1 880.] i Zoölogy. 805 
known as Ærocætus californicus Cooper. The following extract 
from my field notes may be of some interest as bearing on this 
question : 
It flies for a distance sometimes of nearly a quarter of a mile, 
usually not rising more than three or four feet. Its motions in 
the water are extremely rapid, and its motive power is certainly 
the movement of its powerful tail in the water. On rising from 
the water the movements of the tail are continued for some sec- 
onds until the whole body is out of the water. While the tail is 
in motion the pectorals are in a state of very rapid vibration, and 
the ventrals are folded. When the action of the tail ceases, the 
pectorals and ventrals are spread and, as far as we can see, held at 
test. When the fish begins to fall, the tail touches the water and 
the motion of the pectorals recommences, and it is enabled to re- 
sume its flight, which it finally finishes by falling in the water with 
asplash. When on the wing it resembles a large dragon-fly. ; 
motion is very swift; at first it is in a straight line, but this be- 
comes deflected to a curve, the pectoral on the inner side of the 
arc being bent downward. It is able to some extent to turn its 
course to shy off from a vessel. The motion seems to have no 
reference to the direction of the wind, and we observed it best 
from the bow of a steamer off Santa Catalina island, in early 
morning, when both air and water were free from motion.—David 
S. Fordan, Ind. State Univ., Bloomington, Ind. 
-Fiicuts oF “ Fries.” —Under the head of “ traveling flies,” the 
Scientific American notices the occurrence of a vast cloud of flies 
on the Hudson river, between New Hamburg and Newburg. It 
reached southward from shore to shore as far as the eye could 
reach, and resembled a great drift of black snow. The insects 
were flying northward “as thick as snow flakes driven by a strong 
wind.” The steamer Mary Powell ran into the fly storm off 
Haverstraw, some forty miles below where the Martin encoun- 
tered it. The flies were “ long and black and had light wings.” 
A dispatch from Halifax, Nova Scotia, states that on Sunday, 
pt. 5, immense swarms of flies passed over Guysboro, 120 
miles northeastward of Halifax. They came from the east and 
resembled a dark cloud. : 
A correspondent of the Toronto Mail, writing from East Pic- 
tou, Nova Scotia, describes a similar phenomenon as occurring 
there August 21. The flies, forming a veritable cloud, passed 
Lismore at 6 o’clock in the evening, close to the shore. They 
went with the wind, which was blowing lightly from the west, 
occupying about twenty minutes passing a given point. 
made a loud, buzzing noise, which was heard by many who 
missed seeing them. They flew so lòw that some of them ap- 
peared to fall into the water. About two miles below Lismore 
they slightly changed their flight, heading more to the north. 
