ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN. 



935 



RED HIND 



Dr. G. A. ^lacCallum. of New York City, has 

 been for some months examining the diseased 

 and dead fishes for tlie purpose of determining 

 the nature of fish diseases and the cause of 

 death, and especially to study the parasites of 

 tlie fishes in the Aquarium. 



Porpoises and Dolphins. — Numerous attempts 

 have been made to secure these small toothed- 

 whales in good condition for exhibition at the 

 Aquarium. On several occasions specimens of 

 both have been taken in local waters and placed 

 in the large center pool, but they have always 

 appeared to be injured before their arrival and 

 never have lived more than a week or so. 



Tlie last such attempt was made a short time 

 ago when a specimen of the common dolphin was 

 captured in a pound-net at Holh' Beach, N. J., 

 and brought to the Aquarium on September 

 11th. It was evidently nearly dead on arrival, 

 but it survived for two days. 



On two occasions we have tried to secure 

 specimens of the porpoise through the coopera- 

 tion of the porpoise fishery at Cape Hatteras, 

 N. C, the only such fishery on our coast. The 

 first time none were secured. Last winter a sec- 

 ond attempt was made and several fine speci- 

 mens were captured and shipjied. The worst 

 blizzard of the season was then raging on the 

 coast and transportation was delayed at a time 

 when it was impossible to protect the animals 



properly. The result was that all were chilled 

 and none of them reached New York alive. 



It would seem that the Fates have decreed 

 against us in regard to these animals. However, 

 not being predestinationists in this respect, we 

 have decided to renew our efforts and another 

 trial to obtain porjioises from Hatteras will 

 probably be made during the coming fall or 

 winter, in the hope that persistence may be 

 crowned with success. 



Stored Sea-Water Analysis. — There is in the 

 storage reservoir at the Aquarium a supply of 

 water varying from sixty thousand to seventy 

 thousand gallons brought in from the open sea 

 for the benefit of our tropical fishes, since tliese 

 forms, as a rule, do not live well in the brackish 

 and filthy harbor water. The reservoir was 

 filled in July, 1908, and since that time the wa- 

 ter has not been entirely renewed, although 

 twenty thousand to twenty-five thousand gallons 

 are added yearly to make up for losses due to 

 waste. It is a fact forcibly impressed u])on the 

 management of the Aquarium that corrosion is 

 constantly taking place in the lead-lined and 

 galvanized jiiping and the bronze pumps 

 through which this sea-water is circulated. Fear- 

 ing that there might have been an accumulation 

 of lead, zinc or coi)per salts in solution to a 

 degree that would be poisonous to the fishes, it 

 was determined to have the water analyzed. 



