676 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



taming starch, is an excellent food for persons afflicted with dia- 

 betes, was introduced in 1855, and has been the subject of numer- 

 ous experiments by members of the Societe d' Acclimatation, and 

 has been most extensively cultivated in Austria-Hungary. It 

 has now become a common agricultural plant. The ailantus 

 silk-worm (Attacus Cynthia) was imported from China to Italy 

 in 1856, has been largely multiplied, and has now become so well 

 acclimated that it lives in the wild state. It may thus be found 

 living on the ailantus trees in different parts of Paris. It has 

 not yet, however, been made industrially profitable, because its 

 silk is hard to wind, but a means will be found some day of obvi- 

 ating this difficulty. 



The first attempts to naturalize the ordinary salmon (Sal mo 

 solar) in the waters of southern France in 1886 and 1887 were not 

 successful, because the temperature of the water there was not 

 suited to that species. The introduction of the California salmon 

 (Salmo quinnat) by the society in 1888 has been attended with a 

 better prospect of success. The stock, obtained from the United 

 States Fish Commission, is prospering, and will probably be the 

 starting-point for peopling the affluents of the Mediterranean 

 with this valuable fish. 



The golden pheasant, originally from China, was imported into 

 England toward the middle of the eighteenth century, and has 

 been much in favor as a cage bird. It has lately acquired an 

 economical value from its feathers having come into fashion as 

 an adornment of clothing, and the cages have been called on to 

 supply them. The sacred pheasant, imported from China in 

 1866, has multiplied rapidly, with a corresponding reduction in 

 price, and it may now be found wild in the chases around Paris, 

 where no more care is taken of it than of other game birds. 



The belief that the African elephant can not be tamed is re- 

 futed in the case of Juliette, in the Jardin d 'Acclimataiion, who 

 has borne several young, and is distinguished by the two quali- 

 ties of strength and docility. 



Burchell's zebra, or the dauw, although it has not yet been 

 naturalized to our farmsteads, has been seen frequently for sev- 

 eral years in the streets of Paris serving as a draught animal. 

 These animals make themselves at home in our stables, behave 

 themselves soberly, and reproduce regularly. Eighteen years of 

 experiment in the Jardin d Acclimataiion on eight subjects have 

 shown that they are easily tamed, are susceptible of training, and 

 are capable of displaying much strength in draught. Translated 

 for TJie Popular Science Monthly from the Revue Scientifique. 



