128 



NA TURE 



[ June 5, iyt>4 



rivers. It would swim about in all directions, and was 

 often found under stones and in little holes and crevices, 

 none of which appeared to have been made for the pur- 

 pose of retreat, but were accidental. The crayfishes 

 would leave these little retreats whenever disturbed, and 

 swim away down stream out of sight. They were often 

 found some distance from the main stream under rocks 

 that had been covered by the brook at a higher water- 

 mark ; but although there was very little water under the 

 rocks, and the stream had not covered them for at least 

 two weeks, they showed no tendency to burrow. Nor 

 have I ever found any burrows formed by the river 

 species Cambarus affinis, although I have searched 

 over miles of marsh-land on the Potomac for this 

 purpose. 



The brook near where my observations were made was 

 fast decreasing in volume, and would probably continue 

 to do so until in July its bed would be nearly dry. During 

 the wet seasons the meadow is itself covered. Even in 

 the banks of the stream, then under water, there were 

 holes, but they all extended obliquely without exception, 

 there being no perpendicular burrows, and no mounds. 

 The holes extended in about six inches, and there was 

 never a perpendicular branch, nor even an enlargement 

 at the end. I always found the inhabitant near the 

 mouth, and by quickly cutting off the rear part of 

 the hole could force him out, but unless forcibly 

 driven out it would never leave the hole, not even 

 when a stick was thrust in behind it. It was undoubtedly 

 this species that Dr. Godman mentioned in his " Rambles 

 of a Naturalist,'' and which Dr. Abbott {Am. Nat., 1S73, 

 p. 81) refers to C. bartonii. Although I have no proof 

 that this is so, I am inclined to believe that the burrowing 

 crayfishes retire to the stream in winter, and remain there 

 until early spring, when they construct their burrows for 

 the purpose of rearing their young, and escaping the 

 summer droughts. My reason for saying this is that I 

 found one burrow which on my first visit was but six 

 inches deep, and later had been projected to a depth at 

 least twice as great, and the inhabitant was an old 

 female. 



I think that after the winter has passed, and while the 

 marsh is still covered with water, impregnation takes 

 place and burrows are immediately begun I do not 

 believe that the same burrow is occupied for more than 

 one year, as it would probably fill up during the winter. 

 At first it burrows diagonally, and as long as the mouth 

 is covered with water is satisfied with this oblique hole. 

 When the water recedes, leaving the opening uncovered, 

 the burrow must be dug deeper, and the economy of a 

 perpendicular burrow must immediately suggest itself. 

 From that time the perpendicular direction is preserved 

 with more or less regularity. Immediately after the 

 perpendicular hole is begun, a shorter opening to the 

 surface is needed for conveying the mud from the nest, 

 and then the perpendicular opening is made. Mud from 

 this and also from the first part of the perpendicular 

 burrow is carried out of the diagonal opening and de- 

 posited on the edge. If a freshet occurs before this rim 

 of mud has a chance to harden, it is washed away and 

 no mound is formed over the oblique burrow. After the 

 vertical opening is made, as the hole is bored deeper, mud 

 is deposited on the edge, and the deeper it is dug 

 the higher the mound. I do not think that the 

 chimney is a necessary part of the nest, but simply 

 the result of digging. I carried away several mounds, 

 and in a week revisited the place, and no attempt 

 had been made to replace them ; but in one case, 

 where I had, in addition, partly destroyed the burrow by 

 dropping mud into it, there was a simple half rim of mud 

 around the edge, showing that the crayfish had been at 

 work ; and as the mud was dry the clearing must have 

 been done soon after my departure. That the crayfish 

 retreats as the water in the ground falls lower and lower, 



is proved by the fact that at various intervals there are 

 bottle-shaped cavities marking the end of the burrow at 

 an earlier period. A few of those mounds farthest from 

 the stream h\ad their mouths closed by a pellet of mud. 

 It is said that all are closed during the summer months. 

 How these animals can live for months in the muddy, 

 impure water is to me a puzzle. They are very sluggish, 

 possessing none of the quick motions of their allied C. 

 bartonii, lor when taken out and placed either in water or 

 on the ground they move very slowly. The power of 

 throwing off their claws when these are grasped is often 

 exercised. About the middle of May the eggs hatch, and 

 for a time the young cling to the mother, but I am unable 

 to state how long they remain thus. After hatching they 

 must grow rapidly, and soon the burrow will be too small 

 for them to live in, and they must migrate. It would be 

 interesting to know more about the habits of this peculiar 

 species, about which so little has been written. An in- 

 teresting point to settle would be how and where it gets 

 its food. The burrow contains none, either animal or 

 vegetable. Food must be procured at night, or when ihe 

 sun is not shining brightly. In the spring and fall the 

 green stalks of meadow grasses would furnish food, hut 

 when these become parched and dry they must either dig 

 after and eat the roots, or search in the stream. I feel 

 satisfied that they do not tunnel among the roots, for if 

 they did so these burrows would be frequently met with. 

 Little has as yet been published upon this subject, and 

 that little covers only two spring months, April and May, 

 and it would be interesting if those who have an opportu- 

 nity to watch the species during other seasons, or who 

 have observed them at any season of the year, would 

 make known their results. Ralph S. Tarr 



THE YOUNG GORILLA OF THE JARDIN DES 

 PLANTES 



THROUGH the courtesy of the editor of La Naturevtz 

 are able to give an illustration from an instantaneous 

 photograph of a young male gorilla obtained at the com- 

 mencement of last winter by the Natural History Museum 

 at Paris. It had been imported from the Gaboon, and it 

 was the first living specimen of this great anthropomorphic 

 ape which had been brought to France. Its study 

 would have presented many points of interest, not alone 

 from the Natural History point of view, but also from the 

 opportunity it would have afforded of studying the de- 

 velopment of its intellectual faculties. This young speci- 

 men was about three years of age, he had already his 

 full complement of milk-teeth, and the long and sharp 

 canines were decidedly longer than the molars. In 

 disposition he appeared to be very different from either 

 the orang-outan or the chimpanzee. While these in 

 a state of captivity are mostly gentle and sociable, 

 this young gorilla on the other hand was savage, 

 morose, and brutal ; he never gave his keeper the 

 least mark of affection ; he never allowed himself to be 

 touched without evidencing the greatest aversion, and 

 for the most part he returned caresses by snappings. He 

 never took the least part in the games of the other apes, 

 and he most reluctantly tolerated having them near him. 

 lie was but little active, and most generally kept himself 

 crouched up in a corner of the cage, or sitting on a branch 

 with his back up against the wall, and scarcely ever moved 

 but to look about for something to eat. He used his 

 hands with much readiness, and they were extremely well 

 developed. His lips were less mobile than in the chim- 

 panzee, especially the lower lip, which was never pouted 

 out when drinking into a spoon-shaped form. His eyes 

 were extremely mobile, and were crowned with immense 

 superciliary ridges ; his nose was flat, with excessively 

 large nostrils, giving him a quite peculiar physiognomy. 



