7 
THE NEW YORK AQUARIUM JOURNAL. 
of the oldest (Silurian') rocks, large shells of 
Pteropoda are discovered as fossils; one extinct 
species, known as Conularia, attaining a length of 
about a foot, and a breadth of fully an inch— 
dimensions these, of giant kind, as compared 
with the shells of living sea-butterflies. And in 
more recent rocks, the small delicate shells of 
our living Cleodoras and Hyaltea may be found 
in a fossil state ; proving thus to us the ancient 
ancestry of the existing ‘butterflies of the sea.' 
To these varieties above described may be added 
several others, a group of which is shown in the 
illustration ; the arrangement of the names in the 
title is so made as to indicate the objects to which 
they apply. At the extreme left we have the 
Hyalea, described above, and on its right the 
Cleodora, of which Mr. F. D. Bennett writes as 
follows: “On that part of the body which is 
lodged in the apex of the shell, there is a small 
globular pellucid body resembling a vesicle and 
which at night emits a luminous gleam suffi¬ 
ciently vivid to be visible even when it is exposed 
to the strong light of a lamp. It is the only exam¬ 
ple of a luminous shell-fish I have ever met with, 
nor would the luminosity of this species be of 
any avail did not the shell possess a structure 
so vitreous and transparent.” There will be no 
difficulty in recognizing the little spike-shell, in 
the right hand corner, whiledirectly above it is the 
beautiful Cymbulia, whose shell has been likened 
in shape and translucency to the glass slipper 
of fairy mythology. Above all, as though keep¬ 
ing watch and ward over its smaller comrades, 
is the Carinaria, the largest and most formidable 
of this grotesque and interesting family of Neptune. 
BIRDS AND ANIMALS, 
Among the/ various objects- of -commercial- - 
gain that have given birth to wide and daring 
enterprise may be appropriately mentioned bird 
gathering and wild animal hunting—particularly 
the latter. The privations and perils encoun¬ 
tered in these pursuits are many and multiform, 
and of a nature not easily understood, except 
by those actually engaged with expeditions 
equipped and designed to peneirate the danger¬ 
ous abodes of the monsters and monarchs of the 
forest. But it is not of the hardships and risks 
of the business that we desire particularly to 
speak, but rather of the astonishing growth of 
an industry which is of comparatively recent 
birth—an industry of to-day. 
Previous to the year 1847 hie trade of collect¬ 
ing and disposing of rare specimens of the feath¬ 
ered tribe was almost unthought of, and the same 
may be said of the capture and sale of the fero¬ 
cious beasts which roam the earth with freedom 
and unrestraint. About the year named, howev¬ 
er, two adventurous and ambitious spirits con¬ 
ceived and carried into practice the idea of in¬ 
augurating a traffic in the delicate and beautiful 
little birds that abound principally in the neigh¬ 
borhood of the celebrated Hartz mountains, near 
Turin, and at once put the experiment to a test. 
They were successful from the first, though on a 
small scale, and by perseverance and industry 
laid the foundation for what eventually developed 
into a most lucrative business. This was what 
brought into existence the present well-known 
firm of Ci-ias. Reiche & Bro., whose little store 
at No. 55 Chatham street, this city, is almost as 
well known as the New Post Office to the in¬ 
habitants of New York. 
The United States at first seemed to offer but 
an indifferent market for the sale of rare birds, but 
as taste and culture grew so did the demand for 
the beautiful increase, until from an annual im¬ 
portation of 2,500 the number of birds now year¬ 
ly brought here figure up 100,000, while thou¬ 
sands are sent direct from Europe to Melbourne, 
Valparaiso, Rio Janeiro, Cape Town, and vari¬ 
ous other marts. As for this country, not a city 
of over 25,000 inhabitants but has its Bird Si ore, 
where formerly there was but one-—that of die 
Reiche Bros., in Chatham street. The rapid 
increase of this business here evidences, perhaps, 
better than anything else, the marvelous growth 
of American taste and refinement, and again the 
wonderful results of individual enterprise, for the 
Messrs. Reiche to-day enjoy a monopoly of the 
business they invented as thorough as though the 
possibility of rivalry was effectually disposed of, 
as it is. They began their career, of course, on 
a narrow scale, but they brought to the task a 
persevering- steadiness, rigid economy and strict 
integrity. To these were added an aspiring 
spirit that always looked upward, a genius bold, 
fertile and expansive, a sagacity quick 10 grasp 
and convert every circumstance to its advamage, 
and a singular and never wavering confidence of 
signal success. As their means increased the 
brothers made annual visits to the Hartz Moun¬ 
tains, where they secured those birds that could 
not be obtained elsewhere. These they brought 
to New York. Their capital and resources had 
by this time greatly augmented, but their genius 
had ever been in advance of their circumstances, 
prompting them to new and wide fields of en¬ 
terprise beyond the scope of ordinary merchants. 
The idea next presented itself to the brothers 
of establishing agencies in and equipping expe¬ 
ditions into various countries, for suppl)ing an¬ 
imals to the Zoological Gardens of Europe and 
America. For some time they revolved the 
scheme in their minds, gradually extending and 
maturing their plans as their means of executing 
them increased. It is due to them to say that 
they were not actuated by mere motives ol indi¬ 
vidual profit. They were already wealthy be¬ 
yond the ordinary desires of men, but they now 
aspired to that honorable fame w hich is awarded 
to men of determined purpose. The new ven¬ 
ture was successful in every respect, and it is a 
well-knxrwn_£actiha,t all the ^tnimals that are to 
be viewed in the famed resorts across the Atlan¬ 
tic, as well as those here, have passed through 
the hands of the Messrs. Reiche. Mr. Chas. 
Reiche has for years advocated the establishing 
in his adopted city of a Zoological collection as 
extensive as any in Europe ; an institution that 
would be for the benefit, amusement and in¬ 
struction of the whole people. But although he 
has offered extraordinary inducements toward the 
furtherance of such a project, he has thus far 
met with little or no encouragement, and until 
such time as we realize the importance of plac¬ 
ing our public attractions on a scale commen¬ 
surate with our opulence and prominence we 
may despair of having an ornament of this kind. 
INDIAN SUMMER, 
A recent writer in Scribner’s Monthly discourses 
ot our American Indian Summer in the follow¬ 
ing charming fashion : 
“This halcyon period of our Autumn will al¬ 
ways in some way be associated with the Indian. 
It is red and yellow and dusky like him The 
smoke of his camp-fire seems again in the air. 
The memory of him pervades the woods. His 
plumes and moccasins and blanket of skins form 
just the costume the season demands. It was 
doubtless his chosen period. The gods smiled 
upon him then if ever. The time of the chase, 
the season of the buck and the doe, and of the 
ripening of all forest fruits; the time when all 
men are incipient hunters, when the first frosts 
have given pungency to the air, -when to be abroad 
on the hills or in the woods is a delight that both 
old and young feel; if the red aborigine ever 
had his Summer of fullness and contentment, it 
must have been at this season, and it fitly bears 
his name. ” 
THE 
New York Aquarium, 
Cor. 35th Street & Broadway, N. Y. City. 
A FULL AND 
ATTRACTIVE EXHIBTION 
OF RAKE. BEAUTIFUL AND CURIOUS 
SEA WONDERS 
GREAT AND SMALL. 
IMPRISONED IN IMMENSE 
mil WATER AND MARINE TANKS, 
THE MOST COMPLETE AND 
BEAUTIFUL AQUARIUM 
IN THE WORLD. 
ADMISSION, - - FIFTY CENTS. 
CHILDREN HALF PRICE. 
Open from, 9 o’clock in the morning to 10 at night. 
COUP & REICHE BEOS., Managers. 
