90 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Aug. 37, 1885. 



occiirriug in any of tlK? trae bouv or Teleost fishes, since it is 

 for Died of liorizontally in berwoveu fibres. The egg case of the 

 Cestracion, or Port Jackson sharks, is formed in the same 

 way, but instead of being flat and iinadrangular, is twisted 

 into a spii-al. I am not positive, however, that the eggs of 

 the Port JacJison sharks are suspended. Another type is 

 found in the Scomhreiiocida^ in which the entire egg "mem- 

 brane is covered with strong filaments which wind roimd 

 each other and intertwine with the similar filaments of con- 

 tiguons eggs, which are consequently held together and sus- 

 pended sometimes in masses several inches m length, such 

 masses being commonly found in great numbers hanging to 

 the meshes of pound nets during July and August. The egg 

 itself measm-es one-eighth of an inch in diameter. There is 

 another somewhat similar type in which the egg is very much 

 smaller. This is the egg of one of the commonest fishes found 

 in the watei-s ti-ibutary to the Chesapeake Bay, viz., Menidia, 

 one of the Antherinicke. They are provided with four fila- 

 ments attached to one side of the egg, by which they are in 

 like manner suspended and held together in strings. Again, 

 there are stUl other types in which the ova are hatched in the 

 mouth, as in the case of Arunce, or marine catfisbes. Their 

 eggs are very few in number, but are as large as those of a 

 robin. Rome of the smaller blenmes take advantage of a 

 dead oyster shell in which to conceal and deposit theu* ad- 

 herent eggs. 



There are yet other cases in which the male builds a nest. 

 One of the most extraordiuary instances of this kind is the 

 common foiu--spiue Ktickleback {Apeltes), which I described 

 four yeai-s ago. The male, which is much smaller than the 

 fernale, has a pouch on the right side of the rectum, from 

 which is poured out a viscid secretion, and which is spun out 

 into threads fitfvdlv by the animal as he goes around a bunch 

 of water weeds like a bobbin to build a little basket-hke nest 

 for the etrgs. After lie has induced the female to ovipossit he 

 tends the eggs very faithfully until thev hatch. Some inves- 

 tigators go so far as to say that after the eggs are hatched 

 the male stickleback will follow the young ones which leave 

 the nest too young to take care of themselves and put them 

 back in the little cradle in which they were born to thus pre- 

 vent their being prematurely devoured by other fishes. At 

 one side of the eggs of the stickleback there are minute but- 

 ton-like excrescences. These are also found on the eggs of 

 European species. One of the South American catfishes 

 iOalMcthys) also builds a nest, but the nature of it I am not 

 famih.ar with. The male of the pai-adise-fish ejects from his 

 mouth bubbles of mucilaginous matter, which floats in the 

 form of a cake, and on this the eggs are deposited and hatched 

 out. The Antennarius and the flshintc frogs of the deeper 

 ocean deposit then- eggs on floating masses of sargoasa weed. 



We are, of course, all awa,re of the number of forms of sal- 

 monoids which prepare beds for the better protection of then- 

 eggs. The same may be said also of the black bass, sun perch 

 and lampreys. 



I also wish to call yom- attention to the physical behavior of 

 different species of ova as seen in several groups. This^onsists 

 of the disposition manifested by certain ty|ies of eggs to place 

 the germinal disk in some particidar position with reference to 

 the yolk. This disk is directed almost down ward in light or 

 buo3^ant eggs. In the case of the salmon, whose eggs are very 

 heavy, the disk rests on the top of the volk, and the larger oil 

 drops he .iust underneath the germinal disk. In the case of 

 l^he shad the germinal disk always Ues at one side of the 

 yolk, no matter in what position the eggs may be placed. 

 The buoyancy of the oil drops in tlie salmon's egg keeps the 

 germinal disk directed upward. In the Spanish mackerel its 

 buoj^ancy keeps the disk du-ected dowTi ward. This pecuhaiity 

 has some physiological significance, but I do not know what 

 it may be, unless it be for the purpose of the better protection 

 , of the egg, so that the embrvo may liave a better chance to 

 survive. 



It was remarked yesterday in Mi-. Mather's paper that the 

 eggs of the smelt were remarkablv hardy and woidd stand 

 usage which other ova would not. This calls to my mind the 

 capacity which some eggs have for resisting adverse condi- 

 tions. There are species which, in order to hatch them out 

 successfully, it is onlj- uecessaiy to change the water once in 

 three or four hours ; as, for example, in the case of the stickle- 

 back. With the shad this method would not answer. Nor 

 could the ova of salmon be successfully hatched out by such 

 treatment. What I have said on this point shows, I think, that 

 there is a great diilerence in the power of resistance to ad- 

 verse conditions manifested by different species of eggs under 

 similar conditions. In the ease of the silver gar, for instance, 

 I had at last only three eggs with which to work out the later 

 stages of development, and, although i had them under the 

 microscope fully twenty successive times, each time brushing 

 off the accumulations of filth which would lodge among the 

 filaments covering the egg membrane, yet dming all thase 

 manipulations the normal development of the embryos re- 

 mained unimpau-ed. 



I will now call yoiu- attention to the viviparous types. The 

 one which 1 have w^orked out most fuUy is the genus Gambu- 

 sia. The parent fishes were from 1)4 mehes to 1% inches in 

 length, and are found along the Chesapeake Bay and its 

 smaller southern tributaries. This is a fresh- water, or at least 

 auacu-omous viviparous species, spawning in July and August. 

 The ovary is lodged in the body cavity, and the vessels pass 

 backward to it, like the subdivided stein in a bunch of grapes 

 to the single berries, each one of the follicles in which the 

 single eggs grow receives a twig from the main vessel and is 

 covered with a network of vessels which branch off from the 

 main twig which enters it, and just at the point where the 

 vessel enters the single foUiele, there is a large round oj)ening 

 which answers to the micropyle of the ordinai-y fish egg laid 

 directly in the water. The egg of Gambusi'a is, however, 

 without a ti-ue egg membrane, tlie thin vascular folhcle takes 

 its iDlace. The little fish develops within the follicle, in which 

 fertihzation also takes place, the spermatozoa finding their 

 way to the egg through the round pore in the folhcle spoken 

 of, the male conveyhig his milt into the ovary by means of an 

 actual coiiulation with the female by means of his prolonged 

 anal fin. The development goes on until the fish becomes act- 

 ive and the yolk sac is absorbed. The young fish then rup- 

 tm-es the folhcle in which it is imprisoned and slips out through 

 the abdominal pore, perfectly capable of taking care of itselC. 

 Not more than twenty or twenty-five individuals are produced 

 ^t one spawning. 



In another type, Anibleps, a form described by Professor 

 Jeffries Wyman, the yolk sac itself is covered with vilh, and 

 strange to say, continues to grow for some time after the yolk 

 has been absorbed, but the reason for this I am at a loss to 

 understand. It may, however, be that the function of the 

 empty yolk sac is in this case somewhat similar to that of a 

 placenta. 



The eggs of the surf perches of the west coast are developed 

 in membranous curtain-hke folds of the upper wall of the 

 ovarian sack. These membranes have a long-itudtual direction, 

 and after the female is pregnant and the embryos are some- 

 what advanced in development, they hang down between the 

 embryos, the latter being packed into the ovary somewhat 

 like sardines in a box. The peculiarity about the development 

 of the young in the ovary is that the vertical fins of the 

 foetuses soon acqiiire an exaggerated development and have a 

 special set of blood vessels sent to them, the fins also develop 

 marginal prolongations which become hig-hly vascular but 

 after wai-d ati-ophy. This an-angement as well as the highly 

 vasctdai' skin of tlie fcetLises clearly has relation to the respir- 

 ation of the embryos while in the ovarj^. Anothei' ]:)ecidiarity 

 about this tA'pe is the enormous develo]jment in the embryos 

 of the back part of the intestine beyond anything I have f otmd 

 in any other kiud of fish embiyos. This hypertrophy of the 

 intestine is of transient character, because this structui'e after- 

 ward gradually diminishes in proportional size and acquii-es 



the relative proportion in respect to its diameter found in the 

 adiut hshes m which there is no such an exaggerated develop- 

 ment ot the intestine. The earlier waiters, G-irard and others, 

 who described these forms, mistook this projecting back part 

 pE the intestine for a yolk bag. The fact, however, is, as we 

 know from the figures which are in existence, that this was 

 not a true yolk bag, but merely the intestine developed as I 

 have d&scribed it to you with its terminal pai t thrust down 

 and backward so as to project below the abdominal profile 

 somewhat after the manner of a yolk bag. 



WASHrSSTON, D. C. 



Address all communications to the Forest and mream Publish- 

 ing Co. 



FIXTURES. 



BENCH SHOWS. 



Sept. 22, n. 24 and 2.5.-Dofc Show of the Milwaukee Exposition As- 

 sociation. .John D. Olcott, Superuitendent, Milwaukee Wis 



Sept. ag, 30 and Oct. 1, 2. -Third Annual Dog Show of thp Southern 

 Ohio Fan- Association. H. Anderson. Secret.irv, Davtou, O 



Sept. 29, .30 and Oct. 1.— Twelfth Dog Show of the Western Penn- 

 sylvania Poultry Society, Pittsburgh, Pa. C. B, Elben, Seeretai-y 



Oct. 6, 7, 8 and 9.— Second Annual Dog Show of the Philadelphia 

 Kennel Club, in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Slate AericuJtin-al 

 Society. E. Comfort. Seci-etary. Philadelpljia, Pa. 



ville. Pa. 



Oct. IS and 14.— Second Annual Dog Show of the Stafford A^ricul- 

 tural Society, R. S. Hicks, Secretary, Stafford Springs, Conn.' 



FIELD TRIALS 



Nov. 9.— Second Annual Field Trials of the Fisher's Island Club, for 

 members only. Max VVenzei. Seeretarv, Hoboken, N. J. 



Nov. !).— First Annual TMals of the Western Field Trials Associa- 

 tion, at Abilene, Kan. Entries close Oct. 15. A. A. Whipple, Secre- 

 ta.yy, Kansas City, Mo. 



Mov. Hi. Seventh Annual Field Trials of the Eastern Field 



Trials Club, Higli Point. N. C. Entries for Derby close May 1. W 

 A. Coster, Secretary, Flathush, L. I. ■ ■ j 



Dec. 7.— Seventh Annual Field Trials of the National Field Trials 

 Club, Grand Jmiotion, Tenu. Entries for Derhy close April 1. B M 

 Stephenson, La Grange, Tenn., Secretary. 



A. K. R. -SPECIAL NOTICE. 

 rpHE AMERICAN KENNEL REGISTER, for the registration of 

 pedigrees, etc. (with prize lists of all shows and trials), is pub- 

 lished every month. Entries close on the 1st. Should be ia early. 

 Entry blanks sent on receipt of stamped and addressed envelope. 

 Registration fee (50 cents) must accompany each entry. No entries 

 Inserted unless paid in advance. Yearly subscription $1.50. Address 

 '•American Kennel Register," P. O. Box 2832, New York. Number 

 of entries already printed 2588> 



THE AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Mr. Osborn is gallantly rushing into danger in his defense of 

 the A. K. C. I have no doubt that he, in common with his 

 many friends, beliCA^es that there is no pursuit at which he 

 would not succeed better than the one of trying to make a 

 fool of himself, or being made a fool of bY others, but he mis- 

 calctdates the enormous capacity of the present management 

 of the A. K. C. to make fools of wise men. Solomon himself 

 would fall if he entered and staid too long in those lists. Just 

 look at it. How can an organization be respected or tuseful 

 under a pre.sident who seemingly imagines that he is a legis- 

 lature and judiciary as well as executive ofiQcer? Then, what 

 respect can be left after the official head dehberately de- 

 bauches the very organic life of the body, as Maj. Taylor did 

 in "construction ^" 



Then again, Mr. Osborn uses a bad metaphor. This is no 

 case for "fighting." What soldier could fight a chorus of 

 laughter and ridictde? No! No! The first and only thing to 

 be done is to induce our president to step down and' out. This 

 is no time to be mealy-mouthed, if we woidd save the present 

 A. K. C. or keep the path open for another to rise on its ruins. 

 I teU you, "fight" is not the word — "mutiny," "rebeUion" 

 or "high treason," call it as you will, is the only thing that 

 wiU now save the A, K. C. 1 had a dream once." I dreamed 

 that the Pooppoduck Club advertised that it would give 

 premiums in money to winning exhibitors, and after the show 

 laughed at them and s.aid, "that was only- in a Pickwickian 

 sense." Then this variety of "disappointed exhibitor" ap- 

 phed to the A. K. C. for redress. The president gravely lec- 

 tm-ed the Pooppoducks on their conduct, when behold the'chief 

 Pooppoduck put his thumb to his nose, twu-led his fingers in 

 the air and whispered "consti-uction." There was a tremend- 

 ous smash, the sky was illumined with "A.," "K." and "C."in 

 every conceivable combination, and I woke up to wonder 

 why I wotdd eat too much roast pig. W. Wade. 



HuLTON, Pa., Aug. 31. 



THE ENGLISH SETTER STANDARD. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In reply to your invitation for opinion as to the advisibiUty of 

 altering the present standard of English satters, I will say that 

 sooner or later the present standard will be abolished, as has 

 been illustrated with the advancement of aU breeds. It can 

 be hkened to the standard of trotting horses of twenty years 

 to those of the present. The former consisted more of the 

 general form, while that of the latter has a tendency to com- 

 bine the higher element of practical test in speed and form. 

 In other words a sportsman would prefer to purchase an ani- 

 mal, whether horse or an English setter, comprising the com- 

 bined points, viz. : practical quahties and general form. AVere 

 I to purchase a dog, comrhon sense would dictate to give the 

 preference to the practical quahties of a field trial dog com- 

 bined with the quahties of a bench show dog. I should judge 

 the standard of a dog by his demand and practical use. It is 

 comparatively an easy matter at the present time to obtain a 

 bench show winner, whereas it is apparently an utter impos- 

 sibility to obtain a dog combining the field trial qualities of a 

 Paul Gladstone with the bench show pei'fection of a Robert 

 Le Diable. Such being the case, I am of the opinion that the 

 present standai-d of Enghsh setters will not be going in ar- 

 reai-s by advancing a few points in favor of the jji-actical 

 qualities of the field trial dog. E. S. Herancourt, 



ClKCINNATl, O., Aug, 15. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



The only two breeds of dogs the A. K. C. has any right to 

 settle the standards of are the American foxhound and Chesa- 

 peake Bay retriever, two strictly distinctive American ones. 

 Stonehenge is good enough for all the rest; when a better is 

 requii-ed it may bo relied upon it will be made on the other 

 .side. How ridiculous it is to attempt for instance to meddle 

 with the greyhound. And tell me who knows a jjure English 

 han-ier in this country? He is included for one of the commit- 

 tees to act upon^^ Homo. 



PEDICxPEE OP DAISY.— Newburyport, Mass. —Editor 

 Forest and Stream; Can any of your readers give the breed- 

 ing of the English setter bitch Daisy, owned by the late Bar- 

 ton E. Eangman, of Yonkers, N. Y'i—T. F. 



THE IRISH WOLFHOUND. 



[From the essay by Capt. C. A. Graham.— Concluded.] 

 \ BO LTT the yearlSfiS the writer took the Irish wolfhound 

 XTl question up, and instituted very searching inquiries after 

 any specimens of the breed. For some years he cud not meet 

 -with much success ; but about twelve years ago three distinct 

 strains were brought to his notice— viz., those of the late Sir J 

 Power, of Kilfane, the late Mr. Baker, of Ballytobin, and Mi-. 

 Mahoney, of Dromore— alas I now all believed to be lost, save 

 some of the descendants of the fh-st two strains, which are in 

 the writer's and one or two other hands. Isolated specimens 

 were also heard of, but none came under the writer's personal 

 notice. It is believed that the Eilfane strain owed their origin 

 partly to dogs bred by Richardson, who not content with 

 writiner, actually set to work to discover the breed ; from him 

 Sir John Power had more than one specimen. Richardson 

 obtahied bitches from JIi-. Carter, of Bray (whose strain he 

 mentions in his essay), and crossing these with a grand dog, of 

 great height, produced some remarkably fine dogs. It is also 

 believed that this strain was descended from Hamilton 

 Rowan's dog Bran before mentioned. 



Of this strain also were the Ballytobin dogs. Mr. Baker was 

 an enthusiast regarding all old Iiish institutions, and having 

 built himself a castle, he did aU he could to increase the size 

 of the deer in his park, also to restore to their original f oi-m 

 the Irish wolfdogs. To this end he procured the best .speci- 

 mens, wherever to be had, regardless of cost, and at his death, 

 some twelve years ago, he left, a kennel of really fine dogs. 

 The pick of these— bequeathed to a friend— a bitchj eventually 

 came into the possession of the writer, and from her and 

 from dogs of the writer's own breeding his present strain has 

 sprung. The strain of Mr. Mahoney was originaUy procured 

 from Sir John Power, and Mr. Mahoney thus speaks of themt 



"The pedigree I had, but I do not think I cotdd now find it, 

 I remember that the grandsire or the gi-eat gi-andsire was one 

 of the last old Irish dogs which I have an idea belonged to 

 the famous Hamilton Rowan ; but of this I am not certain. 

 As wolves disappeared in Ireland the dogs gradually fell away 

 also. They were expensive to keep, and from the fifteenth 

 century the diet of the people gradually changed from being 

 almost exclusively animal to being purely vegetable. Thus 

 there was no food to preserve the size and power of the dogs. 

 The race of red deer also became extinct, except in the motm- 

 tains of Kerry, where a few wandered; but tmder the care of 

 Lord Kenmare and Mr. Herbert, and their successors, have 

 developed it to noble breeds without a cross. Thus there was 

 no inducement to extenuate the old powerful dog into the 

 swifter but sparer deerhound, and the few specimens that re- 

 mained preserved the original characteristics; while in Scot- 

 land the cause that preserved the race from extinction tended 

 to change its quahties and older heroic proj^ortions into the 

 modern deerhoimd. 



"My idea was that by selection, avoiding in-breeding, and 

 proper feeding the old characteristics might in some genera- 

 tions be somewhat recovered. The colors were dark brindle, 

 bluish-gray and fawn. The bitch was usually lower, and 

 therefore looked stouter than the dog; indeed, she was so in 

 proportion. Distemper was my great difficulty; but the 

 wider cross got over this much better than the close breed, as 

 might be expected. They were stouter than deerhounds. 

 They are affectionate dogs rather than inteUigent; but I had 

 one which was more remarkable for character than any dog I 

 ever saw. He lied a kind of moral force among other dogs 

 that made them yield to him without fighting, though stronger 

 in appearance. He cared for nobody but me, though others 

 fed him moi'e frequently, and Ms attachment was very extra- 

 ordinarv. His hair would b)-istle over his back towai-d the 

 head wlien he was angry, and he wotdd walk quietly up to 

 his enemy's face, whether dog or man, with a determination 

 that neither could face." 



Two of these dogs were given to a lady who resided in the 

 Isle of Wight. The writer has their photographs. The dog 

 is stouter and wider in head than any deerhound ; but they 

 have a strong look of that dog. Mr. Baker's breed would ap- 

 pear to have been larger dogs than either of the other strains. 

 The bitch that came to the Avriter stood twentj''-eight inches, 

 and some of the dogs were said to stand thirty-one and thirty- 

 two inches, very powerful animals and thoroiighly rough. 



Lord Derby, grandfather of the j)resent lord, bred Irish 

 wolfhounds of evidently much the same character as the 

 strains just alluded to. One of them is thus described by a 

 gentleman who often saw her, and to whom was given one of 

 her puppies by a deerhound dog: "She was a dark brindle 

 brown, the coat of long why hair, the build heavier and head 

 more massive than that of the deerhound, the hair on the 

 head thicker and lying flatter than that of the deerhoimd, ears 

 rather larger than those of a deerhound, though lying close to 

 the head." This dog was bred about thirty years ago. 



From her some very large dogs were bred by a deerhound ; 

 some of the descendants were nearly black. A very fine 

 female of this breed was owned by a Mr. Lascelles many years 

 ago. A gentleman who often saw her said to the writer: 

 "You have quite converted me respecting the Irish wolfhound 

 being a rough-coated dog. The one I mentioned to you, which 

 belonging to Mr. Lascelles, had— and which he always said was 

 one of the last of the pure breed— certainly come quite up to 

 your description. She was very large for a female, and of 

 very noble appearance. She always lived in the drawing- 

 room, and was always rather dangerous to strangers. Mr. 

 Lascelles never would breed from her, as he coiUd not meet 

 with a male worthy of such a mate." 



A dog was bred from the BaUytobin bitch above aUuded to 

 before she came into the possession of the writer, by a son of 

 a dog Major Gamier bred, which was given to a clergyman 

 residing near Knowsley, It was seen by tne present Lord 

 Derby, who, while stating it was very like the dogs formerly 

 kept at Knowsley, also considered it was a finer and larger 

 dog than any they had. The sire was a blue and tan in color, 

 and some of the puppies in the same litter as this dog were 

 black and tan when bom, turning out eventually blue-graj 

 and tan. The dog in question was a reddish brindle. He is 

 said to have stood thirty -two inches high. 



The writer has not only studied the subject carefully, but 

 has bred extensively, with more or less success, though death 

 and disease have hitherto robbed him of the finest specimens. 

 "Dogs have been bred approaching his idea closelj- in looks, 

 though wanting the required height and power; also dogs of 

 very great height, etc., which were somewhat wanting in 

 character. Yet the very certain knowledge has been gained 

 from these efforts that it is perfectly possible to breed the 

 con-ect type of dog in the com-se of a few years — bar losses 

 from death and disease. It has been the steadfast endeavor 

 of the writer to get crosses from such dogs of acknowledged 

 Irish wolfhound blood as were to be foimd, in preference to 

 simply crossing opposite breeds to effect the desired object. 



Several very fine dogs have been bred by the writer, but he 

 has lost aU the finest. He succeeded in rearing a remarkable 

 dog that stood thirty-thi-ee inches, and was covered with a 

 thick coat of nearly black shaggy hair. This dog most nn- 

 forttmately died at seventeen months of age, leaving behind 

 him one litter of puppies, of which few remain. 



The Irish Kennel Club was courageous enough to establish 

 a class for the breed of Irish wolfhounds at theu- show, April, 

 1879, and it is strenuously to be hoped that this step in the 

 right direction will be followed on the part of other shows. 



At this show several dogs of much wolfhound chai-acter 

 w^ere shown, the prizes going to a son of the thh-ty-three-inch 

 blackish dog above mentioned, a cross-bred Dane and deer- 

 hound dog. 



Whether the prizes were rightly or wi-ongly awarded it is 

 not proposed to consider. The first pi-ize dog, Brian hj name, 

 a vei-y fane rough gray dog, the last male of his Utter, is, alas ! 

 dead. 



Scot was from a Kilfaae sire out of a floe red bitcli. H<j i 



