FOREST AND STREAM. 



« 07 



Those thirty feet arms, shooting about almost -with the ra- 

 pidity of lightning, will arrest the flying prey, as a cat arrests 

 a mouse, and with even more ocrtainty. Suppose that these 

 giants move about in" schools" like their poor relations, the 

 small squids, what havoc they must make among the codfish 

 on our fishing grounds, and what terror and destruction they 

 must spread around. It is not, impossible that they may have 

 something to do with the failure of our fisheries, of which we 

 have so often to complain. When the codfish suddenly dis- 

 appear from some fishing-bank it is not impossible that their 

 sudden flight in some cases at least, may he caused by an in- 

 vasion of some wandering band of these varnpyres of the deep. 

 The common squid is said to deposit 40,000 eggs annually ; 

 and U' these giants approach them in fecundity, there must he 

 myriads of them in the depths of the sea. But why, then, 

 are they so seldom seen ? Since 1873 only one was found at 

 Grand Bank, in Fortune Bay, in 1376. It must be remembers J 

 that, like the whale, they keep to the deep sea, for the most 

 part, and only w T hen driven in by storm or currents do they 

 approach the land. Besides, in swimming, they do not lift 

 their heads or bodies above the surface, their hydraulic appara- 

 tus working noiselessly in the water; so that a shoal of them 

 might pass a ship unnoticed. They possess a tube or funnel 

 which is connected with the bronchial or breathing organs. 

 The expansion of the mantle admits the water ; and when it 

 ha3 communicated its oxygen to the blood, the mantle con- 

 tracts and drives the water with great force through the fun- 

 net, the jets thus expelled by their reaction, driving the ani- 

 mal in the opposite direction. This funnel can be so bent as 

 to direct the jet in any direction, and thus enable it to vary 

 the motion at will. By turning the opening of the funnel to 

 ward the tail forward motion is produced. Thete.il I suspect 

 acts chiefly as a rudder, though it may also aid in locomotion. 

 Professor Verrill considers that the discovery of these giant 

 cuttle fish warrants the expectaiion that the sea-serpent will 

 one day cease to . be fabulous as the Kraken has done. He 

 says, "The 'pen 'of our Arckitenthjs seems to resemble that 

 of the ancient genus Tendopsis, found fossil in the Jurassic* 

 formations, and contemporaneous with the huge marine Sau- 

 rians, Icthyosaurus, Plcsiosaurus, etc., the sea-serpent of 

 those ancient seas. May there not also be huge marine Sau- 

 rians still living in the North Atlantic, in company with the 

 giant squids, but not yet known to naturalists. Such a belief 

 seems quite reasonable, when we consider how many species 

 of great marine animals,both among cephalopods and cetaceans, 

 are still known only from single specimens, or even mere 

 fragments, generally obtained only by chance." 



M. Haevet. 



[The monster referred to can now lie seen at the Aquarium in Thirty - 

 nttti street, New York, where it Is on exhibition, preserved in immense 

 tank of alcohol. The engraving which we republish to-day will not 

 ose any of its value, because it was first brought to notice In 1873. It 

 is the one referred to In the body of Mr. Harvey's letter herewith pub- 

 lished—En.] 



at intervals of eight years, and there is no apparent cause for 

 it, as the broods have always the same care and treatment. It 

 seems to occur only in very dry seasons. 



HON. J. D. CAT-ON'S DOMESTICATED 

 WILD TURKEYS (Meleagris galopavo). 



OF late years the Hon. J. D. Caton, of Ottawa, Illinois, has 

 dovoted much attention to the propagation of the wild 

 turkey, the finest -game bird of America, and the finest in the 

 world except the capercailzie of Great Britain. This species 

 of fowl is now extinct in many sections where it was once 

 abundant, and every effort to restore it or extend its species 

 is emitted to thankful commendation. But to propagate wild 

 turkeys required that they should be first domesticated to a 

 degree. Money would be thrown away in simply capturing 

 wild birds and letting them loose in the woods. They will 

 " light out " in less than no time. We have tried the experi- 

 ment ourselves in Blooming Grove Park, Pa. , and never heard 

 of our proteges after once bidding them adieu. Judge Caton, 

 by long study, has acquired the knowledge of how to tame a 

 wild turkey, and after he has tamed him, make him wild 

 again. He has now on his premises at Ottawa something 

 over one hundred. We arc gratified to state that the Judge has 

 promised to present the Blooming Grove Park with several 

 pairs of them at any time when he may receive the shipping 

 order, and wo have no doubt that the result will be much 

 more encouraging to the Association than the first experiment 

 proved to be. He has also been kind enough to send direc- 

 tions for shipping them and caring for them, which we take 

 the liberty to print herewith, as they may be of benefit to 

 others who may perchance be engaged in the same laudable 

 enterprise. He says : 



" In transit, the cocks must be iu separate apartments, else 

 they arc liable to kill each other, but two hens will generally 

 go safely in an apartment. I think it, will be well to select 

 from stock well domesticated, us they will be more likely to 

 remain around the premises, which I think they will do if 

 carefully treated and well fed at least for a few generations 

 till the park gets pretty well stocked, though no doubt then- 

 tendency will be to resort to the wild state. During the 

 breeding season the hens will go to the woods till they can 

 find dense cover and perfect seclusion, and by the time the 

 young broods come out corn should be scattered in their sup- 

 posed neighborhood, and by careful management the young 

 ones may be considerably tamed at least for a time. After 

 the park is well stocked they should only be allowed to be 

 shot, in remote parts, and they will learn that they are safest 

 near the lodge." 



However, breeding turkeys is not altogether so easy a job 

 as it may seem. Sometimes a strange distemper attacks the 

 young birds and carries off twenty per cent, of them, and does 

 not always spare the old ones. It seems to recur periodically 



A Rare Fish. —On .Wednesday, October tenth, Mr. Eugene 

 C . Blackford, of Fulton Market, received from Gloucester, 

 Mass., an unknown and curious fish, which was identified Ivy 

 Mr. Brevoort of the Astor Library and other scientists as an 

 A lepisanrusfemx . 



This is such a rarity, that even the British Museum has no 

 specimen, and no European naturalist has ever seen one, and 

 but two specimens have been captured in the last three centu- 

 ries, On August 26th, 1679, a Dutch sea-captain on a 

 voyage to America, caught the first specimen 

 known, and made a, rough sketch of it, an account of 

 which, with a fac-simile cut will be found in Vol. 1 of 

 the "Memoirs of the Long Island Historical Society " on 

 page 69, and page 2 of the Appendix. He says ! "Although 

 we had hitherto caught no fish, one caught itself during the 

 night. It was not only dead, but the belly was all burst open 

 by reason of the quantity of water thatjhad been forced in it, 

 for the mouth was wide open with the hook and fine iu it. 

 •It was almost like, an eelor rather a geep. It was so hideous 

 and looked so savage that my companion inquired if it were' 

 not a sea devil. Its flesh, when it was cooked, was quite good, 

 tasting almost like mackerel's." 



The next account we have of the fish is from the pen of 

 Reverend R. T. Lowe, A. M., in a letter addressed to the Secre-. 

 tary of the Royal Zoological Society, in 1833, which was also 

 accompanied by a drawing. We quote : "In its habit, shape 

 of body, smoothness of skin, compressed head, wide gape, 

 and long, formidable teeth, Alepisiwus agrees with TrkMurus 

 and Lepidopus; but in the former of these genera, the vertical 

 fins are wanting, and in the latter they are rudimentary only, 

 and pectoral. TrkMurus is also destitute of a caudal fin. In 

 both of them, . moreover, the anal fin is abnormal, and the 

 dorsal is single. The two dorsal fins of the Alepkaurus are 

 "remarkable among the fishes with which it is most nearly re- 

 lated, and the small adipose second dorsal evidently indicates 

 a curious relation of analogy to the salmonidce among the Mal- 

 acoplorygii. 



"The characteristics of the genua are-, compressed head, long 

 drawn out, with wide mouth, extending back behind the eyes; 

 teeth uniserrated, strong, some very long ones recurved ; body 

 long, thin, scaleless, as is also the head. Of the two dorsal fins, 

 the first is high and prolonged from the neck all along the 

 back ; second, small, triangular and adipose, both ventrals 

 and abdominals. Pectorals, elevated ; tail, large, furcated, 

 membranous, with bony branches and six or seven rays." 



In his catalogue of Ac-antliopterygian fishes of the British 

 Museum (Vol. 2, p. 860), Gunther says : " Alepisaurus 

 (Lowe) has been considered as a fish most closely allied to the 

 family of Bphyrmnidm (baraconta), or Trichiurkkn. The sim- 

 ilarity, however, is merely external, and its natural affinity is 

 decidedly siluroid, i. e., belonging to the catfish family. The 

 rays of the dorsal fin are soft, composed of joints ; there is a 

 large adipose fine on the back ; the ventrals are abdomi- 

 nal, composed of one toothed spine and nine rays. The sub- 

 operculum is absent, and the margin of the upper jaw is 

 formed entirely by the intermaxillary bone ; the maxillary 

 bone is rudimentary, and the pyloric appendages are absent. 

 The specimen sent to Mr. Blackford was upward of five 

 feet in length, the head having been sadly mutilated, the 

 fish having been caught with a trawl. Its exact length could 

 not be determined -within two or three inches. The teeth are 

 very curious, many being extremely long, recurved and sharp 

 as razors, and instead of fitting in an alviolar process, were 

 part and parcel of the jaw itself, showing no articulation 

 whatever, but appeared to be merely projecting from the max- 

 illary. This fish has been donated by Mr. Blackford to the 

 Smithsonian Institution, wdiere it now is. 



Ages of Deeh, and ^Casting op Horns.— In "Antlers" 

 interesting articles on "Habit of Deer, " in your last issue, I 

 see he speaks of killing those that must have been over a year 

 old, from the fact that no "spawn spots " were visible. I 

 have raised many fawns, but never have known one to retain 

 its spots till six months old, and hardly ever until four months 

 old. He says he never saw a deer that had shed its horns 

 before February. I have an old buck that has been in my 

 flock several years, was full grown when caught in New 

 Hampshire, and he always drops his horns in December. 

 Another buck now five years old that came from Ohio does 

 not drop his horns till February. Thehorns cease the growth- 

 shedding of their vevelt in September. M. W. Clark. 



Danville Junction,, Me., Oct. 8, 1877. 



Arrivals at The Nbw York Aquarium fob the Week Ending, 



Oct. 15, 1S7T. 



Bkksii-watbr Vakieties.— Eels, black bass, gar-pike, white perch; 

 cat, fish seventeen pounds.weight, brown oat fish, wall-eyed pike, straw 

 borry bass, white bass, Pomatis aaretit. 



Salt-water Varieties.— Striped bass, toad fishes, king flsa,garaard8 

 skates, flounders and a large number of shellfishes. 



Of birds there are crown pigeons from New Guinea, Sultan's chicken 

 from Africa and South America, buzzards, and a large boa constrictor 

 duykerboks, the smallest kind of antelope, from South Africa, with leg 

 as thin as a lead pencil. 



^aodhtttt, fgfttrm mi $mim* 



SELECTION AND CULTIVATION OF 

 HYACINTHS. 



—Mr. James F. Marsters is in receipt of a couple of fawns 

 (C. virg.) captured by Harry Shipman in Minnesota. They 

 are to be sent to Stonybrook, Long Island, to Mr. Shipman's 

 brother. 



Parasites ln the Neck of Hares.— A correspondent 

 sends us an " unknown animal found in the neck of a live 

 healthy fat rabbit. A similar specimen was found last year." 

 All animals have parasites, not even man being exempt. 

 Hares usually have, them in July and August, and up to the 

 middle of September, but rarely later, and there are often two, 

 one on either side of the neck. They do not interfere in the 

 least with the health of the animal they inhabit, neither do 

 they injure it for food, having no connection whatever with 

 the flesh, but are enclosed in a sac formed between two layers 

 of the integument. If, before the larva? reach maturity the 

 hare should die, the parasites speedily make their way out 

 into the world, when they die also from lack of the animal 

 heat necessary to their sustenance. 



—The New York World suggests the name Hippocynophi- 

 dornithokhthymdesHwsksipputnus for a monstrosity recently 

 discovered in the Mississippi River, and which is said to 

 combine the head of a bull-dog and the beak of a pelican 

 with a shiny neck, a serpent-like body and tail. The H. M. 

 travels at the rate of eight miles per hour, with its head and 

 neck twenty feet above the waves, and giving forth terrific 

 howls. 



g raising is encouraged in England because they , 

 .able enemies to all yermiu, 



THERE is no better time for potting hyacinths intended 

 for spring display than in October and November. As 

 a matter of course, such early blooming kinds as the early 

 white Roman, and also the single red LAmi du Cceur, the 

 white grand Vainqueur and the light blue Charles Dickens, 

 together with a few early flowering: scillas, tulips, crocuses 

 and narcissi should be potted the first or second week in Sep- 

 tember, and so on till the end of that month ; but for common. 

 hyacinths there is no better time than the present. Generally 

 they are potted too early — before the bulbs have recovered 

 from the effects of the long, close confinement during their 

 transit from Holland, and ere they have become thoroughly 

 matured. It often happens that early potted Hyacinths rot, 

 owing to their being placed in contact with the soil too soon 

 after being imported, and, after all, nothing is really gained 

 by such early potting, except in cases where it is intended the 

 bulbs shall be forced. We would, however, always impress 

 on cultivators the necessity of obtaining their bulbs early from 

 the dealers, not only because the finest bulbs are invariably 

 selected for the earliest orders, but also because they can look 

 better after them, preparatory to potting them, than the deal- 

 ers can. Among the newer varieties there are now some very 

 fine kinds, such as Princess Helena, Garibaldi, Howard, Kohi- 

 noor, Pelisier, Prince Albert, Victor, etc., in the pink and red 

 classes ; Blondin, Czar Peter, De Candolle, General Havelock, 

 King of the Blues, and Sir Henry Havelock in blues, and Ida 

 and Bird of Paradise in yellows. Among pure white flowers ■ 

 may be mentioned La Grandesse, a magnificent variety, lTn- 

 nocence and Snowball, a variety with immense bells of great 

 substance. Some of the above bring rather high prices, and 

 are indeed difficult to find in this but happily for 



those who cannot afford to purchase comparatively new hya- 

 cinths, there are many old varieties of excellent quality that 

 can be obtained at a cheap rate, though they lack the rich and 

 varied coloring to be found in the newer sorts. In the red 

 class, including rose and pink flowers, there are Lord Welling- 

 ton, Fabiola, Le Prophe'te, Norma, Princess Helena, Susanna 

 Maria, Lord Macauly, Robt. Steiger, etc. Among pale blue 

 flowers maybe found such well known varieties as Couronne 

 de Cello, Grand Lilas, Orondatus, Leonidas, Van Speyk ; and 

 among the dark blues, Albini, Argus, Baron Von Tuyll, Lau- 

 rens, Koster, Minosa, Shakespeare, etc. Of white varieties, 

 there are Alba Superbissima,Mad. Van der Hoop, 'Mont Blanc, 

 Grand Vainqueur, Anna Paulowna, Elf rida, Lord Grandville, 

 Seraphine, etc., all standard sorts; white in yellowish colored 

 flowers, Alida Jacoba, Anna Carolina, Due de Malakoff, He- 

 roine, La Citronniere, etc., may always be depended upon 

 Hyacinths should be placed singly in six-inch pots, a little" 

 moss in each for drainage, and over it about an inch of well 

 decayed cow manure. In a light compost of good loam, leaf 

 mould and manure, with a liberal addition of sand, all bulbs 

 will grow and luxuriate. Tulips, crocuses, jonquils, etc., 

 may be planted as fancy or demand dictates. The bulbs should 

 be about half buried, a good sprinkling of water given to set- 

 tle the soil about them, and then place in a cool cellar, cold 

 frame, or any cool place, where they can be con- 

 veniently got at in winter, and covered over to a depth of six 

 inches or so. It sometimes happens that hyacinths are un- 

 skilfully planted, and unless some covering be laid on the sur- 

 face of the pots, the bulbs, in the act of rooting, will force 

 themselves out of the soil in consequence of its being too hard 

 pressed at the base of the bulbs. In six weeks or two months 

 the covering should be removed, and the bulbs placed in some 

 cool light place or greenhouse, where they can develop their 

 foliage in their own time. For window culture they can also 

 be grown in glasses w,ith water or in pots with bog moss or 

 sphagnum, such as is used so extensively by florists, care 

 being taken to have the roots well developed before exposing 

 them to the light. Nine-tenths of the failures to grow hya- 

 cinths properly are due to this cause alone. When the days 

 lengthen and the sun gains power they can be brought on into 

 growth as far as desired, hut we would again emphasize the 

 importance of securing the early growth as strong as possible, 

 for then is laid the foundation of a noble spike of bloom. 



