382 Prof. Agassiz on Viviparous Fishes from California, 
from the thin part of the belly, when what was my surprise to 
see coming from the opening thus made, a small live fish. This 
1 at first supposed to be prey which this fish had swallowed, but. 
on further opening the fish, I was vastly astonished to find next 
to the back of the fish and slightly attached to it, a long very 
light violet bag, so clear and so transparent, that I could already 
distinguish through it the shape, color and formation of a multi- 
tude of small fish (all fac-similes of each other) with which it was 
well filled. I took it on board (we were occupying a small vessel 
which we had purchased for surveying purposes, ) when I opened 
the bag, I took therefrom eighteen more of the young fish, pre- 
cisely like in size, shape, and color, the first I had accidentally 
extracted. The mother was very large round her centre, and a 
a very dark brown color, approaching about the back and on the 
fins a black color, and a remarkably vigorous fish. 'The young 
which I took from her were in shape, save as to rotundity, per- 
fect miniatures of the mother, formed like her, and of the same 
general proportions, except that the old one was (probably owing 
to her pregnancy) much broader and wider between the top 0 
the dorsal and the ventral fins, in proportion to her length than 
the young were. As to color they were in all respects like the 
mother, though the shades were many degrees lighter. Indeed, 
they were in all respects like their mother and like each other, 
the same peculiar mouth, the same position and shape of the fins, 
. and the same eyes and gills, and there can not remain in the 
mind of any one who sees the fish in the same state that I did, a 
single doubt that these young were the offspring of the fish from 
whose body I took them, and that this species of fish gives birth 
to her young alive and perfecily formed, and adapted to seeking 
its own livelihood in the water. The number of young in the 
bag was nineteen, (I fear I mistated the number in my former 
letter, ) and every one as brisk and lively and as much at home in 
a bucket of salt water, as if they had been for months accustomed 
to the water. 'The male fish that was caught was not quite as 
large as the female, either in length or circumference, and alto- 
gether a more slim fish. I think we may reasohably expect to 
receive the specimens by the first of December. But I can hardly 
hope to get satisfactory specimens of the fish as I found it with 
young well grown, before the return of the same season, VIZ, 
June. By that time [ trust the facts will be fully decided, and 
the resulis, as important as they may be, fully appreciated.” 
In a subsequent letter, (dated January 31, 1853,) Mr. Jackson 
informed me that he had requested Capt. Case, U.S. N., who 
commanded a sloop of war in San Francisco, and whe had also 
seen the fish, to supply my friend 'T. G. Cary, Junr., Esq; of 
San Francisco, with specimens of that fish, should he succeed in 
getting any. I wrote myself also to Mr. Cary, to be on the look 
out for this fish. : : 
