26 



NATUKAL SCIENCE NEWS. 



been taken on a rod and line, and 

 one person captured one which was, 

 if I remember correctly, sixteen 

 feet long, and weighed several hun- 

 dred pounds. It was the largest 

 fish which was ever captured on 

 light tackle in America. 



Ordinarily the saw is about one- 

 fourth the length of the fish or a 

 little less. It follows, that when 

 one sees a trophy of a four foot saw, 

 that the fish must have been a mon- 

 ster. With the smaller fish the 

 saws are readily cut off, as the ma- 

 terial is like cartilage when fresh 

 and in the smaller fish. We secur- 

 ed dozens of them for our friends. 



At the landings, or wharves as 

 the steamers pass up and down in 

 Indian river, and other points on the 

 coast, natives offer the saws for 

 sale, and these are from 5 inches 

 to 4 feet long. The larger saws 

 are rarely perfect, as some of the 

 teeth are often broken out. either 

 by the fish, or in capture. 



This species watches over its 

 young, and I have it on fair author- 

 ity, that the mother fish takes the 

 young into her mouth and con- 

 ceals them in time of danger; but 

 I don't assert it as a fact. In truth, 

 it seems incredible, when we listen 

 to the narrative of one man who 

 asserts that he took 12 young saws 

 each two feet long from the mouth 

 of their mother. Mayhap the story, 

 is true? but — oh! what a mouth was 

 there. 



A party of us fished up and down 

 the Hillsboro and Halifax rivers, 

 on the east coast with success, and 

 at New Smyrna, at Mosquito Inlet, 

 I met with the greatest variety of 

 fish in the shortest space of time. 

 But at Cedar Keys and St. Peters- 

 burg on the Gulf Coast, as well as 

 at Jupiter Inlet and Lake Worth, 

 great numbers, and of many species 

 were seen. 



At one resort, Mr. K went 



down to the wharf at an early hour 

 and pulled in a 26 pound Channel 

 Bass. It was on Sunday morning 

 and we all pestered him because he 

 was so sporty on the Sabbath, but 

 he seemed very proud of his catch, 

 and stood holding the fish until we 

 snapped our cameras at the lucky old 

 gentleman's good luck. These fish 

 generally grow to a size of eight or 

 ten pounds, but are sometimes 

 pulled in, which weigh 50 and 60 

 pounds. They are reddish in color 

 with a black spot on the tail. 



The Sea-trout is a fine appearing 

 fish, and is also known as the south- 

 ern Weak-fish. It has beautifully 

 mottled sides, and is very pleasing 

 to the eye when first caught, but 

 quickly loses its iridescent tints. 



The species at the south, many of 

 which are charmingly colored, are 

 almost invariably found to lose their 

 colors soon after being drawn from 

 the water, and like the brook trout 

 at the north, soon fade. 



The evanescence of quality is al- 

 so a feature as regards the fish on 

 the table. If you want your fish 

 prime, you should catch them and 

 slap into the skillet while the tails 

 are still flopping. And there is 

 a charm about this kind of sport 

 and cookery, with the accompany- 

 ing zest from an open air appetite, 

 which makes cruising about in a 

 yacht highly r desirable. Sea Trout 

 are excellent if cooked when first 

 caught, and like many other south- 

 ern fish, as well as with northern 

 species, are very poor if stale. 



I caught many Sea Trout and they 

 are fair sport, whether by still-fish- 

 ing or troll. Some trout were as 

 heavy as eight pounds, but most of 

 them went from three to five. 



In a short time after putting up 

 at a hotel a person of active dis- 

 position desires a change and to 

 see the country and to go among 

 the birds and fishes. 



Spring Butterflies. 



The earliest spring butterflies 

 are those which have hibernated. 

 They may be seen about the first 

 of % March or even earlier if the 

 weather is mild. The most com- 

 mon hibernating species are the 

 Camberwell Beauty Vanessa antic- 

 pa and the common butterfly 

 {Grapta comma). Numbers of 

 them gather in vicinities where the 

 sap runs from the trees in early 

 spring, and as many as a dozen 

 may be counted on a maple or 

 birch, sipping the sweet sap. 

 There are two butterflies rarely 

 found in this locality wdiich I tcok 

 early in April last spring; Grapta 

 /-album and Vanessa Milberti. 

 They had passed the winter in 

 some sheltered nook, as their 

 wings were somewhat torn and 

 soiled. The Red Admiral Pyrameis 

 atalanta and the Thistle Butterfly 

 Pyrameis cardui also hibernate, but 

 they are rather rare in the spring. 



The first butterflies to appear in 

 their fresh bright colors are the 

 little blues Lyccena pseudargiolus 

 and the common CabbageButterfly 

 Pieris rapes. These appear about 

 the middle of April or shortly after 

 the first of the month. Papilio 

 ajax makes its appearance very 

 early, frequently in March, but it 

 is very rare in this locality. Papilic 

 tu mis also appears early. 



By the last of April or the first 

 of May a dozen or more new 

 species appear, and before summer 

 has really set in, many of the early 

 spring forms have disappeared. 



John Bright, 

 Pittsburg, Pa. 



Vultures. 



Having read with much interest 

 and profit "Florida Cruising" by 

 Eugene Pericles, in the Natural 

 Science News of Feb. 9 and as my 

 life has been among the southern 

 birds, I now venture some inform- 

 ation concerning our two most 

 common Vultures, — Cathartes aura 

 and Cathartes atrata. These birds 

 are very tame frequently alighting 

 in the streets, and they are pro- 

 tected by law, a fine being imposed 

 for their destruction. 



As I have always seen these 

 Vultures (or Buzzards as they are 

 called here) sailing high or low 

 and in every attitude I think I 

 could venture some information 

 concerning the association of these 

 birds together. In every flock 

 might be seen both, though the 

 Black exceeds the Turkey about 

 three to one. They do associate, 

 feed and fly together. I am certain 

 of this having seen both in a dead 

 oak Feb. 22, 1895. 



I enjoy the Natural Science 

 News very much. So does my 

 father who is a College Professor 

 of Material Science. 



Clarence L. McCartha, 



Troy, Ala. 



Asbestos. 



Up to the late '70s nearly all the 

 asbestos used came from the Italian 

 Alps and from Syria, but one day 

 a party of explorers discovered a 

 rich deposit in what is known as 

 the eastern townships of Quebec in 

 Canada. Companies were at once 

 formed and in 1879 the mines were 

 opened. Remarkable as it may 

 seem, however, although the Cana- 

 dians started factories, in the opera- 

 tion of which they were substantially 

 backed by English capital, it was an 

 American concern, with headquart- 

 ers in New York, that developed 

 the manufacturing industry most 

 rapidly. The company has now 

 grown so large that it has branches 

 in nearly all the large cities of the 

 country, and the machinery used is 

 specially made and peculiarly adapt- 

 ed to the manufacture of asbestos 

 articles. There are aiso a number 

 of large factories in England- 



