Scientific Intelligence — Zoology, 385 



very short ; at others I have watched them skimming along till the 

 eye almost lost sight of them. I should say that they frequently ex- 

 tend their flight to 300 yards. The height to which they rise above 

 the surface of the sea does not usually exceed 3 or 4 feet ; but that 

 they rise higher is well known, from the fact that they not unfre- 

 quently fly on board ships, which are from 10 to 15 feet out of the 

 water. When the sea is calm, they shoot along on the same plane, 

 like an arrow, and the impulse they acquire on leaving the water, 

 appears to be that alone which impels them onward. The first time 

 I discovered that they certainly use their fins as wings, was one day 

 when a rather high swell was running ; a good many fish were rising, 

 but not in great numbers at a time. Solitary individuals could be 

 followed by the eye to a great distance, but during their progress they 

 did not keep on the same plane, nor did the course of their flight 

 form the segment of a circle, but they could most distinctly be seen 

 rising and falling over the heavy swell, keeping always at about 

 the same height above the water, just as a bird would do, the alba- 

 tross for example, when skimming along in search of food. The 

 only time I ever saw distinctly the fins moved in the manner of 

 wings, was in the South Atlantic Ocean ; one beautifully clear day, 

 when we were running quietly along under the influence of a light 

 breeze, several large dolphins were playing about, one of which we 

 saw give chase to a flying fish ; the latter rose, but its flight was fol- 

 lowed by the dolphin. It fell close to the ship, and in attempting 

 to rise again, the impulse was not sufficient to throw it completely 

 out of the water ; it flew along with its tail nearly out of the sea, 

 for about a yard, when it fell a prey to its pursuer. Several of th« 

 other passengers were watching it also, and by all of us the large 

 fins were seen to be worked with great rapidity. I agree with Hum- 

 boldt,* that these fishes do not always rise out of the water to 

 escape from their enemies, as they often spring up close to ships when 

 there are no signs of large fishes being near. Why should the flying 

 fish, having the power to do so, not enjoy a flight in the air, quite as 

 much as the duck does a dive under the water, or land animals the 

 luxury of bathing ? — {Gardner' s Travels in the interior of Brazil^ 

 p. 555.) 



23. Osteography, or Iconographic description of the Skeleton and 

 Dental System of the Five Classes of Vertebrate Animals. By M, 

 Ducrotay de Blainvilley 20th fasciculus ; Genus Bhinoceros. — ^M.de 

 Blainville has published the twentieth part of his great work on the 

 osteography of the vertebratse. This number contains the history of 

 rhinoceroses, which had great need of being elucidated by a judicious 

 critic, and a comparative observation of the numerous materials 

 which exist in the diflerent European collections. The rhinoceroses, 



* Personal Narrative, vol. ii., p. 15. 



