Observations on the Scarus of' the Ancients. 355 



at the age of only four months, produce the brightest plumage of the 

 male ; and in two instances of birds shot in a wild state the nest-feathers 

 had not been shed, proving them to have been birds of the year. 



A partridge, having a white bar across the breast, and the first three 

 primaries in each wing white, being opened, exhibited the same sort of 

 organic disease; and from circumstances adduced, it appears that this was 

 also a bird of the year. 



But all variations in plumage are not traceable to this cause. In most 

 of the excepted instances, however, the individuals are dwarf birds ; and 

 the author attributes their variety of plumage to defective secretion, the 

 effect of weakness. 



When the sexual organs are artificially obliterated in the common fowl, 

 as soon as the operation is performed in the male bird, he ceases to crow, 

 the comb and gills do not attain their full size, the spurs remain short and 

 blunt, and the feathers of the neck assume an appearance intermediate be- 

 tween the hackled character of the cock and the ordinary web of the hen. 

 When the oviduct of the female is obliterated, the ova cease to enlarge; 

 she makes an imperfect attempt to crow ; the comb increases in size, and 

 short and blunt spurs make their appearance. The plumage alters in co- 

 lour and in form, approaching to that of the cock, the bones of the lower 

 part of the back never acquiring -the enlargement requisite for giving a 

 proper breadth to the pelvis. In short, the two sexes approximate so 

 nearly in character by this process, that it frequently becomes difficult to 

 determine the sex. 



Hen pheasants assume the plumage of the male at best but imperfectly, 

 and it is probable that they do not live many years after the change. 



It appears to be a general law, that where the sexes of animals are indi- 

 cated by external characters, these undergo a change, and assume a neu- 

 tral appearance, whenever original malformation, subsequent disease, or 

 artificial obliteration has deprived the sexual organs of their true influence. 

 '■^Annals of Philosophy, July 18:^7, p. 67. 



2. Observations on the Scarus of the Ancients* By Baron Cuvier. 



This fish, which was so celebrated among the naturalists and epicures 

 of ancient Rome, still exists upon the shores of Greece, and has always 

 preserved the same name. M. Cuvier, who has observed that in a great 

 number of instances the names given to animals are preserved with sin- 

 gular fidelity, conjectures that the scaros of the modern Greeks is the same 

 as the ancient scarus. He has collected particulars from these parts, and 

 has had one of the fish sent to him, which he has presented to the acade- 

 my, and which appeared to possess all the characters which are mentioned 

 by the ancient naturalists. Aristotle particularly remarks that the Scarus 

 was fond of vegetables, and the form of its teeth ; he adds also, but as a 

 mere report, that it ruminated. The stomach of the Scarus could never ad- 

 mit of fumination ; but the habit which it had of keeping leholalimentaire 



" The memoir, of which this is a brief abstract, was read to the Academy of 

 Sciences on the 25th June 1827— See Le Globe, 28th June. 



