The Diving Cows of Plumas 159 



were gradually wading down-stream, and two 

 were so deep in water that just the upper part 

 of the back, where the fins would probably grow, 

 showed. One cow thrust her head down out of 

 sight and held it there, not once, but several 

 times, apparently eating and munching all the 

 time. So the cows of Plumas, so far as the 

 diving was concerned, were real, and if there 

 is anything in the theory of selection, here is a 

 stage at the very beginning of a fish-cow, or, if 

 the theory of DeVries is correct, one may expect 

 to hear some day, suddenly and without warn- 

 ing, that the diving cows of Plumas have de- 

 veloped fins and scales and have taken to the 

 deep pools of the river of feathers for all time. 



Thus, in a general way, did one of the anglers 

 converse with the worthy farmer who replied: 

 " I ain't worryin' myself. I reckon they '11 give 

 milk all my time, and when they take to the 

 pools, why, I 'm a tol'ble fisherman," and he 

 yanked a two-pound rainbow trout into the em- 

 pyrean, " and I '11 go to anglin' for cow-fish." 



