Aquatic ILitt 



51 



tion with other animals. If we test Dar- 

 win's written language with the facts as 

 seen with this class of fish when confined 

 in an aquarium, we note as the season of 

 procreation approaches that it is far from 

 being so essential as he supposes, to have 

 two males one on each side of a female. 

 If an aquarium has all the healthy con- 

 ditions necessary for the purpose of 

 breeding goldfish, a single pair is as cer- 

 tain of reproducing the species as a dozen 

 of the two sexes intermixed would be. 



The writer successfully tested this by 

 practical proofs, selecting an aquarium 

 containing all the health conditions neces- 

 sary, and setting it apart for the purpose 

 of observation. Choosing a mature male, 

 i. e., one showing the excrescences of 

 maturity, also taking a female showing 

 signs of reproduction, and placing them 

 in company in the same aquarium, he 

 observed that, as soon as the two fish saw 

 each other, there was indicated love at 

 first sight. On the morrow it was evi- 

 dent by their movements there was court- 

 ship in full swing, and an engagement 

 soon followed. Two days later there was 

 a clear understanding that maternity 

 would follow. The two fish had taken 

 to hide and seek among the Vallisneria 

 and Nitella growing on the surface of the 

 water. Knowing the glutinous nature of 

 the ova of these fish the writer placed a 

 sheet of glass under the water plants to 

 intercept the eggs in their transit down- 

 ward. The plan was successful. In the 

 evening the two fish were returned from 

 whence they came. Removing the sheet 

 of glass (scores of eggs were adhering 

 thereto) and placing it erect about one- 

 fourth of an inch from the glass front 

 of the tank, it became evident there were 

 only a very few infertile eggs (infertile 

 eggs are whitish). The experiment re- 

 sulted as anticipated. From the position 

 of the ova on the sheet of glass, every 



change in the eggs could be seen with 

 an ordinary lens. In eight days the 

 young hatched out healthy and strong. 

 The length of time differs according to 

 conditions. And now, fourteen months 

 afterwards, I have the young, and they 

 are healthy and strong, and have grown 

 to about two inches long. 



Uses for Fishes' Scales 



The scales of fishes are used to some 

 extent in the manufacture of glue, and 

 also (recently) in the preparation of gela- 

 tine. They are also used for the pur- 

 poses of ornamentation and for the 

 manufacture of artificial flowers. In 

 1875 tne Royal University of Norway 

 sent to the Smithsonian Institute, Wash- 

 ington, a diadem made from fish-scales 

 and eyes. Ornaments for ladies, made 

 from fish scales, Were at one time largely 

 sold at the Crystal Palace, London. The 

 Chinese are said to have a mode of grind- 

 ing up fish scales and using the powder 

 as a dry pigment, to give brilliancy to 

 parts of pictures. In some parts of the 

 world the scales of large fishes — such as 

 the Tarpon of America — are treated in 

 such a way as to make them appear like 

 mother-o'-pearl. They are then worked 

 up into artificial flowers, marquetry arti- 

 cles and other fancy works, and in some 

 cases little scenes are painted on them. — 

 David G. Stead. 



Herpestis ample xicaulis, often erro- 

 neously called Bacopa, assumes quite a 

 changed appearance when permitted to 

 grow above the surface. The tiny hairs 

 with which the stem is thickly covered 

 become silvery white, the aerial leaves a 

 dull red, with a waxy lustre. 



Silence may be golden, but withhold- 

 ing facts is robbery. 



