12 



aquatic ILitz 



he didn't have "a few old. fishes he didn't 

 want any more." 



"I have no fishes," the man replied, 

 "but I'll be glad to tell you how to keep 

 and breed them, my boy." A grin of con- 

 tempt and disappointment flitted over the 

 face of the boy. "Well, if yer ain't got 

 no fishes," he said, "yer information can't 

 be much good." 



The Redfield Theory 



Casper L. Redfield, of Chicago, has 

 repeatedly called the attention of scien- 

 tists to a theory advanced by him which 

 purports to account for the improvement 

 noted in various animals and man by the 

 effect of age on protoplasm. In the trot- 

 ting horse, for instance, he finds that 

 young animals are not the record-makers, 

 but that powers of such animals increase 

 up to a considerable age. He finds, also, 

 that the progeny of such sires appear to 

 be influenced by age in the same way, the 

 older the animal at the time of breeding, 

 the likelier the colt will be to show im- 

 proved speed. Redfield asserts that such 

 relationships exist elsewhere, and even 

 concludes that the difference between 

 genius and mediocrity in man is a matter 

 of age only. He finds that no really great 

 men of the caliber of Darwin, Edison or 

 Galileo have been sons of young parents. 

 According to his theory, the male parents 

 for at least three generations must have 

 been more than 32 years old when their 

 children were born. In three generations 

 a man has seven male ancestors, and if 

 the total of their ages when their children 

 were born does not total at least 234 

 years, the third generation will not be 

 eminent. Since all great men are obi- 

 ously related to many mediocre persons, 

 some explanation fur their superiority 

 must exist, and this theory seems to be 

 a step in solving the riddle. Whether it 

 is the right explanation or not depends 

 upon further investigation, but we may 



here call attention to something similar 

 that exists in the protoplasm of plants. 

 Growers of melons and certain other 

 vegetables are aware that old seeds pro- 

 duce more fruitful plants than do young 

 ones. A certain age or maturity of the 

 protoplasm seems to be necessary. It is 

 well known, too, that seedling peonies do 

 not show their capabilities the first time 

 they blossom. The flowers may be nearly 

 single the first season and steadily in- 

 crease in size and number of petals for 

 several successive years. The double 

 pink daisy (Pyrethrum hybridum), often 

 requires four or five years to show the 

 double feature. At the first blooming the 

 flower heads may exhibit the "single" 

 condition, and the novice finding no dou- 

 ble flowers among them, may hastily con- 

 clude that his is inferior stock, but in a 

 few years doubling may begin. All this 

 shows that some change in the protoplasm 

 must take place with age. As a matter 

 of fact, growing old may be assumed to 

 be due to changes in the protoplasm of 

 the individual. Seekers for an elixir of 

 life might find these facts worth investi- 

 gation. — The American Botanist. 



(Aquarists have an exceptional oppor- 

 tunity to test this theory in its application 

 to fishes. — Ed.) 



Passaic Society 



The Passaic County Aquarium Society 

 was organized by Charles Pietzsch, Paul 

 Findeisen, Julius Hutermeier, Fred 

 Baumgarten, J. S. Roass, K. Blanken- 

 nagel and Max Ronath, on October 7th, 

 1919. Regular meeting will be held on the 

 first and third Tuesdays of each month, 

 at Max Donath's hotel, Clifton, N. J. 

 Aquarists who may desire to become 

 members can secure information from 

 the secretary, addressing him at 168 

 Hamilton avenue, Passaic, N. J. — Kuno 

 Be a n ken acee, Secretary. 



