ZOOLOGY. 



297 



ova in several species of fish, by counting the number in a given 

 weight, say ten or twenty grains, and then weighing the entire roe. 

 The following are the results : 



Salmon, to each pound the fish weighs, about 



Trout of one pound weight 



Herring of half-pound weight 



Perch of half-pound weight 



Mackerel of one pound weight 



Turbot of eight pounds' weight 



Roach of three-quarters of a pound weight 



Cod of fifteen pounds' weight . . . 



THE STRUCTURE OP THE ELEPHANT. 



1,000 ova. 

 1,008 " 

 19,810 " 

 20,592 

 80,220 

 385200 

 480,000 

 4,872,000 



it 

 u 



C( 



A curious statement appears in the London Veterinarian, on the rela- 

 tive weight of the body and of the viscera of the elephant, by Dr. E. 

 Crisp. The stuffed specimen in the Crystal Palace was originally in 

 WornbwelPs Menagerie ; it was 22 years of age and 10 feet in height. 

 The weight of the body was stated to be 3 tons ; the relative proportion 

 of the viscera is as follows (omitting fractions): Brain, 12lb. ; lungs, 

 47lb. 8oz. ; heart, 17lb. 9oz. ; liver, 33lb. 12oz. ; spleen, 6lb. 9oz. ; right 

 kidney, 7lb. 2oz. ; left kidney, 5lb. lOoz. ; the length of the alimentary 

 canal 106 feet. A female which died last year at the Zoological Gar- 

 dens from fright produced by a thunder-storm was about 30 years of 

 age, and had been there 18 years. The weight of the various parts of 

 the body was as follows : The skin, 683lb. ; flesh and bones, 3642lb. ; 

 supposed loss, 200lb. ; viscera, TOOlb., making a total of 5225lb., or 2 

 tons 5cwt. 73lb. The proportions were as follows (again omitting 

 fractions): Heart, 25lb. ; lungs, much congested, 10 7lb. ; liver, 50lb. ; 

 spleen, 9lb. ; kidney, 81b. ; alimentary canal, 123 feet ; the large intes- 

 tines, about 35 feet in length, would probably hold about 150 gallons 

 of water. A curious circumstance is the absence of fat generally in the 

 elephant. In the male there was none, in the female, about 50lb. was 

 found, not deposited in large masses, but dispersed over the body in 

 thin layers, and evidently containing a large quantity of stearine. 



THE AILANTHUS SILKWORM. 



Many of our readers may be aware that there has recently been in- 

 troduced to France a new species of silkworm, which promises to rival, 

 if not supersede, that which has been so long the sole producer of all 

 the silk of commerce. Unlike the old species, which is known to be of 

 delicate and tender constitution, and has of late been subject to a dis- 

 ease which has produced great mortality in the silk-producing districts, 

 the ailanthus worm, (so called from the circumstance that it feeds on 

 the leaves of the ailanthus tree), is said to be much more hardy, and 

 more easy of cultivation. It was first brought from China to Turin, 

 Italy, in 1857, and was introduced into France, in 1858. 



From a statement recently made to the French Academy, by M. 

 Guerin-Meneville, it appears that the cocoons, which at first had to be 

 carded, have been successfully unwound, but by what process he does 

 not mention. This last discovery adds most materially to the value of 

 this silk ; and the ease with which the ailanthus can be cultivated 

 upon the poorest soils, together with the comparatively small amount 

 of labor required in raising the worms, which, when a few days old, 

 are placed upon the hedges in the open air, and require scarcely any 



