1908] Infant Cannibalism among Animals. 129 



are so matured at the time of their first extrusion, they swim 

 about with the utmost agility, and Dr. Dowler's remarks on 

 Pcecilia multilineata that twenty-two young were packed away 

 in the ovarian sac of the parent, and though no ova were dis- 

 covered . . . the young fish were one-half inch long, all 

 alike, and exactly resembling the maternal form and proportions. 

 The parent was, it may be added, only 2 inches long. In the 

 sea-perch (Cymatogaster) of British Columbia, a viviparous 

 form 6 or 8 inches long, I counted forty-three small, perfectly 

 formed young. They were so advanced and active that when 

 dropped into the sea, just after being extruded from the parent 

 by pressure, they swam away with great agility. It mav be 

 that they did not long survive, but to all appearance they were 

 able to look after themselves. Inside the parent I found them 

 closely packed, overlapping each other in the sac, and bathed in 

 a clear serum or fluid, no doubt of a nutrient nature. That they 

 have solid food is ver\' probable in the light of the recent obser\-a- 

 tions just outlined, and though no loose eggs have been noticed 

 in the sac, such eggs may form nutriment for them after their 

 own ball of food-yolk is exhausted. 



In the higher orders, the mammals for instance, ova are 

 produced in prodigious numbers each season, even though the 

 young developed and born be extremely few. One author records 

 that over 70,000 primordial eggs are produced annually in a 

 mammalian o\'ary though the young born may be only one to 

 three in the course of the year. 



The survival of the fittest is a principle not applicable only 

 to the mature period of an animal's existence, but may begin 

 with the earliest stages of embryonic and larval life. We see 

 that it finds illustration in the first stages of an animal's life, 

 in the most diverse forms from MoUusks up to Man. 



MEETING OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL BRANCH. 



Meeting held at residence of Mr. Arthur Gibson, 9th April, 

 1908. Present: Messers. Harrington, Baldwin, Letourneau, 

 Metcalfe, Young, Halkett, Fletcher, Wilson, Newman and 

 Gibson. 



Mr. Harrington exhibited 2 cases, which contained his 

 Ottawa collection of Chrysomelidae. Over 100 local species 

 were represented. This collection proved of exceeding interest 

 to all present and much discussion took place on many of the 

 species. Mr. Harrington drew special attention to those species 

 which are of uncommon occurrence, some of which were repre- 



