Bes 2a i: 
a + 
Aug. 7, 1873] 
exposing herself to too much danger, she never failed to 
give an angry bite to her unsuspecting rival, and imme- 
‘diately to rush for shelter under a kneading-trough, from 
which position my greyhound was unable to dislodge her. 
After a short time the spaniel had puppies, and she was 
placed with two of them in a corn-loft, over the kitchen, 
from which there was a door which led to it by a flight of 
stairs ; the door was usually kept closed in consequence 
of the known animosity between the two rivals. For some 
days the new mother, entirely occupied with the care of 
her little ones, did not descend to the kitchen, and my 
greyhound occasionally showed a strong desire to go up 
to the loft and see what was going on there. When the 
puppies were about seven or eight days old, their mother 
began to re-appear in the kitchen, and to observe to- 
wards the greyhound the same line of conduct, with the 
exception only of an appearance of increased hatred. At 
length, on one occasion, when the spaniel was eating 
her dinner, and the corn-loft door happened to be partly 
open, my greyhound, taking advantage of the opportunity, 
sprang up the stairs of the loft. I observed the cir- 
cumstance, and on calling her down she immediately 
obeyed, and made her appearance before me with a look of 
perfect satisfaction. About an hour afterwards my aunt’s 
husband, on going to the loft, found both the puppies 
dead, without the least mark of external violence, and he 
was at a loss to imagine what could have caused their 
death. For myself I had an impression on my own mind 
‘as to the cause of death, but I did not consider it neces- 
sary at the time to mention it to others. I opened 
the bodies of the puppies, and found my opinion 
confirmed. The skin was externally sound through its 
elasticity, but the fangs of the greyhound had done their 
work, and the liver had been bruised into a kind of mar- 
malade—exactly in the same manner as the greyhound 
usually crushes the liver of the hare or the rabbit, which, 
literally speaking, are no sooner seized than dead. 
In November last, when I was staying with my cousin, 
I was much interested in observing the proceedings of 
various kinds of poultry in a field almost contiguous to the 
house. There were six or seven young guinea fowls, 
ducks, hens, &c., and also a pair of old guinea fowls, 
which kept always by themselves, and continued running 
to and fro with that perpetual restlessness which is natural 
‘to them. In the midst, however, of their wildest pro- 
ceedings they always appeared to keep an eye on the 
young guinea fowls, and whenever any of the other poul- 
try happened to approach the spot where they were, the 
old guinea fowls invariably ran with all speed and drove 
them away. Two large hens alone seemed to be exempt 
from this rough treatment, and to have full permission to 
come near the young guinea fowls or not, just as they 
liked. One of the hens, in particular, seemed to enjoy 
some special privileges, and in case of any apparent 
danger, there was some immediate proof of care and pro- 
tection on the part of the old guinea fowls. 
The above circumstances excited my curiosity, and I 
obtained the following explanation:— ~~ 
One of these hens had hatched some guinea fowls’ 
eggs, but after three days had neglected to perform the 
new functions incumbent on her, and had left the young 
brood’to themselves, Fortunately, the other hen, which 
had previously exhibited the well-known symptoms of the 
fever of incubation, adopted the deserted young ones, and 
had nursed them with the greatest affection till they were 
able to take care of themselves. The old guinea fowls, 
it appears, had observed all these circumstances, and had 
retained a grateful recollection of them. 
Under the roof of a small tower at my father’s house 
in the country, a large number of sparrows (consulting 
their own convenience, rather than that of others), had es- 
tablished their nests ; but in consequence of the extensive 
injury caused to the corn-fields by theiz depredations, at 
harvest-time, my father, with a yiew -to Jessen, their num- 
NATURE 
285 
ber, gave direction that all the nests should be removed, 
and thus, by this wholesale order of destruction, about So 
nests with 366 eggs suddenly disappeared. Their fondest 
hopes being thus blighted, and the expected fruit of all their 
labour nipped, as it were, in the bud, the sparrows be'ook 
themselves to noisy meetings, and, in their own Way, to 
expressions of anger and resentment. This procecding 
continued for at least a week, after which they dispersed, 
and went in search of some other less dangerous shelter 
for their future progeny. In the following year some 
sparrows, which had built their nests under other build- 
ings of our country house, and which had been left un- 
molested, returned to them; but from that time to the 
present day (forty-eight years) I can safely affirm that no 
sparrow has ever rebuilt her nest under the roof of the 
tower. The singular facts of the case are these: the 
sparrows decidedly object and decline to build any more 
nests under the roof of the tower, but they are quite 
willing to avail themselves of the shelter of the position 
during the severe nights of the winter season, 
Montpellier DR. PALADILHE 
THE GROWTH OF SALMON 
ee the time of Magna Charta it has been an object, 
directly or indirectly, on the part of the Legislature, 
to protect the supplies of salmon with which our 
rivers used to be so abundantly stocked: but not vith- 
standing the laws which have at various times been 
enacted, this fish gradually became scarcer till, in 1861, 
all the old laws were repealed, and fresh and more 
stringent regulations made for protecting and increasing 
our salmon supplies. In addition to the fostering care 
which is bestowed, under the Salmon Fishery Acts of 
1861 and 1865, on the fish in the rivers, means have been 
adopted to artificially rear salmon, so as to increase 
their numbers more rapidly than could be done in 
the ordinary course of nature. Mr. Frank Buckland has 
been the pioneer of this system of artificial breeding of 
salmon and trout, and the experiments and opcrations 
which have been carried on during the last few years 
have thrown great light on the hitherto unknown habits 
of this “ king of fish.” 
Anyone who looks into the fishmongers’ shops just now 
can see what a clean, fresh-run salmon, ready for cooking, 
is like—a silvery, plump creature, whose “lines” are 
made for speed in water, and whose graceful curves give 
the completest idea of vigour and strength instemming a 
rapid current of water. 
But very few people, probably, know what sort of an 
appearance this beautiful fish presents in its infancy. 
Hidden away during that period in the upper waters of 
our salmon rivers, and ultimately in the depths of the 
sea, it is lost to sight till it grows large enovgh to be 
taken by the salmon nets ; and until lately very little was 
known of its natural history, or of its habits, though the 
experience of the last few years has revealed many in- 
teresting facts concerning the development of this fish, 
through the egg, fry, smolt, and grilse stages, till it be- 
comes a full-grown salmon, 
Fig. 1 represents the egg—natural size—of a salmon 
just laid. Each female salmon carries, on an average, 
800 to g00 of such eggs to every pound of her weight, 
They are-generally of a pinky opal colour, elastic to ‘the 
touch, covered with a soft horny membrane, with a 
minute opening through which a particle of the spawn~- 
the soft roe—of the male fish enters, and the egg is fer- 
tilised. - From this moment the young fish gradually de- 
velops, under the influence of the cold running water: 
At the end of about 35 days—more or less’ according to 
the. temperature, which should; be about 40°—two little 
black specks can-be seen, as at Fig.;2,,.whichvare the eyes 
of, the. embryo) fish ; the, vertebrae »mayybe> discerned 
in the form of a faint red line, and a smalkredigl 
