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THE AMERICAN NATURALIST [Vol. XLYII 



In the Publ. Leland Stanford Jr. Univ., Professor E. C. Starks 

 describes the skeletons of various families of mackerel-like fishes. 

 In a general way he finds that the real relations of these forms, 

 as indicated by their skeletons, correspond very nearly to the 

 impressions made by their external characters. Among other 

 things there is no immediate relation between the genus Gerres 

 and the genus Leiognathus. These have some superficial resem- 

 blances, and have been placed in the same family by Dr. Bou- 



In the Bureau of Fisheries documents Dr. G. H. Parker dis- 

 cusses the effect of explosions of motor boats and guns on fishes. 

 These sounds under water are extremely faint and have little 

 effect on the animals. Some of the noises made by the fishes them- 

 selves seem to have a certain attraction to others of their kind. 



In the Biennial Report of the Commissioners of Fisheries of 

 Wisconsin is a valuable discussion of the brook trout disease in 

 the hatcheries of Wisconsin, the disease in this case being due to 

 a parasitic crustacean, a small eopepod, L< rinropoda edivardsii. 

 This creature is a parasite on the eastern brook trout but not on 

 the other species of trout reared in Wisconsin. The best remedy 

 seems to be to clean up the hatcheries, scraping the ponds, and 

 introducing the sand filter. It is also suggested that the old 

 trout, most usually affected, be got rid of early and that the 

 copcpods may bo drawn apart by means of electric lights. 



In the Bull. Bur. Fisher., G. H. Parker discusses the sense 

 structures of a small shark. 



In the Fishing Gazette, Dr. Hussakof describes the spoonbill 

 cat fishery of the lower .Mississippi. 



Under the head of Dogfish, D. E. Lane, of Bellingham, Wash- 

 ington, attempts to show that the species of Squalus have a great 

 commercial value, the oil from the livers being capable of many 

 uses through purification, and the bodies susceptible of being 

 made into a high-grade fertilizer. 



In the Zool. Soc. Bull, F. B. Sumner describes in detail the 

 adaptive colors among fishes and the ehanges whieh some of them 

 undergo. In a certain species of turbot from the Bay of Naples 

 marked all over in life with gray and dark spots of different 

 shades and sizes, it is found that this fish placed on different bot- 

 toms adapts itself not only to the general color tone, but to the 



