576 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. VIII. No. 200. 



ginia, 55.5 per cent in Florida,* and 75.3 

 per cent in Tennessee. 



Corn does not exhibit the same regularity 

 of progression, owing (1) to the large acre- 

 age in the semi-arid portions of Texas, 

 Kansas and Nebraska, where the frequent 

 deficiency of moisture is a disturbing ele- 

 ment; (2) to the extent to which special 

 varieties have been adapted to local condi- 

 tions to meet a want that no other crop can 

 satisfactorily supply, and (3) to the ex- 

 treme care with which this greatly esteemed 

 product is cultivated in certain sections 

 where its growth is precarious. f Still, the 

 variation in the Upper Austral zone, exclud- 

 ing Kansas and Nebraska, J is 49.69 per 

 cent, against 38.46 per cent in the Lower 

 Austral, exclusive of Texas;! ^^^ if; for 

 the reasons above stated, that of the most 

 northerly tier of states, excluding Maine 

 and Rhode Island, | is only 44.57 per cent, 

 it is a significant fact that there is not a 

 state in this belt with as small a variation 

 as Alabama or Florida, and that there is 

 but one that will compare favorably with 

 Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana or Ten- 

 nessee. 



Investigations show that this law of di- 

 minishing constancy is entirely independent 

 of whether the average yield per acre is 

 high or low, and that there is no general 

 correspondence between its operation and 

 the annual variation in the rainfall. The 

 non-uniformity in the fluctuations of various 

 products is attributed by the author to the 



*Not altogether reliable, owing to the non-de- 

 terminable proportions of the upland and sea-island 

 varieties. 



t Although corn is essentially a tropical plant, the 

 highest average yields per acre in this country are 

 those of the New England States. ■V\Tjile the high 

 cultivation to which this is due has a steadying effect 

 upon the rate of production from year to year, that 

 rate of production is by no means so uniform as in 

 the States bordering on the Gulf of Mexico, Texas 

 excepted. 



X The reasons for these exclusions are fully stated 

 in the paper from which this brief abstract is taken. 



different proportions of such products grown 

 at a greater or less distance from the natural 

 habitat. 



John Hyde. 

 U. S. Depaetment of Agbicultuke. 



ON THE REAPPEARANCE OF THE TILE-FISH. 

 ( LOPHOLA TIL OS CHA3IJELE0NTICEPS. ) 



During March and April, 1882, the pres- 

 ence on the surface of the ocean of large 

 numbers of dead tile-fish gave rise to con- 

 siderable discussion in scientific journals, 

 and frequent allusions have since been 

 made in text-books, and elsewhere, to this 

 phenomenon as illustrating the elimination 

 of a species in recent times by purely natural 

 agents. The reappearance of the fish in 

 abundance in its original locality is, there- 

 fore, of considerable biological interest. 



The history of the discovery, the ' extinc- 

 tion ' and reappearance is as follows : 



In May, 1879, Captain Kirby, of Glouces- 

 ter, caught a great number of tile-fish off 

 the southern coast of Nantucket, in water 

 about 150 fathoms in depth. Specimens were 

 sent to "Washington and the species was 

 described by Goode and Bean in the ' Pro- 

 ceedings of the U. S. National Museum ' 

 for that year. In July, Captain Dempsey, 

 also of Gloucester, found several specimens 

 in practically the same locality. 



In 1 880 Professor Baird sent the ' Mary 

 Potter ' to search for the fish, but the expe- 

 dition, on account of uncommonly severe 

 weather, was not successful. The ' Fish 

 Hawk,' however, while exploring along the 

 continental plateau, caught several speci- 

 mens. 



In 1881 the ' Fish Hawk,' continuing 

 deep-sea work along the southern shore of 

 New England, caught a large number, and 

 Professor Baird felt confident that he was 

 about to establish a new industry. 



In March and April, 1882, vessels enter- 

 ing New York and other Atlantic ports 

 reported that they had passed through 



