336 



SCIENCE 



[Vol. IV., No. 87. 



men gathered about our larger colleges. These 

 colleges have developed, and their libraries 

 have grown more and more valuable ; so that 

 the professors no longer find it necessa^ to 

 go to their academy for books. At the same 

 time the machinery of their long-established 

 organization has grown more effective ; and, 

 while many of the members no longer need 

 their society collection of books, the number 

 and value of those added to the shelves each 

 3'ear are constantly increasing. The result 

 is, that in some of our larger cities there 

 are accumulating very considerable libraries 

 of special works which are scarcely used, as 

 they are duplicated at some neighboring col- 

 lege about which those employing such books 

 live. 



It is, of course, with regret that one enters 

 such a library, if library it may be called, and 

 sees the new books which are not called for b}* 

 the former clientage of the collection, but 

 which would eagerly be asked for if the circle 

 of favored outsiders were widened so as to 

 include all properly vouched-for persons who 

 might live within one, two, or three hundred 

 miles, or even more, and who would be willing 

 to pa}' a small annual fee to defray the expense 

 of sending books to them b}~ mail or express, 

 and for the extra wear, and danger of loss. It 

 is true that such books as could not be readily 

 replaced in case of loss would necessarily be 

 retained from such a wide-spread circulation ; 

 but these would be only the older volumes of 

 the various series, and such books as are very 

 generally kept from such extra risks. 



The expense of mailing would be consider- 

 able ; it would average, on volumes of the size 

 of a bound volume of the American journal 

 of science, about sixteen cents each way. To 

 this must be added the cost of handling, and 

 some slight charge for the privilege of use. 

 Altogether, the expense of taking out, say, 

 forty books of this class in the course of the 

 year would be in the neighborhood of ten to 

 fifteen dollars, — a charge which could be 

 reduced ver} T materially by sending for the 

 books a number at a time, so that the}' might 

 be forwarded to advantage by express ; the 



amount named above being the maximum if 

 each book were mailed separately. 



That the expense of using a library through 

 the mails would mount up very rapidly is evi- 

 dent ; but the facts remain, that there are large 

 libraries of books solely on matters of interest 

 to scientific men, and of vital interest to such 

 men, and that these libraries exist in com- 

 munities where by duplication they no longer 

 have their former use. It is highly desirable 

 that the books should be put to use ; and their 

 owners would probably be glad to arrange 

 some plan by which the scheme of extending 

 the circulation through the mails could be made 

 practicable. It would be of great advantage 

 in perfecting plans, if those who might be bene- 

 fited would come forward and state their 

 position. 



THE COLOR-SENSE IN FISHES. 



In his recent volume on ' Mental evolution in 

 animals,' 1 Mr. Romanes remarks, " As further 

 proof that a well-developed sense of color oc- 

 curs in fish, I may remark, that the elaborate 

 care with which anglers dress their flies, and 

 select this and that combination of tints for 

 this and that locality, time of day, etc., shows 

 that those who are practically acquainted with 

 the habits of trout, salmon, and other fresh- 

 water fish, regard the presence of a color-sense 

 in them as axiomatic." As one ' practically 

 acquainted ' with some sixty species of fresh- 

 water fishes, representing a dozen or more dis- 

 tinct groups, I am reminded, by the above 

 quotation, of many occurrences witnessed dur- 

 ing my rambles about the Delaware River, or 

 its tributary creeks, that have a bearing upon 

 the subject. Besides recognizing the differ- 

 ences in insects by their colors, have fishes 

 any knowledge of the fact that their own colors 

 may or may not be protective ? Are they aware 

 that it depends upon themselves, whether these 

 colors shall be a safeguard, or a source of 

 dan«er? That we are warranted in giving an 

 affirmative reply, is shown, I think, by their 

 habits, and particularly by the fact that to 

 a certain extent they have the color of their 

 bodies under their control. 



Relatively speaking, the fishes of the Del- 

 aware River and its tributaries may be classi- 

 fied, in regard to their habits, as diurnal and 



1 Mental evolution in animals, by George J. 'Romanes. 

 Xew York, Appleton, 1884. 411 p. 12°. 



