G. GENERAL NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY. 305 



placed in the same vessel. The cutaneous respiration offish, 

 as already shown by Humboldt, is quite feeble; an eel of 

 ten ounces absorbino; in its cutaneous surface 0.30 of a cen- 

 tigramme of oxygen in an hour, and another of sixteen and a 

 half ounces absorbing 0.58. 6 J5, 3Iai/ 5, 1873, 114L 



ABSEXCE OF FISH ABOVE THE YOSEMITE FALLS. 



It is a curious fact, as reported by Mr. Livingston Stone, 

 that there are no fish in the Merced River or any of its trib- 

 utaries above the walls of the Yosemite Falls. The streams 

 which unite to form the Merced above the falls are the Ne- 

 vada or Main Stream, the Lenaya, the Illilonette, and the Yo- 

 semite, all well supplied with clear, cold, and beautiful water, 

 but totally destitute of fish of any kind. Connected with 

 these streams are nearly a hundred lakes, from two hundred 

 yards to a mile in diameter, and equally destitute of life. The 

 average altitude of these lakes is about 8000 feet above the 

 level of the sea. 



Mr. Stone suggests the expediency of stocking these Ava- 

 ters artificially Avith trout, especially the Salmo spectabilis, 

 which inhabits only the coldest waters of the Sacramento. 

 But it may be a question whether it will be practicable to 

 accomplish this purpose satisfactorily in the probable ab- 

 sence of a sufticient quantity of food, which perhaps more 

 than any supposed inaccessibility may be the cause of their 

 absence. Insect larvie and crustaceans, which might furnish 

 nutriment to cyprinoid fishes, even if not fed upon directly 

 by the Salmonidce, are possibly unable to sustain the low 

 temperature of the streams. 



A similar absence of fish life to that referred to by Mr. 

 Stone is seen in the upper waters of the Hudson, in the Adiron- 

 dack region. In ascending Mount Marcy via Lake Henderson, 

 from the old Adirondack Iron-works, Avalanche Lake, quite 

 a large and deep body of water is met with, and this is said 

 to be uninhabited by any kind offish ; and it is quite certain 

 that Opalescent River, the bed of which travelers ascend in 

 climbing the mountain, and which is a stream of considerable 

 size, is likewise entirely destitute of fish. The only form 

 of animal life that was observed by a party of naturalists, 

 who were engaged in the inquiry, consisted of the larvse of 

 some species of salamanders, ^yvobd^Aj BesmognatJms fuscuSj 



