﻿ACADEMY 
  OF 
  SCIENCES. 
  335 
  

  

  every 
  twenty-five 
  seconds, 
  and, 
  by 
  experiment, 
  that 
  a 
  cartridge 
  will 
  explode 
  in 
  

   from 
  four 
  to 
  six 
  fatlioms 
  with 
  from 
  three 
  to 
  four 
  inches 
  of 
  fuse. 
  I 
  have, 
  how. 
  

   ever, 
  made 
  no 
  exact 
  experiment 
  on 
  the 
  subject. 
  The 
  shock 
  of 
  the 
  explosion 
  is 
  

   most 
  severely 
  felt 
  downwards, 
  as 
  the 
  resistance 
  is 
  greater 
  ; 
  and 
  the 
  different 
  va- 
  

   rieties 
  of 
  sea 
  fish 
  found 
  near 
  the 
  rocky 
  shores 
  of 
  the 
  islands, 
  as 
  a 
  rule, 
  being- 
  

   found 
  on 
  or 
  near 
  the 
  bottom, 
  it 
  is 
  desirable 
  to 
  explode 
  your 
  cartridge 
  about 
  mid- 
  

   way 
  between 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  the 
  water 
  and 
  the 
  rocks 
  beneath, 
  as 
  you 
  thus 
  reach 
  

   both 
  the 
  deep-lying 
  fish 
  and 
  those, 
  like 
  mackerel 
  and 
  smelt, 
  wliich 
  swim 
  between. 
  

  

  Let 
  me 
  now 
  describe 
  to 
  you 
  the 
  modus 
  operandi, 
  as 
  practiced 
  by 
  myself 
  off 
  

   Catalina. 
  I 
  would 
  take 
  a 
  small 
  skiff 
  and 
  pull 
  off 
  to 
  the 
  kelp 
  beds 
  that 
  surround 
  

   the 
  island. 
  Here, 
  in 
  six 
  or 
  eight 
  fathoms 
  of 
  water 
  the 
  bottom 
  is 
  distinctly 
  visi- 
  

   ble, 
  the 
  water, 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  absence 
  of 
  currents 
  or 
  of 
  sedimentary 
  deposits 
  around 
  

   the 
  rocky 
  shores, 
  being 
  beautifully 
  clear 
  and 
  limpid. 
  Fastening 
  my 
  skiff 
  to 
  the 
  

   floating 
  weed, 
  I 
  would 
  part 
  the 
  stems 
  and 
  look 
  down 
  into 
  the 
  depths 
  below. 
  It 
  

   is 
  a 
  most 
  wonderful 
  and 
  interesting 
  study. 
  You 
  see 
  the 
  stems 
  of 
  the 
  kelp 
  rising 
  

   up 
  from 
  the 
  bottom 
  like 
  twisted 
  pillars, 
  often 
  many 
  being 
  twined 
  together. 
  

   Through 
  these 
  submarine 
  forest 
  aisles 
  you 
  see 
  great 
  numbers 
  and 
  variety 
  of 
  fish 
  

   and 
  Crustacea. 
  The 
  large 
  vieja, 
  or 
  red-fish, 
  so-called 
  (totally 
  distinct 
  from 
  the 
  

   red-fish 
  of 
  our 
  markets) 
  ; 
  the 
  splendidly 
  colored 
  red 
  perch, 
  or 
  mullet, 
  a 
  vivid 
  

   scarlet; 
  the 
  elegantly-shaped 
  sea 
  bass 
  ; 
  the 
  pompino 
  ; 
  the 
  smelt 
  and 
  mackerel, 
  

   in 
  schools, 
  darting 
  hither 
  and 
  thither 
  ; 
  and 
  occasionally 
  a 
  great 
  conger 
  eel, 
  un- 
  

   coiling 
  itself 
  from 
  around 
  some 
  stone 
  that 
  it 
  had 
  selected 
  as 
  an 
  ambush 
  wherein 
  

   to 
  wait 
  for 
  prey. 
  I 
  have 
  often 
  been 
  so 
  much 
  interested 
  in 
  watching 
  the 
  move- 
  

   ments 
  of 
  these 
  finny 
  tribes, 
  that 
  I 
  have 
  forgotten 
  the 
  errand 
  ^came 
  on. 
  

  

  But 
  when 
  an 
  unusually 
  large 
  school 
  of 
  fish 
  would 
  swim 
  by, 
  I 
  would 
  quietly 
  

   light 
  the 
  fuse 
  and 
  drop 
  the 
  cartridge 
  into 
  the 
  water 
  gently. 
  

  

  If 
  the 
  water 
  was, 
  say 
  eight 
  fathoms 
  deep, 
  I 
  would 
  graduate 
  the 
  fuse 
  for 
  explo- 
  

   sion 
  at 
  four. 
  The 
  cartridge 
  would 
  slowly 
  sink 
  — 
  generally 
  in 
  a 
  spiral 
  — 
  and 
  a 
  

   few 
  bubbles 
  of 
  air 
  or 
  smoke 
  arise 
  to 
  the 
  surface. 
  

  

  The 
  fish 
  did 
  not 
  seem, 
  as 
  a 
  general 
  rule, 
  to 
  be 
  much 
  alarmed. 
  Once 
  I 
  remem- 
  

   ber 
  a 
  large 
  red 
  fish 
  took 
  the 
  cartridge 
  for 
  something 
  good 
  to 
  eat, 
  and 
  reached 
  it 
  

   just 
  in 
  time 
  to 
  allow 
  a 
  small 
  portion 
  of 
  his 
  tail 
  to 
  reach 
  the 
  surface. 
  When 
  the 
  

   fire 
  reached 
  the 
  fulminate 
  of 
  mercury, 
  there 
  would 
  be 
  a 
  sudden 
  white 
  flash, 
  then 
  

   a 
  quick, 
  sharp 
  detonation, 
  the 
  blow 
  striking 
  the 
  bottom 
  of 
  the 
  skiff 
  as 
  if 
  some 
  

   one 
  had 
  struck 
  it 
  with 
  a 
  hammer. 
  

  

  Then, 
  in 
  a 
  space 
  of 
  time 
  varying 
  from 
  eight 
  to 
  ten 
  minutes, 
  every 
  fish 
  within 
  

   a 
  radius 
  of 
  forty 
  or 
  fifty 
  yards 
  would 
  slowly 
  come 
  to 
  the 
  surface. 
  Those 
  within 
  

   the 
  immediate 
  vicinity 
  of 
  the 
  explosion, 
  of 
  course, 
  were 
  killed 
  by 
  bursting 
  the 
  

   bladder 
  and 
  injury 
  to 
  the 
  large 
  intestines, 
  and 
  had 
  to 
  be 
  speared 
  up 
  from 
  the 
  

   bottom. 
  Those, 
  howe\^er, 
  at 
  a 
  greater 
  distance, 
  would 
  be 
  simply 
  stunned, 
  and 
  

   could 
  be 
  taken 
  in 
  with 
  a 
  net. 
  Care 
  had 
  to 
  be 
  taken 
  to 
  avoid 
  touching 
  those 
  

   only 
  slightly 
  stunned 
  until 
  the 
  net 
  was 
  fairly 
  around 
  them, 
  as 
  the 
  slightest 
  blpw 
  

   would 
  arouse 
  them 
  from 
  their 
  torpor. 
  

  

  I 
  found 
  that 
  an 
  ordinary 
  sized 
  red-fish, 
  weighing 
  say 
  five 
  or 
  six 
  pounds, 
  which 
  

   happened 
  to 
  be 
  ten 
  or 
  twelve 
  yards 
  from 
  the 
  explosion, 
  would 
  remain 
  tbor- 
  

  

  