]8i 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[Aug. 1, 1867. 



ZOOLOGY. 



Flying Eish.— At page 161, there is a quotation 

 from that excellent naturalist, Mr. George Bennett, 

 on the flying fish, in which he maintains the com- 

 monly received notion that its aerial movement is 

 not a true "flight, but merely a single leap, wholly 

 dependent on the original impulse given in the 

 water, and therefore incapable of augmentation in 

 force, or change in direction, while in the air. In 

 this opinion, though backed by so great an authority 

 as Alexander Humboldt, I am persuaded he is in 

 error. More than twenty years ago, in a voyage to 

 Jamaica, I set myself to examine with great care 

 this very point, as I had, in former voyages, seen 

 what had appeared to me a distinct motion of the 

 pectoral fins. The result fully confirmed my scep- 

 ticism of the common statement, as will be seen by 

 the following extracts from my journal.® 



"November 20, 1844— Many flying fishes ap- 

 peared : a silvery species with clear wings, of 

 middling size ; the kind commonly seen in the 

 Atlantic— probably Uxoccetus volitcnis. I now feel 

 certain that these fishes have power to change their 

 direction when in the air ; more than one which I 

 saw to-day turned aside at nearly a rigid angle. 



"November 22.— Flying fishes leap every few 

 minutes. Several made courses distinctly angular ; 

 and some, I am quite sure, rose and sunk in undula- 

 tions. To confirm my own observation, I requested 

 a gentleman on board to notice this point ; and he 

 was quite certain of both these facts. 



"November 24.— I observed a flying fish, after 

 flying a very short distance, suddenly turn down- 

 ward, abruptly and perpendicularly, as if alarmed, 

 and enter the water. The action exactly resembled 

 that of a bird. 



"November 25.— Several times I have observed in 

 the flight of these fishes, when near the ship, an 

 occasional fluttering of the pectorals. In general, 

 these wing-like fins appear motionless ; but at the [ 

 moment of rising to avoid the crest of a wave, there 

 is a slight but rapid vibration of these organs dis- ! 

 tinctly perceptible. 



"November 29.— I noticed a flying fish curve its 

 course, so as to describe more than half a circle." 



Surely these observations prove that the aerial 

 course of the flying fish is a true flight, increased, 

 directed, and terminated at will, by the action of 

 the pectorals, exactly as is the flight of a bird by 

 the action of its wings.— P. II. Gosse, F.R.S., 

 Torquay. 



I hope it is not hypercritical to add that a state- 

 ment in the next quotation is somewhat incautiously 

 expressed. The terrible irritation produced by 

 touching the dependent; appendages of the Portu- 



Nat. Sojourn in Jamaica, pp. 9.11. 



guese Man-of-war, is caused by the emission from 

 them, and the entrance into the human skin, of 

 multitudes of those w r onderful stinging weapons 

 the barbed wires {ecthorced) of nettling cells (cnidce), 

 which are found abundantly in our own sea ane- 

 mones and jelly fishes. The injection of a poisonous 

 fluid is rather a plausible inference than a matter of 

 sensible observation. (For a detailed account of 

 these remarkable organs, I may refer to my "British 

 Sea-anemones, Introduction,", pp. xxix. to xl.) — 

 P. II. G. 



"Hats off."— Having been greatly amused by 

 the accounts given in Science- Gossip of the dis- 

 likes evinced by various animals to different colours 

 aud articles of dress, I think an account of poor 

 " Brutus's " peculiar fancies may not be uninterest- 

 ing. The Brutus I allude to was a dog— the 

 Brutus mentioned by his fond master (the Hon. 

 Grantley E. Berkeley) in many of his well-known 

 works. I came down into the drawing-room one 

 day at Winleton, dressed in my hat and cloth 

 bernous ; we were going to the river side to see 

 Mr. Berkeley fish, when Brutus, who lay on the rug, 

 got up and looked at me. He neither growled nor 

 grumbled— simply looked : such a look ! I can not 

 describe it ; but it frightened me, fond as I am of 

 dogs— much as I liked -Brutus; and I cried out 

 in mortal fear, " Oh ! what is the matter with 

 Brutus ? " His master looked up, and immediately 

 spoke to the dog, who resumed his place. "He 

 does not approve of your hat." He shows 

 his taste, thought I ; for an uglier felt never 

 sat on woman's head; but it looked like rain, and I 

 did not want to spoil my bonnet. "He is not 

 partial to cloaks," added Mr. Berkeley ; " a gentle- 

 man called here last week, and Brutus nearly tore 

 his Inverness off his shoulders. He dislikes blue : 

 my butcher is his abomination. The poor man has 

 tried to conciliate him by bringing him pieces of 

 meat, but in vain; his blue frock is odious in 

 Brutus's eyes, and it is useless to try and deceive 

 him by placing another over it ; the fellow has done 

 that. Brutus on one occasion tumbled butcher, 

 tray, and all over in the road ; and legs of mutton, 

 &c, &c, flew about charmingly. I believe the 

 butcher used the then empty tray as a shield." I 

 was far from feeling at ease with Brutus during our 

 walk, and I caught him stealing suspicious glances 

 at my offending head-covering. His master's com- 

 mands prevented his taking the matter into his own 

 paws, but he looked "Hats off!" very plainly.— 

 Helen. 



An Original Mode of gathering Ertjit. — 

 I have in my garden a pear tree, the fruit of which 

 though small, is of a remarkably sweet and delicate 

 flavour. As the crop ripened last summer, I looked 

 for the usualj quantity of windfalls ; but, strange 



