276 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



ADDRESS OF A. R, WALLACE BEFORE 

 THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION 



ON SOME RELATIONS OF LIVING THINGS TO THEIR EYIRON- 



MFVNT. 



Continued. 

 HAVE now to ask your attention to a few remarks on 

 the peculiar relations of plants and insects as exhibit- 

 ed in these islands. Ever since Mr. Darwin showed the 

 immense importance of insects in the fertilization of flow- 

 ers, great attention has been paid to the subject, and the 

 relation of these two very different classes of natural ob- 

 jects has been found to be more universal and more com- 

 plete than could have been anticipated. Whole genera and 

 families of plants have been so modified as first to attract, 

 and then to be fertilized by certain groups of insects, and 

 this soecial adaptation seems in many cases to have deter- 

 mined the more or less wide range of the plants in ques- 

 tion. It is also known that some species of plants can be 

 fertilized only by particular species of insects, and the ab- 

 sence of these from any locality would necessarily prevent 

 the continued existence of plants in that area. Here, I be- 

 believe, will be found the clue to much of the peculiarity 

 of the floras of oceanic islands, s-ince the methods by which 

 they have been stocked with plants and insects will be oft- 

 en quite different. Many seeds are no doubt carried by 

 oceanic currents, others probably by aquatic birds. Mr. 

 H. A. Moseley informs me that the albatrosses, gulls, puf- 

 fins, tropic birds and many others, nest inland, often amidst 

 dense vegetation, and he believes they often carry seeds 

 attached to their feathers from island to island for great 

 distances. In the tropics they often meet on the mountains 

 far inland, and may thus aid in the distribution even of 

 mountain plants. Insects, on the other hand, are mostly 

 conveyed by serial currents, especially by violent gales; 

 and it may thus often happen that totally unrelated plants 

 and insects mav be brought together, in which case the 

 former must often perish for want of suitable insects to 

 fertilize them. This will, I think, account lor the strange- 

 l\ r fragmentary nature of these insular floras, and the great 

 distances that often exist between those which are situated 

 in the same ocean, as well as for the preponderance of cer- 

 tain orders and genera. In Mr. Pickering's valuable work 

 on the Geographical Distribution of Animals and Plants he 

 gives a list of no less than sixty-six natural orders of plants 

 unexpectedly absent from Tahite, or which occur in many 

 of the surrounding islands, some being abundant in other 

 islands, as the Labiatae at the Sandwich Islands. In these 

 latter islands the flora is much richer, .yet a large number 

 of families which abound in other parts of Polynesia are 

 totally wanting. Now, much of the poverty and excep- 

 tional distribution of the plants of these islands is proba- 

 bly due to the great scarcity of flower-frequenting in- 

 sects. Lepidoptera (butterflies) and Hymenoptera (bees, 

 etc.,) are exceedingly scarce in the eastern islands of the 

 Pacific, and it is almost certain that many plants which 

 require these insects for their fertilization have been there- 

 by prevented from establishing themselves. In the west- 

 ern islands, such as the Fijis, several species of butterflies 

 occur in tolerable abundance, and no doubt some flower- 

 haunting Hymenoptera accompany them, and in these 

 islands the flora appears to be much more varied, and es- 

 pecially to be characterized by a much greater variety of 

 showy flowers, as may be seen by examining the plates of 

 Dr. Seeman's "Flora Vitiensis." 



Darwin and Pickering both speak of the great prepon- 

 derance of ferns at Tahiti, and Mr. Mosely, who spent 

 several days in the interior of the island, informs me that 

 "at an elevation of from 2,000 to 3,000 feet the dense veg- 

 etation is composed almost entirely of ferns. A tree fern 

 (Alsophila iahiiensis) forms a sort of forest to the exclusion 

 of almost every other tree, and, with huge plants of the 

 other ferns, (Angiopleris t-ncta and Avpelenium nidus) forms 

 the main mass of the vegetation." And he adds "I have 

 aowhere'seen ferns in so great proportionate abundauce." 

 This unusual proportion of ferns is a general feature of 

 insular as compared with continental floras, but it has, I 

 believe, been generally altii bated to favorable conditions, 

 especially to equable climate and perennial moisture. In 

 this respect, however, Tahiti can] ardly differ greatly from 

 many other islands, which yet have no such vast prepon- 

 derance of ferns. This, is a question which cannot be de- 

 cided by mere lists of species, since it is probable that in 

 Tahiti they are less numerous than ip some other islands 

 where they form a far less conspicuous feature in the veg- 

 etation. The island most comparable with Tahiti in that 

 respect is Juan Fernandez. Mr. Mosely writes to me: "In 

 a general view of any yskiv stretch of densely clothed 

 mountainous surface of the islands, the ferns, both tree- 

 ferns and the unstemmed forms, are seen at once to com- 

 pose a very large proportion of the mass of foliage." As 

 to the insects of Juan Fernandez, Mr. Edwyn C. Reed, who 

 made two visits and spent several weeks there, has kindly 

 furnished me with some exuet information. Of butterflies 

 there is only one, and that one— a Chilian species, and 

 probably an accidental straggler Four species of moths 

 of moderate size were observed— all Chilian— and a few 

 larvae and pupa?. Of bees there were none, except one 

 very minute species; and of other Hymenoptera a single 

 specimen of OpHon luteus, a cosmopodtan ichneumon. 

 About twenty species of flies were observed, and these 

 formed the most prominent features of the entomology of 

 the island. 



Now as far as we know, this extreme entomological pov- 

 erty agrees closely with that of Tahiti; and there are prob- 

 ably no other portions of the globe equallv favored in soil 

 and climate, and with an equally luxuriant vegetation, 

 where insect life is so scantily developed. It is curious to 

 find that these two islands also agree in the wonderful pre- 

 dominance of ferns over the flowering plants, in individu- 

 als even more than in species, and there is no difficulty in 

 connecting the two facts. The excessive minuteness and 

 great abundance of fern-spores causes them to be far more 

 easily distributed by winds than the seeds of flowering 

 plants, and they are thus always ready to occupy any va- 

 cant places in suitable localities, and to compete with the 

 less vigorous flowering plants. But where insects are so 

 scaice, all plants which require insect fertilization, whether 

 constantly to enable them to produce seed at all, or occa- 

 sionally to keep up their constitutional vigor by crossing, 

 must be at a very great disadvantage; and thus the scanty 

 flora which oceanic islands must always possess, peopled 

 as they usually are by waifs and strays from other lands, 

 is rendered still more scanty by the weeding out of all such 

 as depend largely on insect fertilization for their full de- 

 velopment. It seems probable, therefore, that the prepon- 

 derance of ferns in islands (considered in mass of individ- 

 uals, rather than in number of species) is largely due to the 

 absence of competing phenogamous plants, and that this is 

 in great part due to the scarcitv of insects. In other oce- 

 anic islands, such as New Zealand and the Galapagos, 

 where ferns, although tolerably abundant, form no such 

 predominant feature in the vegetation, but where the scarc- 

 ity of flower-haunting insects is almost equally marked, we 

 find a great preponderance of small green or otherwise in- 

 conspicuous flowers, indicating that only such plants have 

 been enabled to flourish there as are independent of insect 

 fertilization. In the Galapagos, which are perhaps even 

 more deficient in flying insects tban Juan Fernandez, this 

 is so striking a feature that Mr. Darwin speaks of the veg- 

 etation as consisting in great part of "wretched looking 

 weeds," and states that "it was some time before he dis- 

 covered that almost every plant was in flower at the time 

 of his visit." He also says that he "did not see one beau- 

 tiful flower in the islands." It appears, however, that 

 Composite, Liguminosse, Rubiacese and Solanacese, form a 

 large proportion of the flowering plants, and as these are 

 orders which usually require insect fertilization, we must 

 suppose either that they have become modified so as to be 

 self-fertilized, or that they are fertilized by the visits of 



the minute Diptera and Hymenoptera, which are the only 



insects recorded from these islands. 



[To be continued.'} 

 , -♦.<»- ■ 



MORE ABOUT THE BARNACLE.GOOSE. 



In our issue of November 23d, in answer to a query f.orn 

 the west, we commented upon the Barnacle Goose referred 

 to in the following note, stating that it was probably 

 the Branta leucopsis. If this conjecture be correct, the 

 fact is most interesting, as the bird is known to have been 

 taken but twice before on this continent. The first 

 specimen is in the Museum of the Smilhsouian Institution 

 (See Am. Nat II., p. 49), and the second was for a time 

 at least the property of Mr. E. Wade, Jr. (Am. Nat. V., 

 p. 10). It is perhaps the one referred to below. 



Further particulars in reference to the capture of the 

 present individual are given in the following letter, which 

 we have received from Mr. Kendall, dated:— 



New York, November 18th. 

 Editor Forest and Stream: — 



In your issue of October 26th (I think), you published 

 an account of a Barnacle goose, which I discovered hang- 

 ing up in Schedler's restaurant, in Church street, and which 

 can be seen at Conway's, in Carmine street. I have since 

 seen the parties who sold it to Mr. Schedler, and they re- 

 port that it was bought by them from a Long Island 

 farmer, who said it was shot by a boy. Unfortunately 

 they never saw the farmer before, nor have they seen him 

 since, so I can trace it, no further at present. There is but 

 one specimen in the Museum at Central Park among the 

 birds of Noith America, and that one was shot at Currituck, 

 and I am told is perhaps the only authenticated in- 

 stance of one being kdled in this couhiry previous to ihis. 

 Several gentlemen have called on me in relation to this 

 bird, and as much interest has been manifested, I would 

 again ask through your columns for further information 

 from any of your readers who may have met with it. 



J. 11. Kendall. 



BIRDS OF LOWER MICHIGAN. 



BY A. B. COVERT, OP ANN ARBOR. 



(Concluded from Page 164.) 



The following list has been sent us by Mr. Covert, the 

 species included in it, having been overlooked in the pre- 

 paration of his interesting catalogue of the Birds of Lower 

 Michigan. The publication of this and other lists of a like 

 character, cannot fail to bo of value to ornithologists at 

 large, and the great number of interesting facts contained 

 in them speaks volumes for the painstaking energy of the 

 authors. As remarked in a previous number of this Jour- 

 nal, we hope before long to be enabled to lay before our 

 readers the results of further investigations into the animal 

 life of Lower Michigan by the same careful observer: — 



Anorthura troglodytes. Winter wren. Common in spring 

 and fall migrations. 



Dendrwca tigrina. Cape May warbler. Very rare; cue 

 specimen taken May 12th, 1870. 



Vtreo ■pMadeiohtcus. Brotherly-love vireo. Common in 

 migrations. One nest taken June 2d, 1873. 



Aegiothus limrius. Red-poll linnet, Quite common in 

 winter. 



Var Exilipes. American mealy red-poll. Not common, 

 and always found with the preceding. 



Chrysomitris pinus. Pine linnet. Sometimes common 

 in winter. 



Chauielasmus streperus. Gadwall or grey duck. Not 

 common. 



Mareca americana. American widgeon. Very common 

 in migrations. 



Podiceps cristatus. Crested grebe. An occasional speci- 

 men taken. 



Podiceps griseigena. Red-necked grebe. Quite common 

 in the fall. 



The Pipe Fish.— The New York Aquarium has a Pipe 

 fish that is attracting a great deal of attention from its rare 

 and curious habitation. We do not refer to the common 

 Pipe fish, the Syngnathus peclcianus of Storer, but to the 

 common little hermit crab, a specimen of which was re- 

 cently captured by Mr. Fred Mather while dredging for 

 specimens in Long Island Sound for the Aquarium, and 

 which, instead of inhabiting the shell of a periwinkle, snail, 

 or covering of some other mollusk, was found occupying 

 the bowl of a common clay pipe. 



We believe this is the first instance on record of a pipe 

 being used as a house, instead of its original object as a 

 cremator of the fragrant "Vanity Fair." 



— Snowy owls have been captured in Norfolk, Va., 



within a week. We have known of their being taken in 



South Carolina, which is a pretty warm latitude for fur 



caps. 



-*♦♦" 



— Mr. T. C. Egan of Halifax, Nova Scotia, has been 



awarded a special medal by the judges of the Philadelphia 



Centennial Exhibition, for his collection of specimens of 



taxidermy. 



LOCAL NOMENCLATURE. 



Ithaca, N. Y., Nov. 12th. 

 Editor Forest and Stream: — 



Being interested in the list of local names of birds, 

 waterfowl, etc., of Plymouth Bay, Mass., given last week 

 in Forest and Stream, many of which names were quite 

 different from those which I had known, I send the names 

 of the same class of birds for the Connecticut shore, along 

 which I have shot for a number of years, hoping that it 

 may prove of interest to other gunners. 



Robert T. Morris. 



Anas obscura. Black duck; dusky duck. 



b'ulix marila. Scaup; big black-head; blue-bill; broad- 

 bill. 



Fulixaffinis. Little black-head; scaup; blue-bill; broad- 

 bill . 



Pelionetta perspicillaia. Surf duck; skunk-head. 



Pelionetta per&picillata. Female and young of the year; 

 gray coot. 



Melanetta velvetina. White wing; bell tongue. 



Oidemia americana. Scoter; butter bill. 



Somateria mollissima. Eider; sea coot. 



Bucephala, americana. Golden eye; whistler. 



Bucepliala albeola, Buffel head; butter ball. 



Hare'da glacialis. Old squaw ; south southerly ; old wife; 

 long tail. 



Spatula dypeata. shoveller; spoonbill. 



Mergus merganser, Mergus serrator. Shelldrake; saw bill; 

 merganser. 



Colymbus torquatus, Colymbus aretieus, Colymbus sepientri- 

 onalis. Loon. , 



Podiceps. All varieties. "Devil diver. 



Craculus carbo. Cormorant, shag. 



Sterna. All varieties. Mackerel gull. 



Larus marinus. Black-backed gull. 



Larus. All ether varieties. Gull. (Young) grey gull. 



FISH HAWKS 



For Forest and Stream, 

 AND EAGLES. 



On the southeast coast of Florida, owing perhaps to the, 

 abundance of fish and the scanty population, the Osprey or 

 Fish Hawk is very abundant, and his tyrant, the White 

 Headed Eagle, is equally so. Of the late species, I have 

 observed six or eight in sight at one time, on the lower 

 part of Spruce creek, where it joins the Halifax river 

 in a wide estuary. Here may at any time be witnessed, 

 that scene so vividly described by Wilson, the ornitholo- 

 gist, which a person might never see in a life time in the 

 northern States, where eagles are scarce and shy— I mean 

 the robbery of the honest and painstaking Osprey by 

 the predatory eagle. Scarcely can the former get his prey 

 from the water, when the scream of the eagle is heard in 

 pursuit. A stern-chase is proverbially a long chase, but 

 the great power of wing of the eagle generally prevails, 

 and the poor fisherman loses his fish. 



Once, fishing on the Halifax, I caught a sea cat of three 

 or four pounds weight. It was killed in recovering the 

 hook, and having plenty of better fish I threw it over- 

 board, and it floated up ihe river into the tide. An Osprey 

 saw and seized it; as he flew away, he was persued ana 

 robbed by an eagle, who was watching for booty from a 

 pine tree top. This robber in turn was attacked by another 

 eagle, who forced him to drop the fish, which he earned 

 away out of sight into the woods, so that the cat nsJi 

 passed through the hands of at least tour captors before it ;, 

 was eaten. S. C. 0. 



A Musical Parrot.— Noticing your article upon a 

 musical dog in last issue, brings to mind a short story re- 

 cently told me by a lady whose word may be relied upon. 

 Some years ago, a Miss Burr, of this city, had a parrot 

 which would perch upon the piano and render the air oi 

 "Home Sweet Home," in a remarkable manner, the lady 

 phiving the accompaniment. I also once owned a dog 

 that would "howl" very loud and steady if a person saOo 

 any tune near him, and there is a large dog belonging to a 

 neighbor of mine that takes no notice of the bells ringing 

 for church on Sundays, but when they riug for fire ana 

 the bell in the engine house joins in, will bark incpssanyy, 



