NATURE'S REALM. 
FIsH BREEDING IN THE CLOUDS. 
I observe a reference made in the American 
Angler of the 31st January last touching upon 
showers of fishes, in which it states that science 
has not yet fully explained the phenomena. 
This is perhaps slightly incorrect. Several 
causes have been suggested. Might it not very 
probably be that fish and frogs which fall ap- 
parently from the skies are really bred there ? 
Water fowl, it is known, very frequently carry 
eggs of fish to great distances, having swal- 
lowed them, and in their flight disgorging the 
same unharmed where they can and do fructify 
and mature in water over which these birds 
pass. The eggs of many old fish are very glu- 
tinous and readily adhere to substances brought 
in contact with them during particular times of 
their incubation. Is it not very probable that 
not only do these birds convey ova upon their 
wings as well as in their crops, and when fly- 
ing at great heights the ova, becoming de- 
tached from the wings, may remain suspended 
in the moist atmosphere, which is quite possi- 
ble under certain conditions of atmospherical 
pressure, and that when under development 
they become too heavy and naturally fall to the 
earth, as frequently witnessed? When we 
consider the heavy scoriz from volcanoes, 
which is upheld for months at similar altitudes, 
we cannot but give some credence to such a 
theory as the above. 
Could not some of your readers enlighten us 
still more upon a topic which must be of inter- 
est to all anglers ?—‘‘ G. B.” in American An- 
gler. 
DEAD ALEWIVES IN LAKE ONTARIO. 
A friend of mine (a naval officer who is connected with the 
lighthouse establishment) mentioned in my hearing recently 
that he had often noticed a species of fish in Lake Ontario 
which, from his description, appears to resemble the cisco or 
herring, and at certain seasons of the year (the latter part of 
August, I believe) it would appear in large schools, and fre- 
quently individuals would come to the surface, go throngh a 
series of contortions, and finally float on the surface dead. 
This occurred in different localities, so that the cause could 
not be ascribed to poison. Are you familiar with this, to me, 
curious demonstration; and, it so, what is it? Cond: 
The fish referred to are alewives, called by 
the local fishermen ‘‘sawbellies.” Their death 
is generally attributed to starvation, arising 
trom the gathering of them in such immense 
159 
schools that their food supply is exhausted and 
death ensues. They are found in all parts of 
Lake Ontario and in some of the inland lakes, 
and it seeins to be somewhat a mystery as to 
the manner by which they reach these waters, 
being originally, at least, strictly a salt-water 
fish. They make excellent food for the large 
lake fish, as they seldom grow larger than six 
or eight inches. 
NOTES ,ON THE MANATEE OR SEA-COw. 
The manatee, or sea-cow, is becoming grad- 
ually extinct in*America. One species which 
was confined to the Arctic seas and most plen- 
tiful about Kamschatka, Alaska, has, it is said, 
become extinct, and it is even claimed that it 
has not been captured in this century. The 
only specimen in America is now confined to 
the Florida coast and south to the Amazon. 
Along the Indian River* the species was form- 
erly common and is still occasionally seen. 
Owing to the fact that it inhabits salt water and 
comparatively open places it is easily fol- 
lowed and taken. I am informed that it pre- 
fers lagoons and the mouths of rivers, where it 
teeds on the vegetation growing in the water ; 
the usual species of grass or seaweed preferred 
being known as manatee grass. This aquatic 
grass grows on the bottom of brackish rivers 
and in the edges of the sea. The manatee 
(Trichechus manatus) resembles somewhat in 
conformation the dolphin or whale. It is nota 
fish, but a mammal, and bears young, which it 
suckles as does the whale. Its flippers and 
tail make its skeleton in general appearance 
like the whale, but its skull is of a decidedly 
different form, and the brain cavity is much 
larger proportionately, showing a higher de- 
velopment, 
Manatees are occasionally taken alive and 
sometimes exhibited in captivity. The reason 
that this species is not exhibited in traveling 
shows of the North is that the animal cannot 
stand the northern climate—in addition to 
which the selection of food is a difficult matter. 
It has lately been discovered that the manatee 

* The Indian River is simply a lagoon of salt water separated 
from the Atlantic by a narrow strip of land over one hundred 
and fifty miles long. 
