1861 jui

for the Smithsonian Institution by S. H. Scudder. M MAE 8v0, pp. 89. i

fic Opinion (Weekly). December, 1868. London,

so Che, American. Agricultural An nual. New York: Orange Judd & Co. 12mo. 1809. —

o Americ se i & Co. Emo. 189. —

uu Jam

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. III. — APRIL, 1869. — No. 2.

coc G3 (94e DD o

THE ABORIGINAL MOUND BUILDERS OF TENNESSEE,

BY DR. JOSEPH JONES.

Wuen the first Anglo-American pioneers, about the mid-

dle of the last century, explored the country east and north

of the Tennessee River, the territory between the Ohio and

Tennessee Rivers was a vast unoccupied wilderness. The

rich valleys, hills and plains of Tennessee and Kentucky

were crowded with a dense growth of forest trees and canes,

and formed an extensive park, held permanently only by the

beasts of the forest, and abounding with immense herds of

buffalo, flocks of wild turkeys, droves of deer and innumer-

able bears. The nearest permanent Indian settlements were

on the Sciota and Miami on the north, and on the waters of

the Little Tennessee on the south; and from these points

the warriors of the Miami Confederacy of the north, and the

Choctaws, Chickasaws and Cherokees of the south issued to

engage in hunting and war, in this great central theatre. At

this period, by common agreement of all the surrounding

tribes, this section of country, which, for its fertile soil, nu-

merous rivers and abundant supply of fish and game, was

admirably adapted to the settlement of savage tribes, ap-

peared to have been reserved from permanent occupancy.

That this country, in common with other portions of the

Entered according to Act of Congress. in the year 1869, by the PEABODY ACADEMY OF

SCIENCE, in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts,

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. (57)

98 - THE MOUND BUILDERS OF TENNESSEE.

great Valley of the Mississippi, was inhabited in ancient

times by a comparatively dense population, who subsisted

by the arts of husbandry, as well as by the chase, is evident |

from the numerous depositories of the dead in the caves and -

along the banks of the streams in the fertile valleys, and -

around the cool springs which abound in this limestone re-

gion, and from the imposing monumental remains and exten-

sive earthworks.

A considerable portion of the city of Nashville has been.

built over an extensive Indian graveyard,* which lay along

the valley of Lick Branch. A large portion of these graves |

have on removed i in the boilding of North Nashville. In.

and obtained a small stone hatchet, and another implement -

of hard, silicious stone, beautifully polished. This stone

implement is supposed to have been used in the dressing of |

hides. All around the sulphur spring, traces of the aborigi- |

nes are manifest in the form of Gansiinis of large pots and

various implements. It is supposed that this salt lick was

frequented by the Indians for game and the manufacture of ;

salt.

Extensive fortifications, several miles in extent, enclosi

two systems of mounds and numerous stone graves, lie along

the Big oe about sixteen miles below Old Town, at at

t rectly

across from the sont of Lick Branch and another about one and a half m lower

down; another at Cockrill’s Spring, two an miles from the Sulphur Spring;

another six d from Nashville on the (iion Pike, and still aries ie at Hayes-

ous stone graves are also found on White's Creek, on the Dick

Pike, nine i from Nashville, and at Sycamore, twenty-two miles ^r Nashville,

on the plantation of Colonel Overton, an and around

Springs, and on the plantation of Mr.Scales. Extensive Indian

an Rivers, as A

plantation of General ‘DeGraffenreid, two and a half miles above Franklin, numerous

stone graves are found within an extensive

THE MOUND BUILDERS OF TENNESSEE. 59

Mound Bottom and Osborn’s Place. At these extensive for-

tifications, which enclose the sites of two ancient cities, are

found three pyramidal mounds, about fifty feet in elevation,

and each one containing an acre upon its summit, and be-

sides these, numerous lesser mounds. Such structures must

have required the labor of a considerable population for a

series of years; and more especially must the erection of

these earth pyramids have been slow and tedious, as the

aborigines were without horses or carts, and the immense

mass of earth must have been carried by hand in baskets and

skins. The old road or trail which connected these two

ancient cities can still be discerned in the forest, the well-

worn way being in some places a foot or more beneath the

general surface. It is evident from these facts that a chain

of fortified towns extended in ancient days all along Big

Harpeth, and from careful excavations and examinations and

comparisons of the crania and relies, we are convinced that

they were all erected by the same race. One of the most

remarkable aboriginal remains in Tennessee is found in the

fork of Duck River, near Manchester, and is known as the

Stone Fort. The walls of the fort have been formed of

loose rocks and stones gathered from the bed of the river.

The gateway of the fort, which opens toward the neck of

land between the two branches of the river, is carefully pro-

tected by an inner line of works, so constructed that the

enemy entering the fort would be received in a blind pouch

or bag. Dimetly in front of the gateway of the fort, and `

about half a mile distant, stands a remarkable mound, the

structure of which is similar to that of the walls of the fort,

being composed of rocks, none of which exceed a foot and a

half in diameter. This oblong mound is 600 feet in cireum-

ference and forty feet in height, and the labor of collecting

and depositing the loose rocks by — must have been con-

siderable.

It would be impossible for us upon the present occasion to

enter into a minute description of the mounds of Tennessee.

60 THE MOUND BUILDERS OF TENNESSEE.

They are found upon the Cumberland, Little Tennessee, Big E j

Tennessee, French Broad, Elk River, Harpeth, Duck and 3

Stone Rivers. As a general rule these mounds are erected a

upon rich alluvial bottoms, and are either surrounded by ex- 1

tensive earthworks, or are located in the neighborhood of —

these fortifications, which mark the site of towns. The :

mounds vary in number and size, in a measure, with the :

extent and richness of the valleys and the size of the earth- ,

works. The smallest are not more than a few feet in height, |

and about thirty feet in diameter, while the largest attain a

height of seventy feet, and cover an aere or two of ground.

Many of the smaller mounds were used for the burial of the

dead, others for the purpose of religious sacrifice and for the 4

were most probably the sites of the temples and council-

houses of the aborigines. :

The ancient inhabitants of Tennessee also left singular

paintings upon the rocks, representing the sun and moon.

These paintings occupy the face of perpendicular cliffs on :

the Harpeth, Tennessee, French Broad, Duck and Cumber-

land Rivers. The paintings are executed with red ochre,

upon high, inaccessible walls of rock overhanging the water,

and were, without doubt, devoted to sacred purposes, and

. were emblematic of the sun, the god of the aborigines. The

paintings of the sun on the rocks on Big Harpeth River

about three miles below the road which crosses this stream

from Nashville to Charlotte, can be seen for a distance of

four miles, and it is probable that the worshippers of the sun

assembled before this high place for the performance of thei

sacred rights. At Buffalo Gap, on the same stream, whe

the ancient trail of the buffalo is still distinct, a line of buf-

faloes is painted upon the cliff rock which overhangs from

above, and is capable of sheltering a thousand men.

We have still another evidence of the existence of a nu-

. merous population, in the fact that the first settlers found

the eavos Sd. kh ku ub ls bin

THE MOUND BUILDERS OF TENNESSEE. 61

Hay wood relates that in the spring of the year 1811, two

human beings were found in a copperas cave, in Warren

County, in West Tennessee, about fifteen miles south-west

from Sparta, and twenty miles from MeMinnville. One of

these persons was a male, the other a female. "They were

interred in baskets made of cane, curiously wrought, and

evidencing great mechanical skill. They were both dislo-

cated at the hip joint, and were placed erect in the baskets,

with a covering of cane made to fit the baskets in which they

were placed. The flesh of these persons was entire and

undecayed, of a brown color, produced by time, the flesh

having adhered to the bones and sinews. Around the female,

next her body, was placed a well dressed doeskin; next to

this was placed a rug, very curiously wrought of the bark of

a tree and feathers. The bark seemed to have been formed

of small strands well twisted. Around each of these strands

feathers were rolled, and the whole woven into cloth of a

fine texture, after the manner of our common coarse fabrics.

This rug was about three feet wide, and between six and

seven feet in length. The whole of the ligaments thus

formed of bark were completely eovered by the feathers,

forming a body of about one-eighth of an inch in thickness,

the feathers extending about one-quarter of an inch in length

from the strand to which they were confined. Its appear-

ance was highly diversified by green, blue, yellow and black,

presenting different shades of color when reflected upon by

the light in different positions. The next covering was an

undressed deer-skin, around which was rolled in good order

a plain shroud manufactured after the same order as the one

ornamented with feathers. This article resembled very much

in its texture the bags generally used for the purpose of

holding coffee, exported from Havana to the United States.

The female had in her hand a fan formed of the tail feathers

of a turkey, curiously bound with buckskin strings and scar-

let colored hair, so as to open and shut readily. The hair

of these mummies was still remaining upon their heads, and

62 THE MOUND BUILDERS OF TENNESSEE.

was of a yellow caste and very fine texture. De Soto, in.

his mareh in 1539 and 1540, saw great numbers of similar —

feathered mantles; the Mexicans at the time of the Spanish

conquest were clad in similar garments. E |

The tribes of Indians inhabiting the immense territory

called by the Spaniards, Florida, embracing a country of

indefinite extent, bordering upon the Gulf of Mexico, an

including a large portion of the Valley of the Mississippi

and the present States of Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Missis-

sippi, and the middle and western portions of Tennessee,

were more highly civilized, and farther advanced than those

` in more northern regions; they were worshippers of the sun,

were governed by despotic princes, cultivated the soil, had

made some advances in the arts, and their manners, customs

and religion all pointed to Mexico as their native country.

The population was much greater at the time of the inva-

sion of De Soto than it has been at any subsequent period

Large armies were frequently arrayed against him.

Potosa, Florida, he was furnished with seven hundred bur-

den bearers. In Ocute, Georgia, he was supplied with two

hundred of these Indian servants, and at Cafeque, in the

same State, four thousand more transported the effects of his

army. A numerous population was found in the provin

of Coofa, and large forces opposed him at Maubila, Chi

asa, and Alabama. The invasion of De Soto resulted in the

destruction of an immense Indian population in all the te

tory through which he passed ; they were not only destroyed

in the bloody battles by thousands, but they were worn out.

by heavy burdens, and hunted down with bloodhounds. The

European diseases, which the natives inherited from the

. Spaniards, served also to thin out their population. Again,

ihe constant bloody wars in which they were afterwards en-

gaged among themselves, and which, to a great extent, grew

out of the invasions, still farther reduced their numbers.

. The towns were surrounded with walls of earth and pa

THE MOUND BUILDERS OF TENNESSEE. 63

ditches were also found in various parts of the country. The

most remarkable of the latter was at Pascha, west of the

Mississippi. Here a large ditch, "wide enough for two

canoes to pass abreast, without the paddles touching,” sur-

rounded a walled town. It was cut nine miles longs com-

municated with the Mississippi, supplied the uaiiie with

fish, and afforded them the privileges of navigation.

The natives formed artificial mounds for purposes of bur-

ial, worship, habitation and defense. The houses of the

chiefs, with but few exceptions, stood upon large and ele-

vated artificial mounds. When the Indians of 1540 resolved

to build a town, the site of which was usually selected upon

low rich land, by the side of some stream, or in the neigh-

borhood of a large never-failing spring, they first erected a

mound from twenty to fifty feet high, round on the sides but

flat on the top. The habitations of the chief and his family

were erected upon the summit. At the foot of the eminence

a square was marked out around which the principal men

placed their houses, and around them the inferior classes

erected their wigwams. Some of these mounds had stair-

ways upon their sides, and were so steep as to be accessible

only by the artificial way. They were thus rendered secure

from the attacks of an Indian enemy. Mounds were also

erected over the chiefs after their death, whilst others were

formed by the slow accumulation of the dead through ages.

The aborigines, at the time of De Soto, worshipped the

sun, and erected large temples, which were also receptacles

of the bones of the dead. The natives worshipped the sun,

and entertained great veneration for the moon and certain

stars. When the Indian ambassadors crossed the Savannah

to meet De Soto, they made three profound bows toward

the East, intended for the sun; three toward the West for

the moon, and three toward De Soto. Upon the eastern

bank of the Mississippi all the Indians approached him with-

out uttering a word, and went through precisely the same

ceremony, making to DeSoto, however, three bows much

64 THE MOUND BUILDERS OF TENNESSEE.

less reverential than those made to the sun and moon. Simi- 7.

lar customs prevailed on the west bank of this great river.

In the morning every Indian presented himself at the en-

trance of his cabin, and extending his hands toward the

sun, as his first ray beamed from the eastern horizon, ad-

dressed a rude but fervent hymn of adoration to his glory.

during the day; and they were particularly careful that his

last ray should strike their heads.

A remarkable temple was situated in the town of Talmaco,

upon the Savannah River, three miles distant from Cutifachi-

que, near Silver Bluff. It was more than one hundred feet

in length, and fifty feet in width. The walls were high in

proportion, and the roof steep and covered with mats of

split cane, interwoven so compaetly that they resembled the

rush carpeting of the Moors. The roof was covered with

shells of various kinds, arranged in an ingenious manner.

On the inside beautiful festoons of pearls, plumes and shells

extended along the sides down to the floor. The temple was

entered by three gates, guarded by gigantie wooden statues,

some of which were armed with drawn bows and long pikes,

and others with copper hatchets. On the sides of the walls

were large benches, in which sat boxes containing the de-

ceased chiefs and their families. "Three rows of chests full

of valuable pearls occupied the middle of the temple. The

fhde of feathers. |

Upon the route through Alabama and the neighboring

States, De Soto found the temples full of human bones. The

large towns contained stone houses, filled with rich and com-

fortable clothing, such as mantles of hemp, and fasihers of

i every - color a ee . The

1 i £

THE MOUND BUILDERS OF TENNESSEE. 65

of the various barks of trees, and a species of flax inter-

woven and dyed of various colors; also, well dressed and

painted skins, and garments worn with beautiful feathers.

The mantle was thrown over the shoulders with the arm ex-

posed. Great men were sometimes, after the manner of the

Mexicans, borne upon litters by their subjects, while their

heads were shielded from the sun by shades made of feathers

or gaudily painted hides.

The important conclusion which we draw from these inves-

tigations is: That the race which erected the mounds and

fortifications of Tennessee was existing and active at the

time of the discovery of North America, and possessed the

country with a numerous population, even as late as the ex-

ploration of De Soto. This conclusion, which is at variance

with the theories propounded by various ethnologists of

Europe and America, who assign a considerable period to

the extinction of the mound builders, will be still farther

sustained by the remarkable discovery which we have made

during the progress of these investigations, of the cross, em-

blems of the Christian religion, and especially of the Trin-

ity, the Saviour and the Virgin Mary in the mounds of Ten-

nessee. We believe that the preceding conclusion is based

upon incontrovertible facts and evidence.

We will proceed to consider, in the next place, the mode

of burial practiced by the aborigines of Tennessee, as shown

by their sacred and sacrificial mounds and stone graves.

The ancient race of Tennessee buried their dead in rude

stone coffins or sarcophagi, constructed of flat pieces of lime-

stone or slaty sandstone, which abounds in Middle Tennes-

see. Extensive graveyards are found in Tennessee and

Kentucky along the river courses, in the valleys and around

the springs, in which the stone coffins lie close to each other.

These graves, although justly regarded as rude fabrics,

nevertheless exhibit considerable skill in their construction,

and are standing memorials of the regard in which the an-

cient race held the memory se the dead.

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. HI.

66 THE MOUND BUILDERS OF TENNESSEE.

The manner of burial appeared to have been thus: An —

excavation of the proper size, according to that of the body —

of the dead, was made in the ground, and the bottom care- -

fully paved with flat stones. Long flat stones, or slabs of

limestone and slaty sandstone, were placed along the sides,

and at the head and foot of the grave. The body or skeleton

was then placed within the rude coffin, and the top covered

with a large flat rock, or with several flat rocks. When a

number of coffins were constructed together, the side rocks

of the first coffin frequently constituted the side of the sec-

ond, and so on. Many of the graves are quite small, only

eapable of containing the body of a new-born infant. Many

of the short square graves, not more than eighteen inches,

or two feet in length, contain the bones of adults piled to-

gether, the head being surrounded by, or resting upon the .

arm and leg bones. This class of graves, containing the

bones of adults packed in a small space, was probably con-

structed at the general burying festival, or contained the re-

mains of the dead which had been transported from a great

distance.

In a small mound, about forty-five feet in diameter, and

about twelve feet in height, which I opened, about ten miles

from Nashville, on the banks of a small stream and spring;

and which contained perhaps one hundred skeletons, the

stone graves, especially towards the centre of the mound,

. were placed one upon the other, forming in the highest part

of the mound three or four ranges. The oldest and lowest

graves were of the small square variety, while those near or

upon the summit, were of the natural length and width of

the skeleton within.

: | mound, as in other burial places, i in the small

; equare. stone graves, the bones were frequently found broken,

and while some graves contained only a portion of an entire

— others contained fragments of two or more skele-

together. The small mound now under con-

on, which was one of the most perfect in its construc-

THE MOUND BUILDERS OF TENNESSEE. 61

tion, the lids of the upper sarcophagi being so arranged as to

form an .even-rounded, shelving rock surface, was situated

upon the western slope of a beautiful hill covered with the

magnificent growth of the native forest. The remains of an

old Indian fortification were still evident, surrounding an

extensive encampment and several other mounds. Ina large

and carefully constructed stone tomb, the lid of which was

formed of a flat rock, over seven feet in length, and three

feet wide, I exhumed the bones of what was supposed to

have been an ancient Indian chief who had passed his hun-

dred summers. The skeleton was about seven feet in length,

and the huge jaws had lost every vestige of teeth, the alveo-

lar processes being entirely absorbed.

The hill upon which the residence of Col. Overton stands,

about nine miles from Nashville, was in ancient times cov-

ered with a flourishing Indian village. The circular depres-

sions of their wigwams are still visible. The aborigines

appeared to have been attracted to this locality by the noble

spring which bursts out at the foot of the hill. Thousands

of bones were exhumed in excavating the cellar of the family

mansion. The crest and south-eastern slope of the hill are

covered with stone graves, many of which have been opened

by curiosity hunters. A large number are concealed by the

rank growth of weeds and grass. Those which I examined —

-aat this locality were all constructed upon the same plan.

Here, as elsewhere, the graves were of various sizes, from

that just sufficient to enclose the remains of a little child, up

to the long stone coffin of eight feet. Some have supposed

that these little graves enclosed a race of pigmies, but upon

careful examination of many, at various localities, we dis-

covered that they were simply the graves of the young; for

we found the teeth in all stages of development, from the

toothless child, through the period of dentition, up to the

appearance of the wisdom teeth. Some of the small graves

contained the bones of small animals, apparently of dogs,

rabbits, squirrels and wild cats, and of birds, such as the wild

68 THE MOUND BUILDERS OF TENNESSEE.

turkey. These animals were buried with the children.

Some of the burial mounds were evidently used also for 3

sacred and religious purposes, and were held in high venera-

tion as the resting place of royal families. Thus, in a small

mound which I explored, about one hundred feet in diame-

berland River, opposite the city of Nashville, and just across

from the mouth of Lick Branch, at the foot of a large mound,

which had been apparently used as a residence, I discovetetil

the following interesting remains:

In the centre of the mound, about three feet from its sur-

face, I uncovered a large sacrificial vase, or altar, forty-three .

inehes in diameter, composed of a mixture of clay and river

shells. The rim of the vase was three inches in height.

The entire vessel had been moulded in a large wicker basketi

formed of split canes, and the leaves of the cane, the impres-

sions of which were plainly visible upon the outer surface.

The circle of the vase appeared to be almost mathematically

correct. The surface of the altar was covered with a layer

of ashes, about one inch in thickness, and these ashes had

the appearance and composition of having been derived from

the burning of animal matter. The umm and jaw bone of

a deer were found resting upon the surface of the altar. The

edges of the vase, shik had been broken off, apparently by

accident during the performances of the religious ceremonies,

were carefully. laid over the layer of ashes, and the whole

covered with earth near three feet in thickness, and thus the

ashes have been preserved to a remarkable extent from the

action of the rains.

Stone sarcophagi were ranged around the central altar with

the heads of the dead to the centre, and the feet to the cir-

S cumference, resembling the radii of a circle. The inner

circle of graves was constructed with great care, and all the

Indians buried around the altar were ornamented with beads |

of various kinds, some of which had been cut out of large

He, others out of bone, and others aguin, wore oon.

ter and’ about ten feet high, on the eastern bank of the Cum- E

THE MOUND BUILDERS OF TENNESSEE. 69

posed of an entire sea-shell, punctured, so as to admit of the

passage of the thread upon which they were strung.

In a most carefully constructed stone sarcophagus with the

face looking to the setting sun, a beautiful shell ornament

was found resting upon the breast bone. It had a central

sun, and the large circle around this curiously divided into

three figures or equal parts, with two outer rows of suns (nine

suns in the outer row, making twenty-three suns in these two

rows), making with the central sun, twenty-four suns in all ;

and with stars encircling the suns. This ornament upon its

concave figured surface, had been covered with red paint;

upon the back the convex plane surface was smooth and plain,

with the exception of three crescentie marks.

The material of which it is composed was derived from a

large flat sea-shell; no fresh water muscle, in any part of the

waters of Tennessee and of the surrounding States, could

furnish a uniform thickness of flat shell equal to this; and

the regularity of its convexity and concavity, as well as the

perfection of all its parts, and the uniformity of its thickness

everywhere, are proofs that it must have been derived from

_a very large shell from the sea coast. This skeleton had

around the neck, arms, waist and ankles, numerous beads of

various kinds. The smaller beads were all of the small sea-

shells. This stone grave had been constructed with such

care, that little or no earth had fallen in and the skeleton

rested as it were in a perfect vault. The head, which was

evidently that’ of a woman, was in a remarkable state of pres-

ervation.

From the nature of the ornament upon the breast, as well

as from the care with whieh the sarcophagus had been con-

structed, we judged that this was the priestess of the sun.

In the grave of a child, near the right side of the grave of

the priestess of the sun, and at the foot of the grave of a

giga gantic old Indian, seven feet in length, and of great age,

as manifested by the loss of teeth, and the absorption of the

alveoli, a curious Paini black idol was exhumed. The fea-

70 THE MOUND BUILDERS OF TENNESSEE.

tures of this image resemble those of the Aztec, or ancient —

Mexican sculptures. The figure is kneeling, with the hands ~

clasped across the breasts (forming a cross) in the attitude -

of prayer. This image is formed of a mixture of black clay -

and powdered shells, and is exceedingly hard, with a smooth, —

polished surface. The under jaw of the old Indian, whose |

grave lay near this idol, was of remarkable size, and had

only one long, sharp fang, like the tooth of a wild animal.

On the left of the grave of the priestess of the sun lay two

other most carefully constructed graves, in one of which nu-

merous beads were found, enclosing or encircling various |

portions of the skeleton, and in the other a large sea conch.

Also two copper ornaments, lying on the side of the head of

the skeleton, or rather two round pieces of wood, with a

hole in the centre, and covered with a thin layer of copper.

Two skeletons, apparently those of a man and woman, were

found on the southern slope of the mound near the altar,

which had been interred without any stone coffin. In the

hand of the woman was a beautiful, light reddish yellow

vase, painted with regular black Binnion. Under the head

of the male skeleton na a splendid stone hatchet with the

entire handle and ring, at the end of the handle, cut out of a

compact green chloritic primitive stone. A circle of graves ;

extended around the inner circle, which we have described

After careful examination, we were forced to the conclusion

that this sacred mound was formed at the time of the death

of some celebrated chief or chieftess, the representative of

the sun; and the more distinguished members of the family

were > buried in the inner circle around the altar, where the -

nt: around at their feet. | It is probable that this sacred

[

CC RW MER EIER TAMUE TTE

THE MOUND BUILDERS OF TENNESSEE. 71

mound marked the site of an ancient temple of the sun, in

which the aborigines kept the eternal fire. The sacrifices

upon the altar appear, from the bones of the deer, the ant-

lers, ete., to have been not human, but animal.

That the aborigines of Tennessee were idolaters, is mani-

fest from the stone and clay idols, which have been found in

various portions of the State, some of which were found in

caves, and others upon the summit of high mounds.

It is worthy of notice that some of the idols have the fore-

head flattened, making an exact line with the nose, and re-

sembling in all respects the Toltec heads of Mexico, while

others are represented with full round foreheads; and it is

still further worthy of notice that the hair of the head of the

idols is represented in a very different mode from that in

which the nomadic tribes of North American Indians now

wear it. In the female idols the hair is gathered into a knot

or "waterfall" behind, while in the male idols it is bound

into a cue behind, like the hair of the Chinese. These re-

markable sculptures in hard sandstone, limestone and por-

phyry, eorrespond in features and mode of hair dress with

the inhabitants of Central America, at the time of the Span-

ish conquest.

Herera, in describing the inhabitants of Yucatan, Says:

“They flatten their heails and foreheads, their ears were

bored, with rings in them, their hair was long like women,

and in tresses, with which they made a garland about the

head, and a little tail hung behind.”

The most important and interesting result in the entire

series of investigations is the discovery of undoubted sym-

bols of the Catholic religion in the stone graves and mounds

of Tennessee. In a stone grave in a small mound within an

extensive fortification on the banks of Big Harpeth River,

two and a half miles from Franklin, on the plantation of

‘General De Graffenried, four copper crosses were exhumed,

resting upon the skull of an old Indian. The copper had

stained the bones of the cranium of a deep green color. In

12 THE MOUND BUILDERS OF TENNESSEE.

their general outlines two of these crosses presented the | 1

general contour of the human figure. The crosses appear E

-~ to have been stamped upon the copper plates with a die.

This grave also contained a remarkable vase, fashioned of

à light yellow clay and crushed river shells, upon the sides

of which were painted in black, three crosses, surrounded

with three circles and three crowns. The rounded body

the vase was accurately divided into three portions, by the

black pigment disposed in three black bands, uniting at the

base and neck of the vase, thus leaving three circular spaces

upon the rounded sides, which were ornamented with the cen

tral cross, an outer circle around each cross, while this cirel

was again surmounted by the crown. Each crown had ten

prominences or points. The superior portion of the neck —

of the vase was arched and so turned as to form the mouth -

horizontally. The summit of the vase terminated in a well

‘shaped nipple.

In a similar burjal mound within the same enclosure:

amongst other most interesting relics, we discovered tw

large v vases, marked in a sida manner, with three divisions

Sete central crosses, three circles around the crosses, à

three crowns. In these large vases the points of the crowns

were drawn out so as to peiciuble spikes and thorns, and i

one of the vases the ends of the thorns, or those portions

which would form the circle of the crown are represented as-

if plaited together. Two vases of similar construction were

also exhumed, one with the head of a Spaniard, with a hel-

met upon the crown. The resemblance of the features to.

those of a Spanish Cavalier is wonderful. This small vessel |

was used as a paint bowl, and still contains the red ochre.

The other black vase is fastened on the summit after th

manner of a hood. Another small idol fashioned of white

clay, found in Middle Tennessee, painted with the same

va pum and dressed l1 to represent

THE FAUNA OF MONTANA TERRITORY. 73

said, has the arms crossed upon the breast, in the attitude of

prayer, the erown upon the head has three prominences, and

the hatchet has three marks upon its head, and the beautiful

shell ornament from the same mound has the symbol of the

Trinity, both upon the anterior and posterior surfaces.

A circular shell ornament, with a well formed crown in

the centre, which had been filled with some kind of red pig-

ment, was discovered by Colonel Putnam in a stone grave

near Nashville.

These religious relics are of a great interest in their bear-

ing upon the probable date of the mounds and temples and

graves in which they are found, and in the proof which they

afford, that the inhabitants of America, have, at various

times, come in contact with the civilization and religions of

Europe, even before the recognized era of the discovery and

exploration of the American continent.

In several of the crania, the os-Incae, characteristic of the

Peruvian skulls, was observed. That this ancient race were

descended from the Toltecs, and were probably a branch of

the Natchez, is rendered probable, not only from the confor-

mation of the crania, but also from the history of this once

powerful, but now extinct nation of the Natchez.

THE FAUNA OF MONTANA TERRITORY.

BY J. G. COOPER, M. D.

(Continued from page 35.)

Car Bren (Mimus Carolinensis). I was surprised to find

the Cat Bird common entirely across the Rocky Mountains to

Ceur d'Aleie Mission, almost on the border of the Columbia

Plains. It has the usual cry and habits of the species. I

thought I saw Oreoscoptes montanus along the Hell Gate

River, but may have been mistaken.

Rock Wren (Salpinctes obsoletus). I observed this bird

NL- — 10

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL.

» a

14 THE FAUNA OF MONTANA TERRITORY.

occasionally through the main Rocky Mountain chain, to

near the crossing of the Bitterroot, but less common than

among the cliffs and rocks of the barren plains along their

eastern slope. Though neither Dr. Suckley nor zy

found it in the western part of Washington Territory, I have

no doubt that it frequents parts of the rocky caüons of the

Columbia Plain, and Nuttall says that he saw it at the "low-

est falls? (Cascades) of the Columbia (Manual, second edi-

tion, Vol. I, p. 492). A nest with nine eggs was found in a

log cabin below Fort Benton.

Winter Wren (Troglodytes hyemalis). Seen only near

the summit of the Cœur d’Alefie Mountains, in September.

CREEPER (Certhia Mexicana). Rather common, especi-

ally in the dark spruce forests of the Cœur d'Alene Range.

Habits and note exactly as in the eastern bird (C. Ameri-

cana).

LonG-BILLED NurHATCH (Sitta aculeata) and ReD-BELLIED

Nurnatcn (S. Canadensis). Both common in the Rocky

Mountains as in the Cascade Range, but rare in the dense

forests.

Pigmy NurHaATCH (S. pygmea). Flocks of this little

bird were met with at intervals from the eastern base of the

Rocky Mountains, in August, to the Spokan River and Fort

Colville, frequenting the open woods of pine (Pinus ponder-

osa), and were more gregarious, lively and noisy, than the =

preceding, constantly chirping like young chickens, and like z

them seeking insects more among the leaves than in the. j

bark. It has also at times a harsh call much like the others. :

NortHern Titmouse (Parus septentrionalis?, var. albe- —

scens). I obtained a specimen of this bird on the bank of

the Missouri within the mountains, and as it is found at Fort

Bridger, have little doubt of its crossing into Washington —

Territory, though I did not again recognize it among the -

many Pari I saw afterwards. The cries and habits of all |

these black-capped species are so nearly similar, that it re- —

quires a very near approach to distinguish them. — P

THE FAUNA OF MONTANA TERRITORY. 15

WrsrERN Titmouse (P. occidentalis). Common in the

Rocky Mountains, associating with the Mountain Titmouse.

Mountain TrruovusE (P. montanus). Rather less abun-

dant than the last, but alike in habits; call-note rather

harsher. Both of my specimens are larger than more west-

ern ones. Seen with the last named at Fort Dalles, Oregon.

Rurous-BACKkED TrrwOUsE (P. rufescens). I met with

this only in the dense forests of the higher Coeur d'Alene

Mountains, along with Turdus nevius, Trogl. hyemalis, ete.,

the same group most common in the similar forests of the

Coast Mountains in this Territory. It there seemed to have

all the business of Titmice to itself, and in notes is easily

distinguishable from any of the preceding, though similar in

habits. I saw it nowhere else east of the nobiles.

Hornep Lark (Eremophila cornuta). Abundant in the

more open prairie districts everywhere. I found many of

its nests along the Upper Missouri.

Evenine Grospeak (Hesperiphona vespertina). During

my residence west of the Cascade Mountains, in 1854, I

often heard a call uttered by some bird flying above the tops

of the highest trees, and audible for a mile in still weather.

I heard the same among and near the Cœur d'Aleie Range,

and saw the birds, but too high to distinguish the species.

They made the cry only when flying from one tree to an-

other, and when feeding among the top branches of the

highest trees were so quiet that I never could even see them.

I always supposed them to be the Evening Grosbeak, which

they resemble in size, and Townsend’s observations of its

habits and notes agree iu with these remarks. (Nuttall,

Manual, 1840, Vol. I, p. 620).

The habits of the Black-headed Grosbeak are quite differ-

ent, as it lives commonly among bushes, or near the ground

in open woods, and has no such cry. The birds seen may

possibly, however, have been Pine Grosbeaks, which belong

to the same long-winged group of arboreal finches, and were

collected in these mountains in winter by Mr. Hildreth.

16 THE FAUNA OF MONTANA TERRITORY.

PunPLE FrwcH (Carpodacus). I saw none throughout -

the journey. :

YeLLow Bird (Chrysomitris tristis). I saw this bird at

the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains, and as it occurs

also along the lower Columbia it is probably to be found in

summer through nearly the whole territory. Nuttall found

its nest on Lewis' (Snake) River. (Vol. I, p. 595).

Pine Fıxcu (C. pinus). Common throughout the moun-

tains.

Rep CnossBiLL ( Curvirostra Americana var. ? Mexicana).

Common throughout, and very abundant in the spruce forests

of the Ceur d'Alene Mountains, where it is remarkably fa-

miliar, feeding and dusting much on the ground, especially

about the few log cabins built there. Among large numbers

closely observed, I saw very few of the white-winged spe-

cies. The male sometimes uttered a few musical notes much

in the style of the Yellow Bird ( C. tristis), but louder. The

specimen preserved is much larger than those I collected on

the west coast in 1853, with the bill also larger, and the pro-

portions are even greater yet than those of Strickland’s L-

Mexicana, from the City of Mexico. (Baird’s Rep., p. 924).

The habits and notes are so universally similar that the va-

rious sizes can scarcely indieate more than local varieties;

such as occur in nearly all our widely spread species. The

bill and feet were, however, black instead of brown.

WnurrE-wivGED ChosspiLL (O. leucoptera). The speci-

men preserved was shot from a flock of the common kind, on

the eastern slope of the Coeur d'Alene Mountains, by Capt.

Floyd Jones. 4

CHESTNUT-COLORED Duxwrrsa ( Plectrophanes ornatus). I

found this species with fledged young in July, on the plains

near Fort Benton, where it evidently breeds.

LARGE SAVANNAH Sparrow (Paserculus Sandwichensis)-

This specimen I shot on the Spokan Prairie, September 24th, —

and saw a few more there and on other parts of the interior —

plains of Washington Territory afterwards. From the earli- —

THE FAUNA OF MONTANA TERRITORY. 77

ness of the season, I suspect that it breeds in these regions,

migrating to the coast for the winter, where I found it from

October to May, in 1854. In habits it resembles the other

Savannah Sparrows.

Lark Fincx ( Chondestes grammaca). Common near Fort

Benton, and occurring in small numbers on the prairies in

and west of the Rocky Mountains.

WHITE-CROWNED Sparrow ( Zonotrichia Gambelii, or Z.

leucophrys?). I found this species only in the Cœur d'Alene

Range, from which circumstance I suppose it to be the Z.

Gambelii. The young specimen preserved had brown feet,

while the adult has them yellow in summer, but brownish in

winter.

OREGON Snowsrrp (Junco Oregonus). I saw no Snow-

birds until September 1st, after which migrating flocks were

common. I could only distinguish this species among them,

though I saw some of a paler hue about the head, probably

from immaturity.

Curprine Sparrow (Spizella socialis). Common through-

out the journey, and nests were found on the Upper Missouri.

Brewer’s Sparrow (S. Brewerii). I found flocks, appa-

rently of this species, on the eastern slope of the mountains

only, migrating South in August. Two which I shot I took .

for the young of S. socialis, and did not preserve them, but

I now think they were of this species. They frequented the

open pine woods, which the former rarely does, preferring

prairies,

The distinction of this from S. pallida is like that of young

birds of the genus generally, and the lists of specimens given

by Baird show that all may have been young birds, judging

from the period of the year they were collected in.

Western Sone Sparrow (Melospiza rufina). This Song

Sparrow was common in the Rocky Mountains, and appeared

to me to resemble M. rufina of the Pacific Coast in every

respect,

BLUE LINNET ( Cyanospiza amæna). I saw this bird on

18 THE FAUNA OF MONTANA TERRITORY.

the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, but not among

them, though it probably occurs there sparsely.

Livconw's Fwon (M. Lincolnii). Rather common in

flocks along the Bitterroot River, migrating in September.

Arctic Grounp-FIncH (Pipilo detiene). I observed

specimens which I supposed to be of this species, entirely

across the Rocky Mountains, and preserved one from each

side. In habits they resembled the eastern and west coast

species, and I observed little difference in their notes at that

season from those of P. Oregonus. I also preserved a nest

and eges of this ( ?) from along the Missouri River.

Bosornrk (Dolichonyx oryzivorus). At several points in

the valley of the Bitterroot River, I heard and saw at a dis-

tance what I took for the Bobolink, the flight and flying-

call exactly resembling that bird’s. At Coeur d’Alefie Mis-

sion I again met with it, but could not get near enough to

shoot it or determine the species, though they frequented a

wheat-field for several mornings. I know no bird likely to

be mistaken for it, and having been found at Fort Bridger, a

few probably go north to latitude 47° 30’, as they go to

latitude 54° east of the mountains, according to Richardson.

The Calamospiza, which is common near Fort Benton, I saw

no farther west, and its notes and habits are quite different.

ow Buntine (Molothrus pecoris). I saw this bird only

ence near Fort Benton, but as it abounds along the Platte

River and follows trains of wagons, cattle, etc., besides being

found at Fort Bridger and Sacramento, Cal., I should be

surprised if it did not occur in the present limits of Wash-

ington Territory, at least along Snake River, and possibly

follow emigration as far as the Cascade Mountains. I seeno -

reason whe it should not also emigrate to the open regions

north of the Columbia ; and Townsend has it in’ his list/of

“Oregon” birds (1834).

D-WINGED BLACKBIRD (Agelaius phoeniceus). Common

at Cour d'Alene Miot, Fort Colville, and Bitterroot

bess

PSU S ARES Races Ws ak RES DR emi

THE FAUNA OF MONTANA TERRITORY. 19

Western Lank (Sturnella neglecta). Found on every

prairie throughout the Rocky Mountains.

WESTERN GRACKLE ( Scolecophagus cyanocephalus). Com-

mon in all marshy meadows of the Rocky Mountains, except

at a very high elevation.

Raven (Corvus carnivorus). A constant attendant at

camp, especially when about to be broken up.

Eastern Crow (O. Americanus). At Sun River, east

of the Rocky Mountains, I saw several of this species, and

noticed no peculiarities as to flocking, note, ete.

Western Crow (C. caurinus). The first crows I saw

west of the dividing ridge were a distant flock, at sixty

miles, and again at a camp about twenty miles above the

junction of Hell Gate with the Bitterroot River, where a

flock of about one hundred flew over at dusk, probably to-

wards a roosting place. Their gregariousness at that season

(August 25th), and unusual noise, struck me as peculiar;

and on other occasions farther down the valley I saw some,

but most of them probably live near the settlements of the

St. Mary’s Valley.

At Coeur d'Alene Mission I again found large flocks of

crows, and on comparing one with the plates and descrip-

tions contained in the Natural History of Washington Terri-

tory, I found it to agree with C. caurinus in the form of the

bill, but to be intermediate between it and C. Americanus in

size, though nearest the former. I am inclined to think it

was caurinus, but, like several other Rocky Mountain speci-

mens collected by me, larger than those of the same species

from the coast. Its habits were different from those of C.

Americanus, and as it occurs at the Dalles, it could easily

cross the intervening country. It cannot, however, be much

of a “fish-crow” in these mountains.

CLankE's NurcRAckER (Picicorvus Columbianus). I

found this bird from the first pine forests east of the Rocky

Mountains entirely across, but more rare in the spruce for-

ests, as it is in those west of the Cascade Mountains, evi-

80 THE FAUNA OF MONTANA TERRITORY.

dently because it feeds chiefly on the seeds of the Yellow

Pine (P. ponderosa), which is either wanting or scarce

among the spruces. I noticed large flocks flying in very

loose order, with a steady, pretty rapid motion like a Jay,

not in the least “by jerks, in the manner of a Woodpecker,”

as described by Townsend (Nuttall, Manual, 1840, Vol. I,

p. 252).

BLACK-BILLED Macpre (Pica Hudsonica). No Magpies

appeared along the Missouri River in June, until we had

entered the “Bad Lands,” where it cuts through the first

mountain range, and pine woods began to appear. Thence

they continued common throughout the route westward, and

on reaching Vancouver, October 30th, I found them for the

first time about there.

STELLER's Jay (Cyanura Stellerii). I saw no Jays my-

self until-we crossed the Bitterroot River, when they became

common in the spruce forests. Dr. Suckley, however,

found this species at St. Mary’s Valley, in October 1853.

CANADA Jay (Perisoreus Canadensis). This bird appeared

near the crossing of the Bitterroot, and was also common in

the spruce forests of the Cour d'Alene Mountains, these

being its favorite summer residence as they are near the

coast. ;

Bawp-rarLED PiGkoN (Columba fasciata). I saw but one

bird, which I think belonged to this species, near Cœur

d'Aleüe Mission, at the base of the most western range of

mountains. It seems to leave the Rocky Mountains almost

entirely to the next species, though a few have been obtained

farther south, along their eastern base, by Say and Peale.

(Nuttall, Manual, Vol. I, p. 753.*)

PassENGER PiGron ( Ectopistes migratoria). The Passen-

ger Pigeon, like the Cat-bird, astonished me by its frequency

in the Rocky Mountains, as, although I saw no very large

flocks, I saw some almost every day until I passed the Spo-

Sus Falls, just north of the Columbia Plains, where Lieut.

T aser a fact at Kho A. P +} gt,

1 * A ids 4 +

THE FAUNA OF MONTANA TERRITORY. . 81

A. V. Kautz shot two. It thus seems to pass round to the

north of that plain, and occasionally to cross the Cascade

Range, as mentioned by Dr. Suckley in 1853.

Along the Missouri I often saw small flocks, and noticed

quite a number of their nests in small trees between Forts

Pierre and Berthold. I found one sitting June 7th, and

heard that many build farther south, near Sioux City.

In the mountains they fed, in August, chiefly on the Ser-

vice-berry (Amelanchier alnifolia), which, along the Hell

Gate, attains a size and flavor unequalled by any I have

seen elsewhere.

Dove ( Zenaidura Carolinensis). I did not see this bird

anywhere in the mountains, though I found it above Fort

Union, on the Missouri.

Dusky Grouse (Tetrao obscurus). This Grouse was shot

at the very beginning of pine woods on the east base of the

Rocky Mountains, and I often killed them afterwards all

the way to Fort Colville, but none in very good plumage

up to October.

FnaxkLIN's Grouse (T. Franklinit). The first specimen

met with was shot through the head with a pistol ball, by

Lits L; Rs L. Livingston. It is much smaller than num-

bers 123 and 124, which were trapped by the Indians near

Fort Colville, three weeks later. I did not see any alive

myself, büt was told that in winter they are common south

to Spokan River, and very stupid, standing by the roadside

to be shot, having doubtless descended from the mountains,

Where they were unmolested. They are also common in

summer near the pass, 5100 feet above the sea, on the Cœur

d'Aleie Range.

I now believe that two young specimens, one killed in

Klickatat Pass, Cascade Mountains, in August 1853, the

other near Spokan River, in October 1853, and mentioned in

my Report as T. obscurus, "running through the snow," were

of this species. In their immature plumage I then supposed

the red mark over the eye to be merely a character of the

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. HI. 11

82 . THE FAUNA OF MONTANA TERRITORY.

young. The "Small Brown Pheasant” of Lewis & Clark (?)

is probably the immature Zagopus leucurus, which inhabits

much more Alpine districts than any we traversed.

SHARP-TAILED GROUSE (T. Columbianus). This Grouse

occurs abundantly at most of the prairie regions passed

through, on Sun River, Deer Lodge, Bitterroot (St. Mary’s)

and Spokan prairies, probably finding its way down around

the valley of Clark’s Fork, and reaches Fort Colville in small

numbers. I saw none, however, in the higher prairies of

the Rocky Mountains, over 4500 feet above the sea.

SaGE-FowL (Centrocercus urophasianus). I saw nothing

of the Sage-fowl, which Col. Vaughan, who had a specimen

killed near Fort Benton, says is very rare there. None were

seen by our party on the Columbia Plains, north of Snake

River, where they were common in 1853.

RurrEp GROUSE (Bonasa Sabinii var.? umbelloides). I

shot several specimens of this Ruffed Grouse from the east

base of Mullan’s Pass to Fort Colville, most of which were

young or moulting, but showed more or less brown in their

plumage, thus connecting the above named variety (?) with

the other two forms, which it entirely resembles in habits,

"etc. I saw a much grayer one near Fort Colville in 1853.

Gray Crane (Grus Canadensis). Only two observed in

the Rocky Mountains, and none elsewhere, except a tame

one near Fort Colville, which followed our horses for some

| distance apparently for the pleasure of a race, running with

wings spread until it was passed, then flying ahead and cir-

cling round to meet us again. It refused a piece of bread

thrown to it. l

Brue Heron (Ardea herodias). I did not see this, nor

any other species of Heron, west of Fort Benton. Lewis

and Clark, as well as Dr. Newberry, speak of seeing White

Herons below Snake River.

Mouxwrars Prover (Aegialitis montanus). Rare along

the east base of the Rocky Mountains, usually about the

Prairie-dog villages, and might be expected | to cross the ~

THE FAUNA OF MONTANA TERRITORY. 83

mountains as it does farther south. I do not recollect, how-

ever, having seen any of the small waders anywhere in the

mountains, though I noticed the Field Plover (Actiturus Bar-

tramius) at the eastern base of Mullan's Pass, a bird never

yet obtained west of the mountains.*

Winsow's Snipe (Scolopax Wilsonii) was seen at Cama,

Prairie Creek, on the eastern border of the Columbia Plains,

about the end of September.

Esqumaux CurLew (Numenius borealis) breeds near

Fort Benton, where young were caught in July, still downy,

but I have seen no Curlew on the Columbia Plains, though a

species is said to abound near Fort Dalles, Oregon, in the

spring.

Swan (Oygnus Americanus?). Swans were seen in large

flocks on the Columbia River, in the Cascade Cañon, as early

as October 29th, this year (1860), and their migration

- southward seemed generally early. I saw them, however,

on lakes of the Columbia Plain about the same time in

1853

Canapa Goose (Bernicla Canadensis). Great numbers

of this goose breed along the Missouri, where we saw broods

every day from Fort Leavenworth up to Fort Benton.

They are said to lay in nests, on trees, probably deserted

nests of some other large bird. I saw two at Spokan River,

Washington Territory, September 25th, which were proba-

bly summer residents there.

Marramp (Anas boschas). Common in summer in the

valleys of the Rocky Mountains, where it breeds.

GrEEN-wincep Tear (JVettion Carolinensis). Common at

St. Mary’s Valley in August, and probably breeds in the

mountains,

: Mountains GonpEN-EYE (Bucephala Islandica?).

I saw some dark headed ducks, perhaps this species, which

was so long supposed to be peculiar to the Rocky Mountains,

lo peo (Gambetta melanoleuca) were obtained by Dr. Suckley at St. Mary's Val-

; in 1853. :

84 THE FOSSIL REPTILES OF NEW JERSEY.

high up the Little Blackfoot River, but did not succeed in

killing one.

SHELDRAKE (Mergus Americanus). I shot a female bird

of this species at the highest camp on the Little Blackfoot

River, near where it doubtless had raised a brood, as they

seek such clear rapid streams for that purpose in the Cascade

Mountains. M. serrator, the female of which is so much

like this, has probably never been obtained far from the

coast.

WESTERN GREBE (Podiceps occidentalis). I found this

Grebe on the Alkaline lakes of the Columbia Plain, October

8th, about the same time of year that I obtained the first

known specimen from near Walla Walla, in 1853. Its breed-

ing place may be on the shores of these lakes. —7To be con-

cluded.

THE FOSSIL REPTILES OF NEW JERSEY.

BY PROF. E. D. COPE.

(Continued from Vol. I, page 30.

WHILE grim and monstrous Dinosaurs ranged the forests

and flats of the coast of the Cretaceous sea, and myriads of

Gavials basked on the bars and hugged the shores, other

races peopled the waters. The gigantic Mosasaurus, the

longest of known reptiles, had few rivals in the ocean.

These Pythonomorphs were the sea-serpents of that age,

and their snaky forms and gaping jaws rest on better evi-

dence than he of Nahant can yet produce.

Ten species of this group are known from the Gisticeous

beds of the United States, of which six have been found in

New Jersey. Two others occur in Europe. In relative

abundance of individuals, as well as of species, New Jersey

is much in advance of any other part of the world where ex-

cavations have been made.

American Naturalist. Vol iii, Fl. 2.

i) S M N

225 ji

COPE ON FOSSIL REPTILES OF NEW JERSEY.

ND ee a

THE FOSSIL REPTILES OF NEW JERSEY. 85

These creatures have been referred to the neighborhood of

the Varanide or Lace-lizards, which now haunt the shores

of rivers in the tropics and southern regions of the Old

World. Cuvier, Owen. and others, have expressed this

view, and there has been little dissent from it expressed by

paleontologists. They readily constitute, however, a dis-

tinct order of reptiles, combining features of serpents, liz-

ards, and Plesiosaurians. This is readily understood by the

light of the abundant material discovered in various parts

of the United States. The lizard-like affinities are, it is true,

to the Varanians rather than to any others.

'The Mosasaurus was a long slender reptile, with a pair of

powerful paddles in front, a moderately long neck and flat

pointed head. The very long tail was flat and deep, like

that of a great eel, forming a powerful propeller. The

arches of the vertebral column interlocked more extensively

than in other reptiles except the snakes, presenting in a

prolongation of the front of one, which enters beneath that

immediately in advance of it, a rudiment of that extra

articulation called the "zygosphenal." In the related genus

Clidastes, this structure is as fully developed as in the

serpents, so that we can picture to ourselves its well known

consequences: their rapid progress through the water by

lateral undulations; their lithe motions on land; the rapid

stroke; the ready coil; or the elevation of the head and

vertebral column, literally a living pillar towering above

waves or brush of the shore swamps. While the construc-

tion of the skull was as light as that of the serpents, it was,

apparently, not so strong. The sutures are more frequently

of the squamosal type, and the brain case was not as

fully ossified in front. The teeth, too, are less acute, and

therefore less adapted for retaining struggling prey : W ile

the jaws were longer, the gape was not so extensive as in

serpents of the higher groups, for the os quadratum, the sus-

pensor of the lower jaw, though equally movable and fast-

ened to widely spread supports, was much shorter than in

86 THE FOSSIL REPTILES OF NEW JERSEY.

them. But there was a remarkable arrangement to obviate

any inconvenience arising from these points. While the

branches of the under jaw had no sutural connection, and

possessed independent motion, as in all serpents, they had

the additional peculiarity, not known elsewhere among verte-

brates (except in a few snakes), of a movable articulation a

little behind the middle of each. Its direction being ob-

lique, the flexure was outwards and a little downwards,

greatly expanding the width of the space between them, and

allowing their tips to close a little. A loose flexible pouch-

like throat would then receive the entire prey, swallowed be-

"tween the branches of the jaw; the necessity of holding it

long in the teeth, or of passing it between the short quad-

rate bones would not exist. Of course the glottis and tongue

would be forwards. The physiognomy of the reptile, with

apparently dislocated jaws and swollen throat, as he passed a

Chimera to his internal laboratory, could scarcely be prepos-

sessing.

The Clidastes and Macrosaurus were the more slender of

these heteroclite beings, while Mosasaurus embraces the most

gigantic. The Clidastes iguanavus could not have been

shorter than thirty feet, and presented a reduction of the

length of the paddles, consistent with its thoroughly serpent-

like vertebral column. Macrosaurus validus considerably

exceeded this length. Mosasaurus Mitchellii and .M. Missu-

riensis propelled sixty feet of length through the waves,

while no portion of these have been found to equal the M.

maximus, which have recently been exhumed.

The reptilian whales of those troublous times, were the

Cimoliasaurs and Elasmosaurs. These were the Plesiosaurs

of Cretaceous life, and probably had a great range over the

earth. Portions of them have been found in England and

North America to our far western regions. Cimolinsaurds

ced to have resembled Plesiosaurus in general, while

us mosaurus added to its type an enormous and flattened

tail, relatively a as Jong as that of the Mosasaur, or the modern

THE FOSSIL REPTILES OF NEW JERSEY. 81

Iguana, but not so flat as in the former; perhaps it were

more as in the Crocodile as to compression, while relatively

still longer. But both of these types present one strange

feature. The processes which connect the arches of the ver-

tebre, are related to each other in directions the reverse of

that which prevails among vertebrata generally, being per-

haps the same as the zygosphen of the serpent and Clidastes,

without the usual aecompaniment. But the more probable

explanation is, that they are the usual "zygapophyses" with

the articular faces somewhat altered in direction. They are

very oblique, turned a little over from the perpendicular,

which latter position is sometimes more or less approached

by these processes in other animals.

The Elasmosaurus orientalis rests on the evidence of but

few remains, but these are like those of its better known

congener F. platyurus. The vertebre are nearly as large as

those of an elephant, and indicate a totally different type of

reptile from the Mosasaurus. The bulk was whale-like, the

neck long and flexible, while short paddles and the serpent-

like tail, sped this most colossal of our sea-saurians on his

destructive career. The skull was light, and with a long nar-

row, and very flat muzzle; the nostrils or spout-holes were

near the orbits; the teeth long and cylindric, and much

sharper than those of the Mosasaurus. The most ravenous

fish—the Enchodi, or great barracudas of the Cretaceous,

were his food, and few we might suppose could escape the

plunge from the elevated position whence he scanned the

waters for prey. Cimoliasaurus magnus is more abundant

in New Jersey. In bulk it was little inferior to the last,

but it was apparently abbreviated and depressed behind, and

so must have presented a very peculiar form. Precisely what

that was and whether. it supported a caudal fluke, we must

determine hereafter. Elasmosaurus platyurus was forty-five

feet in length.

While the crocodiles are most numerous in individuals in

the deposits of this period, the turtles exceed them and all

88 THE FOSSIL REPTILES OF NEW JERSEY.

other orders in the number of species. "There have been

twenty found in the Cretaceous of New Jersey, and three

additional ones are known from the Tertiaries of the same

State. The Cretaceous turtles may be arranged under four

heads, viz., true Emydes or fresh water forms ; Chelydrine

Emydes, or snappers; Trionychide or soft shells; and Hy-

draspidide, a type now confined to the Southern Hemisphere,

which throw the head round the side of the shell, instead of

drawing it in. It will be observed that all of these forms

occur at the present day in fresh water only, and that true

marine turtles are not found in this part of the Cretaceous

formation. Add to this the fact that the crocodiles are rather

estuary and river animals; that the Dinosaurs are terrestrial ;

and that by far the most abundant shells of the same region

are oysters and Exogyre, and we have indicated a condition

of occasional separation from the high ocean, by seaward

bars and islands, or even by occasional considerable strips

of dry land.

The Emydiform turtles all belong to the genus Adocus of

Cope, and were often of the size of our bitte gulf species,

but generally of far more massive structure. The snapper-

like forms are more numerous; they have been taken to be

marine types, and indeed their fore-limbs appear to have been

_ more paddle-like than those of the species of our modern

rivers. They are represented by nine species, which per-

tain to five genera. These forms differ much in the relative

union of the shield of the carapace, and its marginal pieces.

In the genus Peritresius of Cope, the margin was largely

separate, and the shell covered by a thin Td ; in Lytoloma

pe the margin was also distinct, except in front and rear;

and the carapace was covered by heavier shell-like dermal |

plates. Propleura Cope contained one large species— P.

sopita, where the margin was broad and flat, and free as in

the last, except that it had a broad union with the disc in

front. Finally Osteopygis Cope, was solidly knit fore and

aft

by suture between disc and margin. Of its three species, E

o: T ENT sree

THE FOSSIL REPTILES OF NEW JERSEY. 89

O. chelydrinus presented sharp points round the circumfer-

ence, like a snapping tortoise. O. emarginatus had open

notehes between, at the same parts of the margin, and O.

platylomus was even. O. emarginatus was the giant of all

the snappers and probably commonly reached a length of six

feet. An ally, the Zuclastes platyops, whose cranium has

been found, presented a broad, massive palatal surface,

apparently for crushing, rather than the sharp edges and

hooked bill of the raptorial snapper. It may have crushed

shells for food. The Lytoloma angusta Cope shows a similar

type of jaws. In the Euclastes, the skull measures about a

foot in length, and eight inches in width, and accommodated

immense temporal muscles, which indicate the power of its

bite.

More elegance and less strength characterize the Hydra-

spid species. Five of these have been described, as follows:

Bothremys Cookii Leidy; Prochonias sulcatus Leidy sp.;

P. strenuus Cope; P. princeps Cope, and Taphrosphys mo-

lops Cope.

In the first we have a well protected cranium with small

eyes, with the Milesian traits of a broad mouth, a pug-nose,

and a stiff upper lip. His form seems to combine the capaci-

ties of doing as much injury to others and receiving as little

himself as possible. What his shell was we do not know,

but we know that he could not draw his head into it, by rea-

son of a peculiar structure on the sides of his inner nostril.

Of the other genera, the numerous shell fragments tell a

similar story. It is only necessary to see whether the pelvis

was attached to the lower shell, or plastron, to know whether .

the cervical vertebre would form a sigmoid, and be with-

drawn into the shell, or a horizontal curve and turn round

outside, as a goose rests its head above its wing. Or, if

the front part of the plastron only be found, if there be a

supplemental plate in the front, we know both the flexure of

the neck, the arrangement of the pelvis, and the structure

of the nose. TEG is a result of the law of correlation,

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. HI.

90 THE FOSSIL REPTILES OF NEW JERSEY.

which holds through long series of forms, but must be care-

fully modified for other series, and in some points cannot be

read at all.

In Prochonias, as in the modern genus of Brazil, Hydro-

medusa, the ileum is fastened by a great suture to the shell

‘above, right on the line of junction of two rib bones. But

the bones of the front of the carapace, are quite different

from those of Hydromedusa. In Taphrosphys the structure

is more powerful. The rib bones are united into one, and

rise up round the sutural scar, leaving it at the bottom of a

deep pit. T. molops was a powerful swimmer, and perhaps

what he lost in mass, was gained in speed. The bony shells

of both this genus and the last, are sculptured with netted

grooves (P. sulcatus and P. strenuus) or ribbed lines (P.

princeps, and T. molops), and they were probably covered

with a thin skin instead of dermal scales. P. ad inceps was

large and massive, equalling some of the snapper B

The more beautifully marked “soft-shelled” eine the —

Trionyches, are represented by three species. Their posi-

tion shows that they lived at an earlier period than in Eu-

rope. The Trionyx of our Miocene (7. lima Cope) was

large and rough, with narrow sharp ridges. Its remains

occur with Dolphins and Porpoises, but it may have been

floated or washed from the mouth of a fresh-water stream

into such strange company. E

The Crocodiles of the modern period are kaote by |

the hollow crowns of their teeth, and one genus of the Creta-

ceous, Viz., Bottosaurus Agassiz, possesses a similar dentition.

Most of the Miocene species of both Europe and America -

possess, on the contrary, solid crowns, composed of closely -

concentric cones, as we see in Mosasaurus and some other -

reptiles. Some of them have been on this account mistaken -

for Mosasauroids, but none of the latter are known above -

the Cretaceous. In this country the Miocene forms of this —

. kind are gavials, of even larger size than those of the Cre-

laceous. They belong to the genus Thecachampsa Cope, of

INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE POTATO. 91

which T. sericodon was first discovered by Dr. H. C. Wood

in Southern New Jersey, and T. sicaria by Philip T. Tyson

in Southern Maryland. In both localities their remains are

mingled with those of Dolphins and Whales, and their car-

cases have all floated together on the ocean currents and tides

to their present resting places. In Europe there are some

species of the same genus, while allies of the true crocodilian

form represent the Plerodon of Meyer. The gavials of the

Cretaceous present a similar character of teeth, sd approach

remarkably near to the Thecachampse, when we consider

the great hiatus between the life of the two great periods in

other departments. The gavials of the Miocene differ in but

a few important points from the Thoracosauri of the Creta-

ceous. The latter were very numerous in — and

appear under five specific forms.

In the plate accompanying this article, the artist has

attempted an ideal representation of a few of the subjects

which haunted the shores of our country, when our prairies

were the ocean bottom, and our southern and eastern borders

were far beneath the Atlantic. Zelaps aquilunguis occupies

the foreground on a promontory, where his progress is inter-

rupted by the earnest protest of an Elasmosaurus. Mosasau-

Tus watches at a distance with much curiosity and little good

will, while Osteopygis views at a safe distance the unwonted

Spectacle. On the distant shore a pair of the huge Hadro-

sauri browse on the vegetation, squatting on their haunches

and limbs as on a tripod. Thoracosaurus crawls up the banks

with a fish, and is ready to disappear in the thicket.

INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE POTATO.

BY HENRY SHIMER, M. D.

Or the several distinet species of potato bugs, the Colo-

rado ite pen 10-lineata Say, Fig. 13; a, eggs; b,

92 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE POTATO.

young and fully grown larve ; e, pupa; d, beetle ; e, left wing

cover, magnified; /, leg, magnified) has chiefly attracted

attention at the West during the few years past. It has been

very destructive, hence anything bearing upon its habits is

Fig. 13.

interesting to farmers. Last year they were more numerous

in Illinois than at any other time. Whole acres were entirely

destroyed by them. The autumn following the early frosts "

that killed the potato vines, was one of the finest we ever -

enjoyed. This unusually late pleasant weather induced the |

pups of the last brood of the Colorado Beetle to mature -

and come out of the ground instead of remaining in over -

winter, and the lack of food i in the fall, together with the cold |.

open winter, contributed greatly to their destruction. From |

this one can easily see their assailable points, and devise -

means for holding them in check. It is manifest that this can |

be done most effectually by the concerted action of the farm-

ers of the whole country. I think it needs no argument to —

prove that it would be better for the entire North-west, so far -

as the Colorado Beetle has extended, to abstain from planting |

potatoes for one year, than to be annoyed as they have been -

in Iowa and Illinois during the few past years. Or, per haps,

it might be as. effectually managed by pon) only eur

INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE POTATO. 93

maturing varieties ; planting these early one year, and digging

the potatoes in August; then in the following year farmers

might plant about the first of July, and take them up after

the frost kills the vines. By this course of treatment these

potato bugs will be without food during the first fall, and

many will perish, while those that remain in the ground over

winter will come up in May, and be without food more than

a month in the spring, and thus perish. This plan rigidly

followed will restrain, if not exterminate the bug.

To this argument some may reply that the potato bug will

feed on other species of the natural botanical family Solana-

cee, such as the tomato, thorn-apple,etc. It is true that they '

will eat of these to some extent, especially the hungry half-

grown larve, but I have observed carefully, and never in

this region saw the young potato bugs developing from the

eggs laid on these plants, though I have occasionally seen

eggs on tomato plants.

Early in the last spring a sufficient number of mature

potato bugs appeared on the potato vines to cause some

apprehensions of trouble, though much less than in the pre-

ceding year. The larve appeared as usual, and early pota-

toes were partially trimmed by them, from which I inferred

that the second brood would do a good deal of damage in

July and August.

About the middle of July I saw potato bugs in Minne-

Sota, as far north as St. Paul. They were quite abundant,

the larvee stripping the vines as they had done in Illinois last

year. I was at home in Illinois in August, and sought for

the potato bugs on the same grounds that were entirely over-

run by them last year, and found very few. At the last of

August, I searched in the potato patch, on these same

£rounds, and found but two mature bugs and one small

_buneh of eggs. Here is a remarkable and unexpected de-

crease of bugs, instead of the usual increase, that makes them

. Very destructive in August. How are we to account for it?

The various known heteropterous enemies, and Lady-birds,

to climatic causes as the principal means that prevented the

often observeđ, and very forcibly this summer, in the exam- *-

. reported to the Academy ar] Natural Sciences, Philadelphia.

. This same pue away of the pupa I have often noticed |

94 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE POTATO.

(Fig. 14, Coccinella 9-notata and pupa; fig. 15, Hippodamia

13-punctata; a, larva; 6, pupa) without doubt destroyed

some, but as I could not find them more numerous than usual,

Fig. 14. I cannot admit that they were the chief means

of this almost perfect extermination of potato

6 ~ bugs. Moreover the larv: in June were suffi-

ciently numerous, in propor-

tion to the number of beetles

A observed in the spring, and

yet in July and August the beetles failed

to appear as expected. We can only look

The weather here was uncommonly hot as well as dry;

hence the pups were exposed to the burning dry dust, and

this doubtless was the efficient cause of the death of the soft,

naked, delicate pups. The only object that they can have

in entering the ground to transform, is protection from the

hot dry atmosphere of summer and the cold frosts of winter,

for they will transform well enough above ground in a paste- _

board box in a room, as I proved in hundreds of examples |.

during the series of observations I made on the breeding of

these insects in 1865, and reported in the “Practical Ento-

mologist.” The ground usually furnishes a cool moist place;

but this time it failed to favor them, hence they perished.

I have often observed that the pups of various insects -

perish from exposure to too much evaporation. The pup?

of the various wood-borers however, carefully handled, will

not develop so well in a paper box as in the hole they make -

in the tree, and many of them dry away entirely ; this I have —

-—

spring brood from maturing. |

ples of the new species of beetle, that I have bred from b

the prickly ash tree ; also the three varieties of beetles, bred —

from the several borers, or “grubs,” found in the grape-vine, —

INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE POTATO. 95

in attempting to breed the Maple Worm (Dryocampa rubi-

cunda). The larva retires to some cool moist place beneath

a board, stone, or anything it can find on the ground, where

it will not be exposed to the dry atmosphere, for the chrysa-

lis is naked. Now take this same chrysalis and put it into

a dry box, and it most likely will perish, and fail to perfectly

develop. Many lepidopterous larve protect themselves with

an impervious cocoon where they are exposed to atmospherie

vicissitudes. This, I believe, is not only to protect them

from the rain, if it is at all for this purpose, as entomolo-

gists often suppose, but to protect them from the far more

injurious influence of evaporation during the long time they

take no liquid nourishment. It is for this purpose also

that the Cecidomyian larva cements its spun cocoon with a

gummy fluid, as I have shown in the "Transactions of the

American Entomological Society," for October, 1867. We

therefore find here another example of climatic causes, pro-

ducing disease and death among insects in a wholesale man-

ner.

Entomological writers usually represent cannibal insects

as the most efficient means in nature for the extermination

of injurious insects, and in the reports of State Entomolo-

gists we occasionally find them speaking in glowing terms of

the power that man can exert in cóntrolling injurious insects.

While we may not despise these measures of protection, es-

pecially the former—for without the Ichneumon fly, the Syr-

phus fly, the Coccinelle, etc., we would doubtless be overrun 9

by swarms of caterpillars, plant-lice, and other noxious depre-

dators—let us not forget the great truth, that climatie

. causes, producing death by epidemie diseases and various

other means, are infinitely in advance of most other natural

means of exterminating noxious insects (for my extended

views and observations on this topic, see an address before

the Northern Illinois Horticultural Society, and published

in the first volume of the Transactions of that body, and my

sport of a remarkable epidemic disease observed among

96 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE POTATO.

Chinch-bugs, in the Proceedings of: the Academy of Natural

Sciences of Philadelphia, for May, 1867).

Fig. 16. In the case of the Chinch-bug, the conditions

favoring its development and health are entirely

the reverse. It was during the unusually wet

weather of 1865 that the great epidemic referred

to prevailed, and at the same time the — Fig.17.

Colorado potato bug flourished and mul-

tiplied as favorably as it could desire ;

but this year was one favorable to the development

of the Chinch-bugs, and true to nature, they have

increased so that a few can be found again. Since

I observed this failure of development among the

potato bugs, I have looked carefully for them in this ( Car-

roll) and parts of the adjoining counties, and seldom find a

patch with any bugs. At this date the early frosts have

; : already killed the

potato vines, hence

their autumnal

supply of food be-

ing cut off we may

expect a still more

complete destruc-

| tion of the bugs if

the next autumn should be nearly as pleasant as the last.

Of the Blistering Beetles (Oantharidw), I have observed

this year the Striped Cantharis (Lytta vittata Fabr., Fig 16)

unusually abundant, and quite injurious to potato vines,

beet leaves, etc. The Margined Cantharis ( Cantharis mar- _

ginata Oliver, Fig. 17) were also moderately abundant, in-

juring beets most. I also observed some of the Ash-colored -

Cantharis (Lytta cinerea Fabr., Fig. 18, a, male), and the

black Cantharis (Lytta murina Leconte, Fig. 18, b) on

potatoes and beets. A species of Oil Beetle ( Melo? angusti-

collis, Fig. 19) was also abundant, eating potatoes, beets,

etc.,and injuring tomato fruit very much. Farmers all about

INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE POTATO. 97

this region have complained bitterly of a “new long potato

bug,” alluding to these Cantharides, having forgotten in the

midst of the injuries caused by the Colo- Fig. 19.

rado potato bugs for several years, that

these blistering beetles had ever injured

potato vines.

The reports coming in | from localities

all around me were “that these Cantha-

rides were much more injurious than ~

the Colorado bugs; that potatoes were

greatly injured, and beet crops entirely

ruined in many instances; and this accords with my obser-

vations about home.

These Cantharides are not very particular about the choice

of food. Although they doubtless prefer the potato, beet,

golden-rod, etc., yet sooner than be without food, they will

devour almost any kind of vegetable that comes in their

way. I have seen the Ash-colored Cantharis doing well on

- locust leaves; also on common red field clover, etc., and

have lately, for a wonder, seen the Black Cantharis feasting

on the leaves of a common noxious weed, sometimes called

lamb’s quarters, pig-weed, etc. (Chenopodium album Linn.),

for injurious insects are almost sure to eat the useful vege-

tation in preference to weeds.

After thus observing the workings of nature’s plans, Iam

convinced that she will in due time take care of the Colorado

potato bug, as she has of the Cantharides during all past

time.

Nore. — Since communicating the above, I spent two weeks last autumn

in travelling in Eastern and Middle Iowa, and learned some dang. the

most reliable being ario out of the history of the good

potato crop, as evinced by the — in the digging seas "Po tatoes at

Mount Carroll, IN., pua 50 e a bushel; at Span ile, Joe Davis

County, Ill., 50 cents; at Rock gus Ill, 60 to A cents. In

South Amenon, 30 to 35 cents; at Marengo, 50 cents; State Centre, 30 to

35 cents ; Grundy County, 25 to 30 cents; and thus sedie ranged all along

Wherever I went. The Colorado potato beetle had been very injurious.

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. |

98 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE POTATO.

All through these places for several years farmers all were discouraged

with attempting to raise potatoes, and therefore did not plant largely ; some

abandoned the crop in disgust. e above figures I obtained from par-

ties buying and selling, and learned from them that potatoes were abun-

ant.

I invariably inquired of farmers regarding the Colorado potato beetle.

all knew it very well, but explained the cause of its diminution, by

supposing that it had passed by them, travelling north and east; forget-

ting that insects travel in dasti of food and breeding grounds, and not to

make m money, see the country or their friends, or for any other pleasure,

as does the human animal. They all knew that the bugs were plenty in

the sod but not in midsummer and autumn. As this peculiar phe-

noted at my home, I am persuaded that it was due to the same cause, in

a slight degree to insect enemies, but chiefly to climatic causes, i. e., the

hot dry weather.

now convinced beyond a doubt, that the dryness of the summer

was the only efficient restraining cause, although my friends Messrs.

Fig. 20. Wal M and Riley differ entirely from this

view. the “American Entomologist,”

(Vol.I, ut 2 and 2) where they figure quite

a host of the enemies of the Colorado po-

tato bug, some of which are inserted in the

present article, but do not even notice the

great climatic enemy that worked so faith-

fully and effectually everywhere during the

past summer.

i AME S with much gratitude the small

part of the work done by these **bug foes,"

and I hope that the editors ont Miei will excuse a passing review.

Lady-birds doubtless eat the eggs of some potato bug, but many such

reports came to my ears through farmers and Fig.21.

agriculturists and were not at all reliable.

fortunately, as I have observed, Lady-birds i

devour Lady-bird's eges about as frequently as

any other eggs, and none but entomologists ob-

serve the pulido. hence I seldom notice such

reports, at least in print, without personal in- -

vestigation. di Many-banded Robber (Har- @ b e

pactor cinctus Fabr., Fig. 20) will not do much work, for, although they

box with young Colorado potato bugs, as I have a thus prov-

ing that they must have other and better food. very same, enue

may be true (reasoning from analogy) of ti aa principal heterop-

terous enemy, the Spined Soldier-bug (Arma spinosa Dallas, Fig. eer a,

: its beak; c, the beak of the — s Say, which closely resem-

INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE POTATO. 99

bles the Arma). This, however, I never have subjected to the crucial test

of boxing up with the beetle, but have never seen it feeding on them in

e idea entered my head when I saw the potato bugs so scarce, and the

Sister beetles, especially the es ing one, so very abundant on our pota-

toes. To test it, I put a few Striped Blister-beetles into a breeding jar,

With one small bunch of potato bug eggs (all I could find) and a potato

gist," on this Subject, I failed to find

anything of this kind MD since then

I have not searched for it. 'Their pa-

per is full of ‘peas a to the practical man does not give very much

Substantial encouragement except in recommending the old-fashioned

tedious way of picking the bugs by hand, as in reality this is about all

man can do.

Before closing this ob dong note, allow me to place among the list

of insect enemies a Philonthus which is undescribed, according to Mr.

Walsh, who received the specimen from me. This specimen, in the sum-

mer of 1865, I found as an intruder in one of my breeding boxes, containing

number of Colorado potato bug larve. When found, it had virg mp

Mh all the larvæ, just as a pera or mink will kill more chickens than it

needs for food. This insect was a medium sized member of the pest

Staphylinide, a hice ens bids: It was black, with short wing-cases.

flerce and powerful insect, individually, is the most terrible enemy of

the Colorado potato bug extant among insects, and I hope that some day

it will be honored with the name of the Prairie State, with credit for an

efficient worker.

NOTE. — Cuts 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21 and 22, are from the * American Entomologist."

REVIEWS.

HE PAMPAS AND ANDES.*— When one considers that this pedestrian

feat was performed by Mr. Bishop when only seventeen years old, unaided

: by influential friends, having no money, and no knowledge of the lan-

guage, and for a time sustaining himself by his own labor, one must

confess an admiration for the boy's pluck. A perusal of the book shows

how one will brave a thousand dangers when impelled by a love of nature.

physical ea of the country, etc. me errors which have found

peri Mes into our text books are corrected. We € for instance, that

ace as Uraguay is known in South America. The province,

tics called Uraguay on our maps, is properly inea Banda ‘Oriental

e Burrowing owl of South America. As an account has

already been given in the NATURALIST of the Burrowing owl of the West,

we subjoin Mr. Bishop's aecount of the companion species in South

America:

* Į first met with this owl on the —— of the River San — i the Banda certae one hun-

dred and air miles west of Mon Sip where a few pairs were observed devouring mice

and insects during the daytime. From the river, travelling westward thirty sido x "e not

meet a single individual, but after Sere DL as Vacas, and coming upon a sandy w cov-

ered with seatte es and low bushes, I again met with several.

* Upon the pampas of the Argentine Remibiie they are found in great numbers, from a few

med) oe M aa on toe. Parana, latitude 32? 56' south, to the vicinity of San Luis, where

+ ^ LS 3

4 i lains of it lives i ith the dizeacha, "The habits of this

3. 1

he prairies of western North lage But this is not strictly correct, for o one writer says of

d: northern species, *we have evidenee t resort to one

burrow;’ and Say remarks that the were either common, —- — egets of

the ise papam or that our owl was the sole oceupan ant of a ired by the right

of conquest.’ In this respe iffy ri jaar who ie in per-

fect harmony with the bizcaha, and during the day, while inc latter is sleeping, a pair of these

bird: f the bu w, and at the iis t strange sow

be it near or distan tl ti ui or upon the mound

E re reci the mide When man approaches, both birds bove him in

the air, and keep pea their alarm note, with irides dilated, until he ] passes, when they

quietly settle down grass, or return to their former place,

the daytime, but at

sunset tl cha and owls leave their holes, and search fr fod the young ofthe Former

oe ee ee hem. They do not associate companies, there

oes nd at nigh

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 101

“ In describing the North American burrowing owl, a writer says that the species ‘ suddenly

disappears in the early part of August,’ and the ‘species is strictly diurnal.’

“The Athene canicularia has not these habits. It does not disappear during any part of the

year, and it is both nocturnal and diurnal, for though I did not observe it preying by day on

the pampas, I noticed that it fed at all hours of the day and night on the north shore of the

Plata. in the R da die fal»?

ONE THOUSAND OBJECTS FOR THE MicnRoscoPE.*— This is an exceed-

zu useful little work for the beginner in microscopy. It has twelve

of figures, with explanations in the text, and although the figures

are none of the best, they are better than the price of the book would

seem to justify.

A GUIDE TO THE STUDY or INsECTS.f— The Fifth part completes the

account of the butterflies, and describes the more typical moths, as far as

the family of Geometrids. It contains two plates, a full-page illustration,

and sixty woodcuts. The ‘ Guide” will contain ten plates, and be com-

pleted in five more parts, the tenth part to contain an Entomological Cal-

endar, a Glossary of Entomological terms, and a copious Index

THE RECORD OF AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGY, 1869.— A sufficient number

of subscriptions have been received to warrant its publication, but as the

book will be larger than at first thought, the price will be raised to $1.00.

Original subscribers at 75 cents, will receive their ** Record" without

extra charge. (The name has been changed from Annual to Record).

PPLETON'S ILLUSTRATED ALMANAC FOR 1869.1 — A pleasing feature of

this annual is twelve cuts, illustrating the game-birds of this country,

characteristic of each month.

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

BOTANY.

BOTANICAL Norzs.—In the autumn of 1867 I collected on the shore of

Lake Erie, near North East, Pa., a very marked variety of Scirpus sylva-

ticus Linn., var. atrovirens?. Instead of spreading rays bearing the heads

Not the result of a dwarfing of the plants, for they were of a very robust

habit, two to three feet high, with wide leaves and a stout culm. Ipro-

Pose calling it var. sychnocephala if not already named. I found them

One Thousand Objects for the Microscope. By M: C. Cooke. 12mo. London, 1869. ls.

ta Guide to the S $e of Insects, and a de tise on those Injurious and Beneficial to Crops,

For the use of Colleges, Farm Schools and Agriculturists. By A. S. Packard, jun, Parts 1-5.

Cents each. To be published in ten parts. Published by the author, Salem, Mass

- tAppleton’s Illustrated Almanac, 1869, For sale by H. A. Brown & Co., 3 School st., Boston.

102 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

ms a at feet from the edge of the water. Is this form found in

other

ep pa eae from the same rootstock (I think) in two successive

years, two specimens of xri erythrocarpum Mx., with pistillate flow-

ers and nine petals. e extra petals took the place of the stamens, and

. were colored like the others, e were somewhat smaller in size.— —S.N.

OWLES, Otisco, N. Y.

HE CEDARS OF LEBANON.— Dr. Hooker makes the following interest-

ing communication to a recent number of the ** Gardeners’ Chronicle" :—

“The Rev. M. Tristam, F. L. S., informs me of a most interesting discov-

ery lately made in the Lebanon, viz., of several extensive groves of cedar

trees, by Mr. Jessup, an American missionary, a friend d his own, to

whom he pointed out the probable localities in the interi Of these

there are five, three of great extent, east of ‘Ain Zabalteh,’ in aes southern

Lebanon. This grove lately bestes 10000 trees, and had been pur-

chased by a barbarous Sheikh, from the more barbarous (?) Turkish gov-

The

sand trees were destroyed in the attempt. One of the trees measured fifteen

feet in diameter, and the forest is full of young trees, springing up with

great vigor. He also found two'small groves on the eastern ga of

Lebanon, overlooking the Buka'a, above El Medeuk; and two other large

groves containing many thousand trees, one above ElBaruk, and another

near Ma'asiv, where the trees are very large and equal to any others; all

are being destroyed for firewood. Still another grove has been discov-

ered near Duma, in the western slope of Lebanon, near the one discovered

by Mr. Tristram himself. This gives ten distinct localities in the Leba-

non, to the south of the originally discovered nd including it.

Ehren had already discovered one on the north of that locality, en

thence northwards the chain is unexplored by voyager or naturalist."

Quarterly Journal of Science, London.

ZOÓLOGY. 1

THE Crow a Birp or Prey.—In confirmation of what Mr. Naumann

has stated in regard to the crow as a ‘‘bird of prey,” Mr. H. G. Bruckart,

of Silver Spring, Lancaster County, stated before the Linnean Society, —

of Lancaster City, at its samay lude. that in his neighborhood it is.

not an unco ecially not in the spring of the year,

when they have had a winter's fast, and hens take their young broods

abroad. Indeed he has known them to venture into barn-yards, à

carry off young chickens. We know that the corvine appetite craves the

eggs of other fowls, and d characteristic is only a farther advance in

ara We have a formidable **Crow Roost” on the Cones-

ogo, ii die abont d miles south of Tacit City, but with

g, Mut nue yet learned that they **tease sheep near

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 103

home." 'The bo PS upon whose farm the ‘‘roost” is located, says

they rise up every morning, and after forming four divisions, the one flies

east, another west, another north, and another south, returning again in

the evening. About the same number fly in these same directions, and

about the same hours every day.— S. S. RATH

How TO COLLECT Myrrapops. — The pi nón — from the late

Newport of England, was written to his frien LE D ER of the

same country. The latter had volunteered the services of Dr. T. W. Har-

iet with whom he had formed a close intimacy during his sojourn in this

ountry, in collecting material to aid Mr. Newport in his studies upon the

Myrlapo ds. M Ir. Ne T ort MM one of the highest authorities in this

group. miliar form, the more important directions

o call attention to cb interesting anima hose who wish to study

ceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of UP UM and in the

Transactions of the American Philosophical Society,

10 UPPER SOUTHWICK STREET, 1

CAMBRIDGE TERRACE, Dec. 22, 1842.

My Dear Sm :— In ac Corde with your suggestion, I now send you

a few observations respecting those Myriapods which I so much desire to

possess. You are aware that I should be delighted to obtain any speci-

mens of ET from the United States, and that the localities being

e i would make them much more valuable. I would suggest that in-

oo of ie dos specimens, the whole be preserved Fig. 24.

in strong spirit, as a great many may be stowed away

in that manner without receiving any injury, and can

afterwards be dried, if Aen td as specimens for the

cabinet. As far as my own wishes are concerned, f

would much prefer all Baca es in spirit, and shoul

be greatly obliged by having as many specimens, even

T. can

€

these families, owing to the great hardness and impenetrability

of their tezument, do not preserve well, unless the spirit can

be made to enter their interior. I would suggest, therefore,

h e

true Juli [Fig. 24, Julus multistriatus Walsh] and the Cermatia,

- Shield-bearers, be once or twice pierced’ with a strong

needle in the middle and posterior parts of the body, to allow the spirit

to send They would then be well preserved and fit for an exami-

of their interior anatomy, which is my object in obtaining many

specimens of the same species. If I unders tood 2 Penny, the Cerma-

tia are very common in America. Iam exceedingly glad, as I cannot yet

104 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

obtain any of these specimens for dissection. I am not aware whether

any of the large eggs the proper Spherotheride of Brandt, are

found in America, as I should expect they might be. These would be

very eii ble. You are quite aware that young and

immature specimens are often found more easily, and in

greater numbers, than the full grown and more perfect |

specimens. This is especially the case with the Myria-

poda, which often swarm in the immature state. under the

rotten bark of trees or felled timber. ow these very

young specimens, of all species, are too much neglected

by naturalists, and I am ket desirous of obtaining

them. I would recommend that a large quantity of the

very smallest do [Fig. 25, Scolopocryptops 6- -spi-

nosa Say; from Iowa], Scutigeridz or Cermatia, Polydes-

mide, Cryptops, and Juli be collected. If your rig.26

iend Mr. Harris co

I should feel greatly obliged. The state in

which these species are most interesting to

me is when they do not exceed one-fourth or

one-half of an inch in length. My usual: mode

of collecting the young Lithobii, of this coun-

try, is to have one or two phial bottles filled with rectified

spirits of wine, and when I see any of the little mortals run-

ning ved and about to give one 7eg bail, just to wet my fin-

Fig. 27 r with saliva and place it upon then, when,

ot course, they adhere to it and washed

Off by placing my finger on the mouth of the

phial and shaking the spirit against it; or by

washing the finger in the spirit itself. If your friend, by

each other, but the it Leg eo may be preserved

alive, singly, in wooden boxes, with moistened earth, for

several Weeks, especially = the earth be impregnated w

animal matter. I should be very glad to obtain the Polydes- ij

is mus Virginiensis of Drury (Fontaria Virginiensis of Gray):

EX. and all of these species may be placed together in tin oF

wooden boxes, without injuring each other, if, ees with some vege-

. . table mould, rotten leaves, or bark. As a general rule, all the true Chi-

r pre may be placed together, but the Gate ake with the exception

. of the | Geophili, destroy each other. The Geophili [Fig. 27, lesen

in bottles with vegetabl le mou

: Pd roen bark eninge month he phial with a piece of paaie)

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 105

which keeps the specimen secure, and at the same time admits suflicient

air for respiration. In this way I have preserved Geophili in the s

phial in Juli for many months, and it is better than closing the coe

withac

my dear sir, I have now given you a pretty good list of my

Serban but I would also, just add, that a collection of Scorpions and

halangidz would be equally acceptable. Of these things, as well as of

the Myriapods, I would suggest that the very smallest, as well as the very

largest specimens of the same species, be collected and preserved in the

me way in spirit. In all cases, if the weather. be warm, the spirit

should be changed when the specimens have been in it for about a month,

otherwise they may become rotten and unfit for dissection,

With many thanks for your kindness, I remain, dear

Yours, did lly,

E. DouBLEDAY, Esq. GEORGE NEWPORT.

ON THE DRUMMING OF THE RUFFED GROUSE.*—4A writer in ** Harper's

Magazine" for October, in an article which he heads **Our neighbors the

male nip beats his wings against his sides and the 7og with consider-

able for

Itisa teda thing that a writer eee seems to be familiar with birds

Should make such a statement. He is not singular, however, in this mat-

e €

produce the hollow sound which the bird produces. I have not access to

Audubon's works, and do not know his opinion. So good an observer as

he was is not likely to be mistaken in the matter, and I should like to

know his une ion.t

Writer in Harper is mistaken when he says the grouse drums while

Strutting, red a turkey. He stands perfectly still and erect, stretching

himself as high as possible, and produces the drumming sound by striki ng

This is the truth and the whole matter.— Dr. Rurus RAYMOND,

ville. Ind.

emare to the Smithsonian Institution.

f Audubon, 216 of Vol. I of his Ornithological Biography, says, “The drumming is

Performed in ge following manner: The male bird, standing erect on a prostrate decayed

trunk, raises the feathers of its body in the manner of a turkey-cock, draws its head towards

its tail, erecting the feathers of the latter at the same time, me raising = ie around the

neck, suffers its wings to droo 1 when the

p. and struts about on the log.

bird draws the wi hers elose to its body, and stretching Heel On, beats its sides

With its wings, in the such rapidity of

Motion, after a few of the first s strokes, as t in th unlike the vk

9f distant thunder,"

AMER, an reg Ton HI. 14

106 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

HATCHING OF THE SEVENTEEN-YEAR CICADA.— With reference to the —

eggs and young of the Seventeen-year Cicada, your correspondent from

Haverford College, Philadelphia, is not the only one who has failed to

produce the young, by keeping branches containing eggs in their studios.

I so failed in 1834 and 1851, and indeed I have never heard that any one

has succeeded in that way, who has kept them for any great length of

time. In the brood of 1868, the first Cicadas appeared here in a body, on

the evening of the 2d day of June. The first pair in coitu, I observed on

the 21st, and the first female femi on the 26th of the same month.

The first young were excluded on the 5th of August. All these dates are

SER

and chestnut twigs containing eggs, and stuck the ends into a bottle con-

taining water, and set it in a broad shallow dish also filled with water,

the whole remaining out of iod exposed to the weather, whatever it

might be. The young continued to drop out on the water in the dish, for

a full week, after the date above mentioned. I could breed no Cieadas

from branches that were dead and on which the leaves were withered, —

the palm of my hand. The eyes of the young Cicadas are seen thro

the egg-skin before it is broken. — S. S. RATHVON, Lancaster.

PREPARATION OF Brgp's Eees. — The season for sani eggs has -

now commenced, and it may be of interest to those engaged in odlogy | to

holes, one at each end, or two holes in the side, as seen in the drawing 0B —

p.487, Vol. II. Now, agg desire the egg blown with only one hole,

and that on the side. This is the only way now adopted by our best col |

move the contents of the egg. If the hole is a little larger than the point

. of the blowpipe, the inside passes out around the instrument. If the

. aperture is no MaDe tees SE Ig, M di Nr tu ie ont

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 107

withdrawing the pipe, à part of the contents will follow, eani : repeat-

the process several times you can empty the shell. n fill the

after a time, which make the egg worthle It was while I was blow-

ing a box of about one Moran eggs of wie Tern (Sterna Wilsoni)

that Mr. Ellsworth suggested to me a new invention for blowing them.

The result is, I can now prepare one hundred eggs in less time than I

formerly could ten, and much better, doing all the work with my hands

that heretofore has been a severe tax upon my lungs. I will not now

describe the instrument, but will say, in brief, that it is invaluable to the

odlogist. I would not part with mine for ten times the cost ($3.10) if I

umen

llsworth, of East Windsor Hill, Connecticut, will supply them.

— Wm. Woop, East Windsor Hill, Conn.

E VISION OF FISHES AND AMPHIBIOUS Reptites.—M. F. Plateau

has advanced the theory **that these animals can see distinctly in the air,

and that their distance of distinct vision must be nearly the same in this

leged species, such as the Eel, the Chironectes, and the Climbing Perch,

have hardly any need for combining the faculty of seeing distinctly in

water with that of seeing distinctly in the air, this double faculty is evi-

dently indispensable to the Amphibia.” — Annals and Magazine of Natural.

History.

LIGHT OF Brgps. — Will you inform us how sailing birds remain sus-

pended in the air? Last summer while standing with Prof. Mudge, on

the high bluff of the Kaw, opposite ae Kansas, a large bird, sup-

posed to be Cathartes aura, rose fro opposite margin of the river,

and accomplished a spiral flight at os over rg minutes duration, supposed

to more than five hundred feet in height, and a mile in linear extent,

against a wind blowing about «three" on the Smithsonian scale, without

- his wings but once, and that was apparently to preserve his bal

"s following suggestions have been made: 1. Birds in sailing do not

rise above the initial Lees but use their wings as parachutes, like the

l. e turkey about three

108 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

of 1039 Fahr. by the heat of the bird, fills E quills, hollow bones and

cavities of the body, and buoys it up. Shoot a hawk or buzzard while

sailing, and down he tumbles from his airy iei Does his body cool as

soon as that?

Not one of'these suggestions seems to be sufficient. Do they when

combined? , Will you please enlighten us?—Joun D. Parker, Topeka,

Kansas.

Drep-sEA DREDGING NORTH OF ScorLAND — Drs. W. B. Carpenter and

rane to the Farce banks has “obtained evidence of the existence,

of a degraded or starved out E. of animal life, but of a ri

me varied fauna, including elevated as well as humble types, at a depth

of 530 fathoms.” ‘* Their heres tere have conclusively established the

existence of a temperature as low as over a considerable area of sea

bottom, where the depth was 500 fathoms and upwards, notwithstanding

that the surface-temperature varied little from 529." They argue at

there is a stratum of sea water with a temperature of 32°, or even 28°,

and the existence of such strata even in equatorial regions, has been

regarded by high scientific authorities as proving the existence of deep

currents, bringing cold water from polar regions to replace the warmer

the equatorial er the polar regions, as well as to make good the

immense loss which is ges Pe usn place by evaporation from thé ——

surface of sitis seas." “The examination which Prof. Huxley has

our last dredging at the depth of 650 fathoms, has afforded him a remark-

able confirmation of the conclusion he announced at the recent meeting

of the British Association, that the Coccoliths and Coccospheres are em-

bedded in a living expanse of protoplasmic substance, to which they bear A

the same relation as the spicules L sponges or of Radiolaria do to the

soft parts of those animals. Thus it would seem that the whole mass of

ud is penetrated by a living orgs of a type even lower, because —

less definite, than that of sponges and Rhizopods; and to this organism

Prof. Huxley has given the name of (suni dan This calcareous mu

composed partly of these bodies and partly of living Globigerine, has

been compared to the great chalk formation, and the reporters thus com-

pare the animals found living in it with the marine fauna of the Crete ‘a

ceous period : — de

“Among Mollusca we have two Terebratulids, of which one at least (Terebratulina caput-

serpentis) may

cranium) may b ded fr another of the nin

types of that family s so. abundant in the Chalk. "Among Beh a dred we tare Cae nlc AI

erinus. th tribe, which flourished in the Oolitic period, and

which was until lately supposed to have had its last representative in the Bourgetticrinus of

the Chalk. Among zoophytes, the Oculina we met with i a living state seems generically

allied to a Cretaceous type (0. explanata of Michelin), and t the remarkab wegedaem em |

sponges, whieh not gt aa that -

enters largely into ee een es calcareous mud wherein they are © embeds 1s

pre-eminently «

(Wabliheimid ——

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 109

tematie examination of the remarkable formation at present in progress would place in a still

ied light the Mj iil of its fauna to that of the Cretaceous period; since the speci-

mens which our few dredgefuls contained can only be considered as a mere sample of the

varied. forme of animal life Which this part of the ocean bottom sustains, —its * Urschleim ’

whole.”

The kors Mid e is. ip: sea forms found in the Mediterranean:

RB bivalve and peer eos molluses, as well as soophyten, can kerer « depths even ex-

et iil 2i à M. Alphonse

ov Kwarda (hichi Goes hor t ive the att

rea rs since for repairs

ketch tiving polyparies and molluses were Mitecbod: PR portio ons gn it whieh had been nb

rg o a depth of from 1093 to 1577 fathoms. Of these, some had been previously consid-

le yid i bes or bas been altogether unknown, w whilst others were only known in a fossil

state, as g tertiaries of the Mediterranean basin.” — Scient ntifie

Opinion

Honey BEES KILLED BY POLLEN.—In an article in the NATURALIST for

February on * Honey-bees killed by Silk-weed Pollen," you say ‘‘we have

never before heard of an insect actually losing its life from this cause."

In 1860 my attention was called to the same fact; many hives had their

over one hundred pollen masses attached to the claws and legs. When

the claws are thus fettered, the bee cannot climb upon the combs nor col-

lect honey, and is soon expelled from the hive and must die. The unfet-

tered bees tumble them out with little ceremony. As the common silk-

weed (milk-weed we call it here) needs insect aid ü free its pollen

flo S

the pollen masses are attached to a cleft gland. en the insect visits the

ower to secure its honey, of which there is an abundance, it must step

or the gland to reach the nectary, and a hair or claw entering the cleft

comes fast. 'To free itself the insect must pull out the gland with the

pollen attached or remain and die; and the latter is really the fate of

many small flies and moths. — J. KIRKPATRICK, Cleveland, Ohio.

LINGULA FOUND LIVING IN CaLrFORNIA.— Mr. Tryon announced that

Dr. W. Newcomb had dredged at Monterey, California, one living speci-

men of Lingula albida Sowb., which is probably the northern limit of the

Toten, = not in accordance with the general rule of distribution. —

sn the Conchological Section of the Philadelphia Academy of

Natural Fla

GEOLOGY.

Prenistoric Picrures or THE CAVE Horse rw FRANCE.— Prof. Owen

States that outlines of the head of different rd of the cave horse

when alive, neatly cut on the smooth surface uu rib of the same Mecum

have been discovered by the Vicomte de Lastic St. Jal, in 1863, in his

cavern at Bruniquel, under circumstances nd pere showed the

Im to have been done by one of the tribe of men inhabiting the cavern,

vei Men the wild horses of that locality and period for food.— Scientific

H6 -. NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

MICROSCOPY.

AM«OBOID MOVEMENTS IN EGGs.— Prof. E. Van Beneden, in some very

“rao researches on the development of the eggs of the lower crus-

tacea, states that there is no vitelline membrane in the egg as it lies in

the ovary. He proves it, first, by the amceboid movements already known

of other eggs, and which he has observed to be particularly active in

these instances; secondly, by the very Nri: fact, of his own discov-

ery, that the eggs at this Mods like the Infusoria, swallow, so to speak,

globules of carmine. The same fact has been recorded with regard to

the white blood vorpnsdtón iit other young cells.”—Schwann, in peer

Opinion.

THe MOLECULAR ORIGIN ‘OF Inrusorra.— The doctrine of Heterogeny,

or spontaneous generation, seems to be slowly gaining adherents. Prof.

e s declared in favor of it, and Dr. J. H. Bennett, the eminent

petiole: of TORE perorare it in the KOPONI Science Review"

n ate

an hese mol u

Burdach, and the proligerous pellicle of Pouchet. These molecules en-

large, and may be seen here and there strongly adhering together in twos

and fours, so as to form a little chain." They continue to unite until

they form a short staff, or filament — bacterium. These bacteria become

longer by uniting with others, and have a serpentine oven whereby

hese bodi

S begin to move wit ing motion, dependent upon a Lb e

cilium attached " one it: th tremities — Mo s. Ina day or

two er cilia are produced, the corpuscle enlarges, is nucleated, and

swims through the fluid : ried forms y u

molecular mass, dependent on the temperature, season of year, ex-

sunlight, and nature of the infusion, all having independent

movements. They have been denominated , Paramecia, Vorti-

— Kolpo , Trachelius," ete., ete.

da, Kerone, Glau

ns that the Mioleeutar mass, instead of being transformed into ani-

nudae. gives origin to minute fungi," such as Torula, Penicillium, et

“In all these cases no kind of animalcule, or fungus, is ever seen tO -

originate from preéxisting cells or larger _— but always from m

cules,”

‘That the infusoria originate and loped in the molecular pelli- |

cle which floats on the surface of putrefying or fermenting liquid s, has - :

been admitted by all who have gitur watched that pellicle uk the

CORRESPONDENCE. 111

microscope, more especially by Kutzing, Pineau, Nicolet, Pouchet, Jolly

water, as the numerous experiments by Po cn Meunier, etc., have

e discussions in the Fiench anions v Sciences for the last eight

wi ë

infusoria, animal and vegetable, “originate in oleo-albuminous molecules,

which are formed in organic fluids, and which, floating to the surface,

the molecules by their coalescence, produce the lower forms of vegetable

and animal life.

CuicaGo Microscopic CLUB. m have received the Constitution and

vara of this new society, and the Proceedings of the meeting hel

January 26th, when Prof. Freer ee d human blood cells showing the

cell as a bi-concave disc, with a nucleus appearing as a prominence in the

centre; most microscopists having denied the existence of a nucleus in

the e human blood disc

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

A. J. O., Morristown.— We would be much obliged for specimens of sheep ticks

and their eggs and dui with notes on their habits.

xtern y:

worms, such as the tape-worms and the “round worms.” ides e ay be co Med in in

v eges of ker oe eek | alcohol, and sent by mail in a strong pasteboard box, or roll

Barone, any one ever found t e bed-bug in swallow's nests; "they occur thus in

» Otiseo, N. Y.— Alo making your insect case as nearly air-tight as possible,

place’ camphor In à paper with pin holes or smear the box with creosote, or keep ben-

In constant A seanda i the box. Beetles may be care ba yr a solution of cor-

sublimate pr: s to in the nig tyra ‘Above all, watch

carer for Suet made b» rs devouring Insects, wi which falls e bottom of the case

Containing them, by whic may detect their presence in the ad

THE DATE PaLM.—In answer to a correspondent who enquires whether datos om ae

grew so low that a man can pick and eat them as he walks under the tree, we answ

112 BOOKS RECEIVED.

that dates are ripened even when the tree is so young that the clusters ma easily be

Uem cete denm the ground, but the mE DE he ae would most effectually preve

y one from walking under nE ne — € ird — down fro

th. base of "the leaves, and e pre be ed by a man on hone

back. The nan Rire Separately on "the "cluster and the nm Ocess goes on for some

weeks. The date-palm is b shade pe and not a pleasant tree to walk

under, as the dead and borse lezva Bán ng and project at various angles, and even

where these are trimmed away, the stem remains rough sis piny.—WM. T. ee

J. S., New Albany, Ind.— Your specimen is a portion of a growth of some sort

suberose, or corky fungus, such as grows pira of the dead or living, but dra and hae

bark of Bris g sg Us a A P iic bes find on macerating a bit of it, of a

e, an i

Poar “kind can » fond fiequot tly botten the layer o Ay sd er of the solid

by its pu va yon is Toy destroyed, wn t D tanists as

pvo lin rylostroma h signifying pin aes ag,” the second

* woody-bed,” or bed fü the wood. It other name given : s Tode, Xylostroma

iganteum, or the up woody bed," ous may be found in r of the rd

eech, ete., b in this country and in Europe. There are xy oer species of Rac

dium, some of which from resemblance, pers called ** Mouseskin,” and the like amas

CORRECTIONS. — Mr. Dall desires us to correct his statement in the March NATU-

Lol of Ee “no snake of the genus Elaps is poisonous,” as some of the species are

et pt . Cope writes us that the dislocation in the jaw of the ally of mosasaurus

(mentioned on page 55) i is Neo rre and not the result of an accident,—our own infer-

es were incorrect. —

BOOKS RECEIVED.

Practical Floriculture; A Guide to the Successive Cultivation of Florists Pu

Amateur and Professional Florist. By P.Henderson. Illustrated. New York: Orange

i $1.50.

Library of Education. S ht ing Education. By John Locke. New

York: J. W. Bilérmeber & C 32mo, pp: 192. 15 cents.

The Pampas a s — A roig Miles Walk across South America. By N. A.

Bis pow remp a & Shepard. 1869. 0, pp. 310.

The d of Zottgia Literature, m Vol. IV. Edited by A. C. L. Günther.

Filed pe John Van Voorst. 8vo, pp. 678.

ific Opinion Weekly) for January, 1869.

London.

rnal for the Popular Diffusion of Natural Science. Edited age diss C. F. Lüt-

ken, and Eug. Warming. Series iii Vol. I, Part 1. Copenhagen, 1

Archiv für Anthropologie. Vol. II, Part 3. eris d 1868. jm

iary 6,1869. Paris. 8vo.

Ca aturalist and Geologist. Second perit. Vol. m, Nos. 14.

The Field. December 19— February 20. London.

Journal of Travel yp — History. Wol.I, No.4. London. $vo.

Land and Water. Nov — February 8. .

— Science iorum decis 1869. €—

Quarterly Journal of Science. January, 1869.

Journal. February, March, d “Washington, "i C. $2 2.00 ayear. .

Bulletin of the National Association of Wool Manufacturers. ., 1869. Boston. 8v0.

. Le Naturaliste Ca , Bulletin des Recherches, se rap-

nadien. oaii sx

a P Histoire — du Canada. Tom. I, No. 2. Janvier 3, February, 186%

8vo, PP 25, 29 00a y

jf Fisheries for the year ending January 1, 1869. Boston,

1869. vo, pp. .m. :

ume. ntomologist. February 15. Vol.I, No.7. Toronto.

M American Entomologist. March, 1869. St. Louis: R. P. Studley & Co. $1.00

OMe Phciiend Objects for the Microscope. By M. C. Cooke. With five hundred

me London, 1869. 12mo. | Price $1.00.

L. GEL IH

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. III. — MAY, 1869.— No. 3.

ECC RC: 424 2 ID

A NEW SPECIES OF HARE FROM THE SUMMIT OF

WIND RIVER MOUNTAINS.

BY PROF. F. V. HAYDEN.

Ix the summer of 1860, the U. S. Exploring Expedition

under the command of Capt. William F. Raynolds, U.S. A.,

Entered accordi gress, in the year 1869, by the PEABODY ACADEMY bia

SCIENCE, in the Clerk's fcc. pu tne District Court of the District of ie

L 1

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III.

114 A NEW SPECIES OF HARE.

erossed over the Wind River Mountains into the valley of

the Columbia River. 'The writer was connected with that

expedition as Geologist and Naturalist. May 30th, we

camped at the foot of the eastern slope of the mountains, at

the source of Wind River. It was a beautiful locality, and

at this time the spring had fully come. Myriads of flowers

covered the valley, and the trees and shrubs were clothed

with foliage of the peculiar bright green color character-

istic of this mountain scenery. On the north side of this

valley were the rugged basaltic ridges of the western end of

the Big Horn Range, where it united itself with the Wind

River Range, and on our left were the forest-covered, gently

descending slopes of the Wind River Range. Fine springs

issued from the sides of the mountains everywhere, and all

the little branches were full of trout. ij

On the morning of May 31st, we ascended the eastern

slope, and gradually the vegetation dwindled down in size,

so that it presented an Alpine character, and before reaching

the summit, we were pushing our way through ten or fifteen

feet of snow. Upon the summits of these mountains quite

large areas are’ covered with perpetual snow, portions of

whieh melt away in midsummer. Every few moments the

clouds dropped down rain or snow, and then the sun shone

out as bright as ever. We were obliged to spend several

days on the summit of these mountains. So far as I could as-

certain the fauna on the west side of the Wind River Moun-

tains is quite distinet from that on the eastern side. One

day I noticed a group of singular tracks on the snow which

seemed different from any I had ever observed in the West,

and they appeared to belong to an enormous species of hare.

Descending the western slope about a third of the way from

the summit, we saw a number of these animals in the little

patches of pine forests, and succeeded in capturing several of

them, old and young. I saw at once that it was a species not

previously observed by me, and most probably undescribed.

The following is a brief description of this hare : :

A NEW SPECIES OF HARE. 115

Lepus Bairdii Hayden, Baird's hare. — Summer dress :

General color gray, glossed behind, especially on the rump,

with sooty black; feet and tail, and the edges of the eats

white, the latter not darker at tip. Nape sooty. In winter

pure white. Length to base of tail about sixteen inches (tail

mutilated). Ear three inches high ; hind feet six inches long.

This interesting new species of Alpine hare, as far as our

Observations extend, is confined to the Wind River Moun-

tains, where it is by no means rare, and forms a charac-

teristic feature of the landscape, its unusually broad feet

expanding with each step, forming a set of veritable snow-

shoes, enabling it to pass rapidly over the surface of the

snow without sinking. It is readily distinguished from

Townsend's Hare, or the Missouri Jackass Rabbit by its

smaller size, much shorter ears, and different colors. It is

considerably larger than L. sylvaticus and artemisia, with

disproportionately large feet and sooty nape, being neither

chestnut nor reddish. In some respects it resembles Lepus

campestris of the Hudson Bay country, which, however, is

more like Z. sylvaticus, although much grayer, and like L.

Bairdii, with a sooty nape. It is, perhaps, with the true

Polar Hare ( Lepus glacialis) that it is to be compared the

most properly. Its summer dress is much the same, but it

is much smaller, and lacks the black tips of the ears. The

hind feet are, however, of nearly the same size.

This hare seems to be restricted to a comparatively small.

area on the summits of these mountains, near Fremont's

Peak, about longitude 1109, and latitude 439, so far as our

present knowledge extends; and its natural habitat appears

be among the perpetual snows, from which it descends at

pleasure to the little open spots on the slope for its food. If

it were widely distributed it could not so long have eluded

€ observations of so many travellers who have erossed these

Mountains before and since 1860. But at this immediate

locality it appeared to be abundant. It subsists on grass,

but is very fond of the bark, buds and leaves of small

116 THE SAND MARTIN.

shrubs, especially the pine buds. Its meat is very white and

tender, affording the most delicate food for the traveller.

For tenderness and fineness of fibre, the meat of this hare

not only differs from, but surpasses all others of the West.

It holds a similar position among the hares that the Dusky

Grouse does among the Western Grouse; both have white

and very delicate meat, and prefer to obtain their food from

the pine shrubs.

Descending the western slope of the mountains into the

valley of the Snake Fork, we were again surrounded with

all the indications of spring. The trees were clothed with

fresh green foliage, and myriads of flowers were in bloom,

and all signs of winter had passed away. In the course of a

single day one may ascend to the region of perpetual snow,

and descend again to that of spring and summer.

ipis ad)

THE SAND MARTIN.

BY AUGUSTUS FOWLER. ,

THe Sand Martins (Hirundo riparia) visit their accus-

tomed breeding-places in Essex County, Massachusetts,

usually the first week in May, in companies sometimes to

the number of fifty pairs. They select the bank of some —

river, or the sides of any large excavation, in which they —

dig a hole from one to three feet below the surface of the

ground in a straight, horizontal direction. The holes are

usually from two to three feet in length, and often within 2

few inches of each other; the entrance and passage-way t9 |

the nest being of an elliptic form. They prefer the most -

perpendieular banks, with a stratum of sandy loam below .

the soil. They live together in the most social manner, and | |

unlike the White-bellied Swallow (Hirundo bicolor) are sel- |

dom seen to quarrel with each other. If at any time one of

them should, in digging his hole, intrude upon the passage f

THE SAND MARTIN. 117

of another already excavated, he leaves it and begins a new

one in some other place. After having completed their

burrow they deposit at its farther extremity a small quan-

tity of soft dried grass, so adjusted that the largest part of

the material is placed towards the passage-way, and then

line it with a few large white downy feathers. I say white

feathers, because I have always observed they prefer the

whitest they can get for the purpose ; it shows a proper taste

in the birds, a fit symbol of their innocence, and I shou

be surprised to find a swallow’s nest of this species lined

with black or even dark-colored feathers. In the nest thus

formed the female deposits from four to six eggs, which are

pure white, with a very thin transparent shell; they are

six-eighths of an inch in length, and one-half of an inch in

breadth. Nature has not bestowed on this bird that graceful

motion when on the wing that the Barn Swallow exhibits,

but she has given it the most amiable disposition of all our

swallows.

I have noticed an instance of the sense and reflection of

these birds, for if reason did not influence them in their oper-

ations, it seems as if there never was evidence of its exist-

ence in animals. There is in the town of Beverly a bank,

formed by the removal of clay for the purpose of making

bricks, which is every season occupied by twenty or thirty

pairs of these birds. Above the clay there is a stratum of

sandy loam, from two to three feet in depth; in this they

burrow from two to three feet. There is likewise in the

town of Danvers a bank which swallows occupy, in which

the layer of loam is mixed with gravel or small stones.

They excavate this bank to the length of five, seven and even

nine feet. For two or three seasons it was undermined.

Why should there be such a difference in the length of the

burrows made by the same species of birds, in situations not

more than a mile distant from each other? In one bank,

after examining a number of their holes where the earth was

of a fine sandy loam, easily perforated, it was noticed that

118 THE SAND MARTIN.

from the entrance to the extremity, the burrows did not

exceed three feet in length, while in the other bank, with

harder loam to work in, one burrow was found which was

nine feet in length ; and after examining six different holes,

of nearly the same length, it appeared that these little birds

had sufficient reason for extending their labors so far in the

earth ; in every instance where they met with a spot of loam,

free from stones, they finished their burrows; if they met a

stony soil they showed great care for the welfare of their

eggs or young in avoiding a catastrophe so great as would

befall their treasures if by accident a stone should fall upon

them; for this reason they excavate to the great depth above

referred to. As with man so it seems with them; reason

appears to teach them what effects certain causes will pro-

duce; hence the care they exhibit in depositing their eggs in

a place free from danger of harm. ;

After they arrive at their breeding-places, they seem to

spend a few days in consultation with regard to the organi-

zation of their little colony ; at such times numbers of them

lE acq dct DE:

pecie Ic EE

will be seen clinging to the bank, keeping up a low twitter- |

ing, while others may be seen circling and wheeling around

with much apparent joy, passing each other with that grace-

fulness and ease that are characteristic of no other birds ex-

cept those belonging to the swallow family, not however

without a friendly greeting in a low chatter, with .a little

variance of cadence. No party of beavers are more regular,

or swarm of bees more formal, than are the colonies of these

birds.

In watching their operations, while some were perforating

the bank and others leaving it, in search for or returning .

with materials to construet their nests, it is noticeable that

at a given signal, a short time before sunset, they quit their

labors simultaneously, and in a few moments not an indi-

vidual is seen near the bank, but over some pond, or field,

or high in the air hunting their food. And when the colony

returned it was in the same manner, all in company; they —

THE WHITE-FOOTED OR DEER MOUSE. 119

would then hover awhile about the bank, and one after an-

other dive into their burrows and disappear for the night.

Another interesting period in the life of this bird is when

their young begin to fly. No mother looks upon the first

steps of her child with more interest and pleasure than do

these birds seemingly upon the first flight of their offspring.

For a few days the young appear at the entrance of their

burrow, watching the old birds in their flight as they pass

and repass, and stopping now and then to leave them food,

and are at last induced to leave the bank and try their wings,

when they are followed by their parents until they are safely

perched upon some object, to receive in a chattering way,

their praise and congratulation for the success in their first

attempt in flying. The young are fed for a few days upon

the wing, and when abandoned to seek their own food may

be seen in pairs or small parties, two or three miles from

the place of their nativity, skimming over the fields and

pastures. Their food consists entirely of insects.

Among the festal days observed by the Greeks, there was

one called *the Welcome of the Swallows," when the chil-

dren would march through the streets with garlands of roses

and with musie to receive presents, and as this swallow is

one of those interesting "guests of summer" which always

Visits us, and as there is not even a suspicion that he is

harmful to man, let us welcome him.

THE WHITE-FOOTED OR DEER MOUSE.

BY J. D. CATON.

Tuts species of the Mus family has been noted for two

characteristics, not confined to it alone but still rare. One is

that it is an active tree-climber, and very frequently makes its

nest upon or in trees, sometimes at a considerable distance

from the ground; and the other is its mode of transporting

120 THE WHITE-FOOTED OR DEER MOUSE.

its young, which, as usually observed, is by the latter ad-

hering to the teat of the mother, who drags them along in

her flight from danger.

In October last I observed a bunch of sticks and twigs in

a thorn bush, about thirty inches from the ground, about the

size of one's head and rounded on top, with no appearance

of ever having been occupied by a bird. When the axe-man

struck the root of the tree, a White-footed Mouse ( Mus leu-

copus) rushed from the nest with two of her young family,

fully half-grown, attached to her. She coursed up and down

the limbs, and from one limb to another, dragging her heavy

load after her. Occasionally both would drop down on either

side of the limb along which she was dragging them. Some-

times when she would reach a lateral branch, the young

hanging its whole length below it, she would yank the infant

with a force truly surprising, which must have been a severe

test upon the hold of the little one.

— Two observations interested me particularly: First, the

young were not adhering to the teat, which has been sup-

posed to be the universal habit of this mouse, but were ad-

hering to the outside of the thighs. In this observation I do

not think I could have been mistaken, as I was struck with

this peculiarity, and stood within a yard of them, and she

stopped in plain view several times in apparent doubt as to

which way to go, and once on a limb about an inch in diam- —

eter, and with one of the young hanging down on either

side, which gave me the best possible lindos for an accurate

observation. The young, though large enough to have fled

much faster than the mother éould drag them, ‘made no effort

to assist in the flight, but contented themselves with pas- -

sively hanging on. Second, the young were of a dull blue 3

or lead dolis, darker than the common house-mouse, and

showing no white on the feet, belly or sides, which is always — |

observable in the adult. $

_. My desire to secure them as specimens was overcome by -

my sympathy for the afflicted mother, and I allowed them to E

FLORA OF PALESTINE AND SYRIA. 121

escape. This was done after having once retreated to the

nest, and left it again upon a new alae, when she run out

upon a limb as fap as she could, and jumped to the ground, a

distance of full four feet, the young still adhering to her.

I did not, as I should have done, examine the internal

arrangement of the nest. If she had taken possession of an

abandoned bird’s nest, she had completed the structure by

adding to it till the top presented a full convex form.

THE FLORA OF PALESTINE AND SYRIA.

BY REV. GEORGE E. POST.

Paestine and Syria embrace four distinct botanical re-

gions:

I. The sea-coast plain and lower slopes of the hills, with

the deeper valleys, which run far into the heart of- Lebanon

and the hill country of Galilee. The climate of this region

is subtropical, and fosters the development of the banana,

the palm, the sugar-cane and the orange. In this region

frost is almost unknown, snow is quite rare, being seen only

once in ten or fifteen years, and the hot sun of summer pour-

ing on a soil made humid by irrigations, develops a luxu-

riant vegetable life. :

II. The mountain sides, from 1000 to 4000 feet above the

sea, with the valley of Cole Syria, and the plain of the

Orontes. Here the flora changes. The palm will no longer

flourish. The banana refuses to fruit. The orange and the

lemon cease to be productive, and their place is taken by the

oak and the willow, and the pine and the maple. The olive

and the mulberry are equally productive in this and the

foregoing region, but in this form almost the only orchards,

While on the plain they share the attention of the farmer

with the before mentioned trees. In this region wheat and

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 16

1299 FLORA OF PALESTINE AND SYRIA.

barley flourish, and the vine attains the most perfect devel-

opment. The herbaceous flora of these two regions is simi-

lar in type, except that as we rise on the mountain sides the

Tetragontheca and Stachys, and Squill and Pancratium of

the plains begin to yield to the thorny mountain species of

Astragalus, and Tragacanth, and Eupigium, and the aro-

matic Origanums and Teucriums.

III. A third region comprises a small part of Cole Syria,

near the head waters of the Litany and Orontes, with the

plain east of Damascus and Hums. The soil of this region .

is thin, being fit only for the production of grasses and

thorny herbs, the scanty pasture of the Arab's flocks and

herds. Here grow Centaurea dumulosa, and Delphinium

anthoroides, and many Astragali and other Leguminose,

while not a solitary tree, or even shrub, enlivens the dreary

landscape. It is the type of those great waterless plains,

which, for a short space, interrupted by the fertile district

of Mesopotamia, extend eastward through Persia to the

great desert of Cobi.

IV. The fourth of these regions is from the height of 4000

feet on Lebanon and Hermon, to their snow clad summits.

Here the scanty remains of their once extensive forests of

cedar and oak, and pine, end at an elevation of 6000 feet

above the sea, and for the remaining 4000 feet of naked

rock, we have left such treelets as the Cotoneaster, and Pru-

nus prostratas, and Daphne oleoides, while the herbaceous

flora is represented in the lower regions by Astragalus lana-

tus, Alyssum montanum, and Ranunculus demissus and

Viola ebracteolata, and higher up by hemispherical bogs of a

species of Astragalus, Onobrychys tragacanthus and Acantho-

limon Libanoticum, while on the extreme summit of Lebanon

we find Ucia canescens, and of Hermon, Pyrethrum densum.

A fifth region might be enumerated, viz., the -plain about

Jericho, in which, owing to the depth of its surface below

the sea, about 1300 feet, and the reflected glare of the sun

from the mountains and surface of the Dead Sea, the heat |

FLORA OF PALESTINE AND SYRIA. 123

mounts to equatorial degrees, and a flora is found resembling

that of Lower India. More than twenty species are found

here and around Engedi, which are not found again until we

eross the Himalayas.

Thus it will be seen, that while on the summit of Lebanon

there is a plant, Oxygia reniformis, belonging to the Arctic

flora, in the valley of the Dead Sea we have representatives

of the vegetation of the torrid zone, and this in the midst of

a region with a temperate climate, by a special arrangement,

seemingly designed to extend the range of human thought and

observation within limits almost mierocosmical. For while on

any high mountain in the tropies we may have the near con-

Junction of these diverse forms of vegetable life thus answer-

ing the ends of variety and comparison, yet the general sur-

face of the country in such cases would be torrid, and hence

ill-adapted to the development of a hardy independent race,

such as inhabited the mountains of Palestine and Syria. In

the Holy Land, however, the end is gained by sinking a

small section down to a tropical level, leaving the rest of the

country more favorably situated for the support of vigorous

life, and the development of individuality of national char-

acter.

A single observation more is in place here. It is that in

Syria all plants necessary to life, or conducive to health, are

either indigenous or flourish under cultivation in the open air,

and that the indigenous materia medica supplies types of all

the leading groups of remedies used in the healing art. This

Statement is illustrated by the fact that in the gardens of

Syria grow the potato, bean in all its varieties, Indian corn,

®gg-plant, squash, pumpkin, artichoke, cucumber, onion,

tomato, turnip, cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, carrot, beet,

and many other vegetables, and the lemon, orange, citron,

Pomegranate, apricot, plum (in all varieties), peach, apple,

cherry, blackberry, mulberry, banana, fig, date, grape, and

other kinds of fruit; the walnut, pistachio, filbert, almond

and other nuts; the squill, castor oil plant, elaterium, scam-

124 THE FAUNA OF MONTANA TERRITORY.

mony, colocynth, salep, acacia, galls, poppy, Conium macu-

latum, aloe, various Euphorbias, madder and many other

medicinal and economical plants.

THE FAUNA OF MONTANA TERRITORY.

BY J. G COOPER, M.D.

(Concluded from page 84.)

III. REPTILES.

Horned Toan ( Tapaya Douglassii Gir.). A single speci-

men was obtained at Fort Benton. Though found on the

Columbia Plains this species does not seem to cross the

mountains at this point, but probably does so by the head

of Snake River.

RATTLESNAKE (Crotalus confluentus Say, possibly also C.

Lucifer B. and G.). I saw but two rattlesnakes in the Rocky

Mountains, which were on a prairie along Hell Gate River.

Expecting to find more I did not preserve them, but as speci-

mens were probably obtained by Lieut. Mullan, I mention the

localities of this and other reptiles which I did not preserve.

All kinds were very scarce in the mountains, and this, which

is so abundant along the Platte, is rather rare near Fort Ben-

ton. I mention this as the species seen on the west slope

because the Bitterroot Mountains are a far greater obstacle to —

the migration of the O. Lucifer eastward, than the main divide |

is to that of this, and I killed some of C. confluentus, proba- —

bly, as high as 5000 feet above the sea on the east slope. 3

Pine Sware (Pituophis). I also got a Pine Snake at Fort —

Benton. E

Green Racer ( Boscanion vetustus B. and G., or B. flaw- |

ventris?). I saw one dead specimen of this snake along Hel .

. Gate River in August. a

WANDERING GARTERSNAKE ( Eutainia vagrans B. and G.) |

Rather common along Hell Gate and Bitterroot River. 4a

THE FAUNA OF MONTANA TERRITORY. 125

Toap (Bufo Columbiensis B. and G.?). A large toad was

occasionally observed along the Hell Gate and Bitterroot

Valleys, but was not very common.

SrorrEp Froe (Rana halecina Kalm). I saw this frog

on the Missouri among the mountains, which it probably

crosses, being found at Fort Dalles by Dr. Suckley.

IV. FISHES.

Lewis’ Trout (Salmo Lewisii Girard). This fine trout

abounds in the headwaters of the Missouri, up to their sources

on the eastern slope of the mountains, and a few were taken

at and near Fort Benton by the soldiers, all of them large

ones. They bite readily at almost any artificial fly ; also at in-

sects, meat, pork, and even leaves and flowers, after they had

been tempted with grasshoppers. Officers and men, nearly

all who were not on duty, would crowd to the banks of the

beautiful mountain streams, and catch as many as the whole

command of three hundred men could eat every day, and

with tackle of all kinds, from a rude stick with a piece of

common twine and a large hook, to the most refined outfit

of the genuine trout-fisher. The form differs very much from

the figure given in Dr. Girard’s Report, and in the Natural

History of Washington Territory, being, as the specimens

show, much more elongated, like most other species. I also

took specimens of small size across, to compare with those

on the western slope, and am very doubtful whether these

can be considered a distinct species, though a comparison of

larger specimens may prove them to be so. If distinct, the

trout of the western slope is exceedingly near S. Lewisii.

It is equally abundant down to the crossing of the Bitterroot,

but less so in the streams on both sides of the Cœur d'Alene

Range, probably from their excessively shallow and rapid

current. I saw no difference, however, in those taken at

Cœur d’Alene Mission from those of the Little Blackfoot.

The differences noticed between these and those of the

Missouri were as follows :— Evidently fatter and in better

126 THE FAUNA OF MONTANA TERRITORY.

condition, from which, I suppose, arose the deeper tint and

greater extent of the rosy tint on their side and belly; back

paler olive; spots fewer and chiefly near the tail, where they

assumed a more stellate arrangement, but this was not con-

stant. Very young specimens, four to five inches long, were

barred on the sides. I saw none so small on the east slope.

No. 61, Little Blackfoot River, August 17th. No. 69, near

crossing of Bitterroot River, September 2nd. Length, 14.75

inch; olive, below silvery with rosy tints towards sides;

spots black; operculum, etc., bronze gilt; chin-mark orange.

Salmo sp.—A single specimen of a species of trout was

caught by Lieut. A. V. Kautz, U.S. A., on September 25th,

just below the ferry across the Spokan River, at Antoine

Plant’s. Its very dark hue corresponds to the color of the

stream, which is often the case in fish of the same species

found in different localities, but it otherwise differs very much

from the preceding. There is a high fall of the river below

this point not passed by the salmon, so that this species cannot

be a hybrid with them or anadromous either. No. 121, dried

skin; colors when fresh were very dark olive above; belly

dull white (no rosy marks) ; chin-mark reddish purple ; oper-

culum coppery, with a deep purple tint, this continuing as 4

broad streak along lateral line. Form of head very obtuse.*

SUCKLEY’s SALMONTROUT (S. Suckleyi Cooper, nov. sp-):

*Besides Salmo Lewisii, the following fish were caught at and near Fort Benton,

most of ge probably, do not go above the falls:

PIKE PERCH (Stizostedion boreus Gir.). Not very co

CATFISH. Pimelodus olivaceus Gir. was the only ca Perg seen above Fort Union,

below which P. ailurus Gir. is common. It is excellent eating, preferred by many to

‚trout, which cannot be said of other c. atfish

RIVER SUCKER (Acomus lacta. rius Gir.). Common and =y Pega eating.

MISSOURI KER. ( Catostomus Suckleyi Gir.). Not very com

NEBRASKA DACE communis Gir.). Abundant below. Fort Benton, but

MISSOURI HERRING vases no Lesu.. Common, and bites sharply like 8

trout, giving zood sport, but

SHOYEL-NOSED STURGEON tae platirhynchus Baird). Several were |

caught near Fort Bento

802 Sp.). waitin pike was cut before I saw it, and I only got the head, :

which I gave to Mr. Hil Hildreth t to send to Washington oe

also in the Roc Rocky Mountains a xpo itam of Whitefish ( Coregonus?), à Cot- 2

tod 1oy E E a 3 P E sar , Which ARRA i

er: P

"VE 3 € probably still undeseribed, but

d eet s A: *. 41. - S ded

THE FAUNA OF MONTANA TERRITORY. 127

Salmontrout of the Kalispelm or Lake Pend d’Oreille ; Suck-

ley, Report on Natural History of Washington Territory, un-

der S. Gibbsii(?).* The first of this splendid salmontrout

we met with were at the mouth of St. Regis Borgia creek,

which flows down the east slope of the Cœur d’Alefie Range,

and joins the Bitterroot, where the road crosses and leaves

that river. The large specimen was brought to camp by

Indians. An old mountaineer who keeps the ferry, said that

they could be caught with a hook baited with a small fish,

but these two had evidently been speared. We saw several

of them in this stream, but all refused to bite at a fly or any

common bait. Those caught in the Cour d’Aleiie, on the

west slope, seemed to be identical, and I preserved a small

one (No. 110, in alcohol). No. 95 was evidently about

spawning, the ova being as large as peas, like those of the

large salmon. Its colors were pale olive above, with irregu-

ius greenish patches; sides yellowish, beneath silvery white ;

fins and tail tinged with red; spots on back carmine, large

and few; tail a little emarginate; length 294 inches. The

other was slightly smaller, otherwise like this. No. 110,

young, was darker above, and colors brighter.

Sarmon (Salmo canis Suckley). Below the forks of

the Spokan, the Indians were catching myriads of this sal-

mon, and. curing even those washed ashore, in their ex-

hausted, diseased condition, without scales, and presenting

all the appearances described in our report of 1853, rela-

ting to the salmon of the D Columbia.

orth Dr.C that he did not have the

book at hand, and was not sure that the specimen he refers to was mentioned by Dr.

Suckley v under S. Gibbsii. As we cannot find a reference to the locality given under S.

paragraph by Dr.

a E ~

ee ee EIEE PERPEN S

Gibbsii, we think that Dr. Cooper intended to to the following

Suckley under Salmo spectabilis Gir. (Nat. Hist. of Washington Territo Oregon,

E In Lake P. sheet of water formed in the second chain of

Ori

the Rocky Mountains by a dilatation of the Clark River, of much the same size, shape,

rent character as Lake Geneva in Switzerland, I — seen a very hand

Species of red-spottedlake trout. The spots along the flanks are of the size pian d

peas, id are of a be autiful rose color. The length of the adult mawn

twenty inches. Its fi arched.” Much

valuable and interesting information relating to the Salmonidze „of the northwestern

His 9f America is contained in Dr. Suckley's a on

tory of Washington Territory, etc.— EDITORS

THE FLOWERS OF EARLY SPRING.

BY REV. J. W. CHICKERING, JR.

THERE is perhaps a nearly equal charm about the notes of

the first robin, and the sight of the first Mayflower. It will

be the object of this article to enumerate, with a few notes

upon each, some of our earlier floral visitors, in wood and

meadow, in New England.

The list opens, not very attractively, with a plant well

known to all, under the mal-odorous name of Skunk Cab-

bage (Symplocarpus fetidus), but whose flower is by no

means so familiar,save to the observing botanist, and even he

must be on the alert to obtain this first gift of Flora, in full

perfection of color and aroma. Early in April, or even in

March, almost before the ice is fairly melted, may be found

in low marshy ground, this flower, clumsy in form, repulsive

and snaky in color, dark purple with yellowish blotches,

and disgusting in odor; soon to be followed by the clump of

large fleshy leaves, conspicuous during the rest of the sum-

mer. Like Stramonium, and most other noxious and um-

sightly weeds, it has been tried as a remedy for asthma, and

with about as much effect. DEI

In very pleasing contrast comes next Epigæa repens, or a

it is sometimes miscalled Trailing Arbutus, better and more 4

appropriately known throughout New England as the May-

ower.

This, among the very earliest, is also the choicest gift that

Flora has in this latitude to offer us, alike for its beauty of :

form and color, its delicious fragrance, and its charming -

habit of peeping out, almost from the edge of the retreating |

snowdrifts. To find the first bunch of Mayflowers is 1

ambition of many a boy and girl, as well as not a few child- —

ren of larger growth. The finest specimens ever seen bY |

the writer were from a mountain in Camden, Maine. It has

(128) "n |

THE FLOWERS OF EARLY SPRING. 129

also been used as a medicinal agent, but with no better nor

worse results than many others. It is a true wild flower,

resisting all attempts at domestication. Closely associated

with this is found the Hepatica, in its two forms of triloba

and acutiloba, one with rounded, the other with pointed

leaves, probably merely varieties. The little clump of

flowers pushes its way through the ground, often in advance

of the leaves, and with the varying shades of pink, blue

and white, seen in different plants, is a welcome addition

to our spring bouquet, though lacking the fragrance of the

Mayfiower.

About this same time the southern aspect of rocky hill-

sides begins to whiten, with the cheerful, though not spe-

cially graceful or showy flowers of the Early Saxifrage

(Saxifraga Virginiensis), and in forest marshes the incon-

spicuous little Golden Saxifrage, with a name longer than

itself ( Chrysosplenium Americanum). Soon in the meadows

the carpet of living green is embroidered with the golden

flowers of Caltha palustris or the English Marsh Marigold,

improperly called Cowslip, and whether correctly or not,

associated with creamy milk and yellow butter, while a lit-

tle later are seen in the morning sun, the white stars of the

Bloodroot ( Sanguinaria Canadensis), as fragile as they are

beautiful, generally lasting but for a day. Its orange-colored

juice is much used in medicine as an emetic, an expecto-

rant, and a liniment. This plant readily bears transplant-

ing, increases in size under cultivation, and becomes one of

the most attractive ornaments of the early flower border.

In some parts of the country is found a somewhat similar

flower, the Twin-leaf, or Rheumatism Root (Jefersonia di-

phylla), also well repaying cultivation.

Meanwhile the pastures are beginning to whiten (last year

remarkably) with the modest little Houstonia, or Innocence

( Oldenlandia cerulea), while a host of violets are making

their appearance. Viola blanda, a wee, white, sweet-scented

Species, in the woods ; cucullata, with its large blue flowers

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III.

130 THE FLOWERS OF EARLY SPRING.

and hood-shaped leaves, with their curious palmate variety ;

rotundifolia, with yellow flowers and shiny leaves; and on

the hillsides and in the pastures the widely varying sagittata.

Claytonia Virginica, well named Spring Beauty, must not

be neglected in its moist and generally shady bed.

Along streams in open woodlands, we may find the Spring

Cress ( Outen rhomboidea), with large, white flowers;

and just shooting up its green stalk, its first cousin the Win-

ter Cress (Barbarea vulgaris).

Nor should the floral efforts of trees and shrubs be disre-

garded. Among the earliest indications of spring the Hazel-

nut (Corylus rostrata) shakes its long catkins along the

roadsides, before any signs of swelling leaf-buds are visible,

while the Willows (Salix), whose name is legion, begin to

burst their warm wintry covering. The Savin (Juniperus

Virginiana) is covered with its curious little flowers. The

Hemlock (Abies Canadensis) is early in flower, as also the

American Yew (Taxus baccata). All these require close

examination to detect their inflorescence, but well repay it-

The two maples, Acer dasycarpum (the Silver Maple) and

Acer rubrum (the Red Maple), hang out their showy pen-

dants very early. The Sweet Gale (Myrica Gale), along

the edges of swamps, and the Sweet Fern ( Comptonia asple

nifolia), whose dried leaves are the basis of juvenile at-

tempts at smoking, are now in flower; and Dirca palustris,

well named Leather-wood from the marvellous toughness of

its bark, such that it is frequently used in default of leather

or twine in repairing broken harnesses or sleds, hangs out

its little yellow bells in advance of any leaves.

We close the list with the fragrant Sassafras (S. ofici-

nale), well known by its aromatic bark and curiously lobed

leaves, not so well by its early clusters of yellow flowers,

somewhat resembling those of the Sugar-maple; and the

‘Spice-wood, or Fevr hud (Benzoin odoriferum), also highly

aromatic, and possessing, like the Sassafras, medicinal value

as an aromatic stimulant. Such are the earliest flowers,

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 131

which in forest, field or fen, invite the search of the botanist

and the lover of nature.

Perhaps subsequent articles may give some notes upon the

flowers of later spring, summer and autumn, with a floral

calendar, and possibly an enumeration of some plants and

shrubs well worthy of a place in garden or shrubbery, but

hitherto neglected. If this shall sueceed in leading any to a

closer study of nature's beauty, and the goodness and glory

of the Creator, its object will be answered.

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

BY C. B. BRIGHAM.

Tue art of preserving water animals alive and in good

condition, as pets or as objects of study, is not of recent

date; but the principles of what is now commonly known

as the aquarium, were not until lately brought into general

notice. The Romans had their tanks of game fish, the

English and French gardeners their vessels for the growth

of tender water-lilies or other valuable aquatic plants, yet

the happy thought of uniting the two, — fishes and plants, —

so that the one should balance the other, each aiding in the

others support, making withal a collection of such propor-

tions as to be conveniently kept indoors, is the production

of comparatively late years.

Dr. Johnstone, of Liverpool, has the reputation of having

been the first to apply practically the principles of the aqua-

rium; he made experiments with the Corallina officinalis,

Starfish, Conferve, and some small plants of the Ulva latis-

sima, and found that they flourished for eight weeks without

being disturbed; this led him to try some fresh-water fishes

and larve, and they succeeded even better than the salt-

Water specimens. Since then Gosse, Hibberd, Warington

132 THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

and others of England, and the late Mr. Cotting, of Boston,

have done much towards forwarding the interests of the

aquarium. The whole secret of the success of the aquarium

lies in the exactness with which we imitate nature in arrang-

ing and disposing our collections ; but let us understand first

of all that what is meant by the term an aquarium is a col-

lection of water plants and animals, so arranged in suitable

ratio that it shall be perfectly self-supporting. We do not

expect, then, that the water will have to be changed until

after long periods, if at all; the plants and animals should

flourish as well as if in their native locality.

How then is this balance of forces to be attained? This

leads us to examine the philosophy of the aquarium, which

is simply this: The element in water which the fishes live

on by breathing is free oxygen, which, as the water is fanned

through the gills or lungs of the fish, comes in contact with

the walls of its vessels, and arterializes the blood; all water

contains a certain amount of this oxygen, sufficient to keep

a fish alive for a short time, but if no means are taken to

create a fresh supply, it will become exhausted sooner or

later, and an escape of carbonic acid will render the water

poisonous to the fish. In plants on the other hand we have

an agent taking up the carbonic acid in the water, and re-

solving it into carbon and oxygen, the former of which it

- converts into its substance, while it expels the latter from

every part of its tissue, especially from the leaves in the

form of minute bubbles, plainly seen in healthy plants, and

so often compared to drops of quicksilver in appearance. It

is true that plants absorb oxygen also as fishes do, but they

give out so much more than they absorb, that this is of slight

account.

Another oxygen producing agent, as was shown by Liebig,

is to be found in the almost microscopic forms of animal life

which abound in water which has stood for some time eX-

posed to the air. These animaleule seem to form another

link in the chain which binds together all kinds of animal -

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 133

life of higher or lower order, however apparently diverse

they may be. This extra supply of oxygen adds greatly to

the support of the aquarium, and is no doubt the reason

why a large number of fishes can be supported with a seem-

ingly small proportion of plants. It would indeed be an

interesting experiment to try, were we to place a small fish

in a large tank, and see if, from the oxygen of these infu-

sorial animalcule alone, life could be sustained.

It must be the aim of him who wishes to establish an aqua-

rium to see that this balance of plants and fishes is effected,

for it is indispensable. Starting then with some idea of

what we wish to accomplish, the first inquiry is about the

kind of tank we are to use. This is an affair of more than

mere fancy, convenience, or economy, for it is important for

the growth of many plants that they should have the great-

est amount of light possible, and this is especially true with

fresh-water plants ; so that where a washbowl or a tub would

make an excellent tank for a salt-water collection, the same

might fail of success in one with fresh-water. Besides there

are many specimens which we wish to examine sideways,

and obtain that view which it is not possible to have in

nature, namely, that of a vertical section of a pond. The

requirements of a good vessel or tank for an aquarial col-

lection, are strength and sufficient transparency ; these we

have in a moderate degree in the inverted bell-glasses, or

cake covers, of confectioners. If, however, the glass be-

comes cracked and broken from any cause, and it is surpris-

ing how easily it is broken, the whole collection of specimens

is in great danger of being lost, especially if the accident

happen in the night-time. Another disadvantage which the

cake covers have is, that through them the specimens are

sometimes magnified, and irregularly too, so that what has

been put into the tank as a very small and finely shaped fish,

in an instant becomes a giant more or less deformed. This

kind of tank is the usual one adopted by those who are

making an aquarial collection for the first time, and it

134 THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

answers many purposes admirably; it is sufficiently trans-

parent, moderately strong, and quite cheap. One having a

diameter of twelve and a half inches, with a depth of eight

inches, and of good thickness, can be bought for two dollars

and a half; the knob on the top will prevent its standing

steadily, and to obviate this difficulty a stand can easily be

turned from a block of wood, with a hole cut in the centre

large enough to admit the knob, and allow the bottom of the

glass to rest upon it as a support. If properly taken care.

of, a tank of this sort will last for years, and be a great

comfort to its possessor, but an untimely accident will before

long induce him to try something more substantial.

- Perhaps the best tank for the aquarium in use is what is

ealled a rectangular tank, having the four sides of glass, and

the base of some hard material such as stone, iron or wood.

The glass is held in place, and supported at the four corners

by as many pillars of iron or wood, which are held together

on top by strips of a similar material connecting them. Of

the three materials for the base and pillars, iron is by far the

best for a fresh-water tank, if we can have but one material

alone; it is lighter than stone, and the little it rusts from

time to time does not amount to anything; the water does

not ooze through it as it does through some kinds of stone,

and it does not warp, as wood is so apt to do if the tank is

left without water for a length of time. To prevent rusting

a layer of cement may be spread on the bottom of the tank

inside, and a plate of thick strong glass placed upon it; and

in the same way a narrow strip of glass‘can be cemented to

each of the pillars, so that the iron shall be prevented from

coming in contact with the water at every point. A tank,

. having a base of slate and pillars of iron protected by glass,

as just explained, is the best kind of a tank to own, as it can

be used for either salt or fresh water as we require. The

shape of a tank, too, is of some importance, that of a double

cube being the best for this reason, that it allows more of a

clear surface on the long sides for inspection after the rock-

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 135

work and plants are introduced, than a tank whose shape is

square; it also gives a better chance for the light to strike

upon every point inside.

The facilities for procuring tanks already made are so

great nowadays, that while once it was an object to know

how to construct a tank for one’s self, now one has only to

make a choice from several patterns. The most important

thing to look after in selecting a tank, next to its material

and shape, is the kind of cement which has been used ; all

sorts of putty are to be rejected as worthless; if we cannot

be sure that the cement is good and not injurious to fishes, a

few weeks trial, or even less, will convince us of its value.

Another point to be attended to, is that the cement be quite

hard before the tank is filled with water, as there are some

kinds of cement used that never harden; of course, in these

cases there is danger of having a leaky tank to contend with.

Of the other kinds of tanks, either those made wholly of

clay, or of glass, or those with one side at an angle of 50°

with the base, so as to form a beach, after the pattern of the

Warington tank, or those with all the sides of slate, in

imitation of a rock pool, or those of an oval or hexagonal

shape, each has its advocates. Some tanks have been lately

made in New York, with the base and pillars of a composi-

tion which is silver-plated ; they are wonderfully light and

beautiful, but there seem to be doubts as to their durability.

More or less ornament can be displayed on the pillars and

base of the tank, according to the taste of the owner, but it

Seems as if simplicity and neatness were full as requisite

here as elsewhere, and that the ornament of the tank should

be the collection inside. As to the size of the tank, it very

much depends on the place one has to put it in. se

three sizes I have found from experience very useful i

No. 1, Length, 18 in. ; depth, 103 in; width, 12 in.

No. 2, Length, 24 in. ; depth, 14 in. ; width, 144 in-

No. 3, Length, 28 in. ; depth, 134 in. ; width, 13 In-

Number three is, perhaps, the best size of all, and it is by

136 HINTS ON TAXIDERMY.

far the prettiest shape. Tanks can be purchased, generally,

at the bird or plant stores of large cities; the prices range

from six dollars upwards. Sometimes a stand for the tank

is made in connection with it, or of a similar material. It is

well to remember in selecting a stand, the enormous weight

which it will have to bear when the tank is filled with stones

and water.— To be continued.

HINTS ON TAXIDERMY.

BY C. A. WALKER.

Equ t for the travelling collector.—The travelling-

collector should equip himself with a double-barrelled gun

(and a rifle when large animals are sought for), ammunition,

including shot for small birds and mammals (numbers 2, 6,

8, and 10,—the latter should never be omitted) ; dissecting

instruments, scissors, needles and thread, preservative drugs

and preparations, and alcohol about 80 per cent. in strength ;

tin cans of various sizes for containing alcoholic specimens,

since glass bottles and jars are liable to be broken during

transportation; cotton and tow for stuffing the skins of

birds and mammals; fishing lines and hooks, casting net, à

seine for catching fishes in small streams, the two ends of

which should be secured to long wooden handles, which is

held in the hands of two persons upon opposite banks; in

this position it can be drawn both up and down the.stream.

He should also carry with him a geological hammer and steel

chisels for collecting fossils and rock specimens, and small

pocket vials and cork-lined boxes for insects.

atives. — Common powdered arsenic should be em-

ployed for skins to be mounted at once, instead of arsenical

soap, as it has a tendency to dry them quickly. It may be _

oca dry, or mixed with alcohol until it is of the consist- ——

HINTS ON TAXIDERMY. ` 137

ency of syrup; in the former case it should be dusted upon

the skin by means of a small sieve; in the latter it is neces-

sary to apply it with a brush. Arsenical soap should be used

only upon skins which are intended to be kept for a long

time before being mounted. It is composed of the following

ingredients: powdered arsenic $ lb., camphor 14 lb., salts

of tartar 3 oz., powdered lime 1 oz., bar soap $ lb.

The soap should be cut into very fine slices, put into a tin

dish with warm water, and stirred over a moderate fire until

thoroughly dissolved ; the powdered lime and salts of tartar

should then be added and mixed with the soap. The prep-

aration should next be removed from the fire, the pow-

dered arsenic, and lastly the camphor (powdered and dis-

solved in a little alcohol) added, stirring the mixture all

the while. The whole should have the consistency of flour

paste; if it be too thick add a little water, taking care not

to hold it over the fire after the camphor has been added,

as heat will cause the latter to evaporate speedily. After

cooling it place it in a jar with a brush passing through

the stopper, and label the jar "poison." In extreme cases

when the above preparations cannot be obtained, the skin

should be rubbed with salt or with alum, or filled with spices

and strong smelling herbs. These are by no means a sub-

stitute for arsenic, and are to be used only when the latter

cannot be obtained. The skins of large animals should be

soaked in a solution of alum, arsenic and salt, or in weak

arseniated alcohol for several days.

Directions for preliminary work. — When a specimen has

been killed the mouth should be opened, cleaned and filled

With cotton or tow; the nostrils and vent, and any wounds

should be treated in the same way to prevent blood or other

Secretions from exuding. It is essential to remove the skin

as soon as possible after death. Should this be inconvenient,

the internal organs should be taken out and the cavity filled

with powdered charcoal if it can be had, if not, salt should

e used. Previous to removing the skin, an accurate meas-

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 18

138 HINTS ON TAXIDERMY.

urement should be taken of the subject in the manner in-

dicated below.*

The color and general character of the hair, as well as any

change of the same at different seasons of the year, the sex,

and any other peculiarity known should be carefully written

Fig. 29.f

y Np

Hi JP:

down and eee Skins should never be packed for

transportation until thoroughly dry; they should then be

placed in a box containing plenty of camphor, having its

sides and joints perfectly closed with pitch to prevent the

invasion of insects. It is well to saturate the inside of the

box with benzine before placing the skins within. Never

allow a box containing skins to be placed in any damp

place

Busronent and materials used.— Of instruments and

materials useful to the taxidermist in mounting mammals;

birds, fishes and reptiles, the following are needed : A scalpel

"The following are the general measurements which should be taken of a quadru-

Total length; n nose to occiput; nose to eye; nose to ear; nose to end of tail; length RN

and width root to, end of dati tail from root to end of h

length of the nasi joints of the forelegs; length of the different joints of the hind

ion of Fig. ;

lumbar do. ; g, sacral do; h, caudal do; i, scapula; b, humerus; J, radius; n, ulna; ™

carpal bones ; o, metacarpal bones; p, pelvis; r, femur; s, fibula; f, tibia; u, tarsal

bones; v, metatarsal bones; w, p

HINTS ON TAXIDERMY. 139

(Fig. 30, a); a pair of pincers for bending wire (c) ; a pair

of wire cutters (5) ; a pair of small forceps for stuffing the

necks of small birds and mammals and arranging feathers

(e); a pair of larger ones, at least fifteen inches long, for

stuffing the necks of large birds and mammals (4) ; a pair of

dissecting scissors for cutting flesh and ligaments during the

process of skinning (d) ; another larger and stronger pair for

cutting tow; a large knitting needle inserted into a handle

and sharpened at the end, for perforating the tarsi of birds

previous to the insertion of the wires (7) ; a tin sieve with a

cover for dusting powdered arsenic upon the skin (g) ; a wide-

Fig. 30.

mouthed jar, with a brush passing through the stopper, for

holding arsenical soap (f); tow for stuffing small birds and

mammals (the finest quality being used for filling the necks) ;

also hay, dried moss, etc., for those of larger size; needles

for sewing up incisions; thread for winding; a large fish-

hook with the barb filed off, for suspending specimens while

skinning them. Annealed iron wire of various sizes, TRES

ing from 10 to 26, —No. 10 being used for supporting large

Specimens, No. 26 for humming birds, warblers, etc. A -

file of medium coarseness for pointing wire; a set of Aiken's

140 HINTS ON TAXIDERMY.

tools, containing various sizes of bradawls; a small gouge,

chisels, etc., will be found very useful.

Method of skinning a mammal.— When an animal is

ready for skinning, the mouth, nostrils and shot holes,

should be filled with cotton or tow. Place the animal upon

its back, take the scalpel in the right hand and with the left

separate the hair to the right and left in a line from the front

of the pubis quite down to the vent, so that the skin beneath

can be plainly seen. Make a longitudinal incision along the

course, directed in as straight a line as possible, taking care

not to cut so deep as to expose the intestines. The ski

should then be turned back on either side with the aid of

the scalpel, working downward toward the back. When the

thigh has been laid bare sever it from the pelvis at its junc-

tion with the femur or thigh bone. Layers of cotton or tow

should, from time to time, be placed between the skin and

body, as it will prevent the hair from being soiled. This

operation should be repeated with the other side. Next the

intestinal canal should be cut off a little way above the anus,

and the tail separated close to the body. The skin should

then be loosened from the back and breast until the forelegs

are visible. Sever these at the shoulder joint or the base .

of the humerus. Remove the skin from the neck and the

back part of the skull will appear. In skinning over the -

skull, care should be taken to sever the ears as close to it

as possible; also not to injure the eyelids or cut too close -

to the lips. The carcass should next be separated from the —

skull at the first vertebrze, or the junction of the skull and —

neck. The next operation is to remove the tongue, eye ©

and all the muscles attached to the head. Through an ope? —

ing in the occipital bone, carefully clean out the brain. Next |

the legs should be skinned quite down to the claws of the ©

feet, removing all muscles, but leaving the ligaments and

. tendons of the knees. The hind legs should undergo the |

same operation. Lastly, skin the tail as far back as the -

_ first three joints of the vertebre, and to this stump fixa |

HINTS ON TAXIDERMY. 141

stout cord, which should be fastened to a hook or other pro-

jecting object on the wall. A strong piece of wood is then

prepared, flat, and sharpened upon both edges. This should

be introduced: between the skin and the vertebre, and by

working it around the latter, the attachments will be severed

and the vertebre within can be easily pulled from the envel-

oping skin. In skinning the tail of the beaver an incision

should be made upon the under side, running lengthwise

from the base to the tip. The skin should then be loosened,

beginning upon either side of the incision, until the flesh is

entirely free, when it can be removed, the arsenic added, the

skin restored to position, and the incision sewed up.

The foregoing method is practiced only upon the smaller

quadrupeds; with the larger mammalia a different course is

pursued. An incision is made from beneath the under jaw,

in a straight line to the anus ; transverse cuts are also made,

running down the inside of both fore and hind legs. These

being made upon the inner side will render the seams less

conspicuous after the specimen has been mounted. To de-

tach the hoofs, place them upon a stone and strike them

repeatedly with a mallet; they will soon loosen and can be

separated from the bone. After the operation of skinning

has been completed, every part of the skin should be a-

nointed thoroughly with arsenical soap. Turpentine applied

to the nostrils and lips will prevent the approach of noxious

insects. When the skin is too large for the application of

the soap, it should be thoroughly saturated with a solution

of "alum and water." The different bones left in the skin

should all be thoroughly anointed with the preservative,

and the eye-sockets and cavity of the brain filled with cotton

or cut tow before replacing the skull in its natural position.

If the animal be not too large the carcass should be pre-

Served, as it will greatly aid the operator in his work of

modelling a body. If immersed in alcohol, it can be kept

any length of time. :

To mount the skin; for instance that of a squirrel. — First

142 HINTS ON TAXIDERMY.

provide yourself with tow, cotton, thread and twine; also,

the stuffing forceps, a pair of pincers, file and wire cutters.

With the aid of the forceps supply the various muscles of

the face and head, by inserting cotton both through the

mouth and eyelids. Take annealed wire of the proper size,

and eut from the coil six pieces: No. 1, two or three inches

longer than the total length of the body; Nos. 2 and 3 for

the forelegs; Nos. 4 and 5 for the hind legs; each of these

should be two, or even three inches longer than the limbs

they are to support; No. 6, for a support to the tail, of the

same proportionate length as the others. With a large

pair of scissors, cut fine a quantity of tow, and with this,

and the aid of the long forceps, stuff the neck to its natural

dimensions. "Taking wire No. 1, bend in it four small rings,

the distance between the two outer representing the length

of the body taken from the skin (Fig. 31, a), leaving one

long end for a support to the head and neck (5). Mould tow

about that part containing the rings, and by winding it down

with thread, form an artificial body, resembling in form and

size the natural one Fig. 31.

taken from the skin.

Sharpen the project-

ing end to a fine

point with the file,

and insert it up through the cut tow in the neck, and thence

through the skull; the skin should then be pulled over the

body. Wires Nos. 2 and 3 should then be placed in position,

by inserting them through the soles of the feet, up within the

skin of the leg, and through the body of tow, until they ap-

pear upon the opposite side. With the pincers bend over the

end of each, forming a hook; the wires must then be pulled

backwards, thus festoning the hooks firmly into the body.

The loose skin of the limbs should then be stuffed with cut

tow, taking care to imitate the muscles of the living subject.

Nos. 4 id 5 can be fixed in position after the same manner,

except if the animal is to rest entirely upon its tarsi (as in

ee eee an ote eee Tet Ee! T F. N MMe Tee c E

HINTS ON TAXIDERMY. 143

the case with the squirrel when feeding), then the wire must

be inserted at the tarsal joint instead of the sole of the foot.

If any depressions appear in the skin they must be stuffed

out with the cut tow. Wire No. 6 should now be inserted

at the tip of the tail, and forced down within the skin,

hooking it into the body in the same manner as the leg

wires. Stuff the tail to its proper dimensions, with cut

tow, and carefully sew up the incision along the abdomen.

Having prepared a board about three-quarters of an inch

thick, pierce in it two holes at a proper distance apart for

the reception of the leg wires (four holes would be needed

if the animal were to stand upon all extremities) ; these must

be drawn through upon the under side until the feet of the

specimen rest close upon the upper surface, then they should

be clinched, taking care that the wire does not protrude

above the surface of the board as it renders the support

unsteady. The different joints of the limbs can now be

imitated by bending the wire at the proper points ; also, a

curve can be given to the back, and the tail can be set into

proper position by simply bending the wires into the re-

quired shape. The eyes should now be placed in their

position, a little putty having been previously inserted

within the eyelid to serve as a cement. Care should be

taken in arranging the eyelid, for the expression depends

altogether upon this point. Clip off any superfluous wire

which may extend above the head with the wire cutters.

The specimen should then be placed in some locality free

from moisture and allowed to dry thoroughly, when it is

complete for the cabinet. |

In mounting quadrupeds of large size the following for-

mula should be pursued :—Procure a bar of wood, an inch

thick and two inches broad, of a length equal to the dis-

tance between the shoulders and thighs; this should be

placed within the skin, three holes having been previously

made at one end, and two in the other, with a gimlet,

for the reception of the various wires. This is used as a

144 HINTS ON TAXIDERMY.

substitute for the central wire or body support. Having

sharpened a piece of wire large enough to firmly support the

specimen, force it down through the skull and neck, passing

it through the gimlet hole at a (Fig. 32) ; when it appears

on the under side bend the end into the form of a hook with

the pineers, and drive it firmly into the wood. Next, the

foreleg wires, well sharpened, should be foreed up through

the soles of the feet, and fixed into the bar of wood at b and

c, in the same manner as the head support. Do the same

Fig. 32.

with the hind leg wires, fastening them at the lower part of

the bar, as at d and e. Lastly, the tail support should be

placed in position, fastening it to the wooden bar at the

point f. This completes the framework. A quantity of hay

or moss should now be proeured, and it is of the utmost

importance that it should be thoroughly dry, otherwise the

specimen is liable to mould. Commence filling the neck,

keeping the wire in the centre of the material, and stuff

downward to the forelegs; these should then be restored to

form, taking care to imitate the muscles of the shoulder.

In working down the body place the hay or moss betwee?

the bar of wood and the skin to avoid all stiff appearance;

always place the stuffing material evenly within the skin,

and never use pressure, as a fresh skin can be easily eX-

panded far beyond its natural dimensions. Having reached

the hind legs, imitate faithfully, by stuffing, all the natural

muscles. When this part has been completed, sew up the

various incisions; attention should be paid to separating the

ERU REIS Qul T NOR NUES LA TT AR TERES DE ERES UR RO E ETA

HINTS ON TAXIDERMY. 145

hairs, and not to take any of them in along with the thread.

Imitate the joints of the limbs by bending the wire at the

proper points, and place the specimen upon the board, draw

the wires through the holes with the pincers, and clinch

them upon the under side. The specimen will then assume

an erect position. The orifices of the eyes, mouth and ears,

should be filled with cotton saturated with the preservative,

and the artificial eyes put in while the eyelids are yet plia-

ble. The lips can be secured in their proper position by

means of pins, and the nostrils distended to their natural

size, with pellets of cotton inserted within. In the larger

mammalia the orifices of the head should always be a-

nointed with spirits of turpentine. If any irregularities ap-

pear in the skin, they must be pressed down and modelled

into shape with the hand. The muscles of the various parts

of the body can be exactly imitated by making casts of

plaster of Paris, and fitting them within the skin in lieu

of other stuffing material.

Those gigantic beasts which roam about the forests of

tropical countries, such as the elephant, giraffe, etc., have

to be mounted upon wooden models. Perhaps the method

cannot be better illustrated than by giving an account of the

manner in which an elephant was mounted at the Jardin du

Roi, at Paris, as related by Capt. Thomas Brown, F.L.S.,

in his work entitled “The Taxidermist’s Manual :”

“The dead elephant being extended on the ground, the dimensions

Were all taken and correctly noted at the time. M. Lassaigne, cab

maker to the establishment, invented a large rule for that purpose, which

th:

an inch in thickness. This metal is much better adapted than any other

iiir

Constructed, of its natural size. The elephant was placed upon its back

by means of four-corded pulleys fastened to the platform. An incision, in

the form of a double cross, was then made in the lower side, the central

reaching from the mouth to the anus; the two cuts were made from

the left leg, on both sides, to the opposite right legs. The trunk was

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III.

146 HINTS ON TAXIDERMY.

longitudinally opened on its under side; the soles of the feet were now

taken out to within an inch of their edge, and the nails allowed to remain

attached to the skin. This was effected by the aid of a chisel and mallet,

and was one of the most difficult operations of the whole. Several per-

necessary to effect it. When removed ihe carcass, the skin was

weighed, and found to be five hundred and seven ws pounds. It was

extended on the ground, so that the cutaneous muscles of the head and

other parts might be cut away from its interior. id skin was then put

into a tub, and covered six inches deep with water which had been satu-

rated with alum. The model which was to fill the skin was made as per-

the head in plaster, as also a fore and hind leg. This structure was made

of linden wood, and so ingeniously constructed by M. Lassaigne, that

almost the whole parts could be separated. He opened a panel on one

side of the body, whereby he yi himself into its interior, so that

model being completed, the alum water, in which the skin had been all

the time immersed, was now taken out and made boiling hot, and in that

culty.

But judge of their own mortification when it was found that the model

was rather too large. To diminish the woodwork they foresaw would

them that the best thing to be done under these awkward circumstances

was to take off the skin again, and reduce its thickness with knives; they

removed all the internal thickenings which came in their way. In this

operation five men were occupied for four days, during which time they cut

out one hundred and ninety-four pounds weight off the internal surface.

During this process the skin had dried, and required again to be immersed

in cold soft water; after allowing it to remain twenty-four hours to soak,

it was then put on the model, and found to cover it completely; the ed.

were brought together and secured with wire rg deeply driven home;

and large brads. Except at the edges, the nails and brads were only

driven in half way, to keep the skin down to the Pee sinuosities and

hollows until dry, when they were again all pulled out. The alum with

admirable and well executed contrivance here adopted, a specimen has

been mounted with all the penam * og which, with a little atten-

M may resist for ages the influence

[To be S eui

— eo

THE ORIGIN or GENERA.*-~In this essay the author does not consider

that generic and Specific characters are identical. He pic animals into

numerous series, Spsetto, eei an a so on, in which the lower members

m th

cific series. ‘The lo west or most generalized terms or genera of a number

of allied series, will stand w each other in a relation of exact parallelism.

That is, if we trace each seriesof a number, up to its lowest or most gener-

ro. genus, the latter ligako will form a series similar in kind to each

€ characters which define it as a iia Cases of exact parallelism

spring flair d in advance of those possessed b redeces

TO. pe here points out a parallel between tha er osmani of the

individual and of the genus of great interest and nov ne or

change would be ever approaching." “As the development of the in-

nq so the development of the pem nus. We may add so the develop-

of the whole of organized beings

sorde ating that as a rule animals exhibit in course of supina cer-

tain specific, before they do generic, characters, the author says: ‘‘ Apart

rom any question of origin, so soon as a species should pee a new

generic character, it ceases, of course, ü be specifically the sa as

iris individuals which have not assumed it. If supposed poets

in be, however, a test of specific difference, we shall then have to

contend with the paradox of the sme species belonging to two different

enera at one and the same time.” Several instances then are brought

forward to prove the proposition “that the nearest it pacts of adjacent

ra are more nearly allied in specific characters than the most diverse

Enae By Prof. E. D. Cope. Philadelphia. E

148 REVIEWS.

the saait characteristics of the original genus are reduced to a larval

but th

development, though more slowly, and finally reduces its original charac-

teristics also to a larval See and acquires in the adult state differ-

ent characteristics from the first series.

is, with other confirmatory ER VEN] renders it probable that generic

changes may simultaneously take place in a number of species without

the loss of their specifle characteristics, and in the same way genera may

be simultaneously transferred from one suborder ts another without the

loss of their generic characteristics. The development of generic char-

acteristics thus appears to be governed by a law which is not dependent

given in six propositions, from which we quote the two given below

I. Species have developed from preéxistent species by an inherent ten-

dency to variation, and have been preserved in given directions and re-

pressed in others, by the operation of the law of Natural Selection:

iz]

ler}

i=}

ic)

the same law.

AN ILLUSTRATED WORK ON THE BUTTERFLIES OF eget oe pae m

Mr. Samuel H. Scudder will Seats during the coming w

ral

careful study; their geographical esiste undue both in and out of New oe

England, will be largely discussed, and the book virtually form à manual

for all the Northern United States; it wi i generously illustrated by

colored

fres] imer eggs:

larve and pupse, for illustration and study. Without such assistance it

would be impossible, in a single summer, to obtain all the requisite mate-

d e Full credit will be given in the book for every item of assistance -

— The success with which Mr. Saunders, of Canada, has reared butter-

flies in their earlier stages, ought to susto our friends to similar

REVIEWS. 149

what plant the butterfly seems to affect; the young larve are fed upon it,

and, in many instances, successfully reared.

As careful descriptions of these larve and pups cannot be prepared

without many specimens, and as we have so little accurate knowledge

of the earlier stages of our native butterflies, € friends need not fea

to send Mr. Scudder all the specimens they can find. If possible, pens

should be sent alive, so as to secure good colored drawings of each s

cies; the larvae e be Morena: by fresh, moistened leaves of iheli

food plant for n the journey, ge forwarded by mail in small,

light, but strong boxes (tin is preferable), to S. H. Scudder, Boston Soci-

ety of Natural History, Berkeley street, Boston, inge marked in a peers

Insects. This latter precaution is necessary, because, in case of a tempo-

rary absence from the city, Mr. Scudder will leave AAN to have boxes

thus marked, sent at once to his artist. The specimens should be accom-

panied by the name and address of the sender, and, when known, the name

of the insect and of the plant on which it feeds. When it does not seem

practicable to forward them alive, they may be sent in small bottles of

glycerine, or in a mixture of one part pure carbolic acid (Squibb’s prepara-

tion), and twenty-four parts water. In this case also they should be sent

at once and by mail, that the colors may be seen before they fade. When .

neither of these methods is possible, spirits may be used, but the colors

will soon be lost. If any one obtains a numberof eggs and is able to raise

them, it would be best to forward, from time to time, two or three speci-

mens both of the eggs and chrysalids, and the same number of each moult

of the larva; the butterfly which has laid the eggs should always be pre-

served, and forwarded with the larve, etc., for satisfactory Ug nd

If any one is in doubt about the food plant of some insect which he

found, it would be best to vie a letter of enquiry to Mr. Scudder, ot

will be e glad to answer any. ques

"- pening the earlier stages of those insects which are very rare in New

common with them. Any assistance that sind can render

d, but

him will be most gratefully received.

Tur KıNGFISHERS.— A monograph of this beautiful family of Birds is

now being published by Mr. R. B. Sharpe, of tħe Zoölogical Society of Lon-

don. It will be issued in twelve to fourteen parts, imperial 8vo, each part

to contain eight beautifully colored lithographic plates. All the speri

150 REVIEWS.

of Kingfishers known (about one Ups will us hec gm and figured,

and Dr. Murie will furnish a chap on the a my and osteology of

ke family. Only two hundred Prost of the dk s be printed: three

parts are already issued. The price to subscribers will be about $5.00 a

part, delivered in this country. The work is worthy of support by the orni-

thologists of this country, and we should be happy to take subscriptions

for the author. The price will be advanced one-fifth after the work is out.

BULLETIN OF THE ESSEX IwsTITUTE.*— This new publication of the

Institute is one of the results of the changes that have taken place owing

o the formation of the Peabody Academy of Science, and the transfer

of the Scientific Museum of the Institute to the charge of the Academy.

In great part the ** Bulletin" will take the place of the ** Proceedings an

Communications" of the Institute, which will be discontinued pui. the

ead > to the month of January, 1869, at which date the ** Bulletin" Me

ences.

The « Bulletin" will contain an account of the proceedings at each meet-

ing of the Institute, and the lists of donations, etc., made to the library

of the Institute, and to the Museums of both the Institute and the Acad-

emy. It will also contain short lists of the deficiencies in the library of

the Institute, and of duplicate books offered for sale and exchange, but

longer historical papers will be printed as heretofore in the *« Historical

Collections," and the purely scientific communications will be offered to the

cademy for publication in its Memoirs. It will thus be emat that the

* Bulletin” will take the place of the “Proceedings,” w. e Memoi

of the — will correspond to the former ** ovnentadeadions ” of the

Institu

The pis number of the ** Bulletin"? contains, among other a

ocean, which, as the coast rose, had been so lifted as to appe

which contained guano on its summit at the time of its uprising. He also

alluded to the fact that the droppings of birds would be quite inadequate —

to supply the vast amount of t guano found, and that such droppings were

yerepe distinct from 1

The first and second snivicis. of the ** Bulletin" contain obituary notices

of our "em associate, Horace Mann, and of the distinguished ornitholo-

gist, John Cassin.

E OY 36 Gy E

i Svo 16 020 pages. Issued monthiy. eh ews: Subseription $1.00 a yeat«

REVIEWS. 151

THE C ES OF NORTH AMERICA.* — Another of the useful ento-

mological works issued by the Smithsonian Institution, is Baron Osten

Sacken's elaborate Monograph of the North American Tipulidæ (or Crane-

flies), with short palpi, comprising the smaller species of the family; the

true Tipulids comprising the well-known crane-flies so abundant in our

gardens and flelds. 'This work, destined, we judge, to be a classic in

patent) is one of the most important works on insects published during

the past year in any language. It will be noted at greater length in the

“Record of American Entomology” soon to be published.

VISION OF THE LARGE, STYLATED, FossORIAL CRICKETS. € the

Pu number of the Memoirs of the an Academy of Science,t Mr. S. H.

Scudder has brought under review all t e species of the sea crick-

ets known to him, with the tions of the smaller forms. e de-

scriptions of the species are carefully prepared, and each description is

accompanied with a full table of measurements of several specimens. The

plate contains a full-sized figure of Gryllotalpa australis, from New Hol-

land, a species never before figured; sre thirty-seven details of forelegs

and wing-covers of the different s spec

The author has prefaced his own aa with a full list of the

various writers on the group, with remarks on the species mentioned by

each. The Mole Crickets which are paei with but two dactyls on

the fore tibia, he places together as forming a new genus, to which ien

gives the name of Scapteri scus, while for those having four dactyls, he

tains the old generic name of Gryllotalpa.

THE Noxious Insects or Missourt.t—This first report of the State

Miiéntictógtet i is exceedingly creditable both to the author and the State

which has so liberally fostered the study of economical entomology.

Farmers and gardeners throughout the country will find it a very readable

ook, and entomologists will glean many new facts from its pages. The

chapter on Cutworm s, Bark-lice, the Plum-curculio, the Seventeen-year

Me. the S nike cid and the Bot-fly of the sheep, are of especial

vi did that the State of Missouri has acknowledged the value of the `

Study of practical entomology, by the appropriation of $3000 to pay the

Salary of the Entomologist for the present year. In such a liberal provi-

* Mon. hs of t IV. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Col-

i gg ka Dipikir W E ( et eas a.

Jan., 1869, Svo, pp. 345,4 4 pistes,

t Imperial Svo, 32 pases and steel plate; tinted paper. Salem: Essex Institute Press.

869. Price $

"rfe daos rt

Mire Y. Ble, State Entomologist Jerson City 190- P Sro. pp. 10, wit wo colored

152 REVIEWS.

sion for the diffusion of See oe knowledge, Missouri not only leads

all the States in the Union, but shows that she regards it as an rei

cal measure to induce sears farmer ot be his own entomologis

GUIDE TO THE STUDY OF INsEcrs.*—The sixth number of this work

is out, and contains accounts (not before Dubiéhod; of the transforma-

tions of twelve moths injurious to fruits, etc., mostly illustrated, besides

? t G

pite Henn forty different objects, an Mid fit y-seven cuts in the text. We

should here state that the Penthina vitivorana feeds exclusively on the

rape seed; it rolls up the leaf when about to transform, but doe s not

feed upon it. Lines eight and nine from the bottom, on page 336, may

therefore be deled.

LE NATURALISTE CANADIEN.f —A capital journal for the popularization

of natural history among the French Canadians. It is edited with much

Spirit, and we trust that its success is already assured.

oroGY.— M. C. Dareste has given us in the ** Annales des Sciences

actos” a résumé of his remarkable discoveries, from which we trans-

late a few paragraphs as nearly word for word as possible

**T at first sought to obtain moustrasitter, as Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire had

cause to which I had not at first attended; that is to - of the manner

in which the eggs were heated in one of the artificial *couvenses,' W:

have served for my perdis ents. I have therefore, tentei aban-

doned the use of varnish, and the vertical position, in order to employ

when the allantois is formed ** when the neêds of respiration imperiously

demand greater quantity of air." “I arrive now at ve results which de-

pend upon the mode of warming the eggs in one of my artificial b brood-

warming the culminating point of the egg, the point which the cicatrix —

always occupies at the end of the development, a peint of the egg situated |

at a certain distance from the preceding one be heated, the development ÎS _

: _* Published at Salem, Mass., by A. S. Packard, jr. Fifty cents a part. To be published in ten

fLe Naturaliste Canadienne. Bu ;

portant a rhitoeo naturelle du Canada oat woe, ee quebec basate ;

REVIEWS. 153

disturbed, and an anomalism is always produced, which manifests itself in

the form of the blastoderm at first, and then in that of the vascular area.

In fact, under these unusual esie the kenne of the cicatrix

in ulm

at, n

in the opposite region. On this account (Il en résulte qui) the blasto-

derm at first, and then the vascular area assumes an elliptical form, and

the embryo is produced in one of the foci of the ellipse; while in its nor-

malstate the embryo occupies the centre of a perfectly circular blasto-

erm and vascular area. This result is very distinct, so distinct that

allowing for the primitive dps (^Torenatin" of the embryo,

and giving to the egg a certain position with respect to the source of

heat, this excess of develo of a part of uie tikino may

opm

directed where it is desirable, peni to the left or the right of the embryo,

either above its head or at its caudal extremity."

*"The embryos which appear in the blastoderms thus formed are very

that Seed of life when the embii is reduced (reduit) toa amissa.

embryo, which it submits to constant pressure. From this there

results a certain number = deviations and atrophies in the regions of the

body submitted to pressur

D e e which has nci hitherto considered inexplicable, results from

an arrest in development of the caudal hood of the amnios ne. ch forces

the posterior members, at the moment of their appearance, to reverse

pee backwards, to come in contact with each other by oan exter-

edges, and to unite themselves in this universal positio sq mete a

a has in the beginning hydropsy of the vesicles whic the

State of the encephalic organs. ropsy is found equally in the

amnios, and sometimes, indeed, in the whole thickn

which then — a general oedema, - result of a peculiar s state

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III.

154 REVIEWS.

blood which is completely colorless, and contains only very few globules.

The want of globules in the blood has its rise e an arrest of develop-

= of the vascular area, which is only very imperfectly furnished with

nals, and which sonda the blood globules mpi in the isles of

Woif (iles de Wolf).

‘ The inversion of the viscera results from the unequal development of

of the cardiac arch more to the I of the embryo than the returning 9:

the embryo (heart) upon the left s During inversion, the left cardiac

blastema develops itself more rr id right, from which results the in-

curvation of the cardiac arch to the left of the embryo, and the return

e same upon the right side. The existence of two hearts, an anom-

may ine

er Gas indicated, the left region of the vascular area is more develope

e right, and when, also, the temperature of the centre where w

bation is effected, is relatively low. I have otherwise accumulated nu

rous indications which will soon permit me, according to all nee

to produce at will other anomalies.

* I have made, also, many experiments in order to study the manner in

which pe ae is carried on at temperatures above and below the nor-

mal temperature of incubation. The high temperatures accelerate its

progress, and — that diminution of stature which constitutes Nan-

ismus. The low temperatures, on the contrary, considerably retard the

progress of development, a and do not permit the embryo to exist (depas- :

ser) beyond a certain

“Tt is also a Pein AREA Muro of my studies that = explain

the absence of certain monstrosities in ce species by the differences

. which these species present in their evolution. Thus the M of

amnios appears to preserve the fishes from a great number of deformi-

ties; the absence of the amnios and that of the cane vesicle equa

mmunity.”

appear to give to th

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

BOTANY.

LAKE SUPERIOR PLANTS COMPARED WITH EASTERN SPECIMENS.— Not

long ago my attention was called by a friend, a distinguished botanist at

the East, to the remarkably large and robust development of some of my

Lake Superior specimens, as compared with the same species of plants

found in the New England States. This is particularly observable in the

plants of the earlier part of the season, where one would be led least to

expeet it. Among the most remarkable are the Carices, most of which

are in full perfection by the early summer. Of these I would specify

the reddens a few out of many, as worthy of note in the above res-

pect:— Carex Backii Boot, C. varia Muhl., in its erae iege C. Hough

borealis Roem. and Schul.), in flower early in June was over two feet

high, the leaves, stalk, panicle and its component proportionately

large. This fragrant grass the Indian women e into baskets and

fancy articles, which they dispose of to travellers. Kaeh cristata Pers.,

are also worthy of mention as singularly luxuriant. Triticum violaceum

Hornem., I found on the no rthern shore of the lake, on the few gravel

beaches, where it attained a height of over four feet, having an extraor-

dinarily robust culm. The grain was well formed by the latter part of

and a M that our common Wheat (Triticum vulgare Linn.) is of

the same us.

The ndis amount of snow which falls in the region of Lake le

and lies upon the land, a great warm blanket several feet thick, un

turbed by the variable temperature which affects other um i —

is unknown there, eff ectually protects the soil from all fros h

marked influence on the vegetation. The snow remains till us and d

it disappears the ground has not the delay of getting thawed out as else-

where. I have rises found snowdrifts in the woods from one a

ed, a

counterbalancing the shortness of the summer. Violets, which I found

in May ( Viola blanda Willd., V. Selkirkii Pursh., ete.), had evidently been

blossoming during the winter, which corroborates what an old pe of

156 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

Lake Superior told me, viz., that ri time during the winter violets could

be obtained by digging away the snow. Adenocaulon bicolor Hook., I

found in June, three feet high, in full ada. and having almost a tropi-

cus Hook., twined its elegant wreaths of cream-colored or pale-yellow

flowers in graceful profusion. Instances irpo be multiplied did space

permit.— HENRY GILLMAN, Detroit, Mich

ZOÓLOGY.

FOR PRESERVING NATURAL COLORS OF MARINE ANIMALS

— While collecting on the coast of Maine last summer umerou

t the present time I have a large lot of specimens which have the colors

perfectly preserved and nearly as brilliant as in life. Among these are

many kinds of Crustacea, such as Shrimp and Prawns (Hippolyte, e

gon, Palemon, Mysis, etc.), Amphipods and Entomos straca; also many

species of Starfishes, Worms, Sea-anemones (Alcyonium, Ascidians, puc

The dered and Citatos are particularly satisfactory. The internal

pa well preserved as the colors, and in these animals the form

is not bad by cont Aut as it is apt to be in soft bodied ane

either by aleohol or glycerine. The only precaution taken was to

very heavy glycerine, and 5 keep up the strength by transferring de

can be used again for the flrst bath. In many cases the specimens, espec-

ially Crustacea, were killed by immersing them for a few minutes in

strong alcohol, which aids greatly in the extraction of water, but usually

s the delicate kinds to an opaque, dull white color, but this opacity

disappears when they are put in glycerine, and the real colors again

appear. Many colors, however, quickly fade or turn red in alcohol, So

that such specimens must be put at once into glycerine. Green shades

usually turn red almost instantly in alcohol. Specimens of various Lepi-

-dopterous larve were also well preserved in the same manner. __

The expense is usually regarded as an objection to the use of glycerine.

The best and strongest can be bought at about $1 per pound, but recently

have been able to obtain a very dense and colorless article at 42 cents

per pound, which is entirely satisfactory. As there is no loss by evapo-

ration, the specimens will keep when once well preserved, if merely cov-

ered se The expense for small and medium sized specimens is not

re than for alcohol. — A. E. VERRILL, Yale College.

Does THE Pune DOG MSN AF ANY x Watua? — Eralslecdog towns on

the Plains ar m any water that can be dis- -

covered on. the surface, It is the end belief among those who are

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 157

familiar with the habits of the prairie-dog, that he does not require any

; more water than is contained in the grass roots on which he feeds. Gen.

i Marcy, in his ‘“ Army Life on the Border,” expresses this belief. When

the grass is growing, and the roots are tender and full of sap, it is easy

ow sufficient moisture could be contained in the food of the prairie-dog

to replace what must be lost in respiration, etc., and to carry on the pro-

cess of digestion during the months of September, October and Novem-

grows on the highlands where the prairie-dog villages are commonly

found), becomes completely dried down to the roots, while the roots,

being but two or three inches underground, become hard and ri

Tame prairie-dogs are frequently seen to drink water. My belief in

rie- dog town there are a suffi-

Appearance of being lived in by a family. The excrement of the dogs

does not lie around them i in such abundance, and the grass near has not

been so extensively rooted up for

The prevailing belief among frontiersmen, that prairie-dogs, gae ps

nakes and prairie owls all live together on friendly terms, in the s

hole, is Folie a mistake. It is founded upon the fact that rattlesnakes

and dogs have been seen to come out of the same hole.

such instances had, pro bably, been after a young dog for dinner. pues

Prairie owl probably finds his food around oC | and makes his

home in deserted holes.— GronGE M. STERNBER

Breepinc Hanrrs or SALAMANDERS AND F ere | still s

Sreat deficiency in our information concerning the breeding habits of

ought to make an effort to supply this spring. Careful observations made

Upon any of our frogs, recording the Fi appearance, the time and place

of laying the eggs, the form and appearance of the egg-clusters and how

158 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

attached, the duration of the laying period, etc., are all worthy of record,

as is also the history of the development of the young, but specimens

very Species of which the habits are noted should be preserved in

Concerning the breeding habits of our Salueunders little is known.

Mr. Putnam and others have eas the eggs of the Red-backed

Salamander, which are laid under rotten wood, etc., in moist places, and

are cared for by the mother, wed also broods he young when hatc

he young very quickly loose their external gills, and pass rapidi

through the tadpole state. Prof. Baird observed a species of Desmogna-

thus which wrapped the eggs around its body, and remained in a moist

place until they were hatched. Our common Desmognathus fuscus, Or

Painted. Salamander, was observed by me in Maine, where it lives under

stones in cold brooks and springs. It attaches its large ivory-white eggs

in patches upon the under sides of stones. The young retain their exter-

nal gills until they are guid full grown, and at least three inches long in

1863 and '64, where they were found attached in rounded masses, two or

three inches in diameter, and resembling frogs' eggs, on the stems of

seen in this position, it is probable that it commences breeding very

early in the spring. Under sexual excitement the colors and appearance

ar. considerably. The hind legs of the male become much swollen,

and a black callosity forms on the inner sides, which aids in giving firm-

ness to his grasp. These characters soon pass away after the eggs are

laid. In salamanders and frogs the eggs and the milt are discharged

simultaneously, and the eggs are fertilized in the water. So far as I

now as been published concerning the eggs or Ment habits

of any of our other species, several of which are very common. — A. E.

VERRILL, Yale College. .

Tur Brreg BrrrEN. — Two or three years ago a student, Mr. William

Stone, while on an excursion to Mt. Carmel, a few miles from New Haven,

caught a large Black Snake (Bascanion constrictor), and brought it home —

living and uninjured, except that it was partially suffocated from having — ^

been carried by the neck. In consequence of this, probably, it (eer

sick soon afterwards, and vomited a fine specim men of the Cop

h APT Toe

ai Page ^a ur

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 159

Ancistrodon contortrix B. and G.), about two feet long, verd Leoni per-

fect, except that the head showed signs of incipient digestion. Soon

afterward this was ise by a good sized frog, agire ian farther ad-

vanced in digestio

How the Black dn managed to capture the Copperhead bipes being

bitten is quite a Cong Possibly he took the Copperhead at a disad-

vantage, while was busily engaged in swallowing the frog and so

swallowed both din and frog together. — I

TE LEEA DI SOM ROUEN Lad e

CITATION OF AUTHORITIES. — Without intending to discuss a question

which has caused much controversy, I call attention to the fact that after

ascertain who first stated in 5 the fact known to all,of a given species

of described Mya be eing a Unio

Mr. Prime in his earliest paper on Pisidium (since corrected), cited

Gould for P. dubium (Cyclas dubium of Say), with the synonym P. a

ruptum Hald. (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., July, 1841), the latter being the first

-a

ün

Lud

e=:

i=]

las]

Pisidium abruptum of July was corrected in October, in the words

dium abruptum is not distinct from P. dubium Say,” which, under this

rule, gives me a citation to which I would not have been nii had I

not Abpea a blunder

Some authors cite Prof. Baird for the Bluebird (a Linnéan species, Sia-

lia satis (Pacific R. R. Reports, Vol. 9, p. 222, October, 1858); but if the

es is not eed it is mine, because I mentioned it fifteen years pre-

posed that “the name of the author of a species, or genus, or family,

Shall remain forever attached thereto, and shall be considered a part of

the said specific, generic, or family name.”—S. S. H

THE LOGGERHEAD SuriKe.—In the September and February numbers

of the NATURALIST rien are asked about the Butcher Birds return-

ing to its empaled prey. As I have lived South, I have never seen à

Butcher Bird, and so € oe nothing as to its habits, but as for its South-

ern brother, the Loggerhead Shrike (Collyrio Ludovicianus), I have often

Watched it return to the prey which it has killed and hung on thorns. e

Shake h had been more than half pe Sitting sir behind some

tin near by, I determined to keep watch, but had not remained there

160 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

long, when the shrike flew to the tree, and after eating off a small

piece, again flew away. I saw this repeated next day, but by this time

watched several times, he did not return to it. Since then I have often

seen them return to lizards and tree toads which they had empaled. — H.

S. GEebNEY, Potsdam, N. Y.

Case WonMs.— Every dabbler in pools is nM with the singular

Caddis or Case-worms, which walk over the bottom like moving sticks,

or à mass of animated sawdust, or minute peb ipm when the Be is

Fig. 32. composed of either of those substances. The most puz-

zling form is that which we here fete (Fig. 32), rdi

from a correspondent in the Middle States. It is a species

of Helicopsyche, and was by s conchologists (I. Lea,

Transactions American En asain ponar 1834, p. 101)

thought to be a fresh-water shell (Valvata). It is extremely interesting

as repeating among the aquatic neuropterous larvæ the form of the snail-

peo terrestrial larva of Psyche helix, a moth.

arding these cases, Dr. Hagen writes us as follows: « Phryganeid

cases iie those sent, are described by me in the d Entro E

Zeitung, 1864, p. 130, as Helicopsyche gine Hagen, from a specimen Tê-

ceived from the collections of Prof. Dunker, ae Valvata arenifera

Lea, North America. The Valvata drenifirà Lea, from Tennessee,

berland River, near Nashville, seems different, and my specimens de-

scribed (Zeitung, p. 129, No. 8) from Mexico, are perhaps identical.

** H. glabra is mentioned in a ‘Note on Certain a larva-sacks, de-

scribed as species of Valvata” (from Troy, N. Y.) by Th. Bland, Lye-

Nat. Hist., New York, Vol. 8, p. 144, and the case Mt the parts O

broken imago were identified by me and described in the Entomologist's

Monthly Magazine, Vol. II, p. 252, and Stettin Entomologische Zeitung,

1866, p. 244. 'The cases are identical with my raae glabra, and

the imago with my rages —e Synopsis of North American Neu-

lum of the case. The description of the larva would be very interesting

Perhaps you will find an a animal, to judge from its manner of

living in.a trochiform sack. I think this would be the first asymmetrical

larva among the hexapodous insects

* Among the described Am eag Phryganeidæ, I have no doubt that

Notidobia lutea Hagen, pertains to Helicopsyche. Brauer has described

ned pet an asymmetrical posture would be observed in the living larv

: , 1865, p. 205, Ihave given 4 ist i

: of the described American -molluscan apenteey pertaining to the Helicop- —

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 161

syches, I remarked that Frauenfeld (Wiener Zoologisch-Botanischen ven

but 1864, p. 623) proves that Paludina lustrica Say, is a mollusk, a

not a msi as supposed by me from a specimen in the óollectin

celebrated conchologist, Prof. Dunker."

e also figure (Fig. 33) an itte form found near Port-

land, Maine, by Rev. E. C. Bolles. The larva builds a thin long

conical sandy tube, sant between two ‘‘needles” of the

We do not know the adult form. Fig. 34

80, we suppos

is the Limnophilus satis a dial

Stedt, a very abundant species in the arctic regions.

The imago of the Caddis-fly has a rounded body,

with moderately broad, parallel veined wings, which

small moths. The females lay their eggs in usus.

| masses on aquatic plants, above or beneath the sur

| face of the water. e larve are found erates! in the bottom of

ponds, in cylindrical cases of grass or stems E reeds, or bits of sticks,

sand, minute shells, etc. They assume different forms, sometimes a long,

conical shape, or imitating snail shells. The larva lines the interior with

| Silk, and by bristles on the side of the body and a pair of anal hooks

; ia its body sonans to the sides of the case while it Lr He it over

: ie eat large quantities

=i id Seco and

inn bae while many are herb us

the larger ones eating whole waves that

have been submerged, while the er

ones leave the veins entir t

to change to pups, the larve close up 2

mouth of the case with a net-work like

State for the passage of the water for seul When about to leave

the pupa state they crawl up stems of plants, or the smaller species use

their light cases as rafts to rest upon as their wings are dryin

Neuronia semifasciata (Fig. 35) is our largest species, and is takon away

from damp places; but the smaller species are only taken on leaves of

bushes and herbage by streams and pate: They run swiftly, but fly

with eg difficulty. The species are numerous. We should be greatly

gibus specimens of the Helicopsyche. —A- S.P

NATURALIST, VOL. III.

162 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

GEOLOGY.

THE PLAINS or Kawsas.— Six companies of the 10th U. S. cavalry

marched from Fort Riley, Kansas, on the 15th of April, 1868, under orders

to encamp for the summer near Fort Wallace. The route is along the line

of the Union Pacific Railroad, eastern division, which is now completed to

be thirty miles of Fort Wallace. This is known as the Smoky Hill

R te s very generally I that the plains are level prairies ee those

of Illinois; but this is not so. By the plains, frontiersmen th

. country wise of the s RR to the base of the Rocky Mois

Along the line of the Smoky Hill River, the country is rolling and con-

with the Republican, and two hundred miles from the Missouri River.

The soil in the river valley is deep and rich, as is also that of the nu-

merous creeks flowing into it. The bluffs are mostly unsuited for cultiva- .

tion, being formed of gravel and clay, covered with a soil but a few inches

thick. The buffalo grass, with which the high ground is covered, does

ot grow more than three or four inches high, but is very sweet and nu-

comes covered and shaded by grasses of more luxuriant growth, and as

fited, and there will be a more equitable fall of rain throughout the year.

Very little rain falls from July to March, and a large proportion of that is

carried off within a few etel by the numerous creeks, which are dry at

other times in the dry seaso

Timber is only found on re plains along creeks and in ravines, where

it is protected from prairie fires by the abrupt banks which are bare of

grass in consequence of the constant falling away of the earth along their

steep sides. The principal varieties of timber about Fort Harker are

will Ti you go westw

until eihar the iaaii, where it TIREN quite abundant, pine

and cedar taking the place of oak and other hard wood.

One of n earliest flowers is the Prairie-pea (Astragalus Mexicanus):

The fruit is about the size of a green gage plum, and is very abundant,

m fleshy bod being the part eaten. It tastes like the pod of the common

a, but when cooked is insipid and rarely eaten. A wild Hyacinth is

ania in the lowlands, and the Poppy-mallow (Malva Papaver), which 4

little later im the season is found in extensive beds, with its purple blos-

soms and dark green leaves, forms one of the most brilliant figures in the

DUX. 3

AUS

XE. ge LL CONARI ELI

ME nir AIL Fir E

du cere ndo REEL E m uen EE c Mr m riae

2A IE

deum NOTER n

ECT TEL I SEMPER A

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 163

prairie carpet. 'The blue flowers of the Spiderwort are scattered over

the bluffs, and a variety of Sida, with rose white flowers, form bright

patches on the buff alo wallows. mee the steep banks of the creeks and

nth

Poppy (Argemone) looks now like a common thistle, but in July it will

put forth its large pure white blossoms.

The rock about Fort Harker is a sandstone of the Cretaceous period. It

varies from a soft white stone, that may be broken up into sand by the

hand, to a hard dark red stone, according to the amount of oxide of iron

it contains. Where it has the right proportion of iron it is easily worked

and makes an excellent building stone. The quarters at Fort Harker are

built of it. While the quarry was being worked a large number of im-

pressions of leaves of trees of existing species were found, the willow

and oak most abundantly. Near the mouth of Wilson’s Creek, twenty-two

miles west of Harker, is a bed of lignite, which is being worked by a

atii is ira im à stratum = limestone, filled with a large fossil conchi-

n to me. At Big Creek, near Fort Hays, we found antelope

sr het ME and beri buffalo calves have been caught and are

being raised on cow's milk. They soon become quite tame

along the creek, aud numerous trees, recently cut down by sharp teeth,

Show that they are still plentiful.

A variety of wild mustard found here in damp places, makes excellent

variety of Penstemon (P. grandiflora and P. Digitalis) are found at Fort

Harker later; and two varieties of Allium, the flowers of one, if crushed,

giving out a — fragrance, while the stem, if crushed, emits a

strong odor of garlic; and also Castilleja sessiliflora, Ellisia Nyctelæa, and

rock

day passing NE a swarm of grasshoppers, extending about two

; e

This rock at a little distance looks like an immense old castle in ruins.

It is ninety-one feet high, and about three hundred rcumference. It

is composed of a bluish, friable, argillaceous shale about one third of the

164 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

way up, and above this of a light yellow compact marl. It was evidently,

at one time, continuous with some bluffs of the same character a mile

south of it. The 30th we encamped at Monument Station, which re-

ceives its name from a number of columns of the same character as Castle

Rock. There is a company of Infantry stationed here under command of

Brevet. Lt. Col. Cunningham. As I rode up in front of Col. Cunning-

long and is well preserved. The Colonel has already dug out sixty verte-

re. He estimates the length of the reptile at thirty feet. He was lying

in a stratum of brick-red clay, below which is the shale and above the

marl, which is described as forming Castle Rock. By hunting in the same

locality I succeeded in finding a large number of shark's teeth, and the

tooth of a Saurian. On the day following I found a place where the shale

I have spoken of was uncovered, and on its surface picked up a quantity

broken up, but still sufficiently preserved to show that some unfortunate

Saurian had been buried there. Between this place and Fort Wallace I

obtained numerous specimens of fishes’ vertebre, and three vertebra of &

smaller Saurian. I am informed by Ass’t Surgeon Turner, U. S. N., that

he has forwarded to the Museum of the Academy of Natural Sciences, at

Philadelphia, a son perfect specimen of a Saurian, which he estimates to

l a

as,

built of a nae yao marl, which may be readily sawed into blocks with

a common hand-saw. A ett of Spanish Dagger ( Yucca) is very abun-

dant here, and is now in bloom, as is also the Mammilaria macromeris,

which has a beautiful rose colored blossom, and the prickly-pear is begin-

ning to put forth its large yellow blossoms

We have in camp three young antelopes caught upon the march. They

have become quite tame. The black-tailed deer is found in this vicinity,

which is about as far east as it ranges. I have slighted the centipedes

and the rattlesnakes, but it is not because they are scarce. One of the

officers shook a large centipede from his boot the other morning, and

nearly every one can produce a handful of rattles as proof that rattle-

es are becoming scarce. — Dn. G. M. STERNBERG, U.

MICROSCOPY.

= NEW PROCESS OF

THE MICROSCO:

esigua valuable information, of a practical character, is to be found in

books professing to treat of the subject of preparing and mounting

specimens of the lower families of Algæ, so as to exhibit in a satisfactory

PREPARING SPECIMENS 0 TOUS AL

PE.— The working oeste well kuone how little ,

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 165

manner the characters which distinguish them in a generic or specific

mann

other branches of microscopic manipulation, as there are really many

valuable hints to be found in the books descriptive of preparing woods,

bones and other hard tissues, and the subject of injecting has received

much attention, so that the labors of the student are very materially

of experimenting, and, as consequence, discovering for himself. As the

Students of the lower perit of plants are at the present time some-

what numerous, the result has, of course, been the development of many

extremely valuable processes tending to simplify their study; but it is to

not be DAES these gentlemen have, reaa sut to publish.

It cannot be denied that this mode of action is wrong, and that no one

has a right to withhold the etie he may possess on such points.

For my part I have taken every opportunity of publishing, or oe

making known, any little point in manipulative microscopy which I have

e of value, and which I have thought would in any way be of use to

For years I have been engaged in the study of the lower families ot

Algæ, more especially the Diatomaces, and for the purpose of elimina-

ting their characters, I have at different times experimented upon the

bled at an y future time to exhibit them in the best manner for showing

eous loriez of Diatomacez from guano, al modes

era preparing and mounting for the — these organisms

It is now udis n to make known a pro have contrived by

fervi, can be preserved and mounted so as to show many of their charac-

sacrificed

However, it is in my opinion the best process that has been as yet made

Public, and even if it is of no other value, I trust it will have th

2 awing from others records of their modes of manipulation, so imas

chers after truth, like myself, may learn something of value to

in their investigations.

It is well known that the Desmidie and the filamentous Alge, generally

ana growing in fresh water, have never been preserved in a satisfactory

lanner, and this has arisen from the fact that their cell-walls are -

Posed of a substance of a perishable matter, and will not, like tbat of the

acer, which is siliceous, bear boiling in corrosive liquids so as to

the always readily decomposable cell-contents, and leave the

object clean and transparent, while the Diatomacee, after such treatment

aS boiling in acid can be mounted in Canada balsam , by means of which

166 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

they are presented in such a state that the finest ii of their sili-

ceous epidermis can be observed, and they are the same time held

within a preservative substance which does not d of eai move-

ment and consequent danger of fracture; the Desmidiæ and t amen-

tous Algæ in general cannot be enia so,and several means d been

devised to keep them, all of which have been to a certain extent unsat-

isfactory. Besides there are some Diatomacesz which grow in chains,

as the Fragillaria, the frustules of which are united by means of a sub-

stance that will not bear the contact of acid necessary to remove the cell-

contents; and again there are others, as the Gomphonema, which are

attached to submerged substances by means of a flexible stalk called a

stipe, which would dissolve under the same circumstances. Such Diato-

maces have been generally merely placed in a cell formed of «ement or

other suitable substance, and preserved in a preservative solution con-

sisting either of pure distilled water, or water containing creosote, cam-

phor, or other substance possessing antiseptic properties. And the

plan has been followed with the filamentous Desmidie and other Alg®,

or the same effect is brought about by the colored matter generally ac

juriste gatherings of such organisms.

Y en is essentially as follows: Supposing I have a gathe ering

Heiss Pri for the most part of a filamentous Desmid, as Desmidium

Swartzii, which is a common species around New York city at certain

s of the year, I place a small quantity of it in a test tube, and pout

ing manner. Those, however, who have not the NON doing S0;

or do not desire to prepare their own solution, can use t old by the

pothecaries under the name of *Labarraque's Solution - Mi uar of

D " which is, however, rather weaker than it is best often to use.

solution I make by adding to the water a large excess of the co

chloride of lime of the shops, which is fresh and has not stood for 2

time in an open vessel exposed to the air, by means of which much of it

becomes decomposed and useless for this purpose. After stirring well,

and then allowing such a mixture to stand for a short time, until all that

will not dissolve falls to the bottom, I pour off the clear liquid and add to

it a concentrated solution of carbonate of soda, the common “+ washing

onde." uat

This is my solution of chloride of soda. The Alga is now boiled for 3

few minutes in the solution, but not so violently or for such a length. of

time as to break up the filaments, and then well and thoroughly was!

with pure filtered or distilled water. It can thereafter be preserved in

weak spirits, or. what I have found still better, water to which 2 few 3m

i du oy

t Ee

CORRESPONDENCE. 167

| drops of creosote have been added. Thus the growth of fungi is pre-

vented, which would otherwise mar the appearance of the object very

materially.

` To mount such bleached specimens, I proceed as follows. Those which

have been set aside in creosote water may be, of course, put up permanently

in that liquid, but those which have been preserved in spirits, I prefer to

mount in creosote. A cell is procured of any suitable substance, as black

: varnish, gold size, marine glue, or other cement which will withstand the

action of wer, and a fragment of the Alga being placed in it in the usual

and found it to answer admirably. The camphor water I make by using

distilled water, and just before placing on the cover, putting in a grain of

gum camphor, which then remains in the cell, and if near the edge does

not mar the appearance of the object in any way. Specimens can also be

mounted in the glycerine-jelly of Mr. Lawrence, which preservative I find

da or rather a modification of it, I shall at some future time have more

to say.— ARTHUR Map Epwarps, New York.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

J.T. » Tabor Iowa.—The Land and Fresh-water Shells of the United States, by Binney,

Prime an d Tryon, published c the Smithsonian Institution, will be the. most modern

of Istae Lea, of Pi a SOM ioma of aia M „are — nn MEM Pe writings

ade e way to

to make good collections of f your “native animals and prue “and inen exchange

them n. ith other part We announce such desires to

Albion, Wis. — as Ophio, lossum ü

does seem to differ “Your specine d. d onsiderod a rni vulgatum, nor rae

$ retieulations differ in any way th. perceive, on compar with British

hs ew England forms. Kever Aries seen either a description or aut :

with any cert, o eng webs collected By Eror, € - Mi

Southern vari ege Style o rekona dus O eo reticulatum

is but a joe ge dd ; and Ls is the spe qucd d tamea n reri ead iti blo TUM. moment ze-

i any plant w > comes priv observatio

B.F. L. ue "How Sedo e spiders live without

; Concordvill oU x

owe n we eus y that t adul spiders spiders, like ann M € Mgr

after Thatehin without food, we do not

E cts UE twenty days young of the Moose tick lived nearly a month with-

the “ Ameri-

màe Tarantula aida eich cs TEE E s, though the Editors of har

Tima geo

i Entomologist? ne oroar anon M we cannibals, the females

168 CORRESPONDENCE.

after their love Ne with ineir partners, frequently Diag upon them and devour-

ing them. The ** Guide to b Study of Insects? will — chapters on the Arachnida

and d with numerous illustrations.

xbury.— The field lies before you at iow tide. The best ke yon

haye are "thane exposed to you a meure. It will p impossible o F yout to dy all

until you have mastered some of the leading mol es of zoóülogy. he best Ayes

to commence is to select some ded is 3 37 "à e mo M ex an eoe all th

species Doge pe < udy them th IL shits. Work P»

tiently o ye ar; be su ei 2 Ps MP us vig gin If you choose

the pad ied Gould 8 Invertebrata [ the bent d only guid a T. edition, of which

will be out soon, in connection with Woo —À D: of the "Mollu sca. 12mo, Lon-

don. Should you study the radiates, feeit side Studies, published by Ticknor

& Fields, is the best for reference. As forthe oce and worms, their descriptions

&re scattered through many publications, especially the Jo urnal, Proceedings and

Memoirs of the Boston Society of Natural History.

H. G., Detroit, Mich.— The specimens boring the hic ex 2 a pictus in the

eden pupa and gis pry d c ge de also foun

mn friends, as the season opens, remember that we want specimens of the Cotton Dall

hich can be sent in

oxes

R. S., Waverly; N In order to € to your die à as to the locality where the

stone used find the Indians for making arro — was ——— it will first be a

io die species of mineral you nom oads made of, as seve

minerals were i E use for the Pa pose T uon wheads, waar ete.

were undoubtedly ‘made from minerals only ping Prem in "localities far distan t from the

spot where the manufactured articles were found. The hornstone (a mottled dra

colored stone), which was in veers re on use for arrowheads, etc., has generally been

supposed to have been taken t. Kineo, on Moosehead e, in diay but that

it also occurs in other vases: is idet from the fact that Prof. Wyman has m

cabinet a stone which h he picked up ata a gravel el bank i in Cam’ bridge, i entical with the

ral from M himen ogee of jaspe f occur in L x

and Saugus, ie sas BE, hasta for verna ia od Dr. e ^d TEREX ad oec i

of 1 the "Portland Society of Natural History, Vol. I, p. 165 s Su

e Proceedin ings

pads but "pee mes Viene men not yet been em tothis v interesting " subject to

enable o onet e the ali he min re ised. ve zn specimens

"NW. x) E, “Dorchester, — — The shells wine a spring are Pisidium variabile. —

SCIE —Our subscribers February 15th) should ii e received

their copies of een nce Geol by this time. M -— c i P grec informs us, a$ be

have notice from € ter ced — puelle ow — receive subscriptio

for the ** Gossip” a Mid. e

A. 8. J., Iowa fes ~Lectres on a oe oi e Anatom and F Ph iology of V

brate Animals. " FISHES. By Richard Owen. Soudan, 1 ongman, Brown,

Green & Longman.

-H B, Riches nd, Va.— Li ott & Co. , of Philade hia, have published an an E

trated work on the Birds of aue Americ: ca, b Baird, in & Lawrence. Bu.

4to, with one Mandro oead plates. Price Atlas sold tope for hu ilroad

Baird's Report on the Birds of No rth America (hiath tema of ii eis ies

Surveys) is now the standard work on Aen Ornithol re cop

of either works. — Cooke’s Fern Book,

SEVERAL CORRESPONDENTS have asked qu i eof Carbolic acid

estions

as a substitute for alcohol, etc., to which we answer va en Ao Aa acid in water alone

will not preserve animals, but! pure Glycerine, with a very small amount of Car

acid (say about three or four of acid to 2 oz. of Glycerine) answers admirably fo.

some ge ena nnn t preserving most animals is alcohol is

ction of animals put in into alco ho l (com complained of by some correspondents)

e by the alco be put into weak alcohol

at first (not over five sapka nee cent.), and a fi -

be tra ! about Ali veta por . A very

article for p i tissues of animals, and for soft. B

bo indoor larve, etc., can be after a few expe ,of Glycerine,

of the l, a very portion of Carbolic acid.

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. III.—JUNE, 1869.—No. 4.

ece TORI OD o

BITTERNS.

BY WILLIAM E. ENDICOTT.

persons are repelled by scientific nomenclature.

Let not such, however, turi away from this artiele when I

say that the name of the genus I write of is Botaurus, for

the English term "bittern" is the same word, only in a dit-

Fig. 36.*

ferent shape, and comes from the Latin Botaurus (i. e., boa-

. * * *

tus taurinus), through the French butor, or Spanish bitor.

Botaurus, butor, bitor or bittern, it is all one, and means

et $ » $

bull-voiced.” The popular local names the bird has re

* Botaurus lentiginosus Stephens; from Tenney’s Zoölogy- — — — —

Entered accordin, i : th - 1869, by the PEABODY ACADEMY OF

SCIENCE, in the Clerk's Office of the Disiriet Court of the Distriet of Massachusetts.

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 22 (169)

170 BITTERNS.

ceived are nearly all from the same characteristic: these are

Stake-driver, applied to our own bird, and Mire-drum, Bull

of the Bog, Butter-bump and Bog-blutter (7. e., bleater), ap-

plied to the European species.

Australia is a land of anomalies; a kingfisher lives there

which avoids the water, dwells in arid wastes, living on

lizards and snakes, and has his home in a tree; and possibly

some unknown species of bittern may belong there which

flutters about the upland fields and lives on seeds, and will

be held in high repute as a warbler when he shall, hereafter,

be found, and will be kept in a gilded cage with a cuttle-fish

bone. That would indeed be a sight worth going half-way,

around the world to see. I dare prophesy, however, that

that island’s vast unknown interior will produce no such

wonder, but that all unknown bitterns will be found to agree

in character with the known. What that character is, how

it differs from our supposed songster, let us now consider.

The prophets use its name in foretelling desolation. Says

Isaiah, of Babylon, "I will make it a possession for the bit-

tern ;” and Zephaniah says of Ninevah, "The cormorant and

the bittern shall lodge in the upper lintels of it.” Hear also

what Mudie, who was not a prophet, says of the European

species. “It hears not the whistle of the ploughman not

the sound of the mattock; and the tinkle of the sheep bell

or the lowing of the ox (although the latter bears so much

resemblance to its hollow and dismal voice that it has given

foundation for the name) is a signal for it to be gone. Places

which scatter blight and giler over every herb more deli-

cate than a sias: ; which are the pasture of those loathsome

things which wriggle in the ooze, or crawl and swim in the

putrid and mantling waters; places which shed murrain over

the quadrupeds, or “chills which eat the tlesh off their bones;

places from which even the raven, lover of disease and bat-

tener upon all that expires miserably and exhausted, keeps

aloof (for ‘the reek o' the rotten fen’ is loathsome even to

him), are the chosen habitation, the only loved home of the

BITTERNS. 171

bittern. He is a bird of the confines, beyond which we can

imagine nothing but utter ruin.”

This picture is, I think, somewhat overdrawn; moreover,

no naturalist ought to speak of the waste places of Nature

in that disapproving way. We might pardon a mere col-

lector for writing so of bogs and wilds, he knows no better;

to him, a natural history store, where he may buy his eggs,

his shells, his bird-skins, or his sea-mosses, is preferable to

the swamps he must struggle through, the thickets he must

thread, the plains he must traverse, and the sandy or muddy

sea-beaches he must frequent if he would be a student of

Nature. Dry feet, untired limbs, clothes and flesh untorn

by briar and bramble, are not for the naturalist at all hours,

nor should he complain ; a new plant, a rare mollusk, a bird

till now unseen, an egg till now unknown, repay such trials

as these; and, if he find no such prize, his tramp, like vir-

tue, is its own reward. That there is something about the

fowl, of which Mudie thus speaks, that appeals strongly to

the imagination is not to be denied; but the bird is, nev-

ertheless, a reputable bird, although he is the one which

ignorant peasants in the old countries know by the name of

"night raven," believing that disaster or death must needs

follow when they have heard his voice booming over the fens

on à warm cloudy night, as they staggered their drunken

Way home from the ale-house. Terrible as the voice sounds

to their dull senses, it is sweetest music to the bittern's mate,

sitting among the grasses below him, or with him circling

the sky just under the cloud.

On this side of the Atlantic we have no superstitious fear

of the fowl, and do not think the swamps accursed by his

Presence. He is a lovely bird in unprejudiced, discrimi-

nating eyes; he has no gaudy colors, but his blacks, his

browns and yellows, of many shades, all of them pleasing,

are so blended as to produce a beautiful, harmonious effect.

He loves waste places, for they furnish him safety and food ;

Safety, because his enemy, man, is fond of a dry foot ; and

Tez BITTERNS.

food, for frogs and snails and snakes and mice, all prime

delicacies with our hermit, abound there, and, with an occa-

sional minnow, supply all his wants. And yet his safety is

not perfect, for the prying naturalist, for whom mud and

water have no terrors, sometimes comes across his home and

family; and the wanton gunner, starting him up from his

fishing and frogging, never spares him, but shoots him at

sight; and what man, with an arm and a leg broken and

body pierced with a dozen bullets will make as good a fight

as does our bird when the destroyer goes to pick him up?

As long as life is in his wrangled body, he never ceases to

lunge and thrust at his murderer's eyes with his spear-like

bill, scorning to yield to either pain or fear.

He comes to us from Mexico, Central America, and the

West Indies (the European species winters in Africa) early

in the spring (I bought one, freshly killed, in the latter part

of March, 1868, though that was very early indeed), and

probably takes up his beds in the same swamp which last

year he frequented. The "tinkle of the sheep bell" does

not banish the bold bird; he and his mate live in their five

or ten acres the whole summer through, although just out-

side their bushy quagmire the white-shirted haymakers may `

whet their seythes and shout to their horses, and the loco-

motive with his thundering train may go tearing by almost

every hour in the day. It seems that the raven avoids the

bittern's domains, because he don't like the "reek o' the rot-

ten fen." Very well, let him stay away if he likes, the beau-

tiful yellow-throats and swamp-sparrows, and, if there is 2

rotten stump, the chickadees, make his place good and more

than good. With their company and with surroundings of -

burple-liossomed Kalmia, glossy-leaved Smilax and pink

Calopogon, quiet cedars, nodding sedges, and rustling

res Old Sooty's absence will be little mourned.

me speak of finding the bittern breeding in colonies in

. trees. Good observers say so, and I beliéke them; but I

think that all such cases are owing to accidental circum-

BITTERNS. 178

stances, such as the inundation of their marshes. Certain it

is that I have never found them so associated. “Le butor,”

says M. Holandre, “est trés sauvage, farouche, solitaire.”

One tiger's den to a jungle, one eyry to a mountain, and one

pair of bitterns to a bog seems to be the rule.

In the place where I have found them, there is retired

feeding ground for a thousand, dense cedar swamps exten-

sive enough for as many nests if they only chose to congre-

gate, like their social cousins, the herons; and yet two by

two they live, their next neighbors nobody knows how far

away,—not in the same swamp at any rate; and on the

ground, the bare ground, they lay their four or five eggs,

among low laurel, tufts of grass, or, as in the case of the

first nest I ever found, at the foot of a swamp huckleberry

(from which the four callow young, unable yet to stand,

tried to drive me away by repeated tumbling charges, mena-

cing me by clumping their soft mandibles, and by sending

angry hisses from their wide-yawning, yellow throats).

I have been surprised to find the general uncertainty

which pervades ornithological works, upon the subject of

the color of the bittern’s eggs. These really are of a dark

` drab color in the case of our own bird as well as of the

European; in fact I could find no distinguishing marks

between these two species when examining a large number

of both, which I was enabled to do by the kindness of Mr.

Samuels. I have not been able to find any variation in the

color of those of our species, though I have inspected eggs

from all parts of the Union. Hear now what a few of the

authorities say: Audubon declares that he never found the

ittern’s nest, nor, apparently, did he ever see its eges, for

he says nothing of them. Nuttall writes, "the bittern is said

to lay cinereous green eggs.” Wilson, “they breed at Hud-

Son's Bay in swamps, and lay four cinereous green eggs,

we are informed." Richardson, "they lay, according to

Mr. Hutchins, four eges of a cinereous green color." La-

tham, "breeds at Hudson's Bay, and lays four cinereous

174 BITTERNS.

green eggs.” Peabody, “eggs of a green color.” Thomp-

son, “six eggs, of a dark, b ae. clay color.” Find-

ing the venerated authorities determined that the eggs should

have green on them of some shade or other, I made a fresh

examination, thinking I might have been mistaken. I studied |

them long and carefully in every light, and gave them full

consideration, but it was all in vain. I did once think I had

detected a glaneing greenish reflection, but found the color

came from a window blind. I have stated that the eggs of ;

the American and the European species are just alike. Let |

us see what European authors say: Selby says, pale green;

Bewick, greenish white ; Fleming, olive green; a writer for

the Lenton Tract Society, pale Sich ads: ; Mudie, green- `

ish brown; Albin, whitish, inclining to ashy or green; La-

. tham, pale ash-green; Goodrich, pale green; M. Holandre,

blanc-verdátre; Nauman and Buhle give a figure much too

dark. It is hard to be obliged to say of so many well known :

men that their statements are unreliable; but seeing is be- —

lieving, and the truth is the truth, and the color is as I have :

said. Mr. Samuels gives the true state of the case with

ud to our bird, and Yarrell in regard to the European.

species, and Hewitson and Atkinson, the former of whom `

borrowed the specimen he figures from Mr. ‘Yarrell, both

give accurately colored plates. When writers will say such

things of the European kind, we need not be surprised, |

however incredulous, when Latham tells us that a Cayenin E

species lays “round whitish eggs, spotted with green." Be-

sides all these errors, the author of the article “Bittern,” in

the “New American Cyclopedia,” says that the bird “builds

in trees, like the herons, ordinarily rearing two young,” 4 5

statement about as incorrect as it could be. Mudie speaks. 3

as follows of the European bittern’s voice: “Anon a burst

of savage laughter breaks upon you, gratingly loud, and so

unwonted and odd that it sounds as if the voices of a bull

and a horse were combined; the former breaking down his

bellow to suit the neigh of the latter in mocking you from

BITTERNS. 175

the sky." “When the bittern booms and bleats overhead

one certainly feels as if the earth were shaking.” Gold-

smith’s description of the bittern’s voice is one of his most

pleasing passages. Many of the poets speak of the bird’s

strange voice, and even in the time of Thompson (Thomp-

son of the Seasons) it was thought that the bill was thrust

into the mud in making it. Chaucer speaks as follows in

The Wife of Bath’s Tale :

“ And as a bitore bumbleth in the mire,

She laid hire mouth into the water doun,

Bewray me not, thou water, with thy soun’,

Quod she, ‘ to the I tell it, and no mo

Min husbond hath long asses eres tw

Another notion was that the bill was put inside a reed to

increase the sound; the truth is, of course, that the bird

uses no means to produce its bellow but its own organs of

voice. Our own bittern has no such roar, but, as its name

in most parts of the country denotes, makes a noise yery

much like driving a stake with an axe. It has also a hollow

croak at the moment of alarm.

These remarks apply to the American and European spe-

cies; the geographical range of the former is from latitude

60° north, to Central America and the West Indies, having

never been found, I believe, south of latitude 10° north. It

is of rare occurrence west of the Rocky Mountains, though

hot uncommon in other parts of the United States. Many

specimens of this bird have been shot in the British Isles,

particularly in Ireland. The first recorded capture was in

Devonshire, England, in October, 1804; the prize was by

some regarded as a new species. All such specimens have

been killed in the fall, so that there can be no doubt that

they were blown out to sea in their autumnal migration. ;

: The European species has a wider range. Selby says it

18 confined to Europe, but such is not the case; it occurs,

though rarely, in Norway, Russia and Siberia, up to latitude

65° north, and is found breeding at the Cape of Good Hope,

inlatitude 35° south. In the other direction it extends from

176 | BITTERNS.

the Atlantic to the River Lena, in Siberia, and is found,

though sparingly, in Hindostan. It is very rare in the Brit-

ish Islands, owing, probably, to drainage of bogs; so rare in

fact, that some naturalists have thought it worth their while

to give date and plaee of the killing of all specimens they

have seen. In England it is said to breed only in Lincoln-

shire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. In old times the bittern

was held in high esteem for the sport it afforded when pur-

sued by trained faleons. Both birds would mount in spirals,

oftentimes out of sight; the bittern straining every nerve to

keep above the hawk, the hawk doing his best to rise above

the bittern so as to make the fatal pounce. The bittern,

being of weaker flight, rarely escaped, but often in his death

involved his enemy's ; for as the cruel falcon came down with

rushing wings, exulting in his fierce soul, the bittern, in his

dire extremity, thrusting up his sharp beak, empaled the

triumphant savage, and both came tumbling from the clouds

together, striking the earth with a thump which drove the

last breath from both. A lesson to tyrants not to push the

weak to despair.

On account of its furnishing such excellent sport to the

humane of former times, rigorous laws for its protection

were passed in the reign of Henry VIII, and of Edward VI,

which imposed a fine of eight pence and a year’s imprison-

ment for every egg taken or destroyed. There was something

like protection. The long hind claw was a most excellent

toothpick, for, besides its functions as such, it had, if the

wisdom of our ancestors was infallible, the highly merito-

rious property of preserving the teeth from decay. It ap-

pears, moreover, that the fowl had then the power of display-

ing a brilliant light from the centre of its breast, which

attracted fish to it in great shoals, so that the satisfying of

its hunger took but a small part of the night, and much time — 1

was left for other pursuits, one of the most cheerful of which

was to soar above the hovel of the British ploughman or

hedger or ditcher, and rouse him from his lethargic sleep -

BITTERNS. 177

or struggling nightmare with a doleful noise, portending

certain death to Hodge, or Joan, or some one else; and this

predietion was always fulfilled to the letter, for in the course

of the next twelve months some one was sure to die in that

county or the next. The flesh of the prophet, however,

was very good, provided his skin was stripped off before

cooking, that it might not impart a muddy odor and taste.

Thus it will be seen that our bird was a strange compound

of good and evil, besides having some magical properties

which weighed on neither side; but the march of centuries,

which has changed everything for good or ill has had its

effect upon the bittern. He can no longer preserve our

teeth, nor ean he cast a murrain upon our cattle, nor even

foretell somebody's death; even his magical light is gone,

and he is now a quiet obscure fellow, doing man neither

good nor ill, and asking only to be let alone. As to the

bitterns of less civilized countries, their manners and cus-

toms have never been described at much length, but they

appear not to differ much from the American and European

species, except that the lineated bittern of Cayenne is said

by Latham to be capable of domestication, and to be then an

excellent mouser.

The bitterns are all much mottled in plumage, and may

be divided by this mottling into three groups, viz. : First,

The Rayed Bitterns, in which the mottling takes the form of

longitudinal streaks, especially on the breast, in which group

are the Botaurus stellaris (i. e., the starry) of Europe and

Africa; B. lentiginosus (i. e., the freckled) of North Amer-

ica, and B. pæciloptila (variegated feather) of Australia ; this

last is now thought to be identical with B. Australis. Sec-

ond, the Spotted Bitterns, such as Tigrisoma tigrina (tiger-

bodied, tiger-like) of Cayenne, and the Javan B. limnophi-

lax (pool-guard, a name which reminds one of Hood's lines :

“The moping heron, motionless and stiff,

on a stone, as silently an o y:

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III.

178 BITTERNS.

Third, the Pencilled Bitterns, such as Tigrisoma melanolo-

pha (black necked) of Ceylon and Burmah, and probably

of the Malay peninsula; Zebrilus undulatus (wavy) of Gui-

ana, and Tig. Braziliensis, whose name denotes its habitat.

This last is the most beautiful of the family, its back being

black, thickly and delicately pencilled with white and rufous ;

primaries, dark slate; crown, clear bright, and nape clear

dark rufous. In front alone does the bird resemble our own,

and even there the colors are brighter and more clearly de-

` fined.

No part of ornithological research is more fascinating than

the study of feathers; the more we examine them the more

we must be lost in admiration of their beauty. I have never

seen more beautiful feathers than those of the American

Bittern. The ones I am at present examining, though they

have been plucked from the bird more than a year, retain

a beautiful gloss, hardly inferior to that they wore in life.

Both webs of the primaries, and the anterior one of the

secondaries, have a lovely bloom of a most delicate ashy

blue. There is a very regular gradation in texture, colora-

tion, position of the shaft in the vane, and in most particu-

lars of shape, from the first primary to the last tertial, the :

former being very dense, strong, of a clear unflecked slaty :

blue, with but one or two mere hairs of down; end acutely

angled, with the shaft very near the anterior edge ; the latter

very loose in texture, so weak that a mere touch serves

to tear its fibres apart; in color slaty brown, most finely

marked with wavy lines of rusty brown, and not only very

downy three-fourths of the distance to the tip, but furnished

with a very soft accessory plume, three inches long and two

. wide: the tip widely rounded, and the shaft at the very

centre. Besides these differences, there is also observable

a certain indefinite youthfulness, if I may so express it, 0

color, which distinguishes the tertials from the secondaries ;

and the secondaries again have an immature, diffident ap-

. pearance of texture, as compared with the primaries. No

T Ree een REP Na oor

R PDA NETT LA

-* qur. MENS T a.

ANA wor: AME XLI. ws gen ree E pr ua M

2 i

BITTERNS. 179

words can express the extreme delicacy and downy softness

of some of the body feathers, particularly those of the lower

part of the breast, one of which now before me measures

3% inches in length, and 37% in breadth. Our species, like

the European, has a black-lead colored patch on the sides of

its neck, the feathers of which are very unlike common ones,

being little more than shafts with parallel hairs arranged

along their sides.

I have given no close descriptions of the various species,

because, though such may serve to identify a bird in the

hand, they seldom give any vivid idea of an unseen one in

the bush. As to size I may remark that B. Braziliensis

is the largest species, and Zebrilus undulatus the smallest,

standing less than half as high as our bird.

here is a series of small waders found, one or more spe-

cies in every country, called "small bittern," “ least bittern,"

etc., which I leave out, because I believe they are much

nearer the herons, for the following reasons: The bitterns

are all thickly mottled; the herons are colored in spaces of

clear color,— so are most of the “little bitterns.” The char-

acteristic color of the bitterns is brown of different shades;

of the herons, different shades of ash,—as is the case with

most of the “little bitterns.” The bittern’s feathers stand

out so that the bird, particularly about the neck, looks thick

and even clumsy; the heron’s feathers are so arranged as to

give an elegant look to the wearer of them,—so are the “little

bittern’s.” The bittern's egg is of the color I have said; the

heron’s is of a clear, light green,—so is the "little bittern's."

In fact the night-herons b a much greater resemblance to

the bitterns than do the small series we have been speaking

In conclusion, I would say that I have endeavored to —

make this article correct throughout, but that it is very likely

that it has its errors and omissions. I shall be glad to have

the former corrected, and the latter supplied.

THE MULE DEER.

BY W. J. HAYS.

Tur Mule Deer* (Plate 3) was first mentioned by Lewis

and Clark in the report of their journey up the Missouri

River. They gave it the name of Mule Deer on account of

the length of its ears; the length of the ear, however, varies

with individuals. I have one head which I procured on the

Upper Missouri, the ears*of which measure nine inches from

the head, and one from the Platte with ears only seven inches

in length; these measurements are from adult males. The

description of Mr. Say gives ten inches. Mr. Say first de-

scribed it and gave it the name of Cervus macrotis.

This deer is much coarser and less graceful than the Cer-

vus Virginianus; its limbs are thicker and longer, although

it does not vary much in weight from the largest of the com-

mon deer found in the Adirondack Mountains.

The color in summer is a dull grayish brown, and in win-

ter a silvery gray on the body, a line of black on the back

and on the breast between the fore legs; the legs are a bright

brownish yellow, the upper part of the inside white. The

forehead is covered with dark brown hair extending down to

a line a little below the eyes. The upper lip and chin are

white; there is a band of dark brown running into black,

extending from the nostril to the edge of the upper lip. The

black band is not so well defined on the lower jaw as in the

common deer. The inside of the thighs up to the tail is

white; there is also a slight indication of white under the

neck. The belly is a yellowish brown, almost as bright as

EURE or Mule Deer, Lowlé and Clark. Cervus asirites, Wat

PR United Hd ges I p. 245. Cerf Mullet, Desmarest, Mammalogie, p. 43. Jump-

ing Deer, Umfreville, ea in Bay, p.104. Great-eared Deer, Griffith's atl King-

dom, vol. IV, p. 133. Tego macrotis Say, Long’s Ex., vol. I, p.254. Cervus macrotis,

lan’s Fauna, p Cervus macrotus Sabine, Frankiln’s Johs. p. ot 607. Certus

macrotis, imagate Natural History, vol Iv, p. 133. Cervus macrotis Peale, Philadel-

phia Advocate of Science, August, 1834.

. (180).

TSSEMETEMT

Sum Ea

Vol. IH. PI. 3.

American Naturalist.

ane Sees vo: VO eas EL

AORE EN E= pen, We.

THE MULE DEER. 181

the color on the legs. The tail is seven inches in length,

round, and covered with short white hair, like the tail of a

pointer dog; the extreme tip, for about an inch, has black

hair of about two inches in length. The tail is carried pen-

dant, and not erect, in running.

The metatarsal gland (which in the common deer is about

an inch long) is six inches in length and fringed with hair

two inches in length. The ears have a line of brownish

black on the edge, and are lined with long whitish hair. The

horns spread wider, some measuring twenty-four inches be-

tween the tips in front, but otherwise have the general form

of those of the common deer, but the points are bifurcated ;

and sometimes have as many as three and four branches.

The hoofs are black, and not so sharp or pointed as the com-

mon deer, resembling more in form the hoofs of the Wapiti.

This description is made from specimens in my possession

and from those that I have seen on the Plains, and differs

somewhat from that of Prof. Baird. I am inclined to think

that his description of the hoof was made from a specimen

that had become dry and contracted at the base, or else of a

young animal.

This deer is found from the north of New Mexico to the

Saskatchewan, and from the Missouri to the Cascade Moun-

tains. Its flesh is very fine eating, esteemed by many supe-

rior to that of the common deer.

DIMENSIONS.

Total length from ti TT T

p of nose aa: " bes: i *

to tip of tail, . We I th, AP I E

High xi ahy nos S Length of tail, KT

f pelvis, . 8 6 suborbital eun. š 1

Girth beat, praesent 8 4 s“ hate gla 6

Girth o of neck, e 110 m

Length of fore -- from d gland, ko s

of hoof to olecra 20 Length of fore ek ico MA

: read it e les ph hoot | hind hoof, - 3

T Greatest — of fore hoof, 1i

| Length of : n hind hoof, . 14

Width a aha. 8 an: of false hoof, . -

THE NATURALIST IN CALIFORNIA.

BY J. G. COOPER, M. D.

Los Angelos Plains.—ln December, 1860, I found my-

self at Los Angelos, under orders to report at Fort Mojave,

Colorado Valley, as soon as practicable. I therefore started

on the fourth, in company with a train of wagons going with

supplies to the Fort, mounted on a mule, and well supplied

with material for collecting in that little known region.

The southern part of California, even near the coast, was

still brown and barren looking from the effects of the long

dry season, although some rain had fallen for a month past.

There is very little tree ‘growth except along the streams,

and most of these sink in the dry season before reaching the

sea, so that the nearly level plain bordering the coast for à

width of twenty-five miles has a desolate appearance, though

it is densely covered with herbage, and in spring puts on à

garb of the most beautiful green, varied with myriads of

pretty flowers. Already the lower grounds along the river

bed are commencing to revive, and flocks of geese (Anser

hyperboreus and Bernicla Gambelii) begin to enliven the

scene; the Kill-deer ( ZEgialitis vociferus), a constant resi-

dent where water is permanent, and occasionally flocks of

other waders are seen.

But the route leads away from the haunts of these semi-

aquatic migrants, over the driest part of the plain towards

Cajon Pass, and although animals of all kinds are less abun-

dant there now than in the moist spots, they are more dis-

tinet from those of the Atlantic States. Ground Squirr rels

hilus Beecheyi) abound, their villages occupying

every little elevation, and the squirrels dietis son. which do :

not hibernate here, may be seen running in all directions or

sitting erect near their burrows, and allowing a very near ap-

PME that they can escape under ground from any

THE NATURALIST IN CALIFORNIA. 183

enemy. But occasionally a Squirrel Hawk ( Archibuteo ferru-

gineus) is seen sitting on the ground devouring one of these

audacious burrowers. The White-headed Eagle and various

smaller hawks, are also on the watch for these and any other

small animals they can catch, such as Gophers ( Thomomys

umbrinus), Jumping-mice (Dipodomys agilis and Perogna-

thus parvus), Wood-mice (Hesperomys Sonoriensis), Hares

(Lepus Californicus and -Audubonii), besides such birds as

fall in their way.

About the gardens are the omnipresent House Finch ( Car-

podacus frontalis), the Black Pewee (Sayornis nigricans),

Raven and Western Crow ( Corvus carnivorus and caurinus).

The Western Flicker ( Colaptes Mexicanus) was the only one

of its tribe observed in this nearly woodless plain. Large

flocks of Gambel's Finch ( Zonotrichia Gambelii), and other

species, flitted among the hedges, while the Golden-crowned

Wren and Audubon's Warbler were the only insectivorous

species that could glean a subsistance at this season among

the dry willows. The Song Sparrow (Melospiza Heermannit)

like its eastern representative enlivens the early morning

with an occasional song, while the Rock Wren (Salpinctes

obsoletus) and Cactus Wren (Campylorhynchus brunneica-

pillus) chirrup loudly from the tiled roof or dense thickets.

Flocks of Quails (Lophortyx Californicus) become common

aS we get farther from the town, and the little Burrowing

Owl (Athene cunicularia) is often seen sitting sleepily at

the mouth of an old squirrel burrow. Meadow Larks and

Horned Larks, as well as the little Pipit, are so numerous

_ in places on the bare plains as to almost darken the air when

_ they fly, and the curious Mountain Plover (Podasocys mon-

| A nus) run in scattered flocks over the driest tracts, or wheel

9 swift columns around the sportsman, their white under- .

ats Sometimes shining like snow-flakes as they turn like

their more aquatic cousins of the seashore.

LE Thus it will appear that these plains have a great variety

" animals, even as seen in a hasty journey and at a bad

184 THE NATURALIST IN CALIFORNIA.

season, but nothing very peculiar to this part of the State

occurred. Two fine specimens of the Red-tailed Black Hawk

(Buteo calurus) would not allow of a very near approach,

and the first specimen collected was a Cassin's Kingbird

(Tyrannus vociferans), which I could scarcely believe a win-

ter resident, although I have since found it to be so, even as

far north as Santa Cruz, while its closely allied relative, the

T. verticalis, leaves the State entirely in winter.

Approaching the mountains at Cajon Pass, extensive thick-

ets of shrubbery, with occasional low trees, give promise of

a new and more varied fauna in the spring, but at this sea-

son few animals were seen besides those mentioned. A

Coyote (Canis latrans) dogged our steps in hopes of some

scraps to be left at camp, and at night the dismal barking

howl of these animals was our constant serenade. Nests of

the Wood-rat ( Neotoma Mexicana) were common, consist-

ing of twigs, bark, etc., piled up three or four feet high

among the bushes.

Hares became so numerous that I saw more than twenty

during the day while riding along the road, and a new bird

appeared in pairs, or small families, running on the ground

with much the appearance of Snow-birds. This was Bell’s

Finch (Poospiza Bellii), one of the more southern group. I

also shot a black-tailed Gnat Catcher (Polioptila melanura),

the most peculiar of the three allied species found in this

State, which was hopping among the low bushes, scolding

like a wren.

The weather here was warm and pleasant by day, but

frosty at night. Insects were scarce, and I searched in vain

for mollusca, though several fine snails are found on the

neighboring mountains where limestone abounds. As I am,

however, only giving my observations on that particular

journey, I omit for the present to mention these and many

higher animals, which I have since found to be inhabitants

of the same region.

- Large groups of Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia), seen at a

THE NATURALIST IN CALIFORNIA. 185

distance only, surrounding San Gabriel and San Bernardino,

would no doubt yield many birds and other animals not

observed along the route traversed.

Cajon Pass. — The pass is entered quite abruptly from the

plains by a picturesque cañon, usually narrow and rocky,

through which flows a dashing mountain stream, clear and

cold, but not observed to contain fish. Along its bauks

grow Live Oaks, Buttonwoods (Platanus Mexicanus), and

various Willows, while a few Pines (Pinus Sabiniana?), Firs

(Abies Douglassii) and Nut Pines (P. monophyllus) strag-

gle down from the neighboring mountains. The slopes of

the nearest mountains are, however, covered chiefly with

low shrubs. Among these the loud ringing trill of the Wren

Titmouse (Chamæa fasciata) was the chief bird-music at

this season. Other birds observed were a flock of Pigeons

(Columba Jasciata?), Lawrence’s Goldfinch ( Chrysomitris

Lawrencii) , and the Western Bluebird (Sialia Mexicana),

none of which frequent the bare plains below. Just below

the summit, where we camped December 7th, I shot the first

seen of the Shining Flycatcher (Phainopepla nitens), a spe-

ĉies rare west of these mountains, and peculiar enough to

attract. attention from its habit of flying upward from a bush

to a great height, in a zigzag manner, in pursuit of insects,

somewhat like Pewees, which it much resembles otherwise.

I have heard of the Mountain Quail ( Oreortyx pictus) as oc-

curring in this spot. The Pass being only about 4000 feet

above the sea, and the mountains around it low and nearly

treeless, does not offer so good a field for a collector as

Would be the San Bernardino range, which rises over 8600

feet forty miles south-east of here, and is covered high up

With heavy coniferous and oak timber. The light coating

of’ snow which greeted our eyes on the summit the morning

of December 8th, is an index of the greatest cold ever ex-

Perienced here, though the summits of the highest moun-

tains in sight are often white in patches the entire summer.

As we are now about to enter on a new natural region,

_ AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 24

186 THE NATURALIST IN CALIFORNIA.

that of the interior deserts, I may as well digress -a little

from the line of travel to mention some other land animals

I have observed west of this range, and north of latitude

34° 30’, a region which I have called the “Southern coast-

slope” of California, extending north-east and south-west for

about one hundred and forty miles, and fifty in breadth.

Besides the mammalia mentioned, the Coast Fox ( Vulpes

littoralis), if really distinct from the Gray, does not occur

northward. Deer (Cervus Columbianus and C. Mexica-

. nus?) are not uncommon, and some small feline animals

(Felis eyra?) with long tails, are said to occur. The Jaguar

(F. onca) has been reported, but all other mammals except

Skunks (Mephitis occidentalis and M. bicolor) are rare.

The Couguar (Felis concolor), Grizzly Bear ( Ursus hori-

bilis), Raccoon (Procyon Hernandezii), Badger (Taxidea

Americana), Wild Cat (Lynx rufus), Gray Squirrel ( Sciu-

rus leporinus), Antelope (Antilocapra Americana) and Moun-

tain Sheep (Ovis montana) oceur more or less abundantly

in various stations on the mountains or plains, but most of

them are limited to particular spots, and are more abundant

in other parts of the State.

The most peculiar birds not yet mentioned are the Con-

traband Hawk (Buteo zonocercus), which I found but once

near San Diego, in February; the Rock Swift ( Panyptila

melanoleuca), a few of which breed in some cliffs near the

same place; the Texan Nighthawk (Chordeiles Texensis), à

summer visitor, the Little Vireo ( Vireo pusillus) and Hooded

Oriole (Icterus: cucullatus), also migratory ; the Long-tailed

Mocking-bird (Mimus caudatus) and Long-billed Sparrow

(Ammodromus rostratus), the latter confined to the seashore.

These, as well as the White-bellied Auk (Brachyramphus hy-

J, have not been found farther north, though the land

im species mostly oceur farther east. Altogether I have noticed

forty-eight species of mammals, and two hundred and forty-

: eight. of birds, in this region. Of the birds thirty-two are

D summer Fon thirty-two winter, and mes rest resident.

Be E e BERE RE COS RERO REN UESTRO eae EP que Tto CERA RNC SERIE PEDE E MMS UE TREAT TO NIU

THE NATURALIST IN CALIFORNIA. 187

*Of reptiles I found twenty-eight species and six of batra-

chians, a few of the former are not known northward, viz.,

Hallowell’s Rattlesnake (Crotalus Hallowelli nom. prov.),

the Coppery Whipsnake (Drymobius testaceus), and Couch's

Gartersnake (Hutainia Couchii). Two species of Ger-

rhonotus (G. Webbii and G. olivaceus) are also reported as

only from these mountains, and I found two other undeter-

mined lizards on the seacoast and Claueute Island. The

fishes are few in the fresh water, and as yet undetermined.

On my return to the coast, just six months later, I found

the summer fauna of this region in full development. The

Rock Swifts flew high over the mountains with harsh croak-

ing notes; the Vireos and Orioles sung sweetly in the high

trees; the Mocking Bird, and many others, enlivened the

shrubbery or chaparal, and at evening the Nighthawks flew

swiftly about our camps. Humming Birds of various species

had nests on the trees, of which I unfortunately upset one

and broke the eggs before I saw it. Brilliant flowers

abounded, and though the dry season was commencing in

` the plains, the mountains were so inviting that I much re-

Sretted my inability to spend a month or two there before

going to the military post at San Diego.

The Desert. —The whole country between the mountains

and the Colorado Valley may be called desert, although only

that part near thé mouth of the river is called so on the

maps, being nearly level and almost as barren of vegetation

as the sea-beach. The route to Fort Mojave passes over an

‘Undulating country, destitute of trees except on the summit

of the San Francisco Mountains, where it rises over 5000

feet above the sea. The lower tracts consist of salt or alka-

line flats, sand-hills or bare rocks, while the higher support

: only a scanty and useless vegetation. Junipers (J. occiden-

: P) and Nut-pines cover a few of the highest points, while

8 little lower the Yucca tree ( Y. baccata) forms extensive

Stoves. Many species of Cactacese, and other desert plants,

form the most. characteristic vegetation elsewhere. —

188 THE NATURALIST IN CALIFORNIA.

In such a region the higher animals cannot be expected to

abound, and those found are chiefly stragglers from more

favored tracts, but still there are some of much interest. De-

scending the eastern slope we find Harris’s Squirrel ( Sper-

mophilus Harrisii) scarce at'this cold season, but common

on our return in June. This little animal has much the ap-

pearance and habits of Tamias, but is nearly white. I saw

also tracks of the Sage Fowl (Centrocercus urophasianus)

corresponding in color with the granite rocks among which

it lives, and have seen a specimen killed near here. :

"The only peculiar bird known is Leconte’s Mock-thrush

(Harporhynchus Leconte’), which is also of a pale grayish

brown, like a faded specimen of the coast species (H. redi-

vivus), but is admirably colored for concealment among the

thorny bushes growing on the sand-hills it inhabits. Both

of these animals having dark colored representatives in less

barren regions, offer excellent instances of the influence of

“natural selection,” but have some peculiarities not to be

explained by the influence of the climate and country they

inhabit.

The road for nearly one hundred miles eastward follows

the Mojave River, which, being permanent for half that dis-

tance, and supplying moisture to a narrow tract of bottom-

land, forms a sort of oasis in the desert, cultivable, and with

its upper parts lined with trees and shrubs. Some of the

vommon Californian birds were rather frequent here, but I

found none of interest at that season. On returning in June

I found here the Purple-throat Humming Bird, the Little

Vireo, and various other summer species. Fresh water

shells of the genera Lymnea, Physa and Planorbis occurred,

also two species of Succinea, in the more elevated cool parts

"e .. of the valley.

It is in the class of reptiles, and especially lizards, that

the fauna of the desert excels. Although none were visiblo

. in December, and I had not time to collect many on my re-

turn in June, I have ascertained that seventeen species have

HINTS ON TAXIDERMY. |. 189

been obtained chiefly in this region by various naturalists,

principally those of the Mexican Boundary and Pacific Rail-

road Surveys. One which they seem to have overlooked,

although the most remarkable, perhaps, because inhabiting

such a desert region, I described, after my return, as Agas-

sizs Land-tortoise (Xerobates Agassizii). In size it is

about equal to the species of the Gulf Coast, but differs in

color and other particulars. The Indians hunt for them on

the mountains among cacti and other fleshy-leaved plants,

on which they probably feed, rarely or never descending to

the valleys. A Water-turtle (Actinemys marmorata) also

lives in the Mojave River. One small Cyprinoid fish (Al-

gansea formosa) has been found by Dr. Heermann in this

stream.

Towards the sink, or “Soda Lake,” which rarely contains

water, the sand becomes very dry and almost bare of vege-

tation. A few trees (Chilopsis linearis) of small size grow

there, and among them I saw a flock of the Arctic Bluebird

(Stalia arctica). The only other bird of interest seen east

of this was the pretty Black-throated Finch (Poospiza bilin-

eata), which is pretty common in the shrubby tracts.

HINTS ON TAXIDERMY.

BY C. A. WALKER.

[Continued from page 146.]

The method of collecting, preserving, and mounting birds.

The first specimen procured, however “imperfect, should al- -

. Ways be preserved until a better one can be obtained. As

‘Soon as a bird has been killed, the following directions

. Should be carefully observed. Fill the mouth, throat, nos-

"i ls and vent with cotton; also any shot holes which may us

discovered. If there is any fresh blood upon the feathers,

190 HINTS ON TAXIDERMY.

sprinkle the spots with dust, sand, powdered chalk, or any

other similar substances. These precautions being observed,

all stains caused Py blood or internal secretions will be pre-

vented.

A paper tunnel UM now be made in the same manner

as those used by grocers, the bird placed in it with the head

towards the point, and the upper part folded over and fixed

in this position by means of a pin, taking eare not to injure

the tail feathers by bending or displacing them. The parcel

should then be placed in a box, sufficiently large to accommo-

date it without crowding, and the remaining space filled with

grass, paper, or any substance more easily obtained; this

will prevent the specimen from being injured by friction. In

our own portion of the country during the colder seasons,

also in the more northern latitudes, a bird may be allowed to

remain (in extreme cases) forty-eight hours before the oper-

ation of skinning is undertaken, but half the time is a safer

rule. In the summér season it may be permitted to lie until

the blood has coagulated and the limbs have stiffened ; but

in all tropical countries the operation cannot be effected with

too great dispatch. If the specimen is allowed to remain

any length of time beyond that above stated, the feathers

about the head and abdomen are apt to fall off, thus render-

ing it more difficult to remove the skin; and the specimen

often becomes unfit for preservation. Before skinning à

bird, particular attention should be given to the color of the

eyes, bill and legs, because these parts are liable to lose

their tints after life is extinct, the color of the feathers upon

the various parts of the body. Measurements should also -

. be taken after the following manner, in feet, inches and frac-

tions of an inch:

Total length from the tip of tie bili to the end of the tail,

? li" neck being stretched out in a straight line; length of the

primary quills of the wing; total length of the bill, meas-

n. uring either from the feathers on the forehead, following the

* curve of the tne down to the tip, or from the angle of

alt

Jer a E aa a a Ss

Cue M D o EM A Mao O Cu A a oS, eA et Be ig R gc ua a a aa e e MES

NOU PEST OUR ETE eS

de BN Ee err P PNE

Warte c

HINTS ON TAXIDERMY. 191

the mouth in a straight line to the tip; the length of the tail

feathers from the extremity to their insertion in the coccyx,

together with their number; the length of the tarsus, from

the centre of the metatarsal and tarsal joints ; length of toes ;

length and general character of the nails; the distance be-

tween the tips of the wings when spread out to their full

extent. It should be next observed whether it be male or

female, young or adult; also, any change of plumage in

winter or summer; the common name given it in the locality

where it was collected ; the exact date when it was killed,

and every fact which can be ascertained concerning its habits.

"The sex of the specimen may be ascertained after the opera-

tion of skinning has been completed, by making an incision

In the side, near the vertebre, and exposing the inner surface

of the ‘small of the back. The generative organs will be. :

found tightly bound to this region (nearly opposite to the

last ribs), and separating it from the intestines. The testicles "f

of the male are two spheroidal or ellipsoidal whitish bodies,

Varying from the size of a pin head to that of a hazel-nut, ac-

cording to the season. The ovaries of the female, consisting

of a flattened mass of spheres, variable in size with the sea-

Son, will be found in the same region.”* Allof the above

statements should be plainly written upon slips of parchment

or pasteboard, with ink, and attached to the corresponding

Specimen, or recorded in a blank book, with a number cor-

responding to the one attached to the specimen.

When practicable, nests and eggs should be preserved

With the birds to which they belong, and all information

Concerning dates and places where they were found. Draw-

"ns of specimens will also be useful, both in mounting and

cs - * source of reference. Many may consider the above

“rections, or at least a-greater portion of them, of not much

_ portance, but if they are carefully observed and prac-

| teed, the value of the collection will be greatly enhanced,

since such information is of the utmost importance in scien-

a is, ee itn etm

* Report of the Smithsonian Institution.

193 HINTS ON TAXIDERMY.

tific researches. Even should they not be destined for these

purposes, the amateur will find his collection rendered far

more interesting and instructive.

The collector should be provided with a light double-

barrelled gun, the best of powder, and shot of various

sizes, No. 10 being used for killing small birds, as it is

least injurious to the plumage. Humming Birds should be

killed with dust shot. Early in the morning and after sun-

set are the best periods of the day for procuring birds. If

the collector be in any tropical country, he should choose

early dawn for his excursions, on account of the coolness of

the air. It is also the time when the birds are seen and

heard in greatest numbers. Birds in tropical countries are

generally so tame, that they can be easily approached and

with little skill; a sufficient number can be killed in the

space of two or three hours, to occupy the collector during

the remainder of the day. It is a good rule never to kill

more specimens than can be pesce during the day. In

some parts of tropieal America, Humming Dirds, Creepers,

and other small birds are shot with blow-pipes by the na-

tives, and they are killed in this manner without the least

injury to their plumage. Many are also caught by means of

birdlime, and in springes, and specimens ouied by these

means are the best for preservation.

The method of skinning a bird. — One of the most impor-

tant points of taxidermy, is a correct knowledge of the

method of skinning a bird, so that when the operation is

finished, the skin may be as perfect as possible and free from

all stains. Itis impossible for any one to mount a speci-

men neatly and artistically, from a soiled or mutilated skin.

There are many instances, however, in which it may be nec-

. essary to mount poor skins from their rarity; these should

` never be rejected, for a specimen badly stuffed is better than

none at all, and will answer until a more perfect one can be

obtained. There: are two things essential to success, ViZ.

and : ; and a good store of both will enable

HINTS ON TAXIDERMY. 193

one to perform the operation with ease and dispatch. Cure

should always be taken not to stretch the skin, in order that

its natural dimensions may be preserved.

fore proceeding to work, provide yourself with a cup

of Indian-meal, cotton, needle and thread, scalpel and pre-

servative. In the first place examine the bird, and if any

spots of -blood be discovered, sprinkle them with Indian-

meal, and rub it back and forth with the fingers, supplying

fresh meal from time to time; this will remove it entirely.

If the blood be dry, apply a little warm water with a sponge,

; and wash the spot gently. In this manner I have cleaned

: the entire breast of a bird stained with blood. If any of

the feathers are bent, they may be restored to position by

immersing them in warm water. Remove the cotton from

> the mouth, nostrils and vent, and replace it with fresh stuf-

3 fing. A piece of small but strong twine should now be

passed from one nostril through the other on the opposite

side, and bringing the ends downward tie them beneath the

lower mandible, leaving them a little longer than the neck

of the bird. This will aid the operator in turning the head

back to its natural position after the operation of skinning

has been finished. Now take an accurate measurement from

the tip of the bill to: the end of the tail; also the, girth of

the body behind the wings. The bird is then ready for the

operation. Placing it upon its back with the tail turned to-

wards your right hand, with the left separate the feathers

m the lower extremity of the breastbone, quite down to

the vent, laying them to the right and left so that the skin

neath is visible. Place the scalpel upon the lower tip of

the breastbone and cut the skin from this point in a straight |

line to the vent, taking care not to sever the thin muscular

tissue Which covers the intestines ; should this have become

Accidentally cut, thereby exposing the intestines, remove

them at once, that they may not soil the feathers. The skin

must now be separated from the flesh on either side of the

Incision by passing the flat portion of the scalpel handle be-

n 25 :

AMER, NATURALIST, VOL. III.

194 HINTS ON TAXIDERMY.

tween the skin and the body. It will be found that some

birds have the skin bound much closer to the flesh than

others by means of small ligaments; these must be severed

with the scalpel. When the skin'is loosened from its attach-

ments quite down to the back, and the thigh laid bare, the

latter should then be pressed inward and the skin turned

back, in order that the leg may be separated from the body

at the second joint, or the junetion of the tibia with the fib-

ula. Repeat the operation with the other side. Next, the

rump, or that part into which the tail feathers are fixed,

should be severed from the body at the junction of the last

dorsal vertebra with the coccyx, taking eare not to cut the

skin upon the back. Should blood at any time be discov- `

ered, absorb it with Indian-meal, and the oily matter pro-

ceeding from the fat (which is to be especially avoided in

all the marine species) may be absorbed with a little pow-

dered chalk. If the bird is a large one, it may be now

suspended by means of a large fish-hook with the barb filed

off, and attached to a strong cord, which will aid greatly

in removing the remaining part of the skin; but if it is à

small one, it should be placed upright upon its breast, with

the head lying backward. In this position the skin should

be removed from the back and breast, by using the back of

the scalpel as stated before, until the wings are reached

upon both sides. These are to be severed from the body

at the shoulder-joint. It will be found to be much easier

to unjoint them by cutting beneath instead of above the

joint. The neck having been reached, must be turned out

until the back part of the skull is laid bare. Having sepa-

rated the cervical vertebre, or the vertebre of the neck,

; date to the head, remove the ear by separating the thin skin

_ by which it is bound to the ear-socket, being cautious not

— to injure it by tearing or cutting. By close examination

it will be seen that the eyelid is bound to the edge of the

. Sócket by a thin skin; this should be completely “severed,

_ thereby ere the lid from its attachments. The eyes

To SO ee kee sag eer URP Aa ee eae ES Sr E TEE SS IER CNET re

HINTS ON TAXIDERMY. 195

may then be removed by passing the blade of the scalpel

beneath the ball and severing the optic nerve, endeavoring

not to burst the former, as the humors contained within

would then ooze out, and flowing through the eyelids, soil

the feathers upon the head. Next cut away the tongue,

together with the flesh beneath the mandibles and upon the

various parts of the head, and through an opening made in

the lower part of the skull carefully remove the brain. It is

well to remark here that the heads of some birds are so large

in comparison with the neck, as to render it impossible for

the head to be turned out in the ordinary way without

stretching the skin. In this case the vertebre of the neck

should be separated close to the skull, the body taken out

sad laid aside, and the head pulled back into its natural

position. An incision is then made through the skin upon

the back of the head, large enough to permit the passage of

the skull, and. this Should then be cleaned in the same man-

. her as stated above. Ducks, woodpeckers, flamingoes, ma-

caws, ete., come under this rule. After the preservative

has been applied to every part, and the cavities of the brain

and eye filled with cotton, restore it to position, being care-

il to sew up the incision neatly. The wings should next

be turned out, exposing two joints. The humerus may then be

removed, but the double bone, consisting of the radius and

the ulna, should be earefully cleaned and allowed to remain.

Many taxidermists prefer to have all the bones left in their

Places. This, I think, should be a rule in preparing dried

skins, as the wings retain their position better; but when

* skin is to be mounted at once, I remove the humerus, and

ie then find it much easier to set them. It is also a practice

with many, in lieu of turning the wings, to make a longitudi-

m Joints, and through this to remove the flesh. Lastly,

Me legs should be skinned, removing all the flesh, and leav-

ang in the fibula or thigh bone. If the skin is to be mounted

' Once, anoint it thoroughly with powdered arsenic ap-

hal incision beneath the wing, running the length of the two -

196 . HINTS ON TAXIDERMY.

plied with the sifter; but if not, use the arsenical soap,

because it can then be softened more readily when required

for mounting. Fill the eye-sockets and cavity of the skull

with cotton. Restore the leg and wing bones to position.

To accomplish the latter, take hold of the tips of each, aud

pulling them from each other, they will easily slip into

place. In turning the head back, take hold of the twine

whieh is fastened to the bill, pulling it gently and steadily,

working with the fingers when necessary, taking great care

not to stretch or tear the skin of the neck. Smooth the

feathers upon the various parts of the skin, and the speci-

men is ready for mounting. ;

The method of mounting a bird. —Having furnished your-

self with tow, cotton, needle and thread, annealed iron wire

of a size proportionate to that of the bird to be mounted,

and the necessary instruments, including the large and small

forceps, file, pincers, wire cutters, scissors, etc., proceed to

cut fine a quantity of tow sufficient to fill the neck. With

the long forceps seize a small bunch of this and insert it up

through the neck and deposit it under the bill; in this man-

ner fill from beneath the lower mandible down to the breast

taking care not to insert too much stuffing or to place it un-

evenly. Next cut three pieces of wire; one a third longer

than the total length of the body, for the main support, the

other two three inches longer than the united length of the

tarsus and fibula, for the leg supports; also four smaller

- ones five inches in length, for setting the wings and winding

purposes. Sharpen each of these with the file to a fine

point. Take the longest piece and bend in it three small

. rings, the distance between the two outer ones representing

the length of the carcass of the bird, leaving one long an

a one short end, in the same manner as recommended in stuf-

-fing small quadrupeds. Tow should be wound about the

. end containing the rings, and moulded into the natural form

- MEN bod

the body. This being completed, place the longest pro

ing end within the skin at the base of the neck stuffing: —

"HINTS ON TAXIDERMY. 197

anl holding the head of the bird in the left hand, letting

the skin hang down, with the right, insert it up through the

cut tow within the neck, and thence through the top of the

skull. Care must be taken not to push too hard, for by so

doing you may displace the stuffing, but rather twirl the

wire between the thumb and forefinger, when it will be

found to penetrate easily. The skin must then be drawn

over the artificial body, and the leg wires placed in position.

The latter is done by placing the pointed end upon the sole

of the foot, and forcing it up through the tar- WT

sus, between the skin and the bone, until the

point has reached the first joint. The leg bones

should then be turned out again, when the wire .

will appear as in Fig. 37 a, w. It should then i j

be forced up a little above the top of the fibula, B ^

and cotton wound about both. This should be made to re-

semble the form of the flesh, which has been removed, and

bound about with thread to prevent it from slipping (Fig.

315,1). The whole may then be turned back into its proper

place. Now hold the protruding point against the side of

the artificial body, about midway between the extremities,

and force the wire through transversely, until it appears upon

the opposite side, care being taken not to penetrate the skin:

The end should be bent into the form of a hook, when, by

taking hold of the protruding wire at the sole of the foot, and

pulling it towards yourself, the hook will be firmly fastened _

de o the body. The incision should now be closed up, by

bringing the edges of the skin together,and made fast in this

Position with common pins; with ducks and larger birds it

necessary to sew up the lips of the incision. The legs are

next brought towards each other, bending the wires close to

3 body until they are parallel. The joint of the fibula and

tarsus Should also be imitated. The bird is now ready to |

Place upon a pedestal. All perching and climbing species

uld be mounted upon stands formed like the letter T; the

"s skin; f, fibula; w, wire; 1, artificial leg.

198 - HINTS ON TAXIDERMY.

waders, swimmers, and all other species which frequent the

land or water, ought to be placed upon flat pieces of board.

ii d The neck ean now be bent into position,

and the head directed either to the front or

side, according to the taste of the operator.

The wings are next raised up, and placed

against the sides of the body, in the same

position as when the bird was living, and

fastened in place by means of the short

wires foreed through the shoulder into the

body (Fig. 38,5). The tail is supported by

means of a wire inserted beneath the tail feathers and passed

into the body (e).

In placing birds in certain positions, it is necessary to

spread the tail feathers. This may be accomplished in a

variety of ways. First, by running a small pointed wire

through the shaft of every feather; this method, however, is

not applicable to very small birds. Another is to take 3 —

piece of cardboard, somewhat longer than the width of the

tail spread out to its full extent, and cut a horizontal slit in

it of the required length; the feathers are inserted in the

slit, and are retained in whatever position they have been

placed. "This method is practiced only upon small birds.

A third method is to take a piece of wire of small size and

bend it double, pressing the bent end firmly together with

the pincers; the tail feathers are then arranged between the

two, that is with one wire above and tho other beneath them.

The two loose ends are then brought together and twisted to

prevent them from springing apart; also to hold the feathers

more firmly (Fig. 38, £). The latter method is applicable

. to birds of any size. The two remaining short wires should

. next be inserted into the body, one upon the back just below

the curve of the neck, the other above the rump (c and d)-

ue These are used for convenience in winding, and can be re-

. Moved after the specimen is dry. The intei should be

3 v— eh C

C : AOE ras NC NE nt; b, wing support; e, tail support; /, tail spreader-

HINTS ON TAXIDERMY. 199

placed eaeh in its proper place by means of the small for-

ceps. If the eyes are not sufficiently plump a little cotton

can be inserted through the eyelids, with a small quantity

of putty, by which the glass eyes will be more firmly fixed ;

the latter operation should receive much care, the eye should

have its natural fulness, and the eyelids should be well

rounded. The bird should then be bound with thread,

wound about the various protruding wires. This operation

is done to keep the feathers in plaee until they are firmly

fixed. A bird should not be allowed to dry too quickly, as

the skin is then liable to shrink, but it should be placed

in some dry place, not too warm, where the skin can gradu-

ally stiffen. When dry remove the thread, pull out the

wires upon the back, and with the wire cutters, clip off the

remainder close to the body. ‘To insure success, the taxi-

dermist should have a correct knowledge of the habits of

birds, that he may place his subject in a position character-

istic of the species. The measures previously taken will aid

im securing accuracy of form.

Taxidermists, as a general thing, are apt to overstuff their

Specimens, and the beginner should strive to avoid this.

There are several attitudes assumed by birds in the living

State, Which can be copied with advantage. To represent a

bird in the flying position, its wings should be extended as

für as possible, the tail placed horizontal and well expanded,

the neck stretched forward and the legs drawn up close to

" breast, with the toes closed. The wings may be spread

_ by means of pointed wires inserted from the inside of the

Cy» Up through the wings beneath the skin, as far as the

epus, or fore arm. The wire can also be inserted from

the outside near the joint of the carpus, and be foreed down

the Wing between the skin and the bone, and thence trans-

versely through the artificial body, into which it is fastened

ee moins of ahook. These wires should be inserted before

as leg "Wires are placed in position, and hooked into the

“cial body, as in the former case. An interesting -—

200 HINTS ON TAXIDERMY.

tude is when a bird is about to take flight. In this position

the body should incline forward, and the wings be slightly

raised ; this can be aecomplished by means of external wires

placed beneath them, which are allowed to remain until the

bird is dry. The moment of alarm is a striking position.

To express this, the one foot must be stretched forward aud

the other drawn up near the body, and considerably bent.

The body must be thrown to one side, with the wing on that

side much elevated and spread out, while the other is placed

lower and less diffuse; the tail must be expanded, thrown

down at the point, and much arched; the neck should be

stretched upward, and the head inclined towards the foot,

which is drawn up; the eyelid should also be well rounded.

The eagle can be placed in the position of seizing its prey,

with wings and tail expanded, head thrown backward and

crest erect, gazing upward. The vulture should have droop-

ing wings to portray its sluggish habits. Such descriptions

are endless, and indeed needless to a student of nature in

its various details.

Remarks upon preparing, relaxing, and mounting dried

skins. —The bird should be skinned in the ordinary manner,

leaving all the bones of wings in their places, and the skin

thoroughly anointed with arsenical soap. The neck should.

then be stuffed with chopped tow or cotton to its natural

dimensions. The upper points of the humeri should be

tied together at a distance from each other equal to that of

the same when fixed in their sockets, otherwise the distance

between the shoulder joints. The skin should next be filled

with cotton or tow, and the incision sewed up, the legs

turned inwards, crossed, and tied in this position, with à —

label attached containing descriptions. 1

One of the most efficacious methods of relaxing dried

_ skins, is that employed by the ingenious Mr. Bullock. A

box is made of convenient size, the top of which is free to

lift on and off, without hinges or fastenings. The sides, toP

bottom within are lined with a coating of plaster of

HINTS ON TAXIDERMY. 201

Paris, two or three inches thick. When any skins are to be

relaxed, fill the box with water, and in this condition allow

it to stand over night; in the morning any water remaining

can be poured off, and the skins placed within. The lid of

the box, being grooved, will shut close, and the wooden sides

will prevent evaporation from going on. The box should be

set in some damp situation. In twenty-four or forty-eight

hours the skins will be sufficiently soft and pliant for mount-

ing. It is necessary before placing the skins within the box,

to render the feet and the bill pliable, that these parts should

be enclosed in dampened rags or tow. Before moistening,

the body should be opened and the inside stuffing taken out

With the forceps. Another method is to fill the skin (the

former stuffing having been previously removed) with cot-

ton or rags saturated with water, enveloping it with a damp

cloth, having wrapped the bill and feet as above stated. The

former is preferable, as the latter does not relax all the parts

equally. In some cases, however, especially with those of

the aquatic families, it is necessary to prepare them after the

latter plan, and in this condition to place them in the box

described above.

The general method pursued in mounting dried skins is

the same as that practiced upon fresh specimens. Difficulty

18 often experienced in placing the leg wires in position from

the dry and shrivelled condition of the tarsi; this may be

overcome by perforating them with the awl used for that

purpose (recommended in the former article upon mamma-

lia) previous to inserting the wires. With many of the skins

of South American birds, prepared by the natives, a proper

adjustment of the wings:is found to be impossible. In this

Case it is necessary to cut them off close to the body, and fix

them anew. In replacing the wings the scapulars should be

carefully arranged to effectually conceal the joining of the

_ Wings. Any feathers disarranged in the operation should be

_ Properly adjusted with the small forceps.— To be continued.

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. IH. 26

A FISH FARM.

BY E. DEXTER.

Fig. 39.*

Tue Fish-hatching establishment at West Barnstable was

begun in the spring of 1868. The experiments have as yet

been confined mostly to trout, of which we have hatched this

year some 60000, as well as 2000 salmon ova w hich were

procured in New Brunswick by the State Commissioners of

Fisheries, by whom they were presented to us. As the pro-

cess of hatching goes on during the transport of the eggs in

wet moss, we lost several by pe hatching on the way iu

the cars.

The place selected for building the ponds to contain the

parent trout, was a swampy piece of land at the head of a

brook of considerable size, running into the salt water after

a course of a mile and a half or two miles, and containing

half dozen or more pure springs, the waters of which formed

enin ATION OF FIG , X, X, springs. a, a, a, drains. C, hate shing

hot D, represents a series sót ponas for young fish. E, E, pawning ways. b,b

sanam troughs. pex hc two ponds ; E, E, E, are fo

— | ropresented by —— d lines, on ika right c

ponds represen roposed s

tank is also placed at this point, rers by the X on ie left of this series of propo*

ponds.

(202)

——— ————

A FISH FARM. 203

the fountain head of the stream. Two ponds have thus far

been made by excavation, each about forty feet long by

twenty feet wide, and from three to four and a half feet

deep. They are connected together, the same water being

used for both ponds. The supply of water is about eighteen

square inches, and is taken from tanks made of plank, vary-

ing in size from ten to fifteen feet in length, and from four

to ten feet in breadth, sunk in the soft mud at the points

where the springs came to the surface, and as deep as was

hecessary to reach the substratum of sand, which was gen-

erally about five feet. These ‘tanks have no bottom planks,

and the water wells up through the sand at the bottom, form-

ing reservoirs of living water of even temperature, summer

and winter, and not subject to freshet or variation in quan-

tity. The temperature of the springs varies but little from

48° throughout the year.

There are now about seven hundred parent trout in the

two ponds, ranging from three-quarters of a pound to three

Pounds in weight. It is calculated that the first pond will

sustain over 2000 fish of the larger size, while in the second

three times that number of smaller fish will thrive. This is

allowing one large fish or three of the smaller size to the

cubic foot.

They.are fed daily with live minnows and shrimp caught

9n the adjacent salt marshes, or, when they cannot be con-

veniently obtained, with chopped liver, the roe of codfish,

ete. The ponds are stoned, and one of them which was

built in low wet land, is cemented on each side of the stones.

Having learned by former experience that trout will spawn

in the pond, and the ova: thus be lost if its bottom is sandy

°F gravelly, we covered the bottom, where its nature seemed

to invite the fish to this operation, with flat stones, thus

obviating the difficulty so far as we have observed. Aquatic -

Plants, mosses, etc., were introduced and now cover the bot-

tom, not only providing a large amount of food in the form

x Crustacea, snails, ete., but also supplying to the water

204 A FISH FARM.

the necessary chemical elements which are being constantly

exhausted by the respiration of the fish.

The water enters each pond through a plank trough, the

sides of which are sunk nearly to the level of the ground.

These troughs are fifty feet long and three and a half feet

wide, and are filled to the depth of six inches with coarse

gravel, over which there are six inches of water flowing with

a slight eurrent'to the ponds. As it is the habit of the trout

to soni shallow running streams to spawn, they eagerly re-

sort to these spawning ways when ready, and are taken by

closing the bottom of the way, and driving the fish into à

bag net at its entrance into the pond. They are then re-

moved in tubs of water to the hatching house, for the pur-

pose of taking the ova from the female and impregnating

them with the milt of the male fish. The modus operandi

is as follows : The female fish is grasped with one hand by

the back and shoulders, the vent being held under the sur-

face of the water in a tin pan or other vessel partly filled,

while with the other hand the abdomen is gently rubbed or

pressed toward the vent. If the ova are mature and ready

to be shed, a slight pressure is sufficient to extrude them.

The same operation is then gone through with the male; if

his milt is mature, it will ow i in a small quantity into the

vessel. A few drops are sufficient to impregnate thousands

of eggs. The milt and the ova are then gently stirred to-

gether, and allowed to remain undisturbed for five or ten

minutes. The water is then poured off, new water is gently

admitted to wash the eggs, and they are n to be placed

in the hatching troughs.

It may be as well to state here that the spawning time

` for trout is from October till March, the principal spawning

months being November and December. It is generally cal-

culated that a trout weighing one pound will produce 1000

eggs ; the larger and smaller ones in the same general pro-

portion. 4I Nds known, however, during the past season. 3

trout of less than half a pound in weight, to deliver 1000

eggs by actual count,

A FISH FARM. 205

The first requisite now is a supply of pure spring water

for hatehing the eggs,— neither too warm nor too cold.

From 45° to 509 is the best. Every degree warmer or

colder will make from six to eight days difference in the

time of hatching. From 37° to 54° is considered the limit

within which to hatch trout. By a calculation in Mr. Nor-

ris’ book (“American Fish Culture”), it will take one hun-

dred and sixty-five days with water at 37°, and thirty-two

days with water at 54°.

The hatching house in the establishment we have spoken

of is a wooden building twenty feet long by twelve feet

Fig. 40.

wide, into which water is admitted about three feet above

the level of the floor, from springs immediately in the rear,

enclosed in sunken tanks as before described, and covered

So as to be out of reach of cold or heat. To enable the

water to be brought in at this height from the floor, the

house is sunk three feet in the ground, and the boards are

covered with a heavy coat of pitch inside and out, to a point

Above the level of the surrounding ground to prevent their

rotting. The amount of water now used in the house is

What will flow through two faucets, one inch in diameter,

with a moderate pressure. This is led in the first instance

Into a straining trough (Fig. 40, a), running across the width

of the building, where it passes through flannel strainers (4)

to insure its purity. It then flows into a distributing trough

(^), which is parallel to the straining trough and a few inches

lower, from which, by means of faucets, it is let on to the

hatching troughs in such quantity as may be best.

206 A FISH FARM.

The hatching troughs (Fig. 40, e) are placed at right an-

gles to the others, and are sixteen feet long, fifteen inches

wide, and eight inches deep, and are six in number with cov-

ers upon hinges, the top of them being about fifteen inches

from the floor. They are lined with slate, one-half of an

inch thick, upon the sides and bottom, with transverse sub-

divisions; every two feet made of the same material and two

inches in height. A fungus growth, very detrimental to the

ova, is unavoidable when wood only is used. The bottom

of the troughs is covered with about one inch of moder-

ately fine gravel, and over it flows a constant stream of

screened spring water about an inch deep, the lower end

of the trough being depressed two inches. On this gravel

the impregnated ova are placed in a single layer. In about

three weeks the eyes can be seen in the impregnated eggs,

appearing simply as two black specks; the blood-vessels of

the future fish may also be seen, and from this time its de-

velopment may be traced daily in the shell. With the tem-

perature of the water at 489, we may look for the hatching

of the ova from the forty-fifth to the fiftieth day. A trout

just hatehed is about three-eighths of an inch in length, and

has attached to it an umbilical sac of several times its own

bulk, which sustains the young fish for about forty days,

when it is absorbed. The young fish may now be let out

into the waters it is desired to stock. They will thrive if

placed in a brook even at this early age, such waters sup-

plying an abundance of minute particles of food. If reared

in confinement, however, they must be fed with raw liver

chopped to the consistency of blood and mixed with water,

with the yolk of eggs grated very fine and treated in the

same way, or thin sour curds. The latter food is perhaps

the best as it sinks more slowly, and trout seize their food

tn transitu, paying little attention to it after it reaches the

. We have sought only to give guch a general description

of a fish breeding establishment, and of the habits and treat-

CEPS SUE ESE VOI er ee NUS ema FESTUM ER DS ee et RT PEE

CEPS Iur Rea SINIT TET

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. - 207

ment of the fish, as would give some idea of the practical

parts of the art of pisciculture. There are many details con-

nected with the subject which we have not touched upon.

They can be found very thoroughly treated of in any of the

modern works on pisciculture, of which Norris’ “American

Fish Culture” is the latest and most practical.

In the above all general considerations have been avoided.

It would, perhaps, have been as well to have stated that the

arguments in favor of artificial hatching of eggs is based on

the small proportion of them that are hatched when deposi-

ted in a stream, by the fish following the course of nature,

and the very large proportion when hatched by artificial

arrangement. The many enemies of fish spawn (other fish,

water insects, birds, rats, not to speak of sediment, fresh-

ets, ice, etc., etc.) reduce the number of the eggs sadly. It

been calculated by English pisciculturalists that nót one

salmon reaches the proper size for the table out of every

t ousand eges deposited in the stream. As the salmon

migrates to the sea when weighing only a few ounces, it

would, however, be more subject to casualty than the trout.

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

BY C. B. BRIGHAM.

(Continued from page 136.)

We have seen that the aquarium is to be distinguished

from the common fish-globe by its self-supporting character.

We have examined in a general way the philosophy of the

"quatium and concluded that the rectangular tank was the

most useful one to have. Let us now look for a situation

tor the tank before the specimens are placed within it R

I5 desirable that the sun should shine upon the tank for at

. 7 an hour during the day ; an eastern or southern aspect

208 THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

then is the best for this purpose. This is especially true in

the winter time, while in summer a northern aspect would

be preferred, as the water in the aquarium is apt to be over-

heated by the sun during the hot months. One trouble

which arises from too much sun is this: that the small green

plants of conferva grow very rapidly upon the qium and

stones, obstructing Nm view of the inside of the pite and

rendering the stones very hard to clean when taken out.

These confervee do not injure the water at all; they even

give out oxygen as other plants, and it seems as if it werea

provision of nature,that they should render the glass opaque

so as to protect the inmates of the tank from injury. This

confervoid growth is not essential to the welfare of the tank

if it is péunely stocked with other plants, and it is desira-

ble to have as little as possible of it. To effect this, a wide

screen, or a simple sheet of brown paper, so placed as to

shut out the sunlight from the tank will answer the purpose;

or by pulling the window shade down when the sun shines

upon the tank; or, what is best, by placing a row of plants

with full foliage between the tank and the window, we have

other means of obviating the difficulty.

Whether the sun shines upon the tank or not, a fresh-water

aquarium should have all the daylight it can get, both for its

own welfare and for our own convenience in examination.

lam convinced that this is correct from my own experience,

although Mr. Hibberd, a good authority on aquarial matters,

says to the contrary : "A full flood of daylight is more harm

than. good, a frequency of sunshine destructive, and the ten-

ants of an aquarium are seen to better advantage in a vessel

d from above only." Before any specimens are intro-

ned. into the tank, it should be thoroughly washed out and

the glass cleaned on all sides, as this is the only time When

it can be done to advantage. "We are sure then that no im-

purity of any kind will thus far hinder the success of the

aquarium. The tank then is ready for the rock-work. This

rock-work is useful: first, as a shelter for the animals, some

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 209

of them being averse to the light if it is strong; second, as

à means of concealing the sediment which, without doing

any material injury, so mars the beauty of an aquarium;

third, as a means for anchoring in their proper place the

plants we put in; fourth, and lastly, to make the effect of

the aquarium more like nature.

It is generally thought that most water-plants, to do well

in an aquarium, must have soil to grow in as well as land-

plants, and that a layer of earth or sand must be spread over

the bottom of the tank for the roots; this is found by ex-

perience to be a mistake. No earth nor sand is required

for the plants which grow best in the aquarium. Either is

Very apt to spoil the water after remaining in contact with

it a short time. Coarse sand is, to be sure, sometimes used

When we have animals in the tank whose nature it is to bur-

TOW, but even then only in a small quantity placed near a

corner of the tank. Some of the small lilies grow better if.

they have a cubic inch of peat attached to their roots. This

" small quantity does not injure the water, however long it

may remain in it, and. is often very useful. In general,

however, if the plants are placed right side up, among small

stones about the size of a fresh pea, they will grow to any

extent, seldom throwing out roots of any kind.

e want, then, a layer of small stones on the bottom,

about an inch in thickness; this will be sufficient to bury the

ends of the plants in, and to conceal all the sediment which

may collect, at the same time giving depth enough for the

Mussels to burrow in. The stones used with tar for the tops

of houses are about the right size for this layer, and. on the -

top of it some larger stones about the size of an almond

may be seattered here and there. As to the color of the

stones this may add greatly to the effect. If we can have

the patience to pick out for ourselves the white and varie-

ated stones from the beaches, we shall be amply repaid by

their appearance in water. White stones give a brighter

look to the inside of the tank than dark-colored ones, and

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 27 :

210 THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

they show off the green plants much better; but they also

show the green confervoid growths growing upon them much

sooner than dark stones, and are much harder to clean after

they have once become green. This difficulty of cleaning

can be remedied by bering two sets of stones, one being

buried in damp sand while the other is in use. Were the

beautiful stones of almost fabulous brilliancy which cover

the San Mateo beach, near San Francisco, as common on our

shores, we should have a famous groundwork for the aqua-

rium. After the layer of small stones has been evenly

spread upon the bottom of the tank, we may arrange the

rock-work in the centre in the following way, which seems to

be a good one, because by it we avoid using cement, which

makes a tank look altogether too artificial, and we get a

strong piece of work giving sufficient shelter to the animals,

and one that will not be likely to fall down and injure the

glass of the tank. It consists, essentially, of a series of

three stone bridges, the one above being smaller than the

one below. If the tank is small one or two bridges may be

all sufficient. -We take then two or more pieces of stone,

having very rough edges so as to look more natural, and

place them about a foot apart if the tank will admit of such

a width, making a height of about two inches. Upon the

tops of these pillars of support we place a thin flat stone,

largé enough to rest firmly on them, and even lap over an

inch or so on each side; then upon this flat stone we place

the pillars of another bridge, having the next flat stone

somewhat smaller than the other, and so on until we have

made so many bridges that the top one will just rest upon

the surface of the water. The distance between these flat

stones may vary according to the fancy of the builder. The

top stone makes a little Saad; and gives a chance for such

animals as tritons and turtles to come out and sun them-

selves or take the air. Another use which this top stone

may be put to is this,—to support a small collection of

kn plants, making a great ornament to the aquarium.

Dei ane NEEE pees ae ee ers Meningie Fe MAP

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 211

Many of the fern-like mosses found growing on the rocks in

damp places in the woods, or the swamp cowslips or vio-

lets, or the delicate plants of sundew (Drosera rotundifolia),

or some of the kinds of arrowheads (Sagittaria), do per-

fectly well if planted in a very small quantity of soil upon

this top stone. Our native pitcher plant (Sarracenia pur-

purea), and the red cardinal plant (Lobelia cardinalis),

seem especially adapted for this purpose. If we take the

former plant up in the fall and keep it growing upon the top

stone until March, it will then begin to throw out its buds,

and, before long, blossom most curiously. The latter plant

seems to do best when taken up with the buds just appear-

ing, and it will last long enough in flower to repay one for

all the trouble of transplanting it. Various other means of

beautifying the top stone may be adopted. If we wish a

smali collection of tropical ferns, and have room enough, we

may cover them with a glass shade and have a diminutive

Wardian-case, forming a part of the aquarium.

t is the custom with many to make a mound of marine-

shells, or of coral, in the centre of the tank; besides being

dangerous to the water from the difficulty of getting them

perfectly clean, they seem quite out of place, not only be-

Cause they are foreign to fresh water, but because it seems

that the aquarium should be a place for living, not for dead

Specimens. It is far better to avoid putting in any shells,

Wever beautiful they may be in the cabinet. Having com-

pleted the rock-work, and washed every stone carefully as it

'5 put in, the plants are next to be attended to. In fresh-

Water plants we have for the most part to deal with the dif- .

ferent shades of green, while in salt-water plants the colors

are varied and brilliant. ^ There is, however, this advantage

T fresh-water plants, that almost all of them will grow well

CONS properly managed aquarium, while only the very green

ones of the salt-water plants are likely to flourish under the

“ame conditions. One great drawback to the growth of

.. "quarial plants is the change of the water from a higher to a

212 ; REVIEWS.

lower temperature, or the reverse. It is also sometimes

found difficult to grow several kinds in one tank success-

fully. ` The common water-cress (Nasturtium officinale), for

example, found mostly in cold springs and their brooks, will

do well with water starwort (Callitriche verna), a plant

growing in a similar situation, if the water in the tank is

kept at a low temperature; but at a moderately high one

grows long and rank, and finally decays. So again many

plants which grow in brooks or rivers, and had become

aceustomed to be constantly moved by a current, when

placed in the still water of an aquarium inevitably mould

away.— To be continued.

REVIEWS.

———9Oo.———

E BUTTERFLIES OF New ENGLAND. — The notice in our last number

of Mr. Scudder's promised work on New England Butterflies, has already

brought many welcome responses. A number of living butterflies have

been sent in cotton wool, and although a day upon their journey, were

received alive and in good condition; those who live near Boston might

try this method, but we think that most persons would be interested in

raising the larve themselves. In attempting to obtain eggs for this pur-

pose, it js better not to select the freshest butterflies, as their eggs Will

often prove undeveloped, or at least unimpregnated. It should also be

remembered that the males usually appear about a week before the fe-

made about a fortnight after the species is first observed. The following

butterflies can be experimented upon by the time these lines meet the

reader's eye pid oleracea, rape and Protodice; Colias Philodice ; AN

thocaris Genutia ; Chrysophanus Americanus; Lycena Lucia and Comyntas

Thecla Anbar na, Niphon, Augustus and Henrici; Argynnis Bellona ;

ui, Huntera and Atalanta; Vanessa Milberti and interroga-

ia Massasoit, Quadaquina, Pocahontas, Metea and others.

= he: he following species, the earlier stages of Witch ase unknown, probably

on the plants specified : — Anthocaris Genutia on cruciferous plants;

peris Lucia on buckthorn; Thecla Auburniana on smilax; T. Niphon on

pine; 7. Augustus and Henrici on vaccinium; Argynnis Bellona on vio-

lets or or raspberry ; and the different species of Hesperia on poplar; scrub

Aat EL

REVIEWS. 115

and iiaii mass of learning and research, and has established, I

conclusions advocated by Dr. Smitt will be finally adopted, is a question

am not qualified to discuss. Prof. Andersson has described a new grass

(Colpodium Malmgreni). Dr. Cleve has reviewed the Diatomaces, and

r. Lindberg the mosses of Spitzberg, while Prof. Heer* has reprae

the fossil (miocene) plants of Spitzber g and Walrussia, and D ind-

stróm has analyzed some of the rocks of Spitzberg. But b itid these

efforts of a more Special character have been made the sitire en-

deavors characteristic of the pupils of Linneeus, to clear up the fauna,

flora, and mineral wealth of Sweden itself. I cannot here enumerate all

rs relating to this subject, but will only state that you will find

several local faunas and floras, as well as special or local lists of "ome

classes of plants or animals, i. e., of the fishes of Finmarken, with m

" a us

cite the iovis of Prof. remitir “Characteristics of Annulata”

collected during the voyage of the ** Eugenie,” a sort of prodromus of the

elabora qoe nibus to be given in the report of that son published

ed a

Prof.

Kinberg has also published a "e on the “ Origin of the second cervical

Vertebra torii in Mammals, through the fusion together of two

Vertebrge n Mammalia, generally, the odontoid process is separated

epistrop

ostical review of the Hemiptera (Reduviade, Hyd

ete.) will, I do not doubt, add to the author's high reputation for accu-

racy and acumen, and might the more be recommended to the attention

of American entomologists, since many American bugs are reviewed in

Papers, which, written in Latin, are quite accessible to men of all

“A more detailed account is to be found in Prof. Heer's great work. “ Flora fossilis Arctica,”

dependent Mt Prineipatly on materials emia together | by Santon sage vian travellers and natural-

216 REVIEWS.

nations. Dr. Ljungman’s descriptions of new Ophiuride, and his useful

synopsis of all the known genera and species, with several new forms of

both categories should next be noticed. Also Prof. Lovén`s description

f a new genus (or subgenus?) of Crinoids of the, Antedon tribe (Phanoge-

nia typica) from India. His description of Leskia mirabilis, confirming the

presence of the valvulate peristome and oe ascribed to this curious

interesting analogy with the Cystidex, idend e some very valuidi

observations upon the structure of this ancient type (vide the nepos

Japanese Glass-ropes had epee been erroneously represented as if

down.t (T

of Natural History. s Dr. Lindstróm has described a new spe-

cies in ie brachiopodous genus Trimerella, from the Silurian limestone

of zeba and added some important features to the knowledge of this

singular ge He has also continued his valuable metn on the

a ‘aside of that island, with the description of a and sup-

posed true coral ( Calocystis cribraria), of the tribe bue. ony, from

that remote epoch, and a new operculated species of Cysti Num. Dr.

phylloid corals had apparently widened the gap between these ancient

* Pseudo-corals" (Anthozoa rugosa and tabulata), and the true corals o

later epochs, but the recent discoveries by Dr. Duncan of some presumed

transitional forms between both types, and the striking analogy pointed

inds à fE

acters thinie he formerly eaten: Finally I ‘shall cite Dr. Thorell’s in-

teresting note on Aranea lobata Pallas, demonstrating its identity with

Argiope sericea Oliv. (translated in the ** Annals"); also Prof. Elias Fries

— ad synonymiam Hieraciorum. r. Raupach's notes on pe earth-

quake at St. Pill. November 18, and December 11, 1867 r. Lin

gus "Interesting PESSE penne? ~ popular belief a

ws and sheep

(also | antelopes) have the dse peee of cenis their own after-

ipe: Prof. Steenberg's suggestions on the applicability of lichens t

grape-sugar and alcohol, might perhaps also be of im-

iiem

o ec Mr. E. Billings, in the “Canadian Naturalist and Geologist,”

: rime. fariner knowlege of the “Hyalonema,” from Santa Cruz, mentioned some years

e Ya as existing in the i be very

Section of Acad. Nat. ‘Science, Phila., Oct. 5, —

cat.—EDs.

REVIEWS. 217

portance to other northern countries, where lichens are abundant; and

Mr. v. Post's observations on the so-termed “ giant-kettles” (kettle-

Shaped excavations in rocks, with whorl-like or spiral striations, evi-

dently produced by water-whorls turning stones around along with them)

as drawing their origin from the waters rushing vertically down through

local cracks in glaciers (the so-termed ‘‘ moulins ”) throw farther light

on the great glacial epoch and the monuments it left behind; no doubt

also North America will furnish numerous instances of the phenomena

interpreted so successfully by Mr. v. Post.

ough we are now connected by railways with the Swedish capital, I

must confess that the last volume of the “ Transactions of the Royal

new' series, or that for 1865-66; it would therefore strictly fall behind

the limits of this review; but as it bears the year 1867 on the foot of the

title page, I presume that some of its parts have been published so late

y £

One hundred and five species are described in this work by the learned

author, who through many years made this genus his favorite study, and

whose well deserved reputation will recommend his work to the atten-

tion of all botanists, as being that of the first authority on the subject.

Mr. Zetterstedt has examined the flora of Smaland (a province of Swe-

n). To Durir and Nordenskjold we owe contributions to the geogra-

While Nordenskjold has published a geological description of it (with

charts and profiles), and Lindstróm has described its Triassic and Juras-

sic fossils. Of the contents of the later volumes, if such have appeared,

t h

thing has been published during the biennium, and the same must be

Said of Sundevall’s unfinished “Birds of Sweden.” You will find in it

plates), containing also an elaborate synopsis of all known genera

f “Whal Whales,” among which the author distin-

ess than ten generic subdivi As the memoir is written

218 REVIEWS.

Dr. Cleve has contributed a monograph of the Swedish Zygnemacee (a

tribe of confervoid Algz), illustrated by ten beautiful plates; seven gen-

era and twenty-five species are described, and they appear (I am 0

course not competent to judge) to be treated of with that care and ability

that one.is accustomed to find in the countrymen of Linnzus. As all de-

" scriptions are > translated into Latin, the paper will cay be esee to

al. The versity of Lund has published two volumes of “Act a Uni-

versitatis genome for 1866 and ’67. Dr. Olss Stee in full aula

the Cestoidea and Trematoda, eating by — in Scandinavian fishes;

he scrutinized no less than specimens of fishes, belonging to seventy-

six species, and pua tifty-six species of fully- EERE parasitic Platy-

mintha. Diagnoses of all the species are given in Eatin, and five plates

Iofosoris; a line of research in which little or nothing has been done in

Scandinavia since the time of O. Fr. Müller. Dr. Lyttkens has described

ster), with two plates, and in future parts will treat of the integument,

etc., of Lithodes, Gádchr and Pagurus. Prof. Wahlgrén has described

nd fi h

some valuable additions to the knowledge of its y. pecies

is the greater one of th ecies commonly confounded under the collec-

tive name of ** Orthagoriscus mola,” and the only one hitherto observed

on the American shores of the Atlantic; while the smaller species (M.

Retzii) is only found on the European side of , M. nasus,

"o is des no means un on; the Petru ug characters were

pointe y Prof. Steenstrup and myself in Agardh has

nly

in fact, only the metamorphosed leaf); also some interesting researches

on the history of the Scandinavian flora; based principally on its geo-

graphical distribution (with two charts). He points out the vestiges of

three cinta È e., that of the Arctic flora, which towards the close of

the glacial iberia; the eastern and north-

eastern (Altaic) element, which at a later time, en the glacial epoch

and before the appearance of the Fagus sylvestris, wandered into Europe

glacial phenomena in Southern Sweden, illustrated by a very in-

aart, showing the disetion of the e ice-tracks. Dr. Lundgrén

MESSA

pM M a ue a RECESSO Eu I soe.

stop

Se aria te

REVIEWS. 219

has undertaken the critical determination and description of the petrifac-

tions of the recently discovered Faxe-limestone in Scan — while

Dr. Tórnkrist has studied the geological structure and chronol

layer in Scandinavia, and of its rare and highly enigmatical fossil remains,

closes this very creditable series of scientific contributions published by

our sister University.

Among the papers published in the ‘‘Botaniske Notiser,” 1867 and ’68

(edited by Prof. Th. Fries, at Upsala), I must cite Prof. Andersson's, on

abies should be onere noticed by botanists and cep EHE

n every volume of this highly esteemed journal, a complete annual list

* given of all eie papers published in Sweden, Norway and Den

waa

hot but believe that Prof. Erdmann’s synopsis of the results arrived at,

and the researches carried out in Sweden, must be of great importance

the geologists of all northern countries where similar a occur.

The topic of “The Glacial Epoch in Northern Europe” has also been

! treated of in a more popular manner by Dr. Paykull, in a ane ie mph-

et.

9f the Royal Society of Géteborg). Though the fourth part had been

Printed as early as 1863, it was not, I believe, circulated before the last

year, and I shall therefore gin» a review of the differe

: arine Mol

nt chapters: “a List

llusca observed in the brackish water of Géteborg, and in

_ the estuary of the Góta-elf;" “a Monograph of the Syrphici (a family of

220 REVIEWS.

Diptera) of Scandinavia and Finland”; **a Review of the Scandina-

vian Petromyzontide,” in which the author Es a new terminology of

the teeth of these fishes, divides the old gen etromyzon into Lam-

petra (marina Linn.) and Petromyzon ( eodd dual and E and

cites for the first time P. Omalii B., as found in Scandinavia. The

neri of Heckel and Kner, he holds to be distinct from that of Mi ees

sea a list of Fishes, Crustacea 2 Mollusca, new to the Scandinavian

fauna, i. e., Scomber grex Mitchell?, Scopelus Krüyeri (n. sp.), Accipenser

iss nes Sp.); — tenuicornis (n. sp.), Vanbenedenia Mets (a

new genus and species, with figures of a crustacean parasitic on Chi-

mæra, bus Puis ien. hed to the apex of the dorsal spine), pence tumt-

dula (n. x JL Turbonilla umbilicaris (n. sp.), Trophon Morchii (n. sp-); à

N mnca limo

on Limnc ic me the author unites a series of

fo c nly regarded as distinct species (L. Balthica, L

limosa, Bennetti, succinea, vulgaris, ovata, peregra), but forming in fact

unin up f varieties, no t derived from the different ex

rnal agencies and local circumstances that have affected their life and

external fo arks on Monstrosities occasioned by a Sygna-

thus typhie, with a double caudal fin; onog the Hirudinec of

imals. The same active zoólogist has also published, in French, &

Monographie illustrée d'une Ballinoptére fronde le 2° Oct., 1866, sur la

identa Su

cote occ e de Sué It is well printed and illustrated by à series

of photographs, but not of that scientific importance which might have

en anti at n the other hand y be argued that the authors

skin, . in such a state that it gives a faithful ropseumtution of the ani-

mal’s appearance, deserves to be fully acknowledged, the more as his

health suffered by this gigantic work, and the expense was not repaid by

the exhibition of a ** Malmo Whale," at Stockholm and elsewhere. Phe

species Malm describes as new (M. De but it has been noticed by

Messrs. Flower and Reinhardt to be most likely the Balenoptera Sibbatdti

Gray. The same author has also contributed some notes on ts me ton

Of B: ig Rp to the ** Proceedings of the Macs Swedish Academy."

From Finland — that last outpost of Scandinavian civilization towards

: nace South —I hav

s rine een, as you ou will learn from a Fe by Prof. Fljelt, «On the

. Contributions d People of Yiiénd.: No.

* E bla Dy n the Society of Science at ce i ae dn

deed “ Geological Observations on the South-weste |

is Scientiarum Fennice (vol. aes P ro

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 221

Miklin has published an elaborate monograph of the Strongylium-tribe

(heteromerous Coleoptera), with four plates. An interesting biography

ef the late Prof. Nordenskjold, the celebrated mineralogist and geologist,

is also cea in the same volume. In the * Proceedings of the Finnish

pus Society of Science" Prof. Luther has p MM smaller botani-

; cal papers, i. e., ** On a New Species of Pimelia ( P. vividula) and Musschea

(M. pallescens)" ; ; and ** On an abnormal fA ciento in “punta etc.

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

BOTANY.

EW FRaGARIA. — The Fragaria which I venture, after a careful ex-

Mr. F. Mack. Only o Lar survived the journey. From that origi-

Hated the extensive "plantatio of J. P. Whiting & Co., of Detroit, who

9f the genus which bears its achene es, or carpels, superficially on the re-

de and is Tape rm from all its congeners by its dichotomous

m and racemose flow.

dg justice to Henry eina Esq., the active and meritorious botanist

first indicated its claims to specific rank, as well as in token of my

vam SOBRE for pue : prea for it the name of Fragaria Gillmani ;

and I characterizé it t

pis intone Deu dichotomo. foliis ternatis, foliolis petiolatis,

= aphroditis racemosis, carpellibus —Ó libus.

I annex a detailed description furnished by Mr. Gillman:

dag a Psi ca than the leaves, dichotomous, racemose, many-flowered, b "we:

pedu liate leaf variously situated from below the middle to the summi

le, Which i3 clothed w ith a spreading or deflexed “ir bescence, more silky,

EN ften cleft or >

the roundish

much Smaller t ‘than the Fruit drooping,

l int segments, s ovato Janceolate

Wat where. erior which nón rus: pagi cuc; ors arte

fragrant; achenia numerous,

Jer coniu for, grateflly sone mb-acid, singularly

2292 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

superficial (not sunk in pits), closely — ee surface of the berry, which is pro-

kun se sly from June to November. pagating very rapidly by stolons of

also by side stools or offshoots bond ihe central crown, which are tuberous

at cantly separated. Height of plant twelve to fifteen inches. Perennial; May to

November. —[G. W. CLINTON, Buffalo.

ZOOLOGY.

w SALAMANDER. — Prof. E. D. Cope informs us that he has just dis-

Pria an inter ipie genus of Aen nders from Mexico. It differs

from Sperlerpes, in having the parietal and palatine bones unossified, and

the inner nares Medie bite the orbits. The phenygoid teeth are in one

The tail is as long as the head and body together. The total length is

only two inches. It has a pale dorsal band and black sides. A female

specimen contained eggs one line in diameter. He has called the species,

which is a new generic type, Thorius pennatribus

BREEDING OF Rare Birps. -Mr. G. A. Boardman, of Milltown, Me.

ing birds in the spring of 1868 :—Gos-hawk, Canada Jay, White- winged

Crossbill, Pine Finch, and the Pine Grosbeak.

TENNESSEE WARBLER.— In the June (1868) Naruraist, Mr. Tri pp i

his interesting sedi: visis that this warbler is not found in nie

England, or only as a straggler. With us it is one of our very common.

twentieth of May, A few remain through the season. — G. A. BOARDMAN;

PrncHiNG oF Witson’s SNIPE. — In the August (1868) NATURALIST you

ask if, ud Mr. Pope, any one has observed Wilson's Snipe on trees?

This is not an uncommon habit of the bird, when you are taking its nest

or catching its young; but I have never observed it at any other time.

Of our sixteen species p ducks, I have observed the same thing in all

but two, when trying to catch their young. — G. A. B.

MICROSCOPY.

YPE-PLATE OF DraTOMs.— Möller of Wedel, Holstein, has accom-

plished the most Vieira feat of modern manipulation, with the ex-

ssor of two. “The diatoms (four hundred species in all), arranged

by genera and species, form groups of one hundred, set with the most

: try, and the whole occupies a space of about

ceo of an inch. Each slide is a cabinet, —a collection in Ít-

self, s accompanied by a catalogue of its contents. This one is

called the "Type Plate, and cost $40.00. The ‘Test Plate,’ non ss

operator, contains, set in one row with the most perfect

tn Mn order of difficulty.”

PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.

——Ó———

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF ScIENCE.— The

Eighteenth Meeting of the Association -— be held in SALEM, commenc-

cess, aud a large attendance from all parts of the ears is peir

An interesting feature of the meeting is anticipated in the posed

microscopical gathering, and a large room will be spe ditidiv advo i the

display of Microscopes, and all that pertains thereto. The Local Com-

mittee respectfully requests all persons having first- ols instruments,

em to the meeting, and also apta apparatus as they have

found useful in their manipulation. Agents and makers of verior

are requested to bring specimens of their Foris manufactures.

n the afternoon of the first day of the meeting, the Association will be

E invited to assist in the dedication of the Museum of the Peabody Academy

2 of Science. The Rooms of the Ersex Institute and of the Academy, also

those of other institutions of the c ity, will be open during the meeting.

the County Court Houses which furt nish most ample accommodation for

the different sections and committees. The office of the Local Commit-

tee will be at the new Court House, where members will be conducted

immediately on their arrival in the city.

A circular giving all necessary information relating to the meeting,

be sent to any one requesting it, on application to the Local Secre-

ty. The volume of Proceedings for the Chicago meeting is now nearly

ined and will be ready for delivery at this meeting.

rson wishing to join the Association can report his name to any

of the Be es. The entrance fee is $5, and the annual assessment is

$3, including the price of the yearly volume of Proceedings.

rther information relating to the Association can be had by address-

ing the Local Secretary, F. W. Purxam, Salem, Mase

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

‘not: ; Tabor, Tarrant Co., Iowa.— The i re the casts of the crinoid stems

Ml a mpressio €

fossil in the rock, from which the pebbles were were originally br brokenof. — —

kfield, s sent were undoubtedly the fungus

nnm of the ren Bug ag (Lachinost lerna usca), -— has been described and d agured

: ent Repo the Insects of Missouri injurious kopat s

4 Albany "e m TOU n anks

E e are ire seve , iie po gree were apte ie -— ti ks for them.

(223)

224 BOOKS RECEIVED.

A. H. G., Plymouth, Ind.— Parasitic worms, in various stages of development, are

commonly’ found in fishes, and it is most probable that every Hed gran: P several

distinct kinds of parasitic worms living eit M in e intesti ines b liver e p. 2

W. C. C., Ithaca, N. Y. — The Milleped is

—Ó.»— —

ORRECTIONS. — Dr. Cooper, of San Francisco (who did not see the proofs of his

ari e on * The Fauna of Montana Territory"), writes us to make the following cor-

rection

ol. II, p. 530, line 22, for Mauvaise Territory, read Mauvaises Terres. On p.534

line e tor r Washington Territory, ua Bigs are Tes. On p. 535, line 14, for Bat,

On p. 597, last line but one, for Ma ege ead Manual.

nd ili, - 32, dele the query ( ?) den "Sei ave ensis. On p. 34, line 14, for

. W., rea Arizona. On p.3 €—— A FLYCATOHER, m ark out last two lines

of paragraph after yH — OSCINE NES, and in ** Yet this bind. is a magnificent singer

in spring.” On e 10, Vireo Vir ii Y. Bartramii Swainson? should read

ines olivaceus. 35, line 17, for V. gilvus re. - y. forse Baird. On p. 16,

Mosasaurus are not metrical; in the same way, one of those of Klasmosaurus is

vertical and one lateral. The tail of [leo pine is not continuous with what ought

to be tail, but is made body."— E. D. COP:

— M Qos— —

BOOKS RECEIVED.

Seventeenth Lene a: of the Directors of the New York Ophthalmic Hospital, 1868.

New York, 1 8vo

A B eiat to A Pega of Human Milk. By T.F. Allen, M. D. Albany, 1868.

8vo, pp. 11.

Action of Anesthetics on the Blood Corpuscles. By J. H. McQuillen, M. D. Philadel-

me 1899. 8vo, pp. 7

and Presh-water Shells of North America. PartI. Pulmonata pane By W.

G. peus and T. Bland. 8vo, 1868. Smithsonian scorer 2 Washington, D.

Flora of Alaska. By J.T, Rothrock, M.D. 8vo, pp. 30. Smithsonian fusdidiód, "1968.

Washburn’s § Co’s Amateur Cultivators’ Guide to rabie and K aut Garden; con-

taining a Descriptive List of two thousand varieties of Flower and Ve le Seeds; a

a List. of French Hybrid Gladiolus raised and imported by Washburn gi ye Busty

ass. Illustrated. 8vo, pp. 152.

The peat Note vienes Marc h, geri 1869. London. 4d.a number. Small 4to.

Chemical New: ork.

Observations on the genus enr together with Descriptions of New Species in the Family

Unionide, i New Species of the Melanide and Paludine. By Isaac -

Lea, LL.D. 4to, with eat lc plates. Philadelphia, 1869. From the Journal of

the Academy of ^ pen Sciences, Vol. xii

Hardwicke’s Sci . March p April, 185. London

The Butterflies of epa America. By W.H. Edwards, Philadelphia. Part 3, $2,50-

i Opinion, Parts iv, span ; Api 1889. London.

eei Canadien, No. v, March, No. v, April, 1869 . 8vo. a

American

Bee Journal. Apri des W ashington: S. Wagner.

The Canadian Naturatist and Geologist. New Series, Vol. iii, hs gone 1808. NO.

6, December, 1868. 8vo, $3.00, -

in the Milit dnd: Anthvopologioat Statistics of American Soldiers.

By B. A. Gould, Ph. Dr. Actuary to the U. S. Sanitary Commission. New York, 138

hcc yin

Er Dust JI of Life. By Prof. T. H. Huxley. Yale Courant Office. 8vo, pp- 2+

on the Culture of the Japanese Silk-worm, Bombyx Yama-mai, in 1867-68, în

md. he iecore deli Colchester (Eng.), 1869. bie ge 1s. gold.

Canadian | Vol. i, Nos. 8,9. March, April, 1869. Svo. Toronto,

u ee SE

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

> Vol. III.—JULY, 1869.—No. 5.

SEA-SIDE ORNITHOLOGY.

BY T. M. BREWER, M. D.

Tre ornithology of our New England seaboard at the

present day is very far from presenting either the interest,

the variety or the sources of excitement, which, even within

a single generation, were, from Long Island to Grand

1 Menan, features so characteristic. If we go back yet far-

; ther, though only to a period within the recollection of that

Very respectable individual, “the oldest inhabitant," the

Changes from that recent period to what is now witnessed

are yet more remarkable, and make our present poverty

both striking and painful. Then wild-ducks are said to have

nested on the outer Brewsters. Then, probably, the now

exterminated Alca impennis was a bird of New England, as

Was at some period, probably more distant, one of Mas-

Sachusetts also. Then all our salt marshes and our low-

lands near the sea swarmed, during the spring and autumn

Months, with plover, snipe, godwit, tatler, curlew,

wading birds of various forms and plumage. Then all of

our estuaries, inlets, coves, bays, rivers and creeks along

the entire coast, abounded in sea-fowl during „the entire

Year, the only difference being that at certain seasons of

the year, the resident species were driven by the ice and

Eo eee oM LP I ee ee oe s

EE DARE EMIT E P IMS UNT rex.

MES E

1 Clerk's Office of the District Court of the

Soven in the dng to Act of Congress, in the year 190, by the PeanoDy ACADEMY OF

| AMER: NATURALIST, VOL. III. 29 (225)

226 SEA-SIDE ORNITHOLOGY.

the severity of the winter to more open waters, where

their numbers were immensely reinforced by myriads of

sea-dueks from more northern seas, and which are so ab-

surdly designated by fishermen and gunners as “Coots.”

The numbers of these wild-ducks, of various kinds, off our

entire coast, according to tradition, appear to have been

well-nigh fabulous. Then, too, all the islands along the en-

tire coast abounded with several varieties of gulls and terns,

some of which are no longer to be met with, and all in very

greatly diminished numbers.

Now how changed the whole scene! Wild-ducks no

longer breed on any portion of our entire coast. The ex-

.ceptions are so very few that they only prove the too gen-

eral rule. Here and there a few remote uninhabited islands

aside from the haunts of fishermen, and remote from the

tracks of commerce, afford to a solitary species of gull, and

to the decimated terns a precarious retreat, where, late in

the season, a few succeed in rearing their young, and thus in

postponing the day of the final extermination of their race.

For, so long as the Solons of our General Court encourage;

by their fapislation, their unchecked and wholesale destruc-

tion, the day cannot be far distant when these graceful and

harmless birds will have become wholly, as they are now

almost, a “bright vision of the past.”

Thus, with the increase of population along the coast

during the warmer months, when the portions least fre-

düeuted at other times swarm with pleasure-seekers, and

with the ceaseless activity with which every island is ran-

sacked by the insatiate "toilers of the sea," the distinctive

characteristics of our maritime ornithology has become very

nearly destroyed. So many blanks and gaps now mar its

symmetry, and dwarf its once fair proportions, that the sub-

~ ject loses nearly all the claims it would have presented half

| a century ago.

In seer v of what is left to us of the sea-side ornithol-

New ] Paea, four or five groups sugges egest themselves.

SEA-SIDE ORNITHOLOGY. 291

as still distinctive features. These are: the birds of prey

chiefly found about the sea-coast; the smaller land-birds

that are also maritime in their partialities ; shore-birds or

waders ; sea-birds or swimmers ; and occasional and winter

visitants. As we do not propose to prepare such an article

as Prof. Lowell would call “nothing if not a catalogue,” and

our limits do not permit an exhaustive sketch, we shall only

briefly speak of those we regard as the most distinguishing

characteristics of our seaboard, mentioning only a few that

best typify these general divisions.

The birds of prey that seem to belong to our seaboard

are not many, either in their variety of species or in the

number of the individuals. Even the Fish-hawk, so marked

à feature on the sea-coast of New Jersey, finds our rocky

shores an uncongenial or an unprofitable field, and is seldom

` Seen from Cape Cod to Cape Elizabeth. A few occur on both

shores of Long Island Sound. From thence until we come

to the mouth of the Kennebec, they are entirely wanting.

The same is very nearly true of the White-headed Eagle.

On the coast of Maine both of these birds abound, and their

large and conspicuous nests, surmounting the tops of the

loftiest pines, often in full view of the highway, are a notice-

able feature in the landscape.

| the latter part of the summer and in the early fall,

when the southward flight of many of the small birds has

begun, the Barred Owls station themselves in ambush on the

Coast and among the inner islands, as if to forestall the gun-

. hers, who show them no mercy if they chance to meet them.

Their noiseless flight and their inconspicuous plumage, so

closely assimilating with the sandy dunes and rocky wastes,

favor their success as marauders, and also their immunity

from their rival hunters. The flight of the smaller waders

_ and the young of the terns are their chief attraction at these

times to the sea-shore.

Less than twenty years ago our shores abounded, in spring

and fall, with the Rough-legged Buzzard. They frequented

228 SEA-SIDE ORNITHOLOGY.

the marshes and the edges of ponds in the lowlands near the

sea, rarely going more thane a mile or two inland. They ap-

peared to Mini by preference, for frogs, field-mice, and the

smaller quadrupeds, and, more rarely, the smaller birds.

For some unexplained reason their visits are now compara-

tively very rare. The Black-hawk, by some supposed to be

only a darker race of this species, and once occasionally to

be met with, is now unknown.

.. The Great-footed Falcon, though by no means confined to

our coast, is yet a conspicuous feature to the sea-side when-

ever or wherever there are sea-fowl to attract him. ‘But,

with the ever inereasing diminution of these attractions, this

faleon now only pays us angel visits, except on the eastern

coast of Maine.

In enumerating the conspicuous and characteristic fea-

tures of our coast scenery, the crow must not be forgotten.

Wherever muscles or clams can be dug at low water, or

wherever a storm has thrown upon the shore an unusual

aceumulation of garbage, we find these sagacious wreckers

on the alert, eager to gather their full share of the flotson or

jetson, as the case may be. Among our sea-side visitors,

this invaluable but unpopular race are among the first to

come, and the last of the migratory birds to leave our coast,

and a few remain all winter.

The entire family of swallows, except the Purple Martin,

are eminently sea-side birds ; and most so, the White-bellied.

In the eastern portions of Maine, and in all the islands of

the Bay of Fundy, the abundance of this swallow is very

remarkable. In Massachusetts they are far more abundant

near the coast than in the interior. The Barn Swallow has

. been educated into resorting to the use of sheds, barns,

ches, and eaves of houses for a nesting-place, yet we can

n . remember when the rocks of Newport and Nahant were

p their primitive and natural breeding-places. The Cliff Swal-

, since 1809, hare. herome: more and more abundant

i Martin has ever been content | to

SEA-SIDE ORNITHOLOGY. 229

occupy every convenient cliff, or river bank, or ocean front,

in whose suitable soil it could exeavate its necessary channel

to a nest-hole.

Along the shores of Connectieut and Rhode Island, and

occasionally on those of our own State, two interesting little

Ammodrami, the sharp-tailed, and the sea-side Finches, —so

called, in our poverty of terms to properly designate Amer-

ican forms having only a remote resemblance to that which

they are intended to represent, —are species peculiarly char- >

acteristic of the sea-shore and peculiar to our own continent,

there being two Atlantic and one Pacific varieties. Their

elongated and slender bills distinguishing them from all

other American sparrows, their long legs extending in the

stuffed specimen beyond their tail feathers, their short lat-

eral elaws, their rounded wings and wedge-shaped tails com-

posed of stiff lanceolate feathers, are all features eminently

characteristic of sea-side life, and such as typify, only in a

more marked degree, the true shore-birds. In fact in their

habits they are not very unlike the true wader in many re-

speets. Like them they feed upon marine insects and the

smaller crustacea, keeping about the waters edge, walking

upon the floating weeds and other substances raised by the

tide, preferring this mode of life to a more inland residence,

and only resorting to the uplands to feed upon grass and

other seed when food fails them at the water's edge. They

Were once quite common on our northern shores, but, so far

as the writer knows, a large proportion have disappeared,

with other summer shore-birds, probably driven away by the

gunners and pleasure-seekers who now frequent their former

haunts. I have met with none, north of New Bedford, since

1840, although here and there in a few localities a few are yet

to be found, as for instance, in the marshes of Charles River.

Closely allied to the ammodrami is the Swamp Sparrow,

common to the lowlands of the sea-side, but not peculiar to

| them, and equally abundant in the lowlands of the interior,

_#S far west as Wisconsin. It is found along our entire coast,

230 SEA-SIDE ORNITHOLOGY.

and is hardly distinguishable in its habits from the sea-side

sparrows. The Savannah Sparrow, though only occasionally

found breeding so far to the south as Massachusetts, is evi-

dently a sea-sider, preferring the open dunes in the vicinity

of the sea, and feeding chiefly on the grass and other seeds

found in these wild and uncultivated places. Among the

islands on the eoast of Maine, as well as on the uplands bor-

dering the sea-shore, it is a very abundant species. It nests

in sunken places in the ground, often on the edges of cliffs,

under cover of a projecting portion of the bank. In their

habits they resemble the Song Sparrow, and their notes,

though thinner and not so sweet, have many points of re-

nent blanest

Another land bird, as yet quite rare and but little known,

the Yellow-bellied Flycatcher,* so far as observed, is a bird

affecting the sea-side. In the low marshy woods near

Halifax, on the islands of Grand Menan over the water's

edge, and on the banks of the St. Croix, in New Brunswick,

these flycatehers have been observed and their nests ob-

tained. That it is not exclusively a bird of the sea-shore

would appear from the fact that it has been also obtained at

the same season on the western shore of Lake Michigan. If

found during summer on any part of our coast this side of

Eastport, is as yet not ascertained.

The Belted Kingfisher, though chiefly an inland bird, and

often found breeding in the interior, remote from any water,

is still to be mentioned as one of the birds which, under favor-

able circumstances, enlivens the sea-side with his presence,

his curious piseatorial habits, and his loud and rattling notes.

Leaving now the land forms that are characteristic of, or

. are found near the sea-shore, we pass to those water birds

that may still be regarded as belonging to the maritime por-

. tions of New England. Of the Herons, five at least are

| summer residents near our sea-coast, breed within the

x Tune as is also the Z piri MM. A. Allen informs

species of this genus.

SEA-SIDE ORNITHOLOGY. 231

marshy woodlands that skirt the ocean, and fish along the

edges of creeks, in the more shallow water and pools of

the marshes, or in the flats left bare by the receding tide.

These are the Green, the Night, and the great Blue Herons,

the Least and the Common Bittern. Three others, the

smaller Blue Heron, the Snowy Egret, and the larger White

Egret, in the calm weather of midsummer, are occasionally

tempted to visit our coast. They are, however, only vagrant

and adventurous individuals, and their visits are rare, acci-

dental, and irregular. Nor are our resident species very

abundant. The absence of large tracts of low swampy

woods near the seaboard is not favorable to their protection

or increase among us.

In the marshes and low swampy islands near the coast,

occur in more.or less abundance the Common Sora or Caro-

lina Rail, the Virginia Rail, the American Coot, and the

Florida Gallinule. The last two are not common, but both

I am persuaded breeds with us, the evidence of which will

sooner or later be made to appear by the actual discovery

of their nests and eggs. The young of both have been ob-

tained in our marshes in midsummer, and the Florida Galli-

nule has also been obtained near Boston in midwinter.

Of the true plovers only one, the Piping Plover ( ZEgialites

melodus), is common to our sea-beaches during the breeding

Season. The Killdeer is found only in a few inland locali-

ties. The Golden, the Black-bellied, and the Ring Plover,

are only spring and autumn visitants to our coast; and Wil-

son's Plover, if found at all, is only a vagrant wanderer that

has been tempted to stray into a strange region. It does

not belong to our coast, and if ever, is very rarely found.

Once numerous on the beaches of Nantasket and Chelsea,

n but now nearly or quite driven from them, the Piping Plover

18 still found along the coast of Maine and in the less fre-

quented portions of our own shore, and is one of their most

interesting features. It is met with on the entire Atlantic

coast, from Florida to the St. Lawrence, and is nowhere

283 SEA-SIDE ORNITHOLOGY.

more common than in the least frequented portions of Cape

Cod. Although living in pairs, they are also a very social

bird, and where undisturbed, several pairs usually select the

same locality and live in friendly companionship, uniting

in the fall with their young, in small flocks of twenty or

thirty. They are found exclusively on sandy shores and low

islands, and are never met with inland. They nest directly

on the sand, relying directly upon their resemblance to it in

the color of their plumage for their own safety and that of

their eggs. Their young can run with remarkable celerity

the moment they appear. -At the approach of danger, or

at the sound of an alarm-note from their parent, they will

squat, in the most amusing manner, upon the sand, as still

and motionless as so many little gray pebbles, and will almost

suffer you to tread upon them before they will move. In the

meanwhile the mother bird will be resorting to every imagi-

nable form of lameness, or pretence of wounded disability,

to draw you away from her young fledglings.

The common Spotted Sandpiper, though. equally abaid

throughout the interior, and found wode there is any

lowland, must also be mentioned as among our sea-side spe-

cies. In many of its habits it strongly resembles our com-

mon plover, differing chiefly in its peculiar flight, the tilting

motions of its tail and body, and its sonorous outcries of

peet-weet, peet-weet.

The Turnstone is, with us, only a rare and occasional visi-

tant, coming in semiannual migrations, but never giving us

more than a transient visit. The Oyster-catcher, a Southern

coast-bird and belonging chiefly to the regions south of Cape

May, occasionally wanders as far north as Marshfield, and is

entitled to this passing mention as one of the very remark-

able forms, which, though very rare, are a very striking

feature when present in the seaboard ornithology.

We pass, with mere mention, the Woodcock, the Upland

; Plover, and the Solitary Tattler, as properly upland and

inland Mirac atis the whole family of Fs bias or Sand-

SEA-SIDE ORNITHOLOGY. ` 283

pipers, Tatlers and Snipe, all of which are only autumnal and

vernal visitants of the sea-coast. The time was when these

constituted a much more marked feature of the maritime

region than they now present, when the marshy grouud, at

certain seasons, seemed all alive with their countless flocks.

But in these respects the times are sadly altered, never, in

all probability to be improved. One species only deserves

special mention, alike for its peculiar habits and its excep-

tional character. The Willet, the only representative of the

genus Symphemia, is found along our entire coast, as far to

the north, certainly, as Halifax, N. S., where I have met

with it breeding, finding its nest and eggs. Mr. Audubon

was mistaken when he stated it was never met with east of

Boston. It is a very shy and wary bird. Even when breed-

ing it is usually very quiet when its nest is approached,

until the eges are about to hatch, or after the young have

appeared. Then it becomes as remarkable for its clamor,

and vociferates its loud cries of pill-will-will-willeté with

great emphasis and distinctness. The Willet breeds in the

sandy marshes of Nantucket and its neighboring islands,

constructing a well-made nest of woven wire-grass, and the

eggs, quite large for the bird, are sharply pointed at one

end, and are always placed with this end turned towards the

centre of the nest. After the close,of the breeding season

they resume their shy and silent habits, and are sometimes

own among sportsmen as “humilities.” Their eggs, when

fresh, are esteemed a great luxury where they are sufficiently

common to be well known, as near Norfolk, Va.

Of the sea-fowl that now spend the warm season on our

. Sea-coast, the list is not large and but little need be said.

ague traditions are all that now assure us that some six or

Seven species of sea-ducks once bred among the islands of

Massachusetts. Except the Dusky Duck, which is an occa-

Sonal exception, none of these now remain with us; only at

the extreme eastern portions of Maine, the Eider Duck and

the Red-breasted Merganser continue to construct their ex-

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. IIL. |

234 SEA-SIDE ORNITHOLOGY.

posed and often plundered nests. The Cormorants, two

species of which once nested on our rocky cliffs, have long

since left us. The Herring Gulls have all been driven as

far east as Passamaquoddy. Only the Black-headed Gull, a

Southern and somewhat rare species, and four varieties of

Terns still breed on the islands off our coast. This gull

(Xema atricilla) was formerly quite abundant along our en-

tire New England coast, as far east as the Penobscot. Itis

now chiefly found on a few islands off Connecticut, near

Nantucket, and on the coast of Maine, near St. George. It

visits our coast late in May or early in June, and leaves us

early in the fall, upon the first appearance of cool weather.

Some twenty-nine or thirty years since two or three pairs

were still breeding on Egg Rock, near Nahant, in company

with the Wilson's Tern, but long since they have entirely

disappeared. This gull, when its nest is disturbed, is very

demonstrative in its protests, and its loud outcries of Aá-Aá-

há, resembling loud peals of derisive laughter, are very re-

markable : anda even startling in their singularity.

The Least Tern, the Aetio Tern, Wilson's Tern, and the

Roseate Tern, still breed on our coast, and, except the last,

along the entire coast of New England. The Roseate is

chiefly eonfined to the neighborhood of Nantucket, and the

southern coast of Connecticut. It once bred on islands near

Beverly. The eggs of all these species are much sought for

by the Gabi: ad as they are rarely permitted to rear

their young, the day of their final extermination cannot be

far distant. 5

After midsummer our waters are visited for a few weeks

by two species of Petrels, or Mother Carey's Chickens ( Tha-

lassidroma Wilsonii and T. Leachii). They are outsiders

= altogether, never visiting the land except during the breed-

‘ing season. Where the former breed is still shrouded in

. mystery. They appear in our waters early in August, but

; here they come foe or where they remain eleven months

r, "nobod My mentions for Dias knows." .

SEA-SIDE ORNITHOLOGY. 235

other species, Leach's Petrel, breeds off the coast on nearly

all the islands from Cape Elizabeth to Newfoundland, ap-

pearing in May and leaving in September.

Later in the season the open waters are visited by flocks

of ducks, most of them known to the fishermen as “Coots.”

There are twelve or fifteen varieties, more or less common,

which our exhausted space will not permit us to enumerate.

umerous as these may at certain seasons seem to be, they

come now in decimated numbers, and are so severely hunted

on their feeding grounds that but very few remain with us

to spend the winter in our waters.

In midwinter the outer waters of our coast are frequented

by several remarkable forms of sea-birds, combining several

of the peculiarities of the albatros, the gull, and the petrel,

and presenting a very singular and striking union of the

more noticeable characteristics of each. They never appear

with us near the land. They can therefore be only observed

at a season of the year least favorable for marine explora-

tions. Our knowledge of them must be therefore largely

derived from the observations of unscientific persons who

meet them in their winter fishery. They are classed by Mr.

Lawrence in the tribe of Longipennes. Three belong to the

family of Procellaridæ, namely, the Fulmar or Fulmar Pe-

trel, and at least two species of Shearwater Puffins. Others,

called Skua Gulls, or Jagers, are placed among the Laridæ.

Their habits are, however, as well as their forms, very dif-

ferent from those of the true Gulls. Four species of these

Jagers, in company with several species of Gulls, spend their

Winter off our coast, and are to be met with there at no other

time. The study of their habits, no doubt replete with as

much of interest as of novelty, is still reserved for those

Students of science for whom the difficulties and the dangers

Of their investigations may give an added claim to their un-

Certaking. Certainly we know of no species of our Atlantic

COast-birds whose history is so much involved in doubt, or

: Which promise more of interest in their investigations.

NOTES ON THE ARGONAUT.

BY W. H. DALL.

Tue Argonaut, or Paper-sailor, is familiar to all who live

in seaports; its elegant form and delicate texture making it

deservedly a favorite ornament for table or mantel; and cer-

tainly nothing can be more exquisite than a perfect specimen

of one of the larger species. It is of a snowy whiteness,

with delieate undulating ridges, and the keel ornamented .

with a regular series of conical projections or tubercles,

whieh near the spire are lightly touched with black. Per-

haps its greatest charm is its perfect symmetry, in which it

is only equalled by the pearly Nautilus which, however,

it far surpasses in its sculpture, fragility and purity.

The Argonaut shell is formed, curiously enough, by the

females only ; ; as among more highly organized beings some-

times, the gentler sex outshine their brothers in the splendor

of their apparel, and the extent it occupies. Unlike many,

however, the Argonaut toils not, neither does she spin.

Folding her arms about her, in her earliest infancy, she is

speedily arrayed in all her glory, and has not shown any

discontent at the old fashions since the time of Aristotle.

These animals are true cuttle-fish of the eight armed type-

The male Argonaut is an insignificant shell-less creature, fond

of retirement, solitary and rarely seen. When the tender

- passion seizes him, as he rocks on some sunny wavelet,* far

from female society, he does not go in search of a wife, but

with Spartan courage, detaches one of his eight hands (or

arms) and consigns it to the deep, in the Hone that some

tender hearted cultivsddat of the other sex will fall in with

it and take it under her protection. Thus for a long time

. the male Argonaut was unknown, the arm (which does not

s Sie when detached, but lives an viec Magie E life)

THE ARGONAUT. 237

was, when found in the gill-chamber of the female, supposed

to be a parasite, and was called Hecto-cotylus.

The shelly matter is secreted by the first pair, or dorsal

arms, which are broadly expanded towards the ends, and

also by the sides of thé body, which are more closely con-

nected with the shell than many naturalists have supposed.

But there are no true muscular attachments as in other mol-

lusea, of the animal to the shell.

I have seen fine specimens of Argonauta in the cabinet of

Mr. Arnold, of Worcester, collected by himself; showing

where the shell had been broken and repaired, the new

layer in some places having been deposited by the sides of

the body from the inside of the shell, and in others by the

expanded arms from the outside. The anterior edges of

these arms, however, seem to possess alone the power of

secreting calcareous matter, as the fractures toward the spire

were repaired with a deposit more membranous or horny

than shelly.

The cuttle was, in more modern times, long supposed to

have stolen its shell from some mollusk resembling Cari-

naria, known as the glassy Nautilus. The shell of Carinaria

I5 very similar, taken by itself, to that of Argonauta strait-

ened out, but it serves a totally different purpose. The

Argonaut, separated from its shell, was described by Rati-

nesque as Todarus, he having described at the same time one

9f the large naked euttles, as Ocythoé. According to his

own account, his description being short and careless, the

two were confounded. He says that the Sicilian fishermen

call the Argonaut “todaru”; that the apex of the shell is

blackened by a dark liquor which it emits, although it has

E ink-bag of the Sepias; and that the eolor of the eggs

.. 18 black,

: : The animal was well known to the ancients as the inhabi-

tant of its own shell, though they described it with poetical

7 fancy, as sailing in pleasant weather on the surface, usmg its

broad arms as sails, and the others as oars, and when the

238 THE ARGONAUT.

sky became overcast, storm threatened or high wind arose,

as drawing in its sails and seeking safety beneath the waves.

It was the original “Nautilus,” the pearly Nautilus being un-

known to them.

The Argonaut swims rapidly by ejecting water through

its siphon,—a large tube quite distinct from the mouth.

This tube is placed just above the keel of the shell, and the

large broad arms are always closely applied to the shell,

though they can be slightly contracted. If the animal is

removed from its shell, it cannot get into it again. It proba-

bly cannot form a new one for reasons already mentioned.

Deprived of its protection, it beats itself about blindly till it

dies.

The eggs have been said to be deposited inside of the

spire. I think that this is a mistake. In the specimens I

have seen, they are agglutinated to the outside of the apex,

inside of the last whorl, as S by M. Rang. (See

Woodward's Manual, fig. 3

I believe the Peru Hr are of limited distribution. Some

extend over larger-areas than others, particularly the Pacifie

Species. But it is probable that when our knowledge of the

subject is increased by a greater number of observations,

we shall find that these beautiful creatures have their boun-

daries, outside of whieh they may rarely or never be found.

Many species have been confounded, as the shells all closely

resemble one another. Argonauta argo has been reported

from the Mediterranean, to which it is strictly confined;

from the Indian Ocean, Philippines, and even from Califor-

nia! For the last species I have proposed the specific name

of Pacifica, as a comparison with Mediterranean specimens

shows that, aside from the question of distribution, the shells

_ differ. As an example of the probably limited distribution

. of these mollusea, I note as follows :

.. Tn 1849, M. Noury, captain of a French frigate, obtained

anew and very distinct and beautiful Argonaut, from the

— whaling gom off the coast of Peru, i in Lat. 10° south. It.

PARASITIC HABITS OF CRUSTACEA. 239

was described by M. Lorois in the “Révue et Mag. de Zoolo-

gie," in 1852, as A. Nouryi. Mr. Conrad, in his monograph

of the genus, mentions that Capt. O. Swain, of Nantucket,

in 1850, obtained a number of this species in the same vicin-

ity. They were observed on the surface of the water on a

perfectly calm day, when the sun was very hot. They ap-

peared in large numbers, in one group at first, and then dis-

persed in smaller groups of twos and threes, moving with

great rapidity over the surface. Approaching them with great

caution, a number were secured. A year or two ago Capt.

Dow, well known as an indefatigable collector, sent to the

Smithsonian Institution two fine specimens captured in Lat.

10° south, Long. 90° west, almost the same spot whence they

were originally obtained by M. Noury. So far as I am able

to ascertain they have not been elsewhere detected. In one

of them the ova, of a red color and very small, were agglu-

tinated to the outside of the spire, as previously noted.

It is pleasant to add that our first detailed account of the

Argonaut and its development, was published by a lady;

Madame Power, who made her observations in the Mediter-

Tanean, having a sort of marine enclosure made, where she

Kept these animals and observed their habits from life.

ON THE PARASITIC HABITS OF CRUSTACEA.

BY A. E. VERRILL.

Taere are few subjects pertaining to the study of animals

more eurious and interesting than the various phenomena

Connected with the parasitism of certain species upon others.

This subject is also one that has many important practical

bearings, since our worst crop-destroying insects are kept in

check mainly by insect parasites, feeding either on the eggs,

ug larvee, or the mature insect. Our domestic animals also.

240 PARASITIC HABITS OF CRUSTACEA.

and most quadrupeds, birds and fishes used as food, are

afflicted, and often suffer greatly from parasitic insects, crus-

tacea and worms; and even man himself is likewise the prey

of numerous parasites, both external and internal, some of

which, like the Trichina spiralis, often cause painful dis-

eases and even death. But the subject has also a pecüliar

interest, when philosophically considered in connection with

the varied phenomena of life and the theories of the origin

of species. But at the present time it is our purpose merely

to call attention to some curious facts concerning the habits

of Crustacea, hoping that it may induce the readers of the

Narurauisr to study more carefully the habits of this class,

which, in this respect, is still very imperfectly known.

It is certainly singular that a very great majority of all

animal parasites belong to the Articulate division of the ani-

mal kingdom, while very few are found among the Radiates,

Mollusea, and Vertebrates.

e three great classes of Articulates each have numerous

parasitic representatives. The external parasites of land

animals are mostly Insects, and their internal parasites are

Worms; but the external parasites of aquatic animals are

mostly Crustacea, while their internal parasites are both

Crustacea and Worms.

The class of Crustacea is naturally divided into three great

groups, or subclasses. The highest, known as Decapods,

have five pair of legs, hence their name, which signifies ten-

footed. The lobsters and crabs are good examples. The

next great group have seven pair ot legs, or are fourteen-

wey hence their name Tefradecapods. The pill-bugs and

sow-bugs are familiar land species. The lowest division,

- : known as Entomostraca, have fewer mouth organs, and the

. legs are irregular in number and position, while the abdomen

has no appendages and often amounts to a mere spine, as in

the Limulus, or “Horseshoe Crab,” which is a huge repre-

: D essei of the gown dle most of the other species are

ee idi

Ttc

TASTE

PARASITIC HABITS OF CRUSTACEA. 241

Although many of the Entomostraca, like Cyclops, Cy-

pris, etc., are active and free swimming little creatures,

Which swarm in our ditehes and ponds during summer, there

are a great many forms that are true parasites, and infest

fishes and other aquatic animals. These are mostly low and

degraded species, in which the females become enormously

developed, as compared with the minute males, and take on

very singular shapes, losing, in many eases, by the progress

of growth, all resemblance to their original form. In fact

in some cases when mature they would scarcely be taken

for Crustacea at all, had not their development been ob-

served. Among these singular forms are a great number

of genera which adhere to the external surface of fishes, and

others to the gills and the membranes of the mouth. Lernea,

and allied genera, are common upon various: marine fishes.

Penella, with its long quill-like body, lives on fishes. Cla-

vella, which has also a very elongated form, lives upon the

halibut; Trebius and Pandarus infest sharks, ete. ; Caligus

has numerous species which live on various marine fishes,

and Argulus is common upon fresh-water fishes, and is also

found on tadpoles. Prof. Dana, who many years ago care-

fully studied a species of Caligus* that lives upon the cod,

states that it does not suck the blood, as had been supposed,

and thinks that it feeds upon the mucus, as its mouth-parts

are well adapted for that purpose. But Lernea, Penella,

and their allies, adhere only by their proboscis, which is

embedded in the skin, and often barbed with hooks, and

Probably serves to suck the blood. Some forms of Ento-

Mostraca allied to these, are internal parasites of serpents.

A very singular genus called Splanchnotrophus, lives as

true internal parasites in various naked marine mollusca, on

the British coasts. 9. brevipes infests Doto coronata and

olis rufibranchialis, while 8. gracilis is found in Doris

pilosa and Idalia aspera. Since some of these mollusca

: inhabit also the coast of New England, we may expect to

*C. Americanus Dana. American Journal of Science, Vol. 34, p. 225.

AMER, NATURALIST, VOL. III. 31

242 PARASITIC HABITS OF CRUSTACEA.

find these or similar parasites. The male lives free in the

visceral cavity, but the female is much larger and stationary,

and as the ovaries develop, the clusters of eggs and tip of

the abdomen project through the integuments of its victim.

Another Entomostracan genus; Doridicola, contains small

active species which are external parasites on the gills of

similar mollusca

The Tetradecapods are not so often parasitic as the Ento-

mostraca, yet many curious parasites of fishes, etc., belong

to this division. The Isopod order, including the pill-bugs,

and many aquatic species having a similar depressed form,

contains more parasitic species than does the Amphipod

order, which includes the compressed species.

Among the parasitic Isopods we find some curious species

which live parasitically in the mouth of fishes, usually ad-

hering firmly to the roof of the mouth by means of their

numerous strong and sharp claws, and in that situation often

grow so large as to almost entirely fill the mouth, causing

no doubt a great amount of suffering to the helpless fish,

and, perhaps, eventually its death by starvation. Such are

the habits of certain species of Livoneca and allied genera,

while other similar species live upon the exterior and in the

gill-cavity, both of marine and fresh-water fishes. I have

recently found an allied form in the stomach of a toad-fish

from Florida, where it appeared to be truly parasitic. It

was nearly an inch long and half as wide. Nerocila, Anilo-

era, and Cymothoa, are allied genera, including numerous

species, all of which are parasitic on or in fishes. These

genera have a more or less, oval or oblong, broad, stout,

depressed body, with short crooked legs housib, armed

with sharp claws. Some of these species become three

inches long and nearly an inch broad, and must be very

annoying.

. Another related group of Isopods includes Bopyrus and

= with allied genera, which are parasitic on other Crus-

a oe aro a, and have the ordinary

dau J

AM.

per

PARASITIC HABITS OF CRUSTACEA. 943

Isopod form, but the female by excessive growth becomes

five or six times as large, deformed in shape, and firmly

adherent in the gill-cavity of its host, where it produces a

deformity and enlargement of the carapax, looking like a

large tumor. Jone thoracicus infests a species of Calianassa ;

Bopyrus squillarum victimizes a species of Squilla; and B.

Hippolites infests various northern species of Hippolyte. It

was observed last season by Mr. S. J. Smith and the author,

at Eastport, Me., on H. Sowerbyi. Several other species

are known having similar habits.

Among the Amphipods we find Themisto and Hyperia,

parasitic on the large jelly-fishes of our coast, especially

Cyanea and Aurelia. Hyperia is very common, and may

be known by its large head and eyes and swollen body,

which is usually of a dull reddish color. .They live and

breed in cavities that they themselves form in the disk of

the jelly-fishes, by eating away its soft substance. They

also live among the mouth-folds and ovarial lobes, often in

large numbers and of ali sizes; but they occasionally leave

their victim for a time and swim freely in the water. Mr.

Smith has reared our native species by feeding them on

fragments of jelly-fishes, and ascertained that they undergo

considerable changes, the antennz becoming shorter at suc-

cessive moults, showing that some of the nominal species,

on the length of these organs, are merely stages of

growth of one species. Several other parasitic Amphipods

Were observed by Mr. Smith and the writer, at Eastport.

One small species with bright golden eyes lived in the in-

terior of Modiolaria levigata. Another pretty, pale-pink,

smooth, red-eyed species was found repeatedly living par-

asitically in the stomach of our large Red Sea-anemone

(U; rticina crassicornis), but was seldom seen until the Urti-

|. Gina had been placed in alcohol, when several would often

come forth and move about for a short time, but occa-

Stonally they were observed to come forth voluntarily, and

after Swimming about for some time would suddenly dart

244 PARASITIC HABITS OF CRUSTACEA.

into the mouth again, as if for protection! Nor did they

seem to suffer any harm when caught and held for a long

time in the grasp of the large tentacles of the anemone, as

often happened, but when finally released were as lively as

ever, and quite as willing to voluntarily enter the mouth.

And yet the tentacles of Urticina are covered with myriads

of powerful stinging organs, by means of which it can almost

instantly kill various other larger crustacea, mollusca, fishes,

ete., which are also quickly digested in its capacious stom-

ach. The immunity that this species of Amphipod enjoys is

evidently similar to that of Hyperia, which revels among

and consumes the very powerfully armed, stinging tentacles

of Cyanea, which so quickly kill most other small marine

animals, and even severely sting the human skin. A pink-

colored species of Anonyx was observed in immense num-

bers upon and in a species of sponge, upon which it appears

to be parasitic, at least while young. The various species,

of Caprella, remarkable for their long slender bodies and

legs, and their curious looping gait, recalling the motion of

Geometrid larve, appear to be parasitic on Hydroids and

sponges. The Whale-louse (Cyamius) is allied to these, but

has a short and broad body, with stout legs and claws, by

which it clings to the skin in the manner of Cymothoa and

other fish-lice.

e Decapod Crustacea afford, however, some still more

curious instances, though they are seldom true parasites, if

by this term we designate parasites that obtain their food at

the expense of another by sucking its blood or absorbing

its digested nutriment. But among the Decapods we find

many species that are parasitic in or on other animals for the

sake of shelter and protection, while in other cases there

are such singular associations formed between two or more

. different species, that it becomes difficult to tell which is the

host and which the parasite, or whether it may not be an

arrangement for mutual benefit. Most persons have no

. doubt seen the little crab, with a smooth, rounded body,

PARASITIC HABITS OF CRUSTACEA. 245

that lives in the interior of the shell between the gills of the

oyster, and is often cooked with that excellent bivalve. This

is the Pinnotheres ostreum (Fig. 41), and is doubtless para-

sitic in the oyster merely for the sake Fig. 41.

of shelter, and probably does not in-

jure the oyster unless by the irrita-

tion that its motions might cause. But

it is doubtless an unweleome guest,

though the ancients had a notion that

à similar species inhabiting the Pinna ENS as a sort of sen-

tinel by giving notice of danger, and thus warned the Pinna

when to close. Hence its name, which signifies Pinna-guar-

dian.

Another species, P. maculatum, lives in mussels ( Mytilus)

upon our coast. Another lives at Panama in a species of

Lithodomus, a shell allied to Mytilus, but which is itself

parasitic, and lives in holes which it excavates in other shells

and corals. "There are many other species of Pinnotheres,

and allied genera, having similar habits. One fine species *

lives in the Pearl Oyster (Margaritophora fimbriata) of the

Bay of Panama. It often shares its secure pearly retreat

with a curious slender fish, and with two other genera of

Crustacea, very different from itself, resembling Seen

or miniature lobsters in form. The most common of these is

a new species-of Pontonia,f a genus previously known to be

Pee Se pee) gti vu Dto CREDENS MM

* Dignoll k , sp. nov., female. Body co covered with a very short and

lose pubescence e, looking very ie like ating of mud. Carapax quite

thiek and vic considerably broader than long, and strongly convex ;

and gastric regions by

v pair, where the daetyius is very long, almost straight,

ite posterior pair the dactyli are long, straight, slender and pube

1 Pontonia ma arita Smi oet d smooth

; Smith, g and all the appendages

k rg sp. nov. Body hace mad sbsder & thé up:

naked. Cara:

pex very broad, depressed

a slender spine on the at the base of the antenne. Eyes small, the

MON dir d the lla of the he antennule short, the inner ones

. Anterior legs slen-

er; the outer ones of about the same length, st

246 PARASITIC HABITS OF CRUSTACEA.

parasitic in the shell of Tridacna, of the East Indies, and in

the large Pinna of South Carolina. Another genus, Pinnixia,

allied to Pinnotheres, has two Carolina species. P. cylin-

drica Say,lives in the tubular burrow of a large worm,

Arenjcola cristata; the other, P. Cheetopterana St., lives

in the strong tube of another large worm, Cheetopterus per-

| gamentaceus St. Another allied form, remarkable for its

nearly globose body and hairy legs, Pinnaxodes Chilensis

Smith (Fabia Chilensis Dana), lives upon the coast of Peru

and Chili in the shell of a small species of Sea-urchin (.Zu-

ryechinus imbecillis Verrill), which it causes to grow out of

shape. It appears to enter the anal opening when quite

small, and retaining its position until fully grown, causes

the intestine to dilate into a sort of cyst, and the anal area

and upper part of the shell to become deformed. When

fully grown it often fills nearly a third of the body of its

host, and yet has but a small external orifice, out of which

it probably cannot come, but the male, being much smaller,

may readily enter. From the fact that nearly all the speci-

mens of this Sea-urchin found thrown upon the beach,

amounting to over one hundred, had this parasite, it is prob-

able that it eventually weakens or kills its host by the irrita-

tion it produces.

Another very singular genus, Harpalocarcinus marsupi-

alis St., lives among the branches of Pocillipora ccespitosa,

at the Hawaiian Islands, and by its constant motions while

remaining in one spot causes the coral to grow up around

itself so as to form as perfect and secure a residence as could

be desired, while openings are left to admit water and food.

I have observed similar cavities on Pocillipora elongata

“ashton small, about half as long as the carpus; legs of the second pair stout, the

hands somewhat unequal ana much than the carapax, much swollen, fingers

compressed, their inner edges sharp, the dactylus — and with a rud tooth in

ng legs

2d propodus; succeedi

ede qut cylindrical, the dactyli very short and perdon ehsa , the terminal pis

culus strongly curved, and a shorter one very much hooked at its base. Abdomen

Small the first six segments slightly exceeding in length the length of the carapax.

GI c p M ne Ses

D D MEUM MS M E CEA Rc c Un E s ae pedea dip a umi ecu terum

PARASITIC HABITS OF CRUSTACEA. 247

from Ceylon, which are probably made by another species of

the same genus. The genera Trapezia and Tetralia include

small, smooth and polished, usually bright-colored crabs,

which live free among the branches of Pocillipora and Ma-

drepora. For this mode of life they are well adapted, both

by their smooth, flat bodies, and by their peculiar feet, which

are blunt at the end and furnished with sharp stiff spines to

aid them in climbing among the coral branches. Domecia

hispida has the same habits.

The Hermit or Soldier Crabs, are interesting in their

habits, and well known to all sea-side naturalists. They

always occupy the dead shell of some spiral Gasteropod,

which they carry about on their backs, and into which they

retreat when alarmed, holding it firmly by means of the

long, spirally-curved abdomen, and by its hook-like appen-

ages. But some species are apparently not satisfied with

even this protection, and consequently induce certain species

of Sea-anemones to dwell upon the shell they inhabit. The

beautiful Sea-anemones belonging to the genera, Adamsia

and Calliactis, are rarely found except in this situation.

Adamsia maculata, of the European coast, attaches itself to

the shell occupied by Zupagurus Prideauzii, near the inner

lip, and spreads out its base laterally on each side until the

lobes thus formed meet around the aperture and coalesce so

as to form a complete ring, through which the crab emerges

and retreats. The base of this Adamsia also has the unusual

Power of secreting a thin but firm pellicle, by which it ex-

tends the edges of the aperture of the shell, thus giving the

crab more room, as it grows larger, and obviating the ne-

cessity of changing the shell, as other less-favored hermits

Are obliged to do. Several specimens of Calliactis usually

occupy the same shell, and are not known to be capable of

extending its aperture. All the species are very beautifully

Colored, and inhabit tropical seas. In the West Indies C.

; bicolor and C. tricolor are common, and one species occurs at

Florida, while C. variegata occurs at Panama. i$ sol

248 PARASITIC HABITS OF CRUSTACEA.

has the same habit, and occurs on the Carolina coasts, On

our own shores the shells occupied by Hermit Crabs are

usually completely covered by a beautiful little pinkish

Hydroid (Hydractinia polyclina Agassiz), which at times

extends the lip of the shell by its basal expansions. A still

more curious instance of this kind is afforded by the Gem-

maria Americana Verrill* (Fig.

42), a Zoanthoid polyp, allied to

the Sea-anemones, but capable of

> budding from basal expansions,

CESTA x by which means it completely

SV covers shells occupied by Zupa-

urus pubescens. After thus covering the shell, it is not

only capable of extending the aperture by its own growth,

but has the power of entirely dissolving and absorbing

the substance of the shell so that no trace of it ean be

found, though the form is perfectly preserved by the some-

what rigid membrane of the polyp. This species has been

found in deep water, off the coast of New Jersey, and in

Massachusetts Bay.

Another still more remarkable case occurs in the China

Sea. A Hermit Crab (Diogenes Edwardsii St.) found there

has upon the outside of the large claw a circular, smooth

space, upon which there is always found a small Sea-anemone

(Sagartia Paguri Verrill). This appears to be an associa-

tion for life, since very young crabs carry a very minute

Sagartia, no larger than a pin’s head, and large crabs have

a large Sargartia. In this case when the crab retreats into

its shell and folds down the large claw over the aperture,

the Sargartia would appear to be attached within the aper

ture, and thus conceal and perhaps protect the crab. In all

these and other similar cases, the advantage of association

is doubtless mutual, for while the Sea-anemones, by means

of their outspread tentacles, armed with stinging organs; of

which fishes and other voracious animals have a wholesome

i z

cut : A RA ir i a PERDER "a.i a 45.

) J

49 ,r"Uo

PARASITIC HABITS OF CRUSTACEA. 249

dread, serve to protect the crab, the latter can more effect-

ually travel about and seek food, and while tearing its prey

into small pieces, many choice bits doubtless fall to the lot

of its companion.

There is another group allied to the Hermits, the species

of which often carry a valve of some bivalve shell upon the

back for protection. At Florida and in the West Indies,

Hypoconcha arcuata St., is found carrying a valve of Venus,

or some similar shell, while at Panama H. Panamensis

Smith* carries a valve of Pecten ventricosus, holding it on

by means of the two posterior pair of legs, which are bent

up over the back, aided by the posterior part of the body,

which fits into the cavity below the hinge. An allied genus

contains a species found from Florida to Brazil, Dromidia

Antillensis, which carries upon its back, according to Dr.

Stimpson, either a compound Ascidian or a Zoanthoid Polyp,

. but all the specimens in the Museum of Yale College carry

x à peculiar fleshy sponge, which fits upon and entirely covers

the back, but is held in position by the four posterior legs.

A peculiar genus of crabs, Dorippe, found on the coast of

China, though not very nearly related to the two preceding,

agrees with them in having the carapax broad and depressed,

and in having the two posterior pairs of legs twisted up over

the back, as if to hold on a bivalve shell, which may be

their usual habit; but one of the species, D. facchino, was

dredged at Hong Kong, carrying upon its back a beautiful

Sea-anemone, Cancrisocia expansa St.,[ which completely

Covers the back of the crab, and, like Adamsia, secretes

from its base a thin, firm pellicle, to which it adheres, and

by which the crab holds it in position with his four posterior

OS MEN

* Hypoconcha Panamensis Smith, sp. nov. Allied to H. arcuata Stimp. The carap

howey. er, is narrower, the ualling the breadth; the anterior margin not £0

id arcuate, and its edge broken by a marked median wn vnd

eoiehes at the insertion of the antennæ; the projection in the anterior PAn e orion

- * th enaces

250 THE HALIOTIS, OR PEARLY EAR-SHELL.

legs. It appears that when very young the crab holds over

its back a minute bit of shell or gravel upon which the Ane-

mone lodges, and afterwards, by expanding its basal pellicle

as the crab grows, provides it with a permanent protection.

This Anemone was never found except upon the crab’s back,

and the crab was not found without it. A very different crab

found at Panama, Hepatella amica Smith,* carries upon its

back Sagartia carcinophila Verrill, but in this case the con-

nection is probably less intimate, and not so permanent.

THE HALIOTIS, OR PEARLY EAR-SHELL.

BY ROBERT E. C. STEARNS.

THERE is a family of Mollusea whose beautiful shells are

frequently seen ornamenting the parlor mantel or centre

table, the admiration of all on account of the brilliant colors

and iridescence of their pearly interiors.

These shells are popularly called Sea-ears, but the scien-

tific name is Haliotis, from the Gfeek Aalios, marine, and

otis, ear. In the different countries where these shells are

found, there are local names by which they are known. In

California the people call them <Adalones, while they are

called " Meerohren by the Germans, Telinga maloli or Bia

sacatsjo by the Malays, and Hovileij by the Amboynese,”

according to Adanson. “The Eolians gave it the pretty

name of Venus’s Ear. It is the ‘Mother-of-pearl,’ or ‘Nor-

pen ant eames Smith, gen. €b., Sp. noy. pian <a a ago

i the much 1

d very short yep duncl in wanting wholly the depression | below

the orbit; the s 1 ^ thi i

= ? >

A eranu-

MGE us middle of the cardiac region, the rest of the carapax moot e

lateral 1

THE HALIOTIS, OR PEARLY EAR-SHELL. 251

man-shell of old English writers ; ‘ Orméer’ (contracted from

oreille-de-mer) of the French, ‘Lapa burra’ of the Portu-

guese, ' Orecchiale’ of the Italians, and ‘ Patella reale’ of the

Sicilians.” The Cherbourg fish-women call it, according to

Jeffreys, "S? ieu" (six yeux), from an idea that the orifices

in the shells are real eyelets or peep-holes.

The shells of Haliotis are, through ignorance, frequently

confounded with those of the Meleagrina margaritifera, or

pearl-bearing oyster, which is the true mother-of-pearl shell,

from which are obtained the beautiful pearls used in the

manufacture of various articles of jewelry. The Melea-

grine are bivalves, their shelly covering being composed of

two pieces or valves, as is the case with the common oyster,

scallop and clam, while the Haliotis has an univalve shell,

complete in one piece or valve, without joint or hinge.

The Haliotides belong to the class Gasteropoda (gaster,

belly, pous, feet), which comprises species of Mollusks that

are characterized by their creeping upon, or by means of a

muscular expansion of the body, called a foot. They belong

to the order of Scutibranchiata (scutum, a shield, branchie,

gills), the gills, or lung, being protected by a shield of

shelly or calcareous matter. The shells of Haliotis, how-

ever, resemble, in general outline, the form of the human.

far; several of the species, of which Fig. 43.

às many as eighty are known, are rough

externally though brilliant within.

. The shell of Haliotis (Fig. 43) may

be compared to a flattened Turbo, or

top-shell, with small apex whorls and

A disproportionately large body or basal whorl, depressed,

largely open, and having but a slightly elevated spire, com-

Posed of but few whorls. Again, as regards form, it holds

the same position in comparison with Turbo that Concholepas

| does to Purpura, Sigaretus to Natica, and to follow the anal-

* ogies into the Geophila, Vitrina to the more closely whorled

trochiform land species.

252 THE HALIOTIS, OR PEARLY EAR-SHELL.

The animal (Fig. 44; a, tentacle; 5, eyes; c, holes in

the shell for the passage of the tentacles, d and f; e, foot)

adheres to the rock like the Patellas and Fissurellas. To

the latter genus it is somewhat allied through its anatomy ;

the arrangement of the teeth upon the lingual ribbon is said

to be like that of Trochus. Cuvier found that every indi- |

vidual he examined had an ovary, and therefore concluded

Fig. 44.

€

that the Haliotides were hermaphrodites.* Swainson con-

sidered them as occupying a position among the phytopha-

gous, or vegetable eating gasteropods, analogous to the

Volutide among the Zoophaga, or carnivorous mollusks;

the analogy hone partieularly apparent by a comparison of

Haliotis with the Melo group of the Volutes.

The chief peculiarity of these animals is, that their shells

are perforated with a regular series of holes for the passage

*In July, 1867, specimens of the shells py Haliotis, aray Monterey, were receiv ed by

me, which combined the raider the two very distinct species, H. rufescens

and racherodii, to à remarkable degree. These. dien ul forms are of ext eed-

ingly rare occurrence, a he great n r of specimens tha ve examined, I

ave been u —— obtain additional tuere ms. The specimens referred to 1m

ressed me eing hybrids, : If fident that farther investigation will COT

roborate ie Meri n that species of Haliotis will oc casionally cro (Proceedings of

the

California Academy of Sciences, Vol. iii, p. 361.)

THE HALIOTIS, OR PEARLY EAR-SHELL. 253

of the sea-water to the respiratory organs, analogous to the

single vertical and nearly central hole in the shell of Fissu-

rella. The holes in Haliotis are placed in a row nearly equi-

distant from centre to centre, upon the left side of the shell,

parallel with the columellar lip, and being required only in

that part of the shell which covers the branchial cavity,

those nearest the apex are closed or grow up as the animal

advances in growth. The holes furnish a passage for slender

tentaeular filaments which the animal can protrude at pleas-

ure; the hole or notch for the passage of the anal siphon is

situated at the posterior margin of the shell. The animal

of Haliotis, according to P. P. Carpenter, “has two gills and

two auricles, instead of one, as in the top-shells.” Its head

is blunt and terminates in a short muzzle, with two subulate

tentacles and two stout eye peduncles at their bases. Upon

the upper extremity of the foot it has a rudimentary opercu-

ligerous lobe, but no operculum. The foot is very large,

rounded at the ends and fringed with thread-like tentaculæ,

Which, when the animal is protruded from the shell, below

the surface of the water, are gently swayed with a some-

what vibratory motion. ‘The muscular attachment, instead

of being horseshoe shaped as in ordinary univalves, is round

and central, as in the oyster." (Carpenter. )

_In adult shells in many of the species, the roughened por-

tion of the interior indicates the area of the muscular at-

tachment, while in young specimens the impression of the

muscle is not shown.

The Haliotides are sedentary in their habits, as one would

Suppose, being both vegetarians and conservatives, and

though capable of locomotion, they move but little and

quite slowly; their structure, as seen in the powerful mus-

cular foot, shows it is made for adhesion. They attach

themselves to the rocks with the greatest tenacity, and E

have often found it exceedingly difficult to remove them,

: using a stout trowel, of a shape similar to the kind

Used by bricklayers. — |

254 THE HALIOTIS, OR PEARLY EAR-SHELL.

The animal of Haliotis is exceedingly tenacious of life. I

have frequently removed it from the shell by means of a

sharp knife, and by throwing it, minus the shell, back into

the water, it would at once descend and place itself in its

normal position upon a rock, to which it would adhere with

apparently as much tenacity as before it was deprived of its

shelly covering.

"The brilliant and highly colored interior of these shells

producing sometimes an iridescent effect, has been attributed

by Sir David Brewster, Dr. Carpenter, and others, to minute

stri, or grooves, on the surface of the nacre, which alter-

nate with others of animal membrane. The color is pro-

duced by the nature of the laminz, which decompose the

light in consequence of the interference caused by the re-

flection from two sides of each film, as may be seen in soap-

bubbles. The nacreous lamine, when magnified, indicate a

minute cellular structure. The cells are of a long oval form,

and their short diameter is not above 445 of an inch.” (Jef-

freys.) The animal of Haliotis is mentioned by Atheneus

as being exceedingly nutritious but indigestible. ‘The mari-

time negroes of Senegal esteemed one species a great deli-

cacy. . . . H. tuberculata is habitually eaten by the poor

in the north of France and our Channel Isles, where it 15

occasionally cooked and served at the tables of the rich. It

requires a good deal of beating and stewing to make it ten-

der." (Jeflreys.)

In New Zealand the animal of H. iris is eaten by the

natives, and is called “Mutton-fish.” Another species 1$

eaten in Japan. In California the animals of the two most

abundant species, H. rufescens and H. C'racherodii, are fre-

quently eaten by the Americans residing along the coast, and

are a common article of food with the Chinese, who collect

them in large quantities at Monterey, and other favorable

localities north and south of that place, remove the animals —

from the shells, and dry the former for future use or for ex- -

port to their native country. EY

THE HALIOTIS, OR PEARLY EAR-SHELL. 255

The shells are also shipped from San Francisco to China

and Europe in considerable quantities. In the former coun-

try they are used for inlaying in connection with the lacquer-

work for which the Chinese are so famous, while in Europe

they are used in the arts, and many are polished and treated

with acid, to be returned to the United States and sold for

card receivers or ornamental objects.

Their beauty has not escaped the eye of the savage, as

pieces of the shells are worked into a variety of forms and

worn to ornament the person, by the Indians of north-west

America. They are also esteemed by the Indians living in

the interior of the continent. My friend, Dr. Edward Pal-

mer, recently informed me that when he was in the Indian

Territory he saw a horse purchased with an Abalone shell.

They are still held in esteem, but are not so highly prized as

formerly.

Jeffreys says that in some parts of Guernsey the ormer

was used for the purpose of frightening the small birds from

the Standing corn; three or four shells are strung loosely

together and suspended from the top of a pole, so as to

make a clatter when moved by the wind. Formerly they

Were used there to ornament the plastered exteriors of cot-

tages, the plaster being studded with them.

In some places in California I have seen the shells of

Haliotis rufescens suspended beside a sink, or placed upon a

toilet-stand for holding the soap. They are quite conven-

lent to the collector for holding or carrying smaller speci-

mens in while searching along the shore, a purpose for which

I have frequently used them. Sometimes the naturalist is

Wellrepaid by the examination of the back of large speci-

mens of the roughly sculptured species; for, besides the

. Miniature forest of marine vegetation, corallines, alge, ete.,

Which furnish an abiding place for diatoms and other minute

forms, in the crevices of the shell can be found numerous

* Small species of mollusca that would otherwise be seldom

obtained.

256 THE HALIOTIS, OR PEARLY EAR-SHELL.

The value of the exports of the Haliotis or Abalone shells

from San Francisco was, in the year 1866, $14,440, being

1697 sacks, each of two bushels capacity; and in the year

1867 the export had increased to 3713 sacks, worth $36,090.

Jeffreys, in remarking upon the sale of the European spe-

cies, H. tuberculata, says that the importation into England

of the Meleagrine, or true mother-of-pearl shells, from the

South Seas, has interfered with the sale of the "ormer"

at Guernsey, although he was informed that one merchant

. . . purchased from four to nine tons annually, paying

seven shillings and sixpence per hundred weight, equal to

about thirty-seven and one-half dollars per ton, American

gold.

The geographical distribution of the Haliotides is widely

extended ; it is remarkable however that not a single species

is found upon either coast of South America, or upon the

east coast of North America, while no less than five or six

species* are found on the west coast of North America, be-

tween the Gulf of California, northerly to, and including 4

part of Alaska.

Species are also found in Japan, China, Australia, New

Zealand, Tasmania, and many of the smaller islands of the

Indo-Pacific waters; the Canary Islands, Africa at the Cape

of Good Hope, and the Atlantic Coast of Europe.

The length of this paper prevents my treating at this time

of the uses made of the Haliotis shells in the arts by civil-

ized peoples, or the purposes to which they are applied by

the ruder races of mankind.

id CAD ER

*Of these five or six species, H. splendens Reeve, is found at San Diego and the

islands off the coast; H. corrugata Gray, Santa Barbara to San Diego and Catalina

Island; H. rufescens Swainson, from Mendocino County, southerly, to San Nicholas

Island; H. Kamschatkana Jonas, from Monterey, northerly to Alaska, also in Japan;

H. Cracherodii Leach, from Farallone e S

the Islands off the entrance an

Bay, southerly to San Diego; and H. Californiensis Swainson, a doubtful species

upon islands (and the outer ?) of Lower Cal s latter

is regarded by many as a variety ii.

eral specimens in my collection. Tias om fre to lh Boles, vili

A CHAPTER ON CUTTLE-FISHES.*

BY LUCIE L. HARTT.

Fig. 45.

Ir was during my first visit to Brazil, that one day, while

busily engaged in examining a reef at a little town on the

coast called Guarapary, my eye fell on an object in a shallow

tide-pool, packed away in the crevice of the reef, which ex-

Cited my curiosity. I could see nothing but a pair of very

bright eyes; but, concluding that the eyes had an owner, I

termined very rashly to secure him. I had been handling

corals and seemed to have forgotten that all the inhabitants

Of the sea are not harmless. I put my hand down very

quietly só as not to ruffle the water, when, suddenly, to my

surprise, it was seized with a pressure far too ardent to be

agreeable, and I was held fast. I tugged hard to get away,

but this uncivil individual, whoever he was, evidently had

as strong a hold on the rocks as he had on my hand, and

Was not easily to be persuaded to let go of either. - At last,

however, he became convinced that he must choose between

NER A SS Ce te ee ee ron i

*The facts herein narrated were drawn from one of my note-books, and scis am

experience of mine. The story is told in the first p

| actual xpe

y 0. F. HARTT.

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 33 (257)

258 A CHAPTER ON CUTTLE-FISHES.

us, and so let go his hold upon the rocks, and I found cling-

ing to my right hand, by his long arms, a large octopod

cuttle-fish, resembling the one figured at the head of this

article, and I began to suspect that I had caught a Tartar.

His long arms were wound around my hand, and these arms,

by the way, were covered with rows of suckers, somewhat

like those with which boys lift stones, and escape from them

was almost impossible. I knew that this fellow's sucking

propensities were not his worst ones, for these cuttle-fishes

are furnished with sharp jaws, and they know how to use

them too, so I attempted to get rid of him. But the rascal,

disengaging one slimy arm, wound it about my left hand

also, and I was a helpless prisoner. In vain I struggled to

free myself,—he only clasped me the tighter. In vain

shouted to my companion,—he had wandered out of hear-

ing. I was momentarily expecting to be bitten, when the

" bicho" suddenly chahged his mind. I was never able to

discover whether he was smitten with remorse and retired

with amiable intentions, or whether he only yielded to the

force of circumstances. At any rate he suddenly relin-

quished his hold upon my hands and dropped to the sand.

Then raising himself on his long limsy arms, he stalked

away towards the water, making such a comical figure, that

in spite of my fright I indulged in a hearty laugh. He

looked like a huge "and a very tipsy spider, staggering away

on his exceedingly long legs.

The cuttle-fish belongs to the Mollusks, a branch of the

animal kingdom distingniched for its members being built

on the oe of a sac, and to which Mr. Hyatt has spplied the

more appropriate name of Saccata. The cuttle-fishes ri

distinguished from all the other Mollusks, such as sn

cime: etc., by having a large head, a pair of large eyes, ail

a mouth furnished with a pair of jaws, around which are ar-

ranged in a circle, eight or ten arms furnished with suckers.

In the common cuttle-fish or squid of our coast, the body,

"which is long and narrow, is wrapped in a muscular cloak

A CHAPTER ON CUTTLE-FISHES. 259

or mantle, like a bag fitting tightly tothe back but loose in

front. It is closed up to the neck, where it is open like a

loosely fitting overcoat, buttoned up to the throat. Attached

to its throat, by the middle, is a short tube open at both

ends.. This tube, or siphon as it is called, is fastened to its

throat, and can be moved about-in any direction.

The animal breathes by means of gills, which are attached

to the front of the body inside the cloak and look like the

ruffles of a shirt bosom. By means of these gills the air con-

tained in the water is breathed, and they answer the same

purpose for the cuttle-fish that our lungs do for us.

n order to swim, the animal swells out the cloak in front

So that the water flows in between it and the body. Then it

closes the cloak tightly about the neck so that the only way

the water can get out is through the siphon. Then it con-

tracts very forcibly its coat, which, it must be remembered,

is a part of the animal, and the water is driven out in a jet

from the siphon under the throat, and the body is propelled

in the opposite direction; that is, backward like a rocket

through the water. This siphon is flexible like a water-hose,

and can be bent so as to direct the stream not only forward,

but sidewise and backward, so that the animal can move in

almost any direction, or turn somersets with perfect ease,

. and so rapidly do some cuttle-fishes swim that they are able

to make long leaps out of the water. Usually, however, the

animal swims backward, with its long arms trailing behind.

Our common cuttle-fish of this coast has, in addition to its

eight arms, two long slender tentacles which may be with-

drawn into the body. The tail is pointed, and furnished

With a fin on each side.

The Octopods, to which the Brazilian cuttle-fish (Fig. 45)

belongs, have round purse-like bodies, and eight arms united

yy the base with a web, and they swim by opening and shut-

ting their arms like an umbrella ; in this mode of swimming

ay resemble the jelly-fishes. .

Ae paper Nautilus is nothing in the world but a female

260 A CHAPTER ON CUTTLE-FISHES.

cuttle-fish that builds a shell. There was a very pretty story

told of her habits, by Aristotle, the old Greek naturalist,

which every one believed until quite lately. He said that

she rode on the top of the waves, seated in her boat-like

shell, and spreading her broad arms to the winds for sails.

But unfortunately the story has no foundation in fact. She

either crawls about on the bottom of the sea, or swims quite

like any other cuttle-fish, shell foremost, only occasionally

coming to the surface. Strangely enough she holds the two

broad hand-like extremities of the arms against her body,

and it is the inside of these arms that secrete the paper-like

shell, which is only a sort of cradle for her eggs. Not so

with the pearly Nautilus, which is furnished with a beautiful,

coiled up, pearly shell, formed on the outside of the animal.

'This shell is divided into numerous chambers, and the ani-

mal living in the outer one builds a partition across the back

part of it as the shell grows.

Cuttle-fishes are sometimes used for food by the Brazil-

ians, and different species may be seen in the markets

where one frequently finds them still alive. Sometimes, 8$

he stoops to examine one, its body is suddenly suffused with

a deep pinkish glow. Before he has time to recover from

his surprise this color fades, and a beautiful blue takes its

place as rapidly as a blush sometimes suffuses a delicate

cheek. The blue, perhaps, is succeeded by a green, and

then the whole body becomes pink again. One can hardly

conceive anything more beautiful than this rapid play of

colors, which is produced by the successive distention of sets

of little sacks containing fluids of different colors, which are

situated under the skin.

The cuttle-fish is also furnished with a bag containing 4

inky fluid, which, when the animal is attacked or pursued,

it ejects into the water, thus completely blinding its adver-

sary and effectually covering its retreat. It is from this

fluid that the color sepia is made. Beside carrying an ink-

.. bottle, some species of cuttle-fish are provided with a long»

SOMETHING ABOUT CRABS. 261

delicate, horny pen, which forms a sort of stiffener to the

back. In some species the pen is hard, thick and broad, and

the euttle-fish bone of commerce is a pen of this kind. The

species found in our waters is very small, and not at all

dangerous, being barely large enough to draw blood from

the hand; but in the tropical seas they are very large, pow-

erful and dangerous.

The cuttle-fish is the original of Victor Hugo's devil-

fish, so vividly described in the "Toilers of the Sea.”

If the devil-fish were a beneficent creation, I should be

sorry to destroy your faith in it; but as it is, I believe

it will be rather a relief than otherwise to know that in

some important respects, Victor Hugo’s story of it is a

fable. The Kraken was a mythical cuttle-fish of fabulous

size.

SOMETHING ABOUT CRABS.

BY REV. SAMUEL LOCKWOOD.

WELL do we remember our boyish sport catching crabs.

A stout string, a piece of fresh offal, a hand-net, and another

_ boy with us and a good place on an anchored raft,—then for

fun. The meat was dropped to the bottom ; the cancerous

varmint took hold, and kept hold; then we slowly drew the

bait up, and, when within a few inches of the surface, chum

adroitly slipped the seoop-net under. But would'nt "spider-

legs" run up the sides of the net! It needed all our alert-

hess to secure the prey. What a luxury those crab dinners !

But what was that pleasure compared to the delight of our

riper years, when we made the acquaintance of the inner life

of these entertaining people, Lupa, Libinia, Pagurus, and

. others. We have spent many health-giving days with them

at the “watering-places,” and many hours in the drawing-

262 SOMETHING ABOUT CRABS.

room, they affording us abundant refined entertainment in

return for our aquarian hospitality.

A wonderful thing, so considered, is told in the court

journals of the Empress Eugenie on publie days; how that

she appears in sumptuous array, and then will disappear,

and in an incredibly short space of time reappear in an en-

tire and elaborate change of dress. Her admirers gaze as

if it were magical. But suspended from the ceiling of the

boudoir, garment within garment is the awaiting suit. The

Empress has but to doff, and then to don, while many zeal-

ous and tasteful fingers are busy all around —a little read-

justment of her coiffure, and presto! all is done! and the

changed creature is again among her astonished admirers.

But suppose an old knight could put off as one unbroken

suit his iron encasement, with not so much as the unlacing

of his gear, and then on the nonce should appear in a new

suit of mail of high finish and faultless fit, — would not this

man in iron beat my dame in silk? And yet the knightly

and the queenly feat are nowhere when we instance the ex-

uviation and redressing of Mrs. Lupa dicantha, the common

edible crab. During the first year of its life, this crab puts

off its hard shelly encasing several times. That is to say,

when a youngster, it requires several new suits. After t n

first year until it gains the fully matured age, an annual suit

suffices. When fully grown, its case is permanent. We knew

some years ago an old crabber, wholly illiterate, but whose

intelligence was above the average. He had ^" crabbed

for the market many years. Often when supplying OUT

family with fish, has he been closely questioned by us about

the crabs, and always have his statements tallied one with

another. In our notes occur the following in the fisherman's

own words : —"I hev ketched soft crabs for market many ?

year. The crab sheds every year, chiefly in early summer.

At that time the he one is mighty kind to his mate. When

she shows signs of shedding, the he one comes along and

gits on the she one's back, quite tenderly-like, and entirely

SOMETHING ABOUT CRABS. 263

protects her from all enemies, whether of fishes, or of their

own kind. She is now getting ready to shed, and is called

a shedder. Soon the back begins to burst nigh to the tail.

She is then called a buster. The he one is then very anxious

to find a good place for her, either by digging a hole in the

sand or mud, or else looking up a good cover under some

sea-weed. Here he brings her, all the time hovering nigh,

and doing battle for her if anything comes along. She now

—and it only takes a few minutes—withdraws from the

old shell. And she comes out perfect, every part, even to

the inside of the hairs, eyes and long feelers, almost like the

whiskers of a cat. At the first tide she is fat, and the shell

is soft, just like a thin skin. She is then called a soft shell,

and it's the first-tiders that bring the high price. At the

second tide she is perfectly watery and transparent, and is

called a buckler; but she is not worth much then. At the

third tide she is again a hard shell, just as she always was,

only bigger."

"Have you seen all this with your own eyes?" we asked.

"Lor, sir, yes, hundreds and hundreds of times."

For the sake of contrast with these observations of an

illiterate man, let us give the gist of an entertaining passage

from Gosse : 5

"Peering into a hole I saw a fine large crab. Though he

made vigorous efforts to hold fast to the angles of his cave,

I pulled him out, and carried him home. I noticed that

there came out with him the claw of a crab of a similar size,

but quite soft, which I supposed might have been carried .

in there by my gentleman to eat, or accidentally washed in.

After I had got him out—it was a male—I looked in and

Saw another at the bottom of the hole. Arrived at home I

discovered that I had left my pocket-knife at the mouth of

the crab-hole. I returned, the crab had not moved. 1 drew

ìt out, as I had done the others. But lo! it was a soft crab,

the shell being of the consistence of wet parchment. It was

4 female, too, without any sign of spawn, and had lost one

264 SOMETHING ABOUT CRABS.

claw. I carefully put the helpless creature into the hole

again.

“What then are we to infer from this association? Do the

common crabs live in pairs? And does one keep guard at

the mouth of the cavern while its consort is undergoing its

change of skin? If this is the case it is a pretty trait of

cancrine sagacity, and one not unworthy of their acute in-

stinct and sagacity in other respects. I have no doubt that

the claw of its mate was unintentionally torn off in its efforts

to grasp some hold when resisting my tugs in dragging him

See, then, the beautiful parallel—the simple remark of

the illiterate observer, and the learned queries of the prac-

tised naturalist.

Not a little interest have we felt in an individual known to

us as the “Sea Spider,” or "Spider Crab." Wishing to make

a good introduction for our friend, and as some who have no

desire to know Mrs. John Smith might perhaps feel flattered

if presented to the lady of Johannes Smythius, Esq., so we

would say, that by Spider Crab, we mean no less a person-

age than Libinia canaliculata. She is regarded by some

as a pest on the oyster beds, and is accused of eating the

oyster spat or young. How much truth there may be in

this is to us unknown. At any rate we have never seen the

slightest evidence to sustain the charge. We have regarded

her appetencies as omnivorous. But, as our acquaintance

has been chiefly in the drawing-room, it may be that there

her tastes became fastidious. One peculiarity of habit is all

that we have time to describe. The Spider Crab will grow .

as large as one’s hand. A pet that we had a long time

was only an inch wide across the shell. We must tell the

truth, and say that her aspect was not the most tidy or eve?

cleanly. Her back looked much as if she had taken a glue

bath, and then, like a chicken, a dust bath afterwards.

Through this agglutinous coat sundry small sharp spines

appear. She does not covet society, and so withdraws t°

SOMETHING ABOUT CRABS. 265

a cozy grotto, whose walls are green with the tender little

fronds of the young sea-lettuce, the Ulva latissima, and the

delicately crimped ribbon leaves of the Znieromorpha intes-

tinalis. It did not please us much to see the pert Libinia,

with her nippers like little shears, snipping off the velvet

lining of the cave. Being indulgent we did not interfere,

but left her to her own enjoyment. When we returned, out

came Mrs. Libinia in full dress to greet us. On every spine

of her uncouth carapace was a green ribbon, —all gracefully

waving as she strutted in the open grounds of the establish-

ment. What a sight to look at! And what a lesson in ani-

mal psychology! What was the mental process? Was it a

device, —"a moving grove," like Macduff’s, in order to de-

veive its prey? If so, what intelligence! Or, was it her

vanity? Done just for the looks of the thing! If so, what

inexplicable caprice! This fact we have seen; and an intel-

ligent aquarist friend assures us he has seen it a number of

times. The English naturalists tell the same of their Sea

Spider (Maia squinado). And one of them (Harper) even

makes us almost believe that when this humor is upon it, it

will even dance, or at least exercise a certain rythmic move-

ment at the sound of music. Query; has it that hardihood

when it hears the refrain :

“They hang both men and women there

For the wearing o' the green!”

If so, Madame Maia, may your gayety never be your ruin.

e can only introduce one more of these curious little

_ creatures, and that must be the little Hermit Crab, the Pa-

gurus longicarpus, so common on our shores. Though a

recluse, for he lives in a vacated sea-shell all alone, yet of

hermit gravity he has none. In fact he is constitutionally

a funny fellow. This crab has his two hands, or claws,

greatly larger than the others; and of these, the right one

. 1$ much stouter than the left. The next three pairs of claws

i behind are tipped with simple hooks, which having & con-

iderable leverage power, are really efficient grapnels with

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 34

266 SOMETHING ABOUT CRABS.

which to pull himself along when he travels, carrying his

house on his back; while the claws of the fifth or last pair

are very diminutive, and yet have a beautiful structural

relation, as they enable the animal to perform the small

amount of movement needed by the body inside the shell.

Behind all these limbs the body is entirely naked, hence the

necessity of an empty sea-shell with which to cover it. On

the extreme end of the naked body is an apparatus for tak-

ing firm. hold of the little column in the upper part of the

8 ell.

There is a queer monkey-like deny in the looks of the

Little Hermit. "We had in our aquarium one of rather large.

size, and which occupied a shell of the required capacity.

Of this specimen we were very proud. The shell on its

upper part was ashen white, with a fine colony of Hydrac-

tinia, like tiny sea-daisies. And mystic beings they were;

for by that strange law of parthenogenesis, they were the

great- grandparents of those huge and splendid creatures,

the gorgeous Acalephs! We had also a little Hermit in à

small Vassa obsoleta. And what about this young scape-

grace, whom we soon almost wished obsolete? On he came,

and climbed right up into this pretty parterre, and having

secured himself with his grapnels on top of his neighbor’s

house, most deliberately, now with the right claw, and now

with the left, he pulled off my weesome pets, stowing

them into his ugly mug with a movement so regular, that it

seemed almost rythmical, and yet so cruelly comical, that it

made me most laughably mad.

But the Hermit grows, while the sea-shell which he occu-

pies does not. Hence like many bipeds, he has his "first of

May." So he goes house-hunting. This must be under-

stood literally. He finds a shell. Willit do? First then

is it really "to let." He will “inquire within." This he

does, if not the most courteously, very feelingly. Satisfied

on this point, the next question is, will the house suit. He

turns it over, then turns it around. You see the weight of

SOMETHING ABOUT CRABS. 267

one’s house is quite an item in the reckoning to him who

has to carry it on his back. One inspection more. How is

it inside? Is it entirely empty, and is it of the right size?

Up goes one of the long slender limbs of the second pair,

and the interior is thoroughly explored. All right! Just

the house he is after. His mind is now made up to move.

Look at him! Quick! or you'll miss it! Out comes the

body from the old house, and pop it goes into the new one!

The resolution to move was taken, the surrender of the old

house was made, and the occupancy of the new was effected,

and all within a fraction of a second of time.

Sometimes this matter goes on less pleasantly. Two

house-hunters may find the same tenement. Should both

desire it then comes the tug of war. Live together they

neither can, nor will. The affair is settled by a battle, in

which the stronger usually proves his claim right by the

Carlyleian logic and morals, viz., might. Quite often from

these encounters a terrible mutilation results.

To us it is a sad sight to see the Little Hermit, when “his

time has come,” and he knows it; that is when Pagurus

must die. However droll his career may have been, the

Little Hermit is grave then. And what a strange fact it is!

Who can explain it? The poor little fellow comes out of

his house to die! Yes, in order to die. To us humans

home is the only right place to die in. But for Pagurus

home has no attraction at this solemn time. Is it because

he feels encoffined that he comes out, that “his feet may be

in a wide place?” Poor fellow, with a sad look and melan-

choly movement, he of his own will quits the house for

which he fought so well. Those antenne, or feelers, that

often stood out so provokingly, and were so often poked :

Into everybody’s business, now in a feeling manner lie prone

and harmless. The eyes have lost their pertness.. There lies

the houseless Hermit on that mossy rock, stone dead!

... The human side of these lowly creatures, as unfolded by

Close observation of their habits, is much better understood

268 SOMETHING ABOUT CRABS.

in England than with us. Our naturalists seem to be chiefly

aoranled with the study of structure. When their habits are

better understood we shall doubtless learn something which

as yet are only known of foreign species. One of these we

would instance in closing.

The Hermit, as its name imparts, loves solitude so far as

the occupancy of its shell is concerned. There is an English

species, Prideaux' Hermit, that seems to take Patrick's view

of seclusion: "Its very nice to be all alone by one's self,

especially if one has his sweetheart with him." So this

Hermit believes in having for a companion the dressy Cloak-

let Actinia; nor will he live without her. And if form and

color be considered, remarkably recherche is this Sea-ane-

mone. Her form adapts her to surround the shell mouth

like a frill, while her disk is of waxy white, and the rest is

elegantly varied with reddish-brown, rose-purple and scarlet.

This gorgeous creature adheres around the entrance of the

Horis ahell, so that his lookout is from a mantel richer

than any field of cloth-of-gold. But when the Hermit has

outgrown his house, and maving-day. comes, does he leave

his "beautifol though helpless companion? No, a better gal-

- lantry is his. He causes her to loose her long adherence to `

the shell’s mouth, and to cleave to the vodenide of his tho-

rax. In this way he carries her with him to their new home.

And what then? Most tenderly he places her in position,

and holds her there until a good adhesion of the base takes

effect, when she witt her prateotor, is snugly domiciled

again. These facts are given in pleasant detail by Gosse,

from whom we quote the following :

*Is there not here much more than what our modern das

. jologists are prone to call automatic movements, the results

of reflex sensorial action? The more I study the lower

animals, the more firmly am I persuaded of the existence in

them of psychieal faculties, such as consciousness, intelli-

gence, will and choice! and that, even in those forms in

which as yet no nervous centers have been detected.”

American Naturalist.

MORSE ON SHELL DREDGING.

SHELL DREDGING. 269

Thus ends our history of these cancrine crustacea, as the

naturalists call them, namely, the crabs. Our hope has been

that the reader does not regard it as crusty, cancer-ous, or

crabbed.

SHELL DREDGING.

BY EDWARD S. MORSE.

A srRONG arm and an immunity from sea-sickness are

among the important requisites of a good dredger. To one

who has pulled up a well-filled dredge from fifteen or twenty

fathoms, the necessity of a strong arm is obvious, especially

if this act has been attended with the not unusual accompa-

niments of a rough sea, and a cold breeze which stiffens the

fingers while grasping the wet rope. Onecan only pity those

Who are sea-sick, for they are helpless.

In dredging one oftentimes enjoys the keenest pleasure,

attended with the greatest bodily discomforts. The miseries

we will not mention. The delights come when the contents

of the dredge are sifted, and there lies before you the only

treasures of the deep; treasures that can be obtained in no

other way. It is true that many deep-water species of shells

are obtained from the stomachs of the haddock, cod and

other fishes, particularly from the haddock, which seems to

live principally on mollusks. Specimens procured from this

Source are generally impaired by the action of the juices of

the stomach. The beauty of dredging consists in getting

the objects in their living condition ; and then you may keep

them alive in sea-water for some time, and see them crawl

about and watch their singular ways.

A dredge should not be too large, perhaps sixteen inches

. Across the mouth. The frame. is made of a flat bar of iron,

. @inch in width and an eighth of an inch in thickness, one

. *dge of which should be hammered sharp and turned out, to

: i

210 SHELL DREDGING.

form the scraping edge, as represented in the cut at the close

of this article. The other edge must be drilled with small

holes an inch apart, to which a stout cloth bag is to be

sewed. It is well to have the sides of the bag made of

netting so that the water may drain from it quickly. The

iron shanks are to be fastened to the dredge, as shown in

the figure. A dredge of this shape, however it falls, when

drawn slowly along, is sure to scrape up the mud. It

is well to have for a rope a good strong one of manila-

hemp, and this should be well secured to the dredge. It is

necessary to have the length of the rope more than twice

the depth you intend to dredge in; thus, if you were to

dredge in ten fathoms, you should be provided with at least

twenty-five fathoms of rope, as it is necessary to give the

dredge sufficient "slack" in order that it may drag properly.

Should the dredge meet with any obstacle, it can generally

be liberated by retracing the track passed over, dragging

the dredge in an opposite direction. It is well to add that

a row-boat is best to dredge from, that is for light dredges,

as you want to move very slowly through the water. A fine

sieve is necessary to sift out the mud, a few pails in which to

empty the contents of the dredge, and some large-mouthed

vials in which to save the animals alive. —

After a little experience in dredging you will notice that

certain species live on certain "bottoms." Thus, if your

dredge comes up filled with mud, you must sift the mu

carefully, and from it you will find certain forms different

from those you may dredge from a sandy bottom. It is well

to examine your sieve often, that the smaller species may

not be washed away. Sometimes the dredge will come UP

filled with stones; do not throw these away in disgust, but

examine each stone carefully, and clinging to them you will

find several species of shells found in no other way. One

species, called Cemoria Noachina (Pl. 4, figs. 2, 3), is like.

| & very small limpet, with a little hole in its top from which

. radiate little ribs, giving the shell a very elegant appearance

SHELL DREDGING. 271

under the magnifier. Then there are certain- species of

shells (Chiton, Pl. 4, fig. 1) which cling to the stones, limpet-

like, but instead of having a shell of one piece covering

their back, the shell is composed of eight transverse pieces,

one lapping over the other. When detached from the rock

they often roll up like a pill-bug. On the eastern coast of

Maine there is one large species which can be taken from

the rocks at low-water mark. The species dredged in Mas-

sachusetts Bay are generally small; one or two of them are

brightly colored with shades of red. s

Two other species called Velutina (PI. 4, figs. 4, 5) are

often found adhering to the rocks brought up in this man-

ner. By far the most beautiful and interesting animals are

contained in the little cells which often cover the rocks from

deep water. They are arranged in little patches like mats,

some species making a perfectly circular figure, others cov-

ering the rocks in irregular patches. These belong to the

lowest group of mollusks, and are called Polyzoa. Under

the microscope the mass is seen composed of little cells,

arranged like the stones in a pavement. Each one of these

cells has a little opening protected by a small lid, which

opens to allow the animal within to protrude a tuft of minute

feelers. It would require too long a time to show the affin-

ity of these animals to the clam and oyster, yet they are

among the lowest forms of this group. There are many

Species on our coast, some of which have been described as

hew, others are similar to British species.

We figure on Plate 4 several species of shells one is likely

to dredge on our New England coast, though representing

but a small portion of the species that may be found,

‘nd we may mention here, with propriety, that the State

of Massachusetts—with that liberality that has always char-

acterized the acts of its legislature—has now in preparation

.* new edition of *Gould's Report on the Invertebrate ani-

mals of the State," This book, when published, will contain -

. “arefully engraved figures of all the species of shells found

272 SHELL DREDGING.

within its limits, and the marine species alone (containing

all the animals that belong to the branch of mollusca, though

many have no hard calcareous shells) number three hundred

and sixteen. Several of these are cuttle-fishes, and there

are many mollusks which have no shells, the branehism or

gills being’ naked; hence they are called Nudibranchia.

They comprise the most beautiful animals in the branch of

Mollusca, for certain species are very brilliantly colored.

The species figured on the plate are among the few that

the collector is likely to bring up while dredging in our bays

and inlets, in depths of from ten to fifteen fathoms. Should

he be ambitious to throw his dredge into depths of fifty or

one hundred fathoms, many other species will be secured

that he could not get in water of less depth.

The outlines given will be found sufficiently accurate to

enable the collector to identify the species represented. Fig.

1 represents Chiton albus ; the shell is not quite half an inch

in length; it is generally a dead white color. Figs. 4 and 5

represent Velutina haliotoides and V. zonata, the latter dif-

fering from the former in having a more solid shell, and

in having the shell marked with bands of brown. Fig- 6 is

the Natica immaculata, a pure white shell of the size repre

sented; very common. Fig. 13 represents another species,

Natica clausa; color from a white to a dark reddish brown.

The little lid that closes the aperture of most marine shells

is in this species white and shelly, and not of the horny

consistency characterizing the opereula of most shells in our

region. ` Pandora trilineata (Fig. 24) is easily distinguished

by its white pearly color, and the manner in which the valves

are pressed together. Lyonsia hyalina (Fig. 20) has a vety

fragile translucent shell eovered with radiating wrinkles. —

Thyasira Gouldii (Fig. 18) has a delicate white shell, along”

one margin of which is a deep fold. The shell of Astarte —

. castanea (Fig. 22) is quite solid, and chestnut-colored. It

_ is found abundantly in Provincetown harbor at low wa

- Astarte sulcata (Fig. 25) is known by its strongly marked -

SHELL DREDGING. 278

J concentric ridges., The color in young specimens is very

= light-brown; in old ones the shell is of a brownish olive

| color. Cardita borealis (Fig. 28) has a brownish shell with

the ribs crenulated. Cardium pinnulatum (Fig. 33) has a

dingy white shell, ornamented with about twenty-five ribs,

each of which has a series of little scales. Yoldia limatula

(Fig. 30) has a beautifully polished shell, of a light green

color. The hinge is complicated by a number of long sharp

teeth, so closely interlocked, that it is difficult to separate

the valves without breaking them. Tellina tenera (Fig. 31)

has a white iridescent shell. Nucula tenuis (Fig. 27) is

smooth and green in color. Nucula delphinodonta (Fig. 29)

is brownish green. All the Nuculas have the same peculiar

hinge of numerous interlocking teeth. Crenella glandula

(Fig. 26) has a brownish yellow shell, marked with minute

radiating lines. Terebratulina | septentrionalis (Fig. 32),

though apparently related to the other bivalves, is widely

different from them and belongs to another order; the shell

is secured to the bottom, generally on stones, by a fleshy

peduncle which passes through a hole in the upper valve.

Dentalium striolatum (Fig. 9) has a shell like a long curved

tapering tube. Scalaria Grænlandica (Fig. 12) has a shell

that looks more like a tropical species than a denizen of our

. cold northern waters. The shell is very attractive, with its

turreted spire banded by prominent ribs. It is related to

the foreign species, commonly called the "Wentle trap,"

. Which formerly brought fabulous prices among shell collec-

tors. Margarita undulata (Fig. 16) is one of our most

i beautiful marine shells. The color of the shell when fresh

genus, Margarita cinerea (Fig. 17), is ashy white. There

zd Several species on the coast, a |

is bluish white. Turritella erosa (Fig. 11) has a pale brown

shell, and Odostomia producta (Fig. 10) has a light brown-

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III.

ell. Bela harpularia (Fig. 7) is brownish in color,

214 SHELL DREDGING. .

and Bela turricula (Fig. 8) is thin and pure white. Trito-

nium pygmeum (Fig. 14) is yellowish white. Admete viri- -

dula (Fig. 15) is white. Trichotropis borealis (Fig. 21) is

yellowish in color. Aporrhais occidentalis (Fig. 19) is one -

of the most singular shells that we have. It is rare on our-

coast, but is common towards Newfoundland.

We must bear in mind that the species mentioned are a

few among the many that most likely will be collected in

dredging on our coast,

Dredge.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE I

Fig. 1. Chiton albus Linn. Fig. 18 aiia Gouldii Phil.*

: i inn.* . Aporrhais occidentalis Beck.

REVIEWS.

SUCCES a a ASQ

REVIEW or SCANDINAVIAN NATURAL History LITERATURE IN 1867-8.

E By Dr. C. F. Lütken. — As an appendix to my former report I beg leave

a to insert a review of some Norwegian papers recently received, viz., the

University programme of the University of Christiania, for 1868, by Prof.

Sars, and the volume, for 1867, of the Proceedings of the Society of Sci-

ee of the Norwegian Metropolis, the first named of which is of unusual

Scientific importance and interest.

Among the many valuable works with which Prof. Sars has enriched

Science, his last, * Mémoires pour servir à la Connaissance des Crinoides vi-

F ption. memoir is written entirely in

eb and it will therefore, perhaps, be thought superfluous to give an

: | the

ba, is in fact a Rhizo-

and perha:

ll, however, if the identity should be farther proved, retain its

eu the West Indian Sea-lily was, without any sufficient reasons, re-

to th m "e s ad Se SURE gh im nm 3 1 Aan

, 1

hionv

Let Mon Specimen has a length of eighty millimetres, the largest -

oTt of which belongs to the stalk, which attains a length of from twelve

Y millimetres, and consists of from twenty-two to sixty-seven

Gu =

not specifically distinct from the Norwegian aae

216 REVIEWS.

joints. These joints are distinguished by two points of structure; first,

that two articulated, branched ** radicles," or ‘‘ cirri,” branch off from the

distal extremity of the third to the thirty-second lower joints, and from

the very end of the lowest, attaching the stem to various marine objects,

stalked **pentacrinoid" stage of Antedon (Alecto, Comatula). There

appears, however, to be no voluntary mobility in the stalk, and the pur-

pose of this structure is, probably, only to give it a greater passive flexi-

bility, the lines of articulations alternating regularly at angles approach-

ing to the right angle. The upper joints are the youngest, shorter and

thinner, with the exception of the very uppermost (to whic h the basals

ealed); it is e, obconical, and serves, as in somite Apio-

crinus, etc., as the base of the calyx, d by the fourth, fifth, s or

seventh series of **Radialia," three in each. Of seventy-five spec ché

and seven

h the soft

The third

qr radii were found in fifteen, five in Mem -three, six in fifteen,

wo specimens; the radii are only connected together throug

peristome. s The first *radiale" is not visible from without.

adiale"

wearing on every second joint a ‘‘pinnula” (six to sev , rarer

eight, on either side, consisting of eleven to twelve, rarely fifteen joints).

The mouth is central, the anal opening short, eccentric, interradial; the

peristome of the disc is soft, but strengthened by small, microscopi

(from four to seven) perforated plates; five of these are greater than

others, and occupy the angles of the mouth; they are the “oral plates”

of the pentacrinoid Antedon, disappearing at an early period in the adult.

The mouth is provided with twenty (sixteen to twenty-eight) —

longer and shorter, radial and interradial, pinnate, partly studded W

. “vesicles,” so ik of Antedon, are nowh o!

double series of scale-like plates closes the furrows, when the tentac

| are withdrawn. ere are no ^ pinnules ovales." Inas mee

nbranched rd of the men also confirms the

fossil ticrinus had simple,

recent

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 277

h ting its general accordance with that of Antedon. The second part of the

i memoir and its two last plates are devoted to the development of Antedon

Sarsii, differing in several interesting particulars from that of A. rosa-

ceus, as elucidated by Wyville Thomson and Carpenter. The reader who

te sity of Christiania, enablin ng him to devote himself almost exclusively to

i scientific pursuits, without being disturbed by the professional duties

ineumbent on most other scientific men, as curators of museums, lec-

though in a somewhat advanced age, continues his scientific work, as

Well as the enlightened liberality of the Representation who did not hesi-

tate to give an unusual position to a man capable of doing eg unusual work.

; In the ** Proceedings of the Academy of Christiania,” for 1867, of which

= Twas formerly only capable of giving an incomplete report, you will find

sid iean series coilected by Dr. Packard, in Mai

kon fe Sates of twenty-nine species, twenty-one of which are

ody dea the Norw wegian formations, while of the rest three or four

kno , acia C di,

Wn from this i of the Atlantic, neither in the fossil nor the recent

ineata,* Thra onra aa Aporrhais ialah iis are not

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

_ HO.

ZOOLOGY.

Finner Wuate.—The Academy of Natural Sciences has just

ed the perfect skeleton of a whale from the coast of Maryland. It

* finner, of the genus Sibbaldius Gray, and is half-grown sit orny

retica, a circumpolar species.—A. S. P. .

278 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

seven feet in length. It is quite distinct from all known species, but is

nearest S. laticeps. Its characters are found in the nasal and phenygoid

nes, and in the cervical vertebra, etc. I call it S. tectirostris. Two

cervicals only have complete lateral canals; the nasals are short, wide,

concave in front, except a e keel in ‘the middle line above, and in

front.—Epwarp D. Corr, Philadeip

THE CORAL SNAKE.—In the March number of the NATURALIST, pages

36 and 39, Mr. Dall has given an amusing (?) account us mp bravado in

handling a snake, reputed to be very poisonous by the natives of Nicara-

gua, and called the ‘coral snake,” which Mr. Dall calls Pei euryxzan-

repel Ken.,” and says it is ‘‘ perfectly PERRAS It is well known that the

genus Elaps, which includes a large number of species in tropical coun-

F all of them banded with bright colors, is ag tin allied to the noto-

rious asp and viper of the old world, and that, like those deadly species,

it is provided with grooved poison fangs, which are, however, quite

Ela We ha

Elaps, both from the East Indies and tropical America, under the name

f “coral snake,” and with memoranda stating the deadly character of

its bite.

Now since Mr. Dall does not appear to know whether his “coral snake"

is an Elaps or not, his foolhardiness in handling a snake having such à

bling Elaps as to be indistinguishable by external appearances, but Mr.

Dall has not partis that his snake was of this sort, and by placing it in

** Elaps?," would indicate the contrary.

It may, therefore, safely be said that the only sensible course for stran-

gers to follow, be they naturalists or others, is to avoid unnecessarily

exposing themselves to the bites of serpents reputed venomous by the —

natives of d countries.— A. E. VERRILL, Yale College.

NORTH ATL DnEbGING ExPEDITION.— The Royal Society bas

Tirip to kiep pienes for the use of a steamer in order to continue

the investigations so ably commenced by Dr. Carpenter and Prof. Wyvi

Thompson; and the “Porcupine” has been placed at their disposal. The

expedition will take place about the middle of May, and the deep water,

from 1100 to 1300 fathoms, near the Rockall Bank, will be the first €x-

plored, and afterwards the sea bottom lying off the outer Hebrides €

the Shetland Isles. — Annals e ina History.

ARING OF CraBs.— We do not yet thoroughly understand how they

; [Crustacea] see, smell, or hear; nor are e entomologists "o agreed aS

to the m or the -antenne. This interesting SU

as offers most promising field for study, and I ed particulary call

the attention of entomologis sts to hs dires e memoir, by Hensen, 0B

the stacea. Hensen has shown that the —

Hp] otolithes in fhe open auditory Bact of shrimps are foreign. :

He proved

animal itself.

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 279 |

this very ingeniously by placing a shrimp in filtered water without any

sand, but with crystals of uric acid. Three hours after the animal had

moulted, he found that the sacs SHADE ma S

ose around them remain perfectly still.— Sir J

Lubbock in Scientific Opin

LE IN WiNTER.— On February 4th, a large Box Turtle

(Cistudo Viéyiston) was unearthed while digging in the barn-yard, and

ught in, and is at present an inmate of the family, — on mild days

travelling over the carpets at a pretty good rate of speed, and at other

times bh E in dark corners and genomes furniture. Sometimes

he is missi ing à grand turtle hunt ensu We have consulted

White's « bore: " and have hopes of nix n an ‘‘old family tortoise”

out of this one. He is a convenient pet now, not requiring to be fed, and

js gry from an inadvertent footstep by his armor.— MRs. V. W.,

.. A Doz wirn Honxs.— A oung man recently shot a deer of splendid

proportions, and carrying a beautiful pair of antlers, each with four

ein ches. It proved to be a doe, and hundreds have since seen it who

! st

a ts sex, none whom ever before saw a doe with such a neck

and horns. It lies daily in front of the door next to my office, ette

TE p bid from Barnum. Can you inform me whether this is a new fac

Matural history or not?—L. P. HATCH, Saiar Min

[We have never heard of a female deer assuming ue characters of à

x. before, but it is well established that female birds, living to old age,

= ge for the bright plumage lod full trail of the isis b bird. N. Vic

~“<idermist, of Lynn, has the specimen mounted. — Eps.]

FA d times during the month of January

e of logs, and advanced towards a man who

ae in the stents and played about him, quite regardless

$. the presence ia spectators and not disturbed by their conversation

"à reddish brown color, with a pure white proni

ED Heckel has described some fossil jelly-

ging t e groups Discophora and Rhizostomida, from the

9 ete, iani. slates at Eichstadt.— Cosmos.

m sina Ross. — Two albinos of the robin were presented to the Buf-

shed of Natural bru last autumn. Both were shot near that

PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.

Tue Worcester Lyceum AND NATURAL HISTORY ASSOCIATION.—The

annual meeting of this association was held on Wednesday, May 5, 1869.

The different reports read indicated that the society was in a very flour-

ishing condition, and that its efforts to make a good cabinet of specimens

Eg been abus successful.

mittee on Field Meetings was chosen, with the President as

ache and a OR ENTRA was manifest on the part of all present to

make the meetings interesting and profitable to members and the public.

Nathaniel Paine was elected President, with an able corps of officers.

eee e

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

ei S., Grand Rapids, Mich.— Your drawing appears to be that of Papilio Mar-

&. B. — Cynthia Lavinia Harr. is a very rare butterfly throughout New

Marina, p Harris s specimen wan ikon | in "Milton. Mr. Scudder roger s Ley

Loser Cape Cod. You say you have captured one in Hamilton cars we are in

Mr. eese , has Hn

5 Providence, R ni Ime Index to Vol. I. has not yet been printed. i

B.S. M. Olney, P w-flies are probably Selandria rose. An account i=

is given in Packard’s = ~ Guide: to the Study of Insects,” p. 223, and in Harris’s

tise on Injurious Insect i

S. M. M., Mauch et Pa.—It would be impossible to give the names of the e birds

from your descriptions. Send us skins by mail, and we will identify them for Tee

— M Óo——

BOOKS RECEIVED.

"s doene for the Diffusion of Natural Science. Third Series. Vol. i, No. 2. Copenha-

SS gen, ne and

E Farm Implements and Farm Machi d the Principles of their construction

| ; use. With 287 illustrations. By John "Thomas. New York: Orange Judd & Co-

d 12mo, pp. 302. Price $1.50. Boston,

A Synopsis of the Birds of the Hawaiian Islands. By S. B. Dole. 8vo, pp. 16.

Notes on the Eruption of the Hawaiian Volcanoes, 1868. By W.T. Brigham. Ato, PP

ae Was Gon Hi Plants. Notes on Hesperomannia b W. T. Brigham,

era of Hawaiian ts. Notes ia by

and on l'on Aisinidendron, Pi d Brigham, wi an Analysis ofy the "Hawaiian

r ora aby Horace Mann. Boston, "1869. 4to, pp. 14, red po i

ps Rob e: A Treatise on the Propa tom eee ar the Rose-

Pp Mac i 1 B. Parse. New and revised Abi Illustrated. New Ai Orange

The Mississippi Y. ; Its Physical G luding sketch of the Topographth

e Mississipy s £0. inci sketches

C- Grene € EA Lr oster, LL.D D. Trad by ips and sections. Chicago:

i he Prastical Poultry Keeper s 4 complete and standard Guide to the Mana T of

der od Tue edition, Illustrated. New Y

2 png & snore, Waters. Ry G. C. Scott. Illustrated. ape Bohr Net

i Le Naiwroliste Canadien, Ma

| I dium B. Lett suot try. 1

aha t s ede M D. soci Ne m H. er. Pea p». $5 P :

ino osten cuts, s Published by the T and for sale by the N

: THEE

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. III.—AUGUST, 1869.—No. 6.

coc GU (Ode o m2

RAMBLES IN FLORIDA.

BY R. EK. C. STEARNS.

Forma, the “Land of Flowers," the enchanted ground

Wherein it has been said Ponce de Leon sought for the

“fountain of perpetual youth,” is not far away; the fountain,

quite likely, is as remote as ever, but the land which it was

said to bless with its everflowing and rejuvenating waters,

can be reached after a journey of a few days from New

York, by steamship if the traveller is not unpleasantly

E ected by a sea-voyage, or, if the apprehension of "rough

. Weather off Hatteras” should make a different route prefer-

able, then by rail to Charleston, thence by steamer over

waters generally smooth to Fernandina, stopping on the way

at Savannah just long enough to look about and obtain a

. Beneral idea of the place.

_ Fernandina, situated on Amelia Island, is the principal

town upon the east coast of Florida, and of-importance,

‘ing the eastern terminus of a line of railway which con-

Dects the Atlantic Ocean with the Gulf of Mexico. Its pop-

ulation is not far from fifteen hundred. At first sight it is

Prepossessing, but a walk about the place reveals many

buildings of pleasing architecture hidden among the trees.

d accord: oA ongress i the PEABODY ACADEMY OF

in the Cae Loy ihe rese inthe Tt of the. District of Massachusetts.

‘NATURALIST, VOL. HL. — 36 (281)

282 RAMBLES IN FLORIDA.

- Within a small enclosure not far from the landing, “the

. . forefather of the hamlet sleeps." Upon a marble f

stone may be seen the name of a

DOMINGO FERNAND i

NATIVE OF VIGO IN ia. SPAIN.

. BORN THE FOURTH DAY OF AUGUST, 1766.

AND DIED THE THIRD DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 1833.

IN THE SIXTY-SEVENTH YEAR OF HIS A

Señor Fernandez, it is presumed, never found the fabled

fountain, or, drinking of its waters they were powerless to

avert the inevitable doom of man. The morning was pleas-

ant; the sun shone brightly ; it lighted up the cross and gave

roundness to the skull and bones that are carved above his

name. From an oak near by the Spanish moss hung droop-

ing midway to the ground, casting a filmy shadow, and :

hiding a choir of mocking-birds,* who filled the air with

music.

` Leaving the grave of Fernandez and following the streets,

a careful peny in the loose sand of which they are com- :

posed will disclose fragments of pottery of the size of à

penny, perhaps a part of the debris of some aboriginal tribe

once camped hereabout, the souvenirs of a race, of whose

history how little is known!f Farther on is an ancient

mound of large size, nearly three hundred yards in circum-

ference. Ündisturbed ten years ago its surface was as the

builders left it, but its slopes and summit were so changed,

through the military purposes for which it was used during

the recent civil war, that its original proportions are de-

'* stroyed, and its former outline ville.

so p gba o NN

* Minus us polyglottus is quite common here; many persons are not aware that this

bird has a song of its own, which is very musical and sweet; the popular idea &een*

to be that its notes are exclusively imitative. In and around F Fernandina may fie a

hdc

pelia passerina $ Dwsin ^ which some ere obtained. ;

tat the landing of Fernandina, on Shae. pe 3 yes ie summit of the Bia S is cov-

ered with a layer of artificially dred n

3 Aion Dy dn ftiaden

RAMBLES IN FLORIDA. 283

About a mile from the town towards the ocean is the

r lighthouse, built upon somewhat elevated ground, forming

EL with the adjacent buildings and moss-festooned oaks, a bit

[ of highly pieturesque and pleasing scenery.

b. Between the lighthouse and the road to the beach, not far

distant, is another mound in the centre of an ancient camp-

ing ground, the latter covered with bleaching shells, the

remnants of unrecorded clam-bakes and oyster-feasts. This

mound is much smaller than the first, only about one hun-

dred yards in circumference and about fifteen feet in height ;

it was covered with trees and shrubs,* the largest of the

former being perhaps nine inches in diameter; their roots

penetrating the loose material of which the mound is com-

posed, and in their ramifications wound and twisted among

the skeletons of unknown men whose decayed bones crum-

bled at a touch. Stone implements were found, and in the

Surrounding field fragments of earthen-ware less perishable

than the hands that made them.

_ *rom here to the ocean the path lies through a low and,

| in some places, dense growth of Saw-palmetto,f interspersed

. With one or more species of Cactus. The leaf-stalks of the

a former have sharp points along the edges, hence the name;

and the prickly Oactaceœ may be considered the porcupines

and hedgehogs of the vegetable kingdom. Though painful

to the touch and dangerous to the apparel they should not be

denounced ; many of the Cacti, as well as of the Palmacee,

to which family the Saw-palmetto belongs, bear delicious

fruit, and some species of Cacti are the feeding parks of the

Insect, from which the celebrated scarlet dyestuff, known as

cochineal, is derived.

; is Xanthozylum Carolinianum Lam., or Prickly Ash, also called tenet wipe s

here. It is said to possess valuable medicinal qualities; à piece of ose bar!

: “log the mouth and chewed produces a stinging sensation, causing the tongue to

t einas gg after grasping a nettle.

2 i Coccus cacti 'T'ha cochin RS d E š . Pham bugs;

alive. scalded, and then dried. 1t is esti-

the c. Cactt of which if ic 3

d that every pound of from half to

, ers of a million of

th 1 ji

hineal contains 70000 of these insects, and

284 RAMBLES IN FLORIDA.

Without enlarging upon the merits of the Palms and

Cacti, which would require a volume, we will consider the

species we have encountered as unworthy representatives of

noble families, and proceed upon our wa

It is hard work for either man or beast toiling through

shifting sands, but pressing on we soon achieve the summit

of tha) mimic mountain range, which the wind and sea

always pile up on the landward side of the shore. Descend-

ing the slope we are face to face with old ocean, whose maj-

esty, whether in storm or calm, is ever impressive ; the sea’

is smooth, the surf beats gently on the beach. We pause

a while to admire the glories of sky and water; to ponder

upon the mysteries of life and form that dwell within the

broad blue bosom of the deep; to peer into the hazy beauty

of the atmosphere which hangs like a curtain at the remote

horizon, implying hidden and greater beauty beyond; to

. note the distant sails of coming or departing ships; or watch

the gulls riding upon the ripples like tiny shallops at anchor;

to recall how in the north the wintry winds nipped us on

New Year's day, only a week or two ago, and how bland

and genial are the breezes here; to behold at our feet as we

follow the more recent drift-rows, the rejected treasures

which the sea has cast aside, forms different from any that

we have elsewhere found, and each curious in its way-

There are but few sea-weeds (alga) on the beach, and not

many species of shells; of some of the species, however,

many individuals can be obtained. Here are numerous.

specimens of the Fan Mussels (Pinna). What is written

of the lilies of the field, "they toil not, neither do they

|... Spin," does not apply to them; for these submarine weavers

| Spin a byssus, or beard, by which they attach themselves

4 cable, and its fibres are tubular, like human hair. When

. fresh and flexible, gloves and stockings can be woven from :

3 A and at Tarento it is uu into articles of wear —

“Acce inis ing inc SN the byssus is a successful remedy ;

RAMBLES IN FLORIDA. . 285

for the earache, but he does not say in what manner it is

applied.”* Pinna rudis, an English species, is sometimes

eaten, and Henry and Arthur Adams also mention that

. 5Some species are used for food.1t

4 A dead fish, half eaten by the birds, is not an attractive

object; it is in an unsavory state, but doubtless its scales

Would, under a microscope, astonish us with many lines of

beauty. The butterflies, so unlike the fishes in form and

habits, also have minute scales, hence the metallic lustre

and brilliancy of their coloring ; impalpable to the naked

eye, their tiny scales resemble the pollen of flowers. Co-

umbus “gave a new world to Castile and Leon;” but think

3 of the world of enchantment, of the precious treasures that

| the microscope has opened to all.

À thin slice cut from a spine of the Sea-urchin (Echinus)

that we have just picked up, if magnified, would furnish a

partial insight to the wonders of its plan of structure.

e find the oblong pouch-like egg-cases of a species of

Skate (Raia) quite common. The texture and color of these

pouches are such, that a person not knowing would sooner

Suppose that in some way they rather belonged to the sea-

Weeds, perhaps the pod of a species of Alga, than pertain-

ing to the fishes. If we were strolling along the shores of

California or Europe we should meet with the same queer

forms, In England the people call them " pixy-purses,"

_ "hiry-purses," ete. A species of Dog-fish (Scyllium) makes

a similar purse-like egg-case, with long strings at the cor-

ners, The Skate-fishes are eaten in England, and appear in

the stalls of the Italian fish-market in San Francisco, the

Californian species may generally be found, but they are

“aten only by the foreign population. The common English

"ite sometimes attains the weight of two hundred pounds ;

it is used by the fishermen for bait.

yl TW species of Pinna may be found on the beach of Amelia Island: P. Carolinensis

UNDE iiss issima Phil.; they are quite common, particularly the former

.9 not think they were eaten by the aborigines, as none of the shells, or even frag-

any of the heaps or mounds. |

286 = RAMBLES IN FLORIDA.

The skates and dog-fishes are not the only marine animals

that make curious egg-cases. We have here three species

of univalve shells, called by the Floridians, Conchs* ( Busy-

cont), which also make egg-cases. Each case is round and

flat, about one-half to three-fourths of an inch in diameter,

and one-sixth of an inch in thickness; the edge of each flat

case is coarsely ribbed or milled, and numbers of them. are

strung together, only they are immovable upon the string,

which is situated upon one side or edge, instead of being

central as in a bead necklace. These egg-chains are some-

times two feet in length, and the cases are frequently bored

into by different species of carnivorous mollusks to obtain

the contents for food. These Conch animals were probably

eaten by the aborigines, as we find the shells quite numerous

in their Kjekkenmoeddings; they are now sometimes eaten

by both the whites and negroes of Florida, but from appeal

ances they must be tough chewing, and as indigestible as à

rubber boot.

At the edge of the beach, rolling in the surf-ripples, 4

large fleet of Ark shells is coming ashore; these prettily

ribbed bivalves look like the Cockles (Cardium), but the

animal and the hinge are quite different. The velvety epi-

dermis which generally covers the surface has been worn 9

by the friction of sand and water in the surf, exposing the

clean white fabric of the shells; lighted by the sun they

look like a squadron of little dismasted hulls. Two 9 :

the three species that we have here obtained are widely

distributed, and may be picked up near Galveston, on the

. Gulf of Mexico. Some of the family may be found 1n

. every sea, and many species are used for food. The an"

mal of Arca grandis, which is found in the Bay of Panam

is eaten by the natives; a single valve of this giant Ark |

.. *Indiseriminately used when reference is made to any species of the Pyrulid®s

Strombidze, Fasciolaridze, ete., found here.

canaliculatum and B. carica of Linnszus, also collected by me as far sob ©

B. gibbosum of Conrad, the latter considered by many a5 OMY *

h Eu ing p^ marked I peculiarities, $ ]

RAMBLES IN FLORIDA. 287

sometimes weighs two and a quarter pounds. Odd valves

of the Ark shells are found in the shellheaps, but are not

common.

A mile and a half from where the road enters the beach

are the remains of two wrecks; the planking of the decks

and sides has long ago been broken up and swept away by

the sea, and the timbers projecting from the sands resemble

the ribs of some gigantic mammal. No vestige of name is

left; their wooden skeletons tell of fierce storms, when wind

and waves, acting in unison, hurled ships and shells, and

sea-weeds, like weightless bubbles, upon the beach. A

Wreck is a sad sight, but the crevices of an old hulk are a

fine field for the naturalist, for many forms of marine life

have a home therein. Here we found a tiny species of Mus-

sel ( Mytilus cubitus), and a new species of Siphonaria, a

univalve shell shaped like a small shield, with elevated lines

or ribs radiating from centre to circumference.

Without farther enumerating or explaining the prizes that

are ours through the bounty of old ocean, we must retrace

our steps towards the road, for the sun has so nearly set

that its level rays are shining in our eyes. With baskets

and pockets packed and full we jog along, stopping occa-

sionally to pick up a fine specimen of a white bivalve shell, -

Dosinia discus, which is very abundant, thanks to a storm

which threw them high and dry above the reach of ordinary

tides. The Fish-crows (Corvus ossifragus) and a large spe-

cies of Blackbird ( Quiscalus baritus) are running over the

Wet sands, stooping sometimes to pick up some tit-bit for

| their suppers. Bidding them good-bye, we hurry on, and

after a weary walk of what seemed many miles, made longer

by the toilsome tug through sand and chapparal, we reach

. 9Ur haven; tired as dogs (at times are said to be) we gladly

. east aside our packs, and after a refreshing wash, rush to-

_ Supper. with appetités as keen as hungry wolves! :

| The evenings here are chilly, and a fire of the Pitch-pine

Wood (Pinus palustris Linn.) is pleasant, aside from the

288 MONSTROSITIES AMONG TROUT.

warmth, for its due flames fill the room with a cheerful

Pote ... . How glorious is sleep after a day

of toil; of toil, a still of pleasure. How gently it de-

scends upon us, how quietly we yield to its embrace; it

touches the drowsy eye, and we feel that

“The day is done, and the darkness

Falls from the wing of night.”

MONSTROSITIES AMONG TROUT.

BY A. COOLIDGE, M. D.

THE egg of a fish consists of an enveloping membrane

containing the yolk or vitellus. The first step in the devel-

opment of the egg is the formation of innumerable cells on

the surface of iie: vitellus, which are closely packed together,

and form a new membrane or layer surrounding the vitellus.

The next sign of organization is the Mitkenir and conden-

sation of one spot of this new layer. The thickened part

has an elongated oval shape, and in its centre, running longi-

tudinally, is a delicate line or furrow.

This is the first beginning of the fish. The backbone of

the fish is formed around this furrow. The anterior extrem-

ity spreads to become the cavity of the brain, and the tail

grows from the posterior end. The yolk remains enclosed

. in the new layer as in a sac; as the fish grows this sac be-

. comes constricted, so that the upper part of it is taken up

-into the body of the fish, while the lower part remains hang-

ferons. and is called the umbilical vesicle, and it is in Hie.

he umbilical vesicle, which being too heavy

: nove, he remains anchored by it, as it were, at

he bottom of the stream, wriggling only his head and tail.

le is fed by the | — of the contents of the vesi-

MONSTROSITIES AMONG TROUT. 289

cle which decreases every day as he grows larger. After

some days he is large enough to swim about with the vesicle

under him, and at the end of forty to fifty days the sac is no

longer to be seen, and the fish swims freely about.

All fish, however, are not perfect and oftentimes deformed

ones are met with. Sometimes, instead of there being one

fish only attached to an umbilical vesicle, there are two;

not two separate ones, but two heads attached to one body,

or two bodies attached to one tail, as Fig.47. Fig. 48.

shown in Figs. 47 and 48. This curious ó

. Partial duplication of the fish takes place

in the egg long before it is hatched, and

is due, probably, to a bifurcation of the

furrow around which the backbone of the

fish is formed. The cells of the thick-

ened oval spot, instead of forming one

Straight furrow, for some reason or other

= form one in the shape of a Y. Two backbones form around

the two branches, with two heads, while one tail has to do

for both.

As far as has been observed it is always the anterior part

Which is duplicated. No one body with two tails has been

found, The tail remains single while the head and body are

doubled; and this duplication varies from a partial division

Of the head only to two nearly complete fish, with different

brains, and hearts, and stomachs, and whose hearts do not

even beat together, though the circulation in the tail must

be common to both. On the other hand the head alone may

Pletely Separated ; they looked something like a figure of 8

on its side, Generally one of the half fish is larger and

ithstanding the appt- —

C rt of the smaller one to go somewhere else. p ex

NATURALIST, VOL. III. 37. a

tonger than the other, as seen in Fig. 48, and carries the —

290 MONSTROSITIES AMONG TROUT.

These double fish are not very common, and as they die

after the vitelline sac has been absorbed they are not seen

by fishermen. The ratio of these deformed fish to the 1

number of eggs in the hatching troughs was roughly esti-

mated at twenty to twenty thousand, or one in a thousand

eoos.

But a curious fact proved that the eges of some fish con-

tained a larger proportion. One large blind trout had à :

small pond to herself, and was fed daily by food presented to

her on the end of a stick. Her eggs were kept apart, and

out of about two thousand there were sixteen deformed fish,

or one to one hundred and twenty-five eggs. Certain fish

would seem to be more predisposed to produce eggs creating

these monstrosities, and were we to ask for the cause of this,

we should probably have to look for it in some anomaly of

the ovary of the fish which produces the eggs.

A deformity more common than the double fish is an

apparent curvature of the spine. The fish instead of being

straight, with the umbilical vesicle under him, is curved

“Fig. 4 round so that its tail turns under, and some-

times touches the under surface of the sac

he is attached to. Fig. 49 represents one

of these semicircular fish. They are obliged

') to swim on their side, and move round n

fouid'i in a circle, or in a spiral, without being able to 89

straight.

These deformities are mentioned and treated by Buckland

in his “Fish Hatching.” He there suggests that humpbaeked

detnr may have been caused by pressure during their

"transport in the egg state." In the instances mentioned

above, however, (Ce was no transport, the ova being g taken.

_ from the fish on the spot. M

| Out of two thousand salmon ova hatched at Messrs. Dex-

ter & Co’s fish-farm, there were no deformities, but in another |

lot of shout the same e mimber there were two double-headed

THE COW BLACKBIRD.

: BY T. MARTIN TRIPPE.

Parasitic animals are, for the most part, confined to the

lower grades of life. Among the Articulates they constitute

whole groups; they are less numerous in the Radiates and

Mollusca, and when we arrive at the Vertebrata we find very

few animals of this nature. Asa general rule, the parasit-

ism in these higher types is less complete than in the lower

Species. Of parasitic birds there are very few examples,

North America possessing but a single species, the well-

known Molothrus pecoris, whose history we shall briefly

Sketch.

The Cow-bird, as it is generally called, is spread over the

whole continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from

Mexico to Hudson's Bay. It winters in the Southern States,

from Virginia southward into Mexico, frequenting the ol

corn and rice fields, or gathering in small flocks around the

cattle in pastures. About the middle of March it begins to

appear in the neighborhood of New York, at first only a few

appearing in company with the Red-winged and Crow Black-

birds, but by the end of March or beginning of April, as

soon as the spring becomes somewhat settled, they become

abundant. They are now seen in numerous small flocks of

from five to twenty, of which the females comprise at least.

two-thirds. These small flocks, or parties, continue in the

neighborhood of New York until about the middle or end of -

299 THE COW BLACKBIRD.

vicinity of herds of cattle. Later in the fall they some-

times associate with the Red-wings, which have now also

gathered into flocks. About the middle of October they

leave us for the South.

Like the European Cuckoo, the Cow Blackbird lays its

eggs in the nests of other birds, never building one for

itself. It usually selects the nest of a bird smaller than

itself, and never forcibly drives away the rightful owners in

order to take possession itself, but waits until they are

absent, and then secretly and quickly deposits the egg.

Among the birds who are thus victimized are the Red-eyed

and White-eyed Vireos, the Maryland Yellow-throat, the

Bluebird, Indigo-bird, Chipping and Song Sparrows, Yellow

Warbler, Golden-erowned, Wilson's, and Wood Thrushes,

Blue-gray Flycatcher, Yellowbird, Towhee Bunting, Black

and White Creeper, Purple Finch and Bay-winged Bunting.

The favorites are the Maryland Yellow-throat, the summer

Yellowbird, and the Vireos.

The egg of the Cow Blackbird is of a dirty white, thickly

sprinkled - with spots and dashes of reddish brown. Some

of these spots are darker than others, and different eggs

often show some slight variations in color, as is generally

the case, indeed, with all streaked and spotted eggs.

One egg is the most ordinary number in the same nest,

but occasionally there are two, one of which, Audubon ob-

serves, usually proves addled. I never heard of more than

two instances where there were more than two eggs of the

Cow-bird in a single nest. Prof. Baird and Dr. Brewer

. once found three eggs in a nest of the Black and White

- Creeper, and I once haa the good fortune to discover nest

of the same bird containing five eggs of the parasite, t0-

gether with three of her own. In the latter case, incubation

. had begun, and all of the eggs contained embryos |

~ The young Cow Bunting usually breaks the aholi k short

time. before the other occupants of the nest, who, from this

| ce, , and the fact that they are smaller and weaker :

THE COW BLACKBIRD. 293.

than their intruding nest-mate, almost always perish. In the

5 latter part of May, and during Jne, the young Cow-birds

l may be seen flitting through the woods and orchards; but at

E this time of the year they do not frequent the open fields as

the adult birds do. They do not entirely disappear until

July, when most of the small birds have raised their first

broods. In September they return in flocks along with the

old birds. They do not attain their full plumage until the

following spring.

It is not often that the Cow-bird lays her egg in an empty

nest, but I have known of one or two instances of the kind.

In such cases the owner always, as far as I can learn, deserts

her nest. But if, as is almost always the case, she has laid

one or two eggs before the parasite has deposited her's, she

will generally remain, though often with apparent reluc-

tance. Some birds, however, will often desert their nests

even if they have laid in them first, as the Song Sparrow

and Wood Thrush. At times some birds show great inge-

nuity in getting rid of the intruding egg, by building a

second floor to the nest, above the egg, thus completely

covering it up. The Yellow Warbler, a frequent victim of

the Bunting, often adopts this method of freeing herself

m the annoying parasite; and I have known the Song

Sparrow to adopt the same plan. An instance is on record

in which a Yellow Warbler, having built a second floor to

. her nest over an egg of the Cow-bird, found another egg of

the same bird laid upon her second story, whereupon she

Went to work again and built a third floor over the second —

.*88. I have known the Cow Bunting to lay her egg on the

Second story of a nest, but the bird, in this instance, de-

Serted her nest. :

. The notes of the Cow Blackbird are not many in number,

mer musical in tone. When flying, the male utters a whist-

ding sort of note, composed of two syllables. At other

times, when perched upon a tree, he utters his love-song,

Which is composed of two loud preliminary notes,

294 NOTES ON THE FAUNA

Nuttall compares to the syllables “gluck tsee,” followed by

a medley of low gurgling notes. On a warm morning in

April the males will sit upon the tops of the maple and

apple trees in the pastures and orchards for an hour at a

time, repeating at short intervals their jingling notes, to the

intense satisfaction, apparently, of themselves and their

numerous mates who sit around them in admiring circles.

While uttering these notes the bird struts and swells like a

turkey-cock, and with the same intention—the desire of

pleasing his mates.

The food of the Cow Blackbird consists principally of in-

sects, especially flies, grubs, beetles, etc. They eat also the

seeds of various plants, and at times join the Red- ringed

and Crow Blackbirds in plundering the cornfields ; but the

injury that they thus inflict is very slight, and is far more

than overbalanced by the good they do in devouring vast `

numbers of noxious insects. Hence they deserve the pro-

tection of the farmer; but as they are often found in sus-

pieious company, viz., with Crows and Red-winged Black-

birds, they frequently suffer the penalty of associating with

proseribed thieves and rogues, by being shot down with

them.

NOTES ON THE FAUNA OF THE UPPER MISSOURI.

BY J. G. COOPER, M. D.

In May, eight years since, I was attached to a military

expedition on its way to the Pacific Coast, via the Missourl -

and Columbia Rivers, which had just been connected by ^ —

military road constructed by Capt. John Mullan, U. S. A- —

nu It was chiefly for the purpose of trying its practicability that

_ the party of about two hundred and fifty men and sever

.. officers, under the command of Major G. M. Blake, was sent |

y this new route instead of by the Isthmus of Panama.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI. 295

Of the two months spent in ascending the Missouri to

Fort Benton by steamboat, I will not write very fully, al-

though the tediousness of the trip was enlivened by many

interesting scenes, and by observations and collections of

numerous specimens of small mammals, birds and eggs.

These I packed and directed to the Smithsonian Institution,

but they were never received there; the eggs were all col-

leeted west of Fort Union. I will briefly enumerate the

species for the benefit of future collectors and students of

the summer range of our birds. The valley of the Missouri,

along that portion, is usually bordered by low trees and

shrubbery in the bottom land, while the uplands are quite

bare, or only a few stunted trees occur where springs issue

from the bluffs. ;

June 17th, I found the nest and eggs of Empidonax pusil-

lus (probably), on a low tree in a dense dark thicket, built

in a sharp crotch ; 18th, the nest of the Western Red-tailed

Hawk (Buteo montanus), with two eggs partly hatched, on

a small oak at a distance from the river; also, two eggs of

the Dove (Zenaidura Carolinensis) , and one, said to be that

_ of an eagle(?), were brought in by the men. The Wild

a Pigeon (Ectopistes migratoria) also breeds here. I found

the nest and four eges of the Lark Finch ( Chondestes gram-

i maca), situated as usual on the ground, and one of some

uncertain sparrow. The next day I obtained that of the

Shrike (Collyrio excubitoroides), with six eggs; and one of

the Shore Lark ( Eremophila cornuta).

A leak having opened in the boiler we were delayed |

near this place the third day also, and I found it a perfect

hursery of birds, the shrubbery on the north bank being ——

full of them and their nests. I obtained there also eight -

_hests of the Redstart ( Setophaga ruticilla), with eggs; that

the Chat (leteria viridis), with four eggs ; of the Black- -

headed Grosbeak (Guiraca melanocephala) ; of some small

Thrush (Turdus Swainsonii?); of the Cat Bird (Mimus —

linensis), and two of the Chippy (Spizella socialis). 1 —

296 NOTES ON THE FAUNA

saw also species of Vireo, (Pipilo arcticus?), Dendroica œs-

tiva, Colaptes (duratus?), Geothypis trichas, and Certhia

Americana, which, probably, had nests near there. The

locality is about fifty miles by the river west of Fort Union.

The absence of shrubbery, except close to the river, con-

fines most of the small birds to a narrow range, and makes

it easy to find their nests, none of the trees being large. It

will be noticed that at least two species peculiar to the west-

ern half of the continent breed so far east, and it is possible

that the Empidonax, Pipilo and Colaptes, were also of the

western types. The rocky bluffs which border the river

above the Great Bend, and are often high enough to appear

like mountains, although only the escarpment of the Great

Plains, apparently favor an extension eastward of the Moun-

tain fauna to this point ; the Mountain Sheep ( Ovis montana),

Woodrat (Neotoma cinerea), and perhaps other mammals

coming down in company with the birds, etc. At the same

time it is remarkable that all the eastern birds mentioned

extend in this latitude entirely across the Rocky Mountains,

though most of them do not even reach the mountains north-

ward, and seem, therefore, to follow the Missouri River

westward, in their spring migrations.

On June 22nd I obtained eggs of the Brown Thrush ( Har-

porhynchus rufus) which is common to the Rocky Moun-

tains. I noticed some species of Swift (Cheetura ?) with &

white throat, but too high to shoot. We reached the north.

of Milk River, where large herds of buffalo were passing

towards the South, very few having been seen below that

point. That pretty and musical bind o£ the high plains;

m the Lark Bunting ( Calamospiza bicolor), also oodd near

=, Shere, and s utenda east to Fort Union. :

e : The bluffs from Milk River to Fort Benton are higher and :

/. more rugged, with groves of coniferous and other trees 8f

. intervals, being spurs of the Black Hills, which form the

i first range of the Rocky Mountains. I had little oppor- -

x for col ig along this interesting portion ef tbe.

OF THE UPPER MISSOURI. 297

route, and obtained only the eggs of some unknown warbler ;

of a Pipilo; of the Robin (Turdus migratorius), which had

its nest built in a split trunk of a fallen tree; eight eggs of

the Rock Wren (Salpinctes obsoletus), found in a log-house

which was torn down for fuel; two nests and nine eggs of

the Shore Lark ( Eremophila cornuta); and one of a Night-

hawk, probably Ohordeiles Henryi, which I found on the bare

gravelly bluff. I noticed here the firs& Magpies (.Pica Hud-

sonica) and a strange Woodpecker.

Arriving at Fort Benton July 2nd, we remained in camp

there until August 7th, and this being the worst season for

collecting specimens I obtained but few. The country near

the fort is also too flat and bare to be productive of a great

variety of animals, being exactly in the middle of the wide

valley lying between the Black Hills and Rocky Mountains,

while there are few trees or bushes along the river. The

tiver, however, furnishes quite a variety of fish, including

Pike (Esox sp.), Catfish (Pimelodus olivaceus and Noturus

flavus), Pike Perch ( Stizostedion boreus), Grunter (Amblo-

grunniens), Carp ( Carpiodes damalis) , and several other

Cyprinoids which furnish much sport, and some of them good

eating. Dr. Hayden's "Report of Explorations in N ebraska,"

for 1859, gives full lists of these and other animals found by

him during several years collecting in this region.

At and above the Great Falls, thirty miles higher up the

river, we also found trout abundant (Salmo Lewisit), and

. also a Coregonus, and other species of fishes apparently new.

It is somewhat singular that the fresh-water Mollusca which

I found here were all different species from any obtained by

E Dr. Hayden in the lower parts of the Missouri and its

branches, except Unio luteolus and Physa heterostropha,

the rest being Limnea palustris, bulimoides and desidiosa,

Spherium striatinum, Margaritana (margaritifera var?)

: Jalcata, while Dr. Hayden obtained thirty other species 1D

Nebraska. The above, also, are nearly all found west of

the Rocky Mountains, or represented there by closely allied

_ AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 38

298 NOTES ON THE FAUNA, ETC.

species, and one or two are cireumboreal. (See Annals of

the New York Lyceum, Vol. vii.)

I do not undertake here to enumerate nearly all the spe-

cies of animals seen or collected, as Dr. Hayden has made

a much fuller collection of them than I could do in so hasty

a journey.

Rattlesnakes (Crotalus confluentus?), some small Lizards

(Sceloporus and Plestiodon), and the curious Horned Toad

(Phrynosoma Douglassii) were all the reptiles observed =

this dry season, though several others doubtless occur m

spring.

Young Curlews ( Numenius longirostris) and Field Plovers

CActiturus Bartramius) were common on the plains. The

Mountain Plover ( ZEgialitus montanus) appears on the driest

plains among the villages of the Prairie-dog ( Cynomys Lu-

dovicianus). I also shot some immature Buntings (Plectro-

phanes), of which three species are found in Nebraska, and -

confined to the Great Plains east of the Rocky Mountains.

Near Sun River, which is a clear swift mountain stream,

observed some middle-sized Squirrels ( Spermophilus Frank-

linii?), but they were so exceedingly shy that I did not suc-

ceed in getting any. Here the Rocky Mountains became

fully visible, and mountain trees line the banks of the rive?

I noticed here the first of Lewis’ Woodpecker (Melanerpes

torquatus), which never leaves the neighborhood of the

mountains. On the east side of the Missouri high range?

are also visible, and the road now commences to ascend over

rolling and often rocky hills, with pine woods on the —

parts. August 13th two eggs of the Night-hawk were foun“

nearly hatched, laid as usual on the bare ground. t :

. mouth of Prickly-pear Creek the Dusky Grouse (T — "d

|. Obscurus) was first found, in company with the prairie-lor f

Sharp-tail (Pediacetes phasianellus) , which we had found :

along the Missouri River. ee

_ . Going up the valley of this creek we passed over high :

. and thickly wooded ridges, where I saw Clarkes Crow

THE LILIES OF THE FIELDS, ETC. 299

(Picicorvus Columbianus), the Clay-colored Sparrow (Spi-

zella pallida), and obtained a specimen of the long-tailed

Chickadee (Parus septentrionalis var? albescens Baird). The

Red Crossbill (Curvirostra Americana) and Pigmy Nut-

hatch (Sitta pygmea) were also common, with other species

which scarcely ever leave the mountain forests. August

17th we encamped only three miles from the summit of

Mullan's Pass, and nearly six thousand feet above the sea,

where I observed a large Marmot (Arctomys flaviventer) and

a Weasel (Putorius longicauda?). I also shot the first

Oregon Grouse (Bonasa Sabinii), and saw MacGillivray’s

Warbler ( Geothlypis MacGillivrayi). )

——— 2 ———

THE LILIES OF THE FIELDS, OF THE ROCKS,

AND OF THE CLOUDS.

BY PROF. G. HINRICHS.

" Consider the lilies of the field, —even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed

like one of these!”

Tuese beautiful words and their promise are familiar to

allof us; but we are perhaps less conversant with the beauty

of form here referred to. The season of flowers is now

With us; we have, therefor, each and all, abundant oppor-

tunity to consider or behold the plants in their own glory.

A few words of explanation, and a few examples from the

World of flowers may, perhaps, be an additional incentive to

look upon the flowers themselves; and it may also prove

interesting to show that there are objects deeply buried "m

the rocks, and also high up in the sky, which contain the

Sime essential elements of beauty so much admired in the

lilies of the field.

To the botanist the lilies comprehend a very large group

of plants. A great number are distinguished for the ‘bail:

lianey of their colors; as the numerous tulip-varieties and

300 THE LILIES OF THE FIELDS, ETC.

the lilies proper. The lily of the valley (Fig. 50) is of a

pure white; hence its beauty cannot be sought in its color,

Fig. 50. but must principally be due to its

peculiar form. In the lily family the

form of the flower is perfectly regu-

lar; the three leaves of the calyx are

succeeded by three leaves of the co-

rolla; then follow the six stamens,

and in the centre of the flower we

find the three pistils. These parts may be very easily reo-

ognized in*the figure of the open flower and the bud of

Scilla here added (Fig. 51). Fig. 51.

In the Iris family—of which »

a section of the flower, bud

and pod is illustrative— we

notice also that the parts are

all threefold; here, even the

stamens are three in num-

ber, and not six as in the

lilies. A like symmetry and regularity of flower is exh

by many large trees, as the Date-palm (Fig. 52), the leave?

of which are the Palms of

Scripture ; and even micros-

copie parts of the flower:

like the pollen grains, often

show a similar regularity.

(Fig. 53.)

That color cannot be the

most important element »

the beauty of these flowers,

we may conclude from ibe

fact that even the imperfect

uncolored figures here given are not destitute of beauty:

Again, the form of the petals is as changing as their ook

so that the particular form of any of the parts of these

B *- = n

flowers cannot either be considered as the most esse

ibited

Fig. 52.

THE LILIES OF THE FIELDS, ETC. 301

element of their beauty. We conclude, then, that the form

or plan of the flower, which is the same in all, is the element

which above all others influences the beauty of these objects.

This plan is here represented in a diagram (Fig. 54) wherein

the leaves of the calyx are marked a; those of the corolla,

6; the stamens, c; PR

and the pistils, d.

In this diagram the

perfect regularity

of these flowers is

more easily noticed

than in the draw-

ings of the differ-

ent flowers them-

selves ; for the dia-

gram is the flower

stripped of all its

specific peculiari-

ties superposedand

ingrafted upon the

general plan. We

See from this dia-

gram better still than from the figure of Scilla, that the calyx

does not mer ely consist of three equal leaves, but that they

‘re so placed around the axis, or stalk of the flower, that

they, two and two, include the same angle between them, so

as to produce a triangle (a, a, a), the sides of which are of

“qual length; such a triangle is called an equilateral one.

1e same is true in regard to the next series of three leaves,

b, b, b, constituting the corolla of the flower; but not only

do the calyx and the corolla form equilateral triangles but

they are so placed that the leaves of the one fall exactly mid-

Ways between those of the other. If the calyx be repre-

Sented by a triangle, with its vertex upward, the corolla will

be a triangle with the vertex downward. But both trian-

Sles, on account of this peculiar relative position, perfectly

302 THE LILIES OF THE FIELDS, ETC.

harmonize with one another, so as to produce a new regular

form embracing them both as simply equal halves; this more

general form is the regular hexagon (six-sided figure), a b,

a b,a b, in the diagram. The reality of this hexagon is in

the lilies represented by the six equàl stamens, c. Finally,

inside of these we have the pistils, three in number, corres-

ponding in position with the corolla.

The regular hexagon, or simpler the equilateral triangle,

thus constitutes the foundation of the beauty of the lilies;

the form of the petals and the shape of the other parts, as

well as the colors, are merely accessories, capable of height-

ening the beauty of the flower, but not necessary to it.

The six figures of snow-crystals (Fig. 55), selected from

about two hundred different forms observed: by Mr. Franke,

Fig. 55.

in Dresden, Saxony, in 1845-46, and published in the tran

actions of the society “Isis” of that city, show that a"

snow-erystal may rightly be termed the *lily of the ge

The first of the snow-erystals here given is almost pem

with the hexagon, formed jointly by the calyx and corolla 9

many a lily of the field, while the second snow-crystal p

sents the same appearance as the six stamens of the lily-

Just compare these snow-crystals with the figures of Scilla

or the general diagram of the lily-flower !

l——————

———n

LL EE

tee

TT A TT

a a Naaman eee

THE LILIES OF THE FIELDS, ETC. 303

The snow-crystals in the annexed figure (Fig. 56) are

more common. Many of these forms may be observed on

any calm winter day, Fig. 56,

When the snow falls

slowly in a cold

atmosphere. The

lower pennate form

—also taken from

the plates of Franke

—is particularly in-

teresting, for it

shows the six-sided

star as made up of

two triangular

halves, the one cor-

responding to the

corolla, the other to

the calyx (outer star) of the lilies. In this same group of

snow-erystals we have also three more compact forms, show

ing not merely the hexagonal star, principally represented

by its six rays, Fig. 57.

but having the

Whole ground

more eomplete-

ly filled up so as

to form a reg-

ular six-sided

plate. Between

these and the

“lilies of the

rocks," the erys-

tals found in

Caves and crey- :4l difference. Com-

ices deep in the earth, there is no essential di erer la ]y the

pare the figure of the Emerald (Fig. ST), peruen aii from

lower figure representing a R ussian emerald, as seel

304 THE LILIES OF THE FIELDS, ETC.

above, with the tabular snow-crystals just referred to! It

exhibits first the regular hexagonal form in its outline, and

also the two regular triangles corresponding as it were to the

leaves of calyx and corolla in the lilies of the field! The

emerald, therefore, is built upon the same fundamental plan

on which the temple of beauty is erected in the lily ; but the

material, though beautiful, apparently did not admit of the

graceful windings exhibited in the more yielding, but also

less permanent body of the lily of the field. The emerald

possesses all the AR of form and color which can be ex-

sss pressed by uniformity of

material; and if the lily

of the field surpasses the

emerald in graceful modi-

fication of these forms, and

in variety of color, it lacks

the lustre of the emerald,

and even in this very va-

riety carries the germ of

speedy decay. There are

many substances which in

their crystalline form exhibit the same trinity characteristic

of the lily, the snow-star and the emerald. The well-known

quartz, or rock-crystal, exhibits this form, and so does the

beautiful mineral Alexandrite, represented in Fig. 58. This

mineral was discovered in the Russian emerald diggings, 9?

the very day on which the present emperor Alexander be-

came of age. Ithas furthermore the remarkable peculiarity

of appearing of a very beautiful green during the day, while

in the evening (that is by lamp or gas-light) it appears of à

pure red dr: but red and green are the Russian colors.

Hence the new mineral was named Alexandrite.

Even in the animal frame several structures have been

discovered built upon the same principle, particularly the

microscopic structure of the retina in the human eye.

cording to the discovery of the Danish microscopist, Dr.

THE LILIES OF THE FIELDS, ETC. 305

Hannover, the interior of the eye is as if paved with very

minute hexagonal blocks, put closely side by side. So also

the plates covering many aquatic animals, particularly the

body of many fossil crinoids, excellent figures of which may

be found in the geological reports of the great American

paleontologist, James Hall, of Albany. I add Fig. 59.

the figure of one plate from Archwocidaris

Agassizi. (Fig. 59.) i

It is evident from the few examples selected

from among thousands, that the regular hexago-

nal form, or the division of the circle into three

or six equal parts is a grand natural fact, alike .

manifest in the inorganic and organie world; this same fact

is the glory and beauty of the lilies of the field, the lilies of

the rocks, and the lilies of the sky.

So general a fact must be the consequence of a general

Jaw, and although this law may be deeply hidden in the

mysteries of the vegetable and animal life exhibiting these

forms, it may be more accessible in the lilies of inorganic,

or so called inanimate nature. The question as to the cause

of the form of the lily of the field may be premature, but

may we not ask physical science for the cause of the form

of the crystals of the rocks and of the sky? Or, to make

the question still more precise, may we not ask the physi-

cist, chemist and mineralogist— who each and every one are

Investigating these subjects— for the explanation of the won-

derful form of the snow-crystal? That there is a cause for

this form is manifest to every one who even merely glances

at a few snow-crystals occasionally caught on our clothing

on à winter's day; but as yet science has not been able to

unravel the mysterious origin of the crystalline forms which

adorn every nook and corner in the material world, and

Which we see forming under our very eyes in the laboratory

of the chemist.

n my work called “Atomechanics, or Chemistry a Me-

chanics of the Panatoms,” published in 1867, and distributed

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 39

806 THE LILIES OF THE FIELDS, ETC.

among the scientific institutions at home and abroad, this

question appears to be solved simply and completely. It is

to be hoped that the intellectual inertia, always to be over-

come by new and startling ideas, however plain and well

founded, may not seriously retard the spreading of the

answer to the question here raised: How is a snow-crys-

tal built?

We cannot conclude this little sketch with more appro-

priate words than the description of the snow-crystal given

by Prof. Tyndall, in his fourth lecture of the admirable

work, “Heat as a mode of motion." The great philosopher

of the Royal Institution says :

"Snow, perfectly formed, is not an irregular aggregate of

ice-particles ; in a calm atmosphere the aqueous atoms ar-

range themselves so as to form the most exquisite figures.

i [See the figures given in the preceding parts of this adie ]

The snow-crystals formed in a calm atmosphere are built

upon the same type: the molecules arrange themselves to

form hexagonal stars. From a central nucleus shoot six

spicule, every two of which are separated by an angle of

609. From these central ribs smaller spicule shoot right

and left, with unerring fidelity to the angle 609, and from

these again other smaller ones diverge at the same angle.

The six-leaved blossoms assume the most wonderful variety

of form; their tracery is of the finest frozen gauze, an

round about their corners other rosettes of smaller dimen-

sions often cling. Beauty is superposed upon beauty, as if

nature once committed to her task took delight in showing:

even within the narrowest limits, the wealth of her resour-

ces.”

ON THE PRESERVATION OF ENTOMOLOGICAL

CABINETS.

BY JOHN L. LECONTE, M. D.

I wave tried at various times many experiments for the

preservation of collections of insects, but with such limited

success that I did not think the results obtained worth pub-

lishing. For the sake of deterring others from pursuing

these different lines of unsuccessful attempts, it would be

useful, perhaps, to give a brief account of my failures be-

fore describing a process recently devised, which seems to

be both simple and effective. ; |

Corrosive sublimate and various preparations of arsenic

have been recommended by several high authorities. The »

former, even when most diluted, will finally render the pin

brittle by the amalgam developed; the latter, when used in

à very weak alcoholic solution so as to leave no efflorescence

on the specimens, will preserve them well, but is trouble-

some to apply, as the insects must be thoroughly soaked

with the fluid before being placed in the cabinet. Binar-

Seniate of potassa being deliquescent, suggested itself to me

às a material that might be applied in greater strength, and

many years ago I prepared two boxes of specimens with it.

They had a good appearance for some time, and have never

been attacked, but eventually a considerable deposit or efo-

rescence came on the surface, so that the specimens required

cleaning before they could be used for study- i

Painting the interior of the boxes with ařsenious acid was

also only partially successful ; I have seen, though not often,

living larvæ of Trogoderma in boxes thus prepared.

Having thus failed in finding any satisfactory mineral poi-

Son I then tried the vegetable alkaloids. :

.. T soaked specimens in moderately strong alcoholic solu-

lions of strychnia and picrotoxia, dried them, and "s them

p (307)

^ a i :

è ie ide

308 PRESERVATION OF ENTOMOLOGICAL CABINETS. $

$ b re?

into pill boxes with Trogoderma larvae; After some weeks'

the specimens were partly eaten; and the larve transformed

into perfect insects.

The effects of benzine and carbolic acid are powerful, but

only temporary. The former is preferable on account of its

less disagreeable odor, and may be used by pouring about a

teaspoonful in each box; it must be renewed every four or

five months.

Packing the collection in chests painted with coal-tar has -

been also recommended, and would certainly be efficient, but

. troublesome, and renders the collection, practically, nearly

useless for study on account of the difficulty of access to the

boxes. Surgical art has, however, given to us an instru-

ment by which a poisonous liquid can be rapidly and most

effectively applied to the entire surface of large numbers of

specimens as they stand in the cabinet boxes, without the

trouble of moving them. I refer to the Atomizer.

Opinions may vary as to the nature of the liquid poison to

be used, but after several trials I have found the following

formula to be quite satisfactory ; it produces no efflorescence,

even on the most highly polished species, while the odor 1s

quite strong, and persistent enough to destroy any larve or

eggs that may be already in the box :—

Saturated alcoholic solution of arsenious acid, eight fluid

ounces; Strychnine, twelve grains; Crystallized carbolic

acid, one drachm; Mineral naphtha (or heavy benzine) and

strong alcohol, enough to make one quart.

I have not stated the quantity of naphtha, since there are

some varieties of light petroleum in commerce which dis-

solve in aleohol only to a slight extent. These should not

be used. The heavier oils which mix indefinitely with alco- —

hol are the proper ones, and for the two pints of mixture

ten to twelve fluid ounces of the naphtha will be sufficient.

Care should be taken to test the naphtha on a piece of

|. paper. If it leaves a greasy stain which does not disappe?t —

(^. after a few hours, it is not suitable for this purpose. E

c d

QM S e

A = yd OF A PET BIRD. | 309

"The best form 6f atomizer is the long, plated, reversible

tube; it should boli a gum elastic pipe, having

two bulbs to secure uniformity in the current. The ato-

mizing glass tubes and the bottle which usually accompany

the apparatus are unnecessary: a common narrow-necke

two ounce bottle will serve perfectly to hold the fluid.

I trust that the use of the means here indicated may ren-

der the preservation of insect collections less troublesome

than heretofore, and thus increase the interest of amateurs

Who frequently become disgusted with the science of ento-

mology, by seeing the results of years of active and intelli-

gent labor destroyed by a few months of inattention, or by

carelessness in introducing infected specimens.

A TRUE STORY OF A PET BIRD.*

BY ROBERT RIDGEWAY.

WHILE attached, during the past year, in Nevada, to the

"s. Geological Exploration of the Fortieth Parallel, under

Mr. Clarence King, I had a pet bird of the species known

as the Arkansas Flycatcher (Tyrannus verticalis), which is

closely related to the common Kingbird or Bee Martin in

form, but differs in having the back olive gray, and the

under parts yellow, except the throat, which is ashy. It is

to be met with over the entire western portion of the United

States, from the high plains west of the Missouri River to

the Pacifie, and in the vicinity of settlements is well known

to every one.

Our pet, familiarly known to the party as “Chippy,” was

obtained about the middle of July, from the Indians, who

had just taken it with three others, all fully fledged, from

the nest. We carried it to our camp near by, and fed it with

uc o ene ee

ag, 1 3 t. "n a. tit H Tretitntian

ALO Aj

310 A TRUE STORY OF A PET BIRD.

grasshoppers and flies until he was able to catch them for him-

self, which he learned to do about a week after he could fly.

The little fellow appeared to be always hungry, and during

the day followed me about, continually teasing me for grass-

hoppers until he had eaten enough, after which he would re-

main quietly upon my shoulder, or my hat, or fly off to his

favorite perch— a rope running from the top of the tent to

a stake in the ground. At night "Chippy" roosted upon a

rope inside the tent, or frequently under an umbrella, which,

for the purpose of shading a thermometer, hung at the corner

outside. When wishing to go to sleep, however, he would

seldom roost in these places voluntarily, but alighting upon

my shoulder would hop up close to my neck and settle

cosily down, and repeated removals were necessary to induce

him to remain upon the perch provided for him. In the

morning as I lay wrapped in my blankets, generally the first

thing that awoke me would be Chippy fluttering about my

head, for he would invariably select me from the dozen per-

sons who lay around upon the ground.

Chippy soon became a general favorite, and every one fed

and caressed him. First among his many peculiarities was

his almost insatiable appetite, which excited the greatest won-

der and comment, and many were the conjectures as to the

number of good-sized grasshoppers he could dispose of m

one day. It was finally agreed that this should be settled

by an experiment; each person was to keep account of all

he fed Chippy, and in the evening, upon comparing notes, 1

was found that during the day he had made away with the

almost incredible number of one hundred and twenty fat

grasshoppers, all however, with their legs pulled off.

Our little pet possessed scarcely a trace of timidity, and

even soon learned his own name. At least, when he was

wanted we had but to call “Chippy, Chippy,” and he imme-

. diately appeared, even if out of our sight, joyously twitter-

ing as he approached, and alighting upon the shoulder of

: _ the person who called him. He soon began to catch insects D

A TRUE STORY OF A PET BIRD. 941

himself, after I had taught him by carrying him around

upon my finger and placing him up close to any fly or gnat

I found perched upon the wall of the tent. When fully

grown he passed most of the day sitting upon the top of the

tents, occasionally darting after a passing insect, or, if the

weather was particularly warm, perching upon the edge of

the table, or any suitable place, under the "fly" of the tent,

in the shade.

Onee, when starting on horseback up the mountains after

birds, at about one hundred yards from camp, I was sur-

prised to hear Chippy coming towards me, playfully twitter-

ing, when he alighted upon my shoulder and accompanied

me up the cañon. Occasionally he would leave me to catch a

butterfly or other insect, upon securing which he immediately

returned, alighting upon my hat, against which he beat the

captive until in a condition to be swallowed. Frequently

9n seeing other birds of his species, he would join them,

and after sporting with them awhile return to his seat upon

the pummel of the saddle, my shoulder or hat, his playmates

following to within a few yards, when they would stop, and

perching upon a dead branch curiously watch us, wonder-

ing probably why their little friend was so fearless of me.

Chippy accompanied me thus some three or four miles from

camp. Having proceeded as far up the cañon as possible, I

there tied and unsaddled my horse; the sun being very hot,

and the bird disposed to be inactive, I placed him in the

shade of my saddle. I then climbed up the hillside over

the rocks, until out of sight of my horse, on my way occa-

sionally shooting a bird, and wandering some distance from

Where I left Chippy ; but upon my return I found him follow-

mg after me, having discovered my absence by the report of

my gun, and started in search of me. We then returned to

. amp as we had left it. dude

' pet bird soon began to attract others of his species to

the camp which became quite familiar. They could not, how-

ever, persuade Chippy to leave us, he evidently preferring

312 A TRUE STORY OF A PET BIRD.

our society to theirs. He was at first perfectly unmindful

of the report of a gun, even sitting upon my shoulder when

I fired, or often perching upon the gun-barrel when I carried

him with me in my rambles. One day, however, wishing

to secure one of these flycatchers which flew about our

camp, and intending if possible to drive them away, I shot

at one of three which were sporting together in the air,

thinking that Chippy was sitting upon the tent ; fortunately

I missed the bird I shot at, which proved to be our pet, he

flying in great consternation to the camp, having probably

been touched by one of the shot, although not at all injured.

His disregard for a gun was now at an end, and the mere

picking up of this instrument of death was sufficient to

cause his immediate retreat, retiring with terror depicted

upon his countenance, the feathers lying close to his body,

his crest elevated and neck outstretched, removing to another

perch each time I advanced. The moment, however, I laid

the gun aside, all his fears were over, and upon approaching

him, when I reached out my hand he would hop upon my

finger with perfect confidence. Although I might carry him

in this way all about the camp, if I approached the gum

which leaned against the tent, he made a precipitate retreat.

We carried Chippy with us, from camp to camp, for

nearly two months longer. Everywhere we went he excited

the curiosity and wonder of all persons, the Indians included,

and we had not the least fear of losing him. One morning;

however, in the latter part of September, we missed his

' familiar awakening twitter, and when we arose from oUF

blankets he could not be found. Search was made through-

out the day but without success, and a large hawk having

been seen early in the morning hovering about the camP

seemed to explain the cause of his disappearance. He was

never afterwards seen.

WHAT IS A DESMID?

BY PROF. ARTHUR MEAD EDWARDS.

In the language of science, as put upon paper by one of

its most zealous deyotees, Desmids, or as they are more

correctly designated, Desmidiacez, are “fresh-water, figured,

mucous and microscopic alee, of a green color." This

author also tells us in similar language that the character-

isties of these fresh-water forms are “transverse division

mostly complete, but in some genera incomplete. Cells or

joints of two symmetrical valves, the junction always marked

by the division of the endochrome, often also by a constric-

tion. Sporangia formed by the coupling of the. cells and

union of their contents.”

We have here then, in brief, what a Desmid is, and now

let us see if we can make this very concise, scientific and

‘ correct definition and reply to our question, plain to unsci-

entific minds.

The difficulties attendant upon the study of these Desmids

have perhaps, tended to frighten away even professed natu-

ralists from a field of enquiry teeming with promise of re-

sults of the greatest interest and profit. At least then we

have arrived at the knowledge of one fact, and that is, that

à Desmid is a plant, or a member of the vegetable kingdom.

This point, it is true, is all but universally acknowledged by

every one who pretends, to any acquaintance whatever with

these creations, and therefore for the time being we will

take it for granted that such is the case. In fact it is true

that there is no one essential point in which they differ from

the other minute plants which have been included under the

designation of Protophytes ; this name having been applied

to them on account of the simplicity of their structure,

‘Tanking them as first plants in the vegetable system. Bob

Although the name Protophyte was first bestowed for this

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 40 (313)

B WHAT IS A DESMID?

reason alone, there seems to be good grounds for supposing

that it has been very aptly applied, for naturalists are

strongly of opinion that the first forms of vegetable life

which made their appearance upon the surface of the globe

belonged to this group, and we see them at the present day

occurring as the harbingers of more complex plants in pools

and ponds, on rocks and by road-sides. The amount of

study that has been bestowed upon the Desmids is really

very great, but it has been by a special class of observers

who have been in the habit of not trusting to the revelations

of their unassisted eyes, but have called in the aid of all the

contrivances of modern mechanical skill as embodied in that

perfect instrument of research, the achromatic microscope.

By such students we are assured that in no respect do they

really approach the animal kingdom. Many arguments, it

is true, have been from time to time advanced in support of

their animal affinities, but these have all been determined,

now that their life history and that of many other undoubted

and undisputed plants have been better understood, to be

but strongly indicative of their vegetable nature. But the

very fact that for a long time they continued to be bandied

from one kingdom to the other, now plants and then animals,

only to become plants again, indicates the difficulties atom

dant upon their study, and the uncertain tenure with which -

they, even now, hold the position they by courtesy are per -

mitted to occupy. | f

Ehrenberg, the great German microscopist, asserted that

one of the Desmids, known by the name of Closterium, pos

sesses true organs of motion, which it protrudes through

apertures in its extremities, and keeps in continual action:

. Unfortunately, however, more recent investigation has T°-

vealed the fact that this statement is wanting in accuracy: -

No such organs of propulsion are to be seen now that Wè -

mre possessed of much better microscopes than the Prus- -

sian hilosopher was wont to use, therefore we can but |

e the “feet” of his Closterium to defective methods

WHAT IS A DESMID? 315

of observation. Many if not all of the Desmids, it is true,

possess the extraordinary power of slowly changing their

place, so that in time, varying with the particular forms ob-

served, they approach the side of the bottle in which they

are enclosed, upon which the most light shines, and not only.

so, but many appear to have a contia but steady progres-"

sive mode of motion, as when viewed by means of the mi-

croscope they are observed to traverse the field of view

under the eye of the observer. Yet it cannot be said that

this faculty allies them to animals, for not only do the seeds

and similar parts of many plants move about in an extremely

vigorous manner, but many undoubted Protophytes do so

likewise. Motion is not and cannot at the present day be

considered as indicative of aught else but change, physieal

or chemical, else might a grain of gum-camphor darting

about upon the surface of a glass of water, be classed among

Vital organisms.

E Doubtless many persons who see the question placed at

E the head of this article have noticed some bright pool of

1 fresh water, by the road-side or in a field, upon a spring or

a summer’s day, and observed that it was either filled with

^ seemingly gelatinous mass of light green matter, or had

patches of darker green floating upon its surface. This was

àn indication that Protophytes or simple plants were present,

and, although there are chances that such an accumulation or

Vegetation contains, or even entirely consists of, other organ-

_ isms, yet in a number of cases hardly anything but Déimids

Will be there found. To collect these little wonders we have

Various methods suited to their mode of occurrence, and it

Will be well to indicate them. ;

First, then, they are inhabitants of fresh water, and in fact

of the freshest kind of water only, decaying animal matter

which would cause the water to become foul, even in a very

ht degree, being sufficient to kill these tender plants and

cause them to be replaced by forms of much greater sim-

puc Seo jeune y brackish and marine — ; which were a 5

316 WHAT IS A DESMID?

at one time supposed to belong to this family, have been

since proved not to be members of it. It has been said that

hardly a specimen of fresh water can be found that does not

serve as the habitation of Desmids, but such is not strictly

the case, although it is true that they are very widely dis-

tributed, and one intending to study them should have no

difficulty in procuring specimens for examination. In clear

pools, in open exposed situations, they occur in the greatest

abundance, the largest species being generally found nearest .

the bottom. Sometimes they are to be found adhering in

large quantities to some of the submerged aquatic plants

that grow in such localities, forming investing films of a

bright green color, which can be removed from its support,

or is best gathered along with it. At other times they rest

as a thick coating upon the bottom, or float in the form of a

bright green scum upon the surface; but the last mode of

occurrence is by no means common, the green-colored film

seen so frequent upon pools not being Desmids but mem-

bers of a group into which have been placed the Protococ-

cus, Euglenia, and the so-called “Red-snow.” Of these we

may have something farther to say hereafter, as they are

possessed of wondrous characteristics, and present subjects

well worthy the study of any one having a microscope. The

brownish seum which is so commonly seen in marshes and

ponds does not consist of Desmids either, but is mostly made

up of myriads of plants very nearly related to them, an

familiarly known as Diatoms. These, again, are of extreme.

beauty, and at the present day hundreds of microscopes are

turned towards them endeavoring to fathom their mysteries,

and the optician’s skill has been brought to bear upon the

construction of lenses specially for the purpose of studying

their life, history, and structure.

a T smids, Desmidiew, or, more correctly speaking;

— Desmidiacee, have had this designation applied to them

from their form, that is to say, on account of their being -

made up of two symmetrical halves, united together by

WHAT IS A DESMID? 317

means of a band or bridge, so to speak. They are very

striking and beautiful objects when examined by means

of sufficiently powerful magnifying glasses, many of them

E. requiring for the elucidation of their structure to be ampli-

fied at least five hundred diameters, or two hundred and

fifty thousand times superficially ; microscopists being in the

habit of speaking of the magnification of an object in diam-

eters, that having been found to be the most convenient

method of expressing the fact, the number of times which

the object is amplified superficially, being, of course, formed

by squaring the diameter. But a power much less than five

hundred diameters, say about two hundred and fifty, is often

sufficient to exhibit the general characteristics of most of

the Desmids and their allies, the other Protophyta. Thus

examined they present most striking objects, and at once be-

come favorites with the amateur microscopist on account of

their very marked peculiarities, great beauty, and the variety

of forms which they exhibit in outline, as well as the mathe-

matical symmetry of their markings and appendages. The

most distinctive characteristic which they at once present

is the bilateral structure of their so-called fronds. In the

more complex water-plants, or alge, the term frond is used

to designate the whole plant, which in that case is of some

degree of complexity, but here is extremely simple, and yet

the same name must be made use of, as the entire individual

1S enclosed in one envelope and constitutes but a single cav-

Jy. As such cavities are called cells the Desmids are

hence known as unicellular plants. The individual plant

àmong the Desmids and their near relatives, the Diatoms, is

» en spoken of as a frustule, as the frustule of Closte-

mum, a frustule of Navicula, these being the distinctive

names given to two groups, or genera, of Desmids and

latoms respectively. So in the organisms under consider-

‘tion, the frustule is said to be a single cell, and this is

Shown to be the case by the fact that when a fracture takes

Place of the investing membrane, at any one part, the whole

318 WHAT IS A DESMID?

contents escape therefrom. In a few instances this appa-

rent bilateral symmetry is not so evident as in others, or

even seems to be entirely absent, but on careful examination

it will still be seen to be present, for the constriction in the

outer coat, which is made of the substance called cellulose,

may be slight or very great, cutting the individual, as it

were, into two parts. External warty or spinous protuber-

ances, or processes, are very commonly present, and then

the outline of the plant is of great beauty, the green cell-

contents, made up for the most part of the same material as

constitutes the coloring matter of the leaves of larger plants,

and there called chlorophyl, but in the Desmids known as

endochrome, causing them to appear almost like brilliant

gems of great purity of tint and configuration. In some

eases no such external projections are present, but yet the

outline of the cell is, nevertheless, extremely graceful. In

the Diatoms the cell-wall is strengthened and supported by

having deposited within it a mass of silicious material which

then becomes marked with wonderfully fine tracings and

sculpturings, but in the Desmids no such stony and inde-

: » structible substance is present, stiff cellulose only constitut-

. ing the skeleton of the plant. Hence we do not find the

a remains of these organisms occurring fossilized in the older

e strata of the globe as is very commonly the case with the

b Diatoms. It is true that in some of the flints, hornstones |

and cherts, certain eurious forms have been detected which |

have been supposed to be the remains of Desmids, but

careful examination by competent authorities has ten ed

to prove that such is not the case, but that these are most

: likely only the skeletons of animals very nearly allied to, if

3 “not identical with, the sponges. The true cellulose charac-

_ ter of the cell-wall of the Desmids is proved by the action |

upon it of iodine assisted by sulphuric acid, in which case -

it is colored blue. In all cases this tough membranous Ma- —-

is surrounded by a perfect and distinct, although not

dily seen, sheath of a gelatinous character, which

WHAT IS A DESMID? 319

in some cases, is very broad, but in others is extremely

thin.

The outline of the Desmids, although always preserving a

more or less perfect bilateral symmetry, varies very greatly.

Thus in Closterium, a genus of very general distribution,

and one at the same time which includes a great number

of species, the general form is a round tube, more or less

pointed at both ends, and with the apices both bent over in

the same direction so that the individual is somewhat moon-

shaped, or more like two cows’ horns united base to base.

When Closterium is examined with care by means of a good

microscope, it is found to have its bright green cell-contents

arranged longitudinally in seeming uncertain bands, which

coalesce more or less, and hence are not always to be dis-

tinguished. But at the ends of the frustule are to be seen

apparent organs of wondrous characters, and whose office

has not as yet been determined. And the extreme minute-

hess of the whole plant presents great difficulties to its

proper study, so that it is hardly to be wondered at that the

functions of its integral parts should not be thoroughly com-

prehended. These seeming organs are spaces or vacuoles

Separated from the rest of the cell-contents, and generally

of a spherical form, transparent and colorless. Within

them, however, are observed numerous minute granules

formed of a material of different density, as is shown by

their effect upon light. And these are continually, in the

healthy individual, in motion, moving about with a trem-

bling and seemingly excited action, putting one in mind of

the swarming of a crowd of bees, and hence it is often spo-

ken of as swarming. Besides this, however, there is still ©

another kind of motion to be seen within the Closterium

cell-wall, and one at the same time perhaps of greater won-

der and perplexity than that already mentioned, as the mode

of motion is a problem as yet unsolved. This is the siren:

lation or rotation of much of the liquid contents of the in-

320 WHAT IS A DESMID?

less portion which lies just within the membranous cell-wall

and its lining tissue, called by the German naturalists the pri-

mordial utricle, and overlying the more solid green mass of

endochrome and starchy matter; for it has been found that

these wonderful little plants contain starchy matter very

much after the manner of their gigantic fellows of the field

and forest. Members of the genus Closterium have been

found to afford the best subjects for witnessing this phenom-

enon, but the use of a good microscope, and a very careful

arrangement of the focus of the lens, are always necessary to

display it in a manner at all satisfactory. Some observers

assert that they have observed this circulation of fluid, not

only within the iis manm utricle, but between it and the

cellulose covering ; however this must be a difficult thing to

see, as these ctas are very closely united in most

cases. Along the convex edges of the cell, when a magni-

fying power of about four Kimised diameters is employed,

it is not very difficult to see indications of this, what may be

called “sap-motion” first spoken of, especially if the speci-

men under examination be one in a vigorous state of growth.

Then there may be seen broad streams of fluid flowing over

the whole surface of the endochrome, passing from the ends

towards the centre and back again; and these streams seem

to detach and carry with dou; from time to time, little oval

a globular bodies, which, on account of their action upon

e light, doubtless resulting from their peculiar chemical

E uno are readily seen, and any of them may be

singled out and its whole course from one part of the frus-

tule to another’ traced. Some observers state that these

minute granules, which seem to be starchy in their compo" -

3 _ sition, are thus carried on to the chambers or cavities at the

.. end of the Closterium, and there join the bodies which are —

. in trembling motion, as has been described ; but my expe-

jj 2 rience has been that such is not the case, as the number

the terminal granules does not increase, as would certainly

be vene d addition took place. On the conti

WHAT IS A DESMID? 391

have often watched a single such granule caught in and car-

ried along by the current of the flowing sap, up towards the

cavity at the end, and down again towards the centre, which

it reached only to again pass on up, or was arrested in its

course and stopped by the way. Again I have often ob-

served that whilst these granules were in themselves passive,

and appeared to be but carried along by the stream, and

were at the same time all but colorless, the uneasy little dots

at the ends of the frustule were in themselves motive, and

usually more or less colored, generally of a light brown

tint. However this may not be always the case as we can-

not, for certain, reason as to what would take place under

particular circumstances in the vegetable kingdom, from

What we see occurring during the prevalence of peculiar

conditions. The current within individuals of Closterium,

and its allied genus Penium, as they have been observed by

me, would seem to be from the middle towards the ends

externally, or against the primordial utricle, and then turn-

ing upon itself down again beneath or interiorly against the

mass of endochrome in and along the lighter colored inter-

spaces of that mass, which cause it to assume the coarsely

banded appearance so very commonly to be seen.

One observer, named Osborne, has thought that this cir-

culation of fluid within the Desmids—for it is by no means

peculiar to Closterium or even Penium, but can be’ observed

-in several genera, although not so markedly as in these two

—is caused by the waving about of little hairs, or ciliæ,

as they are called, from their resemblance to eyelashes,

set upon the frustule both within and without its cell-wall;

but hardly any one else has been able to see any such

cili», and an excellent authority upon the microscope, Dr.

Carpenter, says, "although the circulation is an unquestion-

able fact, yet I have no hesitation in regarding the ap-

pearance of ciliary action as an optical illusion due to the

Play of the peculiar light employed among the moving par- -

. AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 41 :

_ ticles of the fluid; the appearance which has been thus in- cee

322 WHAT IS A DESMID?

terpreted being producible at will by a particular adjust-

ment of the illumination, but being undiscoverable when

the greatest care is taken to avoid sources of fallacy.” Mr.

Osborne also thought he had detected external apertures

in the cell-wall of Closterium, at about the locality where

Ehrenberg had placed his “prehensile organs,” or “feet,”

which, of course, were necessarily present, whilst he con-

sidered the Desmids as animals. Dr. Carpenter says with

regard to this, “I must confess to a similar scepticism re-

specting the external apertures said by Mr. Osborne to exist

at the extremities of Closterium ; for whilst their existence

is highly improbable on a priori ground, Mr. Wenham

(than whom no observer is entitled to more credit) states

that *not the slightest break can be discovered in the lami-

nated structure that the thickened ends display." My ob-

servations coincide exactly with those of the last gentlemen,

and in fact the same is the opinion of all competent and un-

prejudiced observers at the present day. Most, if not all

the Desmids, have the power of changing their place by

sailing, slowly it is true, through the water, though not ex-

hibiting the liveliness so evident in the Diatoms. But

that they do move can be shown by shaking them up with

some mud, and then covering them with water in a saucer,

and placing them where the ices sunlight, or even light

reflected from the sky, can fall upon the surface, when, after —

a time, it will be seen to become green, and the Desmids are |.

found to have congregated at the point nearest the light; in

this respect exhibiting their vegetable nature, for we know

that plants love the light and vill tend towards it whenever

a can do so.

_ An individual of Closterium is represented in Plate 5»

g . 10, and the vacuoles at the ends containing the motile |

granules are there seen, as well as indications of the circu- -

lation « of the cell-contents spoken of. The mode of growth

and posite of the Desmids are very remarkable and

> Tint we must leave the onsidorshian s |

Sene

REVIEWS. 323

them to some future time, only now referring to our plate,

where several forms of these beautiful plants are represented

illustrating the grace and symmetry exhibited in these sim-

ple organisms.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE 5

Fig. 1. om conjugating. Fig. 6. Mirai, subdividing or

Fig. 2. Desmidium, side view growing.

Fig. 3. Dutedtum. front view. Fe 7; PA subdividing or

Fig. 4. Cosmarium. growing.

Fig. 5. Cosmarium, conjugating, ui 8. Staurastrum.

and forming a Sporangium . 9. Pediastrum.

resembling the so called ie 10. PLOTT,

Xanthidia found in flints

REVIEWS.

—————À————

E Tur Harris ConnEsPONDENCE.*— Well do we remember the mee

a and lively interest we felt when for the first time we were allowed t

taper of the Boston 8

ee ce Correspondence of T. W. Harris, M. D. XTIID

‘sional. of Natural . Boston,

To telatof ihe Ne i i

324 REVIEWS.

steel, and four steel plates of moths, caterpillars, beetles and their larve,

with forty-six cuts in the text, we first open upon a memoir of Dr. Har-

ris, by Col. W. Higginson. Then follows Harris’ Correspondence

with Hentz, Melsheimer, Doubleday, ojus Leconte, Miss Morris, and

shorter communications from Say, Zim n,and others. An Appendix

contains numerous descriptions of có Sepe papers; his contri-

butions to entomology in the **New England Farmer," extracts from

agricultural papers, etc., etc. The work is beautifully priuted, edited

eatest care and fidelity to the memory and fame of Dr. Harris,

and is a work that every one who wishes to be an entomologist should

read ad dp that he may imbibe the spirit of conscientious research

and unwearying devotion to truth that were among the prime charac-

teristics of Dr. Harris’ nature

PICTURES AND STORIES OF ANIMALS.*— These works will unquestion-

ably prove of bee to young. They are not so praiseworthy in

peint of çomposit io n the amount of information which they con-

ke enun are most of them characteristic, while others

have that stiff, woodeny appearance but too E found in works upo

Natural History. The Tenney series, unlike all other juvenile works of

its class, treats pense of American an ub and for that reason, if for

no other, we heartily recommend it to those who would instruct their

children or younger pupils in the rudiments of Natural History.

SHING IN AMERICAN WaTERS.]— That Genial is the nature if not m

exact name of the author of this most useful and entertaining volum

must be apparent to every reader. and fishing, tackle and tate

i &

manner throughout the entire work. The author is evidently a Walto-

nian angler, -" - gS man who fears God, loves his neighbor, an

goes a fishing.

A fly-fisher, and, as is well known a master of that gentle art, he

cui as has been lately the fashion, ** wash his hands of gai od fus

bs flies, and affect to despise those wh e them as

Goths and Vandals, but hoicpity acknowledges that skill ed be be displayed

even in bait-fishing, and gives the results of his experience in that line

for the benefit of those benighted heathens, who, as yet, m S be totally

innocent of any knowledge of the hackle, gei or coachm

The k is, eq to say the

oe ards with jealous care.” (p. 25.)

co a

Pictur of Animals for the Little Ones at Home, By Mrs. Sanborn Tenney.

img Sinita en Ner Yok RS

g in American ators. By Genio C. Boots. New York: Harper & Brothers.

REVIEWS. 329

Again (p. 41) he gives us an entirely new scientific classification of the

fishes as follows : First, Mammalia!!!! Second, the genus ue Third,

all other oviparous fishes.

Again (p. 353), ** Spallanzani proses the possibility of impregnating the

eggs of fishes artificially. He took the eggs of a frog and impregnated

them with the semen of a male frog." Surely all is fish which comes to

Mr. Scott's net, Mammals and Batrachians included.

ection on Fish Culture, occupying sixty-two pages, is valuable

vel d. be thankfully received, but English preferred) which will give

full and accurate directions for the artificial propagation of fishes. Coste,

Haxo, Shaw, Boccius, Francis, Pred, Garlick, Fry, and even Norris,

leave much to b e desired.

Of the pictorial embellishments a great deal may be said on both sides.

The grotesque initial letters are capital, the figures of fishes, taken for

t pa

under the cut a very important appendage. The fishing scenes are decid-

edly below par. On page 391 is a cut which has been going the rounds of

the E ques for the past year, and which we had hoped wei ere

rn out. It has es es successi vely in “ Harper’s Weekly”

- “Monthy,” cues American,” and ‘Phrenological Maga ae It

represents a poor martyr trout in mens hands of an unskilful manipulator,

Who holds her in such an outre manner, and squeezes her so tightly, that

the eggs are forced out at the wrong way. AV view of a much more humane

and profitable vpn of punti trout may be seen on the frontispiece

of * Francis’ Fish Cul

- À statement like er v the capture of Turbot on the coast of New

_ Brunswick (p. 432), must taken with fall allowance as to what is in-

. tended by the name of Tur

: But with these aes and as far as is promised, the book is the

. best that has yet been issued. To give erue s for fishing in Ameri-

an waters is what is promised in the title, and this is faithfully carried

.9Ut, and to use a new and strikingly original sida no library of works

9n Angling can be penes without it. — TRUTT.

Tur Mississippr V — “It was with a view,” the author gentia —

od preface, “of ene ed the grada dem between the forest, p: i a :

and des, vasi the varying conditions of temperature un rascal

| and M "Wealth.

RU. Gomes & Ga. 1869,

326 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

their effects in determining the range of those plants cultivated for food;

and, at the same time to trace the character of the fundamental rocks

u a

not confine the attention of the reader to the physical features of the

Mississippi Valley alone, but carries him away over the Rocky Moun-

ins down the Pacific slope, and up the Valley of the St. Lawrence, and

are well calculated to give the general reader a good idea of the forma-

tion of our continent, and the origin of the grand features which go very

far in Eon the physical and moral condition of the nations dwell-

ing on its surfac

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

—À————

BOTANY.

TABLE-MOUNTAIN DOE The seems to exist such a diversity of

opinion among authors in regard to the geographical range of this tree

(Pinus pungens Michaux), that we dh thought a statement as to its dis-

tribution might not be amiss.

Michaux rra ae it would be the first of our native trees to be-

me e extine

idge

od northward.” In 18 859, Gray limited it to «Blue Ridge, Vir-

= west of Charlottesville, and southward.” In 1863, he adds, on the

ty of Prof. Porter, “the mountains of Penna etc." In 1867

oo same author E a new D: near Reading, Pa., which was dis-

| es nll Hipp dr aud

how common the tree is in tns Thus far I qe

s the b aks Rb X rss River, n Mission —

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. S27

Pa., to Penn's Valley, in Centre County, Pa. In the latter place it is ex-

remely common, and often forms the largest portion of the woods. e

trees, too, attain a height of fifty, and perhaps I may add, not seldom

sixty feet.

E Mr. Hoopes, in his ‘‘ Book of Evergreens,” has given an admirable rep-

u wW

rigida. Ihave even seen this variation, from the real diens spine to the

dwarfed one, on well formed scales of the same We may recog-

nize the tree usually at a glance by the persistent horis of large cones.

—J. T. Rorunock.

VARIATION IN THE SanRACENIA.— Mr. Wm. H. Silsbee, of this cit.

b. has brought in from the woods in sigs a ‘variety of Serracenia pur-

purea Linn., which is worthy of notice. The modification is chiefly in

ofalight apple green, while the petals have taken on a decided, though

rather pale yello ves were not collected, and whether any

change is found in them does not yet ear. This seem a case

of albinism, nearly parallel with that in Aquilegia Canadensis Linn., re-

ported some years ago r Phippen, of S a is inter-

forward to full whiteness. Farther observation is highly desirable; and

we learn that Mr. Silsbee is ANLE with several spots where this

Variety of the Sarracenia is found. — C. M. Tracy

ARLY SAXIFRAGE. — This beautiful variety of the POE

. tVéry trace of stamen and pistil,

9f the Queen of the Meadow (Spiræa), such as we see it in the gardens.

—3J. L. RusserL, Salem.

ConEMA Moose (Torrey).— This bes bes occurs in ^ Newfound-

land and on some of the islands off the t of Maine, also on Cape

tin near N was found many gifs igo at Cedar Bridge, p

; ;

M iie in pem of this s year by the writer and C. F. _ Parker, of

ih nden, N. J., showed that the plant has entirely disappeared from that

"ity. It is said to have been also found at Pemberton Mills, N. Js

ple usually seen is wholly wanting; the scape, sepals and stigma, being.

328 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

but from that point it has been banished by agricultural enczoachments.

There is therefore no evidence that this species now exists south of

Long Island should also offer some favorable points for its occurrence.

—J. H. REDFIELD, Philadel iphia

FnaGARIA GILLMANI.—In the Henle rod (p. 221) Judge Clinton de-

scribes a new Fragaria, from Mexic With specimens before me, it is

clearly Arcak but Fragaria vesca Aia F. vesca is a very variable

plant. It is found not only all over Penes but through the whole moun-

e I have

specimens collected even in the sienai low elevation of the Alle-

ghanies i iE raria that are not in the slightest degree different

from this Mexic ne.

It might not pee amiss to describers of species to suggest that greater

attention be given to natural variations. Great evil has resulted to

ticular attention to the strawberry for over twenty years, and am $

that “ dization and the gardener's skill" in the production es varie-

ties are pure imagination. The gardener has preserved, but has not

examined, I have little doubt a they are forms of one thing. Indeed,

with the exception of F. Indica, there is every probability that all the

Species of strawberry are closely zanad forms of one another.

One law in strawberry development which has been of great service to

me is that the * Nim. or stolon, is but a modified ‘flower stalk,” OF

peduncle, bearing along its course viviparous d. instead of flowers.

The grades between the forms of this one thing—that is, the vigor-

S ; produce stol tolons, the number of flower spikes is increased,

as they cannot “run,” as a a stolon, make up for this by continual axial pro-

tion, bearing a succession of flowers mcis the whole season.

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 329

E watching a bed of seedlings from F. Virginiana it will be seen that there

D: is a continual struggle going on in the species (regarding all the so called

Fragarias as one species) as to the transformation of the runners into

flowering shoot ometimes the runner *party" will so get the upper

3 hand that the pistils will be entirely suppressed, in which case the run-

E ners push o it much enthusiasm as to crowd down and frequently

2 cession of fruit on the stock, is the tendency to produce runners

: ec But even this is subject to modification, for the ay produce

. very short peduncles, although bearing full crops of fruit; they will in

a crop at once and done with it, then push out with great vigor in the run-

ning line (see New Jersey Scarlet).

The result of my observation of plants in a state of nature is, that

every tribe or genus of plants has its own peculiar law of variation, that

all minor variations form around this great central law, and that unless a

this la

In describing rri it will be seen that the law of variation cen-

ires in the effort to produce flower spikes out of stolons, therefore, no

racter drawn from differing forms of stolons or flower-scapes can possibly

Serve to identify a species in this genus.

Ihave thrown in these general views to excuse Judge Clinton, who, in

making a new species out of an accidental variation in the cyme, has done

no more than scores have done before him, and many more will in the

future, nr these considerations. With regard to the merits of this

everbearing strawberry as a horticultural novelty I offer no opinion. The

I "msi ass of strawberries, however, are too much neg-

had. m tht little I have seen of this ** Mexican" I think it is. There-

fore, mah the publie will not buy **a new —— they will get their

j worth as a garden fruit.* — T. MEEHAN.

Rare Moss.— Some rarer mosses have been detected here, of which

mention may be made of Buxbawmia aphylla and Tetraplodon australis.

. 7-H. E. P., Norron, Mass.

ek dur odo eee

ps beret. Iri rebel i 1 nad seem the ginis st DG A a i

eas lad oe PRESE OE Ra ye ll known alpi > form of F, vesca. It

is, however, inter: : tween the vivipa-

H f£ VU Roh So WAT egi n "n T

I have seen. Dii scapes and elato dare pecie ror een

Partakes largely of the conditions of the other.

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 42

330 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

ZOOLOGY.

Foop PLANTS OF NEW ENGLAND BUTTERFLIES. —The following list of

the plants upon which the larve of our New England butterflies are

examination of many authorities, and by the k ommunications 0

several friends. In especial we would mention Messrs. William Saun-

4 . Edwa o give the authorities in every instance

would extend the list unnecessarily; any additions to it, or correction

and confirmation of the probable food plants, would be most grateful to

the ec

lio Asterias, cultivated and native umbelliferous plants ; often found

pp biu nce on parsley and carrots. P. Troilus, see spicebush,

on ash; will eat lilac sparingly. P. Turnus, apple, thorn, choke

cherry, cultivated tud alder, tulip, black-ash, e. ponent oak.

P. Philenor, aristol

Pieris oleracea, nen cabbage, radish, mustard. P. rape, cabbage.

P. Protodice, cabbage.

Colias Phélodice, clover, garden pea, lupine, lucerne, and other species

of medicago.

erias Lisa, T. delia, clover, senna.

rossi fpem cruciferous plants.

ıs Americanus, sorrel and dock. C. Thoe, polygonum. C.

Brem, probably inh endok or some kind of sorrel; possi-

bly cranberry.

Poyon matus Porsenna, probably arrow-wood, elder, or hawthorn.

Lycæna neglecta, cornus and wi ow; also Erythronium? L. lucia,

She ech the eh and perhaps buckthorn and wild lupine? Z. comyn-

tas, Lespedeza

Thecla Clie probibir species of Rubus, Genista, and Hedysarum.

T. Falacer, hawthorn; also oa , and per n blackthorn? T. strigosd,

horn, dee apple, willow. 7. humuli, hop, oak. T. Auburniana, smilax?,

red ced T. Niphon, pine. T. Fobin, T wu T. Mopsus,

wild ec cultivated plum, Eupatorium. T. Augustus, Vaccinium? T.

Henrici, Vaccinium? T., Acadica, willow. T. Scudderii, ter perennis.

cynum.

Limenitis Misippus, willow, poplar, plum. L. Ursula, scrub oak, goose-

berry, wild cherry, Vaccinium, hin MA plum, quince, ha "a?

= poe. L. Arthemis, thorn. L. Proserpina, probably some species

Aromas Idalia, A. Cybele, A. Atlantis, A. Aphrodite, probably violets;

5 , Polygonum, or Rubus. A.

ial violets and cultivated pansy. A. o probably violets. Æ.

RD Bellona ona, probably violets ; ispbe

a Nycteis, plantain? sunflower, M. Harrisii, Diplopappus um-

. M. Tharos, plantain? M. Phaeton, Chelone glabra, hazel; Will

currant. ;

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 331

Pyrameis cardui, thistle, sunflower, horka burdock, nettle. P.

osii escas ium, burdock, thistle, balsam. P. Atalanta, nettle, am-

brosi

eu Cait. Antirrhinum, Lina

Vanessa Antiopa, willow, poplar es bem of Gilead. FV. J-album, hop,

i d ett le.

Grapta ^x fects elm, hop, nettle, ambrosia, basswood, lime. *

C-argenteum, wild goo seberry, cultivated currant and blackberry, elm;

robably honeysuckle. G. ¢ comma, hop, ambrosia, nettle. G. gracilis,

probably nettle, M and elm. G. Faunus, probably wild goose-

E berry, elm, and n

* OMonobas aoe LCD sedges; possibly lichens.

1 dmg Alope, S. Nephele, S. Portlandia, grasses and sedges

ipparchia Boisduvalii, grasses and sedges; probably also darnel,

serie mpha Eurytris, grasses and wep eis

E. Lycidas, Hedysarum. E. Poder Giycine and Hedy

speria Metacomet, H. Verna, H. Massasoit, sues gra H. Ho-

bomok, H. Pocahontas, H. Re eae Gas H. Leo fh. ray probably

grass. H. Mystic, H. Sassacus, grass. H. Win ina, probably grass. H.

Wamsutta, grass. H. Acanootus, H. poss H. Manataaqua, probably

Brass. H. Ahaton, grass. H. Oneko, H. Samoset, H. Vialis, probably

Brass. H. Metea, coarse and fine grasses; probably also Panicum.

Manoco, probably grass. H. Hianna, Glycine? grasses? H. Panoquin,

Probably grass. H. Mesapano, grass? H. Delaware, H. Logan, Panicum

and coarse grasses.

Larve of unknown species of Hesperide have also been found on pop-

lar, scrub oak, hazel and columbine, and oe ie eh ra

: ScUppEn, Boston Society of Natural History

TENNESSEE WARBL ER. — Mr. Boardman’s EAE in the June number

of the Naru relating to the abundance of this warbler in his local-

tty is interesting. It shows how irregular is the distribution of some of

Pg is species seems to be of a s of birds which,

th quite rare in other parts of New England, are not at all so

South-eastern Maine, reaching that region I presame via the St. Law-

rence and Maine Central water route. I would here enquire if Mr.

: Trippe's article on ** The Warblers" (NATURALIST, vol. ii.) is not iam

the locality of Ora ange, N. J.?* page 181 we might infer that

been giving the Warblers of the ken England States, if on a T

: of the preceding pages we had not been convinced to the T AA

Species as found by Mr. Trippe cooing a decided tendency to a "

Alleghanian fauna, as compared with their distribution in New Englan

H. A. Purpie, Boston.

EHI

“sT is.— EDS.

932 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

PAPILIO (VAR?) CALVERLEYI, CAPTURED IN FLORIDA. — While in Florida

last April it was my good fortune to capture a female specimen of Papilio

var. Calverleyi Grote, which in some respects differs from Mr. Grote's

ens the basal third. At the extremity of the discal cell is a conspicuous

it and the discal cell, the color is yellow. Anal ocellus pupilled with a

well-defined black spot instead of a ‘narrow faint blackish arcuated

line.” Tails black without any sprinkling of yellow. Abdomen with six

rows of yellow dots. Mr.Grote's specimen had but two rows, and Papilio

weis of which Mr. re considers it a variety, has four.— o-

. MEAD, New York

A REMARKABLE NEW JELLY-FISH. — During an excursion to Eastport,

Me., and vicinity, last season, in company with Mr. S. I. Smith and

M in size even the common red one, Cyanea Wig which it

is, however, more yellow in color, the MN complicated pace hanging

down below the disk being light orange, and the long frilled mouth ap-

pendages bright lemon-yellow. The tentacles are about eighty in num;

animal has so long escaped observation. It belo ngs to a family pre

viously unknown on this coast, and forms the type of a new genus.

was described in the July number of the “ American Journal of Science"

under the name of Callinema ornata. — A. E. VERRILL.

or 1868.— This is the fourth

" intention was to pass to the eastward of Soares sat Lie

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. ' 998

ice rendered this impracticable. The geology of Ice fjord was carefully

ing much farther south in Nor way. It was estimated that 2000 or 3000

head of walrus were hired slaughtered in Spitzbergen by Norwegian

Sinking to 21°F. On the 29th of August the “Sofia” entered Liebde

ay, in Northern rn Spitzbergen. The deep-sea soundings revealed the

enis fact that ebria ee was connected with Scandinavia idis a

Submarine bank, having a maximum depth of three hundred fathom

(in 1827) 81° 6; but Parry, in sledges on the ice, reached 82° 45’. em

ice to the northward of this was broken, but so closely packed that n

e oth

9n the 1st of October, but when b vein "o all farther endeavors were

Put à stop to by a colliston with an ice block, which opened a large leak

in the vessel’s side. With h great difficulty they regained the land, the

Water Standing two feet over the cabin floor. The intention of eerte,

ere was then | abandoned, and the “Sofia” returned to Norw: vide iem

tific Opinion.

. Nore N THE “BLOWING” or WHALES.— The celebrated Norwegian

: Taturalist, M. Sars, was the first, or one of the first, to assert that whales

e urf: r idea dne I

. Posed to this. While Ehren in the North Pacific, and Behring's Sea,

paid Particular attention to this point. I was very fortunate in seeing

334 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

any whales at close quarters, particularly a small species known as the

** blacktish," which often played around the vessel all day, sometimes not

ten feet from her hull. I observed that while no water, or only a very

minute quantity, was ejected when the **blow-hole" was out of water, still

able odor. On mentioning this to the captain, an old whaler, he informed

me that the vapor ejected by the sperm whale was so fetid as to nauseate

any one immediately who was unused to it; that he had been so affected

himself when he first went a whaling, and also that the mucus sometimes

thrown out when “blowing,” is com Pads ‘epg by whalers to raise à

blister, if it comes in contact with the n. Cannot some of our New

Bedford friends add to our information on aii subjects ?— W. H. DALL

Whil

of whales we observe

[g]

£e

£É

‘blow? in a double stream, which is directed backwards, towards the tail.”

— À. §. P.

MorrLED OWL aGary.—I noticed in the September number (vol.

ii) of the NATURALIST a communication from Dr. Wood, concerning the

Gray Owls are different birds, and in the e August number a note from Mr.

Allen, who evidently considers them one and the same bird, subject, how-

ever, to variations of plumage. The latter conclusion is, I am convince ed,

the true one, but as the matter does not seem to be quite cleared up, I

would like to send you a few observations of my own that may serve t

throw some light on the subject

u the 30th of ve es I found a nest of the Mottled Owl, in an apple

tree, at Concord, , containing four young birds (apparently about

two weeks old) i Miei mother. Although but few feathers had begun

to appear on the young their coloring was nevertheless dy apparent;

two were red, the remaining two gray; the mother was red. Selecting à

red and gray owl from the youn ng brood I replaced the others in ges nest,

and started for home with my prize. For the next two or three weeks

grew apace, feeding greedily upon meat of all kinds, giving, how-

ever, a decided preference for small birds, which they soon learned to tear

i wp fo or F themselves. While I was absent in August, the person to vm

PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 335

care they were entrusted, becoming tired of her charge, turned them out

of the cage in which they had thus far been kept. At first they seemed

trees in the garden, but after a trial of several days, finding themselves

unable to procure food, they came back and ventured by degrees into

remained with us till the latter part of October, when they both vati)

disappeared. — WILLIAM BREWSTER, Cambridge, Mass.

PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.

——9o09———

THE SALEM MEETING OF THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION. — It is a sudden :

transition from the lake and prairie scenery about the great city of Chi-

cago, where the Association held its meetings last year, to the small and

quiet City of Peace, resting between the rock-bound coasts of Nahant

and Cape Ann, with its sedute environs and pleasant beaches at

Beverly, Swampscot and ant. From present appearances the meet-

ing will be largely attended, and the sessions prove at least of the

ual interest S various short excursion u ssex County are

projected we give a brief sketch of the physical features of the v cinity

of Salem The soil is underlai eiss rocks, with trap and den

Successive eruptions; the sienites thus injected being often changed

ns;

into a pci greenish or reddish jasper, many pebbles of which are

found in udding-stone about Roxbury. The age of these rocks is

not ja. ace known, and the question of their age and that of the

igneous rocks accompanying them, and their relation to the beds of con-

ya about Boston, and the Lower Silurian rocks at Braintree, ren-

ers up geology of Essex and Sussex County a most difficult, sanas

ly interesting study, and one as yet but hardly touched upon b;

336 CORRESPONDENCE.

B Going from Lower Silurian rocks to the clays and gravels

f the Quaternary Period, which cts nsa them, we find these

ie resting upon gneiss rocks polished cratched, often with great

—— as upon a hill in North Sal at Dr. W. Mack's summer

esidence; in Boston Street in Salem; a dn from Salem towards Lyun,

on the top of a hill; the scratches all running in a general north-west

and south-east direction. Among the many igante Danter transported

Railroad, arise in Chelsea abd: Somerville. At Andover, ages the

P 1 K i s

which border the Merrimac, is the celebrated ‘‘horse-back,” called ipeo

Ridge,"—that puzzle in Quaternary geology. The student of ethnology

and anthropology can investigate the Indian shell-heaps, or Pena

meeddings found along the whole coast, containing pieces pottery,

pe nema dae bones of various animals, especially at ‘et and

on Plum Island, and many other points, specimens of which are on

M A in ie Museum of the Peabody Academy of Science. The

inland zodlogist will eagerly explore the rocks and tidal pools and

b .

only by the remains in palæozoic rocks; and the botanist will fin

the sea-weeds thrown up on the beaches, and in the diatoms of the

brackish waters, and the meeting of Northern and Southern plants in

the woods and skirting the coast, much of interest.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

W.C.G Poughkeepsie. N. Y.— We have often noticed these erosions in the cru

of the M, Gyrostomum urciolatum Tuckerman, and think ero y are re made Ì by

the rasping tongue of some Helix or Limax, if not by the larvz o ore

tera. The d gg pepe removed Pi ed me on — "beneath, is px

lus of the lichen, and the open papillz

W. C. P. Sandwich, Maes.— The tetas ou gan May 17) are sae of an apparent!

undescribed species of Grapholitha, a — d lay p am moth. We had Md

them May 45th, an abe apple, and a day later perforating the half-expanded le: iid

flower buds of mei apple, pear and cherry, on which they were very abund: -

st as the er-worm is

oe d peie anonn harm, and ai about Mp. se Bow y July 1s 2 fying

15 3

ene TEUER i i td d ied ze in the

is , Tournat of Fobcrering and ond vate Bled by Dr. A. J. Malmgren- recat?

"refi mem March 90, rta ig London,

i C.

"D RE

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. III. C SEPTEMBERB, 1869.— No. 7.

cc G5 5t 9) O9

SEA-SIDE HOMES: AND WHAT LIVED IN THEM.

BY DR. ELLIOTT COUES, U. 8. A. |

Mirz after mile of sloping sea-beach occupies the front

of a low island on the Carolina coast, and contends, along

à foamy line, against waves that ceaselessly advance, to be

continually repulsed; a sea-front flanked with sand-works

own by the wind into tumuli over the trenches, where lie

buried countless shells that will only come to light again as

fossils, when the books of to-day, and those who wrote them,

have become indistinguishable dust; beyond which there is

a vast bed of oozy mire hidden by the rank growth of reeds

that rustle and surge with every breath of wind. Among

the sand-mounds, defended by these buttresses alike from

the open violence of the sea and the insidious approach of

the marsh, are sequestered spots, bestrewn with shells, ear-

peted with slender grasses whose nodding spears trace curi-

ous circles in the sand about their roots, with here and there

a half-buried vertebra of a stranded whale, or the rib of

Some ill-fated vessel, telling a tale of disaster by sea,—spots

So secluded that the measured cadence of the wave-beats,

Confused by this and that avenue of approach, only enters

With an inarticulate murmur. Here is the chosen home of

Se ITO eas ll T LL RUN

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year by the PEABODY ACADEMY OF

CIENCE, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court ar the District of M.

ER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 43 (337)

888 á SEA-SIDE HOMES:

two beautiful birds that come and pass the summer months

together; a peaceful home, secure, it would seem, from

danger of whatever sort; a house that falls not when the

rain descends, and the floods come, and the winds blow,

though it is built upon the sand. Alas! that even were it

founded upou a rock, the gates of ornithology should pre-

vail against it.

It is late in May —the last week of a month that is not,

in this warm climate, “a pious fraud of the almanac,” as it is

in New England—and the birds are busy now. Six weeks

ago they came from their winter retreat in the far South, to

this well-remembered spot. The Least Terns came dashing

along high in the air overhead, their pearly white forms

wavering between the blue water and the bluer sky, ruling

both and uncertain which to choose ; and saw, with cries of

exultation, the end of their long journey. As swiftly, yet

more secretly, the Wilson's Plovers flitted along the shore,

half concealed by colors that repeat the hue of the sand,

from one headland to another, across gulf and river's mouth

in succession, till they too greet kai homes with joyous

notes. Separated for a long interval, or at most little heed-

ing each other, the Terns and the Plovers are to come to-

gether again, and rear their young under the shadow of each

other's wing. While they are flashing through the clear air,

or skimming lightly over the mirrored beach, and occupied,

after mutual recognition, each in their own way with

preliminaries of the great event of their lives, let us see

what manner of birds they are. Then, when we come to

look in upon their homes we shall not be visiting strangers-

The Least Tern is, as its name implies, the smallest bird

of its kind in our country ; but it has several near relatives

in other parts of the world; cousins so nearly alike that

they have often been mistaken for each other. They form 2

. Tace, or “subgenus,” as the naturalists call it, that is dis-

tinguished from other Terns by diminutive size and dainty

: form even a. a class of birds all of which have ex-

AND WHAT LIVED IN THEM. - 389

quisitely moulded shapes, and by a crescent of pure white

on the forehead, sharply defined in the jetty black of the

rest of the crown. They are delicate pearly-blue above,

with snowy-white under-plumage, that has an indescribably |

soft and silky lustre ; the long-pointed outer primaries, that

cleave the air so deftly, are black, silvered with a hoary

gloss of exceeding delicacy ; the bill is bright yellow, tipped

with black; the feet are of the same color, and are likewise

tipped with the black claws. The little bird of our country

answering to this description, has a variety of names in and

out of the books. In many places it is called “Striker,”

from the way it has—after hovering in the air, its slender

bill pointed straight downward, its clear eyes intently sur-

veying the water below, and at length fixing upon some

. unlucky shrimp or minnow—of dashing impetuously down

to secure its prey beneath the water; and just possibly, its

scientific name, Sterna, as well as the English derivative,

Stern, or Tern, may be traced to a classic root (seen in

sterno, “to strew or scatter," and also “to throw down”) and

have its origin in this same habit. A more apt and elegant

designation is that of "Sea-swallow," by which this and other

Species are universally known. They are all, indeed, swal-

lows of the sea, replacing over the waters those familiar birds

of the land, and having many features in common. Popu-

lar language has, as usual, caught the idea of these striking

points of resemblance, and caged it in an expressive word..

Even the written history of this bird's names is not devoid of |

interest ; for a study of the various words unfolds a story of

human thought. Thus our forefathers in ornithology called

the bird the Least Tern (Sterna minuta), because they did

not know it was different from the European species of that

hame ; but it is, nevertheless, for the pearl-blue extends over

the tail instead of being confined to the back and wings, and

the size of the bill, and of the white crescent, are not the

Same in the two species. Nuttall gives it as the Silvery

Tem (S. argentea); a pretty name, and one very suitable, _

o SEA-SIDE HOMES:

but founded upon the wrong premise, that our species is

the same as one that lives in South America. When Dr.

Gambel found out that it was different from both these spe-

cies, he bestowed upon it the title of the Bridled Tern (S.

frenata), another very distinctive name, that would be well

applied, were it not for the fact that M. Lesson, a French

ornithologist, had previously called it the Antillean Tern

(S. antillarum), because it is found in those islands in the

winter. So we have no choice in the matter of a scientific

name, in which there is not the same license as in the case of

our common designations. But let the latter be as various

as they may the little bird is always the same. It spends

the winter in Central America and about its islands; when

spring opens it courses northward to visit us; a few ex-

tend along the Pacific Coast, some up the Mississippi and

its tribuaries, almost to their very so&rces ; and more along

the shores of the Atlantic. Some of the latter go as far as

New England, but there are attractions all along, and de-

tachments drop off by the way, stopping here and there, till

the ranks are fairly decimated before the most adventurous

birds make their final halt. But “their tricks and their

manners” are pretty much the same under all circumstances,

and what these are we shall presently see.

A very different bird is Wilson's Plover; a wader, not à

swimmer ;:as they say, in words as long as the bird's legs;

a grallatorial, not a natatorial, species ; which simply means

that the little bird is content to run along the sand and

dabble with bill and feet, in the wavelets, instead of boldly

dashing in among the breakers, like a Tern, for instance. It

belongs to a genus well-named ZZgialitis, which signifies a

“dweller by the sea,” and has never been known to forfeit

its right to the name. We have several other species of the

Same group. The commonest and most widely diffused of

these is the “Killdeer,” that everybody knows throughout

the length and breadth of the land; the Ring Plover and

Piping Plover are two others, familiar to all New England-

[

AND WHAT LIVED IN THEM. 341

ers. Wilson’s is characteristic of the South Atlantic coast ;

it only incidentally, as it were, strays northward as far as

Massachusetts, and is, consequently, the least generally

known of the four kinds; but once seen it can never be

mistaken afterward. It is smaller than the Killdeer, but .

larger than either the Ring-necked or the Piping Plover, to

which it is very similar in coloration, if not in the precise

tint. The under parts of all three are white; the upper

parts of Wilson’s are much darker than those of the Piping,

and yet a trifle lighter than those of the Ring Plover. A

collar of pure black crosses the white of the breast; a cres-

cent of black occupies the crown between the eyes, sepa-

rated from the bill by the white forehead; on the nape and

sides of the head the grayish brown merges into a clear

warm buff. This, it must be remembered, is only the nuptial

plumage, and of the male bird ; the latter, at other seasons,

and the female at all times, have these black bands replaced

by buffy brown; and this is the plumage in which the bird

is oftenest described. But the greatest peculiarity remains

to be noticed. Wilson’s Plover has a very large entirely

black bill, while both the Ring and the Piping have a very

small bill, orange yellow at the base, tipped with black. For

the rest it wants the bright-colored circle around the eyes,

formed by the margin of the lids, that the other species dis-

Play during the breeding season. Its eyes are clear brown;

lts legs livid flesh colored, and longer than those of the

others ; it is not half-webbed like the Ring Plover—only

about as much so as the Piping. Its large black bill gives it

4 singular expression, and undoubtedly corresponds to some

difference in the nature of its food, if we could only find out

exactly what. Such is the bird that hurries along the coast

from the South in April. Upon their arrival they gather in

Small flocks, of from half a dozen to a score or more, and

ramble over both the clean sea-beach and the muddy flats in

Search of food, sometimes straying into the adjoining salt-

‘Meadows if the grass be short and scanty enough not to

342 SEA-SIDE HOMES:

impede their way. They are naturally gentle and confiding

birds, thinking no evil, and prone to take others to be as

peaceable and harmless as themselves; but they have only

too often to learn wisdom by saddest experience of broken

limbs and maimed bodies, and to oppose treachery by wari-

ness and caution. In the spring, if not at other times, they

have a note that is half a whistle, half a chirrup, and sounds

very different from the clear mellow piping of either of their

nearest relatives. After a little while spent in recuperating

their energies after their long flight, in putting on their

perfect dress, in sham fights and ardent pursuits along the

strand, more pressing duties call them from the water’s edge

to the recesses of the sand-hills. There we shall find them

"at home,” no longer in flocks but in pairs, and keeping

house with the Sea-swallows. -

The spot is indieated by the fleecy cloud of the Terns

flecking the air overhead. We toil on over beds of loose

dry sand, in which our feet sink and slip backward, and gain

the recess among the mounds. The ground is here more

firm and even; the wind has swept it clean of superfluous

sand, and piled up the sweepings here and there in odd

nooks; the rains have packed it tight and washed every

shell and pebble clean. The most careful housekeeper in the

world could make her home no more tidy than the wind and

rain have made this shelly dwelling-place of the Terns and

Plovers. As we walk on, we see that other visitors have

been before us, each one leaving its "card" engraven on the

fine sand. Here goes a curious track straight up and over à

sand hillock, as if half a dozen little animals had ran a race

one after the other, on stilts, the points of which pricked

into the sand and formed a band of indentations four or five

inches broad. These are the footprints of only one creature;

however,—the sand-crab, a curious little fellow, with a

‘square body, and eyes upon the ends of two poles that stick

. Straight out when wanted for use, and shut into the shell

. like the blades of a pocket-knife, when their owner goes to

AND WHAT LIVED IN THEM. 343

sleep, —a singular crab indeed, mounted upon a wonderfully

long set of eight legs (to say nothing of two claw-nippers),

all of which he contrives to move at just the right moment,

as if he were playing a tune upon piano keys, and so plays

himself sidewise over the sand with marvellous ease and

celerity, the only wonder is that he does not forget a leg

in his haste. He is a very grallatorial crab, and lives in the

holes in the sand we sce all about, just like a prairie-dog.

There is a tortuous trail along the sand, where a water-

snake, perhaps a Nerodia sipedon, crawled out of his pool

in the marsh beyond, to enjoy the sun’s rays, or possibly on

an egging expedition like ourselves. Here is a fainter line,

straight as an arrow, looking just as if a pencil had been

drawn along a ruler’s edge; it is the mark left by the long

slender tail of the little striped lizard, and if we look closely

we shall see it bounded on either side by a succession of

faint dots where the creature's toes barely disturbed the

grains of sand. There again is a curious track, a pair of

rounded depressions, side by side, and hardly more than an

inch apart, outside of which, in the intermediate distances,

are another pair, wider apart, and much longer. It is

clear that a Marsh Rabbit has passed this way, planting his

fore-feet, straight downward, and drawing his hinder ones

leisurely after, half squatting at each step, as he loped out

. Of his home in the bushes to nip the beach grass for a change

of diet. And so we might go on reading signs as plain as

print; but the birds are by this time alarmed as they never

Were by former visitors. They know by intuition that we are

not one of them, though among them, and that our coming

bodes no good, however much we may affect to care for

them in an abstract way. So ina moment all is changed,

and confusion reigns where were peace and quiet. The

quick-witted Terns were the first to sound the alarm; they

had watched our approach, and straightway changed their

heedless and joyous cries to notes of ‘anger and fear; at

the signal the sitting birds had arisen from their eggs and

344 SEA-SIDE HOMES:

joined those already overhead. The male Plovers, off fora-

ging for insects and minute sea-creatures, surprised at the

noise, had come hurrying home, only to have their worst

fears confirmed, and be met half-way by their terrified

mates, who had stolen quietly from their nests when the

Terns deserted theirs, instinctively looking for comfort and

protection where it had never been deni before. It isa

strange sight, and a mournful one, already too painful to be

wholly interesting, and the tragical end has not come yet.

The Terns seem not to know what fear is; they dash about

our heads, plunge as though to strike us, recede a little, ap-

proach again, always keeping in a cloud above us; and from

every throat come notes of anger and fear and beseeching

combined; a very Babel of tongues. The Plovers are more

timorous ; they are flitting to and fro, low over the sand, at

a little distance, in anxious groups of three or four, with in-

describably touching appeals for mercy to spare their homes;

now alighting and squatting in hopes they are still undis-

covered, and again running swiftly along, too frightened for

a moment's rest. A dark day indeed for the poor birds!

Bird's-nesting is a sad business, at best; it makes little dif-

ference to the birds, it is to be feared, whether their eggs

are stolen by school-boys, to be played with and forgotten

before the Saturday afternoon is over, or by grown up peo-

ple to make books with, and be kept thereafter in cabinet

drawers. What difference there is, seems to be that the

boys let the old birds off altogether, and are satisfied with

robbing the nests; while the larger children rob and then

shoot the parent birds, to “authenticate the specimens."

Where are the eggs? Here, there, and everywhere about

the sand lie the Tern's, till we are in danger of treading on

them unawares. There are not so many of the Plover's,

though still plenty for our purpose; but both kinds are

— of the same color as the sand, and their markings

conform to the unvarying variegation of color of the shelly

smod, so (atit an easy mailer not to so them e

AND WHAT LIVED IN THEM. 345

when looking straight at them. Here is a set of Plovers’

eggs, and there, not a yard off, one of Terns’; we may sit

down and examine both together. It may be best, however,

after noticing carefully the nests and their surroundings, to

gather a lot of each kind of egg, and carry them home with

us for more particular examination.

Properly speaking there are really no “nests” in either

case. Neither the Tern nor the Plover has any architectural

instinct, because none is needed. Both lay their eggs in a

slight hollow in the sand, about four inches in diameter ; but

even this hollowing is sometimes scarcely appreciable, and

the eges seem as if dropped by accident on the ground. It

is probable that at first no hollow, or only the slightest one,

is made; and that subsequently the depression becomes

better defined by the movements to which the eggs may be

subjected, and the weight and motions of the parent birds

or young. In some instances there is a difference between

the two kinds of nesting-spots, happening thus: the Plovers

Sometimes lay in a scanty tuft of slender straggling grass,

which was not done by any of the Terns, at this breeding-

place ; and again, the Terns frequently line the depression

with little flat bits of shell, which the Plovers have not been

observed to do. Sometimes the pieces of shell scem to have

been lying there before, and thus only to have been used as

a nest-lining by accident as it were; in other cases the regu-

lar disposition of the fragments in a circle, leaves no doubt

that they were carefully arranged by the birds. This method

of making a shell-nest is just like that of the Auks aud

Guillemots, that breed in cracks in the rocks, and raise a

little platform of pebbles to keep their eggs from the wet;

and is, doubtless, for the same purpose,—to defend the

eggs from whatever moisture might be in the sand. Still,

of two Terns’ nests, side by side, one may have the shells,

and the other be without them, or at least not have them

Specially arranged. Neither bird uses any dried grasses,

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 44

346 SEA-SIDE HOMES :

sea-weed, or other soft pliable substances, in this particular

locality at least.

The number of eggs deposited must next claim our atten-

tion; and in this matter, as seeing is believing, we must

differ with some very respectable authorities. It is a com-

mon belief, circulated from one writers book to another's,

that Terns generally lay three eggs, and the little Sand-

pipers and Plovers always four. The belief is true enough,

as a general rule; but every rule has its exceptions, and

here are two notable ones. The Least Tern, breeding in

North Carolina, generally lays two eggs; sometimes only

one; rarely (if ever) three ; and never four; at any rate,

we have not found more than two in any instance, and our

experience may count for something, seeing that we have ~

just explored a tolerably extensive breeding place. Still it

would be injudieious for us to proclaim that the bird may

not lay three in other localities. But as for four eggs from

one Least Tern at a single laying we flatly refuse to believe

it till we see it. If any one is inclined to object to the

assertion that the one egg, found in some instances, would

ave been succeeded by another, we can discountenance the

assumption by replying that the solitary eggs in question

were nearly hatched when found. Again, Wilson’s Plover

lays three eggs,—no more, no less, as far as our observa-

tions have gone, with respect to nests actually found. The

suggestion that the fourth one would have been laid in due

time is combatted by what has just been advanced in the

other case, namely, the mature condition of the embryos.

Yet we know the bird sometimes lays four, because we have

killed females just going to lay, finding one egg in the ovi-

duct, almost ready to be expelled, and the three others in a

: highly developed state, still attached to the ovary. The time

| of laying varies a great deal, in the cases of both the birds.

They may deposit eggs at any time between the second

week in May and the first in June; the greatest number lay

about May 20th. Some of the Terns may even commence

;

in number ,

AND WHAT LIVED IN THEM. 347

earlier, as young birds, already quite strong of wing, are to

be seen flying about by the 20th of June. Early in the

latter month, nearly fresh eggs, eggs nearly hatched, and

newly fledged young, of the Plover, may all be observed.

These little nestlings are very pretty and very curious speci-

mens of early birdhood; they can run quite cleverly over

the sand as soon as fairly dry from the egg, if not “with

half a shell on their backs,” as is popularly supposed to be

the case with young partridges ; and are rather difficult to

find, from their knack of hiding, like their parents, by

squatting closely on the sand. Their legs seem dispropor-

tionately long, like a young colt’s. They have black bills,

like their parents, from the moment of birth. They are cov-

ered all over, except a little space on the neck, with woolly

down, that is white below, and beautifully variegated with

black and buffy brown on the upper parts. The newly

edged Terns are very different from the old ones, being

curiously mottled above with different colors, in which the

pearl-blue scarcely shows; without a black cap, the head

being white, except some slaty feathers over the ears and

hape ; the bill blackish, and the feet dull-colored, and the tail

much less forked. They cannot be mistaken for any other

Species, however, for there are none so small as they.

We have now only to examine the eggs we have collected ;

and here again we must give the specimens themselves pre-

cedence over authorities. If Nuttall, for example, had had

ours before him when he wrote of the Least Tern, we should

hot now read in his Manual, that “the eggs, three or four

i . . . are about one and a half inches,

by three-quarters of an inch in breadth." Ours, we see,

are considerably smaller than this, and of a different shape

from that implied by these dimensions, averaging only 1.25

inches long, by just 1.00 in breadth. The longest and

most pointed one is 1.30 by 1.00, the shortest and round-

est 1.20 by .98; these measurements probably d

very nearly the extremes of variation. The ground color

348 SEA-SIDE HOMES: ETC.

varies decidedly; the differences may be reduced to two

kinds, in one of which the color is very pale clear greenish-

white, and in the other pale-dull drab or olive whitish, the

latter apparently due to the mixture of a little brownish in

the green. These colors are speckled all over with small

splashes, irregular spots, and dots, of clear brown of several

shades; and others of a paler, illy-defined, somewhat lilac,

hue, appearing as if it were brown in the shell, instead of

on the surface. The markings are often very evenly dis-

tributed over the whole egg, but more frequently, perhaps,

tend to form a circle, at or around the larger end, particu-

larly in those cases where they are large and splashed. The

point of the egg is often free from markings, or with only a

few small dots.

The Plovers eggs are of the same general pattern of

coloration as the Terns', but are larger, and otherwise con-

spicuously different. The variation, both in size and shape,

is very considerable; thus one measures 1.45 by 1.05, and

another only 1.22 by 1.00; a variation not only of absolute

size but also of relative length of the long and short axes,

resulting in a very decided difference of shape. All agree

in having the greatest short diameter near the large end, as

usual among birds of the order, and the difference is mainly

due to a greater or less elongation and pointedness of the

smaller end. The shorter axis varies only within narrow

imits; but even in eggs taken from the same nest a differ-

ence of .15 may be observed in the lengths of the long axes,

with, of course, a corresponding discrepancy in contour.

Tae ground color is difficult to name; it may be called pale

olive-drab, more decidedly inclining to a greenish hue in

some, and to a brownish in others. The eggs are thickly

marked all over with brown so dark as to be almost black;

the markings are in irregular, sharply defined spots, small

Splashes, and fine dots. In some specimens the markings

show a tendency to run into fine lines, and in these are

smallest, darkest, most numerous and most sharply outlined ;

E ee

NEL ri rcs +> a in E MA

si AU ea

RAMBLES IN FLORIDA. . 349

but ordinarily the distinctive splashed character is main-

tained. Commonly the markings are rather larger, and,

consequently more thickly set on the larger part of the egg,

where there is also some tendency to run together, though

scarcely to form a ring around the butt; but in none of the

specimens examined was the pointed end free from spots.

Here and there may usually be observed a few pale obsolete

spots, as noticed in the Terns’ eggs, but they are fewer and

much less conspicuous, and in fact are hardly to be detected

without close scrutiny.

RAMBLES IN FLORIDA.

BY R. E. C. STEARNS.

PART II.

Tue trip across Florida, from the Atlantic Ocean to the

Gulf of Mexico, is made by railroad. Rising with the birds

and eating an early breakfast, a ten minutes walk takes us

to the depot, which is about a mile from the hotels. There

18 No commotion or hustling, no noise of many hackmen nor

crowding of passengers, neither any difficulty in finding a

seat ; a single car is sufficient to accommodate the few persons

that have occasion to travel. Of the small number, probably

one-half will stop at stations by the way; the principal busi-

hess of the road is the transportation of freight, and were it

hot for the extensive business in the forwarding of merchan-

dize, consisting of cotton, rosin, sugar, lumber, etc., on ac-

Count of the steamship connections which form, together

with this road, a through line from New Orleans to New

York, by which much time is saved compared with the other

routes, it would, doubtless, prove unprofitable to its propri-

etors,

The ride from the Ocean to the Gulf absorbs nearly a day,

for it will be supper time when we reach Way Key. The

350 RAMBLES IN FLORIDA.

landscape is exceedingly monotonous, and the journey some-

what tiresome ; nevertheless, it affords an opportunity for ob-

servation, and a very fair idea of the general character of the

country can be obtained. There are no pretty villages with

meat houses and bright garden patches to please the eye; a

few shabby towns are passed through, or stopped at for à

moment to discharge freight or to allow a brace of passen-

gers to get off or on. Away from the sad looking villages,

an isolated cabin or a cluster of huts occupied by tar and

rosin makers are passed by. The forest scenery has neither

tropical beauty nor the grandeur of the pineries of Maine,

Michigan or California,* which so impresses the beholder;

the prevailing timber is the Pinus palustris, or pitch-pine ;

the trees are not above medium size and stand many paces

apart; hundreds may be seen whose sides are defaced by

the rough scars or notches made by the ruthless axes of the

pitch gatherers, and some trees have many of these wounds.

At one place there is an extensive establishment for the dis-

tillation of the spirits of turpentine, which employs several

persons; at other points saw-mills may be seen. The pro-

ducts of the pines are the prime fountain of revenue to the

inhabitants of the neighborhood for many miles along the

line of the railway.

Here, as elsewhere within the territory of the United

States, the pine tree and not the palm, contributes wholly,

or in part, to the maintenance of large communities, and

although the palms, by their fruits, furnish the chief subsist-

ence for a large portion of the inhabitants of the torrid zone,

and entire tribes of men in the valley of the Orinoco live

for several months in the year on their fruits, yet it is un-

doubtedly true that a much greater proportion of the popu-

lation of the globe are indirectly supplied with their daily

ue *In — with tropical forests, the tree ferns, the arborescent

_ Grasses, the delicately branched mimosas, and the loftier of the forms are want-

ing; there are none of the Pali here that attain a half of the height (192 feet) of

_ those mentioned by Humboldt; neither can be seen those giants of the Conifer, the

‘Monarchs of the forests of more northern latitudes, the Redwoods (Sequoias) and

RAMBLES IN FLORIDA. 351

food through the generous bounty of the pines than b

any other of the forest tribes; yet, perhaps, the voluptuous

beauty of the palms has inspired the poetic muse more fre-

quently than the sedate bearing and sturdy merits of the

noble pines; the Artocarpus incisa is no more the “tree of

bread” to the naked natives of the South Sea Islands, than

is the pine tree to a greater number of civilized and refined

people. But each is glorious in its way !

The sallow and sickly faces of many of the people hint

strongly of fever and ague. The small size of the cattle

shows that the country is overstocked, or that the pasturage

is limited and poor; the milk used in the so ealled hotels is

the condensed milk from the N orth; the butter is imported,

and the beef is stringy and dry; most of the corn used, at

least in this part of the state, is brought from abroad, and

_the country does not produce the wheat that the people con-

Sume. Few fruit trees are seen from the car windows; an

occasional orange or peach tree is therefore noticed. We

are informed that this is not a fruit region, but that in the

Vicinity of the St. John’s River, and in that part of the state,

the orchards are large and numerous.

The stranger is impressed by the general flatness of the

country ; nothing like an embankment or an excavation upon

the line of the road can be seen. The surface is never more

than very slightly undulating, and is covered with sand,

except in such places as are wet or swampy. After a rain

every depression becomes a pool or lake, to be in time ab-

sorbed by the sand or evaporated by the sun; as the eleva-

tion of the land is but little above the sea, the process of

draining the surface by the sinking of the water must be

exceedingly slow. The topography may be better under-

Stood, perhaps, when we consider that South Florida is but

a succession of beaches piled up by the sea, a —

ture of shore debris resting upon ancient coral reefs.* This |

rM M ME

MM igh previously aware of the structure of Southern Florida, we were surprised

852 RAMBLES IN FLORIDA.

is confirmed by the outcroppings of the old reefs, that, pro-

jecting from the ground, are visible at various points by the

side of the road. In addition to the accumulation of sands

portions of the state have undoubtedly been, and perhaps

are still being gradually elevated.

Agassiz estimates that not "less than seventy thousand

years have elapsed since the coral reefs already known to

exist in Florida began to grow."* What the area of the

state may be seven hundred centuries hence we can only

conjecture. The same agencies are still in active operation.

It will, probably, extend much farther in a southerly direc-

tion, and the southern part of the state will be greatly

widened toward the west. Those insignificant (so far as

size is considered) but persistent workers, the reef-build-

ing masons, the Astræans, the Meandrinas and the Porites,

are coóperative workers at the present time as during the

centuries that have passed.f Deep in the sea the founda-

tions of future reefs are being laid, upon which the more

ornamental coral-workers, the Mdecaors, will attach their

snow-white shrubbery, fringing the surfaces and edges with

beautiful forms, an elaborate and graceful finish to other-

wise substantial structures. ł

The few tree Palmettos or Cabbage-palms (Chamerops

palmetto) that we have already met, indicate that we are

approaching the Gulf; as we move along the number in-

creases, and numerous fine specimens are seen.

had been led to infer from anything we hadread on the subject. We could find no

evidence that the reef-builders at the present time, upon either coast of Florida, are

Working upon e d this Ange wing to a decreased tempe

f the water, or to a oos binas. of these

Methods of Study in Natural History. p. 189.

is tha Bod Sea. and

Wie view de nt iom or wena Ge, je, were aliv Ci qu dec d

Pharaohs, and have been growing and enlarging ever since." (Grindon.)

į“ The re (Ce h admired for its brilliant

color, and the high polish of which it i ge

: other PO ses rosie ii profitable trade in the Mediterranean whee Ii

oS d

to: ai nb: ers 3 of people p (Baird Ps Dicti J f Ni 1H 7P- . 35.)

wert eser umor a a a a

RAMBLES IN ELORIDA. 353

Here the road runs through wet and swampy ground, with

lagoons and stagnant water upon the right and left. The sun

bade us “good night” nearly an hour ago, and objects not

distant are indistinct in the dusk of the twilight. Presently

the train moves more slowly, and looking out we see the

twinkling of lights; like a boy travelling in a lonesome

place the locomotive whistles, but with the vim of a thou-

sand fifers, and then comes to a halt. Out we get into the

darkness and look around; sand is under our feet, and a

scanty show of vegetation, principally coarse wiry marsh

grass, is about us, and the air is chilly. With a benediction

‘upon the inventor of overcoats, we wrap ourselves closely,

and realize that a fireside would be more comfortable than

the open air; so with a negro for a guide we start for a

public house, to await the await of another day before

farther spying out the pride or hikina of the land.

Way Key is one of a group of islands known as Cedar

Keys; itis of small size, irregular outline, and for the most

part sandy and low, though in some places marshy and wet.

Here, as at Fernandina, the railroad company have made

extensive improvements, by the erection of a large freight-

house, and a substantial wharf for the accom DEO of

steamers that touch here en route to and from New Orleans,

Key West and Havana.

The town consists of a few buildings, not remarkable

either for architecture or workmanship, and the hotels are a

practical joke upon the traveller. From the end of the rail-

road wharf, the disciple of Izaak Walton can enjoy his favor-

ite pastime by catching trout, which are plenty, and fine fat

. 9ysters abound in the "neighborhood. Were it not for the |

fishes and oysters the Bid at the taverns would be wretch-

edly mean.

- The se enery, as viewed from the long wharf, is attractive ;

other islands of the group being quite near. The “old

town," as it is called, is much better located, in point of

elevation, than the recent one. 1t is built upon an island

e name NATURALIST, VOL. III. 45

354 j RAMBLES IN FLORIDA.

directly opposite from the principal wharf, and presents a

pleasant appearance ; beyond is the lighthouse, situated upon

an eminence on Sea-horse Key. Sea-horses are, probably,

the only horses in or about Cedar Keys, for at Way Key the

sole beast of burden, at the time of our visit, was a poor

cow,* which, harnessed into a dray, was forced to do the

hauling for the place. "What a commentary upon the pro-

gressiveness and business enterprise of a community! Our

regard for the sex made us indignant at beholding the degra-

dation of the patient brute.

At the south end of Way Key there is a group of mounds

of unusual size and elevation; the largest and most south-

erly presents an abrupt face to the beach, having been par-

tially dug away. Its height, as seen from this point, cannot

be far from twenty-five feet: it was, probably, before being

disturbed, not less than thirty feet; but this, as well as

others of the group was, like the larger mound near Fernan-

dina, used for military purposes during the recent war. The

aggregate thickness of the shell strata with the intercalated

seams of ashes, upon the southerly side of the principal

mound, and directly facing the sea, is about twenty feet,

and composed principally “of the valves of Oysters (Ostrea

Virginica), while on the north side of the same mound the

shell deposit is somewhat less in thickness, and largely com-

posed of the valves of Scallops (Pecten dislocatus?). But it

must not be understood that the above are the only species

of shells found here, for numerous specimens of the mam-

moth Fasciolaria (F. gigantea), and others of the same

family are represented. Large shells of Busycon perversum,

and fragments of Quahaug valves (Mercenaria €Mortoni Con-

rad), are quite abundant. Without a farther enumeration

... of the species contained in this, the largest of the Way Key

. mounds, we will hastily glance at bites near by. Just

er QUE

mi is quite common in the Pacific enge to hear an insignificant person or Laer

Spo Aor fell m or a “ one-horse town," but a i one-cow town

ed SoS

RAMBLES IN FLORIDA. 355

north of the above is the second in point of size, but the

shell deposit, composed of the same species, is not as thick

or deep, while at the north-east is a third mound of exceed-

ingly regular form, also composed of shells; this latter has

not been materially defaced, though a house of considerable

size has been erected upon its summit. Between the two

largest mounds, and connecting them, is a piece of flat or

slightly uneven ground, which was used apparently for

burial purposes, for here can be obtained human remains

undoubtedly aboriginal, and fragments of pottery of large

size may be picked up. At other places in the vicinity

human bones may be found, but there is no certainty that

they are aboriginal. During the war this island was the

asylum for deserters and refugees, and the yellow fever

and cholera carried off great numbers. They were buried

carelessly, and the unmarked graves are scattered over the

higher land of the Key.

In examining this part of the island, which is covered

With various forms of shrubbery, the visitor frequently

stumbles over the hidden resting-place of some poor victim

of pestilential disease. A few trees may be seen here and

there growing out of the sides or summits of the mounds;

the latter are so crossed and defaced by the embankments,

ditches and rifle-pits, that it is difficult or impossible to de-

e their original forms and proportions. Before leaving

this extensive and interesting cluster of mounds, we as-

cended to the highest point to obtain a view of the sur-

rounding scenery.: Immediately below, and but a few yards

from the base of the elevation, a sloping shelly beach runs .

gradually down beneath the placid waters of the Gulf; the

White sail of a boat, hardly moving in the bland and gentle

breeze, and the whiter wings of «the circling gulls, with

islands near and distant, a cloudless sky, and a bright sun-

shine, combined to form a scene of quiet and dreamy beauty.

. Not far from the mounds is a mill, where the soft cedar

İS sawed into blocks of convenient size for the use of the

SS E EA ee ee ees

ERE ee Oe Ora ee eS D a a WE

356 . THE SAGE-BRUSH.

manufacturers of lead pencils, and in the neighborhood are

rude shanties, cabins and houses, that, viewed with the trees

and mounds and water, furnish pretty sketches for the draw-

ing-book.

Not many species of shells can be found upon the beach,

though much of interest may be dredged in the deeper water

of the channel a few hundred yards from the shore. Upon

an old wreck, reached at low tide by means of a boat, a

species of Murex ( M. rufus) may be collected, and the very

common Littorina (L. Zrrorata) may be gathered in quan-

tities, sticking to the marsh grass just above the mud.

The steamer from New Orleans that is to carry us far-

ther South having unexpectedly arrived, we were prevented

from making an examination of the adjoining islands, or as

thorough an investigation of the mounds as their importance

demanded. Early in the afternoon we were "all aboard,"

and soon after the hawsers were cast loose and the steamer

was under way ; slowly feeling the course through a crooked

and insufficient channel an hour passed away before we were

in water deep enough to admit of greater speed. The water

is so shallow that vessels are compelled to keep a long dis-

tance from shore, and the land being flat, but little can be

seen from the deck. The mildness of the temperature, the

clear sky and smooth sea, made it a delightful trip; and we

shall ever remember with pleasure the down voyage from

Cedar Keys to Tampa Bay. |

Me stu

THE SAGE BRUSH.

BY W. W. BAILEY.

j every account of Western travel we meet with this

e. It is as common in the vernacular of Nevada and

as the word grass is with us, and for the like reason

he plant to which the title is applied is everywhere

THE SAGE-BRUSH. 351

present. Readers at the East generally have an entirely

incorrect idea of the shrub. If they think of it at all they

are misled by its popular name, and consider it synonymous

with, or nearly related to the common sage (Salvia) of the

' gardens. The title, however, is not bestowed upon it on

account of any actual relationship to that genus of the mint

family (Labiate), but merely from its similarity of odor.

. This is'evolved in consequence of any friction, such as re-

sults from rubbing the leaves between the hands, or riding

among the bushes. Indeed the plant emits its characteristic

aroma even when undisturbed, but not in so exaggerated a

degree. It is the scent of “wormwood,” which is the true

English title of the so called wild sage. Its botanical name

is Artemisia, bestowed in honor of Artemis or Diana.

There are many species found upon the Great Plains and

in the Interior Basin (filifolia, cana, tridentata, etc.). The

Species tridentata is what I purpose to describe. The spe-

cific name means simply “three-toothed,” and has reference

to the dentated apex of the wedge-shaped leaves.

The plant belongs not to the mints, suggestive of cooling

beverages and savory sauces, but to the composites, or great

order in which we find the dandelion, the asters, and the

sunflowers. The inconspicuous blossoms are densely pani-

cled. The leaves are not green, but silvery or ashy in

color. They are borne on scraggy stems, rising, generally,

from large and wide-spreading roots. These roots are spi-

tally twisted, and unravel, as it were, like the strands of a

Tope. They are much used for firewood in this barren sec-

_ tion, where little other fuel presents itself. They make a

Warm fire, but burn much too rapidly. As the supply, how-

ever, is inexhaustible, this fault is of no great consequence.

_ they are even used at times in mills and smelting works,

Where it is impossible to obtain wood.

— After careful inquiry I am led to the conclusion that no

one has ever seen a young sage brush. Even the most confi-

dent settler becomes involved in his account when persist- -

358 THE SAGE-BRUSH.

ently questioned, and cannot tell when or where he noticed

the phenomenon. All the specimens met with, and their

name is legion, look as if they had been produced, not only

mature, but aged; as if they were coeval with the moun-

tains and plains upon which they are found. To the defi-

ciency of chlorophyl in the plant is to be attributed its

generally wretched appearance, which is increased by the

tendency which the brittle twigs evince to break into snags

and prickles.

Where the plant grows to a height of from six to ten feet,

as it occasionally does, it is indicative of good soil, and gen-

erally of water or moisture present at certain seasons. If it

is then uprooted, and vegetables planted in its place, they

thrive most abundantly. All that is wanting to much of the

apparently sterile soil is the necessary rain to refresh it.

Perseverence in systematic irrigation has, in some places,

recovered the desert and aitei it to “blossom like the

rose.” The artemisia scorns the alkali flats, and in such

localities is succeeded by the wretched grease-wood ( Obione

canescens), and various chenopodiums and other salt loving

plants. Some of these are most uninviting and indescriba-

ble in appearance. To the traveller they are the synonyms

of abomination.

The sage brush grows in clumps, usually separated a few

feet from each other. Often it surmounts a mound of sand

five or six feet in height. These elevations, rising above the

general surface of the plain, dot it in every direction, and

one may ride among them for days together. It would ap-

pear that the plants - mark the siu: level of the plateau,

and that the earth around has eia eroded where it was

not bound by their interlacing roots. Whether the wind

or rain, for it does rain here at times, has been the most

| potential agent in producing this effect, I am not prepared

: sd affirm. In any other country one would unhesitatingly

clare in favor of the latter. Here, however, the wind is

equally y pow g the face of nature.

THE SAGE-BRUSH. 359

In early spring many herbs, and even delicate flowers,

may be found among the sage brushes. Some of these plants

are exceedingly curious in appearance. Among them are

numerous species of the difficult genus Hrioganum; Astra-

galus and Dalea are also frequent, with Bigelovia, Linosy-

ris, and other species of composite. Beneath the artemisia

burrow innumerable frisky lizards, chipmunks, and rabbits

(Lepus callotis). The latter have the uncomplimentary ad-

jective, “jackass” prefixed to their name, which is a pointed

reference to the length of their ears. Then there is the

cowardly coyoté, always semi-translucent with hunger. Be-

sides these four-footed creatures, the sage hen is frequently

seen, one of the dainties of the travellers table. One never

recovers from his surprise that there should be so much life

where apparently there is so little to support it. It is said

that the animals live upon each other; but there must be

unity to start from, and what that unity finds to sustain it

is most questionable.

The artemisia covers the greater part of the Interior

Basin between the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains.

It is found from Idaho and Montana to the confines of Mex-

ico. It grows, not only upon the plains and lowlands, but

upon the mountains to an altitude of seven or eight thou-

sand feet. In travelling one is rarely out of sight of it.

Above is the clear sky; below, and on all sides, the omni-

present sage.

The uses of the plant it must be confessed are limited.

Its first and most obvious purpose is to serve as a substitute

for fuel. The word substitute is used advisedly. It cannot

be dignified by the name of fuel, but does very well in the

absence of anything better, and is pined for when, as often

happens, there is nothing as good. Rough fences are some-

times made of the uprooted shrubs, or miry places in the

highway filled up with them and then covered with earth.

Stock will feed upon it when nothing else is obtainable, as

doubtless will the Indians, who are not at all particular as

360 THE DRIVERS.

to diet. Whatever may be its actual purpose in nature's

economy, it has a good effect whether intended or not, viz.,

to cause an appreciation of the “greenwood tree." After

living amidst the sage for a year, an elm or an oak becomes

a wonder, the giant Sequoia of California a miracle. Arbo-

rescence, which custom has made familiar to us from child-

hood, becomes suddenly a mystery, and ever afterwards we

cherish all trees with especial fondness, and are thankful to

the kind fortune which allots us a home with other sur-

roundings than the forlorn artemisia.

THE DRIVERS.

BY DR. G. A. PERKINS.

A very few hours’ residence in the tropical regions of

Africa brings one into a very undesirable familiarity with

that extensive tribe of insects, the ants, some species of

which are found in all parts of the world, but which are

greatly multiplied in the tropical regions of the globe.

Africa, it is believed, can boast of a greater variety than

any other land. Their name here is legion. They are

everywhere; out of doors and in doors; in your food and in

your bed, determined to share both. They are of all sizes;

some so small that they pass easily between. the threads of

common muslin, and even insinuate themselves into your

watch as it hangs in your chamber; others measure nearly

an inch in length. The habits and food of the different spe-

. ies differ greatly. Some, as the Termites, called White

ants (which however are not true ants, but Neuropterous

. insects), eat vegetable matter exclusively, destroying OUT -

. houses, furniture and clothing; others are carnivorous;

thers feed upon sugar or the sweet juices of plants. ADY

' the xd petis, found in so great abundance,

glossy jet-black color, with a large head armed

NEC TEE EM IBN NISL cec CERE IR

THE DRIVERS. 361

would furnish sufficient material for months of study for the

enthusiastic naturalist.

It is of one species only that I propose to venait; the Dri-

vers (Anomma arcens of Westwood? Fig. 60); an insect

whose life history is yet very imperfectly known, Fig. 60.

but of whose habits the dweller in the tropical re-

gions of West Africa cannot long remain ignorant.

The Driver ants vary in size from three-quar-

ters of an inch to one-third of an inch in length,

the soldiers being the largest. They are of a

with exceedingly sharp, branching forceps, or

mandibles, with which they seize and cut up their prey.

They do not appear to have any fixed habitations, as do the

Termites, but excavate the earth from between the roots of

trees, and in the cavity thus formed lay their eggs and rear

their young, and from which they issue in ineredible num-

bers (literally millions of millions) to go upon their raids.

The night is chosen for their foraging expeditions. In

the midst of social enjoyment the stirring announcement is

made, “Here are the drivers!” and, instantly as by an elec-

tric shock, all are on the alert to escape a personal attack.

Lanterns and bamboo torches are lighted, and a search made

about the house to learn the direction taken by the assail-

ants; and if in their usual numbers the house is often left

to them entirely for hours. And still more unwelcome at

the hour of midnight is the bleating of sheep, and cackling

of hens, in the audios! “All hands” are awaked from

their slumbers, and the whole yard lighted; the animals are

released from confinement and left to take care of them-

selves; the fowls removéd to a place of safety, if one is to

be found; but if neglected and left without the chance of

escape their destrion 1 is sure.

The Drivers are alike the enemy of man and beast,

„though there are times when their visits are most welcome. E

; . On their approach every kind of vermin is seized ko con- —

| AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III.

362 THE DRIVERS.

sternation, and seek safety in flight. Centipedes, Cock-

roaches, scorpions, etc., etc., leave their hiding-places, and

are seen seeking places of greater security, only to fall at

last into the clutches of their relentless foe, from whom

there is no escape.

An invading army could not exhibit a higher state of dis-

cipline than is seen in the movements of these insects.

They enter a house usually at one point, where a strong

guard is stationed to defend the pass; they then branch off

right and left, and again divide, and subdivide, till the

whole ground is completely covered; not an inch is left

unexplored, and every crack. and cranny is entered, giving

but little hope of escape to any creature that may be found

secreted there. Attacking their prey they plunge their for-

ceps into it, regardless of the size or strength of their an-

tagonist. Nothing will cause them to relax their hold. The

animal or insect writhes and twists under the pain, but his

case is rendered more hopeless every moment by additions

to the number of his assailants; at length, when com-

pletely exhausted by struggling, he yields to his fate, and

is dispatched at the victors’ leisure.

he attack goes on simultaneously, in different parts of

the house. Animal substance being almost exclusively the

food of the Drivers an immense number of the smaller ver-

min that infest our dwellings are consumed by them, and

some of the larger animals when confined are also destroyed

by them. They have been known to attack a human being,

when rendered helpless by disease, and cause his death in à

few hours. It is interesting to see a band of these midnight

marauders returning home from the scene of plunder on the

approach of day. Issuing from the same place they ente

. they are each seen bearing away some trophy with them; à

. joint of a cockroach’s leg, the body of a spider, or the larv®

Of some insects, etc., are the various spoils. As the labor-

ers pass on with their loads they are guarded by a large

. body of soldiers which are stationed along the sides of their

Ce Oe eS ERE TRUE ETT PIRE, roo FERRE TR NET

THE DRIVERS. 363

path; or, if they are to pass through a place of uncommon

exposure, these soldiers form a covered passage, by standing

upon each other's back and hooking their forceps together,

through this arch thus formed the laborers pass in safety.

When they leave a house it must be from some signal

from the leaders, as some of them are seen running from

one to another evidently giving command. The retreat is

made in good order; not one individual is ever left behind.

They often bridge narrow streams of water when these come

across their path, by going in large numbers upon a flexi-

ble plant on one side of a stream, until their weight causes

it to bend to the other side. For courage and activity the

soldiers have no equal; they know no fear, and when on

duty they stand with their shiny black heads erect and

forceps open, ready to seize on any passing animal. No

horse, donkey, or dog, can be induced to cross their path,

seeming to have an instinctive dread of them; and woe be

to the individual, man or beast, who gets among them at

night. If a twig is drawn through their ranks they instantly

close their forceps upon it; and others in turn close upon

their bodies and legs, till a mass of them is seen at the end

of the stick looking like a bunch of curled hair.

These insects have no eyes, but their sense of smell is

very acute, for if the breath be blown on them from the dis-

tance of some feet, they are instantly in motion, running to

and fro with the greatest speed, evidently aware of the ap-

proach of some living being. Though at times they are of

great service in ridding our houses of cockroaches and other

vermin, yet, when their haunt is near, their visits are much

too frequent to be tolerated. Various methods are used

to get rid of them, though often with but little success.

When they are in large numbers in a small space, scalding

Water is, perhaps, the best method. By throwing straw or

other combustible material upon them, and suffering them

to overrun it (which they quickly do), they may then be

destroyed by applying a match to the mass. Gunpowder,

364 A CHAPTER ON MITES.

also, is sometimes used in their holes; hot ashes, spirits of

turpentine, and other articles of the same kind, are useful to -

turn them from their course. When a live coal is dropped

in their way they immediately attack it, though hundreds

may perish in doing so. They are very sensitive to the

light of the sun, wich: is fatal to them. They seldom move

using the day, and then only during cloudy days, choosing

then the dark woods or thick grass. Their rate of progres-

sion is about two yards in a minute, and in their journeys

from place to place they go from four to eight abreast. I

have seen a stream of Driyers crossing an open path at six

o'clock in the morning, and at six at night their number was

undiminished. "e long they had been passing before I

saw them, or how longiit. continued, I am not able to say.

Their path, from constant travel, became quite worn and

smooth. The natives. are very careful to remove all grass

from the LE of their an as a means € rai ices off

these pests. . h wa

—— did,

AP ERR

A CH pu JMITES.

Wi i ne s. Rid JR. à " 7

— pei i 7

Bur few sakura. Mavs busied didtiiectosh with the pe

of mites. <The honored names of Hermann, Von Heyden,

Dugés, Dujardin and Pagenstecher, Nicolet, Koch and -

Robin, lead. the small number who have published papers.

‘in scientific -journals. After these, and except an occasional

uote by an amateur "ou who oceasionally— not to

peak too | üt from his. " diatomaniacal" l

witk mounted jo hus of thse veces the hairs of

er quadrupe vet a distorted pro boscis of a fly, and podura

id but 1 ant mites and their Mio. But m

[ T

A CHAPTER ON MITES. 265

readers of our natural history text-books learn from their

pages any definite facts regarding the affinities of these hum-

ble ereatures, their organization, and the singular metamor-

phosis a few have been known to pass through. We shall

only attempt in the present article to indicate a few of the

typical forms of mites, and sketch, with too slight a knowl-

edge to speak with much authority, an imperfect picture of

their appearance and modes of living.

Mites are lowly organized Arachnids. This order of in-

sects is divided into the Spiders, the Scorpions, the Harvest-

men and the Mites (Acarina). They have a rounded oval

body, without the usual division between the head-thorax

aud abdomen, observable in spiders; the head, thorax, and

abdomen being ‘merged in a single mass. There are four

pairs of legs, and the mouth- Fig. 61.

parts consist, as seen in the ad-

joining figure of a young tick

(Fig. 61, young Ixodes albipic-

fus Pack.*), of a pair of max-

illie (c), which in the adult,

terminates in a two or three-

Jointed palpus, or feeler ; a pair

of mandibles (b), often covered `

With several rows of fine teeth, ~

and ending in three or four ~ |

larger hooks, and a serrated

labium (a). These parts form a beak which the mite, or

tick, insinuates into the flesh of its host, upon the blood of

Which it subsists. While many of the mites are parasitic on

_-4nimals, some are known to devour the eggs of insects and

_ other mites, thrusting their beaks into the egg and sucking

.. the contents, We have seen the mite (Nothrus) figured on

the following page (Fig. 62) busily engaged in destroying the

. . 9Egs of the Canker worm, and Dr. Shimer has observed the

— Acarus? malus sucking the eggs of the Chinch bug. While

Hee 2), Pe eee qum 2 ici dx

Msn t t = j ? 5 i

p he

366 A CHAPTER ON MITES.

a few mites are injurious to man, the larger part are bene-

fieial, being either parasitic and baneful to other noxious

animals, or more directly useful as scavengers, removing

decaying animal and vegetable substances.

e transformations of the mites are interesting to the

philosophie zoélogist, since the young of certain forms are

Fig. 62. remarkably different from the adults, and

in reaching the perfect state the mite

passes through a metamorphosis more

striking than that of many insects. The

young on leaving the egg are usually

hexapodous, č. e., have six legs, as we

have seen in the case of the Zvodes albi-

pictus previously noticed in the Natu-

RALIST (Vol. ii, p. 559). Sometimes, however, as in the

case of the larva, as we may call it, of a European species,

Typhlodromus pyri (Pl. 6, fig. 4), the adult of which, ac-

cording to A. Scheuten, is allied to Acarus, and lives under

the epidermis of the leaves of the pear, there are but two

pairs of legs present, and the body is long, cylindrical and

worm-like. Plate 6, fig. 5 represents the four-legged larva

of another species of Typhlodromus.

We have had the good fortune to observe the different

stages of a bird mite, intermediate in its form between the

Acari and Sarcoptes, or Itch-mite. On March 6th, Mr. C.

Cooke called my attention to certain little mites (Pl. 6, fig.

l) which were situated on the narrow groove between the

main stem of the barb and the outer edge of the barbules

of the feathers of the Downy Woodpecker, and subse-

quently we found the other forms indicated in Plate 6, figs.

2 and 3, in the down under the feathers. These long worm-

like mites were evidently the young of the singular Sarcop-

tes-like mite, represented by figs. 2 and 3 of the plate, 3$

they were found on the same specimen of Woodpecker at

_ about the same date, and it is known that the growth of

mites is e. the opor occupying but a few days-

A CHAPTER ON MITES. 367

The larva (though there is, probably, a still earlier hexa-

podous stage) of this Sarcoptid has an elongated, oblong,

flattened body, with four short legs, provided with a few

bristle-like hairs, and ending in a stalked sucker, by aid of

which the mite is enabled to walk over smooth, hard sur-

faces. The body is square at the end, with a slight median

indentation, and four long bristles of equal length. They

remained motionless in the groove on the barb of the

feather, and when removed. seemed very inert and sluggish.

A succeeding stage of this, mite, which may be called the

pupal, is represented on Plate 6, fig. 2. It is considerably

smaller than the larva (all the figures of this sarcoptid being

rawn to one scale by Prof. A. M. Edwards, and magni-

fied 115 diameters), and looks somewhat like the adult, the

body having become shorter and broader. It is perhaps the

pupa, or nymph. The adult (Pl. 6, fig. 3) is a most singu-

lar form, its body being rudely ovate, with the head sunken .

between the fore legs, which are considerably smaller than

the second. pair, while the third pair are twice as large as

the second pair, and directed backwards, and the fourth

pair are very small, not reaching the extremity of the body,

Which is deeply cleft, and supports four long bristles on

each side of the cleft, while other bristles are attached to the

legs and body, giving the creature, originally ill-shapen, a

haggard, unkempt appearance. The two stigmata, or breath-

ing pores, open near the cleft in the end of the body, and

the external opening of the oviduct is situated .between the

largest or third pair of legs. No males were observed.

In a Species of Acarus (Tyroglyphus) , somewhat like the

Cheese-inite, which we have alive at the time of writing, in

a box containing the remains of a Lucanus larva, which

they seem to have. consumed, as both young and old are

_ Swarming there by myriads, the young are oval and like

the adults, except that they are six-legged, the fourth pair

Browing out after a succeeding moult.

Such is a brief summary of what has been generally

368 A CHAPTER ON MITES.

known regarding the metamorphoses of a few species of

mites. But a French naturalist, C. Robin, has recently

observed in certain bird sarcoptids, to which the parasite

of the Downy Woodpecker noticed above is allied, a still

“more complicated series of phenomena; in these the males

pass through four, and the females through five stages, in-

dieated as follows: (1) the egg, on issuing from which the

animal has the form of (2) a Aexapod larva, followed by

the stage of (3) óctopod nymphe [four-footed pups], with-

out sexual organs. (4) From some of these nymphs issue:

a, sexual males, after a moult which is final for them; 5,

from others issue females without external sexual organs, re-

sembling the nymphe, but larger, and in some species fur-

nished with special copulatory organs. Finally, after a last

moult following copulation, these females produce (5) the

sexual and fecundated females, which do not copulate, and in

the ovary of which eggs are to be seen. No moult follows

that which produces males or females furnished with sexual

organs; but previously to this the moults are more numer-

ous than the changes of condition." “The larve undergo

from two to three moults before passing to the state of -

nymphis." These latter also undergo two or three moults.

(Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 1868, p. 78.)

In some other species of mites no males have been found,

and the females have been isolated after being hatched, and

yet have been known to lay eges, which produced young

without the interposition of the males. This pa

sis has been noticed in several species.

With their rapid increase in numbers these insects often

suddenly appear in vast numbers on various articles of food,

. and about houses, so as to be very annoying. Mr. J. H.

z Gregory, of Marblehead, Mass., has found the mite figured

. on plate 6, fig. 6 (magnified 60 diameters), very injurious

: e : (do the seeds at the cabbage, which it sucked dry. This is an

ting form and. appears to belong to the genus Che-

DICUT ee EDAD OPE E oat Fone SE NIU

| is of medium size, and especially noticeable from

A CHAPTER ON MITES. 369

the tripartite palpi, which are divided into an outer, long,

curved, clawlike lobe, with two rounded teeth at the base,

and two inner, slender lobes pectinated on the inner side,

the third innermost lobe being minute. The beak termi-

nates in a sharp blade-like point.

We will now give a hasty glance at the different groups

of mites, pausing to note those most interesting from their

habits or relation to man.

he most highly organized mite (and by its structure

most closely allied to the spider) is the little red garden

mite, belonging to the genus Trombidium, to which the

genus Tetranychus is also nearly related. Our own spe-

cies of the former genus have not been “worked up,” or in

other words identified and described, so that whether the

European T. holosericeum Linn. is our species or not, we

cannot tell. The larve of this and similar species are

known in Europe to live parasitically upon Harvest-men

(Phalangium), often called Daddy-long-legs; and upon

Aphides and other insects. The European Tetranychus

telarius Linn., or web-making mite, spins large webs on

the leaves of the linden tree. Then succeed in the natu-

ral order the water mites, Hydrachna, which may be seen

running over submerged sticks and on plants, mostly in

fresh water, and rarely on the borders of the sea. The

young, after leaving the eggs, differ remarkably from the

adults, so as to have been referred to a distinct genus (Ach-

lysia) by the great French naturalist, Audouin. They live

as parasites on various water insects, such as Dytiscus, Nepa

and Hydrometra, and when mature live free in the water,

though Von Baer observed an adult Hydrachna concharum

living parasitically on the gills of the fresh-water mussel,

on. The species are of minute size.

Collectors of beetles often meet with a species of Uro-

poda attached firmly to their specimens of dung-inhabiting

or carrion beetles. It is a smoothly polished, round, flat-

tened mite, with short, thick legs, scarcely reaching beyond

` AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. mL

370 A CHAPTER ON MITES.

the body. We now come to the Ticks, which comprise the

largest mites. The genus Argas closely resembles Ixodes.

Gerstaecker states that the Argas Persicus is very annoying

to travellers in Persia. The habits of the wood ticks, Ixo-

des, have been already referred to in the Naruraxist (Vols.

ii, p. 559; iii, p. 51). Travellers in the tropics speak of the

intolerable torment occasioned by these pests, which, occur-

ring ordinarily on shrubs and trees, attach themselves to all

sorts of reptiles, beasts and cattle, and even man himself

as he passes by within their reach. Sometimes cases fall

within the practice of the physician, who is called to remove

the tick which is found sometimes literally buried under the

skin. Mr. J. Stauffer writes me, that “on June 23d the

daughter of Abraham Jackson (colored), playing among the

leaves in a wood, near Springville, Lancaster County, Penn.,

on her return home complained of pain in the arm. No

attention was paid to it till the next day, wher a raised

tumor was noticed, a small portion protruding through the

skin, apparently like a splinter of wood. The child was

taken to Dr. Morency, who applied the forceps, and after

considerable pain to the child, and labor to himself, ex-

tracted a species of Ixodes, nearly one-quarter of an inch

long, and of an oval form and brown mahogany color, with

a metallic spot, like silver bronze, centrally on the dors

region." This tick proved, from Mr. Stauffer’s figures, to

be, without doubt, Zrodes unipunctata Pack. (Pl. 6, fig. 11,

enlarged). It has also been found in Massachusetts by Mr.

F. G. Sanborn.

Another species is the Ixodes bovis Riley (Pl. 6, fig. 10),

the common cattle tick of the Western States and Centra

America. It is very annoying to horned cattle, gorging

itself with their blood, but is by no means confined v them

alone, as it lives indifferently upon the rattlesnake, the

iguana, small mammals, and undoubtedly any other animal

that brushes by its lurking-place in the forest. It is a red-

es coriaceous, flattened, seed-like creature, with the body

A CHAPTER ON MITES. 311

oblong oval, and contracted just behind the middle. When

fully grown it measures from a quarter to half an inch in

length. "We have received it from Missouri, at the hands

of Mr. Riley, and Mr. J. A. McNiel has found it very

abundantly on horned cattle on the western coast of Nica-

ragua. We now come to the genus Acarus (Tyroglyphus),

of which the cheese and sugar mites are examples. These,

and their allied forms, are among the most lowly organized

of the Arachnids, and seem to connect the spiders with the

Crustacea, the sea-spiders (Pycnogonids) bearing a remark-

able resemblance to certain mites. Some species of Acarian

mites have been found in the lungs and blood-vessels, and

even the intestinal canal of certain vertebrates, while the

too familiar itch insect lurks under the skin of the hand and

other parts of the body of uncleanly human bipeds.

Many people have been startled by statements in news-

papers and more authoritative sources, as to the immense

numbers of mites (Acarus sacchari, fig. i

63) found in unrefined or raw sugar.

According to Prof. Cameron, of Dublin,

as quoted in the “Journal of the Frank-

lin Institute,” for November, 1868, “Dr.

Hassel (who was the first to notice their

general occurrence in the raw sugar sold .

In London) found them in a living state

in no fewer than sixty-nine out of sev-

enty-two samples. He did not detect them in a single spec-

imen of refined sugar. In an inferior sample of raw sugar,

examined in Dublin by Mr. Cameron, he reports finding

five hundred mites in ten grains of sugar, so that in a

pound's weight occurred one hundred thousand of these lit- -

tle ereatures, which seem to have devoted themselves with

a martyr-like zeal to the adulteration of sugar. They appear.

as white specks in the sugar. The disease known as gro-

cer’s itch is, undoubtedly, due to the presence of this mite,

Which, like its ally the Sarcoptes, works its way under the

372 CHAPTER ON MITES.

skin of the hand, in this case, however, of cleanly persons.

Mr. Cameron states that “the kind of sugar which is both

healthful and economical, is the dry, large-grained, and

light-colored variety.”

Closely allied to the preceding, is the Cheese-mite (Aca-

rus siro Linn.), which often abounds in newly made cheese.

Lyonet states that during summer this mite is viviparous.

Acarus farine DeGeer, as its name indicates, is found in

flour. Other species have been known to occur in ulcers.

The itch insect (Sarcoptes scabiei DeGeer, Pl. 6, fig. 7)

was first recognized by an Arabian author of the twelfth

century, as the cause of the disease which results from its

attacks. The body of the insect is rounded, with the two

hind pair of feet rudimentary and bearing long hairs. It

buries itself in the skin on the more protected parts of the

body, and by its punctures maintains a constant irritation.

Fig. 6. Other species are known to infest the sheep and dog.

TA, Another singular mite is the Demodex folliculorum

» (Fig. 64), which was discovered by Dr. Simon, of

Berlin, buried in the diseased follicles of the wings

of the nose in man. It is a long slender worm-like

form, with eight short legs, and in the larva state has

degraded of the order of Arachnids. We figure on

plate 6, figs. 8 and 9, greatly enlarged, a most sin-

pains mite, disebrered by Newport on the body of a larva

of a wild bee, and described by him under the name of Hete-

ropus ventricosus. Fig. 8, in the plate, represents the body

of the fully formed female. After attaining this form, its

small abdomen begins to enlarge until it assumes a globular

form (Fig. 9), T thie maia of. mites-look like’ little: beads:

Mr. Newport was unable to discover the male, and thought

that this mite was parthenogenous. It will be seen that the

adult Demodex retains the elongated, worm-like appearance

of the larva of the higher mites, such as Typhlodromus:

This is an indication of its low rank, and hints of a relation-

six legs. This singular form is the lowest and most :

;

EE A Ea c8 es

PEETER BI E STRE NUS SORT. EL ae EHE

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 373

ship to the Tardigrades and the Pentastoma, the latter being a

degraded worm, living parasitically within the bodies of other

animals,

EXPLANATION OF PLATE VI.

Fig. 1. Larva of a bird mite, Dermaleichus.

Fig. 2. Pupa (?) of the same.

Fig. 3. Adult female of the same.

Fig. 4. Larva of Typhlodromus pyri Scheuten. (From Scheuten.)

Fig. 5. Larva of another species of Typhlodromus. * we

Fig. 6. Chelytus (probably undescribed).

Fig. 7. Sarcoptes scabiei DeGeer. (From Gervais.)

Fig. 8. Heteropus ventricosus Newport, fully-formed female. (From

Newport

ewport.

- Heteropus ventricosus Newport, gravid female. > (From New-

port.

Fig. 10. Ixodes bovis Riley.

Fig. 11. Ixodes unipunctata Packard.

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

BY C. B. BRIGHAM.

: (Continued from page 212.) `

Tue question is often asked what kinds of plants are th

best for the aquarium, and where are they found? Most

Writers on this subject give long lists of plants, which are

useless to those who are unacquainted with the botanical

names. To the majority of people not even the common

names of most water plants are known, and to such it be-

comes very perplexing to make a selection from a list bare

of any deseription. Although it is insisted.by some that the

tank should not be filled with every kind of plant that the

collector can obtain, yet it seems as if there was no sound

reason why all the plants that flourish in the aquarium should

not be placed therein. In a properly managed aquarium

there are very few water plants which will not do well; the

few exceptions being found in the lilies, which require a

374 THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

deeper soil than is convenient in the tank, and in those

plants accustomed to a lower temperature of the water than

is easy to maintain. Apart from these take any of the green

plants found in ponds, and placing them in the tank, watch

their growth, and a few weeks’ trial will determine their

value whether they are of use or for ornament. It is hardly

practicable to arrange the plants in the tank in botanical

order, the room is so limited. A better way, if we wish

such an arrangement, would be to devote a separate tank to

each variety. This could easily be done in what is called

the cabinet aquarium, which will be noticed hereafter. An

affair of this sort enables one to have a large collection of

plants, changing the light or temperature as the case re-

quires.

Before giving the names of a few of our native plants

which are favorites in the aquarium, it may be well to say à

few words as to the locality in which most are found, for to

one who takes a real interest in the aquarium, it will not

suffice to pick out a few plants here and there from the col-

lections of dealers in specimens, which by the way are not

numerous. Half of the pleasure, to say nothing of the profit

in having an aquarium, is in hunting for one’s own specimens,

and in realizing that ‘there is much more life in the waters

of a pond than we before imagined. To those who pass

some time during the year in the country, there will be

ample means for collecting specimens in the ponds near

by; but to residents of cities the task will not be so easy;

although it will depend a good deal upon the facilities for

getting into the country. Take for example the two cities

of Boston and Worcester. A ride of fifteen minutes in the

steam cars will take one from the former place to Fresh

Pond, in Cambridge, which is rich in aquarial specimens.

The brooks in the marshes, near what is called the “Glacia-

. lis," abound in larve, fresh-water snails, and the smaller

Il. ficis, while Fresh Pond itself contains nearly all our

Smm " 1 water plants. Tritons, or fresh-water newts, are

ea ae ee ee oie ee ee

jue

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 375

not to be found there, but not so with small turtles, which

at certain seasons of the year, especially in the fall, are

quite common. There is, I believe, no place equally near

Boston, which has so complete a collection of aquarial speci-

mens as Fresh Pond. Worcester offers great advantages to

the collector in its beautiful Long Pond, or, as it is recently

called, Lake Quinsigamond. The pond itself has few plants

on account of its depth, but if we follow it up to the river

which helps to form it, and then to the other pond above,

near the place where a few years ago the old mill house

stood, we shall find all the specimens we could wish for. In

this upper pond the plants, instead of growing with the

various kinds, mingling recklessly together as usual, are

found in a general way, with each kind in a large patch by

itself as if some one had planted them so, making as it were

an aquatic botanical garden. We may go in the opposite

direction down the pond, a few miles below the bridge which

Crosses it, until we come to the dam which separates Long

from what is called Half-moon Pond. If it is midsummer,

and early in the morning, we shall find ourselves surrounded

by acres of water-lilies, beneath which are the desired speci-

mens. All along from this dam, towards Grafton, a chain

of shallow ponds connected by rivers invites our attention,

and the scenery alone would be a sufficient inducement to

bring the naturalist to the spot. The three kinds of plants

which are the best suited for the aquarium, of all our na-

tives, are Ceratophyllum demersum; Utricularia vulgaris,

inflata, and minor; Potamogeton natans, Claytonii, and

others, *

‘eratophyllum: Hornwort. Sterile flowers of 12-24 stamens, with 1

fhers. Fruit an achemium, beaked with the slender persistent style. Herbs growing

“ Utricularia: Bladderwort. Li -parted calyx entire or nearly so. Corolla

: . Lips of the 2-parted calyx

Personate, the palate on the lower lip projecting, often closing the throat. Anthers

Convergent, aquatic and immersed, with capillary dissected leaves bearing little blad-

376 THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

Besides these plants the floating Duckweed (Lemna tri-

sulca) is a very valuable addition to the collection. Water-

lily plants are not only difficult to make grow, but their

leaves are apt to be ill-proportioned to the size of the tank.

In duckweed both these troubles are done away with, for we

have a plant which is easily grown, and one which gives to

the aquarium the appearance of a miniature pond. It is

found in brooks at the roadside and in shallow ponds, espec-

ially in the autumn season. The Limnocharis Humboldtii, a

lily sometimes grown in tanks in greenhouses, is also a good

plant for the aquarium, where, if care be taken, it will blos-

som freely. There is a moss-like plant of bluish green

color, found growing on stones in brooks, and under bridges

in shady places in the water. It is called Fontinalis antipy-

retica, and it is one of the few brook plants that will do well

in the aquarium. The water buttercup, Ranunculus aquati-

lis, has only its beauty to recommend it, for it hardly sur-

vives the winter in the tank. A plant of the Frog’s-bit

family, Anacharis Canadensis, is another excellent one for

the aquarium. It gives to the fresh-water aquarium an ap-

pearance similar to that which the Ulva latissima gives to

the marine tank.

Having made a collection of plants, ied thoroughly

washed them, the next thing is to arrange them in the

tank. This arrangement must be according to the taste of

the collector. One way, perhaps as good as any, is to make

four bunches of plants of suitable size, and place one in each

corner of the tank if it is rectangular; they do not then ob-

Vine

dere TE d. anag ue nr

wering; 01 r rooting in

the seam sometimes with few or no leaves òr bladders (name tebe Dii, a little

= _* Polamogeton. ,Pond-weed. Flowers perfect. Sepals 4, rounded, valvate in the bud.

pais; y sessile, 2-celled. Ovaries 4 (rarely only

j one), with. an asce ascending campylotropous ovule. Stigma sessile, or on a short style.

REVIEWS. 377

struct the view of the tank; they take up the room which is

the least valuable of any, and yet can be seen to great ad-

vantage. As the plants grow the tops of the branches meet

and form an arch of green on all sides of the rockwork in

the centre. They may be held in position, as was suggested

by a friend, by fastening to them, by a thread or fine piece

of string, a small stone of sufficient weight to anchor the

plants and keep them in place. If this is not done, and

the plants left to themselves or with the ends of their stems

simply held down by a stone placed over them, we shall find

them continually being turned upside-down by the mussels,

turtles, or other live stock of the aquarium.— Zo be con-

tinued.

seme eae

REVIEWS.

» — 0c

THE INJURY DONE TO Fonrsrs By Insects.*— Before giving our read-

an idea of the contents of these volumes, we first express the

agnificent work. It is a thorough monograph of the natural history of

the forest insects, and the injury done by them to forest trees in Germany,

by one of the best of living paturalists, who, by his previous works on

volume e insects of the Vine, Curtis’ Farm Insects, Boisduval's

Tecent work on horticultural entomology, and Harris' Insects of Massa-

chusetts injurious to vegetation, are e uch works as these a

of the labors of the naturalist, than any other class of books. In the

elaborate and beautifully executed plates that enrich the two valumes

before US is reproduced the tree as it stands in the forest, gnarled and

Tted by one set of insects, its leaves curled and turned yellow, or

red, by the attacks of others, with certain branches stripped by still

others; and not only are certain trees and shrubs thus represented in

: colors, but some of the plates represent parts of a forest, showing the

*Die Waldverderbniss oder Iusektenfrass, Schalen Schia-

: dauernder Schade, welcher dureh

Ag und Verbissen an lebenden Waldbaumen entsteht. Von Dr.J. T. C. Ratzburg. 2 vol»

Berlin, 1566-68, With fifty-seven plates and numerous wood-cuts. $20.00 in

AMER, NATURALIST, VOL. IH. 48

318 REVIEWS.

injury done in the mass by one or two insects. To give one example in

illustration, from among the fifty-seven plates contained in the two vol-

umes, plates five and six contain twenty-one gures, showing the injury

different de aie of injury, with transverse sections of the twigs, and

microscopic sections illustrating the pathological iT: of the tree;

all the points mer illustrated in the figures and discussed in the text

with a minuteness and care that are almost incredible for one man to have

accomplished.

We would speak most Veri iur d of the work, because we have

not often been so impressed by t an, W.

already published so much. It will give a new impetus to economical

SRI and we hope the work will meet with a wide circulation in

this country, where the same injuries are produced by analogous insects,

and perhaps greater losses are sustained from the attacks of insects than

even in Europe. Such a work on fruit trees, field and garden vegetables,

is now demanded, before the whole subject of economical entomology W will

have been Mon. discussed.

lnc

^ RB

—

25.

HAND-BOOK OF ECONOMIC ZOÖLOGY FOR AGRICULTURISTS.*— Another

book, by the same author, for still more general circulation, E as its title

runs, **the forest-destroyers and their enemies, or a description and illus-

tration of injurious forest insects and aritetide generally Pur to

forests, with advice as to the means of their extermination, and for r the

protection of their enemies. A hand-book for pÈ pe a ete.”

It is perhaps the most comprehensive work on economic zoólogy ye t pub-

lished, and a perfect treasury of information regarding all the varied re-

lations of animals (especially insects) destructive to forests.

RECORD OF AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGY FOR 1868. +—After unforseen de-

lays this long promised E has appeared, and we trust that ento-

mologists will feel inclined to purchase a copy, if for no other reason

diat to aid in the establishment of a yearly record of their labors, which

cannot fail to develop new students of entomology, and stimulate e those

already at work. The Editor has been assisted by Mr. S. H. Scudder,

Baron Osten Sacken, Dr. J. L. Leconte, Mr. P. R. Uhler and Dr. H

Hagen. The present “ Record” contain ni: with two exceptions, no Tê-

, a8 copies

as relate to American insects, to the Editor, Dr. A. S. Packard, Salem» —

"raph lates wood cath d het calendar, i cu 8vo, Berlin, 1869, $4.00 gold.

_1Salem, Naturalist's Book Book Agency. 8vo, pp. 60. Price $1.00.

and improved. With seven colored and plain copper plates, litho-

TOC. E be EM

REVIEWS. 319

Mass., that their labors may be recorded, and the “Record” be made

more complete. Four hundred and two new species are described from

. North Cena] Central) € and Dr. Hagen briefly describes four

new false scorpions. The ‘‘Record” refers to notices and articles by

forty-five Set writers.

LEPIDOPTERIST’S Gun. *— This is a very comprehensive and com-

pact guide for the study of butterflies and moths, and with but few .

changes would answer for the use of collectors in aua country. We ad-

vise every lepidopterist to provide himself with a c

HE STUDY oF IwsECTS.f— The eighth part of the **Guide"

has appeare ni two more parts will finish the work, and the ninth part

Will appear in August. The tenth part (completing the work) will con-

tain a glossary, a calendar of the appearances of insects, and a full index.

bated by 114 wood cuts, about half of which represent the early stages

of beetles, some of which have a before been published.

THE PEABODY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ÁARCHJEOLOGY AND ETHNOL-

oGy.{— Prof. Wyman, the curator, reports that the collections have been

increased by the addition of from four to five thousand specimens. It is

pean antiquities have been bought and are now in the possession of this

museum. The first is that of Gabriel de i made in France, and

ark.

implements of the Stone Age of the old world and the new

THE PEABODY AcapEMY or ScreNce.§—This report contains the his-

tory of the organization of the Academy, and of the preliminary arrange-

ment of the Museum, formed by the union of the collections of the Essex -

ee A iON BUG. aos Sa

* The Lepidopterist's Guide, intended for the Loma pig. atia SE containing full in-

Struetions Ae the Colleeting, Management, Observation and Prerna. of Lepidoptera

ten Stages. By H. Guard Knaggs, M. D. coMercqa Van Voorst,

. S cents, gold,

tA Guide to the of I ete, By A. S. Packard, jr, M. D. Salem: Naturalist's

Book Agency. Lond es Trubner &Co. Paxt vill, pp ôi June, 1968. Price 50 cents a part.

To be published in oed

1 Amii Report Trustees. Boston, 1869. 8vo, pp. 23.

§ First Annual Report of php Salem, 1869. 8vo, pp. 103,

380 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

a and the East India Marine Society, and the Director of the

rrange-

kun iem the Hall and cases, and of the arrangement of the different

classes of specimens both on the floor and in did galleries. The repo

of the proceedings of the trustees is followed by a report of the Council,

containing reports of the Director and Curators ,With an appendix, en-

titled **List of Hymenopterous and Lepideptarous Insects collected by

the Smithsonian Expedition to South America, under Prof. James Orton,

by A. S. Packard, jr.” The Formicide enumerated are named by Mr.

Edward Norton. Mr. E. S. Morse, in the appendix to his report on the

ee of the Mollusca, describes Actinobolus (Cyclocardia) Novanglie

n Es county shell, which he separates from Cardita borealis, d

uence the difference. by wood cuts. There is also appended a report

r. J. A. McNiel on his expedition to Central America, and the Direc-

Council are recorde "Hà

66h at in Tahalliz xd df Sigh we spe ecific n

bien derived from prop 1 initial letters, and also, that ps

e rule shall obtain in the ofl p T of the Aca "a TIEN o further voted,

"that in labellin, name of the person who first united ‘the geniert and por

cific appellations shall be e give

original describer of the pedo Pag a it shall | be in parenthesis.”

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

—Óo.——

‘ BOTANY.

FLOWERING OF Posoquerta.—In the October number of the NATU-

RALIST (1868), was given on page 437, and following, an account of the

phenomena displayed in flowering by a species of Posoqueria in the

ic Gard

hibited by a species of the same genus as witnessed and described by

Mr. Fritz Müller, in the island of Santa Catarina on the Coast of Brazil.

I inda RES eoe "e nm ate still, that we had the same plant in view-

ghtest fference can be discovered between our plant

and the figures of his. I ktd ai, it is true, because my ex-

periments had not been so numerous as his, and because I had made &

fait. y

tickled the upper fllaments at the curvature without the least effect, eX-

| one. ^ when the anther mass burst asunder during the

PN ipit iam. been near the time when they explode in

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 381

the progress of the flower from expansion towards decay, as they always

do sooner or later, whether through the aid of an insect or not. I feel

perfectly convinced that the titillation, by the legs of small or even large

anther mass. On the other hand abundant experiments have shown that

a slight pressure upon this mass s effectual, and uniformly so to the dif-

fusion of the pollen.

In a short time we shall have more flowers, and-we would be pleased

to show it to any who take an interest in such phenomena; and we will

be more than pleased if any one skilful in such matters will make a thor-

ough anatomical examination of the mechanism by which it is effected.

— CHARLES WriG:

ARETHUSA. — June 6th, '69, a friend sent me from Plymouth,

met albinos of other families of plants on his botanical rambles.— C. A.

B., Cambridge, Mass.

ABNORMAL FORMS OF PrLANTS.— As much enquiry has of late been

direeted to variation in plants, particularly in those growing in a wild

State, removed from any influence of cultivation, I would contribute from

Iny own observations the following facts on the subject: B

A remarkable form of Fragaria Virginiana var. Illinoensis Gray, was

found by me last summer, in abundance, in two localities on Lake Superior,

remote from culture. The petals had changed, or were partially altered

to stamens, in most instances the transformation being complete. Tke

Singularity of the plant was apparent at a glance. This is an interest-

case for a Darwinian, as it would appear that this plant, not satisfied

With the variation it had previously accomplished, was still demonstra-

more white than usual, grew not unfrequently with the ordinary form in

Open woods. Trifolium repens Linn., flourished in open patches on moun-

tain slopes, having its leaves often from four to six-foliate. towers

casting the four-leaved shamrock into the shade. Deep in the forest I en-

countered Mitchella repens Linn., with, in many cases, its corolla six to

S€ven-lobed. I also discovered a single instance of Botrychium Firini

_ Cum Swartz., with a second perfect though smaller fertile frond rising on

. "n independent stalk from the centre of the largest primary division of

382 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

its sterile frond. The smallest divisions of the sterile frond "- a few

of = changed to fertile clusters. In this connection I w

tha maller, delicate form of B. lanceolatum Angstrém, em the

steri - ae less dissected, appears to me a decided variety. I have

collectea both forms on Lake Superior.

e remarks in the February number on Onoclea sensibilis var. obtusi-

lobata Torr., lead me to say that this variety was found by me some sea-

essentially from mine, in which some of the segments of the pinne are

much contracted and revolute, though most of them preserve the folia-

ceous character, particularly at and towards the summit of the frond.

Intermediate states and partially developed forms would naturally be ex-

would add the following, since aikoo to my list: Cirsium muticuti

Michx., abundant in 1868, and the rare Arethusa bulbosa Linn., and Calop-

ogon pulchellus R. Seni in former years.— HENRY GILLMAN, Detroit.

DOUBLE THALICTRUM ANEMONOIDES. — Enclosed is the photograph of à

double flower of the Thalic irum anemonoides Michx. I found it in the

pistil was transformed, so that the flower was completely double; and

both for its exceeding and exquisite beauty, and the rarity of a double

natural flower, I had its picture taken. — M. M. SHATTUCK, Poughkeepsie.

BoraNicAL NorEs.— The mention of certain species in your botanical

notes has reminded me of an individual of Trillium erythrocarpum gath-

ered here, having the parts in fours, viz.: four leaves, four sepals, four

ixty

boreal or high northern (ranging by Lake Superior to the Arctic Gisele

ànd sixteen western or continental nea rare or wanting in the Uni

ted States, east of New York. —G. F. MATTHEWS, St. John, N. B.

Is LDER A Native PLANT?— Looking over the NATURALIST for

March, Lr I find that an enquiry has been made whether Sambucus Can-

a native plant. If the question is not already settled it may not

be useless to state, even at this day, that both that and S. pubens, or theif

_ Western representatives, are common in esie Territory and Ore-

. Son, and that one of them, if not both, extend as far South at least as

Humboldt Bay, where I have seen a tree as large round a8 asa

GIBBS, New York. —

IG SNe ee ee E

Tory TEL ER ee

D UU M Lue. S ko ERAN.

Morir cs ace I M LEE ilice tare

MESA IT LEO UE My ee CN eR

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 383

ZOOLOGY.

ORTH ATLANTIC DREDGING ExPEDITION.— On page 278 (paragraph

next to last) of the July number of the NATURALIST, reference is made to

deep sea-dredging by Dr. Carpenter and Wyville Thompson, of England,

a government steamer having been placed at their disposal for the pur-

pose. Upon the back of a letter recently received from my friend Dr. P.

P. Carpenter, of Montreal, he writes that ** Buccinum undatum was found

living at a depth of 1300 fathoms!! by my nephew and J. G. Jeffreys, on

H.M.ship Porcupine." The donkey-engine was used to hoist the dredge.

at a he eight of over 18000 feet, and scientific research may yet show life

from an equal depth below the sea-level.— ARNS.

PARASITES OF AsCIDIANS.— In the Ascidians of Northern Europe a

great number of — Crustacea, mostly small Entomostracas, have

been observed. Some of these are of peculiar interest, but in this coun-

try very little ^ an has been devoted to this subject. In dissecting

cean, not yet determined specifically. Its length is about a quarter of an

inch. Doubt btless many other species of Crustaceans might be found by

carefully tesis this and other common Ascidians. Dr. Meine in

his “ Shells of New England," p. 12, observes that in Europe t s

or Pone CModiolaria) have the habit of burrowing in the es és Asci-

S, while on this coast imr same species do not have this habit. We

found, however, at Eastport last season, a specimen of Ascidia m

with a sm e specimen R yain discors completely embedded in

test. — A. E. VERRML.

LABRADOR Duck. —In the August (1868) N«runarisr, A.R. Y. mentions

that the Pied or Labrador duck, was shot on Long Island last winter.

very Interesting bird to the Min from the fact of its being so rare,

I had almost begun to think the bird had left us, as I had not heard of

there C coast, from Delaware to Labrador; and in the New York market

Would at times be dozens of them; and then for a few years not

384 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

one. It would be very interesting to know where they have gone. Though

so much has been learned of the distribution, summer and winter homes

of birds within a few years, their breeding habits, line of travel north

and south, and from the numerous collectors who have gone to Labrador,

the fur countries and across the continent; yet not one word is said about

the Labrador duck, a common bird a few years ago. So good a flyer

and diver cannot be extinct like the clumsy Alca impennis (Great Auk),

and any collector who may take a full-plumaged bird, or knows where

they have gone, by letting it be known in the NATUnALIST, would interest

many of its readers. — GEO. A. BOARDMAN, Milltown, Me.

WINTER BIRDS or New Yonk.— [I send you the Serin list of birds

seen in the vicinity of Utica, N. Y., throughout the winter of 1868-9:—

Pine Grosbeak (Corythus itiflator), have seen Für flocks in the

streets of the city. Barred Owl (Syrnium nebulosum), very common.

Mottled Owl (Scops asio), not uncommon. Snow Bunting (Plectrophanes

nivalis), very common after a snow storm. Lapland Bunting (Plec-

Crossbill iota curvirostra), common, though seldom seen out of the

coniferous forests. hite-winged Crossbill (Lozia — this

species, though often seen, is much rarer than the former. Cedar Bird

(Bombycilla Carolinensis), not common. Lesser Redpoll (Linaria pice

abundant during mepa and winter. Downy Woodpecker (Picus pubes-

cens), very common. Hairy Woodpecker (Pins villosus), not very abun-

dant. Whi ite-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta Carolinensis), very abundant.

Black-cap Tit (Parus atricapillus), the commonest of our winter birds.

American Crow (Corvus Americanus), common. Blue Jay (Corvus a

tailed Hawk (Falco borealis), common. Golden-eye Duck (Anas clan-

guia), rare, I have seen but one individual this winter.— C. E. IAMS,

Utica,

PREP. N OF BD? Eces. — Allow me to suggest a method that I

now invariably employ. Instead of the two holes to blow the egg by,

I make one hole in the centre of the side of the egg, always selecting the

side that is sod least spotted, or the most, or as any particular fancy SUS

be made by an egg-drill, such as is furnished -

Sith umi Institution, and at natural history stores. It is like @ car-

penter's countersink, only much finer. After making the hole, if the egg

Scissors. With the syringe all liquid may be drawn nicely. I drew last

thirty crow blackbirds’ eggs in as many minutes, and did not

= Is there any objection to ae method ?— BALDWIN Coo-

; si, ah

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 385

N THE EARLY STAGES or BmnacHroPODs.— The writer made a visit

to East tport, Maine, early in the summer, for the purpose of disc overing

the early stages of a species of Brachiopod (Terebratulina septentrionalis

Couth.) so abundant in those waters. As little has been knoyn regard-

ing the early stages of this class of pu) the facts here presented will

the Polyzoa. As the subject will be füliy presented at the meeting of the

American Association, only the more important features will be men-

tioned here. Ina sad individuals the ovaries were found partially filled

eggs. The eggs (Fig. 65) were kidney shaped, and resembled the

Statoblasts of Ec No arate stages were seen between

* eggs and the form represented in Fig. 66. This stage recalled in

general proportions Megerlia or Argiope in being transversely oval, in :

having the hinge-ma argin wide and straight and in the large foramen.

Fig. 65. Fig.68. Fig.67. Fig.¢8. Fig. 69. Fig. 70. Fig. 71.

Between this Stage and the next the shell elongates until we have a form

* ima like Lingula (Fig. 67), having, like Lingula, a peduncle longer

than the shell 1, by which it holds fast to the rock. It suggests also in its

ward isaac of authors), or, ue from the peduncular end (Fig. 68), and

tired stage, where a fold is seen on each side of the stomach ;

this fold the complicated liver of the a is developed, first, by a P

diverticular appen dages, as seen in Fig.

When the animal is about one-eighth P an inch in length the lopho-

7 reminding on e of the funiculus in the dian. No traces

of an anus were di h many specimens were re carefully exam-

AMER. NATURALIST, r m. 49

386 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY:

ined under high powers for this purpose, the intestine of the adult being

— ruptured under the compressor without showing any evidence

n anal aperture. — EDWARD S. MORSE.

RCOPSKLLA (PULEX) PENETRANS.— Having had some personal ac-

Tenane with the doings of this insect, allow me to make a few obser-

vations suggested by the account of it in the **Guide to the Study of

Insects,” p.390. “The best preventatives (Webster gives preventives)

against its attacks are cleanliness, and the constant wear re) of shoes or

slippers when in the house, and of boots wt out of door

As Iwas not in the habit of going entirely fette I cannot say -

whether I would have been more troubled by the nigua OE :

jigger (Florida), or chigoe or chique (French); bicho is applied t

persons than to othe rinin generally are said to do; though this,

again, is attributed to uncleanliness in the parties so affecte A

events it seems cert: t some pe re less sensitive to these

pests, or that they are less or not at all attacked by them. Some per-

sons say that fleas do not get upon them. They may be of the hard-

skinned sort

e aé “nigua” looks like a small flea, but does not jump, O only

These may be often seen in places much frequented by swine par-

teal, and in the mills for hulling coffee, much like old-fashioned cider

, the area of which is dry and trodden to dust by the oxen which

dii the wheel. I have seen them also mdi a pet deer was accusto

to lie.

The female is rarely seen till felt. It is she alone that penes ue

the following day, if I discovered their presence, which was not mis

ao — She enters the skin, vertically, just her own length. The

gn ETT

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 387

‘of the abdomen is always visible even with the surface. Thus respira-

tion is carried on, I suppose. The sensation is a dull itching; and if

person is much occupied the entrance is very likely to be effected unper-

ceived; at least, it was often so in my own case. Then a day or two

may, perhaps, elapse before any considerable annoyance is felt. This

consists of a tenderness about where the insect is, with an itching there

or thereabouts. The nigua may be in the great toe, and you will rub or

letely

two ae especially if the part be scratched or rubbed. If nowit

be neglected very likely it may not be felt again till after several days,

and when it has become nearly or quite gravid, when a slight soreness or

à tenderness is sure to be experienced.

It is exceedingly rare that any ill-effect results from the extraction of a

single nigua, or of a few, unless the party should be peculiarly predis-

ble

one nest should have the same num

Suppose I take my first nest, aside Jay, 15th March, with three eggs,

I mark all three eggs, say No. 5, and keep a small note-book ruled thus :

Date. No. on Remarks.

S Name. Eggs. .

March 15.| Canada Jay, 3 eggs. 5 Taken by myself (or as the case may be)

pA opta ir

nest, and any and all particular S.)

April 30. | Gos-hawk, 3 eggs. 6 Taken, eto.

c. E E |

À printed label, with the name of the bird, looks very neatly. In the

Case of small birds always preserve the nests, as they are often more in-

teresting and valuable than the eggs themselves. All the eggs of the same

nest, and the nest , being numbered the same, by a reference to the little

note-book the identification of any eggs (even if they get mixed) is very

easy, and the history of any specimen can rtained. If an egg has

388 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

been sat on very long this will be found a good process to clean out the

embryo: Make alittle larger hole than usual in the side, pick out as

much of the young bird as you safely can, and then blow water into the

egg with a blow-pipe; let it stand for some sansa in a dark drawer or

box; keep repeating this process about every third d Pa gra adually Mie

ing more water into the shell, and picking a little out, till the whole

a rare and valuable egg. I often put large eggs where the Cabinet-bug

hiner can get into them, and clean out any suas matter adhering

o th . BOARDMAN.

bos. OF EARTHWORMS.*—-Last spring (and this) I was led to watch

the common earthworms in my garden, and on the plot of grass saw their

action of the rings of the whole body drew the leaf and one inch of the

tender stock into his mouth, and then by a violent muscular action drew

the whole stock of young and tender clover towards him, and when all

the substance was sucked out he let the plant go and it (the stock) flew

back to its former place. The leaf and stem were entire, but looked as

though it had been boiled. I then laid a small piece of cold mutton

down, and he appeared to feast both on the fat and lean, dragging them

after him, as his powers of suction. could not actas well as if they had

been held like the clover leaf. I also find that when the male and

female are together AE appear as one worm of double the size. — R. P.

Knicut, Pi hiladel; lphia

Honey BEE steel BY ASCLEPIAS POLLEN.—I found Bidens frondosa

am either got free themselves or with a little beatin zs Hfotiiid them most

undantly i in à neighborhood of Peekskill, N. Y., being much assisted

? rri i eM

llen mass on his leg alights on the flower, and as

2 ot his leg up, in reaching over to the other side, brings the blade

; € pollen mass into the stigmatic cleft, where it adheres, separating

e stalk, which still remains attached to the insects leg. This

* Communicated by the Smithsonian Institution.

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 389

stalk then catches in the groove of the gland, and draws out a new set

= pollinia. Passing to a new flower (or another part of the same per-

haps) the same Ait ess is renewed, and I have found strings of the

glands and shafts thus attached to each other, particularly on the old

flowers of A. incarnata. On one occasion I caught an insect, on A. incar-

nata I believe, which had drawn out the pollen of this species by means

of the shaft of A. purpurescens. At that time I had not a set of the va-

there any rule in the matter? My lamented friend, W. W. Denslow, was

piads - ep when death cut short his studies. I had urged him to

Write to you the subject but he had points which he wished first to

settle, a ut how the hair of the insect is held in the gland of the

stigma. — W. H. LeaGErT, New York.

HER DOUBLE EGG.—A short time since I visited a family, the lady

of pHing had iroko a number of eggs to fry for breakfast a few mo-

ments before I had arrived, and in the insideof one of the eggs was a

ip perfectly formed egg, about the size of a pigeon’s egg, which was,

ren to me, and which I now have. I removed the contents, consisting

« albumen alone. The egg from which it was E — the us

contents, white and yolk.— R. L. WALKER, M.

Six cases of double eggs are noticed on page 50 (Wok ii) of the NATU-

RALIST.— Eps.

THE KINGFISHER IN Winter.—I noticed this day a 11, 1868),

about noon, a kingfisher perched on a tree, making his u wild notes,

and looking for his game; below him was a small petite a ans which

_ does not freeze over in the coldest weather and in which fish can be seen.

The day mentioned was ve cold, 20° below zero. I had supposed that

those birds went to the South long before this. Can they endure our

wein cold weather? Where do mod ges: — in our very cold

ts? Henry Davis, Houston Count,

Ws few kingfishers remain all winter in ee gs a m Ens.

EXTERNALLY AND INTERNALLY Parasitic ACARL—M. Guérin Méne-

ville notes, in a letter to the French ee the sudden appearance

of innumerable acari eRe — on his potatoes. In less than

eight days these little arachn so abundant as entirely to

cover the potatoes, = form a seething n penis He is at a loss to account

for their remarkable and sudden appea

Mr. Charles Robertson, serie n " vienes in the University of

Oxford, has lately described a form of acarus found inside pigeons; chiefly .

390 ` NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

amongst the connective tissue of the skin, the large veins near the heart,

and on the surface of the pericardium. In some respects the acarus

described agrees with Sarcoptes, but has an extraordinary maggot- -like

net, an o

found them in the pelican. It is exceedingly difficult to account for their

appearance. Are they undergo oing a no eme phase of their existence, or

have they been accidentally introduced in the cases recorded, and found

the habitat a favorable one ?— Quarterly perom of Science, London.

RNITHOLOGICAL. —In the September (1868) NaruRaALIsT Mr. Kedzie

gives an PRU of the ** breeding peculiarities” of the Golden-winged

‘Woodpecker (Colaptes auratus), in which he states that he obtained

thirty-three eggs from one of ip Sad and calls upon any of the read-

ers of the NATURALIST to surpass

In the spring of 1865, while in cc TRANS I obtained twenty-two eggs

from the nest of our common House Wren rfe edon), and doubt-

less would have got more had not the nest been broken u up. Mr. George

twenty-eight eggs from the nest of a Kingbird (Tyrannus Carolinensis).

Although the number of eggs obtained in the two cases mentioned are

not equal to those got by Mr. Kedzie, yet € the size of the dif-

TUR birds I think that I am a little ahead o

Last spring, while in Florida, I found the Bluebttd (Sialia or ae

ing there. Can any of our ornithologists inform ase

been found breeding so far South before?—C. H. NAUMAN, pfs Pa.

REGENERATION OF LruBs.— M. Milne-Edwards has communicated to

the French Academy some new results of M. Philippeaux's experiments

on the subject of the regeneration of limbs. The author's early experi-

ments made on reptiles prove that if the limbs of a newt be cut off, the

scapula or ilium being left behind, the limbs will be msi ubi but that

^ oo d the scapula is removed the limb is never reproduced. He has now been

experimenting on fishes, and has proved that this is true. If the fin-rays

Of a fish be cut off they will be reproduced; but if the part which is

homologous with the scapula be removed, no reproduction will take

place. — Scientific Opinio

THE MARYLAND Manor OT (Arctomys monax Gmel.), more popularly

known in this locality by the common name of “Groundhog,” is still

|... tolerably Been mire ud the southern districts of Lancaster County, P8-;

ra pai I never knew they were so prolific, at least I have seen nothing oD

M that indieates anything like the fecundity of a female specimen

Lh eles i in Drumore T. Township, on the 24th of April last. This subject

.. before she was killed, brought forth five naked cubs, and afterwards 0

taxi dermist found that her matrix contained six more, making eleven.

mg were all entirely nude—not a particle of hair on any of

‘Sort of faim, over their eyes. They may have been prema

EAE

a Sa A e e

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 391

turely brought forth through the excitement incidental to capture, as

these animals are usually very shy, going abroad mainly during the night. '

A curious fact in reference to these young marmots is, that one of them

were fully three inches in length, and I should judge from their size.

weighed about an ounce and a half. — S. S. Ratuvon, Lancaster, Pa.

Lake EPnypRa.—In the April number of ‘ Hardwicke’s

Science-Gossip," is figured an “animal from Salt Lake," which the corres-

pondent and editor seem unable to identify. It is undoubtedly the larva

of Labrador and Massachusetts, where it lives in salt or brackish water.

—A. 8. P.

RS iR AND Mup-wasr.— Mr. Thomas Affleck, of Ingleside, Mis-

Sissippi, in a letter to the late Dr. T. W. Harris, dated July 20th, 1848,

other day, confirming a strange fact (to me) in the insect world. A very

TEe spider was attacked by one of the small blue mud-wasps, or dirt-

daubers, not half its size, and on the ground. The spider seemed much

alarmed, and managed to fend off his antagonist and escaped at a rapid

pace, doubling and winding. The wasp seemed to have lost him for sev-

eral pasti. but presently: it circled round like a well-trained fox-hound,

g triking the trail ran it closely through all the doublings and

windings of the spider, overtaking and attacking him again. This was

a capital fight ensued, lasting at least a minute. The spider had no

chance with his enemy, who soon stung him to death, losing a leg o only

during the fight. After resting a few moments the wasp circled around

again, evidently selecting a smooth path, along which he dragged with

much difficulty his bulky prey. The moment he met with an impediment,

dropping the spider, he circled round again, and invariably chose a

Smooth path. Where did instinct cease, and reason begin here? Were

you aware that insects followed a trail, from the scent, in this way?

SSVARILTION OF BLUEBIRDS' Mer found on the 17th of May a nest

was hunting

out. Iam certain that be was a female bluebird, but every one of the five

eggs was pure white. I also noticed that, unlike the woodpecker’s =

bottom of the uy was well bedded with grass; strictly a bluebird's

392 CORRESPONDENCE.

The eggs were nearly ready to hatch, and I could not save but

they had the bill and feet of a Sialia. It is a variation entirely new to

me, although I have seen hundreds of bluebirds' eggs. I have no doubt

whatever of its identity.

I also have another egg in my collection which is a nondescript. It is is

l7% inches long, of a very light bluish-green, sprinkled all over with

grains of light brown and many other obscure specks; globular. It was

ina BAER ar cii sinc which had besides its full canrpleraat of eggs,

am confident that it is a parasitic egg, though manifestly not a cow-bun-

ting’s. ERNEST INGERSOLL, Oberlin, Ohio.

GEOLOGY.

New Species or Foss. Horse In Mexico.—Prof. R. Owen has de-

scribed the teeth belonging to an extinct horse, found in the newer

i agessiadors! of South America, an se.the nomad ae

€ of the multitudinous progeny of those war horses at the present

day, that any such tama quine should have been killed off or extir-

dens), and its Me the Equus Tau Owen (from the same locality), and

Equus curvidens, etc., and also the Megatherium, Mylodon, Toxodon, Ne-

sodon, Macrauchenia, Glyptodon, and Mastodon, were Sandared extinct

_ by human means. — Scientific Opinion, London.

— 909———

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

F. W. G., artenn N.Y. Y.—The galls from the rose are probably those of Cynips

bicolor Harris. h tenanted by the 1 f a Chalcid parasite

t MÀ

ERRATA.

Page 215, line 14 from ‘below, for arms, read areus. Page 216, line 25 from below, for

read opercula; line 12 from below, read between A 18, and Decem-

ber 11; line 12 from below, for Lindguist’s, read Lindqvist. Page 217, mS

below, for > Durir, read Dunér, and for Nordenskjold, read Nordenskjóid ; line 7 from

Up ( . Sti,

read Térnkvist ; line 5 from above,

itic ; line 16 from onere pe geese

Hjelt. Page 221, line 6 from above, for

NM nae ae Fh EATE E E T a ESE

D SENEE IS EE S Ge

below, for : line

line 15, from e o es Whale, read read Malms’ Whale; "^

F ljelt, read

131r ides Dart E Si ara NS a. e E EE

y nir rn

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. III. — OCTOBER, 1869. — No. 8.

cc GS (9t DTD

THE RED-TAILED HAWK.

BY DR. W. WOOD.

Turis bird is generally known as the Hen-hawk (Buteo

borealis). It is so seldom taken in this vicinity that when

captured the hunters will tell you that they have killed "one

of the real old-fashioned hen-hawks."

Having recently had the young of the Red-tailed Hawk

brought to me as something new and rare, and as there is

such a dissimilarity between the adult and the young that no

one except a naturalist would recognize them as the same

bird, I will give a description of the bird in its different

plumage, with an account of its habits.

On the Pacific the Red-tailed Hawk is supplanted by a

Closely allied species ( Buteo montanus). It is peculiar to

America, and in its adult plumage is easily recognized from

any of its genus. It is extremely shy, and not easily taken

unless approached in a wagon or on horseback. The flight

of this bird is strong and firm, often sailing to a great dis-

tance without any apparent motion of its wings. Occasion-

ally several of them will be seen very high in the air, sailing

about in circles, sometimes rising in spiral turns, and then

TE a aimara

araka according to Act Congress, in the year 1869, by the PEABODY ACADEMY OF

; in the Clerk’s Office of the Distriet Court of the District E

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 50

324 THE RED-TAILED HAWK.

descending rapidly, uttering a clear shrill cry of kae, kae,

kae, several times, and often continuing it some minutes.

These gyrations occur more commonly in the spring; per-

haps it is a nuptial ceremony, or a bridal pilgrimage. This

bird does not always live in that domestic peace and har-

mony after rearing its young as is proverbially true of birds

of prey, often fighting over some game that it would most

faithfully toil to procure for its eompanion and little ones

during breeding season. An amusing instance of this kind

occurred to my knowledge. One of these birds caught a

snake and flew high into the air; its mate followed and tried

to force its companion to give up the coveted morsel. For

a time I did not know but that they would have to settle it

as did the two snakes, each of which had hold of a leg of —

the same toad, and neither being willing to lose its antici-

_ pated dainty repast, the largest snake not only swallowed

the toad but also the smaller snake attached to his portion.

(Query — Which got the toad?)

In their bill of fare snakes form quite an item in the

spring and summer months, but in the winter months the

wild game of our woods and the poultry-yard, satisfy

the cravings of hunger. It is from the fact of its making

such frequent inroads among our domestic fowls that it de-

rives the name of hen-hawk. When capturing snakes they

sometimes " wake up the wrong passenger." A farmer living

in this vicinity, while putting up a fence around his pasture,

noticed a large hawk on the ground some forty rods from

him, sometimes rising up two or three feet, then dropping

down. Supposing him to be devouring some game he paid

but little attention to it at first, but fen its continuing in

the same place, and keeping up the same manceuvring for a

long time, his euriosity was excited, and coming near the

. bird he discovered that the tail of a large black snake was

coiled around the hawk's neck, and that the head and a

uS - aa of its body was in a hole in the ground; the hawk

TT MM exhausted. With a blow of his axe the farmer

‘

THE RED-TAILED HAWK. 395

severed the snake, and brought the hawk to his barn where

he kept him alive for some time. The part of the snake

attached to the bird measured three feet, which was, proba-

bly, about one-half of its length. The hawk evidently seized

the snake when he was partly in his hole and was unable to

draw him out, and when found, the serpent was endeavoring

to convince the would-be-capturer that “it is a poor rule

that don’t work both ways.” This was the adult Red-tailed

dawk.

In proeuring food for their young they frequently act in

concert, and if, perchance, they spy a squirrel on a tree one

will dive at it while the other poises itself ready to seize it

if it dodges to the other side to evade the grasp of the first

hawk. From the two there is no escape. Grasping it firmly

by the neck the assailant practicably demonstrates the pos-

sibility of garroting its victim, when the ill-fated squirrel is

carried to the eyry, and torn in pieces to satiate the cravings

of their rapacious young. I was informed by one of my

collectors that he saw a mink taken in that way by a Red-

tailed Hawk, and carried off, although squealing piteously,

and vainly endeavoring to extricate himself from the fatal

grasp of its cruel talons.

For hours it may be seen sitting in the top of some tree,

either sunning itself or watching for game, and woe be to

the rabbit, sécu bird, or mouse, that attracts his keen

eye. In sailing over fields, if it discovers game, it will

either grasp it by a side stroke, or check its speed and

alight on a tree, if near, where it can watch its motions,

when with wings almost closed it will dart upon its prey

with unerring aim.

When wontiled. like all rapacious birds, it will turn on

its baek and defend itself with its claws and bill, grasping

à stick presented to it so firmly as to be raised ien the

ground and carried some distance before relinquishing its

hold. An instance was related to me illustrating the

Strength and tenacity of its grasp. A sportsman . having

396 THE RED-TAILED HAWK.

winged one of these birds his dog ran up to it, when his

nasal appendage was firmly seized by the enraged bird.

Smarting under the chastisement he howled and yelled, sha-

king his antagonist with force enough, apparently, to dislo-

cate every bone in its body. This was continued sometime

before its claws were disengaged, when my informant said

"that the dog's nose looked as though it had been chawed.”

They formerly nested here, but I have not been able to

find a nest for the last fifteen years. The nest is large and

somewhat flat, composed mostly of sticks and twigs, and

generally located where it is almost impossible to get at it.

According to our writers on oólogy they lay from four to

five eggs. This is a larger number than I have found; from

two to four has been the usual number. They are dull

white, sparsely covered with brown and dark-brown spots.

Both birds assist during incubation. Its length is from

nineteen to twenty-four inches, and the expanse of the wings

from forty-five to fifty inches. The female is considerably

larger than the male, as is the case with all our rapacious

birds. The head of the adult is large and flat; the tip of

the bill much incurved, with the entire upper parts brown,

with.fulvous edging on the head. and neck. The tail is

bright rufous, tipped with white, and a little rounded, with

the subterminal band of black. The throat is white with

longitudinal strips of brown; the under parts are yellowish

white with longitudinal brown spots. The under tail-coverts

are yellowish white, the legs are yellow, and the iris, hazel.

In the young the upper parts are lighter brown than in the

adult, with more white and fulvous spots; the tail has some

nine or ten transverse brownish black bands and is tipped

with white; the subterminal band is about an inch wide; the

under parts are white with large ovate spots of brownish

black; the under tail-coverts are spotted with brown. The

‘smaller wing-coverts, from its flexure to the body, are rufous,

‘and similar to the Red-shouldered Hawk, only not as bright

RAMBLES IN FLORIDA. 397

The only resemblance between the adult and young is in

the general form of the head, bill, legs, and claws. It is no

wonder that naturalists considered them different species.

Nuttall described the young as the American Buzzard ( Falco

Buteo), Pennant as the Great Hen-hawk (Buteo vulgaris),

and Wilson named it the Falco Zeverianus. He says,

however, “it is with some doubt and hesitation that I intro-

duce the present as a distinct species from the Buteo borea-

lis. My reason for inclining to consider this a distinct

species is the circumstance of having uniformly found the

present (Falco Leverianus), two or three inches larger than

the former (B. borealis).

Ornithologists at that time were not generally aware that

the young of many of our birds of prey were longer than

the adult. This is very marked in the Goshawk. and Bald

Eagle. This seeming absurdity is easily explained. After

moulting the long feathers never attain their former length.

If Wilson had been aware of this fact he never would have

introduced the young of the Buteo borealis as a distinct

species,

RAMBLES IN FLORIDA.

BY R. E. C. STEARNS.

PART III.

From Cedar Keys to Egmont Key is eighty-five miles.

The latter is situated at the mouth of Tampa Bay, and is

forty miles from the town of Tampa; upon it is a light-

10use whose friendly flame shone far across the waters of

the Gulf as we steamed along in the early gray of the morn-

ing. We had arranged to land at Egmont, wind and wave

permitting, as it is good working ground for the naturalist ;

but a rough sea compelled a change of plan, and we kept on

for Tampa.

398 RAMBLES IN FLORIDA.

Tampa Bay is divided at its upper portion, or head, into

two ‘smaller bays, one known as Old Tampa Bay, from the

town of “Old Tampa,” the other as Hillsborough Bay,*

which receives a river of the same name. It is upon the

southerly bank of the latter that the new or present town

of Tampa is located. A very narrow and crooked channel

and an insufficient depth of water prevent vessels, excepting

very small craft, from reaching the wharves, consequently

the steamer was anchored some four miles below the place.

Viewed from the deck the scenery is attractive, though the

shores, as elsewhere, are quite low. As you face the town

upon the left hand, and half a mile off, is Ballast Point, an

ancient reef; upon the right are islands and the mainland

in the distance; in front the military post of Fort Brooke.

with its new buildings half-hidden by the sturdy old oaks

(Quercus virens), whose stalwart limbs are decked with

robes of the long Spanish moss, which hang motionless in

the quiet air, or flutter like tattered battle-flags when moved

by a passing breeze. "The post is built upon a sloping lawn

whose margin is washed by the waters of the bay; in front

of the trees is the parade ground, in the centre stands à

symmetrical flag-staff, from the top of which, far aloft, floats

the national flag. |

here is some little commotion in getting ashore; for

everybody and everything have to be transferred to lighters

and small vessels; at the time a transient shower was pass-

ing and the warm rain caused an unpleasant stickiness. It

was soon over however, and we saw our packages placed

* There is a county of this name, of which the city or town of Tampa is the county

tA very interesting spot to the geologist. Here we collected over hundred §:

MC Me el ahaa a age d E EQUI m. M QU toc d nans of Chalco

{The military reservation at Tampa is situated upon and embraces the E

r the pleasantest on of the place. Many of the older officers ef jus

v ME ioned here, as it was an important base dud

du wars with the Seminoles. It is reported of Gen. Taylor that he was so much attac sis

_ to the locality, that wher resident, the Secretary of War propo?

Post, the old soldier positively forbade it.

RAMBLES IN FLORIDA. 399

safely in a four-ton sloop, and seated ourselves upon the top

of the cargo like statues upon a pedestal. The lines were

"let go," and after beating in a light wind the sloop was at

the wharf by noon.

When a steamer arrives the event is published by a cer-

tain number of strokes on the Court House bell; hence the

crowd at the wharf. Friends met us as soon as we landed,

and with their assistance we found an unoccupied house and

an unemployed negro; the former was at once hired for a

camp, the latter for a commissary and quartermaster.* In

two hours after landing we were “at rights” and housekeep-

ing. Elated with this wonderful dispatch, in the fulness of

our joy we thought the millennium not more than "two

blocks off,” and rashly named our quarters “Camp Delight ;"

but we had unwisely crowed before we were out of the

woods, as will presently be seen.

The population of Tampa is variously stated at from eight

hundred to one thousand (people), of all sizes and colors ;

but this does not include the million (of fleas) that nightly

met in mass-meeting at Camp Delight, and compelled us,

both in sorrow and in anger, to change the name to Camp

Misery. The fleas of California, the black-flies of the Lake

Superior swamps, the mosquitoes of the Ohio Valley, all of

these we had met on their own ground and never winced,

but the fleas of Tampa proved invincible. We thought of

the say ing of a German poet, "God made the world, but the

devil made the flea.”

The appearance of the town creates à favorable impres-

sion, for it is well planned, the streets being wide and regu-

lar and the buildings comely; many of the streets and yards

are ornamented with trees ; in some of the latter the bananas |

were just shooting up new leaves to replace those that were

eut down at Christmas time by an unusual and severe frost.

A large specimen of the American aloe (Agave Americana)

*Soon after our departure from Tampa, our colored quartermaster Was elected City

400 RAMBLES IN FLORIDA.

standing in the Post Office yard perished from the same

cause, though a rosebush near it was loaded with red flow-

ers.* Many of the orange trees were full of fruit, which

was ruined by the fatal blast, and bushels were rotting on

the ground. In some sheltered spots or warm places on the

shore of Old Tampa Bay they were untouched, and we had

many a feast upon the golden fruit from that neighborhood.

The Florida oranges we consider superior to the Mediter-

ranean, Mexican or Tahitan; they are of large size, good

color and fine flavor. The Shaddock (Citrus decumana)

also grows in the vicinity of Tampa, and very fine speci-

mens of the fruit were purchased by us at the stores. It is

extensively cultivated in the West Indies, and many people

prefer it to the orange; it is slightly bitter, and the juice, à

mild acid, is cooling and healthful. It is called Grape Fruit

by the Floridians. Not far from our camp is a grove con-

sisting principally of pines of the species Pinus palustris,

also called the pitch-pine, and long-leaved pine, and P. teda,

known as the loblolly pine, and many may be seen in the

streets and elsewhere about the town ; they sometimes attain

a height of one hundred feet, but we have as yet seen none

that exceeded seventy feet. The Chameerops serrulata, or

Saw Palmetto, here, as everywhere in South Florida, grows

luxuriantly in the sandy soil, and just outside of the town

it seems to have crowded out all other shrubbery.

Without enumerating the many botanical forms that are

met with in this section of the country, a few of the promi-

nent species worthy of mention are the Sweet Bay (Magno-

lia glauca Linn.), which grows to the height of twenty feet,

with highly perfumed flowers and shining leaves (an iso-

lated colony of this species sheds its fragrance on the colder

air of the north, being found in the vicinity of Gloucester,

Mass.); the Southern Buckthorn (Frangula Caroliniana

Walt.), a species of Hawthorn; the Catalpa, or Indian-

i A

*This was in the latter part of January.

RAMBLES IN FLORIDA. 401

bean; also the Persea Carolinensis, or Alligator pear,*

sometimes called the Red Bay.

e banks of the Hillsborough River at the water's edge

are muddy, with a growth of tall coarse grass. The bivalve

shell, Cyrena Carolinensis,t may here be obtained; also

the pretty little river snail, JVeritina reclivata. From the

wharves, at the proper tide, many fish are caught, principally

Sheep's-head (Sargus) and Mullet (Mugil), both of which

are good eating. The supply, however, is quite irregular,

and the market therefore cannot be depended upon. Oys-

ters (O. Virginica) of excellent quality abound in the bay,

and can usually be purchased from boats at the wharf.

During a portion of the period of our stay at Tampa the

market was well supplied with venison (Cervus Virginia-

nus) of good quality, thanks to the energy and skill of an

one-armed hunter residing a few miles away. The hens of

Florida deserve favorable mention, if not a diploma, for

their daily dividends were too important to be forgotten.

Stalking along the muddy margin of the stream may fre-

quently be seen the Blue Heron (florida cerulea Baird),

and the White Heron (Herodias egretta Gray). There is a

California species that much resembles this last. The White

or Whooping Crane (Grus Americanus Ord.) and the great

Blue Crane (Ardea herodias Linn.), and the Egrets ( Demi-

gretti Pealii Baird) with white plumage, and another (D.

rufa Baird) of a reddish color, are found in this part of the

State around the shores of the bay and gulf. Many others

of the long or stilt-legged bipeds, of the feathered tribes

belonging to the Grallatores, or waders, are met with when

rambling through the marshes or exploring the bends, inlets

or sloughs of the river, or are seen by us from the boat while

E A o 0.01. eee

*We were unable to obtain any of the fruit at the time of our visit in the winter; it

Was quite likely out of season. A species grows in Mexico, but whether identical with

idi i

orange; it hasa bright green skin or rind, an contains a pulp of a

which melts in the mouth like butter. It is eaten with pepper and salt.

TValves of this shell w 3 us in the shell-heaps, but t common.

ell were found by

;

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 51

402 RAMBLES IN FLORIDA.

rowing up or down the stream. With a scoopnet rigged

with a long pole, an important and at many times an indis-

pensable implement for the collector, we dipped up from

the bed of the stream a small white bivalve shell ( Tellina),

and a single dead specimen of the fresh-water Mussel,

Unio* Jewettii Lea. The Floridian Unios have much lighter

shells than most of the species found in the tributaries of

the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. The once famous British

pearls were obtained from a species of Unio ( U. margari-

tiferus) found in the mountain streams of Great Britain, and

the fishery was continued till the end of the last century in

Scotland, where the mussels (Unios) were obtained in the

River Tay by the peasantry previous to harvest time. The

British pearl fishery has long ceased to be remunerative.

The fresh-water mussels must be exceedingly scarce in

this vicinity, and in fact for many miles on the western side

of Florida, for we found none living nor a fragment in any

of the mounds and shell-heaps that we examined. The Por-

tuguese and Spanish narrators of the expedition of De Soto

have given absurd accounts of the quantities of pearls in the

possession of the natives. It is highly probable that the

Indians inhabiting Georgia and Alabama, at the time of and

prior to the invasion of De Soto, lived in part upon the ani-

mals of the various species of Unio found in the rivers of

those states,f for "heaps of mussel shells are to be seen on

our river banks wherever Indians used to live.” §

It may be that the Indians referred to collected the shells

solely for the purpose of procuring the pearls; yet the pro-

portion of shells containing pearls is so small that when, as

-—— in the text, "the visti es narrator says they

RN MCN PTT

hh cea.

. . The river mussels are are found in the ponds and streams of all parts of the W world.

EN In Europe the species are few, though hey a are abundant. In North America

both species and indivi apo abound. (Woodward.) the

i ge E rms us that OETAN of Unio valv ves may be Sen a i

riis AP one hundred miles from its mouth, and that

Indians as late as the years m

Conquest ofFlorida. Ed. 1809, p.

RAMBLES IN FLORIDA. 403

obtained fourteen bushels of pearls”* from a certain sepul-

chre, and as can be found at another place in the text that a

common foot soldier, whose name is given as Juan Terron,

had “a linen bag in which were six pounds of pearls;"f and

elsewhere, that everybody, Spanish and Indian had pearls,

and “as large as filberts;"i either the sources from whence

the old historians derived their information were unreliable,

or the Unios which are probably as abundant in the rivers as

heretofore, have, to a very great extent, ceased to manufac-

ture these much valued concretions. The latter case is

hardly supposable. Perhaps one shell in a hundred might

yield a pearl, of which not one in a hundred would be either

clear or of perfect form, and not one in many thousands

would be as large as a filbert.$

Between Camp Misery and the river, in wet or springy

plaees upon the under side of pieces of boards or chips,

many snails (Helix volvoxis Pareyss) can be collected, and

the Coffee-shell (Melampus caffea) is close at hand. It is

also found in the West Indies. Just outside of the fence

that encloses the reservation of Fort Brooke, to the south,

is a good place for obtaining Glandina truncata, a species

of snail with a shell of a pink color, sometimes three inches

It looks much like one that is found in Nicaragua

(G. rosea). The Glandinas are carnivorous, and our Flo-

ridian is a cannibal, and eats without either hesitation or re-

morse the smaller snail, Helix volvoxis. The eggs of Glan-

dina are of a whitish color, and about the size of a very

small pea; it lives in moist grassy places, and a few boards

that were on the ground at the locality referred to made an

excellent trap; the Glandinas prefer the shade, and in order

to protect themselves from the heat of the sun, hid them-

eir open side turned from the torrent. About

d. might be tolerably clear. (W oodward’s

oS SP

our

404 RAMBLES IN FLORIDA.

always capturing some. Upon one occasion, in addition to

several Glandinas, two specimens of a beautiful lizard re-

warded our search.

We had heard at sundry times marvellous stories of num-

berless snakes of divers species, and of assorted sizes, that

lay in wait to swallow, crush or poison unsophisticated

strangers. These fearful tales led us to keep a sharp look-

out when on the tramp. Either the snakes snuffed danger

from afar and "hunted their holes," or else they are scarce,

as we failed to secure a specimen, though two or three were

seen. We concluded that our informants had in some way

deceived their eyes by using the fusil oil which hereabouts

is sold for whiskey, one dram of which would cause the

drinker to see not only snakes but an entire menagerie.

From the time when the serpent made mischief for the

human race through the beguilement of its original mother,

down to the present day, the snake family have had a bad

reputation, and stories illustrating their wickedness, how-

ever preposterous, are readily believed.

Near the town, and in the immediate vicinity of the spot

where Glandinas “most do congregate," stands an ancient

mound, in shape a flattened hemisphere, with the plane

side down. Its position is such as to furnish a delightful

out-look upon the bay and a fine view of the surrounding

scenery. It is not of large size, being only one hundred and

sixty paces in cireumference and fifteen feet high; it was

formerly more nearly semicircular in perpendicular outline,

as the rains of centuries have washed it off at the summit,

thus reducing the elevation, and consequently increasing the

circumference of the base.

The mound was covered with grass, and many stately

trees are near it whose graceful proportions form, by con-

trast with the general flatness of the ground, a conspicuous

and charming feature.in the landscape. From the investi-

gations made by our party it was undoubtedly devoted to

burial purposes, and but few shells were used in its con-

THE SYLVA OF MONTANA. 405

struction. Six species of the common marine shells of

the neighborhood were collected ; also stone implements,

and pieces of crumbling bones,— portions of the skeletons

of men. This mound* may have been the "artificial emi-

nence near the shore," upon which stood the dwelling of the

cacique, Hirrihigua, who bravely opposed the adventurous

but cruel Pamphilo de Narvez in his expedition to Florida,

in the year 1528; and the meagre remnants of a human

form whose sepulchre we had rudely violated, may have be-

longed to the outraged and vindictive chief, who, stung by

the remembrance of his wrongs, replied to the overtures of

De Soto with words of scorn.

THE SYLVA OF MONTANA.

BY J. G. COOPER, M. D.

The following notes comprise an enumeration of the trees

of the Rocky Mountains, etc., from Fort Benton, Nebraska,

to Fort Colville and Fort Dalles, Oregon, with remarks on

their distribution.

MoorH Sumac (Rhus glabra?). No species extends

along the Upper Missouri above Fort Union, and I am

therefore inclined to think that the species of the Columbia

Plain, which extends north to Fort Colville, is distinct

though nearly allied to this. In Walla Walla valley it be-

comes fifteen feet high, and may attain, farther south, to the

Size of a small tree. It grows also in the Yakima valley,

and west to Fort Dalles, Oregon.

ASH-LEAVED Marie (Negundo aceroides). The Box

Elder reaches the Rocky Mountains at Fort Benton, but

does not cross them there, no species reaching the Columbia

Se ee Qr eec cqricesi de

* Vide Irving’s Conquest of Florida. Ed. 1869, pp. 28, 58,

59.

THirrihigua said, “I want none of their speeches nor promises; bring me their

heads, and I will receive them joyfully.” Id., p. 60.

406 THE SYLVA OF MONTANA.

river, though the climate is so much milder than that of the

Upper Missouri. This is an additional reason for consider-

ing the western species (of California, etc.) distinct from

the eastern, though that of Utah and Western Texas may

very probably be the latter. The Rhus shows a distribution

the reverse of this, as compared with the eastern F. glabra.

SwoorH Marie (Acer glabrum). This commences to

appear at the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains, and

grows entirely across to Fort Colville and the east slope

of the Cascade Range, becoming forty feet high and a foot |

in diameter. A. tripartitum Nutt., is merely a young or

dwarfed form of it in dry soil.

CHOKE-cHERRY (Cerasus Virginiana?).* A tree, appa-

rently this species, grows all the way across the mountains,

extending to the Bitterroot Range, and growing thirty feet

high and six inches in diameter. A small cherry tree, »

rather a shrub, grows about the borders of the Columbia

Plain, apparently the same in leaf, but I think the fruit is -

larger. Ihave never seen the flowers.

Cuerry (Cerasus mollis?). T found a shrub at the Coeur

d'Alene Mission and westward, which I took for this from

the leaves. It is stunted in that latitude.

Western MouxraiN-asn (Pyrus fraxinifolia? vel Amer-

tcana?). The Mountain-ash of the western mountains,

scarcely distinct from that of the north-east, first appeared

on the east slope of the Coeur d'Aleüe Range, and extends

in small numbers to Fort Colville, scarcely deserving to be

called a tree anywhere. I did not find it with fruit on this

route.

River Hawrnorn (Crategus rivularis). A hawthorn

with black berries, and otherwise the same every way, €x-

tends from the east base of the Rocky Mountains, west to

the Cascade Range (“Willamette River," Nutt.), forming 2

_ shrubby tree fifteen to twenty feet high. It is finest along

the Spokan River.

* See Torrey and Gray’s Flora of Nebraska.

THE SYLVA OF MONTANA. 401

Rep Hawrnonw (C. sanguinea?). The red-berried Haw

grows sparingly from Walla Walla to Fort Colville, but is

so similar in leaf to the preceding that it may perhaps be

only a variety. Specimens of both collected in fruit give

an opportunity of trying the distinctions of the seedling

plants.

Orecon Bearwoop (Frangula Purshiana). This species

of Buckthorn occurs on both slopes of the Cœur d'Aleüe

Mountains, but not farther east. With it occurs a low

ushy species of Rhamesus, as shown by fruiting specimens

of each collected together.

OREGON SERVICE-BERRY a alnifolia). I must

consider this distinct from A. Canadensis of the east, be-

cause it preserves its peculiarities of leaf, growth and fruit,

from the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific

coast, through much variety of climate and soil, differing

only in height in the drier localities. It attains its greatest

luxuriance and excellence of fruit in the valley of the Hell

Gate river, where our whole command feasted on the berries

for several days.

Green Doewoop (Cornus pubescens). It was first seen

near the crossing of Bitterroot river, and extends at inter-

vals to the west coast.

Western SUGAR-BERRY (Celtis reticulata). This tree is

Strictly limited toward the north-west by Snake and Colum-

bia river, as observed in 1853. It is scarce along them

and grows only about thirty feet high, with a short trunk

Sometimes a foot thick.

OrEGon Oak (Quercus Garryana). This oak does not

grow east of the eastern base of the Cascade Range, or north

of the Yakima river, on this side. No oak occurs from the

Columbus river to Fort Union, on the Missouri, near which

place is found Q. macrocarpa. No ash grows in a similar

interval, though one extends to Milk river on the Missouri.

Gon Asn (Fraxinus Oregona). This first appears at

408 THE SYLVA OF MONTANA.

Western PocvE-niocn (Betula occidentalis). This birch

forms a shrubby tree, from Sun river through the Rocky

Mountains to the Ceur d’Alene river, where it becomes of

large size, sometimes two feet in diameter and sixty feet in

height, of handsome appearance, and with a laminated bark

of which the Indians make canoes. The color of the bark

is of a pale coppery yellow, dark on the branches, and the

leaf is always quite small. It is common at Fort Colville,

where I took it for B. papyrifera, when leafless, in 1853,

and the dwarfed form, growing along streams of the Great

Plain to the Cascade Mountains, is the B. resinosa of my

report. I saw it at Fort Walla Walla, but not at Fort

Dalles.

GREEN ALDER (Alnus viridis? or new species (perhaps

rubra of Bengard Veg. Sitch.). This alder has a range sim-

ilar to that of the western birch, and attains a similar size

‘toward the west. Its bark is less white and its leaves finer

toothed than those of A. Oregona near the coast, which I

first saw at Fort Dalles. :

Wittows (Salix). The willows were only to be had in

leaf, and if determinable, will probably prove to be S. Fend-

leriana, Hookeriana, and longifolia, but I cannot give at-

counts of their respective distribution, as these trees need

long acquaintance to distinguish them by the leaves only.

Baxsow-ndavikb Portat (Populus angustifolia). This

peculiarly western poplar does not extend east of the

of the Rocky Mountains at Forts Benton and Laramie. , It

varies much in the leaf, even on the same tree, some being

four inches wide; and though I believe it to be the most

common species in the mountains, I was often in doubt

whether this or P. balsamifera was the most so, as I could

not always distinguish between them at a little distance.

sam Portar (P. balsamifera). This seems to be the

prevailing species of "Cotton Wood" along the Missouri

: above Fort Union, and across the Rocky Mountains, and

— sos uncommon to the west coast. The tree seems

THE SYLVA OF MONTANA. : 7 409

tinguishable when leafless by its yellow twigs. I doubt

whether P. monilifera grows so far north in the mountains.

AsPEN (P. tremuloides). The aspen occurs at intervals

throughout the mountains, usually about gravelly ponds, but

is not common.

Twisrep Prive (Pinus contorta). I first met with this

pine at the east base of Mullan's Pass, where a single tree

of unusual size seemed to me at first distinct from this spe-

cies. It was two feet in diameter, and fully sixty in height,

the branches erowded with cones of all ages, but west of the

pass I found the more usual form abundant, which indicated

this to be only a luxuriant specimen. It is the most preva-

lent tree of the higher Rocky Mountains, as far down the

west slope as Deer Lodge prairie. It then becomes rare in

the valley until reaching the crossing of the Bitterroot, when

it again becomes abundant, forming groves by itself on poor

sandy or gravelly soil exactly as on the coast. Towards the

rainy summit of the Cœur d’Alefie Mountains, however, it

is searcer, being the seventh in abundance of the trees; it is

still rarer on the west slope, but at the Mission rather com-

mon, though not observed much farther west. Its growth

seems like that of most other trees more dependent on a cer-

tain degree of moisture than on temperature.

Piron Prive CP. rigida). This eastern species is common

9n the eastern spurs of the Rocky Mountains, in the upper

"Bad Lands" of the Missouri, from Milk to Judith river,

and on the “Black Hills” near Fort Laramie, but I did not

find it west of the Rocky Mountains or of Fort Benton.

Yzrrow Prine (Pinus ponderosa). The Yellow Pine is

the prevailing species in most parts of the Rocky Mountains

traversed, though much less common than others in the

Cœur d'Aleie Range. It presents the same appearance from

the east base of the Rocky to that of the Cascade Moun-

tains, being unmistakable as far as it can be seen. On the

Hell Gate I saw the largest, some fully four feet in diame-

. ter, and it grows in the driest sandy soil, where no other

=~ AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 52

410 THE SYLVA OF MONTANA.

tree can exist. P. Banksiana and P. resinosa have been re-

ported to grow along the Spokan river, but I am sure none

occurred at parts I have visited, and think this and the pre-

ceding have been mistaken for them.

Western Warre Pine (Pinus monticola). I found scat-

tered trees of this beautiful species on the highest parts of

the Rocky Mountains, but from the east base of the Cœur

d'Alene Range to its summit it rapidly became one of the

most übundant and luxuriant trees, again disappearing grad-

ually, but faster, as we descended their west slope. It at-

tains a diameter of four feet, and a height, probably, near

one hundred and fifty, resembling the eastern White Pine

(P. strobus) in habit, but with finer grooved bark (like that

of Carya tomentosa, Mockernut), more slender and shorter

leaves, and much larger cones. The wood is very fine-

grained and soft. The specimens, from stunted trees in the

Bad Lands at Little Rocky Mountain creek of the Missouri,

are so different as to seem distinct in species, or at least a

very marked variety, probably the latter. |

Brack Spruce (Abies Menziesii). This Black Spruce is

as abundant on the higher parts of the Cœur d’Alejie as on

the coast, and presents exactly the appearance described in

my former report. It is perhaps less in size, but has the

same drooping, dense twigs and foliage that give so sombre

an appearance to the coast forests. I saw it nowhere else

on the route.

OnEGON YerLow Fir (A. grandis and amabilis). From

many specimens of cones and leaves, together with observa-

tions on the trees, I am strongly inlined to consider these

the same species, not varying more than several others. The

lower white and smooth-barked form, with dense growth

and foliage, appeared moderately common on the east slope

of the Coeur d’Alefie Mountains, and across the summit.

On the west slope it gradually became taller, more open in

s and foliage, the cone larger and with broader

NEP He the bark grooved more a. more, and darker in

Dt ^

THE SYLVA OF MONTANA. 411

shade until in the rich moist bottom-land the tree is one.

hundred and fifty feet high and over four feet in diameter.

This is the true A. grandis, and the same as grows along

the Lower Columbia, while a middle form occurs sparingly

about Puget's Sound, and was referred to by me in a former

report as possibly being the true A. taxifolia, for which see

the notes on Abies JDouglassii. The dense growing, white-

barked variety (amabilis), attains three feet in diameter,

and one hundred feet in height, on the east slope of the

above-named mountains. i

Doverass, og Rep Fir (Abies Douglassii). This spruce

exhibits nearly as much adaptability to all circumstances

as Pinus ponderosa, which it accompanies throughout the

Rocky Mountains, but is much less abundant in the drier

situations than that, and more so on the moist Cœur d'Alene

Range. It varies in the color of the bark, length of cones,

leaves, etc., as might be expected in so many localities. *

The young shaded tree, growing in the moistest spots, has

leaves an inch and a half long, shining, and the bark smooth

and white, so that only the single arrangement and more lax

growth distinguish it from young trees of A. grandis. This

is doubtless the true A. taxifolia, as before suspected, and

loses its distinetness of character with age. This form, with

Very long slender leaves and cones, prevails mostly on the

West slope of the Cœur d’Alefie, Cascade and Coast ranges,

Where there is most rain. The largest Rocky Mountain trees

do not quite equal some of those on the Lower Columbia.

It is the only spruce I saw from Fort Colville to the Spo-

kan river, where its range is stopped by the Great Columbia

Plain. It reappears at the Dalles, and probably also on the

Blue Mountains.

After observing these conifere, and other trees also, for

Some time, the eye learns their general habit so well, that -

there is usually no difficulty in distinguishing species at

Sight, and at a considerable distance off.

wp rows on the first mountain range, nearly as far east as Milk river, to longitude

412 THE SYLVA OF MONTANA.

Wituiamson’s Spruce (Abies Williamsoni). This fine

spruce is abundant on the summits only of the Cœur d'Aleiie

Mountains, where it grows three feet in diameter, and one

hundred feet in height, with a ragged gray bark much like

that of the eastern Sassafras. The general habit is like that

of the Hemlock Spruce, but rather stiffer, and the foliage is

denser, forming several imperfect rows on the twigs. The

cones are two and a half inches long, pendant from the

highest branches only. None of them contained ripe seed

at the time of my visit. The wood appears much like that

of the Hemlock Spruce. The closeness of its limitation to

the dividing ridge is remarkable, since, although found at

the base of this ridge, it there grows only from three to

six feet high, and produces no cones. I took these at first

for some species of Juniper. Newberry's figure represents

it as being too rigid, like A. Douglassii. It is far more

feathery.

MERTEN’s SPRUCE (A. Mertensiana*). I have long con-

sidered this distinct from _A. Canadensis, though the differ-

ence, if any, is only in its larger growth, and perhaps in

the glands of the seed, which I have not compared with

those of the eastern tree. There is however a wide interval

in their range, A. Canadensis not growing north or west of

Lake Superior. I first met with this on the west slope

of the Ceur d’Alefie Mountains, only a few dwarf fruitless

specimens growing on the east side, and none on the sum-

mit. It ceases west and north of the Lake on the route I

followed.

Western LARCH (Larix occidentalis). I found this fine

Larch first near Bitterroot valley, whence it becomes rather

. eommon throughout the route to Fort Colville, holding a

middle place in relation to the moisture and temperature of

the various portions. It is about equal to Pinus ponderosa

. . insize, but has very short branches, as they break off from

COM the brittleness of the wood as it grows high. The bark is

* A. Bridgei Kellogg. Proc. Cal. Acad., 1858-59.

THE SYLVA OF MONTANA. 413

reddish like that of the pine, but only an inch or two thick

instead of four or five, and of course less deeply furrowed.

The pale, elegant foliage, is easily distinguishable where it

forms groves on the mountain slopes, but it is more scat-

tered in its distribution than most conifer, never, as with

the eastern L. Americana, growing in swamps.

Western Arsor-vitm (Thuya gigantea). Scarce along

the lower part of the Bitterroot, this enormous tree becomes

fully developed only on the west slope of the Coeur d’Aleiie

Range, where a cedar swamp occurs, the trees, perhaps,

even larger than near the coast. They range from six to

eight feet thick, and a dozen of these giants often grow in

à space of five or six rods square, so that Lieut. Mullau's

party could not find room to pass between them, and had to

cut down some, the road going over the stumps! Nothing

compares with this in tree growth except perhaps the Taxo-

dium swamps of the Gulf States, and here the cedars seem

to have grown from sand and water only !

Rep Cenar (Juniperus Virginiana). This grows large

and abundant along the Upper Missouri, and more scattered,

though still a tree, entirely across the Rocky Mountains,

following the rivers around the Ceeur d’Alene Range to Fort

Colville, and south to the Spokan river at least. I was told

that a large grove of it (or possibly occidentalis) grew on

the north-west border of the Great Plain of the Columbia,

but could not determine which those are which grew near

Fort Dalles. I was very much puzzled to determine whether

this or J. communis was the species sometimes seen on the

Upper Missouri, of a tree form, but with large berries. It

may be a hybrid, or perhaps J. occidentalis, with which it

agrees in the colorless wood. J. communis, in its low pros-

trate forms, is very common along the Upper Missouri, but

I did not see it farther west, and the dwarf form of the Cas-

cade Mountains, found in 1853, may belong to J. occiden-

talis, though Dr. Newberry found farther south on these

mountains what he considers J. communis.

414 THE SYLVA OF MONTANA.

OnEGON Yew ( Taxus brevifolia). The Yew, first met with

on the east slope of the Cœur d’Alene Mountains was there

low and prostrate like 7. Canadensis, but became larger on

the west side, attaining two feet in diameter and sixty feet

in height, exactly resembling that of the coast. It does not

pass Lake Cœur d’Alejie. ` The elevation of the east slope

of these mountains is much greater than of the west, which -

accounts for the dwarfing of this, as well as of Abies Mer-

tensiana and A. grandis.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE FORESTS, ETC., WITH FACTS RELA-

TING TO PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.

The configuration of the country traversed, as well as its

productions, climate, ete., naturally divide it into four sec-

tions, which have limits closely connected with those of the

geological formations. A closer exploration would perhaps

also separate these into a larger number, but I propose now

to speak of them chiefly in connection with the distribution

of the forests, which everywhere indicates to a great extent

that of the smaller plants and animals also.

Hesperian Region.*—From the Rocky Mountain summit,

east to Milk river, the country, although the prairie vastly

predominates, is crossed by the easterly ranges of the Great

Cordillera, upon which are found several trees peculiarly

western, with some eastern species commingled. Though

low where the Missouri breaks through, the ouni rise

toa great height in the distance, and are said to be well

wooded on many portions. Of this we had evidence in the

large quantity of coniferous timber covering the rocky hills

and bluffs, from above Milk river nearly to the Judith.t Its

growth was limited only by the prevalence of fires wherever

E uli RAUS Sahl c E

nag my article in the Smithsonian Report rt, 1858, I called this the Paducan, but as that

is preoceup

in Kentu I now pro: se that here vas and disk oe

cky, p po gi neg Wyo for the

THE SYLVA OF MONTANA. 415

the grass grows well, and therefore trees became very scarce

when we entered the "Cretaceous formation No. 1," which

is of a porous character, not retaining moisture in its strata

like many parts of the Tertiary farther down, though covered

with a very close growth of grass. As usual throughout

the route it is the slopes facing the north that have most of

the woods on them. The species met with were the eastern

Pinus rigida and Juniperus Virginiana, the boreal J. com-

munis, the western Pinus monticola and Abies Douglassit.

If any other occurs it is, probably, Pinus ponderosa, which

grows in the Black Hills toward the south-east, according to

Dr. Hayden.

Along the rivers a different group, the deciduous trees

found in that situation throughout the plains of the Missouri

basin, reached a little above Milk river, nearly all, however,

ceasing at the point where the mountain woods begin.*

Above here only Populus balsamifera occurs in scattered

spots with stunted shrubs of Megundo aceroides and Prunus

Virginiana, so that for several days below Fort Benton,

one hundred and seventy-five miles by the river, the boats

could scarcely obtain enough wood for fuel, and there is

almost none to be seen. Populus angustifolia also begins at

Maria’s river, and is the prevailing species along thes upper:

branches of the Missouri. The same destitution of wood

continues from Fort Benton to the “Gate of the Mountains”

along the Missouri, though its branches are better supplied

with the same trees. Thus the influence of the soil belong-

ing to "Cretaceous No. 1" is the same throughout its limits,

dii I believe is due to the causes above mentionand rather

than to its Cretaceous nature, since on the lower Missouri

it is much more productive of timber than “No. 4” of Dr:

Hayden’s section, or his “lignite tertiary basin,” probably

because it there receives more rain.

*Those seen below only (above Fort Union) were Frazinus A Americana (or sambuci-

cedo eee U imus Americana, the the former preity common, the latter rare: Quer-

- 416 THE SYLVA OF MONTANA.

Though we merely skirted the northern limits of the Hes-

perian region it shows, even there, sufficient distinctness of

produets to separate it from the "Dacotan" east of Mi

river. Even its woodless plains differ materially in vegeta-

tion, having a better growth of grass, and in some very

sandy tracts, presenting the shrubby forests characterizing

the whole “Rocky Mountain Province.” It evidently runs

into the “Saskatchewan” region to the north, which is truly

a “Campestrian” one. Farther explorations will doubtless

reveal more spurs of the Rocky Mountains near the one

hundred and seventh meridian, with the western trees cover-

ing them, and the fall of the Missouri, with. its lofty cliffs

throughout this region, plainly shows that even the plains

form an elevated plateau, or basin, from which the descent

to the “Dacotah” plains is by a sort of step, often sudden,

or marked by the protrusion of lower rocks above or near

to the surface. I have generally found that the base of à

mountain range formed a stronger limit to the range of spe-

cies of trees than the summit, and this fact is illustrated in

the present ease by the change occurring above Milk river

at the first mountain range. The rule extends also to other

plants and to animals, as all explorers will testify.

. At the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains proper _

where the Missouri literally cuts through them, the fact is

repeated, and there I found the following western trees;

which will probably be found also to reach the more eastern

ranges: Acer glabrum (tripartitum is a variety), Betula occi-

dentalis, Alnus viridis or rubra? (viridis is a boreal species )

and Populus angustifolia. Amelanchier alnifoliu, although

a tree on the west side, is but a shrub on the east slope

of the mountains, from the influence of a drier climate. It

is said to extend to Lake Superior. Populus tremuloides 18

also a boreal species, occurring in the mountains everywhere

above a certain elevation. Some other boreal species have

.. been found by Dr. Hayden to straggle to the Black Hills,

.. Such as Pinus Banksiana, Abies nigra (and alba?). Though

THE SYLVA OF MONTANA. 417

Idid not find them I have no doubt of their identity, hav-

ing seen the specimens. It is somewhat singular that all

the fresh-water mollusca I found in the Misioni, above Fort

Benton, were distinct species from those obtained by Dr.

Hayden in the streams east of the mountains (except Unio

luteolus and Physa heterostropha), thus showing that the

limits of the region apply to animals as well as plants. The

rest were Tiu palustris, bulimoides and desidiosa, Sphe-

rium striatinum and Margaritana falcata Gld. Dr. Hayden

found thirty other species in Nebraska.

Kootenay region. — My observations last summer confirm

the-propriety of this division of the north-western province

(Caurine) , being defined towards the south essentially as I

marked its limits in the Smithsonian Report of 1858. It

consists, south of latitude 499, chiefly of the elevated basin

of Clark's Fork, with the mountains which surround or

traverse it, nearly all being more than 2000 feet above the

sea (about 4000 feet where we crossed the Bitterroot), and

from that ao up to perpetual snow at probably a level

of 10000 fee

Though, as ae by the accompanying notes, the western

rim of this basin presents many marked differences from the

portion east of the Bitterroot crossing, analogous to those

between the Coast and Cascade Ranges farther west, I can-

not now consider them distinct regions, but as united by the

common character of being almost completely wooded. This

character must also annex to it the lower country along

the Spokan and the Columbia above that tributary, most of

Which is, however, so mountainous as to reach as high as the

basin of Clark's Fork. The woodless portions of this region

Were small in extent along our route, being limited to the

Porous, dry tertiary and lluvia basins of Deer Lodge and

St. Mary's valley, with small tracts in the valleys connecting

, and brauching from them. The most extensive prairies are

of our route, towards the heads of these valleys, with

^ connected valley toward the ies on Flathead river. So

; AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III.

418 THE SYLVA OF MONTANA.

generally are these prairies limited to the porous strata

of the later formations that I believe some tracts of high

prairie on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains indi-

cate the presence either of tertiary or deep beds of drift,

which latter cover the prairie summit of Mullan’s Pass. It

must be remembered, however, that this relation to different

strata is the only one depending on their porosity, and that

where rains are more abundant this ceases to prevent the

growth of trees. Strata resembling the Cretaceous of Ne-

braska in density are on the west side thickly wooded, so

that there is no indication of their nature from the absence

of trees. The impervious rocks and thin soil of the Cœur

d'Aleüe Range evidently assist the more rainy climate in

producing a moisture fitted for the peculiar group of trees

characterizing it, and there is a more marked difference in

its opposite slopes than in those of the Rocky Mountains,

more striking, however, on account of the greater number 0

species of trees found there. The contrast is most impor-

tant between the west slope of the western rim and the east

slope of the eastern. .

Many facts show that the trees are more dependent on à

certain supply of water than on temperature, as will be -—

by comparing the profile of the route with the distribution

of the species. Thus on the Rocky Mountains Pinus con-

toria grows only between 5000 and 6000 (or more) feet of

elevation, un altitude just sufficient to catch the moisture

passing over the general summits of the Cour d'Alene

Mountains, in which the pass we went through is 5100 feet

high. It reappears at the east base of the latter range, pe

cause of the impervious rock there, and the increased mots-

ture deposited on that rim. The various relations of other

trees to the influence of moisture are shown briefly by the

following facts of their distribution and growth :

. Cerasus Virginiana?, Amelanchier alnifolia, P opulus

. angustifolia and Pinus ponderosa are distributed entirely

across, but are most highly developed along the Blackfoot

THE SYLVA OF MONTANA. 419

and Hell Gate valleys, forming the lower half of the east

side of the basin, where there is, probably, a s pajdersiely dry

and warm summer.

Acer glabrum (and var. tripartitum), Betula occidentalis,

Alnus rubra? Abies Douglassii and Crategus rivularis grow

throughout but thrive most at the west base of the Coeur

Alene Mountains, where there is much more rain and hot-

ter summers (being 2000 feet lower in elevation).

Populus balsamifera and Pinus contorta are almost equally

wide-spread ; they are probably finest on the east slope of the

Cour d’Aleiie Range, where there is a comparatively rainy

and cold climate which also favors the variety of Abies

grandis, called amabilis.

opulus tremuloides and Juniperus Virginiana are so

scantily distributed that no part of the mountains seems to

suit them well, though found at intervals in gravelly soil

where there is not much shade.

Larix occidentalis is mostly limited to the western rim,

and is finest on its western slope.

Cornus pubescens and Thuja gigantea merely struggle up

the Bitterroot river to the crossing, but are finely developed

at the west base of the western rim with Acer glabrum, etc.

Pinus monticola is very scarce on the eastern rim and

Slope; it is a magnificent and abundant tree on the western,

and finest near its summit.

Frangula Purshiana, Pyrus fraxinifolia? and Abies

grandis are found over the whole western rim, but are

chiefly developed on its western slope and base.

bies Menziesii is limited to its higher parts above 4000

feet elevation. A. Williamsonii to vei above 4500 feet.

Abies Mertensiana and Taxus brevifolia just straggle to

its eastern slope, but are large and numerous on the western

between 2000 and 4500 feet elevation.

Finally, Crategus sanguinea and Cerasus mollis are con-

fined to the lowest and warmest portions.

Thus while nearly all are found on the western rim, and

420 THE SYLVA OF MONTANA.

most of them grow largest on its western slope, only half

of them reached the eastern rim along our route, and sev-

eral of these were merely stragglers. ‘This accords with the

general rule that the most trees, both in number and species,

grow where the most heat and moisture are combined. The

forests of the western rim are far denser than those of the

eastern, though the soil cannot be considered generally go

good on aecount of the kinds of rocks from which it is dis-

integrated.

An exactly parallel case is presented by the Cascade and

Coast Ranges, as described in the Natural History of Wash-

ington Territory (Pacific R. R. Reports), but there the spe-

cies, though mostly the same, are somewhat differently ar-

ranged to correspond with differences in climate, consequent

on the much lower elevation of those ranges and their near-

ness to the ocean. Yet we there find Pinus contorta, Thuja

gigantea, Abies Menziesii, A. Mertensiana and Taxus brevi-

Jolia among the prevailing species at the level of the ocean,

while here they do not oceur lower than 2000 feet above it,

showing that they require moisture rather than coolness of

climate, for at the coast the rains are heavier while the mean

temperature is far more mild than here. But Pinus pon-

derosa, Acer glabrum, Betula occidentalis, Crategus rivula-

ris, Larix occidentalis, Pinus monticola, Pyrus fraxinifolia

and Abies Williamsonii, here characteristic trees, scarcely,

if at all, cross the Cascade Range, while Abies Douglassii,

and several peculiar species not found here, replace them

between that and the Coast Range. ;

It is therefore much safer to- assume a similarity in the

moisture of the climate and soil of two regions thus widely

separated, from comparison of their forests, than similarity

in temperature. Iam here comparing portions of two re-

gions included between the same degrees of latitude, but

according to another rule dependent on the climate of the

| western regions, all the above species of Rocky Mountain

trees are found, or probably will be found to reach the ¢

THE SYLVA OF MONTANA. 421

either north or south of these parallels, wherever they find

the proper amount of rain and heat as combined in these

mountains.

Shoshonee region.—The Great Columbia Plains show their

peculiar features in prairies extending through the valleys

on the route north to Fort Colville, which are, however, so

small in extent compared with the forests, as not to be sepa-

rable from the Kootenay region. Just north of the Spokan

are the first extensive plains on the uplands, and to the

south these become rapidly spread to the entire exclusion of

forest, so that for days together not a tree is seen except

shrubby willows on the banks of streams. Even the Blue

Mountains show but a narrow strip of timber just along

their summits in latitude 469, which is said to disappear

farther south, though the upper waters of the rivers flowing

from them are pretty well wooded with deciduous trees.

The only new ones that occur, and these only as stragglers

from the south, are Rhus glabra?, Celtis reticulata and, per-

haps, Crategus sanguinea?, if more than a variety of C.

rivularis. On the Walla Walla river are also found Populus

angustifolia, P. monilifera, Alnus rubra? and Betula occi-

dentalis. Some of the willows are, probably, also distinct

from those of the mountains, but being undeterminable from

leaves alone, I have omitted them throughout these remarks.

(See notes on the trees observed, p. 405.)

A brief comparison of this with the plains of regions east

of the Rocky Mountains, will show how little connection

exists between soils or rocks and the growth of trees, how

much depends on a proper amount of moisture.

[ The entire plain is underlaid by basalt, covered thinly

_ With a fine dusty soil, which I believe to have been also vol-

canic in origin, having been poured out with lava in the

form of mud. In parts this has been blown into high

ridges, while in others it is washed entirely away, leaving

le bare rock at the surface. This makes no difference

however in regard to the trees, and little to other vegeta-

422 THE GOLDEN-WINGED WOODPECKER.

tion. This soil, on some ridges north of the Spokan where

there is not much rain, is the richest I saw on the whole

route, and produces fine crops near Antoine Plant’s prairie.

To the south it is covered with grass, etc., and where natu-

rally irrigated by streams, other plants grow luxuriantly.

There is then nothing unfavorable to trees in the soil, and

indeed, west of the Caseade Range, almost the whole coun-

try is basaltic and covered with dense forests. We must

look therefore to dryness as the cause of their absence, and

so far the observations of the Medical Department, U. S. A.,

at Fort Walla Walla, Dalles, and Sincoe, show a remarkably

small amount of moisture. For particulars, however, I must

refer to the “Report on Statistics,” etc., of Surgeon General

Lawson, for 1860, prepared by Dr. Richard H. Coolidge,

U. S. Army.

THE GOLDEN-WINGED WOODPECKER.

BY AUGUSTUS FOWLER.

Tus is an exceedingly valuable bird, especially if it re-

sides near lands of a light or sandy soil. Its food is almost

wholly eomposed of insects, of which ants form the princi-

pal living of the young fledged birds. These insect pests

form themselves into colonies, and excavate, a little below

the surface of the soil, one or more chambers, with galleries

leading to them, bringing the soil from around the roots of

the grass, leaving them to a free circulation of air, that soon

causes them to wither. The Woodpecker sits by the mounds

of dirt thrown out by the insects, and as one appears creep-

ing from his den the bird draws him into hís mouth with his

: tongue, and swallowing him, continues to do so until he has

destroyed the whole republic. I have examined the birds

te at such times and have found their stomachs distended to

their fullest extent; indeed it seemed as if they could not

THE GOLDEN-WINGED WOODPECKER. 423

contain one more insect, and yet, when taken, they were

still in the act of devouring them.

The sagacity of these birds is wonderful in determining

the locality of an insect that is concealed in the branches of

trees, or in the solid trunk of a sapling. Instances daily

occur of the benefits of the Woodpecker in extracting the

borer from trees, and so nicely does he determine their exact

locality that his first effort to secure his prize is successful.

The bird alights on the trunk of the tree; the fact that a

borer is gnawing at its heart is evident to him, and he hops

around and down the tree, giving it a few taps with his bill,

then slowly ascending and continuing the strokes lightly,

when suddenly he stops and strikes a few successive strokes

in the same place. He stops longer at that spot than at any

other; he moves up the tree and taps there, but. descends

immediately to his last position. He has determined by the

sound the locality of the worm and prepares to take him

out. Fixing himself firmly on the side of the tree he throws

his head back, and with a powerful stroke drives his chisel-

pointed bill quite through the bark and into the solid wood

of the tree. Stroke succeeds stroke in earnest repetition

until he strikes upon his victim, and then thrusting his long

barbed tongue into his body draws him out and devours

im.

The Golden-winged Woodpeckers are, in some instances,

permanent residents in New England; the larger part of

them, however, migrate South, and return from the middle to

the last of March. After having returned and selected their

Mates they soon begin to look up a place for a residence.

The tree being selected they begin excavating it by digging a

round hole, about two inches and a half in diameter, for the

entrance, and continuing it the same size for one or two

Inches, then immediately widen it to about seven and a half

or eight inches in diameter, and extend it about the same

6 ‘ize to a depth of from eighteen to twenty inches, when it is

finished. The chips they make in excavating it, except a

424 THE GOLDEN-WINGED WOODPECKER.

few of the finest, are mostly thrown out of the entrance on

the ground, which reveals their nesting place.

In the few chips remaining in the hole the female makes

a slight hollow, and lays from six to eight semi-transparent

and highly polished white eggs. They measure lj of an

inch in length, by % of an inch in breadth. While incuba-

tion is going on, the male, when he relieves the female from

setting, flies to the tree and alights near the entrance, and

emits ‘the notes resembling in sound the syllables “flicker,

flicker,” and peeps around the tree at the entrance to see

when the female leaves. On hearing him she quits the nest,

when he immediately takes charge of the eggs until she re-

turns. When the young are large enough they leave the

cavity and creep to the top of the tree, locating themselves

on different parts of it, and are fed by the old birds until

they can fly quite well, when they are taken to the fields and

pastures or woodlands, where they soon learn to provide for

themselves. Although the usual number of eggs laid by

these birds for a brio are from six to eight, yet they will

sometimes lay a hundred, when they are tiken "ix the nest

as often as they are laid, leaving: one for a nest egg. Trials

have been made of the number of eggs they d hatch at

one setting. A dozen of eggs were taken from the nest of

one, and then the bird was gc to lay the usual quota

for a brood ; then to these the number that were taken were

added, and the bird commenced setting. In due time these

eggs were hatched, and when the young birds were old

enough to creep about the tree, it literally swarmed with |

young woodpeckers.

se birds suffer exceedingly from the depredations of

the Mottled Owl. I seldom find the breeding-place of this

owl without finding the wing-feathers of the woodpecker

scattered about it in greater quantities than those of any

- other birds. They often alight upon the ground, and perch

on a limb of a tree, a thing id other species |

eckers are not accustomed to do. The Downy

THE GOLDEN-WINGED WOODPECKER. 425

Woodpecker (Picus pubescens) is a no less interesting bird

than the Golden-winged Woodpecker (Colaptes auratus).

They are equally beneficial and much more familiar. They

breed in the orchard and in the trees about our dwellings

with as much confidence as in the forest, and visit us in all

seasons of the year, and are especially welcome in winter.

This bird receives the opprobrious name of "sap-sucker," a

reproach which none casts upon him but the ignorant, who

condemn him as mischievous without investigation, and then

wickedly execute their judgment without mercy. In the

latter part of September, and in all the months of October

and November, this bird enters the orchard and selects those

trees which have the smoothest bark and are the healthiest,

and begins to pick small holes about one-quarter of an inch

in diameter, quite through the bark, and from half an inch

to an inch apart, in parallel lines around the trunk of the

tree, which circles of holes are from one to two inches

above each other. These lines of holes are extended up the

whole length of the trunk of the tree, and sometimes around

the larger limbs diverging from it.

It is well known that some of the insects injurious to fruit

trees deposit their eggs in the latter part of summer and in

the autumn, laying them under the bark and in crevices

about the tree, in fact in any secret place they find. As they

ascend the tree, perforated by the woodpecker, they are not

at a loss to find a suitable place for their purpose. If they

pass the first, second, or third tier of holes, there are others

above them as well adapted to their wants, and in them they

may deposit their eggs, and cover them with a covering in-

destructible by the weather. Others find in them a retreat

from daylight and from storms, and in them some other

‘sects lie dormant, shrouded in their silken cocoons. In

this we see the wisdom of the Creator who supplies the

Wants of all his creatures. He teaches the ant, the squirrel,

and the bee, to hoard and gather for themselves a sufficiency

of food for winter; but to the Downy Woodpecker he has

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 54

, 426 THE GOLDEN-WINGED WOODPECKER.

given quite a different instinct. He has taught it to be a

hunter, and has taught it also to know the habits of its

game, and when, and where, and how to set its traps. How

often do we see in winter and early spring, the Downy

Woodpecker followed by a troop of Chickadees, visiting

every tree in the garden, especially those that have been

perforated by itself, searching every hole and crevice for

insects and their eggs. It shows no disposition to quarrel

with its company, but rather seems to take pleasure in

directing their course through the forest and orchard by the

notes of its shrill clarion voice. It admits the Nuthatch

and Brown Creeper to its society, who join it with the

full assurance of its friendship, and they roam with it in

storm and in sunshine over a vast territory, destroying in

their eourse millions of vermin in the embryo state. The

insect-eating birds that visit us in the spring and stop a few

months, retiring in autumn, are very beneficial to the horti-

eulturist, but their services are not to be compared to those

of the resident birds which feed upon insects in every stage

of their life.

The Downy Woodpecker perforates decayed trees, or their

branches, for their nesting places. When they select a hori-

zontal branch, as they often do, they make a cavity in the

limb to the extent of from ten to fifteen inches, towards the

trunk of the tree, having the entrance leading to it on the un-

derside of the branch; in such cases their nests are difficult

to find. When they select an upright branch, or the trunk

of a tree, it is dug out to the depth of from eight to twelve

inches, and in the bottom of the hole, on the chips left for

the purpose, the female deposits four or six pure white eggs,

which measure in ama six-eighths of an inch, and in breadth

five-eighths of

To show ean diligent and persevering birds they are, I

will state a fact. A pair of Downy Woodpeckers selected

a branch of a chestnut tree, which was broken off about

four feet from the trunk of it,and about ten feet from the

TOP ERE

NATURAL CARVINGS. 427

ground. In it the birds had determined to make their

home and began their operations. It was a piece of wood

dried and thoroughly seasoned, without the least sign of de-

cay. In the first day's labor, which was chiefly done by the

male, they succeeded in penetrating the limb about one and

one-half inches. The hole was conical in shape, the outer

circle being finished or made large enough to admit the

birds; then it gradually tapered to the smallest point. The

second day they commenced to beat out the hole of suffi-

cient size and depth, which was slowly executed, as hardly

a particle of wood could be seen to fly off before their bills ;

yet they persevered, and in eleven days they succeeded in

completing it, by digging four inches below the aperture.

Although it cost the birds much time to procure this tene-

ment they had the satisfaction of knowing it was a good

one. There was no smell of rotten wood about it, but was

clean, dry, and smoothly finished. In this nest were reared

five young woodpeckers. The male was mostly seen about

the premises, and I think he did the most labor in preparing

their abode. When the young appeared he was also dili-

gent in procuring their food.

_ In winter the Downy Woodpecker sometimes digs a hole

mM some rotten tree for a retreat in stormy weather, and to

roost in,

NATURAL CARVINGS.

BY PROF. A. M. EDWARDS.

Many of our readers have doubtless often admired and

Wondered at the exquisite carved ivory work sent forth

by 3 that Strange, industrious, and ingenious people, the

Chinese, No examples of their manipulative skill have

attracted more attention, perhaps, than those balls within

balls, each one more elaborately decorated than the other,

498 NATURAL CARVINGS.

which, at one time, were by no means common out of

China, and, therefore, brought very high prices. Of late

years, however, the natural result of such a demand has

been a plentiful supply, so that what were once rarities

are now rather eommon ornaments in many houses. And

although travellers in those foreign parts have come back

and endeavored to dispel the mystery that has ever hung

around these strange examples of a strange people, by tell-

ing us that they are not made from one piece of solid ivory,

but carved separately and then moulded one over the other,

yet they still remain objects of great interest and beauty.

What will the admiring collector say, however, when we

tell him that there exist objects almost the counterpart of

these Chinese ivory balls, the substance of which is glass-

like, consisting of pure silica, or the same material as rock-

crystal, but which are thus formed and fashioned by animals?

And shall we increase his wouder by informing him that the

beauty of these objects is very materially heightened by the

fact that they are of minute dimensions, so small in fact,

that they can only just be seen by the unaided eye, but

when examined by sufficiently powerful magnifying glasses,

exhibit a much greater variety of contour and sculpture

than even the most fantastically formed oriental handiwork !

These are known to scientific observers as Polycistinee, and

it is our intention to say a few words respecting these ob-

jects, concerning whose life-history, it is true, very little is

known, but which form beautiful subjects for examination

by means of the microscope.

In Plate 7 are represented a few of the many varied

forms presented by the Polycistinese, and what is with cer-

tainty known concerning them, we give as follows. First,

however, so as to make the subject readily understood, we

must say something with regard to two other classes of very

simple animals, which, in the modern system of classifica-

tion, are placed first in the list. These are the Gregarinida

NATURAL CARVINGS. 429

The Gregarinida, so called from a Greek word meaning

a flock, on account of the mode of congregating together

which these creatures possess, "are among the simplest

forms of animal life of which we have any knowledge.

They are the inhabitants of the bodies of other and larger

creatures, and are commonly to be found in abundance in

the alimentary canal of the common cockroach, and in earth-

worms. They are all microscopic, and any one of them,

leaving minor modifications aside, may be said to consist of

à sac, composed of a more or less structureless, not very

well-defined, membrane, containing a soft semi-fluid sub-

stance, in the middle, or at one end, of which lies a delicate

vesicle; in the centre of the latter is a more solid particle."

This is the whole of the anatomy of these creatures, no

mouth nor organs of any kind being apparent, so that they

are placed at the point where it may be said that animal life

awns,

Next to the Gregarinida, in the scale of being, stand the

Rhizopoda. “It seems difficult to imagine a state of organi-

zation lower than that of the Gregarinida, and yet many of

the Rhizopoda are still simpler. Nor is there any group

of the animal kingdom which more admirably illustrates a

very well founded doctrine, and one which was often advo-

cated by John Hunter, that life is the cause and not the

consequence of organization; for, in these lowest forms of

animal life, there is absolutely nothing worthy of the name

of organization to be discovered by the microscopist, though

assisted by the beautiful instruments that are now con-

tucted. In the substance of many of these creatures,

hothing is to be discerned but a mass of jelly, which might

be represented by a little particle of thin glue. Not that it

Corresponds with the latter in composition, but it has that

texture and sort of aspect; it is structureless and organless,

nd without definitely formed parts. Nevertheless it pos-

Sesses all the essential properties and characters of vitality ;

it is produced from a body like itself; it is capable of assim-

430 NATURAL CARVINGS.

ilating nourishment, and of exerting movements. Nay,

more, it can produce a shell; a structure, in many cases,

of extraordinary complexity and most singular beauty.”

With the Rhizopoda, however, we have not to do at present ;

at some future time we shall take the opportunity of pre-

senting our readers with some figures illustrating the grace

exhibited in some of their hard tissues, or skeletons, as we

may rightly term them.

Our Polycistinez belong to a class of animals very nearly

allied to those we have just been speaking of, and named by

naturalists Radiolaria. This name has been given to them

on account of the radiating arrangement of their parts,

such parts being grouped, generally, around a common cen-

tre. These simple forms of life consist of microscopic

masses of the semigelatinous substance we have already

spoken of, and which is known as sarcode, meaning matter,

as it were, on the way to become flesh, or protoplasm, from

words designating the first form of matter. This term, how-

ever, is more commonly applied to the primitive tissue of

the embryo or egg, out of which all subsequent organs are

formed by a peculiar process, termed differentiation. From

this mass of sarcode, constituting the whole mass of the

animal proper of the Radiolarian organism, are protruded

filaments, which are often extremely long and slender, and

have been named pseudopodia, from two words meaning

false feet; for these projections act as feet to the creature

which throws them out, serving not only as organs of propul-

sion but to secure its prey and convey its food into the posi-

tion for assimilation, and the building up of new tissues.

This sarcode is such a peculiar kind of substance that the

pseudopodia, as they are thrown out, may remain single or

unite so as to form reticulations, or even coalesce into one

mass around any particle of nutrient matter which they come

in contact with. Scattered throughout it, generally, are

to be found numerous yellow corpuscles, which multiply by

fission, as it is called, or division, and to these parts a skele-

NATURAL CARVINGS. 431

ton may be added, consisting merely of fine pin-like masses,

orspieula, and these may be loose or united into a solid

shell of great beauty of form and sculpture, as our Plate

shows, or the skeleton is an assemblage of stout rods meet-

ing in the middle of the creature, where a sac is found, and

pointing in all directions. Here we see the applicability of

the name given to the class of Radiolaria. No reproduction,

by means of a true sexual process, has been as yet observed

in any Radiolarian, and therefore here is opened a very

promising and attractive field of research for the naturalist.

For the most that is known of the Polycistines, in their

living condition, we are indebted to Prof. Müller, a cele-

rated German naturalist; but their remains, or shells,

which are preserved in certain rocks in different parts of

the world have been investigated and figured by the great

microscopist of Berlin, Ehrenberg. He first discovered them

in the mud brought up from the bed of the river Elbe, at

Cuxhaven, and afterwards he found them in similar collec-

tions made in the antarctic seas. Prof. Bailey, one of the.

first and most enthusiastic American naturalists, also ob-

served them, accompanied by other organisms, both animal

and vegetable, in soundings, brought up by the lead from

the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, at depths of from 1000

to 2000 fathoms. So, also, the sea-bottom which has been

Procured from the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Florida,

in some quantity, by means of a peculiar apparatus specially

Constructed for the purpose, is seen to be extremely rich in

Some of the more exquisite forms of these glassy shells. The

Microscope has thus revealed the existence of an universe

of life at the bottom of the ocean. Of course the soundings

Made previous to the laying of the Atlantic Telegraph cable

tol the same story ; here, as elsewhere, the sea-bed is over-

aid with a carpet of the silicious remains of these beauteous

atoms. During some past geological periods, however, it

Would seem that the Polycistine existed in much greater

humbers than at the present time, for certain strata of con-

432 REVIEWS.

siderable thickness are found, on examination, to be made

up almost entirely of thcir silicious skeletons. Thus in the

chalks and marls of Sicily and Greece, Ehrenberg detected

vast numbers of forms ; and at Oran, in the north of Africa,

is an extensive stratum made up of the remains of Polyeis-

tinez and similar organisms, both animal and vegetable.

The famous infusorial strata of the States of Virginia and

Maryland on our Atlantic coast, and of California on the

Pacifie, have, mixed with the minute plants known as Diato-

mace, many very fine species of Polycistinez, as well as the

remains of sponges. The most remarkable deposit, how-

ever, of this character is that which makes up the greater

part of the island of Barbadoes. This rock is, in many

places, almost entirely formed of these glassy shells. The

materials which led to this discovery, in the year 1846, were

furnished by the geological researches of Sir. R. H. Schom-

burgh, henee one of the most beautiful species has been

nested after him.

The variety of form wid outline which the Polycistinee

assume is very great, and always of great beauty and grace,

While their minute dimensions make them, if possible, still

greater sources of admiration to the student of nature who

thus finding strata of rocks, of considerable thickness, made

up of their delicate remains feels the truth of the words of

the poet, when he says.—

i * The dust we walk upon was once alive.?

REVIEWS.

THE METAMORPHOSIS OF CnaBs.*— That insects undergo a metamor-

phosis was known by the ancients; the discovery that crabs and worms

undergo a true metamorphosis, scarcely less striking than that of insects,

is not more than thirty years old. The Nauplius form, here figured,

Was known to naturalists in the days of O. F. Müller (who wrote à

*Fur Darwin. Von Fritz Maller. With ven woodents, Leipzig, 1864. 8vo, pp. 9l.

sixty-se

Also recently translated translated and published in London by Van Voorst.

OKIE Q

S Ai SO

à iV

punte)

KN:

REVIEWS. 433

erly k on Crustacea in 1785) and was known to be the young of the little

Cyclops and Cypris, which swim in fresh water and tidal pools; and the

strange Zoéa was made known in 1802 by Bosc, who described it as an

Entomostracan under the name of Zoe pelagica. That, however, the Zoé:

ea ae _— was shown by J. V. Thompson, in 1836, and that

E our e. a the shrimp began with a Nauplius "e is a Eat more

y, and so remarkable in its bearings on t

Fig. 72. the Crustacea, and the ilosophi E

of the Crustacea generally, that à expl

nation of how crabs and shrimps £ grow

may be welcome to our re aders.

summary of the facts here eee we

are especially indebted to Fritz Miiller’s

* Für Dar win,” a book called forth by

Darwin’s Origin of Species, and w ritten

by a strong and able advocate of develop-

mental views, and which has just been

abo

sci in a small fresh water aquarium, when they closely resemble young

venu Indeed the spiders (Arachnida) seem in the young of their de-

: forms to mimic > wonderfutty the young et vade Crustacea, so that

he two forms

à Ls significant fact

at these two great

pac seem to run into

^ young Milak and the

ler à young shrim

racing tl

1eir life histor

farther :

forms t

raci

y hind the relationship of the one to the crabs, and of the other

€ spiders, that we realize that the two worlds seem to touch

AME

R. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 55

434 REVIEWS.

at only a single spot, and that even then the contact is not real. In

fact the Nauplius is a larva, and as the insect world seems to touch =

the worm world when a caterpillar or dipterous larva i us, so the

Fic. 7. larva of nd mite and the larva

ig. 7

of the crab assume a common

form, though potentially

divergent. Itis only a parti: il

view that would unite the

form or their larv stages,

f nong insects we do ks

know the Stylops alone by the

Sac-like female scarcely more

highly organized, so far as ex-

ternals go, than the Pelto-

gaster, but consider also the

active, highly organized, male

Stylops, a being so widely di-

vergent in external form from

its mate, and though the dif-

ference is only sexual in its nà-

ture, yet reaching almost as

far as the difference between

classes in the animal kingdom.

Fig. 72 Fig. 75.

ters; the mouth-parts are dimi to the legs in

form. The yolk mass (y) lies on the back of the

animal; h is the head, and m the mouth-parts.

WO porti e

Bio bristles; and the d. ve the iiri is square,

with two bristles s.

r moulting this skin the animal acquires a pair of jaws and the

fore and middle pair of foot- jaws; the body is much larger and the front

Part is greatly enlarged and protected by the shield-like head-thorax.

Which is now distinct and rounded in form. As the number of feet have

PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 435

e more numerous, they are smaller than before, and the anatomy

of the internal organs is more complex. At the end of the body, now

much elongated, is a pair of short feet, ending in several bristles. This

is the Zo&a stage (Fig. 74, enlarged forty-five diameters) and corresponds

to the Zoéa of the Crab, Carcinas manas (Fig. 15; a, natural size), dis-

covered by Thompson.

THE CaNADrAN ENTOMOLOGIST completed its first volume in July. The

Editor, Rev. C. J. S. Bethune, Credit, Canada, announces that the publi-

cation will be continued and the number of pages of each number be

increased from eight to at least twelve, and, if sufficiently encouraged, to

sixteen, while the annual subscription will be increased from 50 cents

to $1.00. We hope this journal will be sustained, for it is a credit to

Canadian entomology. ;

AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. — The August number, which comes to

Us in an attractive cover, is the last of Vol. i. The Editors announce that

hereafter each number will consist of thirty-two pages instead of twenty-

four, and the annual subscription has been raised from $1.00 to $2.00.

The present number abounds with illustrations, while the paper is im-

Proved in quality. The magazine cannot fail to satisfy those who wish

for information regarding our noxious and beneficial insects.

PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.

vem í

An ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE.— The

Eighteenth Annual Meeting of the Association was held August 18-25, at

em, Mass. From the great number of papers presented, their high

Scientific character, and the large number of members present, the meet-

ing was judged by many to have been, both in a scientific and social point

t Massachusetts Bay given by the city of Salem.

in the formation of two new subsections

I which

microscopists, and as the stand-

436 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES,

of England, France or Germany, we hope this section will continue to

flourish and increase in influence and importance, and stimulate our manu-

facturers of microscopes, and observers, to still greater perfection in the

construction and use of this instrument. S a Natural History journal

we are not called upon to report the doings of Section A, Mathematics,

Physics and Chemistry, but we should say that its meetings were this

year especially interesting from the numerous papers on the recent eclipse

which were presented

The American Association dates its origin as far back as 1840, when

some eighteen gentlemen, connected with the geological surveys then in

progress, met in the hall of the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, and or-

ganized an association under the name of “The Association of American

Geologists.” At the meeting held'in 1842 the name was changed so as

to read “‘The Association of American Geologists and Naturalists,” and

in 1847 its sphere was enlarged and its present name adopted; thus em-

bracing every department of science.

The meetings were suspended during the years 1861-65, but since the

value of these annual reunions cannot be too highly estimat

An important change in the Constitution was pro meg which, if

adópted at the next meeting, will greatly facilitate business, and will

place all the Sections on an equal footing. The change proposed is as

follows: Rule V to read —

“The Association shall be divided into two sections, A and B. Section A to be

divided into the following subsections: 1, Mathematics and Astronomy; 2, Physics

and istry; 3, Microscopy. Section B into the e followmg: 1, Geology and Palzon-

Lee id ` Brod and Botany; 3, Archeology and Ethnology. The two sections may

It was voted that the next meeting be held at Troy, N. Y., on the first

Wednesday in August.

Officers present at the Meeting: J. W. Foster, President; F. W.

Putnam, Acting Permanent Secretary; O. C. MARSH, Ewan Secretary ;

J. W. Foster, F. W. PUTNAM AM, O. C. MansH, B Gourp, LOUIS

A OSEP TERR

Hunt, J. S. NEWBERRY, ALEXIS CaswELL, W. C. Kerr, Standing Com-

(Messrs. Roop, Lovertne, ELWYN, ROCKWELL and WHITTLESEY

_ Section B. (Natural History) — Prof. L. Acassiz, Chairman; Prof. T.

Srerry Hunt and Rev. G. A. LEAKIN, Secretaries. Subsection C. Gol

end 1 . ARN oLD GUY

PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 431

PAPERS READ IN SECTION B.— NATURAL HISTORY.

On two New Genera of Extinct Oatepes. T E.D Ce .

On the Early Stages of Brachiopo

On the Discovery of e Ammonoosne Goid F field, "Be Henry Wurtz.

Ammonoosuc Gold Field in New Ham ermont. By C. H. Hitcheock.

The Gems of me United States. By A. y Prem Fang

On the Laws which Govern the ERAI of Sexes in Plants. By Thomas sg

atus a Remarkabi le Locality of Vertebrate Remains in the Tertiary of Nebras e

conta Phyllopod Crustacea. By A. E. Ferrill.

Note upon the Paleotrochis. B Wurte.

Mae Homologies of the Palzchinidz BY. E. a E. R. Agassiz.

marks on Trichina spiralis. er Edwards.

On the Plumage of T E UM ex te by Mp GRACE ANNA LEWIS.

ter

On Nori Roc Hur

On the Grala and 7ean one of 4 part of the co const of Maine. By John Johnston.

On th ure of Glands in Acacia and Cass sia. By Thomas Mechan.

On the Valley of the joe mazon. By

Distribution of Coal, Iron and the Precious Metals in China. By A. S. Bickmore.

On Embryonic M: d in American Salamanders. B T D. Cope:

On the Metamorphosis of Siredon into ‘neon stoma, By O. C. Mars

American Phyllopod Crustacea. By A. E. Verrill.

On the Nonfossiliferous Rocks of New En gland; By N. T. True.

otes on the Geo ogy of Hoboken. By J enry Wurtz.

Studies of the Red Sandstones of New Jersey. By Henry

Wurtz. — TR

Compression as an spoit in G golg gioal Metamorphisss with illustrations of distorted

es. B

bb P Roc By W. P. Blake.

Hints on the Stratigra graphy of the Palmosoic eke of Vermont. By J.

B. Perry.

ew Mosasauroid Reptiles from the Greensand of New Jers gs By O. e. omg

Results of a late (Pro aer pa p ken rp eana of Louisiana. E. W. Hilgar

On the Geology of Venezuela. By R. P. n

bservatio Mon onaN us of erm V iare .

ntain Alpine :

Surface (5 anite in Mb" since ‘the s close, of the Hen TER Period. By N. T. True.

io T Geology of North-eastern d oed ona

nt Erosions in the BE “Lawrence alley: Br erry Hunt.

i t

and E boi n and Idaho. J. S. Newberry.

ron the Trend d of d the Frestewater Te fut no: i latitude 60^, and its Influence on

4unal Distribution. By Wm.

Relations of of the Geology of Ohio to that of the adjoining Bee. By J. S. Newberry.

Ph ib ws s of Fishes obtained by Prof. Orton in the valleys of the Maranon

apo. “The odore

The Homolà jgies ax and General Struct ner relations of t the Big see gre By A. Hyatt.

: i

Qu the Oretaceous Ase of Sinner ied in Rer adi By a P. Kimball.

N — of some new Tertiary a nd € a nenas Fi parar C

On the Age an Rel spen € New Brunswick and Maine.

By Georg,

On the Raritan cone “of New Jerse MW. a Br

On some points in tie í Geotogy of r BEd ooi t C. Kerr.

peseription. of a arin Species of e d rescott.

: e Formation

gotice arisan : sails fro from Table uta d dmm dn d ue Coasts of the Isthmus

of Darien I as be eo —-— Iu memes a e cometen 1 een the two Oceans. By

T. Gill.

ten stematie Re f the Lamarckian Pterocere. By Theodore we

< Miren: Distribution of Marine Life on the Sea-bottom

eter By A. E. Ferrill.

and Chemung ary Qu of the Lamellibranchiates of the Upper Helderberg, m

on ome Stuntz. Recent nt eotogteal Cha Changes in North-eastern Wisconsin. Communicated b;

Brazili. &

3 it Pan Bh rt Harat Dawson. By J. S. Newberry.

thel ts from Gaspè. Discovered by J. W. pu By

MS Fossil Iron eu Pol Ivania. "e imball !

yh ification of the Diurnal Lepi — EE ies BY, By SU

seat ee the Ab —O uS cem tterfi Scudder.

i of the Eggs of Butterflies. ir i pone:

438 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.

SUBSECTION C.— ARCHEOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY.

Indian Migrations. In Four Sections. Sec. 1, Physical Geography of North America,

with reference to Natural hag Mi and Means of pice cil e ib

its Areas. Sec.2, Agricultural Su ene and the Charac Prae

Agriculture. Sec. 3, lareiona of Roving and retra Village f end br uced

from languages, traditions, and known migrations. Ds an 4, Migration of Village In

or:

The Constitution of Man as modified b ‘Light, Heat kad Cold. By Clinton Roosevelt.

On the Botocudos of Brazil. By Ch. Fred. Hartt.

Observations on the Languages of South America, and the Classification of the In-

dian Nations thereof. By Porter C. Blis

On the boring ip n

e e vag eng trat re by specimens —— by R. W.

Haskins, from Indian Graves on the banks o f the Ohio. By F.

A ee Explanation of the uses of the Embankments of the he Most Builders.

P Evidences. of high antiquity in the Kjækkenmædden Deposits of New UH. By

Ont the gga TA of the native Tribes of Alaska, and the adjacent Territory. By

SUBSECTION D.— MICROSCOPY.

On " e of Microscopic Test Objects. By A. M. Edwards.

Som an ** Opaque Illuminator,” a to an Immersion Objective, and

— Punerdeon! Objective of Long Focal Dis tance. ickne:

me Remarks on the Infusorial Deposits of Nort M. Edwards.

Rote on a Pha - yi " Reproduction of a inm Domen Aliza p om io the

genus CEdogonium. By A. M. Edwards.

Mr. THOMAS MEEHAN read a paper “On the Laws which govern the

production of sexes in Plants." Ata previous meeting he showed that

extra vigor or vitality was accompanied by a greater cohesion or adna-

tion of the leaves of conifere with tue stems. Similar laws, it seemed

probable, governed the production of the sexes in plants. The female

flowers of Norway spruces were always on the most vigorous branches;

uction the whole spur dies. The long, dead, warty strings

on Larch shoots are what have been male flowers. The same law can be

traced more or less through all Conifere. us $ e same law, only

in another — prevails. In others, male

flowers a the opening rong of dy Rand formed during

expiring eina force the : the e only after growth

Corylus, Carpinus, and allies, the male flowers were also on the weakest

parts. There were in some plants several waves of growth in the most

P pex by:

PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 439

vigorous shoots; for instance Pinus inops, P. pungens, P. mitis, P. rigida,

and some oaks. In these cases the first wave was the most vigorous, the

last the weakest, but the female flowers are not on the apex of the shoot,

b he apex of the most vigorous wave. The Cyp eraen afforded simi-

lar illustrations. Vigor is only one form of high vitality. Power o

endurance is another. The Norway spruces, and ae species gener-

ally which were the hardiest individually, or in comparison with other

species, had greater powers to produce female flowers. Not so easily seen,

ut yet evident was the law in hermaphrodites as in moneecious plants.

In many hermaphrodites there was known a tendency to become unisexual,

sometimes in the male, sometimes, in the female direction, A general

Viola, Fragaria, and other instances were given in favor of the latter

Was, not to establish the theory, but to excite investigation whether

it was not the highest types of vitality only which take on the femal pole

He concluded with the bare suggestion that the same laws might pre

in the animal world.

He also read a paper *On the Nature of the Leaf-glands in Cassia and

Acacia.” Dr. Asa Gray says in the fifth edition of the ** Manual" that

is true only of the upper leaves. In the lower the ME varies

ed bran

wing shoot. In another allied genus, Gymnocladus, two or three buds

are formed one above another, very few of which ever push at all, but

When this does take place, it is only the upper bud which forms a shoot.

The lower bud is generally about the centre of the dilated base of the

petiole. Thus we have a sitet of allied plants, with two or three buds

One above another, in some cases two inclined to push freely, although

One as a spine (as in Gli) the lower as the shoot; in another, as

in Gymno nocladus, ARARA pushi t all, and rather absorbed by the t

but when pushin g at all, the pie one, and on the other side of Gledi

chia, Cassia, Acacia, etc., with the lower bud absorbed by the petiole, d

- H. DALL read a paper “On the piron of the native tribes of

Alaska, and ils adjacent territory." After reviewing the works of Baer,

Wrangell and Holmberg, Mr. Dall Sut a new classification, the re-

Vision n being based on new ulm obtained during personal explo-

ration by himself and his com p

North American natives are dil into two great groups, In-

and, another for which there being no general term, he proposed

440 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.

e name Orarians (from ora, a coast), in reference to their universal

coastwise distribution.

ution.

rof. ALBERT S. BICKMORE read a paper ** On the Distribution of Coal,

Iron, Mercury, Tin, and the precious metals, in China. Prof. B. showed

that coal occurs from place to place over the whole of China proper, and

that iron is found in the north of China, especially in the Province of

Shansi, where the ore is obtained from which the steel used in the manu-

lamps more than 160 years ago. The Chinese name for it, ** Oil of Stone,”

is identical with ours.

ada, following the Merrimac river. It was at first referred to the Quebec

group, but he thought the rocks distinct. 'The gold was found in 1864 in .

the rocks, by Mr. Henry Wurtz, at Lima, N. H. The rock is a black clay

slate, with quartz veins containing iron pyrites, ankerite and galena

Dr c

The limit of upright tree growth is marked with a singular abruptness.

He explained this by supposing that the so called timber line marks the

extreme point of minimum winter temperature, below which no exposed

1 tha

habit of growth, a late period of flowering, and early seeding, the forms

being almost exclusively perennial.

The alpine flora is represented by thirty-four natural orders, of which

thirty-one belong to phenogamous plants, the remaining three include

the er orders of Cryptogams; of the latter the ferns are represented

by asingle species (Cryptogramna acrostichoides R. Br.), not exclusively

alpine. Mosses are numerously represented, but are still comparatively

.. The alpine area lying between the thirty-seventh and forty-first par-

allel of latitude, is from 1200 to 1500 square miles in extent. As a sani-

PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 4441

T retreat during the summer months it is unexcelled in the purity and

oolness of its Quir got the clearness eh its flowing streams, and its

et. extended views

Prof. E. D. Cops, in Es paper “On the Larval Characters of the Uro-

dela," stated: 1st, That it is shown that one portion of the primary —

groups is inexactly parallel to larvel stages of the other portion. 2d,

certai

other genera by but two characters. 3d, That others lack but one char-

acter; and 4th, That others present an exact paralleli

He had reason to think from the development d EUM and

experiments on salamander and frog larve, that the process of growth

or assumption of generic characters may be much retarded or acceler-

ated. Such a process would produce the cases of exact parallelism; and

if the retardation in the character should continue, would necessarily

Soon result in inexact parallelism in that respect, thus producing a com-

plete metamorphosis of the genus. The reverse of this process is ac-

celeration, and expresses the mode of progress of a type to its highest

development in time history, while the retardation is the mode of its deg-

dation.

T remarked that Prof, Cope’s views were, so far as the law

Ceph Among these animals the shells of the species displaye

the action of this law from a previous publication in th

had been distinctly stated. But farther than this that its action was also

as forcibly displayed in the species itself as in the genus.

Mr. A. Hyarr read a paper *On the Homologies and General Structu-

ral Relations of the Pol yzoa." The Embryology of the Hypocrepian Poly-

zoa show that Loxosoma is the lowest of all in the na nie toget ther

with Pedicellina form the lowest suborder of the group. progress

9f the whole order of Polyzoa is from this permanently VEI form

Pirongh intermediate stages to Cristatella, in which, when the polypide is

inserted, even the stomach is carried up beyond the orifice of the ce

Thus the progress of structure is from an animal i

are crowded into the anterior end, into the ccencecial system, and to one

in which the ccnccial or re productive, evaginatory or gastric, and the

lophoric or neural systems are all distinct when the animal is exserted.

era. NATURALIST, VOL. III.

Y PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.

has been raised. The Radiata are, it is true, radiated sacs, the Articulata

ringed sacs, and the Vertebrata sacs divided by the vertebral axis, but

the Saccata are typically sacs.

Prof. THEo. GILL, in his communication “On New Species of Fishes

obtained by Prof. Orton in the Valleys of the Maranon and Napo,” con-

cluded from the study of twe nty-five species collected by Prof. Orton,

that there were no distinct fish faune in these river valleys, species of the

same genera having been found distributed through them, some of the

genera having also occurred lower down Mie Amazon, while one genus in-

habited the When waters of Central Amer

Dr. T. SrERRY Hunt, in his remarks ad the Geology of North-east-

ern Und ^ exhibited a new geological map of the British Provinces,

and of the United States as far South as Virginia, and West to near the

base of the Rocky Mountains. He called attention to the uncolored por-

tion represented by New England, and to the fact that less was known of

the age of the rocks of that region than any other. He stated that he

knew of no eruptive granitic rocks, but that with an occasional exception

dolomites from limestones, etc. He cited a case observed in New

Brunswick where the Dadox dylos sibs are overlaid by granitoid and

felspathic grits, and yet the Dadoxylon sandstones are unaltered n

lithological grounds he thought that the rocks a ll and New-

age,

_ and having seen specimens of Labradorite, from boulders in Mic

in the Museum of the Peabody Academy, he suggested that there might

be Laurentian rocks about Salem

Messrs. MarrHEW and Muy: in their * Remarks on the Age and

ree x the Metamorphic Rocks of New Brunswick and Maine,”

g a summary of the labors of ver pines Matthew, Daw-

New

wick, a ridge of variable width, having Devonian slates on both sides.

The two together probably occupy diire quirter of the metamorphic

country south of the New Brunswick coal-fields.

_ Two principal wes eae of this series may ee; be distinguished, on

the south side of the granite ridge, viz.: (1) the Lepreau, comprising

.. diorites, felsites, and conglomerates in its ee portions ; pe in the

upper subdivision gray sandstones, black slates, and the Dadoxylon sand-

stones. To the lower division, vi : (2) the Mispeck division, belong, in

. the lower subdivision, conglomerates and diorites, Cordaite, fine-grained

.. Slates and orthophyre; and in the upper subdivision conglomerate and

Slate, Pao grit, talcoid (?) slates and limestone. At the base of

PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. . 443

| 2 these rocks lie the granite rock, and there appears to be a gradual pas-

: sage from true granite, through felsites, to undoubted Upper Devo-

. Dian slates, these Nerepis granites being probably altered sandstones and

grits at the base of the Upper Devonian series. e rocks south of the

ose o

deeper waters, the rocks being much more uniform. In the partially

metamorphic slates of the Lepreau division, ind and shells character-

| istic of the Upper Devonian have been found, and when more highly

2 altered, well defined crystals of staurotide, andalusite and garnet.

aving unexpectedly found that the greater part of bó: metamorphie

country in New Brunswick, near the United States border, is of Upper

Devonian age, the authors offered some suggestions and conjectures on

2 S age of the schists, granites, etc., in the south-eastern half

8l portion of the Devonian. Both of these are probably represented in

the granitic district of south-eastern Maine. To the eastward of this we

appear to have chiefly Upper Devonian rocks, with occasional bands of

upturned Upper Silurian rocks. The “tr ape” of this area correspond to

the diorites, Hen at the base of the Mispeck division, id the red jaspe

to the red felsites and orthophyre above them. It is probable that the

Lepreau Rent Will be but meagrely represented, and the upper half of

Mert wanting in this tract, such being the case around the Passa-

uod

On the OAL dod side of the granite ridge noted, we again meet in

S of the latter had sunk in the pasty mass. Farther north .

Devonian beds are folded and dip northward, passing beneath a

fine greenish and grayish micaceous slates, which here

* of Hancoc k County with the granitic masses around Mount Desert

the coast, On the southern side of this last granitic ridge, and form-

444 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.

ing the northern side of the trough, are a series of beds described as

quartz rock and calciferous mica schist, and which are said to be the same

as those known to extend through York County, N. B., towards the Bay

de Chaleur. This belt of rocks has been recognized, with essentially the

same features, by Mr. Bailey on the St. John River above Fredericton,

and about Grand Lake in the eastern Schoodic region in Wan 1e.

The granites on the north side of this basin are overlaid by a gray gneiss

position in Maine and 4 EU are said Aa pcre in an | Vassentillly unal-

corner of the State. At this end of the basin, where probably the lower

beds are exposed, the rock contains garnets, staurotide and kyanite.

Along the north-east side (in Northport) it holds andalusite. If these

rocks represent here the Lower Lepreau series, as the mica schists, hold-

ing a similar position and containing the same minerals, do in the cen-

tral parts of Charlotte County, the geology of this portion of the Province

will be greatly simplified.

There is a belt of granite associated with masses of obscurely aitaita

series ‘of New a With this eee and dirt that of the

on lithological grounds, be compared with those of the Upper Devonian

series. Among these, however, may be islands or ridges of older rock.

as is dio quA the case at some points along the eastern border

OF. . Copt, read a paper ‘On two New Genera of Extinct

MeV "de observations embraced a description of the characters ofa

very large representative of the Dugong of the modern East Indian Seas

which was found in a bed, either Miocene, or Eocene, in New Jersey. I

forms cha

Miocenes. Another type was regarded as remotely allied to Squalodon,

but it was edentulous, and furnished with a broad shallow Xiceotut. either

of a form left after per ds a tooth, or that adapted to a broad obtuse

tooth. It constituted a remarkable new genus which was called Anopolo-

nassa fo Be

thought to indicate a pliocene age, With them was discovered

nt of hu

emporaneity of the fossils and human

man PERR a chisel made from the lips of * —

The co

PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 445

implements was supposed, but not ascertained. Its interest atid connec-

tion with human migrations were mentioned; also the supposition of

Pomel, that the submergence of the West India Islands took place since

the en pliocene period.

Pror. O. C. Marsu described a ** remarkable locality of Vertebrate re-

. mains in the tertiary of Nebraska." The herir singe was the Ante-

lope Station on the Pacific Railroad in South-western Nebraska. While

engaged in sinking a well at that place in June, pu a layer of bones was

found by the workmen at a depth of sixty-eight feet below the surface,

found that the latter were the remains of tertiary animals, some of whic

were of great interest. The well was subsequently sunk about ten feet

deeper. An examination proved that among them there were four kinds

of fossil horses, one of which he described in November last as Equus

parvulus. Although it was a full-grown animal it was not more than two

and one-half feet high. It was by far the smallest horse ever discovered.

Of the other kind of fossil horses one was of the Hipparion type, or the

three-toed horse. Including the above the number of species of fossil

double metatarsal bone, a peculiar type, only seen in the living musk deer

and in the extinct anaplotherium. There were also the remains of an

"ul like the hog, a large capes and two kinds of turtles. These,

to, yea diu fifteen species of animals, and representing eleven

senera, w ll found in a space tin feet in diameter and six or eight feet

in depth. cA is supposed that the locality was once the shores of a great

ie and that the animals were mired when they went down to the water

rink.

. W. P. Brake read a paper “On the Plasticity of Pebbles and

Rocks." He presented some fresh evidence from a conglomerate in

zona Territo This conglomerate consisted of a paste of micaceous

Schist, filled with bebidas of varying size, and elongated and co ssed

similar to those of the Newport conglomerate. They seconde even

ore conclusive evidence of having been drawn out, and compressed b.

Prof. Blake then adduced arguments and one tending to substantiate thi

theory. The distortion of hard rocks nd on a large scale in the

found

_ flanks of the Sierra Nevada of California. roo Blake said that the con-

Sideration of the phenomena led him to conclude that enormous and long

446 PROCEEDINGS: OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.

continued pressure and tension probably at a moderate elevation of tem-

perature (but not necessarily so) had been sufficient to produce the mole-

cular movement of these hard and apparently unyielding materials.

Mechanical force alone appeared to have been the agent, and M. Tresca

had shown that under enormous pressure solids could be made to flow in

the same manner as liquids, or that in their movements they followed the

same law. By the careful study of these phenomena of plasticity new

views were opened of the structure of great rock masses; of the pheno-

mena of plication, lamination; and of the origin of some structural pecu-

liarities of mineral veins and their enclosing walls. In view of all the

mechanical pressure, unaided by any great elevation of temperature or by

extraordinary chemical agencies.

C. Marsu read a paper ‘on some new Mosasauroid Reptiles

e n

appeared to have no hind limbs, although Cuvier thought he had detected

them. The specimens found in this country, however, afforded no evi-

[e]

See

The larger specimens of these animals showed that they must hav l

the monarchs of the seas of those periods, and in appearance and size not

unlike the popular notion of the sea serpent, being sometimes seventy-

five feet long.

** On the Flora and Fauna of the Miocene Tertiary Beds of Oregon and

Idaho." Prof. Newberry exhibited a beautiful series of fossil plants col-

lected by Rev. Mr. Condon of Dallas City, Oregon. These plants were

_ from the fresh-water deposits which cover so large a surface of the Great

_ Basin in Nevada, Idaho and Oregon, and were of special interest both

Mt from their geological position and botanical character. They were con-

. tained in the sediments deposited by a series of great fresh-water lakes,

. Which once existed in the area lying between the Rocky Mountains and

Sierra Nevada. - jogs

PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 447

In the report of his explorations in California and Oregon, Prof. New-

cutting down of their outlets, the gorges through which the Columbia,

Klamath and Pitt Rivers now flow

e Klamath lakes, etc., were didtnr E of these an-

cient lakes which were apparently quite as extensive as our present great

kes. The fossil plants contained in the colas made by Rev. Mr.

Condon were most beautifully preserved, and consisted of a great number

of species, most of which were new; but a number were identical with

Species found in the Miocene Tertiary of the Upper Missouri. There are

of F

animal remains found in the same series of Tertiaries with the plants, con-

sist of fresh-water shells and fishes, with a few mammalian bones. The

Shells are numerous species of Melania, Planorbis, Grotii and —

all, so far as known, new to science. The fishes were Cyprinoids med

to Mylopharodon, etc., — the fishes now inhabiting the Western rivers.

Among the mammalian bones contained in this collection were some that

plainly belonged to the horse. The beds containing the animal remains

Were perhaps more recent than the plant beds, but still Seite

Mr. W. H. DALL read a paper “On the Trend of the Rocky. Mo untain

Range, north latitude 60°, and its influence on Faunal Distribution.” The

ranges of hills. This bend of th e mountains prevented the characteristic

- birds of the west coast from coming north, while a few species of Eastern

ut ye ocean | ndis € xtended south-west from Plover Bay,

just west of the Straits, along the Kamtchatka ml

DEDICATION or THE Musrum or THE PEABODY AcapEMY.—On the

ds eighteenth of August, being the first day of we session of the American

"on, the Museum of the Peabody Academy was formally prone

Over in order thint the members should saat in the proceedings.

) t

: transfer of "i pir was made by the Committee of the Trus-

tees of the original fund, to the Trustees of the Academy, and the —

of the Museum committed to the Director. Mr. F. W. Putn The au

| then repaired to the Tabernacle Church to listen to the Dedicatory

448 ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS, ETC.

Address =e the President, W. C. Endicott, Esq. Hon. J. H. Clifford replied

on the part of Mr. Peabody, the founder of the Academy, who was unfor-

e ety

Institute, and by J. W. MS eTA of the American Association for

the Advancement of Science

pie Gh MES

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

dianapolis, Ind.— Your specimens are as follows: 2, Onoclea sensibilis:

barren d, Wy at the north X south. 3, Pteris aquilina; E "widely distributed.

to Asplenium thel: ro ga ; iawn rth and south. 5, a spesies of Galium. ee

charis olivacea 7, no fruit, and not easily Pii ei he i If you mean by the

** Snow-plant ” Sarto dis sanguinea, You will not be able to cultivate it, as it is parasiti-

cal in its abits and proves very pe “alt to rear. Herbariums are not usually p npe

lished unless of € and costly ch: roa L as i ey, discovered species like

Fendler's of Venezuela, Wright’s of Cuba, ete. —J. I

H n por, Mas ass.— The worm declar ed edet your patien to en been found 2

the wound i m allied to the common eat bord. T ably lived in 2

muddy 1 bottom fa a wet, spring, or Pttiok, and may possibly have tsa in the b

used in poe gs. We have e kept it alive in the bottle in which you brought it, for

days.

WwW. W. Indianapolis. —No. 8 is Botrychium lunaroides var. obliquum; ba ral ad

frond. T oc tom uy Filicum, and Presl’s Pteridigraphia, are essential in study:

ing the ferns exte

astham, Mass. qe frog i is Rana sylvatica.

— MO À—

EXPLANATION OF PLATE 7.

RADIOLARIA.— Fig. 1. Tetis yle octaeantha. Fig. 2. Haliomma amphidiscus. 3.

Haliomma longispinum. Halio mma hexacanthum. 5. Haliomma Humboldtii.

—Ó—

BOOKS erp taii

Scientific Opinion. June, July, Aug., Sept "n

Journal of Travel and Natur Naso. Mori? LN ^ 1869. London. Two eq

Proceedings and Transactions of the Nova Scotian Sinstitute of Natural Science at

fax, N.S. Vol. ii, Part 2. 1867-8. vo. Halifax, 1869. rcheol-

— Annual Report of 1 the Trustees of the Peabody Museum of American A

i ».28.

EN ie 4 Ptelea trifoliata a Report to the American Institute of Homæopathy.

gieta Js i Er tan atio sa mo : York

08. July. New

j weed ai Bauch selected from the writers of all countries. ear eren

SA rant By e. Poin 428 m Aonriyie: New York:

& Co. July, 1839. 32mo, pp. 192.

———— an eee

CORRECTIONS. iid, te

Ino number, in the * Chapter on — we > suggested that Plate `

; Tep "thi is of Dermalei ied, and t ray" 3 represented the male. me

im led to this opinion by the resemblance of a. p de arva, ot aa oir of

us of mites. After the article Ment to press wi s elaborate me hold

de, entitled “Studien an Acari aardkern in m cond ber of fghbori

and Küllikers 4 Zeitsc redd he has given a minute "rese of a neig Cl api.

genus, Myocoptes es musculinus (Koch) found parasitic on mice. stadyin:

23 reds work we LULA our figure 1 must be a "rw Derm DE and that fig-3

[m e ir |

e. read

ad pae. 373 line 10 from na for Chelytus

" Cheyletus, AD line 20 from: top, for uglenia read Eu

: EX A e 6 from bottom, for Orange, N. J. read Oran ty, Pa.

hia LER for ** f Mision County; r Prid Mifin. Coun "dint

eon n s, Fable'mountain Pine Pine? (J (J. T etis Ja rate dat

ame eon sn AME eee H ;

vp interior of of the Bene of Pennsylvania. (See Gardeners

" EL

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. III. —NOVEMBER, 1869.— No. 9.

co SU (9 9t 9) 97-2

SPONGES.

BY BRYCE M. WRIGHT, JR.

Do sponges belong to the animal or vegetable *kingdom

seems to be the first question which presents itself to our

mind in investigating these curious organisms, and this

i . . Pme 4

question involves a definition of a boundary line between

the two kingdoms, which, of all the most perplexing queries

that can be found for an unlucky naturalist, perhaps is the

most difficult. Eminent zoölogists have, at various times,

ranked them as belonging to the class of Zoóphyta, but

others equally clever have disputed this right, and have

claimed them as belonging to the vegetable kingdom. In

the celebrated work of Dr. Johnston on British Zoóphyta,

disposes of them in a very summary manner. The fol-

lowing extract deserves attention: “if they are not the pro-

duction of polypes, the zoólogist who retains them in his

Province must contend that they are individually animals,

an opinion to which I cannot assent seeing that they have

no animal structure or individual organs, and exhibit no one

function usually supposed to be characteristic of the animal

Kingdom. Like vegetables they are permanently fixed;

like vegetables they are non-irresistible ; their movements,

like those of vegetables, are extrinsical and involuntary ;

oo ee

PEABODY ACADEMY OF

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. HL. - 57

Ruiner imi nii iiti iio

scEntered aecordin, i gorge Um

cm ves. am inet Oloa of te Dicis Court ofthe Dist of Noemi

450 SPONGES.

their nutriment is elaborated in no appropriated digestive

sac, and, like cryptogamous vegetables or algæ, they usually

ramify and grow in forms determined by local circum-

stances, and if they present some peculiarities in the mode

of the imbibition of their food, and in their secretions, yet

even in these they evince a nearer affinity to plants than to

any animal whatever.” This argument is certainly very

favorable to their classification with plants, but there are

other arguments by zoólogists equally clever in favor of

their classification with animals. Linnzus seems to have

changed his opinion several times respecting them. In the

commencement of his great work he considered them as

plants, or at all events as very doubtful animals; but in à

later edition of his "Systema Nature,” he seems to have

admitted them along with the zoóphytes in the animal king-

dom. In the opinion of Pallas, deBlainville, and others,

they are intermediate organized bodies, without any deter-

minate form, and with little susceptibility of feeling, but

presenting an absorbent surface, and nourished pretty nearly

like vegetables by the surrounding medium.*

ponges consist of a Satie, or skeleton, coated with

gelatinous matter, and forming a non-irritable mass, which

is connected internally with canals of various sizes. The

ova are very numerous, and present in appearance the form

of irregular shaped granules derived from the gelatinous

matter, which grow into ciliated germs and falling at matu-

rity into the small canals, are then expelled by the orifices.

. When alive the body is covered by a gelatinous film, which,

being provided with cilia causes a current of water to pass

in at the smaller pores and out at the larger apertures, the

Te probably assimilating the nutritive particles whic

ter into the water. Papers have been written from time

to time endeavoring to prove that the pores palpitate, but

. this has been eed denied, and perhaps the cause of their

2 ocu M

P — 3

: ithe songes ae, by the most advanced zodlogists, considered to be undoubtedly —

animals; all all botanist: — Editors.

SPONGES. 451

being moved in such a manner as to give rise to this discus-

sion is in consequence of the action of the water in passing

through them. According to the analysis of sponges by

Hornemann, they consist of a substance "similar to osma-

zone, animal mucus, fat oil, a substance soluble in water, a

substance only soluble in potash, and traces of chloride of

sodium, iodine, sulphur, phosphate of lime ( ?), silica, alu-

mina, and magnesia.” The quantity of silica which consti-

tutes the structure of sponges is remarkable. It generally

occurs in the form of spicule in considerable quantities,

embedded in the substance or body of the sponge. In the

Species of Halichondria, the silicious spicule are pointed at

the extremities, whilst the spicule of some are pointed at |

one end only, and are round at the other; sometimes they

appear cylindrical, curved, or straight. The spicule of the

genus Pachymatisma are often sharp at one extremity and

at the other expand into two points; some are sharp at one

end and expand at the other into three points; the P. John-

stoniæ can be taken as an example of the latter.. The genus

Tethea possess silicious spicule having hooks at both ends,

and amongst the genera Grantia, Geodia, and in the Levant

Sponge, the spicule are very large and radiate into three di-

rections like a three pointed star. When properly mounted

they form very beautiful microscopic objects. The spicule

of the Grantia nivea show them to be of the triradiate, or

three pointed, star shape, those of the Halichondria Griffithii

In the form of pins, whilst those of the common sponge,

from the Philippine Islands, are sometimes in the shape

of crutches or stars. In the common Madrepore Sponge

(Dactylochalizx pumicea) the silicious element is fully devel-

oped as the whole mass is composed of this extremely hard

substance, which is disposed in tubular and radiating canals.

One of the rarest, and I may say most beautiful of the sili-

lous sponges, is the Zuplectella* speciosa Gray (Fig. T6).

It is described in the “Transactions of the Zoólogical Society

* Eu, well; and pleko, I weave.

les hs Lui es Sale REA EIE LIO esp d

z 2 2 LAE

Te acus

SER ean SS teh rA LA CL au. er cec EE ED ir e

SPONGES. 453

of London," by Prof. Owen, as the Zuplectella aspergillum,

from the fact of its being in shape like the common Asper-

gillum Javanicum of Java. “Mr. Cuming” says Prof. Owen

"has entrusted to me for description one of the most singular

and beautiful as well as the rarest of the marine productions,

with which his researches in the Philippine Islands have en-

abled him to enrich the zoólogical collections of his native -

country.” The first specimen of this remarkable sponge was

purchased by Mr. Cuming, the celebrated conchologist, at the

death of Mr. William J. Broderip, who had formerly given

the sum of £30 to become the possessor of this then unique

Euplectella. This specimen, the only one known for a great

many years, is now in the possession of the authorities of the

British Museum. in England, by whom it is greatly prized

in consequence of its possessing the gelatinous film in its

natural state. It certainly is one of the most curious and

extraordinary combinations of fibrous and silicious structure

Which the bed of the ocean has ever yielded up to the re-

searches of the naturalist. It differs materially from any

Sponges with which we are acquainted, being regular in its

form. It is of cornucopia shape, and bas a horny skeleton-

like network, composed of large silicious fibres running from

the base to the head, surrounded by smaller fibres, forming

Square open meshes resembling a net or basket-work. It

ranges in height from six to even fifteen inches. At the

lower extremity, or root, it averages about an inch in thick-

hess, but its size gradually increases as it approaches the top,

Where often it is two inches wide. It is surmounted by a

ridge about quarter of an inch wide, and is closed at the

larger extremity by a delicate open lace work of fibres pos-

Sessing no particular pattern. It is on this light and, pretty

structure that the fibrous gelatinous substance rests, —

bling in texture the common sponge, but in this instance dis-

Posed in an irregular foliated pattern, over which the ‘usual

film of the sponge is laid during life. The base or root

_ attaches itself to almost anything which may serve as a sup-

454 SPONGES.

` port; some being fixed to rocks, others to shells, and indeed

any submarine objects which may present a surface strong

enough to answer the purpose required. It is remarkable,

but nearly all the specimens I have examined of this sponge

have had enclosed in them a common hermit or soldier-crab.

How this pugnacious member of the crustacean class be-

. comes imprisoned it is difficult to conceive. Dr. Gray, of

the British Museum, in speaking of them in “Land and

Water,” a London periodical, says that “the natives of the

Philippine Islands deny that they are sponges, but say that

they are formed by the crabs that are usually found in them,

and that a pair of crabs form two close together. Hence

they regard two specimens, as we should call them, a single

individual." They consist of pure silica,, and Mr. C. G.

Brewster, naturalist, Boston, to whose courtesy I am in-

debted for the accompanying faithful engraving, has several

specimens which, having lost their outer covering or film,

have been cleaned by being placed in a weak solution of

chloride of lime, and all wards exposed to the action of

the atmosphere. The Euplectella is found principally near

the island of Zebu, one of the Philippine's, where the first

specimen was obtained by the late Hugh Cuming.

The forms of sponges are very irregular; some being

branched, others round or prts shaped, and others resem-

bling a cup, like the well known "Neptune's cup" of the

Tndian Seas. During life they are extremely beautiful in

colors, possessing tints which it would be impossible to

describe, and which I do not think have ever been faithfully

represented in consequence of their beauty departing im-

mediately after life ceases. Dr. Johnson states that the green

color of the fresh-water sponge (Spongilla fluviatilis) de-

pends upon the action of light, as he has proved by experi-

ments which showed that “pola colored specimens þecame

green when they were exposed for a few days to the light

and full rays of the sun; while on the contrary, green speci-

mens y were blanched ^a being made to grow in darkness OF

RAE RS ES FA

ies aper

RAMBLES IN FLORIDA. 455

shade. All sponges are aquatic, and with few exceptions

marine. They attach themselves to all manner of objects

which may present a point of support, whether floating or

fixed; some select their abode on very unexpected objects.

In one case recorded in the "Natural History of British

Sponges," by Dr. Johnson, a specimen belonging to the

genus Halichondria, a sponge not uncommonly found on

some of our coasts, was discovered growing from the back

of asmall live crab, —"a burden" says the learned Doctor,

"apparently as disproportionate as was that of Atlas, — and

yet the creature has been seemingly little inconvenienced

With its arboreous excrescence.” The fresh-water sponge

(Aleyoncila stagnorum) is frequently to be met with floating

in docks attached to logs of timber. It is very interesting

to observe that these low organisms even seem to be at-

tracted to each other, as it were in family groups. The

Aleyonelle live in groups of from ten to fifteen, and some

Sponges are so intimately connected as to be inseparable.

Respecting their geographical distribution they are to be

met with in all seas, and although they abound to a much

greater extent in the tropics, even on the coast of Great

Britain a great many species occur, nearly forty having been

reckoned to belong to one genus alone.

RAMBLES IN FLORIDA.

BY R. E. C. STEARNS.

PART IV. i

Ir was nearly noon of a delightful day in February when

leaving the City of Tampa we crossed the Hillsborough

River to the opposite bank for the purpose of visiting Rocky

Point, which is situated upon old Tampa Bay ; the route, for

greater part of the distance of seven miles, is through an

456 RAMBLES IN FLORIDA.

open forest of pines, of the species previously met with; the

lack of undergrowth afforded pleasant and shaded vistas in

every direction. In following the sandy road we waded

through broad and shallow pools, miniature lakes made by

the recent ‘rains, in which we dipped our cans, and drinking

found it more palatable than the water from the muddy

springs we had just passed.

Upon both sides of, and a few rods from, the road are

small deep ponds, covering perhaps an acre, surrounded with

gaunt and leafless cypresses, Taxodium distichum, standing

grim and naked in the midst of the forest; hoary, speech-

less giants, whose gnarled limbs seem to clutch at, while

they sustain long drooping tufts of pendulous moss, that, in

the sombre light, looked more like funeral emblems than

living vegetation. Over these glassy lakelets the

TOMUS towering boughs of the cypress

Met in a dusky arch, and trailing mosses in mid air

Waved like banners that hang on the walls of ancient cathedrals.

Neath-lka th 3] d, T RETE WENNS dete by the herons,”

many specimens of various species of which were seen slowly

marching with solemn strides, like veteran soldiers, guarding

the solitude of the forest.

Seating ourselves upon a fallen pine we halted to rest

awhile, for walking is warm work on such a day. There

are no wild flowers, and in many places no grass, for a fire,

which the last rain only partially extinguished, burned even

the scanty sod. !

Again we started, and moving forward had proceeded but a

few rods when up flew a wild turkey (Meleagris gallo-pavo

Linn.), the only specimen yet met with by us in Florida, and

farther on, but out of range, a flock of quails, Ortyx Virgin-

tanus. This species is quite pretty; in fact all of the

quails are tidy-looking birds, but the Californians,* with

their plumed heads, rather lead the others.

Bona

previously quite abundant. Their

RAMBLES IN FLORIDA. 451

The small hillocks of sand, of which we have seen at least

a hundred since we left Tampa, are made by a species of

Gopher (Geomys pinetus Raf.). The people call them Sala-

manders. The propriety of the name is not perceptible.

Three or four species of Geomys are found in the Pacific

States.*

We have arrived at the edge of the timber; the road

no farther winds beneath the shade of the forest, but lies

broadly open to a burning sun. It follows for a short dis-

tance through a sedgy meli with a rank growth upon either

side and terminates at a cluster of cabins, biih stand upon

the sandy margin of the bay.

The small rudely thatched buildings, are occupied by a

number of workmen engaged in the manufacture of salt.

Their apparatus is of the simplest description. It consists

of a few kettles, or evaporators, made by cutting in halves,

longitudinally, the shells or outer eylinders of pue steam

boilers, which are rudely set in masonry of stone and mud.

Into these kettles the salt water is- pumped by hand from

a well-hole, a large pit dug in the sand, into which the water

seeps, or flows. The evaporation is produced by means of a

fire under the kettles; the inflammable pitch-pine making an

admirable fuel for this purpose. The thatched cabinsf of the

salt makers were quite a novelty to us. They are fifteen to

e iit

Increase is owing to two causes: the game-laws of - State protect them during th

breeding season, and the penses settlement of the agricultural lands, leads to the -

termination of those animals th prey upon them.

* The Gophers make sad d in the suburbs of San Francisco, by cutting off the

Toots of rare plants in the flower beds, or by

market Sewing As they work underground, ‘they are not easily detected, tho ugh mer-

sly

Gilles upon some occasions by the gardeners, who frequently use a trap to

m Hen ie Gophers have a pouch in each cheek, in which they can carry food

burr

an artic sh entitled “ nga gon — published in the “ Overland Monthly,”

Yol. Itt, p. 129, the writer , * On account of the great number of Gophers in that

tate, an the gts use Hoe dir skins for money, a Floridian is called a “ Gopher.”

Ja an who Luge se ie or acts in an ded manner, is

which are seen by the traveller

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 58

458 RAMBLES IN FLORIDA.

twenty feet square, and about six feet high at the eaves, and

the roof is sharply pitched so as to shed the rain rapidly.

The frame is made of small poles or saplings, upon which

the leaves of the palmetto are tacked or tied, course after

course, overlapped like shingles or weather-boards upon a

common house. Sometimes a floor is laid and a board door

hung to the frame. An excellent shelter for a warm climate

is thus made, sufficiently close for protection against ordi-

nary storms, a good screen from the sun, and open enough

to admit of ventilation. Exceeding caution in the use of fire

is requisite, and cooking must be done outside, and at some

distance away.

We were kindly furnished with food and lodging by our

host, an old Scotch sailor, with a bushy beard which rivalled

the Spanish moss in color and in length :

* Like a wolf’s was his shaggy head,

His teeth as large and white;

His beard of gray and russet blended;

On his hairy arm imprinted

Was an anchor, azure tinted.”

After boxing around the globe for a quarter of a century

he finally drifted into this out-of-the-way corner of the

planet. With a palmetto cabin, plenty of oysters, game and

fish, he lives a free and easy life, with few luxuries and fewer

cares: his gun and dog, his boat and fishing gear, supply

both food and recreation; like most sailors and sportsmen,

he is a good cook ; as to his knowledge of the culinary art,

inquiry is best answered by the repeated sorties made by us

upon the well cooked rations. “Actions speak louder than

words.”

From the salt works a trail leads across the sands, then

through a bit of trampled marsh, over the sands again to

shell-heaps large and small. There is only one of the heaps

of sufficient size to be dignified by the name of mound; this

.. latter covers an area of half an acre and is fifteen feet in

. height, at the highest point; it is composed entirely of

‘Shells; and the mound and heaps and ridges of shell, ares

RAMBLES IN FLORIDA. 459

perhaps, the remains of many feasts here enjoyed and cele-

brated by the tribe of which Hirrihigua * was chief. From

a well-hole that was dug to the depth of eight feet in the

principal heap, arrowheads of chalcedony, a sinker of “coral

stone,” and a spoon-shaped implement} made from a piece

of a large conch-shell, Busycon perversum, were obtained.

Fourteen species of shells were collected of which nine are

the same as found at the Cedar Keys Mounds, and include the

Species that are living most abundantly at the present day,

| and which were generally sought for as food by the aborig-

inees; the other five speciest are small shells, too small to

be collected for the above purpose and were probably carried

1 to the heaps, from their being attached to the shells of the

| edible mollusks. No fragments of pottery were detected,

and nothing to indicate that the mound or any of the heaps

= Were used for burial purposes; the ground outline of this

series of heaps is quite irregular, and it appears rather to

have been the result of accident than in conformity to any

; plan.

i; From the shell-heaps to the end of Rocky Point is at least

| a mile; the road or trail follows along the ridge, which con-

sists of beach rubble and debris upon the top of an ancient

coral reef; at many places as well as at the end of the point,

the coral-rock crops out, and in some localities it is daily

Washed by the tide; at the water's edge are mangroves, and

along the sides of the ridge are pines, palmettoes,$ and but-

*Irving's Conquest of Florida, Ed. 1869, p. 59.

tin the Ethnological department of the Smithsonian Institution may be seen (S. I.

No. 5988) an implement from Chattanooga, Tennessee, collected by Mr. McRead, of

“ame form, and made of a piece of shell of apparently the same species.

One of these species, bY MORE AAR T idalis Kiener, is q i p y

I am inclined to believe that the so-called pearls that were seen by DeSoto and his

men consisted in f th ile

m. p.

i an increasing value. It is the

palm possesses a great, and to this country, sns ship

460 RAMBLES IN FLORIDA.

tonwoods, and specimens of the Spanish bayonet ( Yucca)

trees frequently occur. Logs of the Pencil Cedar, that have

drifted away from rafts, are lodged along the shore, or have

been carried higher up by wind and tide; we turned many

of them over and found numerous fine specimens of snails,

Helix volvoxis and Helicina orbiculata, and a living scorpion.

The spaces between the roots of the mangroves were filled

with oysters which had also fastened to the roots, and a

species of Modiola, closely resembling the common one, of

the Atlantic coast, M. plicatula, but with somewhat finer

sculpture, was abundant. The small oysters that are 80

common everywhere along the shore, growing near the high-

water line, are not generally eaten except by the raccoons,

hence the common name for them of “coon oysters.” On the

under side of detached lumps of these we found many rare

little shells,* and several of the larger species of mollusks}

especially the thorny conch, Melongena corona, may be seen

prowling around, or half buried in the sand, at the edges of

the oyster bars. The last named species is a famous oyster

eater; but the law of compensation here intervenes, for the

animal of the thorny conch is in turn eaten by many kinds

of fish, for which it is an excellent bait, and it is therefore

much used by the fishermen; the gulf trout also collect them

on their own account, and it is quite common to find large

shells of this species in their stomachs.

The position of the sun told us that it was time to return;

the heat was excessive, and constant tramping and stooping

had made us tired.

Cutting a bunch of palmetto leaves to use as a screen for

our heads we struck a bee-line back to the shell-heaps ; half

mats, and many other purposes of domestic economy, and the ‘cabbage,’ composed of

the unexpanded y be classed among the delicious vegetables A of

table; it is, however, a wasteful luxury as the tree always perishes when depri

this part of its foliage.” Elliott's Botany, vol. 1, p. 432. inh in

A new species of Pedipes, a tiny shell only eleven hundredths of - P de

os was found at Rocky Point; it is described by me in the BS.

Boston Society of Natural History, vol. xiii, as P. naticoides; it is the first of the genus

| t Fasciolaria distans, Busycon 1 the latt

7 + this place.

RAMBLES IN FLORIDA. 461

way between the latter and the point, there is a narrow

lagoon with dead mangroves standing along its edge; here

we found the screw-shaped shell, Cerithidea scalariformis,*

and the fine Littorina anguliferat, the latter on the man-

groves high above the reach of the water; and on the grass,

or slowly creeping on the surface of the wet sand, the coffee

shell, Melampus coffea.t The Cerithidea is also found near

the salt works, and Littorina irrorata can be gathered in

quantities within a stone's throw of the buildings. On our

way across the sand from the shell-heaps, an army of fiddler

crabs hobbled aside, opening ranks to let us pue. After a

hearty dinner we bade ' ‘ye ancient mariner” farewell, and

making a straight wake, were at camp by dusk.

Remaining in Tampa for a few days awaiting the arrival

of letters, ind to complete our reconnoissance of the country

in the immediate vicinity, we finally abandoned our head-

` quarters, and bidding adieu to Camp Misery and its number-

less fleas we placed our equipment on board of the schooner

“Santa Maria, of St. Marks,” a vessel of sixteen tons meas-

urement, and cast loose from the wharf at Tampa at noon

of a pleasant Monday in February, en route for Cedar Keys,

to stop at such islands and points on the way as might be of

interest. Proceeding down the bay we anchored near Bal-

last Point, and grappled up a goodly supply of oysters for

the subsistence department, at the same time adding two

LL i sr d

* A much larger — species, Pyrazus palustris, which occurs in great numbers

td Salt marshes of the Eastern Archipelago, is collected, and the eaten by

made by breaking off the apex of the spire. Vide Adams, Genera of Recent

Mollusca, Vol. I, p. 291.

tA species of Littorina, E. — is used as an ornament by the natives uF te

South Sea Is slands, and the animal of another Sp

tg used for food chy the poor in Great Britain; thousands ‘of bushels are annually

ected for this

14 species of Schein sometimes

the es of the Indo Pacific Islands, where this shell is found. In the Ethnological

= ection of the Museum of t ite an Institution is de Explor (S. I. No. 3663)

e kino i essen d e the Expl ormg

e from the King's M Isiands, c sm

462 RAMBLES IN FLORIDA.

species of shells* to our collection, which were found ad-

heringt to the oysters.

From Ballast Point a few hours sail in a light breeze

brought us to Piney Point, or Point Pinalles, the latter being

the common name with the people here. Off this point there

is comparatively deep water and a fair harbor; this place is

believed by many to have been the anchorage ground of

DeSoto'st fleet, three hundred and thirty years ago.

The historian says: “His squadron consisted of reighit large

vessels, a caravel and two brigantines, all freighted with

ample means of conquest and colonization ;$ besides the

ship's crew his force numbered one thousand men with three

hundred and fifty horses."

The fleet arrived at the mouth of Tampa Bay on Whit-

sunday, the twenty-fifth day of May, 1539; three hundred

of his men disembarked on the following Saturday, and the

remainder of the force landed on the soseddding day.

To the bay, De Soto gave the name of Espiritu Santo;

the first detachment met with a rough reception, for on the

morning after it landed the savages broke upon the Span-

iards who were carelessly lying around; and with deafening

yells drove them in confusion to the water’s edge; the latter

were speedily reinforced from the vessels and soon disperse

their foes.

* Mytilus hamatus Say, and Odostomia im a Say.

{Memorandum for young collectors; Serve, examine critically the ontside of large

S pretty ae sculptured shells, for by so doing many ra re and valuable acquisitions a

es made; many of the smaller species can 1 wee”

m the failure of the Expedition of Pamphilo de Narvaer, Fernando de Soto next

to oce occupy the country, having i žold. his claims on the Peruvian Conquest in

wh hu money. This last expe

dition was undertaken by De Soto at his own expense. Landing on the shore

Tampa Bay with one thousand men, and assisted b: y Ortez, a survivor of the Narvaez

on, Who was a favorite with a chief in the interior, he proceeded for some

distance without serious opposition treating the natives generally with kindness. He

: te

Je , and was by a numerous body which he defeated in a despera

Conflict; led on =e anne af finding gold, he i the remnants of his army érossed

the c T the Mississip a it | is — that m ye

, Ed. 1869, p, 56.

dA uz

Ns SE NON IIO LE MED ea

pis

Dr opis.

RAMBLES IN FLORIDA. 463

At Piney Point are numerous shell-heaps and mounds;

they are covered with a dense vegetation; climbing over

prostrate trees, or crawling upon hands and knees, through

atangled growth of vines and shrubs, we forced our way as

best we could, from mound to mound, over ground rich with

historie interest and upon a spot which had received the foot-

prints of as brave and adventurous a band of men as have

ever walked the earth. “If at times our feelings revolt at

the outrages committed by them upon the poor Indians, and

by their wrongs towards those native chieftains who fought

and fell so heroically in the defence of their homes, yet our

indignation passes away and is forgotten in the melancholy

ate of the invaders. Scarce three years had elapsed from

the time of their embarkation at Cuba, when nearly the

whole train of youthful cavaliers had passed away; horse

and rider alike had perished, and their bones lay bleaching

midst the savage wilds of America !"*

The mounds are crowned with magnificent specimens of

the palmetto; in the vicinity may be seen the Cerasus

Caroliniana or Wild Orange; also sycamores and pines.

Various flowering shrubs and vines not in bloom at the time

of our visit compose a part of the undergrowth. We were

unable to obtain a sufficiently extended view by which we

could form an idea of the relation of heap to heap or mound

to mound, or ascertain whether any general plan had been

pursued in their construction; the Floridians, residents of

the neighborhood, believe them to be defensive works that

Were erected by De Soto; but we could perceive no basis for

this belief, as the structures separately viewed are essentially

e same as others we had examined.f

*Irving’s Co i

; nquest of Florida, Ed. 1869, p. 447.

Tin none of the mounds examined by us were found any ornaments for. personal

made of shells. F. ds in other places i

wad that purpose have been obtained. In the Smithsonian Institution, No. bestens

“‘hnelogical specimens, is a pendant for a necklace or ear-drop made of a piece of a

8Pecies of Busra. iius Peas Xxx d bass: hips fH

4 No. also in the same collection,

.. Re-B8ll, is a roughly polished valve of Unio gibbosus ? perforated, found near Sulphur

i; E Rie a. ton neighborhood of Neri Tennessee; No. 7654, also Smithsqnian Col-

464 RAMBLES IN FLORIDA.

The account of the landing and movements of De Soto

thereafter does not show that be remained at or near the

place of debarkation, save but for a short time, for the

purpose of giving his men a few days rest after the confine-

ment of shipboard. If he had made this a base or point

of support for subsequent operations it is probable that he

would have caused earthworks to have been erected, but

otherwise it would have been unnecessary and useless labor;

as above stated there is nothing in the character of the

mounds and heaps that show any difference from similar

structures elsewhere met with by us.

This locality was undoubtedly the site of a populous

Indian town ; the ground in the neighborhood is rather above

the average height, and the position such as to make it par-

ticularly healthful in the summer and autumn. The waters

abound with fish at certain seasons, and the neighboring

islands furnish abundance of oysters and other mollusks

that were apparently considered edible by the Indians. Near

this place, and inside of the keys, we gathered for our use

as food, quantities of Quahaugs (Mirctanria Mortonii Con-

rad), of mammoth size and excellent quality ; a pair of the

empty valves sometimes weighing between three and four

pounds! At low tide can be énilooted the reversed Conch

(-Busycon perversum) and the Horse Conch (Fasciolaria

gigantea), of which it is supposed the Indians made their

war-trumpets.* Here also abound not only many smaller

molluscous animals of sufficient size to be important for

food, but the Thorny Conch (Melongena corona) elsewhere

alluded to. The bleached shells of the species named are

igh buss eee ede Ad

lections, is a convex dise of shell (species unknown ) from a mound in Uni — a

Kentucky; this last was collected by my friend, Major S. S. Lyon, of Jefferson

Indiana.

* Another large shell, the beautiful Triton variegatum, is used as & indeed

the natives of many of the Indo Pacific Islands. See piedras in the Ethnolog!

colleetion of graue Smithsonian

jmens

by the U. Ee aa under Commo-

Bente nc

ee er

“RAMBLES IN FLORIDA. 465

found in all of the Kjekkenmeeddings on the western coast

; of Florida, as far as we explored.

E . On some of the smaller islands the pelicans, gulls, and

. other maritime birds deposit their eggs, and on the larger

keys raccoons and deer are abundant. The occasional visit

of a Puma ( Felis concolor) sometimes arouses the slumber-

ous quietude of the isolated settlements; a quietude at the

, Present day undisturbed by the war-whoop of the savage, and

b. seldom broken except by the music of the mocking-birds, or

; the noisy screeching of the parrots (Conurus Carolinensis

E. Kuhl). The great requisite for the sustentation of large

. Rumbers of barbarous people exist here now as they did

centuries ago. Along the base of a ridge of shells, which is

situated so near the edge of the bay as sometimes to be

Washed by its waves, we picked up several arrowheads and

small fragments of pottery. About half a mile below a new

settler had just planted his stakes and was building a cabin,

his nearest neighbor resides two miles above. Driven from

his native state by the rude and chilling breath of the north

Wind, and suffering from pulmonary troubles, he here seeks

wid will measurably find what Ponce de Leon sought, the

fountain of health,” provided he does not succumb to the

fever and ague, of which there is a chance. Near his new

home there is a creek where alligators (A. Mississippiensis

Gray ) watch with jealous eyes the invasion of their domain.

the presence of the huge reptiles frightened the children

When they went to the creek for water, one of our party

. Proceeded to the spot and slaughtered a saurian some ten

feet. in length. We were told of cases where pulmonary

Patients "with one foot in the grave" and one hand upon

the door knob, evaded eternity, at least for a term, by eat-

nost despondent invalid to grin. Of one fact we are cer-

| Do. NATURALIST, VOL. gr. 59

NEM E E

466 RAMBLES IN FLORIDA. |

tain, they have no ear for music. A young living speci-

men, two feet long from snout to tip of tail, upon which we i

expended sundry vocal performances of a high order, mani-

fested not the slightest appreciation, and we were never

encored. Chagrined at the apathy of the audience we de-

liberately insulted it by reciting aloud, and in the most sar-

castie manuer, the following verse :

* How cheerfully he seems to grin,

How neatly spreads his claws,

And welcomes little fishes in,

i With gently smiling jaws.”

But the voracious beasts not only “welcome little fishes in,”

but frequently attack dogs and pigs, and instances are known

of their attacking children and men.

We remained within two or three miles of the mound

anchorage for several days collecting along the shore, or in

the lagoons and marshes. Provided with well greased long

boots we waded for miles, and at low tide could have crossed

from the main land to the opposite keys, 8o shallow is the

water, had not a narrow but not deep channel prevented.

Sometimes at night we slept by our camp fires ashore, or,

according to the caprice of the moment, on board o the

schooner, during the twilight spinning yarns or relating ad-

ventures in other places, or listening to the serenade of the

drum-fishes swimming alongside, until sleep, "the giver of :

Sweet visions, came."

From Point Pinallesit is but a short sail to Long Key.

Upon the easterly side of the latter we found many spec

mens of Fasciolaria tulipa and F. distans, but much hand-

somer shells of these species may be obtained upon the

outer shore of the key; those from the inside are covered

With a confervoid growth that is somewhat difficult to re-

move, and when clean the shells retain a green stain. e

southerly end of this island is the best collecting ground ;

~ the beautiful Winged Conch (Strombus alatus Gmel.), he —

. great Cockle (Cardium magnum Bom.), the heart-shaped —

. Cockle (Cardi ium isocardia Linn.), a curious thorny Qype

RAMBLES IN FLORIDA. 467

(Chama arcinella Lam.), and the fine bivalves Collista gi

gantea and C. maculata, and many other molluscan forms

of interest and beauty are quite numerous. The water

deepens rapidly upon the outside of the key, and many

l species may be found upon the outer beaches that are rarely

., Tet with on the shore of the main land. While walking

near the edge of the water the surf rolled up a fine living

Specimen of the odd-lookiug trigonal Trunk-fish ( Lacto-

~ Phrys camelinus DeKay), sometimes called Cow-fish, a pro-

; file view of the head much resembling that of a cow ; and

along the drift rows a few specimens of a Sea-cucumber

(Holothuria), which look like an empty bead purse. There

18 à large species found in Puget Sound that is eaten by the

| Indians, and the Holothuria edulis is regularly collected by

the Malays in great quantities, dried, and sold to the Chi-

hese who regard it as a delicacy. We prefer broiled quails.

3 Specimens of the switch-like Gorgonia (Leptogorgia virgu-

i lata M.-Edw.) are mixed in with the drift; and attached to

the bases of many of the specimens is the queer Ark-shell

(Arca Now Linn.), called Noah’s Ark;-here also are large

Sponges, shaped somewhat like a vase. The business of

Sponge collecting is quite profitable. At the present time

re is an increased demand for the ‘coarser species, as,

after proper preparation, it makes a most excellent filling

for pillows and mattresses. The sponges furnish numerous

Microscopic forms of wonderful beauty, and fossil sponges

are found in many of the geological strata in Great Britain.*

Having added largely to our collection during our pleas-

ant stay upon Long Key we again got under way, and early

ìn the afternoon of a mild winter day we came to anchor in

w pass at the end of Pine or Piney Key, and soon after

Went ashore, This little island is one of the most delight-

ful spots on earth; it is covered with vegetation almost to

a ee the Ger PPS

oe the green sand, the upper chalk, and the Kentish rag were M

Sponges grew in every sea . . . . » The Brighton pebbles and the Wiltshire

are principally petrified sponges . . - . - (Milton’s * Stream of Life.”)

468 RAMBLES IN FLORIDA.

the waters edge. It is encircled by an outer growth of '

mangroves. Pressing through these, and crossing to the

opposite side of the key, we passed through successive zones

of palmettoes, buttonwoods, etc., and intervals, where the

rank grass is from three to four feet high; in one of these

we made a camp, and all hands went vigorously at work |

eutting and hauling the boughs of dead fallen trees for our

night fire. Quite near to the camp is a narrow bayou, which

indents the shore so as to resemble a huge drumstick with

the knob or head inland. At low tide this knob or head is

separated from the other portion, or handle, by an oyster

bar, from which we obtained a great quantity of delicious

oysters of large size; here also we found many other spe-

cies of mollusca, some of which are quite rare, including à

beautiful cone-shell. The sandy part of the oyster bar, as

well as the narrow beach, was closely dented with the hoof-

prints of deer, and the footprints of “coons.” In many

places sturdy thistles, and cacti of large size, furnish &

hiding-place for the snails, Helix cereolus and H. uvulifera,

and the dense undergrowth a nesting-place for the birds.

As the sun had sank so far below the tree tops as to shade

our camping-ground we started our evening fire. Tramplng

and the salt sea-air gave a keenness to the appetite that

caused the supper of stewed and roasted oysters to disap-

: : : : t.

pear in a marvellous short time. Having finished our repas

we filled our pipes and from time, to time piled fresh fuel

on the fire and watched the flashing flames.

It was a brilliant night, serene and cloudless, and the

moon was near the full. The buttonwoods and palmettoes

glistened in the silver light which descended from above,

and were tinged by the ruddy glow of our huge camp-fire

Which lighted them from below, making each tree 1? the

foreground distinct in vivid lines of beauty; the dark T

cesses of the denser growth occasionally iluminated by

- . flame which streamed up for a moment and disclosed colon-

nades of pines and palms, standing equidistant and regular

;

RAMBLES IN FLORIDA. 469

.as if placed by human hands. It required no flight of the

imagination to transform these charming forest vistas into

the long, dim, aisles of cathedrals; the trunks of the trees

forming the pillars, and the graceful leaves of the palmetto,

overarched, forming a roof.

“The groves were God's first temples.”

We sat up late, enjoying the glories of the night, the last

of our out-door camping in Florida. Early the following

morning we “broke camp” and prepared for the return trip

to Cedar Keys. Hoisting the anchor with a cheerful “heave

yo,” the sails of the Santa Maria soon filled, and we were

homeward bound. We gave a farewell look by way of a

parting salute to Piney Key, as it stood out bright and beau-

tiful in the purple light of the morning:

The slanting sun shone white along the sand,

Strewn with green sea-weeds and with crimson shells,

ut of the ocean’s dim mysterious cells,

Jewelling all the broadskirts of the land.

Arriving at Cedar Keys after a pleasant voyage, we pro-

ceeded homeward over the same route by which we came.

The winter climate of Florida is not only healthful but

` delightful; in the summer there is danger of contracting

fever and ague, and the yellow fever is an occasional visitor.

The climatic advantages to the invalid are at the present

_time counterbalanced by the miserable food and discomforts

of the hotels and boarding houses; there are undoubtedly

exceptions to the last objection, but they are rare: The ex-

penses of a three months trip are quite heavy and we could

make a journey to Europe or California, of the same dura-

_ tion for the same cost, and live infinitely better in bed and

In an agricultural point of view Florida offers no induce-

ments to the emigrant or settler that are not surpassed by

many other sections of the country, whether quality of soil,

facilities of transportation, accessibility to markets, or va-

Nety or capabilities of production are considered. An emi-

410 NATURALIST IN CALIFORNIA.

gration of enterprising and industrious people, in sufficient,

numbers so as to exercise a controlling influence, would ina

few years effect a great change for the better, and place the

State in the line of progress. The average Floridian of

to-day understands only one thing, and that is “how not to

doit." Emigration should be by colonies, and should in-

clude some mechanics, and be well provided with all neces-

sary agrieultural and mechanical implements and material,

iu order to be successful, and great care should be exercised

in the selection of a location.

The trip to Florida, of which these “Rambles” afford a

mere outline, was not devoid of scientific interest, and the

results will be made known at some future time, either in

the NATURALIST or some other appropriate publication. .

THE NATURALIST IN CALIFORNIA.

BY J. G. COOPER, M. D.

NO. II.

The Colorado Valley in winter.—I arrived at Fort Mo-

jave, after a journey of sixteen days from Los Angeles,*

on December 19th, 1860. This post is situated close to

latitude 359, where the boundary line of California strikes

the river, and although on the Arizonian side, has, probably,

uo species of animals not also living on the west bank of

the river, unless Lepus callotis be an exception. This, ae

Texan hare, I found common there, while ZL. Californicus

is the prevalent, if not the only large species westware-

The valley of the Colorado at this post is, probably , ten

. miles in width, and formed of a succession of gravelly isi

races, or mésas, with a narrow sandy bottom intervening

/-. . *Not Angelos, as printed before. Spanish, not Italian.

bl a 5 ah SENS ig Ned ERE Ee i "emos

« A SES BUNGLE, were E <

=e NER

NATURALIST IN CALIFORNIA. 471

not over a mile wide. The whole upland has a most barren

and desolate aspect, the only vegetation being low shrubs of

the fetid Larrea Mexicana, with cacti and other. thorny

plants beneath. The bottom land, however, supports a

vigorous growth of cottonwood, willows, and mesquite,

a name applied there to two quite different trees, the Alga-

robia glandulosa and Strombocarpa pubescens. Dense shrub-

ry and coarse grasses cover most of the ground, even

under the darkest shade, though spots are sometimes too

alkaline for any vegetation except a few sea-shore plants,

and in places the winds keep up a rolling waste of sand

hills. The river itself is so low in winter that the Indians

can wade across with their heads above water, and is so

. muddy as to fully deserve its name.

After my desert experience, I gazed with delight on the

broad flashing stream, with its forest-clad banks, even though

the trees were then bare, and the whole country nearly of

the same brown tint as the river, for I knew that the very

barrenness of the surrounding regions must drive most of

the animal life to the river banks, one class in search of

vegetable food the other to prey upon the former, while

such as loved water must necessarily seek it here. And,

with the exceptions mentioned as desert animals in my for-

mer article, nearly all of the higher animals are confined to

this narrow belt of timber, stretching along the course of

the Colorado from its Great Cañon, thirty miles higher up,

down to its mouth. Those living permanently on the up-

lands must depend on a very scanty supply of dew for water

during most of the year.

I must remark here that in climate this region belongs to

Mexico, the winter being the dry season, and the summer

Subject to violent thunder storms from the south, but not

wet, the whole annual rain not exceeding three or four

Inches, of which perhaps one falls in winter. The =

fare rarely falls below the freezing point in latitude 35°,

_ although the surrounding mountains were white with snow

472 NATURALIST IN CALIFORNIA.

on several occasions during January. The elevation of the

river at this point is not over 550 feet, and the whole bottom

land is inundated nearly every summer. The distance by

the course of the river from its mouth is 400 miles.

The fauna of the valley naturally partakes much of the

Mexican (west slope) character, and has some peculiarities.

. It is too limited and too liable to inundation for many land

mammalia to flourish in it, except such as are common to the

neighboring deserts and mountains. A second species, at

present known no farther west, is the Leaf-nosed Bat (Ma-

crotus Californicus) from Fort Yuma. This bat, like the

birds, is independent of floods, and is probably migratory

southward in winter, like two species I obtained at Fort

Mojave—the Pale Bat (Antrozous pallidus), and a small

species of Vespertilio which did not appear until March 15th,

though the climate was warm enough for weeks before.

On walking out with my gun I was struck with surprise

at the great numbers of Abert’s Finch (Pipilo Abertit)

frequenting the grove, the flocks flitting before me like dry

leaves before the wind, their color exactly resembling the

prevailing hue of the foliage covering the ground, and now

densely coated with brown dust. It recalled the observation

I had often made as to the prevalence of this brown hue in

so many birds of California, of different genera and fami-

lies, but agreeing in their habit of living in low shrubbery

which has the same brown and dusty tint for eight or nine

months of the year. The loud call or alarm note of this

bird was strikingly different from the notes of its more

silent cousin near the coast, the P. Suscus (or crissalis), but

I soon noticed another strange fact, namely, that this note

was also uttered by two other very distinct birds of dissim-

ilar habits, the Shining Flycatcher and Gila Woodpecker

(Centurus uropygidlis), both of which were abundant and

me feeding together on the berries of the mistletoe, parasitic

. On almost every tree. These birds were my first specimens,

. together with the common Grass Finch (Poeecetes grami-

pur

1g in colo g K

i Squirrel, though it would apply pretty well to th ge F which

NATURALIST IN CALIFORNIA. 413

neus) and Chipping Sparrow (Spizella socialis), which were

wintering there in small flocks.

Next day I was disgusted to find my specimens damaged

by mice, and, on setting a trap, soon secured some which

I cannot distinguish, except by a lighter hue, from the

common woodmouse of California (Hesperomys Gambellii).

These, with several other rodents, had taken up their resi-

dence in the thatched roofs of our adobé quarters. On

Christmas eve a little ice formed in the valley, but next

morning the Brown Thrush (Harporhynchus crissalis) of

this region was singing melodiously, and exactly in the style

of its cousins east and west, so well known as “False

Mocking Birds.” It is another of the dead leaf-colored

birds of the western regions, and is as strictly limited to

the groves as its pale sandy-hued relative, H. Lecontez, is to

the desert shrubbery.* .

The end of the year was cold and stormy for this latitude,

so that no additions, except more northern migrants, were

obtained among the birds, the most notable being the Ore-

gon Snowbird (Junco Oregonus), and a few of the Meadow

Lark (Sturnella neglectà), with several species of ducks and

Seese. In January, Swans (Cygnus Americanus) also ap-

peared for a few days. On Jan. 10th I was both surprised

and pleased to obtain a beautiful specimen of the Bohemian

Waxwing CAmpelis garrulus), which had wandered so far

from the mountains north-eastward, where the species

abounds, and, probably driven by storms, had sought a tem-

porary refuge in this far southern latitude. It was a solitary

Straggler, and even its cousin, A. cedrorum, never appeared

there during my residence. :

_ On the 16th a solitary Mexican Flycatcher (Myiarchus

Mexicanus), evidently almost starved, gave a specimen of

the summer group of migrants lingering in the valley

OU ML Liu.

aq ^y here correct an error caused by the transposition of a line in my aei EREA

- 4- te nvinted

Es. qv

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 60

NET

474 NATURALIST IN CALIFORNIA.

through the winter. Vegetation was just commencing to

bud forth now, and I observed a few Doves and Cow-birds

(Molothrus pecoris), apparently attracted by the opening

spring, as none appeared before. I cannot enumerate all

the species of vertebrates which now amounted to over

fifty, as I collected them, but must notice only the more re-

markable. The resident species not found westward of this

valley were the Ladder Woodpecker (Picus scalaris), the

White-bellied Wren (Thriothorus leucogaster), Gambel's

Quail (Lophortyx Gambellii), the Arizona Song-sparrow

(Melospiza fallax), the lead-colored Gnatcatcher (Polioptila

plumbea), Malherbe's Flicker (Colaptes chrysoides), and the

Yellow-headed Titmouse (Auriparus flaviceps). Besides

these, most of the species before mentioned are resident,

and also many common to the coast regions. Frosty nights

throughout January seemed to prevent the appearance of

any new birds. Even in February the new comers were

only such as I know winter in more northern parts of Cali-

fornia near the coast, though the thermometer rose to 80°

on the 20th. :

February 27th, a few Bank Swiillows (Cotyle riparia,

or serripennis*) and bicolored Swallows (Hirundo bicolor) :

appeared. Even these last winter near the coast muc

farther north, to latitude 379. It appears that there is little

migration along this valley of the species common in sum-

mer near the coast, as they have to cross the deserts, and

prefer a more western route. Some of the winter residents

however became more scarce, probably seeking the moun-

tains or high lands not more than a hundred miles distant,

while the strong-winged hawks and swimmers may have

gone even to the arctic regions.

Spring.— By March 2d, the poplars (“cottonwood”) were

in nearly full leaf, and beautiful flowers covered the richer

ag qeu UNES c

pou A ML LII I EC E

i EU Cue y J3 au: peci he: * abi

White-throated Swift ( Panyptila melanoleuca),

andant,” February 21st, 1854. Also» ted

at William's Fork, February 16th,

February 990

NATURALIST IN CALIFORNIA. 415

and warmer spots, chiefly in the ravines of the neighboring

mountains. A duck was seen by an old resident on the

river, which he said was very rare there, and from descrip-

tion was probably the long-legged Tree-duck (Dendrocygna

Julva), since found to frequent the Sacramento Valley for

nine months of the year, and to breed there; one of the few

peculiarly western species. I shot or observed many other

species of aquatic birds while here, but they furnished no

very interesting facts. I obtained one each of the Red-

necked and Williamson's Woodpeckers (Sphyrapicus nucha-

lis and Williamsonii), the only ones seen, and probably

stragglers from the north.

I had been ten weeks at the post before I saw a single

Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia), and then found only

one pair, several miles distant, inhabiting a burrow evidently

freshly dug by themselves. In the absence of the large bur-

rowing squirrels, or other animals of similar size, they are

sometimes compelled to burrow, but do. not seem to increase

in numbers in such localities. The general hardness of the

Soil on the upland is also an obstacle to their digging.

On March 10th I observed the first Hummingbird (prob-

ably Atthis coste, which Dr. Kennerley found in February

1854, in the warmer valley of William's Fork), and the

same day saw large flocks of geese migrating north. The

first Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) was killed this day, and I

obtained the first Horned Lizard (Doliosaurus platyrhinos).

The weather now being very warm, flocks of cranes, swal-

lows, and various winter residents were seen going north-

ward daily. On the 15th I saw the first Bat and Western

Whippoorwill, and on the 19th shot another Mexican Fly-

catcher, probably also a winter resident. There is evi-

dently a constant moving northward of the winter residents,

but apparently none from Mexico. i

On March 22d I obtained the first seen of the Pale Spar-

Tow (Spizella pallida* ), which seems to go farther south to

*Decidedly this and not S. Brewerii, which Coues supposes to replace it in Arizona

and westwards,

416 NATURALIST IN CALIFORNIA.

winter than the |S. socialis, but the first birds which I could

consider as probably the leaders of the summer migration,

were, as it happened, of a new species, viz., Helminthophaga

Lucie, or Lucy’s Warbler, which I shot at first sight on

March 29th, the two first being males, and attracting my

notice by their notes, as their small size and concealment in

the dense mesquite thickets, which were just leafing out,

would have otherwise prevented their discovery for a long

time. They may even be winter residents in the valley like

the allied Z7. celata.

The first nest I found with eggs was that of a Shrike

(Lanius excubitoroides) on the 19th, and on the 26th ob-

tained the first eggs of the Quail, of the Yellow-headed

Titmouse (which builds an extraordinary closed nest o

thorny twigs, like the magpies's in miniature), and of

Abert's Pipilo. :

Burrows were not uncommon which may have been made

by Foxes or by the Badger (/Tuxidea Americana). On

March 30th, visiting a steel trap which I had set for bur-

rowing animals I was surprised to find in it a Swift Fox

( Vulpes veloz) caught by the toes. Having no way of se-

curing it alive, I was obliged to make a dead specimen of it

at once, fearing it might tear itself away. This is one of

the mammalia which has not yet been detected west of the

Colorado, though it undoubtedly exists there, and is indeed

but a dwarf variety of the common Red Fox. Other mam-

mals which I had obtained were Gambel’s Woodmouse, be-

fore mentioned; Audubon’s Hare (fur finer than near the

coast, approaching Lepus artemisie), Coyoté (Canis la-

frans), killed by the dogs while running through the camp

one moonlight night in January; Brush-tailed Rat (.Perog-

_ nathus penicillatus), quite common in the thatched roofs;

Dark Woodmouse (Hesperomys austerus?), before found

only in Washington Territory, but undistinguishable by de-

-Seriptions ; Boyle's Woodmouse, probably a mere long-tailed

PA CO EY O EN ORTE ET ROA AUS E ET CN ET MEE TESS, ERS I E LISTE NS E EE EE E RE

c Variety of Gambel’s; the Mexican Woodrat (Neotoma Mex-

NATURALIST IN CALIFORNIA. 477

icana), common and very large; Phillips Jumping-rat (Di-

podomys Phillippii), common, and an invader of. dwellings.

The Texan Hare I have already mentioned. The Indians

also brought in a fawn, apparently of the Cervus Columbia-

nus, which seems to be the common species along the river,

although others probably exist. They also brought a young

antelope, of which herds were seen on the neighboring

mésas during the short period of green vegetation in spring.

A Wild-cat (Lynx rufus) was often seen at dusk about the

post garden, where I attempted to shoot it but failed for

want of light. My inquiries about the Californian Opossum

found along the Mexican boundary, did not indicate its ex-

istence in this valley, though it will be found there if any-

where in California, nor did I learn of any other carnivo-

rous mammals. Beavers are quite common in the river and

grow to an enormous size; Gophers (Thomomys fulvus) are

also common.

Compared with Kennerley’s collections, in 1854, and

Coues’, in 1865, at Fort Whipple, the first quarter of 1861

must have been unusually cold. April proved to be the

mouth for the arrival of the great body of summer birds,

although a week before I saw what I took to be a Fork-

tailed Flycatcher CMilvulus forficatus?), a species never yet

obtained west of the Rocky Mountains, and a Scarlet Fly-

catcher ( Pyrocephalus Mexicanus) , which is a rare summer

visitor, about which I could not be mistaken, though neither

would allow of a near approach. I obtained the following,

usually as soon as observed: April 2d, Atthis coste; 3d,

Bullock's Oriole (Icterus Bullockii) ; and saw an Zmpidonaz,

Barn Swallows, and Summer Yellow-bird ; a ground Cuckoo

(Geococcyx Californianus) laid an egg in its cage. 11th,

shot an Obscure Flycatcher (Empidonax obscurus). 17th,

Texan Nighthawk (Chordeiles Tezensis) and saw the first

eggs of Orioles. 24th, MeGillivray’s Warbler ( Geothlypis

McGillivray’), Yellow-breasted Chat (Acteria viridis, not

S long-tailed), Arkansas Kingbird (Tyrannus verticalis).

478 NATURALIST IN CALIFORNIA.

25th, found the eggs of Common Doves. 26th, shot a new

species of. Owl (Micrathene Whitney) in a dark thicket.

28th, Summer Red-bird (Pyranga estiva). 29th, found a

nest and two eggs of the Shining Flycateher. In this month

I saw an unknown species of Oriole in the high trees, like

Jcterus Parisorum Bonap.

On April 6th I trapped a squirrel, of a species which I

had not before observed, a third larger than Harris’, and

dark-brown instead of gray, but with proportions and mark-

ings so exactly like the desert species, that, remembering

the varieties of the Four-striped Tamias, I did not dare to

consider this distinct. It was all I saw of the kind, which

may be common in the wooded mountains of Arizona. On

the 13th I obtained the first Pale Bat, before noted.

Reptiles had now become common in the valley, and were

mostly distinct species from those of the deserts. Besides

those mentioned, a large Fence Lizard (Sceloporus ma-

gister?), eight inches long, began to frequent the trees

March 20th, and on the 23d, three young of my new Land

Tortoise (Xerobates Agassizii) were brought from the moun-

tains by Indians. The Thirsty Lizard (Dipsosawrus dor-

salis) became common in the ravines near by, far from

water. On the 30th I caught Graham’s Salvadora (S. Gra-

hamii), a pretty harmless snake living in the grassy valley.

April 15th, Woodhouse’s Toad* first appeared on the drier

banks; 17th, Churchill’s Bull-snake ( Pituophis bellona) ;

26th, Boyle’s Milk-snake (Lampropeltis Boylii); 29th, the

Coppery Whip-snake (Masticophis testaceus), and some very

swift lizards ( Crotaphytus sp.) which I did not succeed in

catching, appeared on the desert plains.

On May 1st I shot the Little Flycatcher ( Empidonax pu-

=~ Sillus), which I then mistook for E. Traillii, but find by my

. .motes that this one differed from a true specimen of the lat-

. fer, shot on May 20th, in having the lower mandible brown-

2 ish instead of yellowish and in proportions. lt was lost, with

*Dr. Kennerley found toads at William's Fork, February 18th, 1854.

NATURALIST IN CALIFORNIA. 479

a valuable collection sent by the “Golden Gate,” on the way

to Washington, but I happened to reserve the other one,

about the occurrence of which west of the Rocky Mountains

there has been some discussion. *

May 6th, shot the first Blue Grosbeak ( Guiraca coerulea) ;

Mth, the Blue-headed Greenlet ( Vireo solitariust ), which

Dr. Coues omits from the birds of Arizona, supposing it to

be his V. plumbeus, which however is quite distinct, and one

I did not obtain.t

May 19th I found a nest of the Yellow-breasted Chat

containing three eggs, besides one of the parasitic Cow-bird ;

on the 8th a nest of the House Finch, or Red Linnet ( Car-

podacus Jrontalis), with eggs, and on the 19th that of the

Song Sparrow ( Melospiea’ fallax).§ May 20th I first saw

the Blue Linuet ( Cyanospiza amoena), and shot Hammond's

and Trails Flycatchers (Empidonax Hammondii and E.

ee Coues List of Birds of Fort Whipple, Arizona, in * eee of the Phila-

ps Academy of Natural Science," January, 1800. Com —€—À 2 "i Ibis"

April, 1865, and July, 1866; Baird on Distribution of Birds, in " eina Journal," and

my article on Additions to the singes st meng in the “ Proceedings of the Califor-

Academy of carts IV, iii, N

i take thia 1 di 41 13 £1 a LS Thi

these arid regions, j prevails among the m re terrestrial ierit

the brown, olive r gree nish, in many species also found in moister and a more wooded

regions vector others, differing in other respects from wies n representatives,

are considered ac di n Hawk CFalco

colu limbarius), ) Mottled Owl (eine asio var. Oa sa Hawk (Chordeiles popetue

var. bom eta Icteria — longicauda, Thriothorus (Bewickii var.?) leucogaster,

Pow es (gramineu. poke, Melospiza pate yar. ?) fallax, kieres aes

var. var.) neglecta, and Ground | Dove( Chamepelia pa assering var. pallescens), furnish exa ers

Maa Species as usually recognized, are the Hare Hawk ( Falco polyogrus), Squirrel Hawk

(Archibuteo ferru nile mter Whitneyi, Nuttal's Whippoorwill (Antrostomus

Nuttalli, Western Kingbirds (Tyrannus vociferans and verticalis), Say’s Pewee (Say-

Ornis Sayus), Empidonaz obscurus, Polioptila plumbea, Graces Warbler (Dendreca

Gracie Cones) of Fort begs Heimithoage Lucie, Swainson’s Vireo (F. Swain-

use (Psaltriparus ;

beus), mmt cud iuis ced omitris Lawrencii), Pal e Snowbird (Junco pon Centena

Jater tuan at San Diego

Mone ang as the arrivalof many birds, was from one to two months

in 1862,

480 NATURALIST IN CALIFORNIA.

T'railli?) ; also, Richardson's Pewee (Contopus Richard-

sonii) and Black-cap Warbler (Myiodioctes pusillus).* The

only mammals I obtained were a small Bat ( Vespertilio Yu-

manensis?), and the typical gray variety of Harris’ Sper-

mophile, shot some miles from the river on May 28th, the

day I started to return to the coast. The reptiles added

were the Colorado Toad (Bufo alvarius), an enormous

semiaquatic species nearly as smooth as a frog; and several

others on the way westward which do not appear to inhabit

the valley.

Fish seemed to be scarce in this muddy river, and I only

obtained three species of cyprinoids: a large one called Col-

orado Salmon (Ptychocheilus lucius), a Gila (G. robusta?),

and one allied to the Suckers ( Catostomus). Mollusca were

equally rare, and a few specimens of the remarkable Physa

humerosa and Planorbis ammon were all I found. My col-

lection of vertebrata made at Fort Mojave numbered 100

species, and 250 specimens.

I might enumerate many other species that have been ob-

tained in the Colorado Valley by other collectors, but it

would be too long a list. I have, altogether, counted up

twenty-three species of mammals, one hundred and nine-

teen birds, and ten reptiles, as found there at various sea-

sons, some of which I heard of as visiting Fort Mojave

later than my stay there. By May 15th the spring rains

were over and the short vegetation of the mésas was drying

up. About this time also the river was rising rapidly,

bringing down cold water from the mountains, and moder-

ating the heat which had been as high as 116° in the shade

on April 20th. The summer wind began to blow from the

south, and would, probably, bring some of the latest birds

with it, while others would come after the floods to seek the

food left by the subsiding waters. Among these have been

seen the strange Vulture-eagles ( Polyborus Audubonii and

oe SS la eaten re

COD cad e Mi pese only one of the rare Western Warbler (Dendraca periden-

HINTS ON TAXIDERMY. 481

Craxirex unicinctus), the little Ground Dove, and the quaint

Wood Ibis, called there “Colorado Turkey" (Tantalus locu-

lator).

My object has been to give merely a sketch of the pro-

gress of the faunal seasons, as I saw them.

HINTS ON TAXIDERMY.

. BY C. A. WALKER.

[Concluded from page 201.]

The method of skinning and mounting tortoises and turtles.

—By examining the exterior covering of this order it will

be seen that it consists of two horny plates or shields, which

are closely united at the sides, forming a protection to the

soft parts of the body ; the upper one is called the carapace,

and the lower one the sternum or breast bone. Before com-

mencing the operation of skinning it is necessary to sepa-

rate these two plates by means of a strong knife, chisel, or

other similar instrument, or a fine saw, taking great care to

make the separation at the suture, as far as possible, and

to avoid cracking the shell. After this operation has been

finished remove all the flesh adhering to both the upper and

under plates. The arrangement of the bones and muscles

. differs so essentially from that of the other orders of verte-

brates that attention should be given to this point in remov-

ing the various parts. The fore and hind legs should be

turned out, and all the flesh adhering to them removed,

taking care not to separate these various parts from their

attachments to the upper shell; also, the neck and head

Should undergo the same operation, the brain and eyes being

Temoved. The inner surface should now be thoroughly

Cleaned by means of a stiff brush, and the preservative ap-

Plied to every part, after which they may be restored to.

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 6

482 HINTS ON TAXIDERMY.

position, having previously filled the eye sockets and cavity

of the brain with cotton. In stuffing, commence by re-

storing the neck to its natural form with cut tow. A wire

(the holy support), well pointed, should next be inserted at

the top of the head, upon the outer surface, and passed

down through the cut tow within the néck, across the space

previously occupied by the body, and thence through the

tail until it protrudes at the tip of the same. The other

wires, or leg supports, should be inserted at the soles of each

foot, up within the skin of the legs, and secured firmly to

the main body support. The adjustment of the wires is

essentially the same as recommended in the mounting of the

arger mammalia. The various muscles should now be imi-

tated with eut tow, and the upper and under plates joined.

This may be accomplished by bringing them together, and

boring four small holes with an awl, two at one end, the

one above and the other beneath the suture, and the same:

at the other end, uniting them by means of fine annealed

wire. Cement may also be used with advantage in this oper-

ation. The carapace may be cleaned with a [weak solution

of nitric acid and water, washing it freely; afterwards it

may be oiled and rubbed with a piece of flannel.

Of crocodiles and lizards in general. — All of the smaller

species should be preserved in spirits, of about 75 per cent

strength. The larger of this group are skinned in the same

manner as a quadruped; especial care is, however, required

in skinning the tails, as they are very liable to break. But

little preservative is needed, the skins being of a dry nature.

They may also be stuffed in the same manner as a quadruped,

and little skill is required to get them in shape.

Of serpents. — With the larger specimens, such as cannot

: readily preserved in alcohol, the following method should

be adopted in removing the skin. Open the mouth to its

utmost capacity and insert therein a stick to retain it in this

position. With the aid of the scalpel sever the body from

— the head within the skin, leaving no attachments whatever.

di Ne

HINTS ON TAXIDERMY. 483

Grasp the body with the pincers and pull it out through the

mouth, and fasten it to a hook. The body is now to be

pulled from the enveloping skin; to accomplish tbis it is

necessary to avoid all strain, that the scales upon the outside

may not be disarranged, using the scissors and scalpel to

sever the ligaments which bind the skin to the carcass.

There is no necessity of turning the skull, but the brain

should be removed through an opening at its base. The

muscles within the mouth, and the eyes, should also be

taken away. The whole should then be anointed with the

preservative, and the skin reversed to restore it to its natu-

tal position. Before stuffing, suspend the skin in a vertical

Position, with the head uppermost. The form can now be

restored with sawdust; this may be run through a tunnel,

using a slender stick, from time to time, to lay it evenly.

Having reached the mouth insert some putty to keep the

sawdust from spilling out. The specimen may now be

taken down and bent into any position wished, being sup-

ported by a wooden framework until thoroughly dry. In

order that the specimen may be free from the attacks of

Noxious insects it is well to soak the sawdust in a solution

of carbolic acid and water previous to placing it within the

skin ; and it should be thoroughly dry, otherwise the skin is

liable to mould. Sand can also be used to imitate the form,

but the chief objection is its great weight.

Of the method of skinning and mounting fish. — This class

of animals possess many beauties, which, when thus removed

m their native element, vanish forever, and it is in vain

for the taxidermist to try to imitate those iridescent tints

Which characterize the living specimens. The best he can

is to preserve in form and general outline those charac-

teristics by which he may be able to recognize his subject.

Before proceeding to describe the operation of skinning it

may be well to state that the scales, as well as their €!

May be preserved to a certain degree by applying tissue

Paper to them, which, from the natural glutinous matter

484 HINTS ON TAXIDERMY.

which covers the scales will adhere firmly; this being

allowed to remain until the skin has dried may be easily

removed by moistening with a damp cloth. All small fish

should be mounted in section, while the larger varieties may

be preserved entire. Suppose the fish to be of such a size

as to be mounted in section, first, it is necessary that it be as

fresh as possible, as the scales will become detached if decay

be allowed to commence. Lay the fish on one side and

cover the side uppermost with tissue paper, as stated above;

also extend the fins by means of the same, and allow them

to remain a few moments until they become fixed and dry; |

this will be a protection to the fins and scales during the

process of skinning. Having provided yourself with a

damp cloth spread it smoothly upon the table, and place

Fig. 77. the fish upon it with

the papered side down.

With the dissecting scis-

— T sors eut the skin in the

Bose M 2 manner indicated by the

D dotted line a, in Fig. 77,

e and remove the skin (4)

included within the line. The remaining skin must now be

detached from the flesh, beginning at the head and separ-

ating it downward toward the tail. The spine must be sev-

ered close to the head, and also at the tail, and the entire

body removed. All the flesh having been taken from the

skin, and the eyes removed, the inside must be wiped out

and the preservative applied. It is necessary here to repeat

the caution not to use any unnecessary strain that will be

liable to distend the skin. The skin should now be filled

with cotton or tow, and this must be laid so evenly that.

there shall be no prominences upon the outside of the same-

When filled it should be laid with the open side down, upon

a board of proper dimensions previously prepared, and fast-

. . ned to it by means of small tacks, commencing at the head,

_ and fastening the edges (as at a, Fig. 77) downward to

HINTS ON TAXIDERMY. 485

thetail. It should then be set aside in the air to dry, care

being taken not to expose it to the rays of the sun. When

dry the paper which covers the exposed side and with which

the rays are distended, may be removed in the manner pre-

viously stated, and the glass eyes inserted with a little

putty. As the glass eyes used by taxidermists are generally

too spherical, and polished, it is well to manufacture them of

. . Wood, using common paint to restore the color, avoiding the

= Wseof varnish. Finally the skin should receive a coat of

= thin colorless varnish, after which it is ready for the cabinet.

In sharks and large fishes an incision should be made below

the head at its base, along the ridge of the back, following

to either side of the dorsal fin down to the tail. The skin

‘ean then be separated on each side, and by severing the ver-

tebræ at the head and tail, the entire body may be removed.

The tail having been skinned, the head should be pushed

inwards and the skin passed over it, when all the cartilage

can be freely cut away. In stuffing these large species it

omes necessary to use a body support, and a bar of light

99d may be used for this purpose; this should enter the

skull, thereby being more easily kept in position, and extend

the base of the tail. Hooks can be fastened to this bar,

and by means of wire the specimen can be suspended from

above, The body should then be stuffed with hay, and the

incision upon the back carefully sewed up. If the first coat

of varnish is observed to rise in scales it should be removed

with a solution of nitric acid and water, and the skin allowed

dry, when a second application of varnish will ever after-

Wards remain quite solid.

We may state in conclusion that with the exception of

large turtles, alligators and their allies, large sharks and a

few other fishes of great size, stuffed specimens of the two

C'asses of reptiles and fishes are very unsatisfactory to the

haturalist, and that whenever it is practicable to preserve

: sed specimen in aleohol that method should be adopted in

ce of Skinning and stuffing.

THE FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

BY C. B. BRIGHAM.

(Continued from page 377.)

Ir is useless, even were it possible, to give the exact

amount of plants that are necessary to keep an aquarium in

order. A very few pieces will be sufficient to purify the

water, but as some water-plants are very beautiful, it may

be desirable to have the maximum rather than the minimum

amount of them in the aquarium. The fishes should have

space enough to move around freely, and at the same time

to be seen to advantage. Bearing this in mind my own

taste would be to have as many plants as the tank would

allow. As the water in the tank is changed from time to

time the plants can be thinned out and the decaying stalks

eut off.

The live stock of the aquarium is generally selected from

fishes, lizards, snails, and mussels. One word as to the

propriety of having many kinds of fish together in one tank.

me fish, such as sticklebacks or pickerel, are so voracious

that either the other fish are wholly eaten up by them, or

else their fins or tails are so maimed that they become ob-

Jects of pity instead of amusement. Again, in selecting 4

stock of fish we should try to have them of a size propor-

tioned to the tank they are to be put in. It is a great mis-

take to have in the tank a fish so large that it can hardly

turn about; as a general rule, in our common sized tanks,

the smaller the fish the better. At the same time we thus

have a chance of having more specimens without diminishing

too much the supply of oxygen. It is often very difficult te

get small specimens of some kinds of fish, such as perch or

eels. At certain seasons in the year it is the custom, in

some places in the country, to draw off the water in the mill-

pond and make repairs; if such a chance presents then is

2o 486 puc .

FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 487

the time for the lover of the aquarium to enjoy himself, for

as the water is left in small, shallow holes, here and there,

we shall find in these places multitudes of specimens only

waiting to be preserved, — small perch in great numbers and

many rare larvze among the plants. At such a time too, we

can make a choice of mussels, selecting for their beauty

those whose shells are rayed with the darker shades of

green. Very young bream are easy to catch in the net. Not

. 80 with those an inch or more long, and now is the chance

offered to get as many as we wish. Perch and bream both

need a good deal of care to make them live the year round

in the tank, but they will repay a little trouble, as they be-

come so tame if properly cared for. Speaking of the tame-

ness of fishes it seems to be more a question of food than

anything else; if fishes are fed at certain times, and are

compelled to come to the top for the food they soon get

into the way of coming up whenever one is near by, and will

even jump out of the water at the bare finger. "There is a

little fish, found mostly in slowly running streams, called

the roach; it is a very interesting fish for the aquarium on

account of its peculiar shape and habits; it has two large

side fins just behind the head, which it always keeps fully

extended, looking as if it had an old-fashioned collar on.

t remains motionless for the most of the time on the bot-

tom of the stream, occasionally starting off, perhaps in

search of food, only to sink down again to its former quiet

Position ; it is easy to keep this fish in good condition in the

aquarium. Young pickerel are desirable fish to have in

the tanks if one can afford to keep. only that kind of fish;

placed with larger fish they do very well and constantly rec-

9mmend themselves for their elegant movements, but with

Small fish, such as minnows, they live in constant war. In

One of my tanks twenty-four minnows were killed within

a week by a pickerel about an inch and a half long, and this

While giving the pickerel a regular course of feeding on

ef. Minnows have always held a high rank among the

488 FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM.

fishes to be selected for the aquarium ; collecting together in

schools, tame, hardy and lively, they have qualities which

few aquarial specimens possess. The stickleback ( Gasteros-

feus) of which there are several varieties, is hardly a fish

for the general collection ; although of exquisite form, it is

so fierce, especially in the breeding season, that’ it inces-

santly attacks the other fishes in the aquarium, and in a

short time deprives them of more or less of their tails, mak-

ing the unfortunate victims literally top-heavy, swimming

with their tails, or rather what were once tails, much higher

than their heads.

Sticklebacks should have a tank devoted exclusively to

them and this especially if we wish them to build a nest,

one of their peculiar accomplishments. Early in the

spring the sticklebacks may be found in great numbers in -

the small ditehes which drain the salt-water marshes. The

male is easily distinguished from the female by its deep red

color around the gills and its blue eyes, while the female has

only the silvery scales. A pair taken at random usually

live peaceably together; if it is in the right season they

will soon look about for materials for a nest, taking bits of

water-plants and even coming to the surface for small pieces

_of straw and sticks; with such materials they build a

round nest about as large as a small English walnut, hollow

in the centre and eed two holes large enough to admit

the fish on either side; the nest is built upon the branches

of some of the water-plants. While the female is laying

the eggs the male acts as guard, fiercely driving away any-

thing coming within a certain radius of the nest. When

the eges are Li they resemble small globules of wet sago

more than anything else. The female will be seen to fan

these eges quite often with her fins; this is probably to give

them fich water and to prevent any sediment from collect-

ing upon them. After a fortnight or so, instead of eggs, We

see in different parts of the tank what at first look most like

«Very Minute gold spangles as large as the head of a small

FRESH-WATER AQUARIUM. 489

pin. On closer examination we find that they are the eyes

of avery small fish. Their growth is so slow that in order

to preserve them it will be well to remove them to a small

tank by themselves, where they can be fed by placing a

piece of raw beef on the end of a string, and hanging it over

the edge of the tank into the water until it is turned white,

When another piece can be introduced. The stickleback, as

also the minnows, is easily accustomed to fresh water by

freshening the salt-water gradually until it is quite fresh and:

then introducing the fish into the tank. The stickleback is

hot the only fresh water, nest building, fish, Wood men-

tions a curious fish found in tropical America, called by the

natives the hassar; a fish which builds a nest as carefully as

the stickleback, though one “not placed in the water but in

@ muddy hole just above the surface." Whether we have

gold fish or not in the aquarium, is a matter of taste, some

Persons thinking that they give the aquarium a common fish-

globe look. It seems to me if we can get some small ones

of a brilliant color, and of good proportions, we should be

glad to receive them into the tank. The great trouble with

gold fish is that they are apt to be so deformed, some with

the gaunt look of a starved fish, others with a hump on the

back or a larger or smaller number of fins than usual.

Gold fish would be worth keeping in the aquarium for their

remarkable color alone if for nothing more.

. Small eels and horned pouts add to the variety of fishes

ae the aquarium, but both are so uneasy and so very vora-

“ious that they are not pleasing inmates of the tank; wan-

ering up and down the sides of the tank, they seem discon-

ted and ill at ease. Young alewives are so beautiful that

€ is tempted to try them in the aquarium; rarely do they

in it

.. One of the most interesting animals for the aquarium is

“te triton, or water-newt; these tritons are often found in

What are called, in the country, pond holes, seldom in brooks

9r ponds; they are perfectly harmless and will remain on the

j 62

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III.

490 top.

warm hand as long as one has patience to hold them; they

come up to the surface to breathe, and therefore do not con-

sume much oxygen; they are perfectly hardy and easy to

keep alive, eating small pieces of beef eagerly ; they occa-

sionally change their skins, bringing the old skin over their

heads and then swallowing them just as toads do. Their

odd motions in the water, often poising themselves on the

end of the tail or on one toe, are ver y amusing. They lay

their eggs in the early spring either on or botos the leaves

of water-plants. By the middle of August the young are

nearly two inches long; they breathe at first with gills, but

by September they come to the surface for air, as the older

ones do. These tritons outlive all the other specimens in

the tank, and they live so peaceably with their companions

that they are invaluable as aquarial specimens. — To be con-

uded.

REVIEWS.

THE DEVELOPMENT oF INsecTs.—Naturalists are now paying in-

creased attention to the embryology of the articulates. After Rathke,

Herold, and Kölliker had published their memorable works, there was an

interval of twelve years between the publication, in 1842, of Kólliker's

celebrated tract, entitled in Latin, «Observations on the first Genesis of

Insects," and Zaddach's ** Researches on the Development and Structure

of Articulated Animals; Part I. The Development of Phryganidan Eggs,”

Leu atio

PUN. and fhitalled, are the most elaborate we pied

also * Researches on

REVIEWS. 491

Embryology of the Hemiptera (Aphis, Aspidiotus, Corixa), and Simulium,

and the viviparous Cecidomyian larva," which were printed in Siebold

and Kólliker's Journal, in 1866

At the meeting of the American EPEN in August, 1867, the writer

presented a paper on the Development of a Dragon-fly (Diplax), an illus-

trated abstract of which appeared in "i NATURALIST, vol 1, p. 676. His

Alex. Brandt presented to the Imperial Academy of Econ

of St. Petersburgh, a paper entitled “Contributions to the Developmen-

tal History of the Libellulide (Calopteryx and Agrion) and Hemipirs,

With especial reference to the E Embryonal integument” (blastoderm).

With these two papers, the latter relating to the earliest changes in the

eggs of Dragon-flies, and the former to the later stages in the life of the

io b

have appeared by Newport, Van Beneden, and others. We have already

in the present volume of the NATURALIST, quoted iom the abstract of

Robins’ paper on the ** Development of Mites,” quoted from the ** Comp-

tes Rendus” of the French Academy.

d now notice the last work on the embryology of insects, that

published in

tovum, dm, hitchi out; ^ "d mandibles; mz, maxille; p", ena pair of

rudiments of the simple eyes; m, beak, hh’, rudimentary stomach and

liver). From this deutovum (which is not the «amnion" of insects), is

developed a six-footed larva. This larva passes into an eight-footed

form, the « veis larva" (the nymph” or pupa, of Dujardin and Robin)

Which trans rms into the adult mite. The pupa differs from the adult in

ce feet, and four instead of ten genital nee cups, the

latter being the usual number in the adult.

4M REVIEWS.

The larve are elongated oval, with six long legs and four ocelli. They

Swarm over the gills of the mussel they are iiving on for a short time,

and then bore into the substance of the gill to undergo their next trans-

as in the first larval stage. The limbs are short and much larger than be-

fore, the whole animal assuming an embryo-like appearance, and moving

t like a rounded mass in its enclosure. Indeed is this process not

viande Claparéde does not say so) a histolysis of the former larval tis-

8 th

the second larval round mass. Soon the body is artip and the pupa,

as we may properly call it, slips out i: the larval mem

and looks like an embryo just before hatching, but still lying within t

egg. This may also be comparable with the formation of the adult "

within the puparium. (Compare Weismann's account of this process in

Musca, in our *‘ Guide to the Study of Insects," pp. 63, 64.) This period

seems to be an exact repetition of the histolysis, and the formation of

new tissues for the building up of a new body, which verni the pupal

vil while the adult mite slips out s. its pupal membrane, just as the

pupal mite throws off its larval errare like an adult butterfly, or

fly, Viger d from its pupal membran

mites, at least several jest pass through a series of meta-

eoe similar to those of such insects as have a complete metamor-

osis in the spiders, is paralleled by the incomplete metamor-

phosis of the orthoptera = Aea neuroptera, which reach adult life by

simple moultings of the s

In the genus Myobia feni m not only a deutovum, besides the original

egg, but also a tritovum-stage. The eggs of this mite are long, oval and

conical at the posterior end. The embryo with the rudiments of onim is

represented by risa 5 ed Plate 8. The little tubercles md and mz w

sent the mandibles and maxillæ, while the three pairs of legs, pp "p^,

bud out from the sitddie of live ipsc lc represents the head-plate. The

maxille and mandibles e to form a beak (x, Fig. 6) and the

three pairs of feet ( PP zd eed along the median line of the body.

ne development of the embryo is now for a time arrested, and à

2d peculiar tooth-like process (Fig. 7,d.) is developed. Claparède thinks that

by means of this the anterior end of the egg-shell is cut off, and the em-

ro protrudes through, when (as in Fig. 7) it is seen to be ot by

Te the deutovum (dt), equivalent to that of Atax. The

REVIEWS. 493

front pair of legs ( p') have grown larger and stand out in front and on

each side of the beak (R). The growing embryo again forces off the

the o

also by the deutovular membrane and the original egg-shell, the last two

having lost a small portion of the anterior end. During the tritovum-

Stage the fore pair of feet become curved in like claws, and the beak

sinks down into the body.

Now the six-footed larva (Fig. 8) breaks through the shell, and closely

resembles the adult (Pl. 8, Fig. 9). The first pair of feet modified for

grasping the hairs of the field mouse, on which it is a parasite, take the

the mandibles (pr) assume a style-like form. After one or more moultings

of t

results, which the author considers as th e of a ne mily of

Claparéde also suggests the affinity of Myobia to the Tardi-

grades (Echiniscus and Lyd ella,) especially from the study of the struc-

ture of the Style-like mandibles and their supports. We feel convinced,

from the study of Claparéde's figures and descriptions, that this compar-

ison is very significant, and this has led us to consider the Tardigrades

às à family of mites, related to Myobia and Dem odex.

like stage, the beak of the young closely resembling that of the tick.

Also, in less complete form, that of a species of Tyroglyphus, in which he

shows that the genus Hypopus ionis iri — eer yi is the

beautifully drawn tad plates

The author concludes with a short chapter entitled ** Für Darwin." He |

j he organization of the mites, in rela-

to the legs, by which they are enabled to grasp the hairs of their host,

and instances the alternation in form and position of the first pair of legs

in Myobia, and their wonderful adaptation for grasping the hairs of the

mice on which they live. He also cites the case of as ecies 0 ,

in which, as described by Dujardin, there is, on the hinder edge of the

“ge two scoop-like lips by which they cling to the hairs of their

494 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

THE GENERATIONS OF Worms.*— Our readers are already familiar with

the strange alternations of generation observed in many of the lower in-

testinal worms. Like successions of forms ct eig id from the

the present Journal Dr. Malmgren, known oor his V bolo works on the

Labrador), to certain species of the genus Nereis, which live in the mud

or swim at the bottom. The actual connection bas not been yet traced,

but the author is strongly of the opinion that it will be found that the

Nereids are the parents of the poteras and also of the species of

— another genus allied to the former

AND THE SOUTH.T— — Travellers and reris in Florida will

ea no

orida. e traveller should also take with him the articles on the

shell-mounds of Florida, by Prof. Wyman, published in our second vol-

ume, and those of Mr. Stearns, which are now appearing in the NAT-

URALIST.

ANNALS OF BEE CuLTUnE.j]— We should judge that this annual was à

very timely production. The articles, mostly written by the Editor, are

ence of bee-keeping. The Editor proposes to issue another annual early

n 1870.

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

BOTANY.

NDENCY OF FLorat OrGANS TO EXCHANGE Orrices. I have before

. mea curious instance of the tendency which Horat organs have to ex-

change offices. It is a staminate spike of corn well developed, and of

normal growth for some five inches from it insertion on the stem, but

bearing on its apex a well defined little ear of grain, as regular in struc-

ture as those which were born in their Scis place. Ido not know

how common this may be, but I never before chanced to see it. — C. J. 8.

ote mute dix MEE Mn

* Sie 13 ACTUAL

: BULL M ME rh MM id ul Eu igne with a map

Se dun Sion. By D. G. Brenton, M. D. Philadelphia, 1869. 12mo, pp. 136, Pen".

iAnnals of Bee Culture for 1869, By D. L. Adair, Editor. Louisville, Ky. 8vo, DP. 57.

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 495

HERBARIUM OF THE LATE DR. WALKER-ARNOTT.— The herbarium be-

longing to the late Dr. Walker-Arnott has, since his death, been acquired

by the Glasgow University. Included in this is his magnificent collection

of Diatomacez, which is contained in three large cabinets, and consists

of fully ten thousand specimens, all mounted upon glass slides, ready for

examination by means of the microscope. The specimens put up in

enabled to push forward, it is to be hoped, the new edition of Pritchard's

Infusoria, upon which he has been for some time engaged. The herba-

Tlum is a very large one, being contained in twenty cabinets, each of

Which holds at least four thousand specimens. The botanical library

Boes with the herbarium, and thus will be stored in a safe resting-place,

the results of the labor of fifty years in the life of this eminent botanist.

- EDWARDS.

New Loca ASPIDIUM ACULEATUM (L.) Sw. This fern, though

widely distributed over the globe, is rare in the United States, being

Confined to a few mountains and high valleys in New England and New

York. It has been collected in the White Mountains of New Hampshire,

Mountains, N. Y.,— where the writer found it in August of this year.

growing abundantly, under conditions very similar to those of Mt. Mans-

fleld Notch, This locality is one hundred and forty miles farther south

than any previously known in our country. —JoHn H FIELD, Phila.

ZOOLOGY.

REMARKABLE ECHINODERM. — At the meeting of the Scandinavian

Naturalists at Christiania in 1868, Professor Lovén laid before the Zoé-

logical section the figures and description of a very remarkable Echino-

It forms, in a new and very unexpected manner, a link between the palæ-

920ic and the recent animal life. It is, strange to say, most nearly allied

to Cystidea, es pecially to Agelacrinus, and will, no doubt, when its anat-

OMY shall be known, give us a full clue to the comprehension of this

eovering the supérior, or ventral surface; but only these terminal or distal

| PIS Of the ambulacral furrows are open; in the rest of their course to-

. Wards the centre of the disk they are covered up or converted into

496 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

SN galleries, converging towards the central, but exteriorly invisible

m e

that the food is picked up in the open parts and conveyed to the invisible

and other minute animals were found in them. With the exception of a

centre (we do not yet know whether these pores are genital ontlets or

the little known Holopus) to the “ pyramid” of Agelacrinus, Caryocrinus

and Cystidea generally, and to the short or long proboscis of most palæ-

ozoic Crinoids, with a hard, tessellated cover of the calyx. It has been

graph of the Echinoderms of the Eifel. — Dr. C. F. LÜTKEN, Copenhagen.

TENNESSEE WARBLER.—I was much surprised at the statement

of Mr. Boardman in the June number of the NATURALIST, that the Ten-

ations. Audubon

rare, and that it extends northward only as far as New York. Wilson

met with but three specimens. Nuttall makes no mention of it among

the birds of New England. Girard never met with it on Long Island:

and DeKay says it is rare in the linis of New York. I, myself, have

never met with more than two specime

It is a very curious fact that this es should be so rare in New York,

land States. Either the Tennessee Warbler must migrate with extraor-

dinary rapidity, thus escaping detection, or else it must pursue a —

route than the other T warblers, turning eastward only when !

J ae X

pierre, Orange, N.Y.

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. © 491

GOLDEN-WINGED WanBLER.— Dr. Coues in his “List of the Birds of

More southern portions. On page 214 of Mr. Samuels’ work, I stated

that I had found it occurring sparingly in May for d seasons. Since

writing what I did I have observed the Golden-winged emp more

plenty than ever, and as late as the middle of June, and in the same

compie early in August with young. I felt, therefore, quite RR that

; t breeds here. 'This June (1869) Mr. J. C. itn ard has had the r rare

; letter to Mr. Samuels that this species, probably, proceeded, North t

breed. From my observations and knowledge of the bird at that time, 1

i p: Supposed it did er Probably this state is about its northern limit on the

: Atlantic, — H. A. Purpm, West Newton, ner June,

i CORAL SNAKES.— A number of species of very different genera are

confounded under ais i name by the inhabitants of tropical America

Their general appearance is attractive, being banded with red, black;

and white. Some of them belo onging to the genus Elaps are poisonous,

though some of these are very mild and indisposed to bite. Others, be-

longing to the genera Pliocercus, Erythrolamprus, Ophibol

€., are quite harmless, but can only be disti from species of

laps by a ful examination of the scales and teeth. The pepe

analogy presented by Wise species with species of Elaps, according t

Prof. Cope, is very remarkable.

During a stay of a few sid in Greytown, Nicaragua, an alcoholic spec-

imen of a snake, called a **coral" snake and regarded as extremely poi-

2 n alcoho

: i that it belon " doubtful in the enus Elaps, as it was a h

s ‘Stake, and w. ia erhaps a sip apidis of his own.* Not being a herpe-

vina mie article in the NATURALIST I yet to the circum-

Stance, and used Mr. Kennicott’s name as he wrote it book.

An esteemed correspondent, in some remarks about the Taneli of

handling u unknown snakes reported to be poisonous, which I thoro roaghly

EN s —— antc eee mi to oc MELOS

inh he referred it fe

mare, Mince been informed on good authority that the sp

to Sonora. à

“AMER, NATURALIST, VOL. III. 63

498 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

agree with z general, rather hastily referred the case in question to the

me categ A second glance would hardly have seen either bravado

or vilitate in ii capture of a snake of which an alcoholic specimen

just previously examined, had given incontrovertible proofs of its utter

harmlessness.— W. H. Darr.

E BLACK VULTURE IN MANE. —I had sent me (shot in this neigh-

echa a good aem of the Black Vulture (Cathartes atratus), the

ton o far east; and also a fine specimen of the Purple

mif (Galisia arith: —G. A. BOARDMAN, Calais, Me.

MICROSCOPY.

METHOD OF PRESERVING ANIMAL SPECIMENS FOR FINE DISSECTION.—

Mieroscopists will read with interest a very simple method of preserving

animal The

closing up, so that the specimen cannot be got at; no fear of losing 4

valuable dissection from accidental evaporation, as when spirit is us sed;

served, but no more of it is used than is kom necessary; and e

time the dissection is completed, the specimen has become imperishable

from the union of the corrosive sublimate i the tissues, and it may

then be kept in pure water, either open or mounted, in the usual way.—

Quarterly Journal of Science, London.

GEOLOGY.

Tur EozoüN IN Essex County. The remains of this, the oldest form

of animallife thus far discovered on our globe, and found in the azoic

[Laurentian] rocks of Ottawa, Canada, have, it is confidently Mele

i evil’s De

spreading out on the bottom of the sea, capable of secreting calcareous

partitions, and thus forming small chambers or cells, the interior x

: vhich has become filled by serpentine, which was deposited from

ind serpentine quarry among geologists, and throw additional light upon

he character and age of the rocks in this region.

. Mr.] Edwin Bicknell (Preparator of the d P of gers

m), has, by a careful microscopic comparison of a specimen

a I i5

| Montreal to our neighborhood, will excite new interest in our limestone

PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 499

zoón, furnished by Dr. Dawson of Montreal, ps one from the Devil's

Den, fully established the discovery. Ina letter from Mr. Bicknell which

we have seen, he says — “ I have no ea e, in saying, if the Canadian

specimen is Eozoón, the Newburyport one is also." — H. C. PERKINS.

PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.

—— 0M

Prof. A. E. VERRILL read a aper **On the comparison of the Coral

fune of the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts of the Isthmus of Darien, as

o0 S.

across the Isthmus of Darien, has very important bearings both in Zoól-

98y and Geology. With many geologists it has been a favorite and con-

venient theory to account for climatic changes in Europe by a depression

of the Isthmus sufficient to allow the Gulf Stream to flow into the Pacific.

Admitting à connection it does not necessarily follow that the Gulf Stream

would flow into the Pacific, for a current in the opposite direction might

iffere i id

from m Geology i is quite insufficient to establish the theory, and the facts

cited have in most cases proved unreliable. The zoólogical evidence is

1 ic i

; =

het. Since his lists were published other species ha een added to

y ong whic dia bullata, a com Indian shell,

d = pecie of Crustacea as Beni and “although

150 species of Decapods, ten or twelve appear to be per-

ad identical, not showing even varietal QURE Among 173 epici

>> marine fishes from both coasts Dr. Günther regards fifty-se

Îdentica], Mr. Gill would, homeven. on some of these e ua

Pus e result would still remain the same, since certain species

3o not OW even varietal ifrences

and tabulated by the author * and gave very

dierent results, for of eighty-two eds found on the west coast none

Deora Music dei.

* Transactions of the Connecticut Academy, Vol. I, p. 339, 1867.

500 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.

are identical with those of the Atlantic, unless two Holothurians her

may be regarded as peii though considered the same b S

A careful ear study of the corals and Polyps of the Atlantic,

and extensive, and, for the shallow water forms , nearly complete collec-

tions from various localities on the Pacific c coast, give quite unexpected

esults, since no species are found to be identical, while even the genera

jx]

side, are represented, the last by two gigantic species. Among the

Haleyonoid Polyps we find an equal contrast, for Eunicea, Plexaura, Plex-

aurella, Pterogorgia and many other very common Atlantic genera are

cies of Psammogorgia, Litigorgia, and Eugorgia, which are eminently

characteristic of that coast.

The genus Muricea is very common, and represented by seventeen spe-

cies, while on the Atlantic side only four species are usually admitted, all

of which are so different as scarcely to be regarded aš analogous species.

The genus Renilla is found on both coasts. Among the Actinians we find

greater resemblances, but as yet no identical Species.

From these facts we may legitimately conclude rq no very extensive

or deep connection, sufficient to alter the course of oceanic currents, can

have existed since the coasts have been inhabited ne a existing spectet

otherwise a greater admixture must have taken place. A narrow or shal-

low channel of (^ spine Stan would probably Pici for all identical

nae yet observed, but at what period it may have existed is still

r question. The occurrence of certain Atlantic species in the Gulf

it California and not at Panama (Codakia tigerina, Paphrydia agp

the evidence of a uniform and long continued flow of the Gulf Stre

be derived from the growth of the sanete coral reefs of the mn

mudas, and the southern extension of Florida with its numeroüs ancient

ested by the es and genera are

probably facts of a different order, and will require a different solution,

for even if we adopt a developmental mà we shall doubtless be

pel : to refer the period of separation a period far more ancient than

Which the few identical specie rael mg parated, and to admit

a far more extensive | and prolonged connection aero the two

PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 501

Mr. G. L. VosE read a paper entitled **Conipression as an age

B buit Metamorphism; with Ill patria of pte torted Pobtiis in

Conglomerates.” The metamorphic regions. are compressed regions.

Compression produces liest and icol: not only a outward form but

also the mineral nature of the ro

| Prof. VERRILL, in his paper a «ioo dodi Phyllopod hired Po

] àn account of the habits, etc., of our species of Branchipus and A ia.

Of the latter he has obtained two new species, one from Mono Suhl

l "California, and the other in numerous individuals from tubs of salt water

| 'Thes

marsh, have become very salt by CM in the sun, thus giving the

ordinary conditions for the dev elopment of this "pias: genus.

n her paper **On the Plumage of the Tern,” Miss. G. A. Lewis de-

scribed the structure of kd feather, illustrating vais descriptions with

Several microscopic draw

Miss. pci in her ied on the Structure of the Animal King-

dom," Says, from the radiate to man there does not appear to be any

direct line of connection from the higher members of one group to the

Eum 5 Bee

road towards the perfection of its types, but not necessarily

turned ec the branch or class above. It is probably the same line

t refe

Perceived by Haekel, and which he as “commencing with

Amphioxus, and proceeding thro the Lampreys and the extinct allies

of the Sharks to the Lepidosirens, thence through Proteus and its con-

| Seners to the Tritons and Salamanders, and o " eee

(Ornithorhyn neus). The line passes through the Marsu

the old acris Monkeys (Semnopithecus) and the Anthropoid pul (Orang

lla).^

ànd Gori]

The axial line was distinguished by the writer in the suminer of 1867,

and was alluded to in a little pamphlet published in the spring of

1868. She would begin with the lower radiates, pass through the ee

pol

onion of man. There are, however, some very. curious exceptions to

502 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.

the periphery of the branching classes. In the vertebrate branch the

birds hold an intermediate position, and, intelligently studied, throw a

flood of light backward and forward over the animal world. Taking their

rise between the reptile and the mammal they combine with the ornithic;

both reptilian and mammalian characters, but the finest development o

brain, with its accompanying delicacy of organization, exists at the ex-

tremities of the ornithic branch where the true bird type is found, puri-

fied, so to speak, of both reptilian and mammalian tendencies. Here we

find the songsters and those birds which are most responsive to the in-

fluence of man. The axial line for the class of birds, like that of the

animal kingdom, is marked by the carrying forward of a mingled stream.

It is only near the terminal branches that the pure bird-like forms, the —

blossoms of the type are found.

he foot in Archseopteryx anticipates that found in the highest groups

of birds, and peculiarities of structure drawn from the mammal are not

wholly lost until the family of the parrots is passed. Here a rudiment of

the diaphragm is found. In the animal kingdom the uncreated man, ex-

isting only in the conception of Deity, lifts the whole animal creation and

holds it at a higher level.

Mr. Merna also said, in regard to Cassia, that physiologically the leaf

was considered the parent of the axillary bud, — and that ** adventitious "

buds was a term created to account for buds not axillary. The absorption

of the bud by Cassia, and the existence of buds, one above another, in

other plants, without connection with the petiole, and with the strongest

one the farthest removed from the petiole, indicated that the leaf was

er an enemy than an aid to bud development; and that the classes of

axil and adventitious buds, had no physiological law to separate them.

Lew

Mn.

the Embankments of the Mound Builders. Mr. Morgan considered them

as the bases (built for defensive purposes) of the pueblos or villages of

that race of men.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS, ETC. 503

localities of each of the tribes mentioned, beginning with the Fuegians,

and passing to the two races of Patago onians, the Araucarians of Chile,

whom he identified with the Pehuenches, Huilliches and Aucas of the

Pampas of Buenos Ayres, the Abipones, Tobas, Mocobis, Ta Mata-

guayos = Machicuys of the Gran Chaco or region between Paraguay

and =

hen ad the Guaranis and Payaguas of Paraguay, the Ataca-

giving many facts re especting the character of their various languages.

He adverted to the extensive area of the Guarani tongue, which extends

substantially from the La Plata to the Oronoco, us dioe a great portion

of Brazil and most of the basin of the Amazon. He stated that he had

found the Quichua language Spoken in the centre of the geste: Repub-

lic, in the province of Santia go del Estero, eight hundred miles from the

nearest point in Bolivia where the same language is now spoken. Con-

Sequently Mr. Bliss considered ny province to have been an outlying

colony of the empire of the Inca

The languages of the Indians t the Chaco are extremely meagre, and

none of them exceeds about a thousand root-words.

Mr. Bliss stated that the principle of reduplication was largely con-

cerned in the formation of the language of the Incas, and that he had

collected in Bolivia more than three hundred geographical names formed

in this way, as Mocomoco, Coro-coro, Quilli-quilli, and cited as a double

i e stated

Within two hundred years the Guarani language had undergone an

complete change, so that instead of being now, as formerly, made up from

monosyllabic radicals, it is quite as polysyllabic as most other Indian

tongues.

Mr. E. S. Morse's paper “ oe the Early Stages of Brachiopods " was re-

ported in the September num

DLO C thingy wida pi a on the “ Discovery of the erae

le Horae among the Ancient Ruins of Central America," the title of

ich was inadvertently omitted in our list of papers presented wy the

ciation.

ee.

"Vacvanre LIBRARY ror SaLe.— The Library of the late Dr. B. F.

Sivar f St. Louis, consisting principally of works on Geology and

Paleontology, and believed to be very perfect so far as relates to North

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

| B T! s » is Mastigobrium trilobatw: trilobatum Nees., and the bit

aot. light wood” is mpi Dy the Peziza | eruginosa, a verdigris-green colored fungus

Uncommon in woods, —J. L. R.

504 BOOKS RECEIVED.

. P. S, Glen Falls, New York.— A quotation from Agassiz’s Method of ped

in Natural History, p. '216, M 5 pe you the desired information regarding the egg-

cases of the cockle” you speak o No one who has ever w — "M ss sand beaches in

summer can have failed to tient what the children call ‘ ucers. The name is

not a bad one, with the exception that the surging lacks a bot Vieh. ihe form of these

circular bands of sand is certainly very like a saucer w ith "he bottom kooeked out.

Hold one of them against the light and A you will see ie it is Nes sn of countless

transparent vui DM of the size of a small pi pin ad. 'These are the ome of our

common Natica, o: nail. Any one who re are the outline of this shell will

easily unders stau tke fw vaa ss by which its eggs are ‘left lying on the beach in the fo mae

Tha ave described. They are laid in the shape of a broad, 5h ort ribbo nne sed betw

the mantle of the animal and its shell, and, passing out, they cover the exterior x the

shell, over which they are rolled up with a kind of gh utinous enve elope,—for the eggs

Are held together by a soft glutinous substance. Thus MG um pr the Natica, whose

habit it is to burrow under the surface of the beach, soon co itself with sand, the

particles of which, i with the glutinous subst is ot “th. e eg kly forms

a cement that binds the whole together in a kin 8 When consolidated it dro

ir es ; having en the uld of it 1 it were, and retaining the

curve which distinguishes the Natica. Although these saucers look € t

will be found tha ges are not soldered together, but are simply lapped

the other. Every on e of the thousand little spheres erowded into such a ciel’ a

a T 3 "M :

IW. Minneapolis, Minn. — The Philadelphia Vireo (Vireosylvia Philadelphica

Cassin), ten by you at tne, nn respecting whose history you enquire, is à

spesies jot very well kno gwa. It was first deac ribed by Mr. Ma ari from

and

at t| aine

Guatemala. But a icd n cimen is thus far known aom Py ag a ‘taken by

Professor C. E. Ham AU = As bep it pridie ise be ‘ist ore common in the

interior. In May, 1857, nd it on the most c n Vireos in Cook bus miy

Illinois. It is ^ ce d iid to hav ^d wide distribution. "m m & in

general appearance, it greatly resembles t the well ew DEM "bling V o (Tireosptta

ilva Cass.). For descriptions of this species see Pro Arad. NA DE DI nu

53; Baird's Birds of North America, p. 335; Baird's [rens f ‘ican Birds, p

The Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (Em mpia idonaz Auvirentris Bair en respecting which.

make a similar inquiry, is also a species imperfect] wn. First described by

8. F. and W. M. Baird, in 1843, from spothueas tak te ix Pentsy lvania, its range

since been found to extend throughout eastern North America, if not throughout the

continent, but it appears to be nowhere very common. Its r eed habits, and pho

resemblance, at .a little distance, to the more common adiu 8 of its penus dou "—

tend greatly to render its capture so relatively unfrequent. It shows a marked pre :

lection for thickets and wooded Situations. In Massachusetts it is m more - less com

mon in May, and towards the close of summer, but I am Dor aware that as been

seen here in the breed ding season, although its ah gi range is known to ene d from

the District of Columbia to Labrador. Its ra w bu ta mewhat DA arm a d

have been deemed by some to be worthy of peras ded a a song. 1t is fully deseri

in the later general works on North American Birds. — J. A.

— 9o.———

BOOKS RECEIVED.

Sketch of t. the e Life of Professor Chester Deri B. Anderson. Albany, 1869. UR

n GontribuHons Jrom the ME Laborator: M m e College. xx. On Durangite a Fluo-Arse-

nate fi rango in By G. J. Bru sh. xxi. 8yo. pp. 4. dx

tcd he ta Y s Stone vi e which fe) “ole eae 5th, 1868, in Franklin Co., Alaba Alabama. By s

7 ! n Jou Arts, New Hav

American Bee Journal et. s Isi. rnal of Science and Arts,

Sept. Map of

„4 Guide-Book of Florida and the S. ourists, Invalids and Emigrants, with a@

the St. John River. By D. G. She M. d a oo 12nio, pp. Ex. Price $l.

188. "ror pn il tuire for 1889, a a Year D. L. Adair, Editor. Louisville,

vga ossi. Aust Sent. 0 Oct, i atonio.

i ce lice ly, September,

— Canada Y Kanra and voluit." LN Mon

trea.. í

TF ooe ry oj New York. Vol. ix, Nos. 5, 6, 7. March—May,

; Entomologi T 1869, Paris.

TES Tone Vie Kiis, ogiques. Voll. Bi-monthly. Nos1-7. July 1to Oct 1,

Societe Imperiale d' Acclimat, tion. VI. Jan.to An » 189. Paris.

wa Joel of Creole been 1i P, Pe. 1868, Philadelph os. 1-8.

Science. atom

$ Vol th Pt, a.” oet, 1869, London. ; i

A | U CENT E ae

Thr siad A

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. III. — DECEMBER, 1869. — No. 10.

coc S3 oRO C2

NOTES ON SOME OF THE RARER BIRDS OF

MASSACHUSETTS.*

BY J. A. ALLEN.

Tae Natural History of any portion of country cannot,

of course, be too fully known; and the few ornithological

notes at this time presented I feel sure will be acceptable to

those Who are interested in the study of the New England

birds. While a large portion of the facts now communi-

cated are of my own observing I am greatly indebted to

the kindness of other persons for many of the interesting

notes that, during the last five years, have been accumu-

lating in my note-book. As the authorities upon which the

observations not my own in the following pages are commu-

Meated are always indicated, I have here but to return

.. „nks to my numerous ornithological correspondents and

friends who have so generously favored me from time to

me with their valuable contributions. Only by knowing

thoroughly the fauna of a locality can the subsequent changes

in it, induced by its becoming more densely settled, or by

MEL S ay subi test enge DA REDUCTION

*4 supplemen: blished five years

Sa t to a Catalogue of the Birds of Massachusetts, pu À

“ince by the writer in the fourth volume of the Proceedings of the Essex Institute.

/ goEnterea aCcordin, PEABODY ACADEMY OF

: Congress, in the year 1969, by the

g in the Clerk's Otee of the Disiriet Court of the District of Massachusetts.

NATURALIST, VOL. III. 64 (505)

506 NOTES ON SOME OF THE

other causes, be traced. As is well known, the mammalian

and bird faun of all the older settled parts of the United

States are vastly different from what they were two hundred

years ago. These changes consist mainly in the great de-

crease in numbers of the representatives of all the larger

species, not a few of which are already extirpated where

they were formerly common ; a few of the smaller species of

both classes have doubtless increased in numbers. Two

causes operate unfavorably upon the larger ones; the disfor-

esting of the country and the sporting propensities of the

. people, everything large enough to be shot, whether useful

or otherwise, being considered as legitimate game. e

former destroys the natural haunts of many species, while

the latter destroys and drives away others that would other-

wise remain. Many of the water-fowl that are now only

transient visitors, as the Canada Goose, the several species

of Merganser, Teals, Black Duck and Mallard, undoubtedly

once bred in this State, as did also the Wild Turkey and the

Prairie Hen. Several of the Gulls and probably some of

the Tringe have been driven, like the Ducks and Geese,

to seek more northern breeding grounds. In comparatively

recent times, geologically speaking, probably other causes;

as climatic, have been operating to effect a gradual nort

ward migration, in certain species at least. These changes

are of great interest, not only generally, but in a scientific

point of view, and we shall be able to trace them and their

causes only by comparing, from time to time, exhaustive

faunal records of the same localities. i

In a district so little diversified as that portion of Massa-

chusetts lying east of the Connecticut River, it is perhaps

a little unexpected that marked discrepancies should occur

in the observations made at adjoining localities by equally

competent naturalists, in respect to the relative abundance

of certain species. As every experienced observer must

have noticed that the birds of passage, as many of tbe

Warblers especially, vary greatly in numbers in different

Saas eo EE Pide Sp cM cae uU: acc d EAM MEE RE E rr E KI

NONU T CAES ric Ea

RARER BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 507

years, and in the time occupied by them in passing a given

locality, it is less surprising that at different points they

should vary in abundance the same year. Among the birds

that regularly breed in the district in question, there are

some that are not equally common at all points. The Savan-

nah Sparrow (Passerculus savanna), for instance, that along

the coast and on the islands is one of the most common

Species of its family during the summer, is almost unknown

at this season in the interior of the state, although a species

that at different seasons of the year is found throughout

nearly the whole continent. The Swamp Sparrow (JMelo-

spiza palustris) is likewise locally restricted, for while a

common summer bird in many of the larger swamps in the

eastern part of the state, as the Fresh Pond marshes in

Cambridge, it has thus far escaped the detection of very

*Xpert observers in the interior and western part. The

Yellow-winged Sparrow (Coturniculus passerinus) is like-

Wise partial to peculiar localities, preferring apparently

sandy plains and dry open pastures; while it is one of the

Most numerous summer sparrows about Springfield, on Cape

Cod and at Nantucket, it is generally much more rarely

Observed in the eastern counties of the state, where at some

localities it is deemed rare. The same remarks apply to

other species, as the Solitary and White-eyed Vireos ( Lani-

vireo solitarius and Vireo Noveeboracensis), ete. The Prairie

Warbler (Dendreeea discolor) is much more at home in old

Pastures partially grown up to barberries and cedars than

elsewhere. The Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia), gen-

erally so numerous everywhere, I found last year was one

of the rarest sparrows on the islands and extreme coast

border, where its relative, the Savannah, was so common. —

irds, as probably other animals, are not quite so invari-

. Able in their habits as has been commonly supposed, nor in

the Precise character of their notes and songs, or the situa-

tion and materials of which they compose their nests. Hence

. he should not rashly question the accounts given by usually

508 NOTES ON SOME OF THE

reliable authorities, because in particular instances they do

not aecord with their own observations. Neither should

differences in habits, in song, etc., be taken as infallible

evidence of a difference of species. It is well known that

in Massachusetts the Brown Thrush (Harporhynchus rufus)

is not uniform in the location of its nest, as about Spring-

field it almost invariably builds on the ground (in the many

scores of nests that I have seen there I have met with but a

single exception), while in other localities it as invariably

plaees its nest a little above the ground in bushes. At

Evanston, Ill., I once found one in an oak higher yc I

could reach; the locality, however, was swampy.

universally the Chipping Sparrow (Spizella socialis) an

in trees, and generally at an elevation of several feet, is well

known, but several authentic instances of this bird's nesting

on the ground have come to my knowledge, one of which I

myself discovered. Variations of this character in other

species are of occasional occurrence, examples of which have

doubtless been met with by every experienced collector.

The materials which birds select in the construction of

their nests are well known to vary in different localities ;

the greater care exhibited by some species to secure à soft

warm lining at the north that are much less precautious

in this respect at the south, is already a recorded fact.

Aside from this, the abundance of certain available materials

occurring at only particular localities gives a marked char-

notin’ ia the nests there built, which serves to distinguish

them from those from other points. Some of the Thrushes,

for instance, make use of a peculiar kind of moss at some

localities that elsewhere, from its absence, are compelled to

substitute for it fine grass or dry leaves. At Ipswich, on

Cape Cod, and perhaps generally in the immediate Mec

of the sea, the Purple Grackles (Quiscalus versicolor) and

Red-winged Blackbirds (Ageleus pheniceus), and in fact

. humerous other species, in building their nests often use

— - x else than dry eel-grass or “sea-wrack,” which results in

RARER BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 509

nest-structures widely different in appearance from those of

their relatives residing in the interior. Every egg-collector

is aware of the wide variations eggs of the same set may

present, not only in the markings and in the tint of the

ground color, but in size and form, and especially how wide

these differences sometimes are in eggs of different birds of

the same species. Also how different the behavior of the

bird is when its nest is approached, in some cases the parents

appearing almost utterly regardless of their own safety in

their anxiety for their eggs or helpless young, while other

parents of the same species quietly witness the robbing of

their nest at a safe distance, and evince no extraordinary

emotion. Those who have witnessed this, and have also

Watched the behavior of birds when undisturbed in their

quiet retreats, will grant, I think, the same diversity of .

disposition and temperament to obtain among birds that is

seen in man himself.

In respect to the songs of birds, who that has attentively

listened to the singing of different Robins, Wood Thrushes

or Purple Finches, has not detected great differences in the

Vocal powers of rival songsters of the same species? Dif-

ferent individuals of some species, especially among the

Warblers, sing so differently that the expert field ornitholo-

gist is often puzzled to recognize them ; especially is this so

m the Black and White Creeper (Mniotilia varia) and the

Black-throated Green Warbler (Dendreca virens). But the

strangest example of this sort I have noticed I think was the

case of an Oriole (Icterus Baltimore) that I heard at Ips-

Wich last season. So different were its notes from the com-

Mon notes of the Baltimore that I failed entirely to refer

them to that bird till I saw its author. So much, however,

did it resemble a part of the song of the Western Meadow

Lark (Sturnella magna; S. neglecta Aud.) that it at once

not only recalled that bird, but the wild, grassy, gently un-

dulating primitive prairie landscape where I had heard it, and

With which the loud , clear, rich, mellow tones of this beau-

510 NOTES ON SOME OF THE

tiful songster so admirably harníonize. This bird I repeat-

edly recognized from the peculiarity of its notes during

my several days stay at this locality. Aside from such

unusual variations as this, which we may consider as acci-

dental, birds of unquestionably the same species, as the

Crow, the Blue Jay, the Towhe and others, at remote local-

ites, as New England, Florida, Iowa, etc., often possess

either general differences in their notes and song, easily

recognizable, or certain notes at one of these localities never

heard at the others, or an absence of some that are else-

where familiar. This is perhaps not a strange fact, since it

is now so well known that birds of the same species present

certain well marked variations in size according to the lati-

tude and elevation above the sea of the locality at which

they were born, and that they vary considerably, though

doubtless within a certain range, in many structural points

at one and the same locality. In other words, since it is

known that all the different individuals of a species are not

exactly alike, as though all were cast in the same die, a$

some naturalists appear to have believed.

Certain irregularities in the breeding range of birds have

also come to light. It is perhaps not remarkable that a pair

of birds of species that regularly breed in northern New

England should now and then pass the summer and réar

their young in the southern part, as has been the case in

certain known instances in the Snow Bird (Junco hyemalis),

the Pine Finch ( Chrysomitris pinus) , and the White-throated

Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis) ; but it is otherwise with

the Snow Bunting (Plectrophanes nivalis), which rarely

breeds south of Labrador, of which there is a single well

authenticated instance of its breeding near Springfield. The

easual visits of northern birds in winter, which we may

suppose sometimes results from their being driven south by

want of food or the severity of the season, are also less

remarkable, it appears to me, than the occurrence here of

. Southern species, as of the two Egrets, the Little Blue Heron

RARER BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 511

(Florida cerulea) the Gallinules and other aquatic species,

which never, so far as known (with one exception perhaps),

breed so far north. In the latter case they are generally

young birds that reach us towards fall in their chance wan-

derings.

It may here be added that the cause of the migration of

our birds still offers an interesting field for investigation.

Observers are of late noting that in the case of some north-

ern species that reach us only occasionally in their winter

migrations, young birds only are at first seen, but if the

migration continues the older birds appear at a later date.

But sometimes young birds only are seen. This frequently

happens in the case of the Pine Grosbeak (Pinicola eneucle-

ator). The cause of their visits is not always, it is evident,

severe weather; the last named species appearing sometimes

in November, — weeks before severe cold sets in— while at

other times it is not seen at all during some of our severest

winters. The probable cause is more frequently, doubtless,

à short supply of food, as last winter was remarkable in this

state for its mildness and for the great number of northern

birds that then visited us. It has repeatedly been observed

that on their first arrival these unusual visitors are generally

very lean, but that they soon fatten; an argument in favor

of the theory that their migration was compelled by a scarc-

ity of food. -

Probably fewer birds are actually permanently resident at

à given locality than is commonly supposed, for species seen

the whole year at the same locality, as the Blue Jay, the

Titmouse, the Brown Creeper, and the Hairy and Downy

Woodpecker, etc., in Massachusetts, are represented, not by

the same, but by different sets of individuals, those seen

here in summer being not those seen in winter, the species

migrating north and south, en masse, with the change of

Season. We are generally cognizant of a migration in a given

Species only when the great "bird wave" sweeps entirely

Past us either to the north or south. Some species, how-

512 NOTES ON SOME OF THE

ever, seem actually fixed at all seasons, and are really essen-

tially non-migratory, as the Spruce Partridge, and Quail

(Ortyx Virginianus) are in New England. But only a small

proportion, doubtless, of the so-called non-migratory birds

at any given locality are really so.*

In connection with this topic of migration, the fact that

some of the young or immature individuals of our marine

birds, as the Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) and other

species of that family, and several of the Trings, linger on

our coast during summer, while the adult all retire north-

ward, is:one of some interest. Mature and strong birds

only, in species that breed far to the north, evidently seek

very high latitudes. Birds of the first year also appear to

roam less widely than the older. In different species of the -

Gull family it is generally only the mature birds that in

winter are seen far out at sea, though in the same latitudes

the young may be numerous along the coast. All observant

collectors are well aware of the fact that those birds that

first reach us in the spring, of whatever species, are gen-

erally not only very appreciably larger, but brighter plum-

aged and in every way evidently more perfect birds than

those that arrive later; and that in those species that go en-

tirely to the north of us there is a much larger proportion of

paler colored and immature birds, especially among the Sylvi-

colide, or warblers, towards the close of the migrating season

than earlier. Hence the presence here of a few individuals

in summer of species that usually go farther north is not

always sufficient evidence that the species breeds with us.

In reference to the notes which follow, they may be consid-

ered as forming a supplement, as already stated in a foot note;

to a "Catalogue of the Birds of Massachusetts" published

by me five years since. In the present paper seven species f

Pour S MUS +

; pect t proof wł this proposit ts, y remarks on this point

dn the Memoirs of the Boston Society of Natural History, Vol. i, Pt. iv, p. 488 (foot

Bote).

a Se tStr ix pratincola, Surnia ulula, Turdus nevius, Seiurus Ludovicianus, Centrony*

RARER BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 513

are added to the list then given, four of which are entirely

new to the fauna of the State, and the others have not before

been fully established as occurring within it, though supposed

to from their known general distribution. Two, the Barn

Owl (Strix pratincola) and Varied Thrush ( Turdus nevius),

have only been previously given in Dr. Coues’ Addenda to

his “List of the Birds of New England.” *

The latter occurs only as a straggler from the far interior

and western portions of the continent. Another now added,

the Baird’s Finch (Centronyx Bairdii), discovered by Mr.

C. J. Maynard at Ipswich (see notes beyond for farther

particulars), is another similar example equally remarkable,

it having been previously known only from near the mouth

of the -Yellowstone River. A few errors in that Catalogue

are also now corrected, with the design of making that and

the present paper a fair exposition of the ornithological

fauna of the State, so far as it is at present known. Three

Species there included are now stricken. out. Numerous

unrecorded instances of the capture of rare specimens within

the State are also chronicled, as also the breeding of a few

not before positively known to breed here. There are re-

marks also on a few species, for obvious reasons, that are not

to be regarded as among the rarer species of the State.

The whole number of species of birds now known to

occur in Massachusetts is three hundred.

Gerratcon. Falco sacer Forster. (F. candicans et Is-

landicus Auct.) A specimen in the speckled plumage was

taken near Providence, R. I., by Mr. Newton Dexter, during

the winter of 1864 and 1865. Its occurrence so far south

appears to be wholly accidental. :

The suspicion many authors have had that the F. candi-

cans and F. Islandicus were but birds of the same species 1n

different states of plumage, my own examination of speci-

panne ding» of the Essex Institute, Vol. v, P. 312.

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 65

ior. -

ss fni MN

514 NOTES ON SOME OF THE

mens of both, in the Museum of the Boston Society of

Natural History and elsewhere, has led me to believe is

actually the fact. Sabine, so long ago as 1819, I think has

fully shown this in his remarks on Falco Islandicus in his

Memoir on the Birds of Greenland.* According to the

late lamented Mr. Cassin, sacer is the specific name which

has priority for this species. +

uck Hawk. Falco peregrinus Linn. (Falco anatum

Bon., and F. nigriceps Cass). I stated in my Catalogue,’

published five years since, that the eggs and the young of

this species had been taken at different times from Mount

Tom, and that the young had also been obtained from Tal-

cott Mountain in Connecticut. A few months later I had the

pleasure of giving a full account of the eyrie on Mount Tom,

with a detailed description of the eggs, and some general

remarks on the distribution of this interesting species in the

breeding season.f These eggs were the first eggs of the

Duck Hawk known to naturalists to have been obtained in

the United States, the previous most southern locality whence

they had been taken being Labrador; but the species had

previously been observed in the breeding season by Dr. S.

. Haldeman as far south as Harper's Ferry, Virginia. One

or more pairs of these birds have been seen about Mounts

Tom and Holyoke every season since the first discovery of

the eggs at the former locality in 1864. Mr. C. W. Bennett,

of Holyoke, their discoverer, has since carefully watched

them, and his frequent laborious searches for their nest have

been well rewarded. In 1866 he took a second set of eggs:

three in number, from the eyrie previously occupied. In

1867 the male bird was killed late in April, and this appar-

ently prevented their breeding there that year, as they prob-

_ ably otherwise would have done. At least no nest was that

*Transact. London Linn. Soc., Vol. xx, p. 528.

, tSee Dr. Coues’ List of the Birds of New England, Proceedings of the Essex Insti-

ae tute, Vol. v, p. 254.

aan 1See Proceedings Essex Institute, Vol. iv, p. 153.

AC Vau EROR. M COR SPP mt^ WE T in LARES,

RARER BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 515

year discovered. In 1868 hawks of this species were seen

about the mountains, and although they reared their young

there, all effort to discover their nest was ineffectual. The

present year (1869) they commenced to lay in the old nest-

ing place, but as they were robbed when but one egg had

been deposited, they deserted it and chose a site still more

inaccessible. Here they were equally unfortunate, for during

à visit to this mountain, in company with Mr. Bennett (April

28th), we had the great pleasure of discovering their second

eyrie, and from which, with considerable difficulty, three

freshly laid eges were obtained. Not discouraged by this

second misfortune, they nested again, this time depositing

their eggs in the old eyrie from which all except the last set

of eggs have been obtained. Again they were unfortunate,

Mr. Bennett removing their second set of eggs, three in

number, May 23d, at which time incubation had just com-

menced. The birds remained about the mountain all the

summer, and from the anxiety they manifested in August it

appears not improbable that they laid a third time, and at

this late period had unfledged young.

e first set of eges and the female parent, collected

April 19th, 1864, are in the Museum of Natural History at

Springfield, as also a male killed subsequently at the same

locality in April; the second set, collected in April, 1866,

are in the cabinet of Mr. E. A. Samuels; the third and

fourth sets, collected April 28th and May 23d, 1869, are in

that of Dr. William Wood, of East Windsor Hill, Conn.

Although in each set the different eggs sometimes varied con-

siderably from each other, neither of the three last present

that remarkable range of variation exhibited by the first.*

It is probable that some years more than one pair have

nested on Mount Tom, but only one nest-site had been

discovered before the present year. I learn from Dr. Wood

that this bird is every year seen also about Talcott Mountain,

* See Proceedings of the Essex Institute, Vol. iv, p. 157.

516 NOTES ON SOME OF THE

obtained from it in 1862 Dr. Wood kept till the following

fall, when they were sent to Professor Baird, and died at the

Smithsonian Institution the succeeding spring. Mr. G. A.

Boardman informs me that the Duck Hawk in summer keeps

about the islands in the Bay of Fundy, and " breeds upon the

high cliffs all along this bay.*”

As stated by me elsewhere,t the Duck Hawks repair to

Mount Tom very early in the spring, and for a month or six

weeks, as Mr. Bennett informs me, carefully watch and de-

fend their eyrie. They often manifest. even more alarm at

this early period when it is approached than they do later

when it contains eggs or young.

Sparrow Hawk. Falco sparverius Linn. In reference to

this species, Dr. Wood communicates the following interest-

ing fact. “A few years since a pair of Sparrow Hawks

attacked and killed a pair of doves and took possession of

the dove cot and laid four eggs. Being too familiar with the

farmer's chickens they were shot, and I had the good fortune

to obtain two of the eggs."

Gosmawk. Astur atricapillus Bon. This species varies

most remarkably in the number of its representatives seen

in different years, and also in the same season at localities

in Southern New England not far apart. Some winters—

the only season at which it is usually seen in Massachusetts

—it is extremely rare, while the next it may be one of the

most numerous species of its family. In years when it is

generally common some of our most careful observers do

not meet with it. Dr. Wood writes me, under date of

October 22d, 1868, that with him "it has been a very rare

winter visitor until the last winter, when they were more

common than any of our rapacious birds. I mounted five

specimens and sent away several for exchanges. 1 think

twenty were shot within a radius of five miles. I have

= resided at East Windsor Hill twenty-one yor anl bare

* In epist., Sept. 19, 1864

t Proceedings of the Essex Institute, Vol. iv. p. 155.

RARER BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 517

known only three specimens taken here prior to 1867." At

Springfield, less than twenty miles in a direct line north of

East Windsor Hill, and at nearly the same elevation above

the sea, I have known them to be quite common during

several winters within the last ten years. Mr. J. G. Scott

says it was common at Westfield in 1867, and not rare

during the three or four winters immediately preceding.

When numerous this species is very destructive to the Ruffed

Grouse, which forms its prineipal food. In some localities

they sometimes hunt them almost to extermination.

Mr. €. J, Maynard informs me that he is confident that

this species sometimes breeds in Massachusetts. He says he

once observed a pair at a locality in Weston until the latter

part of May ; after this time he had no opportunity of ob-

serving them, but he feels sure that they bred there. This

is not improbable, since its usual breeding range embraces

the greater part of northern New England, and probably the

mountains of Western Massachusetts.

r. Wood mentions in his letters another interesting fact

respecting this bird, which I think all careful observers are

apt to notice, not only in this species but as a general fact;

namely, that the birds in immature plumage are often larger

than any specimens obtained in mature plumage. Dr. Wood

observes, "the young are very unlike the adult both in size

and markings; the young is the largest until after moulting,

when the wing and tail feathers never again acquire their

former dimensions. ‘The same difference is observable in

the Bald Eagle between the young and the adult.”* I have

myself observed it in Ardea herodias and other Herons, in

Thrushes, and in Larus argentatus, and other species of

Laride. This difference in size between the adult and the

young has also been reported to me by Messrs. May

and Bennett.

Rep-sHoutpereD Hawk. Buteo lineatus Jard. This spe-

cies was placed in the list of "Summer Visitants" instead of

REL PONDERA CP MEN E TR curtem iere id

* See also American Naturalist, October, 1869.

518 NOTES ON SOME OF THE RARER BIRDS, ETC.

among the "Resident Species," as it should have been, in my

Catalogue. At Springfield, I have rarely observed it in

winter; but I learn from Dr. Brewer, Mr. Maynard and

others, that it is in some sections of the state a quite com-

mon species at that season.

CanrroRNIA Hawk. Buteo Cooperii Cassin. A specimen

of this species was shot iu Fresh Pond woods, Cambridge,

November 17, 1866, by Mr. William Brewster, of Cam-

bridge, in whose collection it was detected a few months

since by Mr. Maynard. It seems to be the first specimen

yet reported from east of the Rocky Mountains. It is one

of the most characteristic of the Buteones of this continent,

and there seems to be not the slightest reason to question its

capture in Cambridge.

Roven-LEccED Hawk. Brack Hawk. .Archibuteo lago-

pus Gray. (A. lagopus et Sancti-Johannis Auct.) Gener-

ally not uncommon in winter in the Connecticut Valley.

Dr. Wood is of the opinion that the Rough-legged Hawk

and the Black Hawk are the same. “I have,” he says, “all

shades of color from the light to the black, and I am unable

to find the dividing line; both have the same measurements,

the same claws and bill, the same habits, come and leave at

the sume time, and hunt together. I have them almost

black with the faint markings of the lighter bird, showing to

my mind that the lighter markings become extinct as the

black increases, or as the bird increases in age. Those who

claim that they are distinct say that in some localities the

Rough-legs are common and no Black Hawks are to

seen. This proves nothing. The young of the Red-throated

Diver are very common in Long Island Sound, yet the adult

is never seen there. So it is with the Crested Grebe; the

young are found here in winter — never the adult.” *

On another occasion, when writing on this point, Dr. Wood

expressed his views still more strongly, as follows: “The

Rough-legged Falcon and Black Hawk are the same. Ihave

* In epist. Oct. 22, 1868,

ciue n etui pM d LE E E y UN m SD MEE TP ERE

RECENTE VI eee i Ea eee AUR XN ee x ATRE =

TROUT FISHING IN THE YOSEMITE VALLEY. 519

taken and examined, I presume, forty specimens. They are

the same bird, but not of the same age. The black is the

OT A The differences in markings between them are

not as great as in many birds, as, for example, in the Bald

Eagle, the Golden Eye, Sheldrake, etc. I have taken them

from those with the lightest markings to jet black, with all

the intermediate varieties in color. So gradually do they

come more and more black till jet black is reached, that I

will defy any one to draw the separating line. It would be

as difficult as to tell when the ‘pig becomes a hog.’”* |

The late Mr. Lucius Clarke, of Northampton, I have been

informed, had a similar series, and that from an examination

of a large number of specimens he had arrived at the same

conclusion. I have not yet had an opportunity of comparing

à very large number, but from a study of those I have seen,

and of the accounts given by authors, I believe the view

taken by Dr. Wood and Mr. Clark to be the correct one.

TROUT FISHING IN THE YOSEMITE VALLEY.

BY HON. J. D. CATON.

Br far the hardest day's work the tourist has in "doing" the

wonderful valley is the visit to the Vernal and the Nevada

falls, where the Merced River makes a clear leap of three

hundred feet over the first, and seven hundred feet over the

Second. Our guide, Mr. Cunningham, assured me that not

a fish of any kind is found in the river, or any of its tribu-

taries above the first or lower fall. Below these falls several

varieties occur, the most interesting and the most abundant

of which is the Speckled Trout (Salmo iridea Gib.). H

differs materially from its cousin, the Speckled Trout of the

Eastern States (Salmo fontinalis), especially in habit and

*In epist. Sept. 5, 1864.

520 TROUT FISHING IN THE YOSEMITE VALLEY.

coloring, and is more sluggish in movement and less vora-

cious in appetite. Its spots are all black, less regular in size,

form and arrangement, and it has a coppery stripe running

along the lower part of either side. It was the unanimous

verdict of our party that its flesh is inferior to that of the

eastern brook trout, though it was highly relished by all.

The waters of the river are almost as transparent as the

atmosphere, and are as cold as it is safe to bathe in. The

trout were so abundant that usually several were in view to

the observer standing on the river bank, but so shy that one

would rarely remain within forty feet.* The Indians

daily brought in large strings taken with the hook, which

they sold to Mr. Hutchings, our landlord; but it was said,

that with one exception, no white man had ever taken one.

The bait always used by the natives is the angle-worm, which

Mr. Hutchings assured me was found abundant in the valley

by the first white visitors. I may pause here to say that this

statement interested me much from the fact that none of

these worms were ever found on Lake Superior till they

were planted there; ten years ago those who used them for

bait were obliged to take them along. I planted the first at

Eagle River, seven years since, with worms taken from

Ottawa, Illinois, and they have flourished finely since.

After nine hours of travel on a very hot day, we re-

turned from viewing the falls to the hotel. While the rest

of the party sought rest on beds in their rooms, or on robes

or blankets under the oaks, I determined to try my hand

with the trout. I overhauled my satchel and found a few

flies and some naked hooks, and a very indifferent line-

Mine host loaned me a Chinese rod, which answered wel

enough. I first essayed with artificial flies, from behind

a bunch of willows, by which I was entirely concealed.

They simply laughed at all my efforts at deception. They

seemed as indifferent to any fly which I had as they would

Mii miei iiid liii ee E E E Er JU ein draamsiquu sim n

cones DN WOR MUAY UNIMYAT SUYINENOWIT cree teen etx o we OE

~ below the surface. The current is very strong.

Gd HN

tThe last ra. i d to play on

Doane last rays of the setting sun had ceased to play

TROUT FISHING IN THE YOSEMITE VALLEY. 521

be to a willow leaf. I stopped fishing, and observed them

for nearly an hour from my concealment. They were con-

stantly rising to the surface for something floating on the

water, though not with the dash and vim of an eastern trout,

but with a staid and dignified pace which seemed to say they

Were quite indifferent whether they caught their victims or

not. It was clear then that with a proper fly and the laziest

possible mode of handling it would persuade them. I now

resorted to the angle-worms.* I fished in deep water and

in shallow, in the rapids and in the eddies, with every mode

and motion I had ever found successful with trout. It was

of no use. Sometimes one would approach in a sluggish

way and smell of the bait, but would never touch it. I then

tried them as if fishing for black bass, but with no better

Success, t and in that deep gorge hemmed in by vertical walls

four thousand feet high, it already seemed as if night was

upon me. Still as the Indians often take them in the night

with the same bait, I thought I would try another mode. I

Went at them now as if I were fishing for black pike in the

Illinois or Fox River. I threw the bait into the swift

current well above me and allowed it to float till it grounded

as far down the stream as the line would allow. Here it

was allowed to remain for perhaps five seconds, and then

with a moderate but steady motion it was brought up stream

and towards the surface. The secret was solved. It had

hot been raised from the bottom more than a foot, when it

Was met by a trout about twelve inches long, but I did not

make sufficient allowance for his sluggish habits, and struck

before he had well taken the hook, and he fell back into

the water close by the bank. Several succeeding casts were

unsuccessful. Soon, however, a stranger came along, and

m deceived by my unprofessional practices, and took the

Vait as it was rising from the bottom in a way that seemed

*With whi i i eee

ch a juvenile “ Lo.” had supplied me for a the smooth face of South

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 66

529 THE ESQUIMAUX DOG.

to say, "I don't much care whether you escape me or not."

I however gave him plenty of time and then landed him. If

I had been too quick with the first, I was too slow with this,

for the hook had quite disappeared, so that a knife was

necessary to disengage it, and my prize was so much dis-

figured as to spoil it for a specimen. It was now nearly

dark, and without another cast I hastened home, where I

found my party busily engaged discussing a comfortable

dinner. Senator H. suspended his gastronomie occupation

and carefully examined my prize, and then deliberately

surveyed the captor, and at last profoundly remarked,

"this should be considered no exception to the rule of this

valley that the trout will not bite a white man's hook. The

fish should be pardoned, for the mistake was most natural."

And then the whole party, with a spirit only known in a

jovial excursion party determined to make the most of every

incident, struck up "so say we all of us." I forgave the

ladies at least, for nearly all had excellent voices and were

always ready to use them on the least provocation; but I yet

owe the senator one. 7

THE ESQUIMAUX DOG.

BY H. M. BANNISTER.

THE study of the domestic animals of a barbarous nation

or tribe is chiefly interesting as throwing some additional

light upon their physical and intellectual status, and is there-

fore a fit adjunct to the study of their ethnological and

historical relations. When, however, the species are, az it

were, unique in this capacity, or when through domestica-

tion any very remarkable variation from the usual type ap-

_ pears to have been produced, they then become of more

(gener interest. Under this latter class we may place thé

THE ESQUIMAUX DOG. 598

Esquimaux Dog ; and, although it may require more of faith

: in the Darwinian hypothesis than every one feels obliged to

possess, to acknowledge it as a distinct species from the

"eurs of low degree" which infest our civilization, no one

Will fail to concede that it is a sufficiently well marked

variety. Being thus remarkable, it has received more or less

notice from nearly every voyager on the more northern

coasts of our continent; and notwithstanding that the subject

is therefore not entirely new, I venture to add a few obser-

vations of my own, made during a residence of about a year

on the coasts of Alaska, near Behring's Straits.

There is no necessity of going into detail as to the general

appearance of our subject, in this place, as descriptions are

sufficiently numerous and accessible in works of travel,

cyclopedias, etc., the habits and peculiarities in other re-

Spects, affording sufficient grounds for remarks. Suffice it

merely to say, that with his heavy, but even coat of hair

filling up and rounding off the hollows and angles of his

body, his bushy tail curling over his back, erect ears, and

the generally intelligent. expression of countenance, the

squimaux Dog may be called a rather handsome animal.

The average size appears to me to have been overestimated

1n some of the descriptions, although the breed may attain

larger dimensions in other regions than that in which I

Observed it. A few individuals were seen which approached

r equalled in size the Newfoundland dog, but by far the

greater number were decidedly smaller, some appearing

even diminutive in comparison ; still, however, preserving all

characteristic marks of the variety. In color they vary

m white to black through the different shades of gray and

rown, a very large proportion being piebald. Some of

' Variations in size and color may perhaps be owing to&

slight admixture of foreign blood, as there are among the

Alaska Esquimaux a large number of mongrels, with the

Indian dogs of the interior, the Siberian dogs introduced by

the Russians, and doubtless with various forms of the dogs

524 THE ESQUIMAUX DOG.

of civilization, even down to the familiar “yellow dog,” of

whieh variety one or two quite typical specimens were seen

during my stay in the country; in these instances, most `

probably introduced by whalers. The Siberian dogs them-

selves, as seen in Kamtchatka are not always very different

from the Esquimaux type, and the dogs of the sedentary

Tchuktchi, or Asiatic Esquimaux, are, if not the same as

those of the American coast, a very nearly allied variety.

From the regular traffic which has been carried on from time

immemorial across the straits, we may infer that a very con-

siderable mixture has been made between the dogs of the two

continents. The natives frequently take their dogs with them

in their summer trips by water; and a full loaded oomiak

under sail, with its lading rising a foot or so above the gun-

wale amidships, and kept from falling overboard by sticks

stuck up on each side, one or two kayaks carried athwart-

ships over all, or towing astern, and with its full complement

. of male Innuits, squaws, papooses and dogs, is rather aston-

ishing to one's preconceived ideas of Esquimaux navigation.

The external coating of long hair is underlaid in the

Esquimaux dog by a denser mat of closely interwoven fibres,

which, though coarse, seem to have sufficient length and

toughness to allow of its being spun out into thread. I have

seen, indeed, a blanket, brought from the Mackenzie's River

District of the Hudson Bay Territory, which was said to

have been woven from dog's hair, probably of this, or 4

closely related variety, the Haw Indian dog. In the sum-

mer time this wool may be easily pulled off in large ane

provided the animal is kind enough to allow the » handling

which is not invariably the case. This, with the dense cover:

ing of shorter hairs on their legs and feet, appears to make

them indifferent to almost any eure of cold, as they fre-

quently and habitually pass the bitterest nights and fiercest

Storms of the arctic winter, with no other shelter than is

a afforded by the lee side of a native hut, and sometimes |

wit even that. Nor do other apparent sources of dis-

RC E

PFS pee RELEASES ere IUE321 122212 oi cg es 02177 722 17 T 229

emm

PT TOSISEFERIREIPTCSTLHEUPIEERE li i ULI EEE PRS ed

THE ESQUIMAUX DOG. 525

comfort appear to trouble them much. I remember seeing

at St. Michael’s, during one of the coldest days of December,

one of the Fort dogs comfortably asleep on the steps leading

to the door of a store-house, with his hinder quarters at the

top, and his head near the bottom, his whole body some

twenty or thirty degrees out of the horizontal. Another

advantage of their heavy outer covering, and not an incon-

siderable one, is that it enables them the better to undergo

the disciplinary ordeal of the whip, enough in some in-

tances, it -would seem, to make raw hide thongs of an

ordinary dog skin. K

The Esquimaux dog does not bark, and this, together with

the short quick snap of his bite, is the most wolfish trait

Which he retains from his supposed ancestry. There. is,

however, no lack of voice, or the exercise of it; he howls

most dismally whenever the spirit moves him. Those who

ve had experiences of wolves and coyotes on the plains,

can form but a faint idea of what it is to have two or three

dozen Esquimaux dogs howling in concert within a few feet

of one’s head. The noise will go through two or three log

partitions, and then be altogether trying to human nerves.

There are times, nevertheless, when it is rather comical than

otherwise; as, for instance, when they exert themselves in

this direction in starting on a journey. As soon as the sled

is brought out, and while the load is being adjusted upon it,

the dogs gather around, and, fairly dancing with excitement,

raise their voices in about a dozen unmelodious strains.

There are often one or two who have to be dragged up to

their duty by a whip-lash around their necks, and they add

their peculiarly lugubrious, half strangled notes to the

general discord. This kind of row is renewed every time

they start, until travel and hard work have taken the spirit

out of them, when they go to their work in a dogged, busi-

hess-like manner without any particular uproar.

From five to seven dogs are generally used together in a

team, though the poorer natives often make shift to get along

526 THE ESQUIMAUX DOG.

with a less number, a single dog being sometimes made to

do duty alone. On the other hand the Russian traders, and

more rarely the Esquimaux, occasionally put eight and nine

dogs in a single team. The pups, as soon as they are able

to travel, are fastened up with the older dogs, and learn their

business very rapidly. Once in a while one breaks down on

à journey, and is then often inhumanly abandoned where he

drops; but they generally get along marvellously well,

allowing for their tender age.

The Alaskan Esquimaux sled is a rather heavy looking.

affair, nine or ten feet in length by about two in breadth,

with thick, strong runners, often shod with pieces of solid

whalebone. To the front.of this is attached a strong raw-

hide thong or rope, eleven or twelve feet in length, to which

the dogs are fastened by a simple harness, consisting in its

most elaborate form, of a breast band and another strip

passing over the back, and underneath the dog immediately

behind his fore legs. The continuations of the breast band,

passing backward on each side, join over the back, and from

this junction is continued a short trace, by which the dog is

fastened to the above mentioned rope, usually in equal num-

bers on each side, and one at the end. By this arrangement

4 great deal of the strength of the dog is wasted in side

draft ; notwithstanding this, it is probably the best that can

be made, since it allows of no such irremediable snarling of

the lines as would inevitably result were any more compli-

cated arrangement adopted. A team of dogs will frequently

stop when under full headway to engage in a general fight ;

and on being brought to order by an energetic use of the

Whip, both lash and stock, will jump to their places and

proceed as before, without any confusion or entanglement

whatever.

The amount of load carried on these sleds varies of course

.. With the number and condition of the animals, but perhaps

A Seventy-five pounds to a dog is a little above, rather than

below the average. The greatest feat of this sort which came

THE ESQUIMAUX DOG. 591

under my observation was performed by one of the fort

teams of eight dogs, all, with perhaps one exception, of

pure Esquimaux breed, but the finest of their class, several

of them fully equalling in size a Newfoundlander. They

travelled about forty miles in a single day, part of the dis-

` tance through freshly fallen and drifted snow, drawing, on

one of the bons mentioned heavy native sleds, nearly eight

hundred pounds of reindeer meat; the whole, with the ied;

probably approaching a thousand pounds in weight. I never

heard of any team of Esquimaux dogs excelling this, but

was informed by the late Major Kennicott that the Hudson

Bay Company traders with a peculiar breed of introduced

dogs, somewhat resembling the Danish mastiff, load their

light sleds with an average allowance of about one hundred

pounds to each dog.

The art of guiding the team by the whip and voice

appears to be almost unknown among the Alaskan Esqui-

maux; it is customary with them to keep a man running

ahead of the sled to show the way, the dogs following him

instinctively. When, however, the route has been often

travelled over before by the same team, or when there is

a previously made sled track for the dogs to follow, the

runner is sometimes dispensed with. In the sled teams of :

the Russian traders, and nót so invariably in those of the

natives, the leading dog is always the same, and often

becomes so habituated and attached to this position, that he

will resent being put in any other place in the team. These

leaders are generally selected for their willingness to work ;

pluck and sagacity also being considered. Strength and

size, though valuable in this position, are of lesondary

importance; a small plucky dog will sometimes achieve and

hold this preéminence by sheer moral force, and a first-class

leader holds it in his ordinary intercourse with the other

dogs as well as when fastened up with them in harness.

Much is trusted to the sagacity of a good leader, in the way

of picking out the route, avoiding obstacles, etc. In fol-

528 THE ESQUIMAUX DOG.

lowing a previously made sled track he does not always

follow it blindly, but will frequently cut across .short turns

and show a considerable exercise of judgment in other ways.

In the winter of 1865— 66, a small party of Russian traders

and Esquimaux employees, some half a dozen persons alto-

gether, while travelling with dogs and sleds, between the

mouth of the Yukon River and Fort St. Michael's, on Norton

Sound, were caught in a very severe snow-storm near the

southern point of St. Michael's Island, a flat marshy region,

very much intersected by water channels winding in every

direction. The driving snow completely obseured all the

landmarks, and the early nightfall of these latitudes coming

on about the same time, they became confused and lost their

way entirely. Having in the party no compass or other

means of directing their course, their only recourse was to

eall in the runner and trust to the intelligence of one of the

leaders, an old dog which had been tried in similar emergen-

cies and had not been found wanting, to bring them out of

their peril. The plan succeeded; and under his guidance

they arrived safely at their destination, a result which they

all admitted could hardly have happened had they been left

to their own direction. I give this story on the authority of

_ the members of the party; the dog in question was unani-

mously praised for his knowingness. I can myself testify

to his general sagacity. If his finding the way must be

accounted for, I should attribute it to his previous knowledge

of the country, rather than to instinct or power of scent,

which does not appear to be very remarkably developed in

this variety.

Most travellers have mentioned the voracity of these dogs

in times of general scarcity. There appears then to be no

limit to their appetite; nothing is safe from them; they vill

devour old boots, rawhide ropes, and have even been known

to tear up and swallow cotton cloth and old rags. The

dogs belonging to the natives undergo such. periods of star-

PINONEGMG ts ao eae a Re Me EEEE EAE Ry a gD O

|. vation pretty regularly, and many succumb nearly every

TURISTI TEES eS en ee E ENA d iJ MATT

;

THE ESQUIMAUX DOG. | 529

winter to the combined effects of want of food and hard

work. There is also an epidemic disease which is very de-

structive some years, and is undoubtedly the same as that

described by Dr. Hayes as occurring amongst his dogs on

Smith's Sound during the winter of 1860-61. As in the

cases related by him, the symptoms closely resembled those

of hydrophobia, but the disease does not appear to be so

communicable by the bite. There seems also to be some

connection between the disease and the nature and quantity

of the food, as it was mostly confined in its ravages during

the winter of 1865—66 to the poorly and irregularly fed

dogs of the natives, while the better cared for animals of

the Russian traders suffered in a much less proportion.

Genuine hydrophobia does sometimes occur; a most unmis-

takable case of it was observed during the summer of 1866.

During the summer months, from May to September, the

dogs are fed only irregularly by most of their owners, and

are sometimes left entirely to themselves to find their own

living. In spite of this they usually manage to grow fat

during this season, and to make up all they have lost in

strength and substance during the winter. They supply

themselves with fresh game, not only the smaller quadrupeds

and grouse, but also occasionally running down a deer. Their

hunting instincts are so strongly developed, that while trav-

elling in the winter, if a reindeer or even a fox or rabbit is

in sight, it is quite difficult to keep any control over the

dogs, and the mere utterance of the word tung tuk (Esqui-

maux for reindeer) is often effectual to enliven a lagging

team. Many dogs wander off after deer in the summer and

are lost to deir owners; and as comparatively few stray

dogs are picked up, it appears that the greater number of

these either revert to the wild state, or are destroyed by

wolves and other beasts of prey. Wolves sometimes attack

and earry off dogs from trading posts and villages. In the

spring of 1866, a wolf attacked some twenty or thirty dogs -

just outside of the stockade at St. Michael's. The uproar

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III.

530 OUR COMMON FRESH-WATER SHELLS.

brought the whole force of workmen to the rescue, otherwise

he would certainly have made way with one or more; for

Esquimaux dogs in almost any number, are no match for à

northern wolf.

' Of the other breeds of dogs which are used as draught

animals in the north, I have already mentioned the large

dogs of the Hudson Bay Company's traders, which are

known to me only by description. The Indian dogs appear,

for the most part, like a very degraded variety derived from

the wolf. A peculiar variety, of unknown origin, but prob-

ably from Europe or Siberia, was used to some extent by

the Russians. In appearance it resembles the shepherd dog,

but stands as high as a Newfoundlander. Its shape is slen-

derer than that of the native breed, and the hair is shorter,

the colors are usually black or dark brown and white or tan,

with a yellow spot over each eye, as in some of the terriers.

They appear to be.quite as hardy and serviceable as the

native variety. I have known a team composed chiefly of

dogs of this breed to travel with a light load over à well

marked track, between sixty and seventy miles in à single

day.

OUR COMMON FRESH-WATER SHELLS.

BY E. S. MORSE.

In this and a few succeeding papers we intend to give à

brief outline of several groups of fresh-water mollusks

common to the United States.

The intention is to make them useful to the young col-

lector in enabling him to determine the generic names of the

more common shells he may have in his collections, and to

. give him some idea of their habits and structure. He will

also become acquainted with the specific names of the mc

mon shells he meets with. Nothing more than a brief

American Naturalist. : Vol, IL. Pl. 9

Fig. 1.

Fig. 12. Fig. 13.

Fig. 17.

MORSE, ON OUR COMMON FRESH-WATER SHELLS.

OUR COMMON FRESH-WATER SHELLS. 531

sketch will be attempted. In one sense the papers will be a

compilation from the treatises of Prime, Binney, Bland, and

others, published by the Smithsonian Institution, through

whose liberality we are enabled: to illustrate this and the

papers which are to follow.

A shell common in most of the streams and ponds of New

England, a figure of which is here given, Fig. 78, belongs to

a group of mollusks that is distributed

throughout the northern hemisphere.

They are usually found in muddy streams

or ponds, either grovelling an inch or so

in the mud or among roots, or crawling

along over the sand.

The creeping disk is quite long and gy

broad. The little snout, on each side of

which may be seen the tentacles, with

eyes at their bases, projects beyond the margin of the shell

in front, while behind the shell, and attached to the upper

part of the tail may be seen a semi-circular corneous plate

called the operculum, Fig. 19. In Pl. 9, fig. 2, another spe-

cies is represented in the attitude of crawling, showing the

position of the operculum. When the animal retires within

its shell the head and forward part of the foot disappears

first, followed by the tail with the operculum, which rig. 7.

answers as a lid, or door to close the aperture of

the shell. In Figs. 1 and 3 of the plate, the appear- /

ance of the operculum is shown within the aperture (45

of the shell. As the shell increases in size, by the

addition of tiny particles around the margin of the aper-

ture, the operculum inereases likewise by the addition of

the corneous substance around its margin, and the little

Concentric furrows seen in the figure of the operculum

indicate its successive rates of increase. Most marine

Gasteropods (the name of the class to which all those mol-

lusks belong that have a broad creeping disk) are furnished

532 OUR COMMON FRESH-WATER SHELLS.

with opercula, though they vary greatly in composition and

shape. Some are strengthened by the addition of lime, and

are quite. solid ; of this kind is the eye tone, so called ; some

are claw-shaped, circular, or very irregular in form. 1n

most species the operculum fits the aperture of the shell

very closely; in others the operculum is rudimentary. ln

Strombus, or the conch-shell, it is long and sharp, projecting

some way beyond that portion of the foot to which it is

attached, and the animal uses it by thrusting it into the sand,

and then by a quick muscular contraction throwing its whole

body forward. While most mollusks lay eggs, some in à

glairy mass, as in the air-breathing water snails, or in à

series of pods like the whelk, the group of which we are

now treating, bring forth the young alive, but the young are

simply hatched from the egg, before the egg leaves the

parent; hence they are called ovoviviparous, On breaking

open the shell of a female in spring time, the young ones

may be found of various sizes within their globular eggs-

The species figured above, and also in Pl. 9, fig. 11, is now

known as Melantho decisa, and is the only species found in

New England. The shell is quite solid, having four or five

whorls; though the first two whorls, forming the tip of the

shell, is KERA absent from erosion. In young specimens 4

perfect one may be found ; but adult shells are always imper-

fect, as shown in the figure. The color of the shell varies in

being a light or dark green, and shiny. Within the aperture

the shell is bluish white.

Those who have the first volume of this magazine will

recall the description there given of the tongue of a land

snail, in which it was stated that the floor p the snail’s

mouth was lined by a membrane covered with many rows

of minute spurs, or teeth, and that the snail used this tongue

in rasping its food. Now these minute teeth furnish admi-

rable characters in the classification of these minor group?

of mollusks, Thus the air breathing snails which have n9

morum have the tongue lined with rows of very nU-

OUR COMMON FRESH-WATER SHELLS. 533

merous teeth; while those air breathing snails, which have

an operculum usually have a long slender tongue and have

‘only seven teeth in a row, and in this feature they resemble

the group now under consideration. Fig. 80 represents one

row of teeth taken from Melantho decisa. This species con-

tains about forty rows of teeth, and as these teeth always

hook backward they act admirably as a rasp in licking up

their food. The members of this family found in the United

States represent four well marked gen- Fig, 80.

era containing about twenty species. C

The two principal ones are Vivipara and sl AK

Melantho. In Vivipara the shell is gen-

erally thinner, more globose, the ingeni teeth are always

strongly notched; see Fig. 81. (Compare this with the

teeth of Melantho decisa, Fig. 80). The disk of the animal

does not project beyond the snout. See Plate 9, fig. 2. It

will be noticed that there are two distinct folds, one on each

side of the aperture of the shell, and these form regular con-

duits for the water to enter and bathe the gills for respira-

tion; the water entering by the right ~ and finding

ig. 81.

In Melantho the shell is

not so globose, but is

more solid, and the lin-

gual teeth are smooth,

or only slightly serrated.

The foot also projects far beyond the snout, as in the figure

of Melantho decisa, and the folds which conduct the water

to the gills do not form regular tubular conduits as in

Vivipara. We will now mention briefly the more prominent

species, figures of which will be found in the plate.

- Vivipara intertexta Say, Plate 9, figs. 2, 3, 4, has a very

globose shell, yellowish green or brownish horn color, hav-

ing numerous nearly obsolete revolving lines. The species

3 been found in Louisiana, South Carolina and Iowa. Vi-

.594 OUR COMMON FRESH-WATER SHELLS.

vipara subpurpura Say, Plate 9, fig. 8, has an oblong,

subovate shell, olivaceous in color, with a tinge of purple.

Figs. 9 and 10 represent younger specimens. Mr. Binney

says he has traced this species from Texas through Louisiana

and Mississippi to Key West, Fla., and in the Western

States of Indiana, Wisconsin, and Missouri.

V. contectoides W. G. Binney, Pl. 9, figs. 5, adult ; 6 and 7,

young. The shell of this species is ornamented with four re-

volving bands, is quite smooth and shiny, and the umbilicus is

open. The shell closely resembles a common European spe-

cies. Found in nearly all the Southern and Western States.

Vivipara Georgiana Lea, Plate 9, figs. 1 and 15, oper-

culum. This species inhabits Florida, Georgia, South Caro-

TEN lina and Alabama. There are

other species of this genus in

the United States, but it was

our intention to mention only

those that were more charac-

teristic.

Of Melantho we have sever-

al well marked species, among

which Melantho ponderosa Say

(Plate 9, figs. 14 and 16,

young ; figs. 19 and 20, adult),

is the largest. It is a heavy solid shell an inch and a half be

length, greenish horn color. It has been found in Ohio,

Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Tennessee and Alabama. Fig.

82 shows the shell with the animal extended. The creeping

disk is bent upon itself. The opereulum may be seen on

the hinder portion of the body, and the tentacles and eyes

are seen near the aperture of the shell.

-Melantho. decisa Say, Plate 9, fig. 11, represents the spe-

cies common to the New England States. Some specimens

. are very smooth and bright green in color. They are all

. devoid of an apex, and this is a characteristic feature.

___ Sometimes the shell is found reversed; that is, the spire

THE VIRGINIA PARTRIDGE. 535.

Melantho integra Say, Plate 9, figs. 17, 18, 21 and 22.

This shell is abundant in the Western States. Mr. Binney

is inclined, from an examination of a large number of speci-

mens, to believe that it is the same species as the one just

mentioned, and he may be right, but the weight of authority

is against him. The differences between the male shell,

Fig. 22, and the female shell, Fig. 21, are quite marked.

Melantho coarctata Lea, Plate 9, figs. 12 and 13, occurs in

South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi and Arkansas. There

are other species of this genus in the United States, but

it was our intention to enumerate only the more prominent

species of each genus presented. It would be of the highest

interest for the collector to diligently seek for specimens of ,

this group from all localities, and compare them to see where

the lines may be drawn between the species. We suggest

this, since there is so much variance of opinion between

writers on this subject. Mr. Binney to whom we are much

indebted for the work which has been so generously pub-

lished by the Smithsonian Institution, has brought together

à vast amount of material, and while he may have been too

conservative, we prefer this, to the lamentable* practice of

many, in describing from a single specimen. In the speci-

mens mentioned above we have relied on the accuracy of

the figures in identifying the species, and for this reason

the descriptions are either brief or wholly wanting.

THE VIRGINIA PARTRIDGE.

BY AUGUSTUS FOWLER.

Tae Ortyx Virginianus is a resident bird, and was more

common in former years than at the present time. Thirty

Years ago a covey of from five to thirty of them could be

flushed on almost any farm in Essex County. Now one of

prc eec E

536 THE VIRGINIA PARTRIDGE.

them is seldom met with. It is not in the clearing away of

our forest and the cultivation of the land, nor the increase

of population, that makes the decline in their numbers, for

they are birds whose habits do not lead them to the retire-

ment of the deep forest, but rather to the cultivated fields,

to small patehes of woodland, and to bushy pastures; in

fact, in winter they not unfrequently visit the hay and corn

rick and barnyard of the farmer, and are sometimes so

familiar as to come from the fields and feed with his poultry.

The great inducement which leads to the destruction of the

Partridge is the delicious flavor of its flesh; and the most

common modes used to take them, are traps that secure a

whole covey at one time. Many of them are taken by means

of the gun ; not so many fall by it, however, as are captured

by the snare or trap ; although a good gunner can secure a

flock if he selects the right kind of a day, in the right

season of the year. The best season to hunt the Partridge

is in the winter, on a snowy day ; and the faster it snows the

more sure is he of success and of good sport. On such days

the birds usually leave the more open lands and resort to

sheltered situations, such as small pine woodlands, if any

such are in their vicinity. The sportsman enters the woods.

Not a sound is heard. The fall of his footsteps are as silent

as the fall of the snow around him ; no rustling of leaves, or

the erackling of dried sticks beneath his feet is heard to dis-

turb the stillness. He walks silently on, with his mind

prepared for a surprise shot; as yet the silence prevails,

when, sudden as thought, up rise before him a covey of

Partridges on loud whirring wings, and fly in different direc-

tions; he selects the one which flies directly before him and

fires; by being prepared, and not excited by the sudden

springing of the birds, he brings her down. Although they

Separate when flushed, they are gregarious and are fond

each other's company ; and when they are thus separated,

y their well known call-note is sounded for a reunion. a

bo 3 The hunter stands in his tracks, and soon hears the notes

dE c ual rem amete uri MT A CES acm m

| i

THE VIRGINIA PARTRIDGE. 587

of one sounding loud and clear through the snowy air, and

immediately directs his steps to the spot from where the

sound came ; after advancing a short distance, he stops and

waits to hear the call-note again; soon it is heard louder

than before; he now proceeds with certainty, and sees the

bird perched on a rotten branch, beneath the snow-bent limb

of a pine tree, and cautiously getting within range of him,

he fires; having reloaded his gun he hears another bird in a

different part of the woods; this one he may find on the

ground near the roots of a tree, whose wide spreading

branches and thick foliage bear many snows. He may pro-

ceed in like manner until he has secured them all. Such a

day's sport, as a sportsman could have a few years ago, is

. how of rare occurrence; he may enter the coppice or small

woodland and find the stillness there, but will not see the

Whirring game springing before him, nor hear their loud,

shrill, clear whistle. I know that many flocks of the Part-

ridge succumb to the rigors of our northern winters ; roost-

ing as they do on the ground, they seek some sheltered spot

from the coming storm, such as the lea of a bunch of gray

birches, barberry bushes, or ferns, and if the snow comes

deep and heavy, or a crust forms upon its surface in the

night, they are sure to die. They have not the energy and

strength to extricate themselves from their situation, and in

Spring their remains, such as the feathers and bones of a

Whole covey, are found in such places. But the greatest

cause for their decrease is capturing them in nets, when

whole flocks of them are taken at a time; and, unless laws

are enacted, and at once enforced, for their preservation, not

only for the. Partridge but for all the game birds throughout

the country, we shall have cause to regret our delay in not

suppressing the indiscriminate slaughter that is now carried

on among them. The male Partridge has not the proud

mien of the Ruffed Grouse, but his step is stately and his

manners in the breeding season resemble those of the do-

Mestic cock. The female usually retires by herself, and is

AMER, NATURALIST, VOL. III. 68

538 THE VIRGINIA PARTRIDGE.

seldom, though sometimes, accompanied by the male, and se-

lects the spot for her nest, which is under a tuft of grass, or a

bush, or something that affords both shelter and concealment,

and makes it of dried grass or of such material as lies about

the spot, and then lays from fifteen to twenty pure white

eggs, which measure one and four-sixteenths of an inch in

length, by fifteen-sixteenths of an inch in breadth; they are

very pointed at the smaller end, and are put in such nice

order within the nest that if taken out it is difficult to place

them as they previously were. The young leave the nest

soon after they are hatched, and follow their mother, who

shows great anxiety for their welfare and will defend them

when in danger at the cost of her life. When surprised

with her brood she makes use of the same artifices with .

the Grouse and other birds which build upon the ground ; at

such times she will flutter along on the ground in the great-

est disorder only a few feet in advance of a dog, and yet

elude every attempt he may make to seize her, until she has

led him a sufficient distance from her young ones, and then

rising in the air by a circuitous route returns to them. I

was once passing over a cart path that led between a wood-

land and a field from which barley had been lately harvested,

and saw an old Partridge coming through the stubble with

her numerous family towards the woods. I stopped to let

them pass before me, and I soon saw by her movements that

I was not discovered by her, and concealed myself as well

as I could. As they approached the young ones were heard

to call incessantly for their mother to stop and cover them.

After she had cleared the stubble, she stood a moment upon

one foot in the hard beaten track, and looked earnestly about,

. and apprehending no danger, she partly squatted down, and

as the young emerged from the damp grass, with wet legs

and thighs, they eagerly sought the warmth of her body by

crowding under it, and although they were young and small,

they jostled her considerably until they became settled.

_ After brooding them for a time she led them into the woods.

* Buffon called it Le Grand Pengouin.

_ (fox goose) to distinguish it from the rest of the

1 ^

THE GREAT AUK. 539

Friendless bird! How is it possible for her to rear such a

numerous family, when surrounded by so many enemies.

Not only does man contrive many schemes to entrap them,

but many of the rapacious quadrupeds and birds are ever

ready to make them their prey. The mink follows them in

the woods with as unerring skill as does the setter dog,

while the red-tailed hawk hunts them in more open ground.

THE GREAT AUK.

BY PROFESSOR JAMES ORTON.

c —

Tn recent addition of a specimen of this rare bird to the

Smithsonian Museum, is an event worthy of record. There

are now three specimens in the United States; the one just

mentioned, another in the Academy of Natural Sciences,

Philadelphia, and a third in the Giraud Cabinet in Vassar

College. The last is the most perfect specimen, and cer-

tainly possesses the greatest historical value, as it is the one

from which Audubon made his drawing and description. It

Was caught on the banks of Newfoundland.

The Great Auk or Gare-fowl,* fortunately for itself did

not live long enough to receive more than one scientific

name— Alca impennis. It was about the size of a goose,

With a large head, a curved, grooved and laterally flattened

bill; wings rudimental, adapted to swimming only, ap-

Proaching in this respect the penguins of the southern

hemisphere. The toes are fully webbed, the hind one want-

ing; the plumage is black, excepting the under parts, the

tips of the wings, and an oval spot in front of each eye,

Which are white. It was an arctic bird, dwelling chiefly in

MOS hoist os arr

Moehring adds the tribal name Chenalopez

Alcidæ.

540 THE GREAT AUK.

the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland, and Newfoundland. *

"Degraded as it were from the feathered rank (said Nuttall),

and almost numbered with the amphibious monsters of the

deep, the Auk seems condemned to dwell alone in those

desolate and forsaken regions of the earth.” But it was an

unrivalled diver, and swam with great velocity. One chased

by Mr. Bullock among the Northern Isles, left a six-oared

boat far behind. It was undoubtedly a match for the

Oxfords. It was finally shot, however, and is now in the

British Museum. “It is observed by seamen,” wrote Buffon

a hundred years ago, "that it is never seen out of sound-

ings, so that its appearance serves as an infallible direc-

tion to the land.” It fed on fishes and marine plants, and

laid either in the clefts of the rocks or in deep burrows a

solitary egg, five inches long, with curious markings, resem-

bling Chinese characters. The only noise it was known to

utter was a gurgling sound. Once very abundant on both

shores of the North Atlantic, it is now believed to be entirely

extinct, none having been seen or heard of alive since 1844,

when two were taken near Iceland.t

The death of a species is a more remarkable event than v

end of an imperial dynasty. In the words of Darwin, “

fact in the long history of the world is so startling as the

wide and repeated extermination of its inhabitants." What

an epoch will that moment be when the last man shall give

up the ghost! The upheaval or subsidence of strata, ihe: en-

croachments of other animals, and climatal revolutions— by

which of these great causes of extinction now slowly but

Pee odo

* Audubon records the A that formerly ** Penguins were plentiful hae

- Nahant and some other islands in the bay.” per the old gunner, who gave e him

- information, must have meant da poscis id

— (That the Great Auk was once very abundant on our Pes England shores, i s proved be * pen

doubt 'the Ard number of its bones that Dos been found in t the ancient * *Shellhea vo i told

tered he coast from British America to Massachusetts, The * oa pam w

Audubon its been found at Na hant, was undoubtedly correet in pe pie pe

have bones of the. species taken trom m Shellheaps of Marblehead, Eagle n in pawi swich

Plumb Island, and Mr. Elliot Cabo hat an old fishe vindi CDM me ich, from

described a bird to bim. that eka captured by oiya father in Ipswich many years ago. W rj

the deseription, Mr. Cabot was convineed was a specimen of t. the Gr eat Auk.— =F. Wa

ds f Owen makes this singular mistake: i e camis last century ;

THE GREAT AUK. 541

Fig. 83.

The GREAT AUK, Alca impennis Linnzus.

Copied from Audubon, Plate 465.

542 THE GREAT AUK.

ineessantly at work in the organic world, the Great Auk

departed this life, we cannot say. We know of no changes

on our northern coast sufficient to affect the conditions neces-

sary to the existence of this oceanic bird. It has not been

hunted down like the Dodo and Dinornis. The numerous

bones on the shores of Greenland, Newfoundland, Iceland

and Norway, attest its former abundance ; but within the last

century it has gradually become more and more scarce, and

finally extinct. There is no better physical reason why some

species perish than why man does not live forever. We can

only say with Buffon, "it died out because time fought

against it." From the Lingula prima to the Auk, genera

have been constantly losing species, and species varieties ;

types and links are disippearing:

Still more mysterious than the extirpation of species, but

equally interesting, is their coming into being. We must

not expect this event to be conspicuous. We suppose that

the ushering in of the puny sloth was ‘us quietly and inap-

preciably done as the annihilation of its gigantic prototype,

the Megatherium. We are rather pelled to believe in

the continual formation of “incipient species” to take the

place of those that have expired. But how? By transmu-

tation or special creation? We will not decide; but we must

hold to one or the other, or else believe there are far fewer

species now than when man was added to the world's fauna.

For how many animals which figure in Pleistocene strata are

missing in the Recent Life! "That a renovating force,

which has been in full operation for millions of years, should

cease to act while the causes of extinction are still in full

activity or even intensified by the occasion of man's de-

stroying penes seems to me in the highest degree im-

probable.” +

SSA OCDE st e

*Lyell’s Antiquity of Man, p. 394.

;

REVIEWS.

HuXLEY's CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS.*—This is not a new work, but a

republication, without revision, of the six lectures on the classification

of y's u

mend it for study to be aiite with gpp and Gould's Principles of

Zoólogy, and Milne-Edwards’ Zoólo A large number of the admirable

boo us th

0 ts

perusal of the work has been a great treat. The author’s style is clear

and terse, and the writer, withal, so frank and outspoken, that we feel

strongly the personality of his clear headed, sturdy intellect, though less

far reaching and penetratiye often, than clear sighted and decisive.

apoda, Arac

and the ANNULOIDA [A ipie it ee Scolee s Cuvier's branch of

i i A LLU: A

us with a hasty view of eight branches, or subkingdoms, of the

kingdom. All the lower subkingdoms he considers as the ARTA

at nature by piecemeal. T ame tendency is manifested in the students

of a special order, or family, i multiply orders, families and genera to

Of powers of generalization and conibination as to the new feté and

improved methods of study, which many claim make such innovations

necessary. We are glad to see such iconoclasts arise, and doubts thrown

ction to the Classification of Animals, by T. H. Huxley, LL. D. London, 1869,

Svo, pp. 147. $1.50 gold.

(543)

544 REVIEWS.

over classifications usually accepted, and groups of facts broken up and

scattered, believing that another master mind like Humboldt’s, or Cuvier's,

will arise in the years coming to recrystallize them and demonstrate anew

Not agreeing with the view of Huxley, who would split up the "Mollüsca

into two Sie time (believing that though degraded, the Ascidians, Brachi-

opods and Polyzoa are true mollusks) nor in the ** subregnal —— of

the itoat say Frey and Leuckart have attempted t

let us examine the author’s views regardin ng the classification of the

Cuvierian Articulata, d seek the reasons of his adopting Siebold's view

subkingdom, equivalent to t ertebrates for instance, àn t

Cuvierian b f Articulata be dem In the arrangement of

the classes of the Articulates, the author retrogrades nearly a quarter of

a century, and in th sects, more than that time. This is due

The views of Leuckart, which have been ably secon nded by P A

allied to the segmented Leeches (Discophora) to be placed in a separate

sustiapdom by a robe of negative c— sem oe the author pro-

po Myriapod nd Arachnida sses, gava

to the Insecta and Crustacea. The direct homology of the adult forms

f Myriapods and Arachnids with the insects, and more especially the sig-

niflcant facts that the young of these two groups are, when first hatched,

iebold in 1848) and Premi for which we could never see any

good reason; both Insects and Cru a in their retrograde genera some-

times assuming worm-like forms, a dimer of the unity of type in the three

classes. The worms seem to us to stand in the same relation to the

2, as the fishes do to the Mammalia.

às well as in classes and orders, or families and

REVIEWS. 545

genera, there are two series of forms, the higher and the more degraded.

the type of Articulates the Flea is a degraded Mycetophilid, so

to speak; the Podura is a degraded Neuropterous insect; the Tardi- .

grades, by some naturalists placed among the worms, are degraded mites,

to be ranked near Demodex; as in suborders so in Were the riscs

Boreus is a degraded peia There is the greatest range of fo

within these subdivisions, and we judge m the MORE and position

in nature of the lower by their relation to other and higher forms. Fol-

lowing out the principles of Prof. Huxley, by looking at Hte results of his

undoubted Coleopterous insect, to a distinct order (as he really does).

ith as much reason doe e author separate the lower worms (Annu-

loida) from the Annelida a the Huxleyan sense), or separate the Echi-

noderms from the Radiata, and place them next to the Annulosa; and as-

sign the worms to a division equivalent to the Insecta and Crustacea

combined (Arthropoda). e would question whether this ‘conduces

Lamarck, when the animal kingdom was a confused mass of classes

and orders, with no glimpses of mon forms, or hints of an idea, or

plan, combining these classes into grand type

In the arrangement of the i Vise we are led back some thirty, o

ore, years the times of ber and Spence, an ,thoug iia

Ger

‘Peters and Carus’ cite ok of Zoology, representing, perhaps, the Erich-

son and Siebold school.

The Coleoptera are placed at the head of the Insects, and the Hymen-

Optera, Lepidoptera and Diptera are interposed between the beetles and

the Hemiptera, though there is so much in common between these two last

orders, and the Orthoptera and Neuroptera, in the structure of the imago.

Beyond the Hemiptera all is uncertainty and confusion, and the tojl of

Sophical siege of vg present day; his characters defining the

group being mostly negativ

The strangest, and P uh speaking, Biddent. Pee pi sus tin

cation is recognizing the N n “order

(Trichoptera), wise deir affinities to the Panorpide are so well acknowl-

ed by the best neuropterists. Why the Neuroptera (in the sense of

Siebold and Erichson) are placed above the Orthoptera we are not told.

The Orthoptera, according to Huxley, embrace, — a, the restricted Orthop-

(Cockroaches, Mantides, Leaf and Stick Insects, Grasshoppers and

Locusts); b, the TEE (Forficulariæ); c, the Termitinæ (the Pso-

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 69

546 REVIEWS.

cide are not mentioned by the author) ; d, the Perlarie ; e, the Ephemeride,

and f,the Libellulide. Three groups remain, **which do not fit well into

simply degraded Lygæid Paari ERS b, the Thysanura abia are un-

reason are the Arthrogastra (Scorpio, Chelifer, Pian P and

Galeodes) placed above the Spiders (Araneina), when —— they are

so obviously inferior to the latter, as the embryology of the two groups

(of which not a word is said) decides with so much certain s

We imagine the author treats that strange form, Sagitta, much as

Thrips Sag the Case-flies are disposed of, because it does not *'fit well R

into s her order or class, not agreeing, forsooth, with the ordinary

nuia " of such order or class (these * definitions " are the bane of

zoólogy studied as a science.) It is, indeed, thrown into a separate class,

pepodous crus

allied to Penella, as Prof. Agassiz has suggested) or the Annelida, where

the weight of authority perhaps locates

This book, so interesting and Wesen yet so unsatisfactory, marks

a transitional era in zoólogy. Many of the author's views had bee n pub-

lished long before the appearance of the present manual, but the volume

as been received with such an unquestioning spirit by certain English

reviews, that we must enter our protest cat many of the pup

opinions regarding classification; and if the Cuvierian “branches”

be demolished, do let us have a seat pene Ra Re v

instead of a c sinibud mass of classes and orders, and almost entire dis-

belief in the existence of archetypal forms, and ideas in creation—for -

such surely is the tendency of the book. — To be concluded.

GUIDE TO THE STUDY Or IxskECrS. * — This work, which has been over a

year in going through the press, appearing in numbers, has at length been

completed and issued from the Naturalist’s Book Agency. It comprises

700 octavo pages, with 651 wood-cuts, and eleven plates, illustrating in all

g ing dassiction xem ted ea — states in the preface :

d rp P thor in

.— 3963, and th ud

voccm EO on page 104, To the first and highest may be ponies "Leachte

PPE ese HLA NS See and BS PSE ag nd

P P +

/.. * A Guide to the Study of Insects. By A.S. Packard, Jr. M. D. 8vo, pp. 700. 1809. Natural-

REVIEWS. - 541

tern METABOLIA, as the vA we agree - e ving a perfect metamorphosis; for the second and

lower series the term HE OMETABOLIA is proposed, as the four suborders comprised in it

differ in the degrees of c siga 5. lok metamorphoses, and are all linked together by

the structural features enumerated on page

The classification of the Hymenoptera is or igit al with the author, the

placed highest, and the saw-flies and Uroceridx lowest. The — of "n families 19: the

ers » ma now generally agreed upon by entamiologish the

Diptera h i tion,

s been

followed with some modifications, Haliday’s Papae that 2 tese are allied to the

Mycetophi ive " apine to fheir position tn among the higher Diptera. Leconte's

Classification of tl as tese n ha qe i. e., to the Bruchids; for

sented. The arrang f the Neuroptera (in the Linnsan sense) is that of Dr. Hagen,

Published in his ** ave ^" with the addition, however, of the Lepismatidz, Campodez and

Podurid: -

The usual classification of the Arachnida is modified by placing the Phalangid:e as a family

etit the Pedipalp — me MOONEE of Tenit ies of this suborder is suggested as being a

The arrangement "- ps Araneina inne as authors have left it, is that adopted by Ger-

staeck s' * Handbuch der Zoologie." In the succession of the families of

-- ponte the suggestions of hrs in his * Studien. der Acariden, és have been followed;

fti + anf tl

Seta s elaborate work on the * Evolution of Spiders."

_ Succeeding the preface a page or more is dgoted to **acknowledg-

ments,” where the author gives the source of each figure in the work.

This was the more necessary, as the plan adopted in the two first parts,

of giving the name of the person from whose work the figure was bor- .

rowed was found to be too cumbrous and expensive.

The ** Guide" is already in use in some of our principal colleges and

agricultural schools as a text book, or for reference, and seems to have

et with favor from teachers em naturalists. The first edition has been

about ote and a new one will be issued at an early date. The

rapid sale of the book — the A edition being nearly RDN a before

the issue g the last part — indicates the large number of ers o

mology in this country, and the growing sense of the Diver daos of the

Study of practical entomology by agriculturists. `

ORIGIN oF THE BIG Mounp or Sr. Lours.* — Professor Spencer Smith,

in a paper read before the Academy of Science of St. Louis, states -—

banks of the sitas But few relics were found during the removal of the

mound, and nothing, Mr. Smith thinks, that would indicate anything

more than cs es Indians took advantage of the mound to bury their

dead as they would in any high place.

* Seven pages, 8vo, Oct., 1869. From the Author,

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

BOTANY.

GEOGRAPHY OF PINUS PUNGENS.--- In a note to a paper on “ Variations

in Pinus and Tazodium," recentiy published by the Philadelphia peni

of Natural Sciences, I have given snother locality for them: * e

hills north of Harrisburg, along the i fc nam mire are pod

abundant through the eater’ of the State. — T. MEE

ZOÓLOGY.

Dors with Honws.— The doe with horns, mentioned in the July num-

ber of the NATURALIST, must have been a very fine specimen, as well as à

very marked example of the imperfect development of sex which some-

times occurs, and has been found by naturalists in all branthes of the

animal kingdom. I saw a few years ago a doe with a pair of horns; it

was about eighteen months old: and was in an enclosure on Long Island.

In the same enclosureBwas a buck of the same age; the horns of -

animals were so nearly alike that they could not have been told apart

have heard of others that have been killed in the Adirondacks, the horns

iie like those of the Base of the second or third year. They ar

own there as barren d

pod inability to Nube young, however, seems to depend on the

amount of masculine nature inlierited, as the doe that I saw did have one

fawn.

Martin says: “In domestic cattle, where the cow produces twins, one

kee a male and the other a female, the female calf is very apt to be bar-

and the external form to resemble that of the ox. A calf of this

tad is called a free martin, the origin of which name is however obscure.

These calves on being slaughtered have been found to be hermaphro-

dites."

I have seen a peahen that, after it had ceased laying, grew à pair of

spurs. Darwin says: *It is well known that a large number of female

birds, such as fowls, various pheasants, SPD c ipee ducks, ete.,

When old or diseased, or when operated on, partly assume the secondary

male character of their species." “A duck ten n years ola has ee known

to assume both the perfect winter and summer plumage of the drake."

“Waterton mentions the case of a hen that bod ceased laying, and had

assumed the plumage, voice, spurs, and warlike disposition of the cock;

thus every character of the — pu st have lain dormant in this itn as

long as pid ovaria continued to

The reindeer and caraboo are eie only two species of the genus Cer-

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 549

vus, the females of which always have horns, though smaller than those

of the male. eel instances are mentioned, however, of exceptions to

this rule. Todd says: ** Among the females of the lower animals a simi-

lar approach to bn male character in the general system not unfrequently

Shows itself as an effect both of disease and malformation of the sexual

organs, and also in consequence of the cessation of the powers of repro-

duction in the course of advanced age. Female deer are sometimes ob-

served to become provided, at puberty, with the horns of the stag, and

age, and, according to Burdach, when the doe has been kept from the

Tine: and at the same time furnished with abundant nourishment.

“In a kind mentioned by Mr. Hay, and which, he believed, had never

produced any young, one of the ovaries, on dissection after death, was

found to be scirrhous. The animal had one horn resembling that of a

was no horn on the ve side. Sion a number of instances where

nt E derived from the antlers of his progenitors quite fail to be de-

loped.”

P have had an era f of studying four cases of this kind; one that

of a Cervus Virginianus rated when young, has never developed a

perfect pair of horns, the pie spike of the deer of eighteen months old

has never been shed, the original velvet remaining upon it, and a succes-

sion of points have been thrown out from the base until the appearance

has become like that of two rosettes on his head. Two Wapiti deer that

not otherw

VERSA began to grow and have never been cast, the velvet has re-

ned on ever since, while the form is very irregular and imperfect. Mr.

oe G. Bell informs me that some years since he found a doe with horns as

ge as those of a buck of two years

I have in my collection the skull sin horns of a Wapiti that had been

550 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

castrated. They are in the velvet, are heavy and thick, and the branches

instead of being pointed are palmated, the palmations being seven inches

broad on some of the branches. It is to be hoped, that as public parks

and zoólogical collections are being made throughout the country, more

attention will be paid to these subjects in this country, and better oppor-

tunities afforded to the naturalist than can be had in the woods while

hunting. — W. J. Hays.

THE EGG or THE Great AUK (Alca impennis).—Dr. Baldamus announ-

ces as the result of recent investigations, that but four eggs of this spe-

cies are to be found in Germany (one belonging to the Grand Duke of

Oldenburg, one to Count Ródern in Breslau, and two to the Royal

Museum in Dresden), none in France, two in the Copenhagen Museum,

and about sixteen in England, making twenty-two. The Academy of

Natural Sciences in Philadelphia had two specimens, but, with praise-

worthy liberality, has recently presented one to the Smithsonian Institu-

tion. So far as positively known, therefore, less than thirty specimens of

the egg of this probably extinct species, are now preserved. The exact

number of preparations of the bird itself we are not at present prepared

to give. Only three, however, are to be found in America, one each in the

Museums of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, of Vassar

College, Poughkeepsie, and of the Smithsonian Institution. Of the Skele-

tons only two are known, one in the British Museum, and the other in

the Cambridge Museum of Comparative Zoólogy. Detached bones are,

however, found in more or less abundance in the ancient shellheaps of

Denmark and other parts of Europe, and of the New England and Nova

Scotian Coasts.*,*

Tur Cow BuxTING.—Mr. Martin Trippe, in his article on the Cow

Bunting, (Melothrus pecoris) in the August number of the NaTURALIST;

mentions his having heard of but two instances where this bird depos-

ited more than two eggs in a single nest.

On the 15th of May, 1868, I found a nest of the White Crowned Spar-

row (Zonotrichia leucophrys), of two stories; containing, in the under, 8

single egg of the Cow Bunting, and in the upper, two more of the same,

together with three of the rightful owners. 'These were being sat upon

at the time by the female bird, and on blowing proved to be pretty wel

advanced in their incubation. Again, this last spring, in the month of

May, I found a common Pewee Flycatcher's nest, containing, with three

of its own, also three of the Cow Bunting's eggs. One of these last was

so forced down into the bottom of the nest as to be almost covered up.

This nest I have now in my collection. — H. S, Kepner, Potsdam, N. Y.

Tue House Fry.— Years ago I had hundreds of house flies. I think

that the perpetuity of the race is provided for in the larval and pupa state

over winter, and not by hibernating as adult flies. I have seen the great-

est abundance of pups late in autumn, when I am confident they di

not then tra SHIMER.

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 551

A Sıxac Mouse. — Within the last year I have seen several items in

the papers, to the effect that **singing mice" had been caught in different

parts of the country, and as the existence of such musicians seems to ex-

cite interest, I propose to give an account of one that lived with us about

ars ago.

It was in September, 1866, at Newburgh, N. Y., I had noticed in pne of

the rooms occupied by my family, for several evenings, a fine, chirping

sound, so persistent and monotonous as to be annoying, and had sup-

posed it to proceed from one of the small cicadz that, at that season, had

full possession of the shade trees that surrounded the house. Several

times I endeavored to find the insect, but ineffectually, the noise seeming

to come from different parts of the room, sometimes high in the wall,

sometimes on the floor, and ceasing altogether while I was endeavoring

hout

my being able to learn whence the sound proceeded. At last it invaded

my bedroom, which adjoined the other, and for an hour or two together,

on one particular night, made sleep impossible. It chanced next morn-

ning as I was dressing, the same note issued from an enclosed verandah,

one to another, till, on lifting gently the lower edge of the canvas cover

of one of them, I saw the tail of a mouse protruding. He scampered

away to another hiding place, from which forthwith the same notes came.

Ileft the mouse in peace that day, but devised means to entrap him the

following night. And sure enough, somewhere about midnight, I waked

to hear the same continuous chirping, and presently heard the click of

the trap. In the morning the children were greatly excited, and soon

found an old dormouse cage, brought from London years ago, made like .

à squirrel cage with wheel and sleeping box, but all on a scale suitable

for mice or dormice, which are alike feeble folks. The captive seemed

pleased with his quarters, and soon manifested his content at the quality

and regularity of his rations, by singing his unvarying tune at all hours,

He warbled after the manner of a minute bird, the throat swelling and

vibrating, the mouth closed or nearly so, and the lips in incessant rapid

motion, like those of a rabbit. There was nothing like the imitation

there had ever been a canary in the house. Nor was there anything that

could strictly be called a song. The sound was thin, satin but slightly

varied, and altogether more like that emitted by an insect

pgp pean m Wan and familiar with the presence of ny of the fam-

; ily. s he became much less restless than at first, was

aeta getting p ee lazy, would not take a run in the wheel unless

driven to it, and spent a good part of the day sleeping in his little room.

In this he hoarded his food in such quantity as to seem to the children

552 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

uncomfortable, and therefore he occasionally had to be ejected while his

bedding was changed and all made clean. At this treatment he would

he would make spin, emitting all the while his peculiar note with great

shrillness and rapidit And when admitted again after the house clear-

ing, he would be in a uite of exasperation, scolding incessantly while

busy rearranging things to suit his own mouse ideas. Several times he

escaped from the cage, but was as often retaken, as his noise always be-

trayed him, until at last, after he had been with us six weeks, he escaped

once too often and we saw him no more. We supposed he had found his

bia n the open door into the garden. This mouse was not the

n house-mouse, but of a species which frequents barns or lives in

m see and which was common in our own barn. It was of a light

brown, with a whitish belly. Its nose was sharper than that of the

house-mouse. On mentioning the subject to a friend, I was told that,

“ singing mice," and that it was well known and talked of in the village.

We know so little of the habits of the small nocturnal animals, that it

may be possible that these fleld-mice possess more or less of the musical

ing of a cricket, or small grasshopper if heard in the open air, or even in

a barn. If heard in a room they would have a certain distinctness, but

could not properly be likened to anything so decided and modulated as

the song of a

I have looked in vain for any intelligent account of the habits of our

field-mice in works of Natural History. In Jesse's **Country Life," Lon-

don, page 350, is mentioned as follows: “I have been twice to hear the

singing mouse. Its song is plaintive, sweet and bte d and evi-

dently proceeds from the throat. The notes are those of a canary bird,

_ and on questioning the man, I found that one of these do had been

en in the room in which the mouse was trapped ?"— W. H. EDWARDS.

L SELECTION, A MODERN INSTANCE. —I am a frequenter of the

iru having hunted there for twenty-one years. The common.

American Deer (Cervus Virginianus) abounds there. About fourteen

years ago, as nearly as I can remember, I first began to hear of *' Spike-

horn Bucks.” The stories about them multiplied, and they evidently

became more and more common from year to year. About five years ago

I shot one of these ae a large buck with pa ape iini on ient

presume the same is true north of Raquette Lake, but of this latter

rye I cannot speak from personal observation, having visited it onlY

The Spike-horn differs greatly from the common antler of the C. jie

It consists of a single spike, more slender than the antler,

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 553

: Scarcely half so long, projecting forward from the brow, and terminatlng

n avery sharp point. It gives a considerable advantage to its possessor

over the common buck. Besides enabling him to run more swiftly

through the thick woods and underbrush (eriy hunter keen ind does

run much

armed with their cumbrous antlers), the spike-horn is a more effective

weapon than the common antler. With this gegen. the Spike-horn

Bucks are gaining upon the common buc n time, entirely

a supercede them in the Adirondacks. “ein eA art M t Spike-horn

Buck was mega an accidental freak of nature. But his spike-horns gave

him an advantage, and enabled him to propagate his peculiarity. His

descendants, "gei like advantage, have propagated the peculiarity in

a constantly increasing ratio, tin they are slowly crowding the Antlered

Deer from the region they in

Suppose this had begun several hundred years ago, and the process had

been completed before the first white man penetrated the wilds of north-

of deer, besides the Moose and Caribou, only the Spike-horn. Would he

have hesitated to have pronounced it a distinct species, and to have named

it as such? And would not naturalists everywhere have followed him?

Yet the Spike-horn Buck is but an accidental variety of the C. Virginia-

nus. Is it probable that the Black-tailed Deer is a more distinct species?

How many changes as great as that from the common Deer to the Spike-

horn Buck would be necessary in order to produce an animal as different

'as the Elk, or even the Moose? — ADIRONDACK.

OF THE ROCKS - —AD article in the August number of the NAT-

eis Ae Lo) Pi ee ee en MEE S Cee a ee ee a,

nies TOEIC: vu pa

Crystalization of snow-flakes and of certain mineral substances, and

Which he claims the ae to ah by a new theory of his own

With no reference to his theory, and no desire to criticise the author

unjustly, I merely wish to state that zodlogists have long had what is to

Which enter into the structure of the retina of the eye is spherical, a

that they receive their hexagonal outline by impinging against each oe

in their erowded condition. So also the plates of all plated Radiates

receive their polygonal patina: from the same cause. Mon normal out-

line is cireular and undivided, evidence of which may be seen in the inner

circular lines "pim the very figures of a plate of Archeocidaris which he

reproduces from Hall, and which by the way is not a crinoid. These

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 70

554 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

plates commence calcification within the skin of the young Radiate as

circular grains, and increase at their periphery until they impinge against

being determined by the number of other plates they impinge against.

The plate he figures happens to have six, but many others upon the same

individual had a different number and their angles were often unequal in

the same plate. The hexagonal outline of the microscopic bodies in the

retina is uniform in all because they are uniform in size and consistence.

The plates of Radiates are not uniform because their r of calcifica-

tion are usually located at unequal distances. By this it will be seen that

the number of angles any plate receives is essentially accidental and bears

to make it harmonize with the crystalline structure of snow-flakes, etc.

noni

SaGaciry OF THE PunPLE ManrrN. In the spring of 1868, a young

friend of mine in this city desiring to obtain eggs of the Purple Martin,

constructed a nesting-box and hung it out of the window. This box had

a hole on the outside for the entrance of the birds, and a hole on the

inside through which to reach the hand and remove the eggs. The birds

at once ed the box, and he succeeded in procuring specimens

of the eggs

This socie (1869) the birds again built in the box, and having secured

his eggs, my friend concluded to preserve a specimen of the birds. He

reached through the back hole in the box and seized one of the birds, and

killed and mounted it. The mate was absent for a day or two, when i

returned with a companion, and both birds built a mud wall, shutting

up the back hole into the box from which a bird had been taken, and then

went on and raised a brood of young. — D. D. HUGHES

THE CAPTURE OF THE CENTRONYX BAIRDII AT IPS On Dec.

4th, 1868, I shot a sparrow that was new to me, on the anita at Ips-

ch. Through the kindness of Prof. S. F. Baird, of the Smithsonian In- `

stitation, to whom I sent it for comparison ed the only extant specimen.

of the Centronyx Bairdii (which is owned by him), it has been proved

identical with that collected by Audubon in ak on the banks of the

Kanon esos in the far We

DUUM

oe will be

ted “A Guide to Naturalists in collecting and preserving objects of Nat-

Bas L | hich will aio

some of the rarer species occur. A €: zed engrav-

captured at Ipswich will also be d

much interested in a discovery that I made wun to the length

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 555

sexes. I have examined a slates number and found in every case 3 at the

mals copulate the reason of this peculiar elongation of the claws of the

male is obvious. — C. J. MAYNARD.

ROLIFIC SNAKES. — Various accounts of prolific snakes, from Lan-

caster County, have come to me during the present season. On the 6th

of August a female eran iratis yum platyrhinus, commonly known in

this locality as the ** Blow or P: owing Viper," was killed in Martic

from six to eight inches in length, came forth,*all very active, all blow-

ing, and flattening their bodies, as is common in the adult individuals of

this species. Sixty-three of these young snakes were brought to me ina

bottle of alcohol, thirteen were too much lacerated to make good speci-

mens, and t nder made their escape before they ener be secured.

We know this species to be ovi e question now arises again,

* Do female snakes, in certain contingencies, swallow their young?" as

has so often been confidently asserted, and as often and as strenuously

denied. r. Lehman, an intelligent farmer, who was present at the

rous,” as it is sometimes called. — S. S. RaTHVON, Lancas Ster, Pa.

THE HALIOTIS og PEARLY Ear SHELL.—In an article, with the above

title, in the July number of the ‘NATURALIST, referring to the geographi-

cal distribution of the Haliotides, I have stated as a remarkable fact, that

was kindly shown by Count Portales, among other material, a specimen

of Haliotis (some one and one-half inches long) dredged, living, by him in

the Gulf Stream between Florida and Cuba; this is the first instance of

the occurrence of the Haliotis upon the Eastern side of the American

Continents. — R. E. C. STEARNS.

Cow DEVOURING THE PLACENTA.— In the June number of the Nat-

T, in the Scandinavian compte rendu, some investigations in regard

to animals devouring their after-birth are referred to as novel and inter-

esting. If this be the case, I suppose individual testimony to the same

effect may be worth something, and I write to say that I once knew a cow

to devour her after-birth, at least so much of it as she was permitted to

eat. I have also known cats to go a step farther, and devour the new-

born litter. — P.

556 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

THE WORM-EATING WARBLER.—In looking over the description of the

Worm-eating Warbler ( Helmitherus vermivorus), in the ** Birds of New

England" by Mr. Samuels, I see he describes it as nesting in bushes from

our to nine feet from the ground, and making its nest with the blossoms

of hickory and chestnut trees. I should like to know if these are the

usual habits of this

On the 6th of June, M. I found a nest of this species containing five

eggs. It was placed in a hollow on the ground much like the nest of the

Oven bird ies aurocapillus), and was hidden from sight by the dry

those of the White-bellied-Nuthatch fcu ls Sepak though the

eared are fewer and less distinct. Soc id the female sit that I

captured her epa difficulty by placing my uds over the nest. — T. H.

JACKSON, Westchester, Pa.

HELL-FISH IN A RAIN STORM.— Mr. John Ford exhibited to

the Caeo Section, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia,

specimens of Gemma gemma, remarkable as having fallen accompa-

the afternoon of June 6th, 1869. The specimens were — but asl

bred. Though. most of the specimens which fell were broken, yet

m erfec collectec

heavy rain which followed their descent. A witness of the storm, Mr.

Y. S. Walter, editor of the “Delaware County Republican," assured Mr.

F. that he noticed the singular character of the storm at its very com-

mencement, and to use his own words, “it seemed like a storm within a

Storm." A very fine rain fell rapidly, veiled by the shells, which fell

slower and with a whirling motion. Judging from the remains of animal

matter attached to some of the specimens, together with the fresh ap-

living at the moment of transition. This minute species resembles a

quahaug shell, and is common on the seashore between tide marks.

NYCTALE ALBIFRONS. — I do not know whether, since the discovery made

by Dr. Hoy, of Racine, Wisconsin, in regard to Nyctale albifrons, another

of this beautiful and rare species has been taken within the limits of the

United States. A few days ago a live and well plumaged specimen was

eaptured in the centre of the city of Buffalo, by George L. Newman, Esd«

of that city, and presented to the Society of Natural ipn Iam

sorry to add that the bird lived only two days in captivity, and it forms

vue a very valuable addition to the ornithological collections ds the

iety. — CHARLES S. LINDEN. :

PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 551

IDDLER-CRAB WITH TWO LARGE HANDS.—A male “Fiddler” with

gen

specimen was very lively, and used both hands with equal facility. — S. I.

Smith, New Haven, Conn.

PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.

CHICAGO ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. Meeting of October 19th, 1869. — The

President exhibited some implements of stone and shell, forming the

of the stones is probably a charm, as it represents an animal, probably

the Texas Armadillo, and it is ingeniously cut, so that the bands of color

correspond to the transverse rows of scales. The shell is a large Oliva

from Lower California, perforated and suspended by a string.

Dr. Stimpson gave an account of his experiments, during the last three

months, upon a solution of carbolic acid as a substitute for alcohol in the

preservation of wet specimens. The results had been gratifying, and

Solved in forty times its bulk of water gave a fluid which equalled alcohol,

in its preservative pappan at less than one-twentieth the cost, with the

additional advantage of keeping the specimen far more nearly in its

original condition, as to the color, etc. And very curiously (this is, how-

Several weeks in the fluid. The qualities of the substance (more properly

-an alcohol than an acid), which is a great enemy of all protozoic and

a life, depend upon its powerful action in destroying the germs

ated with, if not the cause of, decomposition. In a solution of

558 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.

twice the strength above mentioned — the saturated solution — the speci-

solution, and preventing endosmosis. Fluids once used will be found to

have lost their preservative power in a considerable degree far more than

in the case of alcohol, and must be strengthened before being used again.

museum rooms are ordinarily subject in this country. If the smell of the

carbolic acid, which is very slight in the weak solutions, should be

objected to, the addition of a minute quantity of the oil of wintergreen

filling up old specimen jars from which the alcohol has nearly evaporated.

All germs of mold are instantly killed, and the specimen needs no 0

preservative. f

The experiments mentioned above were to be continued, with the view

of ascertaining whether the solution was equally reliable for a longer

period.

Specimens were exhibited illustrating the preservative qualities of the

id.

Dr. Stimpson also made some remarks upon the shell-mounds of West

Florida, particularly those of Tampa Bay, which he had examined during

the past winter and spring. These mounds were of gréat extent, some

bodies many acres of ground, and = aching a height of forty or any :

feet. Some of them were distinctly stratified, which characteristic has

probably misled the only scientific ds who has as yet mentioned

.. them, and caused them to be regarded as of natural formation.

. * Conrad, American Journal of Science, [2] I, 1846. () p. 44

SA pes gl mals cu A aE

PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 559

The largest of these mounds are peculiar in their character, differing

from any shell-mounds yet described. They are not kjekkenmeddings, i. e.,

simple accumulations of kitchen refuse, of shells rejected after the con-

sumption of the soft parts, but seem to have been built for a purpose;

Shells being used as the most convenient materials at hand. They have

even been increased in size, and raised in height from time to time, as evi-

denced by the occurrence at different levels of dark colored strata of true

such materials, and are always four or five times as thick as the dirt bed.

The shells, too, are not such as indicated merely the rejectmenta of abo-

riginal feasts, being of all sizes from that of Littorina to that of Busycon,

and often showing evidence of having been dead w laced in the

ound; some, indeed, showing remains of barnacles attached to their

inner surfaces. Dr. S. believed these mounds — so hem at least —

to have been built as places of refuge during the great inunda- Fig. 84.

tions of the sea to which the coast region of TM Florida, for

thiles inland, is even now subject in violent sto The addi-

tions to the mound made by the people who peine upon them

may have been ittis by the occurrence of an inundation of

greater height than was known in their previous experience.

Dr. S. rera a number of specimens taken from a dirt-bed

bout midway between the base and the summit of the mound,

which was over thirty feet in height. The specimens consisted

Of bones of fishes, of lo ggerhead turtles, and of d

Pieces of coarse, unadorned pottery, and implements made

Shell. One of the most curious of the latter was a kind ae

aria gigantea, by knocking or grinding off the whorls and planing

own one side of the handle. The use of this kind of imple-

ment is difficult to conjecture. Six of them were found lying

together in a kind of pocket beneath a mass of charcoal. An.

interesting point is that no stone implements occurred in this

ed, while they did occur in another bed near the summit

f o aps indicating an advance in civilization.

For the specimens exhibi e Academy ebted to

Mr. E. W. Blatchford, who had defrayed the expenses of excavation.

In the shell-strata of the mound the most abundant species we re

irginica, Callista gigantea, Mercenaria Par actra Ravenelii, Car-

tum isocardia, Busycon perversum, , Strombus alatus, Natica

Vote Cassidulus corona, Susciolóvia Aen F. nemis a and Oliva

litterata. Some of these shells now occur rarely if at all in the vicinity

of db mound, whilethey are very abundant on the barrier islands of the

560 ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS, ETC.

coast, and in the purer waters of the open gulf. These islands, doubtless,

at the epoch of the building of the mounds were of smaller extent, and

formed a less ee bar to the approach of pure sea-water to the

coast of the ma

Major ini then gave a brief account of his recent exploration of

1 U

Dr. Durham exhibited under the microscope the tongues of several

species of aquatic gasteropods found in the vicinity of Chicago, and de-

Scribed the habits of the animals.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

S. M., Wading River, N. Y.—Your plant appears to be Epiphegus Virginiana Bart.,

edat as Beech- UM or Cancer-root. It is ce ace im except in the shade of

beech woods, where it is usually common en — will be interesting to note

whether you found t under this or some other tree, i "ii is supposed to be parasitic

on the roots of the — ch o e This species is "E. Americana Nutt., and there 1S,

another related plant known also as Cancer-root, and found under the oa cy —C. M. T.

W. W. B., Indianapolis, Ind.—Your No 9 is Pteris critica variety Lum oe No. 10

is Pteris serrata; the fertile frond, No. 11, is Adiantum pubescens.— J. L. R.

; Decatur, og To form a satisfactory geo geen upon your oak from th

eave i i

acorns, and a tieu e Leg thet they ripen the first pe which is a very

important character. e size of the tree, ana Le nature or ite bnt Bi as wee p u

land, would be valuable criteria. In the abse of these facts, we should suspect, If

the fr Bele ripens the first year, that it was a ned peculiar perhaps, s, of Q. castanea, Willd. ;

or, possibly, it may be 'Q. monticola, Mx. If the acorns remain over, then it may bea

hybrid, as you suggest; iud perhaps -— peir . tridentata, Kopan though —

we should doubt. The Pen of thes ral rre ng is very interesting, à

deo commend you to make your Noc reaenien y as careful ànd comprehensive as

— Qe

BOOKS RECEIVED.

ions of the American Entomological Society, Vol. II, No. 2. October, 1869. Phila-

delphia.

Popular Science Revi: No. London. icke.

pepeo Memoranda Ting 4, pos a yos puts 0f Stas pose Tampa Bay, Florida, By

R E. C. Boston,

Land a

Le Naturalist Ca radien, Quebec, dat uty, 1869.

Journal for the Popular Diffusion of Natural Science, Vol. I, No. 3, 4, New Ser. Copenha-

. Canadian Naturalist and Quarterly Journal d Science, Montreal. Mareh, 1869. $3.00. .

Monograph of the genus Niso. Ato. 0, pp. 2; with a plate,

anainte Report of the Michigan Board of 4 Lansing, 1968. 8vo.

um Catal Species and Varieties * recent Mollusca, described prior to Jan. l,

1867, Part. nidæ, Amphiperasidæ, Roberts, Philadelphia. Pabnehed bf

Ss Oruenaisyioai Section of the Academy of Silia Seienees, Nov. 1869. 8vo, pp. 189-214.

American Bee . Nov., 1869.

ture, 1868.

ud LE 1809. 12mo, pp. 307. $2.00.

3245

and Quantitative Chemical Analysis, Edited by G. C. Caldwell, New —

xu RADO St deed ag

EEUU er e RE or eSI o PUTET a CREME ELE

ue 4 d

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. III. CJANUARY, 1870.— No. 11.

coc G3 (eO em»

SHAVINGS EXAMINED MICROSCOPICALLY.

BY PROF. A. M. EDWARDS.

Tue examination of any organic tissue, be it animal or

vegetable, by means of the modern achromatic microscope,

reveals such a world of beauty, and so much material for

wonder, that the novice in such pastime is for a while very

much puzzled what to observe, and what to leave unseen.

Although life, that mysterious manifestation of Divine will,

appears to be most strikingly made manifest in animal exist-

enees, yet the grass of the field and wood of the oak tree

present materials attractive to him who will patiently read

aright the lessons they inculcate. It is my intention, in the

present article, to point out to the young student of nature a

path that may be traversed with great profit and lasting

pleasure. I have taken as my shbject the structure of wood,

the hard tissue of plants, as exhibited in the shaving which

the carpenter peels off with his jack-plane. Let the Gabero

microscopist collect a number of such, the thinner the

better, and I warrant he will have enough to do when look-

ing at them through the long winter’s evenings.

All plants, it pee been disiorered: great and small, the

monarch of the woodland and the violet of the plain; aye,

all, with the exception, perhaps, of those doubtful little

- Entered to Act of in the year 1869, by the PEABODY ACADEMY OF

SCIENCE, in the C. Office of the Dis Court of the District of Massachusetts.

AMER. NA ; VOL. IH. 71 (561)

562 ' SHAVINGS EXAMINED MICROSCOPICALLY.

organisms that puzzle and delight the students of atomies,

and which are grouped under the great collective head of the

Protophyta, are constructed after the same general plan, and

consist of the same chemical substances, congregated to-

gether after similar types, varying only in degrees of com-

plexity. And what is an equally, if not more remarkable

fact, those substances which go to make up the bulk of the

vegetable organism are found also in the animal, constituting

the elementary components of its body likewise.

However it is not our intention, at the present time, to

enter into the consideration of the chemical constitution of

vegetable tissues; interesting as that branch of vegetable

physiology is, we must forbear, and, assisted by the micro-

scope, proceed to the examination of those tissues them-

selves. The general structure of all plants consists of a

substance known to chemists under the name of cellulose,

the wall-matter of cells, so to speak; cells being the most

important part of plants, as we shall see presently. It is

this cellulose that we are so well acquainted with under so

many different forms and names and constituting vegetable

fibre, bark, the great mass and harder portions of all leaves;

flowers, fruit and stems; and, although in special cases we

find it somewhat modified, it is always to be recognized from a

its possessing certain unmistakable characteristics, familiar

to all in the substance of paper, and, therefore, of course, d

in the linen or cotton, the wood or the straw from which the €

paper was made, so that we say that about all the paper we :

see is composed of cellulose in almost a pure condition,

there being but little used which is manufactured from

animal tissues, such as wool and silk. The rice-paper of

the Chinese is not, as is generally supposed, made of rice,

but of the light and porous pith of a plant which has been

cut in the form of a broad strip, around and around the mass

: of the tissue, as is plainly seen when a small piece is exam-

~ ined by means of a magnifying glass, when the little cells or

cavities which made up the pith are very evident. Woody

;

SHAVINGS EXAMINED MICROSCOPICALLY. 563

tissue is made up for the most part of this cellulose, arranged

in different forms, all, however, derivable from the simple:

sac or cell, which is the basis and foundation, morphologi-

cally, of the whole vegetable kingdom; being found in its

simple and uncomplicated form in the Protophe yta, or first

plants, we have mentioned, and modified in outline to a

greater or less degree in the different parts of the tree,

stem, leaves, and flowers. There is a doubt, however, in

the minds of some physiologists as to whether the hard

parts of plants are made up of this substance cellulose, or a

modification of it termed “lignine.” This point is one which

we will not consider, as it is extremely doubtful if either of

these two compounds has been obtained pure and separate

from the other.

If a slice be made with a very sharp knife of some ripe

fruit, as an apple or an orange, it will be observed on view-

ing such a section by means of the microscope, that it is

made up of almost symmetrical and equal sized little sacs

or cells, as they are called; and such simple tissue is known

as cellular tissue. But if a similar slice be made of such

hard matter as wood, a very different appearance will present

itself to our eyes. First, however, so as to make ourselves

acquainted with the manner in which such simple cellular

tissue (where the elementary sacs merely touch each other

with very little mutual pressure) passes into the more com-

plex woody tissue, take a similar slice from the stem or

young rootlet of some herbaceous plant, as the garden

rhubarb or other common vegetable. Such a slice, made as

thin as possible, is now placed i in a little water upon a glass

“slide,” and, with a thin “cover” over it, examined by means

of a microscope which does not magnify too strongly. We

now see that the tissue in this case is cellular, as well as that

in the fruit, but that the individual cells have become much

altered in appearance from mutual pressure, which in some

cases has been equal upon all sides, in others greater in cer-

tain directions than in others. So they have been crowded

564 SHAVINGS EXAMINED MICROSCOPICALLY.

upon each other until they have lost their almost spherical

outline, and flat sides have made their appearance. We may

ilustrate the form of vegetable cells by blowing soap-bub-

bles with a tube. As long as we blow but one bubble at a

time, they remain spherical in form and represent the simple

Protophyia, but if we blow one after another until a string

of them remain pendant from the tube we have a represent-

ative of the slightly more complex plants growing submerged

in water and known as alge. By placing the tube beneath

the surface of the soapy liquid contained in a bowl and

blowing we form a number of bubbles, which, on account

of their being confined within the bowl, press upon each

other almost equally and become many sided. The form that

thus results is found on examination to be of a more or less

perfectly geometrical outline, and such a mass very strik-

ingly represents the cellular tissue we are examining, but to

make it look still more like our section, we press a glass

plate down upon the mass of bubbles, and thus we have the

cavities cut across. But one other fact will be noticed

through the glass plate, and that is that the bubble sections

are for the most part six-sided, and such is also the case

with the plant cells. This is the result of cutting through

the regular geometrical form always caused by the mutual

equal pressure of many spheres. In honeycomb we have

another illustration of this fact; there the pressure has ap-

parently been unequal, and the cell has become elongated

into a six-sided prism. A precisely similar mode of aggre-

gation is to be observed in vegetable tissues, and may be

made evident by eutting two sections at right angles to each

other. Such slices are known to microscopists as longitu-

dinal and transverse sections; the first, in the case of wood,

being taken lengthwise of the stem or branch, and the other

across it. Asthe pressure is generally very unequal, perfect

.. forms of the cells are the exception, and therefore the variety

. Of outline of cells in vegetable tissues is very varied,

. Which is hexagonal being the most common. As a plant

SHAVINGS EXAMINED MICROSCOPICALLY. 565

grows, the number of cells is | ann iplied, and as the growth

is faster in one direction than in others the resniting cells

are elongated ; in fact we find in woody tissues that the so-

called wood cells are more or less fibrous, so that such

tissue is known as woody fibre. These wood-cells are

pointed at both ends, in fact are fusiform. Some of the

cells, however, become united by the absorption of their

contiguous walls, so that continuous tubes are formed.

These tubes are for the purpose of transporting the life-blood

of the plant (the sap), which like the blood of the animal,

is the source of the new tissues which are built up from its

matter. As these tubes are of such importance in the

economy of the individual, it becomes necessary that they

should be protected from injury, and such injury is most

likely to be a crushing from without and a consequent stop-

page of the flow of the sap. If we were to stop the flow

. of the blood in the arm, for instance, by tying a ligature

above the elbow, we should find that disorganization of the

tissues in the fore-arm and hand would result; they would

mortify and death of the parts would follow. The same

thing we can readily understand would take place in the

plant, should the sap-flow be arrested in any way. To pre-

vent such a disaster these long tubes are strengthened in a

very remarkable manner, namely, by having a deposit of

tough lignine formed within their walls, and arranged in the

form of a spiral. The same mode of structure is to be seen

in the tubes called traehes, which convey the air to and

from the lungs of animals. Insects exhibit this structure in

a very striking manner; the trachez of a caterpillar of some

ind, most commonly the silk-worm, is & favorite micro-

scepic object. The spiral arrangement at the same time

permits of a certain amount of elasticity in such vessels, as

is to be seen in a very common illustration of such structure.

I allude to the flexible tubing used to convey burning gas

from a chandelier to a burner upon the table. Such spirál

ducts, as they have been named, are to be seen in most cross

566 SHAVINGS EXAMINED MICROSCOPICALLY.

sections of wood, and in our plate are represented by the

largest openings. In some of the succulent plants, however,

they are to be seen in a more striking manner. It is only

necessary to tear a stalk of rhubarb or celery apart to find

that fine fibres appear which are the last things to be ruptured ;

these are the spiral ducts, and constitute the "stringiness"

of old specimens of vegetables. In our wood shavings we

also observe other points of interest, more especially if the

sections be cut across the "grain" or direction of the main

growth. First let us examine the upper of our figures (Pl.

10, fig. 1), whieh represents such a slice cut from a stick of

oak. This has been taken from a common kind of wood

and well representing the grand group of plauts to which it

belongs, that is to say the Hxogens, or outside growers.

Our lower figure, on the other hand, represents a section of.

a stem of sugar-cane, showing.the mode of growth of an

Endogen, or inside grower. And these two names at once »

designate the point upon which we wish to dwell; the mode

of growth of woody stems as shown by means of the micro-

scope. These figures have been carefully drawn from pho-

tographs taken for the purpose, and are, therefore correct

representations of the objects. Looking now at our cross-

grain shaving of oak, we notice first, per somewhat

unevenly all over it, large openings, which are the spiral

ducts; in some parts they. appear to be more closely congre-

gated together, forming, as it were, rows which are contin-

uous after the manner of rings, increasing in dimensions

from the centre of the stick towards the circumfereace-

These show us how the wood grows. -At first, when it is but

a sapling, there is very little woody tissue present, as is

bend from its fragility, and the moss of it is made ap

of simple cellular tissue. This constitutes the pith of the

stem, and varies in dimensions in different plants; in the

s elder being very large, in the oak of small size. Through

.. the large spiral ducts the sap freighted with matter for the

= Tie up of new tissues, is carried upwards to the leaves;

SHAVINGS EXAMINED MICROSCOPICALLY. 567

here it is brought in contact with the sunlight and air, and

certain chemical changes take place in its composition.

Downwards, through another set of ducts, it is carried just

inside the bark, and here through its instrumentality, woody

fibre is deposited, one fibre upon the other externally, and

thus the twig grows by outside growth, becoming thicker

and thicker each year. This addition of substance goes on

during the spring and autumn months, the plant doing very

` much the same as human beings, that is to say, resting dur-

ing the hot season. But when winter comes its growth is

arrested entirely, and like the hibernating animals the tree

sleeps. Now in animals the blood is carried by a set of:

vessels, known as arteries, to the lungs, where it comes in

contact with the air inhaled, and has its composition so

changed that it can build up new tissues. The same thing,

essentially, we see, takes place in the tree, the leaves repre-

senting the lungs, or oxygenating organs. Now as the tree

sleeps during the winter months here is an arrest of growth,

and therefore when we examine such a cross-section of a

piece of wood as we have given, we find a number—less or

greater, according to the number of winters it has existed —

of these rings of arrested growth, and by counting them we

can arrive at the age of such a stick of wood. So we see

how the microscope assists in acquiring such a knowledge ;

and of course we shall find similar structure in all outside

growers or Hxogens. With inside growers the case is very

different; for here the new matter is not deposited exter-

nally in regular rings ; and, in fact we can, from a considera-

tion of the facts we have related, readily understand why the

Endogens are mostly confined to such portions of the globe |

Where there are no cold months to arrest the growth. How-

ever, even in such climates, Hxogens grow and rest also

during a part of the year. We have given the two sections

represented to show the very marked difference in these two

modes of growth as illustrated by microscopic sections, and

those who desire to verify our illustrations can readily do so

568 NOTES ON 8OME OF THE

by cutting a slice of some green stem, when the sap is in

the wood. and it is therefore the more readily cut, and also

taking a slice of some Endogen, the garden asparagus being

an excellent plant for that purpose, and after placing them

on a glass “slide” and moistening them with water, covering

them with a piece of thin " covering glass," and then exam-

ining them with a mieroscope; even an ordinary pocket lens

will, often show these points of structure very well. Thus

will the student of nature find instruction and amusement,

knowledge and pastime, even in a shaving of wood cast off

. from a carpenter’s jack-plane.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE 10.

Fig. 1. Section of oak wood cut transversely across the grain.

Fig. 2. Transverse section E sugar cane.

Both magnified 25 diameter.

NOTES ON SOME OF THE RARER BIRDS OF

MASSACHUSETTS.

BY J. A. ALLEN.

| (Continued from page 519.)

———

acus. Aquila chrysaétos Linn. (A. Canadensis

auct.) A specimen was killed near Munson in November,

1864, and another - near Deerfield, December 14th, 1865.

The rn x hee is BH to have weighed thirteen and a

half p la: T -

seven “feet and six inches

in ala - ek T It is noir me Springfield Museum of

Natural History : Mr. J: G. Scott informs me that two speci-

S wer eat Westfield three years ago, one of

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RARER BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 569

Osprey. Fish Hawk. Pandion haliaétus Sav.* (P.

Carolinensis Bonap.) It seems at first a little strange that

this noble bird should uot be found breeding any where on

the Massachusetts coast, but when we recall the peculiar

situations usually chosen by it for its eyrie we cease to be

surprised. At present there are here no heavy forests near

the sea, with lofty dead trees spreading their broad whitened

arms to receive its bulky and conspicuous nest. All who are

acquainted with this bird's breeding habits must have been

Struck with its marked predilection for such nesting sites.

While it breeds abundantly on the New Jersey coast, on

portions of Long Island, on the coast of Maine and about

the large lakes da the interior, it is now only seen in this

state, so far as I can learn, during its migrations. It un-

doubtedly nested here before the dhéiongh disforesting of

the seacoast; a former nesting site near Ipswich being: still

remembered by some of de older residents there. The

present puny second forest-growth affords it no suitable

breeding places, and this is no doubt the reason of its being

now but a transient visitor here.

Hawk Owr. Surnia ulula Bon. Mr. A. L. Babcock of

Sherborn, has a specimen which he took a few years since

at Natick. Dr. Brewer informs me he once obtained it

near Roxbury. Mr. Scott writes that five specimens were

taken at Westfield, near the village, in the autumn of 1867.

In my Catalogue this species, though mentioned incidentally

as probably occurring occasionally along the Green Mountain

ranges in the western part of the state, was not reckoned as

à Massachusetts bird. Dr. Emmons says it has been ob-

served in that section in autumn,f and from what I now

know of its distribution I doubt not it is a somewhat regular

winter visitor there.

AE Muse Z peci f this bird, from

i, Florida, an itm. England, t. he North, and from Europe. They differ a good

deal, bu bat some of shone that differ most are from the same locality. I cannot see

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 72

WT -Science and Arts, Vol. xliv (1843), p.

510 NOTES ON SOME OF THE

GREAT Gray Owr. Syrnium cinereum Bon. I mentioned

the capture of several specimens in this state in my Cata-

logue. Dr. Brewer has since informed me that about 1839

he obtained two for Mr. Audubon that were shot near Bos-

ton,—a fact which does not appear to have been previously

recorded. There is also a specimen in the Museum of the

Peabody Academy, taken in Salem, November 10th, 1866,

by Mr. E. S. Waters.

Great Hornep Owr. Bubo Virginianus Bon. There

are three specimens of this species in the Museum of Com-

parative Zoölogy, all from Eastern Massachusetts, that

represent Mr. Cassin’s three varieties Bubo Virginianus

Atlanticus, B. Virginianus Pacificus, and B. Virginianus

Magellanicus. The first of these he supposed to be re-

stricted to the Atlantic slope of North America, the second .

to the Pacific slope, and the third to the extreme southern

parts of this continent and to South America. Mr. Cassin

remarks, "this-fine species is either subject to considerable

variation in the color of its plumage, or there are several

species, some of which have been named by naturalists, as

cited above, in our synonymes."* The first of these alter-

natives it seems to me is the true state of the case.

Barn Own. Strix pratincola Bon. As already stated by

me in the *Addenda" to Dr. Coues' "List of the Birds of

New England," the first specimen of this species known to

have been captured in this state was taken near Springfield,

in May, 1868. Dr. Wood informs me that he has a spect-

men in his cabinet that was shot "at Sachem's Head [Ct..]:

October 28th, 1865." The capture of another at Stratford,

Connecticut, is recorded by Mr. Linsley.t These three are

all thus far known to me to have been taken in New England.

YELLOW-BILLED Cuckoo. Coccygus Americanus Bon.

No other of our birds seems to be so variable in numbers M

.* Report on N. American Birds, p. 50.

_ | See “Catalogue of the Birds of Connecticut,” by Rev. J. H. Linsley, Am. Journ:

Science 253.

feat

OSI A Pe eee

ES ee SLE TIT eee ae ERR E E eae T S Se. oe ame Ne ee eal

RARER BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 571

different years as this. In my Catalogue it is mentioned as

“extremely rare” at Springfield, but as occurring frequently

in the eastern part of the state. Since then a number of

specimens have been taken at Springfield, and others at

Westfield, Chicopee and Holyoke. Dr. Wood says that it

“has been very uncommon at East Windsor Hill, except in

1867, when it was as common as the Black-billed. I ob-

tained,” he adds, “three sets of eggs during that season ;

have seen none this year.”* I think it was in 1867 that it

was so unusually common at the other above-mentioned

localities, but it was also taken at Springfield in 1866. Mr.

Scott says he does not think it “extremely rare," as he

has obtained four or five specimens without special effort.

In the eastern part of the state I find it is not gener-

ally so numerous as I had supposed. It seems to be common

here only at irregular intervals, when it sometimes appears

to be as numerous as the Black-billed species, but sometimes

it is scarcely observed for several seasons. Mr. Maynard

says it was common about Newton during 1866, when the

Black-billed was rare, but that it has not been so since that

year, while the latter has been abundant. If the very large

collections of birds from a considerable number of lotion

in New England in the Museum of Comparative Zoólogy can

be taken as any index of their relative abundance in the

Eastern States, the Black-billed species may be considered

às, on the average, a hundred fold more numerous than the

other.

YzrLow-sELLIED WooDpPECKER. Sphyrapicus varius

Baird. As observed by Dr. Coues,f this bird may be com-

mon in summer at many localities in New England. But in

this state, so far as I can learn, it is rare at all seasons in

that portion east of the Connecticut, and generally seen only

in the fall. Not so, however, to the westward and north-

ward; but I doubt its being any more numerous in Rhode

* In epist., Oct. 22, 1868.

t In List of the Birds of New England, 1. c., p. 262.

512 NOTES ON SOME OF THE

Island and Eastern Connecticut than it is in Eastern Massa-

chusetts. :

PILEATED WoopPECKER. “Loe Cock." Hylotomus pi-

leatus Baird. The capture here of a bird so nearly extir- |

pated in most parts of Massachusetts as is this, is a fact :

of interest. Mr. J. G. Scott informs me that he has taken

three specimens near Westfield. Dr. Wood wrote me in

1864 that one was killed about five years before at East l

Windsor Hill, and that he had also seen it about twenty ;

miles to the westward of this locality. ;

Brack-BACKED THREE-TOED WoopPECKER. Picoides arc- .

ticus Gray. Mr. Scott took two specimens, male and female, ;

of this northern species at Westfield in 1867. i

BANDED THREE-TOED WoopreckEr. Picoides hirsutus |

Gray. Ilearn from Mr. George O. Welch, of Lynn, that he

took a pair of these birds some years since not far from that

town. Dr. Brewer also gave it in his additions to the " Cata-

logue of the birds of the state” given by Dr. Hitchcock,” — '

but it has not usually been numbered among the birds of the

state, and doubtless occurs only as an accidental winter

visitor.

YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER. Empidonax flaviventris

Baird. As remarked by Dr. Coues in his “List of the Birds

of New England,” this species is probably less rare than the

collectors usually suppose. It seems to prefer woods and

thickets, and its close resemblance to E. minimus when &

few yards distant tends to prevent its more frequent capture.

I generally meet with quite a number each year in May,

sometimes several in a single excursion. Mr. Maynard

informs me that he took eight specimens in a few hours May

31st, the present year. It has been observed in the breeding

season as far south as Washington, D. C., by Dr. Coues.

Varp Tunusm. Turdus nevius Gmelin. As already

recorded in Dr. Coues “Addenda,” this western species has

_ at last been taken in Massachusetts, a specimen having bee?

VCR E ER oe eae) ee Suec SH TER EE

* Jour. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. i, p. 437.

Cio Ap DM ode Pm

SIVRCOER TE TUS NEMPE eee un rig WP TIU LE

RARER BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 513

shot near Boston (at Ipswich) in December, 1864. This

seems to be the first known instance, as the specimen men-

tioned by Prof. Baird as having been obtained here was

killed in New Jersey.*

Ronrs. Turdus migratorius Linn. Generally this well

known bird is not met with in Massachusetts in winter except

at particular localities; it seems more frequently to occur at

this season in the eastern part of the state than elsewhere.

lt is not seen every winter, but sometimes occurs in consid-

erable abundance. In the severe winter of 1867—68, they

were seen in Cambridge at intervals all winter; they were

more numerous in January than in December, and were still

more abundant in February, when they appeared in quite

large flocks. They disappeared on the approach of warm

weather, leaving for the north or for the interior before the

arrival of their brothers from the south, which this year first

appeared about March 10th. It does not seem to be an un-

usual mildness of the season that causes them to linger, as

they are as often seen during the severer winters as in the

milder.

Hermit Taurusa. Turdus Pallasi Cab. Although the

southern limit of this species in the breeding season is nearly

coincident with the southern boundary of the Canadian

fauna,t straggling pairs breed in various parts of Massachu-

setts. It has been taken at Springfield in June,} and last

year I saw young just able to fly at Hyannis, July 3d. Dr.

Brewer informs me he found it breeding in Roxbury, in

1837. In the more elevated western districts of the state,

às in the elevated and northern parts of New England gen-

erally, it breeds regularly and in large numbers.

IVE-BACKED THRusH. Turdus Swainsonii Cab.. As is

well known, this is not a rare species in this state.

“Catalogue,” 1

*See my

tin di to the wine hes of th e Canadian and Alleghanian Faunz, see Prof.

Verril’s rema: rks in the Proceedings of the Boston maed oe Natural fnt deus im

d kPa, 7 hi due ZAEAR EO eet) ee eee a

A oe "

489.

ł See * Addenda” to my “ Catalogue,” 1. 6, p- - è

514 NOTES ON SOME OF THE

_ In my “Catalogue of Massachusetts Birds” I first advanced

the opinion that the so-called Turdus “Aliciæ” Daird, or

Gray-cheeked Thrush, was but the paler form of this species.

To this view other writers have taken exceptions. | Prof.

Baird, in his "Review of American Birds" (p. 21), summa-

rily disposes of the matter by presuming that I had not seen

what he called T. Alicia. Dr. Coues, in his “List of the

Birds of New England,” in referring to my remarks on the

subject, says they “illustrate very fully the well-known sea-

sonal and other variations to which 7. Swainsonii and T.

'uscescens are subject,” and adds that I appear to have been

“autoptically unacquainted” with 7. Aliciæ at the time of

Writing them. Since that time I have still farther considered

the subject, and have had large series of authentic specimens

of both T. Swainsonii and Aliciæ (mostly so labelled at the

Smithsonian Institution) for comparison with Massachusetts

specimens, and after five years of additional experience I am

now more than ever convinced that the opinion there ex-

pressed is correct. Some years the Alicie type is quite

common; again more rare. Generally, however, the ma-

Jority of the specimens range between the forms considered

as typical respectively of T. Swainsonii and T. Aliciæ.*

Mockine Birp. Mimus polyglottus Boie. Several in-

stances of the occurrence of this southern species in the

vicinity of Springfield other than those previously recorded

ive come to my knowledge during the last five years, a

also one of its occurrence in the eastern part of the state.

Coynecticur WARBLER. Oporornis agilis Baird. Con-

cerning this species Mr. C. J. Maynard writes: “Perhaps not

as rare as is generally supposed by collectors, especially in

autumn. A specimen was shot by Mr. L. L. Thaxter in New-

ton Centre, September 16th, 1867. Another was taken by

myself in September, 1868, in a thick swamp near Newton.” t

i De s in tas oe atii i

| «Fora fuller discussion of this subject, see my paper in the Memoirs of the Boston

Poetly of Natural History, Vol. i, part iv (1868), p. 507.

.. NS. notes, received June, 1869. à

i'm vu

SEP ORE e COMPE Ee eo WE. MT.

S TIE fie ee n e s

ipd

RARER BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 515

TENNESSEE WARBLER. Helminthophaga peregrina Cab.

This species, generally rare here, appears to have been

much less so this year than usually. Mr. Maynard took five

at Newtonville during May 18th to the 23d,—the first, he

says, he had seen. He informs me that his friend Mr.

William Brewster procured at about the same time two near

Mount Auburn. I have taken it repeatedly at Springfield,

where I have always esteemed it rare; but Mr. Boardman

says he finds it quite common near Calais, Maine.*

GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER. Lelminthophaga chr} -ysoptera

Baird. This beautiful warbler has been taken, so far as I

can learn, but a few times in the western part of the state ;

it seems to be more common in the eastern, where it breeds.

I saw it once in July at Springfield, and Mr. S. Jillson in-

formed me some years since that it was quite frequent at

Bolton, where it spends the summer and undoubtedly breeds.

I am not aware that its nest has been found in the state

prior to the present year, when it was discovered by Mr. C.

J. Maynard, June 12th, near Newtonville. This gentleman

says that for the last three years he has seen this Warbler

in swampy thickets near Newton in June, and felt confident

that it bred there. This year he observed a female so anx-

iously chirping from a small elm that he felt sure she had a

nest in the vicinity, and quietly watching her he soon saw

her fly down into the weeds. Approaching the spot carefully

he discovered her sitting on her nest. This he describes as

situated on the ground, in a tract of coarse weeds and

ferns near a swampy thicket, and but a few rods from a

public highway. It was placed entirely above the surface of

the ground, and the birds seemed to have made no special

effort to conceal it. It was composed externally of dried

oak leaves and the bark of the grape-vine, and rather

roughly lined with fine grass and a few horse hairs. He says

it is large for - size of the bird, and somewhat reminds one

*See American Naturalist, Vol. iii, June, 1869, p. 122.

516 NOTES ON SOME OF THE

of the nest of the Maryland Yellow-throat. It is a little

smaller at the top, where the internal diameter is less than

two inches, while in the middle it is two and a quarter. The

eggs were five in number, including a Cow Bunting’s egg

that these watchful parasites had introduced The Warbler’s

eggs are thus described by Mr. Maynard :

"No. 1 is regular in form, thickly spotted and blotched with dark

di -five

hundredths. No. 2 is like No. 1, only 5 is less Bui pibe Length,

sixty-six one hundredths; diameter, fifty-three. No. 3 is least spotted

of the four, it being but se so on the larger end and not at all on

the smaller. Dimensions same as those of No.1. No. 4 is more elon-

gated, and much the most raagis the spots forming a broad beng around

the larger end, and are scattered over the remaining surface

Mr. Maynard adds: “It is a curious fact that nc I

have seen and collected quite a number of males of this

species, this is the first female that I have seen, although I

have made diligent search for them."

Swarnson’s WARBLER. Helmitherus Swainsonii Bon.

Although this species is recorded by both Audubon and Pea-

body as having been taken in Massachusetts, and on these

authorities given in my Catalogue, there is some reason to

doubt its having been: captured here. Both notices doubt-

less refer to the same specimen, as well as to the same

authority,—Dr. Brewer. But this gentleman informs me

that the record is erroneous and the result of a misunder-

standing; the specimen referred to he says was not this

species at all. Dr. Brewer knows of no instance of its occur-

rence here, and it should doubtless be stricken from the list

of Massachusetts birds. Dr. Coues says he has never seen

it so far north as Washington, D. C. *

Wonw-EATING WannLER. Helmitherus vermivorus Bon.

Mr. Peabody states, in his "Report on the Birds of Massa-

chusetts," that the nest of this species had been found in

Cambridge, which statement I repeated in my Catalogue.

EPA PEERS Proc, Essex Inst., Vol, v, p. 270.

TM SQUE ai Pres

ac E E

Ses he

RARER BIRD; OF MASSACHUSETTS. 577

I have since been informed by Dr. Brewer that the nest

referred to by Mr. Peabody as above “was, without doubt, a

Nashville Warbler’s. I do not think it occurs,” he adds,

“nearer than the Hudson River.”* Prof. Verrill, however,

in his list of the birds of Norway, Maine (p. 21), gives it as

rare in the southern part of Maine. From its range being

generally southern, its occurrence in New England can only

be accidental.

SMALL-HEADED FLYCATCHER. Wilsonia minuta Bon. This

rather apocryphal species is given by Peabody as having been

met with at Ipswich by Dr. Brewer, and in Berkshire County

by Dr. Emmons (Rep. Orn. Mass. p. 297). Dr. Brewer

writes me that in 1834 his cat caught a specimen of. this

species in Roxbury, which he sent to Audubon, though as

Dr. Brewer observes, he (Audubon) makes no mention of

it. Dr. Brewer remarks: “This was the only one I ever

knew or heard of. Ipswich I ignore.” Compare with this

Dr. Coues’ remarks on this supposed species in his *List of

the Birds of New England.” +

LONG-BILLED WATER THRUSH. Seiurus Ladoviciamis Bon.

The first and only specimen thus far known to have been

found in Massachusetts I captured April 28th, the present

year, on Mount Tom. There is another in the Museum of

Comparative Zoology, taken by Irving Frost, at Norway,

Maine, in May, 1865. These two I believe are all the speci-

mens known from New England, its actual occurrence in the

Eastern States being now for the first time reported.

BLACKBURNIAN W. ARBLER. Dendræca Blackburniæ Baird.

Mr. Bennett found the young of this species this year near

Holyoke that were scarcely able to fly. This establishes its

breeding i in Massachusetts. This fact I had already inferred,

as in 1863 I shot it in Springfield, June 24th. Mr. J. G.

Scott also shot it in Westfield, late in June, 1866. Some

* In epist., May 8, 1869.

t Proc. Nik Inst. Vol. v, p. 275.

tSee concerning this species Dr. Coues List of New England Birds, 1. e. p. 271.

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III.

518 NOTES ON SOME OF THE

seasons they are extremely abundant at some localities, and

commonly are not rare, except in particular situations. Mr.

Scott observes that for several weeks in May, in 1866, he

could remain at a single place in the woods and shoot ten to

twenty per hour.

Bay-BREASTED WARBLER. Dendræca castanea Baird.

This species I find is esteemed to be rare by most collectors

in the eastern part of the state, but in the Connecticut valley

it is generally more or less common and sometimes very

abundant. I found it very numerous in 1866 in Spring-

field, and it seems to have been equally so the same year

in Westfield. Mr. Scott writes, “I could easily have shot

a bushel-basket full of them without very greatly chang-

ing my position.” He says it was scarce in 1867, but

not very rare in 1868. In 1866 he obtained a partial al-

bino. Mr. Maynard, however, considers it to be very rare

about Newtonville. He has known only a few specimens

taken there, as follows: June 19th, 1867, May 22d, ae

and May 27th, 1869.

PRAIRIE WARBLER. Dendreca discolor Baird. In par-

ticular situations a more or less common summer resident.

In the eastern part of the state, especially in the breeding -

season, it is much more common than in the western. Old

pastures partially grown up to cedars and barberry bushes

seem to form its favorite resorts. :

Care May Warsier. Perissoglossa tigrina Baird. This

species, like most of the warblers, varies greatly in abun-

dance in different years and at different places. Generally Bo

seems to be very properly regarded as rather rare. Speci-

mens, however, are taken almost every year in different

parts of the state, but generally they altogether number ——

. very few. Mr. Maynard tells me it has been found near —

.. Boston, by Dr. Bryant and others, to be some years quite

cR Rep Bd. Pyranga estiva Vieill. Mr. A. L.

di of Sherborn, has a specimen taken in Framingham

Rare seek

RARER BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 519

some years since in May. This, I believe, forms the second

authentic instance of its capture in this state. Two were

taken in Lynn, April 21st, 1852, by Mr. S. Jillson.*

NonrHERN Wax-wine. Ampelis garrulus Linn. The

visits of this beautiful northern species so far south are very

infrequent, and in only a few instances has it been recorded

from this state. It has been taken, however, in Connecticut

by Dr. Wood. I am also informed by Mr. S. Jillson, that

eleven specimens were taken by him in Bolton, in this state,

in January, 1864. A specimen has been seen the present

autumn (October, 1869), in Cambridge, by Wm. Brewster.

Sonrragx Vireo. Lanivireo solitarivs Bon. This species

formerly supposed to be more properly a spring and autumn

visitant than a summer resident, seems to breed not unfre-

quently at some localities. Dr. Brewer says it is as common

in summer about Roxbury as any of the Vireos, except per-

haps the Red-eyed.

WnrrE-EYED Vireo. Vireo Noveboracensis Bon. As stated

in my Catalogue, this species is much more common in the

eastern part of the state than in the western. Like some

other species, it is much more common during some years

than in others. Dr. Wood has found three nests at East

Windsor Hill during the last ten years, but he considers it

rare there. Mr. C. W. Bennett obtained the first specimen

I have known found in Western Massachusetts in May,

1867, at Holyoke. I killed a pair the last week in July in

Springfield, in 1868. These I believe are the only ones

as yet known from that portion of the state. In 1868 it

Was quite common in and about Cambridge, but this year

I have not observed it.

ERHEAD SHRIKE. — Collurio Ludovicianus Baird.

A sada excubitoroides and L. elegans Swain). This species,

as observed by Dr. Coues,t was formerly given as a bird o

New England, but deeming the authority to be highly ques-

*F. W. Putnam, Proc. Essex Inst., indui m

f List of the Birds of New England, | p. 277.

580 NOTES ON SOME OF THE

tionable, I omitted it from my Catalogue. As Dr. Coues re-

marks, New England is beyond its usual range; the nearest

point heretofore given where it regularly occurs is Hamilton,

C. W., where, according to Mr. Charles Mellwraith, it is not

a very rare summer resident.* Mr. Charles Linclen informs

me that he has this year obtained the birds and a nest con-

taining six eggs at Buffalo, N. Y. Its occasional occurrence

in New England hence becomes more probable.

On several occasions the so-called Collurio excubitoroides

has been confounded by local observers with the Collurio

Ludovicianus, and with very good reason, since they are

undoubtedly the same. Specimens from the upper Missis-

sippi valley, where the habitats of the two supposed species

join, are with difficulty referred to the one rather than to

the other. In habits and every particular, except in some

minor differences of coloration, the two are quite alike. In

fact no one seems to have insisted very strenuously on the

specific distinctness of C. Ludovicianus and O. excubito-

roides (or of C. elegans from the latter) though they have

usually been presumed to be distinct. I have collected the

birds in question in Western Iowa, Illinois, and in Florida ;

according to authors those from the first two localities should

belong to C. excubitoroides and those from the latter to C.

Ludovicianus. The differences between them are exceedingly

slight. Specimens of the so-called C. Ludovicianus from

the South Atlantie states differ from others from California

and Iowa called C. excubitoroides not more than specimens

of the latter from New Mexico do from Iowa ones, or than

the two supposed species do in the average, and less than

specimens from near the assumed line of junction of their

respective habitats. Audubon, it seems to me, very properly

regarded them as a single species. It seems to be rare

in the Atlantic states north of Washington, but in the

interior reaches the Saskatchewan valley, and extends west-

: Ward to the Pacific, and south to Mexico. In avoiding the

* Birds of Hamilton, C. W., Proc. Essex Inst., Vol. v, p. 87.

RARER BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 581

North-eastern states it resembles the Hremophila alpestris,

or Horned Lark (in the breeding season), Myiarchus cri-

nitus (Great-crested Flycatcher), Centurus Carolinus (Red-

3 bellied Woodpecker), Melospiza Lincolnii (Lincoln's Spar-

row), Zonotrichia leucophrys (White-crowned Sparrow),

and some other species that extend much farther north in the

interior than on the Atlantic coast. The Horned Lark is not

known to breed regularly on the coast much, if any, south

of Labrador, but in the interior it breeds abundantly on the

prairies as far south as Missouri, and even in Texas. Some

of the other species mentioned above do not extend farther

north on the coast than New Jersey, except as stragglers,

although in the interior they reach the Saskatchewan. The

climate there is certainly not warmer than that of Southern

New England, and some other cause must be sought to

explain such an unusual distribution.

RED-BELLIED NurHarCH. Sitta Canadensis Linn. The

known instances of this bird’s breeding in Massachusetts are

very few. Five years since, when my Catalogue was pub-

lished, I knew of none, and gave it as a winter visitant,

having then seen it only during the colder portion of the

year. Mr. Jillson has informed me that he found its nest a

few years since in Bolton. Dr. Brewer also informs me that

he saw it on his place in Hingham, in July, 1867, but was

unable to find its nest. Many experienced collectors of

birds in Southern New England have never met with it here

in summer, but it is known to breed (perhaps only among

the Alleghanies) much farther south.

Prive GnossEAK. Pinicola eneucleator. (P. Canadensis

Cab.). This northern bird has occurred within the state sev-

eral times within the last five years. During the last two

winters they were quite common at certain localities, but

were not generally distributed. As usual, they were chiefly

young birds. It seems to be of late a more regular visitor

than was formerly supposed.

Purrte Fincn. Carpodacus purpureus Gray. Common

582 NOTES ON SOME OF THE

in summer in many parts of the state, and the number that

breed here seems to be increasing. They usually select

evergreens for their nests, and appear to more often build

in the cultivated shrubbery of the towns than elsewhere.

They are almost as unsuspicious as thé proverbially familiar

Chipping Sparrow (Spizella socialis), they often placing their

nests in the hedge-rows that border frequented walks. I

learn from Mr. B. P. Mann that he has repeatedly found

their nests in such situations, and Mr. R. B. Hildreth has

observed the same fact at Springfield. "This familiar habit

in the Purple Finch of California has obtained for it the

name of House Finch, and it was supposed to differ greatly

in this respect from the Purple Finch of the Atlantic states,

before the breeding habits of the latter were so well known.

It differs in this respect not apparently from the eastern bird,

nor in any other way to any essential degree, specimens from

California in the Museum of Comparative Zoólogy being

quite indistinguishable from others from Massachusetts.

Hence its distinctive name of frontalis becomes properly a

synonym of purpureus.

For the past two winters I have observed individuals of

this species at frequent intervals in Cambridge, and Mr.

Bennett has observed it at the same season about Mount

Holyoke. By far the greater part, however, go farther

south at this season.

Nearly all observers in Southern New England that I have

met remark that this bird has greatly inereased there during

the last ten years; especially is it more numerous in the

breeding season.

Pine Finca. — CArysomitris pinus Bon. But a single in-

stance of the breeding of this bird in Massachusetts has

come to my knowledge—that mentioned in my Catalogue.

The present year, however, they were quite common in Cam-

bridge till the last of June, and on two or three occasions I

observed them during the first half of July. I felt sure at

‘one time that they would breed here, but if they, like the

RARER BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 583

Yellow Bird (.Astragalinus tristis), breed very late in the

season, they may have retired in July farther north for this

purpose, as I did not meet with them later in the season.

This is very probably the fact, since Mr. William Brewster

found this species breeding in August this year at Gorham,

New Hampshire.

RED-PoLL FiwcHg. Ægiothus linaria Cab. During the

past five years this little northern visitor has been several

times very numerous in Massachusetts. It was especially so

during the winters of 1866—67, 1867—68, and quite so in

1868—69

A series of skins in the collection of the Museum of Com-

parative Zoólogy, collected in this state by Mr. C. J. May-

nard, represent four of the so-called species of this group

recently recognized, —the common ZZ. linaria, the sup-

posed larger Mealy Redpoll, Æ. canescens Aud., =Æ. epi-

lipes Coues, the Æ. rostratus, and the Æ. fuscescens,

described as a new species by Dr. Coues.* From a careful

examination of many specimens, from the far north, as well

as from Massachusetts, I cannot consider these forms as dis-

tinct species, since the differences on which they are based

are very inconstant, and connected by endless intermediate

stages. The extreme forms to which these several specific

designations have been applied are quite different from each

other, and if the differences were constant might well be

regarded as distinct species. But, as already stated, the dif-

erences are not constant, and it is almost impossible to draw

a separating line between these several so-called species.f

Rep CnossnsiLL. Curvirostra Americana Wilson. This

bird, as is well known, is very irregular in its visits to this

state, not only in respect to numbers but in regard to the

season of its appearance. It is generally most numerous in

winter, but is sometimes more or less common throughout

* See his ‘‘ Monograph of the Genus ZEgiothus," Proc. Arie Acad. Nat. Sci., Nov., 1865.

f On this point see farther my * Notes on the Birds of Iowa, Illinois, etc Jin thie Mee

moirs of the Boston Society of Natural History, Vol. i, s iv, p. 515 (foot note).

584 NOTES ON SOME OF THE

the year; at other times very few are seen for a considerable

period. Concerning this species I have received from Mr.

Maynard the following very interesting note. He says that

in 1868 these birds appeared in Massachusetts "early in Sep-

tember, in very immature plumage, which seemed to indi-

cate," he thought, “that they were raised in the states. But

upon visiting Oxford county, Maine," he continues, “ Octo-

ber 12th, and not seeing a single specimen of this bird (al-

though after the 21st the White-winged species was common)

I was induced to inquire of the farmers respecting them,

when I was informed that they passed through that region

early in August, in large numbers, doing great damage to

the oat crop. This shows that the unusual occurrence of this

bird in immature plumage early in the season was owing

to the early migration of northern raised birds, induced,

probably, by an insufficient supply of food, which I think

regulates the migrations of all northern birds; hence the ir-

regularity of their visits. The species in question passed

entirely south of Newton (Mass.), as upon my return from

Maine, November 13th, not a specimen could be found, but

C. leucoptera was abundant. From what I have seen of

these two species I think the latter is generally much more

boreal in its habits.”*

Specimens of the Red Crossbill have been received at the

Museum of Comparative Zoólogy from Massachusetts so

young that it seems highly probable that they were raised

here. Among them are specimens collected in Weston, in

May, 1862, by the late Mr. Horace Mann. Some were so

young that their bills were not fully grown, while the plu-

mage also indicated great immaturity. It is hardly possible

that they could ci. been born far from where they were

collected. The condition of the specimens collected by Mr.

Maynard, alluded to above, seems to indicate that they also

: have. not been long from the nest, though they may, as he

Supp onem have come from Maine. These facts seem to

* MSS. Notes, received in July, 1869.

RARER BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 585

indicate that this species breeds at irregular times, since the

eggs obtained near Milltown, Maine, by Mr. G. A. Board-

man,* were, as he has informed me, found in February, and

birds hatched thus early would probably moult their nesting

plumage early in summer. Mr. Maynard's specimens must

have been hatched at least as late as June, and probably in

July, else in respect to the time of moulting the first or

nestling plumage of this species is strangely anomalous. f

Since the above was put in type I have received from Mr.

Boardman farther information respecting the breeding of the

Crossbills, as follows: “They breed all the season, from -

the middle of February till into May, and perhaps later."

WHITE-WINGED CRnossBILL. Curvirostra leucoptera Wil-

son. This species is much less frequent in its visits than the

preceding, it being, as Mr. Maynard has observed, much

more boreal, and is generally seen only in winter. Last

winter they were quite numerous in the eastern part of the

state, when, as he has stated above, Mr. Maynard observed

them as early as the middle of November. They remained,

according to the same authority, till the first of June, they

being observed by him in flocks during the last week of May.

He also informs me that he shot a male in fine breeding

plumage the 13th of June. In the summer of 1866 he

found their stomachs filled with canker worms.

LAPLAND Lonesrur. Centrophanes Lapponicus Kaup.

This is a very rare winter visitor in the interior of the state,

but rather common, according to Mr. Maynard, at Ipswich,

where he has taken half a dozen in a day, and seen many

more. It associates with the Snow Bunting ( Plectrophanes

nivalis), and is probably more or less common in winter

along the whole coast of the state.

* See American Notini y Vol. iii, July, 1869.

t With +h t. int + [74 The Canada

Jay also breeds when the snow is quite deep, usually in March, and I think again in

Summer, as | I have seen yo oung birds s in Septem mber. ds have aieo found Raven's eggs

t ergus Americanus

tia haus

When th J o

to be out by the middle of May, which is usually early.”

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. MI.

THE LINGERING ADMIRERS OF PHRENOLOGY.

BY PROF. CLELAND.

To slay those that are already slain may be excellent sport

to employ the courage of a Falstaff, but the reader perusing

the title of this article may perhaps be disposed to ask why

the pages of this review should be occupied with the discus-

sion of so dead a doctrine as Phrenology. The answer is,

that although phrenology never had much countenance from

scientific men, and has long since been banished by them,

with one consent, to the limbo of exploded chimeras, yet

among edueated men and women not physiologists, and not

pretending to know anything about anatomy, it still holds its

grounds wonderfully, and counts considerable numbers of

people who believe in its miraculous skull maps; while, be-

sides these, there is a far more numerous class of persons,

ineluding, undeniably, a certain proportion of scientific men,

who, admitting that the minute division of the cranial vault

into organs is untenable, yet profess belief in a larger map-

ping, and have no hesitation in relegating the reasoning

faculties exclusively to the forehead, and the moral senti-

ments and volitionary powers to other parts of the brain-pan.

This state of matter does not exist without a sufficient

reason to account for it. Long before the time of Gall and

Spurzheim, men were in the habit, sometimes consciously.

and much more frequently half unconsciously, of gauging

the intelligence and moral qualities of their neighbors by

their personal appearance generally, and more particularly

of estimating them according to crude impressions derived

from the shapes of their heads. "They judged rightly enough

that there was some connection between brain and mind.

4 Much of the evidence that the brain is the organ of the mind

is so palpable that it could not remain long hid. The effects

THE LINGERING ADMIRERS OF PHRENOLOGY. 581

of injuries and diseases of the brain in disturbing the intelli-

gence, its larger size in the higher than in the lower classes

of animals, and more especially its distinctively great de-

velopment in man: these circumstances, together with the

indubitable frequency of finely proportioned heads among

persons of distinguished talent, and the tendency of the eye

to dwell on clumsy or forbidding proportions, when occurring

in persons brought under notice as stupid and depraved, all

seemed, though vaguely, to point out that a scrutiny of the

amount of the brain and shape of the cranium was likely to

afford an index of the strength and qualities of the mind.

Gall propounded his theory that different portions of the

brain were the organs of different mental faculties, and that

according to the size of those different parts of the brain, so

the mental qualities varied ; and making continual observa-

tions on the heads and characters of those with whom he

came in contact, he covered the surface of the cranial vault

with a map, which at once professed to indicate the correct

analysis of the mental faculties, and to assign to each of

these its proper habitation. The psychological difficulties

of their pursuit do not seem to have weighed heavily on

either Gall or his followers ; and as for the exceedingly great

obstacles in the way of estimating the proportions of even

large masses of the brain by observation of the surface of

the skull, not only did the phrenologists strangely ignore

them, but we are constrained to say that even anatomists

have been very slow to appreciate them. Phrenology, how-

ever, supplied a want which the publie felt, seeming to fur-

nish an answer to questions which were continually obtruded

before them, and giving preeision to the notions founded on

faet which had previously possessed their minds: this, we

believe, is the principal reason why phrenology became so

popular as it did, and why it is not yet eradicated from the

publie mind.

Probably scientific men, in déaling with phrenology, have

been too much in the habit of contenting themselves with

588 THE LINGERING ADMIRERS OF PHRENOLOGY.

merely pointing out that the system is certainly a blunder;

and their hearers have gone away impressed with the con-

viction that it is impossible for the uninitiated to argue with

experts, yet saying in their hearts that they are sure there

is a mistake somewhere, and unwilling to part with all their

beautiful theories and get nothing in exchange. Iconoclasm

is not popular: when an image is thrown down it is well

that its destruction should make way for a flood of light suf-

ficient to satisfy the eye in its stead. "This is an achievement

not easy to accomplish, but actuated with the laudable

motive of attempting it, the writer will try, not only to

reiterate the reasons why phrenology cannot possibly be true,

but to give some idea of what is positively known regarding

the brain and its functions, and to point out in what direc-

tion speculation may be still legitimately indulged.

Let us begin at the beginning and try and form some gen-

eral notion of what the brain is as it is known to the anato-

mist, before we dogmatize about the functions of the parts

which happen to come in contact with the upper and lateral

walls of the skull.

If a chick be examined in a hen's egg which has been

allowed to hatch for twelve hours, or if the embryo of any

vertebrate animal be examined at a similarly early period; it

will be seen to exhibit a long open furrow, the walls of which

are the first portions of the animal to be formed. The most

superficial layer of substance entering into the construction

of this furrow may be described as a long ribbon, consisting |

of two symmetrieal parts separated by a longitudinal groove :

this is the embryo brain and spinal chord, constituting one

continuous structure, the cerebrospinal axis. The parts

which support the ribbon form in like manner the cranium

and the spinal canal, primarily undistinguishable one from

the other. The edges of the furrow rise up and become

m united, so that the open furrow is converted into à closed

=~ Cylinder; and similarly the ribbon within it has its lateral

edges brought together, so that the brain and spinal cor

THE LINGERING ADMIRERS OF PHRENOLOGY. 589

at an early period of their development, form one continuous

tube. The walls of the tube so formed become ultimately

much thickened and exhibit two kinds of texture, which,

from their color, are distinguished as the gray and the

white. In the case of so much of the tube as lies in the

spinal canal and is afterwards termed spinal cord, the devel-

opment proceeds very regularly ; white matter is deposited

on the outer wall of the cylinder, and gray matter on the

inner wall, until it appears solid. A minute canal, however,

the central canal of the spinal cord, continues to traverse its

whole extent throughout life, and is the remains of the orig-

inal hollow of the tube. Towards the lower part of the cord

in birds there is even a space called the sinus rhomboidalis,

where the cylinder is never completed, and the central canal

is open on the dorsal aspect. Now, however different the

brain may be in the adult condition from the spinal cord,

it is extremely interesting to note that it is the anterior por-

tion of the same cylinder, but that the cylinder undergoes

some bendings, its walls are greatly thickened in some

places and imperfect in others, and the continuation of the

central canal is in some places greatly dilated, and in others

contracted.

As respects texture, there is much in common between the

brain and spinal cord. They are similar in appearance, and

both consist of true nerve tissues, with a fine reticulum of

supporting substance in which those more important ele-

ments are embedded. The proper nerve tissues are two in

number, nerve fibres and nerve corpuscles: the nerve fibres

are long threads which have the property of transmitting

along their course a certain change of condition which con-

stitutes nervous influence, and which, it may be mentioned,

is a purely physical action, not electrical, but involving in its

operation electrical changes. Nerve fibres transmit this

influence, but have no power of originating, directing, or

modifying it: they are simply conductors, and such nerve

fibres are the essential elements in all the nerves throughout

290 THE LINGERING ADMIRERS OF PHRENOLOGY.

the body. Nerve corpuscles are bodies of which it is only

necessary to say that they present a variable number of

poles or branches, and there is no reasonable doubt that

these poles are in direct continuity with nerve fibres. Ac-

cording to circumstances little understood, these corpuscles

_ have the property of modifying impressions or nervous influ-

ence, and of directing them into different channels with

which their poles communicate. Now the white substance

of the brain and spinal cord contains only nerve fibres with-

out any nerve corpuscles, these latter being found exclu-

sively in the gray substance. It is quite plain, therefore,

and universally recognized, that the white substance is only

useful as containing channels of communication between dif-

ferent parts of the gray, and also between the gray substance

and the muscles and sensitive parts throughout the body.

But even the gray substance is not always or even generally

capable of being affected directly by the consciousness; and

in the ease of the spinal cord, it is very certain that con-

sciousness resides in no part of it, either white or gray. The

spinal cord is the centre with which are connected the nerves

of the muscles and integuments of the greater part of the

body, and in the ordinary actions of T body what usually

happens is this, that impressions made by the contact of

external objects on the terminations of senso: y nerves in the

‘integument are transmitted by them to the nerve corpuscles

of the cord, and, through series of these, conducted to the

parts of the brain, which are in immediate connection with

consciousness ; while also, when the mind wills certain move-

ments of the body, the stimulus proceeds from those parts

of the brain, and, by some altogether unknown mechanism,

is anemia so distributed that there extend from the gray

matter of the cord impressions along the nerves so adjusted

as to produce precisely that amount of contraction of mus-

cles, of whose existence the mind is utterly ignorant, which

necessary to effect the required result. Bai it is always

: kind ads stimulus, the nervous influence, wherever

DOGS CIT = eT E E

Vo E PIL TO SRE" oe Ta arise ace Se Df ema aE REPORT ue WES SEIEN duae MOOEY, CISCO TMESI ener lal ES ERE RICE CER cR E

THE LINGERING ADMIRERS OF PHRENOLOGY. 591

it issues from, which acts upon the cord. Thus, for example,

when the cord near its upper part is severed from the brain

by an injury, there is loss of all sensation and voluntary

motion in the parts supplied by it below the place of lesion,

the consciousness being no longer in communication with

those parts; but irritation of the integument still sends a

current as before to the spinal cord, and this being dis-

tributed by the corpuscles of the gray matter, and descend-

ing again by the motor nerves, causes involuntary contraction

of muscles. This is probably the simplest possible example

of the phenomenon termed by physiologists reflex nervous

action.

We have ventured on this extremely cursory and general

survey of the spinal cord, the simplest portion of thé cere-

brospinal axis, in order that the general reader may form

some conception of the kind of mechanism which extends

through the more obscure and intricate portion, the brain.

. To explain fully the extremely complex structure of the

brain would require much greater detail than is allowable in

an article like this, but a general idea of the most important

faets will best be arrived at by pursuing the aecount of its

early development, which we have already begun.

The cylinder which we have traced in the embryo, so far

as the spinal cord is concerned, is immediately on its closure,

expanded in its cranial part into a series of three primordial

vesicles, and immediately afterwards two little hollow buds,

called the hemisphere vesicles, project laterally from the fore-

most of the series. Without tracing the history of the pri-

mordial vesicles, it is sufficient for our present purpose to

point out that the cerebellum is originally a part of the hin-

dermost, projecting upwards as a hollow pouch, and that it

is quite certain, from the experiments on lower animals, that

no consciousness whatever resides in any of the parts devel-

Oped from that vesicle; also it is equally certain that not

= more than the very feeblest consciousness resides in those

parts into which the walls of the two other primordial vesi-

592 THE LINGERING ADMIRERS OF PHRENOLOGY.

cles are developed. These parts are devoted to the carrying

on of obscure functions connected with the sensibility and

movements of the body strictly comparable with the func-

tions of the spinal cord, and entirely of a physical descrip-

tion: the organs of the mental faculties are the developed

hemisphere vesicles, and these only. The hemisphere vesicles

rapidly enlarge and extend backwards over and around the

other parts of the brain, so as to reach to the cerebellum

behind, come in contact with the whole roof and sides of the

skull and a large part of its floor, and press one against the

other in the middle line of the whole length of the skull for

an average depth of a couple of inches ; and early in embry-

onic life they are already much the most bulky parts of the

brain.

The gray matter which lines the whole length of the cere-

brospinal cylinder fails to be developed in the hemisphere

vesicles, except at one part placed at the neck of the vesicle,

and called by anatomists the corpus striatum, but of which

we know nothing in respect of function, and can only note

that it is traversed by the whole mass of fibres joining the

hemisphere vesicles with the cord and cerebellum. The

whole of the rest of the hemisphere vesicle, or, as it is

termed, the cerebral hemisphere, consists of an enormous

mass of white matter, with a superadded layer of gray

matter on the outside. The cerebellum has the same peculi-

arity of having its gray matter on the surface, and it is

_ curious to note that both the gray matter on the cerebellum

and that on the cerebrum, while differing one from the other

in minute structure, differ still more oni the gray matter

which is found elsewhere, and the function of which is, as

we have seen, in a general way, well understood. Also the

cerebellum and cerebral hemispheres resemble each other in

being thrown into numerous elevations and depressions, in

. order to expose a larger extent to the vascular membrane on

their surface, which.sends its minute branches into them.

s circumstances might plead a little for the doctrine that

THE LINGERING ADMIRERS OF PHRENOLOGY. 593

the cerebellum is connecting with a psychical faculty, what-

ever that might be, but its totally different source of origin

is clearly opposed to such a notion; and we are not left

merely to speculate on the subject, for both disease in the

human subject, and experiment on animals, teach us that

When the cerebellum is destroyed, the power of combining

movements so as to regulate and guide them is lost, the

limbs being still capable of being moved, but walking and

handling being impossible. Thus it is certain that the fune-

tion of the cerebellum is totally different from what the

phrenologists hold it to be.

Examining the cerebral hemispheres in different animals,

and proceeding from the lower to the higher forms, a pro-

gress in development is found, similar to the progress made

in embryonic life. Thus in fishes they are represented by

very small parts in the fore part of the ‘brain; in birds they

have not extended sufficiently backwards to be in contact

With the cerebellum, and their bulk is due almost entirely

to the corpora striata; in rodent animals their surface is

smooth; and, as one passes to the higher groups of mam-

mals, more and more complicated convolutions. of the sur-

face are met with; while in man by far the greatest com-

plexity is found.

Whatever the particular cerebral changes may be which

accompany and are necessary for thought, there can be no

question that they occur in the gray matter, and that the

white matter is only useful by bringing the different parts of

the gray matter into communication one with another, an

end which it accomplishes very thoroughly by its complicated

commissures and countless bundles of fibres taking all direc-

tions. Judging, then, from comparative anatomy, and even

on phrenological principles, one would expect that, among

men, the greater the amount of gray matter of a given qual-

: ity the more effective would the hemisphere be for the

exercise of the mental faculties; and this, there is good

. reason to consider, is to some extent actually the case. But

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 75

594 THE LINGERING ADMIRERS OF PHRENOLOGY.

the quantity of gray matter varies according to other circum-

stances besides the size of the skull. The vertical depth at

any one spot, from the surface of the gray matter down to

the white, differs in different brains; and what is probably

more important is, that the complication of the convolutions

varies greatly. Complex convolutions are probably more

important than the thickness of the sheet of gray matter,

because it is obvious that not only quantity but activity of

texture will be an advantage; and complexity of convolu-

tions involves inereased surface of vascular membrane, send-

ing its blood-vessels into the gray matter, and furnishing its

elements with the means of activity. In harmony with this

supposition, the simplest condition of the convolutions has

been found in the brains of the lowest races of humanity,

and Wagner's comparisons of the brains of various persons

of ability with others from persons of supposed limited in-

telligence show more complicated convolutions in the former

than the latter, although at the same time exhibiting appa-

rent exceptions to that rule. It may be noticed in this con-

nection that if two skulls of the same cranial capacity be

one long and narrow and the other short and broad, the long

and narrow one is that which has the greatest amount of

surface, and is therefore most favorable for a large propor-

tion of gray matter; so that, ceteris paribus, the long skull

has probably an advantage over the broad skull; while, on

the other hand, there is no doubt that, with a given model

of skull to start from, the tendency of expanding hemi-

spheres is rather to increase the breadth than the length.

Turning now to the fundamental doctrine of phrenology;

that dulreu parts of the cerebral hemisphere are the organs

of different mental faculties, we feel assured that no physi-

ologist will hesitate in giving it a distinct and emphatic

denial. It is true that the convolutions of the hemispheres

=~ fre so constant that they are named; but the existence of

aS “Oe convolutions is not for the sake of dividing the hemi-

‘Spheres into In and does not do so, but only affords, 2$

An gly Se "teg M ELA Ea REN DD d H LO REO

THE LINGERING ADMIRERS OF PHRENOLOGY. 595

has been said, facility for vascular supply ; and, at all events,

the convolutions have not the smallest correspondence with

the phrenological organs which cross them, eut them up, and

combine them in the most regardless fashion.

But the fatal objection to the doctrine of different func-

tions in different parts is to be found in the teachings of

experiment and pathology. An animal will bear to have its

cerebral hemispheres gradually sliced away ; and the slicing

may be done in any direction with the same result, namely,

gradually inereasing stupidity, but with no change of char-

acter according as one or other phrenological organ is re-

moved.

So also, persons have often recovered from wounds from

Which portions of the brain have protruded and been ampu-

tated, but it makes no difference what part of the hemisphere

is injured; nor, in cases of tumors destroying portions of

the hemispheres, is it at all possible to state the position of

the tumors from any alteration in the mental constitution

of the patient. The symptoms are perfectly irrespective of

the part of the hemisphere affected.

Not only, however, are the hemispheres not divided into

organs, but, supposing that such organs existed, it would be

impossible to tell their size by the phrenological method.

The bulging of any portion of the cranium vault does not

indicate an increased thickness of the gray matter at that

part, or give any clue to the degree of development of the

convolutions opposite to the spot. Indeed, the shapes of

skulls indicate differences of form in the central white mat-

ter of the hemispheres, rather than local differences of |

development of the gray matter on the surface. The sheet

of gray matter is disposed with tolerably even thickness over

great tracts, and always reaches its greatest complication of

Structure in the same region —namely, towards the back

part

It is not necessary to dwell at length on what has been

- discussed, ad nauseam, long years ago, —how one-half of the

596 THE LINGERING ADMIRERS OF PHRENOLOGY.

surface of the hemisphere, namely, the part looking to the

middle line and to the base, is beyond the reach of all phren-

ological observation; and how the most minute organs have

been crowded by phrenologists over a part of the skull whose

configuration is certainly not in the slightest degree affected

by the form of the brain, namely, the line of bone immedi-

ately over the nose and eyes. But the accompanying figure

speaks for itself. It has been obtained by tracing from a

horizontal section of a skull, made half an inch above the

orbit, dividing the phrenological organs of individuality,

size, weight, color, and order, as indicated by Spurzheim,

and passing quite above three still more nonsensical organs,

viz., that of form, lying on the nasal cavity; calculation,

which is never anything but the solid external orbital process

of bone; and language, the so-called large size of which is

an appearance of the eye dependent on want of projection

forwards of the face bone on which it rests.

Turning now to the less special but more generally dif-

fused notions respecting localization of different faculties in

different parts of the skull, a few words may be said about

fine foreheads. It may be freely granted that a handsome

forehead is a beautiful feature, and one frequently, though

by no means always or exclusively, met with in persons of

talent ; but a spacious and well-shaped forehead by no means

necessarily indieates preponderance of the frontal lobes of

the hemispheres over the others. This, with some other

interesting points, will best appear by considering the gen-

eral dise: and mode of growth of the cranium. The siil

cavity, as has been already said, is originally the upper part

of a long cylinder, the remainder of which becomes the

spinal PISA and it may be regarded, even in its adult state,

as a cylinder much modified and distorted. At an early

= embryonic period it is in all animals. curved remarkably

Page downwards on itself. Examining it, however, in adults, the

-~ total curvation of the cranial ixliddawi is seen to differ much

Tene species, ene greater the higher the position

THE LINGERING ADMIRERS OF PHRENOLOGY. 597

of the animal. This increasing curvature is accompanied

with increasing expansion of the roof bones of the skull and

arrest of the basal bones: thus in the human subject the roof

bones are expanded far more than in any other animal, while

the basal bones are crowded and even fused together by their

position in the concavity of the curve of the cylinder. The

human curve is not complete in infancy ; for, as the present

writer has elsewhere shown, it goes on increasing for several

years after birth: it is also greater in the higher than in the

lower races of mankind. ‘This curvature is an important

means of increasing the space for the cerebral hemispheres,

by lengthening the roof; and it does so most effectually when

accompanied with the other means which Nature uses to

expand the cranium, namely, increase of vertical and trans-

verse diameter of the cylinder.

Farther, before returning to the question of foreheads, it

must be pointed out that the position in which the head is

articulated with the neck differs in different persons, accord-

ing to the weight of the fore and back parts, so as to pre-

serve balance. This is best seen in the process of growth,

for the forehead and face have the smallest proportional de-

velopment in young children; and as they become large, the

head is tilted farther and farther round on the top of the

vertebral column, so as to throw more weight behind the

point of support, to balance the weight in front: and this

tilting takes place to a much greater extent in men than in

Women, because in women the face and forehead remain

proportionally lighter.

From the foregoing considerations it must be apparent to

every one that loftiness of forehead results from general

height of the whole skull, and that the apparent form of the

forehead is very dependent both on the amount of total

cranial curvature and on the balance of the head on the ver-

tebral column. The deceptiveness of mere general appear-

ance may, perhaps, be best illustrated by noting how people

speak of the large foreheads of children. The frontal emi-

598 THE LINGERING ADMIRERS OF PHRENOLOGY.

nences of the child project forwards, and the head arches

boldly above them, giving the appearance of a large fore-

head; but, in point of fact, the forehead of the child is pro-

portionally very small and undeveloped; and its apparent

prominence is due partly to the shallowness of the orbits,

giving a comparative prominence to the frontal eminences, -

and partly to the whole skull being so set on the top of the

spine that the forehead and face bones are turned more

downwards than in the adult. The arch of the upper part

of the child's forehead is afterwards lost, because it is turned

back to lie more level on the roof of the head. So also, in

the female, the head being not so much tilted up, there is à

persistent upward arching of the roof of the skull, as it is

traced backward, which is peculiarly feminine and graceful.

With regard to development of the back part of the skull,

it has been justly remarked by some good observers, that

fulness of that region appears to be quite as important as a

full forehead ; and it is instructive to note, that if a sketch

be made of a head in profile, a change of expression, ranging .

from almost idiotic weakness to great strength of character,

may be produced by varying the outline of the lower occip-

ital region and back of the neck without altering any other

portion. But the alteration of that line indicates not a mere

addition to the posterior lobes of the brain or subtraction

from them, but a change in the anatomy of the whole inte-

rior of the head, affecting the cerebral hemispheres through-

out their extent.

So, also, those anatomists who have written as if the char-

acteristic posterior lobes of the brain in man and apes were

so much matter added to the back of the hemispheres, -o

really mistaken ; for the hemispheres of a sheep rest against

precisely the part of the cerebellum corresponding to that

which they rest against in the human subject ; but the human

. brain differs from that of the sheep in the vastly increased

. Curvature and greater diameter of the cranial cylinder. ——

. In bringing these cursory remarks to a conclusion, it 1$

qe lu WT PEE 8 eine = a M rui Y oca t EM PI Turo wl

THE LINGERING ADMIRERS OF PHRENOLOGY. 599

only necessary to add, that the reader is not to imagine,

because it has been argued that different faculties are not

localized in different parts of the cerebral hemispheres, that

therefore it follows that there is no connection between the

shape of the head and the mental character. Let the reader

who still preserves a lingering fondness for judging men by

their appearance continue to take the skull into account, if

he pleases; but let him be assured that whatever connection

really exists is to be explained, not by the phrenological

dogma, but as he would explain why massive chins are often

conjoined with strong wills, different types of hand with dif-

ferent types of mind, well-built frames with healthy mental

tendencies, and rickety bodies with eccentric, though often

keenest-witted natures. The explanation is physiognomical.

While, however, this is probably the case with regard to the

shape of the head, it is obvious that the relationship of the

amount of brain to the mental faculties is more than physi-

ognomical. Possibly an analogy may be drawn between the

brain and a galvanie battery, and increase of the gray matter

of the one be correctly compared with addition to the cells

of the other; but as in an electric instrument the working is

dependent on the delicacy and fitness of the arrangements

quite as much as on the strength of the current which sup-

plies them, so in the case of the mind the result is depend-

ent on the distribution and balance of the faculties and

inclinations, and on other circumstances, none of which are

proved to have any connection with the mass of cerebral

substance. Certain it is that, although there are probably

mental characters peculiar to large and small brains respec-

tively, the size of the skull is, as any observer may easily

satisfy himself, no good guide to the mental endowments.

— Popular Science Revie,

THE CLAPPER RAIL.

BY DR. E. COUES, U. 8. A.

Tue Clapper Rail, otherwise called the Salt-water Marsh

Hen, is a sea-side bird, inhabiting the marshes along our coast

within reach of the tides, and rarely if ever straying inward.

It goes as far north as Massachusetts, but only in summer,

and is unfrequent or rare beyond the Middle States. Further

south, however, it is one of the most abundant and character-

istic of the maritime species. On the coast of North Car-

olina, for instance, it breeds in countless numbers, and

remains nearly all the year—only becoming less numerous

in winter, or perhaps disappearing altogether for a short

time during the coldest weather. I presume that the reader

is so familiar with the appearance of the bird, from seeing

stuffed specimens, that I need say nothing on this score.

But it may not be so generally known that the young birds,

in the downy plumage, are jet black, with a faint gloss of

green, looking, much like newly-hatched chickens, except

thet the bill, and especially the feet, are longer. The former

is flesh colored, the latter are dusky. And perhaps still less

is known of the habits of this, as well as of other rails,

which are particularly difficult to study satisfactorily. Rails

live hidden in the marshes, and are not very often seen ex-

cept when they fly up; so that how they live becomes 4

matter of some interest, as perhaps I may be able to show.

We will begin with the eggs—omne vivum ex ovo, Says

Linneus.

_ I have sometimes thought that the pains odlogists fre-

|. quently take to measure eggs in hundredths of the inch, and

| . .. describe their shape with arhonta] exactitude, might be

- pared for something more profitable. I was never more

k "eda the fact that birds’ eggs vary more than is usually

THE CLAPPER RAIL. 601

believed, than when looking over a peck, more or less, of

these rails’ eggs. They seemed to differ among themselves

about as much as the same number of common fowls’ eggs

would. Let me illustrate by giving the measurements of

half a dozen, selected as representing extremes :—

No. 1. The longest one, 1.80X 1.10; PE Rt the ends about equally

pointed; greatest diameter in M mid

No. x, The slenderest one, 1.66X 1.00; same shape.

. A small one, 1.50X 1.05; mr Siritir oval, pointed; greatest

air across an third.

No. t A thick one, 1.60X 1.16; a regular **oval" in shape

o. 5. Another thick one, 1.70X 1.20; like No. 4, but more obtuse at the

sane nd.

. The shortest, and a very thick one for its length, 1.50X 1.15; very

eal oval, or sub-spherical; diameter across the middle; scarcely

appreciable difference between the two ends.

So the eges of Rallus crepitans are an inch and two-thirds

long, by an inch and one-tenth broad; narrowly or broadly

oval; narrowly or broadly elliptical, or nearly spherical.

The ground color ranges from a dull opaque white to a

creamy or pale buff. They are rather sparsely, oftener very

thiekly, marked with spots evenly or very irregularly dis-

tributed over the surface; the spots varying from mere dots

to large splashes, both on the same, or on different eges.

But when the markings vary in size an the same egg they

are always largest Mid most numerous towards or at the butt,

where also they are apt to run together; while they usually

remain distinct on other parts of the shell. But it is not

confluence of the small spots that makes the longer splashes ;

these are of a different character. The former are usually

roundish, with a distinct contour; the latter have no definite

shape. In color the markings are always reddish brown;

whether paler or darker, they have the rusty or reddish

tint, and are never pure brown. There are a number of

other spots, more obseure than either of the foregoing, ap-

pearing as if in the shell instead of on the surface; these

are some shade of lavender, lilac, or very pale purplish. —

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. II. 46

602 THE CLAPPER RAIL.

The number of eggs deposited varies ; I never found more

than seven in one nest, though I have been assured that

eight or nine may be laid; six or seven is the average num-

ber, however. The laying season commences (here in North

Carolina, at any rate) the last week in April, and continues

until the middle of June, or later, as two broods are fre-

quently raised. I found perfectly fresh eges June 12th; and

have seen barely fledged birds in August. But the second

and third weeks in May are the great times for laying.

Then, when the season is at its height, some idea of the

countless numbers of rails in the marshes may be gained

from the fact that baskets full of the eggs are gathered by

the boys (and men too) and brought to the Beaufort market,

where they sell for about five cents a dozen. When per-

fectly fresh they are very good to eat.

We occasionally read in books, scientific and otherwise,

accounts of the nests of rails and coots being floated off by -

the tide without going to pieces, and the parent bird contin-

uing to incubate, with undisturbed peace of mind, during

the whole voyage. I suppose such a thing may have hap-

pened; at any rate, a lively imagination is well enough, and

it is a pity to spoil a good story by asking impertinent ques-

tions. But I must say I never saw a rail’s nest substantial

enough to hold together for any length of time floating

on the water; and, moreover, that a good deal that has

been said about their being skilfully moored to tussocks of

grass, rising and falling with the tide, etc., may be taken

with much salt. In fact, destruction of numberless nests,

addling of eggs, and drowning of newly-hatched young, are

foregone conclusions from every unusual rise of the tide, as

during a severe storm. A great tragedy of this sort hap-

. pened at Fort Macon, on the 22d of May, 1869, when, and

_ for two or three days afterward, the marsh, ordinarily in

.. greatest part above water, was flooded— only here and there

. ^ little knoll breaking the monotony of the water. There

Was a terrible commotion among the rails at first, in prospect

[

;

THE CLAPPER RAIL. 603

of the common calamity ; and the reeds resounded with their

hoarse cries of terror. But as the waters advanced, and

— score after score of homes, the birds became silent

gain as if in unspeakable misery. Driven from their

E eias anxious or terrified, as the case might be,

they wandered in listless dejection over beds of floating

wrack, swam aimlessly over the water, or gathered stupefied

in groups upon projecting knolls. Few of the old birds,.

probably, were drowned, but most of the young must have

perished. A dark day for the rails!

As if to guard somewhat against such an accident, the

rails generally build their nests around the margins of the

marsh, or in elevated and comparatively dry spots in its

midst, just about at the usual high water mark. The

nest is always placed on the ground, in a bunch of reeds or

tussock of grass, or clump of little bushes. It is an artless

flimsy structure, made of dried grasses, or reed stalks broken

(probably bitten) into pieces three or four inches in length,

laid crosswise and matted together, but scarcely intertwined.

It is simply a platform of such materials, say a foot in

diameter, and two or three inches thick, slightly hollowed in

the middle. Sometimes it is barely thick enough to keep

the eggs from the wet; sometimes quite a heap of materials

is made; this seems to depend in great measure upon the

comparative dryness of the stustion: selected. But in any

case the nest is so frail and so bulky that it is difficult or

impossible to lift it up without its coming to pieces.

The rail is not a natatorial bird properly speaking. It

has only a very slight basal web, and no vestige of a mar-

ginal fringe or lobe along the toes. Nevertheless, it swims

very well, at least for short distances. I have often seen

the birds take to the water by choice, not from necessity ;

and noticed that they swam buoyantly, if not very fast, and

with perfect ease; much like coots, for example. In conse-

quence of the compressed shape of the body, they rest

rather deeply in the water; but carry the head well elevated,

604 THE CLAPPER RAIL.

the neck drawn back, and the tail cocked up. They are

poor flyers, as every one knows; so poor, it seems, that it is

somewhat a matter of surprise that some of the family

perform such extensive migrations. When started on wing,

a thing not easy to effect, except at high tide, they fly up

in a remarkably weak, vague way, flap hurriedly a little

distance, and settle suddenly again, with a peculiar motion of

the wings, as if simply letting themselves drop. This cir-

cumstance makes these and other kinds of rails—they are all

alike in this respect—the very easiest of all birds to shoot on

the wing ; and is one reason, perhaps the chief, that so many

people are fond of rail-shooting. The birds in fact are

not distinguished either as flyers or swimmers ; their strong

point is walking. As walkers, they have “few equals and.

no superiors.” A glance at their long strong legs is sufli-

cient to establish this fact, without the trouble of going into

a marsh, and observing how every square foot of soft mud

is marked with the impress of their feet—all the impres-

sions made of course since the last tide. The rails’ attitudes

are not easily learned ; when seen, the birds are generally in

too much of a hurry for this, but some of their poses are

extremely graceful. Audubon has caught them best of any

one who has attempted their @alincation. As any one will

notice, who has an opportunity of seeing a rail leisurely

stepping about, in fancied security, there is a connection

between the muscles of the tail and legs. With every step

there is a corresponding jerk of the tail, apparently invol-

untary, and regular as clock-work. The same movements

are repeated by the head and neck, as in most birds ; they all

tend to secure in equilibrio the forces acting upon the centre

of gravity, as this is thrown now over one, now over the

other leg. The remarkable compression of the body, that

enables. the birds to pass between close-set reeds, need not

ee upon. The expression "thin as a rail,” refers, I

i to these birds, and not to what fences are made of ;

| it

cien € iL.

5 ER

THE CLAPPER RAIL. 605

In the matter of food the Clappers are not over particular.

They feed indiscriminately on all the small animals they find

in the marsh, as well as on seeds. The little crabs known

as "mud-fiddlers," however, are, in this locality, the chief

article in their billof fare. These have squarish bodies, gen-

erally less than an inch long; the smaller ones are swallowed

whole; the larger ones get their legs, and particularly their

one great claw, beaten off, before they find rest at last in a

rail’s gizzard. If one has the patience and good luck to be

able to watch rails when the birds are securing and disposing

of their prey, he will see that they do it much after the

fashion of the smaller herons, as the Green, for instance.

But the rails race after their meals more than herons do;

there is less patient lying in wait, and altogether less

“action” in the final blow.

Rails are among the most harmless and inoffensive of

birds. All that they seem to want is to be let alone. But

when wounded and caught, they make the best fight they can,

and show good spirit. The bill is too slender and weak to

be much of a weapon, and they scarcely attempt to use it;

relying rather upon their sharp claws, which they employ to

considerable effect. Í

A colony of rails, goes far towards relieving a marsh of

part of its monotony. Retiring and unfamiliar as they are,

and seldom seen, considering their immense numbers, yet

they have at times a highly effective way of asserting them-

selves. -Silent during a great part of the year, or at most

only indulging in a spasmodic croak now and then, during

the breeding season they are about the noisiest birds to be

' found anywhere. Let a gun be fired in the marsh, and like

the reverberating echoes of the report, a hundred cries come

instantly from as many startled throats. The noise spreads

on all sides, like ripples on the water at the plash of a stone,

- till it dies away in the distance, only however to be repeated

again upon the slightest provocation—or none. In the

morning and evening, particularly, the rails seem perfectly

606 THE CLAPPER RAIL.

reckless, and their jovial, if unmusical, notes resound till the

very reeds seem to quake. It is as if some irresistible joke

was going the rounds, making every bird laugh outright as

soon as it was told. With scarcely a change of name, in

fact, the Clapper Rail’s nature, and function in bird-society,

is perfectly expressed. It should be spelled in French style

—claqueur. Unobtrusive, unrecognized except by a few,

almost unknown to the uninitiated, the birds steadily and

faithfully fulfil their allotted parts; like claqueurs they fill

the pit, ready at a sign, to applaud anything—or nothing—

that may be going on in the drama of life before them.

I do not wish to be tedious; but I have a story that I can

vouch for as being something new. It is "another rail-road

accident;" when will publie opinion force the companies to

be more careful? Suppressing an obtrusive pun upon iron

and other rails, for it is unbecoming to joke over a melan-

choly case of suicide, I will merely say that a rail was found

lying dead upon the track that divides two pieces of marsh

at Fort Macon. Now we have all read certain singular sto-

ries, perhaps in *Ord's Wilson," to the effect that rails are

subject to remarkable spells of fear or anger, or something

of that sort, that throw them into epileptic fits. I thought

at first, here was a real case in point; for the bird was dead,

yet without a sign of external violence, even so much as the

ruffling of the plumage. Stooping to pick him up, however,

I found that he had got both legs wedged fast in the crack

between the ends of two contiguous rails; he was in fact so

firmly caught that I had some little trouble in liberating his

dead body. He had evidently tried to walk between the

rails instead of stepping over them; but how he ever man-

.. aged to "put his foot in it” so effectively I cannot imagine,

for there was not a fourth of an inch of space. Still the

= fact remains. In the inquest held upon this unlucky rail—

Victim of the “blind decrees of fate," as the novelists say —

y discovered abundant cause of death, without falling back

LAETUS

pon any hypothesis of mental emotion. He had beat him-

REVIEWS. 607

self to death against the iron. Both shoulder blades and

one coracoid were broken; the other coracoid was dislocated ;

there was a double fracture of the merry-thought, and a

crack in the keel of the breastbone; while all the muscles

of the breast were terribly bruised, and full of blood-clots.

REVIEWS.

HUXLEY’s CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS. Continued from Page 546.—

Professor Huxley very clearly sets forth the characteristics of the group,

Subkingdom, of VERTEBRATA, and as plainly indicates the three Prov-

inces into which it is divisible, viz: I. The ICHTHYOPSIDA, comprising the

Fishes and Amphibians; "a Te "— comprising we Reptiles and

Birds; III. The Mamma y well marked,

and the affinities of dus: tiec have for a long time been noticed and

agreed to. No one can doubt the close relationship existing between the

Fishes and Amphibians (Salamanders, Frogs, etc.,); and since the dis-

covery of the remarkable fossil form of Archaeopteryx, which has been

oroughly

close affinity; neither can the distinctive characters of the class of Mam-

malia be questioned, though as has often been pointed out, and as Prof.

Huxley also insists upon, the Mammals, Birds and Reptiles, or the Abran-

chiate Vertebrata, have certain characteristics in common, distinguishing

them from the equally well defined group of Amphibians and Fishes, or

the Branchiate Vertebrata.

In adopting M. de Blainville’s three primary divisions of the Mammalia,

as characterized by the reproductive organs, especially those of the fe-

male, Prof. Huxley states that he does **not mean to assert that M. de

Blainville defined these different groups in a manner altogether satis-

actory, or strictly in accordance with all the subsequently discovered

facts of science, but his great knowledge and acute intuition led him t

reside that the groups thus named were truly natural divisions of lis

mmalia. And the enlargement of our knowledge by aa inves-

Mitos seems to me, in the main, only to have confirme lainville's

S." These primary divisions, or subclasses, are the saderah

hich, f

.in five groups. Without either endorsing or attemptin to disprove

Prof. Huxley's views in relation to the special classification kar the Mam-

608 REVIEWS.

malia, we will simply compare the results of his system with those of

the brain; Huxley the generative organs, or more especially the uterus

and the placenta in connection with the development of the embryo.

Owen divides the Mammalia into four subclasses; Huxley into three.

Owen's first three venandi (the Archencepha iid; vn Jan; the Gyren-

cephala, — Ape, Lemur, Dog, Bear; Seal, Hog, Sheep, Horse, Tapir,

ephant, Manatee, Whale, etc.; and the Lissencephala, — Sloth, Arma-

dillo, Anteater, Bat, Mole, Hedgehog, Shew, Hare, Rat, etc.) are con-

taine = uxley’s subclass Monodelphia

wen’s fourth subclass (Lyencephala, iia Marsupials, e Echidna and

Dralha a is divided into two subclasses by Huxley, correspond-

ing to the two orders of Owen, viz: subclass Didelphia js d ey-—order

Marsupialia of ard and subclass Ornithodelphia of Huxley=order

Monotremata of Ow

The result of this comparison of two anatomical systems is favorable

to the generally received orders of the class being established on firm

grounds, for, with the exceptions following in parenthesis, both Huxley

and Owen, though investigating from different stand points, have kept the

orders intact, and have only changed the order of their relation, or suc-

cession, in aecordance with the views each has taken regarding the value

of groups more comprehensive than orders. (Man is considered by Owen

considered as a subclass; while Huxley, from the identity of the placenta

i of the

Perissodactyla and Artiodactyla — containing together the Tapir, Horse,

Sheep, Hog, etc. —as two suborders under his order of UNGULATA, W which,

acenta. Huxley considers the genus Zyrax as the sole representative

of a distinct order, removed to the next group, with the Proboscidia and

Carnivora, having a zonary deciduate plac

vocal gm in such a ur as to leave no dont of their. correctness) ud

be as good a guide as the anatomical structure of the uterus

| placenta? It has been stated that in some respects the Cerebral sys-

"m is liable to lead to errors. On the other hand, we read in Huxley's

‘ork tha

; is of his Bs eheuifcatipn. not being known in some, and in om

in his system, on account of the very character he has taken —

REVIEWS. 609

liable to be differently understood, and he admits (p. 72) that the pla-

a the peculiar character of which he takes for his guide in defining

the five groups of the MD is **a structure not universally char-

ah of the class." these exceptions and gaps taken into ac-

count, in addition to the Bots of the placental characters to one

Sex, is not the Cerebral system as likely to lead to a natural grouping of

the orders of Mammalia as one based on the reproductive organs?

From what we have stated it must not be supposed, by those who have .

ing from the study of the reproductive organs, for, on the contrary, while

their peculiar structure, and the development of the embryo an and i

tion to the parent, forms the basis of his division of the class into three

subclasses, and the structure of the placenta that of the five secondary

groups of Ea principal subclass; he also gives other characters common

to each , and in his summary of the orders he brings together their

principal pieno elements, and discusses their relations from other

stand points, for an understanding of which we must refer the reader to

Without farther comments — other than to state that it is our belief that

the orders of the birds ‘lik: require farther confirmation before they are

generally adopted = ornithologists, and (—— that the orders of the is

Reptilia and Amphibia are mainly those now com — received — we |

give the poti £s of his second Province, pan SAUROPS

lass I. Brrps (Aves), he divides into three pice ce SAURURJE,

containing only the extinct form, Archeopteryx; (2) RATITÆ, containing

the Ostriches, Emeus, Apteryx, etc.; (8) CaRINAT.E, containing all the

ordinary birds.

Class II. RrPTILES (Reptilia), he divides into four orders of living and

five of fossil forms:— (1) CRocopirLrA (Crocodiles, Alligators, and their

n amel

allies); (2) LACERTILIA (Lizards, Blindworms a eleons); (3)

HIDIA (the Sn 4) CHELONIA (the Turtles and Tortoises). Th

five orders represented only by fossils are the ICHTHYOSAURIA, the I-

OSAURIA, ~ DICYNODONTIA, the PTEROSAURIA and the DINOSAURIA.

rd Province, m stein Mn iud the classes of Am-

phibians ie Fishes, is arranged as follows:

Class I. AMPHIBIANS paese scm orders:— (1) Umoprra (the

Newts, Salamanders, Sirens, ete.); (2) Barracnta (the Frogs and

Toads); (3) Gym Mete (the Czecilians, etc.) ; (4) LABYRINTHODONTA

(fossil forms’

Class II. Yum (Pisces). Six orders :—(1) Drexor (containing only the

singular ** Mud fishes," Lepidosiren and Rhinoeryptis) ; (2) ELASMOBRANCHIT

(Sharks, Skates, and Chimeras); (3) GaNormrr (Sturgeons, —

Dogfish (Amia), ete.); (4) TErLEosrEI (the ordinary ** Bony” fishes) ; (5)

ARSIPOBRANCHII (Lampreys, etc.) ; (6) PHARYNGOBRANCHIL ae Aa

by the single genus Amphiozus).

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 77

610 REVIEWS.

In this classification of fishes Prof. Huxley has simply followed the

groups of Müller, given twenty-three years ago, but has lowered the rank

of the groups from subclasses, as they were considered by Müller, to

rde

of tank mar be ie The — are clad cee in many

type that it must be considered as representing a distinct subclass, rers

the embryology of the lower Marsipobranchiates shall prove it to be

lowest order of that subclass. The Téleostei are the most fish-like em

fishes, agreeing more nearly with the Ganoidei than with the other

roups. Are these six groups of equal value? and if so do they rank as

If the same considerations used to pina the orders among Mam-

mals, Reptiles, or Amphibians be applied to the fishes, will not the sec-

ondary divisions of the groups Teleostei, Fiasmovranchit "a and

we keep as a distinct subclass, subject to ege on farther knowledge

of the embryology of the Marsipobranchiate

Our views of the higher groups might be secans thus:—

berrant. Aberrant.

(Mammalian and Avian.) (Reptilian and Amphibian.)

ELASMOBRANCHIL . Subclass GANOIDEI.

Degradational.

Subclass MARSIPOBRANCHII.

Embryonic.

Subclass PHARYNGOBRANCHII.

We confess l h disappointed in that part of the work which

relates to the Mollusca. Though the general facts and special details of

aee Hey stated, no notice is taken of the plan or arche-

REVIEWS. 611

typal characteristics of the branch, which were admirably defined by Car-

penter in 1854, and by Dana in 1863, and Mr. Morse in 1865,* and nothing

is said of the embryology of either the animals or the shells, omissions

which are unpardonable in an essay on classification.

The subdivision of the branch into Mollusca and Molluscoida also ap-

pears to us objectionable. If Prof. Huxley had drawn his dividing line

between the Lamellibranchs and Pteropods we should have had an emi-

nently natural division of the Mollusca, but in placing the line between

the Lamellibranchs and the Ascidians he repeats a common error.

The Polyzoa, Brachiopoda, Ascidia and Lamellibranchiata € to the

Pteropoda, Gasteropoda and Cephalopoda, within their own type, a nega-

tive relation comparable to that which the invertebrata sid to the

vertebrata; they are, when contrasted with the last three classes, as

hole, without a special cephalized extremity. ll the three higher

classes have the cephalic region distinctly differentiated from the mantle,

or cenccial region, whereas in all the lower classes the organs of this

region are buried in the d or ceeneecial region, except among the

Polyzoa, where they are distinct from the cceneecial region, and may be

extended in the higher genera, but this differentiation is gained only by

elevating the cephalic organs to the posterior pole of t dy.

: he close structural affinities of the Polyzoa and Brachiopoda are no-

the structure of the Polyzoa and the Brachiopoda, whilst the homologies

existing between the Ascidia and the Polyzoa are of a much more gene:

character than those existing between the Ascidians and the Lamelli-

branchs.

The Polyzoa and Brachiopoda together may be considered as on

"ed type, and deflned as a sac closed at one end by a disc, sur-

unded by free tentacles, and bez by an edentulous mouth from

which hangs the alimentary ca

Among the Ascidia and Earaettieosaotiate on the other hand the tenta-

cles, or gills, are always joined by an intermediate membrane, and they

together with this membrane form either an open or closed pouch per-

cte at its lower end by the mouth, from which hangs the alimentary

anal.

The atrial chamber has but one aperture in an invaginated Polyzoón or

a Brachiopod, whereas with the Ascidia and Lamellibranchiata there

are two. The muscular systems of the Brachiopoda and Polyzoa are

complicated and homologically similar, as shown by several writers,

Penter . eJ

iil wl ios Dana’s Manual of Geology, and Mr. Morse’s

a: £4

E Claseidcation Mollusca in the P. g

612 REVIEWS.

whereas the Ascidia have no distinct muscles which can be compared to

Mr E. S. ha (Sept

RALIST) that the closest resemblance exists between the young of Tere-

bratula and the adult Polyzoón, so close that there would be no hesitation

in placing them in the same class, if the characteristies of the former

were permanent

In fact we cannot coincide with those who consider ax ines principles

of the Cuvierian classification are endangered by Mr. Huxley's book.

While no champion of all of Cuviers principles, we en but regard

any work which wholly sets them aside as very deficient in comprehen-

Siveness; it must acm substitute a multitude of details for the

very general anatomical statements by which four out of the five great

branches of the animal wae are usually defined

THE SHEFFIELD SCIENTIFIC Scuoor.*— Prof. Verrill reports that the

want of funds in the Zodlogical department has prevented the usual in-

crease of specimens, but that the time has been turned to good account in

cataloguing and classifying the general collection, and writing mono-

graphs of separate groups. Mr. S. I. Smith has monographed a part of

the Decapods, and Prof. Verrill the tete and Corals of the west coast

of America, and described numerous new forms.

The Geological department, under ie direction of Prof. O. C. Marsh, has

received several very valuable additions. Among these the most UM

able is a slab with twenty-one footprints of the Otozoum upon it, each of

which is about fifteen inches in length. blue slab i$ of a SE pina

gigantic size, measuring twenty by ‘thirty fe fee

We have not space to review other ose but regret to notice

that all of them seem to be laboring under asina difficulti

At Yale we really have a Scientific School, one which pee young

men a general knowledge of science and the arts as wei as a more inti-

mate acquaintance with some special branch.

"The advantages presented by the keiner in its’ mode of organization,

its corps of instructors and the objects which it seeks to attain for all

its students, are of the highest order. We. hope, therefore, that the

pecuniary hindrances to the future progress of an institution, so impor-

tant to the general interests of education in this country, may be speedily

removed.

New Eom N n this paper Prof. Verrill describes

seven new species of Echinoids, rk of Asterioids, six of Ophiuroids,

and six new species of coral, with one new genus among the Eupsam-

xac es

: hag emet oe of the Sheffield Selentifte School of Yale College, pamph., 8vo, 76

Iaith Melis ines tin Cat By A. E. Verrill. Ext. Proce

‘ Satie at xi, pp aae

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 613

THE RULES OF ZOOLOGICAL NoMENCLATURE. *—JIn republishing these

rules accompanied by many valuable notes and comments, Prof. Verrill

has done good service to zoólogy in this country. A copy of these rules

and those of the British Association, reviewed by Prof. Gray in a previous

number of Silliman's Journal, should be in the hands of every zodlogist.

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

BOTANY.

ARTIFICIAL PREPARATION OF SUBSTANCES FOUND IN PLANTS AND ANI-

MALS. — Dr. Debus, the President of the Chemical Section of the British

Association, di “It has already become possible sie prepare in the

tor odi

ago were only found in the bodies of animals or plants. Alizarine, the

beautiful compound o e madder-root, has been obtained by artificial

means in the course of e year by Messrs. Liebermann and Grebe. Re-

sults of such a nature render it highly probable that, at no distant period,

it will be in our power to prepare, bapa nearly all, if not all, the sub-

stances found in plants and animals. ere I must not be misunderstood.

Organic structures, such as muscular cii or the leaves of a tree, the

Science of chemistry is incapable of ditm e sm molecules, like those

found in a leaf, or irf the stem of a tree, will no doubt one day be manu-

factured from their elements. —Scientific Pei

MaPLE-sEED, THREE WINGED. — I know not if it be common, and, there-

fore, ask for information, but on a tree of the Acer saccharinum, or sugar

maple, in the Central Park in this city (New York) I found, a few days

since, a three-winged seed. The description of the genus says, ‘‘ovary

2-celled. From the back of each ovary grows a wing, converting the

fruit into two 1-seeded, at length separable, closed samaras or keys."

(Gray.) I only found this one, though the trees were covered with seed,

and I searched pretty carefully for more. — A. M.

ZOÓLOGY.

Kins: SCIDIAN VERTEBRATES.— The number of Max

COCHE as (v. 5. just i pobitehed, contains a letter to = editor

from Prof. Kupffer of Kiel, in which that distinguished embryologist

asserts that he has been myl PYAR the early history of a species of Phal-

lusia, and that his results in large measure agree with those of Kowal-

i d il: e RI quM P abaratir Abona

and 2 2 J

* From the American Jou i

27 cents,

614 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

ersky touching the startling vertebrate features of the early condition of

ils h

tube on one side of the axis and a visceral tube on the other.” He, more-

over, describes in his species of Phallusia the neural tube as not merely

an almost spherical vesicle, but as prolonged in the form of a fine hoilow

thread into the tail above the notochord or axis. He promises full de-

ze shortly, and we hope to be able to return to this most important

er. — Nature, London.

E Wrens.—I have had the pleasure of being acquainted with

Perm cedit birds ( Zroglodytes edon) for several years. They have bred

in and around my house, until they have become so tame as sometimes to

allow the children to handle them. They have become so numerous that

I do not furnish boxes for all, and s ey make nests in many singular

sack in an outbuilding. In both of these places the birds succeeded in

rearing a brood. But the most singular place selected for a nest was the

wooden stirrup of a saddle hanging in a shed, in which, however, the

birds did not prosper, as the saddle was often used. They carried smal

dry twigs and other rubbish, consisting of pieces of steel wire, dried

snakes’ skin, ete., into the knapsack, enough to have filled a half bushel

measure, filling the entire cavity, except a little corner which they lined

with feathers, where they laid seven or eight egg&. I also noticed their

superior instinct, if not reason, whilst building in a box near my kitchen

door. The hole in the box would not admit the long twigs the birds

tried to get in, and they fell to the ground. After many efforts and fail-

ures the wrens concluded by making a scaffolding, which they succeeded

in doing by taking in several shorter sticks endwise, letting the ends pro-

ject out of the hole; then they proceeded bylaying the long twigs on

these projecting ends, then getting into the box, and by sliding the long

twig endwise until the end came opposite the hole, they pulled it in. I

mused to see one trying to carry a large nail heavier than itself.

They are amusing little fellows in many ways. Their song is melodious,

loud and clear, and I have often wondered that such loud music could b

produced by initi so small. — Wm. J. MCLAUGHLIN, Centralia, Kan.

DREDGING OFF THE BnrirIsH Istes.— Our Admiralty, at the '

DEEP SEA

instance of the Royal EPEN placed a war steamer at its disposal

for sounding, dredging, taking deep sea temperatures, and making other

physical Mrsitgations. “The > Steamer left about ien panes of May; and I

onths. Prof. Wy-

5 Thomson succeeded me; and Dr. Carpenter Movil. We dredged

à at p between ten and two thousand four hundred and thirty-

everywhere getting mollusca, crustacea, and other inverte-

PINTURAS a EM VH SPP REESE:

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 615

brate animals, in a living state. This expedition embraced the Atlantic

Coasts of Ireland, the Hebrides, and Shetland. There was not any trace

-or indication of the Gulf Stream, but on the contrary, a northern fauna

even as far south as Ushant. d. novelties occurred. — J. Gwyn JEF-

FREYS diss a letter to one of the edito

E KINGFISHER’S Nest. — I have watched with some interest all that

to see if my experience would be justified by that of any other observer.

This has been nearly accomplished by Mr. Jones in the March number.

On the 18th of March, 1868, I collected eggs 1 two nests built near

a mill-pond, in the excavation for the dam ach hole was three feet

deep; one elbowed to the as the Other pa pe left. In one was six

eggs, in the other seven; all fresh. Each nest was composed of dry fish

scales and small dry fish bones mixed with small pebbles of the size of a

small pea. The scales and bones were free from smell, and were white

and pure, and in each nest amounted to a fair handful.

About the first of June, 1869, on landing from a fishing excursion on one

of our small lakes, I observed what I took to be a kingfisher’s hole in a

sandbank on the shore. While my bait and tackle were being loaded, I

took a paddle and began to dig it out. The sand was soft and I proceeded

five feet very rapidly, when the bird came rushing out. I went on dig-

ging with renewed hopes and made seven feet, when the paddle was no

longer available for insufficient length, and I abandoned the job. —

Darwin Hvanzgs, Marshall, Mich.

SPECTRUM OF THE FinE-rLy.— The spectrum given by the light of the

without trace of lines either bright or dark. It extends from a little

above Fraunhofer's line C, in the scarlet, to about F it the blue, gradually

or actinic effect. In other words, very little of the energy expended in

the flash of the Fire-fly is wasted. Itis quite different with our artificial

methods of illumination. In the case of an ordinary gas light the bes

experiments show that not more than one or two per cent. of the radiant

energy consists of visible rays; the rest is either invisible heat or actin-

ism; that is to say over ninety-eight per cent. of the gas is wasted in

= producing rays that do not help in making objects visible. — C. A. YOUNG.

Dr« B. .— We regret to record the death of Mr. B. D.

Walsh, the State Entomologist ef Illinois, and the Senior Editor of the

* American Entomologist,” and former Editor of the ‘‘ Practical Ento-

mologist." For these duties i. was admirably fitted. As an enthusiastic

and thorough naturalist the s all band of entomologists in this country

will mourn his loss.

616. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS, ETC.

GEOLOGY.

FossıL TuBULARIAN. — Dr. P. Martin Duncan has discovered, con-

jointly with H. M. Jenkins, a new genus of tubularian Hydrozoa from the

Carboniferous formation. It is called Paleocoryne, and was described in

a paper read at one of the late meetings of the Royal Society. Palæo-

coryne is a new genus containing two species, and belongs to a new fam-

rian formation, and with the rarè Medusoids of the Solenhofen stones.

— Popular Science Review.

——9Ó— ——

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

A. E. T., Springfield, Ohio. — Your aquatic plant is a Bladderwort ( Utricularia inter-

media), one of m many species found in - United States in ponds, either floating free or

margin of the water. The name is ive

rooting in the mud' on ) the m derived from the little

Madders 4 Mri sup tinafloating pio sedi The flowers are very pretty, usually

yellow, Api some e'spocies eges seen Sy D. R

S. est work on American Neuroptera is Hagen's Synopsis

of the poe blithe Dy the Fa iar TAO It may be ba - the

Naturalist’s Book D est acc Seed iE our Orthoptera is

Harris's Treatise on Inse pant Tun ious «4 Veget ; he pure venae Testitution eae

also recently. published Mr. Scudder s List of ‘Ort very necessary for

which is

the student. We have observed cater lar parent y fanda! in winter r. Please send

us à specimen of the M m like lar æ found peg ae — side of the wo

so that we c. ve ap dria ot kno t Vanessa Antiopa fed on

Indian corn, or tha t (EL dema e concinna "t ok the Te on exvorplilars will some-

times change their foo

- _ R. B., Newbern rige ua e spiders are Epeira riparia Hentz, and E. cancer Hentz. |

The eggs of the M atter, enclo. The spi a rection vel yellow cocoon, pet out bh M (ie

The 39 0E were of the rounded form of Æ. quigaris, differing greatly from the angular,

spiny, transversely oblong form of the adul

PEE O

BOOKS RECEIVED.

is. By J. A. Allen. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zool-

Mammalia Dow wi rera Arme a 3

ogy. VE. bridge. 1869. 8v. 43-25:

Address delivered on dm Cent. vidoe Hi ennial Anniversary of the birth of Alexander von Frum iS 8O,

E m a mnes of the Boston Soeiety of Natural History,by Louis Agassiz. Boston

oy ihe Echimi nd di ater between Cuba and the

de ju pus dene Prey A pestes Agassiz, Bu ‘Bulletin of of the Museum

ambridge. a 253-361

vla PS dS Imp. “Zoot, d Arcis ation. Sept., Oct., pe Nov, 1869. Svo,

n & Neu Noe Carnis Terrestrial Mottusc, By J ,M.D. 8vo, pp. 2. 3

D man E from the Ane st Coast PG da ete. By J. G. Coopers —

i Te ak, of Übsere ations on the Genus Unio,

By 4to, i a gi

wits es M.D. With illustrations, New York, ——

m e Gubet.

o EL Jii

AMERICAN NATURALIST.

Vol. III. — FEBRUARY, 1870. — No. 12.

coc GG (949 «03-5

SKATES' EGGS AND YOUNG.

BY F. W. PUTNAM.

Ir is an interesting fact that while the class of bony, or

true Fishes, both fresh water and marine, are, with very few

exceptions, oviparous, and lay immense numbers of eggs,

the Selachians; or sharks and skates and their allies, are,

with equally few exceptions, viviparous, and bring forth but

few young at a time. One of the exceptions to the rule of

viviparity among the Selachians is the genus Faja, to which

our common species of skates and rays belong. Though

the fact that skates lay eggs has been known for centuries,

still to this day there is probably no class of objects picked

up by the wanderer on the sea beach that excites curiosity

so much as the egg cases of the several species of skates,

after he has found out what they are. On being seen for the

first time, and before close examination, I venture to state

that the majority of persons regard them as some vegetable

production, and pass them by as the supposed "bladder" of

seaweed with which they are often so closely connected

by their tendrils as to have the appearance of being part of

the plant, which they also greatly resemble in color and

general appearance.

Some sharp eyed fisherman long ago, ascertaining that the

Sommen, in the Clerks Omios of ths Dintelot Court of the Diet ot aaas eee OF

AMER, NATURALIST, VOL. III. 78 (617)

618 SKATES' EGGS AND YOUNG.

queer shaped things which he found on the beach were in

fact little pockets, or sacks opened at one end, not knowing

what else they could be, concluded that in some way they

must be connected with the “maids of the ocean ;" and what

more natural than to suppose them to. be the purses to. hold

the pearls and other valuables of the Nouerion maids? and

what better name than " Mermaid purses" could be desired?

From this first christening, and following the common rule

adopted for such cases — that. of keeping as far away as pos-

sible from the real nature of the object—they have been

called, and are generally known as “sea purses” and “sailor’s

purses." The only popular name bearing on their real origin

is that given to them on some portions of the English coast,

where they are called “skate barrows,” from their resem-

blance in form to a hand-barrow, and the knowledge of the

christener that they were produced by the skates.

As common as these egg cases are on our beaches, it is

very seldom, and only at certain seasons, that they are found

containing the egg or embryo. When fresh and filled by the

embryo they are plump and swollen and of a much lighter

olive color than when empty, dry and shrivelled. As long

as the embryo is in the case no opening to the pouch can be

detected, until just at the time when the young skate is to

make his way into the world and commence his struggle for

existene^, consisting principally in keeping himself from

going into the ever ready mouths of his own kin of fin, to

whom he forms a tempting morsel. Just as incubation

comes to a close, then, the substance at one end of the case

softens and the upper and under layers are pushed apart by

the young skate who "noses" his way out; the two layers

then spring back into place and the case on drying shows no

sign of an opening, unless it is again softened and the inpet

carefully separated.

e. do not yet know the breeding season v our species,

i EOS Pennant in his " British Zoslogy," states that the "skates.

| d in March and April, at which time they swim near

SKATES' EGGS AND YOUNG. 619

the surface of the water, several of the males pursuing one

female; and adhere so fast during coition, that the fishermen

frequently draw up both together, though only one has taken

the bait. The females begin to cast their purses in May, and

continue doing so till September. In October they are ex-

ceedingly poor and thin, but in November they begin to

improve, and grow gradually better till May, when they are

in the highest perfection. The males go sooner out of season

than the females."

We extend this quotation from Pennant to take in that

part of the paragraph relating to the condition of the fish

‘purposely, in order to call attention to the great waste of

food on our New England coast. Here, to tell a person that

a skate is good eating is about the same as to tell him that

the horse is good eating. His reply will be, "you may eat

it if you wish but I would rather have something else,"

and yet the skate and the horse are good wholesome food,

which we should probably enjoy after we got used to it. In

many parts of Great Britain and France, to say nothing of

China, skates of a tender age, i.e., about half grown, hen

they are called “mzids,” and also many sharks are consid-

ered good and wholesome food, and are regularly sold in

the markets. Our Celestial friends on the Pacific coast have

brought skates and sharks into demand in that region, and in

time we shall have the benefit of their custom here, when

skates and sharks will be caught for other purposes than the

making of "pure Cod liver oil;" but until the Celestial ele-

ment predominates over the Celtic, salt-cod and herrings .

will hold sway over the poor ee now condemned to

die for their livers sake alone.

Another clause in the quotation from Pennant leads us to

‘say a word or two, before turning again to our skates’ eggs.

` The male skates and sharks: fi appendages to the ven-

‘tral fins which have been called claspers, from their supposed

‘use in the act of d inne ‘appendages ‘are in reality

‘the intromittent organs of: thé: male; and what were called

620 SKATES' EGGS AND YOUNG.

the legs of the monster shark exhibited about the country

during the last two seasons, and familiar to every one from

the newspaper descriptions and figures as "the great un-

known animal; half fish, half quadruped," captured off East-

port, were simply these organs.

The skates and rays and the genus Scylliwm, or spotted

sharks, and their near allies, all lay eggs, contained in and

protected by the singular horny cases, or shells. These

cases are of various sizes and shapes according to the species

of skate or shark by which they are laid. Their general

form is that of the skates’ figured in this article, but others

are much larger, and those of the sharks are longer and nar-

rower than the skates. On the coast of California a very

large case is often found which always contains more than

one egg, generally three. I remember one, received at the

Museum of Comparative Zoélogy about twelve years since,

that was several inches in length and contained three nearly

developed embryos.

All these egg cases are provided with a more or less de-

veloped horn at each of the four corners. These horns are

hollow, and are in fact tubes for the passage of water to the

inside of the case and its exit at the other extremity of the

sack. By this means the egg and tender embryo while pro-

tected by the horny covering or case, is furnished with a con-

stant supply of water during its development. On the side

of the case are numerous tendrils or filaments, by which the

case is firmly fastened to seaweed, and hence it is that it is

only after a violent storm that fresh cases are to be found on

our beaches. ;

À few interesting questions which have not yet been fully

Solved, are: How do the cases become attached to the on

weed? Are the tendrils fastened by the mother skate in

any way, or are they, when soft and fresh, so arranged that

they naturally twine around the seaweed as soon as they

. ome: in contact with it? Does the skate when about to

: deposit her eggs go to a spot where seaweed is abundant, of

E tatu adh CL tage A) i (ae Pe as ya ee OIN

SKATES' EGGS AND YOUNG. 621

does she cast them at random and trust to the cases drifting

to some suitable place for attachment?

That the mother when about to deposit her eggs selects a

proper place for their attachment, just as other species go to

regular spawning grounds, is, I think, proved by Mr.

Thompson in his "Natural History of Ireland," who even

asks the question if it is not probable that, like certain

species of birds, the same fish (in this instance one of the

spotted sharks) may return time after time to the same spot

to deposit her eggs. This query arose from the fact that

there were sent to him in December, 1843, two plants of the

tangle (Laminaria digitata) dredged together from a depth

of between two and three fathoms, to one of which was at- -

tached fourteen of the large ova and to the other twelve.

“Of the fourteen six were very old [and empty], six of mid-

dle age [and empty], and two quite fresh [7.e., with unde-

veloped eggs]. Of the twelve on the other plant, four were

very old, four of middle age, and four were fresh." Now»

if this does not prove that all these eggs were deposited

at three different seasons by the same fish— which, with

Mr. Thompson, I believe is probable—it certainly proves

that the fishes seek a proper place for the attachment of

their eggs and do not leave them to the mercy of tide and

wave.

In January, 1864, Professor Jeffries Wyman communi-

cated the results of his “Observations on the Development

of Raia batis” to the American Academy of Science and

Arts, and the article is printed in the Memoirs of the

Academy for that year. These “Observations” contain all

that is known relating to the development of the common

skate of our coast, and should be read by every one inter-

ested in the subject.

Professor Wyman has granted me the use of the woodcuts

illustrating his article, and rather than rewrite, abstract, and

otherwise pilfer from his paper, I shall, with this acknowl- -

edgment, make extended quotations from his Memoir, and

622 SKATES’ EGGS AND YOUNG.

add the explanations to the figures which he has so kindly

placed at my disposal for this article.

:# Egg case. — This singular structure has the general form of such parts

in egg-laying Selachians. The whole case, in the species here described

is between six and seven inches in length, of a deep greenish-brown

color, and composed of minute parallel dikileni, which give it a striated

appearance and a silky lustre. The central pouch (fig. 85, «), for the pro-

tection of the yelk and the embryo, is about two inches long, an inch and

a half wide, bulges in the middle, and has a hollow, slender, curved horn

ee PORE each tor-

e fore end of the

eria is deeply concave,

and thickest, while. the

hinder is thin, nearly

square, and ragged; it is

from this part that the

embryo escapes, after the

each other. The hinder

horns project backwards

@ as they lie in the oviduct,

es throngh the egg dur-

ing incubation.

At the base of each

fore horn is a slender

Egg case of Skate, one-half natural size; a ach fi 5 A : ee

the yelk; bb’, openings for the inward and outward fto fow . Projection or spur (6

we weaving ba ine lateral PL ro formed by the inter- about half an inch in

length, the whole outer

border of which breaks up into a series of silky filaments, and these are

especially abundant near the free end. Similar filaments are given

from the whole border of the capsule, and all become tangled and woven

together in such a manner as to form a broad and somewhat thick mem-

brane on each side (d). This membrane was found entire only on cases

taken from the oviduct, and on those newly laid. In all such, however,

as: have embryos somewhat at it is more or less destroyed, an

for the most part only tufts of it remain at the base of each horn. The

SKATES' EGGS AND YOUNG. 623

object of it is not apparent, unless it be to assist in securing an anchor-

age, n the entanglement of its filaments with submarine plants or rough

surface

In à sas instance, in the dissection of skates, an imperfect egg-case

was found in each oviduct, the development of it having just begun,

The hinder horns and the hinder edge of the capsule were the only parts

ompl - They were contained in the glandular portion of the oviduct,

which is quite thick during the re-

productive season, and is mostly

made up of very minute and slender

follicles, of great length. From some

of them fibrils Hemde, identical

in structure with those out of which

the cases are made, and which, after

being liberated, are doubtless

moulded into the shape

cases, and cemented together by

some secretion from -the oviduct. d

The horns are formed in grooves on with de feli [quo eer ren d

either side of the duct, and the ^4 ECT MAE senteric artery; c, dorsal

pouch for the yelk in the intervening

Space. A careful examination of the üry and oviduct in the above in-

stance showed the singular fact, tk MER some of the yelks were

mature, none had as yet been detached from the ovisacs. This circum-

Stance renders it probable, that, after the horny pouch is partially formed,

the yelk descends and enters it, and that then the other portions are

completed. If this supposition, based upon a single observed instance,

were to be confirmed by further examinations, it would prove the exist-

f an interesting deviation from a rule

among animals aude: supposed to be

without exception, viz. : t the presence of

the yelk in the rl is necessary before

the formation of the egg-coverings can

Fig. 86. €

a Fig. 87.

gin.

f the cases which we have ex-

amined have we found the foetus surrounded

either by a membrane or by albuminous

i matter, but in every instance the yelk and

Under side of the yelk of fig.83, the embryo were fully exposed to contact

Rent cack tet ee ie the water, which entered by the open-

with’ the triangular terminal ings already described. An albuminous

overing may have existed at an earlier

— and have been Mesi

Yelk.—After the body of the embryo has become well defined. it is at-

tached to the yelk by a slender umbilical cord about half an inch in length

g. 86). The yelk has not the pyriform shape so common in other

624 SKATES' EGGS AND YOUNG.

Selachians, but is nearly spherical, though somewhat flattened above and

below. The cord has the length just mentioned only temporarily, and

soon begins to shorten, and contracts until the foetus rests once more upon

the surface of the yelk (figs. 91 and 93). The two omphalo-mesenteric

vessels, common to all vertebrates, carry the blood from the embryo to

the yelk and back. The artery, a branch of the mesenteric (figs 86 and 93,

a), passes out beneath the head, over the front of the yelk, and descends

to the under surface, giv ing off minute twigs to the right and left; but

the trunk itself does not branch. Dr. John Dav y, in his obsertáilólé on

the development of the tor pedo, although he figures a vein surrounding

the vascular area in the younger Specimens, yet makes no reference to it

in Vi text. Agassiz has observed a similar vessel in the yelk of a dog-

and has for the first time pointed out its resemblance to the sinus

Woo of birds. Dr. Davy's figures, taken in connection with those

here given, form a complete series. Inthe young-

est of the specimens described by him the sinus is

found on the upper surface of the yelk, and quite

near the embryo; in the second, it has receded

towards the sides, and the vascular area enlarged

to à corresponding degree. In our specimens it is

found on the under surface, is of a triangular form

(fig. 87), and encloses only a small area. Eventu-

ally it contracts still further, and at last wholly

disappears, and thus the entire surface of the yelk

becomes vascular (figs. 91 and 93).

As development advances the yelk is gradually

withdrawn into the cavity of the abdomen, as in

birds; but the retraction does not npe e

quite complete in the skates until a short time

after hatching. In one instance a fully done skate

taken from the egg-case had the yelk reduced to a

Iu E icm d pte small flattened mass about two lines in diameter.

Freies MU M owing Very nearly the same condition existed in another,

ventral fing, 5; ag m which was already hatched. In a third instance,

where the young had been hatched side a longer

time, the yelk had been wholly introduced into the cavity o abdo-

men; but a considerable mass of it, still within the Hedge cavity,

remained to be absorbed (fig. 96, a); where, as in A newly hatched chick,

it serves as a reservoir of nourishment. Dr. Davy states that, in the

torpedo, the young fish is nourished by the yelk for six weeks after birth.

In all cases we have found the vitelline duct entering the intestine just

above the spiral valve.”

orm of the Fetus.—The general form of the youngest specimen is

long. slender, "€ vimm d tapers to a point backward, as in fig. 86, and

may be de in one word as eel-shaped. The head presents two

rounded suine one of them forward (figs. 89 and 90, d), forming the

SKATES' EGGS AND YOUNG. 625

foremost part of the embryo; this is made by the protrusion of the optic

lobes, and closely resembles the same part in the embryos of birds; the

second (fig. 90, e) is directed downward, and contains the cerebral and

Fig. 89. olfactory lobes behind which are the eyes. These

d last, which in the earlier vue as in figs. 86, 88,

92, are on the same level with the surrounding

parts, soon become remarkably prominent, as in

fig. 94, where they rer mind us of the eyes of the

young of Malleus.* to the fully formed fish they

orm

prominent part of the head, in consequence of a

change of position of the cerebral hemispheres,

bili rise to the same level with the organs T

mentioned, as the facial disk (figs. 93, 95, 92, b)

advances beneath them. In fig. 91 the embryo has

S; d, proje many of the features of a shark; and in fig. 94,

e, pee ction of the with the expansion of the pectoral and voiktiat fins,t

ac nec it begins to take on the form of the skate."

** Fins. —In the youngest specimen examined (fig. 86), a vertical fold of

skin stretches along the middle line, from near the head almost to the end

of the tail above, and from near the umbilical cord to the same point

elow. "These folds do not pass beyond or become connected around the

end of the tail. The dorsals (figs. 86 and 93. c) a

formed by two vertical extensions of the

fold, and in this early stage of their existence are

Fig. 90.

sals. 'The first (fig. 91, d) grows very ra esi

lobes; e, cerebral lobes

part by the more rapid growth of that portion of the tail which is in front

of them, while that om is behind scarcely increases in size, and thus

* Hammer-headed shark,

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III.

626 SKATES’ EGGS AND YOUNG.

the fins are soon nearer the end than the middle: At the time of hatch-

ing, the terminal portion is still present (fig. 96, c) ; but subsequently it

is either absorbed, or, what is not improbable, is covered by the exten-

sion of the dorsals backward.

The anal fins, the first of which, as vietato stated, attains to a remark-

ably large size, are gradually abso ; and are wholly removed before

Fig. 91. iii e of gestation. From the fact of

these fins having a temporary existence

in the skate, and a permanent one in

many sharks, it is not improbable that

they may be ie in the embryos of

all Plagioston

This sel gaia! temporary exist-

ence, and early removal of the anal fins,

gives us another interesting example o

the formation of parts which have no

obvious use in the economy, and which

must be regarded as having merely a

morphological value. It falls into the

same category with the caudal fin of the

Embryo of Skate at the Shark- €mbryo of Pipa,* which is never used,

CUM rsa fusi d d, the teeth of certain Cetaceans, the in-

ferior incisors of the female Mastodon,

which are all removed without being used, and the milk incisors of tke

Guinea-pig, which are shed in utero.

There is still another point of interest in the morphology of the tail of

the species we are here considering; for although symmetrical, it does

not at any period assume the heterocereal

form, but retains permanently its primary

embryonic or protocereal condition.

this respect the skates hold a lower

position than the sharks, nearly all

whom pass through the protocereal into

the heterocereal stage

The pectoral and ventral fins begin as

slight ridges on either side, but each soon

takes on the form of a half" oval disk (fig. é

88, a, b). At first the two are nearly ‘Head of fig. 91, enlarged. a, nasal

continuous in the same plane (fig. 88), lobe; 6, facial disk; c, upper lip.

but the pectorals (figs. 94 and 95, a)

grow the most rapidly, gradually assume a somewhat oblique position,

and in a short time partially cover the ventrals. tine of the specimens

were of a proper age to show whether or not the pectorals were formed

first, as is the case with the fore limbs of. all the vertebrates whose de-

xu c o M d iu i M

*The singular Surinam To:

PAM rw ad whose eggs are developed in cells formed on the back of the

SKATES' EGGS AND YOUNG. è 621

velopment. has been thus far studied. As they grow, they advance on

either side of the head in the form of horns (figs. 94 and 95, a’), but by

degrees the space between these horns and the side of the head is filled

up, and thus the eyes and the persistent portion of the first branchial

fissure are pushed to the upper surface, and eventually the pectorals gain

the foremost part of the side of the head, at the same time becoming

united with the extended facial dis

The tail, as the whole animal increases in size, becomes relatively very

c Shorter. In the earlier stages the body is only three sixteenths of

si entire length of the embryo, but subsequently it is about one half

that length, as will be seen by a comparison of figs. 93, 94, 95, 96.”

`“ Branchial Fissures and Gills. —1n nearly all adult Selachians there are

five gill-openings in each side; Hexanchus and Heptanchus have respec

tively six and seven such openings. In addition to these, all of the skates

and some of the sharks have a peculiar opening just behind the eyes, or

Fig. 93.

More advanced embryo of Skate, having passed through the Eel and Shark-

shaped stages and commencing to assume ind characteristic form of the

ult. a, artery; 6, facial dis ski c, dorsal fins; anal fin.

at some point between these and the first branchial fissure, which makes

a direct communication, for the most part of a large-size, between the

top of the head and the pharynx, and to which the terms ‘spiracle,’

‘event,’ ‘ Spritz-locher,’ ‘foramina temporalia, etc., have been applied.

In the youngest embryos of skates here described, we have found the

humber of gill-openings or branchial fissures seven on each side, all well

defined except the last, which is the smallest of the series (figs. 88 and

me These are all in the same range from before backward, and at this

Stage the spiracle, as such, is not distinguished from the others. It is

ae of the. early embryos of all Selachians, to have developed,

in connection with branchial apparatus, temporary gills whieh are seen

in the form of long and slender filaments projeeting from the sides of the

neck. They are generally described as coming out through the gill-

openings, and as prolongations of the internal gills. Cornalia, who has

——

made a special study of these organs, so describes and figures them. We

believe that, in consequence of not having seen embryos sufficiently

young, he has been led into an error

628 . SKATES’ EGGS AND YCUNG.

pea have found them when first formed, growing from the outer edge

the branchial arch (figs. 89 and 90), and at that time in no way con-

ind with the branchial fissures. In the skate, the first and seventh

arch had no fringes at any period, and of the five which had them, the

fringes of the foremost ones were the longest, the hindmost being merely

short, conical projections. As development advances, the bases of the

fringes are gradually covered up, as it seems, by the growth of the por-

tion of each arch in front of them, which is itin projected outward as

the body becomes thicker from side to side; the line of attachment of the

fringe, which retains its origi-

nal position, being thus buricd

between two adjoining arches.

From the fact that the tem-

e porary gills are formed before

the permanent ones, and from

the outer surface of the arch, it

s obvious that they cannot be

—as commonly described—pro-

longations of these last-meu-

tioned breathing org

The fringes do ues cover the

whole border of the arch, but

are confined tu its central por-

tion, and consist of from six to

eight filaments each.

We have made no observa-

tions on the formation of the

internal gills, and cannot there-

fore explain the connection

which eventually exists be-

tween these and the fringes

sal and ventral views of fig. a, a’, pee and which at a later period

Dor

toral “fins; b, facial disk: c. ian Sy imd d, anal res ; cactly rj the

fin; d', dorsal fins; e, gill fringes. correspond exactly with

Fig. 94.

descriptions usually given

The existence of temporary branchial fringes, and their subsequent

absorption, is one of the most remarkable characteristics of Selachians,

and one in which they differ from all osseous fishes, unless it be the Lepi-

dosiren. All vertebrates, as embryos, agree in this, that they are in their

early stages provided with “branchial fissures” and “arches” or, as they

sometimes have been called ‘visceral’ arches. Gills or gill fringes, either

as temporary or permanent structures, are never formed in any scaly rep-

tile, bird, or mammal. Much confusion and misapprehension have arisen

from the constant reiteration of the opinion put forth in the early days of

embryology, that all vertebrates at one time have a branchial cer

an error which is repeated by naturalists even at the present day. Among

Batrachians some genera, as Menobranchus, Siren, etc., have external

SKATES' EGGS AND YOUNG. 62!

fringes permanently attached to their branchial arches, which are not

known to be replaced by, or to coexist with, internal gills. They are

wcir sole organs of respiration, for their lungs are too imperfect and

have much physiological importance. In frogs, toads,

the external gills are replaced by internal ones, and

—

rudimentary to

and salamanders,

these in turn by lungs. vie di

Thus it will be seen that wis o

Batrachian is perma-

nently provided with in-

ternal gills

Sel Heus and Batrach-

ians agree in this, that

their embryos have in

their first stages external

fringes growing from the

outer surface of the gill

arches, and these fringes

have the same structure

in both. The Selachians

still further agree with

frogs, toads, and salaman-

ders, in the fact that the

outer Siegen are ab-

by internal aeria odi

ever, in the (oitwhig par-

ticular. Selachians retain

their internal gills perma-

nently through life, while,

if such exist at all in the

Batrachians just men-

tioned, it is only during

the larval. stage, and ey Newly-hatched Skate; æ, yelk-sack in the cavity of the

are soon replaced by abdomen, connecting w with the intestine, 6; c, embryonic

: A t portion of the tail which disappears in the adult, and

lungs. Selachians may corresponds ith the portion of t

^ : sal fins in the figures representing ‘still younger stages;

therefore be said to pass a upper lip; e, developed facial disk.

through stages analogous

to the first and second stages of Anourous Batrachians and salamanders

The other changes which the fissures pass through before the skate

The seventh fissure is closed

acquires its permanent form are as follows.

up at a very early period, about the time that the dorsals are beginning

to be formed. While first arch bends and is drawn forward as al-

ready described in connection with the formation of the jaws, it at the

Same time becomes broader, so as to widen the distance between the

outh and the first fissure, or the second, after the first is partially closed.

630 SKATES’ EGGS AND YOUNG.

The inner part of the first closes up, while the outer remains open (fig.

It is

growth of the intervening parts, and still further by the extension of the

pectoral fins forward between this remnant of the first fissure and those

behind it, the former being thus thrown to the upper, and the latter to

the under surface. The unclosed portion of the first branchial fissure is

thus converted into the spiracle

The transformation thus described is of very great interest when com-

pared with the changes which occur in the corrésponding fissures of the

m ind vertebrates, and enables us to establish an unexpected

homology. Reichert, in his most important M of the devel-

icis of the gill arches (‘visceral Bogen’) of the pig, has shown that

in this animal the flrst fissure is gradually ipee from the others by

the widening of the second arch, and for a time, even after all the others

are closed up, forms a direct opening from the side of the neck into the

hus be see at the spiracle is not only a true se e lastre in the

Kos place, me pie in the end it is homologous with the Eustachian tube

and the outer auditory passage wee these are separated from each

other by the membrane of the tympan

Professor Huxley, in a series of esami on the Vertebrate Skeleton, in

which the homologies Ana development of it are discussed with great

wu sets forth a t different view with regard to the formation

chick, and he arrives at the same conclusions as Remak, leaving us to

iufer that the auditory passage and Eustachian tube have no connection

with the branchial fissures. We have gone over the same ground in the

= anà have found Reichert’s observations, as mentioned above, fully

rmed.

Phe relation of the spiracle to the Daph fissures is still further

shown by the fact that in some species, as in Po and Lemargus, it,

like the others, is provided with respiratory fringes. jg the skate this

is not the case, but in the adult a comb-like fold, fortia and prob-

ably having the functions of, a gill, is found Lens within the spiracular

. opening."

For a ei iss of the development of the mouth and

‘nostrils, and some other details which have been omitted in

‘these extended quotations, the bondes: is referred to Profes-

bd Wyman’s Memoir.

NOTES ON SOME OF THE RARER BIRDS OF

MASSACHUSETTS.

BY J. A. ALLEN.

(Continued from page 585.

Bargp's Sparrow. Centronyx Bairdii Baird. Mr. C. J.

Maynard while collecting Long-spurs and Snow Buntings on

the Ipswich sand-hills, December 4th, 1868, had the good

fortune to shoot the first specimen* of this species thus far

obtained east of the Missouri, so far as known. No other

at least is yet on record, and but one other specimen seems

to be extant. This is one of Audubon's types collected near

the mouth of the Yellowstone, in the summer of 1843, and

now in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Mr.

Audubon is the only naturalist who has previously met with

it. He reports it as common at the locality where he dis-

covered it, where he obtained both males and females and

its nest.t But very little is known respecting its migrations

or its distribution. Its discovery in Massachusetts was quite

unlooked for. Mr. Maynard thinks he saw others, but sup-

posing it to be some other species he made no especial

efforts to obtain them. In his notes kindly communicated

to me he remarks: "I saw other specimens, and am confident

that I detected it the preceding season, 1867. It is probable

that it is a regular winter visitor from the north, accom-

panying the C. Lapponicus and P. nivalis, for it does not

seem probable that it should occur regularly so far from its

usual habitat— the distance being some over sixteen hundred

miles— and not be found in the intermediate space." As he

further observes, his specimen somewhat resembles the Bay-

winged Sparrow (Poocetes gramineus), with which inex-

perieneed ornithologist M easily confound it. It is

inMr.: nana pese and gure of tnis specimen im Me book: on Tuner

G Natural History ") now

blishing.

T. Hisl of Ameriea, Vol. vii; p. 859, pl. 500.

: (631)

633 NOTES ON SOME OF THE

certainly nearer this than the Savannab Sparrow, with which

it has been compared. “My specimen,” he says, “also differs

in size [from Audubon’s*]. I give measurements of both

for comparison, remarking that mine was measured from the

fresh bird, while the other was from the skin.”

Mouth of Yellowstone. 1813 4.64 —— 2.77 | 2.10 | .39 84 —

Ipswich, Mass., ....|Dec.4,1868. 6.30 11.00 3.25 | 2:60 | 40| .95.| d

It differed in color as well as in size from the specimen

described by Prof. Baird. The former difference is doubt-

less due to the different seasons of the year at which they

were collected, and the latter to the fact of the Ipswich

specimen having a more northern birth-place. That there

might be no mistake, the specimen was transmitted to Pro-.

fessor Baird for examination, who kindly compared it with

the type in the Smithsonian Institution, and reports that he

found them identical.

SAVANNAH Sparrow. Passerculus savanna Bon. Rather

rare in the interior at all seasons, and, so far as I can learn,

only seen there during its migrations. On the coast, how-

ever, it is one of the most common sparrows throughout the

summer, where great numbers breed. I have seen it from

Ipswich southward all along the coast to Nantucket Island.

On the islands off the coast it is often the most numerous

species of bird. The Song Sparrow, on the contrary, 1$

more numerous in the interior, it being comparatively scarce

on the islands and on the coast close to the sea.

Henstow’s Sparrow. Obturniculus Henslowii Bon. This

species must still be considered a rare summer visitor,

though it proves to be more common than was supposed a

few years since. Specimens are taken in the eastern part of

the state nearly every year, where also several of its nests

ALES LUE RISURESUSORN SUN ^ "Y

* See Baird's Birds of North America, p. 441.

RARER BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 633

have been found. The first nest found in this state was dis-

covered by Mr. E. S. Wheeler, in Berlin, and the fact is

recorded in the seventh volume of the Proceedings of the

Boston Society of Natural History (page 137). This species

was at first wrongly identified as Peucea Backmanii Aud

(=P. estivalis Baird), and as such stands recorded in the

sixth volume of the same Proceedings (p. 21). The mis-

take was corrected, however, on p. 74 of the same volume,

so that Peucea estivalis has never been included nor referred

to as a bird of Massachusetts in any of the lists of the birds

of the state, or of New England.

In respect to C. Henslowii, Mr. Maynard informs me it

has been confounded with C. passerinus by a number of

collectors, and that it seems to be more common at some

localities in the state than the latter.

WHITE-CROWNED Sparrow. Zonotrichia leucophrys Sw.

Rare in all parts of the state, and thus far not known to

breed in Massachusetts, though it may do so among the

mountains in the western counties. Though mentioned by

Dr. Coues as “usually common, but of somewhat irregular

occurrence” in New England, * the score or more of collec-

tors with whom I am acquainted all look upon it as one of

. . Our rarest species in Massachusetts. Some have never met

with it. More to the westward, however, it is quite com-

mon. In Wayne county, New York, I found it as numerous

in May, 1867, as the White-throated Sparrows usually are

in New England.

WHITE-THROATED Sparrow. Zonotrichia albicollis Bon.

A pair of these birds, probably the same pair, has been ob-

served by Mr. R. B. Hildreth at Springfield during the last

three summers. Though he has not succeeded in discovering

their nest, he this year observed them feeding their scarcely

fledged young. He reports that they have become very

familiar and readily answer his call. Though breeding nu-

Sn Aa Ne eS eke ee 1E ILS

` *List of the Birds of New England, 1. c. p. 282.

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III.

634 NOTES ON SOME OF THE

merously in Northern New England, Springfield is consider-

ably south of their customary breeding range.

SHARP-TAILED FiNcH. -Ammodromus caudacutus Swain.

Some half a dozen nests and as many pairs of the birds were

obtained the present year, by Mr. H. W. Henshaw in the

Charles River marshes in Cambridge. These are the only

recent instances known to me of the finding of the nest of

this species in Massachusetts. None of the Seaside Finches

were observed, though they were formerly known to breed

in the Chelsea marshes, and probably do still.

TREE Sparrow. „Spizella monticola Baird. I mentioned

‘in my Catalogue that a nest of this species was found in this

state in 1855 by Mr. E. Samuels, there being a record to

that effect in the fifth volume of the Proceedings of the Bos-

ton Society of Natural History (p. 213). I have since

learned from Mr. E. A. Samuels that this was a case of

malidentification, the nest and eggs being really those of the

Chipping Sparrow (Spizella socialis). Dr. Brewer confirms

the latter account, and says he has the nest in-his possession.

Livconw's Sparrow. Melospiza Lincolnii Baird. The

first record of the occurrence of this species in Massachusetts

is given in my Catalogue, at which time I had taken three

specimens at Springfield. It has since been taken by Mr. S.

Jillson, at Hudson,— one specimen in May, 1867, and

another in May, 1868. In 1867 I took it in May in Wayne

County, N. Y., when it appeared to be not uncommon, and

in Northern Illinois the same year I found it numerous.

SwawP Sparrow. Melospiza palustris Baird. In the

“Addenda” to Dr. Coues’ "List of the Birds of New England"

Istated I had never met with this species in the breeding

season. I have since learned that it is not at all uncommon

at that season at several localities in the eastern part of the

state; some years it breeds quite numerously in the Fresh

Pond marshes.

Brack-rHRoATED BuwTING. Éuspiza Americana Bon.

. Since the publication of my Catalogue, Mr. C. W. Bennett

RARER BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 635

has taken this species at Holyoke,—a single specimen in

May, 1866. Dr. Brewer informs me he has found it breed-

ing at Hingham. The species is still known, however, as

only a straggler from the southward.

CARDINAL. Rep Brd. Cardinalis Virginianus Bon.

Four specimens of this bird were taken near Springfield in

October, 1866. Mr. W. H. Niles observed it at Belcher-

town the last week of October, 1868, and at Southampton

May 5th, 1869. As these form all the recent authentic in-

stances of its occurrence in the state, it can only be regarded

as an accidental visitor. It has been questioned whether in

the previous instances of its capture here the specimens

taken were not birds that had escaped from cages. In all

probability they were, however, wild birds.

European House Sparrow. Passer domestica Leach.

The few pairs turned loose in the Boston Common a few

years since seem to be slowly increasing in numbers, and bid

fair to be of great service in checking the ravages of several

species of caterpillars that now greatly injure the foliage of

the shade trees. These interesting birds are now frequently

observable both on the Common and in the Public Garden.

European GorpriwcH. Carduelis elegans Steph. Feb-

ruary 28th, 1865, I saw a single male on Quincy street, Cam-

bridge, that had probably escaped from a cage. It was

feeding on the seeds of the larch and appeared fully at

home. Its notes first drew my attention to it, which, while

so much resembling those of our common Yellow Bird, yet

differ from them in surpassing in sweetness the pleasant

warble of that favorite bird. I doubt not that if a consider-

able number of European Goldfinches should be introduced

into New England the species would soon become acclimated

and generally distributed.

Sern Fincu. Serinus meridionalis Brehm. A specimen

. of this European species was taken near Springfield in No-

vember, several years since. It may have been a cage bird

that had escaped.

636 NOTES ON SOME OF THE

YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD. Xanthocephalus icteroce-

phalus Baird. The wings, tail and feet, of a specimen of

this species taken in Watertown, in October, 1869, were

shown me a few weeks since by Mr. C. J. Maynard. Al-

though the whole bird was unfortunately not preserved, its

identity could be readily determined. This is the first

known instance of the occurrence of this species in New

England, but Mr. Cassin* states that several have to his

knowledge been taken near Philadelphia. Its usual eastern

range, as ornithologists well know, is the vicinity of Chi-

cago, it being essentially a prairie species

Boat-TaILeD GRACKLE. Quiscalus major Vieill. I now

seriously question the occurrence of this southern species in

Massachusetts, or anywhere in New England, as even an

accidental visitor. I gave it as such in my Catalogue, but a

reexamination of the evidence has led me to my present

opinion. I think the cases cited by Peabody f and Linsley f

(under Q. baritus) as well as that of Mr. Samuels, refer only

to the common Crow Blackbird or Purple Grackle.

Spruce PARTRIDGE. Canace Canadensis Bon. The oc-

currence of this northern species in the hemlock woods of

Gloucester in 1851 was recorded by Mr. F. W. Putnam. ||

This instance is cited in my own Catalogue, and by Dr.

Coues in his "List of the Birds of New England." A second

instance is to be now added, as I have learned from Mr.

S. C. Martin that a bird of this species was shot in No-

vember, a few years since, in Roxbury. These two in-

stances seem to be all thus far known, and only give it a

place on our list as a very rare, accidental visitor. I have,

however, recently learned from Mr. Wm. Brewster, of its

. Capture near Portland, Maine, in the autumn of 1868,—2

: T much south of its usual range.

Proc. Phila. Acad. E TM Sm 11, 1866.

: D a a mq

I E fAmer.Jourm. Sci. bet LI AUF: l. xliv, p. 260.

(pite {Catalogue “ Birds of Essex Co.," Proc’d’s Essex Inst., Vol. i, p. 224.

RARER BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 631

The Ptarmigan (Lagopus albus), captured at Manchester

in May, 1859,* is supposed, Dr. Coues states, "to have been

brought alive from Labrador or Newfoundland, and es-

caped.” t

Great WurrE Heron. Herodias egretta Gray. To the

previously recorded instances of the capture of this beautiful

southern Egret in this state may be added the following.

Two immature specimens were taken near Hudson by Mr.

S. Jillson in 1867, and several others seen there. A fully

plumaged male was also taken in Ashland in May several

years since by Mr. A. L. Babcock, and another near Lynn,

by Mr. N. Vickary. New Jersey seems to be the most

northern point on the Atlantic coast where these birds breed,

or at which they can be considered as regular visitors, yet

this species, as well as the Snowy Heron ( G'arzetta candidis-

sima), have recently been captured in Nova Scotia. 1

LirrLE BrLvE Heron. Florida cerulea Baird. In addi-

tion to the previously recorded instances of its occurrence in

Massachusetts, Mr. Maynard informs me he has recently seen

it on one or two occasions in autumn.

YELLOW-cROWNED Nicur Heron. Vyctherodius viola-

ceus Reich. Mr. N. Vickary, of Lynn, the well known

taxidermist, informs me that in October, 1862, he shot a fine

specimen of this bird in Lynn. Though occurring occasion-

ally as far north along the coast as New York, I have learned

of no other instance of its capture in New England.

Grossy Iers. Ibis Ordii Bon. In addition to those

previously recorded as having been captured in Massachu-

setts, a specimen was taken in Nantucket, September, 1869.

It was also taken, as I learn from Mr. N. Vickary, in New

Hampshire, in October, 1858, by Dr. Palmer.

Witson’s Prover. Ochthodromus Wilsonius Reich.. The

usual northern limit reached by this bird seems to be the

. W. Putnam, Proc. Essex Inst., Vol. ii, p. 378.

f Ibid., Vol v, p. 289. : :

1J. Matthew Jones, Trans. Nova Scotia Inst. Nat. Sci., Vol. ii, pt. 2, p. 72 (1868).

638 NOTES ON SOME OF THE

coast of New Jersey, where it is said to breed.* In my

Catalogue I inserted it as a bird of this state on the authority

of Dr. Brewer, who, according to Mr. Peabody, found them

abundant at Nahant in August, 1838. But Dr. Brewer

wrote me under date of May 8th, 1869, that "Wilson's

Plover is not a Massachusetts bird, so far as I know." Dr.

Wood informs me that "Wilson's Plover is abundant in

August on Long Islaud," and Mr. Linsley has recorded it

from Stratford, Connecticut. It hence seems unquestionable

that they sometimes occur in Southern New England, and it

would not be strange if they should occasionally reach the

coast of Massachusetts. f

BLACK-NECKED STILT. Himantopus nigricollis Vieill. Mr.

G. A. Boardman informs me that he once saw two specimens

of this species in Boston Market that were killed in this

state. I have also learned from Mr. Maynard that it is well

known to the gunners of Ipswich, who occasionally meet

with it, and by whom it is ironically named “Humility.” It

appears to be, however, one of the rarest of our visitors, it

being properly a southern and south-western species.

SANDERLING, Calidris arenaria Illiger. A few specimens

of this species and of the Semipalmated Sandpiper (Ereu-

netes pusillus Cass.), and the Solitary Sandpiper (JzAyaco-

philus solitarius Baird), were taken by Mr. Maynard and

myself at Ipswich in June, 1868. The last mentioned may

have been breeding, as the Massachusetts coast is within its

usual breeding range, but the others appeared to be only

stragelers that were not breeding, all, apparently, being im-

mature birds. The first of these is well known to breed on

the coast of Maine, where Prof. Verrill gives it as abundant

in summer. In some notes hastily penned for Dr. Coues’

“Addenda” to his “List of the Birds of New England,”

written from memory (at the time of writing them I was on

ens C Abbott, Geology of New Jersey, Appendix.

us with this Dr. Coues’ remarks on this species in his “ List of the Birds of

des T c wd €., p. 291.

RARER BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 639

a journey and my notes were inaccessible), I state that Ac-

todromas .Bonapartei was among the birds seen by us in

summer on the Massachusetts coast. This I think. is an

error of memory, as I do not find it recorded in my note

book, and no specimens of it were taken. Arquatella mari-

tima is also there mentioned as having been seen; though

this is probable, I should add that it does not rest on

positive evidence, as none were taken.

STILT SANDPIPER. Micropalama himantopus Baird. As

this southern species has been twice taken recently at Rye

Beach, New Hampshire, by Mr. William Brewster, the

question as to whether it should be included among the birds

of New England is now settled. As it must have passed

through Massachusetts, it is properly to be included in our

list, though not yet recorded as actually taken in this state.

YrrLow Raw. Porzana Noveboracensis Cass. Taken by

Mr. C. J. Maynard, September 8th, 1868, in a dry field in

Newton. i

Common GALLINULE. Gallinula galeata Bon. I learn

from Mr. Ruthford Deane of Cambridge that he shot a young

bird of this species in Fresh Pond on the 3d of September,

1868, and saw two others in the latter part of the same

month. The 9th of October of the same year he informs

me his friend William Brewster shot one which he obtained,

and wounded another, at the same locality. Also that the

latter observer saw an old bird there on the 3d of June,

which Mr. Deane believes to have been the parent of these

young. As this species regularly breeds in New Jersey, it

is not improbable that straggling pairs may now and then

rear their young in Massachusetts, but this is much beyond

its usual breeding range.

CANVAS-BACKED Duck. Aythya vallisneria Bonap. It is

stated in my Catalogue that this species was taken near

Springfield by Dr. Wood. This proves to be an error, as

Dr. Wood has since informed me he never knew it taken

nearer that locality than ten miles above the mouth of the

640 NOTES ON SOME OF THE

Connecticut. So far as I have been able to learn by careful

inquiry, this species is much less common in New England

than several authors represent. It seems to be but an acci-

dental or very rare visitor.

AMERICAN Warre Pernican. Pelecanus erythrorhynchus

Gmelin. I learn from Mr. S. C. Martin that a flock of

thirteen individuals visited Nantucket Island during a heavy

storm a few years since. After being repeatedly fired at

one of them was finally killed, near Brant Point light-house.

Mr. C. J. Maynard also informs me that several were seen at

Ipswich at about the same time. The only other recent in-

stance of the capture of this species in New England seems

to be that at Calais, Maine, given by Mr. G. A. Boardman.*

It seems to be entirely accidental here now, although for-

merly, according to early writers, of not unfrequent occur-

rence. It still ranges, however, over the greater part of

the continent. i

Herrine Gurt. Larus argentatus Brinn. Although

large numbers of this species spend the summer along the

Massachusetts coast, I have not been able to find any breed-

ing here. Those seen in summer are all immature birds,

generally in brown plumage. Although they once unques-

tionably bred on our coast, none now appear to rear their

young nearer than the northern part of the coast of Maine.

Hence the occurrence of large numbers of immature birds

in summer two hundred miles south of the nearest breeding

grounds of the species is a fact of considerable interest.

Some years since Dr. Elliott Coues separated the Amer-

ican Herring Gull from the European, under the name of

Larus Smithsonianus, he supposing it to differ in certain

points of coloration from the European bird.¢ Unfortu-

nately, these differences do not prove constant, specimens

identical in every particular with the typical European L.

- |. argentatus of Coues occurring not unfrequently on the New

-F Poe. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist, Vol. ix, p. 130.

North Ameriea,

. fRerision of the Gulls of etc., Proc. P. A. N. S., June, 1862, p. 296.

RARER BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 641

England coast. As I have already called attention to this

fact * I will only add that during last winter additional speci-

mens of this character were obtained by me in Cambridge.

Laveuine GurL. Chrecocephalus atricilla Lawr. This

bird now breeds on the Massachusetts coast very sparingly,

it having been nearly extirpated by the incessant persecution

it suffers from " eggers" during the breeding season. A few

pairs were observed last year on Muskeget Island, by Mr.

Maynard and myself, and a few of its eggs obtained, about

July lst. As they had previously been repeatedly robbed,

"eggers" almost constantly haunting the island, they were

extremely shy. Another small colony of this species, I

have learned from Mr. L. L. Thaxter, breed on the islands

near Tennant’s Harbor, Maine.

In my Catalogue I by some mistake gave this bird as oc-

curring in winter. Though said by Mr. Boardman to be

resident in the vicinity of Calais, Maine, I have as yet been

unable to learn of its occurrence in this state except in sum-

mer. My earlier impression that the species was resident

in Massachusetts I have since found was wrongly founded.

Common Tern. Sterna hirundo Linn. This interesting

bird must soon be numbered among the species which perse-

cution has driven from the state during the breeding season,

unless some effective mode of protecting it during the breed-

ing season is soon adopted. At present it is only found at a

few localities, chiefly on Muskeget and the neighboring

islets; a few only breed at different points along Cape Cod

and at Ipswich. Almost everywhere they are more or less

persecuted, and at Muskeget this and the other species of

Terns that breed there are so systematically robbed of their

eges that if they succeed in rearing any young at all it is `

only after having been several times deprived of their eggs.

Muskeget is a small, barren, sandy, crescent-shaped island,

about two miles in length, with, in its wider part, a breadth

* Memoirs Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. i, p. 520.

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 81

642 NOTES ON SOME OF THE

of about half a mile. Only thinly clothed with beach grass,

it is naturally well suited to the breeding habits of the sev-

eral species of Terns that regularly resort to it to breed.

Though uninhabited by man and quite distant from large

towns, the birds are far from secure there. Besides the daily

visits of small egging parties during the proper season from

Nantucket and other near points, excursions are made by

large parties from distant places to the island for the express

purpose of participating in the novelty of an egg hunt, with

sad results to the birds, as above stated. This is certainly a

matter that the “Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to

Animals” should look after.

ROTIO TERN. Sterna macroura Naum. In company

with the preceding are found a certain proportion of these

birds. Last year Mr. Maynard and myself found them

breeding apart from the others on the island of Muskeget.

We also found them at Ipswich, as Mr. Maynard has also

done the present year. In voice and habits, however, the

two seem not to differ in the slightest, nor in general size.

In color they only differ as young birds often do from older

ones of the same species, the S. macroura corresponding to

the mature form and the jS. hirundo to the younger. The

tarsi and the bill in S. macroura seemed to be generally the

shorter, but not always. In color jS. macroura was always

the brighter, without the black tip of the bill seen in S.

hirundo; the black on the head is generally more intense

and better defined ; the sooty wash beneath is much deeper,

and the white of the rump purer. ‘The tarsus was not only

shorter but had a roughened appearance not seen in the

other, they differing in the latter respect much as young birds

in this and allied families frequently do from those perfectly

mature. On the whole there seemed to be good reasons for

| believing them to be simply different ages of the same

species. The young of S. macroura being then unknown,

it was evident that the discover y of them would afford deci-

a evidence on the point in question. Fortunately this

RARER BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 643

year Mr. Maynard succeeded in obtaining the young of S.

macroura at Ipswich, when they were just able to leave

the nest. A comparison of these with the young of S.

hirundo of corresponding age, or even with mature 8. hi-

rundo, leaves no question as to their distinctness. The dif-

ferences between the young of the two are as great as

between the adult. In these nestlings of S. macroura the

color of the rump is as different from that of the back as it

is in the adult, the plumbeous bluish mantle not being con-

tinued to the tail as in S. Airundo.

. The distinctive differences then between them may be

stated thus :

S. macroura has the under parts strongly tinged with

plumbeous, with the throat and under tail coverts abruptly

white, while in 8. hirundo the under parts are faintly washed |

with plumbeous which fades gradually into white on the

throat and under tail coverts. S. macroura has the shorter

tarsi, and the shorter, smaller and more delicately shaped

bill; in color the bill of the latter is uniformly carmine, not

coral red with a black tip, as in the other, and the tarsi and

feet deep vermilion, almost lake (not light vermilion as in

S. hirundo), and roughened. The rump is abruptly white at

all ages, while in I. Airundo it is dilute plumbeous, shading

gradually into the color of the back. In size and general

proportions there are no essential differences between them.

So long as the young of jS. macroura was unknown, it

seemed that the differences in color between the young of

S. hirundo and the adult of that species, if carried a little

further, would result in a form, so far as color is concerned,

exactly like S. macroura.*

RosEATE TERN. Sterna paradisea Brünn. Occurs plen-

tifully on Muskeget Island during the breeding season. Was

also taken by Mr. Maynard and myself at Ipswich in June,

—

*For an excellent revision of the Terns of North America, see Dr. Elliott Coues’

Paper on this subject in the Proceedings of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sci-

ences, 1862, p. 535.

644 NOTES ON SOME OF THE

1868. Heretofore generally considered rare in this state,

which appears to be its northern limit.

SaxpwICH Tern. Sterna cantiaca Gmelin. (Sterna acu-

Jlavida Cabot.) Mr. Nathaniel Vickary, of Lynn, has a

specimen of this species in his collection, which he shot at

Chatham, in August, 1865. The usual northward range of

this southern species does not extend beyond South Carolina,

and is now for the first time reported as captured either in

this state or in New England.

SHORT-TAILED Tern. Hydrochelidon fissipes Gray. Oc-

casional, chiefly after the breeding season. Mr. C. J. May-:

nard has taken it at Ipswich, and probably it occurs all along

the coast, though its existence here has been questioned.

Sooty Tern. Huliplana fuliginosa Wagl. (Sterna fu-

liginosa Gm.) This species was given in my list as a rare

summer visitor, on the authority of Mr. E. A. Samuels, who

—he having found two young birds he referred to this spe-

cies—iuformed me that it bred on Muskeget Island. As it is

a southern species, and is only occasional on the coast of New

Jersey, which is north of its breeding range, it is somewhat

doubtful whether it is entitled to a place in a list of the

birds of Massachusetts. Respecting this species Dr. Brewer

has written me as follows: "It does not and never did

breed on Muskeget, nor do I believe it ever comes here."

Sinee the equally southern Sandwich Tern has been taken

here, the probability of this being also an accidental visitor

is increased.

Great Auk. Alca impennis Linn. This species has re-

cently been made known as a former inhabitant of Massa-

chusetts. Professor Wyman first discovered its remains in

New England at Mount Desert, in the Indian shell-heaps.*

Mr. F. W. Putnam reports that a humerus of this bird was

found in August, 1868, in the shell-heaps of Ipswich, by

Professor Baird.¢ Mr. Maynard and myself found frag-

* American Naturalist, Vol. i, p. 578.

[Coues « New England," Proc. Essex Inst., Vol. v, p. 310, foot note.

RARER BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 645

ments of several different bones of this bird in June of the

same year at the latter locality, where also Mr. PIN De had

obtained them in previous years.

It appears, from information received too late to enable

me to insert them in their proper places, that the following

species should also be added to those already recorded from

Massachusetts :

SwaLLow-TaILeD Hawk. JVauclerus furcatus Vigors.

From Mr. Bennett I have received a description of a hawk

seen near Whately, not long since, that was unquestionably

of this species ; but, so far as I am aware, it has not yet been

taken in Massachusetts. Although a southern species, it is

rather common in the interior as far north as Iowa, and

stragglers have been taken along the Atlantic coast as far

north as New York. It can only occur in New England,

however, as an extremely rare visitor.

A South American Humming Bird, Argytria maculata

Cab. and Heine, was taken in Cambridge in August, 1865,

by Mr. Wm. Brewster. It seems almost incredible that so

small a bird shonld wander so far from its usual haunts,

since its real habitat is the northern countries of South

America; yet after carefully investigating the history of this

specimen, it seems to me there is no reason to doubt its cap-

ture in this state. It is possible, of course, that it may

have been brought here in a cage and have escaped, but that

such was the case does not appear to be at all probable.

Gray Kine Brb. Tyrannus Dominicencis Rich. A speci-

men of this species, now in Mr. Vickary's collection, was

shot in Lynn, early in October, 1869, by Mr. Charles I.

Goodale. Although essentially a West Indian species, it is

not uncommon in Florida, but only occasionally ranges so

far north as Charleston, South Carolina. It hence forms one

of the most remarkable additions to the fauna of the state

yet recorded. The specimen was evidently a young bird, or

a bird of the year. |

646 NOTES ON SOME OF THE

The following facts also came to hand too late to be in-

serted in their proper connection :

Brack VurrURE. Cathartes atratus Less. Mr. S. Jillson

informs me that a specimen of this species was killed in

Hudson a short time since, and that several others were seen

there which no one cared to shoot. Mr. G. A. Boardman

has also recently taken it near Calais, Maine.* Though

rather more southern in its distribution than its near relative

the Turkey Buzzard (C. aura), it seems to be much more

frequently met with in New England, and has been taken as

far north as Nova Scotia.

Barn Owr. Strix pratincola Bon. A specimen of this

species, Mr. Vickary informs me, was taken in Lynn six

years since, by Mr. James Teal, and is still in a private col-

lection in that town. This forms the second specimen of

this species thus far known to have been taken in Massachu-

setts.

T&NeMALM's Owr. Nyctale Tengmalmii Bon. Mr. Vick-

ary has a specimen of this rare winter visitor tbat he informs

me was shot in Lynn, in 1863, by Mr. J. Southwick. I

have also seen two other specimens of this bird that have

been recently killed in this state

This is the species referred to in my Catalogue as Rich-

ardson’s Owl (Nyctale Richardsonii Bon.), which is the

name of late generally given to it by American authors. It

does not, however, upon comparison, appear to be distinct

from the so-called Tengmalm's Owl of Europe, with which,

previous to 1838, it was by all writers considered to

identical.

From information received since the first part of this

paper went to press, several species whose occurrence in

Massachusetts was unknown to the writer at that time (two

of them having been for the first time captured here since

that that part of the paper was written) have been added to the

.* See American Naturalist, Vol. iii, p. 498, November, 1869.

band die

PEE ET RUP Sn

SLM Ee ee N.S Ra RENT

ne kis ut

;

RARER BIRDS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 641

Massachusetts fauna, so that a revision of a portion of that

part is already necessary.* The whole number of species is

now three hundred and eight, or—excluding the House

Sparrow (Passer domestica), which has been introduced by

man, the Goldfinch (Carduelis elegans), the Serin Finch

(Serinus meridionalis), aud the South American Humming

Bird, which may also have been (but probably were not)

similarly introduced —three hundred and five, instead of

three hundred, as there stated, or two hundred and ninety-

six, as given in my Catalogue. Three of the species re-

corded in the Catalogue being now no longer counted, the

whole number of species of birds added to the fauna of the

state since 1864 is sixteen; eleven, and probably fifteen, of

Which can unquestionably be legitimately counted.

In this connection it may be asked, in view of the nu-

merous recent additions to the bird fauna of this state: Are

not certain species that were formerly regarded as scarce

here now increasing in numbers? and is it not probable that

some of the species recently detected have but recently made

their first appearance here?

lt is probable that a few species have recently increased

and still are increasing in numbers ; but it seems more prob-

able that in most cases this apparent increase is more the

result of the much greater number of observers now in the

eld than formerly, and the consequently much greater

amount of attention recently given to the ornithology of our

state. Doubtless other species will soon be detected here.

The occurrence of several species in Massachusetts whose

llowing corrections should be made in the first two parts of this article: —

Phe m 2 last A for seven read twelve. Page 512, add to the second foot note, Buteo

Cooperi, Tyran tut er Xanthocephalus scterocephalus > Ni herodius viola-

ceus, rin abra Page 513, ch tl i inth li e a

as follows: Others now added, especially the California | Hawk imd Cooperi). Baird’

Finch (Centronyz Bairdii) and the Gray King Bird (Tyrannus Dominicensis), are ii

ilar and equally remarkable cases of TM and southern species straggling far

beyond their usual range. Page 513, 19th lin Page 513, 25th

ned for three hundred read three hundred Mu etu. akaga 516, “Ist line, Foleo:

. Page 518, 12th line, for characteristic read well-marked. Page 582, 19th line, for

ons leges ag Californicus. Page 583, 16th line, for So uM M

Wii Shain botica, for zie vead Aci Page 585, 8th line, dele

648 OUR FRESH-WATER SHELLS.

usual range does not extend much to the eastward of the

Mississippi River, and of two not usually found east of the

Rocky Mountains, and of others that rarely occur north of

Florida, shows the possibility of a species becoming widely

diffused over districts favorable to its existence by occasional

migrations.

OUR COMMON FRESH-WATER SHELLS.

BY EDWARD S. MORSE.

Awoxe the most common of our fresh-water mollusks are

the air-breathing water snails. Muddy lakes, ponds, streams

and marshes, being their favorite abodes, and even ditches

sometimes swarming with them. It would be difficult to

find a body of fresh-water that did not contain certain repre-

sentatives of this class.

Their shells are quite uniform in texture and color, con-

taining but little lime, and for this reason are quite light,

and even in some species slightly elastic. They are quite

hardy in confinement, and a few specimens secured in early

spring time will afford many pleasant hours of amusement

to those interested in watching their habits. They have to

come often to the surface of the water to breathe, and it is

curious to watch them during this operation. The snail with

its broad disk slowly sweeping along the glass, feeding at

the same time by lapping up whatever particles of food it

may meet with. As it nears the surface the shell is inclined

in such a way that the aperture is brought almost out of

water, and then a funnel-like process is opened in such a

way that the air enters the respiratory cavity, while the

water seems to be repelled by the edge of the funnel.

During the spring time the eggs are laid and attached

to some substance by a transparent mucous. If laid upon

me glass walls of an aquarium, or the sides of a glass dish,

TNCS

OUR FRESH-WATER SHELLS. 649

the complete development of the egg into a little snail, may

be easily watched with a common magnifier. When nothing

more than a cluster of cells may be defined within the egg,

this mass is seen to slowly and continually revolve within.

Soon two little eyes make their appearance, and by suc-

cessive stages the shell is formed, and with a high magnifier

the little one may be seen eating its way through the egg-

shell and mucous which surrounds it.

These snails have the power of crawling or floating along

the surface of the water, the creeping disk being just level

with the surface and the shell hanging beneath. When they

wish to sink, a portion of the air contained in the lung

cavity is expelled, and a slight clicking sound is heard ac-

companying this movement. They are mostly vegetable

feeders, and seem to live on the ooze and slime that cover

the stones and aquatic plants of their abode.

There is one little species that seems more like a land

snail in its habits, from the fact that it can live a long time

without immersion in water. It is generally found in little

pools, where the water stands only a portion of the year.

During the dry season it hibernates like the land snails by

plugging up the aperture of the shell with a thin partition

Of a viscid secretion of the animal, and in this condition

will survive the droughts of summer.

A simple and serviceable collecting apparatus can be made

from a tin dipper fastened toa pole six or eight feet in

length. The bottom of the dipper should be made of wire

netting. With this one cau scoop along the bottom of ditches

and ponds, and will be rewarded by finding many a curious

Shell. And if he is at all interested in insects he will turn

up some singular looking monsters in miniature, that will

turn out to be the larval state of dragon flies or other well

known forms. Even without the dipper the collector may

find many species by examining the bits of bark and stone

and the stems of aquatic plants that he may pull up from

the pond. The under side of dn also proves a resting

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III.

650 OUR FRESH-WATER SHELLS.

place for certain species. With the results of a day's col-

lecting before him he will probably tind the following genera

of kieUrodthing water snails represented.

Lymnea, in which the aperture of the shell is on the

right side, when the shell is held with the apex upward, and

the aperture facing you, the tentacles being broad and tri-

angular.

Physa, in which the aperture is always on the left side,

if the shell is held in the position just described, and the

tentacles slender.

Planorbis, in which the shell is always coiled in a plane

so that there is no elevated spire.

Ancylus, in which the shell differs very widely from all

the rest in having no twisted spire, but in having the shape

of an oval flattened bowl.

There is a common marine shell called limpet that the

shell of Ancylus greatly resembles in form, though the ani-

mals are entirely unlike.

UNIES

Physa. Ancylus

Planorbis.

We here give figures of these four characteristic forms,

side by side, and these are represented in North America by

about one hundred and twenty species, according to Binney.

In the plate we have figured some of the prominent spe-

cies of Lymneea and Physa, the cuts having been loaned us

by the Smithsonian Institution, whose publications in this

department have been of great value to the student in quest

_ of these animals.

In the explanation of plate the distribution of the species

represented is given. We may add that the species of

these genera are very perplexing to define, and will require

American Naturalist. VoL HI. PL Tr.

Fig.2. Fig. 4.

É\

Fig. 1.

Fig. 11. Fig. 12.

Fig. 6.

Fig. 14. Pig. 15. Fig. 16. Fig. 18. Fig. 19.

_ MORSE ON FRESH-WATER SHELLS.

WHAT IS BATHYBIUS ? 651

much patient labor to characterize those that are truly spe-

cies and those that are varieties only.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE 1l.

Fig. i: spar dip — Say. Lake Champlain to Bi ts

ig appressa Say. Northern a to Pac

1 í ds hs phs Northern Stat

pu T x decollata Mighels. Maine, M E

sn. dE proxima Lea. California.

MEE S de n Jay. Lake Champlain to Michig:

Figs: 7, 8, 9; 10, 2. Lymnea elodes Say. Northern Unita States.

Fig. 18. Lymnea decim Say. New England to Kansa

Figs. 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19. Lymnea columella Say. Mew England, Lake

Superior, Georgia.

Fig. 20. Physa ampullacea Gould. Or -—

ék

21. ** Virginea Gould. Calif

w. 92. “ Lordi Baird. British ks

dip NM. E gem a Say. Northern ud sd figured from origi-

nal spec

id 24. Thie iaio Say. Northern United Sta

25o S mop Say. Throughout ak States.

SP Og Oe Animal expanded.

* 27. ** humerosa Gould. Colorado De esert

WHAT IS BATHYBIUS ?

BY PROFESSOR W. C. WILLIAMSON, F.R.S.

DuniNG each successive year the Protozoa prove to be of

increasing importance to the physiologist. In no other class

of matured animals can the protoplasm, of which we have

recently heard so much, be studied to such advantage. Con-

stituting the lowest known manifestation of both animal and

vegetable life, it seems to bring us very near to the boundary

between the organic and the inorganic worlds. It exhibits

the simplest phenomena of life under the least complex of

-eonditions; hence it has recently been appealed to by one

of the most philosophical of living zoologist as capable of

6523 WHAT IS BATHYBIUS ?

throwing light upon the most recondite of biological prob-

lems. Without accepting all, or even the chief of the con-

clusions at which Professor Huxley has arrived from his

study of protoplasm, he must be deemed right in the impor-

tance which he assigns to it. Whether seen as the gelati-

nous sarcode of the Protozoa, occupying the base of the

animal kingdom, or as the yolk-material out of which the

embryo of the highest vertebrate is formed; whether we

observe its plastic mass in the primordial germ of a Proto-

coccus or of a Volvox, or as it appears in the leaf-bud of an

oak, it everywhere brings before us the first stage in acts of

organization in which ifi is the chief, if not the only actor.

Nevertheless, I am unable to see that our study of proto-

plasm has brought us nearer than before to a knowledge of

the origin of that mysterious force which converts inorganic

into organized material. There yet remains to be bridged

over that unfathomed gulf which separates death from life—

the most complex effects of inorganic forces from the sim-

plest of vital phenomena. We can trace the action and de-

velopment of protoplasm through successive generations of

organisms ; but, like the spot where the rainbow touches the

ground, its mysterious origin recedes as we advance, and a

weary chase leaves us no nearer our object than when we

commenced its pursuit. We increase our information re-

specting the conditions of its existence, but not of its origin ;

and I believe that from the nature of the problem this igno-

rance will continue.

We are asked, wherein does the so-called vital force differ

from other physical forces? Oxygen and hydrogen combine

orm water; if you admit vitality, why not require a

principle of æquosity to explain this combination and its re-

sultant phenomena? “What better philosophical status,”

asks Professor Huxley, “has vitality than squosity ?" I

: reply, we require the admission of no new force to explain

rud > combination of gases in the formation of water. The

> à occur in accordance with known laws of affinity.

WHAT IS BATHYBIUS ? 653

The synthetical experiment is but one of a vast series of

similar experiments, in each of which we can combine sepa-

rate elements with absolute certainty that the resultants will

be identical with, and fulfil all the functions of, the same

products when formed in nature’s laboratory. But the case

is different when we turn to living organisms. We may

know the proportions of oxygen, bidiroguht; carbon, and ni-

trogen, existing in any form of protoplasm, and we may

even succeed in forcing those elements into an artificial com-

bination having the same proportions, but in no single

instance have we been able to endow such a combination

with the powers of life. The resultant is not protoplasm.

It does not live. It performs none of the vital functions.

"Certain conditions" are wanting, and, so far as experiment

has hitherto gone, the laboratory has proved unable to sup-

ply those conditions. Some "force" is required which is

not under the control of the ablest physicist, and which dif-

fers in kind as well as in degree from those with whose opera-

tions he is familiar. We infer this, because all the functions

of the resultant of nature's organie synthesis are different

from those of all artificial products. lt is this lacking force

which we indieate under the name of vital; and so long as

experimental philosophers fail to make their artificial combi-

nations do what it does, I elaim to be as philosophical, and

to be acting in as truly a scientific spirit, when I recognize

its existence as when I speak of a magnetie force or of a

force of gravitation.

Professor Huxley asks, "What justification is there, then,

for the assumption of the existence in the living matter of a

something which has no representative or correlation in the

not living matter which gave rise to it?” Surely the ques-

tion, thus put, involves a fallacy. Professor Huxley admits

that to produce the results referred to the introduction of a

new element is needed. The not living matter requires the

aid and instrumentality of matter that is living, and it is

precisely this necessity which leads me to conclude that the

654 WHAT IS BATHYBIUS?

living matter does contain something wanting to the "not liv-

ing matter."

The living organism increases, multiplies, and reproduces

itself through a power that is inherent, whereas a crystal can

only do so through powers external to itself; whatever it

may be, the vital power is always derived; no known com-

bination of inorganic elements or dead forces could have

created it. Except in a few obscure cases, too ill-understood

to be made the basis of a grave argument, protoplasm can

always be traced, directly or indirectly, to some preéxist-

ing form of protoplasm. We nowhere discover any power

which, without the intervention of some already living agent,

can convert inorganic matter into living matter. If we

could even trace back the history of protoplasm, until we

reached one of Mr. Darwin’s primeval germs, our philosophy

would still leave the first of these living azotized combina-

tions unaccounted for. Since, then, scientific experience

affords no proof that life is nothing more than a function of

material combinations; acted upon by physical forces, we

are justified in the recognition of a vital principle, emana-

ting primarily from a living Creator, but which, once created,

appears capable of self-perpetuation to the end of time.

If, having recognized the importance of the study of pro-

toplasm amongst the lower animals, we commence its pur-

suit, we soon discover the difficulties which surround it,

especially when we discover the apparent inadequacy of the

causes to the effects produced. We see a granular jelly

evolving endlessly varied forms of grace and beauty ; at one

time using silica as its raw material, at another carbonate of

ime. Here it glues together grains of sand, there it de-

. velops a new sand-like compound, the very nature of which

has yet to be discovered. In one form it produces the

horny network of a sponge — in another the ethereal tracery

9f an Euplectella. The colors of its products are almost as

varied as their material forms. We seék the cause of all

this rich diversity — but seek in vain. We see the almost

WHAT IS BATHYBIUS ? 655

motionless granular jelly investing the objects of beauty

which it has constructed, but it affords us no indication of

the secret of its wondrous power.

We hail every new fact tending to throw light upon a his-

tory which is as obscure as it is marvellous. Hence the

importance attached to Professor Huxley's discovery of the

vast masses of submarine protoplasm, to which he has given

the name of Bathybius. When, in 1857, Capt. Dayman, of

H.M.S. Cyclops, returned from his exploration of the bed

of the Atlantic, some of his specimens of “soundings” were

placed in the hands of Professor Huxley for examination.

The explorers had already noticed the singular stickiness of

the mud brought up by the lead, and Professor Huxley soon

found that this viscid condition arose from the diffusion

through it of abundance of sarcode or protoplasm of a proto-

zoic nature. The mud, like much of what constitutes the bed

of the Atlantic, consisted of chiefly accumulated shells of

Globbigerna bulloides — themselves the skeletons of a pro-

tozoic sarcode. The Bathybius occurred in minute patches

of gelatinous protoplasm, usually of irregular shape, but oc-

casionally assuming roundish forms. It consisted of a trans-

parent jelly containing innumerable, very minute, granules,

many of which Professor Huxley found to be equally soluble

in dilute acetic acid and in strong solutions of the caustic

alkalies; but, in addition, there occurred some remarkable.

bodies to which great interest is attached. In the first in-

stance Professor Huxley noticed, adherent to the protoplasm,

and occasionally embedded in it, numerous minute rounded

bodies, soluble in acids, and to which he gave the name of

Coccoliths. Still later, in addition to these Coccoliths, Dr.

Wallich discovered, associated with the Bathybius, some

larger spherical bodies of more complex organizations which

he designated Coccospheres. Yet more recently Professor

Huxley has reéxamined his specimens under higher powers,

and found his Coccoliths were of two classes — to which he

now gives the respective names of Discolithus and Cyatho-

656 WHAT IS BATHYBIUS ?

lithus. The Discolithi he describes as “oval discoidal

bodies, with a thick strongly refracting rim, and a thinner

central portion, the greater part of which is occupied by a

slightly opaque, as it were, cloud-patch. The contour of

this patch corresponds with that of the inner edge of the

rim, from which it is separated by a transparent zone. In

general the Discoliths are slightly convex on one side,

slighty concave on the other, and the rim is raised into a

prominent ridge on the more convex side.”* These objects

usually range from ! to şəy of an inch in their longest

diameter.

The Cyatholiths are like minute shirt-studs. They are

stated to have “an oval contour, convex upon one face, and

flat or concave upon the other. Left to themselves, they lie

upon one or other of these faces, and in that aspect appear

to be composed of two concentric zones surrounding a cen-

tral corpuscule.” “A lateral view of any of these bodies

shows that it is by no means the concentrically laminated

concretion it at first appears to be, but that it has a very sin-

gular and, so far as I know, unique structure. Supposing

it to rest upon its lower surface, it consists of a lower plate,

shaped like a deep saucer or watchglass; of an upper plate,

which is sometimes flat, sometimes more or less watchglass-

shaped; of the oval, thick-walled, flattened corpuscule,

which connects the centres of these two plates; and of an

intermediate substance, which is closely connected with the

under surface of the upper plate, or more or less fills up

the interval between the two plates, and often has a coarsely

granular margin. The upper plate always has a less diam-

eter than the lower, and is not wider than the intermediate

substance. t" These Cyatholithi are further stated to vary

in size from sys; to sss of an inch in diameter. The Cocco-

heres are described by the same distinguished observer as

y IEEE DO Kimi Pepepe i» ibo Jorik Atlantic Ocean, Quarterly

Journal of of Microscopical Science, Oct., 1868

bid. p. 207.

WHAT IS BATHYBIUS ? 651

"of two types — the one compact and the other loose in tex-

ture. The largest of the former type which I have met with

measured about 443559 of an inch in diameter. They are hol-

low, irregularly flattened spheroids, with a thick transparent

wall, which sometimes appears laminated. In this wall a

number of oval bodies, very much like the ‘corpuscules’ of

the Cyatholiths, are set; and each of these answers to one

of the flattened facets of the spheroidal wall. The corpus-

cules, which are about z;554 of an inch long, are placed at

tolerably equal distances, and each is surrounded by a con-

tour-line of corresponding form.” “Coccospheres of the

compact type of -yyy to 2555 of an inch in diameter occur

under two forms, being sometimes mere reductions of that

just described, while, in other cases, the corpuscules are

round, and not more than half to a third as big, though their

number does not seem to be greater. In still smaller Cocco-

spheres, the corpuscules and the contour-lines become less

distinct and more minute, until, in the smallest which I have

observed, and which is only ysyv of an inch in diameter, they

are hardly visible."

“The Coccospheres of the loose type of structure run from

the same minuteness up to nearly Fig. 101.*

double the size of the largest of the

compact type, viz., 74y of an inch in

diameter. The largest (of which I 48

have seen only one specimen) is ob- 9e

viously made up of bodies resemb-

ling Cyatholiths of the largest size

in all particulars except the absence of the granular zone,

of which there is no trace. I could not clearly ascertain

how they were held together, but a slight pressure suffices

Fig. 10) 1 is lof, ight ^h h A Tawtnilaria shell , each segment

of which is sided with Coccoliths. The specimen referred to was rend bee d

ith numerous others, from a depth of 1913 fathoms (upwards of tw

the Coasts of Greenland and Labrador." Dr. Wallic eee whom we ceto, M

rtie n the

Vital Functions o: beet Protozoa,” Monthly pooner Jik, No. 1, dn.

1859, 8vo. ocu. — Eds. Nat.

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 83

658 WHAT IS BATHYBIUS ?

to separate them." * The relations subsisting between these

Coecospheres on the one hand, and the Cyatholiths on the

other, are very obscure ; but Professor Huxley deems it prob-

able that some close affinity does exist ; but whether the Coc-

cospheres have been formed from a coalescence of Cyatho-

liths, whether the Cyatholiths have resulted from the breaking

up of the Coccospheres, or whether the Coccospheres are al-

together independent structures, yet remains to be decided.

There appears, however, no reason to doubt that Coccoliths,

Coccospheres and Cyatholiths, equally belong to Bathybius,

as the skeleton of a sponge, or the shell of a Foraminifer

belong to their respective protoplasmic sarcodes.

Since Professor Huxley completed the observations to

which I have referred, Dr. Carpenter and Professor Wyville

Thompson have conducted a very important series of deep-

sea dredgings off the north coasts of Scotland, and in the

neighborhood of the Faroe Islands. In Capt. Dayman’s

dredging operations the viscid mud was found between the

fifteenth and forty-fifth degrees of W. longitude. Those of

Drs. Carpenter and Thompson were carried on much further

eastward; but in the latter instance the same deposit was

found over a range of at least two hundred miles, through-

out which the dredge came up from time to time filled with

Globigerina-mud and saturated with Bathybius, with its asso-

ciated Coccoliths and Coccospheres. The Globigerina de-

posit exists in a similar manner in many and distant parts

of the ocean, in both hemispheres ; and it is more than prob-

able that when the remote localities are subjected to the

same examination as our northern seas have recently under-

gone, Bathybius will be found in them also. Its low organ-

ization renders it probable that it will be found to be like its

companion Globigerina, a thorough cosmopolite. On this

= point Dr. Carpenter suggests that the range of these objects

— by temperature rather than by locality. It was

2 uo E some DA. f great Depths » the North Atlantic Ocean, Quarterly

Jour f erst Sec, Oct., 1868, p.

WHAT IS BATHYBIUS? 659

already known that many deep-sea localities existed, in which

the Globigerina-mud did not occur; and it had even been

suggested that its range was limited to that of the warm

Gulf-stream. Dr. Carpenter confirms this general conclu-

- sion, and points out that its prevalence is connected with a

bottom temperature of 45°, which in our northern latitudes

can only be attributed to the Gulf-stream.

Bathybius yet requires to be considered in two other

important relationships — the one geological and the other

zoological.

Chalk, examined microscopically, has long been known to

abound in minute ovate organisms, known as crystalloids,

associated with the Globigerinæ and Textillariæ, of which

chalk mainly consists. I recognized the organic Fig. 102.

origin of these bodies in 1847, and figured (Fig.

102) one of them very imperfectly, viewed as an

opaque object, in my memoir "On some of the Mi-

croscopie Objects found in the Mud of Levant ;"*

but, ignorant of Coccoliths, I concluded that

they belonged to some minute form of Oolina or Lagena.

More recently Mr. Sorby has subjected these bodies to a

much more careful examination, and both he and Dr. Wal-

lich have identified them with Professor Huxley's Coccoliths.

It now appears that both Coccoliths, Cyatholiths and Cocco-

spheres, occur fossilized in the chalk, establishing, in a

remarkable manner, the close resemblance of the conditions

under which the chalk-beds were formed and those existing

along the traet of the Gulf-stream at the present day. Dr.

Carpenter goes even further than this, and regards it as

"highly probably that the deposit of Globigerina-mud has

been going on over some part or other of the North Atlantic

sea-bed, from the Cretaceous epoch to the present time (as

there is much reason to think that it did elsewhere in

anterior geological periods), this mud being not merely a

chalk formation, but a continuation of the chalk formation ;

* “ Trans. Phil. Soċ., Manchester,” Vol. viii, fig. 71.

660 WHAT IS BATHYBIUS ?

so that we may be said to be still living in the cretaceous

epoch.

With the earlier part of the preceding paragraph I partly

agree, but from its concluding sentence I must dissent.

Chalk chiefly consists of an accumulation of Globigerina

cretacea, associated in almost equal proportions with a minute

Textillaria and with Coccoliths. The fossil Globigerina is

probably but a mere variety of the recent G. bulloides;

hence so far as it is concerned, ancient and modern deposits

may have been continuous. But in none of the modern

Globigerina beds which I have examined have I found any-

thing resembiing the fossil Cretaceous Textillaria, the disap-

pearance of which requires to be accounted for. What I

believe to be the same species occurs abundantly, amongst

other modern types of Foraminifera, in the recent sandy

deposit underlying Boston in Lincolnshire, but I never suc-

ceeded in discovering it living in the sea. From some un-

known cause it has disappeared. On the other hand, our

modern deposits abound in Diatoms and Radiolarie, of

which no trace appears in the true Cretaceous beds. That

in the depth of the Atlantic Cretaceous and modern depos-

its may be conformably and continuously superimposed is

not impossible, but conformable continuity of series does

not constitute identity of age or of formation. In the Spee-

ton clay of the Yorkshire coast we have, in the same blue

deposit, a transition from the Oolites to the Cretaceous beds.

The deposits have continued to accumulate without physical

change from the one age to the other, but the formations to

which the upper and lower portions of this clay belong are

distinct, and represent distinct epochs. Dr. Carpenter is

disposed to conclude that the higher forms of the Atlantic

and Cretaceous faune will prove to be nearly identical; but

I doubt this, and we must not repeat the blunder of Ehren-

berg, in the case of the tertiary beds of the Mediterranean

TE = cct which he regarded as Cretaceous, because he found

*“ Proceedings of the Royal Society," Vol. xvii, p. 192.

WHAT IS BATHYBIUS ? 661

that they abounded in Cretaceous types of Foraminifera,

overlooking the wide differences presented by the higher

organizations of the two formations. So in the instance

under consideration. Owing to the low vitality of the Pro-

tozoa, some of them have survived the changes which time

has wrought in the higher groups of animals. The recent

Globigerine and Bathybia are probably descendants from

those which lived during the Cretaceous period, but their

companions are not the same. The abundant Textillaria

are replaced by Diatoms and Radiolarie. Instead of Mar-

supites we have the Rhizocrinus. The Ananchytes and Gal-

erites are represented by Cidarites and Spatangi ; amongst

star-fishes Tosia (Goniaster) has given place to Ophiocoma.

For the chambered Cephalopods we have the modern cuttle-

fishes, whilst the Saurians and Ganoid fishes of the Creta-

ceous age have left no descendants in these Atlantic depths,

their places being taken, in all probability, by the more

familiar and much more useful codtish.

The zoological affinities of Bathybius are not very difficult

to understand, though the young student is apt to become

bewildered by the growing number of classifications of the

Protozoa that are being offered for his acceptance, and the

multitude of new terms with which, in consequence of these

new classifications, our journals have become loaded. The

last of these arrangements is that of Hackel, who has

separated the Protozoa, under the name of Protista,

equally from plants on the one hand and from ani-

mals on the other. He regards them as the common

starting-point from which, in accordance with Darwinian

ideas, both plants and animals have derived their origin.

Without necessarily accepting this creation of a third

organic kingdom, we may beneficially recognize Háckel's

division of the Ameban section of the Protozoa into two

groups, viz. : the Monera and the Protoplasta; the former

comprehending those Amæbæ which exhibit an uniform

granular sarcode without any trace of or differentiation into

662 REVIEWS.

special organs, and the latter including those types in which

we have such special structures in the form of contractile

vesicles, nuclei, or other differentiated appendages. So far

as the structure of the sarcode is concerned, Bathybius is

apparently a true Monera, and such its discoverer considers

it to be. At the same time, the existence in connection

with it of Coccoliths and Cyatholiths indicates the necessity

for separating it from Hickel’s other Monera, which have no

such special appendages. But the time has not arrived for

determining the absolute relations of these objects. New

types, as Hàckel himself admits, are being discovered, ren-

dering modifications of his groups necessary. Meanwhile

there can be no question that Bathybius is the lowest of

those known Protozoa, which, like the Foraminifera, secrete

calcareous elements. Remembering the extent to which the

sarcode is diffused through the mud of the Atlantic, there

appears much that is suggestive and important in the obser-

vation of Dr. Carpenter, that, had its power of secreting a

calcareous framework been somewhat increased, so that in-

stead of detached structures in the form of Coccoliths, ete.,

it had produced a continuous calcareous mass, it would have

given us a living prototype of the Laurentian Eozoon. The

discovery of this widely and continuously diffused Bathybius

strongly sustains Dr. Carpenter in his conviction of the ani-

mal origin of that primeval structure.— Popular Science

Review, October, 1869.

REVIEWS.

REsULTS or DEEP SEA DREDGING BETWEEN CUBA AND FLORIDA.*— Mr.

A. Agassiz makes a “ Preliminary Report on Echini and Starfishes Dredged

in Deep Water." Part Ist is devoted to descriptions of new genera and

ang Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, No. 9, Preliminary Report on the Echin

alee 'arfishes Dredged in Deep Water between Cuba and the Florida Reef, by L. F. de Pour- |

"Mes, Ass’t U. S. Coast Survey, Prepared by Alexander Agassiz, pp. 253-318. j

REVIEWS. 663

new species. The second part is **On the Young Stages of Echini."

'The collections of Count Pourtales included many very young specimens.

With these Mr. Agassiz has been able to study the young of thirty odd

different species belonging to*as many different genera. These observa-

has arrived and the direction in which his labors are likely to affect the

received ideas of the "leMona of the Echini amongst thems elves.

than to place the me extremes ni tl i t only in diff t species, but often in different

genera, and even in different famil

The diffe rni stages of vitem of Toxopneustes drobachiensis Ag., rep-

resent in the younger stages nd then Hemicidaris, then esie

adema, Echinocidaris, and Heliocidari

In Cidaris, Diadema, and i. the changes are less marked, and in

Echinometra they are greater than in any other genus of the regular

Echini

e is frequently find specimens « the same size, where in one cage the outline is almost

cone high, surmou nted by numerous short stout spines,

Among the Clypeastroids we find in the young during their growth great changes of form

and structure taking place.”

The transformations of Mellita testudinata and Encope emarginata are

described as identical, whilst those of Mellita testudinata and Mellita hex

pora are not so much siena hepa both of the "— genus.

se The development of Stolono ostratus, and flat Clypeastroids of the type of Cly-

ene to show that in "connection with mhe develop-

ment of the Scutellidæ ab described p y p Z

ti T ti Seu yis na, Runa. Echinocvamus

hich may eventually prove to be nothing but the young of other .Clypeastro: ed ay Heia,

Mawes Laganum, Stolonoclypus, ed ova Encope, an tes the like; but want of suffic’

material p reve; ents me from eit into this oom parison re in detail. D. we ee

thr h phases which cannot be

disti Moulinsia Fibularia, Runa, Scutellina, ond. the Ciypeastroids proper pass,

as I shall show bel th 1 Echinocyamu

“The develo’ ment d light the affinities of the

toothless porera and of f the Cassidulide. It shows conclusively that Echinoneus is only a

permanent em onie stage of ( Echinolampas, thus 3 becoming allied to me Cant

the Lr matak with teeth.”

E rt of the work is full of important observations giving detailed

Fiir eg of the development of the species ` dd ort of the general

propositions a few of which we have quoted ab

Part No. III. is on their Bathymetrical and Egip Distribution.

Here Mr. Agassiz reaches a most important and interesting conclusion.

He concludes, from a specimen of Ananchytes, probably pane ge radi-

ata found on the Isthmus of Panama, that the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico

ratin,

first the deep sea Cretaceous forms, then those of the next zone, which

Mr. Agassiz says are ‘‘representatively of Tertiary genera,” and finall

dividing the littoral species. which are now represented by numerous

664 REVIEWS.

closely allied or identical species. The fact that we are now to look for

zones of life in which the genera are representative of former geological

ages from the Cretaceous upwards, according to their depth, if true, is

not less interesting than Professor Forbts’ original discovery of the

bathymetrical distribut tion of marine forms. The investigators of the two

faune h i i

, X

ence which could not be accounted for if there had been any very wide

channel communicating between the two oceans since the existing spe-

cies came into being.

. Duncan, from his investigations in his article ** On the Fossil Corals

of the West Indian Islands,"* is disposed to admit the connection of the

genera resembling the present Indo-Pacific forms predominated in the

Tertiary formation over those which are allied to genera now existing in

the Caribbean seas, and Mr. J. C. Morse,t who has examined the fossil

shells of San Domingo, confirms this view so far as to admit that Tertiary

species like those now living in the Pacific are found in the rocks of that

island.

It would appear, therefore, from these conclusions, and those reached

by Mr. Agassiz and Professor Verrill, that the connection of the faune

must have been much more general in former geological periods, and that

Indo-Pacific species actually did at one time cross their present bounda-

ries and encroach upon the Atlantic, although subsequently driven back

to their original limits

The absolute identity of existing species of fishes common to both

shores of Central America, and the similar physical conditions under

which they exist, as pointed out by Dr. Günther, t forms another element

in this curious pro

If the Mire opuieatal hypothesis hes adopted, how shall we account for

-of physical causes or through natural selection, why did others, tmd

allied to them anatomically, remain unchanged? Why do we not hav

the frosh-water lakes of Managua a nd] Nicaragua some forms such as yo

; shes found in the fresh-water lakes of Sweden, which

were formed 4 the rise of the lands now dividing the Baltic from the

Arctic

— Why did "id Pacific fauna retreat after the Tertiary period, leaving, a8

* Quarterly Journal Geological Society of London, xix, 1863. PM

T'Trans. Zool. Soc., London. VI, p. 397, 1868.

REVIEWS. 665

Mr. Lyman shows below, the Caribbean fauna in undisputed possession

of the Atlantic side, with outlying species on the Pacific shores

o Cretaceous forms occupy the depths, and Tertiary genera the mid-

dle ground of the coast on the Pacific side, and if so, what are the rela-

tions of these facts to the geological history of North America?

These are a few of the questions which pea themselves and which

can only be answered by farther investigati

our own expeditions have not obtained specimens from

such deep ge us the "o ħave been none the less interesting.

It was announced by Professor L. Agassiz at the last meeting of the

American fase BHR that it was the intention of the Superintendent of

the Coast Survey to carry out other lines of sounding from the Atlantic

side and still others from the Pacific

The enlightened spirit of appreciation ax the present needs of science

—Ó in o expeditions of the Coast Survey, and the great impor-

tance of sou s they have already attained, promise to accomplish as

mu EN for the progress of Natural History in this country as ae have

hitherto As that of Geography and the Physical History of the sea.

Part IV. contains a ** List of Star-fishes, which, thougn rang oa is

depths of from five to one hundred and seventy-four fathoms, present an

ünexpected departure from iini was offered in other dredgings."

“ With the exception of the Pte "et and cd deeeqprivcit acti detiene the bathymetrical

and geographical distribution of ssi star

Mr. Lyman's report* on the Ophiuridæ a: Astrophytidze shows that

all the new types of these families are found only below one hundred

fathoms. Seven of these new genera are und at length. Mr. Ly-

man's conclusions are confirmatory of those published by Mr. Agassiz;

he, however, does not seem prepared to go quite so far.

In showing that there are obstacles in the way of the hypothesis that

the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific were joined x a strait across what is

now the Isthmus of Panama, the author asks a very pertinent question.

Why do we not find Pacific forms on the bade i side? The evidence

all goes to show that there has been a migration of species from the

Caribbean to the Pacific, but none from the Pacific to the Caribbean.

This objection has already been partially answered, as we have remarked

above, by investigations upon the Tertiary shclls and corals of the West

. Indian Islands

Count Kont report t gives us a descriptive list of the Crinoids.

suus M, Bulletin or The Museum of Comparative Zoology. Re port on the "ripae and

e Pourtales.

Assistant, U Uu 8. Coast Survey. Prepared | by Theodore re oe

, No. 11 eee of Crinoia obtained on the

of Florida and Cuba, by the United States Coast Survey, Gulf Is, in

eo gsi By L. F. de Pourtales, Assistant, U. S. Coast Survey, pp.

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. III. 84

666 REVIEWS.

The late researches of Professor Sars upon the anatomy of this singu-

lar group has given it a preponderating interest to readers of these re-

searches, and Count Pourtales' list shows that we may expect still greater

additions to our knowledge. The author describes five new Species of

Antedon, and mentions that Pentacrinus Müllerii was digest ata depth of

two hundred and seventy fathoms off Havana, and at three hundred and

fifteen fathoms off Double-headed Shot Keys, but ios on the Florida side

of the Gulf Stream.

epu en Lofotensis has been obtained several times during the sea-

of 1869, in depths varying from two hundred and thirty-seven to four

alan and fifty fathoms. The author ulso states that he has seen the

arkable

and almost precipitous elevation of the bed of the Atlantic, sociale

discovered by the Swedish Frigate Josephine between the coast of Por-

tugal and the Azores. In this collection he saw Rhizocrinus Lofotensis,

Echinocucumis typica and Pteraster onre aa common to the coast

of — TN and the deep ses adnan _ the

ined in deep water hoi reef are few in number, and are

and ne spied to, not Janention! with, thoes a the gen m fauna af Nor vn The Tw

at Pro made were never found in the dredge.”

IL CRINOIDS OF OHIO AND KENTUCKY.f— This article comprises

kica of thirteen new species and two new genera, Hadrocrinus

and Ataxiacrinus. Mr. Lyon has passed some thirty years in pelis.

the collection which forms the basis of his descriptions in the neighbor-

hood of the Falls of the Ohio, and the thoroughness of his Peas

derive additional value for the interesting character € this locality. The

new species belong respectively to genera, Hadrocrinus, Actinocrínus,

Cyathocrinus, Poteriocrinus, Platycrinus, ep ape Ataxiacrinus, and

Zeacrinus.

MONOGRAPH or THE PHasiNIDAE.] — Under this title Mr. Elliot, who

is Lo : proposes to issue a companion work to his large :

and beautiful folio yip of the “Grouse Family," the “Ant

Thrushes,” and work on the **New and Heretofore Unfigured Birds

of North America." 'The QUT work will contain figures, with ac-

companying text, of all the known species .of Pheasants, a Fowl,

Turkeys, Pea Fowl, Guinea Fowl, etc. The plates will dip nt the spe-

cies of life size and will be from original paintings by WOLF, lithographed

by ANS and colored by hand. The monograph will be completed

* Bulletin of Museum of Comparative 3 Zoology, No. 12. List of Holothuride from the

ig octo of the United States Coast Survey. By L. F. de Pourtales, Assistant U.

Const Burvey, pp. 359-361.

_ t Remarks on

H 1 Indiana

and Ohio; and a deseription of of certain peculiarities jn m sractae ct he ans ot

nus, and their

Society, London.

REVIEWS. 661

in five parts, each part containing fifteen plates. Not more than two

parts a year will be issued, and they will be sold to subscribers sea at

four guineas each part. This proposed work will be a handsome addi-

tion to the libraries of all who can afford so viet a luxury, and we trust

that, as the price is beyond the means of most students of ornithology,

copies will at least be secured for the salina libraries of this country

It will give us pleasure. to forward subscriptions for the wor a: or Mr.

Elliot can be addressed direct, care of the Zoological Society, London.

MONOGRAPH OF THE KINGFISHERS.* — We have already called attention

to this beautiful monograph, six parts of which, containing the letter-

press and plates of nm nine species of this brilliant family of birds,

have been received. The plates are most bea yai) executed in colors

by Mr. KEULEMANS, and the work is in every way worthy the support of

Fiume n in this country, and of all others who may wish for a

andsome work for their library or drawing room. At present we

Bick that our own copy is the only one taken i HA a, but w

trust that this will not be so long, and that mme iie last part is scil

we shall see the names of several of our patrons of science on the list;

but if they are to be there it must be done soon, as only two hundred

ers. The work is to be completed in fourteen parts, each part contain-

ing at least eight plates. Professor MURIE is to contribute a chapter on

the Anatomy and Osteology of the Kingfishers illustrated by plates.

A MONOGRAPH OF THE CAPITONID;E. fTÉ— We take wem in WARE

attention to the prospectus of this companion work to

* Monograph of the Kingfishers.” Like the latter birds, the Soe

are possessed of the most brilliant and varied plumage, and considered as

a whole, they are scarcely surpassed in beauty by any other family of thé.

Picaric.. .

“mhe authors feel that their experience in, India has enabled them to gain a considerable

knowledge of the general characteristics of the Eastern members of the family, while the re-

cent exertions of Naturalists in Africa and South America, have materially contributed to

elucidate the economy of the Barbets inhabiting pei portions of the globe. While acknowl-

edging the great amount of work that has been of late years with regard to the Barbets,

the authors cannol viget riens — a Monograph nog the — ion full na of the

birds, their structure, a gg dine ratio ns of every

spectes, will be an acceptable contribution to emen ogical Sci h 4

bet the : standard which the present state of Scien — no ud will be spared; d LH is

hand-book reference to the scientific

a handsome addition to the Library or or the Dreti oom. e that the pintes n be

executed by M ds J.G. K: be a sufficient guarantee for the excellence of this por-

tion of the un K^

* By R. B. Sharpe. F een parts, it. Zoologieal Society, London. 'The otia rie

of this work is Io. 6d. cach part Orders w: ili he taken M. Mie Norralt Agency at the rate

0 , care of the Zoolog-

ical Society, ll Hanover Square, LONDON, W.

H. T. Marshall aud and G, F. L. Marshall. Eleven parts, Te eoim Society, Lon-

ge e “Monograph

PE 3 s do eee

668 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY

, The work will be published in quarterly parts. Each part will contain

eight beautifully colored lithographs, with acc companying letter-press.

The whole work will contain about eighty plates, and will be completed

in eleven parts. The first number is announced for January, 1870

THE GEOLOGY OF ALASKA.* — The most interesting results of Mr. Dall’s

explorations are the determination of the facts that west of the 105th

egree of longitude the Alaskan coast is rising, that the former violence

of volcanic forces is diminishing throughout the resco and that there

are no evidences of general gincisl action. Mr. Dall has travelled thirteen

of a general ie QUE cunda Sheet, and the theory of floating ice. In

: 1 :

northern slope of the —— Mountains Me all the rest of North-

eastern America must have been covered by

If Alaska was discas by the waters of eo Pacific, why did not the

floating icebergs score the surface, and if it was out of water during the

glacial epoch, why did not the great terrestrial glacier of the east have its

counterpart in the Arctic valley of the Yukon?

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

BOTANY.

‘SPONTANEOUS Morion OF PROTOPLASM.— Professor J. B. Schnetzler

l e that they are found only in living protoplasm. Professor

ias Bose: believes that the principal cause which provokes the motion

Sea MEM PEE ETE EE Aue ru ee i RI

qo fne Geolory of Alaska, by W. H. Dall, 8vo, pamph., 12 pp. From the ——

Survey.

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 669

is the chemical action of oxygen, which passes through the wall of the

cell, and of which a portion is probably transformed into ozone under the

influence of light, as occurs also in the globules of blood. The most

strongly refracted rays of light have a marked influence on thes -

rents, which are also no doubt affected by the currents of zr Poeni

which form, under the DREI of water, between the surface of the leaf

and the contents of the cells. The energy of the motion pools prirci-

pally on the temperature, showing the greatest vigor between 16? and 209

C. In the point of view of mechanical theory, we have here evidently

an example of the eh mation of light and of heat into motion. The

Anacharis is especially favorable for the observation of these motions ;

as, in consequence of the transparency of its tissue, they can be watched

under the microscope without any preparation. — Nature, London.

eo — Of the eri ig va imas which seems to

attract nsiderable Hci in England, Dr. Spruce, the denne

PREIS traveller in South feine vati that it is sine: ess one of

those varieties vesca co nly cultivated Penes the

S agari

Andes within the tropics, where the perpetual spring of that favored re-

gion has had the effect of rendering hos strawberry perennially fruitful,

and many of the deciduous-leaved t of Europe viri, dune In the

Equatorial Andes the province of pesos is famous for its strawberries,

which equal in size and flavor some of our best varieties, i. which are

to be seen exposed for sale in the market- -place every day in the yu

iecit REEN, Dec. 11.

ANOTHER WHITE RIETY.— During the summer of 1868, while near

the White sageta New Hampshire, I observed a white variety of

Epilobium angustifolium. As I have not seen this mentioned in the Nar-

URALIST, I contribute it to the list of floral albinos which has been so

largely increased the past season. In the NATURALIST of several months

ago, a white variety of Viola cuculata is spoken of by a Western writer.

This color I do not think is unusual in this species, as I have observed it

during the past ten years in Saratoga Co., N. Y., and have also seen it

where. — HENRY M. Myers, Williamstown, Mass.

BoTANICAL SPECIMENS. — A. H. Curtiss, Liberty, Bedford Co., Va., has

botanical specimens (catalogue furnished) for exchange for specimens of

Minerals, Geology, Shells and Insects.

ZOÓLOGY.

OCCURRENCE OF AN AMERICAN LAND SNAIL IN ENGLAND. — In a commu-

nication to the November number of the ** Annals and Magazine of Nat-

ral History," by J. Gwyn Jeffries, the occurrence of Planorbis dilatatus

Gould, is noticed at Manchester, England. Since it was found in

near the cotton mills, the writer suggests that in some way the eggs might

have been conv eyed there in the cotton from America, and thus intro-

670 NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY.

duced the species. Planorbis dilatatus, however, does not occur in cotton

growing regions, and therefore some other explanation must be made for

ts importation into England. ely, Mohan tentaculata, peculiar to

Europe, has been found in d sil nity of Montreal. Whether these

cial intercourse, or are really cireumpolar species which have thus far

eluded the collector’s eye, must be decided soit — for the species in

various and widely separated regions of the country.

* ZooLoGicus” has succeeded in misconcei ving some very plain state-

ments and in supplying some imentary zoólogical informatio

which perhaps no reader of the *:lilies " has felt the need of. he parallel

drawn in the “lilies” is corre The hexagonal form results in micro-

crystal it results from the aggregation of hexagonal particles. The other

misconceptions of bo timo ” are so peculiarly his own that they need

not be noticed. — CHEM

THE SEUM O PO iUd ZoOLoGy is prepared to furnish exten-

sive collections of all the rocks and loose deposits found upon and about

fresh and well preserved specimens, in exc ange for recent and fossil

corals from other parts of the world. spend lg denne Director of

the Museum of Comparative tio: Cambridge, Mc

Proressor AGassiz.— “ Our Young Folks” for — contains the

best portrait of Professor Agassiz that we havé ever seen, and we advise all

who have not seen him, and wish to know how he looks, to send twenty

cents to Fields, Osgood & Co., Boston, for a copy of the number, which

also contains ** A Sketch of. the Life of Professor Agassiz."

OBITUARY or MICHAEL Sars.— We have received a circular from the

Royal University of Norway, announcing the death of Professor Michael

, ê NES i

quently presided succession over the parishes of Bergen and Manger.

His theological ca eer appears to have been adopted merely as a means

conferred upon him the precious boon of Misa study.

The | life of this eminent Norwegian is full of encouragem to many

- naturalists, many of whom are located, as Sars was call 1854,

ar from books or r museums, and obliged to work out their investi-

NATURAL HISTORY MISCELLANY. 671

gations with “poor and incomplete" instruments. During the period

referred to, Professor Sars completed many of his finest researches an

began his greatest single work, the ** Fauna Littoralis Norvegiæ.”

GEOLOGY.

EVIDENCES OF THE GULF STREAM IN HiGH LATITUDES. — Admiral C.

Irminger of the Danish Navy, has for ais thirty years made observa-

tions on this subject, and states that **it can be said with certainty that

the current in the Northern Atlantic aes towards the north, even up to

the Icy Sea." Between Fairhill and Greenland a constant drift or slow

current of the ocean, to the north was observed; and the mean of obser-

vations between 32? and 39? W. of Greenwich gave 3:2 nautical miles per

day north.» This drift of the ocean in a northerly direction towards the

coast of Greenland, is besides observable in the temperature of the water

This drift, or slow current in the Atlantic, is the cause why the harbors

of Norway, even farther than North Cape, and as far as the Fiord of

severest winters, ships may go to Havneford and other places in the Faxe

bay of Iceland, where they always will be sure of finding open sea. If

this current to the north in the Atlantic did not exist, the ice from the

sea around Spitzbergen would float down to far more southern latitudes

than is now the case; and certainly the coasts of Norway, as well as

from the Icy Sea, and the influence of the ice would then be felt on the

climate of the neighboring coasts. But this is not the case, and we know

that the ice from the Icy Sea (Greenland ice) only can force its way to

the southward between Iceland and Greenland, along the east coast o.

Greenland, rounding Cape Farewell, and afterwards passing Labrador,

Newfoundland, and farther south.

Between Shetland and Cape Farewell there are found streaks of warmer

water which are supposed to have their origin from the Gulf Stream.

These may possibly be caused by the pressure of the current coming from

Labrador, passing Newfoundland, etc., where,this current influences more

or less the limits of the Gulf Stream, Syra its heated waters to

nd a

the 1

reenland, etc., I believe also to be a proof that the cen Stream sends

its waters far to the north. sees the tropical products artis

found is the bean of the Mimosa scandens, which I found on the s

of Iceland. — Scientific Opi

G72 CORRESPONDENCE, ETC.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

C. G. A. Augusta, Maine. — The shrub from Schoodic River is Lonicera c cerulea, or

Mountain FI ;-honey: backe. The plant from Fox omn. oe Maine, is Polygo-

ae tum, or Broad leaved Solomon’s Seal. —

JS. H. P., ; N. H. — Your specimen is Coccoloba platyclados, a singular

cac ot the pcan et 1 Polygonums, or Knot weeds, and lately much cultivated,

BOOKS RECEIVED.

ological Report of the Exploration of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers. By F. V.

n den. $vo, E 174. Maps. (Government Report) 1869.

Annual Report of the map; des the enin e the year 1869. 8vo, pp. 26. Washington.

Scientific Opinion. Lond ber 1,8, 15, 22, 29.

Volcanoes and Earthgu ey ere aes e by T. Sterry Hunt. New York, 1869, 8vo, pp. 10.

PE agaid ee n ed a New Species of Grapta, and Notes on G. interrogationis, By J. A. Lintner.

iibodieners. der Naturwissenschafiliche Verein zu y gie Bd. 2. Heft. L >

opia al Verein zu Stettin. mas citum . 1-3. Mince 1869. 8v oO.

1-4. — Lefnad Steck rial r, ete. sii

Protichnites from the Potsdam Sa pry ef ew Y. By Ò. € a pep ista, 8vo.

(Extracted from American Journal of Sci 189] ^

Le Naturaliste Canadien. Vol.ii. No. L pim 1869,

The American Horticultural ers for 1870. 12mo, yes and gu m Agricultural

dine for 1870. 12mo, pp. 150. New York. Inside Judd & » each.

w $» [Ex xtracted from Amer. vob, Sei. and Arts. 1

t, Bird a . B ia G. Wilder. mon Harper's Mnt. 869.]

Notice € of the ted by Professo: rtt on the amu of Brazil in 1867, to-

ther oe a ‘ist of "the E species of Brazilian Podophéhalials, gi SIDNEY I. SMITH.

rrom the s. Connecticut Acad. of Arts and Sciences. Vol.ii.] 8vo,pp.42. Plate. 1869.

‘scaler un "fpe to the Advancement of Agricutture, By George ee kland. 8vo, pp. 52.

sy adi ons York — gricultural Society. 1869.

nd Polyps of the North Pac c Exploring Expedition, Partiv. Actinaria,

Supplement ud Geographica I List. By rid Varrill. nD. Plates. [From Proceed.

ee ang Vols v-vi.

Notes on the Geology of Western Texas and of Chihuahua, Mexico. James P. Kimball.

(From Amer. Journ. Sei T Pp. Ib r : =

Tidsskrift for P t Oct., 1869. . Kjobenhavn.

Annals of the Lyceum of Sergius ae iude of New York. Vol. ix , No. 8, inis ber, 1869.

ia of Massachusetts. By J, A. Allen. Bulletin of the Mw of Comparative Zool-

ogy, No.8. pp. 143-253.

e an Journal unat of Numismatics, Vol iv, No.8. Dec., 1869. New York.

The Chemical News, with an Supplement. Dec., 1869. Vol. v, No. 6.

The Annals of Iowa. October, 1809. Davenport. 8yo.

: Sea in the Guif Stream, during the Third Cruise of the U. S:

addressed to Prof. B. Peirce, Supt. Bulletin of the

ER Einer = Coast Survey, Lo de

nf tee National Association of Wool Manufacturers. Vol.1, No.4. Oct., 1869. Bos-

y Journal of "-— with the Proceedings of the Natu-

1 Hist y So d Mona YS oh fry No, 8, Sept., 1869, Dawson & Bros. ontreal.

LL Nov. 6, 13. 90.

CONTRIBUTORS. 613

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS.

2 A. ALLEN of Cambridge, Mass., . ` Pages 505, 568, 631

W. W. Baiter of Providence, R. I, . 3 S x ‘ > 356

H. M. BANNISTER of Evanston, Ill., i i ode ers vu as DM

T. M. Brewer M.D. of Boston, s: n š 3 . 225

C. B. BnurGHaM of Boston, Mass., " x : ; 131, 207, 373

Hon. J. D. Caton of Ottawa, Ill., ` : i x 28, 119, 519

- Rev. J. W. CHICKERING, jr. of Exeter, N. H., 128

Prof. CLELAND (copied from Popular Science RosMw;. Lon don b) 586

J. G. Cooper, M.D. of San Francisco, Cal., 31, 73, 124, 182, 470, 294, 405

A. CoorrpGE, M.D. of Boston, Mas 288

Prof. E. D. Cork of tabulas "ud i * 5 . 3 84

Error Cours, M.D., U. S. Army, ^ s . š 337, 600

Wm. H. Datu of Washington, D. E . 5 i > 35, 236

E. Dexter of West Barnstable, Mass., i : ` : ji 202

Prof A. M. Epwarps of New York, N. Y. . 313, 427, 561

Wm. E. Enpicotr of Canton, Mass., i » + E 169

AuGUsTUS FowLER of Danvers, Mass., * i . 8, 116, 422, 535

E. GREENE Of Decatur, Ill., $ 5

tu Ll. * E * è ; $

Mrs. Lucie L. Hartr of Ithaca, N. Y., i » A 251

Prof. F- V. HAYDEN Of aes x à s m . * 113

W. J. Hays of New York, N. > i è E 180

Prof. G. Hinricus of Iowa i "iii, $ * ‘ » 299

AB 0 HOt MD of ag sed i à " n . " 13

M f

JosEPH JoNEs, M.D. o ew Orl y Dto A " * y 5T

Joun L. LEeCoNTE, M.D. of Philadelphia, 1 PR; “ = $ 307

M SaMUEL Lockwoop of Keyport, N. à * ^ ^ 261

E. S. Morse of Salem, Mass i 21. 269, 530, 648

Prof. rogi Orton of boone, X. Y., r * " i 539

S. PACKARD, jr., M.D. of Salem, . f . . à . 364

GkonGE A. PERKINS, M.D. of Salem, * 3 ‘ * b 360

Rev. GeorGEe E. Post of Palestine, . - ‘ $ . s 121

F. W. Purnam of Salem, Mass $ n 617

Rosert RipGeway of Washington, ^ is * * 309

f 3 " * ^ 91

R. E. C. STEARNS of San Francisco, Cal., . 1.250, 281, 349, 397, en

T. Martin Tripre of Orange, N. Y., : š A -

Prof. A. E. VERRILL of New €— Dom... :

CHARLES A. WALKER of Chelsea, Mas 186, 189, =

Prof. W. C. WiLLIAMSON (copied ios Pon dis Re-

view, rca í 651

, M.D. of East Windsor Hin, Cii. : 17, 393

Bryce M. eren Men jr. of London, Eng., . ^ 449

AMER. NATURALIST, VOL. IH, 85

674

CONTRIBUTORS.

LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS TO THE REVIEWS, MISCELLANY, ETC.

Thomas Affleck, age ene Miss.

A. Mass.

Prof. S. F. made

Edwin Bicknell, Belen Mass.

G. A. Boardman, Milltown, Me.

William B er, Ca ge, Mass.

William T. Brigham, seese Mass.

Hon. G. W.C MD y n

Baldwin Coolidge,

Prof. E. D.

W. H. Dall, Washin mate + D A C.

enry Davis, McGregor, Iowa.

Prof. A. M. Edwards, New York.

W.H. Edwards, oivat rgh, Va.

H. L. Gedney, Potsdam, N. Y.

M. S. Hill, East Liverpool, po

Prof. G. Hinrichs, Iowa Cit a.

rwin Hughes, Marshall pits

alem, Mas

Sir John Lubbock. (Scientific Gode)

Dr. C. F. Lütken, Copenhagen.

G. F. Matthews, St. John, N. B.

C. H. Nauman, yes caster, Pa.

George Sidi "een. by the late) of

Englan

Dno. 8, Packard, jr., Salem, Mass.

ere ansas

, Centre Co., Fom:

rof. J. L. Russell, fedens Mass.

samuel H. Scudder, Boston, Mass.

, Orange, N. Y.

G. a Tryon, jr., Philadelphia, Penn.

Prof. A. E. Verrill, New Haven, Conn.

Dr. R. L. Walker, ga Sas pe

Prof. C. A. White, Iowa Cit

C. Vade eiecti Utica,

f..C. A. Young, Hanover, N. H.

pre COPIED FROM

Seda nk Naturelles, Paris.

= TER,

don

Quarterly Journal di is London.

Scientific Opinion, L

Nature, London.

‘Ameboid. Like

GLOSSARY.’

Accipitres. The Hawks, Tun and Eagles.

pyra? Free from color

m narrow spineless zones,

perforated pe o fles

Bea- — — and Star.

aede G

Ameeba, an animal of a} c

ized or organs. o structure and no special- iia

vs ag suckers of the — (Gr. marsupion).

A genus of the —— se

tic

genus of the Brachiopods, or

Pertaining to

order of Mammalia, which carry the

T. ana, mpwanis: dromos, yous gin =

a pou

esentery. A f

vectis Re lating to the carn EE -— of the membrane lin

that pass. a certain seasons, ea| ing the tbdominat cavity. which suspends

into the riv and holds in place the small intes

Apical. Relating to the apex or t ik ésas. ame given to the ponen port

AMrcheopte A. fossil oed nd Bass west ed the dne Moubtalna-

Amnios. in rane unds| Metatarsal. Rela to the metatarsus,

+ the — in rile wom or instep bones

Azotized. mpregnated with azote, nitro-| Miocene. cu second division of the Ter-

gen. tiary epoc

Venice . Relating to the heart.

ian. Relating to a family (Cecido-

mide) Z e tera.

Cari of turtles and other -—

Za l (Gr. chloros, green; phullon, a

D: he Ec matter in od taper ES

3 nec es,

al NV

i en A A org of

n The ot oc

marsupial animals with webbed feet.

Columellar. Relatin: wc E the coe od or

central axis Mus

Mes er of minute Crusta-

Cor. id flattened bone, passing

[ont the ed er-joint to the sternum.

rs (Gr. deinos, terrible; sauros, a

Dinosaw

Lizar d). An order of fossil reptiles.

yi nemini (Latin, foramen, a hole; fero

ry). Perforaied shells sees by

ba-like animal, and belon; neng S

the heri or lowe: st MIA e

—— 2 (Gr. monos, single; trema. a

hole). An order of Mam Sn tee ton

he orifice posteriorly tate a wit the

tals and intestine open

limy diei etion.

otoci Chorda dorsalis of the cere

pag ag replaced by the spinal co of

eter Lamang - at

e bones

grt protect the the r5 of "o B Mol-

eq th e valve which closes the shell of

a snail.

dote rous. Animals which hatch their

young from an e Wide the body, their

young being excluded alive.

| Peeudow False-e; as in the ov of

Mm a the poa "Finat lice boo M md

Mollusc: erally w ganidan. Relating e Phrygan:

single coiled shell san de. — disc ides mily of insects containing species of .

or below, as in eri Caddice-flies.

Globigerina. . A genus 01 Picrotoxia sor pikirs, bitter; toxikon, poi-

Graptolites. Fossils of the Silurian gn son). poi — principle of an

probably Jelly-fish, or Hydroids Bast Indian p» ba c e

Heterocercal. Fishes with the upper lobe sens s Period, wi E a long snake-like

ine da than the lower. al with] A. Un A raas iulnint

sg es vd matter, such as —— bas

thuria. of the Echinoderms| Proteus. A genus Oo: achians, or

wr BE mpl inane sch, as the frog and salamander,

Hydrozoa. The Jelly-fish, or Acalephs.

^ 2 us of Quadrum or Mon-| Ramus. A twig or branchlet.

c Aet 3 s umi (Se riza, a root; pous, afoot). A

terms are here which f Vols. I and II..

TT DT TT IRR

(673)

GLOSSARY,

class of minute animals, including the|7ibia. Large bone of the human leg, the

[cond and shin bone.

hec. The air vessels of insects, serv

Sarcode. The jelly-like tissue of the Am-| ing as lungs.

ceba, mgen a Triton. A genus of Salamand

Rel. ranail to Sertularia, a ge-|Trochiform. Like the Pioches. a “genus of

nus of Jelly-fish (Hydroids). . marine M: bei deccm

Tubula f jelly-fish (Hy-

Tarsus. The heel and ankle bone. asoida). |

Teratology (Gr. teras, a monster ; logos, a

discourse). A branch of scutes which) Vascular. Containing blood-vessels, or re-

treats of the monstrosities and malforma- tating to the ‘cheng system.

tions of the animal and vegetable kin forie aene Mot peo intestines and

doms. S other

INDEX TO VOLUME THREE.

Abalones, 250, 255. Alpine strawberries, 329.

Aberts Finch, 472. Abert’s Pipilo, eggs of, uibem: monia, 122.

n gronn niens, 297.

Abies amabilis, 419, Canadensis, APT ad a, 44

130, 412. A. eet decns T3 Hk hue 419. — "alnifolia, 81, 407, 418. A. Can-

420. A. grandi i 410, 419. nziesii, adensis, 4

410, 419, 420. Mertensiana, rra 419,| American alee , 999

. A. nigra a pe alba? 416. A.t taxifo- pig Akeocinti on for the Advance-

ta 4 A. Williamsoni, 412, 419, 420 ent of —— 223, 335, 435.

Abnormal For ms of Plants, 381. "DT. inm erican Bitt me

Aboriginal Mossd Builders of Tennessee, ‘American Buz aar rd, 39

Aberitiwes of De Soto's time, + 63. American M san. ut

Abranchiate e vertebrata, 607. American Crow,

Acacia, American Ent toibology, 1 vd of, 101.

Acale ephs 66; 543. American White Pelic

Acant edere Libanoticum, 122. American Yew, 130,

Acarian mites, 371. Y Amentace c, 438

Acarina, 365. mia, 609.

Acarus, ” 866, 367, 371, 389. A. farinz, 372.;Am modram pa ss A. caudacutus, 634. A.

= malus, 365. A. sacchari, 37]. <A. siro,| rostratus, 1

Amm eh a Gold Field, 440,

Accipenser r sturioides, 220. Ame

Acer dasycarpum, 130. A. labrum 406, Amæboid movements in Eggs, 110.

E^ du 490. A. rubru A. sac-|Ampelis cedrorum, 34, 413. A. garrulus,

m, 613. A. otium, 406. 3, 019.

Ka "369. oo.

Acomus lactarius, 126. Amphibians, 609.

Aeee marmorata, 189. Am ciem 215.

Acti Amphioxus, 501, 609.

Act Amphipods, 156, 212, 243.

perros dn $ (oyeloeardia) bon i irem ullariz, 38.

Actiturus Bartramius, 83, Anacharis aleinastrum, 668. A. Canaden-

Actodromus n: 8, 376.

Adamsia, 247, 2 À. maculata, 241. Ananchytes, 661. A. radiata, 663.

Adenocaulon bicolor, 106 as Anas boschas, 83 ER A. cn” 384.

of Insects

— vmm la, 274.

Adoe pen ent Tennessee Rock Paintings, 60.

Agialité es, "s € melodus, 231. JE. mon- Aneistrodon contortrix, 159.

Æ. vociterus, 182. Ancylus, 650,

Jiiothus “huscescens, 583. Æ. linaria, 583. Lee esd 218

n Nicaragua, 35. Anemone, 163. A. cylindrica, 6. A. Pen-

pv oy 7500. —

prerie s La nee ship a 189. gt, al, ^a.

Agave Amer Ani on

^n and: relations E the Metamorphic rocks Animals Tor rie fresh-water Aqnarium, 486

N wick and Maine, 442. imals, Habits = 216.

food ot oda wit An eren Parasites,

pem tous phzeniceus, 78, 508. Animal s ecimens, Method of preserving

S, 235. for fine dissection,

ponen Robina, 279, Annals of Bee Culture, 494.

Alca impennis, 225, 384, 539, 644, Annelids à

Alcyonium, 156. 3 Annulata.

f Menta in ra Anopolonassa siet y 44.

Alexan vg Anser hy perbo:

ken tru o, 284, Annuloida, 33.

Aer aeg bleached s —— of, 167.| Annulosa, 543.

ow tns mens of, 167. Anodon, 369.

Alan nsen ei rmosa, I8 Anomma arcens, 361.

Al opia landul 471. dax , 244.

Alligator Mississippiensis, 465. Ant — 276, 496. A. rosaceus, an. A.

lli

Alium M 421. a. Antelope, 158, 212, 330.

Alnus Oregona, 408. A. rubra, 419, JAn nu E

An A. tabulata, 216.

dis, 41 ^ thozoa rugosa,

As Hare, : 15. Anthropatze mon, 45.

; : à (677

678

Anthropoid Apes, 501.

Antillean Tern, 340

"ap

Anvil-rock Sandstones, 44.

Aphi

Aph o reproduetion of, 490.

P inite, 1

ocrinus, a6

poe orrhais P Naati 274, 277.

Apple-snail, 38

Aquarium, ei tank for, 134, 135.

Aquarium, Fresh-water, 131, 207, 373, 486.

Aquarium, to arrange it, 208, 209, 210.

Aquarium, Plants for, 373, 3

Aquila Canadensis, 568. A. chr ysaétos, 558.

Arachnida, 168, 433, 54:

Arachnids, 365, 371.

Aranea lobata, 216.

Arboreal Finches, 75

A andis, 2; A. Nose, 467

A shencephal m 609.

drebapceidarh is S Agnes

pes Bluebird. 32, 1

aviventer, 299. A. monax, 390.

s, 82, 401, 517.

ita,

A. Persicus , 870.

A. sericea, 216.

Argon, m

Dp: s Eggs. pre

INDEX.

Pad ey! mara : avanicum, 453.

eatum, new locality of, 495.

Aspidiur

Aalen l thelypteroides, 448.

Asta e bi anea, 272. A.S TaS 272.

Aster Me at enuispinum,

steroids,

Aster

Astre s, 43, 37

Astragalinus tristis, 583.

bag eens I A. lanatus, 122. A.

Mexican

reped RHONE, 516.

tax Bonzi, 491.

Athene 4 ON 101, 183, 475.

Atomizer,

Attacu 53

otis d

Atthis viia. ^. "ir.

pepe cie s Hare, 476.

udubon’s Warbler, 33, 183.

reer a,

Auk, The Great, 539.

Aythya vallisneria, 639.

Azalea, 7.

Badge 476.

Baird Ps Finch. tU

Baltimore Oriole, 509

teer ae 1 Pigeon, 80.

Peneha gsi ang 130.

Barn Owl. 513, 570, 646.

ew A. argo, 238. A. Nouryi, Barn Swallow, 12, 33, 228, 477.

Barred Owls, 227,

Fatt Notes on, 236. Bascanion constrictor, 158.

Argulus, 241. Bathybius, 108.

M adore Aphrodite, 330. Atlantis, 330.| Batrachi ee

255 330. zx Gris 830. A.|Batrachian

Idalia 330; . Moni A. My- Bay-bieasted Wi Warbler, 578.

rina, Bay-winged Bunting, 292.

rgy acula 5 . |Bay-winged eme 631.

Arizona Long Sparrow, 474. Deasts, Book of, 46.

Arkansas [4 deren 309. Bee Keeping.

Arkansas Ring Bee Martin, 309.

shells, 288. |Beets,

Arma spinosa, 98. Bela harpularia, 273. B.turricula, 274.

roe fella marlitma, 639 Belted Kingi she 11, 53, 230.

atella maritima. V | sher. 3, 230.

Ends "nn ee Benzoin riferum, 130.

Bernicla Canadensis, 83. B.Gambelii, 182.

prie d pi sony, 137. Betula occidentalis, 408, u ~ 20. 421.

Aiai fik 357, 359 357. Bia : ACC

1 . cana ia sacats:

CH Alitolia, 3 357. A trident entata, 357. > "| Bicho, 258, 386.

Arti 501, 543. Bicolored Swallow, 474

Artificial prt he of bstances found|Bidens poems 388.

m Plants and rege als, Tiroto

IM, Mouna or of St. Louis, origin of, 517.

imeri:

Binarse

Birds, reeding Habits of. 48.

:s- Birds, Difference in song of, 510.

ird's

preparation of, 106, 384.

of New England, Dr. Coues’ addenda

INDEX. 619

Bird Parasites, 41, 111

Birds, Rarer of Hanae usetts,

Bird’s Skins, On preparing DM o ones, 200.

Bitterns, 169.

n Ma ae of Eggs of, 173, 174.

Blac kandi White Creeper, 509.

Back hacked on peat ‘Woodpecker, 572.

Black-bellied Plover,

Black-billed ue 50.

proca Habits of Birds, 48

Breeding Habits of Salamanders and Frogs,

Br eeding of Rare Birds, 222.

Brewers EN Fiy y fe

Senan Tern,

r, 163.

Browh Creeper, 428, 511.

Bro gps ish, 296, 473, 508.

Bryozo

ee de rd, 2: Bubo a pre 570. B. Virginianus At-

zs PM War radi 577. — a 570. B. Moser cu e

ped .Virginianus Pacifi 510.

Black- -cap Tit, À 1 Races undatum, 3.

Black-cap Warbler, 490 Itc rae salanding; 83.

Black Creeper, 292.

Black Duck, 505. Bur * rect dh B. Columbiensis, 125.

Black Hawk. 228, 5 Bulletin of the Essex Institute, 150.

Black.headed G Grosbeak, 75, 295 Bull lock’s Ori ole,

ack-headed Gull, 231. ntings. 2

Black-necked Stil 1 Burbolt, n.

Black Pewe Burbot, 1

ack Snak Burial by Aen igines of I mee" 65,*

lack Spruce. 4 Burrowing Owl, 100, 183, 475

Black-tailed 164. oo Rat, 476.

Black-throated Bunting, 634. e prs tie B canaliculatum, = B.

lack-throated Finch, 189. rica, ' 986. AL age um, 286. B. per-

Pen m, 354, 459,

Deni bird. "159.

Buteo bo

oeil b m Green Warbler, 509

Black Vultu 98. 646.

Bladderwor t n 316 orealis, 393. B. calurus, 184. B.

Blister-beetles, 96, 99. yeso. 518. a! lineatus, 517. B. D

Bloodroot, 129. tanus, 205.393. B. vulgaris, B.z

Blowing of Whales, 333, 334. nocerus, 186.

Blowin, A agit 5 thus ? 45

Bluebirds E; NEM. variation of, 391.

jet iod Flycatcher, 292.

rosbeak, 478.

Butterties of Xew England, 148, 212.

Buttonwood, 185

Buxbaumia aphylla, 329

Bythinia tentaculata, 670.

a egg alms, es

ug, :

ee did 187, 283.

Bobolink

m bintie r. KEERT 233, 283, 284. Cactus Wren, 183.

ng, 473. an is Al 160.

Bompyeilia Carolinghsis, 384. ; iza, 78. C. bicolor, 296.

Bom a, 378. B. pini, 378. Calianassa, 243.

dri

Californian Oposs 477.

California, the Naturalist in, 470.

Caligus, 241. C. Americanus, 241.

Calliactis, 247. €. bie T 247. C. tricolor,

rie; A

. 46.

Bopyrus, 45. 212. B. Hippolites, 243. B.

squillarum, 243. vifi

Boscanion eiie 124. B. vetustus,

Botanical Notes, 101

Botany of Central Titiveis s, 5

otaurus, 169. B. australis, 177. B. len-

tiginosus, 169, NL cd 2

i orna 332.

Gallista igantea, 467. C. — dares

.|Callitriche, 219. C. verna,

B. peeciloptila, 177. Calocystis cribraria, 316.”

Bothremys Coo . 89. 2 vid C —— rae ae 382.

ow. SBE. der romero ide brunneicapillus, 188.

Bottom land of Colorado Valley, trees on|Canace e

Bottosaurus, 90. Canada Goose, 83, 506.

Bourgueticrinus Hotesieri, 275. Canada Jay, 80, 222, 384, 387.

Boyle’s -— Snake, 478. Canadian Entomologist, 435.

Box-eld. risocia M rage 249.

Box Turtle in Winter, 279. anis latrans, 184, 476.

Brachiopod» ea Canin 8

S, ony pe aA of, 385. antha: y 96.

Brac net sore 5s "186. antharis marginata, 96.

rone te verte UL j Canvas-Backed Duck, 639.

: y Warbler, 578.

Pu E n

Sassari c NS

680 INDEX.

Caprimulgidz, 11. Chat,

Corbis, 168. Ch acon ae e, 372.

araboo, 548. Chelonia, 609.

ce bere. acid, 168, 557. Chelydrine Emydes, 88.

Carcinas mznas, 435. Chelytus, 368, 373.

Cardamine : "homboidea, 130. Chenopodium album, 97

Cardinalis Virginianus, 605. pa gab 358.

Cardinal Plant, 211. Ches colored PASA 76.

Cardita borealis, 273, 277, 380. Chestoles d rig mde

erede 236. C. isoca ardia, 468. C. mag- rae odon r, 53.

. pinnulatum, 273. s o Academ vot Sciences, 557.

Cardusiis elegans, 635. agn Microscopic Club, 111.

Carex Backii, 155. C. Houghtonii, 155. C. Chickadee 299, 4:

laxiflora. 135. C. lenticularis, 105. C.|Chigoe, 386.

aria, 155. Chil natha, 0

Carinaria, 237. Chilopoda, 104.

Carolina St 465. Chilopsis linearis, 189.

Pha HN 231. Chimera, 220.

Carp, 2: Chimnev Swallow, 8, 12.

Carpinu Chinch Bug, 96, 365.

ddl d dai 8, Chinchilla,

Carpodacus, 76. C. mous talis, 183. C. fron- Chinn ass semidea, 33 1.

talis, nest of, 479. C. purpureus, 581. .|Chipping ew, T1, 292, 473, 508, 582, 634.

Carvings, Natural, ; 497. Chironectes, JU

rya,438. C. tomentosa, 410. Chiton, 270. C.a 272.

Case worm, 160. Chloride Sel f Soda pA n ing 166.

Cassia, 439, 502. C. Marilandica, 439 Choke ch

Cassin's Kingfish, 184 Chonde € grammaca, TT, 295.

er yg | sessiliflora, 163. Chordeiles Henryi, 297. C. Texensis, 186,

Cat Bird, 73, 295. Otros phalus "M^ ae 641.

Catfish, 126, 297. Chrysemys picta,

Cathartes atratus, 25 645. C. aura, 107. Chrysomitri Bdicrecd. 185. C. pinus, 76,

Catostomus, mI" 510, 582. C. tristis,

Cattle Tick, 51, Ohr vaophan nus Americanus, 212, 330. C.

Ce cis Book of Titec, 46. nthe, i5 C. Thoe, 330.

Cedar , 984. Pisco m Americanum, 129.

Cedars d Lebanon, 102. ChurehilPs Bull. nud gig :

Cedari 8, 651. Cimoliasaurus

Celtis Fetoa in, 421, 407. Cinnamomum,

Noachina, 270. Cirsum mt is

Cen a dumulosa, 122 Cistudo Virginica, 279

Centipedes es, 45, 164. i

> entrocercus urophasianus, 82, 188.

entronyx Bai

y of, 24, 25.

; 513, 551, 631. C. Lap-|Clams, Salt gro dios Fresh-water, 21.

Centroplanes La apponiens, 585. Clarke's Crow, 9t

ntroscymnus ceelolepis, 53. Clarke’s Nuter: acker, 79.

turus Carolinus, 581. C. uropygidlis, anton of Animals, Huxley’s, 543,

Cephalopods, 441, 501, 661 Clay

wwe d Oa aroliniana, p C. mollis? 419,|Cla.

C. Virginiana, 418. à

hyllum demersum, 375.

a, 241.

lay- €: d Sparrow, 299.

Cleridae, 1 Virginica, 130.

'ereus sol, 207. Clidas 85. C.iguanavus, 86.

Cerf mullet, = Cliff Swallow, 33, 228.

Cerianthus, 21 Climbing Perch, 107.

Cerithidea ‘scalariformis, 461 Closterium, 314, 317, 319, 322, 323.

Cermatia, Clytus pictus, 168.

Certhia À rs EE T4, 296. C. Mexicana, ngon s =e

2 occine:

auritus, 180. C. Goat ianus Coccinella 9-notata, 94.

di C. macrotis, 180. macrotus, 1. Coccoliths, Lr :

one 186. C. e us, 180, Mone sak n tyslados, 672.

osp

pr caeti, as

occygus Americanus, 510.

Cochin eal, 233.

es.

Codaki kia tig s 499, 500.

1a ti, rina,

,39. C cda Codüsh, 17 :

Goe sein ae

Colaptes, 296. C. serratus, 200, 900, 33 495. C.

chrysoides, 474. C. Mexicanus, 183.

d INDEX. 681

Coleoptera, 21 Crabs, hearing of,

Colias Philorice, 3n, 330. Crabs, Metamorphos f, 482.

Collensea vern Crane-flies of No rth i rit a, 1

Collyrio eei d 1,85. C. c un 31, 580. MEE rivularis, 406, 419, 20, 421. C.

C. excubitoroites 34, 295, 580. C. Ludo- : ; 419, 421.

S i is, 481

Cree 3

Colorado Valley, Ae ihe of, 471. Crenella. 383. €. puana 273.

Col panum Maimgreh i, 215. Cretaceous Formation, 415.

Colponby Cretaceous turtles, gaa

Columba fascia, 80, 185. rinoid, 275

tula, Cristatella,

een non Bittern, 231. Cro¢odiles,

ommon Crossbill, 384 reap er i Tizard in general, How to

Common Gallin 9 in and moun

Common Sage, : Croc odilia, 609

Crotalus Mt 475. C.confluentus, 121,298.

641. C. eur. 187. C. Lucifer, 124.

Np A má Senses of Sight and din i 478.

Composit. Crow bird of prey, 102.

Compressed Burbot or Eel-Pout, 17. Crow ‘Blackbird 483, 5; 294.

mpression as m ^" gent in Geological edo ace 543.

: Crustae

orphism, miy

Comptonia asplenifolia, 120. Crustacea, Far asitic habits of, 239.

Concholepas, 251 ryptogams, 440.

onchs, 285 Cryptogamnia acrostichoides, 440

one-flower, 8. eae 04.

Conifera, 438 Curlew, 225, 298.

Coniferz, Curvirostra Americana, 299, 583. C. Ameri-

cana

onfervze, 131, 165. Mexicana, 76. C. leucoptera, 76, 584, -

Connecticut warbler, 574.

Contopus y eb egy 31, 480. Cuttle tng? eis 237, s 260.

Contraband Haw Cya

onurus Carolinensis, 465. Crs Tw 8, 332.

Coots, "s Cran pains amena, Th 479.

Copperhea Cyanura Stellerii

oppery onus. M 478. Cyatholi as, 055,

Corallina pow Cyathophylloid corals, 216,

Corallium A Cyclas dubium, 159.

Corals, 43, Cyclops, 241, 433

Corals and E. 612.

Coral Marmi das 39, 279, 497. * Cylichna alba, 273

Cort t 244.

Core ae inl 126, 297. Cynomys Ludovicianus, 298.

Corema oo 327. Cynthia Lavinia, 280.

Corixa, 49 Cyperac . 439.

Cormorants, 234. Cyp rea annulus, 4. C. moneta, 5.

Cornus D pubescens, 419, 407. Cypre:

Corophium, 434. Cyprinoid, 53, 126

Corrosive sublim e, 307. Cypripedium an d C. pubescens, 8.

Co D: pereeman 79, 384. C. Canaden-|Cypris, 1, 433. :

n carnivorus, wc 183. C. cau-|Cypselus pelasgius, 12.

penn C. cristatus, i84. C. ossi- Cyrena Carolinensis, 401.

fr Cystideæ, 216, 495.

Cory! 8, 438. dece 216.

Corylus’ rostrata, 130.

Corythus enucleator, 384. lochalix NN 451.

Cosmarium, Baad yong jose

Cotalpa lanigera, 49, 50.

Cotoneaster. 359.

ttoid, 1 Danais Popes. =

E orm, 168. Daphne olzxoides, 122.

Hte od iw 408. : Dark Woodmouse, 476.

Coturaiculus Henslowii, 632. C. passeri-|Date Doane ae is

nus, 507. A EUR, MR

: Cotyle le riparia, 474. db Doop ir Dredging, 53, 108, 614.

+ roca at Delphinium ae rut, eA

bad Ate Een Demodex folliculorum. 372.

a a, 4

Dendroeca Blackburniz, 577. D. castanea,

578. D. A ares 507, 578. D. verens,

509. esee a Audubonii, 33. D. æs-

682 INDEX. ?

Dentalium pretiosum, 3. D. striolatum, me aoun Archipelago, Travels in, 39.

. chr 2

Dopsnasda; 9 a, 8.

Echinocucumus typica, 666.

Dermaleichus pici-pubescentis, 493.

Dermestes, 388.

Desmid, 166, qn ge rt 821, 322.

Desmidiacex. 3 Echinoderms, 43, 108,

Desmidiz, 165, 19.3 Echinoids, 612.

Desmidium, 323. D. "Swartzii, 166. Echinu

us, 43, 285.

Desmognathus fuscus, 158. Ectopistes migratoria, 80, 295.

Destructiveness of the Larva of the Gold-|Eel, 107, 489.

, >

smith Beetle, 49. Eel-pout, 18.

Development of Insects, 490. Eggs of Vas Auk, 550.

hy ae of Phryganidan Eggs, 490. |Egret, 401, 5

Devil-ti Eider Du ek 5

Elaps, 112, 497. E? euryxanthus, 36, 278.

pid 609, 610.

Dorens Sia vi

Distom ga e ‘of, 292. Elasmosaurus, 91. E. orientalis, 87. E.

Diocutrin pr ms 7, D.cucullaria, T. | platyuru s, 81.

Dicynodon eem -— divacn, 448.

Didelphia, € 607, S Elephant tnt M 145, 146.

Diemictylus roga 158. Elisia, nyctelæ 163.

Dinosaurs, 84, 6 rald, 303.

Diog mes Edwa ardsii, 248. prece um Con

radi, 327.

Empidonax, 230, 296, 477. E. mecum ee

d flaviventris, 230, 504, 572. E. Ham-

ondii, 47 E. m minimus, 31, 572. E. ob-

scurus, 3L ‘471. E. pusi sillus, 31, 295, 479.

E. Traillii, 479.

iplo

Diplostom um, 42.

Dipno vete 610,

ipsos:

Diptera, iras dorsal and Anatomy of, 490.

Dire ustris, 307

Emydes, 88.

a pal $ Emydiform turtles, 88

Dirt-daubers, 391. Enchodi, 87.

NEM 655.

Discophora, 279.

Endoge

= lish "Marah Marigold, 1

= erom pci nor Medie 3 7205. [307.

Entomol Cabinets, ene ee of,

aboaoloey, ge noo Record of, 378.

tete way 156, 161, 240, 241, 383, 433.

Discovery c of Remains of the Horse in n

Distribution of Forest Tree Eocen

Distribution of the Native Tribes of Alaska,|Eolis i rufibranchialis, 24

ong ee beget Linnsanum

with Hon, 279, 548. Eoz in Essex County, 498

Dor: shes, 285. Epeira samen, 616. E. riparia, 616. E.vul

Dog Salmon, 127 garis, a

Dog, the Esqui 523. Epi cea Ti

Dolichonyx re eddie 18. Epi ere angaia, 00h s [560.

Doliosaurus platyrhinos, 475. Epiphegus Americana, 560. E. Virginiana,

Dolphins, 90. Equus conversidens, 392. E. curvidens,

Domecia hispida, 247. 399. E. parvulus, 445. au, 392.

Dori — Ma. Eremophila alpestris, 581. E. cornuta, 75,

Doris pilosa Ereuntes pusillus, 638.

Doryphora 1 ra iiinenta, 91, 92, 93. Eri , 6.

Erioganum,

Doto etis . Eryt! seca 497.

er, 384, 424, 511.

yy Developmen of, 491.

of, 269, 270.

ugor

Eunicea. [218.

EON Prideauxil, 247. E. pubescens,

Eupatorium

E pho beris. ay d.

upigium, 122.

Euplectella, 654: E. aspergillum, 453. E-

opt Deum di.

Eupsammidsz ?, 216, 612.

INDEX.

European Cuckoo, 292.

| seii ee Goldfinch, 635.

n House Sparrow, 635.

Furyechinus imbecillus, 246.

Eurynome a rnis, 220.

Bary terus, 44, 45

Kuschistus s punctipes, , 98.

E eren

Eustrong us papi osus, 42

a Couchii, 187.

=a ing Grosbeak, 75.

Bxogen, 8 of f Spiders, 490.

E. vagrans, 124.

à, 88.

Extinct ‘Flora of North America, 40.

Eye, structure of, 305,

683

Fossil Plants from Greenland, 55.

Lu I Rhfnocer ss ui Jersey, 8t.

Fossil Tul ria on

Fra; ans Gilimani, 221, 328. F. Illinoensis,

ca, 328. F. oF. Virginians’ 539. i

F. ance a 25, 329, 669.

Fragillaria, 166.

P Caroliniana, 400. F. Purshiana,

419.

ulin” 8 ach en A

Fre giten Aquarium, ads; 207, 313, 486.

Fresh-water Clam

hir

Fabia Chilensis, 246. resh-w. r Newts, 374

* Fairy purses, 285. Fresh-water Plants, 211.

Fagus sylvestris, D d Fresh-water Shells, 530.

Falco anatum, 514. gine 8, Tt F.|F Fringilla Hudsonica, 38

buteo, 397. F. oan aan , 513. F. Islan-|Frogs, 6

dicus, 513, 514. F. Leverianus, E F.|Frog's bit, 376

eps, 514. . pere , 014. F.|Fulmar, 235

sacer, 513. F. sparveriu us, 516. Fulmar Petrel, 235.

Fan Mussels, 284.

Kesololaria 6 F. di

a, 354, 46:

. tul

rene of ona Territory, 31, 73, 124.

Fauna of the Gulf Stream at great Depths,

Felis concolor, 186, 465. F. eyra?, 186.

Fence Lizard, É

row. ag

ulture, 202, 325.

Fick, Deformities of, 289, 290.

Fish, DE ae, oe from egg, 288, 289.

Fishes, 21 3, 609.

Flora of Palestine and 205 121.

icu!ture of. 469.

the South, 494.

Florida, "Climate of, 469.

[iem C 3 401, "sens 631.

pice Trees, Distribution of, 414. Insects

detailed rs ATI.

il Crinoi

stans, 466. Fg

"ci da galeata, 639. G. TT 498.

Gallinula, + ioa

km A

h, 183.

Gampeps Qual "474,

em bel’s Woodmouse, pon

mbe tta melanoleuca

Hives Beer Americana, 248.

bt ee si of, 147.

e ide dmi 477.

Survey. ‘ord f Tiiinois, 4t.’

er a of EC

ogy Oo

_|Geothly

Grice, 2

“lee ia, 8.

pono mae aculatum, 48.

Gerrhonotus, 187.

Gerrhonotus olivaceus, 187. G. Webbii,

es, —

Gledi

Glo bhigerna i eleidon: 655.

Globiceps, 53.

onde, 43, 108.

i(Glomeridz, 2 104.

C nnnc Ibis, 637

cerine for preserving natural colors of

"e animals, 156. 1

684 INDEX.

Glyptodon, 392. Haliotis Californiensis, 256. H. corrugata,

Gnat Catcher, 184. 256. H. Cracherodii, 252, 254, 256. H. Iris,

Godw. B. Kamachatkana, 256. H. rufes

Golden aud Thrush, 292. cens, A, 252, 254, 256. H. „splendens,

Golden Cr ede Wren, 32, 97. 256. -H. tuber Mina! 294. 256, 555

Gol iden E agle Haliplana PARIER a, 644.

Golden-eyed Duck 384.

Golden Plover, 231.

Golden-rods, 8, 97.

Golden n-winged Warbler, 497, S

Golden-winged Woodpecker,

Golden-winged Woodpecker "Habits of, 422.

Goldsmith Vier ONN of, 4t

Grallatore

Gre ETRE,

Grantia ee , Spioulæ of, 451.

Gripe ho a

Grapholitha, ase

Lai Meer rc 331.

G. comma, -

G. Faunu

G. gracilis, 331. G.

472,

Grasshoppers, North American, Catalogue

Gra raxshoppers, -— of, 163.

ipods 539, ae 644.

iod Fiyeatcher, 581.

Gace ed Deer, 180.

Grus Americanus,

401. G. Canadens

Gryllotalpa, 151. ——

G. australis, 151.

presa Rattlesnake, 187.

Hammond's and Trails Flycatcher, 479.

Hare, i A new > ecies of, MEET the summit of

Wind River Mountains, 1 13.

— res, 183, =

arpactor ci nctus, 98.

Harpalocareinus marsupialis, 2 246.

n Ys hyne ‘hus rtr 473. H.Lecontei,

188. H. rufus, 296,

Harris peces 188.

Harves e [^ 46, 365, 369.

Hawk O

rides red'tailed, 393.

Haze

Hearing or p 278.

He ecto-cotylus, 237.

Helianthus, 8

- in: Helicina or bicis. 460.

ri 160, 161. H. Ceylonica, 160.

je senem olus, 468. H.uvuligera, 468. H.

He eiminthophaga celata, 476. H. chrysop-

575. H. Lucis, 476. H. peregrina,

Helmiherus Ds ea a 576. H. vermivo-

i T, 248,

Herodian egretta, 401, 637.

es Dl

Herring Gulls, 234, 512, 640.

Hesperia Acanootas, 331. H. Ahaton, 331.

A Des De vail 331. H Eg d a 2

na,

onardus F^ i. TOM. XU TaN

qua, 331. H. Manoco, 331. H. Massa-

soit, 212, 331. H. Mesapano, 331. H. Me-

met, 331. H. Metea, 212. 331. H. Mys-

tic, 331. H. Oneko, 331. H. Panoquin,:

H. Pocahontas, 212, 331. H. Quadaquina,

212, 331. H. Samoset, 331. H. Sassacus,

331. erna, 331. H. Vialis, 331.

ams , 381. H. Wingina, :

Bepe peri. » on, du

esperiphona vespertina, 75

SERES sterus ? is H. Gambelli,

v TE i

Heterodon

NCC RE 331. H. ventri-

Hexanchus V

Hie rechiog borealis, 155.

Himantopus nigricollis, 638.

on on Taxidermy, 136, 189, 481.

Hipparchia Boisduvali, 831.

Hippodamia, Y us pune!

Hippolyte, H. Sowerbyi,

INDEX. 685

Hirundineæ, 220. insects Injurious to the Potato, 91.

Hirundo bicolor, 33, 116, 474. H. horreo-|Itch Insect, 372.

Ium 83. Bees lunitrons, 33. H. riparia, - cg pos 365, 366. I. bovis, 370,

H. rustica, 12. H. Thalassina? 33. inipunctata, 370, 373.

niv es es pedro: by Hornets, 52.

Holothuna edulis, 467. Jaguar, 186.

Sioa ans, 500. Japanese Glass-ropes, 216.

e ass, 155. e a ig po A, 129.

bM ell liche:

Hon ney-bee e killed by Senloplas, pollen, 388. Taso

Honey-bees S lled | vy pollen, Jone thoracicus, 24

Honey- Denn pubelisitte for Pollen, 52. Julus, 103, 104. J. multistriatus, 103.

Moon Ori J umping Deer, d

orned beo 45, i, 581. Jumpisg, oo

i pe. Does with, 548. Lon me

Horned Lizard, A a : J spen ge tial 510. J. Oregonus, 77, 173.

Horned Toad, 124, Juniper, 187, 412

Hornemann, Analysis c of Los. 451. J pec ^g rus communis, 413, 415. J. occiden-

Hornets, Hive 8,187. J. Virginiana, 130, 413, 415, 419.

Hornstones, 318,

Hornwort, 375. Kalm

Horse Conch, 464. Ka pend » ains of, 162.

Horseshoe Crab, 240. Keratoisis Grayii, 53.

House Finch, 183, 582. Keronz, z

House Finch, nest of, 479. Kill-deer, 182, ww 340.

House fly, 55 0. Ee bird, 309, 3

House Wren, 49, 390, 614. labe: 45. 149, 170, 389, 615.

spore genes 129. H.cerulea, 7. H. purpu- ik age oi 131 54, 286, 336.

ria crista

s cd — e vem enay me a.

pee ce

Hunter spem Sette p deg 2H. Labrador Duck, 383.

à boreale,216. H. Lusitanicum, Lgs we ite, 442.

53 Lab a gto me 609.

369. H. concharum, 369. pet ge

Hydracti inia. n H. polyclina, 248. pot a eon gu

Hydraspididze, 88 Lactoph No camelinus, 467.

x, 608. pe nag oodpecker, 474.

Hydro — wein 32. Lady bi

Hydro ze, 215. Lelaps aquilunguis, 91.

Hydrochelidon fs fissipes, 644. present p 630. e

Hydroids, 244, 248 ; Lagopus albus, 637. L. leucnrus, 82.

Hydremaines, 90. Lake one ior plants compared with East-

€— jot 369, 491 . spe 18, 155.

He Lamellibranchiata, 611.

Hylotomns Paata 572. Laminaria digitata, 621.

ergisus, 126. prasi algæ, 2

[rec Lam eel. 20,

Hypoconcha arcuata, 249. H. Panamensis, Lampreys, 501.

49. Lampropeltis Boyl lii; 478.

Hypocrepian ip 441.

Sir Denon Sars f Lanivireo galianeg 507, 579.

Hypopus, ee Lanius elegans. L. exeubitórocides, —

Hyppolite, 155 476, 519.

: Lapland Longspan se.

8 Ordii, 637. Larger Whi

dtr opdide, 607, 609. peni oum Savaunsh MTS. 16.

Ichthyosauria, 609, Larida, 235.

Icteria viridis, 295, 477. seg Americana, 413. L. occidentalis, 412,

Icterus Baltimore, 509. I. Bullockii, 477. I.| 419, 420.

cucullatus, 185. Lark B , 296.

pore aspera, 241. Lark Finch, 77, 295.

Larrea Mexicana, 471.

Illinois, Fossil Insects in Larus a 512, 516, 640. L. Smith-

. Illinois. deo ig cire ua 4. | sonian

Inca — Lathyrus s ochroleucus, 158.

m 400. Laughing Gull, 64 7

Tadian ee 6. Laurentian Eozoo!

anlai erdt 168. Lawren ces Goldiine neh, 185.

Indigo bird, 292. Laws gov ing "ee sexes of plants. 438.

In bris : Leach's P. etre

Insect Boxes, 56, 111. Lead-c anes’ Guaieatelat, 474.

Insect Parasites, 214. cnet Siga Bat, 472. -

7 See ee e QM ees 336,

Guide to coq e of, 161, 379. Least B mn, 231

Does MAMMA TS Forest Trees, 214, 377. Least T: e, 3H, 338.

686 INDEX.

Leather wood, 130. Topa dicantha, 252.

Lecanium, 491 xxm Comyntas, 212, 330. L. Lucia, 212,

Leconte's Mock Thrush, 188. IR q^ uam: 330.

Leguminose, 122, 163. peeti

emna trisulca, 376. preoa Spider and its Young, 50.

Lemurs, 501. yencephala, 608.

5 idoptera rth America, List of, 46. T a appressa, 651. L. columella, 651.

Lepido torista Galds, 379. MON m T: tdg d y L.

Le cii dap D L. gracilis, 651. megas-

Leptophi ir d [58 'L. proxima, 651. i ' reflexa,

Lepus artem sive , 476. L. Audubonii, 183.| 6

i Bairdii, 115. L. Wer cafe e 183, 470. Lynx rufus, 186, 477.

. callotis, 359, 470. mpestris, 115. Lytoloma angusta, 89. [96.

ms glacialis, 1. L. PE Sierd i 115.” Lytta cinerea, 96. L. murina, 96. L. vittata,

mea, 2

Deskin mirabilis, 216. . Macgillivray’s bd ges 32, 299, 477.

Lesser Redpoll, 384. Macrauchenia, ¢

Levant Sponge. spiculz of, 451. Macrosaurus, y '"M. platyspondylus, 446.

Bowie rook 125. M. validus. 86.

Lewis’ Woodpecker, 298. Macrotus Galltorniens. 472.

I Madre ori > zu 352, 500.

Libellulidze, development of, 491. Meandrin 500.

ee angen 261, 265. L. canaliculata, 264. Magnolia npe ved 400.

ichen, 33 Magpies, 24

Lilies of no Fe tee or the Rocks and of the Mahoning Sandstone, 44.

Clouds, 299. Maia cs. ragga 265.

Limacide, 2 Mala nasus, 2

Limbs, Regeneration of, 390. Malherbe's me 474.

Limenitis Arthem moa 330. L. Misippus, 330. —

L. care pina, . Ursula, 330. Malleu

Meara bulimoides, 297, 447. L. desidiosa,|Malm aan iin na, 220.

mU . limosa, 220. L pius. Mesa. Papaver, "102.

vd Mam sens aria Paor 164.

Pichon haris Humboldtii, 376. Man

Tapaa ide here a 161.

Lim adoxus, 213 M y-banded Robber, 98.

Limult Ms me oe hg piges 613.

Linari Agen

Lincoln Fin h, 78. : Mah garita ther ea, 273. M. undulata, 273.

Line =. verc Bag 581, 634. Mar, perk ritana galeata, 297, 417. M. margari-

hae pe hmm 109.

E Margaritophora e 245.

Lions bralin Marm

d poison for tae boxes, 308. Marsh. Habbi

IM ephala, 608. PUODCRD PUR. S ooa, 610.

Lithobius teu Nes 104. MAH pA Dogs, 53.

Ure 245. Marsupials, 501, "607.

Liti; arsupites, 661.

Lit ens ol obesa, 4. Marteusia Virginica, 7.

Little Blue ‘Heron, 510,637. Maryland Marmot, 390,

zittle Flycatcher, 478. Maryland Yellow throat, 292, 576.

Little Hermit, | 266, 26 Massachusetts, birds of, 505, 512.

Little Vireo, 186, 188. [461.| Masticophis testaceus, 478.

Littorina angulifera, 461. L. irrorata, 356, patin rium trilobatum, 503

pee todon, 392.

ng Fish. i M at conan of, 53. May peek 128.

i 1 Mazonia Woodiana, 45.

os Meadow Lark, 183, 473.

Lobelia en na. 211. Mealy Red-poll, 583.

Vocat, 25 240. Megatherium, 392.

Molan v ff. 403, 461.

elampus coffea,

RE m Shrike, 159, 579. Melanerpes torquatus, 298.

Long-billed Nuthateh, 74. Melania, 447.

Long-billed Sparrow, 186. Melantho pte s M. decisa, 532,

Long-billed Water Thrush, 577. 533. M. integra, 535. M. ponderosi, 534.

ng-eared Owls True Deck cs d red margaritifera, 3

"tailed Mock eagris g

| ie eee 186. Melitza Harrisii, uo. M. Nycteis, 330. M.

Phaeton, 330. M. Tharos, 330.

- Californicns, 183. L. Gambie Mellita hexapora, 663. M. testudinata, we

ressa, i i, 18, 20. L. inornata, 18.) Meloe papuo is 8, 96.

384. LU» e in

comp

maculosa, 18, 20. , 464.

curvirostra, 384. L. leucoptera, 384. Eu allar, i 474,479. M. Heermannii,

441 M. Linco colnii, 581, 634. M. melodia,

507. palustris, 507, (^w M. rutino,

INDEX. 6817

Menobranchnus, 628. Myiadestes T 94. [463.

Me. bicolor, 186. M. ites 186. ies nri crinitus, 584. M. Mexicanus,

Mercenaria Mortoni, 354, 4 Myiodioctes pusillus, 480.

gans er, 506. Mylodon, >

Mer; Americanus, 84. M. serrator, 84. Hor mgp de 447.

Mortou'e Spruce, m Myobia,

Metamorphosis of crabs, 432 Mia museulinus, 493.

Mexican Ever-beari "E p trawberry, 221. Myriapods, 44, 103, 543

Mexican Woodrat d Lad 415. Myrica gale, 130.

Mexic y oodra Mysis, 156.

Miam ey he a i. Mysticetus, 52.

Micrathens Wilmeyi. 478. Mytilus, 245. .M. cubitus, 287.

Micropalama himanto us, 63:

orld ge Sim Objecto of, 101. Narrow leaved Poplar, 408.

Millepora apsidi arbia, 577.

Milvulus ads 477. assa obsoleta

Mimosa unn denm 671. Na venir omeinals, 212.

Mimu get 186. M. Carolinensis, 73,| Natic. 1,504. N.clausa,272. N.immac-

res, 282, 574. wane a, nd.

Me e, la, Natidobia borealis. 160. N. lutea, 160.

170. Natural — hag

Mississippi Valle "eg 320. Lei crie us | ae 8, 645

Missouri H Nauplius, 432

Missouri 5 'Rabbit, 115. Nautilus, 236, "259.

reat aa jt Lose t 317.

Mitchel ens, E Negundo aceroides, 405, 415.

Mites, 364. Neonympha Eurytris, 331. [476.

Mniotilla varia, 509 — cinerea, 296. N. Mexicana, 184,

Mocking ma Aerie d . Nep:

moann plio Nepenthes distillatoria, 13.

Modi prama ed. M. levigata, 243. |Nerei

Mola x ee Mes e Retzii, 218. Nerita "polita, 4

Mole Crickets, 1 Neritina reclivata, 401.

Molecu na ar r Origin E Infusoria, 110. Neroc

wr llus 250, 272, 441, 401, 501, 543, set ri si don, 343.

Noi pent 78, 291, 474. Nettion Caroiinensis 83.

MOM Neuronia semifasciata, 161.

onera, 66 Neuroptera, `

Money co B. Night hawk, 11, 297, 298.

Monodelphia, 607, Night heron, 231.

tropa uni xs raven, 171.

flora,

Monstrosities peii SET t, 288.

Montana, Fauna ot, 31, 122. Sylva of, 405.

Montipora, 500.

Moose, 553.

Norman abel 251.

North America, a eme Flora of, 41.

Moose tick, 1 Northern Shri

| certes m

Moslesuss, x 85,91. M. Copeanus, 446.

M. € . M. Missouriensis, 86. M.

Mitche D Noturus flavus, 297.

Mosses, nra Nucula delphinodonta, 273. N. tenuis, 273.

Mother ares So: 234. - tumidula F

Mother M pear Nudibranchia, 272

Moths, 168. Nullipores, 43

Mottl. Numenius sri 83. N.longirostris, 298.

Les builders of Tennessee, 60. Bor Pines, 185, 187.

MO n Plover, 82, gag — ae 557. Pe Richardsonii,

engmalm

Mountein m$ 155. iNyctherodius acere tat

Mountain Sheep, 186, 296.

ountain Titmouse, 75. “i 41, 506.

Mouse, a singing, 551. Obione canescens, 358.

Mud-wasp and Spider, 391. Obscure Flycatcher, 417.

401. Ere o Wiisonius, 637.

Mule Deer, 180. pods, 259.

Mullet, 401. x € Oculina, 108, 500. O. explanata, 108.

Murloc e Odostomia producta: 273.

120. dema concinna, 616.

Mus leucopus, : Oil Beetle; penni,

usschea pallescens, 221. en ia ecerulea,

Mussel, 287,377. Olive-backed Thrush, 573.

-fish, 254. Onoclea sensibilis,

Myaa ‘la, 23, 27, 159. us,

Mygale Hentzii, 167.

688 INDEX.

fm Meum. 167. O. reticula-|Passenger Pigeon, 80.

tum, 1 O. vi Md tum, 167. Passer Don ille 635, 647.

Ophitrida, 216, 6 ore vw

un" agilis, n. Patella,

Orchids. Pérou s 300.

Orchis Poecilia, à Pea Hen, 279.

Oracus, 53. Pearl Oyster, 245, 951

Orecchiale, 251. Pearls,

Oregon Ash, 407.

Gearon Bear-wood, 407.

DM To s 299.

: Ue -berry, 407.

(Se Sow Bir a 77, 413.

weit B. ; 410.

deae od veg 385.

Srenseopies m montanus, 73.

Origan

Orio. dre pois E 477.

Ormier, 251, 255.

irginianus, "455, 512, 535.

Oryzopsis a asperifolia, 155.

Osprey, "569

Ostonops. Monte ezumma, 37.

Osteopygis "d inus, 89. O. emargina-

tus, 89. O. pa =a Ur 89.

a and Me of Insects, 490.

montana, 186, 296.

u B 451.

IN x qw us, 265, 266.

Painted seins r, 158. T 5

mon, I

Palæocoryne, 616.

Pale caput €

Pale Sparro

neci s and Sprin, Flora of, 121.

amazed Crie Crickets, 151.

P. Calverleyi

S5. K pe T

8, 299. P. atric , 984.

"75. E diei codd

2 Te PIMERIONA

76. P. sav-|Pi

sedis IPEA t Sh ll hee biog

3 oin ell-heaps,

Pecten dislocatns ? : 354. P. ventricosus, 249.

Pectinatella, 385. à

Pediastrun o Eu

edicellina, 38

Taane ba Ea ile 298.

be qo , i a a i 640.

Penella.

cue digitalis, 163. P. grandiflora,

Pentacrinus, 276, 496

ee parvus, 183. P. penicillatus,

esaet Carolinensis, 401.

PM 234.

anus, 20. P. Omalii,

Petromyzon aipu di o

neri, 220.

Peucaea atrae. 633. P. Bachmanii, 633.

ees, 185.

Phalan

pmi ed 360.

Phallusi

Phanogenia ica, 216.

Philadelphia Vireo, 504.

Rat. 477.

Photinus ? 6l N

Phrenolo

ganeide æ, 160

PL ete Douglassii, 298.

Phylactolemata, 385

pitep d d Oruetacen, 501.

De m pe P.

elon M . gyrina, etero-

CL, 291, rik 651. ee armenias 480,

P. Lordii, 651. P.v

Pios ica rs isonic ca, 80, 297. i

Poeno mi 572.

ee CO s, 384. P. scalaris, 474. P

‘| Pie

Duck. 383

: id rach 212, 330. P. Protodice, 212,

P. ra "m 212, 330.

la, 221. E

Pimelodus allurus, 126. P. olivacens, 1

Pine, 74, 185, 212.

Pine Fineh h, 76, 226

Pine Grosbeak, 75; 22 ri 511, 581.

ye :

Pinna, 945, 946, 284. P. un we? 285.

P. rudis, 285. P. s squamosissima

Pinnaxodes Chilensis, 246.

rape chetopterana, 246. P. cylindrica,

Pinnotheres maculatum, 245. P. marga-

rita, 245. P. ostreum, 24i

Pinus abies, 219. a jbanksiana, her 416

rote rta, 409, 4 SE 439

b. : Bono bhyi. E

monticola, 410, yt ep 490. P. s palustris,

i H 287, S: P.P erosa, 74, 8 ), 411,

z 415. TA eo. P. RAE? gens, 325, $297, 05.

; resinosa, 410. P. rigida, 327, 409, 439. P.

ee 185. P. strobus, 410. P.leda,

Pibilo A A berti, 472. P. arcticus, 78, 296, P.

fuscus, 472. P. re ous. 78.

pie Plover: 231, 340, 341.

Pulvis Columbianus, 299.

dokn Peaks $a, 159. P. dubium, 159.

Pitcher Plant, 13, 16, 211.

Pitch-pin e, 287, 350, 409, 447.

Pituophis, Tat 124. ae "bellona, 478.

Plexaur

Pocillipora, 247, 500. P. cespitosa, 246. P.

elongata, 246.

Podere montanus, p

LM occidentalis, 84

Pogonicthys communis, 126.

Polar Hare, 115.

RUN melanura. 184. P. plumbea, 474.

Polyborus Audu pa e.

PolYclstintis, 428,

a ar ee vat, HO. P. Virgin-

Po sive es Pros latifolium, 672.

Polvommatus Porsenna, 330.

Poly |. 048.

Polyzoa, 271. 385, 543, 611

Pond-w: 316.

Pontonia margarita,

ocecetes mineus

Poospiza Bellii, 184. if P bilineata, 189.

Poplar, 4

a pal 162.

8 angustifolia, 408. 415, 416, 418, 421.

A 408, 419. rg ifera,

TP. Te muloi ides, 409,4

Moen i bar pr

PODA Novzeboracens: lY

l Flow

S Rue need

AMER. 3XATORALNE, VOL. II.

INDEX.

j Prickly Poppy

689

Potato, anu injurious to, 91.

Prairie Pea, 16

Prairie Warbler, 507, 578.

; Arar Ash, 2

Prideaux’s Hermit ‘Crab, 268.

Procellaridz

P Prochonias pr reS 89. P. strenuus, 89.

P. sulca

Procyon Hernandezii, 186.

Propleura s ops

Proteus, m

Protococ s, 31 6.

Protophytes, 3 ^ 314, 315, 562.

Protoplas

POR. p v.

aranna prostrata, 1 122. P. Virginiana, 415.

Psa orgia ni E

Potada podia

Psyche helix. 160.

Pteraster militaris, 666.

Pteris aquilin Po get P. critica var. albo-

i ata, 560.

Pupipara, ‘Development of, 490.

e Finch, 76, 292, 581.

P. cardui, "Is

Pyranga :estiva, "ES dim P. Ludoviciana,

thram m nsus.

ioci s Mexi ot kiri 477.

Pyrus f fraxiniotia? 408, 419, 420.

Python

venient

So 143, 14, 145.

‘Quaternary Period, 501.

Que 38. agrifolia, 184. Q. casta-

nea, b t A Ganyana, 407. Q. macro-

carpa, 407. Q. monticola, 560. Q. virens,

iscalus baritus, 287, 636. Q. major, 636.

es versicolor, 508. A

690 INDEX.

Rattlesnake, 124, 157, 164, 298, 475. ee D rq 842.

Raven, 79, I ‘ Sand flea, 45.

Red backed sa ander, 158, 378. "en Martin, 116, 228.

Red bellied Nuthatch, 74, 581. . Sand pipers, 232, ^v

Red-bellied Woodpecker, 581. ern,

Sandwic

PRENT ré E 129.

cei ege HE. penetrans, , 986

Sarc 1, ——! 372, 373.

ube am d a Double Flow: red, 48. S.

Sassatras, 41, 130, 412. PS officinale, 130.

Satyrus Alope, 331. S. Nephele, 331. 8.

, 661.

Red bird, 635.

: Red-breasted Merganser, 233.

Red Cro Grossbil, me a 583.

M Oe

Red necked 4

Ls eene ed i Woodpecker, 475.

Red ow

Red-p

Hea bhouldeced awk. 396, 517.

r^ € ed lake trout, 127.

Bodi tai led Black Hawk, 184.

Red-tailed Hawk, 384,

Lei Aris, gh Blackbird, 78, 291, 294, 508.

Regeneration of Limbs E

js iei ca 32. R. satrapa, 32

Saxi omus aoii. 4.

Sa3 ifrag gd 382. S. Virginiensis, 129,

Sa: ornis nigricans, 183.

Sain Gr reenlandica, ' 273.

Scallo

Scaphirhynehus i platirhynchus, 126.

Aine 500. Scarlet Fiycateher,

Reptiles, 609. Sceloporus magister ? 478

I. t D fé

Rheumat n Prehistoric times, 55. Scilla, 300, 30

eem] Root, 129. Scirpus maae P 101.

Rhinocryptis, Sciurus leporinus, 186.

Rhizocrinus, 108, 276, 496, 661. R. Lofoten-|Scolecida,

K Scolecoph fit cyanocephalus, 79.

Rhizopoda, 108, 428, 430. Scolopax Wilsonii, 83.

Ehi “ty 279. Scolopendra, 103, 104

Rhus glabra? 405, 421. Raley oor pipe é-spinosa, 104.

Rivacophins solitarius, 638. Scomber grex,

Ri 562. Scopelus Króyeri,

Rich s Pewee, 31, 480, Scops asio, 384.

Ring Plover, 231, 340, 341. Scorpions, 365

Robin, 267, 573. Scoter, 383.

Robin ush, 31. Scrub oak, 2

Rock Swift, 186. Scutibranchiata, 951. ,

Rock Wren, 73, 183, Scutigeridz, 104

Rocky Mountain and Alpin e region, 440. lium, ,

Rocky Mountain Ferd maie 83. Sea anemones, 156, 247, 263. 2

Roseate Tern, 234 a cucumber, 467

Rough-legged Bu g Sea daisies, 266

Kongh legged Hawk, 518. Pe ducks,

ears,

REESE Eggs of, 49, 82, 105, 384. Sea Hy 38.

rouse, Eggs o: a li

s-backed Titmouse, 15. Se i

sac, 7 Of por nent Martin, 554

Sngartia So cub S gt 250. E paguri, 248.

Sage Fowl, 82, 188.

Sed, 6.

at baw een illus, 586. S. Fags bance

577. S. m ionalis, 635. ovzebora-

"36, 211. censis ? 32.

157, 501, 629. M 617.

5 Semno pes 501.

Salix, = 219, 408. S. Fendleriana, 408. S.

í a 408. gifolia,

S. fontinalis, 6o. IE

8 mm PP Sequoias.

Gibbsit 127. S. zoe B 520, 52

Suckleyi aul

Serin Fine

l. Serinus meridionalis, 641.

125,997. S.8 A Serpents, 482

ove h e berry, $i ill 33, 294.

n a ruticilla, 33,

Barenton n-ear r Cicada, hatching of, 106.

INDEX. 691

— -tailed Grouse, 82.

apoena 6.

Ecce Puffin, 235.

She — 401.

Spire

Spizella pallida, 299.

pizella weri rii, 77. S. ae eh n 8.

Wo 7 , 475. S. socialis, 77, 295, 473,

476, 508, 582 è

Babe oth cn brevipes, 941. S. graci-

She

Shining Fiyeatsner, 185, 472.

Showy is, Spo ges, 244, 446 451.

Shrikes, 34, 295, 47 Spongilla fluviatilis, 454.

Shrimp and Prawns, 45, 156 Sporangium, 313, 32:

Sialia arctica, 32,189. S. Mexicana, 32, 185.

. Sialis. 59.

Sibbaldias, 277. S. laticeps, 278. S. tecti-

stris, 278.

Squi ull,

Squ ill

squire, Mi, 142, 298, 478.

Squi dm wk, 183.

Sitta aculeata, 74. 8. ee agree 74, 581.

. Carolinensis, 384, 556. S. pygmza, 74, Sta

Skate, 285, 617, — 623, 624, 625, 627.

Skua ove ded * 80.

Sterna antillarum, 340. S.argentea,339. S.

Skunk ‘Cabbage 128. cantiaca, 644. S. vig gere S. frenata,

LM. TH macroura, 642.

disea, 643.

Smaller Blue Her:

Sangre — FEM, 577. 339.

Sm Stigosteaion boreus, 126, 297.

€ d eni 406 meer ag prostratus, 663.

Smooth Sumac, 405. S ramonium, 128.

Smynthurus, 45 Strawbe Tried, 50, 328, 669.

Snails, 184 Striker, 339

Snake, 36. Striped Blister-beetles, 99.

Snake-bird, 41. Cantharis,

Snipe, 225, m Sinik ratincola, 513, 570, 646.

Snow Bird, 5 Stromboc "e ‘pubescens, 471:

Snow Buntin "o 510, 585.. Strombus, 532. S. alatus, 406. S. gigas,

raataa d er 302, 303, 306. 444.

Snowy É ,931. Sturnella magna, 509. S. neglecta, 79, 473,

nowy Her n, 637.

Soldier-crab, 247. Stylops, 434.

Solidago, 8 Succin è

Solitary Ae uokoe rerai Trout, 126.

Solitary Vireo, 507. ulphu

DAMM. Summer Redbird, 478, 578.

0, 183, 230, 292, 293, 479, 507.

Song Sparrow, 1 1s, , 79 Summer Yellowbird, 477.

w, 211.

Sow bugs, Sun-fish, 218

panin Bayonet, 460. Surnia

gpm Dagger, 164. Swainson’ h,

Spanish moss, 282. ainson’s Warbler, 576.

Sparro wk, 516. Swallow, 33, 117, 118, 119, e

Spatangus Swallow-tailed Haw

Speckled , 519 amp co Mi. 211.

Spectrum of the fire-fl y, 615. wamp W, 229, 473, 507, 634.

Files hiin eode yi des S. Franklinii EUM DU

Ds. S. Ha pe rrisii, 188 Td p ig "|Sweet Tern, 130.

MO whale : |Sweet Gale,

.Sphzrium striatinum, 297, 417. wift,

ove adips halis, 475. S. vari Sanoesi PM

i . S. varius, i

8. Williamson vg 5. aiy Auerea typhle, 220.

Spice i ymphemia, 233.

Spiders, ss = sit Pe eto ore feetidus, 128.

-W. * 24.

: Spider Cr lest la Syrnium cinereum, 570. S. nebulosum, 884.

Syrphus fly, 95.

Nes

War

692 INDEX.

Tachina, 99. Toxodon, 392

Tenia, 42. Toxopneustes Dróbachiensis, 663.

Tap yen Jager 124. Trachelius, 110.

Tapes gracilis, 4. "Prasncenth, 122.

Tantalus chen, is 81. Trapezia, 247.

Ta —€— ys molops, 89, 90. Trebius, 241.

'Tarantula, 167. Tree Sp

Tardigrades, 313, 493 Trichina, 42 T. spiralis, 240.

iw 225, 233. Triehotropl: idz, 213.

xide e3 1 Heats o psa borealis, 274.

IIR hen 881.

Taxodium distichum

Taxus x ecata, 130. "T. brevifolia, 414, 419. Trium. erythrocarpum, 102, 382.

5 "erm 414. ere Per

, 5l 06, 5

Telinga m ma reed end X

Tellina, 402. m. tenera, 213. Trionychide, 88

"Pengtaalm's Ow. 1, 646. kd pa lima, 90.

Tennessee Warbier, 222, 331, 496, 575 Triticum violaceum, 155. T. vulgare, 155.

Teratology, 152, 153, 154 Tritonium cw: yy 274.

'Terebratulidz Tritons, 374, 48

Terebratulina, ‘caput serpentis, 108. T. sep- Trochus, 252.

Troglodytes bas 49, 390, 614. T. hyema-

Teias, Delia. 890 "T. Lisa, 330. lis, 74.

Termites, 360 Trog >

e A 226, 234, 344, 345, 347. Trombidium, 369 :

Tertiary, 415. Trophon Morchii, 220.

Tetragdnitheca, 122. idees 202, 283, 297, 519.

unk-fish, 467.

Tetranychus holosericeum, 369. T. telarius, Trega, 25. 25.

Tetrao Columbianus, 82. T. Franklinii, 81. Turbonitla umbilicaris,

T. obscurus, 81, 298. T. umbellus,384. /Tu rdus os ana 574. T. ppt 574.

Tetraplodon australis, 329. mi grato os 31, 297, 573. T. nwvius, a

Teucrium, 122. 75, 572. T. Pallasi, 573. T. wain-

Texan Nighthawk, 186, 477. onii, A, 295, 573, 574. T. ustulatus, 31

Textillariae, 659. tone, 232.

nenun Leachii, 234. T. Wilsonii, Aaro a erosa, 273.

irtles, 374.

Thal ictrum anemonoides, 382. Twin leaf, 129.

Thecachampsa » 90. T. sericodon, 91. T. Lila cvs Pine, 409. :

sicaria, 91. yphlodromus pyri, 366, 373. :

Thecla Ea 330. T. Auburniana, i Tyrannus Carolinensis, 390. T. Donne

. T. Augustus, 212, 330. T. Falace , 645. d icalis, 184, 309, 477 :

. T. Henrici 212, 330. T. humuli, 359. pea cad T

T: AM us, 330. T. Niphon, 212, 330 T Tyroglyphüs. 387, 371. T. fecule, 389. T.

Pembina, 330. T. AIR 0. T. Scud-| siro , 491.

n 330. T. Clothilde,

de:

Themisto, 243. Ucia canescens, 122.

Thom iomys mes 471. T. umbrinus, 183. ps latissima, E 265, 316.

Thora Unio, 26, 27, 159, 417, 'U. complanatus, 27.

Fuori T pennatribus, 222. ; Us crassus, 54. U. Jewettii, 402. U. l

Thorn-apple, 2 ic tng Jr ELE ‘margaritiferus, 402.

Thracia pide 277.

í U. plicatus, 54. U. ret-

I leucogaster, 74.

Upland i Plover, 232.

Thuys gicanten, 415 419, 420, Urodel

Thyasira Gouldii, 272. Uro terrd

lacin Trens horribili

| LICK: rticina crassic tei 616. ;

1 Trio. Mew LEE p^ T. melan- Utricularia inflata, CN "c. Aure

E ha,178. T.tigrina, T U. minor, 375. vulgari

. Titmouse, 511. ;

T oad,

Valen

Vanbencdenia Kr Kroyeri

Vane tiopa, 331, n. v. interroga-

tio: ohik M ne c-album, 331. V. Milberti,

turtles, 481. ` Varied Thrush, 513, 572.

Velutina, 271. VN. haliotoides, 272.

Venus, 2

x Venus’s ear, 250.

', 94. Verbena, 163.

Vespa maculata, 52.

INDEX. 693

Vespertilio, 472. V. Yumanensis? 480. TUM headed Eagle, 183, 227.

Hd ap Rail, 231. e Heron, 401.

Viola, 439. V. blanda, 129, 155,381. V.c White- throated Sparr

cullat a, 6, 129, 669. v. ebracteolata, 122. White winged Crossbill, ^. ‘Se EN

N: rotundifolia, = V. sagittata, 130. V. be gg a cran p

Selk

Violets, 6, 8 212. Wild Hyacinth. 162.

Vireo, 34, 296. Bartramii, 35. Wild mustard, 162.

Noveeboracensis, oT, 579. V. olivace af wild Pigeon, 295.

V. pusillus, 186. V. egit 418.|W: Turkey, 456, 506.

V. ip ia gilva a, 504. V. sylvia Philadel-|W

phica. ilia oclo ’s Spruce, 412.

vis nia Partridge, 536 wi ern ud oodpecker, 475.

Vision of Fishes and Amphibious Reptiles, | Willow, 41

Wilso = = espe age M

Vitrina, 251. Wilson's Albany, 329.

Vivipara. contectoides, 534. V. Georgiana, Wilson's Stag age 338, 340, 637.

V. intertexta, 533. V. subpurpura,| Wilson’s Snipe, 83, 222

lson’s Tum 'ox4.

als, 9 252 Wilson's Thrush, 292.

Vorticdlla, 110. Winter Cress, 130.

Vulpes littoralis, 186. V. velox, 476. Winter be: A d

ulture Eagle, 480. Woodco

ck, 2

Woodhouse’ "Toad, 478.

Wood Ibis, 481.

Wood mice

83.

Woodpecker, 12, 297, 422.

Wood rat, 181, n

Waldheimia cranium, 108.

alrus, 333.

Worm eating Ww arbler, 656, 576.

Worms, 156, 240, 494.

Wormwoo , 991.

Wr en Titmouse, 185.

Xanthidia, 32:

T EIU icterocephalns, 636

Xanthoxylum Carolinianum, 283.

Xema atricilla, 234.

Xerobates Fans am. 189, 478.

Xylobius, 45

Xylostroma giganteum, 112.

Yellow Bird, 76, 292

Yellow-bellied Eycatcher, 230, 504, 572.

Yellow-billed Cuc:

Yellow-billed Nec. 571.

Tallow: breasted Chat, 477, 479.

ed Ni eron

Yello

yellows eaded Lene ATA, 416.

Yellow ce oe. MMC

Yellow-leg

Lise Pine 2

Yellow ‘Warbler, 292, 293.

Yellow-winged Sparrow, 507.

381 Yoldia limatula, Y

uk, 186. 87, 460. Y. baccata, 187.

lli e er tin, ME Zaphrentis, 216.

= e n Á "ies Zebrilus undulatus, 178, 179.

-breasted Nuthatch, Zenaidura Carolinensis, 81, 295.

| ZU rel En 77, 580, 633. egte pel

ite crowned Sparrow, 77, l

Whi d Vireo, 292, 507, 579. Zonotri a albicollis, 510, Gam

White fish, 126. belii,

ds i TI. Z. loucopkrya, 11. 550, 58i, di.