88 



FOKEST AND STREAM. 



[SnrTEMBEE 1, 1881. 



or pockets of the skin, like hairs, nails or feathers" (p. 40). 

 There are no such differences and relationships. Il is possible 

 that Mr. Gunther may have been deceived by superficial ap- 

 pearances ami confused and reversed what he had read of or 

 been told by others. The facts in Ibe cases are thus formu- 

 lated by Dr. Balfour in his ■ '<■■■ list ib Comparative Em- 

 bryology," just .published (v. '-' p. 326): " Tin- type <>f exo- 

 skelcton developed on fho nim.r bt'dt of Hie general epidermis 



: >i/d in (he I J i>ties, v~-\uiv ii appears b ■-. -< ales, * * * 

 The type developed on the imh r side of the rp, dermis is al- 

 most entirely* confined to the Amphibia and Atnniota [Rep- 

 tiles, Birds and Mammals}, where it appears as scales, 

 feathers, hairs, claws, nails, i tc." 



"Both kinds of scales (the cycloid aud ctenoid) may occur 

 uot only in the same genus V fishes, but in the same, fish" 

 (p. 47'). The two kinds map not only occur but factually 

 cmS together in ■eery many jhhtx of the Acanlhoplerygian 

 type, and especially in some of the Gobies, in which all gra- 

 dations are found. 



"All scales are continually growing or wasting away on 

 the surface, and it seems tnat some fish at least- for in ouv 

 Sal monoids — 'shea' them periodically" (p. 50). This co&- 

 veys the most misleading and erroneous ideas as la the gen- 

 esis, development and mode of growth of scales, The ; 

 co J and therefore feguUer "shedding" of scales, if it occurred. 

 would come within the cognizance of innumerable practical 

 men— fishermen, fish-dealers, Bshculturiats, anglers, etc. — 

 and who of them has observed the pretended phenomenon ? 

 Periodical sltedding would imply peiiodical renewal of scales. 

 "What can be Mr. Gi'inthcr's ideas respecting the formation ol 

 scales to lead him to believe that such things occur! It is 

 not worth while, however, to pursue the vagaries of our 

 author. 



The contradictions of the generalizations Just indicated are 

 in almost all cases furnished by the same work, aud when 

 such has been the case reference has been made to the pages 

 where the correct information is given. Unquestionably Dr. 

 Gunther has known better than might be inferred from the 

 above enumeration of errors. The "paragraphs in question 

 are indeed due not to positive ignorance but to temporary 

 I'orgclfulncss (uot momentary, for it has lasted from the time 

 of composition to final correction of the proofs! and crude 

 generalization. They are really the expressions of a peculiar 

 mental habit, and interesting from a psychological point of 

 view. Nevertheless the statements haw hem made, and it 

 will be but poor consolation to the student who has to un- 

 learn what may have almost become part of his bring- to 

 ascertain that his teacher frrccin better. What is wanted is 

 that he should teaoh better, for the work will not be generally 

 purchased as a psychological curiosity, but for the informa- 

 tion which it is believed to embody and which the author's 

 reputation will be considered to guarantee. To those who 

 know how to correct all the misstatements the volume is of 

 no use. 



It will certainly appcir probable that if the author has 

 failed grievously in t'he treatment of a branch of his subject 

 of which the data are most readily attainable, which is most 

 within the general purview, and which has been the special 

 object of his study, the chances are that he has failed at 

 least equally iii his consideration! of the more recondite and 

 bss known branches. Such anticipation will be found 

 to be fully icalized. Every chapter, every section, will 

 be found 'to be impregnated with errors." The mental 

 idiosyncrasies already indicated may crop out in the 

 most unexpected plao s, am! there is no telling where fallacy of 

 some kind or other muy not lurl: concealed. But the 

 rnos> appacnt and radical detects are the disproportion and 



inoongrui y manifested in the systematic port ion of the work. 

 The author seems indeed to be destitute to an unusual degree 

 Of a sense of proportion and of taXOnomic tact. To enter on 

 a consideration of suoh questions would, however, transcend 

 the limits ol a review. Suffice if to stale that, he is in disac- 

 cord with all the best systematic zoologists and original inves- 

 tigators, lie commences with the .Sharks, and theuee proceeds 

 successively to the exposition of the Rays, Holoceph- 

 cephalids and Ganoids; then considers the Perch like types ; 

 thence jumps in the Fhysostomes and thus places furthest 

 away from the Ganoids the types most like them, skips again 

 to the Lophobranebiates, and ends the Teleost series with 

 the Trunk fishes, after which follow the Gjciostomes, the 

 most generalized and specialized of fishes, and which in a 

 natural arrangement would be near the opposite extremes, 

 being consequently most approximate d. 



IU these strictures it has never been forgotten that work 

 Should be conrideied with reference to the time when, and 

 the circumstances under which, it was done. Let it be again 

 recalled then, that Dr. Guother published his truly great 

 work on Pishes between the years 1850 and 1870, and that 

 there was a comparative degree of harmony between its exe- 

 cution and the times and conditions then prevailing. As has 

 been indicated, however the author's conceptions when once 

 expressed became fixed and crystallized' in the type in Which 

 they were cast. The "Introduction" is, therefore, not an 

 exhibit of the present state of Ichthyology, but of (1) Dr. 

 Giintber's ideas of the families, etc., defined in 1850 to 1870, 

 in which (2) the families of "Aeanthoplery gians" are.ar. 

 ranged according to his scheme of 1801, and (3) the "orders" 

 retained with the limits, and ranked with the sequence pos- 

 tulated in 1871 ; (4) genera described since by Dr. Gunther 

 (and a few others) are intercalated. The systematic part of 

 the work might therefore have been prepared by any copyist 

 or cut out of the pages of the "Gala logue of the Fishes in 

 the British Museum" and arranged as indicated^ 



Sever has a score of years been so fruitful in researches 

 and results as the period between the inception of Dr. Gtin- 

 ther's "Catalogue" and the. present. In that interval 

 Darwin has given t I the world his immortal work and rev- 

 olutionized the i -.1 tods ■ Dbji itaof biological investiga- 

 tion, while la! ofera i Itnoe innumerable have elucidated the 

 various branches of ichthyology — the anaiomy, embryolopy, 

 the past history, the systematic rela'ions, the species, the 

 geographical distribution of forms, the faunas of the world. 

 All these have been in vain for Dr. < oinlhcr. flue of the 

 principal discoveries — that of < '< ■■'■■ •<."''-.■■— i-:.s been recognized 

 by him simply to become a stumbling-block and Involve him 

 in one of ihe most astonishing mazes (if error of modern 

 times. Unquestionably the most prominent characlerisic 

 of the present lime is the acceptance of evolution and its 

 ramification into all the details Of biological investigation and 

 classification. But in the " Introduction to the Study of 

 Pishes" no allusion has been made- to Ibis principle and the 

 author's treatment of his Subject indicates that it has been 

 practically ignored. There is, however, no group of ani- 

 mals to which its application is lu<ir « fruitful in snggestlve 



- -riie homy tc tu of bUfi OyoJosliM I - W r| "-l arestt'ue- 



fcureH.peiongtaif to mis. group," 



and profitable results than the branchiferous vertebrates. 

 Slil! scattered in the waters of the globe live here and there 

 as solitary survivors, representatives ol types once abound- 

 ing in species, that enable us to trace tlie lineage of our 

 branch from the humblest beginnings to the specialized Acan- 

 thopterygian and grotesque Plectogoath and Lophobranchi- 

 ate fishes in one offshoot and to man in another. And in 

 no branch have we the means for tracing the genesis and de- 

 velopment of different structures rnorein hand than do the 

 fishes afford in tbe case of the vertebrates. Morphology and- 

 taxonomy march hand in band; the successive stages of 

 development of the skeleton, the nervous system, the respi- 

 ratory system, Ihe viscera, etc., are instructively indicated 

 by the conditions of those structures in the Pharyngobran- 

 chiatea (Amji/iinxiis). Gyclostomes (Lampreys, etc.), rlagios- 

 tomes, (Sharks, etc.), Holocephali (Chimera), Dipnoi 'C'ern- 

 lodus, etc.), Polypteroids, Lepidosteiods, Amioids, the al- 

 lied Pbysostomes (Elopids, Albulids, etc.), the Haplomi 

 (Pikes, elc), the Percesoicids (Atherinids, etc),, the typical 

 Acantboptcrygians (Perches, etc.), and the Anacanthiues 

 (Cod, elc.) : the grades of organization in their turn proclaim 

 the natural sequence of the types enumerated. It is 

 strange that evidence so striking as that furnished by the 

 forms in question should have been so entirely overlooked 

 by Dr. Gunther. The failure to appreciate the facts doubt- 

 less results, from the method pursued. A certain type has 

 been assumed as "highest" on account of - vague psy- 

 chological conceptions and, with this as an initial form, 

 Others are successively taken up, till the author has lost 

 liia bearings and recklessly dealt with the remainder. A moral 

 seems to lie poised to by the result. Scientific taxono- 

 tuists lave been for some time wont to start, their phyla 

 with the lowest and most generalized kuown type and by 

 successive approximations complete the series, and if they 

 would, in deference to ancient custom, have tbe highest 

 first, reverse the series they have obtained. Dr. Giinther's 

 unhappy scheme, not less than others somewhat like it, 

 teaches us that after all the right way is the only one to. 

 be toll iwed. Had our author been compelled to begin his 

 subject with the generalized and then proceed with the 

 mere and more specialized types the faults that now per- 

 vade his work would doubtless have b"en fewer. 



The existing genera recognized by Dr. Giiuther number fully 

 1,130, of which 058 are only noticed byname, while the re- 

 maining 478 are more or less satisfactorily diagnosed. II* the 

 canons of classification adopted for the other groups of verte- 

 brates should be applied to the fishes, the number indicated 

 would be nearly doubled. 



THE RATTLESNAKE AND THE COPPERHEAD. 



Cashier's Valley, N. C. 

 T710R the past two years I have had a good opportunity 

 P for studying the habits of the rattlesnake ; and for the 

 benefit of your readers will give what I know to be facts. In 

 the mountain counties of Western North Carolina "the lime 

 has bem when this family of snakes were quite numerous, 

 but of late years since the mountaineers have begun to raise 

 so many bogs that range eid libitum ad over the country the 

 rattlesnake has suffered iu consequence therefrom. This 

 snake crawls out from its winter home from among the cliffs 

 and hollow logs in the month of June, and begins its search 

 at once in quest, of food. Their favorite subjects for food 

 are squirrels, mice, birds, rabbits and not frogs. 



There seems to be a wide difference of opinion in regard to 

 how the sex of this snake may be determined. It is the gener- 

 al Impression that the black color is the male, and the yellow 

 or buff the female; but on close inspection it has been found 

 that this will not do to settle on in every instance in regard 

 to sex. There are instances where the male has been known 

 to be of a modest, yellow hue aud the female of a deep black, 

 but such is of rare occurrence. They move about in a slow 

 manner and sometimes charm their food : at ohers they at- 

 tack it or lie in wait for it to come within range of their 

 power. If their food is very large, like the rabbit, il takes 

 them more than a day to swallow it. As soon as they catch 

 any little animal it is held firmly in the coils of the snake 

 about the middle of its length, while the head and mouth is 

 engaged in depositing a thin, slimy fluid all over the animal 

 and then the process of swallowing begins. After it has 

 lodged its food into its body the snake remains in a stupefied 

 state from two to nine hours— according to the size of food 

 swallowed. While in this state their food is undergoing di- 

 gestion. 



In the month of August, when the weather is the hottest 

 and the small streams begin to dry up, the " rattlers" begin 

 to come down from off the mountains in search of running 

 water in great numbers. Then their mating season begins. 

 While en route to hunt water at this season Is the most dan- 

 gerous time to meet this snake, for they are nearly or quite 

 blind, mad, and in a raving manner. They usually congre- 

 gate at this season at a head of a spring of some size, and 

 then they pair and remain near the spring head until the sea- 

 son is passed, which lasts from one to two weeks, or until a 

 heavy rain has fallen. Their young are born about the 15th 

 of September, and number from six to twelve, according to 

 the age of the mother. They do not lay eggs as other species 

 of snakes do. This is a settled fact, although it has been 

 often disputed. All harmless snakes have keen tails and lay 

 eggs; all poisonous ones have blunt tails and lay no eggs. 

 The female rattler is more modest than the male, she is more 

 inclined to run and hide while attending to the wants of her 

 young than the ma'e. They have regular periods of the day 

 in which they move about; they never move from their 

 coiled position while the dew is on Ihe grass and weeds or 

 bushes. When the sun goes down and the air is chilled they 

 seek some dry spot aud coil up, and there remain until ten 

 o'clock next" day before they begin to move about again. 

 This statement explodes the idea that has gained |mueh 

 ground among the ignorant class of mountaineers, who are 

 afraid to stir out much after night for fear of being bitten by 

 the. rattlers. With few exceptions all the living things upon 

 ihe face of ihe earth rest themselves at night. We make a 

 positive assertion that no reliable, person has ever seen a 

 rattlesnake after night crawling about iu this mountain section. 



The reason for their quietude is because the air is chilled, 

 aud the grass and weeds are full of dew, and they are either 

 asleep or prefer to remain coiled up until the sun shines out 

 to warm them up. The rattlesnake is a very honorable 

 snake. If you come near it, it immediately throws iiself in- 

 to a coil, and irives an immediate fierce, loud alarm with the 

 rattles from which it fjkesits name from. This alarmis made 

 with a number of little rattles ou the end of their tails, which 

 are front three to tweiitv in number — according to the age of 

 the snake— when they are about six weeks old three rattles 

 appear, and from one to two appear each year alternately . 



Onthe end of the rattles is situated what is called a button! 

 which is nothing more than an undeveloped rattle. When ] 

 they give this alarm then is the time that they are mad aud 

 will strike or bite. If very mad when in this position they ! 

 will bite at once; if only a little angry they will make a mo- 

 tion with the head, which amounts to nothing. They do not 

 open their mouths with both jaws to bite, but only with their 

 upper jaw in which is located two, and only two, fangs la 

 the shape of a fi>h hook with a groove on the end next to the 

 inside. These fangs cut their way into the object that the 

 snake wishes to bite, and these fangs are surrounded with a 

 fleshy sack which contains a poisonous fluid, which is inject- 

 ed into the cavity made with the fangs while the snake is in 

 rage. This is the dangerous element that dees the harm 

 when bitten by a rattler. This fluid is of a rum color, and ■ 

 in bulk about the size of a grain of wheat — it immediately 

 ascends the veins of the system when brought in contact with 

 them, aud throws the subject into spasms!' The rattlesnake 

 does not poison its food when struggling to master it, nor do 

 they bite while forcing their food" iuto their coils. They 

 never bito or attack an object without giving an alarm, this 

 entitles them lo be classed as honorable creatures. 



There is a snake which is considerably smaller than the 

 ra'tli snake, with no rattles, but resembles the ra'tler in many 

 respects in regard to color and habits, that is called the I 

 " pilot snake." Tins snake gets its name from being a guide 

 to the rattlesnake family. They are found to associate with 

 the rattlesnake and seem to be a guide for them. They are 

 forerunners of the rattlers in the spring, and lake the lead in 

 going to their winter quarters in the fall. The pilot is re- 

 garded to be more poisonous than the rattler, and it is said 

 that if a person is once bit'en by them they never ree iver 

 from the attack; that if death is not immediate the poison 

 never leaves the system. IT I. Lombard, 



There are some points in our correspondent's article on 

 which we hold a different opinion. We doubt the story of 

 American serpents covering their food with saliva before 

 swallowing it. We have fed snakss. but have not observe! 

 this, which has been a standard "fact" of writers on popular 

 natural history. We wish that the three men most qualified 

 to speak on the feeding of snakes, Mr. Conklin, of the. Cen- 

 tral Park Menagerie, Mr. Frank Thompson, of Oihcinnatfc 

 and Mr. Brown, of the Philadelphia Zoological Gardens, 

 would give their experience, which has been very great. 

 Our corresponded; has evidently studied his subject some, and 

 is correct in saying that the rattlesnake and "pilot," which is 

 really tbe copperhead, bring forth their young alive, for they 

 are ova- viviparous — that is, they have eggs, but retain them 

 iu the body until hatched; hut" all harmlesa snakes are not 

 oviparous. The ancient story of the coppertead "piloting" 

 the rattler sadly needs proof, ' r The question, why should he ? 

 naturally comes up. Ou the subject of charming we do 

 not care to express an opinion at present. We will be glad 

 to hear from him again. 



Metallic Castings of Delicate: Natural Objects— The 

 following process is recommended by Abbass for producing 

 metallic castings of flowers, leaves, insects, etc. The object, 

 a dead beetle for example, is first arranged in a natural posi- 

 tion, and the feel are connected with an oval rim of whx. It ' 

 is then fixed in the centre of a paper or wooden box by 

 means of pieces of fine wire, so that it is perfectly free, ami 

 thicker wnes are run from the sides of the box to ihe object, 

 which subsequently serve to form air channels in the mold by 

 their removal. A wooden stick, tapering toward the bottom, 

 is placed upon the back of the insect to produce a runner for 

 casting. The box is theu filled up wi'h a paste of three pnrts 

 of plaster of Paris, and one of brick-dust, made up with a 

 solution of alum and sal ammoniac. It is also well first to 

 brush the object with tbis paste to prevent the formation of 

 air bubbles. ' After the mold thus formed has set, the object 

 is removed from the interior by first reducing it to ashes.' Il- 

 ls therefore dried slowly, and" finally heated gradually to a : 

 red heal, and then allowed to cool slowly to prevent the : 

 formation of flaws or cracks. The ashes are removed by 

 pouring mercury iuto the cold mold aud shaking it thoroughly 

 before pouring it out, and repeating this operation several 

 times. The thicker wires are then drawn out, and the ' 

 mold needs simply to be thoroughly heated before it is filled 

 with metal in order that the latier may flow into all portions 

 of it. After it has become cold it is softened and carefully 

 broken away from the casting. 



Snakes Aftbr Swallows' Egos— Boise Barracks, Idaho. 

 — I saw, in 1878, two chicken snakes (Fox's black snake) or 

 racers killed at Camp Supply, Indian Territory, while they 

 were in search of swallows' eggs and young under the eaves 

 of the Quartermaster's store-house. The swallows' nests were 

 fifteen to twenty feet from the ground.— T. E. Wjloox. 



The Canada Porocpine in Maryland. — Referring to the 

 paper on the occurrence of the Canada porcupine in West 

 Virginia by Mr. Goode, iu Vol. I, Proceedings U. S, Na-J 

 tioiial Museum, pane 261, 1 wish to mention that this porcu- 

 pine, Erethkem (formtti*, is still, though rarely, found in 

 Maryland. In the museum of the Maryland Academy of 

 Sciences is a specimen from Alleghany County, Maryland. 

 Another specimen I saw living in confinement in the Blue 

 Ridge Mountains, where it was caught two years ago. One 

 was killed quite recently near EUicott City, Maryland. — Otto J 

 Lugger. 



Mari/hnul Aeademy of Sciences. 



Range of tile Beaver — Newburgh, N. Y.- I spent last 

 winter iu Texas, principally in the counties Of Concho, Sau 

 Baba and McCuilough, and saw many indications Of beavers 

 through that section. All the large streams and many of the 

 smaller ones are inhabited by them. These counties are sit- 

 uated between 30 and 32 degs. north latitude. They seem to 

 he quite numerous, but their fur is of little value. I think , 

 that they are found much further south in Texas than these 

 counties.— L. M. H. 



"The fjhnp and How to Use It" is the title of a book 

 written by Mr. GrWynne Price, a well-known pigeon shot of 

 Bt-, Louie, The book deals mostly with trap-shooting, being 

 largely ou account of Mr. Price's experience at the traps. 

 There are many hints about loading, etc., which may be use- 

 ful to amateur "pigeon shooters. The author, it appeal's, had, 

 previous to writing his book, been presented wi'h some of . 

 Dittmar's detonating powder, and evidently felt in duty 

 bound to puff it. Here Mr. Pi ice is behind the times. The 

 Purest and Stream exposed the dangerous nature of that, 

 compound so thoroughly a vear ago that advice to use it now 

 can hardly help the powder or redoiiud to the credit of thai 

 man who gives it, 



