1 88 



NATURE 



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Is a paper puldislied in the February number of TJie 

 \u-\i<r\,\n XiifiirdlisI, Mr. J. A. Ki'i-shaw shows that tlie 

 Au-^tr.ilian <''d (Aiti^iiilht auslralis) niit^rates to the ocean 

 lor hrerdint:; purposes in the same uiairi. r as its European 

 relative, and that in turn the \oun^ rhrrs ascend the 

 rivers until they find suitable dweljinst places. .As in 

 Europe, these eels, when prevented by dams or on account 

 of livinfj; in laiuldorked lakes or ponds, from reaching the 

 sea by a liirect route, will travel during freshets across 

 flooded grass for long distances. Similarly, the elvers in 

 Victoria not uncommonly ascend the streams in large 

 *'f;ires," when, in case of a barrier intrrvning, thev 

 make their way over comparatively smooth surfaces of 

 rocks, as is well shown in the photographs illustrating the 

 paper. 



To the March number of The Zoologist Prof. Mcintosh, 

 of St. Andrews, contributes a sketch of the organisation 

 and habits of the toothed whales. At the commencement 

 the author endeavours to perpetuate the mistake that the 

 " gigantic " mammoth was larger than living elephants, 

 while later on he states that the teeth of the sperm-whale 

 have been asserted to serve as a lure for prey, whereas 

 he should have said the white lining of the mouth. He 

 also asserts that the limbs of zeuglodonts are unknown, 

 and implies that these animals are restricted to America. 

 This being so, it is not surprising to find that he appears 

 to be unfamiliar with the researches of Fraas, Dames, 

 Stromer, and Andrews into the organisation of zeuglo- 

 donts, and the discovery of their apparent descent from 

 creodonts. It is remarked that we are still in almost 

 complete ignorance with regard to the slumber of 

 cretaceans — if indeed they sleep at all ; and an interesting 

 reference is made to the belief of whalers that rorquals, 

 after filling their lungs with air to the utmost extent, can 

 remain in a quiescent condition beneath the surface of the 

 water for eight or ten hours at a stretch. 



The scheme for the administration of the 40,000/. 

 granted from the development fund to the Board of -Agri- 

 culture and Fisheries for the encouragement of light-horse 

 breeding, is now in full working order. It will be remem- 

 bered that the objects of the grant are five-fold, namely, 

 the award of premiums to stallions, awards for the pur- 

 <hase of half-bred working brood-mares to be stationed in 

 NO. 2162, VOL. 86] 



itninations fur iuai<^ lo 

 '" purcha.se of .stallions fo 

 ^^istration of stallions. The a\^ard^ i<* 

 thn ff,rm of King's premiums and t!i<- 

 ' -"'S owners will hav<- to 



• fewer than fifty mans 

 • of those to which a free nomination 

 no case will service-fees be paid f.r 

 in any one year. It is • 

 ,, bruod-inar< >, < iui be p 

 lr<.- noniin.itioii - ^ are expected 



loo. r>v t:i. ii;. stallions it is 



animals which 



(J.. difTiculties will 



increase the supply of hunters, 



...;..,/„. ,. ...iiig a new mark*' f—- 'I'is kind of 



demand for which is decroa answer 



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In McJdth'lser fra Komniissioncn for ILr. uiidersogelsef, 

 Serie Fiskeri, Bind III., No. 8, Dr. .A. C. Johansen gives 

 a summary account of Xhf recent investigations on plaice 

 and plaice fisheries in I ' treating separately 



of the fisheries in th. ^ Skagerak, and the 



northorn Kattegat. Th.- pi--.s.-nt ui'-inoir gives a very 

 usrful and <oni])r.h"nsi\-,. nummary of the previous reports 

 whiidi hav.. h.-.n issui-d on th'- same subject. It indudM 

 an account lioih of the ni.-irk'-; statistics of plaice landed 

 and of the special scii-ntitic :: -as and experiment* 



which have been carried out. ::arket conditions in 



Denmark are exceptional, owing to the fact that the chief 

 demand is for fish which are landed alive. This influences 

 the method of fishing, the plaice being caught in seine 

 nets instead of in trawls. The fish thus caught are for 

 the most part alive when captured, and as there is a siie 

 limit (256 cm.) below which they are not allowed to be 

 landed, and the fish under this size are returned to the 

 sea, the actual destruction of small fish is insignificant. 

 It appears that since the introduction of the size limit the 

 Danish plaice fisheries in the North Sea have increased, 

 and the report speaks in favour of an international size 

 limit for plaice for all countries carrying on fisheries io 

 the North Sea. 



The Legislature of Montana, since January 20 last, has 

 introduced and enacted into a State law- a measure that 

 converts the famous " Hell Creek Bad Lands " countty 

 into a State game preserve. Primarily it is for the benefit 

 of the prong-horned antelope, mule deer, and mountain 

 sheep still surviving in that wild and picturesque region; 

 but it is reasonably certain, also, that in the future • 

 nucleus of American bison will be added. The region^ 

 fronts on the Missouri River, and it lies about 100 mil 

 north by west of Miles City. The total area of the 

 serve is about 100 square miles. About three-fourths of it| 

 consists of very deep and ru£!;^> d Vvul-lands, made by the* 

 waters of Snow Creek, He! and other streams. 



The remaining fourth of the . . -luntains some hi^- 



level grass lands that can support a herd of perhaps a 

 thousand bison. On the eastern s'.^e .^f tho preserve lies 

 the fossil region, now known wii he Hell Creek 



formation," discovered in 1902 by ..^ ,-, -. W. T. Homa- 

 day and L. A. Huffman, out of which have come the 

 great lizard {Tyrranosaurus rex) and the giant three- 

 horned dinosaur (Triceratops brevicortiis). The new pre- 

 serve contains a small band of mountain sheep. It is in- 

 tended, eventually, to ask Congress to make Snow Creek 

 a national preserve. 



