Vertebrata. Zoological Collections. 173 



brandling worm. During the summer and autumn, they swarm »o much in 

 the streams, that it is very usual for a fisher to kill his twelve dozen and 

 upwards, two or three frequently taking his flies at the same time. It is, I 

 believe, a general opinion, that this fish is never met with in any river or 

 brook, unfrequented by the salmon. Whether it be the young of the latter, 

 or a distinct species, has long been a question ; and some seemingly absurd 

 conjectures have been hazarded upon that point. It has been asserted to be 

 a hybrid between the trout and the salmon ; a suspicion from which its 

 diminutive size, (for it is seldom found exceeding six inches in length,) 

 might, one would think, have exempted it. 



An intelligent gentleman of Cumberland assured me, that he had by 

 experiment ascertained it to be really the young of the salmon. He said, he 

 had kept brandlings, till they acquired the silvery scales, and became, in fact, 

 to all appearance, the salmon-smelt or fry. He added, that, if you scrape 

 the shining scales off a salmon smelt, you will find the same blackish bars 

 on the sides plainly distinguishable. Perhaps the richness and delicacy of 

 this little fish upon the table, may assist in forwarding its claims to rank as 

 the legitimate cadet of so distinguished a family. I am, Sir, &c. 



William Greene. 



P.S. — Sir William Jardine, in a late account of the vendace, does not 

 seem aware, that it is found in Bassenthwaite Lake, in Cumberland. A 

 preserved specimen of it, procured from that lake, may be seen in Cross- 

 thwaite's Museum at Keswick. W. G. 



Query on the Hereditary Transmission of Accidental Characters. (In a letter 

 to the Editor.) 



Sir, — In the first volume of the French translation of Meckel's Compa- 

 rative Anatomy, p. 447, the author, after having enumerated the several 

 modifications which external circumstances may produce in the living body, 

 in respect of form, number, position, and bulk of the several organs, makes 

 the following remarkable statement : 



" That all these modifications of the original organization may become 

 permanent by hereditary transmission, is a fact proved by experience. Let us 

 instance the case of horses produced by docked stallions or mares, which have 

 generally a less number of caudal vertebrae, and are even sometimes foaled with 

 entire docks. This peculiarity has been particularly remarked in a province, 

 where it is customary to cut off a part of the tail, as a preventive against 

 vertigo. It is not uncommon there, to see young foals with only 15, 14, 12, 

 and even 8 vertebrae in the tail.* In the same manner, dogs, whose tails and 

 ears have been cut, often produce whelps wanting the same parts ; whence 

 this character sometimes becomes hereditary in several generations. "f 



As I believe general experience is directly adverse to these statements, 

 may I request from your readers, the communication of any facts they may 

 be acquainted with, which tend to support the opinion ? The names of 

 Blumenbach and Meckel being appended to these observations, will, I trust, 

 be a sufficient excuse for my asking a question, which may, at first sight, 

 appear so ridiculous. I am, &c. i^" 



fFrom theoretical considerations, we are clearly of opinion, that there must be some 

 mistake in the narration of these extraordinary cases. We have, in a former number, 

 stated it to be our opinion, that the characters of an organism are permanent during the 

 operation of the circumstances, internal or external, which produced them, and no longer. 

 Whence, the original deficiency of caudal vertebrae being the result of mutilation, a new 

 operation would be required in every successive generation, to continue the character (if 

 it may be so called) in the race. And this is a fact sufficiently well known to all farriers 

 and keepers of dogs. Our correspondent is, however, right in saying, that any thing 

 stated under the authority of Meckel merits consideration ; and we shall be glad to hear 

 from any of our readers on tliis subject. — i:d.2 



* Greve Bruchstuecke zur vergleich. — Anat. u. Physiologie. Oldenburg, 1818, p. 15. 

 t Blmnenbach, ueber Kuensteleien oder zufseilige Verstuemmelungen.— Voigt's Magaziu, 

 Bd. 6. 1789, p. 13. 8 B 



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