1869-7 r SPEECH AT GEOGRAPHICAL DINNER 205 



the opportunity, so much valued by ornithologists, 

 of handling the recently killed specimens which 

 were shot by the Prince. The addition to the 

 staff of a skilled taxidermist, equal to the prompt 

 preparation of any rare bird, bat, beast, or fish, 

 was no suggestion of mine, but of the Prince, as 

 was likewise the provision of a seine net, the use 

 of which enabled me to observe, fresh or living, 

 the curious forms of siluroids, snouted mormyri, 

 and other Nilotic scaled rarities, which previously 

 I had known only in a dried state or preserved 

 in spirits. Of crocodiles I saw none : steam 

 and improved rifles have driven them to the 

 Cataracts. The consequence is that between 

 Cairo and Thebes the fishes have marvellously 

 multiplied, and, correlatively, the pelicans, flamin- 

 goes, spoonbills, and all the varied forms of 

 heron, ibis, and curlew that feed upon the spawn 

 or fry of fishes. This is interesting evidence of the 

 effects of disturbing a natural balance in the 

 contest for existence. So much for zoology. 



' Nor was I less indebted to His Royal High- 

 ness for occasions of adding to my physiological 

 knowledge. Through the Prince's kindness, I 

 for the first time had the opportunity of observing, 

 in the living state, that remarkable species, the 

 Lacerta agilis, seldom to be seen save in Oriental 

 and sub-tropical countries. They are highly 

 organised, though belonging to a low class.' 



On June 27, 1869, Owen received at the Col- 



