140 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[JAN. 27, 1906. 


A FLYING-FISH OF HAWAIIAN SEAS. 
danger above as well as below, for the hovering 
sea-birds frequently pounce down upon the hap- 
less victim and bear it away, perhaps robbing a 
bonito, albacore or dolphin of its already assured 
prize. But the sympathy granted the bright and 
interesting flying-fish for this merciless prey upon 
it is greatly lessened by the knowledge of its own 
cannibalistic propensities. They are mostly car- 
nivorous feeders and do not hesitate to devour 
their own kind—perhaps their own progeny. 
Fortunately for the general demand upon the 
tribe they are remarkably prolific. In Atlantic 
waters the famous Saragasso Sea is a notable 
breeding haunt of these, as of other, fishes. 
While flying-fishes are obviously inhabitants of 
warm seas, it is also true that they are not al- 
ways seen in greatest numbers at or very near 
the equator. During the present voyage, in going 
to the south the equator was crossed in longi- 
tude 161 degrees 37 minutes W. (Oct. 16) and, 
returning northward, recrossed in longitude 164 
degrees 8 minutes W (Oct. 18), and in both re- 
But strange as it is to see a fish rise from the 
bosom of the deep and literally take flight in the 
air, it is quite as curious to see even larger fishes 
rise from the water and go running over the sur- 
face for long distances on the ends of their tails. 
Such is the habit of certain species of Belonide, 
or “needle-fishes’—also denizens of tropical and 
semi-tropical seas. The needle-fishes are charac- 
terized by rather slender bodies and _ long, 
pointed snouts. Of the family Belonide there 
. . - 
are four genera, two of which are American, and 
about fifty species, of which the majority are 
American. They are voracious, carnivorous 
feeders, and frequently inhabit bays, lagoons and 
straits. Their bones have a greenish color and 
they are not, in most localities, in much demand 
for the table, though their flesh, like that of the 
flying-fish, is wholesome and usually of excellent 
flavor. Those species that run, by a rotary or 
lateral motion of their tails, almost upright over 
the water, have the caudal fin well developed. 
The slender bodies and long, sharp, pointed 

NEEDLE-FISH—HOUND-FISH. 
gions flying-fishes appeared to be comparatively 
scarce. The few observed were all of rather 
small species and sustained themselves in the air 
but short distances. Numerous  flying-fishes 
were, however, encountered between 12 and 20 
degrees N. latitude. The temperature of the sur- 
face water of the ocean was not highest at the 
equator but in latitude between 5 degrees 30 
minutes N. and 6 degrees 30 minutes N.—mean 
longitude 155 degrees 45 minutes W.—where the 
water temperature throughout the twenty-four 
hours was 29.2 degrees C., and between latitudes 
6 and 7 degrees N., in longitude 163 degrees 50 
minutes W., when the average water tempera- 
ture for the twenty-four hours reached 29.3 de- 
grees C. At the equator the temperature of the 
surface water was 28 degrees C. 
, 
WEST INDIES, OCCASIONAL NORTHWARD TO BUZZARD'S BAY. 
snouts of the Belonide early led the people of 
Spanish-America to apply to the individuals of 
this family the general term pez aguja (‘‘needle- 
fish”). They, moreover, credit them with some- 
times piercing the nude bodies of fishermen, and 
even with passing completely through portions of 
their bodies. 
Among the more familiar American species of 
Belonide may be mentioned Tylosurus notatus, 
or common needle-fish; Tylosurus marinus, 
sometimes called “bill-fish’; and Tylosurus ra- 
phidoma, the “hound-fish” or agujon. The latter 
species—called agujon (“great needle’) in the 
West Indies—reaches a length of about five feet 
and is a vigorous, active fish, truly dangerous in 
its leaps from the water, and much dreaded by 
the fishermen. The young of this species are 
’ of many of its practical hints. 
said sometimes to stray northward to the coast 
of New Jersey. 
Not all of the family Belonide “run” with 
equal facility though, as already suggested, many 
of them are noted “jumpers.” This habit of 
clearing the water and leaping into the air is 
more or less observable in most fishes that swim 
near the surface—from the fresh-water trout, 
and even minnow, that “breaks water’ in rushing 
upon insects on the surface, to the mighty skate 
that clears the water with remarkable force, to 
fall back again with loud report. The “skip- 
jack,’ bonito and others of the mackerel tribe, 
are famous jumpers—describing graceful curves 
of considerable elevation as they swiftly pursue 
their prey. The salmon, shooting high in the air 
and clearing at a single bound waterfalls en- 
countered in its journey up fresh-water streams, 
is a remarkable instance of this peculiar leaping 
power among fishes. Dr. J. Hoparr EGBeErt. 
CARNEGIE ExpeEpITION, Brig Galilee. 
North Pacific Ocean, Oct. 28, 1905. 

Fish and Fishing. 
The Author of a Well-Known Angling Book. 
In Forest AND STREAM of Dec. 30-last your 
pleasing correspondent, Mr. Edward A. 
Samuels, author of “With Fly Rod and 
Camera,” referring to one of his most cherished 
books, “Salmonia, or Days of Fly-fishing,” 
printed in London in 1828, says, ‘“The author’s 
name is not given, he subscribing himself simply 
as “An Angler.” 
It is a very well established fact that this 
favorité book is from the pen of the famous 
scientist and discoverer, Sir Humphrey Davy, 
who: wrote it “during some weeks of severe and 
dangerous illness, when he was wholly incapable 
of attending to more serious studies, or of fol- 
lowing more serious pursuits. They constituted 
his amusement in many hours which otherwise 
would have been unoccupied and_ tedious. 
* * * The conversational. manner and dis- 
cursive style were chosen as best suited to the 
state of health of the author, who was incapable 
of considerable efforts and long-continued ex- 
ertion.” The first three editions of the work 
were published anonymously. The compilers 
of Bibliotheca Piscatoria only mention the first 
and second editions in this connection, but I 
have also before me as I write, a copy of the 
third edition, published in 1832, which was also 
issued anonymously. Subsequent editions bore 
the author’s name, and the fourth edition, issued 
in 1851, was enlarged by Dr. John Davy, brother 
of the author and himself the writer of a couple 
of interesting fishing books, namely, “The 
Angler and His Friends, or Piscatory Colloquies 
and Fishing Excursions” and “The Angler in The 
Lake District.” ‘Salmonia”’ was reviewed by 
Sir Walter Scott in 1826 in the Quarterly Re- 
view, and the illustrations were from the author’s 
own drawings. Sir Humphrey’s brother, John, 
who enlarged his work, was also the author of 
his Memoirs, and those acquainted with these 
latter will recognize that the Salmonia is 
largely the result of Sir Humphrey’s own ex- 
periences, when in search of health he wandered 
alone among the glorious scenery of the rivers 
he loved so well both in England and also upon 
the continent of Europe. 
' In these degenerate days, when medical men 
and others babble freely of the alleged pro- 
priety of assisting the departure of suffering 
humanity by the administering of drugs, as is 
done in the case of the brute creation, it is re- 
-freshing to read the following passage in Sir 
Humphrey’s Journal: ‘‘As I have so often al- 
luded to the possibility of my dying suddenly, I 
think it right to mention that I am too intense 
a believer in the Supreme Intelligence and have 
too strong a faith in the optimism of the sys- 
tem of the universe, ever to accelerate my dis- 
solution.” 
Practical Hints. 
One of the features of Salmonia which has 
always recommended it to me is the excellence 
It contains much, 
