174 ZooloffiGal Collections, Vertebrata. 



JDiffievlty &f preserving Whitebait Alive. — Mr Yarrell read the following 

 notice of his late unsuccessful attempts to preserve Whitebait alive, to a 

 recent meeting of the Zoological Society : — " Several dozens of strong 

 lively fish, four inches in length, were transferred with great care from the 

 nets into large vessels, (some of the vessels, to vary the experiments, being 

 of earthenware, and others of wood and metal,) filled with water from the 

 Thames at the time of catching the fish. At the expiration of twenty 

 minutes nearly the whole of them were dead ; none of them survived longer 

 than half an hour • and all fell to the bottom of the water. On examination, 

 the air-bladders were found to be empty and collapsed. There was no cause 

 of death apparent. About four dozen specimens were then placed in a 

 coffin-shaped box pierced with holes, which was towed slowly up the river 

 after the fishing-boat. This attempt also failed ; all the fish were dead 

 when the vessel had reached Greenwich. 



<' I was told by two Whitebait fishermen that they had several times 

 placed these fishes in the wells of their boats, but they invariably died when 

 brought high up in the river. The fishermen believe a portion of sea water 

 to be necessary to the existence of this species, and all the circumstances 

 attending this particular fishery appear to prove their opinion to be correct." 

 ^Ann. of Phil. Jan. 1831. 



Miscellaneous Notices. — We extract the following notices from a minute 

 book of facts in natural history, communicated to the Natural History 

 Society of Edinburgh, in 1783-84, the period when Dr Walker, (after- 

 wards Professor of Natural History in this University,) was an active 

 member Ed. 



13th Feb. 1783. — Mr Young related two incidents tending to shew, that 

 fear induced a change of colour in birds : — A blackbird had been surprised 

 ii^i a cage by a cat. When it was relieved, it was found lying on its back 

 gnd quite wet with sweat. Its feathers fell off, and were renewed j but the 



new ones were perfectly white A gray linnet happened to raise its feathers 



at a man who was drunk. He instantly tore the creature from its cage, and 

 plucked oiF all its feathers. The poor animal survived the accident, and had 

 ^(;s feathers replaced, but they were also white. 



I5th May^ 1783 Mr Cunningham informed the Society, that one Mr 



Murray, in the parish of Dalmeny, seven miles from Edinburgh, had q. 

 young cow that gave milk, though she had never had a calf, or any commerce 

 with a bull ; that she had taken an affection for a calf belonging to another 

 cow enclosed in the same place with her, which, by continually sucking 

 iier» had produced this effect. — Mr White informed the Society, that a 

 married lady in Manchester, who had not been pregnant for seven years 

 before, imagined herself with child from the flowing of her milk, and applied 

 to him for advice. As there were no other symptoms from which this 

 could be inferred, and as she continued a long time in the same state, Mr 

 White naturally concluded that the lady was not with child, as was after- 

 Wards found to be the ease. 



27th May, 1784 Mr Kentish informed the Society, that, a few days 



ago, Professor Robison had measured the growth of a hop plant by a scale, 

 and found, that from 5 o'clock in the evening to II o'clock next day, it 

 grew six inches. 



Metamorphosis of the Crustacea. — At a recent meeting of the Zoological 

 Society, a letter was read, addressed to the Secretary of the Society by 

 J. V. Thompson, Esq. dated « Cork, Dec. 16, 1830." In it Mr 

 Thompson urges, in support of the universality of a metamorphosis 

 among the Crustacea, that he has ascertained the newly hatched animal 

 to be a JZoea in eight genera of the Brachyura, viz. Cancer ^ Carcinus, 

 ^ortunus, Eriphia, Gecarcinus, Thelphusa 9 Pinnotheres, and Inachus ,- 



