May 1891.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



THE 



ORNITHOLOGIST.^'^OOLOGIST 



A ;\Inntbly ^[:i<;azine of 



NATURAL HISTORY, 



KSl'Ef'IALLY DEVOTED To THE STI'DV OE 



THEIR NESTS ANiJ ECUS, 



and to the 



INTERESTS OF NATURALISTS 



I'ihUt the E(litnri;il M;ina};enient <il" 



KllAXK n. WEBSTER. 

 ■J. PARKER NORRIS. 

 FRANK A. BATES, 



Hyde Park. Mass. 



Phihideljihia. Pa. 



Ri)Stnn. M.ass. 



PfBLISHED AT THE 



MUSEUM AND NATURALISTS' SUPPLY DEPOT 



OF THE 



FR.WK UL.VKE WEBSTER CO.MrANY, 



IXCOKPORATED, 



HVDC Pauk, M.\ss., U. .S. a. 



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Brief Notes. 



'I'liAT Blii SiiAliK. — ''('all down at T uli.iif 

 and see .shark ou board the Seliooiier ,\riiin."' 

 Such wa.s the luitice tioiii our look-out a few 

 (lays since, and of course we started. Passing 

 through tlie busy centre of Boston, a few 

 minutes' walk and we reached the wharves. 

 There is no difficulty in finding 'I' wharf if one 

 has a keen scent; he iniglit be blind and do it. 

 As we followed down tlie wharf swarmed with 

 fishing schooners, from which the l>usy crews 

 were i)iU-lung up tish by the cart loads, for an 

 instant our thouglits were directed to the 

 hardships tliat fall to the lot of some of our 

 neiglibors, and as we glance down into the 

 cabins we congratulate ourselves tliat we bunk 

 ashore. Way down at the end of the wliarf 

 on a little schooner we read the name 

 " Ai-ion," and instinct tells us that the large 

 oliject amidshi)>, covered by a stietch of can- 

 vas, is thesul)jectof ouvcall. We jumii aboard, 

 taking our (diances of landing in tisli-liver and 

 blublier, and with bowed heads and reverential 

 dignity approach the captain. He apparently 

 recognized us by the cut of our jib, aud a few 

 minutes were spent in (lii)lomatic courtesy. 

 We asked him if lie found it dusty outside; 

 how he kept the ice-cream that he fed the 

 hands on during his trip; how biji a whale he 

 ever saw, and if lemons would cure sea- 

 sickness? While he asked us if birds were 

 stuffed with saw-dust, what they were good 

 for anyw.ay, and if we went in when it rained? 

 All hands smiled in a sickly manner and we 

 turned luir attention to the main object of 



interest. Drawing the canvas aside, — heavens 

 tci Betsy! What a sight! What a bouncer! 

 Fourteen feet of solid shark, enough to cut up 

 in pieces eipial to 2.5,000 sardines! How diil 

 you catch it? In the trolls; and when a bask- 

 ing shark gets snarled up in tlic nets the 

 reader can but faintly imagine the work to 

 untangle. We closed the trade and wiped the 

 perspiration, that started at the tliought of our 

 rashness, from off our brow, with the lining of 

 our coat pocket. Tire captain suggested that 

 the liver would be of value to him, and we 

 consented at once to his removing it, whicdi 

 would cut down cartage. As we move<l off we 

 saw him arrange two barrels to contain it. 



A few hours later a dozen willing hands 

 hauled it by roxjes upon our dissecting table at 

 Hyde Park. The following day four exjierts 

 devoted their entire time to removing the skin, 

 and the second day to scrajiing the skin down. 

 When done it was so thin tliat it would .scarcely 

 fill two waterpails. There was not a bone in 

 the body; in place thereof being a sort of 

 gristle that could easily be cut. The teeth in 

 the lower jaw were small and uniform, being 

 shaped like f), while the upper ones weie like 

 fangs of a cat. An odd feature in the shark is 

 the arrangement of the teeth. They can be 

 seen in rows, there being four or five, the 

 front one standing and the others laid back, 

 like a cog wheel. As fast as a tooth is lost by 

 accident another from the rear rank rises uj) 

 in its place. There was no fat or oil, the flesh 

 being of a gelatinous nature. Notwithstanding 

 that there were no bones, a person has only to 

 look at it to see that it is a creature of Her- 

 culean strength, and if the teeth are set in 

 gristle, passing the fingers over the edge will 

 convince anyone that they would cut off an 

 arm like a circular saw. The skin is very 

 harsh, covered with points like the coarsest 

 sand pai)ev, and caused gr^ at annoyance to 

 those who worked over it. The mouth is sit- 

 uated well under the head, and the eyes down 

 and forward. With the skin as thin as that of 

 a gray squirrel it was necessary to have a form 

 made as iierfect as could be pioduced. as eveiy 

 irregularity would show. To ilo this we used: 

 One plank twelve feet long, two by twelve 

 inches, for centre piece; two boards the same 

 length for side pieces; braces were sawed to 

 shape of sections of the body, and pieces 

 carved for fins, tail, etc., which were attached. 

 A piece was fastened at right angles to one end 

 for tlic head, circular pieces cut for jaws, and 

 the' teeth set in them, and the whole frame 

 fille<l with excelsior and neatly coveied with 

 heavy sheeting, over which was placed a Layer 

 of potter's clay. The frame was fastene<l by 

 two heavy upright irons to a base, a plank 

 fourteen feet long, and the skin drawn over. 

 "Fits like a glove!" was the exclamation of 

 all; and a week of soliil labor of two men was 

 added to the cost. Then followed the fine 

 modelling of tips of tail, fins. etc. The labor 

 on the mouth, gill holes, eyes, etc., were no 

 small job, while the finishing touches to be 

 done when skin is thoroughly dry bids fair to 

 take many hours' labor. Should any of (uir 

 readers ever undertake to handle such (and 

 the specimen is the largest fish that we ever 



