292 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



tween each couple and the two below there is a fall of five 

 inches, the water flowing frouione pair to the next through 

 small pipes, and eventually emptying itself into tanks con- 

 nected with the first set of canals or nurseries. As at 

 Huningen, the College de France, and elsewhere, the eggs 

 are placed between diminutive glass rods, and the wooden 

 frames into which these fit are kept about an inch below 

 the surface of the water. To avoid the dangers incidental 

 to oxydation no metal is used in the construction of the 

 troughs and hatching apparatus . 



The system of fecundating ova adopted by the Arnhem 

 authorities is that known as the Bussian or dry method, 

 and after the operation has taken place in the laboratory, 

 and the young fry have been duly hatched out in the incu- 

 bating hall, they are at length — at the expiration of the 

 yolk-sac period— admitted into the first set of zigzag 

 canals. 



The labyrinthine and alternate pool and shallow arrange- 

 ment of the latter was adopted by Mr. Macks with a view 

 to allow the fish to follow their natural instincts as regards 

 direction, and to seek at will sunshine or shade. While 

 here and there biggish stones afford welcome places of 

 concealment, the bed of the nurseries is for the most part 

 covered with fine gravel and pebbles, and the growth of 

 aquatic plants is encouraged for the sake of the insects they 

 harbor. 



As to artificial food given the young fry, they receive at 

 first roe of the maifisch and smelt, but in the case of 

 samlets the feeding is not continued long, as the fish are 

 allowed to enter the Yssel as soon as they are able to pick 

 up their own living. Owing to the complete separation of 

 the watercourses at Arnhem it is possible to raise simulta- 

 neously several varieties of fish, and accordingly Mr. Macks 

 has attempted the culture not only of salmon and common 

 river trout but also of salmon trout, chair, and hybrids 

 (cross between salmon and trout). He has not, however, 

 been equally successful with them all, hatching out and 

 raising a much larger percentage in the case of salmon and 

 trout lhan that of charr. Indeed, during the season 1873- 

 4, a year in which he turned into the Yssel 285,000 samlets, 

 raised from 360,000 eggs, he was so unfortunate with cbarr 

 (rearing only 1,500 out of 12,000) that he determined for a 

 time to abandon their cultivation. 



The requisite supply of salmon ova, procured in the be- 

 ginning fioniHuninfien and Freiburg, was in 1874 for the 

 first time obtained un the spot from fish caught in Holland. 

 The gravid females are, of course, kept apart from the rest, 

 and ample accommodation has been provided for them. 



In addition to the zigzag basins in immediate connection 

 with the incubating hall and the oval ponds, in front of 

 the building, there is another set of watercourses available 

 as well for spawning fish as for fish destined to be grown to 

 a marketable size. 



Should it be desired to remove a portion of the young- 

 fish from one of the first to one of the second set of parallel 

 basins, this can easily be effected by permitting the fish to 

 escape through the sluices (whichever may belong to the 

 enclosure in question), into the adjoining pond, and then 

 opening the sluice which gives access to the particular 

 basin intended to be stocked . 



With respect, in conclusion, to the question whether the 

 founders of the Arnhem institution have been rewarded 

 for their public spirit and enterprise by any substantial 

 success in the work of stocking or replenishing the rivers 

 of Holland, it is gratifying to hear that considerable pro- 

 gress has already been made in the desired direction. 



Thanks in part to their exertions, in part also to the 

 active measures taken and the satisfactory results obtained 

 by the authorities of the sister establishment at Amsterdam, 

 the rivers Yssel and Vecht (until lately almost barren of 

 salmonidae) now contain a fair stock of salmon and trout, 

 while other waters of the country have been so far repopu- 

 lated that many of the State fisheries now let at double, 

 treble, and even fourfold the rent formerly obtainable. 

 Better evidence could scarcely be furnished of the national 

 benefit accruing from a well conducted system of piscicul- 

 ture. — T. JS. t in London Field. 



♦ 



— We desire to call the attention of such of our readers 

 as are not especially interested in Natural History, to the 

 very important and valuable extracts which we are print- 

 ing each week from the address of Mr. A. It. Wallace to the 

 British Association. Each of these contains in a concise 

 and intelligent form, a number of facts which are of the 

 highest interest to the biologist, and about which, in these 

 day's of scientific progress, no one can afford to be unin- 

 formed. In no way can this very necessary knowledge be 

 so easily acquired as by perusing this address. 



In last week's number attention was called to the fertili- 

 eation of flowers by insects, and in the present issue it is 

 shown that birds often assist materially in this fertilization, 

 a fact which was not even suspected until quite recently, 

 and which will no doubt be new to the great majority of 

 our readers. The information in regard to the disadvan- 

 tages under which those animals which are wholly white 

 labor, is also of much interest, and explains many facts 

 which have not hitherto been well understood. 



In our next issue we shall take up that part of the address 

 which deals with what will be to many a still more inter- 

 esting subject, "the Rise and Progress of Modern Views 

 as to the Antiquity and Origin of Man." Under this head 

 will be found, compressed into the space of a few columns, 

 all that is known at present in reference to man's earliest 

 Mgtory. Mr. Wallace shows us that man must have ex- 

 isted at a period far anterior to the Glacial Epoch, and 

 gives a series of weighty reasons for his statements to this 

 ■effect. The essay is full of novel information aud deep 

 thought, and we commend it to our reader's careful atten- 

 tion. 



the idea, and with him Mayor H. G. Lewis, Ex-Gov. Eng- 

 lish, Gov. Ingersoll, and many other influential men are 

 cooperating heartily. The plan contemplates the trans- 

 formation of the old State House, on the green, into a 

 museum building. This can be effected at small expense, 

 for which it is believed an adequate appropriation can be 

 secured from the Legislature. The edifice was abandoned 

 by the State some two years ago. 



Already Prof. Blake has secured as a nucleus for the 

 ethnological department of the collection, the interesting 

 and valuable groups illustrative of Swedish costumes, in- 

 dustries, and social life, that constituted an important fea- 

 ture in the Centennial. 



ADDRESS OF A. R. WALLACE BEFORE 

 THE BRITISH ASSOCIATION 



ON SOME RELATIONS OF LIVING THINGS TO THEIR EYIRON- 

 MENT. 



— The plan widen js set on foot to establish a Connecti- 

 cut State Museum at Mew Haven merits our warm approval. 

 Such institutions should exist in every State in tne Union, 

 •their value as public educators can hardly be overestimated. 

 We wish the projectors all success In their praisworthy 

 undertaking. Prof. W. P. Blake seems to have originated 



Continued, 



IN Juan Fernandez, on the other hand, there is no such 

 total deficiency of showy flowers. I am informed by 

 Mr. Mosely that a variety of the Magnoliaceous winter's 

 bark abounds there, and has showy white flowers, and 

 that a Bignoniaceous shrub with abundance of dark blue 

 flowers was also plentiful; while a white flowered Liliac- 

 eous plant formed large patches on the hillsides. Besides 

 these there were two species of woody Compositae with 

 conspicuous heads of yellow blossoms, and a species of 

 white-flowered myrtle also abundant; so that, on the 

 whole, flowers formed a rather conspicuous feature in the 

 aspect of the vegetation of Juan Fernandez. 



But this fact— which at first sight seems entirely at vari- 

 ance with the view we are upholding of the important re- 

 lations between the distribution of insects and plants— is 

 well explained by the existence of two species of humming- 

 ing-birds in Juan Fernandez, which, in their visits to these 

 large and showy flowers fertilize them as effectually as 

 bees, moths or butterflies. Mr. Mosely informs me that 

 "these humming birds are extraordinarily abundant^ every 

 tree or bush having one or two darting about it." He also 

 observed that "nearly all the specimens killed had the 

 feathers round the base of the bill and front of the head 

 clogged and colored yellow with pollen." Here then we 

 have the clue to the perpetuation of large and showy flow- 

 ers in Juan Fernandez, while the total absence of humming 

 birds in the Galapagos may explain why no such large- 

 flowered plants have been able to establish themselves in 

 those equatorial islands. 



This leads to the observation that many other groups of 

 birds also, no doubt, aid in the fertilization of flowers. I 

 have often observed the beaks and faces of the brush- 

 tongued lories of the Moluccas, covered with pollen; and 

 Mr. Mosely noted the same fact in a species of Artamus 

 or swallow shrike, shot at Cape York, showing that this 

 genus also frequents flowers and aids in their fertilization. 

 In the Australian region we have the immense group of 

 the Meliphagidae, which all frequent flowers, and as their 

 range extend over all the islands of the Pacific, their pres- 

 ence will account for a certain proportion of showy flowers 

 being found there, such as the scarlet Metrosideros, one of 

 the few conspicuous flowers of Tahiti. In the Sandwich 

 Islands too, there are forests of Metrosideros-, and Mr. 

 Charles Pickering writes me that they are visited by honey- 

 sucking birds, one of which is captured by sweetened bird- 

 time, against which it thrusts its extensile tongue. I am 

 also informed that a considerable number of flowers are 

 occasionally fertilized by humming-birds in North America; 

 so that there can, I think, be little doubt that birds play a 

 much more important part in this respect than has hitherto 

 been imagined . 



it must be remembered, as Mr. Mosely has suggested to 

 me, that a flower which had acquired a brilliant color to 

 attract insects might on transference to another country, 

 and becoming so modified as to be capable of self-fertiliza- 

 tion, retain the colored petals for an indefinite period. 

 Such is probably the explanation of the Pelargonium of 

 Tristam d'Acunha which forms masses of bright color near 

 the shore during the flowering season, while most of the 

 other plants of the island have colorless flowers in accord- 

 ance with the almost total absence of winged insects. The 

 presence of many large and showy flowers among the in- 

 digenous flora of St. Helena must be an example of a simi- 

 lar persistence. Mr. Melliss, indeed, states it to be a re- 

 markable peculiarity that the indigenous flowers are with 

 very slight exceptions, all perfectly colorless; but although 

 this may apply to the general aspect of the remains of the in- 

 digenous flora, it is evidently not the case as regards thejspe- 

 cies, since the interesting plates of Mr. Melliss's volume show 

 that about one-third of the indigenous flowering plants 

 have more or less colored or conspicuous flowers, while 

 several of them are exceedingly showy and beautiful. We 

 have every reason to believe, however, that when St. Helena 

 was covered with luxuriant forests, and especially at that 

 remote period where it was much more extensive than it is 

 now, it must have supported a certain number of indigen- 

 ous birds and insects which would have aided in the fer- 

 tilization of these gaily colored flowers. * * * * 



Another interesting fact in connection with this subject, 

 is the presence of arborescent forms of Compositae in so 

 many of the remotest oceanic islands. They occur in the 

 Galapagos, jn Juan Fernandez, in St, Helena, in the Sand- 

 wich Islands and in New Zealand; but they are not directly 

 related to each other, representatives" of totally different 

 tribes of this extensive order becoming arborescent in 

 each group of islands. The immese range and almost uni- 



versal distribution of the compositae is due to the combi- 

 nation of a great facility of distribution (by their seeds), 

 with a great attractiveness to insects, and the capacity of 

 being fertilized by a variety o£ species of all orders, and 

 especially by flies and small beetles. Thus they would be 

 among the earliest of flowering plants to establish them- 

 selves on oceanic islands; but where insects of all kinds 

 were very scarce it would be an advantage to gain increased 

 size and longevity, so that fertilization at an interval of 

 several years might suffice for the continuance of the 

 species. The arborescent form would combine with in- 

 creased longevity the advantage of increased size in the 

 struggle for existence with the ferns and other early colon- 

 ists, and these advantages have led to its being independ- 

 ently produced in so many distant localities, whose chief 

 feature in common is their remoteness from continents and 

 the extreme poverty of their insect life. 



As the sweet odors of flowers are known to act in com- 

 bination with their colors, as an attraction to insects, it 

 might be anticipated that where color was deficient, scent 

 would be so also. On applying to my friend Dr. Hooker 

 for information as to New Zealand plants, he informed 

 me that this was certainly the case, and that the New 

 Zealand flora is, speaking generally, as strikingly deficient 

 in sweet odors as in cdhspicuous colors. Whether this 

 peculiarity occurs in other island I have not been able to 

 obtain information, but we may certainly expect it to be so 

 in such a marked instance as that of tnc Galapagos flora. 



Another question which here comes before us, is the 

 origin and meaning of the odoriferous glands of leaves. 

 Dr. J3ooker informs me that not only are New Zealands 

 plants deficient in scented flowers, but equally so in scented 

 leaves. This led me to think that perhaps such leaves 

 were in some way an additional attraction to insects. Mr. ■ 

 Darwin, however, informs me that he considers that leaf 

 glands bearing essential oils are a protection against the 

 attacks of insects where these abound, and would thus not 

 be required in countries where insects are very scarce. 

 But it seems opposed to this view that highly aromatic 

 plants are characteristic of deserts all over the world, and 

 in such places insects are abundant. Mr. Stainton informs 

 me that the aromatic Labiatae enjoy no immunity from 

 insect attacks. The bitter leaves of the cherry laurel are 

 often eaten by the larva? of moths that abound on our fruit 

 trees; while in the Tropics the leaves of the orange tribe 

 are favorites with a large number of' lepidopterous larvae; 

 and our northern firs and pines, although abounding in a 

 highly aromated resin, are very subject to the attacks of 

 beetles. My friend, Dr. Richard Spruce, informs me that 

 trees whose leaves have aromatic and often resinous secre- 

 tions in immersed glands abound in the plains of tropical 

 America, and that such are in great part, if not wholly, 

 free from the attacks of leaf-eating ants, except where the 

 secretion is only slightly bitten, as in the orange tribe, 

 orange trees being sometimes entirely denuded of their 

 leaver in a single night. Aromatic plants abound in the 

 the Andes up to about 13,000 feet, as well as in the plains, 

 but hardly more so than in Central and Southern Europe. 

 They are perhaps most plentiful in the dry mountainous 

 regions of Southern Europe; and as neither here nor in the 

 Andes do leaf eating ants exist. Dr. Spruce infers that, 

 although in the hot American forests where such ants 

 swarm the oil bearing glands serve as a protection, yet 

 thev were not originally .acquired for that purpose. 



I trust that I have now been able to show you that there 

 are a number of curious problems lying, as it were, on the 

 outskirts of biological inquiry, which will merit attention, 

 and which may lead to valuable results. But these prob- 

 lems are, as you see, for the most part connected with 

 questions of locality, and requiie full and accurate know- 

 ledge of the production of a number of small islands and 

 other limited areas, and the means of comparing them one 

 with another. If then we are to make any progress in this 

 inquiry, it is absolutely essential that some collectors should 

 begin to arrange their cabinets primarily on a geographical 

 basis, keeping together the productions of every island, 

 or group of islands, and of such divisions of each conti- 

 nent as are found to possess any special or characteristic 

 fauna or flora. We shall then be sure to detect many un- 

 suspected relations between the animals and plants of cer- 

 tain localities, and we shall become much better acquainted 

 with those complex reactions between the vegetable and 

 animal kingdom, and between the organic world and 

 the inorganic, which have eeitainly played an important 

 part in determining many of the most conspicuous feature 

 of living things. 



[To be continued.} 



-*♦*> - 



A WONDERFUL PARROT. 



Quebec, Dec. 1st, 1876. 

 Editok Fobest and Stream:— 



My neighbor B. S.U. Bauchette, Esq., ex Commissioner 

 of Customs, for the Dominion of Canada, owns a wonder- 

 ful parrot whose utterances astonish every one who hears 

 him. That his many friends may better remember them, 

 Mr. Bauchette, has had poll's sayings put in print. Hav- 

 ing lately heard this wonderful bird repeat many of his ut- 

 terances, I thought they might interest some of your read- 

 ers, and send you the copy Mr. Bouchette gave me. 



Yours very truly, J. TJ. Gregory. 



"POLL-THE-GREAT," OR A RENOWNED PARROT'S TJTTEK- 



ANCES. 



Poll's Latin may not be exactly Mantuan— but there is a 

 freedom in his translations which has certainly a dash of 

 independence— e-—g — 



Mgo sum Princeps avium— I am Poll the ©reat. Who are yeu? 



